Crack!
A god that was a mix between beast and human. With a swing of its forelimb, the upper body of another god was torn off and flew away.
Cruelly enough, the flesh and blood of what was once a god had become nothing more than scattered chunks of meat.
“I shall open the way!”
That chunk of meat had once been a god, a traitor, and now it had become nothing more than a corpse.
Together with countless other corpses sprawled across the field before the ruin, it had once been a god.
“Prepare your magic, but do not fire yet! Stand by!”
“To the great beasts, hunt in a manner worthy of the gods of hunting and prosperity!”
“O Lord of Fire and Metallurgy, behold us!”
Above the battlefield where they fought, the combatants were gods.
Once gods themselves, the traitors, and now those who were still gods but were falling—doomed to failure.
Unaware of their own fate, they swung their weapons, fired magic, and wielded their divine powers against the traitors.
In an instant, the field was covered with all sorts of filth and debris, and even a god could not escape the inevitability of mortality and death.
And above that death and mortality, the god of feasts continued to move.
“Huhk!”
With a war cry, the forelimb swung, cleanly severing the waist of a traitor it struck.
“Haaah!”
With another roar, a leg swung and crushed one of the grotesque monsters following the traitor.
The laughter escaped as if by habit. The god of feasts couldn’t help but laugh at the rising excitement and continuously swung his proud claws at those who approached him uselessly.
Pfft, perrrk, the sound of flesh splitting and scattering forms. Though he had ventured too deep, there was no fear within him, and no god worried about him.
“Hahaha! Is that all you’ve got? Did you dare betray me with just that? Weaklings!”
The ear-splitting roar. Casting aside the habitual honorifics, the god of feasts unleashed his might and suddenly noticed something strange.
Though he had severed, cut, and crushed countless gods,
the number of lesser divinities surrounding him did not decrease.
And just as he noticed this fact, his swinging forelimb conveniently split another traitor in two.
The scene of claws burrowing into the head, tearing through flesh and pulling out raggedly.
Within that, the collapsing traitor.
It was not an unusual sight, but soon, a strong sense of unease arose, and a bizarre phenomenon occurred.
“What?!”
A sound like crawling insects emanated as a black mass grew on the body of the lesser divinity that should have died.
Whether maggots or tentacles, some indiscernible black mass.
This mass ate away at the severed and ragged flesh and regenerated new flesh, which then connected together.
Thus, the severed body reattached itself.
All previous wounds disappeared, leaving behind a perfectly intact form.
Perrrk!
What the god of feasts saw last was the axe rushing towards his head and his body, separated from the neck, stumbling and falling.
And starting with the arrogant god whose head was severed, countless lesser divinities, heroes, and demigods lost their lives.
“What, what is this?! These guys won’t die! Mage, wizards! Hurry….”
Sometimes, battles are decided by strange rules.
Among these odd rules was immortality.
An army that couldn’t be killed due to insufficient skill. As the number of dying lesser divinities increased, the traitors’ skills became ever more refined.
The more this happened, the more drastically the balance of the battlefield tilted, and every time the battlefield tipped, more people died.
To break this vicious cycle, another variable was needed.
“Move aside!”
The god of warriors, the strongest of the lesser divinities, was the appropriate variable for this situation.
Rushing out of the ruins’ gate like lightning and swiftly raising his sword to slash, the god of warriors cleaved a traitorous lesser divinity in half, causing it to collapse to the ground.
“Hurry and regroup! I’ll hold them off for now!”
The shouted command. Words flowed from the mouth of the battle-hardened god who had originated as a human, and without hesitation, the lesser divinities, heroes, and demigods followed the order.
Meanwhile, the battlefield belonged entirely to the god of warriors.
“Huff!”
Charging traitor. Clearly a god who had once revered sorrow and death.
The god of warriors blocked the descending mace with the back of his blade, immediately stepped back, and horizontally slashed.
Sssshh!
The flying head. Kicking it away, numerous traitors surged forward.
The god of warriors exchanged blows with them.
Clang!
Swinging his sword downward, the god of warriors countered with a shield that transformed from his weapon.
Tzzz!
Two axes flashing like lightning knocked away the shield that had turned into a spear.
Uuuk!
Against the approaching beast, the spear transformed into a dagger, which was thrust under the jaw.
Tzzkk!
He smashed it with a knee strike.
Amidst this struggle, the face of the god of warriors contorted involuntarily.
These were beings who normally wouldn’t stand a chance against even one exchange with the god of warriors.
But what about now? The god of warriors hastily regenerated his severed fingers, tended to his sliced knee and thigh, and retreated while worrying about the wound on his cheek.
Even though the warriors of betrayal retreated after witnessing the god of warriors’ bloody fight, none present believed it would last forever.
Behind them, a group of lesser divinities was approaching, far outnumbering the resistance.
Numbers, level, endurance.
There was no superiority in any of these aspects.
Moreover, there was something enormous lurking behind them.
Up there, where the sun should be, loomed a massive figure.
Something that resembled dark clouds but wasn’t.
A giant, independently moving, bubble-like entity.
A distance-defying, pitch-black and void-filled thing that looked both like tentacles and bubbles—a transcendent being.
The writhing bulk—the Supreme Divinity.
The god of warriors chuckled hollowly upon seeing this form.
He was realizing the defeat Aslan had spoken of.
He felt the inescapable destiny they were heading toward.
He recalled that nothing they could do against such a fate would change it—that striving for that impossible victory was only exhausting and ultimately worthless.
Yet, he didn’t step back.
What difference does it make if the outcome of the battle is already determined?
Since the days when the god of warriors was still human until the moment he fought and died to become a god, he had never once retreated from a battle that came his way.
This time was no different.
The god of warriors switched his dagger to a short sword and slowly lowered the corner of his lips that had been pulled upward.
“Restore those wounded by divine power.”
Following this command, the gods healed their compatriots.
“Heroes, heal your wounds and step forward.”
The demigods and heroes moved forward to face the impending death.
“Those who still have mana left, conserve it and wait for the right moment. We will break through all at once.”
The wizards regained their wisdom and began to look for opportunities.
The god of warriors did everything he could.
All that remained was a bitter but noble defeat.
Thinking this, someone suddenly asked him,
“Where have the gods of duel and his husband gone?”
The voice was filled with excitement.
It seemed they were asking where these figures had fled to.
So the god of warriors lied.
“While we hold them off, they’ve gone to request reinforcements.”
Although it wasn’t true, the excited questioner quickly calmed down.
In reality, the god of warriors had ordered them to hide.
Considering that they were beings of the future and part of Father’s arrangement, it was only natural.
They couldn’t die here and render Father’s plans meaningless.
Most importantly, this wasn’t their battle.
“An intelligent choice indeed. If they were traitors, it would have led to irreversible consequences.”
Even the one who asked didn’t notice this misunderstanding and accepted it as truth, but there was no energy left to correct it.
The god of warriors simply smiled it off and glared at the approaching traitors.
Still maintaining a human-like form, but with eyes and extremities grotesquely twisted, stood the lesser divinities.
At their center were familiar figures.
A pair of twins with crimson hair and golden eyes, like the god of warriors and Angie.
The gods of victory and defeat.
The god of warriors aimed his sword at them and took a stance,
and the god of victory, whose face was partially distorted and covered by black tentacles, sneered.
Seeing this, the god of warriors muttered under his breath.
“Shit.”
A curse word he hadn’t uttered since becoming a god.
*
A brief amount of time passed.
Already, countless corpses lay strewn before the ruins.
Some were lesser divinities, heroes, and demigods who had been cut down by the traitorous lesser divinities,
while others were those who tried to pledge allegiance to the whispering Supreme Divinity but had their heads removed by the god of warriors.
Amidst these corpses, only the god of warriors stood.
“Haaak, huuuk, huh, hhh…”
The god of warriors was dying.
His entire body was riddled with wounds, and wherever he had been cut, the exposed flesh underneath was grotesquely twisted from attempts to staunch the bleeding, likely due to repeated burns.
His legs trembled, one eye was pierced, with the lens leaking blood alongside it.
His arms were broken and battered to shreds.
Despite all this, the god of warriors barely managed to stay standing,
clutching his shattered weapon and gasping for breath.
Before him stood two deities.
The god of warriors aimed his shattered weapon at them despite his labored breathing, and the god of defeat smirked at his pitiful state.
“Poor thing. So this is all the might of the strongest lesser deity?”
A young girl wielding a massive hammer—the god of defeat.
Unlike her brother, she wore a playful expression as she mocked and kicked dirt towards the god of warriors, scattering it over him.
Even as mud stuck to his body, the god of warriors barely reacted, keeping his sword aimed at them.
At this, the god of victory spoke.
“Don’t let your guard down. He is, after all, the only bloodline of Father’s mortal era. He must have some tricks up his sleeve.”
Serious-faced, unlike her sister, the god of victory regarded the warrior god with cold, golden eyes.
“Still, it’s surprising. I didn’t expect you to be this weak.”
As if casually mentioning it, the god of warriors failed to triumph.
Here on this battlefield, he was the sole surviving lesser deity.
Surrounded by countless traitors, the gods of victory and defeat watched him leisurely.
Of course, there weren’t no fallen traitors either.
Through the struggles of the warrior god and the lesser deities, several traitors had joined them in death.
Essentially evenly matched in strength, and being former priests, the exchange ratio had been horrifying.
Now, apart from the warrior god, the only remaining deities were the non-combatants inside the ruins.
The god of victory was aware of this.
So he nodded his chin, signaling the traitors to rush past the warrior god—but
“Haaak!”
The warrior god, barely managing to muster a war cry, swung his sword to block their path.
What followed was a disgraceful fight.
It lacked the decorum expected of a battle between gods.
The warrior god first plunged his broken weapon into the chest of an enemy, wrenching it out,
transformed it into a mace to smash heads,
was bitten into the side by the next attacker,
spilled his entrails while swinging a leg to crush the head,
crushed the head, only to have the mutilated mouth bite his ankle and knock him down,
but blocked the ensuing attack with his shield-transformed weapon.
Wobbling and limping, the warrior god stood before the entrance of the ruins.
Seeing his pathetic yet fierce figure, the god of defeat wrinkled her nose.
“You’re giving me a headache. Just die already, will you? Come on…”
“Is Father’s will worth this much to you?”
While wrinkling her nose, she attempted to mock the warrior god with a sneer but was interrupted mid-sentence by the god of victory.
What followed was essentially…
“I don’t think so. Your strength could be used far more efficiently preserving the meaningless wish of someone already dead. How about joining us?”
It was an offer to switch sides.
Breathing heavily, the warrior god lifted his head.
“Why did you abandon Father?”
Though unexpected, the god of victory closed his eyes tightly before opening them again to answer.
“I witnessed Father’s death. Even a god considered invincible fell to a terrible end.”
And it was beautiful.
Though incomprehensible to the warrior god now, the god of victory continued.
“Through Father’s death, I discovered the ultimate victory I had longed for. That Being can surely make it possible. To be honest, I’m captivated by His power.”
Saying this, the god of victory turned his head to gaze at the Supreme Divinity, resembling a mass of dark clouds, writhing.
Faced with his eyes full of reverence, the warrior god smirked, and the god of victory glanced sideways at the smirking warrior god before speaking.
“You won’t understand. If an emperor had gained enough strength to create lesser deities like us, would you comprehend that? Or how about when a few humans merged with Him, bestowing His touch?”
Though intended as persuasion, the warrior god listened and chuckled slightly, shaking his head.
‘That kid, has he gone over? Still, as blood of the same Father, I cherished him.’
It was regrettable, but unavoidable. In a way, perhaps this was correct.
The warrior god merely remained silent, pointing his shortened sword at them.
A clear refusal.
The warrior god’s extended sword towards the two glaring deities.
The dying god guarding the door.
The god of victory couldn’t comprehend.
“Why do you protect mortals so desperately? If I were you, I’d retreat from this place, preserve my life, and wait for the next opportunity.”
The god of victory said this, clearly unable to understand, and the warrior god laughed weakly before answering.
“Because we are gods. What kind of gods would we be if we abandoned our duty to protect mortals?”
Then he staggered forward.
“I am not the god of victory. Nor am I the god of defeat. I am the god of warriors.”
Thud, thud, thud.
Approaching, the warrior god stopped.
Holding the sword with both hands in front of the door,
“I am the father of all warriors, the guide for all warriors. And also, just one warrior among many.”
Holding the sword with both trembling arms raised,
On the earth reddened by flowing blood, the warrior god smiled.
Beyond the pointed sword, the golden eyes shone brightly.
“The result doesn’t matter here.”
“…You.”
“I fight when I must and endure when I shouldn’t. The value of a warrior lies there.”
As the god of victory nodded, lesser deities drew their weapons and slowly approached.
Facing them, the warrior god prepared himself.
“I don’t turn my back on a battle I cannot win.”
The clink of armor rattled as he took his stance.
“Come.”
The lesser deities charged simultaneously.
The god of defeat swung her large hammer and approached, while other lesser deities ran past the warrior god to enter the ruins.
At the intersection of straight lines and curves, the warrior god quietly smiled.
The strikes of the approaching lesser deities. He blocked half but couldn’t defend against the other half. His waist was severed.
The lesser deities passing by opened the ruin’s doors, and just as a massive hammer descended to finish him off,
Ka-aang!
A white blade blocked the hammer,
Kwaaa!
A harsh tearing sound echoed from the ruin’s entrance.
What followed was the scattering of lesser deities torn in half.
The lesser deities who had reached the ruin’s entrance were sent flying.
Their grotesquely torn bodies clearly indicated they had been ripped apart by immense brute force.
Kwaaaaa, cutting through the wind, the god of defeat widened her eyes.
Whoooom, tzzzzz!
With a brief ringing sound, a powerful punch launched forth.
Accurately smashing the chest and crushing the heart, the iron fist hurled the god of defeat backward.
As the god of victory caught his falling sister with his body, he frowned.
Beyond them, two figures stood beside the warrior god.
“You two…”
The woman walking past gave him a pat on the shoulder, and the warrior god collapsed, gasping for breath.
Lifting his head with difficulty, under the sunlight unobscured by the Supreme Divinity, he saw someone’s face.
A man holding a sword ablaze with pure white light, with greenish-blue, wise eyes.
“…Who are you?”
The question from the god of victory.
Upon hearing it, the man thought.
There was no benefit in stepping forward like this.
Perhaps it would prevent them from returning to their original world by altering the future.
It could lead to something significantly wrong after interfering greatly with the past.
But he stepped forward anyway.
Because there was an evil deity here.
And if he alone could stop that evil deity,
then Aslan had no choice but to step in.
The man, Aslan, answered.
“Warrior.”
At this response, the god of victory openly displayed an unpleasant expression.
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