The Astes Empire’s outdoor training grounds had turned into a mess.
Swoosh—
Duke Yuma, riding the griffin Ethan, had just landed on the ground.
He had come down after alerting the celestial realm through the Heavenly Eye.
Empress Brigitte rushed over.
“Yuma, are you okay?”
“Uh, I’m fine.”
Yuma patted Brigitte’s shoulder, which wore a worried expression.
Bell slowly approached Yuma.
“…Sorry, I couldn’t handle it alone.”
Yuma shook his head.
“It was just that guy who was strong.”
Yuma glared at the High Elf, Luine, who was peeking out from behind the collapsed reception room wall.
“High Elf, I think we have some things to discuss.”
“…Eek!”
A sound of a kind never heard before escaped Luine’s lips.
“Follow me.”
Yuma, along with Michael and High Elf Luine, plus Empress Brigitte, gathered next to the destroyed reception room.
Silence enveloped the atmosphere inside the room. A chilling air filled the space.
Yuma aimed Balmung at High Elf Luine.
Swoosh—
The reason Yuma held his sword near Luine’s throat was simple.
“What’s the connection between your elves and the Celestial Beings?”
Luine had previously informed Yuma about the intentions of the Celestial Beings before they attacked. Yuma thus believed it necessary to strike a pose of intimidation for a moment.
“You better explain properly.”
To instill fear in Luine, in order to hear the clear truth.
“If you try to hide anything uselessly, I might have to wipe all your elves out.”
Yuma delivered a harsh threat with a stoic expression.
“Speak the truth, Luine.”
Tremble, tremble…
High Elf Luine shook violently.
Threatening to annihilate the elves. This was spoken right in front of the High Elf, whose position was pivotal among the elves.
Fury boiled within, but a greater fear surged from Luine’s toes.
Thus, despite disregarding the elven race, Luine couldn’t help but open the mouth.
After all, just moments ago, Yuma had witnessed the defeat of a top-tier Celestial Apostle.
And even more shocking was a single word spoken from the dead apostle Sarimun.
“…Did I really kill a god?”
-You were the one who killed God Incrinew, right?
Yuma tilted his head.
“You sure act like you didn’t know.”
Luine’s pupils quivered.
“I-I had no idea. Of course! If I had known, I would have grovelled in front of you at the racial meeting preparing for the demon world invasion!! How could I stand straight in front of the one who killed a god!”
“Well, you’re still standing pretty straight now.”
Thud—
At Yuma’s words, Luine immediately knelt.
“…I really didn’t know. In the celestial realm. That the Celestial Beings would do something like this.”
The green eyes hidden beneath the tangled green hair trembled violently.
It didn’t seem like she was lying.
Luine continued speaking.
“The World Tree might know that you killed a god. It sees most of what happens on this continent, where its roots are planted. However, the World Tree doesn’t share everything with the Elves. Only the Celestial Sovereign among the Celestial Beings has contact with the World Tree.”
Realizing that the World Tree, which seemed so cooperative and devoted to the Elves, had a hidden side was a revelation.
Luine’s pink lips parted.
“…So please, don’t doubt us Elves. I truly didn’t know.”
Duke Yuma looked at Luine, who knelt with her head bowed expressionlessly.
The fear embedded in her words was sincere.
Among the Elves, there were those who had the potential to contend with gods — the former kings.
But having the possibility to confront was different from actually killing.
There was no need to make an enemy of someone who had truly killed a god.
That would be madness.
Yuma opened his mouth again.
“I understand. I believe you.”
“Haah….”
A sigh of relief escaped Luine’s lips.
“In exchange for believing me, I’d like something useful as a gesture of trust between us. You still have it on you, the Spatial Pocket.”
“…Why would someone so powerful need anything?”
“Just because you’re rich doesn’t mean you don’t like money, right?”
“Hah….”
Luine let out a much deeper sigh than the previous one and rummaged through her Spatial Pocket.
*
Heavenly Realm.
Under the Giant Tree of the Heavenly Realm, a boy with white hair muttered while hanging his body against the tree.
“…Wow, what a brat.”
The boy, Arten the Celestial Sovereign, was taken aback by the words of Duke Yuma that he heard through the Heavenly Eye.
“I never thought I would hear a human say they’d kill an Evil God.”
The white-haired boy, Arten, recalled Yuma’s figure as captured in the Heavenly Eye. The man who had soared on a green dragon and stood beside the Heavenly Eye.
“This kid is strong, but….”
Is he strong enough that I can’t handle him?
Arten slowly shook his head. He hadn’t yet gathered enough celestial power to manifest directly. But once he brought him to the Heavenly Realm, he believed he would surely be able to subdue him.
He firmly believed in his own strength.
Standing stiffly to Arten’s left was a white-haired woman. The Valkyrie, Brenhild, opened her mouth.
“While subduing him might be difficult, abducting him to the Heavenly Realm won’t be too hard. We just need to get the author involved in the Celestial War.”
Arten smiled.
“Oh, that method works. As expected, Brenhild is smart.”
Arten gestured to Brenhild. She bowed slightly in response to his gesture. Arten gently stroked Brenhild’s long white hair.
He gently stroked Brenhild’s long, white hair.
“Since there are only a few left who have upgraded their strength to god-level… I’ll take one of them. The rest can be half-gods, and I’ll send five to expand the heavenly war effort. As long as I can bring them to the celestial realm, I can definitely subdue them. I’ll catch this insolent brat and turn them into a sword to fight against the Evil God.”
Arten’s white eyes sparkled.
“I’ll send them out again in a week. Get ready.”
*
Six days later.
Divine Realm.
Barbatos, known as the God of War and also referred to as the Battle God, was sitting right in front of a cliff.
Meditating. He was deeply immersed in the world of thoughts, manipulating mana and divine power simultaneously.
The dense aura flowing from Barbatos disturbed the atmosphere of the Divine Realm.
“Barbatos.”
Malphas, the crow-shaped Evil God, stood on the opposite side of the cliff where Barbatos was seated.
“…Are you going to manifest?”
At Malphas’s question, Barbatos slowly opened his eyes.
Swoosh—
The black-haired, red-eyed man, God Barbatos, shifted his upper body slightly while sitting cross-legged.
“I’ll manifest in the Intermediate World at dawn. Don’t bother me unnecessarily; just watch quietly.”
At Barbatos’s words, Malphas nodded vigorously. The crow’s head bobbed up and down.
“…Got it.”
The god before him, known as the Battle God, had a pathological dislike for anyone interrupting his fights.
Martial Arts.
The reason he spent years studying thousands of martial arts alone in the Divine Realm was because he was captivated by the thousands of techniques and growth possible with martial arts.
Barbatos was unlike any god. He didn’t enjoy being revered or receiving respect.
His extremely long life as an immortal god was almost boring. Thus, he had no choice but to be enchanted by martial arts.
In martial arts, countless branching paths exist with every single action. A minor hand motion can produce infinite outcomes.
Barbatos’s daily life revolved entirely around martial arts. After meditating, he would spar with the combat gods under his command from among the second-tier gods. Then, he would engage in combat against a near-infinite version of himself within the [Mirror Realm] he personally created.
Gods don’t require sleep, so the only thing resembling rest was meditation. Even while meditating, he would replay every sparring session in his mind.
Like playing Go.
Considering every possible scenario that comes his way, he determines how to act against all attacks.
“I’ll be off.”
Barbatos stood up.
He was the God of War. And in this world, war would never cease.
Thus, there were humans in the Intermediate World who believed in and revered Barbatos, the God of War and Struggle, even at this moment.
However, Barbatos had no reason to care about those humans. It was sufficient for him that when they revered him, he distributed his divine power in return. That level of divine power could easily be supplemented by the pure divine power he had accumulated in the temple until now.
Barbatos didn’t care about those humans at all. As long as they worshipped him and shared their faith, it was all good. He could easily cover that level of divine power with the refined divine energy he had accumulated in the temple up to now.
Barbatos had zero interest in the believers who initially worshipped him.
The faith of his followers was used solely to maintain his divinity. The admiration and reverence he received at the beginning were sweet, but that sensation dulled quickly.
God.
A being inherently great.
A completed being from birth.
Barbatos couldn’t stand the idea of being complete.
He had to move forward. That was the only way to bear this tedious eternity.
So he found himself fascinated by the martial arts created by humans. It was an action that made him feel a sense of growth.
Thus, he left the blessings granted based on human faith to the temple core, utilizing his divine power. He dedicated himself solely to honing his martial skills.
Through mastering martial arts, Barbatos felt a proactive emotion that even gods could move forward, which led him to roll up his sleeves and join the war in the divine realm when it was first proposed.
Pummeling gods of equal rank and annihilating them awakened a primal pleasure he believed could never exist for a deity.
Thus, he was referred to as the God of War, rather than by his original divine name.
Barbatos raised his right hand.
Vroom—
The God of War began to open a door to the Intermediate World.
*
Vroom────!
The door opened in the skies of the continent.
From the torn sky, a being with black hair and red eyes stepped out.
The God of War, Barbatos, had descended into the Intermediate World.
“Astes Empire.”
Confirming the location of the prey, ready to leap from the sky down below—
Whoosh—
Barbatos’s body suddenly halted in mid-air.
Heavenly Eye.
A gaze of the Celestial Sovereign overlooking the Intermediate World, a channel through which the Celestial Beings, aka Great Angels, descended, opened right in front of Barbatos.
And five Great Angels, with pure white bodies, appeared before him, shining with brilliance.
Barbatos opened his mouth.
“What’s up, you lot?”
The Great Angels, suddenly confronted with one of the Evil Gods, exchanged flustered glances.
“I—”
Vroom vroom vroom vroom!
A fierce aura oozed from Barbatos’s body.
“I, Barbatos, am asking you, insects.”
“…….”
The five Celestial Beings surrounded Barbatos.
Among them were three Great Angels: two with white hair and one who looked identical to the Celestial Being Duke Yuma had annihilated a week ago. The remaining two were Valkyries.
Yuma.
The God of War and the Celestial Beings faced off in the Intermediate World, both aiming for the same target.
Tension was at its peak.
