Duke Yuma could deduce why the gods from the Divine Realm weren’t coming down any further.
The notification from the status window revealed the rules about the gods in the Divine Realm.
The number of gods who can descend from the Divine Realm to the Intermediate World is limited based on a 30-day period.
It’s not about sending subordinates; the total number of gods who can manifest in physical bodies is just ten.
Even that can become impossible if a lot of Tier 1 gods are included, as all the divine power for dimensional travel through the entrance passage of descent would be consumed, sometimes making even ten impossible.
Ten.
‘It’s not that I can’t be killed by ten or a number close to it… or maybe they just don’t want to be the test subjects themselves.’
Perhaps all those who come down just for some fun human hunting or actively building their divinity through destruction and restoration had already descended.
Yuma spoke toward the air.
“Hurry up and properly tell me about the current situation in the Divine Realm, before I turn a blind eye to the crisis of the entire continent and sit still in this Geherrgen continent.”
Yuma was throwing a not-so- subtle threat toward the outside forces that had dragged him here.
The purpose was communication.
He wanted to have a face-to-face conversation instead of just receiving messages through the notification of the status window like before.
Just like the last time he faced that silhouette that seemed to emit a halo of light.
And he didn’t think the outside forces, particularly from the Goddess of Earth and Eternity, Leah, would ignore the mumbling just uttered.
Unlike when they concealed some parts about the Divine Realm, this time there was a clear potential, and now that he had become a god, he thought there was no way they could just overlook this type of threat.
And Yuma’s prediction was spot on.
[Confronting.]
The same message appeared as when he faced Leah last time.
A flash of light lit up his vision.
The sound of wind rustled.
Swaaaaa….
Before his eyes lay a world bathed in green.
Vast lands and lush forests filled his sight.
The Goddess of Earth and Eternity wasn’t just a silhouette of light anymore, as she presented herself in her complete form this time.
With a harmonious gradient of blonde and red hair, the goddess Leah revealed her true shape.
She wore a pure white robe on her physical body.
Her pink lips slowly parted.
“Hello, God of War.”
Leah, who greeted him calmly, continued speaking.
Nenn Leah continued speaking.
“I thought I had sufficiently informed you about the tasks at hand through the status notification bar. But it seems you’re feeling a bit lacking.”
Duke Yuma finally gazed at Leah’s face and spoke up.
“I need to know everything you know.”
Yuma’s azure eyes stared into Leah’s crimson ones.
“I can’t keep being tossed around like a puppet by you guys forever.”
Leah slowly shook her head.
“…Well, if you hadn’t acted as you did now, you wouldn’t have been able to protect everyone around you. Don’t you feel that now?”
There was no fault in Leah’s words.
Starting from defeating God Incrinew, killing the Evil God Barbatos, and Yuma, becoming a God himself, slaying one Evil God and three other Gods under their banner.
All those actions were indeed necessary to protect Yuma and his allies. However, there was a clear difference between doing it knowingly and doing it without awareness.
“What I mean is, I need to know as much as you do.”
At Yuma’s words, Leah let out a faint sigh.
“Understood. I will tell you everything I know. However, the current state of our conversation cannot be maintained for long without the Gods of the Divine Realm noticing. This verbal interaction is only possible because you have fully become a God.”
There was an implication to ask questions quickly.
Leah added one more thing.
“Oh, Yuma. I don’t know the details about how you were summoned to this world. The God responsible for that is in a situation where they cannot meet anyone from the outside realm right now.”
Yuma clicked his tongue internally.
The very first question he intended to ask was blocked even before it left his mouth.
“Do you know the game called Loop Blood?”
Just in case, he asked.
Leah tilted her head.
“Game…? Loop Blood? What’s that?”
Of course.
This Goddess was clueless about how she got involved.
Yuma decided to get straight to the point.
“You must know about the situation in the Divine Realm—except for the Eight Evil Gods. Explain what the situation is like.”
“Explain it to me.”
Yuma continued to question about the parts he needed to know.
“How many gods are there in the Divine Realm? And how many are in the Outer God Realm where the ‘Goddess of Earth and Eternity’, Leah, resides?”
“There are about 500 gods included in the domain of the Divine Realm, which is primarily made up of the five gods known as the Evil Gods.”
Evil Gods.
The eight strongest gods who transcend ranks among those in the Divine Realm.
Of those eight, three have already vanished from this world at the hands of Yuma.
Now, only five Evil Gods remain.
Yuma has killed three gods, but they were not the Evil Gods transcending ranks.
“The reason I emphasized that you should kill the Evil Gods, a.k.a. the Deities of the Divine Realm, is that they are the backbone leading it. The Divine Realm flows according to the laws and rules set by the gods who have risen in ranks after slaying others.”
Leah continued.
“There’s no need to wipe out all 500 of the Deities; if you properly deal with the heads, the Evil Gods, you can purify the Divine Realm again. Among them, there are gods who actively participated in the war due to the influence of the Evil Gods, but most simply moved along with the established powers.”
Yuma felt a sense of crisis at the thought of having to fight against 500 gods despite Leah’s somewhat confident words.
Yuma then began to inquire about the Outer God Realm, formed by the defeated gods from the war. This was the domain that included Leah right in front of him.
“I’ve heard that the Outer God Realm currently has a barrier set up covering a third of the Divine Realm. How many are there in the Outer God Realm?”
Leah let out a light sigh.
“About 200.”
They were clearly outnumbered.
Since the gods who led the Divine Realm war were all on the side of the Divine Realm, it was inevitable that the number of battle gods would be significantly lower.
“But there are also some gods in the Outer God Realm who transcend ranks. There are three of them.”
Leah continued.
“So, if the God of War could somehow take out one of the remaining five Evil Gods, we could turn the situation in the Outer God Realm around a bit.”
If Yuma took out one more Evil God, the Divine Realm side would have four gods of rank, and the Outer God Realm would have three, creating a gap that might allow for a variable, even if they were not equal.
Yuma frowned slightly.
“That ‘how’ seems to be the part you all should have prepared for. I know that as the Deity of the Intermediate World, I still lack the divine power to ascend to the Divine Realm.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
Shadows fell across Leah’s face.
“…That’s right. Our side is endlessly digging for ways to address that.”
Yuma nodded.
“Anyway, it’s an issue that can’t be resolved quickly. We actually got here sooner than expected, after a year and a half of work.”
Leah smiled bitterly.
“That’s true.”
“As you said, find a gap somehow. Whether it’s finding a way to send down one of the Evil Gods… or discovering a method to dramatically boost the Intermediate World’s mythical power, we have to find one of them.”
Both are theoretically impossible.
That rigid conventional wisdom had to be shattered.
“Understood.”
Yuma thought it was time to end this conversation.
“For now, I’ll close the door to the Divine Realm and kill the five Gods trapped in the Intermediate World so they can’t ascend. That should raise the mythical power.”
Leah looked at Yuma, who casually spoke about killing five Gods. It was hard to call him arrogant.
“Yes, the Intermediate World’s mythical power will significantly increase.”
After all, this was someone who had already demonstrated divine slaying abilities.
Even before becoming a God.
“Eliminating invading external enemies is the history that raises mythical power the most.”
Tsu tsu tsu tsu…
Yuma gazed slowly at the fading verdant scenery.
“Seems like time’s up.”
Leah said quietly.
“Yes.”
The space of their meeting was dissipating.
“Please, continue to overcome everything as you have until now.”
Yuma’s vision was once again engulfed in light.
Confirming that he had returned entirely to reality, Yuma reflected on the thoughts just before meeting Leah.
He decided to implement the salvation of the Silmaria Continent immediately.
Yuma left his quarters.
In the center of the hallway stood Royan, the chief attendant, an elderly man with neatly combed white hair.
“I need to call for reinforcements.”
Royan bowed his head.
“Please, go ahead.”
“Gather all combat-capable individuals from the various races currently residing in the imperial palace. And the Empire’s Second Knights’ Order. Gather Bell, Cloney, Hestia, and Yermael.”
“What about the location?”
Yuma pondered briefly about the venue.
The imperial palace’s front was a safe choice.
However, he contemplated the significance.
Where would it align with his intention to create a divine army?
The conclusion came quickly.
“To the Temple of the God of War.”
