The question of causality approaching Yuma took the form of a heavy black smoke.
It seemed to be trying to crush Yuma’s body from above, like a giant wave crashing down to cover him.
Crack—! Smash—!
And just before it could directly touch Yuma’s body, it bent and refracted.
Achievements.
The accomplishments Yuma had built up in this Intermediate World allowed him to overcome all questions of causality.
– Impressive.
The Join Tribe member Ardorlac quietly marveled. The human before him steadily advanced, having slowly consumed his own half-god level spirit.
There was no need to ask what kind of achievements he had accomplished.
It was because the spirits of those he had killed appeared behind Yuma.
Warriors at the extreme limits of human potential.
Half-god beings.
Both the Great Demon King and Demon Lord, countless demons.
And the gods of both.
-…
Achievements beyond what a human could accomplish.
Ardorlac thought as he watched Yuma walking towards the upper levels of the staircase. Perhaps this author might actually pull it off.
*
Six months.
It had been six months since Yuma had vanished.
He disappeared last December.
Now, nearly half a year had passed since the New Year.
The members of the Astes Empire, who counted themselves as Yuma’s companions, could only be bewildered by his sudden disappearance. It was only natural, given that half a year had passed, not just a month or two.
During those six months, the people of the Astes Empire also felt the changes like a great upheaval that had occurred in the Intermediate World.
Although the people from the Gehergen Continent were unaware of the invasion of the Divine Realm on the opposing Silmaria Continent, they did know of the catastrophe that had happened on the continent beyond the sea, the Karmark Continent.
They had directly sailed over from the Belmon family of the Lehen Kingdom, which was at the edge of the Karmark Continent, to call for rescue.
-…It felt as if they were gods.
Brigitte easily believed the words of the terrified vassal of the count. The knight from the Belmon family, who thought he’d be treated as a fool for speaking nonsense, was taken aback when Brigitte nodded along and accepted his words without question.
The descent of Incrinew.
The descent of Barbatos.
Having witnessed it with her own eyes, Brigitte found it believable that the Belmon knight was telling the truth.
It wouldn’t be so strange from Brigitte’s perspective if an Evil God had descended onto another continent, another nation.
It wasn’t that strange for Brigitte to think that an Evil God had descended upon another country.
From the perspective of the Gehergen continent, it was just something that would naturally instill a strong sense of vigilance.
Why were they invading the close neighbor, the Karmarc continent, but not launching an attack on the Gehergen continent?
Brigitte could easily deduce the reason.
‘Yuma.’
It was because of the existence of Yuma.
A God.
A rather strong God, no less, who had obliterated two gods in this world and was now firmly established on the continent.
However, that being hadn’t returned for six months.
“When is he coming back… Yuma?”
With a complex expression, Brigitte gazed up at the sky.
‘…Yuma.’
She could never have guessed that Yuma was undergoing a transformation to achieve godhood.
She simply thought he was temporarily stepping away to elevate his state further.
But after investigating the exact place where the Empire’s third seat, Ella Brighton, pointed out Yuma had vanished, her thoughts shifted slightly.
‘A God.’
In the past, dating back to the very beginning, there was an extraordinarily strong member of the Join Tribe named Ardorlac, who reached demigod status. It was said that he aspired to fully achieve godhood.
It wasn’t strange for someone who had achieved the status of a demigod through sheer force to dream of godhood; however, just because it was a worthy challenge didn’t guarantee success.
That Ardorlac ultimately failed.
It was recorded that he could not fully pass through the corridor known as the Transcendence Altar, leading to the complete obliteration of his life, a fact she learned through the High Elf Luine.
According to that record, after Ardorlac’s failure to attain godhood, all sorts of deadly natural disasters suddenly struck the land of the Join Tribe, resulting in the annihilation of two-thirds of the Join Kingdom.
The surviving members of the Join Tribe reportedly scattered across the continent, fleeing to find a way to survive from the wrath of the god-like disasters.
While Brigitte was deeply absorbed in reading the record, Luine, who was sitting next to her, spoke up.
“The record says natural disasters, but it’s highly probable that the gods, angered by a being not born as a god trying to reach godhood, delivered clan-level punishment.”
Divine punishment.
Brigitte felt her whole body tremble.
Fear.
The absence of Yuma instilled an overwhelming sense of dread.
“I am… so powerless.”
She realized just how much she had relied on Yuma all this time.
Her vague belief that the Empire would be safe was entirely based on the existence of Yuma.
It was a being.
But right now, he was gone.
The members of the empire that existed in the Divine Realm had already returned a month ago. This was due to the rapidly deteriorating situation in the surrounding continent since last month.
Amidst all this, Yuma had set up precautionary measures for unexpected events. The elves and lycanthropes had proposed to regularly exchange concerns with each other.
All of this was something Yuma had arranged in advance. It was a request to step in and help if something were to happen on the continent or if signs of trouble appeared.
Thanks to their proactive assistance, Brigitte was able to establish defensive lines in advance against a potential invasion from the Evil Gods.
*
In the Divine Realm.
─Hall of All Gods.
The Evil God of Horrific Fortification, Malphas, looked upon the gods standing before him.
This time, the gathered assembly of gods numbered almost fifty.
A massive black crow slowly opened its beak.
“There must be those who have sent their kin to watch over the Intermediate World along with me.”
At Malphas’s words, the first and second-tier gods nodded their heads in agreement.
“And among them, there must be a god who has closely observed the Gehergen Continent.”
Again, several gods nodded in acknowledgment.
One of them spoke up.
A pale-skinned goddess dressed in dark robes resembling mourning attire.
The Mother of Sinister Charity, Galua.
Galua slowly opened her mouth.
“There is no one.”
Galua licked her purple-tinged lips.
“Wherever I looked in the Astes Empire, I could not find a trace of that human, Yuma, the one who killed two of the Evil Gods.”
Yuma was absent.
At Galua’s confident words, the eyes of the diverse gods widened simultaneously.
“Are you really saying that Yuma is not in the empire?”
The God of Steel and War, Duke, tilted his head towards Galua, questioning her.
Galua, despite Duke’s probing tone, maintained an air of calm.
Her violet lips parted again.
“In the Astes Empire where Yuma supposedly lived, and in any part of the Gehergen Continent, I could not find any signs of Yuma.”
Galua’s conclusion, after sending out her butterfly kin to surveil the continent, was that Yuma currently did not exist anywhere on this land.
“I started to spread my kin three months ago.”
According to Galua’s findings, three months ago.
The massive crow, Malphas, slowly nodded his head.
“I also began dispersing my kin three months ago. Yuma. It is predicted that the current state of that human is serious enough that he cannot engage in any activities.”
“It’s been three months. Yuma’s condition is predicted to be severe enough that he can’t do anything.”
Hearing Malphas’s prediction, Galua added one more thing.
“He might be dead. The fact that a human could kill a god is already absurd. He’s killed two, so it’s not strange if his body and soul have deteriorated to the point of death as a reaction.”
More gods began to nod in agreement with Galua, the Mother of Sinister Charity, rather than denying her words.
The inference that someone who killed two gods has deteriorated as a consequence to the point of death seemed quite valid.
“If he’s gone or in bad shape… isn’t this our chance? Let’s tear him apart.”
The blue-haired god, Duke, grinned wickedly.
“He dared to oppose the gods.”
Malphas weakly flapped his wings and stepped forward again.
“For now, let’s send our minions to check if he’s truly absent. If he’s really gone, even our minions would create a bit of havoc.”
The gods, including Galua, flared their mighty divine powers in agreement.
The gods with combat-type minions armed them with great care.
“We must mark their location.”
A massive god, resembling a mix of a scorpion and a centipede, muttered.
It was Yenkal, the God of Shallow and Deep Armies.
Many gods aligned with Yenkal’s words and prepared their minions.
*
Squeeeeeek!
Bell was swinging her sword alone in the outdoor training ground.
The sword blazed with a clear sword aura like a flame.
Master.
She was endlessly honing the swordsmanship passed down to her by Yuma.
“If it takes this long, you should explain it in detail.”
Bell gritted her teeth, recalling Yuma’s expressionless face.
“It’s worrying…”
Wherever he was, she believed he would definitely come back.
But this time, the absence felt too long.
Vrooom!
Bell began to swing her sword seriously again, unleashing the sword styles she learned from Yuma.
“When you come back, just one hit, okay?”
As a trade-off for the anxiety, she planned to hit him just once.
As she was busily moving her arms, she suddenly stopped.
“…What is it?”
Kiiiiiing!
The transparent stone in front of the palace started to shake.
This was a danger detection barrier set by the great angels from the heavenly realms.
Bell quickly lifted her head and looked to the sky.
Something was falling down.
Very large. Very many things.
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