“……”
‘I can’t understand. Why are you so angry just because a trivial creature was killed?’
‘These fragile lives that grow carelessly. If one breaks, just find another. But what a strange obsession you have.’
‘Give it up. Dead toys don’t come back.’
Strange memories.
The current Ertarn of ‘now’ was a phrase never experienced or heard before, but for some reason, the vivid memory surfaced.
—Kraaaaaang!! This trivial creature!
From that mountain-sized transparent lion.
■
[? Hahahahaha]
[Wow! Transparent Lion!]
[Oh]
[What do you get if you catch that?]
[Looks super strong ;;]
[Let’s catch it]
[That’s so cool, Transparent Lion Hahaha]
The transparent lion roared.
As the earth trembled from its roar, Ertarn, who had been narrowing his brow, puffed up his body and took a defensive stance.
Now, Ertarn had grown to about 10m.
In contrast, he was still small compared to the lion made of semi-transparent platinum fur.
It might be transparent, but it wasn’t completely so; some color and form were still visible.
‘Not quite a spirit… feels like a spirit though.’
His body may not completely exist, but it could still interfere with the material world to some extent.
Depending on the situation, it could still materialize.
—Was it you who dared try to break my holy artifact?
“Believer?”
—Hah! Did you even know you were a believer trying to summon me?
The lion clicked its tongue and gazed at me with its gigantic pupil.
Due to its massive size, the pupil seemed big enough for dozens, if not hundreds, of me to fit inside.
—Only the ‘chosen one’ who inherits my power may use my holy artifact. If any trivial creature tries to use it recklessly, it’ll burn the caster.
“That’s a dangerous item.”
—Greatness often comes with danger.
Kuwung!
A gigantic front paw slammed the ground as a threat towards me.
Even as a semi-spirit, it seemed to somewhat affect the material world; the ground shook, forcing Ertarn to spread his hands to shield against the impact.
—Oh. So you are the god of this place. I’ve never seen a god whose body is made of stone.
“I. Know. You.”
—You know me? I see you for the first time today.
“That’s. True. But. I. Know.”
—…?
The transparent lion showed a puzzled expression.
It was indeed true they had never seen each other before.
There was no record of a transparent lion in the records, and the first intelligent being Ertarn saw was a human.
‘But it’s not the past.’
The darkened Ertarn from the past had seen the transparent lion.
This transparent lion must have appeared multiple times in Ertarn’s recurring dreams, and that memory likely felt like déjà vu.
“You. Bad. Strange. Sound. Speak.”
—…This god seems a bit out of their mind. Well, everyone has their quirks.
They’re all a bit strange in their own way, but…
Grrrr!
— Good! A new god and an arrogant believer. This should be entertaining.
“What’s entertaining?”
The lion’s massive eyes emit a golden glow.
Responding to the light, eight teeth float up into the sky, transforming into a crown.
A crown made of sharply risen teeth.
You can feel an immense power emanating from the tooth crown.
[Oh]
[Crown?]
[Modeling]
— I don’t like it, but collecting all my holy artifacts means you’re qualified. Now, wear the crown.
“What happens if I wear it?”
— You will gain immense power and abilities. You’ll also obtain a sort of semi-immortality.
“Immortality?”
— That’s right. You must have seen your father.
“I did.”
He brought down the hammer and took all the holy artifacts.
— How many years do you think your father lived?
“200 years?”
— Wrong.
“Oh, shoot.”
[Hahahahahaha]
[Shoot, that’s funny]
[Whoa, what?]
[200 years is a long life]
Usually, a knight or mage born with mana lives that long.
Having mana means your body ages slower and you have fewer illnesses, so of course, you could live longer.
Beyond that, it’s tough unless you’re of a particularly long-lived race or using some sort of trick.
— That guy lived over 500 years.
“He lived a long time.”
— All thanks to my holy artifacts. Just wearing the crown is like borrowing the power of a god.
“Hmm…”
— Hurry up and put it on. You won’t be at a loss.
“But why did he give it to the other princes?”
If it was such an important artifact, he wouldn’t have given it away due to his personality.
In reality, he distributed one to each prince for the succession competition, but he himself held five.
‘No wonder he looked more robust.’
If he had held all eight instead of just five, he would have been perfectly fine without any ailments.
The transparent lion chuckled as if it were nothing serious.
— It must be exhausting. Creatures that crumble in less than 100 years are weak. The body might be strong, but the soul is frail; it’s a natural outcome.
“Hmm…”
— Of course, if you’re not of human blood, you could easily live beyond that…
“I don’t think so.”
Life can become tedious.
Five hundred years is a long time, and no matter how much you’re a king, if you lived that long, you would have enjoyed everything worth enjoying.
‘But.’
“My father’s eyes were sharp. Those weren’t the eyes of someone who had given up on life. They burned brighter than ever.”
I’ve seen countless people who’ve given up on life.
In my past, having wandered endless battlefields, I’ve witnessed countless people in despair.
But the king was different.
‘If he was going to give up, he would have long ago.’
He wouldn’t have let me hit him with a hammer twice for no reason.
It wouldn’t be right to let you go.
–What are you doing…
Grab.
I catch the crown.
As I imbue the crown with holy power, it starts to rattle and emit a loud noise.
In that moment, the transparent lion noticed my reckless move and tried to intervene, but it was already too late.
Boom!!
—…!
The power bound to the crown had long since shattered and broken.
Teeth fragments rolled across the floor, destroyed along with the crown.
Guess things went south.
“Mind control, huh? Somehow, it completely makes them believe and follow you…”
Kwahhhh!!!
A gigantic front paw slams into me.
The overwhelming force shattered the surroundings, sending countless fragments spiraling into the air.
It’s quite a strong force, but…
—This…!
“You. Don’t get cocky.”
The stone wall of Ertarn blocked it first.
As she gathered her hands, the entire village was enveloped in a half-dome of stone, moving somewhere far away.
A display of her earth power to escape the attack range.
Deep steam erupted from the transparent lion’s breath.
—A mere creature believes it can challenge a god!! Alright! If your wish is to die, I’ll kill you along with your god!
“You’re just annoyed because I hit a nerve.”
—Anyway, those who believe and follow me! How dare you destroy such a singular great glory like this!
“If it was true great glory, would you have given up?”
The king would have established the kingdom based on the power of gathering all eight holy artifacts.
But over a long time, he abandoned those artifacts.
I don’t know why he made such a choice, but one thing’s for sure: this crown isn’t that great.
Boom…!
[Oh]
[What the hell???]
[Wow]
[What the hell is that]
And in the past, someone putting on a new crown caused an issue.
‘Strong enough to influence that celestial being.’
Golden, semi-transparent flames rose from the center of the transparent lion.
Each one matched or exceeded a small castle, and there were over one hundred of them.
As the fireballs surged down, Ertarn slammed the ground hard.
Kwahahahaha!!
A hand of the earth shot out and swallowed all the fireballs.
With all its attacks failing, the transparent lion grit its teeth and tried to crush her with its massive body.
If a lion the size of a mountain tried to crush Ertarn, who was only about 10m tall, she could be easily squashed…
“I’m big too.”
—?!!
Ertarn is also large.
In an instant, she grew to a size rivaling that of the transparent lion and threw a punch.
Boom!! As her fist landed squarely on its incorporeal body, the lion’s expression crumpled as it was pushed back violently.
This is truly a battle of the giants.
“This is fun.”
[LOL]
[Lily isn’t fighting…?]
“Not going to fight…?”
“Look at them just watching, LOL!”
“It’s fun, though.”
“Feels like watching a mecha robot show.”
“Pop!”
“A war of gods, d*mn!”
“The celestial being throws punches, LOL!”
“So awesome.”
I took out some popcorn and settled into a comfy chair.
Of course, everything around me was turning into chaos due to their fight, but I had cast a shield around myself, so I wasn’t in any danger.
In the meantime, the furious transparent lion shot bursts of golden energy from its mouth.
At least enough power to melt a lower angel or a demon race.
“What purpose is this?”
Why is a lion shooting breath from its mouth?
I should seriously consider the identity of that monster, but unfortunately, the breath didn’t last long.
“Quack!”
—Ugrgh!
“If you block the mouth, it can’t shoot, right?”
The surface of Ertarn turned slightly reddish as she shoved her fist into the transparent lion’s mouth and hit it hard.
Ertarn’s physique might have been similar to the transparent lion’s, but her mass was overwhelming compared to the semi-ethereal lion.
For her, who could stretch and shrink her body as she pleased, she could deal a blow with a weight dozens of times greater in one hit.
“Reducing her body volume for a stronger hit, she concentrated mass into her fist. Thanks to that, not only was the breath blocked, but she could deliver a much stronger hit.”
As evidence, the lion flew far away, completely knocked out.
Surely it’s thanks to the thousands, maybe tens of thousands of repetitions that her battle sense was pretty good for a ‘first’ time.
[Lily’s commentary, LOL!]
“Why are you commentating instead of fighting?”
“LOL, LOL, LOL, LOL!”
“Go, Lily!”
“That celestial being is really something!”
“Is the celestial being winning?”
—Kraaah!! This, this damn rock!
“It didn’t die. The lion is tough.”
—Grrr… Dare to bring shame upon me!!
Grrrrrrr…
—I will not forgive!!
The lion roared in fury.
A roar that was on another level compared to before.
I was expecting the second phase to start, but instead, I furrowed my brows and stood up from my seat.
This isn’t a second phase…
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
—Kill that damn rock!
—Who dares touch our lion!?
—Let’s kill that cocky god!
—Vengeance for the lion!
“Calling friends…?”
Other gods from around the world began to gather.
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