Chapter: 213
What emerged on the battlefield was none other than the gods who had Indra as their leader— the Lokapala.
“Lokapala? Why on earth are they here?”
The Lokapala had vanished somewhere after their leader Indra sacrificed his own heart. So why are they now suddenly appearing in the midst of battle?
I doubt anyone among us, including the kids, knows the answer.
“I heard they went into hiding after Indra’s suicide.”
“Then why are they showing up now?”
The kids seemed flustered by the sudden appearance of the Lokapala.
These gods, who had hidden away for the past decade, why are they now charging into battle?
I don’t know what they’re thinking… Perhaps observing their behavior calmly will reveal it eventually.
“The Lokapala have joined the fray…! Oh! They’re attacking Ennead!”
As Sylphid gasped in surprise, Ennead looked bewildered by the sudden ambush from behind.
Engaged in a frontal battle with Olympus, Ennead was now caught between two forces, and despite their confusion, they continued fighting.
The sudden intervention of Lokapala acted like a lifeline for the struggling Olympus.
No matter how strong the gods of Ennead are, taking on both sides at once seemed a bit much, as they slowly began to be pushed back.
“Hmm… I wonder how this will play out now.”
“Right? The gods of Ennead may be strong, but can they really handle both sides at once?”
“More importantly, why are the Lokapala here? They’ve been MIA for a decade!”
I pondered while watching the fierce battle among the gods.
Perhaps…
“Could it be that Indra had something planned?”
“Indra? The leader of Lokapala who pulled out his own heart?”
“Exactly. If Indra had something in mind, it could make sense.”
I don’t know what Indra was thinking, but it wouldn’t be easy to grasp the logic of someone so unhinged they sacrificed their own heart.
Still, considering their actions… it’s reasonable to assume they are acting with intention.
As I chatted with the kids, the battlefield slowly transitioned into a lull.
It seemed Ennead wanted to crush Olympus in one fell swoop, but the appearance of Lokapala had thwarted that ambition.
From Olympus’s perspective, they could view the sudden ally, Lokapala, as a lucky break to survive a dire situation.
The fierce flames of battle began to wane gradually.
However, this does not signal the end of the war.
With the tenth anniversary of Indra’s heart sacrifice approaching, the gods would not stop fighting until they offered the Piece of Baal once more.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“So, you’re saying the war began to offer the Piece of Baal to the Goddess of Life?”
“Yes. Initially, the god named Indra was able to safely pass by sacrificing his heart, which contained the Piece of Baal, but things became problematic after that.”
The Dragon Priestess spoke in a calm voice.
Sacrificing a god’s heart. Such a thing is beyond my human comprehension.
“At that time, there were three gods who had the Piece of Baal. One of them stayed holed up in their domain and did nothing.”
“Three? All of them were avatars of Baal?”
“Correct. It was Odin, Zeus, and Amun. Those three, along with Indra who had pulled out his heart, formed a faction of gods.”
Four gods…
“Among them, Odin holed up with the Aesir gods, refusing to budge. Most of the Aesir are bloodthirsty, so any direct confrontations would have guaranteed significant damage against them.”
“Odin…”
That name sounded familiar. I think I came across it while investigating the legends of giants.
“Thus, Zeus and Amun ignored the reclusive Aesir and waged war against each other. In the process, the tangled interests of numerous gods led to… a war involving most of the gods.”
“Is that the War of the Gods…?”
“Indeed. The War of the Gods. Although it almost ended in a day with Ennead’s victory, for some reason, thanks to the Lokapala, who joined to assist Olympus, they managed to survive against Ennead.”
“Ennead? Olympus? Lokapala?”
The Dragon Priestess calmly explained in response to my questions.
“You remember I said? The four gods with the Piece of Baal formed factions. The gods following Zeus form Olympus, those following Amun form Ennead, and the gods who followed Indra, who first pulled out his heart, are Lokapala. Together with the Aesir, they were the four major factions of the pantheon.”
“The four major powers in the pantheon…? There’s no record of that anywhere!”
“Most of the records from that time have been erased, making it hard to find anything. What can be found is either a tiny bit of information that was overlooked or intentionally exposed.”
The Dragon Priestess’s words delivered quite the shock.
I was aware that the gods of today’s pantheon were somewhat different from those in the past, but… intentionally erased information?
Was it similar to how Baal’s information got wiped out? For what purpose?
“That’s not something to discuss now; let’s stick to the War of the Gods.”
“Ah, right.”
Thus, the Dragon Priestess continued her tale.
“The war between Olympus and Ennead lasted quite a while—about a year.”
“A year…”
“Of course, it wasn’t a non-stop battle. Even gods would need rest, especially in a life-or-death conflict.”
War… the War of the Gods…
Human wars are terrifying enough, but how much more dreadful is a war among gods?
I couldn’t even begin to imagine.
“The War of the Gods dragged on for a long time. Countless gods lost their faith and fell into decline, collapsing as they had to engage in a war when they were supposed to care for humans and gather devotion. Naturally, losing faith was quite expected.”
“Faith…”
“Losing faith, which is life, currency, and power for gods, is critical. But in the end, the victor was decided.”
The Dragon Priestess conveyed the information as if it were no big deal.
“The winner…”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“I! Zeus! Have defeated Amun!!!”
The year-long war finally came to an end.
A spear forged of lightning pierced Amun’s heart, transforming into powerful bolts that incinerated Amun’s form.
Even though Amun possessed the flesh of Baal, could he really endure having his heart pierced and his entire being set ablaze? Or was the already shattered body of Baal simply singed by Zeus’s lightning?
Amun’s body, which had once contained Baal’s essence, shattered into pieces.
“The war is over!!”
With Zeus’s triumphant shout, the surviving gods of Olympus erupted in cheers.
A war that claimed the lives of many gods. The gods of both Olympus and Ennead, along with numerous gods without any factions, all fell in this battle.
The majority of casualties came from Lokapala, with almost all of its members collapsing.
What was Indra thinking? What requests did he make of his followers?
To fight without caring for their lives, not even for their own sake.
Indra had already reincarnated as a human… If possible, I’d like to visit his soul and ask.
“Goddess of Life! I apologize for the delay! Here is the Piece of Baal, just as you requested!”
Zeus spread out a cloth draped over his shoulder and gathered the scattered remains of Amun’s body—the flesh of Baal—onto the cloth before tying it all together.
“I offer Amun’s possession of Baal’s flesh to you!”
I reached my hand towards the flesh Zeuze offered, and it flew towards me, arriving at my side.
Shards of Baal’s flesh… Hmm. Amun did resemble Baal to an unsettling degree; perhaps it was just the body of Baal itself that made him look that way.
Well, it didn’t really matter.
“Looks like a mess, doesn’t it? Amun managed to hold this body together quite well.”
“Seems so.”
Although the soul was absent… I was relieved I could gather like this.
Although it was still missing an eye and a crown, it seemed it would only be a matter of time before I could collect those too.
“However, considering that a surprising number of gods lost their divinity during the war, will that be alright?”
“Well… were there any gods among those who vanished that absolutely had to remain?”
“There were a few for sure. They didn’t completely disappear, but…”
As long as they hadn’t completely perished or moved to the underworld, it should be fine.
“If it’s just losing their divinity, I think I can revive them later, so let’s focus on gathering them for now.”
With my faith, they could regain their divinity. I’ll need to make the most of this leftover faith.
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