As Agra observed the wreckage of the dungeon, he let out an uhaha. The demon of eternal war is not something that can be easily crushed.
The very first man to launch the signal of destruction across the continent, a nightmare that toppled countless nations, and a monster that led dozens of battlefronts by himself, is now being suppressed and killed by his own subordinates.
“What a fantastic plan you have. You said you would torment the Apostle of God, but what is this? Did I misunderstand? Was the real intention to torment your own allies?”
Agra scoffed at the Pope while checking on the situation of the other Evil Gods revived on the land.
The flames that were supposed to engulf the land upon resurrection are now watching their own flames go out, unable to escape from the mountains.
The one who should lead the world to emptiness, where nothing is anything and anything can be, is gradually being consumed by darkness.
The darkness that was supposed to reveal itself afterward has long since extinguished, and judging by the current situation, there seems to be no difference from destruction.
In the end, everything the Pope prepared will likely extinguish without inflicting any damage on the Apostle of God.
“Why don’t you just throw it all away now? Seems like there’s no difference regardless of what you plan to do?”
With the situation like this, will the Pope’s original objective truly be realized?
That’s a hopeful assumption. How can one expect victory against the Apostle of God who is approaching while laying all his cards on the table?
“Certainly, it seems the Apostle knows everything I have planned. Truly the wisdom of one chosen by Lord Jushin.”
“So will you just sit there and take it?”
“Hmm. Honestly, there’s nothing bad about just losing.”
If it is possible to lose by the Miracle of God, then that’s a glorious event in itself. There’s no reason to be filled with resentment and sadness.
“I declared that I would be a trial for that person, so I must prepare something different.”
However, I made a promise to the Apostle.
That I would be a trial for you.
That person is currently approaching me as an incredibly high trial, and if I do nothing, doesn’t that make me a liar?
“Most of the things that person is doing are possible because it’s inside the dungeon. They wouldn’t dare commit such extraordinary conduct outside.”
“What’s it to you?”
“Let’s end the dungeon.”
The dungeon’s rampage is a phenomenon that occurs when an enormous amount of monsters emerges beyond what the dungeon can contain.
But if we twist that a little, by making it impossible for the dungeon to contain anything, we can artificially cause a rampage.
If we end the dungeon through the Authority of the End, something quite interesting may happen.
“Prepare while the third dungeon is being attacked.”
“I can’t see that happening.”
“Are you going to interfere with me?”
“No. I just wanted to express that it’s physically impossible. Look at me. We are already right before the third dungeon is attacked.”
As Agra watched the bewildered face of his old subordinate, he smirked.
“Your end is approaching.”
“Your end is the same.”
“Not quite. If you fail, my end will be directed far away.”
The Pope, without saying a word, smiled at Agra and then exited the room with the sealed orbs.
“Your Majesty, what has happened?”
“I’m thinking of changing the place for the Evil God to resurrect.”
“Is this sudden?”
“There’s far too little chaos on the continent. Because the Apostle of God is too capable, all the sorrow, tears, and pain that should have been rampant in the world do not exist anymore.”
What fills the land now is hope for the future.
People are quietly moving forward, looking at the light of the Apostle of God.
They are trying to do what they can during a time when they could fight, bleed, seek riches, feel jealousy, and despair.
Certainly, this is the right thing to do, but for the distant future, it’s inevitable to crush their hope.
To let the great Lord Jushin govern the world alone, small hopes must be trampled, and chaos must be summoned.
“I’m going to execute the rejected plan. Gather everyone.”
“Your Majesty, that—”
“If you’re ready to fall into hell, you should have finished that a long time ago. It’s better to fall to the bottom of hell than to flounder out of fear of punishment.”
“…Understood.”
The Pope hummed a tune and used his authority on the closed door.
*
“Old man. You’re actually going to do that crazy thing? Well, I’m not going to stop you. Either way, what I have to do stays the same. Go ahead and give it your best shot. Let the guys here put up a real fight.”
Having cut off contact, Lasha casually tossed the crystal ball aside and stretched.
“Lady Lasha, what did you discuss?”
“Something you little bastards don’t need to know.”
Those near her bowed respectfully even in their seemingly ferocious demeanor.
To the followers of the God of Destruction, Lasha was like another god themselves.
“Tch. You worthless bastards.”
Lasha hated their politeness.
What value is there in subordinates who have some power but never think to rise and instead bow down?
Trash who entrust their goals to others have no right to live.
If she had her way, she’d kill them right away and face the enemy alone, but if she touched them, their god would likely do something irritating. Dammit.
“Get up, you idiots. It’s time to fight. You’re ready to be meat shields, right?”
“For the destruction and return of the world, I would gladly do so.”
Those serving the God of Destruction were all strange in their own way.
Among those who worship the Evil God, who is normal anyway, these ones were worse.
The current world is twisted, and they believe that returning it to a primitive state through destruction is the only way to protect it, casually taking their lives for granted.
They do not aspire to be strong.
That’s why Lasha kept her distance from the followers of the God of Destruction even after becoming the Apostle and openly displayed her disdain whenever they met.
“Then get lost quickly.”
“Understood.”
After the disgusting bastards left, Lasha watched the troops rushing from afar with satisfaction.
Here they come, Benedict Allen.
I expected you to come here.
To ultimately stop me, you had no choice but to come.
As if she had fallen in love, Lasha melted as she gazed at the knight in black armor, then took a quick look at the dungeon behind her and jumped down to the ground.
A long time has passed since that first duel, but it remains vivid.
It was such a satisfying fight.
I even said I wanted to be killed, thinking this is enough.
But that guy never granted me death.
While babbling nonsense about how his wife wouldn’t want him to.
At that time, I faced the God of Destruction and made a deal. A contract for just one satisfying battle.
And now, this moment is when that contract will be fulfilled.
The tremor of the land.
The prelude to collapse heard from behind.
Gray dust rushing in with the wind.
Standing still on the other side, Lasha heard the sound of armored knights approaching and began to hum a tune.
“Lasha.”
“Oh, Benedict. You show no signs of surprise at all? You must have known I would be here?”
“Our daughter told me.”
“About how to attack me as well?”
“No.”
“No? Why not?”
“I don’t need to be told such things because I’ll win anyway.”
Benedict Allen drew his black greatsword and glared at Lasha through his helmet.
“You haven’t forgotten your past defeat, have you?”
“Of course not! How could I forget that? You were so impressive back then!”
Benedict Allen, as he trampled the frontlines, was truly the ideal warrior Lasha envisioned.
“But that’s not the case now.”
Benedict now lacked sharpness.
Frustrated by unfortunate reality and suddenly devoured by the happiness of the present, he had transformed into an ordinary strong person. No longer a wolf of the kingdom but a lapdog.
“I can win as long as it’s now.”
So Lasha will turn Benedict back to the past. She must make him realize that he cannot avoid the present now that the God of Destruction has resurrected, and will repeat the scenes of that day.
And. And. This time for sure.
“Trash.”
As Lasha raised her voice, the followers of the God of Destruction who had been waiting at their positions revealed themselves.
From various corners of the building, they brandished crossbows, completely surrounding the knights.
“Don’t think of it as just a simple crossbow. It contains the Authority of Destruction. If you try to foolishly block it with your aura, you’ll find yourself shattered along with it.”
A sneak attack made possible by the resurrection of the God of Destruction.
Using the city filled with the Authority of Evil God to detect the Authority of Evil God would be impossible—this was the trap.
“I wonder how many knights must die before you, Benedict, run wild? I’m quite curious.”
Lasha commanded the launch with a nod, but the followers of the Evil God aimed their arrows toward Lasha instead of the knights.
“…Oh?”
“Wow. You really didn’t know? You’re such a blockhead!”
Just moments ago, the man who spoke of the world’s destruction now had a light voice coming out of a woman’s mouth. Only then did Lasha understand what was happening.
“This has become bothersome.”
Even as arrows rained down on her, Lasha did not panic or try to dodge.
Instead, she raised her hand upward and clenched her fist.
Then, all the arrows aimed at her shattered and fell to the ground.
“No, this is becoming fun?”
The hunt for strong people was purely for her enjoyment.
