[The God of Flames and Sorrow, Omertha, has been killed.]
[“You gain a fraction of the divine essence of ‘Omertha.”]
[The vessel of divine essence is now full.]
[There is no room to absorb other divine essences.]
[“You are storing the residual divine essence of ‘Omertha.”]
[You are storing the divine essence of the God of Revenge and Courage, Cryos.]
[You are storing the divine essence of the Mother of Sinister Charity, Galua.]
[You are storing the divine essence of the God of Shallow and Deep Armies, Yenkal.]
[The stored divine essence can be used in emergencies.]
Yuma heard the voice and picked up two divine capsules.
They were the capsules of Omertha and Galua.
[Five Evil Gods remain.]
This voice was not a holy sound; it was the notification windows that had been appearing since he entered this world.
[After assessing the situation, I will inform you of matters that must be directly addressed.]
‘Adversary.’
Yuma looked at the desolate land and thought.
An adversary to kill the remaining five of the Eight Evil Gods.
Yuma’s position had not changed yet.
‘I was told that the gods of the outer world granted me the status window and initial skills.’
Yuma did not fully trust the [Goddess of Earth and Eternity], Leah, whom he vaguely encountered.
‘They must have led me to become a god all this time.’
Perhaps, to entirely kill the remaining Evil Gods, he needed to make himself a god.
‘But looking at the situation assessments and all that, can I really become a god? They seem a bit unsure as well.’
Yuma concluded.
‘What’s important now is whether I can go to the Divine Realm or not.’
He killed gods.
Six of them.
No matter how much they think they are the greatest and most noble gods.
In this situation where Yuma himself has become a ‘god’, it doesn’t seem like they would come down to the Intermediate World without any preparations.
That means to kill the remaining five, he likely has to ascend to the Divine Realm.
‘Assessing the situation must be the issue here.’
First, he needed to figure out what he could do in this Intermediate World. With that conclusion, Yuma turned his gaze away from the barren land and looked back.
“….”
He felt numerous gazes.
Those gazes were mixed with complex emotions and awe.
In this place, only Yuma heard the holy sound. But others realized there was something unusual happening with Yuma.
The atmosphere.
Right now, he was completely suppressing his divine power, but the aura he had emitted in the earlier battle against the gods was certainly far from human.
The aura he emitted was clearly far from something human.
It was too powerful to be characterized as cruel or alien.
Duke Yuma walked among the frozen, silent people of the Empire. Bell and Cloney stared at Yuma with dazed expressions.
Neither of them could easily find their voices.
In the midst of the cold flow, Yuma spoke first.
“We need to get moving; there’s a lot to sort out.”
At Yuma’s words, his teammates, who had been standing there with blank faces, nodded.
“Yuma.”
Yuma looked at Bell, who had spoken softly. Her pink eyes were fixed on him.
“…What the hell happened?”
She was asking questions, but deep down, Bell had sensed something from Ermel.
It was just that it didn’t feel real, so she had prodded him for answers.
“Where have you been for half a year?”
What kind of ordeal had Yuma gone through in those six months to become a god?
“I’ll explain it in a bit.”
Yuma patted Bell on the shoulder.
“Nothing’s gonna change.”
Yuma continued speaking.
“There are a few more Evil Gods left. We’ll take them all down. And….”
Yuma looked at his comrades surrounding him: Bell, Cloney, Hestia, Princess Brigitte, and Ermel.
“Sorry for being late.”
Blood had piled up too much.
The blood of the Empire’s soldiers had accumulated far too much. Of course, if he hadn’t shown up, there would have been even more casualties, but if he had arrived sooner, the soldiers and knights buried in blood and bones wouldn’t have died at all.
With that thought, Yuma passed by his comrades and moved forward.
Flanking Yuma were two races.
Elves and Lycanthropes.
Instinctively more perceptive than humans from birth, they quickly sensed the changes in Yuma’s physical body and soul.
So, their actions didn’t stop at merely kneeling.
They completely lowered their heads to the ground, presenting themselves as if bowing.
All the Elves, Lycanthropes, and Celestial Beings prostrated themselves.
The awakening of divinity.
They all recognized Yuma’s transformation.
High Elf Luine and the Great Angel Garenmoon spoke at once.
“What shall we call you?”
Yuma furrowed his brows slightly.
“Stop with the unnecessary words.”
It didn’t seem like he needed such praise just yet.
It didn’t seem necessary to receive such praise just yet.
‘Who knows what will happen next.’
I still couldn’t determine whether it’s good or not to make my name widely known as a god.
Duke Yuma passed by the lined-up people and moved forward.
First, he needed to assess the situation.
As Yuma was about to enter the imperial palace, his companions stuck closely behind him. Yuma singled out two of them.
“Brigitte.”
The Empress of this land, Brigitte.
“And Ermel, follow me.”
Former Holy Maiden Ermel.
He needed to share information quickly with the Empress, and among the people he could trust, she was the most knowledgeable about the gods.
In Yuma’s circle, Ermel was the only one fitting that description.
The Celestial Beings and Elves might know something, but there were still dangerous aspects to revealing sensitive details.
At Yuma’s words, Ermel nodded vigorously.
“Yes!”
An assault by the gods’ empire.
And the Duke who repelled them.
Although only a moment had passed since those urgent times, it was imperative to quickly grasp the situation.
To fully achieve the purpose of slaying the Evil God.
And to properly safeguard everything they had built thus far.
*
In Empress Brigitte’s office.
Yuma looked at Brigitte and Ermel.
Ermel cautiously spoke first.
“Have you received a divine name? For this world?”
Ermel widened her silver eyes and asked. Yuma slowly nodded his head.
“I have.”
“Divine name…?”
Ermel clenched her little fists in anticipation, and stars sparkled in her silver eyes.
“It’s the God of War.”
“The, God of War!”
Relief and admiration filled Ermel’s eyes at the same time.
“All gods are born with a divine name from the beginning… In your case, Yuma, it’s unprecedented. I suspected that the name you established while you were human would form the basis of your divine name, but to really become the God of War feels so refreshing!”
Unlike the very cheerful response from Ermel, Brigitte’s face was rigid.
Brigitte pressed her temples with her right hand, fighting a rising headache, and spoke softly.
“To think you’ve truly become a god… I don’t really know how to treat you now.”
Yuma just chuckled lightly.
“You can just treat me the same way you have until now.”
Brigitte let out a deep sigh.
“Think about it from a different perspective, look, just look…”
An intense weariness and confusion tangled in Brigitte’s mind.
Ermel widened her silver eyes and placed her right hands on her chin between Brigitte and Yuma.
He rested his chin on his right hand.
And he tried to smile brightly.
“It’s okay! There are gods who insist on using informal language with humans in the records! Some even ask to be teased playfully.”
Princess Brigitte slowly shook her head at Ermel’s words.
“Isn’t that just a god with a weird preference…?”
Even amidst the chaos, there was insight.
“Eh, is that so?!”
Ermel blinked her eyes.
Duke Yuma opened his mouth again.
“So, does the god… know what I should do?”
At Yuma’s question, Ermel shook her blonde hair and answered very decisively.
“No! I have no idea!”
Ermel answered confidently that she didn’t know.
“It’s the first time a god was born in the Intermediate World…”
Ermel finished her amazement. After organizing her thoughts for a moment, she spoke again.
“What Lord Yuma should do as the first god of the Intermediate World… I can’t dare to guess, but usually, the duties of gods are somewhat defined.”
The conversation continued.
“It’s about expanding the territory of the holy land and increasing the number of believers.”
In some ways, it was a natural statement, but Yuma could grasp a little of it.
This time, it was Yuma who spoke.
“What powers do usual gods possess?”
Ermel answered without hesitation.
“They grant power to their believers. That’s called a blessing.”
Blessing.
Certainly, granting power to believers was a god-like action.
‘I should try it.’
But now is not the time.
It had barely been an hour since the chaos began.
Yuma brought up another topic he wanted to ask.
“Do gods usually reveal their names?”
At Yuma’s words, Ermel slowly nodded.
“Well, usually, yes? There’s a saying that the more widely a name is spread, the higher the divinity.”
“That makes sense.”
“Yes, and since the temple is already completed, it won’t be difficult to make the War God’s name known if you wish!”
At Ermel’s spirited words, Yuma let out a light sigh.
“…Yeah.”
“The Temple of the God of War! I never thought the Temple of the God of War would become useful so quickly.”
Princess Brigitte agreed, nodding her head as she spoke.
“I didn’t think it would be useful either.”
Yuma let out a sigh.
*
Back in his quarters, Yuma slouched in a chair.
[Hello, God of War.]
The holy voice echoed.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
