Pantheon, Temple of the All Gods.
The four remaining Evil Gods of the Eight Evil Gods were sitting around.
“Is it true that the remaining Deities are all there are?”
The woman with striking red hair looked frustrated. She couldn’t quite grasp the current situation.
It was Soliana, the Goddess of Sun and Life.
God of War Yuma.
She couldn’t believe that a mere human-born God was reducing their numbers, calling them Deities.
“…Why did that idiot Malphas go down alone to get himself killed?”
“Void,” Eltnis chuckled.
“Perhaps Malphas wanted to finish it himself,” he said with a smirk.
The other four knew well that while Eltnis was laughing, he wasn’t exactly in a great mood.
“Ever since that guy died, it feels like the sky is tilting slowly, you know?”
Hene, the God of Frost and Trials, nodded in agreement.
“Seems like something’s about to explode.”
Hene gazed at the sky through the gaping ceiling of the temple with his sleepy blue eyes.
“God of War, Yuma. That guy doesn’t look like he’s going to give up.”
Eltnis looked at the one God who had been silent all along.
“What do you think, Karafenel?”
Karafenel, the embodiment of Infinity with her black hair, fixed her dark eyes on Eltnis.
Karafenel’s lips slowly parted.
“Eltnis, you might be right. And from the standpoint of a Deity, he has become too much of a liability now.”
Yawn—
Karafenel suddenly let out a yawn.
Right after that—
Crash.
A sudden sound of something breaking resonated through the Divine Realm.
That was the Sacred Sound. A voice shared by the world that had once echoed towards Yuma from the Intermediate World.
[This is being communicated to those appointed as the current Deities and all the Gods of lower rank.]
[Following the transformation of the Divine Realm, half of the eight Deities who ascended to the God Seat by creating the legal code of the Divine Realm have perished. Thus, the number of Deities transcending hierarchy has become equal to that of the foreign Gods existing outside the God ranks.]
As the number of transcending deities from the main divine realm decreased by half, it meant the number of transcending foreign deities that had built their power from escaping them became equal. Separate from the individual power they possessed.
The number of transcendent tier gods on the foreign side that had escaped and built power equaled that of the Divine Realm’s gods. Separate from the individual strength they possessed.
[Previously, the eight deities that sat on the seat of the Divine Realm had lost the function of the ‘Divine Realm Law Code’ according to the conditions I laid down.]
[The four deities of the Divine Realm lost all authority related to law enforcement in the Divine Realm.]
In a situation where the foreign side’s gods did not voice their opinions, the Divine Realm gods needed to impose conditions in order to govern the Divine Realm by law.
When the number of transcendent tier gods belonging to the Divine Realm surpassed that of the transcendent tier gods on the foreign side, the deities could exert their power as decision-makers of the Divine Realm.
A few years ago, I could never have imagined that such conditions would come to hold me back.
There were four transcendent tier gods existing on the foreign side. And there were eight deities in the Divine Realm.
The numerical difference was a whopping 2 times.
The one who instantly closed that gap was Duke Yuma.
Soliana sighed.
A breath flowed from her lips. What Soliana exhaled was not a sigh, but a handful of flames. Ominous smoke flickered before Soliana’s eyes.
“We can’t just charge straight into the foreign realm. We don’t know what schemes they might be planning.”
Eltnis of [Void] agreed with Soliana’s words.
“Since we’ve lost our law enforcement authority, the possibility for Yuma to enter the Divine Realm has opened. But let’s think calmly.”
Eltnis scanned the remaining three deities.
“If he enters the Divine Realm, we can kill him then.”
Eltnis’s impassive black eyes caught everyone’s gaze.
“You all should prepare a way to restrain him so that I can kill him.”
Tick—! Tidy-dee! Splatter—!
Countless ice crystals blossomed in Hene’s right hand along with a chilling aura.
“I’m not saying I don’t trust you, Void, but without a sure method, it’s too dangerous. Are you not aware of the considerable damage we’ve already suffered from him?”
Saaaaa…
Eltnis carefully observed the swirling frost on Hene’s right hand, as if admiring a work of art.
“That concern is valid. Even with the power of infinity, I couldn’t kill him through the Duke. You might have doubts about me.”
With a light flick of his right hand, Eltnis quickly dissipated the ice gathered in Hene’s hand.
“But it seems you’ve completely forgotten who brought the Divine Realm to this point.”
Hene was not surprised that the ice he had summoned evaporated in an instant. That was just the fundamental ability of the Void.
You weren’t surprised that the ice you summoned evaporated in an instant. That was the fundamental ability of nothingness.
“Using multiple beads from my twelve, the counterattack that seems to stem from his sheer force will prevent him from fulfilling its role.”
Hene swallowed hard.
He knew what it meant to use multiple beads.
When Eltnis used the beads, it meant sacrificing the status he had built as a god.
Unlike the light flick of dismissing the ice that temporarily lay in his hands, Eltnis was a god capable of sealing divine powers.
Eltnis of [Nothingness] was recognized for his exceptional contributions during the execution of Ragnarok.
“If we disable that counterattack, that’s all there is to it.”
Eltnis convinced the remaining deities with the merits he had accumulated.
“And then we just kill him. Either transcend one of the top gods in the divine realm or annihilate the transcendent layers of the external realm.”
Karaferenel of [Infinity] finally found his voice.
“Let’s make sure that the incredibly sturdy barrier set up by the external realm is still intact.”
Eltnis nodded.
“Yeah, leave that to you.”
The meeting of the deities concluded.
Eltnis was the first to rise from his physical body.
*
Intermediate World.
Duke Yuma was holed up alone in a room.
He swung his sword.
Squeak!
Upwards.
Whoosh!
And sideways.
His basics were now pretty clean. However, Yuma naturally wanted more than just the basics.
In comparison to the other swordsmen around him, his current state was bound to be compared.
Even though he was alone, Yuma was having a conversation.
– As expected, I can’t say you have talent with the sword, even as a compliment.
Balmung’s mocking voice echoed in his ears.
The God of War had killed countless gods without a break.
But thinking about swordsmanship gave him a splitting headache.
– But that’s fine. If you just swing your divine power down, most enemies will die anyway. At least up to Expert rank. Even Masters can kill with a single hit if they land it successfully.
Yuma knew that too.
He had foolishly piled up his divine power. If he swung that immense divine energy down with his sword, any ordinary swordsman would meet their demise instantly.
The tests were all instant kills.
No matter how much of a master the swordsman was, he still had a human physical body.
With the abilities gained through engraving, like teleportation and immense divine power, it would be possible to catch the master without using [Parrying].
But what Yuma had to face was the existence of a god.
‘The remaining four Evil Gods will probably be stronger than the ones I’ve hunted down.’
And the biggest difference from the previous battles was that the battlefield was in the Divine Realm, not the Intermediate World.
‘It’s not my land, it’s their land.’
Any variables could occur.
-I will prepare for the mental training session.
“Okay.”
The mental training session was a power that Balmung had as his Ego Sword.
Sitting in a meditative posture with the sword in hand.
Whoosh!
The world in front of him turned into light.
When he opened his eyes, he was inside the training space created by Balmung’s power.
And now, in front of him was a familiar face that felt welcoming.
Red hair. Numerous scars on his face.
The fourth swordsman of Balmung and the fallen emperor of an old kingdom. A man who had risen from bandit to king, known as the Mountain King.
Grand Sword Master, Karval. Without a word, Karval charged at Yuma with his massive body.
Both of them were unarmed.
Boom!
The heavy body barreled toward Yuma like a light feather.
Whoosh!
Yuma easily dodged the heavy sword strikes. Dodging was his forte, thanks to the divine power absorbed in his eyes. The issue was the attack.
Swinging a sword without using divine power was blocked entirely by the red-haired man.
There was nothing to gain from the target.
Karval.
Delivering a proper blow to him was the goal.
-The fruits of your efforts are showing.
Balmung’s voice echoed through the space.
-But lately, you have been getting so close to grazing him, haven’t you?
-It’s only been close, though.
This bastard.
Because of Balmung’s words, Karval, who always maintained a stoic expression in the mental space, seemed to have a slight smile.
It was surely an illusion.
Yuma swung his sword at Karval for a while and then exited the mental space.
He thought about taking a walk to cool his head.
How many steps had he taken at the starting point of the grand promenade in front of the royal castle?
“Master.”
He heard Bel’s voice. Bel quickly walked up next to Yuma.
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