The World After Defeat – 2
“Well, you’re not completely foolish.”
The eyes of Delta, no, something resembling Delta, slowly shifted from pitch black to red, morphing from round shapes to vertically slit pupils.
Eclipse was the first to sense the true nature of those red pupils, hardening her expression, and soon everyone else was convinced that what stood before them was not Delta.
“Was this human so precious? So useless that apart from one, everyone is floundering at just pretending to be angry? Even though it’s clear from your expressions that you’re suspicious of me.”
“…Don’t speak of my relationship with Delta with your filthy tongue, you worthless being.”
“Oh, when did you become so cocky, Goddess? Having lost everything and left with nothing but this world, what makes you raise your nose so high? Still not grasping your position? Shouldn’t you be more fittingly frightened of the impending defeat and wailing in despair at the thought of death, as you’ve always done?”
Perhaps thinking it was useless to hide any longer after being found out, the sensation emanating from the Delta-like figure changed. It no longer felt human.
“You thought we would fall for such a ridiculous trick? That’s a serious misjudgment.”
Aurora ground her teeth, glaring with a fierce intensity in her golden eyes. Perhaps unable to deceive the bloodline of Libanus, the current Aurora closely resembled Kaiquilia.
“I never expected you to fall for such a prank, human. It was a disguise that would be revealed with just a simple question, like I just did. If you think I earnestly tried with this trick, you’re incredibly mistaken.”
A sinister grin crept across the figure’s face. Eclipse coldly whispered.
“Don’t make that face with Delta’s appearance. It’s genuinely repulsive.”
“Oh dear, you still don’t grasp the ways of the world, do you, Goddess? Do you think I’d willingly change my appearance if you say such things? In fact, I’ve never even considered staying in this form for longer.”
With a twitch, Eclipse’s brow flickered. Seemingly taking it as a signal, all the women except Aurora shifted to combat stance. Their weapons embodied the essence of true death.
The Creature that Devours the World scoffed at the detection of true death within their weapons and magic.
“What a strange power. You’ve prepared quite the array of spare parts. Were you anticipating what comes after death?”
Eclipse, who tried to dismiss the question, couldn’t ignore the previous remark. What the hell did that bastard just say?
“What did you do to Delta?”
Whoosh! A mass of light spread out with incredible force. The light emanating from Eclipse covered all the way to the horizon. The dark sky brightened like day.
The Creature that Devours the World, unfazed and still gazing at the Goddess, sneered.
“Why do you think I’ve come this far, Goddess?”
“……”
“Does that mean you choose to be silent? Very well. No matter how much you deny it, the outcome won’t change. Allow me to explain.”
The creature chuckled.
“That human is dead. Quite certainly.”
“……!”
As soon as those words reached her ears, magic shot forth instinctively. It was Minerva.
Catching the violet sphere aimed at her barehandedly and simply crushing it with a fist, the Creature that Devours the World dusted off its hands.
“You sure are impatient, human.”
“That’s nonsense. That child can’t possibly be dead. Why should we believe a word from someone like you?”
“Denial, a splendid reaction. Go on and turn your eyes away. It won’t change the truth.”
This time, the sun and moon fell from above. However, the being resembling Delta didn’t even attempt to evade the high-ranking sacred spell descending upon them.
A massive explosion erupted alongside the divine light. The golden and silver divine powers incinerated everything around them, yet when the light faded, the Creature that Devours the World remained unscathed.
Not a speck of soot marred its figure.
“Let me share a fun little tidbit with you. Just how that precious human of yours met his end. What do you think? Doesn’t it sound fascinating?”
Kaiquilia instinctively lunged at it before the words even finished. It was practically a reflex.
In an instant, she was right in front of the Delta-like being, swinging her holy sword imbued with true death at its neck.
“Were you eager to hear it from the closest distance? You look quite expectant.”
This too was futile.
The essence of true death effortlessly sliced through the fake essence created by Draconic Language, and the now powerless holy sword was simply caught in the raised hand.
“Very well then. I’ll grant you special permission, so be thankful.”
“Shut your mouth……!”
Kaiquilia strained with all her might to pull the holy sword free. But it didn’t budge. The gap in power was unimaginable.
“You will never know what it feels like when the blade pierces that bastard’s belly. He’s already dead. How can one stab where no corpse remains? But allow me to explain. I’ll stab the belly to mix the insides up, and then the bones—”
“I said shut up!”
Crack!
Kaiquilia’s fist struck the face of the Creature that Devours the World. Flesh tore, and blood burst forth.
“You have no manners.”
Of course, it was Kaiquilia’s fist that ended up torn and bloodied. Even though she hit the mark precisely, the Creature showed no pain, nor did it even hint at having been struck.
Kaiquilia noticed that her knuckles were fractured from the attack. The side that was hit remained intact, while the one that struck was utterly destroyed. Her arm trembled uncontrollably.
“Did you hit me? You haven’t even finished your words yet and you already throw punches—what a bad habit.”
It neither reacted in anger nor retaliated. It merely ignored Kaiquilia while wearing a smug smile. Such a response only fueled her rage further.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Kaiquilia continued to throw punches. She was capable of treating steel as nothing should she choose to exert herself. Surely, she would land at least one blow.
She didn’t care if her hand broke. Neither the torn skin, contorted fingers, nor crushed knuckles could stop her. The Creature that Devours the World’s face became drenched in the blood that Kaiquilia shed.
Crunch!
Finally, the sound of bones breaking echoed through the air. Naturally, this came from Kaiquilia’s own body. Her fingers were shattered beyond recognition, and her entire hand was ruined.
With her last punch that carried no force swinging towards its visage, Kaiquilia let her arm dangle weakly. Her mangled left hand dangled precariously from her wrist.
Remarkably, the Creature that Devours the World cleaned away the blood from its face with surprising finesse, sneering.
“You look like you might need treatment; I could help with that, you know?”
“That mouth of yours—”
Before Kaiquilia could finish her words, her body floated in the air. She landed precisely back to the spot she had occupied before her advance.
Minerva hurriedly cast healing magic on her shattered wrist. The broken bones mended, twisted fingers returned to their proper shape, and torn skin healed itself.
“Make sure to take this too. Are you going to use a weapon after carelessly dropping it?”
Thud, the holy sword dropped at her feet. With fiery eyes wide open, Kaiquilia glared fiercely at the Creature that Devours the World, grinding her teeth.
“You… will definitely… definitely die…”
“While aiming high is good, isn’t that a bit too lofty?”
A mocking smile appeared on the face resembling Delta. Its intentions were blazingly clear.
As Kaiquilia struggled to get back on her feet, Eclipse stepped in. An intensely bright mass of light enveloped the world. The dark sky instantly turned as bright as day.
“I’m utterly tired of your nonsense. Just answer my question. Where is Delta right now?”
“I’ve told you several times; it’s clear you wouldn’t listen. How many times do I have to say he’s dead? Do you intend to bother me to the point of disposal?”
“Nonsense!”
Eclipse swung her bare arm. A spear of divine power that no one could hope to approach surged forward in a straight line.
But that was as far as it went. The roar emitted by the Creature that Devours the World effortlessly altered the trajectory of the city-destroying spear.
BOOOM!
The explosion occurred at a point far beyond sight. The shockwave, carrying the full force of the spear, hit a second late. Eclipse enveloped the area in a barrier of light.
As the shockwave swept away everything on the ground, the Creature that Devours the World stood unfazed, absorbing that power without so much as blinking.
The crimson liquid that had pooled on the ground evaporated. Now, the only red left was the interior of the barrier of light.
“If you need more time, just say so. I could repeat how that man died hundreds of times over. Want me to do that?”
“……You’re very confident, aren’t you? Your incessant rambling shows it.”
“What reason do I have not to be? Who’s going to stop me now? You, Goddess? Or those pitiful humans whose weakness forced them to protect you?”
Before long, the Creature that Devours the World’s demeanor grew to reflect its previous arrogance and pride. The mere fact that it listened to every word from the humans before it was the source of this.
It knew well that even with true death in hand, these humans posed no threat whatsoever. Perhaps this trait was indeed a fundamental part of the Creature’s nature.
At that moment, it had more than enough reasons to look down on the humans gathered to oppose it, including the Goddess. It simply had to.
“That’ll do. I can’t listen to any more.”
Just then, Lize stepped forward, her appearance fitting her cold demeanor, scattering waves of chill.
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