Author: Xerenity

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183. If You Are Talking About That, I Know About It Somewhat

Wheatgrass stayed still without movement.

They kept on pulling the trigger of their pistol while standing their ground, without a word and without changing their expression.

It seemed that they still did not care for my approach.

It was probably because they knew that only a minuscule amount of damage would be inflicted on them.

Just like before, I ran forward with swords embedded with light and darkness in each hand.

The moment that I made contact with them, all my power would be extinguished, and it was obvious that it would end up with only my Butcher’s Sword would end up reaching them.

One could wonder why I would charge forward, despite leaving myself open to their attack.

Like a moth hurling themselves into an enticing flame, even though they know that they would lose their lives.

However, I was waiting for this timing.

That timing was when that thing used its own skill equivalent of Status Negation.

I wasn’t sure of it, I became suspicious when they healed themselves.

My guess was that they had an ability equivalent of Status Negation, and used it to dissipate my power.

I was sure that my body was immortal due to the effect of King’s Marbles.

While that would block an enemy’s attack and debuffs, it wouldn’t block their buffs or healing skills.

Thus, their version of Status Negation would not be considered as an attack.

Remember the fight with Park Hyun, who was a part of the radical faction?

Getting past my Mana Shield fueled by infinite mana, her Status Negation hit me and dealt a serious injury.

Wheatgrass’s version of Status Negation must have been used in the same way.

Obviously including King’s Marble, mana, magical energy, and more, they had returned me to a state before invoking all the powers that I could use.

They were trying to inject me with poison disguised as a beneficial skill.

A skill that returned the body to a state 24 hours before.

If they returned me to a state before I used my incredible powers, then the only thing that remained was human and Awakened strength.

What I was waiting for was the moment that they used their ability akin to Status Negation.

It was hard to explain, but I was planning to cancel out their version of Status Negation using my own Status Negation.

After being able to use mana freely as I wanted, cooldowns didn’t exist for me anymore, so I should be able to cast skills without limitations, similar to how it was for Wheatgrass.

I was able to think this way due to facing off with the God of Earth, Dehaka.

It was thanks to the Bind skill Dehaka used and I owned, which caused the enemy’s feet to be bound.

All the artifacts and skills that the Awakened used were made by the Unrivaled Goddess Karupedan and the Goddess of Death, Gera.

The reasons why each of them did so was different, but it was true that these things had been created by them.

No matter how creative someone is, it was inevitable that some of their creations would have a bit of what they might have seen and heard around them mixed in subconsciously.

I wondered if that was the case with Bind and Status Negation.

“Now!”

It was when I swung my sword near them.

I purposefully spaced my attacks after one another.

As I did so, my powers disappeared as expected.

The timing that I had aimed for had come.

Not missing my chance, I quickly casted Status Negation.

“Kuhuh!”

“Guess you aren’t mute, after all?”

“Kuhu….. Bastard…..”

My attacks landed accurately on Wheatgrass’s shoulder and chest.

And unlike the attacks that only left shallow wounds before, these attacks cut deeply and cleanly through enough to show the background through them.

My guess had been spot on.

Status Negation really was the key to defeating them.

Should I consider this as being lucky?

If I didn’t know about Status Negation while continuing the fight with them, then I would have never found out their weakness.

Blood poured out from Wheatgrass’s wound.

When you think of blood, it was usually red, or purple for monsters.

As if declaring that they were a special existence, the liquid that poured out was letting out a massive amount of light.

Almost as if their body was made from the light of the celestial plane.

From their mouth came a groan, despite having been silent all this time.

Their face that had been like an emotionless mask crumpled in pain.

However, that didn’t last long.

Since it was obvious that they were very talented with their Status Negation ability, they had turned their body back to a state before the injuries.

However, this wouldn’t be a huge problem for me.

I already have identified their weakness.

They would continue to use Status Negation endlessly, but my attacks would continue to succeed.

And I also knew how to nullify their Status Negation ability as well.

“Status Negation…. If it is about that, I know somewhat.”

“Bastard……”

“Returns back the target or self’s body to a state they wish within the last 24 hours. That pretty much sums it up, right?”

“……”

“Aha…. I forgot something important. The catch! The target needs to be alive in order for it to work. If they die, then you cannot use the spell on them. How about it? I’m correct on this matter, right?”

“Is this the butterfly effect….. To think that Karupedan and Gera toying around could cause such rippling effects and come back like a snowball.”

“I think of it as karma. You’re being done in by the monster you raised.”

“Kuhu! Karupedan!”

Wheatgrass howled the peerless goddess’ name.

The owner of the name that would be observing us from somewhere without ever intervening, remaining only as a bystander.

Their body that was ruined by cracked skin and wounds flushed red.

It seemed that they were filled to the brim with rage.

Looking at their state, I couldn’t help but laugh at how silly it was.

Then I spoke.

“It’s the same crying out. No. We were far more desperate. Over 40 years, humans have pleaded for help. But what did you all do?”

“What…..?”

“Are you upset? You feel rage rising up? Nothing will change, despite all that. You’ll have to figure this out on your own.”

“……”

“Karupedan and Gera’s toying? Do you think that was the beginning? You’re wrong, you snob.”

“Shut up!”

“You shut up and listen! This won’t be over easily. I’ll let you feel every bit of the pain and despair we’ve felt for over 40 years.”

“You’re just a human.”

“Yes. This human you look down on is going to make you feel all that. As you know already, I have my own Status Negation. You also are aware that your body will accept my spell without any resistance.”

“AHHH!”

“You shouldn’t ignore good will like that…..”

Their attacks disappeared pathetically before my immortal body.

The King’s Marble’s effect disappeared for a short while, but I quickly brought it back.

I wasn’t that stupid to be done in by the same attack pattern again.

From there on, the game of mental chess began.

We were both paying close attention to one another, thinking of the most optimal time to use Status Negation.

However, the winner had been decided before the fight even began.

The reason for that was simple.

Canceling my Mana Shield, I wasn’t using any skills right now.

The sword I was holding right now wasn’t a skill, but something that I had obtained from defeating the demon king and the gods.

Both hands were free and I had a Dual Casting passive. The number of skills I could cast at the same time was three.

Unlike me, it seemed that they could only cast one at a time.

Seeing as how they were allowing my attacks to get through, I was sure of it.

It was the equivalent of them fighting 3 to 1.

And it wasn’t as if those three were on the same level of power as the one, but far superior.

“ARGH!”

My attacks continued without rest.

At the same time, their use of the Status Negation followed to recover from the wounds.

I didn’t have the slightest intention to let this fight end so easily.

Just like how I have been being all this time, I was going to sear pain into their mind.

I was going to make them realize just how severe their sin was.

I wondered how long passed like that.

Without having a choice but to let my attacks through nonstop all this time, they had stopped healing and stood still.

“Kuhu…..”

“Hm? Did you run out of mana? Do you even have mana to begin with?”

“Augh. Kill me…..”

“You won’t heal yourself?”

“Do you think that a pathetic human such as yourself could avoid the consequences after insulting a god! Ugh!”

“This is something that I also came to realize recently. Apparently I’m a god too. Hm…. So I guess you can consider it as a god insulting another god. How about it? If I say this, will it make you feel a little better?”

“Shut up! I have already commanded you to kill me!”

“You can’t die by your own hand anyways. Without me, you cannot die. The gods are that kind of an existence, right? They cannot choose their own life or death despite reigning at the top, and if you look really closely, they’re the weakest of all….. Their existence is like that.”

“Kuhu…..”

“If you won’t heal yourself, then go ahead. Stay still just like that. I’ll do as I please, as much as I want.”

“Stop!”

“No. It’ll continue!”

****

“Yikes. How brutal. Even though you acted so kindly.”

“Whew….. You might end up like this too.”

“Kehe. Don’t forget. I’m the Unrivaled God. I won’t be done in one-sidedly.”

“Look at you, change your stance so quickly.”

“Only one remains.”

Wheatgrass had perished.

Towards the god who had lost their will to recover, I used both my swords and 3 of my main attack skills at once.

With absolute power far beyond that of what could be recovered by Status Negation to boot.

After all, it was an attack that was destructive enough to reap a life in a single go.

After taking them down, as per usual, Karupedan appeared next to me without alerting me with her presence.

Squinting, she scolded me.

As expected, while she seemed happy for my victory, a shadow of regret seemed to loom over her.

I spoke to Karupedan, who had a mischievous expression.

“Unlike the other gods, it seems that Wheatgrass’s ability won’t be very useful, you know?”

“Hm… that’s because it’s an ability you can use already?”

“Yep.”

“Kehe. I guess so. But their ability isn’t just Status Negation.”

“Hm? What do you mean? Until they died, they didn’t use anything but Status Negation to resist. If they had another ability as you had said, then they should’ve used that to struggle all they could to keep their life?”

“Of course. But it’s a skill that one could not use on living targets.”

“…..”

“Wheatgrass is the God of Life. They are also referred to as the God of Revival. Their other ability was the ability to revive.”

“Does that mean that I can resurrect?”

“No. You can’t use it on yourself. But you can do so on other targets.”

“It seems that I’ve obtained a power strong beyond what words could describe.”

“Kehe. You’re a god though, right? That much power isn’t too much for a god to wield.”

“Is that so…..”

Since I could find out how to wield the powers that I obtain, no more explanation from Karupedan was necessary.

Quietly opening my status window, I thoroughly read through the ability that I had obtained from Wheatgrass.

It seemed that Karupedan stopped her ramblings for a bit and was waiting for me.

“T….That’s possible?”

“Kuha! Yep! It’s one of the powers that you, who has achieved near the powers of an Unrivaled God, has.”

“……”

If it was possible, I wanted to return myself back to a time before obtaining this power.

After all, this ability was strong enough to be considered overkill for me.

“Break time?”

“No. Let’s get this over with.”

“Hehe. Good!”

With that, we headed for the remaining god, the God of Water.

---

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182. Wheatgrass, Just Who Are You……

Wheatgrass’s form was half transparent.

They looked similar to how a ghost would be portrayed in a TV series or a movie.

Wrinkles that would only form from many years of hardships and countless scars over their body laid bare without a single cloth covering it gave off a tough impression.

A bandana was fashioned around their head, and a short sword as thick as a wrist and pistol hung on each side of their baggy pants.

This god looked like a seafarer, but instead of looking like a regular fisherman, they looked like a pirate.

I could not sense any emotions from Wheatgrass, who was slowly coming towards me.

It wasn’t because of the wrinkles or the thick skin formed from weathering the coarse sea winds.

This god was definitely different from the others.

I could somewhat read the mood of both the God of Earth that had taken the form of a golem and Gera, who had her entire face covered by her robe.

However, it was different with this god.

Wheatgrass, who had met my eyes with their own and came slowly towards me, like a wind up doll, was devoid of any semblance of life.

“To be called a God of Life…..”

“……”

This god’s domain was life. It was also over resurrections as well.

All creations that perished went to the God of Death, and those that had met Gera were given new life by Wheatgrass.

I shouldn’t judge a person or a god only by their appearance, but it was true that the other gods I have met so far had their appearance match their domains.

However, this god did not in the slightest.

Instead of life, it would be more fitting to call this god a God of Death.

On top of that, out of the 6 gods, this god was the second strongest.

I couldn’t even begin to fathom what powers they carried.

“Nice to meet you?”

“……”

Their appearance made it hard for me to address them casually, but nevertheless, they were the same as the others.

They were a bystander that hid their cruelty.

I didn’t even have a smidgen of respect towards them.

I spoke to Wheatgrass, who had come right in front of me, but they did not reply.

All I could hear was the sound of their breathing, which sounded as if their throat was clogged with bile.

Consuming a King’s Marble, I casted Mana Shield.

After that, I covered my entire body with mana and magical energy.

With my movements that signaled the start of the battle, Wheatgrass grasped the short sword and old pistol in each of their hands.

Just from looking at how they reacted, it felt as though a hand to hand combat would break out at any given moment.

However, it didn’t take long to find out that my prediction was far off the mark.

“Hm?”

“……”

They swung their sword through thin air and shot at the sky with their gun.

I could only see it as a ritual one would do before battle.

A ritual to raise the morale of allies.

For someone standing alone, what they did didn’t fit the situation.

I felt as though what they did just now was pointless.

However…

“Ugh! What is this…”

“….”

Only a couple seconds after Wheatgrass used their sword and gun, the effect appeared.

There was hole the size of a fist in my shoulder, and a deep cut from my left chest to my lower right rib appeared.

The wound was severe enough that, if I was a regular human, it wouldn’t be odd for me to faint on the spot.

However, I only felt the signals of pain coming to my brain, and couldn’t see almost any bleeding from my wounds.

That was because my mana and magical energy was preventing it from doing so.

I was wearing armor, but before their attack, it was ripped apart like paper.

Due to the pain that I haven’t felt in a long time, I gritted my teeth.

“Is my King’s Marble only a decoration at this point!”

“…..”

“Is this why you told me not to become arrogant from trusting in the power of the marbles…. Karupedan…..”

“…..”

I had thought that the King’s Marbles would be the answer to both the offensive and defensive capabilities I needed.

However, I had come to the realization that I could not 100% rely on it other than with the fights to take down the Goddess of Light Lai Yanta and the God of Darkness Hai Yanta.

Almost as if mocking the meaning of invincibility, it was allowing me to still receive all the damage from these attacks.

Gera and Dehaka. Now Wheatgrass as well. I had thought that it was an absolute rule made by a god, but my enemies were attacking me by getting around that rule with ease.

Recovering from my wounds, I tried to think.

Just like before, I was once more in a situation where I’d have to solve another puzzle.

Was it because their attack was so quick that I wasn’t able to see it coming?

Then what about the marble? Was there something that was nullifying the effect of the King’s Marble?

All they had done was to swing their sword and use their gun while standing still.

However, that damage dealt by them was on my body, despite being far away from them.

‘As expected, is offense the best defense? I’ll back up another step. It’ll be the same attack again. I’m sure that Gera’s ability will activate. After that, I go on the offensive.’

While I was in the middle of thinking, their attacks continued.

Without emotions on their face, they were swinging their sword and shooting their gun with reckless abandon.

I could tell that the amount of times and the strength behind their attack were more than before.

Unlike the beginning of the fight, I swallowed the marble after I heard the noise and casted the shield to protect my body after as well.

Not only that, but I left my current position with as much speed as I could muster.

I was sure that there was a weakness in their power.

Even if they were a god, there was no way there wasn’t a blindspot.

It happened when I had made nearly enough distance for Wheatgrass to disappear from view.

“Ugh! You crazy pirate bastard!”

Sadly, the results were the same.

I may have not lost my life, but it wasn’t as if the pain went away or I didn’t feel it.

My body was being cut and punctured, so how could I not let out pained moans.

I was surprised that their inexperienced movements could cause such a huge injury on me.

Not only that, but this time, they had aimed accurately at my vitals.

I could see the 3 bullet wounds that had appeared on my left chest accurately.

Thanks to having an insane amount of stamina stat, and my mana and magical energy blockin the damage, it seemed that I was able to avoid lethal injuries.

It took only a few seconds for me to completely recover from my wounds.

The insanely quick recovery was only possible because of combining all of my power with Mega Cure.

When the pain began to fade and I was able to regain my rationality, something I hadn’t noticed before from the first attack caught my eye.

It was that the marble’s effect that caused my body to turn black like soot had disappeared.

It was obvious that my shields had been shattered from the damage received, but it was suspicious that the marble’s effect disappeared before its duration.

Never before have the marble’s effect disappeared while I was receiving the attacks of the other gods.

Of course, I wasn’t sure of the outcome if I had received Dehaka’s sealing attack with my body.

My questions didn’t end there.

I had inherited Gera’s ability wholesale.

This meant that if I had received the same attack twice, it should’ve been reflected.

Their attack still landed a direct hit on me.

Didn’t that meet the requirement of receiving the same attack again?

I was sure that I had received the attack with the same shield and same body.

It even made me wonder if Wheatgrass’s ability was to ignore all forms of defensive capabilities.

The one saving grace was that they weren’t dealing that much damage to me.

I was able to endure it with my healing skills.

The pain would repeat itself, but it was brief. If I was able to hold out for those few seconds and kept on pouring down my attacks?

It was the same as breaking the spear before my shield was penetrated.

“Backing up twice was enough, right? Now I charge. Haa!”

Casting all sorts of buffs on myself, I charged at Wheatgrass.

The colors of the swords in each of my hands were stark contrasts from each other.

I had used this before during my fight with Dehaka, but unlike the the Butcher’s Sword, I created a sword by combining mana and magical energy.

But this time, I had also combined it with the powers of light and darkness that I had obtained from the other gods.

The power the sword would release would be the exact same powers I’ve obtained from Lai Yanta and Hai Yanta.

I didn’t have the slightest doubt about that power that was difficult to even imagine.

King’s Marble may have lost its defensive capabilities, but the offensive buff should work fine as intended.

Two times the offensive capabilities. A 100% success rate with attacks.

It was enough to make me think that I might execute them with a single strike.

It didn’t take long before I stood right in front of Wheatgrass and swung my sword.

“Argh!!”

It wasn’t Wheatgrass who screamed, but rather I instead.

My sword aura had struck my target dead center.

However, the moment that my sword struck their form, the light and darkness that perfectly encased the sword disappeared, and it was the same with both the mana and magical energy that was woven in.

One fist swung at thin air, and the other hand struck them with a Butcher’s Sword that had lost all its power.

On top of that, all my buffs and shields have been dispelled, as well as the effect from the King’s Marble.

It was as if I was dreaming.

I even considered the possibility that I was under hypnosis.

Why was it that they were able to hit me with attacks defying common sense, but my powerful attack wasn’t reaching them.

And why did the empowerment put on my body and weapon become undone.

It was definitely a strange situation.

The right hand that had held the Butcher’s Sword was now filled with holes.

After my hand lost the strength to keep its grip on the sword, the sword had fallen and was stuck in the ground.

The pain assaulted me like the rising tide, but my anger was far greater than the pain I felt.

From the start of the fight, Wheatgrass hadn’t taken a single step.

They attacked while standing still, and had blocked my attacks with ease.

I could feel the massive difference of power deep in my bones.

“To think that I was only able to inflict that much damage…..”

“…..”

“I’ll get through it no matter what. No matter what I have to do, I shall stop you!”

However, it wasn’t as if I didn’t gain anything from my attack.

I was able to cut into Wheatgrass’s shoulder with just the strength of an Awakened and the Butcher’s Sword.

Despite the attack not dealing much damage due to my destroyed arm, they still had taken damage.

With this, I was able to learn that their defensive capability was weak.

However, even though I had learned that their defense was weak, it wouldn’t matter unless I successfully attacked them.

My attempts to attack them continued.

However, the results were the same.

I was able to leave shallow wounds, but I wasn’t able to deal a clean cut.

It seemed that I wouldn’t get anywhere with close quarter combat.

I was thinking of switching over to ranged magic when it happened.

‘I can’t deal any significant damage with close quarter combat. Then…..’

“Hey, why are you healing yourself when you took so little damage?”

“….”

In a split second, their form had recovered fully.

The wounds were only light ones, but still.

However, it seemed that they didn’t use healing spells to recover.

After all, their wounds had recovered without any scars, turning back into their original appearance before the injuries.

The God of Life. It was possible that they had amazing recovery abilities befitting their title of the god of resurrection.

However, why was I thinking otherwise?

It was possible that I had somewhat understood their tricks.

If that’s the case, I should confirm it right away.

“I know I’m a mage…. But for some odd reason, I like close quarter combat better. Let’s go once more!”

“……”

Materializing another sword in my hand once more, I charged at them.

---

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181. Warning

With Karupedan’s power, I arrived at the entrance of the tunnel through time and space.

Opening the shabby worn door, the tunnel filled with light came into view.

At the end, I could see a bleary outline of Barub.

Despite how precious time was to me right now, I had chosen to go meet Barub.

It was obvious that Karupedan would become suspicious of my choice.

Ignoring her dissatisfied expression, I continued forward.

While I was doing that…

“How much does Barub know about what’s going on here?”

“Hm? That guide? It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Barub doesn’t know anything.”

“Doesn’t know anything?”

“Kehe. Barub is in the tunnel through time and space. It’s a completely separate dimension from Earth, the demonic realm, and the celestial plane, from the places you’ve tread.”

“……”

“The only task Barub was charged with was to serve as a guide. Think about it. Would a human, such as yourself, know about what’s going on with the demonic realm and the celestial plane? Until you became an Awakened, you had no idea about the existences of the other dimensions, right? It’s a different story now though.”

“That’s right.”

“Pfft. So what business do you have with the guide?”

“I needed someone to talk to while taking a quick break.”

“Eh?”

“While I was traveling, I came to realize that we get along pretty well. I’ll be back then.”

“Sure. Since it’s your time, do what you will.”

Despite being in a tunnel filled with light, it seemed Barub recognized the majesty of the celestial plane that was far greater than that of the tunnel, since Barub was facing me while staying still.

Behind me was the Unrivaled Goddess, Karupedan.

In front of me stood Barub, whose identity I questioned.

It made me question just what had occurred over the past few months for me to end up in a situation like this, despite having experienced it firsthand.

Walking forward with large strides, I neared Barub.

It didn’t take long before Barub noticed that I approached them and asked me a question.

“Why have you come here already, human.”

“Break time?”

“…..”

“I’ve killed all the gods. If I take out the Unrivaled Goddess, Karupedan, as well…… I will be able to use all the gods’ abilities and power at command.”

“It shouldn’t be the end though?”

“What would be?”

“That the fighting isn’t over yet.”

“On what grounds are you saying that? How do you know if my fighting is done or there are more left?”

“……”

It was just an act I put on to test Barub.

There was a fitting reason why I was suspicious of them.

Karupedan. Even the Unrivalged Goddess had lost her memories and hated the humans without reason.

As she had said, she was aware that she had created humans, but it was odd that she did not have any detailed memories of it.

I felt strongly that there was someone else behind all this.

“I did think that it was strange from the start. I was also curious as to the fishy smile you’ve shown.”

“What did you want to ask? I am but a guide through time and space.”

“Yep. I’m aware, since I’ve heard it countless times already. But rather than the side job you do, I’m curious as to what your main job is….. What is your real identity?”

“……”

“It’s true that I’m just throwing out a guess without any solid proof. But this isn’t like I’m a little bit suspicious. And my intuition isn’t that bad either.”

“…….”

“Will you carry out your right to remain silent? Did you not understand my question?”

“Are you asking my identity?”

“That’s right. The one behind the gods. The one who put Karupedan on the throne of an Unrivaled God. The one hiding, despite having that much power. For some odd reason, I keep thinking it is you.”

“Amusing.”

“You’re confirming that? Denying it?”

“I do not know what reason you have for you think that way. You’re just poking around, right?”

“Pfft. No. You’re the one my first question was intended for. It’s because I’m curious as to why you’re doing something like this.”

“It seems that it’s not a question, but certainty.”

“The gods were gods from the start. Those are your words while you were guiding me towards the celestial plane. Do you remember?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“But how can a mere guide know of the goings on of the celestial plane so well?”

“That’s…..”

“I asked Karupedan before coming here. About your existence, that is. It’s not like the Unrivalged Goddess in charge of all things would be incorrect about you, right? Do you have a talent that’s above your station? Or are you really……”

“…..”

“It’s whatever. You don’t need to drag out time. I didn’t come here to get a clear answer from you.”

“Is that so. No matter what I say, you wouldn’t trust it, so I shall save myself the futile effort.”

“Good. But you know, if….. If you really are the transcendent existence who created the Unrivaled God……”

“…..”

“Before I take Karupedan’s life, stop this madness.”

“What’s your reason for that request? If you kill her and obtain the power of a Unrivaled Goddess, wouldn’t that be beneficial for you?”

“You won’t answer but you want to hear the reason behind why? Are you saying the equivalent of being drunk, but you didn’t drive while under the influence?”

“…..”

“I didn’t sense it from the other gods. I only felt something from Gera and Karupedan. And when I heard Gera’s last words, it seems that the two of them were siblings before losing their memories. I wasn’t sure what hardships Gera went through….. There were big and small wounds on both her body and heart. And the way that she looked at Karupedan was filled with pity…. And Karupedan was……”

“Is that the reason why? The personal feelings of an existence known as humans….. Is that why a battle of this massive scale must stop? Something insignificant as that?”

“Do you also want to die?”

“What?”

“Ah….. That came out wrong. Did you also want to die. Like Karupedan.”

“I am satisfied with how I am and things are. It’s not what I wanted, but I am merely carrying out my delegated task and living through each day doing so.”

“Is that so? But this concept of emotions that you look down so much on. Maybe it’s because I’m human, but it seems that those residing in the celestial plane could use some, you know?”

“No. They are but a worthless hassle. You could say that it was a mistake from the gods.”

“Are there only crazy folks up here? Do you know how many people suffered and died because of these emotions that you folks look down on? Each of the dead children were the more important and treasure person to someone else. With not an exception, but all of them! Well, I already said my piece. If you really are what I think you are….. Let’s not overdo it, okay? Let’s end it here.”

“Then what will you do? What can you do? If what you think is true, then I would be a transcendent existence that could make even the Unrivalged Goddess look like a joke. Will you surpass me? Aren’t you aware that it’s impossible? So what are you going to do?”

“Dunno.”

“…..”

“I dunno the method and don’t have a plan either. I’ve received similar questions from all over the place before, you know? But looking at the results, I am still alive, and all those that have asked the question have perished. You’re finding such a insignificant human issue a warning like this amusing, right? But don’t take it as an empty threat. No one knows how things will go, right?”

“Kuhaha. Sure. You want to confirm it as soon as possible, right?”

“……”

“Since there are still three left, the road ahead will be long.”

“To be exact, two. The moment that it becomes three, it would mean that you have accepted my threats.”

“Kuhu. It seems that you’re busy. I shall guide you.”

“No. Go back to your main job. I shall find my own way out.”

“Then……”

****

“What? Is it over already?”

“Yep. I thought that we got through each other pretty well, but it seems that the truth was far from what I had thought all this time.”

“You don’t need anymore rest?”

“This is enough.”

“Kehe. Then shall we begin the next battle?”

“You said this would be the God of Life, Wheatgrass, right?”

“Right! You are probably aware of it already, but this god is the second strongest out of all that you’ve met so far.”

“Don’t put down my spirits from the start. Perhaps you don’t want to die?”

“Kuhat! Maybe?”

“It’s pointless to change your mind now. Hurry up and guide me.”

“You won’t even need to try finding them.”

“Guess they exist everywhere like before?”

“No. Wheatgrass should also know that the other gods have died. If you wait a little bit, they should come to you?”

“Is that so….”

Karupedan had clenched her fists and laid on the ground, kicking her feet.

Every time I saw her innocent expression, I couldn’t help but smile.

Of course, I caught myself by reminding myself what she had done.

Sitting next to her, I enjoyed a bit of rest.

This is the first time I’ve sat down since I’ve arrived in the celestial plane.

I was strong beyond physical exhaustion at this point, but the rest with the beautiful scenery of the celestial plane was quite enjoyable.

A beautiful melody was coming from somewhere I could not tell, and it was accompanied by a scenery that could only be made from the imaginations of humans.

If I forgot about my objective for coming here and just looked at the scenery, it was a great place to rest.

Just like that, about 10 minutes had passed? Karupedan spoke.

“They’re running later than I thought?”

“Before you were a goddess, what kind of existence do you think you were?”

“What? I thought you were silent, but it seems that you like to chatter?”

“It’s not like there isn’t anything to do while I’m waiting.”

“I haven’t thought about it seriously until now….. Looking at my appearance now, I guess I was a child back then? Or perhaps I wanted to live in my memories of being a child. Why do you ask all of a sudden?”

“Just because. What Gera had said came to mind.”

“Hey, forget about such sentimental words. It’s pointless.”

“You also don’t remember why you hate humans, right?”

“Yep. Almost as if someone had cut that part out, I don’t remember a thing.”

“Even though you’re a goddess, you’re not much.”

“Right? I think so too.”

I thought that she would point a finger to the sky and say some nonsense like destroying earth right now with a childish mischievous smile, but her answer was something that I did not expect.

Karupedan had a serious expression I hadn’t seen before, being lost in thought.

With my appearance and Gera’s demise, she was probably in disarray.

Her current expression wasn’t that of a Unrivaled Goddess, but that of a human.

Matching her appearance, she was like a child in her 10s.

“Just like with Gera, my memory should return to me right before I die, right?”

“No clue.”

“Despite being a human, you’re not much.”

“Pfft. I’m insignificant, remember? Like you gods keep telling me.”

“Kehe. That’s right. Will I be able to pass without regrets?”

“What? Instead of enjoying eternal life as a goddess, saying that you wanted to die and bringing your own demise?”

“That too…..”

“Gera?”

“Yep. Despite what I said, that was the first time I felt this way. I guess the best way to put it would be that I feel tight around here?”

“That feeling. I know it well.”

“Even though you’re just a human.”

“If you ever change your mind, just let me know. Despite being a crazy goddess, I have intentions to show you at least that much kindness.”

“How arrogant of you. Hm?”

While we were talking amongst ourselves…

My eyes looked in the same direction as where she was looking with raised eyebrows.

With my eyes still looking at the same place where she was looking, I asked Karupedan.

“That’s Wheatgrass?”

“Hehe. End of break time! Guess it’s time to get back into it. I’ll wish you the best of luck!”

“Guess time to use this head of mine. Nice to meetcha?”

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180. 2⁄3rds Completed

I perfectly reflected Dehaka’s attack right back at him.

I knew that if he was hit by his own projectile, his ability would be sealed and he wouldn’t be able to use it again.

And my reflected attack did not merely return back the same amount of damage, but was infused with plenty of mana and magical energy, dealing incomparable damage.

The reflected projectile that directly struck the orbs floating around him let out a deafening noise as it exploded.

It was similar to when I had lost my skills.

With that, one of his abilities, the projectiles that sealed away powers, disappeared in a blink of an eye.

He had been done in by his own ability.

This meant that I would be able to attack him from both range or close quarters as I pleased.

Thankfully, the number of abilities that were sealed were but a few.

Other than Mana Shield, these abilities were created from my ability to manipulate mana and magical energy, and they were basic low tier skills to boot.

Confirming this new turn of events, I was about to materialize two swords to begin my close quarter combat once more.

Almost as if someone had sent me a telepathy, I felt that something was off.

It was almost as if I heard that the choice I was about to make was wrong.

I stood dazed and still for a bit. Putting away my swords, I made distance once more.

There was a chance that my hidden fear was making me hallucinate, but considering that Dehaka could be possessing other abilities, I decided to use magic from a range instead of engaging in melee.

“For a heated sauna, Sikhye with ice cubes are the best.” ¹

“Hu huk! Ability gone! Ability sealing orbs……”

“Blizzard, Iceberg, Glacial Field. And even Frozen Orb! I’ll pour down all the attacks I have!”

“Hu uhu! Dehaka melts all! Dehaka is hot. Melt all.”

An attack that was made from compressing all of the powers I possessed.

On top of that, 3 skills were casted simultaneously, waiting for my command to shoot forward.

This was a display of skills far beyond that of what an Awakened could.

With the combination of the ethereal bright blue light of mana and the dark thick essence of magical energy, the Awakened skills I used had transformed into something completely unprecedented.

On top of that, the size and destructive force behind those skills had increased exponentially.

Just from looking, one could feel just how strong these skills were.

All the skills that I had casted were frost type attack skills.

Skill levels and their ranks no longer mattered anymore to me, but in terms of what skills humans could obtain, you could say that they were one of the strongest skills you could get.

The ranks of these skills were S to S+ ranks, and while they weren’t skills beyond ranking, the destructive force behind them wouldn’t lag behind any.

His giant form was made up of hot lava.

Almost as if trying to do his title of being the God of Earth justice, he must’ve made his body by pulling up magma from the ground.

Then it would only be right to answer in kind with skills that were the polar opposite of his element.

After using the skills, the first thing that caught my eye was the surrounding scenery.

The field that had been destroyed by the earthquake that Dehaka had caused was similar to where the Goddess of Death, Gera, had been, with red lava flowing out all over the place.

The lava that flowed out from his body only added onto that.

Now, however, Glacial Field covered well beyond the range of Dehaka’s destruction with chilly air.

Fierce winds accompanied by a wave of coldness changed the landscape.

Previously, this skill was used to slow down the movement of my opponents.

Now, however, it had such a powerful effect that it was enough to be considered an attack skill.

In the area that Glacial Field covered, you could see the lava slowly cool and harden. Just from seeing that, you could tell just how powerful this skill had become.

Almost as if flash freezing hot food, the area surrounding us was rapidly losing heat.

“Hu uu hu! Cold. Weakening. Human is strange!”

“It’s only at the stage of a refrigerator right now. You’ll be soon in the freezer. Just a bit longer and you’ll be frozen solid as if you had been hit by liquid nitrogen. I like winter more than summer, after all.”

“Hu uhh! Not die like this. Kill human! Human cannot win against gods!”

Giant meteors fell from the sky.

One might mistake them as many casts of Meteors, but it was actually the skill Blizzard.

Blizzard only rained down shards of ice.

But right now, these shards looked more like meteors.

Unlike Gera, this god did not just stand there and take the attacks.

Seeing my follow up attacks, he poured out far more lava from his body and pointed towards me.

Unfitting of his massive size, it was a very fast attack.

However.

“Hu uu? Huahh!”

While his attacks flew towards me, I formed dozens of Icebergs.

Similar to how a martial artist breaks wooden boards, the lava broke through the Icebergs one by one and flew towards me at great speeds.

However, due to the powerful Icebergs putting up a fierce resistance, the lava stopped dead at some point, hardening into cold stone.

Not letting this chance go, I cut his arm off with a single swing.

His arm that had turned from sticky goo into hardened stone, easily being cut apart in a single strike.

“HUAHAHCK! HURTS. HURTS!”

“Hurry up and give up your next appendage. I can already tell. You’re going to use the lava that has filled your body to the brim in order to regenerate your arm, right? Until your entire body that’s the size of a mountain shrinks into nothingness, that is.”

“Hu uh hu uh! Hu eet!”

As soon as I finished my words, he had fully recovered his arm.

Due to having faced all sorts of enemies, I could guess somewhat what they would do from how they appeared at this point.

Of course, I wasn’t able to predict their powers and abilities though.

It would take awhile until he would be completely obliterated.

I would have to freeze all of his giant body and smash him against the ground.

****

“Whew……”

With labored breathing, I cooled the smoldering red sword that had heated up from cutting him up by covering it with mana.

His corpse was piled up on the floor, almost making up a small island.

Like that, the God of Earth, Dehaka, was defeated after a battle that lasted over 2 hours.

It would be more accurate to call it a one sided attack more so than a battle though.

At the same time that Dehaka lost his life, I absorbed his ability.

The Goddess of Light, Lai Yanta. The God of Darkness, Hai Yanta. The Goddess of Death, Gera. And lastly, the God of Earth, Dehaka as well.

The gods that died at my hands were four.

Each had their own special abilities, and all of them had been absorbed by me, allowing me to use them as I wished.

I had no idea if I would be using these four abilities outside of the celestial plane.

However, it was absolutely true that I would need them for the coming battle against the remaining two gods that I had to face.

Out of the 6 gods, I had taken down 4, which was more than half.

I had made it 2/3rds of the way.

The only gods left were the God of Water and the God of Life.

Since they were higher ranking than the gods that I had faced so far, it would also make sense that they would be just as strong.

As expected, Karupedan appeared with a satisfied smile after having observed me from an unknown location.

“Kehehe. This battle was really exciting!”

“Whew…. I’m exhausted, so let me rest a bit before going onwards.”

“Right, right. I found Gera giving up her life to you to be strange, you know? But I found out the reason why! I think I understand now! It’s to gift me with joy like this. Right?”

“Tsk….. Think as you will. There are only two gods left, right?”

“Yep! Next is! You’ll be meeting with the God of Life, Wheatgrass.”

“The God of Life…. I expect that they possess some special ability too, right?”

“Hehe. That’s for you to find out! Until now, I’ve been quite amused as you figured that very same question with the other gods. I don’t want to tell you! You seem to deal with it a lot better than I expected though, hm? Did I put in that much effort when I made you humans?”

“……”

“I understand that I created humans with the most amount of effort out of all….. But I can’t remember what I was thinking when I did so…. All I remember is that I created them….. Isn’t that a bit strange? Hehe.”

“Hm…. That’s a separate story. So you won’t tell me in the end? I didn’t even have hopes for it, really. Instead, I’ll ask for the same thing as before.”

“Ah ha. The abilities that were sealed away? I already returned them back.”

“Hm?”

Almost as if knowing what I was going to ask for, this god had already undid the sealing of my skills from Dehaka’s ability.

Casting the abilities with both hands to confirm that it really was true, I continued speaking.

“Where do I need to go?”

“Are you planning to go already? Weren’t you going to rest up first before going? You know that, even in human time, a day hasn’t passed right?”

“Is that so….. But for some odd reason….. I don’t feel sleepy or hungry.”

“Kehe. That’s because this is the celestial plane.”

“……”

“And on top of that, you’re not human anymore, you know?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you so surprised? It’s obvious. When you kill a god, you inherit their abilities. And you have killed four of them already. All their abilities have gone to you.”

“……”

“But you still think of yourself as a human? Pff. Are you naive? Or just stupid?”

I blankly stared into emptiness at what Karupedan had said.

It was true what she said.

Until I came here, I was a human, or of the demonic race.

After I conquered the demonic realm and became the demon king, it was true that I was having a bit of an identity crisis.

But right now, I was even aiming for the seat of a god.

Well, it didn’t really matter what my identity was.

I only had power as a goal, worried for those around me, and needed a higher goal to aim for.

While I was lost in my thoughts, Karupedan continued to speak.

“So what will you do? Are you going to rest in the celestial plane before going? Or go right away…..”

“I don’t have time to rest. But even still, can you spare me some time to do so?”

“Of course. What do you need? What do you want to see? Just say the word. Since there wasn’t anything that has given me this much amusement until now, I can give you at least that much as a reward.”

“Barub…. I was to go visit the tunnel of time and space for a bit.”

“Huh? You’re going to that tunnel of time and space just to meet the guide? I’m shocked… How foolish are you, human. Look. There is nothing in the celestial plane that you could not do. You can eat what you want, take what you want, and do what you want. Whatever you fantasize about, it will no longer remain as just a fantasy.”

“I know. I do not look down on the powers of a god. But you know. Won’t I be able to enjoy them as much as I want after I kill you? Since all of your abilities would become mine.”

“That…. That’s right…..”

“Why? Are you suddenly scared of dying?”

“No! What nonsense are you saying? Tsk! I’ll send you to the tunnel of time and space.”

“Pff. Okay.”

-snap.

“Why are you here already, human.”

“Break time?”

“…….”

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179. God of Earth, Dehaka

Dehaka’s cored shattered into pieces, just like that.

The moment that I penetrated his core, the compressed power exploded, causing his jade core to disperse into dust.

His body that was the size of a house had turned into finely powdered dust.

But that wasn’t the end.

It seemed that the title of the third strongest wasn’t just for show.

As if an earthquake was happening, the ground of the celestial plane shook severely.

However, the area at the edge of my vision wasn’t shaking in the slightest.

A strong earthquake was occuring only around me.

As if trying to prove that he was a God of Earth, he shook the ground around me with great force.

Almost as if being hit by a cannon barrage, the earth around me crumbled in shambles.

“Hu hu, don’t die. Don’t die. I!”

“Enough with the nonsense……”

I could hear Dehaka’s voice from thin air.

Just listen to his crude and dumb way of speech.

It made me think that he’s speaking a lot of bullshit.

Kicking the ground that was rupturing below me, I soared up into the air.

Casting many Icebergs on top of each other to use as a platform, I landed on it.

From up high, I observed the chaos down below.

It was similar to when I faced off against the Goddess of Light, Lai Yanta.

Despite being way up above the chaos down below, I felt my body heat up as if it was put in a burning kiln.

Even though I had swallowed a King’s Marble, it felt as though I could melt if I went down there.

It could be me just imagining it, or it could be my growth halfway between human and god that allowed me to sense that danger instead.

“Is that his real form?”

“Hu hu huh. Do not die! I am strong!”

“……”

Dehaka resurrected.

Not only did come back, but he came back looking much stronger than before.

You could say that he evolved alongside the massive earthquake from his previous sturdy regular stone golem form.

His current form oozed sticky lava like sweat.

On top of that, he had become large beyond comparison from before.

In the celestial plane, all the scenery looked small like rice grains, but this form was huge as though I was looking at him from up close.

I could mistake him for a mountain that rose out of the ground.

And unlike his form that was intimidating enough to fit the role of a gatekeeper for hell, magnificent wings had sprouted on his back.

The wings were similar to what one would imagine when they think of angels.

The upper half resembled the appearance of a stone golem before, but the lower half didn’t even exist.

Below his waist was fully connected to the ground.

His head was vastly small in comparison to his body. And near his body, an orb the size of a baseball was orbiting him.

As if the orb had been made from magical energy, it was emitting a dark purple light.

“Hu hu hu. Come here. Human. I kill!”

“I guess I know exactly why your head is so small. If you were me, would you come?”

“I am a god. You are a human. Humans can never beat a god.”

“The only thing that changed was your form. You think that you won’t die and endure if I keep hitting you in a frenzy?”

Unsummoning the numerous Icebergs at the same time, I fell towards him at great speeds.

My method of taking him down didn’t differ from before.

King’s Marble. Formless Sword Aura. With these two, it was enough.

If I cut and tear countless of times, then no matter how strong he had become, he would be reduced to rubble and scatter into oblivion.

“What! I definitely consumed a Marble…..”

“Hu hu hu. Die. Human will die.”

It happened the moment that I brought close both the empowered swords in each hand close to his body.

He stretched out his hand towards me and sent multiple of those orbs at me.

Flying towards me with a muddy sound, dozens of those projectiles struck me dead on.

Despite trusting the marble I consumed, I casted Mana Shield out of an uneasiness I felt.

Even though the shield blocked most attacks as if nothing, it was torn apart like paper before his attack.

Mana Shield should regenerate endlessly with my limitless mana.

However, for some unknown reason, the shield that had received his attack did not regenerate.

Despite not having a cooldown or a cast time, my Mana Shield wasn’t activating.

Was it because I was lacking mana? Not even funny.

There was no way that was the case. There was no reason for the Unrivaled God to suddenly take away the power that she had bestowed on me.

It seemed that it had something to do with the attack that he just cast at me.

Since he was a god, it seemed that he had a secret skill after all.

It took a long time for me to figure out Gera’s ability before.

Since she stood on the side of humans, she did not attack besides retaliating.

Until I found out the answer on my own, she waited in silence, receiving my attacks without complaint.

It was the same as giving me hints until it led to her defeat.

However, this wasn’t the case with him.

Even now, he was being anxious because he couldn’t kill me right now.

‘The purple orb. Do I just need to avoid those?’

More purple orbs kept being made.

I couldn’t help but think that being hit by those things sealed away abilities.

If I eat my King’s Marble and it hits my body while I’m in my invincible state?

It could seal away the power of the marble, removing my invincibility status.

This was just a theory, but the one thing that I was sure of was that I needed to do everything I could to avoid them.

After all, carelessness born from complacent thoughts could lead to an irreversible defeat.

I made as much distance I could between him and me.

The orbs were flying towards me from a point blank distance. It was akin to trying to avoid being shot with the gun already at your head.

Basically it was near impossible.

If I increased the time it took to reach me, then it would be much easier to avoid them.

I even removed the mana and magical energy condensed on my weapon.

It was because I realized that my chances of winning in a close quarter combat was nil.

From now on, I had to take him down using long ranged magic instead.

As expected, he continued to fire those purple orbs at me.

Thankfully, it was moving at a speed at which I could confirm with my eyes.

Avoiding those projectiles filled with killing intent, I casted Reflect Shield that I learned as an Awakened.

If even a single one struck me, it would mean that I would lose the invincibility status my body currently possessed.

My skills would continue to be sealed away one by one as the battle continued, and would pose a great risk towards me.

However, I could ask Karupedan to return them to me after I defeated this god.

Since he observed my battles with much amusement, I was positive that he would do so.

Do skills really matter right now. A much greater crisis was before me.

‘Iceberg…. Damn it. I don’t think I should?’

Thinking about it, I couldn’t block his attack with my skills either.

It was because any skills that made contact with his attack would be sealed away immediately as well.

Dodging. I had no choice but to avoid his attacks.

There was the option of using the ability that I had obtained from Gera to allow his attack on me once more so that I could return his attack back.

However, this ability only allowed me to return back attacks that I had received while in the same state.

This meant that I would be able to return back the attack if I was attacked again with my Mana Shield up, but since I was using Reflect Shield to defend myself, I wasn’t in the same state, and therefore didn’t meet the conditions to activate the ability.

And as I’ve witnessed already, his ability activated with even a single hit.

He was definitely a difficult opponent.

‘That attack completely seals away Awakened skills. Mana? Magical energy? What about them?’

“Kill. Return you back to a powerless weak human.”

“I’ll be the one to kill you. I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill you and your empty head!”

Drawing out my mana in an instant, I created a Mana Spear and scored a direct hit on Dehaka’s projectiles.

Colliding at great speeds due to both the spear and projectiles charging at each other, a massive explosion that let out a deafening sound occurred.

The explosion was so strong that it shook the earth to its core.

It seemed that the force behind his projectiles wasn’t that great.

Of course, this was from only considering the destructive forces behind each of the attacks.

Then what about the abilities? Did one of the many methods of using magical energy become sealed?

“Damn it……”

“Hu hu hu. Remove the overflowing powers that do not fit the bowl. Return back to inconsequential existence.”

I tried using Mana Spear again, but it wasn’t possible.

It was the same feeling as forgetting a popular song that you would hum to yourself on a daily basis.

No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t remember. It was a frustrating situation like that.

With this, I had confirmed that even mana becomes sealed away by his attacks.

There were only two options left.

Magical energy. And an attack that infused both mana and magical energy.

“Hu hu. Continue to make new things. Remove them all.”

“Tsk…..”

It was the same with using magical energy.

I was pretty much at the end of my rope.

I was even resentful towards Gera, who had said that I would need her ability to defeat the gods I would be facing after her.

If he even negated my attack that was infused with both mana and magical energy, then that was the end of the road for me.

Almost as if enjoying the situation, he continued to fire projectiles at me from the same spot.

It seemed as though he was waiting for me to become powerless after he had stolen all of my power.

He was trying to turn me into a powerless weak form that was akin to what the gods thought humans were like.

I felt a deep rage for a brief moment before being interrupted.

His attack continued again.

“Huh?”

“……..”

The shockwave of sound from the explosion this time was different from before.

Unlike the massive explosion that was caused from mana and magical energy colliding with his projectiles separately, when the attack that infused both collided with his projectile, attacks from both sides had become completely negated, similar to how Meteor and Iceberg cancelled each other out.

Only now did I feel strongly that things were going in my favor.

I wasn’t the only one feeling this change.

Losing his unique idiotic laugh, Dehaka was tilting his head to the side.

I immediately checked if I could cast my infused attack again.

“Hu? Didn’t lose ability. Strange. Wasn’t able to steal human’s power.”

“The tables have turned, you boneheaded piece of shit!”

As if stuck in disbelief, he stood absolutely still for awhile.

‘No. You should not think about this. You won’t come to any conclusions with that stupid head of yours, right? Hurry up and attack. Launch your projectiles again! If it meets my infused attack one more time….. I shall return it with an attack stronger by a thousand fold, ten thousand fold stronger.’

I felt happy as though I had found rope at the edge of a cliff.

Finally, I was able to create a condition where I would be able to receive his attack, allowing me to create an identical state.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he moved his body to attack again.

Then.

Like an idiot, he sent out his projectiles once more.

He had already forgotten that his own Bind had taken a hold of him recently.

Despite witnessing Gera’s ability firsthand, he had made the same mistake.

“Stupid shithead. Now it’s done. The tides have turned!”

“Hu uh? Lost ability. No. This cannot be.”

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178. Going Smoothly

Karupedan’s face was flushed red, and her expression told me that this was just the start.

I had already defeated half the gods I needed to defeat, and all I had to do was defeat three more to finish my deal with Karupedan.

I didn’t think of the aftermath following the defeat of the gods.

If even the power of Karupedan was inherited by me, allowing me to become a peerless existence, then would I be also subjected to the immortal life that she is living right now?

I didn’t have a choice to go against the Unrivaled God in this situation, but I also couldn’t help but feel worried.

As I was being guided by this god and walking alongside her, there was something that didn’t sit right with me.

My body was affected by the inability to heal effect from Gera’s retaliation.

I tried using Status Negation to return myself back to a state before the attack, but even that was impossible.

I had used all of my available power, but even still, it was impossible.

I was reminded once more just how the power of the Piece of Space and Time was absolute.

I think I understand now why Karupedan didn’t just want to give away this power to anyone.

After all, no matter what attack was used, it would leave a wound and debuff that would never fade for an eternity.

I called for Karupedan, who was walking ahead of me.

“Hey.”

“Hm?”

“The wound that I received from Gera. Why don’t you heal this for me?”

“Eh? Weren’t you just trying to lecture a god just a moment ago, but now you’re asking for help? Don’t you have any pride?”

“It wouldn’t be a fair fight otherwise, would it? After all, I am facing against multiple opponents. Even though you don’t want a predictable one sided ending, wouldn’t this benefit you as well?”

“Hm….. That’s the power you wield right now. Do you finally understand just how powerful the power you obtained is?”

“Hm. Somewhat? But I became sure of one thing.”

“Hm?”

“Instead of leaving shallow wounds on my enemies, I rather kill them off cleanly.”

“Wow! How brutal of you. So cruel.”

“No. You won’t be able to call it cruel at the end. Rather than living the rest of their lives in untreatable death like pain, my opponents would thank me for granting them a clean death.”

“…..”

“Now. How will you do it? Hurry up and return me back to my original state. You also want to be entertained, right? With the fights I’ll be partaking against the remaining gods, that is.”

“Well, yeah. Then……”

-snap.

With a snap of her fingers, the debuff that prevented healing disappeared.

Since it wasn’t that deep of a wound, it didn’t feel as good as a rotten teeth being pulled out, but I did feel a sense of relief.

If the healing negation was left as it was, it would’ve been quite the headache.

Right now, I was currently afflicted by the debuff. No matter who’d attacked me next, I wouldn’t be able to heal myself.

Even if the attacks that followed didn’t have the powers of the Piece of Space and Time behind it.

This meant that fundamentally, recovery of any kind was impossible.

The damage I received would only rack up, resulting in a pitiful death.

“Who is my next opponent?”

“Dehaka.”

“What does this god rule over?”

“Oh…. You sound like you know your way around the celestial plane, you know?”

“It hasn’t been a day yet, but with this much, you could say that I know somewhat.”

“Hehe. Light and darkness. And death. What do you think is left?”

“Life and earth. Something like that?”

“Oh oh! Dehaka is the God of Earth. The last god that you missed is the God of Water.”

“So excluding you, this would mean that Dehaka would be roughly in the 3rd place in terms of power?”

“You really have become a denizen of the celestial plane.”

“But you know, just when are you planning to get there that you’re traveling this slow? You could just snap your fingers and get there, but it seems like you’re just wasting time!”

“Then shall we stop now?”

“What? You mean to end it here?”

“Pfft. What! I already told you. Dehaka is the god of the earth. Even now, I can call him right away. Even on the ground that you currently stand on, he exists.”

“……”

“What? What’s with the sudden scary face?”

“You think that I’m satisfied living my life here, but that’s a big mistake. Why did you tell me now…. Whew….. Enough. Dehakan or whatever that god’s name is, hurry up and call him.”

“Hehe. Then……”

****

Karupedan instantly hid her presence.

She didn’t teleport me to another place nor guide me to the exact location where the God of Earth, Dehaka, resided.

Unlike before, she had left me in this empty vast plain and disappeared.

“What is she trying to do…..”

Looking around, it happened the moment that I took a step forward.

“Is this…. Bind?”

Due to a hand rising out of the ground, both my legs were bound.

Despite having an immortal body, it wasn’t easy to get free from a bind with so much force behind it.

Of course, I wasn’t using all of my strength right now.

I wondered if the Bind spell I used was made based on this.

With my feet caught by Bind, I stood still.

It wasn’t as if I was taking any damage or in a situation to take any significant damage, so I stood still and waited for Dehaka’s appearance.

As I had hoped for, Dehaka appeared.

“Who is this? A stone golem?”

“Huhu. Human can’t move.”

“What. Why are you talking like that?”

“Huhu. Turn you to dust at this rate. Turn to dust and become a part of the earth. The power of earth is great.”

“Are you talking about this?”

Tearing open the ground and climbing out, a giant stone golem appeared.

Dehaka’s appearance looked familiar, as if I’ve seen it somewhere before.

He was massive in size, and he seemed sturdy to the point that not a dent could be made to his body.

It was true that the Bind that the God of Earth made was powerful.

However, if I focused all of my mana to my feet and released them all at once?

There was no way that he could hold me with such a weak Bind.

Kicking it in one go, I turned the Bind to dust.

“Huh? Stone fist broke.”

“You were trying to hold me down with a cheap trick like this? I can’t believe it.”

“Huhu. Mistake. Catch again. Catch human and crush.”

“Oho? Really. Are you planning to use the same attack? Are you pretending not to know, or do you really not know? At this point, it almost feels like you’re putting up an act.”

-crack!

“Bingo.”

“Huh?”

“Guess you don’t know the ability that Gera possess? Ah. Is it because your head is made of stone as well? Dumb shit. Stay flat against the ground.”

“Hu! Kill.”

He had casted Bind again. However, rather than my feet being bound, it was Dehaka who was bound instead.

Gera’s ability had activated.

It was an ability that reflected any attack that I had received previously before.

Not only was I returning Dehaka’s attack, it was a counterattack that included my mana, magical energy, and the power of the Piece of Space and Time.

It really was returning the favor severalfold.

With his feet tied down in place, Dehaka couldn’t move at all.

It was enough to make me wonder if he really was the 3rd most powerful god.

The way he spoke and his actions, along with thoughtless attacks…

I didn’t know what his combat capabilities were, but it was evident that he was severely lacking in the intelligence department.

I didn’t take long looking at how pathetic he was. Walking closer, I lifted up my sword.

“Huhu. Human cannot kill Dehaka.”

“Is that so? Do you think that I broke free of your Bind from pure luck alone?”

“Not die. Huhu. I am not a hurdle a human can get over.”

“I’ve heard enough of that from the light and dark god to have it become stuck in my head.”

“How did you come to agree with the complete annihilation of humankind with a skull like that? Did you just follow along after seeing everyone else do it? Being foolish is a crime. Remember that well.”

My Formless Sword Aura’s reckless attacks began.

I was moving at a speed that was nearly impossible for the naked eye to track.

On top of that, other than the Butcher’s Sword, I was holding another sword with my other hand.

It didn’t make any sense.

The Butcher’s Sword was a two handed sword.

Of course, you could wield a two handed sword with one hand if you trained enough. However, you still couldn’t use the stats and power of the other sword in the other hand.

It was only but a decoration that filled an empty slot.

However, the sword in my left hand right now told a different story.

A form of a sword covered in blue flame. It was made from mana and magical energy.

It wasn’t as if there was a set stat for the sword, but the power behind it was enormous.

With my limitless mana, I condensed it the maximum, and I had even empowered the body that swung the sword, so what more do I need to explain.

And since this new weapon wasn’t classified as a sword, even though I was holding a sword in each hand, it was serving its purpose just fine.

In all honesty, you could say that the Butcher’s Sword has lost its value.

It was a sword that only absorbed the stats of the Awakened humans.

I haven’t had a need to use it for quite some time.

The reason why I carried it around with me after I obtained such massive power was simple.

I just had to infuse the sword with the same power that I used to create the sword in my left hand.

I had already far surpassed the realm of the humans.

It was amazing enough that I took control over the demonic realm and learned how to use magical energy, but now I had even obtained powers of gods.

I had become an existence that could do the things which most wouldn’t even be able to consider.

It was enough to make me scared of myself.

The continued Formless Sword Aura eventually went into overdrive.

I swallowed a marble as red smoke rose around my body.

Overdrive and the marble both lasted 1 minute.

This was a course of action I took after considering that I could lax on the defense in order to focus on only attacking, raising my offensive capability to its maximum at the same time.

The God of Earth, Dehaka, could not even put up any resistance and was cut apart.

Due to chipping away at his body countless times, the area around was covered in thick dust.

His body that was as big as a house shrunk slowly in size, and after the Overdrive, had shrunk quite a lot.

Other than casting Bind at the start, all that he did was to get beat up one sidedly.

With how much he was chipped apart, there wasn’t much of his body left.

It didn’t take long for a stone that could be considered his core appeared.

With a half transparent jade color, it seemed far sturdier than the ordinary.

Holding both my swords with one hand, I struck down that core.

Contrary to looking too tough to penetrate, the swords went through cleanly through his core.

Holding tightly onto the swords, I released all the condense power on the swords at once.

With that as a finisher, I thought that another god had been annihilated.

However.

-crackle.

“I guess he’s third place for a reason? How annoying.”

---

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