Chapter 190
Chapter 190
Chapter 190
Garganta (2)
Garganta's mouth, which seemed like it would never open, slowly began to part.
"Have you been well, Gabriel."
Compared to his inorganic expression, Garganta's voice unexpectedly held a warm undertone.
"Thanks to you...."
Once he opened his mouth, Garganta's words continued at considerable length.
"I'm sorry about this incident. If I don't cause such a commotion, there's no opportunity to descend to the lower realm."
Garganta's words were tantamount to readily admitting that he was the one who caused this current situation.
But surprisingly, Gabriel bowed his head without any particular anger.
"When Gardin was annihilated, all the earthly work we had labored on for thousands of years turned to bubbles."
Upon hearing those words, Gabriel tilted his head slightly.
"But it doesn't seem like you regret it as much as expected."
"Because I knew what would be lost. Berus' arrangements are that solid and firm."
A faint smile formed at the corners of Garganta's mouth.
"But it doesn't matter now. By sacrificing all of that... the future of breaking the barrier has been confirmed."
By Shub sentencing Rudian to 152 days of future, Berus' barrier breaking was confirmed.
That was nothing short of a victory sentence for Garganta, who had been suffering hardships until now.
But even so, Gabriel still had one question remaining.
"Then wasn't it unnecessary to mobilize even 'them'? Even without causing such a commotion...."
"He is one who breaks causality."
Garganta cut off Gabriel's words.
"And one who came from outside the world. Even if it's Lord Shub's prophecy, if we let our guard down, it can easily be twisted."
"......!"
"So we must continue throwing bait. So he doesn't get bored...."
The thought briefly crossed his mind that they were giving too much for mere bait, but Gabriel soon erased that thought.
Anyway, the forces of the Heaven mobilized this time weren't everything. The real forces to be mobilized for the actual plan were still holding their breath and waiting for an opportunity.
"This is the last time anyway. How are the preparations for 'Heaven's Fall' coming along?"
"We succeeded in winning over eight of the twelve archangels. However...."
"However?"
Gabriel answered with a slightly clouded expression.
"Michael and Uriel are still expressing opposition to the plan. The Scribe is similar as well."
"The Scribe... you mean Metatron?"
"He neither agrees nor opposes, maintaining silence throughout."
The Scribe of Heaven, Metatron.
The only one among the archangels whose name doesn't end with 'el', and along with Archangel Michael, the most special existence among the archangels.
The reason he's special despite being an archangel is because he's the only being who knows the intentions of God Berus.
Also, true to his epithet as 'Scribe', he's a being who knows all the secret histories and confidential matters of the heavenly realm that even the gods of the pantheon don't all know.
"He's someone we must win over. Excluding Berus, he's the only being who knows the location where the Avatar of Destruction is sealed."
"We're doing our best, but it doesn't seem easy to move him with any price."
"...If he won't move for a price, then we'll have to move him with circumstances."
Garganta's eyes sank deeply.
"First, I'll weaken Berus's barrier. So that others don't notice, very slowly letting it be released...."
"As you wish...."
Gabriel, bowing his head, thought the situation was quite amusing.
He belonged to the war faction that believed they should wage all-out war against extraterrestrial forces.
But as the mastermind planning and executing Heaven's Fall, he was in a position where he had to open the door for those extraterrestrial forces to crawl up to this planet.
'The contradiction of the very person who opened the door having to fight them... keke, kekeke....'
Of course, Gabriel's intentions didn't completely align with Garganta's.
Unlike Garganta who wished for this planet's destruction, Gabriel would be satisfied if extraterrestrial beings could divert heaven's attention.
Of course, Garganta would know this fact.
Naturally, both sides were making sufficient preparations against each other, and whichever side backstabbed first would mark the era of complete catastrophe.
Same bed, different dreams.
The situation between Garganta and Gabriel could be perfectly defined by this single phrase.
But then....
It was just the moment when Garganta was about to make contact with Berus's barrier.
FLASH!
Suddenly, a familiar teleportation magic circle appeared in a corner of the hall.
And from within it....
Neither Garganta, nor Gabriel, nor anyone else had expected it - variables among variables suddenly revealed themselves.
"What's this situation?"
"...That's what I'd rather ask. To see such an interesting sight just after coming outside after so long."
A young man with gray hair who had just shed his boyish appearance, and a man following beside such a young man.
"Um, did we pick the wrong timing to come out?"
"You were the one who said we should go out because the outside didn't seem normal, Luciella. But that... looks quite dangerous?"
And two women with impressive red hair like sisters.
"......"
"......"
Gray and Giovanni, and Luciella and Yugria.
Four men and women who had finished their training in the Hall of Heroes faced Gabriel and Garganta.
***
RUMBLEEEEEE!
The ancient dragon's breath, filled with the power of chaos, pierced straight through the mountain range and left a massive scar on the earth.
But the one who was the target of that breath folded space without much effort and lightly avoided it.
-Did you think you could simply dodge!
CRACKLEEEE!
From the hands of the massive ancient dragons flapping their wings in the sky, dozens of 9th class magic spells were fired simultaneously.
But those facing them from the ground sneered and mocked the ancient dragons.
"If it's hard to dodge, just block it."
As soon as those words ended, about a dozen personnel scattered around the area gathered in one place and formed a barrier imbued with sacred energy.
BOOOOOOM!
Fire and lightning, ice and wind, light rays and shadows.
The wide-range strike mixing multiple attributes was neutralized by the barrier and disappeared in an instant.
It was power that could easily erase several cities from this world, but the Pantheon , the ancient dragons' opponents, had enough capacity to handle such power.
"...Incredible."
Rudian, who had entered the subspace interior, was slightly mesmerized by the scale of the battle taking place inside.
Actually, in terms of scale, Rudian had also caused quite large-scale incidents many times, but fighting directly and watching from a third party's perspective felt different.
"The war situation is... evenly matched?"
The number of ancient dragons was roughly fifty. Conversely, the number of invaders was merely around a dozen.
But judging by momentum alone, neither side was particularly being pushed back, so the fact that the invaders' level was demigod-class was definitely no exaggeration or bluff.
-You! You've finally come?
"...Lord Calesta!"
The Red Dragon Lord Calesta, whose head was one size larger compared to other dragons, welcomed Rudian's appearance.
-I didn't know I'd be so glad to see you.
"How is the damage inside?"
Even though all the hatchlings had evacuated, the forces currently inside could be called the dragon race's greatest power.
At Rudian's words, Calesta's expression immediately darkened.
-Ten died in total. However, that was due to the initial surprise attack, and there's been no significant damage since then.
If those ten were all ancient dragon-class, the damage would be considerable.
Moreover, there were still dragons outside fighting extraterrestrial monsters, so it was hard to imagine how much the dragon race's overall damage would be.
Rudian turned his head to look at the invaders.
'I don't see War God Mars.'
War God Mars, who could be called the center and assault captain of the Pantheon.
He might not be called a war god now, but even fallen, he was the Pantheon's strongest force who wouldn't lose even against decent high-ranking gods.
But such a person wasn't before his eyes now.
'Something's strange?'
The Pantheon's forces weren't just this much.
The total number of Pantheon members Rudian remembered was twenty-five.
With just that number of personnel, they received an evaluation second only to the dragon race, the strongest force, so if they had brought their proper forces, most of the ancient dragons here wouldn't have been safe.
Rudian directly stared at the one among the Pantheon members he could recognize based on the original work's descriptions.
"God of Mountains, Kuliak."
A giant whose height reached a full 4 meters.
A being with an appearance far removed from ordinary humans, whose skin all over his body had a texture similar to rock.
Naturally, the pointed-out Kuliak opened his eyes as if surprised and tilted his head.
"...Do you know me?"
"A little."
"Interesting. It's already been over 30,000 years since I fell to being a mortal...."
One who opposed the Seven Great Gods Satera long before the Heaven-Demon Great War, was defeated, and exiled from heaven.
Rudian met that Kuliak's eyes and opened his mouth.
"Why did you touch the dragons when there's no benefit at all?"
"Hah, do I have an obligation to answer?"
"If you want to get out of here alive, it would be good to open your mouth...."
TWITCH!
Immediately, Kuliak's brow furrowed with anger.
"How dare...."
"Are you still mistaken that you're sitting on a divine throne? If you want to keep living in delusion, I don't have anything more to say."
"......!"
Immediately, the expressions of the Pantheon members completely changed.
-Your eloquence is quite deadly.
Blue Dragon Lord Shaiharan, who was beside Calesta, giggled with laughter.
He seemed quite satisfied with Rudian's guts, watching the situation with a rather pleased expression.
But contrary to Shaiharan, Kuliak's face turned red and blue with anger.
"It's not difficult to tell you the purpose of coming here. However...."
Kuliak began to seriously invoke his divinity.
"You need to have your manners corrected."
The moment Kuliak extended his hand, the ground in front split and something began to emerge from between the cracks.
Rather than a sword, it was closer to an awl or lance, and its size reached at least several hundred meters.
'Mountain's Sword!'
Because he had fallen to demigod status, it was merely several hundred meters, but it couldn't be ignored as it contained divine power.
He could feel power comparable to the magic spear that Rigos had deployed in the past.
But even facing such massive authority, Rudian smirked and provoked Kuliak.
"If you can't correct my manners, how about honestly spilling the purpose of crawling into this place?"
"...I'll listen to anything. If you survive from my hands."
"Good, the bet is established."
As those words ended, massive chaotic power began to burst forth from Rudian's entire body like a flood.
"...Gasp!"
Kuliak was astonished.
Never thinking that he had been hiding his power, Kuliak was immediately overwhelmed by Rudian's suddenly erupting power.
"My current combat power is 430,000! But don't worry, I'm not planning to fight at full power!"
No matter how much he had been in a high-ranking god's position in the past, now he was just someone at the level of a middling lower-class Demon King.
'I'll let you feel what Vegeta's heart was like when facing Frieza!'
At that moment, Maria, who had been watching the situation from behind, quietly asked.
"...Rudian, what are you talking about?"
"Ah, it was a line I really wanted to try saying once...."
Whether she understood Rudian's feelings or not, Maria narrowed her eyes and got slightly angry.
"I don't know if it's 430,000 or what, but don't play around and finish quickly."
"......Yes."