Chapter 199
Chapter 199
Chapter 199
Krakar and Ktuna (3)
The end of the story.
Rudian intuited that there was something only the highest-ranking divine beings knew.
"What does that mean?"
"Well? I don't know that either."
"Huh...? You don't know?"
"But this one thing is certain."
Yev met Rudian's eyes with calm ones.
"This current flow is absolutely not natural. The gods who can lift the veil and peek into the future all know that originally, someone 'else' should have occupied your position."
"......!"
"There are those like North and Garganta who see it as an opportunity and move accordingly, and there are cases like Ruura who pretend not to know or like Haniel who remain silent."
Yev continued speaking at length, which could be considered almost record-breaking for her.
"Even if they don't speak, even if they don't reveal their intentions, many high-ranking beings regard you as one of the opportunities. If that weren't the case, you would have been finished when you met Raphael at Leviathan's tomb."
"That's... true."
There had been signs.
From the 'Tower of Trials' that was supposedly arranged for Abel to the Hall of Heroes.
The archangels he met each time uniformly described Rudian as an 'irregular' who had escaped from the goddesses of fate.
"Those two are the same. They're the ones trying to seize opportunities by using you. In fact, beings of their level could easily move on to the 'next' thanks to Mother's blessing, yet they're acting like this... They're definitely ones with excessive greed."
"Greed...."
Rudian's eyes directly fixed on Yev.
"Does that... apply to you too, Yev?"
"...Hehehe."
From the beginning until now.
Yev had never left Rudian's side for a moment, watching all his movements.
In fact, if Rudian's existence was the greatest 'opportunity' to obtain 'something,' then Yev could be said to be the being closest to it.
But Yev shook her head and denied it outright.
"No, I have no such intention."
"......"
"I am a thorough observer."
"Then why are you still by my side? From now on, even you might get caught up in it if you stay nearby."
Yev smiled with narrowed eyes.
"No matter how much it's a special seat, the fun of observing directly from nearby can't compare to watching from outside the stage."
The fun of direct observation....
"And don't underestimate my abilities too much. I'm much stronger than you think."
"......"
Rudian closed his mouth and fell silent.
Pure interest.
He couldn't know the truth of it yet, but for now, he had no choice but to believe it.
'But I should still be suspicious.'
Though Yev had instilled confidence in the assumptions Rudian had previously considered, she hadn't explained exactly what "the end of the story" meant.
Probably, Yev knew.
She knew but was avoiding giving an answer.
"Anyway, there's nothing to lose by listening to what those guys have to say. Just knowing their intentions would make it worthwhile to have maintained this position."
"...Right."
Rudian decided to wait for their fight to end.
As Krakar had boasted, their fight didn't take very long.
-Ah, Berus...!
Indeed, the gap between demon kings and gods was tremendous, as Astaroth and Nex showed only a losing appearance throughout and were eventually completely pushed back.
STAB! STAB! STAB!
-Gah! Urgh!
Tentacles protruding from Krakar's entire body pierced through Astaroth and Nex's bodies, and they eventually died miserably, offering their demonic and divine powers to Krakar.
'It's roughly over.'
The allied army of hundreds of thousands of angels and demons was completely annihilated in just a few minutes.
Of course, the forces stationed in Helheim weren't all there was, but that didn't diminish the overwhelming power of those two outer gods.
-Then, since we have some time, shall we proceed with a proper conversation?
If they knew that the forces in this area had been annihilated, Heaven and the Demon Realm definitely wouldn't come hastily.
They would probably gather their forces thoroughly and deal with it decisively, which meant more conversation time for Rudian and the two outer gods.
-Now then....
FLASH!
The massive bodies of Krakar and Ktuna emitted light and suddenly transformed into forms similar to the humans of the continent.
Just like Yev.
"In this form, it should be easier for you to deal with us."
"......"
Krakar and Ktuna, who had transformed into a young man and woman, approached Rudian.
Rudian looked at the two gods and thought this:
'...At least put on some clothes.'
If they had clumsily imitated humans, he might have been less bothered, but since they had unfortunately transformed into quite handsome man and beautiful woman, that thought became even stronger.
But he couldn't say anything to beings who had gone so far as to change their appearance to arrange this conversation....
"Let's get straight to the point."
Ktuna, who had at least lowered the intensity with her jet-black long hair, spoke in a dry voice.
"Join hands with us."
At those words, Rudian felt slightly disappointed.
"...So it's an alliance proposal after all?"
"We only need to achieve one goal. If we can accomplish that, we swear we'll never set foot on that planet again."
Krakar continued Ktuna's words.
"Also, if you wish, we'll provide unlimited forces under our command until you achieve all your goals, and we'll help establish you as a new god of the outer world."
"......!"
It was quite a radical proposal.
That was practically equivalent to saying they would transfer all forces under their command to Rudian.
"...What is it?"
But Rudian felt even greater anxiety at those words.
If they were presenting such compensation, their goal would definitely not be an easy one.
As expected, the words that came from Krakar's mouth were content that could absolutely not be taken at face value.
"Join us... and kill Berus."
"Crazy."
Profanity immediately burst from Rudian's mouth.
That's how much Krakar's proposal was something that couldn't and shouldn't be accepted.
"We have no interest in the other Seven Great Gods. Our goal is only Berus."
"No, wait...."
Rudian raised his hand to cut off Krakar's words.
"First... there's really a lot I want to say, but let me just ask one thing."
"Speak."
"How do you kill him? Does Berus look easy to you?"
Though mixed in the same category of Seven Great Gods, Berus's rank was even higher than theirs.
To put it bluntly, Berus alone could take on the other six Great Gods and all their subordinates and still crush them, and even if all outer world forces except Shub came together, Berus could probably handle it sufficiently.
The God of Light.
The being closest to the Creator God.
Excluding the MacGuffin-like Demon God and Machine God, Berus was the being who, along with the outer god Shub, divided the position of strongest in this worldview.
"Of course, we know it's difficult."
"It's not difficult, it's impossible."
It was essentially an act of making all of Heaven an enemy.
Probably the moment he participated, not only Rudian himself but also the middle world associated with him would be completely 'devastated.'
"If you help us, there's a possibility."
"Ha, how? Is there a separate way to catch only Berus while avoiding Heaven's eyes?"
Then, words that absolutely could not be overlooked flowed from Krakar.
"Berus cannot leave the Creator God's temple for a while."
"......!"
"The only one who can help Berus there is Medaiel, the temple's administrator."
"How do you guys know that...?"
"If you decide to do it, Baal and the Death King will also follow your will. Since they hate Berus more than us, who have no particular connection...."
As those words suggested, Baal and the Death King's cooperation with the outer world invasion was only because their own rice bowls were in danger of being taken away.
If the outer world showed a peaceful stance and could present a clear possibility of killing Berus....
"We can ask the Great Mother to borrow the Purple World. Since it won't be too difficult for you to obtain the Yellow World... practically six of the Seven-Colored Worlds would be gathered."
'These crazy bastards.'
Berus's assassination would definitely not be an absurd story.
"You should know this truth. The original purpose of the Seven-Colored Worlds, called fragments of the Creator God, was actually not 'world creation.'"
Magic, Magical Energy, Divine Power, Psionic Energy, Death Force, Elemental.
The Seven-Colored Worlds, which were the source of the six energies existing in the world.
Originally, they were known as mythical artifacts created by the Creator God to create each world, and that was the established theory, but...
The real purpose of the Seven-Colored Worlds revealed in the final part of was none other than....
"A god-slaying weapon to kill all gods. That's the essence of the Seven-Colored Worlds."
"Ah, damn."
"Before the establishment of the Seven Great Gods, the ancient gods who had seized power in the Genesis era put all their efforts into eliminating the Seven-Colored Worlds first. But they ultimately failed."
"The fact that Berus was included among those ancient gods... you should know that too."
"......"
"Berus is not your ally. Rather, he will be the last obstacle blocking your path and the greatest hindrance."
"So, join hands with us. We must prevent Berus from seizing power again in the 'next world.'"
Where on earth did these guys hear such things?
Naturally, the words that Krakar and Ktuna had just uttered could be said to be core secrets that penetrated the entire worldview.
Rudian shook his head with a deflated expression.
"How did you guys know that?"
"......"
"Really, that secret is something that even among the Seven Great Gods, only Medaiel would know if you exclude Berus.... No, that's a foolish question. The source is obvious."
"......"
Naturally, there was only one source.
Shub must have told them.
If Heaven noticed that Rudian knew this truth, regardless of the war with the outer world, they would do everything in their power to eliminate Rudian, even ignoring all causal restrictions.
Even if that weren't the case, they would unconditionally try to retrieve the Seven-Colored Worlds, and the moment that happened, Rudian would lose the only way to reach the ending.
Rudian rubbed his face with both hands.
"...I shouldn't have listened."
"Do you regret it?"
"Tremendously. What on earth was Shub thinking...."
Whether he joined hands with the outer world or not wasn't the important thing.
When the space war ended, it would naturally flow into the mythical war, and Rudian had a plan to turn Heaven upside down in preparation for that time.
'It absolutely must not be revealed. I mustn't show any signs.'
The fact that Rudian harbored such treacherous thoughts was something no one should know right now.
But Krakar and Ktuna didn't care and dragged out Rudian's inner thoughts.
"Berus is your enemy."
"If you can kill Berus at this opportunity, your plan will become much easier."
"Achieving your purpose with minimal sacrifice. Wasn't that your mindset?"
"Get lost, you bastards."
Despite the clear power gap, rough words flowed from Rudian's mouth.
"You're confused."
"Our words have hit your vital point."
"Please just get lost!"
If he could kill Berus in the current situation?
And if he could not only repel the outer world's interference but also draw up their forces without limit?
Naturally, he could drill tunnels through the countless walls blocking Rudian's goal and lay highways.
'But what if we fail?'
That moment would be the end.
It would be a perfect game over with no chance of recovery.