Chapter 203
Chapter 203
Chapter 203
Pantheon (1)
"You guys…."
"I heard that you're lacking in strength. How about it? Would you like to borrow our power?"
"……."
Baal's proposal was quite unexpected.
Normally, it would have been natural to refuse without a moment's hesitation, but in the situation they had reached, there was no luxury to push it away.
However, it was essential to know what Baal's intentions were.
"What's your purpose?"
"Pantheon…. I'm in favor of crushing them to prepare for the future, and above all, I have quite a deep grudge against them."
"…A grudge?"
"It's not really a story worth bragging about. So, what will you do?"
"……."
Rudian pondered.
"Are you going yourself?"
"Of course. I'd like to take Mars' head with my own hands if possible."
"If it's just help, I don't really care who gets the killing blow…."
The problem was when Baal had other intentions.
No matter how the situation flowed, the moment he got backstabbed by Baal even once, it would be a critical hit.
"Hehe, if you really can't trust me, I'll even make a covenant of word and spirit."
"If you're saying you want to join so badly that you'd make a covenant, that's even more suspicious."
"Well, even if I am having 'other thoughts,' as long as I don't harm you and your companions, it doesn't really matter, does it?"
Baal's words hit the core.
"That's… true…."
Rudian trailed off, but couldn't find anything to refute Baal's words.
"Then I'll take it as your agreement."
"Just in case, especially if you touch Rebecca…."
"Hehe, that will absolutely never happen."
From those words, it seemed certain that Baal had some other intention.
'If he doesn't cause any harm, I suppose it doesn't matter.'
Baal's intention was probably obvious.
He was either targeting the mythical-grade artifacts that Pantheon possessed, or looking for someone he could devour using his authority Vlemya(Gluttony).
'Either way, those bastards have real power, so if I throw them moderately among the Pantheon bastards, they'll do their part.'
Then the problem was how to break into Pantheon's stronghold….
'There is a suitable method… but I wonder if it'll work well.'
***
Thus, the force to strike Pantheon was composed of Rudian and his 6 companions, plus Baal and 4 highest-ranking Demon Kings… a total of 12 people.
'They're probably being quite cautious after the last incident, right?'
Pantheon had invested a considerable portion of their forces to attack the Dragon Hive.
The problem was that all those forces were completely annihilated due to Rudian's untimely intervention….
No matter how intact their leader, War God Mars, remained, Pantheon must have taken quite a big hit from that incident.
'Common sense says that after suffering such losses, it wouldn't be strange to cut ties with Garganta… but still, there's always the possibility of 'just in case,' so it's better to exclude Pantheon.'
Rudian entered the Belstad mansion after a long time and took a rest.
Butler Jester came to report on trading company matters and internal family affairs that had occurred until now, but Rudian waved his hand dismissively as if annoyed to stop the report.
"For a while, you don't need to report everything that happens within the family. I trust that you'll handle everything well on your own."
Imperial affairs were already trivial matters to Rudian.
"However…."
"Ah, never mind, never mind. I'm already getting a headache just solving the immediate problems."
"…Yes, I understand."
Jester hesitated for a moment but closed his mouth seeing Rudian's extremely annoyed attitude.
'Should I still tell him?'
When Rudian was briefly away, Luciella had visited this place.
At that time, she consulted with Hilde, who was serving as head maid, about something and then left….
'No matter how I look at it, it seemed like she was keeping her in check rather than consulting….'
When Luciella boarded the carriage to return, the wicked smile that Hilde showed for just a brief moment kept lingering in Jester's mind.
Jester had also asked Hilde about it just in case….
-Head butler sir, this is all for the master's sake.
After saying that, she only showed a seductive smile, and Hilde didn't say anything more.
In terms of rank, Jester was higher, but Hilde was a succubus, and a Queen at that.
Since Rudian had forbidden revealing their identities, it was a fact that only he knew within the mansion, but he couldn't help feeling uneasy.
'She does work well, and hasn't caused any trouble so far….'
Who knows.
Maybe she had caused trouble but covered it up so brilliantly that he didn't know about it….
"Oh! You've returned, Madam!"
At that moment, as if speaking of the devil, Rebecca, who had briefly gone out, returned to the mansion and Hilde suddenly appeared to greet Rebecca as she entered.
"How did your business go, Madam?"
"I'm not Madam! Geez, really!"
Rebecca waved her hands shyly at Hilde's flattery.
But Jester was not one to miss the great satisfaction beyond that expression.
"Welcome back, Madam!"
"Was your outing enjoyable?"
"……."
Not only Hilde and the succubi, but even the ordinary servants were calling Rebecca "Madam" and following her.
A sight that clearly showed who the real power holder of this mansion was.
Rebecca had recently gone missing following Rudian, but basically, with her bright personality and her attitude of treating everyone without discrimination, she had considerable support within the mansion.
'…It should be fine, right?'
Jester was the head butler of the Belstad family, but he was basically someone who came to serve Rudian by the decision of Delphione, which was Luciella's family.
It was something that all servants who watched over their master from the side knew about their master having a turbulent love life….
'As long as it doesn't escalate into a family-to-family conflict.'
As long as that didn't happen, no matter what kind of storm arose in relation to love affairs, it wasn't something Jester needed to worry about much.
***
Two days later.
A small village located in a corner of the Kapuras Kingdom.
"Still no contact from Garganta?"
"No, he declared that he was suspending all external activities for a while, saying all his business was finished."
"…Unpleasant."
A conversation between an elderly man who appeared to be the village chief and a young man.
On the surface, it looked like they were simply handling village affairs, but the content was anything but ordinary.
"Tell Garganta clearly. If he rejects our proposal again, we will stand on the side of that human called Rudian and take the lead in exterminating the Outer Space."
The young man in front of him objected to those words.
"Mars sir! Wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?"
"It's just talk. I was deceived by Garganta's sweet words and lost too much power…. To overturn that, I must reclaim my original position as the Sun God."
War God Mars.
The Sun God who helped Berus open a new genesis in the beginning, and one of the ancient gods who held hegemony over the heavens before the establishment of the Seven Great Seats.
He was defeated in a political struggle with Berus and was demoted from Sun God to War God, and then was exiled from heaven after starting a war to reclaim that position.
"Even if Garganta is one thing, why is there no response from those twin gods? Aren't they the ones who are desperate to kill Berus?"
"…Those lowly things from Outer Space don't all think the same way, do they? Those bastards are insects who only look for opportunities too much."
"That's right, because they're such bastards, even though countless genesis have come during eons of time, the gods of Outer Space have never taken the initiative until now."
"If only Harmonet were still alive… It's regrettable."
"Don't worry about someone who's already dead."
Mars coldly sorted out the death of a companion who had been with him for thousands of years.
"Still, I'm concerned about them being silent like this. The Avatar of Destruction is still intact, so surely the Terminator hasn't appeared yet…."
Mars gave instructions to the young man, Numen.
"Keep trying to contact the twin gods. And just in case, check the barrier around the village once more and thoroughly prepare for the existence of possible intruders!"
"Yes, Mars sir!"
While the Seven Arks and Celestial had splendid strongholds, Pantheon was living disguised as a very ordinary village of common people.
But this was unavoidable due to Pantheon's characteristics. In the case of the Seven Arks' stronghold, Illusion Castle, or Celestial's, Celestial Hanging Garden, there was the danger that they could be much more easily detected when looked down upon from 'heaven.'
Since the strongholds themselves belonged to mythical-grade artifacts, they had divine energy permeating them, making them more sensitively detected by the gods.
"And somehow I need to reach the Creator God's temple where Berus is to reclaim my divine position… huh?"
Mars couldn't continue his words and suddenly turned his head to the opposite side.
He felt a foreign sensation that something had appeared from that direction and interfered with the barrier.
RUMBLE!
Mars knew very well what that phenomenon was.
"Space interference! Intruders!"
"There were no particular signs…. No, before that, how did they know the location of this place?"
The barrier that Pantheon had set up in this village was absolutely not to be taken lightly.
To avoid the attention of heaven, they had proceeded with thorough and meticulous work over long years to make it solid yet absolutely undetectable.
"There's no time to think. Immediately mobilize the slaves to push back the intruders!"
"Yes, yes!"
But Mars and Numen's efforts were in vain.
Something like a dungeon entrance was finally created inside the village that Pantheon had made.
And from the entrance….
"I never thought I'd use Illusion Castle this way."
"It's quite useful. Where did you get it?"
"Don't covet it. I'm not going to lend it to you."
Twelve people led by Rudian and Baal were slowly setting foot in the village.
"You're… Baal?"
Mars recognized Baal, whom he had met before, more quickly than Rudian, whom he had never seen.
"It's been a long time, Mars."
"This thunder-naked bastard who clings to a Demon God…."
"Compared to you, who's like a kite with a broken string, the Demon God's lifeline looks much more solid and brilliant, doesn't it?"
"Shut up, you traitor!"
With just one word, Mars' eyes became bloodshot.
"……."
Rudian watched the war of words between Baal and Mars with a slightly bewildered expression.
'I thought there might be some relationship between these two… were they quite close acquaintances?'
Right now they looked like they couldn't wait to devour each other….
"If only you hadn't betrayed me then… we could have defeated Berus and achieved victory!"
"Hehehe, that's not right. Wasn't it you who ignored my proposal to wait for a more certain opportunity?"
"Even so, immediately backstabbing me is unforgivable. Because of that, I lost all my divinity and wasted over ten thousand years before I could make a comeback!"
Even at Mars' cry that seemed to spit blood, Baal made his characteristic sly smile and 'picked his ear' with his finger.
"That's not my concern."
"You bastaaaaard!"
"……."
He didn't know what exactly had happened in ancient times, but one thing was certain: Baal and Mars had a past as business partners.
And that alliance ended with Baal very strongly hitting Mars in the back of the head.
At that moment, Rudian could clearly understand why Baal had applied to accompany them to strike Pantheon.
But apart from that….
'Wow, he's really annoying.'
Chapter 4's mid-boss, War God Mars. With the typical image of a mythological god, he was a serious character with quite solemn and desperate episodes, but…. 'I should avoid getting into arguments with that bastard if possible.' Rudian looked at Baal and sincerely thought so.