Chapter 208
Chapter 208
Chapter 208
Opening of War (2)
The sound of birds chirping.
And the sound of a stream flowing gently.
A peaceful scene where white deer grazed on grass, and rabbits and sheep ran about without a care.
Within that scenery, a small temple made of gathered pure white pillars stood quietly in place.
Plant stems were wrapped abundantly around the pillars supporting the temple, and moss grew thickly in the shaded areas, clearly proving that human hands had never touched this place.
At the center of such a temple, a woman who had been praying like a stone statue as if she had become one with nature slowly rose from her position.
Several animals, enchanted by the divine light flowing from her entire body, naturally gathered around her.
"……."
However, she paid no attention to such animals and turned her gaze toward a young man who had been watching her from behind all along.
The young man called her name.
"What is it, Medaiel?"
A woman whose grass-colored hair boasted a length that exceeded her height.
Her identity was the most secretive existence among the Seven Great Gods.
She was none other than Medaiel, the God of Order.
"Mars has been annihilated."
"……."
"In the end, he too has departed. So futilely…."
DRIP!
A single clear tear flowed down from Medaiel's eyes.
She too was an ancient god who had existed since before the Genesis.
No matter how much he had turned into an enemy, the disappearance of a deeply formed bond from the past was a heartbreaking matter.
"I see…."
"Is that all your sentiment, Lord Berus?"
An emotionless remark flowed from the mouth of the young man called Berus.
"I thought he would make a good card to play."
"…Berus."
The honorific immediately disappeared from Medaiel's mouth.
It was proof that she was that angry with Berus.
However, Berus was resolute.
"I understand your anger. But I am in a position where I cannot reveal emotions like this."
"At least he was a colleague who had been with us for long ages."
"He 'was' a colleague."
Too much time had already passed to reminisce about past memories.
"…You!"
Leaving behind the increasingly angry Medaiel, Berus looked up at the sky and muttered.
"The resonance of the seven-colored world…. I thought there would be no one to use it since that shepherd of the previous era…. I expected it, but in the end it came to pass."
"……."
Medaiel glared at Berus.
"How far… will you deceive the Creator before you're satisfied?"
It was incoherent criticism, but Berus was not one who couldn't understand the meaning of those words.
"I am the one who created this world. I am the one who made the heavenly realm, made the middle realm, and created the current order, not 'that existence' who throws down weapons to kill us and only remains silent."
"…Berus!"
"We have trembled under the threat of that existence for countless ages. By that arrogant one who returns everything back to its original state whenever things go even slightly awry."
"He is the father of all things in this world! Even if you are who you are…!"
"How can one call someone who releases unbridled beasts before his children's eyes a father?"
"……!"
Medaiel's mouth closed automatically at Berus' words.
Certainly, even she had nothing particular to say about this matter.
"Even if it's beyond our capabilities, we must show our will to him. Only then… can we find true freedom."
"Ah…."
Medaiel let out a sigh and slumped down in place.
The animals affected by her began to cry and rub their cheeks against her body.
Medaiel embraced the white deer's neck and shed tears.
"Your greed… will lead the gods to twilight."
"The age of gods will end soon anyway. Just a few years… A mayfly-like life where we've been suppressed for hundreds of thousands of years unable to use our power, only to regain freedom for a few short years before being annihilated."
"That is the correct order that began from the beginning!"
"No. It's a wrong evil law."
GRAB!
Berus roughly seized the deer's nape with his crude hands.
The deer struggled as if resisting for a moment, then suddenly flashed with light and began to dye the surroundings with radiance.
And the moment that light faded, what was held in Berus' hands was not a deer but a white holy sword.
It was… Medaiel's apostle and divine artifact.
And it was the sword called 'Grandia' that symbolized the identity of the man who had been with the seven-colored world.
"I'll borrow Grandia for a while. Originally, it would be a sword that a shepherd would obtain, but now he's someone who won't exist in this world…."
"Are you now going to give up trying to understand his will?"
The reason Berus had been staying at this Genesis God's temple for such a long time was because only here existed the special authority to peer into all the worlds of this universe.
But abandoning that and going out into the world meant… that Berus had discovered something called 'winning odds.'
"It's time to bring about the grand finale. But don't worry. I will keep my promise to welcome him here."
Berus' eyes turned toward the enormous beast sleeping in a place far away from the temple.
An alien place where there was a prison painted black on all sides, the only such place in this paradise-like location.
And the scene of an angel with drooping black wings struggling to seal that prison.
Berus watched that desperate sight without missing anything and muttered in a small voice.
"Come quickly, puppet of the father. It's irreversible now. Even if the Black Goat and the God of Machines help you…."
Berus' eyes took on a sinister light for a moment.
"You will be buried in the strata of history. Together with that shepherd…."
***
"Aaah, my head…!"
Rudian, who had returned to the ground, writhed while trembling all over from terrible rebound.
"Are, are you okay, Rudian?"
"I'm not… okay, not this time."
The side effects from the resonance of the seven-colored world exceeded Rudian's imagination.
While Rudian could now shake off considerable injuries with a laugh, this time was different.
As soon as the spell was broken, not only did the overflowing power drain away like a receding tide, but those powers also dragged away the existing power that Rudian had possessed like a water ghost.
Rudian's condition was truly close to the worst, to the extent that if Baal, who was nearby at the time, had harbored sinister intentions, he might have been done for.
-That's exactly what you call the backlash of causality, you fool.
'But, but until now there's never been anything like this….'
-Certainly, until now you've never faced backlash despite using power so extravagantly. But this time, it means that the power you obtained was so strong that even your previous immunity wouldn't work.
'That, that's….'
The recovery of power was extremely slow, as if the source of his spiritual body had been damaged.
Rudian forced himself to raise his upper body and asked.
"Are, are you all okay? While fighting with those guys…."
"They were weak? No, they were a bit strong at first, but the more we fought, the weaker they became."
"Really?"
Now you've become strong enough that I don't have to worry when I look away, this big brother is hap….
"Stop talking nonsense and rest more."
Rebecca gently pushed Rudian's forehead with her index finger.
Unable to handle even that small force, Rudian's upper body dove toward the floor again.
Poof!
'Huh? Poof?'
Something soft was felt at the back of his head, which should have been hitting the bare ground.
Rudian realized that the owner of that sensation was looking down at him and muttered awkwardly.
"…Maria?"
"Hehe…."
A knee pillow.
Yes, the identity of this softness was a knee pillow!
"I wanted to try it at least once."
"Ah, sister!"
Rebecca immediately glared at Maria with fierce eyes.
However, Maria wasn't intimidated at all and confidently met Rebecca's gaze.
"It would be awkward to make him lie on the bare ground, right? It's better to have a cushion."
"Ugh…!"
"You should have acted without hesitation."
Although a natural disaster was occurring above his head, Rudian very gratefully enjoyed Maria's knee pillow.
…Since he couldn't move his body anyway, he didn't want to get caught in the crossfire by interfering needlessly.
"Wow, I want to kill him."
From a slightly distant place, Elvin glared at Rudian's sorry state.
"Senior could just ask Karen senior to do it too, couldn't you?"
"That's because I can't meet her right now. By the way, can I hit him once?"
"If you can break through Maria's barrier, go ahead and try."
"Bastard."
No matter how much stronger Elvin had become, he wasn't at the level where he could surpass the dignity of his younger sister Maria.
Then a muscular giant approached Rudian and his party.
"Hmm, what a pity. If your body were intact, I would have asked to spar once."
"…Demon King Agares."
With the collapse of the Seven Seats, the second in the demon world hierarchy following Baal.
Agares had come to find Rudian.
"I watched well as you defeated War God Mars. Your women were also quite decent, but they're still not at the level of the divinity you showed in space."
"Hey, I'm not a woman."
"Me neither."
Agares lightly ignored Elvin and Gray's legitimate protests and continued speaking.
"Recover your body quickly. I want to properly spar with your full power."
"…Why should I do that?"
Rudian looked directly at Agares with an expression of annoyance.
Since they were allies now, there was no reason to fight, and soon there would come a situation where he'd have to squeeze out power from the depths of his energy center.
"Now that the aliens are about to invade, you'll be able to use your power to your heart's content then, so can't you wait a bit?"
"Huhu, what I want is a fight with the strong, not massacring such small fry."
No, Krakar and Ktuna are enough to crush you, that's what I'm saying.
Then Agares approached Rudian and whispered quietly.
"Rebecca, was it? I'll tell you a way to return your woman to her original state."
"……!"
"Originally, it would be going against Baal, but… if I can fight with you, that much is nothing…."
Before he knew it, madness was gleaming in Agares' eyes.
Whether those words were true or false, Agares had thrown bait that Rudian absolutely couldn't resist taking.
"…Is that true? If it's a lie…."
"Why would I lie to you? I swear on my name that it's the unmistakable truth."
If Agares was going this far, there must definitely be something to it.
"What's the condition?"
"Defeat me. That's all."
"…I'll come find you soon. Wash your neck and wait."
"Kahahaha! Good! Very good!"
Agares left with a very satisfied expression, letting out a mad laugh.
Rebecca, who had been staring at the place where he had left, looked at Rudian with an anxious expression.
"Rudian, I…."
"Ah, I know."
Rudian raised his hand to stop Rebecca's words.
"Having come this far, I won't do anything to reduce our allies' fighting power. Especially when you don't want it…."
"Then?"
"Still, I should at least hear about the method, just in case."
If it was nonsense, he would fold Agares' waist backwards, no matter who he was.
"Let's go back for now, I'm too tired."
"Okay? Then I'll…."
"…I'll carry him."
Just as another subtle battle of nerves was about to unfold, Elvin quickly intervened and picked up Rudian's body.
Intense gazes immediately focused on Elvin, but Elvin tried to ignore them and turned his gaze away.
"It's better for me to intervene before the storm hits."
"I agree."
Rudian inwardly let out a sigh of relief at Elvin's foresight.
***
And so time flowed and flowed….
Ten days remained until the scheduled alien invasion.
"This is terrible."
Rudian sat in his office in the Belstad mansion and muttered blankly with the expression of someone who had lost his country.
"My body isn't recovering properly."
At this rate, forget about the confrontation with Agares, he wouldn't even be able to participate in the war against the aliens.
"…What, what should I do?"
It was really… a big problem.