Chapter 249
Chapter 249
Chapter 249
Pantheon (1)
"Vermin!"
"Kuk! Keurk!"
An angel's windpipe was crushed as his nape was seized.
With just the slightest application of force, the god's grip easily claimed the angel's life.
But there was no room for complacency.
When one was dealt with, two came. When two were dealt with, four swarmed in.
Hundreds of thousands of troops filling the sky.
As they launched a coordinated assault on the gods of the Pantheon, Heaven's Fall began.
The angels who served the thoroughly corrupt gods.
The angels who stood guard at the Pantheon's boundaries.
The angels who guarded the paths leading here—all of them were angels.
The moment they turned their spear points around, the Pantheon was left completely vulnerable to a devastating first strike.
"What the hell are those archangels doing!"
Initially unable to comprehend the situation, the gods only grasped what was happening after several of their number fell to the surprise attack.
"Pull yourself together. This wouldn't have happened if those archangels hadn't orchestrated it themselves."
"Why are these bastards committing such acts?"
The gods truly couldn't understand the angels' behavior.
After enjoying all the benefits of heaven as creations until now, how dare they pull such a stunt!
"Dright, God of Drought. Flood, God of Floods."
CLANK!
Before them, an angel with particularly gleaming black wings descended among the others.
"I shall eliminate you both."
"...Samael, is it?"
Archangel Samael, whose epithet was Samael the Venomous Hand.
Before the Heaven's Fall plan, he had been the most likely candidate to descend to the demon realm, but this was thwarted when Luciel volunteered instead.
His martial prowess and cunning were accordingly ranked among the top archangels.
"Just a while ago, you were kissing up to us... How dare you look down on us with those eyes?"
Despite the two gods' reproach, Samael smiled faintly.
"That was then, and this is now."
As thick killing intent flowed from Samael, the two gods involuntarily flinched.
"I was stronger than you from the beginning. I was only groveling because of our positions as creator and creation."
Each archangel certainly possessed power on the level of a high-rank god. They, being mid-rank gods, were no match for such beings.
Moreover...
SWISH!
Before they knew it, twelve daggers imbued with tremendous divine power were floating around Samael.
"I obtained something quite excellent recently."
The mythic-grade artifacts that Rudian had excavated with the intention of arming the second-rank angels.
But not all of them had gone to the second-rank angels.
"That's... the Death King's sacred relic!"
"That's right. Items the Death King used when he was active as the god of death in heaven."
The twelve daggers that had formed a pair with the sacred relic of frost... no, the two-handed sword that Rudian had previously obtained from North's secret temple.
These were items the Death King had failed to take when he fled from heaven in the past.
Originally, Rudian had intended to transfer them to Evangeline, who had become the Death King's apostle, but Samael had thrown such a tantrum—ready to abandon even an archangel's dignity—that he had forcibly seized them.
"With this, I can handle both of you at once."
"...!"
Samael's words were by no means mere bluster.
The second-rank angels who had obtained mythic-grade artifacts nearby were holding their own against mid-rank gods in one-on-one combat.
So if an archangel had obtained such armament, just how much stronger could he become?
"L-Lord North won't let you get away with this!"
Dright, God of Drought, cried out as if in desperation.
But Samael only twisted his lips in a sneer.
"North? Right about now, she's holed up with Satera performing rituals."
"Heh, hehe... Yeah, that was the case until just yesterday."
"...What?"
As Samael's expression became clouded with bewilderment, Dright regained some of his composure.
"Lord North temporarily suspended the ritual and came outside. Everyone wondered why... but now I see she had anticipated your treachery."
"......"
That wouldn't be a lie.
But if so, where exactly was North, who should be blocking their enemies?
Even trying to sense her through spiritual perception, the massive amounts of divine power already swirling around made it extremely difficult to pinpoint anyone specific.
Having finished assessing the situation, Samael glared at the two gods and spoke.
"At least North won't be saving your lives."
"W-wait!"
"Meet your eternal destruction."
The twelve daggers emanated an enormous aura of death.
***
"Is this the first time you've seen me like this?"
The goddess of darkness, whose pupils were dyed black like her snow-white skin.
One of heaven's seven pillars, exuding an incomparable sense of intimidation compared to the others around her, had appeared.
"Weren't you supposed to be performing a ritual?"
Rudian was quite flustered by North's appearance.
She chuckled and spoke mockingly to Rudian.
"Satera alone is sufficient for the ritual. It will be delayed a bit, but that's better than allowing the Pantheon to be attacked."
"I mean, how did you notice the angels' assault?"
"From the moment Ruura stormed out."
North's expression darkened slightly.
"Her usual behavior is utterly reckless, but if that were truly her only trait, she would have been cast out from the Seven Great Gods long ago. That woman has fewer openings than one might think."
"......"
That was true.
In terms of pure power, there had been quite a few gods who surpassed Ruura since the genesis period.
Even among the gods belonging to the Heavenly pantheon, there were several who had once been on the level of the Seven Great Gods.
"Seeing that woman leave the Pantheon without any particular objection made me think she was up to something. I never imagined all the archangels would plot rebellion though...."
"Then why didn't you stop the archangels and come to me instead?"
"Obviously..."
The darkness flowing from North's entire body began to intensify.
"To take revenge for my first apostle."
"......"
Rudian was at a loss for words.
He had certainly faced North's first apostle, Jereon, in the Holy Kingdom of Ruren.
"I didn't kill him though?"
"You know that excuse isn't going to work, don't you?"
Jereon's life had certainly been spared.
It was just that his stigmata—the channel of communication with the gods—had been torn away by that Yev girl, leaving him forever unable to use divine power.
"And while I'm at it, I'll recover my sacred relic too."
"I have that."
At that moment, Evangeline stepped forward in front of North.
Her deep black hair was so similar that it almost created the illusion of there being two Norths.
A hint of interest flickered in North's eyes as she looked at Evangeline.
"...The Death King's apostle. And you even possess the Black World."
Greed crept into North's expression.
"How about it? Would you abandon the Death King and become my apostle instead? For someone of your caliber, I could promise ascension to godhood along with the position of a high-rank god."
It was truly an unprecedented offer in all of heaven's history.
But Evangeline remained unmoved.
"I'll handle this one, so please go inside, everyone else."
"...What?"
"Wasn't the original plan to meet with the archangels inside? Rather than waste time defeating this one, it would be better for one person to stay and hold her back."
"B-but..."
The opponent was one of the Seven Great Gods.
No matter how much she possessed the Seven-Colored Worlds... There was no chance of victory against North here, away from the surface.
Despite Rudian's concern, Evangeline smiled faintly.
"Don't worry. I have no intention of dying."
"I'll just hold her back for exactly 30 minutes and then escape, so please go ahead."
In truth, losing Evangeline, who possessed the Black World, would be a significant loss in fighting strength, but there was no choice when the opponent was North.
"...Will you really be alright?"
"I don't throw my life away carelessly."
She had given up once, but now she had a stronger desire for life than anyone.
"So please trust me."
"......"
"I'll stay too."
When Evangeline decided to remain, her brother Rowen also stood beside her.
"Protecting my sister is a brother's duty."
In truth, given the tremendous power inflation that had occurred, Rowen's strength wasn't much help anymore.
But if he could somehow deck himself out in mythic-grade equipment and receive help from spirits, he could at least avoid being a burden.
"...Please."
Ultimately realizing he couldn't break her will, Rudian had no choice but to leave Evangeline and Rowen behind.
"...How absurd in every way. Who said you could leave?"
Massive darkness erupted from North's entire body, beginning to form a kind of barrier.
Black Demon Hall.
One of North's powers and the force of one of the Seven Great Gods that granted absolute rest.
"You cannot escape from here."
"I wonder about that."
BOOM!
"...!"
The power that one of the Seven Great Gods had personally cast from her stronghold was, quite ridiculously, pierced by a massive hole with just a gesture from Evangeline.
Evangeline spoke quietly.
"Now."
"...May fortune be with you."
"...Let's meet again alive, Sister Evangeline."
Rudian and his companions left encouraging words for Evangeline and quickly escaped through the hole.
"...Just how?"
North turned her bewildered gaze to Evangeline, who had shattered her power in a single strike.
"Have you forgotten? I have... this."
WHIRR!
Before she knew it, North's sacred relic was floating above Evangeline's hand.
Only then did North realize how Evangeline had broken through her power.
"You insolent...!"
If it was power of the same rank, it was possible to break through even if there was some difference in level.
Especially with this kind of thinly spread barrier-type power rather than concentrated force.
"Do you think a mere whelp like you can do anything to me? How arrogant, receiving a few blessings from the Death King and Spirit King!"
"My life has been far from arrogant, great goddess of darkness."
GRIN!
Evangeline smiled gently.
"This is merely a statement based on confidence."
"That's exactly what arrogance is! How dare a mere mortal who hasn't even lived hundreds of years...!"
"Hundreds of years? In my heart, I'm still seventeen."
...In fact, by the category of 'humanity,' Evangeline was among the eldest of Rudian's group along with Rowen.
"......"
Rowen looked at his sister, who was continuously getting under their opponent's skin, with slightly bewildered eyes.
'Evangeline never had such verbal skills before....'
Just who had she learned this from?
—That's quite a nice thing to say.
And... the culprit appeared before Rowen's eyes not long after.
SWOOSH!
A boy who appeared as if entering his own home through the darkness barrier that North had spread.
Recognizing his identity, North showed unprecedented hostility.
"Tartian Lil... You bastard!"
The Death King, Tartian Lil.
Evangeline's contractor and king of the underworld. And the god of death.
Only then did North realize what confidence that insolent woman had to stand alone before her.
—Did you think I'd just stand by and watch such an interesting event?
WHOOSH!
As those words ended, numerous shadows began to appear around Evangeline.
Not only the Ten Kings of Hell and the judges of the underworld, but hundreds of Dark Knights as well.
This was a situation caused by the special nature of the Death King and North, who handled overlapping domains, making summoning possible.
—Well, with this much, you could last not just 30 minutes but 300 minutes, right?
The Death King winked at North with one eye.
CRACK!
At that moment, Rowen heard the sound of something snapping inside North.