Chapter 267
Chapter 267
Chapter 267
Eden (1)
Berus' appearance, with his hair turned ash-gray, resembled Abel's appearance in some ways.
"......Interesting."
Berus' gaze fixed on Rudian...... more precisely, on the sword hilt in Rudian's hand.
"The demon God's sword, I can roughly understand how the situation unfolded."
Was this the meaning of the 'time' that Shub mentioned at the end?
Berus examined every aspect of Rudian thoroughly.
"You've achieved complete ascension and perfected your divinity. Moreover, you've even obtained the final fragment of Deus, so you have enough power to be called a new member of the Seven Great Gods."
"......."
"Was it also your doing that destroyed my first chess piece?"
"That's right."
"......That's surprising, quite impressive."
Berus was genuinely impressed.
However, separate from that, Berus' gaze penetrated Rudian intently.
"But do you think you can calculate your odds of victory against me with just that much?"
"Whether it's long or short, we'll only know after we try."
At Rudian's words, Berus let out a slight sneer.
"Yes, we'll know immediately after trying. But I don't have time to deal with the likes of you right now."
Even though he had gained the power to create his own new world, traces of the Creator God still remained scattered throughout the collapsed world.
"I will completely erase the traces of the previous world and open a true genesis......."
SWOOSH!
As soon as Berus finished speaking, four human figures descended and settled in front of them.
"These should be sufficient as your opponents."
Crux, Rebecca, Gray, and Evangeline.
Characters from the original work, not from the current era, blocked Rudian's path.
"......."
All of them had unfocused eyes and their hair had uniformly turned ash-gray.
Though they didn't even emanate any particular aura and looked manageable and insignificant on the surface, they were Berus' secret weapons that could hold their own against the Seven Great Gods and high-ranking gods without falling behind at all.
"If you can break through them, come to the center of the world. If you can do that, I'll gladly kill you once more."
WHOOSH!
As soon as those words ended, Berus' form disappeared without a trace.
"Where do you think you're going......!"
After coming this far, was he just going to watch him retreat while putting on airs?
But before Rudian could launch himself forward, the four figures rushed straight toward Rudian.
"......Damn!"
The total amount of power he could feel from them was tremendous to simply ignore.
WHOOSH!
Gray, who reached out first, immediately cast a 10th-class spell.
Genesis Domain
Heaven and Earth Creation.
A 10th-class spell that creates an actual dimensional realm beyond subspace.
Of course, it was incredibly crude compared to an actual dimensional realm, but the problem was that once trapped in the dimensional realm Gray created, it wouldn't be easy to escape.
'He intends to confine me.'
It was clear and obvious that he was using this move not to determine victory or defeat, but to buy time.
'What's certain is that Berus' physical condition isn't normal either.'
Rudian had seen Berus, who had transformed into a chaotic body, devour Shub.
For some reason, Shub had willingly offered her body despite having strength left, and Berus had absorbed Shub's power to step into the Creator God's domain.
'There's only one reason why he avoided a fight after looking down on me so much.'
He had babbled about creating a new world and whatnot.
Surely Berus must have overeaten.
Since Shub's power was so strong, even the great Berus likely judged that immediate combat would be too much.
"Adi."
-Yes, Master. I've been waiting!
Following Rudian's call, Adi began to exert his power in earnest.
Genesis Domain
Absolute Annihilation.
RUMBLE!
The powers of creation and annihilation met and devoured each other.
The new dimensional realm Gray had created was offset by Adi's spell and began to shatter like broken glass.
Even amid that dreamlike spectacle of the world breaking into pieces, Rudian's gaze remained focused on the four figures.
-How is your body, Master?
"No problem."
When Adi had previously cast 10th-class magic, endless exhaustion had overwhelmed his body, but now he had accumulated enough power that he wouldn't budge even if he cast such magic dozens of times.
'This is the caliber of a being called a god.'
As Rudian barely suppressed the omnipotent feeling that thrilled his body and mind.
FLASH!
Crux's sword light flashed and cut through Rudian's body, ignoring distance.
"......Gasp!"
A strike that ignored laws, transcending even a god's reaction speed.
Normally Adi would have reacted first, but surprisingly, it was Rudian who first responded to this strike.
Just as a real line was drawn across Rudian's body.
Restoration Energy.
Eternal Return.
The line drawn straight began to move in reverse, starting to eliminate the wound as if a zipper were being closed.
"......!"
Not expecting his strike to be blocked so futilely, Crux's previously indifferent eyes widened slightly.
"I should deal with the most troublesome one first."
Rudian's form rushed straight toward Crux.
"Shambhala."
With quiet words, a mandala bloomed behind Rudian's back.
One seat was still vacant, but the remaining six circles resonated and began to manifest the power of the Machine God Deus.
Rudian, having deployed Shambhala, threw a punch directly at Crux.
CRACK!
When the sword strike launched as a counterattack collided with Rudian's fist, Crux's sword shattered and broke into two pieces.
Riding that momentum, he tried to crush Crux's head, but.......
SIZZLE!
The power of the Demon Eater that Rebecca deployed and Gray's magic wouldn't allow it.
'......Damn!'
Rudian dodged the wave of destruction rushing toward him and clicked his tongue as he moved away.
'As expected, they're not easy.'
Though Abel was missing, the combination of the remaining four was quite troublesome.
Crux in the tank role, Gray and Evangeline in long-range support roles.
Here, Rebecca could perform not only long-range but also semi-tank roles, so even excluding the power of the incarnation of apocalypse, their potential and synergy were incredibly good.
'At this rate, it'll become a prolonged battle as Berus intended.......'
He could probably manage somehow if he went all out, but he couldn't guarantee how much strength would be drained.
'This won't do, Adi.'
-Yes, Master.
'Proceed with Plan B...... Hm?'
It was just when Rudian was about to change his plan.
"......Sorry for being late."
As many as a dozen divine beings appeared near Rudian.
Not only Metatron and the Seven Great God Haniel whom he had met before, but also Underworld King Tartian Lil, Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Uriel, and even Castor, Pollux, and Alena, the three siblings whom he thought were dead, had appeared!
Rudian stared wide-eyed at the divine beings.
"To think so many survived......."
"......Honestly, saying 'only' this many would be better for preserving pride, but."
Castor scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile.
'Certainly...... one of those three siblings' authorities is to instantly move to constellations located in other dimensions.......'
Haniel, who was at the front, spoke to Rudian.
"Go."
"......!"
"We'll handle them. Berus, who absorbed Lord Shub, will have gone to the center of the world to recover...... You just need to focus all your efforts on retrieving 'Eden.'"
At Haniel's words, as if she knew all the plans, Rudian's mouth opened slightly.
"......How do you know that?"
Haniel smiled faintly.
"The Demon God told us through Lord Shub. That before fighting Berus, you must retrieve Eden without fail."
"......Ah."
Certainly, the Demon God had said before parting that Shub had completed all preparations.
That meant that while Rudian was receiving guidance from the Demon God, communication had been taking place between the two divine beings.
"Berus probably doesn't need Eden anymore. Of course, to eliminate future troubles, destroying Eden would be the logical step, but when the dimensional realm collapsed, Berus avoided destruction by creating his physical body outside the framework."
That also meant he didn't have the time or leisure to destroy Eden.
"Yes, Eden is currently abandoned somewhere in the dimensional realm."
There was a reason Rudian had appeared before Berus first.
It was to confirm whether Berus possessed Eden or not.
"If you obtain Eden, you can immediately unseal the Machine God Deus."
"......."
The moment he heard Haniel's words, Rudian's expression darkened slightly.
Everyone wondered why he made such an expression, but Rudian's dark expression didn't last long.
As the discussion roughly concluded, Nug, who had been at the very back, spoke up.
"Before leaving this place, go inside. If you go to Mother's throne, a companion will be waiting."
"......Companion?"
"Yes, you'll know when you see. And...... I'm sorry."
At Nug's heavy expression, Rudian had a sinking feeling.
In this situation, there was only one person who could be given as a companion.
Rudian immediately kicked off and rushed inside.
Though it was Shub's temple, half-collapsed, since he had been there once before, finding the way wasn't too difficult.
And when Rudian reached the center of the temple.
"......Rudian."
"Luciella!"
On the throne where Shub should have been sitting, Luciella, her entire body dyed purple, was taking that place instead.
'How?'
Surely Shub had either revived Luciella or, like the Demon God, had extracted her body.
But unlike Rebecca, from whom the power of the red world had departed, even though the purple world had clearly disappeared, Luciella emanated an Outer Force even more powerful than her original strength.
It felt like looking at Shub.
Luciella opened her mouth with melancholy eyes.
"......Sorry for not telling you. From the moment I first received the power of the purple world, this was the contract."
Rudian immediately understood those words.
And he also understood Luciella's choice in making such a decision.
"......That contract was about succeeding Shub?"
"Yes. Originally...... it would have been after my 'human' life ended, but...... I still wanted to be together. Unlike the other three, I couldn't transcend lifespan."
What did succeeding the Outer God Shub mean?
It meant ascending to the pinnacle of trillions upon trillions of alien life forms, and existing as a true pillar of the world that transcended even the Seven Great Gods.
But in reality, it also meant being preserved in this temple for eternity with ties to the world severed.
Normally, Rudian would have been furious with Shub and Luciella for doing such a thing without consultation.
"Don't make that expression."
"......."
"I have no intention of making you bear that burden."
"......."
"If you want to live long, there are various ways. What's the big deal about accepting something like this? What if power is insufficient? If it's lacking, we can slowly fill it up."
"But......."
Luciella looked at Rudian with eyes filled with guilt.
Grasping her hand, Rudian smiled lightly.
"Let's go, to end everything and restore everything again."
Though something different than expected had happened, it was just a trivial matter anyway.
Though he felt sorry for Shub, who had arbitrarily burdened Luciella with this responsibility, Luciella would never become a new Outer God.
Rudian took Luciella's hand and opened a dimensional gate to imaginary space.