Chapter 406: Dawn Judgment
Chapter 406: Dawn Judgment
“Phew… That was a close one.”
Whenever people go berserk, it usually ends badly for them.
Even in the rare cases where things turn out well, they only win the battle, only to crumble later due to other complications.
As I let out a sigh of relief, the two-headed giant began to look flustered, watching me pull back from the brink of a total frenzy.
—What? What on earth happened?!
—This is impossible… How can he maintain his reason after stoking his rage to such a degree…?
Confused Unity urged Reckless Roar on, while Reckless Roar—the master of the Authority—was babbling as if he were witnessing the impossible.
I could guess why they were reacting like that. Right now, I was in a state where I had gained the physical enhancements of a berserker while regaining my sanity.
This was something impossible even for Reckless Roar, the God of Rage. That was why he usually roamed around without his senses, only regaining a cold, rational anger under very specific conditions.
I lightly clenched and unclenched my fists. Power wasn't just overflowing; I felt a certain sense of omnipotence.
I was likely able to maintain my reason thanks to the mental resistance I’d boosted through every possible method and the blessing of Clashing Steel.
Perhaps it was because my mind was so clear, but even though I’d used a fair amount of mana, I felt better than ever.
I lowered my center of gravity and took a stance. I knew my specs had increased, but I didn't know by exactly how much, so at first, I’d just lightly kick off the ground…
BOOM!
“Whoa.”
I had only put a bit of strength into my legs, but my body went flying into the air. Good grief, what was this?
I was momentarily taken aback by a level of propulsion that far exceeded even my own expectations as the creator.
It was already too late to regain my balance because I was moving too fast. Seeing the two-headed giant instinctively clench its fists in panic, I drew up my mana.
Crackle—!
Bluish currents of electricity surged through my entire body. A brilliant flash of lightning began to illuminate the still-dark predawn sky.
But I didn't stop there. I pushed myself a bit to cast a second spell.
A sense of incongruity wrapped around me. I pulled the corners of my mouth into a smirk as the space seemed to warp and take on a darker hue.
Gravity Weighting.
My body became so heavy that it felt difficult to move even with my current, heavily buffed specs. Naturally, my limbs tucked in, curling me into a ball.
“Magical… no, wait… whatever. Meteor!”
If you fall with this much mass, it’s a meteor.
*
A shooting star falls.
The golem, shrouded in pale lightning and crimson flames simultaneously, was a sight to behold.
As if to counter it, the two-headed giant raised its arms. A dark red current began to rise above its body.
Shrouded in an ominous aura, the giant raised its fist toward the meteor falling from the sky.
It was a mythical sight, and he was indeed an Evil God… but as with most myths, this battle would not end in a victory for the god.
For this was a story of a God Killer striking down an Evil God.
K-BOOOOOM—!
It was a punch packed with enough monstrous strength to crush a mountain, but the moment it collided with the golem, the giant's body was paralyzed by electricity and its muscles shriveled from the flames, preventing it from exerting its full power.
All that remained was to be crushed by the massive weight.
—Aaaaaagh!
—Damn it! How! Why is it you and not me…!
Thanks to its desperate twisting, it managed to avoid a direct hit, but it couldn't stop one of its arms from being completely obliterated.
Spewing curses, the two-headed giant began to regenerate its severed half. Its height decreased noticeably, but it had no choice.
Retrieving the lost arm would be next to impossible.
From the deep crater, the massive golem slowly rose.
It stood in a hunched posture due to its bloated muscles and warped armor. Above it, inextinguishable flames flickered.
Perhaps it had collided head-first during the impact earlier. For some reason, the golem was holding the giant's mangled arm in its mouth.
Crunch.
It chewed once and spat it out. That alone turned the giant's once-sturdy arm into a pile of ash in an instant.
It was likely because the flames of Clashing Steel had been planted directly into it.
The blood dripping from the golem's mouth evaporated instantly from the heat. A faint mist of steam covered its mouth.
At the same time, a white fog erupted from its entire body, shrouding the golem's massive frame.
Instinctively realizing that this was the golem's way of venting the strain placed upon it, the two-headed giant charged without hesitation.
Its arm, which had barely regained its shape and was still regenerating, dangled loosely, but the giant managed to close the distance in an instant.
At that moment, a purple light erupted from the fog like a solar flare.
“————————!!”
The golem lunged out of the mist, letting out an unrecognizable, monstrous roar. The giant was momentarily taken aback by the sight of it kicking off the ground on all fours like a beast.
However, to the two Evil Gods, the fact that Yandel was running on all fours because he couldn't control his overflowing power—and the fact that he was screaming in terror at his own excessive speed—didn't matter.
They simply gritted their teeth and focused on kicking off the ground at the right timing. Their intention was to deliver a knee strike to the jaw of the charging golem.
With the giant's already immense strength combined with their mutual speed, the blow would surely be powerful enough to be called a divine strike.
However, no matter if he was running on all fours, his opponent was a mage, not a beast.
“Hup…!”
As the knee drew closer, Yandel’s concentration reached its peak. He visualized a sturdy shield.
A translucent shield appeared at an angle in front of the golem. He immediately stepped onto it and kicked off.
CRAAAACK—!
With a sharp sound like shattering glass, the golem’s body soared into the air.
Thinking Yandel was trying to use gravity for another attack, the giant hurriedly lowered the knee it had raised. Instead of stopping, it tried to run past to dodge Yandel’s strike.
But Yandel’s next spell wasn't gravity magic.
Clang!
Shatter!
The shields broke with such a small time difference that the shattering sounds were almost simultaneous.
Having kicked off two shields in mid-air in rapid succession, the golem changed direction and aimed for the giant's back.
A sword of light erupted from its straightened palm. The Light Saber, further strengthened by Spirit Language, carved a deep gash into the two-headed giant's back.
—Aaaaaagh!
—I’ll kill you! I’ll definitely kill you!
Perhaps deciding that things couldn't continue like this, Reckless Roar began to cloud his reason again, drawing up his rage.
The blood pouring from the wound on his back stopped instantly, and the gash—deep enough to show bone—healed over.
Yandel clicked his tongue at the clearly accelerated regeneration speed and muttered.
“This is why I tried to just cut it off entirely.”
Of course, there was no reply.
—Fine! This is better! The more powerful you are, the more rewarding the harvest will be!
—Hit! Smash!
The giant's muscles, glowing dark red, began to swell. Its stature, which had shrunk while regenerating its severed limbs, returned to its original size in an instant.
It was the pinnacle of the Authority that converted rage into power. In other words, it was the final phase with no turning back. Yandel smirked.
“I’m finally getting the hang of this.”
The golem’s form flickered, still low to the ground but now standing firmly on two feet, having taken its hands off the earth.
It was a simple illusion spell to distort the giant's vision, but the two-headed giant wasn't fooled and calmly reached out.
CLANG!
The golem’s arm, which had been approaching after creating a massive hammer with earth magic, was deflected upward.
The hammer flew uselessly behind it. The giant swung a kick toward the golem's wide-open torso.
Yandel, who had been on guard, quickly twisted his body, but he couldn't avoid the blow grazing his shoulder.
Creeeeeak!
The armor, which had already been forcibly warped and disconnected once, couldn't withstand the impact and was torn away.
Iron fragments scattered into the sky. Seeing an opening, Confused Unity’s mouth snapped at the air. Then came a gruesome chewing sound.
Crunch.
The golem's shoulder was cleanly taken off, as if the space itself had been bitten away. One arm, losing its support, slumped down.
But what did that matter?
Yandel, his face still fiercely distorted, swung his numbed arm with everything he had.
The slumped arm became a flail, slamming into Confused Unity’s head.
—Gah!
A half-collapsed head. Blurred consciousness. Regenerating a head consumed far more power, but a smile played on Confused Unity’s lips.
After all, unlike himself, who could regenerate as long as he had divine power, the golem couldn't be repaired without proper maintenance, no matter how much mana it had.
However, by the time Confused Unity regained his momentarily lost consciousness, it was already too late.
—Mmph? Mmmph?!
The golem's arm, which should have fallen off, was gagging his mouth. It didn't have any special function; it was just being held there by brute force through telekinesis!
He could use his Authority without opening his mouth, but its power would be somewhat diminished. And Yandel’s golem wasn't made of soft material.
Confused Unity, effectively having his Authority sealed, tried to pull away the hand gagging him.
“Not so fast!”
Thud! Stab-stab-stab!
The remnants of the gauntlet rolling around the area—sharp metal fragments—moved as if they were alive, shredding the giant's raised arm.
Because they persistently targeted only the joints and tendons, the giant kept losing strength and couldn't properly tear the hand away.
The moment he raised his other hand.
“[Light Saber!!]”
Yandel’s golem seized the opening and swung the blade of light.
Reckless Roar, whose reason had vanished, instinctively twisted his body, barely preventing the giant from being cut in half at the waist. Instead, the arm he used as a shield was lopped off.
—Damn it! Damn it all…!!
One arm was severed, and the other couldn't move properly because of the metal fragments constantly stabbing into it.
The severed side was regenerating, but Yandel wasn't about to wait around, so he was effectively unable to use both arms.
Unlike Reckless Roar, who had completely lost his mind and was now only screaming, Confused Unity’s face—his mind still intact—was distorted with anxiety.
At this rate, he would lose his life as pointlessly as Ugly Prosperity or Boiling Silence.
—I! I can’t let it end here yet!!
Did that desperation reach through? Reckless Roar’s instincts and intuition began to flow into Confused Unity.
It was likely because the two Evil Gods had become more deeply connected over time.
But even this was far from enough to turn the tide of battle.
The leg techniques he unleashed unconsciously, the Authority of Unity that tried to erode upon contact, the War Cry erupting through Reckless Roar’s mouth—all of it was blocked or evaded.
He was too skilled. Far too skilled.
It was as if he knew exactly what they were aiming for, what they were capable of, and was dismantling them one by one.
Even though he knew it couldn't be true, Confused Unity couldn't help but ask.
—You… Is this not the first time you’ve killed me—killed us?
Instead of answering, Yandel swung the Light Saber and severed one of the giant's legs. The massive body tilted, unable to support its own weight.
THUD!
As the giant fell backward and looked up at the sky, massive stone stakes were driven into its regenerating arm and its one remaining leg.
—Aaaaaagh!!
—GRAAAAAH!!
As if sensing their end, both the god who maintained his reason and the god who had lost it wailed with the same voice.
The golem jumped high above the two-headed giant, which was forcibly pinned to the ground.
Holding its massive frame in place with flight magic, the golem slowly raised one hand.
Whoosh!
Just before sunrise. In the darkest hour of the world, the sacred flames burning across the golem's entire body illuminated the surroundings.
At the same time, a massive magic circle covered the sky. Looking up at the flaming greatsword emerging from its center, Confused Unity let out a hollow laugh.
—Madman. Do you intend to die?
He wasn't wrong. To completely corner the two Evil Gods, Yandel was currently maintaining the blessing of Clashing Steel at its absolute maximum.
It was a blessing already activated to resist the frenzy. Having drawn upon its power again to increase output without giving it time to rest, it was bound to be in a state of overload.
No matter how well-made the golem was, it was destined to melt under its own heat. Even if it were made of real dragon scales, it would be no exception.
Yet, the golem, engulfed in flames like a small sun, still held its shape.
It was a golem made with the full weight of Fay’s conviction.
It was made for the moment when a weapon must not betray its master—for someone who has nothing else to rely on but that single weapon.
It might break someday, but that day was not today.
—Ah…
Yandel grasped the fully manifested greatsword like a spear.
His figure, which felt strangely solemn, looked as if he were about to end this dark night and declare the dawn.
—It was always like that. Those who performed true miracles were never the gods.
A memory from the distant past, now blurred. Confused Unity desperately tried to recall his old divine name, but in the end, he couldn't.
Because he had come too far, just like Reckless Roar, who even now was twitching as he was consumed by rage.
Yandel hurled the greatsword held in his hand.
Thwack—
The greatsword pierced directly through the heart. Or perhaps it was a cross that seemed to have sprouted from the earth, which then began to glow white-hot.
The end of a long, long night.
Finally, dawn arrived upon the world.