Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Intruder's Shadow
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It focused all its nerves on the scene visible through its host.
A powerful being with a form so terrifying that even a new god like itself found it daunting.
The Seraphim.
Subtly similar to the puny angels it had seen before, but fundamentally on another level in terms of power and appearance.
Harboring deep wariness at that fact,
it devoted itself entirely to observing the situation for now.
Undoubtedly strong.
No matter how minuscule the power, Lot still contained a fragment of itself,
yet the Seraphim was crushing him one-sidedly without mercy.
Though most of its power was concealed, making it impossible to gauge precisely just from this,
it was clearly a being with above-average strength among the gods.
But even so, compared to itself—a practical ruler of humanity and one of the top existences among current gods—this was merely...
⚙ DIVINE MESSAGE ⚙ What are you? {!!!}
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Noticing "it" was simple enough.
An attack that would have killed a human several times over.
No matter how reinforced the body, with organs burst apart, heart crushed like a tomato,
and brain spilling out like mashed tofu.
Yet Lot—or whatever his name was—still clung to life, letting me immediately sense something unusual about him.
Above all, the ominous power emanating from his body at this moment.
Recognizing it as fundamentally different from ordinary holy power,
and reading the will contained within it,
I forcibly thrust my holy power into that will
and conveyed my intent.
⚙ DIVINE MESSAGE ⚙ What are you? {!!}
My intent transmitted toward it.
At the same time, the connected will of the guy began to writhe violently for an instant.
And then.
"! Cough! Grghhh! A g... god... a g... kuaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!!"
-Boom!
Lot, whose body was crumpling all over yet refusing to let go of his last breath.
But at this moment,
his body exploded into pieces without me applying any more force,
clearly by the hand of another existence.
Like a lizard caught by an enemy, severing its tail to escape.
I frowned as it blatantly ignored me despite clearly noticing my presence and pulled off this outrageous act before fleeing.
'I figured it wasn't a good guy from the start... but this? Seems like a total asshole who treats manners like shit.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ {Hah... hah...}
The rough breathing spilling from its mouth.
Recalling the memory from moments ago, it hurriedly grabbed a glass filled with red liquid nearby and gulped it down.
The fishy taste of life filling its mouth allowed it to barely regain its composure,
yet the sensation felt in its heart for that instant...
the chilling dread refused to fade easily.
{Th... that guy... no way from there...}
Though it had possessed him, its true essence was hidden deep within.
Even if noticed, pinpointing it directly would be incredibly difficult.
Yet the guy did it effortlessly.
Not content with that, it even thrust a direct contact into itself, who had been observing.
Fortunately, it severed the connection completely by killing its own possession medium before things worsened,
but the fact that its existence was clearly exposed—and it had nearly been tracked down to its location—filled its heart with eerie unease.
{As... as expected... no wonder it dared defy me openly... seems like it has power worth that much at least...}
It forcibly calmed the filthy feeling and put on a composed expression.
However, unlike its actions, the initial leisure no longer existed in its heart.
Nearly direct observation via possession not only failed to gauge the opponent's bottom but even led to a counter-trace.
This meant the opponent might possess power at least on par with its own, at least superficially.
Whether that bottom was a shallow stream or a deep ocean was unclear.
Yet for a novice who had appeared on the surface just a few months ago to wield power comparable to itself—which had dominated humanity's world for centuries, amassing immense faith.
Even now, having just begun building temples in a remote minor nation.
If its forces grew and it gained even more faith, how monstrous would it become?
The mere thought was unpleasant, and at the same time, dreadfully terrifying.
The moment its thoughts reached that point, it decided without delay to take action.
To nip the budding disaster in advance.
Thoroughly and completely.
"Ishiris, Anumashi, I, Baal, request a meeting with you." ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Ugh..."
"Kuh..."
The time of chaos and terror finally subsided only after dawn fully broke.
A sky so clear it made last night's nightmare seem like a dream.
Beneath that sky, Moabmon's soldiers lay collapsed, utterly drained mentally and physically.
Surprisingly, there were almost no deaths among them.
Yet all 60,000 soldiers here had no choice but to admit it.
They had lost this war.
At this moment, Kanan Kingdom's warriors had succeeded in killing or capturing all of Moabmon's lords.
Though their numbers were a mere 300—less than a handful compared to the Moabmon alliance army—in a situation where the head was seized, even a massive serpent body could do nothing.
"Q... quickly drop your weapons! Hurry!"
"S... surrender! We won't resist, just spare our lives!"
Swiftly and voluntarily disarming at their lords' commands.
With their overwhelming numbers, one might think they could fight back, but no soldier or general dared entertain such notions.
All had been tormented to utter exhaustion over the past day, and right now, they were witnessing it.
The colossal being revealing itself before them.
The monster that instilled primal fear and pressure with its gaze alone...
No. A god.
'Even Lord Lot, possessed by that Baal God, went down in one hit...'
'And it toyed with us all night using that god's power...'
'How do we even fight something like that? Standing up would just send us straight to hell...'
Thus, gripped by pure fear and waiting meekly in their fatigued state, Moabmon's soldiers.
Meanwhile,
one of the lords who had led this Moabmon army,
now acting as temporary commander in place of the deceased Lot.
Mara's lord, Lute.
She sat in the command tent with the four surviving lords, her body exhausted, to conduct surrender negotiations.
'For negotiations as lords,' but in truth, they were little more than prisoners bound here.
And at this moment, their hearts were uniformly filled with curses toward Lot, who had escalated things to this point and died first.
'A life as quiet as a plant... that peaceful existence was my life's goal... that damned Lot bastard...'
'Almighty Baal, protect me with eternal light. Guide me with your holy wisdom... fuck this shit Lot prick...'
'No regrets in my life... or so it was, you son of a bitch Lot...'
'What nonsense is this! Me a prisoner?! Me... me a prisoner?! This can't be... Lot you bastard... this can't be real!!!'
Whether they had opposed the war from the start or not, in such a dire situation, people instinctively sought someone to blame.
And naturally, it fell on Lot, who started and botched the whole thing, ultimately dying.
At that moment.
"Thank you for waiting."
"!"
"Mm..."
One person slowly entered the tent.
Though aided by a god, the one who had brought their 60,000-strong army to its knees with just 300.
Eva Gillion.
At her appearance, the lords who had been mentally ripping into Lot inwardly stopped and turned their gazes to her.
"Then, let us begin the peace treaty negotiations immediately."
"..."
"Gulp..."
A discussion whose name alone weighed heavily: peace treaty, read as surrender negotiations.
As expected, Moabmon's lords here were at an utterly disadvantageous position.
They had started the war with a preemptive strike, papal orders or not.
Thus, they lacked even basic justification from the outset,
and having been utterly crushed in the war they began, the price would be even heavier.
'Just the war reparations alone will be enormous... with the entire army captured, freeing them will cost at least 300,000 gold coins minimum...'
'Add in the loss of weapons and supplies, and it's hopeless... and with us lords captured too... in the worst case, half our treasuries gone or equivalent territory ceded...'
The lords' heads spun and stomachs ached just imagining the losses.
Gazing at them, Eva opened her mouth in a calm voice.