Humans Fighting Gods
The community fell silent for a moment before erupting into chaos.
Yeo Deure, the unusually distinctive user, had always been a hot topic, and soon speculation, curses, and praise about him flooded the chat.
For now, it was nothing more than idle guessing.
Yet the users felt a strange sense of anticipation.
Maybe Yeo Deure was up to something again...
Goooooo.
The pink Runar surged so intensely it seemed to burn rather than merely shine. It struck Poseid... and the result was devastating.
"What are you doing?"
Poseid hadn't taken any damage at all.
The onlookers wore stunned expressions.
'Good heavens?! He took that attack and he's completely fine?!'
Raeband was shocked, but Meiyal was even more so.
Her fist had connected.
Yet the surging pink Runar... that is, "Rise," had vanished as if washed away.
Just before impact, Rise had disappeared for some reason, and all that reached Poseid was an ordinary Runar-infused punch.
'Huh... why?!'
Was it because she was still inexperienced? Meiyal felt tears of frustration welling up.
She also felt rage at the absurdity.
Why? Why wouldn't her family's unique Runar help her when she needed it most?
[You must experience the feeling of being protected and witness something magnificent.]
"...Huh?"
Who just answered?
The confusion didn't last long.
Poseid was already reaching out with his massive hand.
"Are you toying with me?!"
"Ugh...!"
Even if she tried to dodge, the enormous hand moved far too quickly for its size.
Just before the hand reached Meiyal—
Crack!
"Kugh! Annoying little insect!"
Almiraj's Privilege seal briefly restrained him, giving Raeband just enough time to pull Meiyal away.
The binding lasted only a moment.
The ancient beast targeted Meiyal again, forcing Almiraj to release the seal to deal with it.
"Miss. Can you use that again right now?!"
"...I don't think so."
She still had strength left.
But Meiyal was certain... the Love Yarte Runar would not lend her its power.
'This is bad.'
The reason the damned god had taken damage from Meiyal's attack—unlike anyone else's—was because her family's unique Runar was infused with divine energy.
'According to the Scholar, it's the Runar of the Ten Heroes who once stood with Pryunar in ancient times, so it can neutralize a god's defenses...'
Even if they inflicted minor wounds on Poseid, he would recover instantly.
The situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse.
Poseid saw Almiraj and began hopping in rage.
"You pathetic trash who can only rely on the help of forgotten losers! How dare you interfere with us and act so arrogantly!!"
Boom! Crash!
Every swing of his fist sent thousands of water droplets flying, each carrying terrifying power as they scattered in all directions.
The monstrous rabbit dodged, erased them with her Privilege seal, or deflected them, barely maintaining the standoff.
Even to a third party, the balance looked precarious.
Almiraj gritted her teeth.
'This is bad.'
Poseid's energy was steadily growing stronger.
He was likely "consuming" the other participants in this cave, simultaneously acquiring causality and descent rates.
If this continued, Poseid might fully descend.
Then even this fragile stalemate would collapse.
Meiyal's earlier strike had been their only real chance.
As Poseid's power intensified, so did his creations.
All living things twisted into sharp, grotesque forms, increasing their lethality.
And worst of all, attacks no longer worked at all.
Even pushing him back had become impossible—now weapons simply bounced off.
Raeband and Emily's summoned clones and familiars were being pushed back, and even Mari's holy power had its limits.
The Scholar seemed to be searching for a countermeasure, but...
'With what we have now, there's no usable method!'
They knew of attacks that could work against Poseid, but those techniques were far beyond their current level.
'I was too complacent just because I knew some of the future. I should have trained assuming this kind of situation!'
Regret always comes too late, no matter how fast.
The Scholar kept thinking of ways to overcome the crisis.
The most realistic solution was to request help from Kaits.
Even against such a powerful divine being, Kaits could win.
But... right now he was facing Reina, a formidable opponent, and more importantly, there was no way to leave this place.
Poseid's power continued to rise, and the limits of his creations grew with it. More and more piranha-like fish creatures appeared, circling the people in violent currents.
Even the currents themselves, not just the creatures, carried lethal force that would fatally wound any ordinary person who touched them.
"......"
The Scholar suddenly heard someone muttering.
It was coming from Dre.
'Did he lose consciousness?'
But Dre had his eyes wide open, and despite missing one arm, he showed no sign of discomfort in moving.
The Scholar felt an eerie chill at how unusually energetic Dre seemed compared to usual.
KABOOOOOM!
The cave ceiling collapsed as water poured down like a waterfall.
"I'll flood this entire area! Then you won't be able to show off that annoying movement!"
[Shut up.]
Almiraj clicked her tongue.
Was there really... really no way?
Their strength was rapidly depleting while Poseid's power grew exponentially.
In this desperate situation... a solution...
Flash!
Suddenly, lightning struck.
No—not just lightning. Attacks of eight different attributes combined and swept over Poseid.
"Kuhhhheeeek?!"
Surprisingly, Poseid was pushed back.
It meant the attack had carried at least a trace of divine energy.
'Who?!'
Almiraj looked up in shock, and at the end of her gaze stood a small-statured man glowing with rainbow colors.
'...Who the hell is that really?'
Almiraj didn't recognize him, but among Elyunar's inhabitants, he was quite famous. It was Chai.
This was the form of his proud spirit fusion technique!
"I have no intention of dying quietly."
"...You think the power of a ghost that's already as good as dead can work on me?"
While Poseid muttered incomprehensible words in frustration, whips and swords came flying at him.
Unlike Chai's attack, they didn't work at all, but Poseid was dumbfounded.
The preliminary round participants who had been trembling in fear just moments ago were now launching attacks.
"These bastards? How dare they against a god..."
"Bullshit! What kind of god are you supposed to be, you bastard!"
Mineu shouted angrily while extending the handle.
"Unbelievable. You want us to just die? Are you insane, you bastard?"
"I'll kill you...!"
Musha and Ipung muttered.
Chai followed up on their words.
"You might be revered as a god somewhere, but one who only takes without giving has no right to be respected as a god. Monster."
"....Hmph."
Poseid rarely showed anger. He simply rose slowly to his feet.
"The ones I should bestow upon are not you lot."
"What?"
"What I must give to... is only the countless creatures of my world who are with me."
"What are you talking about?"
Poseid didn't expect them to understand.
He was simply reminding himself.
However, what he hadn't anticipated was that Dre understood his words.
Within Poseid, just as he said, existed countless "living beings."
It was a ridiculous situation... but because of those beings, Dre hesitated to take "a certain action."
If he did it, those beings inside would lose their lives too.
Even though he thought it was idiotic of himself, he was wondering if it was okay to kill all those creatures just because that bastard was wrong.
So he was searching for a reason.
A reason and a trigger to kill that son of a bitch.
Meanwhile, Almiraj came up with a hypothesis.
The reason Chai's attack worked, and the "ghost" Poseid mentioned... it referred to spirits.
'Even if they're lower spirits, high-ranking spirits can damage even divine beings.'
There was one way to defeat the current Poseid.
Information only Almiraj, who served a forgotten god, knew—and a "spirit master" whose raw firepower alone could make even Chai, one of the top here, look like a joke.
But...
'You want me to bring that child into danger?'
She hesitated.
But soon made up her mind.
That child would fear the "teacher" dying in a place she didn't know more than being in danger herself.
She truly cherished and respected Dre.
So...
[...Lenaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!]
Almiraj—the monstrous rabbit—poured Runar into her voice and shouted.
The cave shook so violently that fragments of stone fell.
"What are you doing? Trash."
Poseid snorted and reached out.
Though his power recovery was slower than expected, he thought it was enough to kill these trash, and tried to crush Almiraj.
Bang!
Suddenly, a hand shot out and grabbed Poseid's arm.
"...?!"
Poseid stared in disbelief at the massive hand gripping his wrist.
A hand of rock mixed with black and brown.
At the same time, a hand of burning lightning grabbed Poseid's other arm.
Crackle!
"Kuaaaak...?!"
Poseid hurriedly shook off the hand that sent shocks just from touching it.
And at the same time, two "highest-grade spirits" revealed themselves.
The lightning and earth spirits manifested.
Their height reached dozens of meters, and the waves of power they emitted even while standing still were no less than Poseid's.
"What...?!"
And Poseid saw her.
The small girl looking down at him from above...!
"Was that your doing?"
Surprise filled his voice.
It wasn't that she made herself look young—she was truly just a young girl.
A girl like that could summon two highest-grade spirits that might become Spirit Kings later, and still remain completely fine?
Moreover, the mana and even Runar required to summon and maintain the spirits weren't being consumed at all.
Her affinity with spirits was beyond high—it was incomprehensible.
'Tremendous talent...'
It was talent that even the divine Poseid couldn't help but covet!
Faced with such talent, even Poseid was at a loss for words.
And Lena's eyes, unlike usual, were filled with anger.
"You..."
"......"
"Did you do that to Teacher?"
Lena looked at Dre, who lay sprawled weakly.
Seeing her, Poseid exploded in rage.
"How insolent! How dare you look down on me and attack because of something so trivial!"
Poseid immediately formed a trident in his hand and threw it... only for it to be blocked by a rock that suddenly rose near the earth spirit.
"Foolish creatures. If you die by my hand, it won't be a simple dismissal of the summon—you'll suffer massive damage. To accept that... Kuhk!"
Before he could finish, Poseid took a rock punch to the face and staggered.
Dozens, hundreds of lightning bolts crackled and struck the fallen Poseid, and seeing his chance, Chai poured out his spirit arts.
KUAAAAAAA!
"...What the hell is this."
Mineu was speechless.
This wasn't a fight they could participate in at their level.
Even keeping their eyes open was difficult.
Going near there would turn them to ash in an instant.
A fierce assault that even the god Poseid struggled to endure.
But as expected of a divine being, even in the midst of it, he somehow moved and created a trident to throw.
Or rather, tried to throw it.
Crack!
Fwoooosh!!
The moment Poseid's body froze like ice, even his divine defense weakened, and he took even greater damage than before.
"Kuaaaa...!"
Almiraj's Privilege seal.
And Emily, wearing a clear "magic crown," poured out all her power.
Especially Emily—even without any divine energy, the powerful mana she generated greatly bound Poseid.
'She's trying to surpass the stage on her own?! That's also tremendous talent!'
If he could devour that girl or the witch, he could immediately summon his true body!
This was hardship he hadn't even imagined before descending here.
But even so, Poseid did not kneel.
Even if he fell on his rear, he believed that was something a god must never do, and slowly rose to his feet.
"Very well. I shall acknowledge you all."
Kuaaa...
Bubbles formed in Poseid's eyes as they glowed blue.
"I shall unseal my Authority."
Ding!
God of Amusement: Have you gone mad, Poseid?
God of Fire: Come back immediately, Poseid. It's still reversible. If you use your Authority, even we won't be able to protect you...
"Shut up!!"
Protect him?
Idiots.
With the contract he made with Love Heart and "that guy," there was no problem at all.
Poseid didn't notice.
He didn't notice that Dre was glaring at him with sharp eyes while he looked at Lena and Emily with greedy eyes.
[Kukukukuku.]
Mangshin laughed without anyone noticing.
A laugh filled with anticipation and satisfaction...