The First to Fight a God

The only thing that rang was the title notification, leaving the users clueless about the situation. To them, it was like rain in a drought.

The video kept glitching and cutting out, so they could barely grasp what was happening. The fact that the stream was even possible with a god's presence right in front of them—weakened by Equality or not—was a miracle.

The users who had no idea what was going on until the title notifications started ringing were now getting exactly what they needed.

The video kept glitching and cutting out, so they could barely grasp what was happening. The fact that the stream was even possible with a god's presence right in front of them—weakened by Equality or not—was a miracle.

It was a well-known story that the only one not registered on the community appeared under the name "Anonymous."

Over a thousand users alone were watching this fight right now.

With that many people, the chat refresh rate was noticeably slow.

Most of them knew why.

They were watching with anticipation.

They were all users who wanted to become the best.

Dre's fight had parts worth admiring, and they wanted to learn from it.

Or, even if they wouldn't admit it, the feeling of being a fan.

Just like when he fought Almiraj, they believed he would show off some incredible technique.

And the pounding in their chests.

To users, gods were like NPCs.

Beings you never had to fight, just part of the system.

The ultimate absurdity that made the thought of winning impossible.

And then—

The sight of him provoking that absurdity to go all out… gave them a sense of freshness and liberation.

A Ranker's appearance.

Prisstan was a famous user who had an anecdote about dueling a god through some quest.

Normally, the greetings from his followers would've started for some networking, but the atmosphere wasn't right for that. Someone got straight to the point.

Crack!

The moment he finished speaking, the current vanished completely.

Poseid's head was snapped back, his face covered in blood.

As if responding to the users' wishes, the sound suddenly grew louder.

Though there was noise from water and wind, the strangers' hearing wasn't a problem.

"You fucking idiot."

"If you're gonna eat him, eat him. If you're gonna talk, talk. Why the hell are you stalling, you bastard? What are you gonna do if you glare at me?"

"Y-you bastard…!"

"Keep glaring? Okay. Those eyes are definitely getting gouged out."

Thus…

In the long history of Elyunar, the first instance of a human fighting a god was finally about to begin.

Poseid looked at Bratt in his hand and tossed him away with a snort.

Bratt let out a pathetic sound and crawled away, trying to escape.

"H-hiik…"

This wasn't his plan.

Kaits was supposed to handle the others, so he'd sent him with Cardinal Rafnir to rescue people.

Then he saw Yeo Deure overwhelming the monster, and thought that if it got weaker, he could kill it himself.

He'd taken the risk for one reason—to avoid responsibility.

The incident during the preliminaries… The blame would fall on Leor, head of the Graise family and the highest authority, but Bratt wouldn't escape unscathed either.

Especially if any participants died.

But what if he dealt with the monster that caused it all?

While others got cursed out, his own status would rise.

With many rivals eyeing the position of Great Forest gatekeeper, this was an opportunity he couldn't miss.

And he'd acted on that thought, only to taste nothing but misery.

Just what was Yeo Deure?

How was he overwhelming that monster?

No… was that even Yeo Deure?

Bratt had good instincts.

Dealing with warriors who used nature in the Great Forest had made that inevitable.

Those instincts told him the current Yeo Deure was a completely different person from before.

'That guy won't help me. I have to escape on my own….'

Neither Poseid nor Dre cared about Bratt.

They simply stared at each other.

"Five minutes?"

"How many times do I have to say it?"

"Kukukuku…"

This was the first time he'd been ignored so thoroughly.

Bubbles erupted from Poseid's entire body.

Each boiling, popping water droplet carried tremendous power.

"I'm sorry…"

"……"

"Forgive me. I will surely revive you all, so sacrifice yourselves for me."

He didn't know what Poseid was doing, but his divine power surged greatly.

Equality seemed to have a limit, but… it looked like the "sacrifice" had been greatly strengthened.

Dre let out a dry laugh.

Whoosh!

Water erupted on a scale incomparable to before.

The spray that seemed about to engulf the cave coalesced into a massive sphere, becoming nine dragon heads.

Poseid entered the center of the spray himself, and Dre wasn't about to just watch.

Clang!

"!"

The Severing Sword pierced water harder than steel, but was deflected by a trident.

He tried a follow-up with the Space Sword, but the space rippled and vanished, and the trident was thrown back in counterattack.

His movements themselves were different from before.

"Now I possess the knowledge of the professions my children held… Swordsman, Spearman, Gladiator, Martial Artist, Archer, Mage, Druid, Spirit Master, Priest, Beast Warrior… even Blacksmith and so on. I have all that knowledge."

Clang!!

When he struck the ground with the trident, the stone turned to water and transformed into a construct.

A dignity no less than Poseid before Equality was unleashed boiled from him.

"That knowledge synergized and filled my head with even more advanced knowledge. The current me may not be at my true body's level, but I'm not far behind the moment before my true body descends. And you want five minutes against this me?"

"……"

"Try it."

At the end of his words, nine dragon maws rushed to tear Dre apart.

Chunks.

All the heads were severed at once, but they regenerated immediately.

Not regenerated—new ones sprouted.

"Like a hydra…"

That wasn't all.

The dragon heads changed form, and each time they were cut off by Dre.

It wasn't just the appearance that resembled a hydra.

When cut, new water gushed out, forming two heads that attacked Dre again.

Clang!

Sword and trident clashed.

The crudely made sword immediately cracked.

Poseid's trident was also made of water, but there was a difference in quality…

So what?

Dre created a shockwave-like effect with Runar and shattered the cracked sword, scattering it like a shotgun blast.

Each fragment carried the destructive property of the Severing Sword.

Poseid clicked his tongue and had no choice but to dodge.

Taking that opening, a new sword formed and targeted Poseid's head again.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The more Poseid swung his trident, the more shock he felt.

This thrust.

Even with the knowledge gained by sacrificing his own children, he couldn't kill this guy with it.

At first he thought he couldn't get a feel for it, but now he was handling it properly.

'He's quick to adapt.'

He couldn't understand it.

Even though the authority of Equality ruled this place, Poseid's body was protected by divine power.

Handling a god's power was never easy.

Just focusing on power and leaving scratches on the body would be shocking enough, but this level of skilled movement?

'End it quickly.'

He felt a sense of crisis.

Poseid resolved not to hold back his power.

He'd already broken the taboo, so he'd go all the way.

Whoosh!

The forms of the water serpent heads changed into Poseid's appearance.

The only difference from the main body was that each held a sword, bow, axe… even some attacked with bare fists.

Moreover, each attack was incredibly delicate and powerful.

Yet Dre endured the downpour of attacks well.

No… as time passed, he was counterattacking instead.

Looking closely, the single sword had increased to two. Poseid clicked his tongue, wondering if he could dual-wield too.

It was inevitable that the people watching and the users in the community fell silent.

Even as Rankers entered one by one, no one could explain this fight.

They just stared blankly.

If they were in that position, could they have endured?

The answer was obvious.

"Well, I'll acknowledge your swordsmanship at least…"

Clang!

Suddenly, Poseid's thickened trident shattered Dre's stone sword.

"What will you do without a sword?"

Dre had no sword in his hand.

It was too late to create another, and Poseid's water clones were already thrusting their weapons at him.

And then…

"Then I'll just use my bare hands."

With a relaxed voice, Dre's hand spun in a flashy circle, and all of Poseid's clones tilted, their attacks missing.

"What?! Kuhk!"

Boom!

The fist embedded in the trident burned with terrifyingly hot flames.

"I get it now."

"What…"

Looking at the speechless Poseid, Dre sneered.

"Divine power is a force that lets you do anything you can imagine."

"……!"

A god's power was a force that held the possibility of becoming anything.

That's how Dre understood it.

"I think I mentioned this before…"

Whoosh!

A Vulcan cannon suddenly appeared in front of the approaching clones.

Poseid couldn't respond in time to an attack completely different in nature from any power Dre had used before.

"I'm not a swordsman."

Tatatatatatatata!

Bang bang bang bang!

Poseid's water clones exploded one after another.

"Playing games!"

Seeing the scattering spray, Poseid angrily swung his trident and destroyed the Vulcan cannon.

But as if he'd expected it, a massive explosion of flames blocked his vision.

The moment he snorted and cleared the flames with his trident, a kick mixed with lightning and wind targeted his forehead.

Boom!!

For a moment it seemed the water armor Poseid wore had blocked the attack, but a delayed shockwave sent him flying.

"Kuhk…?!"

But Poseid was secretly smiling.

Countless water droplets that splashed as Poseid flew transformed into threatening piranhas one by one.

"Get eaten alive and die."

Whoosh!

"?!"

A whip.

Dre swung a whip and eliminated all the fish at once, then suddenly drew a bow.

Poseid was dumbfounded.

Because the power gathering in that bow felt stronger than any sword Dre had used so far.

"I once hit a target from one end of the universe to the other."

"Bullshit…!"

Poseid raised his trident to throw it…

Thunk!!

"Kahk?!"

His abdomen was pierced along with the trident.

If he hadn't noticed just before being stabbed and swung the trident to adjust, his head would've been pierced.

The arrow was too fast.

Gritting his teeth, he restored his body and looked ahead.

This time, Dre held a shield in his hand.

The moment he muttered something, the approaching clones all shattered and scattered.

"What the…"

Greatsword. Claw. Chakram… Summoning all kinds of weapons, Yeo Deure advanced toward Poseid without any awkwardness—no, as if that had always been his fighting style, naturally like flowing water.

Even behind him, a summon appeared.

He summoned in an incomprehensible way a being that could only manifest after making a contract, regardless of skill.

A giant's massive fist scattered the current wrapping around Poseid with a pop.

"Weren't you a swordsman?!"

"I just enjoy using swords, I'm not a swordsman, you idiot."

Poseid couldn't continue.

A magic circle was rising behind Dre's back… and even Dre's clones were being created.

As if mocking Poseid, they held the same weapons as Poseid's water clones and ravaged them.

Bang bang bang!

"This bastard!"

The trident thrust in anger was broken by an identical thrust.

A fist met his own fist, leading to a brawl. But he was helplessly pushed back.

When he couldn't endure and summoned constructs, tooth shapes appeared everywhere and devoured them all.

Every time Poseid used new knowledge for a new attack, Dre crushed it head-on with the same weapon.

Even though he could use more effective destruction.

Deliberately.

Poseid's mouth fell open.

He couldn't think of anything.

'Just what…'

"What's wrong?"

Dre's eyes, striding forward, were blood-red.

He didn't look human at all.

'Just what is this guy… Is he even human!!'

Unconsciously taking a step back, Poseid gritted his teeth and shouted.

"Give me power, my children!"

He wouldn't hold back anymore.

Even if he sinned against his children, even if it saddened him, he would crush this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠guy.

Just as Poseid was about to sacrifice countless lives—

Slash!

A "Severing Sword" fired from the magic circle cut the connection between Poseid and his "children."

The one who never expected a sword strike instead of magic couldn't prepare, and soon let out a scream of shock.

"…You cut off causality?!"

"Hey."

"….."

"Stop with the cheap tricks, you idiot."

Eyes wide open.

Poseid shouted.

"Mind Realm Declaration!!"

On top of the previous deep sea, a new mind realm was created by combining his children's knowledge.

Poseid's mind realm.

The absolute sea where a god resides.

The mind realm spread without needing to be shouted aloud.

Poseid felt displeased.

In this deep sea, even the highest-grade monsters would be instantly crushed by continuous water pressure, and incredibly powerful and vicious aquatic monsters would appear whenever Poseid desired.

Even if one could survive and fight in this terrible environment, the flow of the current could be controlled, allowing him to lead the battle as he wished.

But Poseid had a feeling that Dre would survive in this world and fight well.

However…

"Even if you survive, what about the ones around you?"

Weakened by Equality, he couldn't manifest his mind realm in reality, but the range he could drag into the mind realm was absurdly wide.

Everyone in the Sea God's Cave…

'That guy.'

Unconsciously stopping his shout, Poseid stared blankly at Dre.

The sense of wrongness he felt from that guy standing in this deep sea without a care, muttering something.

'What is he doing now…?'

Clang!

When his thoughts stopped, Poseid blinked.

There was no water around Dre.

Since other places were filled with black water and monsters, the mind realm hadn't disappeared.

Then what?

That sword stuck in the air over there…

"Still too early…"

Dre muttered as if his mouth tasted bitter.

It seemed he'd tried something and failed.

Then… that place where Dre stood was one thing, but what was this?

The mind realm couldn't advance any further.

Even the constructs inside it.

"What…"

He didn't ask what he'd done.

He remembered seeing it about ten minutes ago.

The reality manipulation Emily the witch had performed.

Dre was using it.

Using a god's power, he was implementing reality manipulation he'd only seen once.

"……"

Poseid couldn't speak.

And… the world was manipulated into a reality where the deep sea and aquatic creatures in the mind realm couldn't exist.

Kwaaak!!

[Kyaaak!]

[Kuaaak!]

The giant deep-sea fish that inspired fear just by looking at them screamed and oxidized.

The water evaporated in an instant, turning to steam.

The mind realm was released.

Amidst the flying steam, Poseid, who had been standing blankly, trembled his lips.

"……You."

Poseid created two tridents and threw them.

Starting with two, the tridents became dozens, hundreds, and shot like missiles.

"What the hell are you!!!"

Erasing the mind realm with reality manipulation?

That meant suppressing Poseid's will and arbitrarily changing the laws of his world.

That was something only a god could do.

'Talent alone doesn't make it possible…!'

"Three minutes thirty seconds…"

Poseid flinched.

The thrown tridents instantly turned to steam and vanished.

Dre lowered the hand that had been on his chest.

"We had our fun, so shall we stop now?"

"Fun…?"

Trembling all over, Poseid shouted.

"How dare you—!!"

The shout changed reality into a powerful tsunami, which instantly dried up.

An impossible sight made Poseid's eyes widen.

"Second stage of his own flame."

Whoosh whoosh whoosh.

Hot crimson flames burned Dre's body.

Poseid knew the flames of the Fire God he could call a comrade.

His flames weren't like this.

They didn't inspire this kind of terror.

These flames reminded him of the true "Fire God" from that distant war, long forgotten… that terrifying, terrifying existence.

"Are you… a god?"

Coincidentally.

Poseid's words… were the shared sentiment of everyone watching Dre right now.

Thud!

"Kahak!!"

The second stage of his own flame continuously emitted high-powered fire, but that wasn't all.

Originally, his own flame was a physical enhancement buff.

Dre's movements, thoughts, and power increased several times, no, dozens or hundreds of times.

Moreover, even his clones were using his own flame.

Poseid also summoned clones and constructs to block the front, but the attacks from Dre's created clones and the automatically emitted flames annihilated them before they could even form.

Fists mixed with lightning, earth, plains, wind, fire… all kinds of attributes embedded into Poseid.

He waited for a chance to counterattack, but the fists didn't stop, dozens landing heavily, very heavily, each moment…

'Ah, it hurts…!'

More than the staggering from the impact, the pain prevented Poseid from counterattacking.

Boom!!

A powerful blow to the back with an iron mountain sent his arm flying.

With shocked eyes, Poseid gritted his teeth.

No, maybe he was just clacking his teeth together. He didn't want to admit it.

"Uwaaaa!"

He tried to counterattack Dre, but that guy was far away. Momentarily confused, Poseid then smiled in satisfaction.

'Right, there's no way that state could last…'

Just as he thought it must be a time-limited technique, whoosh! A dropkick flying at rocket-like speed—no, incomparable to a rocket—embedded into Poseid's center.

"Geheek!!"

Letting out a pathetic scream, Poseid vomited water.

"This bastard…!"

"Done."

"What…?"

What was done?

Then Poseid realized.

The white-haired girl lying collapsed in the distance…

Makia had escaped from Poseid's center.

The one tightly hidden by divine power had separated from Poseid.

There was no longer a medium.

That meant… he could no longer use the trick of avoiding paying the causality for his own descent.

"N-no…!"

"You descended ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠using that girl as a medium, yet you're still maintaining your form in this world, so you must've offered quite a lot?"

Speechless, Poseid saw the fist raised high.

"Good. I was about to regret it if the summon was canceled."

Gurgle.

All the water gathered toward Poseid and froze solid like ice.

Just a little more and he could endure.

Just a little more… and Equality would end.

Poseid, being the same divine being, could barely sense that much.

Kwaaang!!

The result of focusing only on defense was surprising.

Surprisingly, even Dre's fist couldn't break the ice Poseid had focused on defending.

Even after dozens, hundreds of strikes, the cracked ice kept restoring itself.

"Hey? Aren't you embarrassed as a god? Not coming out?"

The ice that regenerated as soon as it was broken.

Regardless, Poseid curled up and waited for the moment.

When this Equality ended…

"I will torture you for eternity, I will sow my seed in your woman, everything related to you…!"

"Then I will torture and torment you for eternity. I'll impregnate your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠woman or whatever, and destroy and violate everything related to you."

Thud.

For the umpteenth time, Poseid was speechless.

Dre grabbed the ice protecting him with a burning hand and thrust his face forward.

"What? You think I can't?"

"……"

At that moment.

Ding!

The system message was audible even to Poseid.

'The Plague Dragon Malakia's soul has recovered?'

That wasn't the problem.

Extreme poison flowed from where Dre grabbed, poisoning Poseid's body.

It was something neither Dre nor Poseid had expected, but only Poseid suffered the damage from the variable.

"Kuh, kuhak?!"

The poison mixed with water became one with it.

The safest place had become the most toxic.

Unable to endure, Poseid released his defense and crawled out…

Boom!

His head was stomped on.

"Poseid."

"……"

"Lick. Then I'll spare you for about a minute."

One ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠minute?

That was about how much time remained until Equality ended.

Poseid… unconsciously moved his body.

He had no intention of licking sincerely, it was just pretense.

But even that tore his pride to shreds and filled him with sorrow.

His tongue extended, and Dre suddenly moved his foot, crushing his mouth.

"Kahaaaa!!"

"Yeah. You licked well. I'll wait one minute."

Poseid, who had been struggling while clutching his face, laughed.

"K-kahaha…!"

That idiot was actually waiting.

Not knowing Equality was about to end!

"What are you doing? Recover. Or are you planning to do it after Equality ends? You coward."

"……"

He knew Equality was ending.

He knew, and yet he was waiting?

'Kill him…!'

The Water God gritted his teeth.

He'd make him regret it, he ground his teeth, and time passed,

Ding!

When the authority ended, Poseid began regaining his true body's power.

Dre had been strong because he could use a god's power without hesitation in this situation.

Without that, there was no way he could win against himself who had regained his true body's power!! Poseid thought so and took a combat stance.

"Now… I'll kill you…"

And Poseid saw it.

The sword clearly formed on Dre's blade, burning like the sun.

"I've got a good grasp on what divine power is now."

"……"

"I can cut you even in that state."

"Don't be ridiculous—!!"

He couldn't finish speaking.

Before the sea-like water spear Poseid swung, a sun-like sword was swung…

Whoosh.

With a feeling as if everything was burning, Poseid's upper body was deeply cut.

"A, aaaaa…!"

It wasn't just the sword.

All of Poseid's divinity.

Even the "certain power" maintaining the system was all cut in half by the flaming sword…

Ding!

The notification couldn't continue, and the system cut off with noise.

At the same time, Poseid collapsed.

He tried to get up, but he had no strength left.

Simultaneously, all the constructs that had been pressuring the participants disappeared at once.

"……"

Staring at the ceiling with wide eyes, Poseid couldn't believe this reality.

He lost.

A god.

To a human…?

'No.'

That couldn't be human.

It absolutely couldn't be…!

Poseid's mind realm made the sense of time flow incredibly fast.

It was something no human could handle.

'And all those attacks… no human could possibly endure…!'

The god writhed in despair.

And Dre approached.

"Y-you…!"

He tried to shout "blasphemous bastard" but his words stopped.

It was because he saw Dre's expression.

There was no victor's satisfaction or joy on his face.

Only a base, sinister pleasure.

"..W-what are you trying to do…"

Seeing Poseid trembling like an aspen, Dre cracked his neck.

And coldly declared.

"Now then. It's torture time."