A Human Fighting a God
I was a human who fought gods.
But that… was truly the last resort.
I’d do everything possible before throwing my life away.
Cold sweat ran down my back from the tension as I focused on Nanar’s every gesture and glance.
Yet contrary to my vigilance, Nanar simply rested a finger on his chin and tilted his head, showing no sign of bluffing whatsoever.
"......"
"Bullshit."
I twisted my lips into a sneer loaded with mockery.
Nanar closed his eyes and folded his arms. After staying like that for a while, he finally nodded.
"Huh?"
"Every time you open your mouth, all you spout is creepy shit."
There was no longer any reason to wait. I gripped my sword tightly and prepared a straight-line charge. I kicked off the ground—.
Bam!
"!"
I was struck in the shin and tumbled over in the most pathetic way imaginable. I never even saw what hit me. Even with Know Yourself, Know Your Enemy, Win Every Battle active, damage still got through.
"Fuck."
Know Yourself, Know Your Enemy, Win Every Battle perfectly assimilates with the opponent’s power to avoid damage. In other words, if my perception falls short and the assimilation fails even slightly, I have no choice but to take the hit.
I had believed that understanding a god’s power would let me oppose any deity. How arrogant that was. The divine powers of Poseid and Nanar were on such completely different levels that they practically deserved different names.
"A game?"
"Not interested."
Ahahaha.
With his laughter, the birds, the flowers, and the sky itself trembled.
"The Dragon God gave him to me."
He was completely off guard. If I used Space Sword right now—
Bam!
"!!"
I was pierced straight through along with the Runar I’d gathered for the Space Sword and sent rolling across the floor.
"Hmm."
Even though Nanar had blocked the attack in advance and seized the advantage, his expression showed genuine surprise.
Nanar smiled brightly. That smile reminded me of a monster and made my skin crawl.
"I really, really want you."
"If you want me so badly, what are you going to do about it?"
I had no obligation to answer. I glared fiercely, trying to read the timing of attacks that could come from anywhere at any moment.
Damn it. I needed to concentrate, but the chirping birds, the refreshing breeze, and every sound coming from these fluffy clouds grated on my nerves.
Whether he knew how I felt or not, Nanar continued speaking freely.
"It’s no different from what Poseid wanted."
Broad framework. I narrowed my eyes at the ominous phrasing.
"Oh really? How generous."
The Stage again. It was a word that had come up several times. But I didn’t want to show any curiosity. At this point, even if I didn’t fully understand it, I wanted to land at least one solid hit.
I’m not, you fucker.
This was my chance as I lifted my head—
Oh, fuck.
The world grew blindingly bright. Every part of the phenomenon burned like it wanted to scorch my eyes, and all of it carried hostile Runar toward me. An absurd wide-area attack.
Elemental Grant skill—Flame granted.
I maximized its size with Runar and swung a colossal flaming sword.
Crack!!
The world that had been turning white split cleanly in two. At the same time, my head was seized and slammed into the ground as Nanar mounted me. The instant I tried to throw him off, something bound my body.
"You son of a bitch…!"
Attacking while pretending to chat? In my completely defenseless state, Know Yourself, Know Your Enemy, Win Every Battle was my only option. Yet the bastard continued in a flat tone, as if what he’d just done wasn’t an attack but a simple greeting.
"What??"
Whoosh!!
I raised my own flame to the second stage and poured everything into attacking Nanar. He didn’t even bother dodging, simply smiling softly, yet the flames never reached him. Not only that—he merely looked at me, and my second-stage flame was forcibly dispelled.
"Huh?"
Bam!
"Keuk!"
I was struck in the chest, sent rolling across the ground again, then forced myself back to my feet. At this point I wasn’t even being treated like a child—I was a toy.
"Fuck off."
The son of a bitch just kept talking about whatever he wanted.
"I don’t even know who Gaia is."
"How the hell should I—"
My words cut off. Nanar’s presence was swelling. His eyes gleamed with a dangerous white light that writhed across his body each time it flared.
"......"
What the hell was this crazy bastard suddenly babbling about?
He spread both arms wide, then clutched his chest and frowned as if in pain.
He let out a deep sigh, as if regretting it from the bottom of his heart.
"Then seal your own power and abilities, you idiot."
If knowing everything was the problem, he simply had to stop using his power and abilities. Wasn’t that what the absolute beings in stories usually did for entertainment?
But Nanar clicked his tongue and wagged his finger as if I was the one who didn’t understand. It pissed me off.
He pointed straight at me.
For the first time, Nanar took a clear stance. An overwhelming sense of crisis washed over me.
"......"
"…How?"
Mangshin’s voice was languid. I knew what that meant. Mangshin only became languid when he was being completely serious.
Hehehehehehehe.
A skin-crawling laugh. At the same time, Mangshin fell silent.
"Then I’ll just fight."
To think that face belonging to the adorable Makia could make such a fucking expression. I couldn’t stand it without slapping him at least once.
"Fuck off."
"I said fuck off."
Fucking bastard.
"Fine."
Nanar’s body trembled as he flashed a wicked grin.
"Why did you drive Malakia insane?"
Now. There was only one chance.
I squeezed out every last drop of divine power I had left. One cut, two halves. I would bet everything on a single strike and cut down the Chief God.
I was a single blade. I would think of nothing but cutting. Cut the enemy.
The Runar that answered my will transformed into razor-sharp sword energy that split the world itself. The aura of destruction residing in my body declared the end of the heaven-like space Nanar had created.
And then…
The world—no, the entire realm—began to shine.
"…You fucking lunatic!"
It wasn’t only this space that was shining. The Sea God’s Cave—no, perhaps the entirety of Elunar—was being bombarded by a wide-area attack. No matter how much of a Chief God he was, the causal backlash should have been catastrophic, yet Nanar simply laughed.
Focus.
I gathered every ounce of strength I could muster to pull all of Nanar’s light, which was spreading across the world, into a single point. Then, sword in hand, I thrust my body forward to draw the attack toward myself alone. Using Know Yourself, Know Your Enemy, Win Every Battle at the same time, I swung my blade at Nanar.
Slice.
For the briefest instant, I felt the sensation of impact.
And then—
Bam bam bam!
With a ridiculous sound, the sword clattered from my grasp and I collapsed heavily onto the floor. I tried to get up, but I couldn’t. I blankly looked down. A burning pain. And an overwhelming sense of loss.
"......"
Fucking hell. All my limbs had been blown off.
My arms and legs were gone. Or more accurately, they had been torn apart in a jagged mess and sent flying.
Drip.
A single drop of blood fell from Nanar’s cheek. So that was all the feedback I’d managed? I felt disappointed, but Nanar’s face was one of pure shock. Seeing that, I smirked. Well, regardless, I had wounded a being like him. I wondered how he would react. Would he get angry?
I opened my mouth with a taunt.
"How abou—"
"Uh."
"?"
Uh?
Was he crying? Or was he about to go berserk like Poseid? It did seem similar to berserk rage.
"UHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Nanar burst into wild laughter, as if delighted from the very depths of his soul.
Thud.
He knelt right in front of me, shoved his face close, opened his mouth wide, and bit down on my nape. The dizzying pain made me click my tongue, but he chewed my flesh and blood before spitting it out with a splat.
"......"
He muttered madly to himself, then suddenly clutched his stomach and laughed hysterically.
Crazy bastard. Retarded fuck.
Nanar was enjoying himself so genuinely that even I couldn’t help but feel sickened.
"So?"
"......Sigh."
So it really was just for fun. An irredeemable bastard.
Well, this was his true nature.
The Chief God and Light God… no, the Mad God, Nanar.
The other meaning of “Mad God” that Kaits had spoken of. He was more than worthy of the title.
"......"
Vrrrr.
Golden light wrapped around me. And then… countless memories began tearing through my mind. This was—
"Argh…!"
Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
The son of a bitch was laughing his fucking head off.
Fine. This was it. Since there didn’t seem to be any other way… I would use them. The taboo skills. Even if I died, I would make sure this bastard died too.
What, asshole… Ah, then you’ll die too? Don’t you have any way to move somewhere else?
Huh?
Mangshin said something, and I refused.
He’d pulled the same shit with Poseid. What kind of nonsense was this?
At some point the light stopped.
Dre’s body lay on the ground once more.
"Hmm~"
Nanar hummed a cheerful tune. How long had it been since he felt this happy? The Chief God shivered with the vivid sense of being alive and the satisfaction that came with it.
The pleasure of knowing he could destroy on a mere whim something he wanted so desperately. The tension of possibly losing the position of Chief God he had built by destroying the world itself. He couldn’t resist this thrill. Even if it drove him toward his own ruin—no, precisely because it did—it was fun.
"Ahaha! Dre! I love you!"
Nanar shouted with genuine feeling as he laughed. Then, suddenly, an arm sprouted from Dre’s body.
‘? Aah… Is this what they call property alteration?’
A power similar to alchemy that changed the properties of matter. It was still crude, but the fact that it was Dre’s own power made it quite remarkable.
What was he planning to do with that? Had he not gone mad yet?
His heart was pounding with both excitement and astonishment when the crude arm took shape, and Nanar burst out laughing.
"FUCK YOU!! I like that a lot too!!"
Seeing the middle finger raised high, he clutched his stomach and howled with laughter. To think he still hadn’t gone mad.
‘He has no mental defense skills, and even if he did, I possess the Authority to break through them. So his mental strength really is like that… Is he even human?’
At the same time, Nanar felt a prickle of danger against his skin. Even in that maggot-like state with all four limbs gone, the bastard still had one more card left.
‘What should I do? Should I wait for it? Or should I crush him immediately and make him taste despair? Aah… Either way, I’m looking forward to it…’
Crack.
"......"
Nanar looked up. A crack had formed in a corner of the space above. No—two cracks.
"…Hmm."
A moment later, Crash!! One side of the space collapsed, revealing the Sea God’s Cave. At the same time the opposite side crumbled as well, and two figures—a man and a woman—entered and jumped down without hesitation.
Even while waving casually, Nanar was quite surprised internally.
‘To think they would forcibly break into my space.’
Today really was a wonderfully unpredictable day. Not only that, but the preliminary round participants he thought had fled were peeking through the passage as well.
Then…
"......"
"…Ah."
Gold and Eli saw it. The man who had always been strong, who had seemed like he would never lose… now lay there pathetically with all his limbs gone.
Rumble!
Boom!
"......"
Nanar closed his mouth. Thunder, lightning, and pillars of light enveloped the pair.
"You… son of a bitch!!"
".........!!"
Faced with their fury, Nanar simply laughed.
‘They’ve awakened the power to use the artifacts~’
He was grateful there was still more fun to be had.