Mortals Who Fight Gods

Two combatants had been rendered unable to fight, and two more combat operatives had joined the fray.

A brief standoff ensued as they sized each other up.

For Nanar, that alone had been a sufficient attack.

Unlike before, Nanar now radiated countless sharp, needle-like rays of light, like a hedgehog.

The endless beams stretched outward, incinerating any living thing they touched like lasers.

Moreover, they flashed so brilliantly that even Runar masters would be blinded if they looked directly at them.

As Nanar's divine rank increased, his authorities began to manifest in full.

Krashe had been trying to support El, but after she insisted she was fine and ordered him to evacuate the others first, he had started moving the incapacitated personnel instead.

Almiraj was among them.

She had gritted her teeth and tried to keep fighting, but even touching the light dealt damage, and she couldn't look at it directly. On top of that, she no longer had the strength to use her Privilege seal.

Even if she did, would it work against the current Nanar?

Without a doubt, the members who had barely managed to fight Nanar moments ago—Almiraj, El, Gold, Meiyal… even those who possessed Pryunar or divine energy—wouldn't be able to approach him now.

Direct beams would burn through any attack or body before they could even get close, and the intermittent dazzling flashes would instantly destroy the eyes of anyone who drew near.

That went without saying for the preliminary round participants and anyone else unrelated to divine power or Pryunar.

The only hope against the current Nanar lay with three people.

Reina. Mullin. Kaits.

'Kaits has already shown strength beyond common sense, so he's reliable, but what about those two?'

At a glance, they seemed unfazed by the direct beams or the flashbang-like lights.

'Emily, another Pryunar Academy instructor like Mullin… wasn't a match.'

Having lived as a killer for a long time, Almiraj possessed a list of targets to watch and objective evaluation data.

Emily had displayed astonishing techniques, but after fighting Poseid and exhausting her strength, she couldn't even stand.

Of course, the lack of divine power had to be considered… but could Mullin, who was evaluated at a similar level of strength, withstand that?

And Reina.

Reina was incredibly strong.

Almiraj knew that fact better than anyone.

The martial arts she had desperately trained had been completely ineffective against Reina's robust ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠physique.

Though she looked like nothing more than a young girl, if one considered pure physical ability alone…

'Even if all the users attacked at once, they might get slaughtered instantly…'

Yet even so, the current Nanar exuded an aura that suggested no attack or defense would work at all.

They were managing for now because of the distance, but once the fight began?

There was no point thinking about it.

Almiraj could no longer participate in the battle.

No matter how much she had honed her skills against otherworlders… she couldn't hide her misery.

Nanar didn't move even though he knew people were being evacuated.

More precisely, he had lost interest in Reina and Mullin after finding them intriguing.

"I met Reina a few years ago, didn't I?"

Reina didn't answer and stared at Nanar with a blank expression.

She was originally doll-like in her beauty.

Her usual liveliness made her beauty feel more innocent than cold, but now, with her icy demeanor, she radiated both doll-like beauty and terror at the same time.

"Mullin, it's been a while. Really… it's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Mullin didn't answer either.

Nanar didn't bother speaking further.

However, Rafnir stood beside her.

"Mullin?"

Rafnir approached Mullin with a benevolent smile.

"Look. This is the Chief God we have all longed for."

"......"

"This is the one you 'wished to receive.' Hehe. This is… this is such a great honor! Isn't it?! Mullin?!"

With arms spread wide, her mad laughter was the very smile of a fanatic.

However, the divine power radiating from her far exceeded that of a mere cardinal, giving her a charisma unlike the generally shunned and despised fanatics.

Ooooooh.

A powerful divine energy overflowed from Rafnir's body, accompanied by her mad smile.

'It's been amplified by Nanar…'

Kaits furrowed his brow.

The powerful divine energy had become a thick defensive barrier.

Pure divine power unrelated to the gods.

Even Kaits would struggle to inflict damage without focusing.

'Even if that woman focuses only on supporting Nanar, she'll be a significant hindrance.'

And… Kaits knew that woman was practically Mullin's natural enemy.

Nanar knew that fact as well.

'At this rate, Mullin might be eliminated before the fight even starts.'

Nanar knew the relationship between Rafnir and Mullin very well.

After all, they had been created for his sake.

And though Mullin would never want to admit it, she likely saw Rafnir as a parental figure.

At the very least, Nanar believed it would be difficult for her to ignore Rafnir or act recklessly.

'That's disappointing in its own way.'

Fewer enemies was a good thing, but Nanar sighed, lamenting that the situation was turning strange when he had finally felt excited after so long.

Even if he deliberately made things disadvantageous by charging in himself, it wouldn't be fun.

Rafnir grabbed Mullin's hand, which held the squeaky hammer.

"Come now. Put that toy down."

"......"

"And let us feel happiness together by the Chief God's side. That wish of ours from back then is finally coming true. The noble sacrifices of our sisters are about to be rewarded."

And Mullin let go of the squeaky hammer.

Squeak, squeak.

The hammer fell to the ground with a ridiculous sound.

The moment Kaits furrowed his brow, Mullin's hand moved like lightning.

Whoosh!

"Huh?"

Crash! Crash! Crash!

By the time Nanar realized the attack, it was already too late to block.

Thud!!

A tremendous physical force pierced through the needle-like direct beams and slammed into Nanar's face.

Crack. His neck twisted grotesquely before returning to normal with a burst of light.

As his broken nose healed and blood-soaked face recovered, Nanar let out a strange, eerie laugh.

"So that's how it's going to be?"

At the end of Nanar's gaze was the hand axe in Mullin's grip.

Though called a hand axe, the blade was nearly the size of Mullin's face. On the opposite side was a heavy iron hammer, and below the handle was a mace.

It radiated a sinister aura that marked it as no ordinary weapon.

"So that's the weapon that crushed the heads of thousands of monsters and villains?"

Mullin tightened her grip on the hand axe instead of answering.

The dazed Rafnir let out a shrill scream.

"Mullin!! What the hell are you doing—!!"

Crack!

The mace, which had instantly pierced through Rafnir's solid divine power barrier, struck her head. The cardinal didn't even scream as her head caved in and she collapsed to the floor.

"I held back somewhat. You won't die, but stay still."

As Mullin said, Rafnir's head repeatedly regenerated and shattered while emitting light. Mullin kicked the fallen Rafnir aside and snorted.

"With this, there won't be any interference in this fight."

"......"

Kaits opened his mouth and closed it again.

He hadn't expected her to act like this.

Nanar felt the same.

'Mullin defying Rafnir has only happened a few times across countless regressions…'

Each time, there had been a massive reason worth such resolve, but this time there was none.

If there was an anomaly… it was the existence that appeared for the first time in this regression.

Yeo Deure.

'It's you again, Dre? Ehehehehe…'

Just as Nanar expressed joy at the existence causing anomalies, Dre muttered in disbelief.

"Crazy bastards. Even without knowing much, those guys are definitely a dysfunctional family, right?"

"......"

Mari didn't agree.

She only examined Dre's wounds with a serious expression.

Restoring the body wasn't simple.

Even Mari had to pour out an enormous amount of divine power to restore a body within a month.

The longer the body had been damaged, the more divine power was consumed.

From that perspective, Dre's wounds… should have been relatively easy to restore.

Though Mari's divine arts had not yet reached their peak and she was exhausted from consuming so much power… she should still have been able to heal him.

But now, it seemed she could only regenerate one arm at most.

'Even that will break again soon.'

Had Dre known that and asked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only for one arm to be movable?

'Such ridiculous wounds…'

Mari had seen countless injuries in the Holy Kingdom.

Even for her, wounds this severe were a first.

Even if the body was restored, the scars would remain and break again soon.

Nanar's attack had been destruction itself.

Mari thought a red flag had been raised for this man's future.

She wanted to do something, but at her current level, restoring one arm was all she could manage.

Perhaps if he withdrew and rested, it might be restored someday.

When she tried to tell him that as a priest, Dre muttered.

"It's fine."

"......"

"I've done a lot of bad things today, so I'll take this as punishment and do some good deeds from now on."

She didn't understand what he meant, but she knew Dre was showing a sacrificial side.

Seeing an unexpected side of the man she had thought was only frivolous, Mari felt an inexplicable sense of guilt.

"But… still…"

"I said it's fine. Hey, Krashe."

"What."

Krashe grumbled but came over.

Having brought Mari at Dre's request, he looked at Dre as if asking what he wanted.

Krashe naturally disliked Dre.

Though he hated the man, he had to acknowledge certain things.

This man knew what sacrifice meant, and he himself was the shameful one who had tried to run away.

Since Dre was risking his life to fight, Krashe couldn't flee while carrying the honor of the Graise family's knight commander.

"While my arm is being restored, please protect me."

Krashe glanced at Nanar.

…From that monster?

But he didn't want to show weakness to Dre, even in death.

"Understood… but even if you recover with that body, can you do anything?"

"I can."

If necessary, even at the cost of his life.

Dre didn't bother adding that.

[Just follow my suggestion, kid. It'll be very comfortable.]

At that moment, as he ignored Mangshin's words, light exploded from Nanar's body.

Krashe and Mari hurriedly took defensive stances, but there was no helping the adverse effect on Dre.

Dre closed his eyes again to charge his strength and energy as much as possible.

Nanar trembled as if his body was itching.

He was genuinely enjoying himself for the first time in a very long while.

"If you've decided to fight, we should start right away, right?"

"......"

"Mullin. It's a shame. You're like my daughter, yet I don't want to hurt you."

"Don't say disgusting things."

Calling her his daughter.

Mullin felt genuinely nauseous.

"Ehehehe. What happened to the sisters who 'decided to become me'? Ah, right… you were the only one who survived?"

"......"

"Don't listen to him."

Kaits warned briefly.

"That guy is trying to seduce you with words…"

Before Kaits could finish, Mullin and Reina took a step forward.

Since they had been positioned just outside the radius of Nanar's direct beams, the two were immediately affected by the light.

Kwoooosh.

The two women walked slowly forward as if nothing was wrong, even as light engulfed their entire bodies.

Kaits grabbed the backs of their necks and pulled them back.

"Listen for a moment."

"Let go, you bastard."

"Let go!"

"......"

He had never been conscious of his handsome face, but it had been quite convenient until now. He thought it was quite inconvenient that it didn't work on them.

"I'll explain his power. Is it fine if you go without listening and mess things up?"

Mullin, who had looked ready to smash Kaits's head at any moment, let out a deep breath.

"Make it short."

"First, those needle-like lights are 'Bright.' It's not really an authority or anything, just the natural state of his divine power expressed as Runar. It dismantles Runar and burns the body on contact, and for most strong individuals, that's the end."

"Don't bother explaining what we can see, Hero!"

"......That flashing technique is 'Flash.' Right now it's blinking intermittently, but once the battle starts, it'll emit light bright enough to blind like Bright, constantly applied. If you don't focus Runar in your eyes, they'll be ruined in no time…"

"Don't bother naming the techniques. Are you a child?"

"......"

Kaits couldn't help but glare at the two women, and they glared back with expressions that seemed to say "What?"

The Hero lowered his eyes and continued explaining.

"'Creature.' He can summon heavenly beings and divine beasts indefinitely… but I can handle that. However, what's already summoned can't be helped."

Before they knew it, divine beasts were lined up all around.

Mari and Krashe were shocked that each one was as powerful as themselves.

"Naturally, the higher Nanar's rank, the more you should assume attacks without divine power won't work."

"Is that all?"

"'Light Speed.' He moves at speeds beyond imagination. 'Color' allows him to change or hide his appearance. Those are probably his basic skills."

"Not much to it. Let's go."

"Wait a bit longer."

Kaits was seriously starting to consider striking the women's heads with his sword.

"His authorities, which can be called divine privileges, also possess considerable power. 'Chief God's Authority' allows him, as the Chief God, to borrow talents that form the foundation of other divine ranks. And these authorities are important: as the Mad God, he uses 'Madness,' and as the Light God, he uses 'Light that Blinds the Foolish' and 'Colors of the Rainbow.'"

"Are you a walking explanation?"

"Don't blame me if you charge in without listening and die."

For the first time, Kaits showed irritation.

"So what are the effects of the authorities?"

"Explain quickly."

These guys oddly got along well.

Kaits didn't bother showing that thought.

"Madness literally drives the opponent insane. Though it can't be used on multiple people at once, if there's light, it can be mixed into any attack and causes confusion with painful or happy memories. You two are sturdy, so I don't think it'll work. Handle it yourselves."

"What do you know about us?"

"Hero. I've only seen you briefly, but you seem to do that often?"

Kaits barely restrained his fist from clenching.

Nanar was laughing as if amused by Kaits's appearance, even though his own powers were being explained in detail.

"......'Light that Blinds the Foolish.' Currently, it can only be used in a straight-line laser form… and if hit by it, assume fatal damage that kills in one blow. It's practically synonymous with instant death."

"A straight line. Easy to dodge."

"Colors of the Rainbow. It emits seven rainbow-colored lights to create a wall. You can pass through it, but it damages the body and interferes with using Runar or energy. Naturally, it doesn't stack."

"Then we can just break through it."

"If it broke easily, it wouldn't be an authority. You have to create the same color with Runar and wrap it around your body to pass through without damage. Of course, in a moment where 0.0000001 seconds matter, it's hard to focus on that. But charging recklessly will create a vicious cycle of greatly weakening your power. It's an authority that well reflects his twisted tastes."

Mullin nodded as if impressed by such a great authority and spoke seriously.

"Why did you drag out the 0. so long just now?"

"He probably wants to show off."

"............Also, his subordinate gods are waiting behind him for recovery. If you don't deal enough damage to remove the summons in one blow, they'll recover immediately. Also, he's holding back now… but if the situation worsens, he might raise his rank and become stronger. However, the consumption is severe, so he probably won't."

"Is that the end? It's boring."

Kaits released their hands instead of answering.

"And in the worst case, if Nanar ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠raises his rank to the limit, he can use a new authority as the Mad God: 'Incarnation of Madness.' If his current form is for ranged combat, that form is for close combat. If it comes to that, just think of it as mutual destruction. And as a trump card, there's Domain Expansion. We don't know when he'll use it, so prepare well."

Having finished his explanation quickly as if he didn't want to say more, Kaits received puzzled looks from the two women.

"But… isn't it better to wake Makia than to defeat that?"

"As his rank increased, Makia has fallen into a deeper sleep. I'm sorry, but even a considerable… no, even a powerful shock won't wake her. Since Makia was originally sturdy, it's even more so."

"...What about mental shock?"

If physical shock couldn't wake her, then mental. Reina's suggestion was reasonable, but it was unlikely a mental attack would land on her, who was clad in the divine rank of Nanar.

Then they would have to deliver mental shock physically, but Kaits couldn't imagine how to shock her, who could shrug off even having her organs spilled out and enduring great pain.

"It would be good if possible, but give up on Makia. We can't afford to consider her when we might not even survive a direct fight."

"...Got it."

Mullin, who had been looking down at Reina, stared at Nanar ahead and threateningly swung her hammer around.

"So what's our victory condition? Defeating him? From your explanation alone, we look like a suicide squad."

"We hold out until his causality drops. As the Chief God, he's consuming even greater causality. He's already spent a considerable amount of time."

Nanar was muttering "Are you coming now? Huh? Can I charge?" and jumping around excitedly.

Looking at him as if seeing something dirty, Kaits continued.

"Nanar has followers all over the world and has secured enormous causality, but in the end, causality is finite and has an end."

Nanar was such a cunning god that he probably had a few more hidden cards even he didn't know about, but Kaits believed that if they stubbornly held out, an end would eventually come.

"Restoration and the recovery of his waiting subordinate ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gods will also consume causality. What we have to do is simple. Pound him enthusiastically to make him consume more causality, and hold out as long as possible."

"Hmph. Easy to say…"

"Is it roughly over now?"

Nanar's voice could be heard.

Knowing he had deliberately waited, the three tensed up.

"We can start now, right?"

Seeing Nanar glancing at Dre, Kaits gave a signal.

"Let's go. Don't let him reach Yeo Deure."

"Who are you ordering?"

"I'd prefer if Dre died? I've suffered a lot of losses because of him."

"...I'll handle it myself."

With a sigh, Kaits spoke as if giving up.

"Well, don't worry."

Mullin gripped her hammer tightly.

"Let's turn him into mush so he can't even think of using any skills or authorities."

Ahahahaha.

Nanar's carefree laughter echoed.

"Even at this point, you still haven't united?"

No more words were needed.

The three shot toward Nanar like beams of light.

And Nanar spoke in a calm tone, as if taking a stroll.

"Domain Expansion."

The world was engulfed in a light so bright it seemed to blind them.