Chapter 109: A God Created Through Receiving (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 109: A God Created Through Receiving (4)
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■—!!!!
The grotesque screams of the god, crushed into the ground and trees, echoed madly.
However, the man who had brought the god to its knees looked down at the fallen creature as if he felt nothing. Jenira stared at him blankly—at the man whose eyes seemed to harbor something vast and divine.
"Get a grip."
"Ah—"
She let out a small gasp at the words of the man—no, Marquis Palatio.
"Can you stand?"
"Ah, yes... I can."
"Then go down to the altar now. Your sister is waiting for you."
"Wh-what are you going to do...?"
He looked at Jenira with an expressionless face, then leaned down to pick up the frozen apple she had dropped earlier. Handing it back to her, he spoke.
"Naturally, I’m going to finish that thing off before I head down."
With that, he turned his gaze away as if he had nothing more to say.
And then.
"Jenira!"
"Sister!"
Sirkal, who had been waiting below the altar, couldn't hold back any longer and rushed up.
"Thank you, truly! Thank you so much!"
"Take her and get down quickly."
Immediately after she hurried away with her sister...
Wow, I knew it was big, but it’s damn near monstrous.
Alon clutched his pounding heart as he watched Receiver Basiliora thrashing wildly. If it hadn't been for Deus, he might have been swallowed along with Jenira.
But that thought lasted only a moment. He quickly downed a mana potion from his waist and glared at the iron bars wedged into Basiliora’s upper maw.
The first phase of the plan is complete with the successful surprise attack. The important part starts now.
He shifted his gaze below the altar.
Receiver Basiliora was letting out a furious shriek that would make anyone's blood run cold.
■■■■■■■■■■■■—!
The scream was powerful enough to make his entire body tingle. The chilling cry felt like ice-cold raindrops battering his skin.
Then,
[What on earth are you!!]
A voice echoed in his head. It was the voice of Basiliora, who had gained intelligence along with divinity. It sounded utterly enraged.
However.
...Fear?
On the other hand, Basiliora’s voice seemed to contain a faint trace of that emotion.
Krr-grrr-grack!
The creature began to coil around the altar once more, surging upward to deal with Alon. Basiliora charged with such force that the edges of the altar were pulverized.
The sight was enough to make even Alon feel a sense of dread.
Unfortunately for the beast, it didn't make it all the way up.
■■■■■■■■—!
Purple threads had suddenly wound around its massive body, dragging it back down to the ground.
And then.
"Do you think I’d let you get to the Marquis?"
Deus slammed his foot down onto the creature's head as it tried to ascend.
The God of the Thunder Snake plummeted to the earth once more.
* * *
Reinhardt was certain that Marquis Palatio was absolutely out of his mind.
Every word that came out of his mouth was something no sane person would ever say—the kind of talk only a madman would indulge in.
Yes.
He had certainly thought so.
Until he saw it with his own eyes.
"Ha."
Reinhardt watched the scene in the distance, his mouth hanging open. There, the God of the Thunder Snake—a creature so massive it made one's head spin just looking at it—was being cast down to the earth.
The sight of a human driving a god into the dirt sent a shiver through even Reinhardt’s twisted heart.
And that wasn't all.
...That’s Deus?
How long had it been since he last saw him? Deus had grown strong beyond his imagination.
K-booooom!
Reinhardt saw Deus get sent flying by a strike from the massive creature's tail.
Deus crashed through the surrounding trees. A cloud of dust billowed up despite the rain, as if he had been hit by a massive spell, suggesting he had taken a blow that even a Sword Master wouldn't walk away from unscathed. It was an attack that could have been fatal.
"..."
Yet, the Deus before his eyes looked perfectly fine, save for being covered in dust and mud.
Is it a unique ability?
Realizing what Deus had done, Reinhardt let out a hollow laugh. The moment he was attacked by the god, Deus had wrapped himself in his unique purple threads to defend against the impact.
Seeing this, Basiliora rushed forward madly to finish Deus off.
Krr-grrr-grack!
The Disaster advanced, making a noise as if a natural catastrophe were occurring just by it crawling on the ground. It lunged forward to crush Deus under its weight.
But in the next moment.
Deus blocked the Disaster.
He used his purple threads to haphazardly bind the creature to the surrounding trees. Then, wrapping threads around his own body to block its path, he drew his sword and swung, wrenching the Disaster off course.
Krr-grrr-grack!
Basiliora was sent flying in a completely different direction from the altar, eventually smashing into a massive cliff.
Goosebumps broke out all over Reinhardt’s body at the sight.
Just how much has he grown?
He thought he had made significant progress himself. But the person he had set as his goal was already standing on a much higher peak.
■■■■■■■■■■■■■—!
The moment he saw the Disaster rush at Deus again with another bone-chilling scream, Reinhardt couldn't help but look appalled. After all, aside from having part of its upper jaw blown off by Marquis Palatio’s initial attack, Basiliora hadn't actually taken much damage.
Once again, Receiver Basiliora charged toward Deus—or more accurately, toward the altar.
Deus prepared to block the Disaster once more, but he now looked a bit overwhelmed.
"Tsk."
Clicking his tongue, Reinhardt moved his body and arrived in front of Deus in an instant.
"I was going to save this as my final trump card—!"
Muttering a short complaint, he took a stance as he watched the Disaster charging toward them like a madman.
With his right foot forward and his left foot back, he reached up with his right hand to grip his scabbard.
Click—!
Reinhardt gripped the hilt with his left hand.
Grit—!
He clenched his teeth and put strength into his right foot.
Crack! His foot dug into the ground.
And the moment the Disaster was right in front of him.
"Secret Art—"
Reinhardt swung his sword down.
He unleashed the ultimate technique he had forged in the jungle during his time away.
—Meteor Sword.
Kwa-aaaaaaaaaaaa—!!!
As he drew his sword and struck the ground, everything in the vicinity began to be crushed.
The soil.
The trees.
The pebbles.
Even the rain falling from the sky.
Everything was pulverized by gravity that had been amplified dozens of times over in an instant.
■■■■■■■■■■■—!
The massive Disaster heading toward the temple was also slammed into the ground by the weight of the gravity.
And then.
"Preparations complete. Everyone, move according to the plan."
The voice of Marquis Palatio brought everything to a close.
* * *
Alon thought with a mix of surprise and concern.
...I didn't ask them to hold it off that much.
From the beginning, he had assumed Receiver Basiliora would try to climb the altar. He had planned for Deus to block the Disaster’s advance only once or twice. He hadn't thought it possible to hold it back any longer than that.
Therefore, he was genuinely surprised that Deus had managed to stall the god for this long.
Even if it was a beast, it was a being that had been fed faith for a long time. Blocking the attacks of something that could be considered a guardian deity, if not a true god, was no easy feat. Furthermore, Basiliora’s body possessed a characteristic that reduced damage from anyone who didn't possess divinity, making it even harder to stop.
However, thanks to that, Alon was able to finish all his preparations with ease. After confirming that Deus and Reinhardt had quickly retreated from the battlefield...
"Whew."
He let out a sigh and watched Receiver Basiliora charge toward the altar where he stood once again.
■■■■■■■■■■■—!
Perhaps because its attacks had been blocked several times, Basiliora charged without even a word, letting out a mad shriek. It was a literal disaster, but Alon simply formed a seal as he watched.
"One Point."
He chanted the Phrase.
There were three reasons why Alon had stalled for time since his first strike on Basiliora.
First, mana recovery. His disastrous mana hole meant that using magic even once consumed most of his mana, so he needed time to replenish it.
"Expansion."
Second, he needed to cut off the faith flowing to Basiliora and buy time for the debuffs he had requested from the Thunder Snake Tribe to take effect. Since the creature had already accumulated a lot of faith, the impact wouldn't be fatal, but the debuffs from their shamanism would certainly help.
And.
"Vibration."
Finally, he needed to let his artifact, the Necklace of the Eye Eater, find Basiliora’s weakness.
With the preparations complete...
The moment Basiliora dragged its body to climb the altar.
"Destruction."
Alon cast his magic toward the altar.
At that moment—
Krr-grrr-grrr-grack—!!!
The massive altar, which was already riddled with cracks, began to collapse.
Kwa-aaaaaa—!
Water began to burst forth.
A massive flood poured out, enough to not only sweep away everything in the vicinity but also swallow half of Basiliora’s body. Even in this sudden, desperate situation, Alon did not panic.
This was the final step: destroying one of the dozens of Rain Altars, the very things that caused the 'Jungle Floods' he had experienced several times while playing Psychedelia.
Alon looked down.
All preparations were complete.
Receiver Basiliora was currently under the 'Thunder Snake Tribe's debuff.'
Its body was submerged in the flood.
And in the mouth of the so-called god was a massive spear, forged with magic and the help of the Thunder Snake Tribe, which would act as a lightning rod.
All that remained was to deliver the final blow.
"Array of Thunder."
He whispered softly.
At that moment.
Following Alon’s instructions, Deus and Reinhardt, who had fled to the high ground of the jungle where the flood couldn't reach, witnessed it.
Under the darkened, ashen sky, a vivid light erupted from Marquis Palatio, who stood at the center of their vision, as if splitting the world in two.
"What the hell—"
Reinhardt cursed, his face full of shock.
"..."
Deus, once again filled with awe, gripped the hilt of his sword.
And then.
As two eyes appeared behind Marquis Palatio’s back, etched like brands, he was bathed in the pure white light that had split the world.
Tearing through the ashen gray, the Divine Light fell.