Chapter 294: #A Deep Night, Abyss of Despair (3)

Just a few minutes ago, countless Hunters and soldiers had been ruthlessly massacred by the monsters. Now, tens of thousands of monsters were scattered in a pool of blood—a miracle performed by a single individual. Beyond the monsters' remains yawned an enormous pit, like the gaping maw of hell. As Sasaki stared at it, his hands trembled, and his longsword fell.

Baaaam!

Lightning flash, accompanied by deafening explosions akin to an erupting volcano, echoed in the air.

What was going on in that massive crater? Who was that mysterious man who saved him? What about that morbid-looking dragon, made of only bones? Sasaki had many questions, but one thing was for certain: the fate of Japan—no, the entire world depended on that man!

***

The crater that Despair Dragon fell into was unimaginably vast. The boundless, writhing darkness made it so uncomfortable, reminding one of the universe.

-

Krrrrr!

“Destrooooy!”

Despair Dragon’s Breath tore through the darkness, colliding with Sam-Shin’s Beams of Destruction in a clash of crimson light. Compared to the terrifyingly massive Despair Dragon, Sam-Shin, who sat atop my head, seemed like an ant. Nevertheless, their destructive powers were equally strong.

Baaaaaam!

With a horrendous explosion, their powers offset each other. Seizing the chance, I charged at Despair Dragon with all I had.

Swish!

With my sharp talons, I slashed Despair Dragon across her side.

-

Kyaaaaak!

Despair let out a piercing scream, swinging her tail. Despite being similar in size, there was a difference in our weight, perhaps because I was made of bones.

-

Aaargh!

Her tail swing crushed my ribs, and bone fragments scattered all over the palace. We exchanged blows, but I ultimately suffered much more damage.

-

Kyaaaak!

With overwhelming murderous intent, Despair Dragon took the chance to go for Sam-Shin, spreading her maw open.

"Hey, I’m still here, you know!" Sa-Shin said, seated aboard a floating ship fashioned from a giant leaf.

He reached out both hands toward Despair Dragon, from which vines shot out from all directions, binding her.

-

Krrrr!

She glared at Sa-Shin, fed up with the interruption. Although Sa-Shin didn’t play an active role in the fight, he’d use vines to interfere every time Sam-Shin or I fell into danger.

Claaaang!

Sharp spikes protruded all over Despair Dragon, tearing the restrictive vines to shreds.

Roooooar!

At the same time, she directed its mouth—billowing with red steam—at Sa-Shin.

Now!

While Despair Dragon was distracted by Sa-Shin, I went and bit its neck right before it could unleash another breath.

-

Kyaaaaaak!

She writhed in pain, struggling, but I didn’t let go. I was determined to kill it. Black blood gushed out from the wound, some pouring into my mouth.

Great! We might win at this rate!

I wanted to avoid using All Phenomena Author’s divine power as much as possible. Turning my imagination into reality felt like omnipotence—yet it came at the cost of my divine power’s essence. I guessed that was also one of the reasons I needed more rest than usual.

-Hihi!

Suddenly, Despair Dragon grinned from ear to ear. It began to swell like cancer cells, multiplying endlessly, before exploding.

-

Aaargh!

As it shattered, my Bone Dragon transformation became undone.

“

Uurgh!”

“Destroy!”

Hit by the explosion, Sam-Shin and I groaned as we flew like cannonballs.

Sa-Shin’s vines caught us just in time with his vines. “Are you guys okay?”

He loaded us into the ship, but we were in such a miserable state.

Tsss!

We suffered burns all over, and the sizzling sound of fat could be heard.

“Healing... Ring Finger of God...” I could barely raise my trembling hand to use my skill. A blinding, white light engulfed us, mending our burns.

Keugh, what happened to Despair?

With my blurry vision, I tried to look in the direction of the explosion.

“What's that?”

Despair Dragon hadn’t actually self-destructed, but simply shed a layer of her skin. In fact, her dragon appearance was probably nothing more than a skin, as she was still God of Destroyer's apostle and incarnation in essence. Just like before the All-Cutting Heavenly Sword had sealed it away, it now took the form of a massive, caterpillar-like monster, hundreds of meters long, writhing in place.

Oh my god!

Not only did she transform, her current divine power was on a whole different level! It was at least two—no, three times stronger now! A chilling sound came as cracks formed all over her.

What seemed like hundreds of Despair’s eyes stared back at us, glowing red like molten iron...

Tzzz!

Then, they fired Beams of Destruction at us all at once. Every beam was powerful enough to annihilate a High-tier god, and there were hundreds of them!

Did I make a mistake?

After climbing the Tower of Gods and reaching the highest rank, we thought we could defeat our worst enemy, Despair. How mistaken we were! We hadn’t even faced the actual God of Destroyer yet!

Despair clearly wasn’t just any other alter ego.

“This won’t do! Let’s combine forces!”

With a determined expression, I reached my hands toward Sam-Shin and Sa-Shin. They took my hands with looks of resignation.

As we fused into one, the powers of the benevolent god, God of Destroyer, and God of Creator surged within me. I tried to call Yi-Shin, but there was still no response from him. We were still incomplete, but there was no other choice but to push through!

“Divine weapon, All Phenomena!”

My divine weapon, a golden-nibbed pen, materialized in my right hand. Pointing at the destructive beams pouring at us, I yelled, “False Creation!”

As I drew strokes with All Phenomena, there was a blinding light.

***

The landscape changed. Instead of the endless, universe-like darkness, we were now on an island. The gigantic World Tree could be seen floating above the sea of chaos.

T-this is?

This place felt familiar. Wasn’t it the same place I’d visited in my dreams several times? It was the cradle made by God of Creator at the dawn of time.

How did this happen?

I had intended to use False Creation to seal Despair into the world I’d created. However, there seemed to be flaws in the results, either due to Yi-Shin’s absence, or because I’d underestimated Despair’s strength.

Something’s wrong.

On top of that, the atmosphere was vastly different from the cradle I was used to. The World Tree, which once stood majestically, was now withered and twisted. The land, once brimming with life while nurturing the seeds of gods, was akin to a barren wasteland.

Just then, a sorrowful cry echoed in the distance. Drawn to the sound, I followed it.

Before me lay a scene that felt like a continuation of the strange dream I’d had before all of this began. A massive cocoon had split in two, revealing a girl with a human body and hair like that of a caterpillar. She held a dying, half-insect, half-human male in her arms, weeping.

That man was none other than God of Creator himself.

“...Don’t grieve, for this is my destiny.”

“Why, why?! Why do you have to die?! Is it because I was born imperfect, contrary to your wishes?!”

God of Creator shook his head. “No... that’s not the case. Though I dreamed for eternity, it was actually my greed...”

I could read his thoughts and feelings. To calm a world where only chaos existed, he needed a being more powerful than himself. And that was eternity—a perfect and flawless divinity that transcended every concept and rule, destroying the everchanging chaos. Hoping his child and alter ego, God of Destroyer, would complete the divinity, God of Creator poured out all his divine power. But alas, the plan failed.

“Wait a bit longer! I’ll try again! I’ll make sure to succeed! I’ll put my life on the line again!”

Crack crack!

The cradle began to crack. At that moment, I knew it wouldn’t hold for too long.

God of Creator struggled to say, “I can no longer maintain the cradle from this chaos... At this rate, the seeds that I’d spent my entire life creating would be consumed by chaos and disappear. There’s only one option left...”

“No! Don’t die! I don’t want you to die! I-I’ll do anything I can, please!”

God of Creator smiled, caressing her cheeks. “I’m not dying. I’m merely changing my form...”

Tzzz!

God of Creator’s incarnation, the World Tree, glimmered like a dying candle.

“Though my dream of an eternal world had failed... It’s still possible to create an imperfect world where life and death, creation and destruction, form an endless cycle. And with my last ability...”

Psss!

The World Tree disintegrated into dust, and like dandelion seeds, they scattered into the sea of chaos.

God of Creator declared, “Born, the worlds that I have dreamed of.”

Tzzz!

What had once been nothing but chaos began to form around the fragments of the World Tree, like an egg and sperm fertilizing. It marked the birth of the worlds, which were later classified into the first to tenth ranks.

Splaaat!

The seeds, taking the shape of gigantic spheres, scattered in all directions.

On his last breath, God of Creator struggled, “Please, watch over them as my final legacy...”

Ssss...

Like the World Tree, God of Creator faded like a mirage.

“No... No...!” she cried out in pain, looking at her now empty arms.

Left alone in a world of chaos and nothingness, she stood in place like a statue, gazing up at the sky—at the worlds left behind by God of Creator, akin to stars embroidering the sky.

Time flowed in a flash.

Thousands, millions of years passed, but she stayed motionless, staring into space. The worlds he left began growing rapidly like seeds sprouting and bearing fruit. There was a vast diversity of worlds—some inhabited by godlike beings, others by creatures as insignificant as insects.

Yet, nothing moved her. Just like with God of Creator, I could now hear her thoughts. Chills ran down my spine. To her, those creatures were nothing more than filthy, repulsive maggots devouring the flesh of her beloved.

With her gaze fixed on the worlds, she turned toward me. “Disgusting, don’t you think? That’s why I destroyed them.”

God of Destroyer’s eyes harbored nothing but deep hatred.