Chapter 469: The Great War (1)

“Are you ready to face the consequences of your actions?” Yula’s sharp words cut through the air as she fixed her gaze on Karyl.

Her arm regenerated almost instantly, radiant light filling the space where it had been cut off.

I couldn’t feel anything.

Severing her hand had felt strange, like cutting through empty air. Where his blade had once been repelled—as if it had struck an invisible, unyielding wall—this time, it had cut through without the slightest resistance.

Yula bent her newly restored wrist and began walking toward him. With every step she took, a pale light surged from the top of her feet up her legs and all the way to her shoulders. The glow eventually faded, revealing a dazzling silver suit of armor, thick and heavy despite her slender limbs.

A single wing unfurled behind her back.

“Hoo... So even gods wear armor, huh? I guess fear of death is universal,” Allen chuckled to himself.

The moment Yula donned the armor, every being within her domain felt like the air had been knocked out of their lungs, Karyl included.

As she came to a halt, a deep rumble spread from beneath her feet, as if an earthquake had struck.

“Gah?!”

“Stay alert!”

“All forces! Hold your formation!”

The tremors spread across several kilometers, reaching even the ranks of the Free Army that had encircled the battlefield.

“Whoa!”

“Watch your footing! The ground is breaking apart!”

The quake split the earth into a web of cracks, and some soldiers collapsed or fell into the gaps, unable to withstand the shock.

“Aaaagh!”

Screams rang out in all directions—and it didn’t end there. From beneath the fractured earth surged an unbearable heat, swallowing the fallen soldiers alive.

THOOOOM...!!

The pressure that had squeezed the breath from everyone’s lungs erupted into a deafening shockwave. Yula’s hair lifted gently, as if caught in a breeze.

“...”

Her eyes drifted downward. Karyl’s blade was pressed against her throat, yet she simply looked down at him, unfazed.

Rumble!

Crash!

The clouds above shifted and twisted as though time accelerated, sweeping violently across the sky. Night passed in an instant, giving way to a crimson dawn.

Crackle... Boom...

As Yula began to float, she extended her arms toward Karyl, and a shimmering aura swirled behind her like a watchful gaze. The glow slowly condensed, surging toward Karyl as sharp tendrils of light.

Voosh!

The tendrils multiplied in an instant, weaving into a net that rained down upon him.

“Scatter!”

At Karyl’s shout, the surrounding golems instantly pulled back from the frontlines, moving at full speed. Those who could not escape instinctively gathered together.

“Hup...!”

Wingel Hart turned Ascalon toward the cluster of golems and lifted the Aegis above his head.

Crack!

A thunderous roar erupted as the divine lightning struck the Aegis. All the air in the vicinity seemed to be sucked in at once, and black smoke poured from every inch of Ascalon’s frame as it absorbed the divine force.

“Ugh...

Cough

!”

The divine force had penetrated Ascalon and reached Wingel himself. As he coughed in pain, blood splattered across the control panel.

[Are you alright, Sir Wingel?!] Israphil shouted urgently from the command center.

As he was linked to Ascalon through the Superior Vision, he too felt the brunt of the divine assault.

“The Aegis...”

Wingel wiped the blood from his mouth and looked at the shield mounted on Ascalon’s arm. It was charred, but since it had been forged with Divine Power, it hadn’t shattered.

“I can take one more hit.”

[...What?!]

Rattle—!

Wingel immediately pulled the lever. As Ascalon turned, the soldiers and golems that had been hiding behind the shield proceeded to retreat.

Vrrrrr—!!

Karyl swung his blade at Yula, cutting through the lightning that sought to strike him down. She flicked her fingers lightly and deflected the strike.

Sliding backward, Karyl plunged his sword into the ground to slow himself down. He then kicked off again and charged at Yula with another flurry of attacks.

One strike, two, three—his blade moved so overwhelmingly fast it felt as though time itself had stopped, leaving only him in motion within the frozen moment.

“Kh—!”

Despite the relentless barrage, Yula didn’t waver. She simply stepped back one pace at a time and avoided every swing.

Click—!

A shadow loomed over her.

“Wingel!” Karyl shouted as he noticed the giant.

Crack...!

Ascalon gripped the Aegis with both hands, raised it vertically, and brought it crashing down on Yula.

This was the moment to strike—there was no room for hesitation. As the Aegis slammed into the ground, Karyl seized the opportunity, charging through the cloud of dust and debris kicked up by the shield.

“Hraaah...!!”

Annihilation Strike

Normally, this technique—meant to deliver the final blow—required the channeling of two different elements into dual swords, then clashing them together to unleash a deadly shockwave.

But now, Karyl held only Polsetia’s sword. Instead of wielding a second blade, he slashed his own forearm, as if to draw the element directly from his flesh, and then unleashed the strike at Yula.

A sharp sonic boom split the air.

CLANG!

With a shrill, metallic screech like grinding steel, Karyl was violently flung out of the dust cloud, as though something had spit him out.

Polsetia’s sword traced an arc through the air before plunging into the ground. That moment served as the trigger, for Karyl lunged at the goddess once again, without hesitation.

Crash! Clang! Bang!

The moment he landed, he transitioned instantly into a flurry of attacks. They clashed at close range, his fists and feet striking at Yula relentlessly.

Thud!

His punch rocked Yula’s head to the side, and at the same time, her blade-like hand slammed into his ribs.

Crunch

...!

Karyl’s waist bent at a painful angle, his bones cracking loudly. The sheer pain would have rendered anyone else unconscious, but Karyl simply grit his teeth and threw another punch.

As blood trickled in a thin trail from the corner of her mouth, Yula’s expression froze into a cold mask. Her gaze alone seemed enough to freeze the air around them, but Karyl simply stared her down, flashing a defiant grin.

“I can’t believe a human is actually going toe-to-toe with a god in a contest of strength.”

“There’s no mistake about it... He has truly reached the realm of the divine.”

“It’s like fighting poison with poison, as they say. But maybe we have reached for something so venomous that it might even threaten us.”

The three gods clicked their tongues as they muttered in disbelief.

Clang! Clang!

Karyl pushed himself beyond the limits of his flesh, fighting as if physical constraints meant nothing. With every slash of his sword, Yula wavered—no longer effortlessly deflecting his attacks as she had before.

Thud!

Karyl drove his knee into Yula’s chin, a burst of blue light erupting as the Lycanthrope’s armor made contact. The strike lifted her off the ground, and in a single breath, he spun and slammed his other leg into the back of her neck.

Boom...!

Yula crashed to the ground like a doll flung from the sky. As she lay facedown in the rubble, Karyl yanked his sword from the earth and thrust it toward her.

Splat—!

“Gah?!”

The blade pierced her right thigh, but instead of crying out in pain, Yula merely gasped in surprise. She promptly rose to her feet and parried Karyl’s follow-up attack.

Zzzzzzzzt—!!

“Raaaagh...!!” With a pained battle cry, Karyl pressed on with his unrelenting assault, leaving the onlookers speechless.

“Hmph. That’s certainly a terrifying poison, but alone, he cannot win. If things continue like this, Yula will eventually gain the upper hand.”

“Indeed, such a performance is incredible for a human... but the problem is time. It seems to me that he’s burning through his life just to keep up.”

The initial bafflement faded. Now, the three gods watched the clash with cold, unreadable expressions.

“Even if he is the Avatar of the Gods, Lancepho is still a mortal. If he keeps expending Divine Power at this rate, he will be the first to collapse.”

“Which is why he needs our help. Don’t forget that we also need him,” argued the woman with serpent lips.

“Right. Things are different now. He’s no longer simply offering us a chance. Now we are bound by mutual interest.”

“Alright, enough chatter. For now, we help him.” The Second God drew the whip coiled around her waist.

Crack

—

But just then, the elder stepped in front of her.

“What are you doing?” she hissed with a slight frown.

“I agree that we should help him. Yula must die, no doubt about that. But would it really be wise to intervene

right now

?”

“What are you talking about? If we leave him like this, he will die. And our chances will likely die with him.”

At that, the elder gave a knowing smirk.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“Of course, we cannot afford to lose. That goes without saying. But that does not mean we have to let him overpower Yula from the very beginning, does it?”

“...What are you saying?”

“Did he not use us to eliminate the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Gods? One must always know when to choose the right side.”

The Second God cocked her head at the elder’s sly grin.

“He bought time to summon the Calamities, and we gave him the chance to fight Yula. Now it’s our turn to use him. There’s no harm in waiting. If victory is inevitable, we might as well let both sides exhaust themselves first.”

“Hah...” The other man chuckled, as though he had expected this. “You are still as calculating as ever. What will you do if something unexpected happens, like during the Calamity?”

“Do you really think we would lose? Yula may be empowered by being in her own dimension, but that human has been blessed by the others. The gap is not so great.”

Just then—

“I knew it. That’s why humans reject the so-called gods.”

“...?!”

While Karyl still clashed with Yula, another woman lashed out at the scheming gods.

“This is why they say you should never trust black-haired beasts. Karyl has extended his grace to you, and this is how you repay him? With betrayal? If this is what gods are like, how could humans possibly turn out better? In the end, it falls on those of us who can still see the truth to wield the sword.”

The three gods hastily turned around.

Step

—

Miliana pointed one of her swords at the elder.

“Fight, or die now.”

She then pointed her other sword at the grinning man.

“You arrogant wretch...! How dare you!” shouted the old man.

But then, the blade under his chin turned golden and began to radiate intense mana.

“...Draconic mana?”

“Make no mistake. This isn’t a request, but a warning. Fight like your life depends on it. I saw Karyl pierce that bastard’s back. That means my blade can also cut you.”

The overwhelming magical energy was reminiscent of the Golden Dragon’s mighty aura. The three gods frowned, wondering how a human could possess such power.

She then pointed toward the Fifth God, whom Karyl had felled earlier.

“Yula is not your only enemy. Don’t forget about the millions of humans on this battlefield. They’re all eager to cut you down.”

The Empress of Digon shot them a ferocious glare, as if ready to devour them whole.

“If Karyl dies, you all die with him.”