Ch.210Gods, Kings, and Humans (2)

“To kill a god, that’s quite a question.”

The Pope was the first to answer. He slowly recited the mythology.

“In this world’s mythology, there are certainly cases where gods have died. The war of the primordial gods is such an example. However, that death is quite different from the complete annihilation we imagine.”

“Different?”

“The primordial gods are embodiments of the world’s providence itself. This world still exists, doesn’t it? If they had truly died, that would be impossible. Perhaps the death of a primordial god should only be viewed as a mythological metaphor.”

Carisia glared at the Pope with eyes full of discontent. I didn’t come to you for such vague talk.

The Pope could easily read Carisia’s thoughts. He too had no intention of ending the conversation here.

The reason he mentioned the primordial gods at the beginning was because of the Demon King. The Demon King, who had imprinted the concept of ‘magical power’ into the world order, needed to be treated as a being of the same rank as the primordial gods.

“But even if the primordial gods didn’t reach death, within the range we can perceive, they permanently lost their powers or were eternally imprisoned in the depths of the world.”

The Pope looked at Kore. The underworld ruled by Pluto. There were legends about the primordial evil spirits said to be imprisoned at the very bottom of the underworld.

“…Yes, indeed. If one were to use Pluto’s holy power, even a divine being could be sealed. A holy power meant to oppose divinity. That incongruity is why Pluto isn’t treated as one of the Twelve Great Gods despite having comparable authority.”

“The scythe I use is also an embodiment of the tradition that tore apart that power among the primordial gods. While it’s difficult to give a definitive answer about whether a god can die, if you ask whether it’s possible to completely seal a god’s influence in this world, I would have to say ‘yes.'”

The Pope explained the most ideal combination. Weaken the divine being with the primordial god’s great scythe that the Pope wielded, and then seal the divine being through Kore’s holy power amplified by Pluto’s great temple.

To defeat a being that had reached the rank of a primordial god, one had to somehow damage its absolute existence.

“The principle is the same as what Argyrion did to the Ancient Elders at the peak of Nokmok. Only, the intensity of existence is on a completely different level compared to the Ancient Elders.”

Carisia took out Aigio’s Scales. The item that Ortes had left in the president’s office before departing.

“Can this artifact kill the Demon King?”

“The divine object of a Great God that never came into my possession…”

The Pope gazed at Aigio’s Scales with deep admiration. It was once the relic he desired most. A secret treasure that could twist fate if the appropriate price was paid.

“My brother passed it on to you. I can never understand my brother’s thoughts.”

Kore’s mind was filled with questions. From the context, the “brother” the Pope was referring to must be Ortes of Hydra Company. But how could the Pope and Ortes be brothers?

Now that the Demon King himself had descended upon the world, it was clear that Ortes wasn’t some vanguard or limb of the Demon King, but his identity seemed to be sinking deeper into a labyrinth.

“If a sufficient price is paid, it might be possible. But leader of Hydra, what price would be fitting to bring down a god?”

Hmm. Carisia turned her gaze toward the window. She could see the Ten Commandments being deployed throughout Elysion.

“If it’s the most powerful relic in this world, it might be worth trying,” she replied softly.

***

Ortes and Hector headed toward the battlefield. The concentration of extra-dimensional infiltration grew increasingly dense. At times, the air itself was replaced with extra-dimensional magical power of such high density that it was almost liquid, requiring them to draw upon their abilities with every breath to defend against the extra-dimensional infiltration.

At the starting point of the world’s end, they faced the Demon King again.

“…You seem to have put on some flesh?”

“Indeed.”

Hector and Ortes exchanged a seemingly trivial joke. But while the form was a joke, the meaning contained in the sentences was not.

The Demon King, who was still continuously absorbing the essence of the world, had already completed his own form. White skin—though whether it could be called “skin” was questionable—with indecipherable strings of characters visible through it, but a form that was much closer to a “person” than when he first appeared.

Ortes observed the surroundings. The Demon King was ceaselessly absorbing the world. Teleporting toward the Demon King right now would be suicidal.

“Old man, can you keep up?”

“Don’t fall behind.”

Hector drew his sword. The sword technique of demon-destroying magic that had been passed down through generations only to the sword masters of the knighthood. The origin of the “spell overwriting” that Ortes used.

While he couldn’t perform the madman’s feat of grafting two different spells together like Ortes, breaking the connection points of a spell to collapse magic was originally Hector’s specialty.

This was also why Hector worked as a tax evasion consultant. Analyzing magic patents to accumulate understanding of the structure of each spell. Until just now, Hector had been dismantling the ancient spells embedded in the Ten Commandments.

He had secured the minimum conditions to somehow face off against the Demon King.

“Let’s do a test first.”

How would the Demon King react if someone with magical power imitated Ortes’s attack method?

Hector’s drawn blade pierced the middle of the absorption. The flow of the melted world essence heading toward the Demon King momentarily stopped. From there, the dismantling of the magic began. The melting scenery that had been continuously proceeding as if the Demon King were the center of a black hole stopped as if preserved in place.

The white neck, the skin engraved with characters, twisted. Though there were no facial features on that face, Hector could tell.

The Demon King had seen him.

The Demon King flicked his right hand. The flowing world essence condensed and took the form of a sword. He had grasped the sequence in which Hector was breaking the magic and anticipated where he would attack next.

And so, a counterattack. A blade made from solidified scenery grazed before Hector’s eyes as he tried to continue breaking the magic.

The heat of lava, the bitter cold of glaciers. The emptiness of space. It was a blade condensed with all forms that humans had defined and imagined. Though he barely avoided it, the grazed hem of his clothes burned, froze, melted, and disappeared. It looked as if it had simultaneously come into contact with multiple extremely condensed elemental concentrates.

Ortes realized that Hector was “showing” him the fight. The method of using the origin of spell overwriting, not spell overwriting itself. If spell overwriting was the clue for the Demon King to detect Ortes’s existence, by excluding it, Ortes could be free from the Demon King’s awareness.

‘Damn it, old man. You should have told me before we started!’

But it was impossible. Even for Hector, deciphering the Demon King’s spell had only become possible at this moment.

It was a spell he couldn’t understand in their first battle. Now, after accumulating wisdom through the Ten Commandments and facing it again, he had no choice but to show the method of breaking it.

Ortes carefully observed the Demon King’s response, moving as if predicting Hector’s attack.

‘He’s not using any magic other than the sword he formed to counter the old man.’

Is it impossible even for the Demon King to execute large-scale attacks while using a spell that operates on a world scale?

It was difficult to be certain at this stage. Ortes assumed the Demon King was holding back. And he drew his sword.

A third blade entering the sword dance between Hector and the Demon King. The Demon King could intercept Hector’s attacks, but he couldn’t simultaneously break Ortes’s attack as well.

The flow rate of the world essence flowing into the Demon King gradually begins to slow down. The absorption magic formula gradually approaches functional shutdown.

Ortes opened his eyes wide. It was to read the spatial coordinates.

The moment he captured the Demon King and his surroundings with his “eyes.”

Ah.

The Demon King’s voice echoed.

It’s you.

A voice so relaxed, perhaps emotionless, that it was hard to imagine he was fending off the attacks of both Hector and Ortes.

For some reason, Ortes was reminded of the relationship between a game character and a player from that voice.

Even while the character is attacking with all its might, the player can chat, use items, and check information like the monster’s HP. The busyness of the character and the player are certainly similar, but definitely in different dimensions.

Just as Ortes’s eyes overlooked reality, was the Demon King also overlooking this world from a more distant place?

Let’s greet each other.

‘Greet?’

A question was etched in Ortes’s mind. A greeting in this situation? It’s not like there was any acquaintance between him and the Demon King. Why has he been showing interest in me since before?

Aren’t you a fellow countryman I’ve miraculously met in this far-off place?