Ch.255Chapter 255 – Descent (1)

It was that brief moment when Kara’s shield was broken and she was sent flying by a punch.

‘What’s this?’

The feeling wasn’t good.

Something was happening.

A sudden sense of unease swept over my body, and every nerve began to detect an anomaly.

And then I saw it.

Silver energy, seemingly with a will of its own, forcibly pushing its way into Kara’s body.

Sinister light beginning to leak from the eyes of the fallen Kara.

I could sense it instinctively.

That wasn’t Kara anymore.

“Who are you?”

I addressed whoever had entered Kara’s body.

But the other party, seemingly unconcerned with me, stood up briefly and looked down at their body.

[Hmm.]

While clenching and unclenching their fist, they slowly examined Kara’s body.

Then, with a smirk, they said:

[Compared to the original… this body is truly meager and impoverished.]

After saying that, they briefly raised their hand.

Divine power, incomparably greater than what Kara had been wielding earlier, gathered in their palm, forming a rotating sphere.

[Not bad.]

After saying that, they threw the sphere.

Straight toward where Eve and Phobia were.

I immediately released my power and moved in front of Eve to block the sphere with my body.

A silver explosion erupted, and I saw Phobia, who was outside my protection range, get caught in the blast and pushed back.

As the explosion subsided, Eve, who had been pressed against my back, quickly asked:

“Kay, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

I lowered my arms and looked at the opponent.

They were touching their chin as if stroking a beard, despite Kara not having any facial hair.

[Indeed, this meager vessel is worth abandoning.]

It sounded like they were appraising an object.

I entered a combat stance and said:

“I asked who you are.”

[You don’t know me?]

The opponent tilted their head in disbelief.

But soon, as if remembering something, they slapped their forehead and said:

[Ah, yes, of course. How would a soul from another world know me?]

My mistake, they said lightly.

[Soul from another world, know this as an honor.]

The opponent spread their arms dramatically and spoke with Kara’s voice:

[The being before you is the one and only god of this world.]

[And the most supreme being.]

[I am Emiris, the God King.]

“What the—”

Just as I was about to say “hell,” Kara—no, Emiris—had already reached me.

Then, seemingly unconcerned with proper conduct, they delivered a kick, which I blocked with my arm.

-Boom!

It was heavy.

The power was incomparable to the stone staff Kara had wielded earlier.

With a weighty impact, I was pushed backward.

My center of gravity was slightly off, making it difficult to regain my stance, so I deliberately fell to the ground and then rolled to get back up. Emiris looked down at me and said:

[Will you not bow your head in reverence to the God King?]

“I decline.”

I immediately rushed at Emiris.

As I swung my fist, Emiris extended their arm.

A shield appeared, larger and more complex than the one Kara had summoned earlier.

-Boom!!

A heavy impact sound echoed around us.

Looking at the cracked shield, I muttered quietly:

“So I still couldn’t break it.”

The durability had increased incomparably from before.

And from behind the shield, Emiris grinned and said:

[Of course not. Even a saint is merely a being who receives power from a god.]

The shield suddenly emitted light and caused a small explosion.

As I put some distance between us, Emiris crossed their arms leisurely and said:

[Do not dare to measure the God King with the power of mere subjects.]

Immediately after, silver weapons formed around Emiris and flew toward me.

I swung my arms to deflect them.

Using my thickened armor, I received and broke the weapons as I advanced.

[How insolent.]

Emiris created a silver greatsword and hurled it.

I could feel that its quality was distinctly different from the previous weapons as it began to fly toward me.

And when I deflected the approaching greatsword with my armor:

-Screech!!

The sound of my armor being scratched rang out.

When I turned to look, there was a slight crack in my armor along the trajectory where the greatsword had passed.

‘Even with this, it’s too much to perfectly withstand the power wielded by a god.’

Still, if their attack power is only this much, I can still manage.

Just as I was thinking that, I realized my body felt light.

‘Oh no.’

My body should have been heavy due to Kara’s divine spell, but it had become light.

‘Did they deliberately release the spell?’

I had unconsciously assumed I was still fighting under that pressure.

And Emiris, smiling with Kara’s face, said:

[Feel once more the weight of your sins.]

With those words, an immense pressure bore down on me.

It was even greater than what had been imposed on me earlier.

My armor began to make creaking sounds.

As I somehow endured and maintained my posture, Emiris nodded and said:

[Normally, pressure like this would crush you beyond recognition… That armor is no ordinary thing.]

Emiris nodded as if they had discovered something interesting.

As I tried to move and took a step forward, Emiris smiled brightly with Kara’s face and said:

[I deliberately released the spell midway because I wanted to see your face in despair, but you’re not the type to lose your fighting spirit so easily.]

What a twisted taste.

Thinking that, I somehow managed to assume a combat stance, and Emiris twisted their lips slightly in mockery.

[When I slowly take away your limbs, perhaps a bit of reverence will emerge.]

Silver chains rose around Emiris.

[First, I shall bind your freedom.]

Right after.

The silver chains began to wrap around my body.

+

The battle situation changed drastically.

Suddenly, after Kara proclaimed herself as Emiris, she began to unleash divine spells incomparably stronger than before, causing Kay to be pushed back.

It wasn’t that Kara’s divine spells were weak.

The opponent’s level had suddenly risen too high.

Because Kay had maximized his armor’s defense to counter Kara, he was only being pushed back; with his previous armor, it might have been torn apart long ago.

But soon, Kay became unable to move properly and was eventually bound by chains. Sera quickly surveyed the surroundings.

‘Mr. Mask won’t do.’

Although he had destroyed the powerful dolls earlier, Phobia’s dolls and corpse golems still remained.

Mask was single-handedly pushing them back with his formidable martial prowess, but conversely, if he left, everyone could be engulfed by the wave of dolls.

‘Ms. Eve won’t do either.’

Phobia, who had momentarily frozen at Emiris’s appearance, had resumed her activities as soon as she recovered from the shock.

Eve was preventing her from approaching Kay.

And it was difficult to expect Lorona and Lirina to miraculously appear.

Therefore, in the current situation, there was only one person who could support Kay.

“…Mr. Mask, I’m sorry, but I—”

“Go quickly!” Mask immediately shouted.

“That side is more urgent than me, so go!”

“…Thank you!”

Sera immediately stopped supporting Mask and turned around to run toward Kay.

And whether by coincidence or deliberately, Phobia began to block her path.

“Do you want to become a doll first too?”

Phobia immediately spewed threads toward Sera.

And Eve rushed in front of Sera, cutting the threads with her sword and saying:

“Seraphina, please go.”

Eve spoke with a slightly resentful voice.

“Please save Kay.”

“Of course.”

After this brief exchange, Sera started running again.

And Eve cut through Phobia’s threads that were targeting her.

“Go quickly!”

“Yes!”

As she passed by Eve and Phobia, Sera quickly thought.

‘What I need now is…’

She immediately thought of the necessary tool.

“…This first.”

She extended her hand filled with magical power to the side.

Soon, as if in response to her, the space slightly distorted, and Sera unhesitatingly inserted her hand into that space.

And from within, a book bound in red leather emerged.

“It was worth adjusting it until late.”

Sera immediately tore out a page from the book.

The torn page soon rolled up into a round shape, becoming something like a bomb.

And Sera threw it toward Emiris.

[An uninvited guest.]

Emiris immediately turned their gaze.

The flying bomb suddenly exploded in mid-air.

And from it, a massive amount of black smoke rose.

[A petty trick, alchemist.]

Emiris immediately surrounded themselves with divine power and swung their arm.

It was a movement to clear away the smoke.

And as the smoke cleared, floating papers came into Emiris’s view.

[What’s this?]

“Connect!”

As Sera shouted loudly, a faint light flowed from the red book.

Soon, the book pages floating in the air began to connect with light.

And as Sera manipulated her hands as if moving something, Emiris began to be bound by light.

[Did you think a mere alchemist could bind me?]

Emiris immediately tore apart the light ropes.

And the next moment, Emiris realized that a shadow had fallen over them.

Looking up, a stone golem was falling from above.

And behind the golem, a piece of paper was also seen fluttering.

[The ropes were a decoy.]

Emiris immediately tried to intercept the golem, but it was already too late, and they were crushed by it.

And as soon as it hit the ground, mud suddenly began to rise, forming a spherical shape that trapped Emiris.

‘It probably… didn’t hurt them.’

Surely a god wouldn’t be so weak.

Sera thought they would easily break through this.

And her prediction was spot on.

Soon, silver light leaked from the mud sphere, and as fragments of the golem flew out, the sphere shattered.

[Trying to trick a god. You have many interesting tools, alchemist.]

“Having as many tools as possible is a basic principle for an alchemist.”

Sera said quietly while glaring at the god.

Soon, Emiris smiled and said:

[…As it happens, I had business with you too. How convenient.]

“A god like you, with me?”

[Consider it an honor. You can provide something important to the god.]

Emiris spoke in an arrogant voice.

[Submit.]

Emiris slowly said to Sera.

And soon, with bulging eyes, they said:

[And don’t think about using your petty tricks.]

The next moment, the book pages flying in the air emitted light and shot beams toward Emiris.

And Emiris lightly waved their hand to block the beams and burned the book pages.

Then, Emiris immediately approached Sera.

Sera tried to use magic to intercept Emiris, but they easily ignored it and grabbed Sera’s head, forcibly laying her on the ground.

And extending their arm to snatch the red book Sera was holding, they said:

[…I could have defeated you head-on from the beginning, but I deliberately played along.]

Throwing away the book, Emiris looked at Sera with a smile and said:

[If you submit, there will be no pain.]

Soon, divine power began to gather in Emiris’s hand.

Sera immediately realized they were trying to do something to her head.

She could see Emiris’s face brightening.

And with all her might, she grabbed Emiris’s arm and said with a smile:

“I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

The next moment.

Something fell on Emiris’s back.

And white glowing powder began to dissolve into the surroundings.

[When did you…?]

“During the smoke screen that obscured your vision.”

From the very beginning of the fight, the girl had been preparing.

[A petty trick!]

Emiris immediately tried to enhance their body to pull out their arm.

Divine power enveloped Emiris’s body.

And.

[…What?]

The spell didn’t activate properly.

Realizing that the output was less than expected, Emiris looked confused, and Sera quietly said:

“It’s pseudo-divine power.”

Applying strength to her arm to prevent Emiris from pulling away, Sera said:

“I made it by researching divine power. Since it’s artificially reproduced, it can’t be used to activate proper divine spells. It’s also difficult to adjust.”

With pseudo-divine power, one cannot use powerful divine spells.

Like finding the soul-absorbing formation, it’s possible to utilize the properties of divine power, but with even a slight misadjustment, unintended properties can manifest.

“That’s when I had a thought.”

Sera said with a smile.

“Using pseudo-divine power, I could interfere with surrounding divine power.”

A point she had conceived while researching to find the soul-absorbing formation.

It was also the part she had stopped explaining to Kay before coming here today.

And it was also the last tool she had made before coming here.

“Powder containing pseudo-divine power that disrupts divine spells, if I dare name it, Divine Chaff!”

[This…!]

Emiris panicked and tried to pull their arm away.

Seeing this, Sera applied even more strength to her arm.

“I won’t let go!”

[What strength…!]

Emiris began to struggle to pull their arm away.

Watching this, Sera quietly said:

“You should start preparing.”

Emiris, who had been struggling, looked down at Sera as if asking what she meant.

And Sera smiled and said:

“With Divine Chaff spread, you can’t properly use divine spells.”

Emiris momentarily didn’t understand the meaning of her words.

But they soon realized what it implied.

-Boom!!

With a thunderous sound, Emiris’s arm was forcibly pulled away from Sera’s grip.

It was because Sera had unconsciously loosened her grip a bit due to the tremendous impact.

And Sera looked up at the man in white armor standing right above her and said:

“Kay!”

“Thank you, Sera.”

Kay looked down at Sera and said.

Though his helmet hid it, he was smiling.

Sera also smiled as she got up.

And far away, the thrown Emiris slowly rose.

[You, worthless beings…!]

Emiris said, distorting Kara’s face.

The earlier composure was no longer felt.

Looking at Emiris with a face like a malevolent spirit, Kay quietly said:

“Judging by your face, you look more like an evil god.”

[Silence, heretic.]

Emiris immediately took offense at Kay’s words.

And eight magic circles, seemingly broken in places, appeared behind Emiris’s back, and silver arms emerged from them.

[For the sin of mocking a god, I’ll make you pay with your body.]

The voice of an enraged god spread throughout the surroundings.