Ch.287Chapter 287 – Hope Still Exists

While Cheonhyeryeong bought time by fighting Enceladus, I went around finding paladins and priests to use my ability on them.

Given the urgency of the situation, I couldn’t approach each person individually and tap them with my hammer, so I had to use a trick.

What was this trick?

“I never thought I’d be using my ability while holding hammers in both hands.”

That’s right—I used my ability while wielding hammers in both hands.

After first using my ability on Eterna, I gained stamina and arm strength that wouldn’t tire even when swinging hammers non-stop, thanks to her blessings and holy magic.

“It looks a bit ridiculous, but for victory, I’m willing to endure anything.”

Striking people repeatedly with hammers in both hands does look rather comical.

But victory is more important than appearances.

Victory! Overwhelming victory! For the sake of victory, one must endure even looking foolish.

Whenever my arms started to feel stiff, Eterna continuously restored me with blessings and holy magic, so my arms never thought of stopping.

Right now, I’m relentlessly striking priests and paladins with my hammers.

If I had to describe it in one phrase: a runaway train.

That fits best.

◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈

Thanks to Eterna’s support, the coordinated movements of the priests and paladins, and Pathos’s wholehearted efforts, thousands of people were brought to their optimal condition.

From their armor to all their weapons, everything was gleaming brilliantly, and the eyes of the priests and paladins shone with fierce determination.

“From this moment! We go to defeat the demon god! What is the reason we have trained all this time?”

“To spread God’s will throughout the world and to follow it!”

“Then should we hesitate even slightly in our fight against the demon god?”

“No, we should not!”

“Then let’s go! Let’s fight!”

“Waaaaaah!”

The paladins and priests shouted in formation.

Though they served different gods, everyone gathered here was united by a single purpose: to defeat the demon god.

“Let’s go!”

And so the holy alliance army of paladins and priests began to move.

The sight of thousands of paladins and priests marching in unison was truly that of noble warriors throwing themselves into a holy war without reservation.

When they arrived at the location where Enceladus and Cheonhyeryeong were fighting, the battle had reached something of a stalemate.

“Haa, haa. In all my years of life, today is the first time I’ve met such a formidable opponent.”

[Truly impressive. To think there exists a mortal being who could inflict this much damage on an immortal like myself.]

Both Cheonhyeryeong and Enceladus were severely injured.

Of course, while both had suffered similar damage, Enceladus was gradually recovering, whereas Cheonhyeryeong was barely containing her inner energy from going berserk.

If the two were to clash again, Cheonhyeryeong would suffer irreversible injuries.

The fact that she, as a mortal being, could fight on equal terms with a godlike entity was already enough to secure her place in history as one of the strongest martial artists.

“Even if I fall here, I will stop you no matter what.”

[Hehehe. How amusing. For whom do you struggle so?]

“For whom else but the one I love?”

[Love… a word I haven’t heard in a very long time.]

Enceladus closed his eyes momentarily at Cheonhyeryeong’s answer, recalling memories.

Of that time when he maintained a relatively decent relationship with the gods of the pantheon.

[I loved humans. That’s why I vowed to create a world just for humans. But the gods of the pantheon condemned me! What’s wrong with creating a world solely for humans!]

‘Not a world just for humans! Our mission is to create a world where everyone can live well together!’

[Therefore, I declare here: when I rule the world, all races other than humans shall become slaves to humanity!]

“You’re insane.”

Cheonhyeryeong defined Enceladus in a single phrase. A madman.

Enceladus was indeed insane. A godlike being who was also an extreme human supremacist.

‘I must stop him, but at this rate, I’ll fall into a state of delirium.’

Fighting against a being with power equal to her own, Cheonhyeryeong’s condition could not be described as good by any stretch of the imagination.

In other words, despite fighting with all her might, she couldn’t inflict fatal damage due to their comparable skills.

What she needed was to quickly calm her inner energy, but would that being give her the time to do so?

While Cheonhyeryeong was lost in thought, suddenly an enormous battle cry began to echo.

Both Cheonhyeryeong and Enceladus turned their heads toward the sound.

In the direction they looked, priests and paladins with powerful buffs from Pathos’s ability were charging forward with fierce determination in their eyes.

“Paladins! Form the battle formation!”

“By God’s will! In His name! Let the hammer of judgment fall upon evil!”

The paladins deployed their formation as soon as they arrived and prepared their techniques, while the priests unleashed offensive holy magic toward Enceladus.

[Poor little lambs wandering astray!]

Enceladus reached out to deflect the holy hammers flying toward him.

But…

[What, what is this tremendous power!]

The holy magic of the priests, enhanced by Pathos’s ability, actually damaged Enceladus’s body.

Normally, such attacks would have been absorbed without causing any harm to him.

[What has happened?]

Only then did Enceladus realize that the power of the paladins and priests surrounding him had increased dramatically.

If he were at full strength it might not matter, but in his current injured state from fighting Cheonhyeryeong, each of their attacks posed a genuine threat.

“Today, here and now, we will defeat you!”

“Evil god who brings chaos to the world! Be gone!”

As the paladins and priests formed their battle formation and fully engaged in combat, the situation quickly began to reverse.

Paladins wielding swords wrapped in massive holy energy, supported by the priests’ holy magic.

When Enceladus tried to counter, if he blocked one side, attacks would come from another, and if he responded to that, yet another attack would fly in.

Enceladus struggled to properly deal with the paladins’ attacks.

“The light of the sun that destroys evil beings! [Solar Flare]!”

And then there was Eterna’s offensive holy magic, which was landing effective hits on Enceladus.

A battle unlike anything he could have imagined was unfolding.

[Arrrgh!]

The holy power began inflicting even greater damage than Cheonhyeryeong’s inner energy on him, whose essence was similar to that of demons.

But he was still a godlike being.

Though mortal beings were attacking him, their damage was limited to the physical matter that composed his body.

[Kuhehe, you are strong. And it does hurt quite a bit. But your attacks only damage my physical form! You cannot kill me with the powers and objects of this world!]

As a god born in this world, he could not be truly harmed by the attacks of those belonging to this world.

Without eliminating his essence, a fundamental solution was impossible.

“Hyeryeong!”

“You’ve come, have you?”

“Wait. I’ll fix you right away.”

Pathos approached Cheonhyeryeong and used his ability to completely heal her.

Cheonhyeryeong could feel her inner energy, which had been on the verge of explosion, calming down.

“I have become even stronger.”

And thanks to Pathos’s ability, she realized she had grown stronger once again.

“Your ability seems to strengthen those who have pushed themselves to their limits.”

“So, can we defeat that guy if we fight now?”

Cheonhyeryeong shook her head.

“It’s impossible. Our power can destroy his physical form, but we cannot eliminate his essential existence.”

Then Cheonhyeryeong pointed to Pathos’s chest.

“But that.”

“What?”

“That object you carry. The one from your world.”

The object Cheonhyeryeong was pointing to was the .45 caliber pistol in Pathos’s possession.

“With that object, we could finish off that demon god.”

“With this?”

Pathos took out the .45 caliber pistol from his chest.

It was indeed an object from his world, but how could it eliminate such a godlike being?

“He said it himself. Nothing from this world can kill him.”

And Cheonhyeryeong pointed to the .45 caliber pistol once more.

“Believe. You can certainly do it.”