Ch.64Ep.64 Waterway vs. Chaos

Whoosh.

A refreshing sound of waves that makes you feel invigorated just by hearing it.

A scene that makes you want to run and dive right in.

There, a man and woman stood facing each other.

The sea goddess, Poseidon.

The creeping chaos, Nyarlathotep.

Both powerhouses with Divine Orders, counted among the top three in their respective factions.

Other than a brief exchange between them, no words could be heard.

Even Radios Magnum had no choice but to remain silent at this moment.

‘Why is Poseidon here… wait, Poseidon is a woman?’

Though she had never formally introduced herself, he instinctively knew.

That woman was undoubtedly Poseidon.

Moreover, the trident resting on her shoulder was unmistakably Triaina.

One of the three great divine weapons of Olympus.

‘This… could be dangerous.’

Currently, Radios had stolen both Kynee and Astrape.

If Poseidon were to find out about this–

[We’ll talk later. I think we’ll have much to discuss.]

[..!]

As if reading Radios’s thoughts.

Poseidon first communicated to Radios via telepathy.

It was a declaration, plain and simple.

Radios, who possessed neither Divine Order nor even an Order, had no strength to respond to Poseidon who spoke with such finality.

But one thing was clear.

Poseidon had come here to stop Nyarlathotep.

Without her, there would be no one capable of stopping Nyarlathotep.

Kraud was currently focusing all his attention on preventing Aldebaran from falling.

‘What can I do?’

He was in no position to intervene in their battle.

He had just been repelled by Nyarlathotep, hadn’t he?

Moreover, the moment either of them made the slightest move.

Their battle would surely begin.

So no one dared to move from their spot, but…

Seemingly unable to bear the atmosphere, Poseidon frowned and swung Triaina around.

“If you’re just going to stand there silently, why did you come down instead of going back?”

“I came down to see the face of our pathetic apostle.”

“Then look at the face and get lost, you fool.”

Whoosh!

With Poseidon charging at Nyarlathotep first.

“It hurts my feelings to hear you say that!!”

The battle between water currents and chaos began.

Meanwhile, around the same time in the goblin village.

“Chaos… has descended…”

Serena Tolos, trapped in the time prison created by Kraud.

She began to recover her battered body.

The god she served was on the same continent, even within close proximity.

Although she had not been an apostle for long.

“I can… escape…”

The power-up from the descent of the creeping chaos awakened the Order dormant within her.

Years later, she would name her Order as such:

The Order of ‘Betrayal’.

The situation returns to Radios.

Boom!

“Ugh!”

[So having a Divine Order… means being able to use such power?]

“Shut up and get away! Everyone will die if they get caught up in this!”

Radios felt something rising inside him just from the collision between Poseidon and Nyarlathotep.

The clash of Divine Orders.

The formless energy of chaos and the fierce rushing water currents.

They were scorching everything around them.

“Elysse! Protect Kraud! Arsia, evacuate all the Guardian Spirits!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

“Rin…!”

“I’ll watch for an opportunity. I’ll be the one to kill Nyarlathotep.”

When Rin’s eyes filled with bloodshot determination, Radios respected her decision.

With this arrangement, the only forces left were the goblins.

Though terrified, they had no intention of retreating.

They were monsters who feared death.

Without further comment, Radios took Namgung Ihyun and escaped outside the domain declared by Poseidon.

“You said Serena became Nyarlathotep’s apostle, right?”

[Yes. By now, even if she was near death… she would have recovered her strength, or rather, become even stronger.]

Then Namgung Ihyun shared crucial information.

Apostles of the Outer God cult grow stronger the closer they are to their god.

Which meant…

“Are you saying she could come here?”

[It’s not a possibility, it’s a certainty. Knowing Serena… she would do anything to make her way to Southlet.]

After betraying the Guardian Spirits, she became obsessed with power.

She believed her lack of power was the reason she had to turn her back on the Guardian Spirits she had grown attached to.

Moreover, she had already committed betrayal twice.

If given the opportunity, she would do anything to become stronger.

[You’re not planning to wait here, are you?]

“Of course not. It would be troublesome if she gets any stronger.”

If she lost control and ended up dying…

Wouldn’t that be too unfortunate?

He hadn’t even properly started torturing her yet.

“Can you use teleport?”

[Of course.]

“Coordinates: goblin village. We’re moving immediately.”

[Yay~ Got it.]

After Namgung Ihyun muttered briefly.

She and Radios teleported straight to the goblin village.

***

“I didn’t expect you to come so quickly.”

“That’s quite a misconception. You should be sad that I’ve come now.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re going to die here.”

Athena bared her fangs and smiled brightly.

However, Veichel Breate seemed completely unfazed as she raised one eyebrow.

“Haha, you seem completely confident that you can beat me right now?”

“Of course. Do you think a mere human like you can defeat me, Athena, called the divine incarnation?”

“Hermes said the same thing.”

“..!”

Athena’s shoulders flinched at the mention of Hermes.

Presumably because they were half-siblings who had been close.

Noticing Athena’s agitation, Veichel could identify the opening she needed to exploit.

“At first, he came at me with great confidence. Something about Titans and the Olympian 12 being different.”

“…Veichel Breate.”

“But that didn’t last long. The sight of him kneeling before me, begging for his life!”

Veichel continued her taunts with a mischievous expression and desperate mockery.

“It was like watching a mere monster, not at all what you’d expect from a god!”

“Veicheeeeel!! How dare a mere human insult a god!!”

“How dare a mere god!!”

Boom.

The ground of Tartarus shook at Veichel’s outburst.

Athena began to feel an inexplicable fear from the mysterious energy emanating from her.

But Veichel had no intention of gauging her reaction.

“What are gods! Do they think they can control and command humans as they please?!”

“Humans are a race created by gods. Of course they have the right to be controlled!”

“Then from whom were gods born?!”

“..!”

Veichel began to question the meaning of existence from an origin perspective.

This was a question that even Athena had contemplated at some point.

She was not only a goddess of war but also known as the goddess of wisdom.

“If we trace back to the beginning, there would be countless origins! Even among the Outer Gods, before the Boundary Dweller was born, there was the Blind Idiot God!”

And before the Blind Idiot God was born, something else must have existed.

“But we don’t know the history before creation! Do you know why?”

It’s because history is recorded from the perspective of the victors.

There must have been something that existed before the Blind Idiot God.

There must be an absolute being capable of crushing even that dull darkness.

So…

“Let me pose a question… what if we humans overthrow all the gods and deliberately hide the history of gods?”

“…That’s absurd!”

“It would be the same as humans becoming omnipotent gods! All the theories held by gods are nothing but sophistry! Gods are merely modeled after humans!”

A hymn to humanity.

Veichel, whose life had been toyed with by gods, walked the path of human supremacy.

Creating a world by humans, of humans, for humans.

“That is why I am ‘fighting’ here!!”

Whoosh!

Veichel drew her magic spear, and Athena couldn’t help but feel chills throughout her body.

“Y-you… that spear is..!”

“It seems it has finally answered my call.”

“The god-slaying spear Gungnir!!”

Gungnir, the god-slaying spear that Yog-Sothoth had taken from the fallen forces of Asgard.

That formidable weapon was now.

Emitting a brilliant light in Veichel’s hand.

Gungnir had recognized her as its true master.

“You woooman!! So you were in league with the Outer Gods all along!”

“Stop with the nonsense, Athena. Those bastards are also people I need to kill, that hasn’t changed.”

Click, clang.

As Veichel struck the ground with Gungnir, Athena hastily drew out her Aegis.

No matter how much she considered Veichel beneath her.

With Gungnir, a spear with the legacy of god-slaying, she was not an opponent to be taken lightly.

Damn it all.

The question was whether Veichel was truly weaker than herself.

‘Right now, I definitely have the upper hand!’

Swoosh!

Just as they say striking first gives you an advantageous position.

Athena kicked off the ground and rushed toward Veichel, but.

At that moment, a strange intuition activated, and cold sweat began to pour down her entire body.

Should she stop, or should she continue forward.

‘It’s too late to stop!’

Stopping might lead to even worse consequences.

‘I’ll kill her like this!’

As Athena’s eyes filled with killing intent and her spear was about to fall on Veichel.

The corner of Veichel’s mouth curled up into a smirk.

“Kill them all.”

“..!”

Whoosh!

The darkness surrounding Tartarus disappeared.

The three Hekatonkheires brothers, beings on par with the 12 Titans, appeared in a battered state.

Athena noticed that the situation was taking a strange turn.

But she couldn’t stop it.

Slash!

Veichel’s avatars cut off the breath of the three Hekatonkheires brothers.

At the same time, Veichel’s main body absorbed their energy through spirit eating.

Boom!

“I-impossible…”

Athena could feel it.

That Veichel’s power had surpassed her own, the goddess of war.

The tide had completely turned before the battle even began!

“Now, are you ready to be devoured?”

Veichel bared her fangs and aimed Gungnir at Athena.

“How daaaare you!”

Athena, enraged at being mocked by a mortal, immediately launched her best attack, but.

“Too slow.”

Slash!

With a flash of golden light.

“…Cough!”

A vast hole opened in Athena’s abdomen, and she lost consciousness on the spot.