Ch.82Ep.82 God of Death and Time

“This sensation…”

Radios opened his eyes in an unfamiliar space and immediately understood his situation.

He was dead.

His heart had been pierced by Skytē’s blade, and the Divine Order of Death had seized him, stealing away his allotted time.

“This is ridiculous. Is this really how it ends?”

Radios recognized this sensation as death because he had experienced it once before.

No feeling of his heart beating, just a strange state of floating in a void.

He couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh at how meaninglessly he had met his end.

“But wait… this isn’t the Underworld?”

Radios knew that when humans die, they fall into the Underworld.

That’s what happened to him before, and to Veichel right before she awakened her Order.

Radios wondered why he hadn’t fallen to the Underworld despite not having awakened his Order.

Hades wouldn’t have forcibly prevented it. Defying such providence would cause too many complications.

Especially now, when they needed to keep the Outer Gods in check.

And who would have imagined he would die?

Poseidon and Kraud were supposed to be protecting him.

Radios thought that even if he were in Hades’ position, he wouldn’t have intervened either.

“So where exactly am I?”

A place where nothing could be felt, perfectly described by the word “void.”

Radios floated through the air without effort, searching his surroundings.

But no matter how much time passed, nothing appeared. It felt like he was trapped in this place.

Then suddenly.

“Master!”

“Arsia?”

Upon hearing Arsia’s voice, Radios quickly flew toward the source of the sound.

After what seemed like an eternity…

Radios finally discovered it.

“She’s… fighting?”

He witnessed Arsia, crazed by his death, confronting Cronos.

Radios shouted at her with a pale face.

“Run away! He’s not an opponent you can handle, Arsia!!”

But there was no way she could hear him.

Arsia fired spells at Cronos, while he reversed time with his hands behind his back.

Radios despaired at the sight.

‘Time reversal… even I couldn’t react to—’

But Arsia was different.

She possessed foresight, and although she couldn’t use its full power…

With her calculation speed and ability to consider all possible scenarios, she was managing to face Cronos with relative composure.

“What kind of fighting style is that… Oh.”

Radios had forgotten, having rarely fought under her command.

Arsia Cromwell.

How her battlefield strategies penetrated to the essence of things.

And how her intelligence surpassed her opponents’, anticipating and breaking through all their planned moves.

She was the perfect person to face an anomalous being like Cronos who manipulated time.

“But it’s not enough…”

No matter how well Arsia set traps through prediction, Cronos possessed a Divine Order.

Moreover, since killing him would cause serious problems, her actions were inevitably restricted.

Already at a disadvantage in skill, with her actions further limited, landing an effective hit became impossible.

“So… stop showing me this and show me through action, Azathoth!”

[So you’ve finally noticed.]

The empty space shattered into pieces, and an indescribably vast darkness loomed before Radios.

Why was it?

He should have been afraid, trembling with fear, yet he felt strangely at peace.

Was it because he was connected to this apostle? There was no need to think about that.

“There’s a way, isn’t there? Tell me.”

Why hadn’t he fallen to the Underworld but instead opened his eyes in this strange space?

Also, why could he see Arsia and Cronos fighting?

And finally, why wasn’t he in a soul state?

As time passed, Radios naturally came to understand.

Azathoth had clearly done something unbelievable.

‘Come to think of it, I’m his apostle—would he really let me die like this?’

Hades might be a bastard, but normally, one should save those who follow them completely.

Treating your devoted follower like a disposable puppet would make you trash.

Moreover, Azathoth had invested his precious time for revival in Radios.

The result was a tremendous success.

He had already acquired two fragments and gained power to twist causality like this.

If Radios died, who knows how long it would take for him to revive again.

‘Now that I think about it, I should probably start keeping him in check a little.’

But first, he needed to ask for help, so he decided to talk with him.

“Why are you keeping quiet? You must have a way to save me, right? If you let me die, how will you revive?”

[You’re right. You are my greatest apostle, and a human like you might never be born again. However… I cannot remove the death created by Cronos’s Divine Order in my current state.]

“What?”

Though roundabout, the meaning was clear: ‘I can’t save you.’

Radios widened his eyes in protest at this unexpected situation.

“Does that make sense? The one who kept me from falling to the Underworld says he can’t save me?”

[I lack the power. If you had two fragments in your possession, it would be possible, but right now, eliminating Cronos is the priority.]

“Oh, so that’s what you meant.”

In other words, he could live again if Cronos was defeated.

Radios, momentarily shocked, sighed deeply and tried to lie back, but…

“Kyaaaah!”

When Arsia’s scream suddenly rang out, Radios’s expression turned serious.

“We need to help her! She’ll die at this rate!”

[Hmm… I told you I lack the power to bring you back to life.]

“There’s another way! I’m your apostle! Please try something—possession, anything—just save her!”

[Kuk, I’ve been waiting for those words.]

After receiving permission to possess Radios’s body, Azathoth grinned.

[Watch from there for a while. I’ll use your body well and return it.]

A cluster of white light spread from within the darkness, and then his presence completely vanished.

[It wouldn’t do to let a hardworking apostle die.]

With a smile revealing white fangs, he stood against Cronos.

**********

[This power… it’s an Outer God. And one at the highest level. Who are you?]

[Do you need to know? You’re about to be deleted anyway.]

[..!]

Cronos, suddenly feeling an immense pressure, hastily accelerated time and aimed for Radios’s head.

However, Azathoth, who had taken over Radios’s body, was following the accelerated time perfectly.

‘What impossible—’

Thwack!

Kraud, who had rushed in defenseless, was struck by Azathoth’s fist and tumbled ungracefully across the ground.

That wasn’t the end.

Before he could regroup, his limbs were bound by chaos.

Above him, thousands of twilight swords were poised to descend.

[You’re slow. Your attack speed.]

[..! How dare you!]

Thinking he had been toyed with, Cronos stopped time and quickly moved behind Azathoth.

Just as he was about to strike with Skytē…

An inexplicable anxiety swept over him.

He had definitely stopped time.

‘Why are his fingers moving?’

[Because to a being that transcends time, all of that is meaningless.]

[Kuk!]

The moment Cronos raised Skytē, Azathoth sliced off his right arm with the God-Destroying Light Sword.

Cronos let out a short groan and retreated, waiting for his arm to regenerate, but…

[It’s not… regenerating?]

[I’ll devour all of your crude authority-born powers.]

[Devour? N-no, could you be?!]

In the distant past, Cronos had heard from his father Uranus.

In a time before ancient history, there existed a being with power rivaling Chaos, the creator of Olympus.

Chaos called him the Demon King and described him as a being that devours everything.

A being with Ascended Order that transcended Divine Order.

[Azathoth the Devourer!!]

[As expected of Uranus’s son, you even know my past name.]

[H-how are you…]

Cronos never dreamed that the Outer God who had contracted with Radios was Azathoth.

It was partly because Kraud had hidden information about Radios even as his consciousness was being eroded.

If he had completely dominated Kraud’s body, he might have properly distinguished the scent emanating from Radios’s body.

[I thought you were annihilated by Yog-Sothoth. How could you possibly be in a mere human!]

[He’s not a mere human. He’s my precious apostle who will bring me light.]

[In that case..!]

Whoosh.

Cronos began to flee, using time acceleration at full power.

‘Facing Azathoth is impossible. Even if he’s in a possessed human state…’

Just as beings with Order cannot match those with Divine Order…

Beings with Divine Order cannot challenge those with Ascended Order.

In this world, only two possessed Ascended Order.

Azathoth the Devourer and Chaos of the Void.

To face Azathoth, Chaos would be absolutely necessary.

However.

[Did you think escape was possible?]

[Damn it!]

Azathoth, who had closely pursued the fleeing Cronos…

[I will devour your power.]

He began to absorb the immense energy Cronos was emitting.