Ch.83Countdown (3)

At the time when Frey had just received her sword…

BOOM!

Two Titans, created by a god solely to kill other gods, collided with each other.

The two remarkably similar Titans were fighting with their greatswords, intent only on destroying one another.

BOOOOM!!

Just the collision of their greatswords was enough to shake heaven and earth, and the shockwave sent nearby people flying far away.

“AAAAARGH!!!”

“KYAAAAH!!”

The Titans’ strikes weren’t aimed at people or Apostles.

They were simply swinging at each other with the sole purpose of killing one another.

Yet merely being in the vicinity of this fierce battle was enough to make everyone present scream in terror.

Those who had been strutting around claiming to be A-rank adventurers or powerful Apostles were all equally rolling on the ground.

The Apostles and adventurers who had been fighting here for quite some time had long since become shrimp caught in a battle between whales.

Only those with at least an S-rank designation could remain standing in this place.

Dustin and Edeline, representatives of the dwarves and adventurers, were among such individuals.

“Huff…! When will the preparations be complete! At this rate, everyone will die caught in that battle!”

“We’re preparing a large-scale teleport, so just be quiet and wait a little longer…!”

Of course, this didn’t mean they could accomplish anything special either.

At best, they could protect and be protected while finding ways to save as many people as possible.

Crack- Crackle-

Even that wasn’t working properly, forcing them to overuse their artifacts.

“Damn it…! Do you know how much this artifact costs…”

“I’ll make you as many of those artifacts as you want when we get back alive, so hurry up and do it!!”

“You think the artifact is the problem?! The mana is getting tangled because of those constant collisions!”

This must be exactly what humans look like when faced with an unstoppable natural disaster.

The survivors gathered around the two struggled to create a magic circle by squeezing out their mana, but it didn’t seem to be working well.

Still, they didn’t give up.

They squeezed out their last drop of mana and prepared the magic circle to the point where their artifacts and weapons were shattering into pieces.

Just as they barely managed to stabilize the mana and complete the magic circle, unfortunately, they were caught in the crossfire.

KABOOOOM-!!!

It wasn’t just a shockwave from the collision, but a sword strike that Alan and Leon had failed to fully block.

It was weaker than the original strike.

But for those already battered and worn out, it was too powerful to block, and everyone sensed their impending death.

And it was then that Arges, no, Vulcan arrived on the battlefield.

“The first thing I see when I open my eyes is my incompetent firstborn and my pitiful second son. It feels like I’m being shown my sins.”

Seeing his past mistakes, Vulcan sighed deeply and gripped his hammer so tightly that blood flowed from his hand.

BOOOOM-!!!

The deflected sword strike was then smashed into the ground by Vulcan’s swinging hammer.

Watching helplessly from behind, Dustin instinctively knew.

He could feel that the one who had just saved them was their god, Vulcan, whom they had been waiting for so long.

“My… My Lord…!!”

“A god, huh…”

Vulcan smiled bitterly at Dustin’s cry.

He questioned whether he deserved to be called a god when he had done nothing while Gagap fell into this state.

Originally, he had used up all his divine power to allow Frey to draw the sword, so he had no power as a god.

But even so, Vulcan opened his mouth for the followers who had waited for him.

“Yes, your god has returned. Sorry for being late, you shorties.”

“Ah… We’re fine, my Lord.”

After saying those words, Dustin was enveloped in light and disappeared.

Edeline had finally activated the completed magic circle, taking away the people in the area.

This large-scale teleport couldn’t revive those who had already died, but it could prevent further casualties.

Vulcan briefly stared at the spot where Dustin had disappeared.

He looked as if he was recalling a distant past.

“What was so great about that guy I taught hammering to long ago…”

What flashed before Vulcan’s eyes was the image of himself, newly born from the goddess’s hands, teaching hammering to dwarves who looked just like him.

It was an extremely distant past that probably wasn’t even recorded in history books anymore.

After reminiscing for a while, Vulcan shook his head and came to his senses.

Because right now, there was something more important, something he absolutely had to do, than dwelling on the past.

“Since I’ve been called a god… I should act like one.”

Vulcan looked toward where the two Titans were clashing.

The place where the two Titans were colliding had long since turned into an empty lot with everything collapsed.

Even the dwarves’ buildings, famous for their sturdiness, were no match for the collision of the two Titans.

“Still, it’s fortunate that Alan is holding up better than expected.”

Watching the clash of the two Titans, Vulcan expressed relief at Alan’s unexpected resilience.

Originally, Alan, who had less energy to use, should have been pushed back, causing more damage.

“It couldn’t have been affected by any ordinary variable…”

Vulcan’s question was quickly answered.

A familiar face was fighting alongside Alan.

“Is that… Leon?”

Leon, who caught Vulcan’s eye, was fighting with his Holy Sword drawn, his black hair gradually turning white.

The proportion of white in Leon’s hair had clearly increased since the last time Vulcan had seen him.

“He’s pushing himself too hard…”

Being the creator of that Holy Sword, Vulcan knew well the price of using it.

He knew he should stop him immediately and make him sheathe the Holy Sword, but Vulcan couldn’t do that.

He knew that with his power alone, having lost his divine status, he couldn’t do anything about that firstborn.

* * *

“Haa… Haa…”

With each swing of the Holy Sword, Leon could feel a part of his existence being shaved away.

That was the price he paid to gain enough power to participate in a battle he normally couldn’t join and to help Alan continue fighting.

The price grew higher the longer the battle continued, but Leon never put away the Holy Sword.

“Do you think your brother will regain consciousness…!”

[…Sorry for putting you through this.]

[But… there’s no good news.]

[I keep sending signals, but there’s still no response.]

He did it all to save the world as a Hero and to help Frey as her disciple.

Leon believed that if he could only return that Titan to its original state, it would surely help Frey who was fighting far away.

“Then… I’ll keep trying until it works! If we keep at it, I’m sure he’ll wake up.”

[Then I’ll continue to rely on your help.]

As Leon and Alan were about to rekindle their hope and fighting spirit, Vulcan approached from behind them.

“Stop it. He can’t return to normal. That’s the power of the Evil God.”

“Arges…?”

[Creator…?]

Vulcan’s appearance was extremely surprising and sudden for both of them.

To Leon, Arges was just a grumpy but ordinary blacksmith, and to Alan, Vulcan was his creator who was supposed to be dead.

Because of this, they momentarily lost focus on their enemy.

BOOOOM-!!

“Taking your eyes off the enemy right in front of you. Still careless as ever. I should have known from when you caused trouble after I told you to sell swords.”

Fortunately, Vulcan was focused on the Titan, or they all would have been swept away.

Still, the shock treatment was effective, as both Leon and Alan were able to focus well on the battle.

“What is this power of the Evil God you mentioned…?”

“Every god has their own power. In my case, it would be creation.

And the power the Evil God possesses is theft. He can steal others’ abilities or powers at will.

That fool also fell victim to that power. It was because everyone was exhausted by the end of the war.”

Recalling what had happened in the past, Vulcan frowned as if remembering something unpleasant.

[So… my brother’s body has been taken over by the Evil God…?]

“Yes, I don’t know about his mind, but he probably won’t suddenly regain control of his body.”

“Then… does that mean we have to destroy him…?”

“I’m afraid so. He wouldn’t want to move with that disgusting energy as fuel either.”

Hearing Vulcan’s words, Leon’s face stiffened slightly.

The fact that they had to kill someone who had fought and sacrificed for this world in the distant past was certainly not pleasant.

Seeing Leon’s thoughts, Vulcan sighed and spoke.

“Haa, I don’t mean kill him. A parent can’t give up on their child.

So what we need to destroy now is the armor, that exoskeleton. If we take care of that, we can neutralize him.

And who made that? I did. I remember how to dismantle it and the sequence, so follow me well. Don’t touch anything strange.”

“Yes…! Understood!”

[I will support you with all my strength.]