Landing on the ground as if crashing down, Rash gaped at the burning Offering God.
"Tsk! I didn't even intend to burn the Offering God. Teacher, isn't your hand a bit too heavy?"
"It's not my magic. I would love to burn him like that myself, but unfortunately, I don't have that kind of magical power."
"Hmm? If it's not your magic, then..."
"Rash!"
Callis appeared from the direction the flames had flown. As if she had run here in a hurry, she scattered embers along with her red hair, and pointed at the Offering God as she spoke.
"Rash, what is that monster?"
"Monster? It's the Offering God!"
"I didn't know the Offering God was a monster stitched together from corpses! I knew the Offering God was a folk religion, but to think it was a monster...!"
"H-how awkward it is to hear that from someone who has a monster as a parent! The Offering God is a benevolent deity! Even if He spoke a bit aggressively just now!"
"I just saw you hitting him, though?"
"It's my duty as his child! I punched him, but I still respect him!"
If Rash stepped out, Callis would step out too. I expected reinforcements to arrive, but I didn't expect it to be Callis.
She's the last person who should be intervening in a fight.
"Wait, Callis! Don't come near!"
Rash is an undying, and his power comes from the Offering God. Naturally, the Offering God also possessed an undying body. If Rash, a mere undying, wouldn't die from being scorched by fire, there was no way the Offering God would die.
[Impressive, Human King. To kill my true body even once with such a meager amount of power.]
From within the flames, the Offering God raised his body again. The cards embedded all over his body were searing his flesh, and his body was being scorched by the burning vines, yet he didn't seem to particularly mind.
The Offering God stared at me with his burning pupils.
[As expected, I must eat you now.]
"No, Offering God. Can't you eat something else?"
[Shut up, right arm. Should I eat your woman instead?]
Rash widened his eyes and hurriedly pushed Callis away. Wrapped in flames like the incarnation of hellfire, the Offering God warned Rash.
[The right arm holds deep meaning for me as well, so I personally kept you alive... but I will forgive you no more. If you intend to resist, I will devour your entire family first.]
At the chilling threat, the smile gradually disappeared from Rash's face. Rash swallowed hard and slowly clenched his fists. Looking up at the Offering God with a stiffly hardened face, he said.
"Offering God, do not test my respect for you."
[What?]
"The Offering God gave me strength, and I offered my body to the Offering God and served Him. As the incarnation of the Earth Mother Goddess, the Offering God is a benevolent deity who melted into this land, so I served Him with all my heart and sang of His virtue."
The undying basically have a gentle personality. Because nothing can kill or hurt them. However, if someone insults them or threatens something other than their body, the undying can also become violent.
"Yet, you threaten to kill my family? That is not something a god should do. It's not even something a human should do. How could someone like the Offering God make such a dirty threat that only a beast would make?"
Rash asked the Offering God, emitting a completely different killing intent from before. With an expression that suggested he might throw a punch at any moment.
[Threat...?]
And the Offering God was displeased to see his subordinate's rebellion.
[Do you think what I am doing is a threat? This is mercy. Mercy shown to you. If I truly intended to threaten you, I would have started by putting your woman in my stomach.]
The past era in which the Offering God lived was a barbaric age with no laws or rules. He used to annihilate not just families but entire tribes. The mercy he shows is the same as sparing his own body.
And the anger shown by the Offering God was also like the sense of betrayal he felt when his body betrayed his will.
[I treasured you and gave you the chance to leave this land and gain greater power, yet you not only defiled my arm but even betrayed my will!]
He used Rash's arm too well in the Abyss. While cleansing and purifying Tyr's blood energy, the Offering God's divine authority was corrupted.
The Offering God shook off the flames and swung his arm. The arm flew in like a whip and slammed Rash into the ground.
[You are no longer needed!]
"...I agree."
Rash, who had been slammed into the ground, slowly raised his body. The Offering God's arm was still crushing him, but Rash was resisting it with all his might.
"I don't need an ugly god like you either!"
And Rash also raised his body and threw a punch back. Thwack, Rash couldn't knock the Offering God down, but it was enough to make him stagger for a moment.
[You bastard!]
"Offering God!"
The two undying, with their eyes wide open, wildly threw punches at each other.
It was a brawl. Bones shattered, flesh tore, and muscles were crushed with a single punch. They destroyed and regenerated each other several times. A torrent of power raged between them.
The fight, which had seemed slightly even at first, gradually tilted in the Offering God's favor. Both strength and regenerative power were overwhelmingly in the Offering God's advantage. Rash had momentarily resisted riding on his momentum, but his body parts other than his right arm were crushed and broken by the Offering God's power before they could even regenerate.
[Do you think a mere right arm rebelling can defeat my true body!]
Boom. Rash's head was half-buried in the ground. The Offering God's right foot stomped down on him as he desperately tried to lift his body. Rash's body was driven deep into the ground like a stake.
[I'll swallow...!]
Just as the Offering God was about to grab the fallen Rash, a large flame enveloped the Offering God once again. Callis, who had been drawing up her magical power in advance, cast a tactical-grade spell. The flames that started from the floor clung to his skin and burned him.
[Hah!]
But that was only for a moment. The Offering God wasted no more time and consumed one more life. An energy boiled from under his feet and covered his body and energy. Shaking off the flames like shedding a skin, the Offering God moved to deal with Callis first.
"You're not going anywhere!"
At that moment, Rash wrapped around the Offering God's right leg and applied a technique. Twisting his ankle and kicking the back of his knee, he instantly bent the Offering God's leg in the opposite direction.
It would have been effective if the Offering God didn't have the ability to pull out and reattach joints. The Offering God, whose steps were momentarily hindered, blatantly kicked Rash away.
At that moment, something caught his foot. The Offering God flinched as he saw the vines and clump of dirt grabbing his foot.
[Ugh...! Petty tricks!]
"All that's left after losing my power are petty tricks."
I stabbed a skewer into his heel and twisted it. When I poured lightning into the inside of his body, his foot bounced off to a wrong direction. It was lightning sent with the intention of burning his body, but to the Offering God, it was only about as good as a massage.
[You...!]
"I'm here too!"
A brief opening was enough. Rash struck the ground and soared up, swinging his right arm to strike the Offering God's jaw. A couple of teeth flew out, and the Offering God's neck bone popped out and dangled for a moment. It regenerated quickly, but in the meantime, I had already burrowed through his skin and muscles and escaped.
'Of all times, the right arm had to rebel! Entrusting the right arm to the strongest warrior was a mistake!'
Ankhra, who had died once, took root in this entire land. The scattered pieces of flesh mixed with the soil and trees and grew, and after the beasts ate them, they eventually gathered again to form a body.
To make his body strong, he had to receive a strong body as an offering. That was why he gave the most precious right arm to the strongest Rash. Right now, Rash and the Offering God were sharing the largest part of their power.
That was why, despite his overwhelming strength, he was somewhat evenly matched with Rash. A slight sense of crisis crept into the Offering God's mind. Perhaps the memory of a loser, that he could lose even with this power, resurrected and bound him.
'As long as the Human King is human, he will tire eventually! I'll devour him then!'
"Ah, for your information. You saw it earlier, right? I also have the power of immortality? I can fight like this all day."
Though it's impossible more due to mental exhaustion rather than physical stamina.
I succeeded in psychologically pressuring him. Growing anxious at my words, the Offering God consumed ten 'lives'. At that moment, the Offering God's body recovered at a visibly fast rate, and in an instant, he unleashed monstrous strength, overturning the surrounding land and trees at the same time. Both I and Rash were caught in that force and sent flying.
[I won't hold back anymore! I'll devour all of you!]
Well, I could really fight all day. But that won't happen.
Because the reinforcements that will help us will arrive now.
***
[Shay should have abandoned him. But he didn't let you give up on him. Who should I resent?]
Shay, who was about to fly straight toward the Offering God, faltered at the voice restraining him. The afterimage of the Saintess of the Sky, Meiel, floating in the sky, gazed beyond the jungle where dawn was breaking.
[Today, no different from yesterday, promises a tomorrow that will continue forever.]
Receiving the rising sunlight, Meiel placed her hand on her chest. Shay didn't pay much attention. It was a prayer he had heard countless times while at the Holy Imperial Court.
[But Shay. The tomorrow promised to me is you. If you stray, I too will have no choice but to fall asleep dreaming of a different tomorrow.]
However, even Shay couldn't help but flinch at these words now.
Because this was an earnest appeal he only used to hear in their final battle, right before Shay was about to die.
[I tried to save you. But please don't resent me even if I fail to save you. Because I cannot paint over the future you have drawn.]
***
Crunch. Something like a giant beast trampled on the Offering God. Without even a scream, the Offering God was thoroughly crushed into the ground without letting out even a single peep. The once-sturdy body crumbled into a state not much different from dirt and sand, and blood mixed with the soil was scattered.
I, Rash, and Callis, who were just about to prepare for a fight, were bewildered when our opponent suddenly disappeared. So much so that we couldn't recall the identity of the stranger who appeared before us for a long time.
At the very least, I belatedly recognized the identity of the uninvited guest who had jumped in. Before even reading her thoughts, I saw the deer antlers growing on her head.
"...Nebida?"
"My Lord. Have you been in good health since I last saw you?"
Her androgynous appearance was exactly the same as when I saw her last time. Leaves were sparsely growing in her hair, which flowed down long enough to touch the ground. Her silk robe draped down as if hung on tree branches.
The Primordial Druid. The proxy of nature, the most beautiful beast.
The living Demon God who revived the World Tree that had burned and fallen with the destruction of Manguk.
She, who should have been at the Tree of Treachery, now appeared before my eyes and quietly knelt.
"My Lord. I am deeply sorry for seeking you out so late. As the preparations to serve you were not yet complete, this humble servant left your side for a short while."
"Huh? What?"
"However, worry not. All preparations are now complete."
No, what? The reinforcements I had in mind weren't this?
Regressors, Azi! What are you doing over there? Something weird just popped out! Even if this is the land of the ancient Manguk, the territory of the past World Tree! How far is the distance from there, how did this thing pop out? How on earth did she know?
[You, who are you...!]
Crack. Nebida's hand changed into a bear's foreleg and completely crushed the body of the Offering God, who was trying to stand up. After the gruesome noise of flesh and bone turning into a handful and disappearing, Nebida, who created a quiet silence once again, rose like an inanimate object.
"I am awed that you have personally graced us with your presence. Now that this humble servant will attend to you, please spare your precious body."
"No, but how did you know I was here?"
"The place where you are is exactly where this humble servant should be."
This person has no intention of answering properly! Her words are nothing but formalities! Is this the attitude to treat a king?
[Kuaaaaaah!!]
At that moment, the Offering God consumed fifty lives at once and raised his body. The momentum that surged as he burned his lives in an instant was truly immense, so much so that even Nebida was pushed back by sheer force.
[You, beast priests! Those who cling to mere beasts dare to defy me!]
Nebida scratched the ground with leopard claws and stopped her body. Despite hearing an unexpected insult, she seemed more intrigued than displeased.
"Beast priests? It has been a long time since I heard those words. Did you perhaps originate from the Age of Purity?"
[That's right! I will become complete by eating the Human King! I will accomplish now what Ankhra failed to do in life!]
"...Ankhra?"
However, the Offering God should have watched his mouth. Thinking that an unfamiliar strong person would be favorable to him was a far too optimistic thought.
Even I, who is called 'Lord' and treated with respect by Nebida, am not her ally!
"Aah. I remember. You are one of those insolent ones who dared to rebel against the Human King. That treacherous group who dared to betray, devour, violate, subjugate, and make a plaything out of my Lord. No matter how much you were deceived by the harlot, that sin does not disappear."
A formidable killing intent blossomed. It was as if the forests and grass were rising in anger. Nebida, who had been showing an emotionlessness similar to that of a tree until now, grew slightly angry beneath her calm expression.
At the wrath of the Primordial Druid, and at the emotion of the Demon God, the entire land and trees shook. Nebida grew branches from her fingertips and gently swayed them.
"The Human King should have slaughtered you all. I do not know how you are still alive, but."
The ground shook and tree roots surged up. In a fleeting moment, the tree roots wrapped around the Offering God's feet and crawled up to his shoulders. Taken by surprise, the Offering God shook off the tree roots binding his entire body and shouted.
[Hmph! Do you think you can stop me with this!]
"If you consider the undying to be the indestructible, that is truly absurd ignorance."
As Nebida clenched her palm, the roots tightened and squeezed the Offering God's body until it burst. Like a snake constricting, it crushed and shattered his body into tiny pieces, turning him into dust and swallowing him. His flesh was destroyed and melted, unable to even leave a trace behind.
"A red flower does not bloom for ten days, and even a tree that has stood for a thousand years must eventually lay its body on the ground."
[...I am the Offering God! Unlike you who only worship beasts...!]
Nevertheless, the Offering God did not die. After consuming lives to reconstruct his body, he tore the tree roots apart with his strong power. However, his two hands could not block thousands of tree root strands, and at some point, he was buried in the roots again and crushed.
"A tree grows on top of rotten leaves and branches, filling the land where a great tree has fallen. Grass and soil circulate eternally, filling this land."
Nebida's singing voice softly echoed through the forest.
His skin melts. His life force is sucked away somewhere. It formed trees, bore fruit, and fell as leaves. The Offering God met consecutive deaths in short cycles.
However, that too was the essence of the Offering God. Having melted into this land, he was immortal as long as his focal point remained. He just needed to reconstruct his body and resurrect. Lives were merely for maintaining his body. Just as he had done after he died, the Offering God gathered his energy that was scattered across the land and vegetation.
The Offering God is immortal. As long as he is alive. As long as he survives.
"In the distant cycle of reincarnation."
Just live. Just live. Just live. Somehow, as long as he is alive.
Even if it's miserable, even if it's just life itself.
"Perish."
-And the Offering God's thoughts stopped.
What was before his eyes was a tree that strangely resembled a human. The twisted branches looked like human joints, and the growing leaves looked like hair. As if craving something, the branch that desperately stretched out to one side looked like the desperate hand of a drowning person.
And at its end, a fruit as red as blood was hanging small.
Driven by the instinct for life, after managing to protect only his life, the Offering God ultimately survived. Merely craving life, and forgetting everything else.
Return to the Root.
The infinite samsara of the Demon God that slays the undying.
Having simply annihilated the god of a tribe, Nebida turned her body away indifferently.