◈ Episode 555. No Lies... Either
At times like this, my usual live-for-style-die-for-style attitude really comes in handy.
“What are you doing right now...!”
See? Even the great Goddess is flinching, isn’t she?
I slowly shifted my gaze.
Toward the blinking message.
[You have not met the conditions for the skill, ‘Exorcism Rite.’]
As I’ve said time and time again, my class is, strictly speaking, [Demon Hunter]
.
Even if, by Granfell’s standards, the Goddess was no different from a demon.
It meant that [Exorcism Rite]
, which was only effective against demons, could not activate.
‘However.’
The only ones who knew that fact were.
Naturally, demon hunters alone...!
That was why I was acting.
From Freyja’s body.
As if I truly meant to uproot the Goddess, I recited.
“How does it feel, Goddess?”
In that sense, let me be grateful once again.
“I welcome you into my rite.”
To this shamelessness that even dares to blaspheme a goddess!!
‘Did I really stay up all night poring over books just to run a scam like this...?’
A sudden emptiness surged up within me.
Even so, in my head, I recalled the contents of the various magic books I had devoured day after day.
To imitate the space of a 『rite』.
Whether it was the Exorcism Rite or the Social Hall of Space-Time, every ritual space possessed its own special rules.
Regardless of strength or weakness, no one could be an exception to those rules.
For example, just as all acts of violence were forbidden in the Social Hall of Space-Time.
‘Of course.’
At my current level, manifesting a true ritual space was impossible.
No, even Raymon Sean probably couldn’t do that.
In other words, I had to set up a convincing atmosphere, add Granfell’s iron-faced method acting on top of it, and deceive the Goddess.
“You dare try to mock me?”
Of course, there was no way she would remain obedient.
Bzzzz.
That must be the ability that brought down the paladins.
Freyja.
A halo shone behind her, and rods of light rose into the air.
Soon, flashes of light surged toward me.
‘...Holy shit.’
If this were a normal situation?
Naturally, there would be no reason for me to take that head-on.
No matter what, she was a god of the Arcana Continent.
And among those gods, she was the Goddess said to be the greatest.
I would have dodged, or used architectural magic to mitigate that destructive power.
However.
Thud.
[※Warning: Your vitality is dropping rapidly.]
I did not evade the light and received it with my body as it was.
The reason was simple.
I told you, didn’t I?
I had to deceive the Goddess perfectly enough.
To make her mistake this place for a ritual space.
‘It hurts like hell.’
I, Lee Hoyeol.
Could dare to guarantee it.
If not for Granfell’s iron face.
‘Acting, my ass...!’
It was pain that would have made me collapse on the spot and roll around.
But who was our Lord Granfell? A human utility pole who, beyond pain, had never once lost his uprightness until the day he died on the Arcana Continent.
I opened my mouth in an unchanged tone.
“No attack has any meaning.”
While reversing the wound, that is.
What was needed to deceive an opponent?
A trick the opponent did not know.
‘I need a trick even the Goddess doesn’t know.’
That was right.
That was reversal magic.
Because that was magic created in the process of my, Lee Hoyeol’s, desperate struggling.
Meaning it wasn’t something the Goddess could possibly know.
And yet.
“That cannot be.”
Our dear Goddess is rather suspicious, isn’t she?
Even after seeing me calmly act as though nothing was wrong.
It seemed the Goddess still found the situation quite hard to believe.
Bzzzzzz.
There were far too many of those flashes.
Calculating from the vitality that had been drained by a single hit...
This time, even at best, seventy percent of my vitality would be blown away, wouldn’t it?
‘The one small relief is.’
[Hexagram Brooch].
It still felt unsettling.
But perhaps its set effect felt reassuring, like insurance.
Which meant this damned loose mouth could continue speaking without wavering.
“You are not merely foolish, but slow to learn as well.”
“What did you say?”
“So much so that I pity Freyja, who believed in and followed you.”
“!”
You really provoke anger with everything you’ve got, Granfell.
“So you insist on mocking me to the end.”
Indeed, there was no way she could endure hearing such words.
Even more flashes rose behind Freyja. I, Lee Hoyeol. Just imagining the pain of having my entire body pierced by those lights made the back of my neck go stiff and my vision begin to blur—
...
Stagger.
The Goddess—no, to be precise, Freyja’s body seemed unable to withstand the Goddess’s power. Freyja’s body lost its balance and reeled, then barely managed to stand upright.
“You foolish thing.”
The Goddess lashed out at Freyja’s body.
“You are of no help to me at all, Freyja.”
...
But listening quietly.
That Goddess, you know.
She may not be as bad as our Granfell, but she is quite shameless.
Sure enough, the pot with no right to call the kettle black could not hold back and opened his mouth.
“I wonder who is one to speak.”
...
Seriously, who are you to say that, Granfell?
I didn’t know either.
But for now, I continued.
“What nonsense are you spewing...?”
“When in truth, the one who was of no help at all was you.”
“What?”
Good, let’s settle this here.
No matter how much of a Goddess she was, I had learned that while possessing Freyja, she could not use enough power to kill me instantly.
I deliberately did not restrain my loose mouth.
“Look.”
Then, as if he had been waiting, he spread both arms.
As if responding to that.
The Jacket of Dawn fluttered.
“At the sight of an endlessly deep darkness settling over your holy ground.”
“...”
“At your own plight, begging such darkness for mercy.”
“...!!”
Do not misunderstand, Goddess.
You may have said first that you would show mercy or whatnot, but the one in need here isn’t me—it’s clearly you, isn’t it? Judging by the fact that you can only blame Freyja’s body and are unable to take any other action...
‘It seems you’re in no state to remain in the Pantheon.’
Indeed, as much as I had refined my magic.
It seemed there had been value in steadily refining my poisonous tongue as well.
Tremble.
In Freyja’s body, the Goddess quivered.
Then, perhaps because there was no room left for excuses.
“I will surely repay this humiliation.”
Clang, clang, clang.
With a clamor, darkness fell.
At the same time as the flashes of light that had risen shattered, Freyja collapsed onto the floor. Isn’t this the sort of thing where you should help her up out of basic decency, Granfell? I was bothered by Granfell, who was just staring blankly.
Thank goodness.
“...Commander-in-Chief Lee Hoyeol?”
Because Freyja, who had fallen to the floor, immediately regained consciousness.
Fortunately.
There was no need to worry about Freyja falling into some unnecessary misunderstanding.
“I apologize.”
It seemed she had been watching everything from within.
Thanks to that, she also seemed to know the Goddess’s whereabouts.
Freyja placed a hand over her chest.
“The Goddess has closed her eyes within me.”
Was she planning to wait for an opportunity inside Freyja?
The Goddess is really in a sorry state now.
Of course, now that I knew that, I couldn’t simply leave it be.
‘I need to crush her spirit completely so she can’t get any funny ideas.’
I opened my mouth seriously.
“If you thought you could hide, that was a grave miscalculation.”
Did my threat get through?
Freyja slowly closed her eyes.
Soon, she opened them again and relayed the words.
“The Goddess said this. She will not exert any influence from now on. Since the Pantheon has ended up in such a state, and even the Goddess’s authority has fallen to the bottom, she no longer has even the strength to plot anything foolish...”
Well, could I really believe those words?
In order to judge that.
First, I needed to know what exactly had happened to the Pantheon.
Whether it had truly been reduced to ruins.
Unlike the Goddess, Freyja was quick-witted.
Even without being asked, she spoke first.
“I will tell you the full account of the Pantheon in the Goddess’s stead.”
Soon, the news was conveyed.
At those words, I flinched.
“The God of War turned his back on the Pantheon, including the Goddess. Through indiscriminate slaughter, he stained the Pantheon with blood...”
It was not solely because of the Pantheon’s internal strife.
Because while watching Guyver, who was especially unscathed.
I had already suspected as much.
Yes, what shocked me was different news.
“After that, the Shadow God and the nine servants broke into the Pantheon.”
...
Wait, the Shadow God and the ‘nine servants’?
Naturally, what came to mind were the nine former members of the Shadow Mercenaries. But the contract of the Shadow Mercenaries had been terminated by none other than me.
‘No way.’
Had they formed a contract again?
I thought the Shadow God might have stabbed me in the back.
But I did not even have time to get angry.
Freyja trailed off.
“In the Goddess’s memories, the last sight of them was all nine of them, in wretched states, lying sprawled throughout the Pantheon as cold corpses...”
“I thank you, Freyja.”
“...Pardon?”
I spoke with complete sincerity.
“For giving me a reason to destroy the Pantheon.”
*
Crunch.
Confirming the kill.
He continued to trample it.
Its form crumbled away.
Instead of blood and flesh, dense shadow soaked the floor and spread.
“You show your ugliness to the very end, half-baked wretch.”
Do not underestimate His karma?
“Especially that final struggle of yours wasn’t even funny.”
A god.
He had dwelled in the divine realm since before the Arcana Continent began.
No matter how high and mighty a being had been on the Arcana Continent.
In the end, it was nothing more than a mere human.
“Does karma look like a joke to you?”
One thousand.
That was karma that a single world could not gather even if it brought one entire cycle to an end. The only reason he had been able to reach such a realm was because he had slaughtered every god of the Pantheon except the Goddess.
“Thrash all you want. You are still in shitwater.”
Even if one hunted demons, killed villains, and received praise.
The karma he could accumulate would be no more than one hundred.
And that was assuming he brought his life to its proper end.
Crack.
The God of War rolled his neck.
“Well, no matter. You cannot hear me anymore.”
The shadow began to stain the Pantheon, taking the same shape as the blood that had stained it. The God of War turned and picked up his spear once more.
“Where did that lump of hypocrisy hide?”
That lump of hypocrisy meant the Goddess.
The God of War calculated in his head.
If he killed the Goddess.
He would be able to seize at least several hundred additional karma.
If so, he could obtain at least one more holy relic.
After all, the karma he had obtained from killing the Shadow God just now was...
“Hm?”
The karma was absurdly small.
It was not because he was a half-baked god.
The Shadow God.
The karma he possessed.
Was not even at the level of an ordinary human.
“...!”
It was then.
The God of War.
His instincts sent him a warning.
Whoosh.
When he reflexively turned his body, only then did he see it.
“That damned half-baked bastard.”
To think he had pulled a petty trick like this.
Creep, creep.
The shadow that had been spreading through the Pantheon seeped into the corpses of the nine.
Like strings controlling puppets.
It stretched long and began to move the corpses.
Of course, if that had been the end of it, he would not even have called it a trick.
“This is disgusting. Is this how it’s felt for you all this time, Kichi?”
A figure speaking with its head severed.
Only then did the God of War understand everything.
Why that half-baked one had not broken until the very end.
That was right, until the final moment.
He had been spouting nonsense to scatter my focus.
In order to hide this ploy until the very, very end.
“It was an excellent strategy. I, the God of War, commend you.”
However, how regrettable.
For I am no longer the me of the past.
The nine humans who had revived.
“I shall honor you with my full strength.”
In order to carry out that declaration, the God of War called his weapons.
[Winged Comb-Pattern Horn].
And [Heavenly Sword, Excalibur]
.
“Come to me, holy relics.”
However.
“...”
Only silence flowed.
Within that silence.
The Pantheon gradually began to be stained.
“Hey, God of War. Is that all?”
By shadow.
‘...Karma. Surely, that was not nonsense?’
By an endlessly deep darkness.