Chapter 70

Chapter 70. Sword Path

At last, I'd caught up.

Akan's face hardened.

For the first time, shock crept into his eyes.

The absolute barrier he'd wielded -- the Chaotic Snow blade -- had been shattered.

And by the sword of a mere newcomer Apostle God in shackles, no less.

"......"

Akan must have felt it too.

That this fight was no longer a one-sided slaughter.

That the moment he let his guard down, his head might actually fly.

But it wasn't over yet.

One sword still remained in his hand.

"A lesser god dares--!"

Akan snarled and adjusted his grip on the remaining blade.

His stance changed.

From the flashy chain attacks of twin blades to the heavy, precise thrusts of a single sword.

"Don't mistake this for having surpassed me!"

Akan kicked off the ground again.

FLASH--!

This time it wasn't speed but tenacity.

A viper-like Sword Path, probing for my openings.

CLANG--! CRASH--! SLASH--!

Our blades resumed their dance.

The gap closed.

A brawl with no room to dodge.

The dull sounds of flesh and bone colliding filled the dais.

My shoulder was torn. My thigh was slashed.

And simultaneously.

SQUELCH--!

The Holy Sword drove into Akan's flank.

"Grk......!"

Akan's lips quivered.

Unfamiliar sensation, surely.

How often had these beings taken this kind of hit to their true bodies?

Aeons spent on thrones, looking down at mortals, moving them like chess pieces.

The pain of bleeding, of flesh being ripped open -- they'd long since forgotten it.

That was why his expression was growing stiffer by the moment.

Rattled by pain. Shaken by his wounds.

With Divine Power suppressed, he couldn't even regenerate.

The agony would only keep mounting.

"What's the matter?"

I spat blood-tinged saliva and sneered.

"A little pain like this makes your legs go soft?"

By contrast.

Pain was all too familiar to me.

Before the Regression, every living thing on Earth had been steeped in suffering.

I'd had to watch with my own eyes as Demonic Beasts tore off limbs, as Disasters crushed the people I loved.

The wounds on my body?

Compared to the hell humanity endured, they didn't even qualify as an itch.

I tightened my grip on Abriel.

BOOM--!

I pressed forward.

I used my wounds as a shield and squeezed his throat.

DING! DING!

System messages hammered my ears.

['Heavenly Demon Swordsmanship' star rating rising!]

[4-Star reached.]

[5-Star reached.]

Steep.

The Great Sage's Staff's 200% proficiency gain boost.

Combined with the hidden trait 'The One Who Surpasses' and its Limit Breach.

My swordsmanship was evolving in real time, monstrously.

Akan's Sword Path was becoming visible.

His next move was predictable.

It felt as though Aritolt's afterimage had fully overlaid my blade.

CLANG--! KRAANG--!

"Th-this freak of a--!"

Akan stumbled backward in alarm.

His movements were visibly sluggish now.

The reason was obvious.

A body with 99% of its Divine Power suppressed.

For someone who'd spent his entire existence relying on Divine Power, a fight decided purely by raw muscle and endurance was utterly foreign.

And on top of that, the pain was stiffening his joints and gnawing at his willpower.

I was different.

['Heavenly Demon Swordsmanship' has reached 6-Star!]

Sword Aura extended past Abriel's edge and out into the air.

Before Akan could even settle into a defensive stance.

From above, straight down.

A perfect downward cleave loaded with every ounce of weight and Inner Power.

"KRAAAGH!"

Akan threw up his remaining sword in a desperate block.

But.

CRACK--! SHATTER--!

"......!"

Akan's last sword.

Shattered to pieces under my strike and scattered into the air.

Then Abriel's flat pressed down upon Akan's shoulder.

THUD.

"Kh, hkh......"

Both of Akan's knees drove into the marble dais.

His head drooped limply.

And.

"......"

"......"

The surroundings fell as silent as if doused in ice water.

Skadi's expression couldn't have been more rigid.

The gods following her faction were speechless with shock.

And it wasn't just them.

A lesser god had forced a high-ranking god to his knees through pure martial prowess.

That was when it happened.

WOOOONG--!

......My right hand burned like it was on fire.

The golden rune carved into my palm.

The Authority of He Who Devours Disasters.

It began to vibrate violently, screaming a soundless scream.

-Devour.

-Devour.

-Devour.

The predator's greedy instinct awakened.

A high-ranking god's true body, sprawled defenseless before me.

There couldn't be a more perfect prey.

If I consumed that Divinity, my power would explode to a level incomparable to the present.

My fingertips trembled.

The urge to seize Akan's skull and unleash the golden rune stabbed through my brain.

But.

'......Hold.'

I clenched my molars.

I clamped my right hand shut with brute force.

If I devoured him here, it was over.

In the middle of this Banquet hall, with gods watching with wide-open eyes, I'd reveal my true colors as a god hunter?

My head would be off my shoulders in an instant.

I balled my fist.

I reined in the killing intent, and with cold eyes, I looked down at Akan, prostrate on the ground.

And then.

"......Hff!"

Akan's body was shaking uncontrollably.

Because of the shock of defeat?

No.

Primal terror.

Every trace of his earlier arrogance had evaporated.

He was trembling like a rabbit thrown before a great predator.

Akan's eyes couldn't even meet mine, wandering frantically across the floor.

Yes, exactly like.

'He looks like prey that's met its natural predator.'

Strange.

I'd proven my strength, yes, but this had been a pure martial contest in shackles.

Hardly a situation to evoke the fear of death.

So why was he quaking that badly?

......Most likely.

When the golden rune on my right hand had vibrated with the intent to feed.

Akan's instincts had read that predatory bloodlust.

"Grkh......"

Akan avoided my gaze, cold sweat pouring down his face.

Certain of it.

I smirked inwardly.

"Count yourself lucky."

I whispered low.

Akan's shoulders flinched violently.

I sheathed Abriel at my hip.

I had no further interest in him.

Turning away, I raised my chin toward Aigis at the center of the dais.

The entire garden was swallowed in silence.

No one could speak.

It must have been the epicenter of shock.

"Ahem."

Even Aigis couldn't hide his bewilderment, clearing his throat.

"The bout is concluded."

Aigis's voice rolled out, heavy.

"Having defeated Skadi's Apostle God, the High-ranking God of Chaotic Snow Akan."

His gaze alternated between me and Heimdal.

"Heimdal's Apostle God, Rag, is victorious!"

There was no cheering.

"Good heavens......"

"Wh-what in the......"

Thick shock and gasps filled the garden.

Aigis raised his hand.

"The victor shall receive the promised spoils."

Clink.

Two lesser angels in silver armor ascended the dais.

In their hands were thick chains, and bound at the end was a single divine maiden.

The 'feast' that Skadi had prepared for this Banquet.

A divine maiden raised on World Tree leaves to a state of purity -- an offering meant to be burned alive and distilled into high-purity Nectar.

The angels dragged the divine maiden before Heimdal.

"Heimdal."

Aigis smiled down from the dais.

"A divine maiden prepared by Skadi. Since your Apostle God was victorious, the right to claim this feast belongs solely to you."

He threw out a cruel proposition.

"Burn her with the Fire of Purification right now and savor the fresh, sweet Nectar."

The gods' gazes converged on Heimdal.

Everyone licked their lips, anticipating the brutal spectacle.

But.

Heimdal swirled his Nectar chalice and let out a scoff.

His eyes made it clear he had zero interest in offerings.

He shrugged.

"The victor isn't me."

His thick finger pointed up at me, standing on the dais.

"The one who bled and swung the sword was my Apostle God, Rag. So the victor's reward should rightly go not to me, but to my Apostle God."

The garden rippled again.

An upper-tier god, ceding spoils to a lesser Apostle God?

And a precious offering wrested from Skadi's pride, no less?

An extraordinary declaration from Heimdal.

"Rag."

He looked at me and smiled.

"Do as you please. Burn the offering into Nectar and drink it, or keep her alive as a plaything. That is your right alone."

The angels tugged the chain and forced the divine maiden to her knees before me.

Her expression didn't change.

She'd already resigned herself.

I looked down at her coldly.

And then.

I turned my head toward Aigis.

"I'll defer the disposition of the divine maiden until all bouts are concluded."

I spoke plainly, but firmly.

"......Oh?"

Aigis's eyebrow climbed.

The gods watched me with curiosity.

"Why?"

Aigis asked with visible interest.

I ran my fingers along Abriel's hilt and swept my gaze across the garden.

Natural Lineage, Biological Lineage, Material Lineage.

Gods who envied me, suspected me, didn't bother hiding their hostility.

And the scores of Apostle Gods standing behind them.

"Because one isn't nearly enough to fill my belly."

The corner of my mouth split wide.

The apex of arrogance.

I threw down the challenge.

"Those offerings lined up on the table over there."

I jerked my chin at the divine maidens arrayed on the white marble table.

"I intend to make every last one of them mine."

Silence.

A declaration of war.

An outrageously arrogant statement -- that I would defeat every single Apostle God present.

"KAHAHAHAHA!"

Heimdal erupted into wild laughter once more.

His laughter poured fuel on the bomb.

"That's my Apostle God! Of course -- any Apostle God of mine should have at least that much ambition!"

Meanwhile, the other gods' faces flushed red and blue with fury.

"Th-this insolent lesser god--!"

"How dare he insult us!"

Rage detonated.

Apostle Gods from every faction scrambled to raise their hands.

"I'll go!"

"I'll rip that mouth of his apart!"

I smiled coldly through the pandemonium.

'That's right. Come.'

I adjusted my grip on Abriel.

I'd never intended to stop at one victory.

I steeled my resolve.

As far as I can go.

Let's take this all the way to the end.

If not now, I'd never get another chance to engrave myself upon every god.

***

How much more time passed?

"......"

"......"

At some point, the Banquet had gone quiet.

Everyone had no choice but to fall silent.

The rage that had filled the garden was long since scrubbed clean.

Even Heimdal couldn't find words.

Because.

"......Heimdal's Apostle God, Rag, has......"

Aigis managed to pry his mouth open, as though he couldn't believe it himself.

"......won his twenty-third bout."