Chapter 377 – Thanatos (7)
Thanatos (7)
The giants confronted it calmly.
While they were dealing with the Pantheon G.o.ds, I was a little behind.
It was not because of a lack of strength, but because of the difference in our roles.
In order to end the war, they should not be allowed to flee.
While I was a little far away, I a.s.sisted the giants, while interfering with the Pantheon G.o.ds trying to open the portal and flee from Thanatos.
It was my battle with the Pantheon G.o.ds who tried to connect the dimensional pa.s.sages in the midst of a frantic battle against the giants, and I was going all out to sabotage them.
Until now, I had not allowed a single escapee and it was well blocked.
Watching the battle from a distance, I learnt one thing.
The Pantheon G.o.ds are not good at group battles.
Their abilities are outstanding.
Wielding all sorts of miracles, they showed really ridiculous appearances.
Some of those abilities have also been applied because of cooperation.
They predicted our behavior using short-term foresight, and showed the possibility that several G.o.ds could move like one body with the ability of telepathy.
But that is the limit.
They have no understanding of groups.
Although one is able to lead, they feel uncomfortable being part of the group and fulfilling said role.
It was natural when I thought about it.
These are the monsters who ate everything visible to them to gain their G.o.dhood.
After becoming a G.o.d, they wouldn’t have had to fight with strength.
This may be the first battle some of them experienced since becoming a G.o.d.
It would be unreasonable for them to cooperate when they were a group of over a hundred.
In addition, there was a deep-rooted individualism peculiar to the G.o.ds.
In order to suffer less damage to themselves, they were willing to endure the collapse and the death of their colleagues.
It may not even be a risk for them.
They just did what was natural for them.
They are the G.o.ds who will be reluctant to put their own safety and comfort on the same scale as others.
On the other hand, the giants moved systematically.
Maintaining the display that I was used to, through long and repeated training.
They moved according to a clear command system.
It was a battle between two sides that showed excellent ability, but one had an almost perfect organizational power while another was stubborn.
It wasn’t an overwhelming battle, but the giants were chasing them step by step without losing their control.
As time pa.s.sed, the giants’ initiative only grew.
Now it was looking more like a kind of ma.s.s hunting rather than a battle.
They were putting together the Pantheon G.o.ds who were just looking for a chance to escape, and reducing their numbers one by one without taking any damage.
It was then.
[Time Confinement]
Suddenly, a power was used.
The battle was in progress.
The flames fired out in all directions, and the giants calmly defended.
I could see the scattering flames get blocked by the defense.
This power of time confinement, presented by the G.o.d of Slowness, is the power to slow down only my time apart from the time in the universe.
In a world that was so slow, I felt puzzled.
I didn’t use the power.
No, although what I used is correct.
There was no intention to use it.
It wasn’t a good sign.
The power of time confinement had to be used.
Because of the danger I didn’t even notice.
The problem was I couldn’t find the danger.
The battle was one-sided.
d.a.m.n it.
What the h.e.l.l is coming?
While puzzled, I was preparing for an emergency.
And soon the cause could be found.
Far away.
From very far away, a crack in s.p.a.ce occurred.
It was a distance that you would never notice if you didn’t foresee that there would be some danger due to the sudden triggering of time containment.
It was a crack that occurred in the vicinity of a star visible from Thanatos, beyond normal range of vision.
It was a very small thing that jumped out of the crack.
Something just the size of a human being moved actively.
It was moving at such a fast pace that I forgot that I was looking at it in the slowness of time.
When I looked closely, it really had limbs like a human.
G.o.d of Light.
There was no basis, but I thought so.
I couldn’t think of any other answers.
That was absolutely the G.o.d of Light.
The G.o.d of Light moved busily, perhaps excitedly.
It also looked similar to a human dancing.
The G.o.d of Light suddenly stopped and raised his arm flashingly.
And it burst out.
Light.
And it was light.
I tried to confirm this sudden phenomenon through feelings rather than sight, but the light with strong divine power drove everything away.
When the spreading light touched the edge of Thanatos, a voice was finally heard.
[Shine!!]
And everything was colored with light.
* * *
I couldn’t see.
I couldn’t even feel.
As if you were trapped in a fantasy world made of only light.
All sensations felt from the outside were paralyzed.
It felt like I was being separated from the world.
The surprise was inevitable.
I didn’t expect to experience this kind of thing after becoming a G.o.d.
If I hadn’t been through the 13th floor in the Tutorial.
Had I not been able to overcome the ordeal there, the time I could not move in surprise would have been longer.
The whole world was engulfed by the power of the G.o.d of Light.
I also aggressively used the expansion of my divine power through Zit Pop, but it was very difficult for me to get it to hit.
It was difficult to deal with.
In a hurry, I stretched out my hands.
Even that wasn’t easy because of the power of the G.o.d of Light.
With the light, I pushed away the divine power of the G.o.d of Light that was thickly blocking, and reached out my hands toward the giants.
I felt a sensation at my fingertips.
I dragged them to me.
I opened up my inner s.p.a.ce and threw them into the subs.p.a.ce.
Whoo-
Rather than an explosion sound, it was a grotesque sound as if the world was screaming low.
Shuddering, I also went into the subs.p.a.ce.
I fled from a world made of only light to a world made of only darkness.
* * *
All the giants were safe.
This was because after the explosion of light, the giants did not move and remained still.
It seems that they couldn’t move because they were overwhelmed by the pouring power rather than believing I would save them.
Thanks to my complete grasp of their location, I was able to evacuate everyone without leaving any behind.
[Five hundred including me. All are safe. There is also a friend from your hometown here.]
Grandmother confirmed their safety.
It was a relief.
It would be better not to go outside right now and stay here.
Now Thanatos is a h.e.l.l surrounded by light.
When we go out, we will explode together.
[King, where are you?]
I looked around.
I was annoyed by the sloppy darkness.
When I touched it with a sore cheek, a wet, sticky black moisture appeared.
I fell in a bad place.
It wouldn’t be good to go back to the giants right now.
“Why were you sitting here?”
I asked the buzzing fly.
I can’t believe I found this place in this big subs.p.a.ce.
It is a place where all kinds of bad feelings have been thrown out, unable to endure helplessness on the 61st floor.
It was a huge garbage dump.
I would say it was my dark history memorial.
[Amazing. You turned yourself into a subs.p.a.ce. Built a mental world, coordinated it, and used it as a physical s.p.a.ce. Maybe you were the first to develop something like this.]
The G.o.d of Hope said nothing else.
There are also many surprises.
Thinking of the time I was trapped on the 61st floor and the things I tried to do there.
These were achievements to be achieved.
“That sounds like a good place to be.”
The G.o.d of Hope seemed familiar with this place.
It also looked good on him.
A trash can that collects all kinds of bad feelings.
It might be a good environment for the G.o.d of Hope.
[Is that sarcastic?]
No. How did you know?
I was thinking inside myself!
[Because it is inside you.]
Why are you so serious and trying to explain?
It’s not funny.
So with me too.
The feelings of the G.o.d of Hope were flowing into me.
He seemed to be quite a.s.similated with this s.p.a.ce.
The G.o.d of Hope was afraid.
“I should have tried a conversation here earlier.”
I had a lot of questions.
The grotesque irrationality of this war.
The sudden appearance of the G.o.d of Light and his incomprehensible actions.
And.
“I have to listen now. If you don’t say anything, even with your own strength. Tell me. What the h.e.l.l are you so afraid of?”
The fear of the G.o.d of Hope.
Obviously, the G.o.d of Hope was reacting abnormally.
The G.o.d of Hope welcomed the war and was not opposed to it.
[It’s just reasonable anxiety.]
What are you talking about?
The G.o.d of Hope had told me little about war.
There was a war discussion.
But at one point, he suddenly felt terrified and wanted to run away.
[One thing was a problem.]
“What.”
[There is no limit to this war. This is a war in which all the G.o.ds of the Hundred G.o.ds Temple partic.i.p.ated.]
Before asking again what he meant, the G.o.d of Hope began explaining.
[I highly value the Pantheon. If you compare their forces with the Hundred G.o.ds Temple, it’s no match. They themselves are doing the war, but they are not warriors in the first place, but kings. When they mobilize all their capacities, it means that all civilizations in this universe join forces.]
Including both the deities and the non-deities, the G.o.d of Hope added.
[Of course, the Hundred G.o.ds Temple is also strong. If the G.o.d of Balance and the G.o.d of Sky work together, we can guarantee victory. If duel and death go hand in hand, we can guarantee immortality.]
[But if it is a war in which all the G.o.ds of the Hundred G.o.ds Temple partic.i.p.ate, the story is different. The Hundred G.o.ds Temple itself is not a problem. Some of the G.o.ds there are a problem. Some of the ancient G.o.ds that existed long before the Cataclysm are not G.o.ds capable of war.]
War is impossible.
Doesn’t that mean they’re harmless?
[The opposite. Haven’t you just seen it?]
[The G.o.d of Slowness, the G.o.d of Light, the G.o.d of Devotion, these G.o.ds will end everything by themselves. The word war doesn’t hold water.]
[This is the intention of the Hundred G.o.ds Temple. They were not interested in disputes or initiatives. From the beginning, they had thought of getting rid of Thanatos by burning it. Like all other planets.]
“… What?”
[The only goal of this war is destruction.]
What is this bulls.h.i.t again?
[Then do you think that the G.o.d of Light came here for war?]
He didn’t.
Instead of attacking the G.o.ds in the war, the G.o.d of Light launched a rampage against the world.
There was a prediction like so.
I thought the purpose of this war was to weaken the G.o.d of Order.
The Hundred G.o.ds Temple are out of the limits of the system by themselves, which means that the power of the G.o.d of Order is weakened.
[It’s soft. It’s a soft guess. What they’re aiming for isn’t confusing the system. They are intending to erase the root of the divine power.]
“… Are you sure?”
[I’m sure.]
I had to ask again.
Because I knew the basis of the divine power and what cancelling it would mean.
“How can you be sure of that?
[Because it has already happened once before. I remember it clearly because it happened when I was just reborn as a G.o.d. When the G.o.d of Slowness was approaching transcendence. The G.o.d of Adventure destroyed all civilizations in the universe, weakening the G.o.ds who followed the G.o.d of Slowness.]
* * *
[You are here again]
Said the G.o.d of Slowness.
Kirikiri was able to smile triumphantly in front of the voice.
“I didn’t come to see you today.”
The G.o.d of Slowness smiled widely.
[Yess. I guess so.]
“Weally! (Really!)”
Kirikiri shouted and protested, but the G.o.d of Slowness just laughed.
The G.o.d of Slowness did not believe her words.
“Hmph!”
Kirikiri ignored the G.o.d of Slowness and prepared to open the door.
All the G.o.ds’ of the Hundred G.o.ds Temple rooms have been prepared.
The same was true of the room of the G.o.d of Slowness.
However, the room of the G.o.d of Slowness was special.
It was where the war started.
It was also the reason for the existence of the Hundred G.o.ds Temple.
The entrance and exit of the Hundred G.o.ds Temple.
Kirikiri opened the door to the world.
She was not talking to the G.o.d of Slowness near the door as usual.
Kirikiri had someone to meet at a distance from the door.
[It’s been a long time since you’ve been in the world.]
It’s been a long time.
Does the G.o.d of Slowness have such a concept?
[I said it according to your standards.]
Kirikiri took a deep breath and stepped into the door.
A little later, she shut the door behind her back.
Once again, the voice of the G.o.d of Slowness reached her, as she flew towards her destination with her small hands clenched.
[I hope this will be a fun adventure.]