The game difficulty
is insane.
In the worldview of Gray Eden, the gods that exist can be broadly divided into two types.
The first are beings who rest comfortably in the lofty heavens, looking down upon the mortal world.
Most of them are upper gods, along with lower gods who maintain close relationships with them. They live by receiving the faith of earthly beings.
Out of the dozens of gods, the majority belong to this group. Representative examples include Minis, the god of light and the sun, and Nox, the god of darkness and the moon.
The second type consists of gods who were pushed down to the mortal world by the overwhelming authority of those upper gods.
Most of them are lower gods who did not receive good treatment in the heavens. They boldly abandoned heavenly hierarchy and power, descending to the mortal world for the sake of amusement.
In the process of descending to the mortal realm, they are bound by thousands of restrictions.
They descend while losing most of their power, retaining only the god’s eye that sees through essence and the authority of immortality.
A representative example is Mirmias, the god of crystal and mirrors, whom Glen once saw in the Crystal Temple of the northern Veronia.
And many of the gods he might encounter in the future also belong to this latter group.
However, even among the gods who descended to the mortal world, there are a few exceptional beings.
One of them is Kalungod.
“……”
A lower god with dark crimson eyes was staring at Glen with a chilling expression.
Unlike other gods who descended for amusement, he descended from the heavens with a single purpose—to destroy the mortal world.
“What exactly are you? Just how much do you know about me?”
“Well. How much do I know, I wonder?”
Glen lifted the corner of his mouth.
Not only did he know why Kalungod wanted to destroy the world, he also knew how he planned to do it.
“That arrogant soul… You see through everything about me.”
The cult leader Forbinus—no, Kalungod—furrowed his brows as he looked at Glen.
Golden concentric circles layered within his dark crimson eyes glimmered with eerie light.
“Of course.”
It was no different from the original story.
Kalungod, who could not get along with anyone in the heavens, came to harbor uncontrollable hatred toward the upper gods after a certain incident.
He cursed the upper gods, who were stronger than his relatively weak existence.
And he tried to completely erase the faith of the mortal world—something that greatly influenced the power of the upper gods—along with the world itself.
After descending to the mortal realm, Kalungod founded a cult devoted to no one but himself.
And by using their lives and faith, he attempted to break heavenly laws and draw his original power down into the mortal world.
“Descend… Please descend… Please descend… Please descend……”
The lives, souls, and faith of a thousand Black Cult followers screaming beneath the altar of descent.
“That’s the funny part. He created a cult that worships no one other than himself and plays the role of its leader.”
There was nothing more pathetic than a god begging for faith.
But Kalungod seemed willing to accept even that level of humiliation.
“As long as I can carry out my plan without those arrogant beings noticing, I would accept humiliation far worse than this.”
“Well… I guess it’s hard to expect conscience from someone who steals another god’s power and hands it out to his followers like it’s his own.”
Kalungod, the God of Atonement.
That was what the Black Cult called him.
But his true title was not atonement.
It was the god of shadows and theft.
He wandered through the shadows of the world, stealing portions of other gods’ power and bestowing them upon his favored believers.
Those followers who gained such overwhelming abilities were called Prophets.
“Anyway.”
After thinking about his thoughts, Glen raised Einheria and pointed it at Kalungod.
“Let’s end the small talk here.”
Kalungod had already disposed of Opeile, a 9-star demon, just to face him.
That meant he was clearly plotting something, so there was no reason to give him more time.
“…Looks like you don’t intend to talk with me for long. Fine.”
Kalungod lightly rolled his neck and faced Glen.
“Talking with souls after death is much easier than with living humans.”
“You’re going to fight me?”
“That is my intention.”
“I see……”
It was strange.
At best, Kalungod’s current combat power was around 5-star to 6-star.
One of his authorities, Shadow, was still in the hands of the Prophet Chel, so he could not regain the original 9-star power he had in the original story.
Even if he trusted in immortality, a god who descended to the mortal world could still feel pain and lose limbs, making it hardly decisive.
‘Then why is he trying to fight?’
Despite having no advantage, Kalungod looked relaxed, and that made Glen uneasy.
As his thoughts grew tangled, Kalungod provided the answer himself.
Pajijijik—
“…?!”
From within the dark crimson robe Kalungod wore, unidentified black particles spread outward like electric currents.
Shadow.
It was clearly Shadow—the power he was supposed to regain only after Chel’s death.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“Who’s surprised……”
“…Lying before a god, are you?”
Kalungod tilted his head slightly.
“You said you knew everything about me, but it seems you didn’t know this. No wonder……”
He raised one corner of his mouth faintly.
“You were acting so arrogantly.”
With those quiet words, the power of Shadow tore through the ground and surged forward.
“Brother!”
Blessing of the Enchant Saint.
At Ridenhall’s shout, vitality surged through Glen’s entire body.
But it wasn’t enough.
Uuuuuung—
Glen immediately activated the Gray Rings, converting all of them into Holy Rings.
Kwakagagagak—
He kicked off the ground.
Almost at the same time, Shadow arrived and ripped the ground apart where he had stood.
‘I was planning to evade completely.’
Glen bit his lip.
The previous attack had consumed Survivor’s Will, which nullified the first strike.
“A god bestows gifts, yet you reject them so rudely. How impudent… Still, I am a merciful god.”
A quiet voice carried sharp intent.
“I’ll give it to you again. This time, accept it properly.”
Pajijijik—!
Shadow surged once more.
But Glen was suspended in midair after dodging the first attack.
There was no way to evade.
‘Then I’ll block it head-on!’
Clenching his teeth, Glen reinforced his entire body with holy power.
Twisting his waist, he swung Einheria with full force.
The blue blade of Einheria collided with Shadow at a single point, and a shockwave exploded outward.
Kwaaaaaang—
Because he was close to the impact point, Glen was blown far back.
He slid along the ground while regaining his stance, but fortunately suffered no major injuries.
“This keeps getting more surprising.”
Kalungod looked at Glen with clear confusion.
“It’s strange. How did such an ordinary soul withstand my power?”
Even with restrictions, a god’s power should be impossible for a mortal to block.
But Glen could.
More precisely, Einheria could.
And more precisely than that—myth-grade items could.
Einheria was originally a legendary-grade weapon.
But thanks to the Favor of the Blade, which raised its rank, it had now reached myth grade.
“I’ll ask again. What trick did you use?”
Of course, Glen had no obligation to answer.
That answer was his trump card when facing Kalungod.
“Well. Maybe some god who hates you gave me a bit of power.”
“I’ve never seen a mortal this blasphemous toward a god.”
“That’s my line. I never thought I’d see a god who lays hands on mortals. Though… I guess it doesn’t matter if your goal is to destroy the world.”
“…A mere mortal understands even the laws of the heavens?”
Killing intent filled Kalungod’s eyes.
“Your existence is a grave stain upon divine omniscience.”
“Well. If we compare which of us is more blasphemous, it’s obviously you, isn’t it?”
As Glen grinned slyly, the Shadow surrounding Kalungod thickened.
“Your soul, which dares speak lightly of gods, will not be allowed to perish peacefully today.”
“I never spoke lightly of gods.”
The smile vanished from Glen’s face.
A chill filled the air.
