Chapter 175

The Game Difficulty

Is Crazy

Kugugugugu—

With a thunderous roar, the Altar of Descent shook violently as a whole.

At the same time as the explosion, the demonic energy that formed the sphere spread in all directions.

That demonic energy soon turned into hundreds of blades and began slaughtering the one thousand Black Cultists packed tightly in the lowlands.

“Gyaaaah!”

“Ka, Kalungod siiire—!!”

Agonized screams, like something straight out of hell, rose from below.

However, not a single one of them could survive.

After all, there was no one strong enough to live through the magic of a powerful Seven-Star Witch.

“Ugh… ha… should be good enough now, right?”

Standing in front of the secret passage, Romina stretched lazily as she looked down at their deaths with cold eyes.

• …I want to fight too.

• No. Your attacks won’t work on a god. Instead, do something else.

• Something else?

Suddenly, a conversation with Glen came to mind.

Before the decisive battle with the Black Cult’s leader, Forbinus, he had abruptly ordered her to wait.

And entrusted her with a different task.

• Yeah. It’s the most important job.

As he said that, Glen explained the Kalungod summoning ritual to Romina in detail.

That the cult leader himself was Kalungod.

That the summoning ritual was a ceremony for him to break heavenly law and reclaim his power as a god.

She had been flustered by these stories of a world she knew nothing about, but the sharp and clever Romina quickly understood her role.

• So, while you deal with that lower god, I just wipe out the bugs carrying out the ritual, right?

Looking at Romina as she showed her trademark arrogant smile, Glen gave a faint smile and nodded.

Of course, it wasn’t an easy task.

She had to make sure not even a single fragment of demonic energy leaked out so that the being called a god wouldn’t notice her existence.

And that nearly impossible level of control had to be maintained until the magic capable of wiping out the humans in the lowlands was completed.

But—

“……”

Romina completed her mission.

She erased both her presence and the presence of her magic even from a god.

And in the end, she dropped the completed spell onto the lowlands where one thousand Black Cultists were gathered.

As a result, the one thousand weak cultists who had offered their faith and life force to the god they believed in were all being killed by Romina’s hand, without exception.

‘Honestly, only I could pull this off.’

An ordinary demon couldn’t have done it.

No—normally, even Romina couldn’t.

But the Necklace of Robes that Glen had given her made it possible.

“……”

Clutching the necklace embedded with a red gemstone, Romina looked up toward the altar.

‘Is it going to be okay?’

The power she felt from above the altar—

Two of them were familiar, and the remaining one was unfamiliar and threatening.

And that unfamiliar, threatening power was overwhelmingly stronger than the other two.

• Don’t worry. No matter how strong it is, it’s only Five-Star.

It didn’t look like that at all.

“I’m worried.”

Glen always prepared and responded one step ahead with predictions close to foresight, but at crucial moments, he often ran into situations he hadn’t expected.

He had overcome them well so far, but could that really continue forever?

With those uneasy thoughts, Romina hardened her gaze after completing her mission.

Tap—tap—

Glen had told her to stay put and keep an eye on the captive, Chel, once the mission was done, but this was no time for that.

Right now, what mattered most was joining up as quickly as possible and helping Glen.

‘Just wait a little longer!’

But after only a few steps, Romina realized her concern had not been unfounded.

When she suddenly looked up, the unfamiliar power was rapidly fading away.

“Huh…?”

Romina looked dumbfounded.

It was as if Glen on the altar was asking her why she had ever doubted him.

Romina’s planned contribution.

Because of it, the ritual was interrupted, and Kalungod lost his power.

“Krrrk…! Th-this…!!”

Pat—pazit—

Kalungod, his eyes bloodshot, unleashed the power of shadow in all directions, but its strength had clearly diminished.

He had become the Kalungod Glen knew from the original story.

To be honest, even Glen, who had ordered Romina to act, hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.

‘I didn’t even know he could draw on his power in advance during the ritual.’

In the original story, that wasn’t possible.

If the ritual succeeded, the lower god Kalungod would descend with power rivaling Nine-Star beings.

If it failed, he would simply lose as a Five-Star.

There was no scenario where he borrowed part of his power midway like this.

‘Still, it’s lucky Romina stopped the ritual at such a dangerous moment.’

In many ways, luck had been on their side.

If Kalungod hadn’t been blinded by rage and had kept his composure, he would have detected Romina’s magic.

And if that had happened, the spell massacring the Black Cultists would have been intercepted by Kalungod.

“……If that had happened.”

A hypothetical result was nothing more than a hypothetical.

Kalungod had lost his power.

And Glen was still alive.

“Are you alright, Brother?!”

And by his side stood a Seven-Star Summoner and Enchanter.

That was the only reality facing Glen and Kalungod.

“First, let me heal you—”

As Kalungod raised his hand to perform a miracle of healing—

Glen waved him off and slowly stood up.

“Brother…?”

“It’s fine… just put an enchant… on me.”

There was something he needed to do right now.

Step. Step—

Glen walked forward at a slow pace.

The duration of the Gray Ring had already ended, and after using Wrath of the Overlord twice, his body was in shambles.

Even so, he walked.

He could have left things to Ridenhall, who was still in good condition after using only a bit of holy power—but this was something he wanted to do himself.

“Kh…! My power…!”

Kalungod still refused to accept his situation.

“Hey.”

“……?”

“Did you already forget what I said?”

“What are you talking about now—”

“I told you… you’re not getting a clean death today.”

Kalungod’s dark red eyes boiled with rage.

The power of shadow around him flared violently once more.

“You… you insignificant thing…!”

The lower god advanced.

No—he had become so pitiful that calling him a god no longer felt right.

Step—

The enchantment magic Ridenhall had cast turned into golden particles, strengthening Glen’s body.

It felt better.

Glen adjusted his grip on Einheria.

“Disappear! Be caught in divine wrath and be torn apart soul and all!!”

With a roar, Kalungod sent the power of shadow surging toward Glen.

It rushed in violently.

But seeing how endlessly shabby it had become compared to before, Glen calmly raised Einheria high—

And brought it down.

Paaang—!

Einheria, now a Myth-grade artifact, tore the shadow power apart.

There was nothing left between Kalungod and Glen.

Step—

One step.

Glen moved forward.

“……!”

Kalungod swallowed hard and took a step back.

Glen took another step, and Kalungod retreated again.

“D-don’t… come…!”

Fear settled into his dark red eyes.

A god who once helped shape the world was now backing away in fear of a mortal they themselves had created.

Step—

“How dare… a mortal being… kuhk!”

At a distance close enough to feel each other’s breath—

Glen’s left hand, cold as ice, grabbed Kalungod by the throat.

“Kuhh… ngh!”

A grotesque twisting sound came from his neck, but the god did not die.

Though he had been bound by many restrictions upon descending to the mortal realm, he still possessed immortality.

However, even that absolute authority had a weakness within the RPG game called Gray Eden.

Sching—

Glen raised Einheria.

Then, at an extremely slow pace, he stabbed it into Kalungod’s chest.

The blade tore into flesh.

“Gahh! Aaaaagh—!!”

A divine artifact.

Its graceful and endlessly cold blade cut through a god’s flesh and pierced the heart and soul within.

From the god’s heart, pierced by a human sword, multicolored light burst forth and scattered in all directions.

It looked as though a small planet was exploding.

Fwaaaaash—

“Kraaaaaagh!!”

Starting from the heart, Kalungod’s body glowed and slowly shattered.

Godslaying.

Today, Glen personally killed a restrained lower god.

The expedition force arrived at the Altar of Descent about ten minutes later.

“……”

But all of them were left speechless by the scene before their eyes.

Luceria widened her purple eyes and covered her mouth with her hand.

“Brother… what in the world is this…?”

However, neither Bishop Roderick, who accompanied her, nor anyone else in the expedition dared to speak carelessly.

A half-collapsed cavern.

Countless Black Cultists torn apart brutally and scattered across the lowlands.

Even the altar itself was so destroyed that its original form was unrecognizable.

The cult’s innermost sanctum looked as if a violent storm had passed through it.

“Could it be…”

“Brother Glen!”

Luceria shouted and hurried up the stairs to the altar.

The expedition leaders quickly came to their senses and followed after her.

On the altar, where the Black Cult’s leader should have been, stood two figures.

Wooooong—

A priest whose identity was unknown yet familiar, wrapped head to toe in a white robe.

He was the priest who had been with Glen when he separated from the main force.

He was holding the unconscious Glen in his arms and continuously performing miracles of healing.

“B-Brother!”

Luceria rushed to Glen’s side.

“He’s alive. His condition isn’t good, but his life is not in danger.”

“Is that so? Thank goodness…”

Luceria let out a deep sigh of relief.

Behind her, Cardinal Gracia and Commander Ignat looked calmly at the mysterious priest.

“What happened to the cult leader?”

“Don’t tell me we were too late and he escaped?”

The priest answered.

“You don’t need to worry about that. Cult Leader Forbinus was killed by Sir Glen.”

“……?!”

“Is… is that really true?!”

Half shock, half joy.

It was certainly good news, but it was just as astonishing.

“Wait. Didn’t two more prophets head toward where you were?”

“I defeated them both.”

“…….”

Even Cardinal Gracia, who had maintained a calm expression throughout the expedition, widened his sea-colored eyes in disbelief.

The priest was saying that not only had two people wiped out one thousand cultists, but they had also defeated an Eight-Star-level prophet and the cult leader.

“Just who… are you people?”

Ignat asked, looking back and forth between the priest and Glen with wary eyes.

At that moment, Luceria, who had been checking Glen’s condition, quietly stood up.

“There’s something I need to tell all of you.”

Her eyes, as she looked at Gracia and Ignat, were filled with resolve.

Clatter—

Somewhere unknown.

A glass fell onto a floor paved with transparent, beautiful crystals.

Breaking the silence, a silver-haired sirenne with a sky-blue shimmer raised her head.

“Lord God?”

At the place she looked toward stood a throne made of crystal and mirrors.

Seated there, the God of Crystals and Mirrors, Mirmias, stared into the void with widened eyes.

“……”

“Wh-what’s wrong? Why all of a sudden…?”

Confusion. Joy. Bewilderment. Chaos.

Various emotions crossed his face.

“He’s dead.”

“Dead… you say?”

“Kalungod has been annihilated.”

“…What?”

Mirmias calmed his thoughts.

A god had died.

Not a mere intuition, but certainty.

Gods were aware of one another’s existence. Even if they didn’t know the details, they knew who was alive and who was not.

And just moments ago—

Kalungod, the lower god who governed shadows and theft, and Mirmias’s sworn enemy, had vanished.

‘Who did it…?’

With a serious expression, Mirmias intertwined his fingers and considered the possibilities.

‘Did the heavens punish him for stealing other gods’ power so often?’

Unlikely.

Though rude and ill-mannered, theft itself was Kalungod’s divine domain.

The heavens wouldn’t punish him for stealing a little power.

‘Then did another higher god descend to the mortal realm personally?’

Possible, but no god would willingly give up heavenly authority to descend.

‘Then…’

Just over a month ago—

A span of time that passed in a blink for him—

Mirmias had heard a bold and fascinating story from a human who visited his crystal shrine.

-Have you ever seen a god die at the hands of a mere human, Lord Mirmias?

The human’s name had been Glen Wordsworth.

In exchange for borrowing one of his cherished hand mirrors, the young human had made a vow.

That he would show a lower god, Kalungod, dying at the hands of a mortal human.

At the time, chills had run down his spine.

The story had no chance of being true, yet that human’s soul had not spoken a single lie.

‘What if that young human truly annihilated Kalungod?’

Mirmias’s lips twitched.

-A god killed by a human… I’ve seen gods killed by other gods, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one killed by a being from the lower realm.

-If that were to happen, what do you think would occur?

-Hoh…

The faint smile that had once graced Mirmias’s lips trembled.

Gods do not die.

That was an unchanging law, whether in the heavens or even when bound by restrictions and descended to the mortal realm.

But godslaying.

If that unbelievable act broke the immutable law, what followed would be nothing but chaos.

Gods remaining in the heavens, as well as those descended to the mortal realm, would all face the unprecedented terror of annihilation.

-Soon, they would descend to the lower realm themselves or send their followers to hunt down the godslayer.

-To make sure such an impossible event never happens again.

However, some twisted gods would interfere, delighting in the chaos.

Gods trying to stop the chaos, and gods trying to create more of it for their own amusement.

A true pandemonium.

For lower gods like Mirmias, who didn’t care how things turned out, even that pandemonium would be nothing more than delightful entertainment.

-I admit it. If such a thing were to happen, this dull world would become far more interesting. Quite an intriguing situation.

“Hahaha…”

Of course, he had not yet confirmed the exact truth behind Kalungod’s annihilation.

But for someone who had been wandering this boring world in search of amusement, what could be more interesting than this?

“My beloved Sirenne.”

Mirmias rose from his throne.

“…Why is that?”

“Prepare at once to head to the human kingdoms.”

“Y-Yes?! R-right now? From here?”

From northern Veronia to the land of the demons.

To Sirenne, who had just settled into a new home after traveling for dozens of days, it was like a bolt from the blue.

“Wh-why all of a sudden…?”

She clearly didn’t like it, but as his only follower and high priest, she could not refuse.

Still, she hoped for at least an explanation.

“I want to meet that ash-haired human we met before immediately!”

“……”

It seemed this was just another of her god’s impulsive actions—something that had already become routine.

TO BE CONTINUED....