Chapter 250
The Paradise War.
It was the final main scenario of the original story, where the gods of Symposion, divided into two factions under Minis and Nox, would wage an all-out war on the surface world.
In the original story, this happened around the time Heaven's intervention began to intensify.
This event was, quite literally, an all-out war.
It was completely different from the current situation, where the gods used Avatars bound by contracts to minimize their intervention in the surface world.
When that time came, Symposion, which existed in Heaven, would manifest itself on the surface.
The gods residing there would appear with half of their divine authority and power, destroying the surface world while fighting fiercely against one another.
The surface-dwellers caught up in the chaos would fall into confusion regardless of whether they were humans, demons, or monsters, desperately struggling to survive.
The protagonist, who had been chosen as a playable character, would reduce the chaos by eliminating the relatively weaker lower-ranking gods one by one.
Amidst that hellish situation, Mors, the god of Harmony and Fusion, would absorb Minis and Nox and awaken as the final boss.
The protagonist would then use all the stats, skills, artifacts, and companions he had gathered until then to defeat Mors, an existence close to bringing about the end of the world.
Honestly, I want to stop it if possible because the surface world gets completely destroyed.
Glenn, as a being of the surface world, had no way to prevent Symposion itself from manifesting on the surface.
In the end, all he could do was gather as much power and as many artifacts as possible for the Paradise War and make his companions stronger.
Of course, that's only if things proceed according to the original story.
At this point, there were no particular variables suggesting that the story would develop differently from the original.
Therefore, there was a high chance everything would proceed according to the original plot.
The only real variable was that Minis, who had never yielded even an inch to Nox in the original story, was now obediently trying to destroy Glenn.
At first glance, it might look as though the ally who had protected him was losing something.
But there was little meaning in that, considering that the goddess was the type to scheme sinister things while wearing the brightest smile.
She's not the kind of woman who would give up on me easily.
In any case, since Heaven's movements had not changed significantly from the original story, Glenn needed to prepare for Heaven's intervention and the Paradise War that would follow.
Then, what should he prepare to fight the gods who were no longer restricted?
There were many methods.
But the simplest and easiest one was a Mythical-grade artifact.
With one of those, I can at least make the fight possible somehow.
The reason the gods of Symposion were overwhelmingly powerful in the original story was because they never became tired no matter how much power they used, and they could not be killed by weapons from the surface world.
In other words, the greatest advantages possessed by the heavenly gods were not some fundamental power.
Rather, it was their mental strength that allowed them to use any amount of power without becoming exhausted, and bodies that could not be killed by anything from the surface world.
*Their firepower isn't overwhelmingly high enough to be impossible to handle.
The problem is simply that there's no way to kill them.*
They possessed an ability to manipulate powers close to their fundamental origins, bodies that neither died nor became tired, and divine eyes capable of seeing through the essence of things.
Even if they were not truly omnipotent, there was more than enough reason to call them gods.
However, the highest-grade artifacts in the original story could perform miracles known as mythology, just as their name suggested.
It was similar to how Einheria, who had been blessed by Glenn's unique innate potential, Favor of Blades, had risen from Legendary-grade to Mythical-grade and killed the lower-ranking god Kalungod.
*And they'll lose half of their power and divine authority in the process of manifesting Symposion on the surface.
So they'll be more than beatable.*
Therefore, what Glenn wanted to do from now on was collect the Mythical-grade artifacts scattered throughout the continent.
Then he would equip each member of his party with them and lead the Paradise War according to his own plans.
I can do it.
Glenn clenched his fist tightly.
He had already gained the upper hand against a Demon King who had transcended the concept of the rings.
Unless something as absurd as the descending gods manifesting with their full power and divine authority happened, his plan had a high chance of succeeding.
……Ah, surely thinking something like this won't bring me bad luck.
Of course, Glenn did not explain everything he had thought through to his party members.
The only thing he explained was that they needed to collect Mythical-grade artifacts as quickly as possible.
There was no need to burden them with a long explanation about Heaven and the gods, their overwhelming strength, or the fact that Mythical-grade artifacts were the only means of killing them.
No.
If he told them, it would only cause enormous confusion.
An absolutely massive amount of confusion.
This world was sustained by the faith of gods and their worshippers.
Except for a few unusual cases, most people would not even have the opportunity to see a god before the Paradise War event occurred.
They simply prayed to their gods in silence and offered their faith.
But what would happen if he told such devout believers that dozens of gods would soon descend to the surface world and that those gods were beings they would eventually have to defeat?
*And if I tell these people that I'm going to bring down not only Nox but also Minis……?
They'd go completely insane.*
Romina had almost no faith in the gods, and Luceria was gradually losing her faith, so they were one thing.
But Tris and Ridenhall, who were still devout followers of Minis, and Penelope, who believed in Nox, would fall into tremendous confusion.
No matter how much they followed and trusted Glenn, their faith was the center of their lives.
They would not be able to escape that confusion easily.
Especially Ridenhall.
It had only been yesterday that Glenn had comforted him by telling him that the heart mattered more than the form of one's faith.
And then what if he suddenly told him:
*Actually, Minis is a crazy woman who desperately wants to become the world's only god.
She's constantly looking for opportunities to pull dirty tricks.*
Would Ridenhall be able to endure that?
I'd be happy if he didn't label me a heretic or commit suicide.
Of course, Ridenhall would eventually have to accept the truth.
So Glenn planned to subtly drop hints to him throughout their missions.
But he had absolutely no intention of making him learn the truth right now.
For now, Glenn simply described the heavenly gods as another enemy that would appear soon.
“Beings that cannot be killed by ordinary weapons……
I cannot allow such monstrous creatures to trample this land.
To repay Brother for teaching me the proper way of faith, I will go anywhere!”
Of course, thanks to this, Glenn got to see Ridenhall blaspheme against Minis, whom he had devoted his entire life to, by calling her a monstrous creature.
Imagining how that bright-faced skeleton would despair in the future made Glenn feel heavy-hearted, so he quietly looked away.
“By the way, I can't even imagine artifacts more incredible than Glenn's sword.”
Perhaps thinking about the Mythical-grade artifacts, Tris touched her lips.
“They are artifacts that can transcend legends and reach the realm of mythology.
If we have the opportunity, I'll try to find one for you too, Sister.”
“No, it's okay.
It would be better for someone else to use it rather than me.”
Tris smiled bitterly as she swallowed her disappointment.
It seemed to bother her that she could not stay by her younger brother's side.
At the age of twenty-three, she was a genius who would soon weave her seventh ring.
But the beings around her were simply too far beyond the ordinary.
“……Don't worry, Young Lady.
I'll take responsibility for him and bring him back safely.”
“I must atone for the sins I committed against you and the Wordsworth family.
So I will do everything in my power to help you, Elder Glenn.”
“Romina… Miss Penelope.
Yes.
Please take good care of my brother.”
Romina encouraged Tris.
Even Penelope, who had never viewed humans favorably, was treating her so warmly simply because she was Glenn's older sister.
“Haha… What a heartwarming scene.
But there's a problem.”
Glenn's troubled voice cut through the warm atmosphere.
“I'm going separately.”
“……What?
E-Elder?”
“What…… do you mean, Glenn?”
“Don't tell me…… again?”
“It may sound obvious, but there isn't just one Mythical artifact.”
There were a total of ten Mythical-grade artifacts that Glenn planned to collect.
Glenn intended to acquire every single one of them as quickly as possible.
**“We'll split into three groups.
Of course, I'll go alone.”**
Amid the stunned gazes around him, Glenn stubbornly continued what he had to say.
Step.
Step.
The cold air brushed against her skin.
At that unpleasant sensation, the Variable and Unknown God, Sipherinne, shrank back.
However, the pure-white goddess walking ahead of her did not show even the slightest sign of unease.
“Um…… Minis……”
“Hmm?
Why?”
“Why did you bring me here?”
Her silver-gray eyes trembled anxiously as she cautiously looked up at the other woman.
The goddess who governed light and the sun, Minis, turned around.
She wore a benevolent smile.
But Sipherinne could feel the overwhelming presence hidden behind it.
“Hm?
