Apostle of the Goddess of War

Chapter 175

Ch.175 Apostle of the Goddess of War

Malicious slander stabbed Sion's brain like fangs. His head throbbed, and it felt as if his brain was melting.

Blood flowed from Sion's eyes, nose, and mouth. The amount of fluid was far greater than usual. Serine must have played a nasty trick.

"Shut… up."

[Your desperate denial is pitiful.]

"I don't believe your words."

[Even if you don't believe, the truth does not change.]

The air was cold. Serine, glaring at Sion, radiated a fierce aura as if determined to devour him.

[Achille has been plotting since long ago to become the Supreme Goddess. She merely used me as an excuse.]

Sion's body staggered. Every time her voice pierced his mind, it was hard to maintain consciousness.

It felt like being submerged in water while hearing the dangerous song of a siren.

[Achille is a bad god who loves violence and enjoys slaughter. She doesn't govern 'War' for nothing.]

"……"

[Isn't that so? Weren't you born having lost your family to war?]

It was a wicked whisper. Sion no longer had the will to listen to Serine's words.

"I don't know exactly why you became this way…."

Thud.

Sion stabbed his sword into his own temple. His eyeballs moved on their own.

[Huh?]

Serine's expression distorted for the first time. It was a bizarre action she could never have imagined.

"Ugh, ugh. Heh-heh."

Sion laughed grotesquely. His facial muscles twitched uncontrollably as the sword pierced his brain. Cognitive functions were failing.

[Blocking my mental interference by destroying your own brain? Are you insane?]

Regardless of whether Serine threatened or scolded, Sion continued to dig the blade embedded in his head.

[How long do you think you can endure with such a foolish countermeasure? I just need to continue.]

Serine regained her composure and sneered. She stretched both hands forward and continued to torment Sion. She intended to dig in the moment a gap appeared and finish him off.

"Agh, g-g-g-g."

Sion's teeth chattered as if shivering from cold. Serine wore a smile of conviction.

[See? It's over now.]

Serine's eyes widened suddenly. A blue light shot out chillingly.

[Ugh?]

At that moment, Serine's head snapped backward. Her neck twisted unnaturally, and black blood flowed from her nose.

[Magoth?]

Serine's body writhed as if dancing.

Darkness attacked the interior of the Goddess of Water.

[You, how?]

Serine kept talking to herself in mid-air. However, her body did not move as she wished.

Pitch-black shadows rose from the ground and began to tightly bind Serine's body.

Crack. Crack.

Sion slowly pulled out the sword he had driven into his head.

Achille, terrified, immediately used her power of regeneration for Sion. Emily and Menesia also stayed close to assist with regeneration.

[Even though you are my apostle, what you just did was truly….]

Achille clicked her tongue. Sion's impulsive action was that shocking.

'I thought mental attacks could be blocked by destroying the brain.'

[Haha.]

When Sion answered casually, the Goddesses were horrified. Even the Goddess of Abundance, who had been scanning the battlefield from behind, covered her mouth.

It was a great war hanging on the fate of the world. All Goddesses and Evil Gods existing on this land watched Sion's power, bravery, and madness.

They now fully accepted the reason Eru had chosen him. Even the Goddesses were frightened by Sion's fearless act.

Screeech.

Sion raised his sword. It was the Corruption Sword.

It was time to bring back the Goddess who had truly corrupted, or perhaps gone mad.

'It's the chance Lady Magoth created for me.'

Sion walked toward Serine. Serine continued to laugh maniacally and insult Magoth.

[I knew you had sinister intentions, but I never thought you would submit to Achille! Aha-ha-ha! Aren't you ashamed—]

Slash!

Sion slashed Serine's neck.

Like a lie, the Goddess of Water's head fell to the ground. A sound like dropping wet cloth echoed—Splat.

Indeed, Serine's head melted away like water. Her substance vanished in an instant.

Serine's remaining body slowly merged with the shadows. It became like a withered tree. It seemed the darkness had sucked up the moisture.

"Haa…."

Sion took a deep breath. His head throbbed, and he felt a loss of strength throughout his body. It felt as though there was no more firewood of life left to burn.

[You've fought tremendous battles consecutively. It's natural to be exhausted.]

Achille also understood Sion's condition. Even to a Goddess, Sion's state was not good. If he moved further, even his soul would shatter.

Damage to body, mind, and soul had accumulated severely.

'Can I lie down for a bit?'

Sion asked as he already began to lie down. Achille readily agreed. A smile spread across her lips.

She had finally found the strongest sword she had searched for so desperately. He was a perfect apostle in every aspect, not just strength.

Sion ended the war that felt eternal. It was the epic of a great hero.

[If there is a human greater than a Goddess, it must be that child.]

Menesia murmured softly. Even the proud Goddess of Wisdom admitted it. No one objected to these words.

Grind.

"Hm?"

[Huh?]

Sion, Achille, and all the Goddesses watching this fight reacted with a start.

An immensely powerful aura, enough to make the Goddesses wary, emerged. It grew in size like a flame from a single point.

[This is…?]

The Goddesses murmured.

It was a presence they could not fail to recognize.

The red sky receded, and light scattered across the world. Simultaneously, Eru's energy returned.

[Eru?]

Achille muttered.

Eru was felt from Serine's frozen body. All Goddesses were agitated.

They could not take their eyes off that spot.

Sion was the same. He raised his lying body and approached Serine's headless corpse.

"A child?"

Serine's body was empty. The flesh, muscles, bones, and organs that should have been there did not exist. Even if sucked into darkness, bones should have remained normally.

Yet inside, a small child was curled up.

The child radiated brilliance from its entire body. Words like 'holy' were insufficient to express the child.

[Sion, what is it?]

'It's a child. It's sleeping….'

[Do not touch it.]

'Huh?'

At that moment, the child opened its eyes. Pupils containing rainbows and the Milky Way narrowed.

Snap.

Sion's consciousness stopped upon making eye contact. The child stood up. It dug through the body with its small hands and popped out.

The child looked around without saying a word.

A pillar of light fell from the sky, illuminating the child.

The Goddesses' hearts pounded.

That feeling, that presence.

Divine Power waving around the child.

There was no way not to know.

[Has Eru revived?]

One Goddess cried out as if sobbing. It was a voice reuniting with a longed-for one.

All Goddesses felt the same.

However, Achille was calm.

[That is not Eru.]

Achille finally rose from her throne. This was beyond what Sion could resolve.

Whoosh.

Achille summoned the War Sword and flew. She reached the child instantly and faced it.

[You who are similar to Eru but not Eru. Who are you?]

The child gazed at Achille with shining pupils.

They were beautiful and auspicious eyes that could captivate even Achille.

And Achille knew these eyes.

They were definitely Eru's.

The child moved its small lips. A thought resonating to the soul was transmitted.

::I am the legacy left by the world.::

[What?]

::I am a pure crystal born after filtering out only what is necessary to rule the world.::

Achille's under-eye trembled. Something was strange.

::Eru's thought to rule the world well flowed into Serine, and within her, I saw and felt unnecessary things.::

[……]

::Through repeated refinement, I have become the true Supreme Goddess and descended upon this land.::

Achille gripped the War Sword tightly.

[So, the conclusion?]

::Humans and Goddesses are not needed.::

[What did you say?]

Achille twisted the corner of her mouth. The Goddesses listening also gasped.

The joy of Eru's return was fleeting. The dream shattered vainly. Light had not returned; rather, a sun too large had risen.

::For imperfect existences, merely remaining is an impurity. In that sense, Goddesses were imperfect, and humans born from such existences are mere byproducts of the entity called 'Goddess.' Their value of existence is infinitely close to zero.::

The child lifted its head. Beautiful pupils were now terrifying. Even the source souls composing the Goddesses grew cold.

It was fear Achille experienced for the first time. She had never felt this even when seeing Eru or Magoth.

It was an existence above a Goddess. Even Achille felt the difference in dimension. If she fought recklessly, she would die.

Rustle, rustle.

Tremendous energy waves began to burst from the child. Even Achille found it hard to stand still. It was an energy wave that tore apart existence itself.

::Building a barrier is useless. If I wish, I can slice your soul with a mere flick of a finger.::

[Then! What are you trying to do?]

Booooom!

The energy waves grew fiercer. Centered on the child, the ground began to sink and crack.

::I will erase this star.::

[You speak madness!]

::This is the correct answer.::

[But then you will die too?]

The child answered without any agitation.

::Because I descended for that purpose.::

[What nonsense…!]

Achille was deeply agitated. She had never imagined a future where existence itself was denied and everything removed.

Even Magoth or Serine only tried to start in different ways.

[Stop immediately!]

Slash!

Achille swung the War Sword. The child's body split in half and then reattached.

::Don't waste your strength. Quietly accept extinction. Do you even have a reason to struggle and live in a world of endless suffering? If you find an answer, I will stop. An answer I can accept.::

[Damn it! Dammit! Everyone attack! We must kill it now!]

Achille appealed to the Goddesses.

Goddesses rushing forward and Goddesses screaming coexisted. Some Goddesses collapsed mentally facing an unprecedented crisis.

Boom, Booooom!

A massive energy explosion covering Elim occurred.

However, the child could not be erased. The child was the world's thought, will, and the harbinger of end sent by the universe.

An existence superior to Goddesses decided on extinction. They could only be infinitely powerless.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

Everything centered on the child began to break apart. Land and sea, rocks and magma underground, everything collapsed.

Centered on the child, the world disappears.

Achille evacuated with Sion and the believers of Elim. Other Goddesses did the same.

They took everything they could save and fled to the place farthest from the child.

Humans and Goddesses alike could only hold their breath and watch the end of the world.

Beyond the horizon, mountain ranges were torn away whole, and huge holes formed in the sea until all water disappeared, watching as if dreaming of a natural disaster.

***

"Brother, wake up."

Sion woke up groggily and lifted his eyelids.

The familiar faces of his younger siblings were visible along with the ceiling. It was the interior of the southern Temple of Fire that Sion had half-destroyed.

"Hmm."

"Brother. We said we'd go to the sea today."

"Let's catch fish, big brother."

"It would taste good if we grill them?"

"But Sister Ruina can't cook. I want to eat what Brother Sion makes."

"You, getting scolded?"

Sion shed tears without realizing it.

This reality, enjoying daily life with his siblings for the last time, felt like a dream.

"How many days have passed today?"

Ruina answered immediately.

"Exactly one week has passed."

One week since the end of the world began.

The last of humanity was living their daily lives powerlessly.