A divine filled the area as Nuada answered Theo’s call. This was the body that had stood on the battlefield as a symbol of victory. Nuada’s divine power gently revived the heavily wounded masters and healed them to the point where they could battle again. Most legends admired him as a war god, but there were also a few that showed him as a healing god. 𝒃𝙚𝙙𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝒍．𝒆𝒕
The king of the gods wasn’t almighty, but he was close to all-powerful. He protected the fishermen in the sea, healed diseases, and ruled from the sky as a sun god. He had no peer in strength and had an army of followers. In the second battle of Mag Tuired, he had been the guardian who had risked his life to overthrow Crom Cruach.
He spoke to Invidia in a voice filled with dignity.
[You look different from last time, Invader.]
As Theo had guessed, the two beings knew each other. Nuada looked coldly at Invidia, who wore the shape of an old man.
[No, I don’t think a shell means much to you. But the shallow need to take away the power of others to fulfill that desire remains the same.]
Invidia stiffened from the insult.“… Nuada Airgetlám. A forgotten ghost has the pride to insult me?”
Even though Nuada had died, he was the king of the god clan and couldn’t be compared to a simple ghost. However, instead of falling for the provocation, Nuada laughed heartily.
[Huhaha! If I’m a ghost, what are you? You can split into ten thousand pieces, but you still can’t become one by collecting ten thousand pieces.. It has been thousands of years, and you are still walking the wrong path.]
“Don’t talk as if you know everything!”
Theo could sense a deeper meaning in their words, but he lacked the ability to understand the conversation between the godking and the Seven Sins grimoire. However, he could tell that Nuada had won their battle of words, since Invidia was steadily getting more enraged.
Nuada shrugged at the hedgehog-like response
[Well, okay. You haven’t changed your method even after falling a few times. I will praise you for not knowing how to give up.]
As he looked down at his prey, Nuada grinned fiercely.
[This seventh or eighth attempt, I will score it with my sword.]
It literally occurred in an instant.
“―Kuk!”
In that instant, Invidia stepped back as a scar marred its face. Theo couldn’t see the attack or how it was avoided. This was the power of Claimhb Solais. Legends spoke of its ability to produce black flames and emit light. However, this was an absurd remark made by people who had never seen Nuada fight in person.
[Hoh, you only got a light wound? I’ll give you sixty points.]
The essence of Nuada’s sword was that it couldn’t be recognized.
“Light Speed Sword, was it?” Invidia muttered as he barely dodged a serious blow. However, Nuada snorted.
[Zero points. If that’s your only answer, you should give up on your unskilled attempts.]
“What would you know?!” Invidia roared as it slashed at the godking. It had used four Aura Abilities when dealing with Veronica, but it had already combined over ten abilities.
Acceleration, Enhancement, Special Talent, Operating System, Discharge…
All types of Aura Abilities came together, distorting the space around the blade. The output alone had exceeded a grandmaster. Aura Abilities weren’t just cumulative. If the abilities synergized, it could even produce four, even ten times the sum of their parts. In a few cases, the synergy of the Aura Abilities was multiplied by a factor of sixteen.
The ability of the 6th stage, to combine all abilities to the maximum, was now being used to its fullest potential, producing a dimensional interference that could only be seen from ancient dragons. This power was undoubtedly the domain of the transcendents.
“Insignificant personification, go back to where you came from!”
Invidia’s sword crushed the construct of time and space.
Sixteen Compound Hidden Technique. Six Paths to Kill a God. World Breaking Emperor Strike.
It had extracted the essence of swordsmanship from dozens of sword masters, and combined sixteen synergistic abilities. Theoretically, it could separate the walls of the dimension…
[A shell of a swordsmanship with no depth…]
Nuada looked at the fearsome swirl of power, evaluating it mockingly.
[It really is useless.]
The god sword flashed once again.
“… Kuheook?” Blood flowed from Invidia’s arms, legs, and body as it rolled on the ground in an unsightly manner. World Breaking Emperor Strike… A technique with such a powerful name had crumbled with a single flash of light.
There was a huge difference in visible power, like comparing a mountain to a grain of sand, or a lake to the sea. It had seemed like Invidia who had been the one on the verge of overpowering his opponent, but what was this ridiculous result?
[Hmm, I tried to kill you, but you survived. Is it due to the extra power you put in your defensive abilities?]
According to Nuada, Invidia had just barely survived a fatal blow.
“You… you, you, youuuuuu―!!”
Invidia’s broken ribs and torn lungs were recovering at a rapid rate. The exposed bones from his right collarbone to his left hip were rapidly covered by flesh. Adamantine Might, Immutability, Restoration, Joining… Countless Aura Abilities had barely protected his body.
However, Invidia’s pride had been torn to shreds. It had been a long time since he had been forced to such dire straits. If he had been Pride, he might have died from shame.
A dull madness filled Invidia’s eyes. “You died, forgotten god who is a ghost!”
[Ah, thank you for reminding me, Invader.]
The godking nodded lightly.
[If this was my divine body, you would be dead already.]
***
Kwarururung!
The sky was torn asunder. It wasn’t an exaggeration. They could see the black universe in the sky, peeking out from the rents high in the sky. It was evidence that a thousand kilometers of the atmosphere had been destroyed. It hadn’t been the aim, but simply the aftermath.
A sword that could cut down a mountain? The capturing of a fortress? Such feats weren’t even worth telling under that eerie sky.
“Hey. Was I fighting with that guy up there?” Veronica had recovered enough to look up at the sky, where two colored beams were colliding.
Her body was a mess, and their movements were too fast for her to even catch afterimages. She had no confidence in blocking even three attacks in her draconic state. Evasion was simply out of the question. When she thought about it now, she truly had been reckless.
“… Invidia didn’t think of this as a fight from the beginning,” Theo replied as he worked on reattaching Edwin’s left arm while hastily bandaging Ellaim’s neck.
Thanks to Nuada’s power, there was no need to worry about any life and death injuries. However, half the masters couldn’t fight anymore. Theo’s potions had healed Randolph’s arms, but the two elves were severely wounded. Orta was in the best state, but he had already been knocked out once, and his space magic was no threat to Invidia.
No, everyone is helpless in this situation.
The masters realized it when watching the battle between Nuada and Invidia. They couldn’t get involved in this fight. Blundell’s Time Stop had only lasted a few seconds, and Veronica’s rampage seemed like child’s play. The only role left for them was to wish for Nuada’s victory.
“White Tower Master,” Theo said, making the best decision he could, “Take the Blue Tower Master’s body and the two elves out of here. If Nuada wins, we will follow after you. However, you must be prepared for the worst.”
Orta looked uncomfortable. “In other words… I am running away alone?”
“Yes.” Theo ignored Orta’s uncomfortable expression as he looked at the people around him. “I would like the other two to go with you as well, but… they don’t look like they will go.”
Randolph scoffed. “Of course! How can I leave you alone?”
Veronica sniffed. “Do I look that unsightly? Besides, that son of a bitch will just chase after me to kill me. It will only be delayed a few minutes if I run away.”
They were already prepared to die. Theo looked at his two smiling companions and gave up on persuading them.
Orta remained silent for a moment before eventually nodding. “… Be sure to come back alive. Red Tower Master and Sir Randolph as well.”
Veronica leered up at him. “Ohh! Who knew you could say such sentimental things?”
Randolph grinned. “Let’s have a drink when we return.”
After fixing his mask, Orta picked up Blundell’s body and laid it beside the elf guardians. It didn’t move. He looked so calm. Orta froze for a moment as he gazed at Blundell, who seemed to be asleep, before acting again.
Flash!
There was a bright light, and only three people remained.
“Okay, so which one’s on our side?” Randolph looked up at the beams of light in the sky that were violently crashing into each other.
Theo said quietly, “The silver light is probably Nuada.”
Randolph and Veronica gazed at the silver light in the sky. The universe visible beyond the torn apart sky, the starry sky in daylight, was spectacular. The two rays of light facing each other against that backdrop looked like fireworks at festivals.
Nuada’s silver glow and Invidia’s blood red light…
Theo, Randolph, and Veronica couldn’t see the fight, but most of the light filling the sky was silver. Sometimes, a bloody vortex burst out, but it always disappeared as the silver glow grew stronger. It was clear who had the initiative.
Veronica had the same thought as Theo. “It seems like that guy called Nuada is dominating. What do you think?”
“I had a similar thought, but we still don’t know.”
That’s right. They didn’t know yet.
Nuada called Invidia ‘Invader’.
The Seven Sins grimoire was battling a god from the Age of Mythology. Theo couldn’t forget that Nuada had accepted the summoning due to personal emotions. It meant that the grimoire was an enemy of the gods, similar to the demons.
However, unlike the gods and demons, who no longer remained in this era, the Seven Sins were still active. In some way, they had surpassed both the gods and demons. Invidia had been active for five hundred years, so it wouldn’t be strange if he had something hidden up his sleeve.
He wasn’t an opponent that Theo could relax against until the very end.