Chapter 311 Onward! To Battle! (2/2)
”... Interesting.”
The giant tree remained silent for a moment. Then He burst into laughter as He spoke, ”This is truly unpredicted.”
The laughter sounded deep and echoed into the surroundings. Father Nature then said, ”I have never thought that, a thousand years after I fled from my homeland and from that battlefield, I will eventually fight side by side with the King of the Searing Soul, the origin of the power of Order!”
He looked at Joshua remorsefully. Father Nature seemed to be looking at the white shadows that were standing in the void a thousand years ago through Joshua.
—Is this right?
—My friend, even though you have left this world, your heart was fixed on saving lives. Does a deserter like me deserve saving?
—If it is fated so, then I shall choose to believe!
Believe your Legacy, believe this human being before me.
”So, Joshua.”
For the first time Father Nature called the name of the warrior with such a formal and serious tone. The branches of Father Nature began to shake. Its will revealed its true form as a god, with a building pressure.
The pressure began to overwhelm the entire world. The mountains that were near to Father Nature were crumbled instantly by the Divine Power and later remoulded by the power of Order. Green lightning flashed across the sky and struck a single spot, forming a mass of blinding light above Joshua's head.
In the middle of that mass of light was the beginning of everything. Beasts ran across the plains. New shoots grew into huge trees as the trees slowly formed a vibrant forest. Thousands of species inhabited that forest as they lived and died. The life cycle was completed and repeated, over and over again.
That was the true nature of the Divine Power, the power of 'existence'. Everything lived for that, and everything were destroyed for that too, just like everything had to live and die, and new lives would replace the dead and restart the cycle again.
”Embrace my power.”
The leaves withered and the branches petrified. The exhausted Father Nature had spoken His mind. The mass of light fell onto the warrior and embedded itself deep into the body of the warrior. A power flowed into the body of Joshua like a tidal wave and enhanced the body of the warrior.
The Divine Power slowly crushed every part of the warrior's body, especially the weakest parts and completely remoulded his entire body. The excruciating pain was far beyond anyone's imagination. Even Joshua had to grit his teeth, his veins strained against the skin on his forehead as he endured the pain. Cold sweat that should be dripping down was dried by the boiling of the Divine Power. His heart pounded loudly. The great power flowed through the veins underneath his skin, causing him to roar. The symbol of a crown on his forehead emitted light until it was brighter than the light of the Divine Power.
With Roland by the side, the Divine Power that was initially moved like waves around the body of Joshua, left the space wrinkled and distorted. But as a blue light flashed across the place, a powerful energy wave resonated into the distance. That energy wave moved beyond this world.
That energy wave even resonated with holy power that was embedded within the body of the holy knight.
*****
Back at the Mycroft Continent.
—Imperial City, the mansion of the Chaos Family.
The blond swordsman quietly trained as hard as he could. His mind was troubled by some thoughts. He lowered his head as he looked at his Dual Blades of Order that gleamed with blinding light. Instantly, his mind thought of the shadow of a black-haired warrior.
So what is he up to this time? Did he get himself into another big mess this time?
As his mind was set upon that, the swordsman sighed. However, letting this thoughts run wild would not help the situation. He slowly calmed himself as he once again focused on improving his strength.
*****
—Distance south, the peak of the Sacred Mountain.
The white-haired pope performed his daily prayers in front of the seven sacred emblems in the deepest part of the great church. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked to his side. His sharp eyes seemed to see through the barriers of the world and right into the other side of the void.
”… An ancient god… has awakened?”
*****
Back on the Illgner Continent.
The radiating light of the Divine Power slowly faded away and was replaced by ripples that looked as dark as ink and as red as blood.
A shape of a man emerged, standing in the void. The power that was so dense that it was compressed into a substance that slowly turned into a wretched-looking armor as tough as steel, covering the body of that man.
Joshua's body was completely surrounded by a layer of blazing Combat Aura—or maybe that was the Divine Power. The eyes beneath the helmet emitted bloody red light. Ashes and sparkles surrounded his body, defying gravity.
Even though his face remained unseen, it could be felt that the warrior was currently smiling.
The power of the gods fused into the Azurite. The power of the King of the Searing Soul enhanced. Because of that, Joshua's soul was also combusting and expanding as well. At the end of it, his soul seemed to have detached itself and made contact with some sort of will that was rooted deep in the universe of everything.
There were boundless worlds in the entire universe. With every passing second, new worlds were born in the light of the first fire while some old worlds were engulfed by the Evil Gods and the Chaos.
But there was one thing that everything including civilizations, worlds, races and any living beings would do. That was the core of everything—fighting.
There would not be any beginning if there was no end. That was a thing that one does at the moment one is born. It is not merely fighting against each other, slaughtering each other. Instead, it carries a much more significant meaning—men were fighting with each other to obtain better days. They fight with the rivals of their love interests as they compete to win the hearts of their love ones. Even every breath and every action is a battle.
Obeying everything means to fall into an eternal sleep.
Hence, people fight. That was the proof of life. That was the symbol of 'existence'.
The violent and unique Divine Power spread into the entire world with the will of the warrior. Be it the holy knight or the surviving elves, or the souls of the divine armaments that were in the weapons, all of them could feel a wave of scorching air spreading and expanding in the world.
Because of that wave, the world's heaven and the place where gods lived, a great existence had also looked at the void.
It seemed that the God of Might and Justice was also fixated on the Illgner Continent and he seemed as if he was recalling the memory of the ancient past. That memory silenced the god as he could not remember when it transcended into a god and when the god of men rose up from the world of men. It remained silent in the void for a very long time. Then, he attempted his first sentence with a soft and familiar voice, ”With the Initial Flame as the vow, the sanction upon the flame of Chaos must be carried out—”
Lifting his Dragon-hunting Gunblade, Joshua pointed the tip of the gunblade towards Chaos that was lingering in the darkness in the crack in the sky. He laughed out loud as he said, ”With the Primordial Steel as the agreement, sanction upon all evil steels!”
In the sky, the Evil God 'Calamity' took a step into this world through the dimensional rift.
Right by the edge of the dimensional crack, the dimension was shattering under the influence of the distorting Chaos. The world shattered and fragments of it scattered fell from the sky like it was raining glass. As the Evil God came into this world with its body that could distort the dark galaxy, under the influence of some sort of power, it gradually turned into a gigantic meteor.
That was the ultimate calamity that brought destruction to many worlds, causing those worlds to perish, never to be reborn.
[Great Stars of Ten Calamities]!
The warrior lifted his head and stared at the fire that could end the worlds.
”Natural calamities will not stop me…
”Even the Evil God will not stop me!”