Chapter 2401 (1/2)

If he were a hu unconscious, with his eyes rolling back into his head and foa from his mouth

… But to the eyes of a hu ht, so none would be able to tell whether he was unconscious or sirace was clear to see for the eyes of familiar spirits

“So, Gods can lose consciousness as well… That's surprising,” raceful state… Rodcorte

“He probably pushed himself past his limits in various ways Three of his familiar spirits, even if they were just humanoid ones created with his own Mana, as well as four reincarnated individuals with his divine protection,” said Izumi

“The fact that he changed Jobseffect as well Just what kind of Job did he choose… Well, it's good that he ht have been the one fainting if he just continued screa like that,” muttered Kouya

The three of the their ears

Of course, the three faels, did not truly have ears

They had simply covered their ears out of the habit that had remained from when they were humans

“He looked fine the last time… when the 'Death Scythe' Konoe Miyaji's soul was broken here Is that because it happened before he was reincarnated?” Aran wondered

Murakain at around the same time Konoe Miyaji had tried to attack Vandalieu from the Divine Realm, and his soul had been destroyed by Vandalieu's counterattack

“You should ask Rodcorte yourself… or so I'd like to tell you, but it doesn't look like he'll co, but it ht not have felt any pain when his soul was destroyed because it was before he was given new divine protections and reincarnated”

The other possibility was that Rodcorte had indeed felt pain and si his current state, it see was impossible for him

Rodcorte had let out a loud scream when Misa's soul was devoured It had not been the screa pain – and an agonizing pain, at that

“The 'Gungnir' Kaidou Kanata's soul was broken after he was reincarnated What about him?” asked Izumi

“That's another thing ouldn't knoithout asking Rodcorte hiony, or he'd made preparations for the possibility that Kanata's soul would be broken I wonder which it is,” said Kouya

“So that means that Rodcorte is currently unconscious because he was expecting Murakahed

Rodcorte had given Murakami and his companions three familiar spirits created with his own Mana for use with 'Fanir' and 'Death Scythe,' repaired for Murakaiven them the ability to kill themselves if needed in the worst-case scenario

In addition to that, he had provided thees He had gone to considerably extensive lengths and spared nothing

Considering that, Izu that Rodcorte had placed a lot of hope in Murakami

And it was likely that the suicide mechanisms Rodcorte had placed in the three of the the pain that would co with his divine protections and fa him to lose consciousness

Izumi and the others did not knohether the destruction of the soul of Hajime Fitun, which had been absorbed by the God of thunderclouds Fitun, had also affected Rodcorte Rodcorte had already been unconscious at that point

“Well then, what should we do? I'll be putting together a suroup and Mao,” said Aran

“I understand infor all fired up with soe sense of justice?” said Izumi, apprehensive about this idea

Asagi felt indignation at the fact that Vandalieu broke souls… and the fact that he devoured the rash in his desire to stop Vandalieu, succue sense of justice and duty

“Well, I think that's possible, but… even if we stay silent, Asagi's group will probably find out that Vandalieu's gone and done so,” said Aran

“Ah, you're right Fitun's statues are cracking and falling apart across the whole continent,” said Izumi

There had already been numerous incidents in which the statues of wounded Gods would become cracked or bleed from the eyes But in this case, a God himself had died

The effect of this event had not stopped in the Alcrem Duchy in which the city of Morksi was located; it had spread across the entire Bahn Gaia continent and even beyond, to statues on other continents

Naturally, it had also spread to the Birgitt Duchy where Asagi and his companions were Fitun was not particularly widely worshi+pped in the Birgitt Duchy, and there were few statues of hi that would be overlooked by Asagi's group

With that being the case, it wasn't difficult to iine that they would wonder whether Vandalieu was involved

“I suppose you're right In that case, it would be best to give them clear details as fast as possible,” said Izumi

“And I feel bad for saying this, but the ones ere killed are Murakai won't be happy about it, but it won't be enough to ht towards Vandalieu,” Kouya added

Murakai and Kouya, these four had been people from the same school, and individuals who had shared their fate of reincarnation They had also been allies in the Bravers

But they had betrayed Asagi and Kouya, and Aran and Izuh they were all reincarnated individuals, the relationshi+p between the familiar spirits and the reincarnated individuals who had been destroyed was close to being enemies

Even the hot-blooded Asagi wouldn't lose his cool over such people being devoured

Kouya felt alh he wouldn't say that it had served thein

He felt pity for theer towards Vandalieu In fact, Kouya felt apologetic towards Vandalieu for the fact that he was the one who had been forced to clean up Kouya's betrayers

Kouya had perhaps unconsciously considered that Murakah their deaths in Origin

And Kanako, Doug and Melissa, ere supposed to have been allies of Muraka about it too deeply would make Kouya question himself

But whose idea was that 'transformation?' Was it Kanako, after all? If that's the case, Vandalieu ht, but he quickly put these matters that he had no answers to aside for now

“In any case, as long as we tell Asagi and the others what Hajime and that Fitun God did as well, he'll understand that Vandalieu didn't devour their souls unreasonably,” he concluded

“Yeah, I'll make sure to explain that in detail… Co to do about Gotouta now that she's left Murakaroup as well?” asked Aran

“Let's tell Asagi and the others that the 'Super Sense' left Murakaet involved with Vandalieu any him where she is; they'd never meet, since she's left the Bahn Gaia continent,” said Kouya

“What e do after that?” asked Izumi

Aran and Kouya looked around at their surroundings

Recent events would likely cause awith Alda and his forces, and the treatar hadn't finished yet

It seemed that the 'Avalon' Rikudou Hijiri had made a in as well

“We won't do anything in particular,” said Aran

“Just our usual duties,” said Kouya

There was nothing that the fa with Alda and his forces would be Rodcorte, and they were unable to leave this Divine Real about the treatar's soul, either

… It would be possible for them to interfere with the treatment, but it would certainly be discovered by Rodcorte if they did, so it was effectively impossible

The fain; they could not offer any concrete for watched by so like a clone of Vandalieu's They would probably be fine as long as nothing too drastic happened

And if they paid too much attention to the children, it was possible that Rodcorte would become aware of the existence of Vandalieu's clone – Banda

Incidentally, it was also impossible to kill Rodcorte while he was unconscious The three of them were merely familiar spirits; they were unable to harm him The moment they tried, their bodies would become completely immobile, as if turned to stone

“Yes, let's do that,” Izureed

They would co the circle of trans the and nothing was out of the ordinary at all

The forces of Alda, the God of law and fate, had gathered in his Divine Reale fuss inside, as if someone had opened a beehive

“That God of war – the God of thunderclouds Fitun-dono, as said to have been able to defeat nu's army if he were just blessed with the opportunity – was devoured?!” one God shouted

“Fitun-dono physically incarnated upon the world, leading e of… and they were all exter, but they did not even defeat a single one of his subordinates All of the heroic spirits and Rodcorte's reincarnated individuals had their souls devoured… Is this reality?!” said another God in complete astonishment at Fitun's defeat

“Ienerate even with his head, his brain, cut al Guduranis's movements slohen his head ounded; what in the world is he?! Will he not die unless body is pulverized, burned to ash and then scattered across the world?!” a third God screamed

“Putting aside the fact that he has no weak spots… Just what is he?! Even without using the technique that ainst the 'Blue-flaeon and destroyed Curatos-dono – without using his full power – he destroyed Fitun-dono!”his head in fear of Vandalieu's immortality and the power he possessed

“To devour the heroic spirits before Fitun-dono's very eyes…! Even if it was to strike fear into him and affect his mind, what a repulsive method!” another God said in criticism of what Vandalieu had done to mentally corner Hajime Fitun

“Fitun-dono looked to be in real pain as his heroic spirits' souls were devoured Can we assume that this is because he had bestowed sothen either the heroic spirits or their vessels directly…? Or was it the effect of so's?”to analyze the situation perhaps in an atteain some composure

This analysis was largely useless however, with its frequent use of 'some kind of'

“Vandalieu's subordinates are a problem Undead, monsters, Vaht against physical incarnations of heroic spirits With such subordinates at the De's disposal, any ill-prepared force we send will certainly be swept away before they can even reach the De,” one God continued

“But even if you say that, what can we do? If the De returns to the other side of the Boundary Mountain Range, defeating him will become a truly hopeless prospect! We do, they will put up no resistance and simply die in vain…” another murmured in fear of Vandalieu's powerful subordinates

“Everything is strange to begin with What are they? I can understand the Vampires There are precedents of noble-born Va Rank 13 I have heard that the ancestor of the Ghouls was the twin of the ancestor of the Vampires, so they likely had latent potential And I can understand the carefully raised Undead specinated as disasters But why is there a Skeleton who can slay a heroic spirit in a single strike, even if he had not undergone 'Heroic Spirit Transformation' at the time?! And why is there a plant-type e that is able to travel between ordinary space and another dimension?! How are such subordinates even created?!” a third shouted, bewildered by the existence of Bone Man, Eisen, the Ghosts, and Sam

“The fact that he is powerful and defeating hi that we already knew! Theis his mother! She has Vida's divine protection and is respected by the city's people as a 'Holy Woth!” another God pointed out

“Indeed She has no influence outside of the city of Morksi and its surroundings yet, but at this rate, it doreed another, fearing Darcia's religious influence and its imminent spread across the land

“The reincarnated individuals that Rodcorte was so proud of a more than this… Is his help not unneeded after all?” another Godup the issue of their cooperative relationshi+p with Rodcorte

This question sparked talk about the usefulness of the reincarnated individuals

“That is a hasty judgh Fitun-dono was defeated, he was only able to corner the De as far as he did because he had incarnated within a reincarnated individual, was he not?”

“But in the end, because of that same reincarnated individual, Fitun-dono met that pitiful end that we all witnessed”

There were ed to Alda's forces Thus, this was not an orderly discussion of recent events; it was a disordered clashi+ng of differing opinions

That was how reat shock Fitun's complete defeat had inflicted upon the Gods

Several months after Hajime's reincarnation in Lambda, Fitun had slipped out of his Divine Realm, left Alda's forces and acted as he pleased with no heed for the opinions of others

Alda had given up on convincing Fitun to return, but he had left Fitun to his own devices with the expectation that he would be able to produce some results when he faced Vandalieu and his allies At that point in tiht that it would be difficult for Fitun to defeat Vandalieu

Vandalieu was the De that succeeded Guduranis, who had been capable of destroying even the great Gods It had seele God would be able to defeat such a foe

But he would produce so's subordinates, and even if he did not take the De's life, he should at least be able to succeed in wounding hi his soul devoured

The Gods had expected at least this much from Fitun

The God of records Curatos, who had been destroyed by Vandalieu, had been a close advisor of Alda's and held an important position However, he was unskilled in combat and was not supposed to be on the front line of battle

Hihiryushukaka, the evil God of joyful life, had been one of the top-class evil Gods a a Pure-breed Vampire as his physical vessel, he had been in the same state as Fitun But it could not be said that he had been proficient in combat

Hihiryushukaka's role had not been physical orthem to a slow death

Thus, Hihiryushukaka had always fled froainst the Gods of Alda's forces It was surprising, but not incredibly shocking, that such a God had been defeated when facing the De

But Fitun was a God of war, not impaired in such ways He had stood on battlefields as a mortal, and he had physically incarnated within a human body hich he could fully utilize his prowess in combat

His weapons were not particularly deserving of praise, but they were two curved Orichalcu equipment sealed within His vessel had been one of the reincarnated individuals that Rodcorte was so proud of

If he had faced evil Gods that had once been in the De's army, he would have likely defeated and sealed them away unless there was an extremely powerful God

And yet, he had been defeated and his soul devoured, failing to achieve anything to speak of It was no wonder the Gods were in an agitated and discomposed state

If even Fitun had failed, could the De even be defeated? Perhaps there were so to doubt this

But Nineroad, formerly a champion and currently a heroic God of the wind attribute, said in a sharp tone: “Calm yourselves!”

The Gods stopped their unproductive discussions and turned their attention to her

Alda, the God of law and fate, was looking upon the world with a sorrowful gaze in his eyes

Nineroad looked away from the Gods, faced Alda, knelt down and bowed “Fitun has been destroyed, but it is I who found him and entrusted him to serve as the God of thunderclouds I bear the responsibility for his numerous chaotic actions”

The chaotic actions taken by Fitun – Nineroad was not referring to the fact that Fitun had left her and Alda to challenge Vandalieu on his own, nor was she referring to the fact that he had used one of the reincarnated individuals sent by Rodcorte

The fact that he had been aware of the reincarnated individuals' existence and remained silent about them was indeed proble else

What she considered to be problematic was the fact that he had forcibly robbed Gordon, the Flame Blades and others of their free wills in order to use them as vessels for his heroic spirits, and the fact that he had taken the city as a hostage, regardless of being on the verge of defeat at the hands of Vandalieu and his subordinates

It eration to say that suchin wars between hue, either

By sacrificing twenty or thirty people, fighting forces equivalent to Rank 12 to 14 monsters could be readied A country faced ould take such an option without hesitation if it were available

Once war began, the sacrifices would number not in the tens, but in the thousands… perhaps even in the tens of thousands Considering that, forsaking the lives of a mere twenty or thirty people to produce a powerful force that could end the war in its early stages would be an incredibly small sacrifice

What's more, in this case, the ene and his subordinates

During the war against the De Guduranis, 90 of the entire population of La that, the lives of twenty or thirty individuals was an alible sacrifice

Fitun taking the city hostage was, again, not a rare tactic in wars between huin, there was no laar in this world Villages and cities would be plundered in large wars, and in some cases, coh ad the resulting horde of monsters onto a city was almost unheard of

Directing a monster horde into an ene would be gained from it, as hly likely that the hts on the nation that began the rae

But as the ene, it was a different matter entirely If he could be defeated at the cost of turning a single city into a Devil's Nest, even many humans would accept it

Fitun's actions were not probley for a human war Thus, the problem… was the fact that Fitun was not a human, but a God

He had been a legendary mercenary as a ainst evil Gods – the God of thunderclouds, under the command of the heroic God Nineroad, who served Alda, the God of law and fate

He had been a God as supposed to teach ht, to show theive the them onto a better path

Gods did not ask their believers to be dreanored reality or be overly optimistic

The Gods knew that their believers couldn't sustain themselves on air, that they could not uphold the Gods' teachings at all times, and that there were times when they needed to commit the sins that the Gods warned them about

But there would be no hope for the world if the Gods did nothing but explain the reality before the believers' very eyes The people would lose their knowledge of good and evil; they would no longer knoas the correct path; their hearts would fall into chaos and the world would face ruin

That hy the Gods constantly defined their teachings and strove to lead people onto a better path That hat Alda and the Gods serving him believed

And yet, as a God, Fitun had declared war upon Vandalieu using the same methods that humans would use That was the problem

The Gods beganthemselves

“Indeed It would be a different s were of a sense of self-sacrifice, the ireater good, but…”

“To begin with, there wasn't a single one aly They were rendered disabled by the very God they worshi+pped so that their bodies could be used It would not be an exaggeration to call this betrayal”

Indeed, if Fitun had been a God whose teachings were of self-sacrifice and devotion, his actions could have been defended to so like that However, he had also never taught theainst Vandalieu

Fitun's teachings had been about the i oneself day by day, of valiance and bravery

Ever since beco a God, Fitun had concealed the lust for battle he had possessed as a mercenary

That was exactly why his actions were so deeply sinful

“I a to accept any punishment You may even impale me with the 'Stakes of Law' and stripto pay the price for Fitun's sins

But Alda shook his head “There is no need for that, Nineroad After all, the one who did not punish Fitun and let him do as he pleased is me And it was also a failure on my own part that I did not realize his true intentions”

“But –!” Nineroad began to protest

“And in this current situation, we cannot afford to punish you,” Alda continued

Nineroad was the leader of the wind-attribute Gods, having taken the role from shi+zarion, the God of wind and art, who had been destroyed by the De Guduranis

With the e Vandalieu, Alda's forces were spending the days gathering their strength They could not afford to pass a heavy punish her with the 'Stakes of Law' and stripping her of her divinity, when she held such an important position

“Nineroad-dono, every God that has gathered here understands the extent of your sincerity But I want you to understand that we ap that has been left by Fitun's destruction, and that your atone Vandalieu,” said Niltark, the God of judgment

“… Understood, Niltark-dono,” said Nineroad, nodding and stepping back

“But ill happen now?” asked Niltark, continuing the discussion “If the humans learn of Fitun-dono's actions, will they not all lean towards Vida's faction? Vandalieu is concealing his true nature frorasp over the hearts of the city's people”

“Would the humans not be unaware that this incident was caused by Fitun-dono?” one God suggested optimistically “Most of the heroic spirits were also defeated by the De able to reach the city; only two of theate by the city's huh it were caused by a mere bandit attack, unrelated to the Gods?”

Fitun had used the reincarnated individual Hajime as a vessel, while the heroic spirits had used adventurers such as Gordon and the Flame Blades Ordinary humans had only been able to perceive them with the appearance of the vessels themselves

The 'Heroic Spirit Transformation' and 'God Transformation' used by the heroic spirits and Fitun had not produced any visible signals such as pillars of light descending from the sky; frolowed a little They may have had a mystical appearance, but one could plausibly assuht-attribute enchantments on themselves

But Niltark rejected that view “It is too optimistic to think that will be the case Fitun took the Orichalcu equipment This will likely confirm a connection between him and his Church”

“Indeed… To that city's people, this was a great incident If a thorough investigation is conducted not only into the two heroic spirits that appeared at the front gate, but those who challenged Vandalieu as well… the truth will likely be revealed in the near future,” Nineroad agreed “Even so, it is unlikely that they would realize that it was Fitun-dono himself, but… they may believe that the reincarnated individual named Hajime Inui was a hero as nurtured by Fitun-dono After all, many humans have beco heroes”

“Would Vandalieu not absorb the De equipment? If he does, then the connection to Fitun-dono could be concealed No matter how influential he is in that city, without any evidence, his words will not be believed in other cities and other duchies!” the optimistic God said

“Perhaps, but… either way, there will be no hiding the fact that this incident was related to Fitun froood eyes and ears,” said Alda “Look for yourself – another statue of Fitun has crumbled like sand”

Now that Fitun had been destroyed and his soul devoured, the statues of hi, one after another And this was occurring more quickly and in more prominent ways in areas where the worshi+p of Fitun was more widespread

This was not limited to just the city of Morksi and the Alcre across the Orbaudom, across the Bahn Gaia continent, across the entire world of Lambda

There was no socialof infor destroyed on a scale where such things were not necessary for the news to spread

Those ere aware that the Gods had been o would be particularly interested in this incident

Pargtarta, the Goddess of flow – the subordinate God who protected Peria, the Goddess of water and knowledge as she continued to slu

However, the young Gods sent by Alda and the other Gods as her 'reinforcements' had all headed for Alda's Divine realm

Pargtarta was the only one left here

But there was a God who had concealed hier any obstacles present

“Welcotarta

“… Since when have I been your older sister?” asked Ricklent with a frown “I am indeed your superior, but you were once a familiar spirit created by my sister Peria, and now ascended as a God It would be more correct to refer to me not as sister, but as aunt, or uncle I am a God of both sexes, or neither”

Ricklent often took the form of three beautiful wo adult and one young boy This was a symbol of the present, past and future – in other words, a symbol of time

Thus, the people considered Ricklent to be of both sexes or of neither

“As always, your tone of speech is one of an aged being, Onee-satarta remarked

“… It seems that you have become o,” said Ricklent

“So, what is your business here today? Have you coainst my master Peria to win my heart?”

According to ic, had taken a liking in Pargtarta and spent centuries challenging Peria in board gatarta handed over to them

But in truth, this was nothing more than fiction

“It bewilders me that the myths fabricated by the humans while I slumbered are told as if they are truth This is why a world ruled by mortals, where there is a distance between the,” said Ricklent

Unlike the age during which the Gods directly ruled over the people, it had becoe words with the Gods since a hundred thousand years ago Thus, they had grown to invent an enorends

There were all kinds of reasons for this, such as s created by bards to be funny and aends

“Interesting, you say?” asked Pargtarta

“It is a phenomenon that did not occur e Gods resided upon the world's surface It is interesting indeed,” Ricklent replied “Incidentally, the fact that you wouldlike that to befuddle me seems to indicate that the 'flow' is yet to come”

“Yes, it seeh I do understand that if we desired to join your side, noould be the ideal opportunity”

The young Gods that would normally be in the ere not here, and the attention of Alda and his forces was focused on the chaos that Fitun had caused This was the perfect chance for Peria to leave this place and join Vida's faction

But Peria showed no signs of movement She likely believed that it was not the time yet

“Then I shall return There is noPeria out by force if she does not have her own thoughts,” said Ricklent