Apostle of the Goddess of War

Chapter 170

Ch.170 Apostle of the Goddess of War

Black ink dropped plop onto the ground.

The world lost its light.

Darkness settled everywhere the eye could reach. It was true darkness, blacker than black.

Not a single point of light existed. Even stars and moonlight were swallowed.

The Evil God of Darkness, Magoth, had descended.

[Magoth….]

Achille frowned. Magoth's appearance was completely different from what Sion knew.

The Evil God of Darkness, who had been beautiful like a flower holding deadly poison, no longer existed. Only darkness itself, having released all power to kill Sion and the Goddess of War, was there.

Swish.

Magoth revealed killing intent. The moment he raised a finger and pointed at Sion, a large hole opened in Sion's body.

"Cough…?"

Sion staggered. He was hit by an attack he hadn't even imagined. When he came to his senses, blood was pouring from his whole body. His intestines and bones had vanished entirely, leaving him unable to do anything.

Ting—

Then Achille threw a gold coin. It was gold obtained through a contract with Goldina. For each one offered, Sion's life continues.

Whoosh.

'Huh?'

Sion's body regenerated. The hole that had pierced his heart was filled as if it had never happened.

[One bag saves your life once. 499 remain.]

"……"

[Sion. You must settle this within that limit.]

It was an impossible mission. Only Achille in her prime or Eru could likely face Magoth who had fully released his power.

But Sion did not hesitate.

If Goddess Achille commands, he obeys. Even into a battlefield of death, he jumps like a moth to a flame.

That is precisely the Holy Knight of the Goddess of War.

"Yes!"

Sion raised his sword with the resolve to sacrifice his life.

Grind!

As soon as he lifted the sword, his wrist slipped. Sion grabbed the sword with his left hand and dashed forward.

Tap-tap!

He couldn't even take three steps. Sion's ankle stuck to the ground. On top of that, something fell, and Sion collapsed straight down.

Crunch!

"Ugh."

Ting!

Achille immediately threw a gold coin. Sion's body regenerated quickly. Sion jumped up and drew upon the power of the stars.

Whoosh!

Sion's blade slid behind Magoth. Without even looking, Magoth moved his black lips.

[――.]

Along with an unknown incantation, Sion's wrist twisted instantly. The trajectory of the sword intended to slash Magoth bent directly to aim for Sion's nape.

Sion was stabbed in the neck just like that.

There was no time to react. It was a power from an incomprehensible realm. This was not a fight that could be managed by any means.

Ting!

Sion pulled out the blade and swung again. However, his body was blown away by immense rebound force.

A light impact returned multiplied dozens of times.

Whoosh!

Sion barely stopped in mid-air. He barely controlled his body with the power of flight.

'I must find a way somehow.'

This was definitely the first time he felt blocked by such a wall. No matter which Goddess he faced, it seemed more hopeful than this.

The Evil God among Evil Gods.

The King of Evil Gods.

Magoth's one-sided violence had only just begun.

Whoosh!

Magoth extended his arm in a grasping motion. Sion flew toward Magoth as if grabbed by the scruff of the neck. Invisible gravity was at work.

"Ugh?!"

Simultaneously, his arms and legs began to stretch like noodles. The black sword he was holding did the same.

Against Magoth's overwhelming power, Sion had no means to resist.

"Nwaaaaaah—!"

Ting!

Achille threw another gold coin. The gold coin turned to dust and disappeared, and Sion's body reattached properly.

Sion began to increase his speed. He would gamble on the speed he was most confident in.

'Magoth's power activates when his gaze lands on me.'

So he must exceed the speed of the Evil God's gaze.

Sion felt Achille's hand touch his shoulder. Sion's star reacted once again.

Whoosh!

Sion leaped.

He crossed space and evaded Magoth's gaze.

Click!

Reaching the top of Magoth's head in an instant, Sion gathered his maximum power.

The Divine Power ring in his heart accelerated to the limit and became Sion's arm, striking down.

Boom— Crunch!

Magoth's pretty forehead split in half. Instead of brain fluid, black liquid flowed down his pale skin.

[Ughhh.]

Magoth's eyeballs also turned pitch black. He began to shed tears, but those tears looked like water mixed with charcoal powder.

"What is…?"

As soon as Sion landed, he retreated backward.

Drip, drip. The black tears falling to the floor wriggled and grew in size.

Grind. Grind.

The clumps of tears that grew one by one began to change into figures identical to Magoth. Their features and appearance were the same, but they lacked color. They were just black.

'Clones?'

[Shadows. He intends to consume your life coins quickly.]

'What should we do?'

Achille answered clearly.

[Become a berserker.]

Achille did not just cheer with words. She pulled the powers of Vilena and Gederne, who were resting in Elim, to this place.

She had prepared this in advance for the decisive battle against Magoth. Achille read the battlefield and established all possible countermeasures.

She knew in advance that her apostle would need the power of madness and rage.

[Release everything. Your resentment and convictions dwelling within. Can you do it?]

Sion's under-eye twitched.

There was an emotional line stirred by the word 'resentment'. Sad memories buried deep in his chest surfaced.

'I… hate war.'

It was war that destroyed in an instant Sion's daily life of being loved and living in an ordinary, happy family.

Cold metal stole the lives of his parents and siblings, and the fire of war swallowed everything.

Everything stemmed from conflict.

Goddesses and Evil Gods.

Fanatics and Goddess Cults.

Demons and humans.

'If no one fought….'

At this moment, Sion's reason and thinking temporarily paralyzed.

As soon as he realized the chief culprit who stole his happiness, rage and madness covered his brain like fog. Obscuring his vision and judgment, it illuminated only one purpose through a hole.

Sion's consciousness remained on one thing only.

'Magoth.'

The chief culprit of evil.

The origin of conflict.

'Annihilate.'

Sion's figure vanished.

Boom— Slash!

After splitting one of Magoth's shadows in half, he flew into the sky. Dozens of Magoth's shadows followed him.

Sion racing toward the main body and Magoth's shadows blocking him began a fierce battle.

Clang!

Ting!

Achille's hands also moved busily. To avoid stealing Sion's timing, she continuously granted new lives.

[He has reached a state of self-forgetfulness.]

It was the highest dimension Achille knew.

Once entering this stage, fear, hesitation, differences in status, or issues of skill were surpassed long ago.

Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!

The gold coins continued to decrease.

The transcendent battle between Sion and Magoth intensified. The shadows decreased rapidly. Sion's lives were also consumed quickly.

Hundreds of shadow blades were embedded in Sion's body alone.

A new poem began to be written on the Apostle of War's star. It sang of a holy knight challenging the scariest Evil God while casting away fear.

Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!

Sion's upper body flew off entirely. His upper body, holding the demonic sword in his right hand and the Corruption Sword in his left, fell to the ground.

Simultaneously, Magoth's two legs were cut off. Sion crossed his swords and inflicted damage on Magoth.

Even the Evil God of Darkness was not invincible without a scratch when receiving maximum support from the Goddess of War.

Whoosh!

Magoth rose from his two severed legs.

Sion also regenerated at the same timing and gripped his swords.

Sion's movements were slightly faster. He tried to plunge the Corruption Sword into Magoth's neck and use its power.

Snap.

Magoth formed a bizarre hand seal.

Ching.

Sion's swords fell as if dragged to the ground.

Screeeeee…

The world became endlessly quiet. A strange air arrived that made even Sion, possessed by madness, gape his mouth 'Ah'.

Vrooooom.

A gloomy sound brushed past his ears. Shadows rushing from all sides were visible. Magoth's main body also plunged his hand into Sion's heart.

Thud.

"……!"

Magoth's hand was exceedingly cold. As he gripped Sion's heart with a hand colder than ice, Sion's heart froze instantly.

There was no time to breathe.

Ting!

Achille threw a gold coin, but it was useless this time. Because he kept holding the heart, Sion died instantly as soon as he regenerated.

As time prolonged, even his soul died.

The rage toward Magoth gradually faded.

Only a demon possessed by rage and madness, without a precise form, would remain in this place.

[……]

Achille continued to toss only coins. Despite it being a crisis requiring intervention, she did not even lift her buttocks from that spot.

Resting her arm on the armrest and propping her chin, she flicked only gold coins.

The number of gold coin bags was now in single digits.

8 bags.

5 bags.

3 bags.

2 bags.

……1 bag.

[Sion.]

As the Goddess called, a single candle lit in the apostle's heart.

***

Sion reflexively raised his upper body. Opening his eyes, he found himself sitting on a chair placed on water.

Though the water was calm, the chair did not sink. Sion couldn't close his mouth at the bizarre experience.

"Is this… a dream?"

"Not a dream."

"Huh?"

Only then did Sion lift his head. There was a person in front of him. So incredibly beautiful that Sion could say nothing more and only blinked his eyes.

"Nice to meet you. I am Eru. You should know me by name, right?"

"E-Eru…."

Sion wanted to say something but his throat was blocked. Unable to connect words due to the shocking and unexpected encounter.

'She's pretty.'

No, 'pretty' did not explain it all. She was the most precious in the world. Sion knew no words to express beyond that.

"You must be going through a difficult time, Sion?"

"Uh… um, yes."

Sion answered inadvertently. Her tone was extremely gentle and soft. Pleasant goosebumps rose on his head.

Stress and depression melted away in an instant.

"Rest a bit before going. Let's talk a bit too."

Sion looked back. Only the two of them existed on an endlessly spreading calm lake. A peace arrived, to the extent one wondered if this was allowed.

Sion hesitantly asked.

"Is it… okay to be like this? I am…."

"I know. You are fighting with Magoth, aren't you?"

"Fighting is— well, yes."

The Goddess of Light used gentle words from the start. She spoke of a fight where his torso flew off several times and his wrists and ankles were sliced dozens of times as merely 'fighting'.

"It's alright. This place is different from the outside material world. Think of time as stopped, and it will be easier."

"Understood."

Sion nodded with difficulty. Putting aside difficult words, he was relieved hearing that time spent here didn't matter.

Sion touched his chest. Clearly, his heart had frozen in Magoth's cold grip. But now his heart beat normally. He felt warm and alive.

Eru leaned toward Sion and smiled.

"Are you curious where this is?"

"Yes, well."

"This is inside your heart, and inside my heart. The Mental Realm that apostles often construct? That one."

Eru smiled brightly. A simple smile brought peace to people's hearts. It felt different from Naru. If forced to compare, Naru felt more mature, giving the impression that Eru was her daughter.

"Hmm. I see."

"And I decorated this place. I had nothing to do while living inside you, waiting for the day we would meet. This is all I did out of boredom."

It sounded slightly like complaining. Sion briefly replied 'Is that so'. Even for a highest-ranking Goddess, there were indeed many careless parts.

With a tone lacking highs and lows, Eru suggested.

"What would you like to drink?"