Chapter 170

Adgon (1)

The flash brilliantly painted the surrounding.

The god's voice rang again in my head.

- It's been a long time.

The sensation of the mental wave was completely different from when I first faced Igras-Sho.

It was still grand, huge, overwhelming, and as if I'd be crushed, but should I say it was fundamentally different?

The eccentricity and shadiness were faint, and instead, the holiness it didn't have back then was flowing out.

The deity repeated what it just said once more.

- With this, I am complete.

An immortal became completed with the help of a mortal.

It was a phrase that seemed to imply the principle that supported the world of that time.

The body of Igras-Sho, wrapped in light, gradually changed shape.

It didn't stop at only attaching the arm that wasn't there. Instead, the darkness calmed and faded.

The body revealed in that manner was like a goddess with eight arms.

The strange creature disappeared, and the presence surrounded by the holy halo looked at me.

- I'm very grateful to you, child.

There was no more trace of dense insanity in the echo.

It was completely different from when it lost its memory and origin and moved according to its primary desires.

'Is that it's true appearance?'

If it were the same as it was in the past, nothing good would've come out by staying. I would have found a way to run away as fast as I can, but...

I thought it would be okay at that point for some reason.

Hence, I asked a question.

"Have you now completely regained your power and memory?"

The goddess denied it.

- My body is still anchored to the void.

That meant it hadn't recovered enough to escape from there yet.

- I was torn from the world in the past war that caused me to lose my glory and power. It's still a long way from recovering the power and memory I had then, but by recovering my strongest leg, my mind became clear, and I regained some strength. It's all thanks to you, child.

It wasn't perfect yet, but it seemed to have regained a meaningful level of strength.

- Of course, I will continue to increase my influence on the world through those who convey my will and believers.

Anyway, it looked much more convincing as a deity than before.

Hence, decided to grab the opportunity.

I didn't know how many more instances I would have to talk to the god that maintained a relatively stable mentality, after all.

"If so, may I ask you a question?"

- Ask away, child.

I took out the question I had as I fought the monster that morphed from the Igras-Sho's severed arm.

"The god of the mind. I felt the power of that deity on your eighth leg."

- You have seen and judged it right. Its power helped suppress and seal my leg so it wouldn't return to the main body.

"Also, I have confirmed that the fragment of the god is spread all over the world, bringing about destruction."

- That is true as well. They desire the destruction of all life and are enticing them.

"Why is the god of the mind doing such a thing? And what do you recommend us to do to stop the debris?"

The Union was preparing for a massive extermination war, but I wanted to hear the solution from a god's perspective.

Igras-Sho replied.

*

Before the creation of the material world, the gods controlled and ruled perfectly and existed as part of the world.

In that place, where it lasted for a long time without any issues, the enemy appeared without any signs.

The first to be attacked was 'space.'

Like a red spider's web, the universe cracked, split, and opened a gap, and monsters poured out of those fissions.

Beyond the cracks was a completely different space from the world where the gods existed at that time.

The great beings called it the void.

The enemy that emerged from the void was incomparably powerful than the enemy that the mortals of the current era were up against, and the gods fought desperately to resist but eventually lost.

The magic god mentioned them and described them as such:

- The purpose of the monsters seemed only to destroy and exterminate everything. It was all for the sake of destroying all of the boundaries between the void and our world. In doing so, the void would be able to swallow everything through the war.

The war's victory went to the inhabitants of the void, but the monsters couldn't completely fulfill their purpose.

They didn't completely exterminate the gods and hadn't completely devoured the world.

However, the gods who lost the war had their powerful authority and memories sealed, and their main bodies were exiled to the void.

- But the world that we managed and looked after did not completely collapse. Instead, it survived.

Additionally, the destruction of the mortals could be avoided.

Even before the material world was created, souls and life already existed.

However, during the gods' reign, they weren't completely separated from the deities and lived and regressed as part of the great being.

- Originally, what composed the body and soul of the mortals were the small fragments that composed us. If to compare it to your concept, it's like the 'cells' of the gods.

However, after the gods were dragged into the void, the mortals, who acted as their cells, were left in a world separated from the gods.

Meanwhile, even the world couldn't remain intact, and the space that was originally one was broken into countless dimensions.

It was the birth of the material world we lived in currently.

So why didn't the inhabitants of the void who exiled the gods destroy the material world right away?

- That is because the monsters also used up a lot of strength while fighting with us. After the creation of the material world, they chose to regain their lost power slowly.

As long as the material world existed, the gods could avoid an irreversible end, even if they lost themselves and their memories.

"Then the Red Gate that opens in our world now and the monsters in it are..."

- It is a phenomenon that occurs in the process of their recovery for their strength. For the monsters, it's nothing much but stretching. The frequency of the fissures being observed is gradually increasing, isn't it?

It was just as the goddess said.

According to Union's statistics, the number of Red Gates was increasing, and the monsters that appeared were also getting stronger day by day.

As recently witnessed at the Gorangsha dimension, variations that weren't bound to existing categories and patterns were also being discovered one after another.

They were monsters that couldn't be overcome unless the strongest warriors in all dimensions stuck together and fight with all their might.

But... What if there came a world where they were no longer classified as mutants?

What if time had gone by and the powerful monsters that couldn't be dealt with using existing knowledge and experience covered up the world?

'That was the enemy that the gods had to fight and the destruction the future empire would face.'

- Of course, none of the deities wanted that kind of future, except for one being.

"The god of the mind."

I recalled the memory of "him" or "them" that passed through my head as if to absorb when Mercadius was destroyed with the non-elemental divine force in me.

Blind hostility toward the world...

And pure anger and hatred toward the living.

"What on earth is its motive?"

- It's the possible result of the god of mind losing its memory and going crazy.

I was also aware of the reason why the god of the mind, of all the deities, faced the worst end.

But madness was its reason to doom the world?

- The god of mind was divided but didn't get completely destroyed. It maintains its presence even though there are no remaining faithful servants left to serve its degraded state.

Then, what was needed to be done for a god to be completely extinguished?

Igras-Sho had already told me the answer.

- The reason why we are trying to increase believers and expand our influence in the world is that only that method makes us stronger. If believers disappear, I will end up like the god of the mind. However, I will not perish.

I understood what it meant.

"Only when the material world is completely destroyed will the gods be driven to extinction."

- That is the desire of the void's inhabitants and the desire of divided and scattered god of the mind.

"... Is it suicide?"

- As long as the mortals, who were once part of us, and their souls remain existing and possess a 'mind' that can think, the god of the mind will remain as well. They will only continue their miserable existence endlessly in the same way: fragmented and scattered.

The god of the mind wanted total extinction.

It was trying to attempt a mass suicide with the mortals from all dimensions.

There was no way for it to die on its own, after all.

The only option it had was for the world to perish or use another god's power to offer them extinction.

The magical god looked at me quietly and continued.

- Although it is said that it was split up as while it was mad, it is also a deity. It can't be left alone, pouring its hatred to the world and bringing doom upon itself in this way. Will you help me, child?

"How can I?"

A silence, as if to observe me, flowed.

- I see. Now that I've lifted the ignorance that covered my eyes, I now understand. You are moving with a long-cherished destiny to achieve in each life.

Beyond just evaluating it as 'hard and tough,' it seemed to have discovered something engraved within my soul.

My identity as the successor.

"That's right."

- But there are too many variables compared to the original plan.

Then it told me as if to assert.

- The biggest reason is... the 'System.'

*

Paht!

After talking to the god of magic, I came back to reality.

"Oh, chosen one!"

The archbishop, full of tears, greeted me.

He spoke without being able to hide his emotion.

"From all things, the atmosphere, the universe, graceful power rises! The power has clearly changed from the previous presence of the great being. Oh, I can feel it!"

All priests who served Igras-Sho might be facing a similar phenomenon in their respective dimensions.

The priest, who was trembling, seemed to have noticed a change in me as well.

"Oh my, an unusual energy from the chosen one is...!"

It was only natural.

"By any chance...!"

I nodded and turned the archbishop's guess into a fact.

"I just came from meeting the great being."

"Oh! What a blessing! Did it call you to honor the consecration of the eighth leg?"

"Well, there's that, but... should I say the true purpose was an oracle."

"An oracle?!"

Although I didn't serve with all my heart, unlike the archbishop, it appeared in front of me as it took advantage that I had consecrated it myself.

I recalled what the god had told me in reply to my question.

- Just as my fragment was manipulated, the god of the mind has left its trace on the system. Without solving that obstacle, I cannot guarantee the safety of the world.

I spoke to the archbishop.

"It's not something we can continue to talk about here, but let's go back for now."

While I was gone, they had already recovered the corpses, stored them in a subspace, and had finished preparations to return.

We retraced our steps, and soon after, we were able to get out through the entrance where the black vortex swirled.

However, the moment the landscape changed...

The priest cried.

"Over there!"

I looked up at the sky and couldn't help but click my tongue.

It's a disaster.

"It's a transport ship!"

Spacecrafts were approaching from many directions.

The priest shouted, confirming the appearance of the battleship and the inscription on the surface.

"Adgon! It's the Adgons' transport ship!"

We thought that we had infiltrated under their watch, but I guess we were caught in the end.

The priest murmured.

"If this is what has to happen, they will understand once we surrender and calmly explain what happened! There's a definite proof that the magic that disappeared has been revived...!"

That gentleman had a field of flowers in his head.

The moment I was about to say something...

Paht!

A battleship used blue energy to summon waves that covered the entire place.

"It stopped our retreat!"

The EX-Class items installed in the transportation ship had locally twisted the dimension.

They had blocked us from running away through teleports.

I clicked my tongue and murmured.

"I don't think the other party has any intention of solving this in such a peaceful manner."

I unleashed a barrier shield in preparation for the air raid, but the transportation vessel made an unexpected move.

They just fell as if they were crashing into the ground.

'Why?'

It wasn't that it wasn't equipped with any weapons just because it was a transport ship.

There were barrel openings everywhere that seemed to mimic that of the Tactical Fortress.

'Perhaps, because of this?'

The black vortex that was located right behind us...

It was the entrance to the place where the Igras-Sho's leg was sealed.

Were they concerned that a sudden bombardment could lead to damaging it?

If so...

'As expected, the Adgon punks knew what was in there!'

After landing, the entrance door to the transport ship opened, and aliens poured out.

They approached us, all armed.

The intention was clear.

"It's too late."

I spoke to the priests, pulling out the sword that I had received from the Union.

"Let's push through them."