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In this world, the number of Gods was theoretically infinite. This was because the "essence" of a God, their God Essence, was also infinite.
A God Essence was, in essence, a concept. The Gods of this world were the personification of these concepts, which was why they were so powerful. They were, in a way, a part of the world itself.
Therefore, the number of Gods was theoretically infinite, as the number of concepts was also infinite.
But why "theoretically"?
Because most God Essences were never activated. Like the God of Games. Before Riku, he didn't exist. He was simply an unactivated concept. But through Riku's yearning, his belief, the God Essence of "Games" was activated, and he was born into the world.
Therefore, the Gods of this world were, in a sense, immortal. Even if killed, they would simply revert to their God Essence form—awaiting the day they would be activated once more. After all, concepts were a part of the world. Without the power to transcend the world itself, a concept could not be destroyed.
They were like the Saints, coexisting with the universe.
Therefore, to obtain the Star Grail, Mika had to reconsider the concept of consumption. He had to modify the Falna system, which was designed to absorb divine power and divinity, not God Essences—which were akin to a God's divine right, yet even more fundamental.
At the same time, he had to prepare for his battle against Artosh. In terms of raw power, he was no match for the God of War. But with the protection of his God Cloth, Artosh couldn't defeat him either.
Therefore, Mika had to be prepared for a War of Attrition. However, considering the presence of other Gods, even with Athena's help, he had to shorten the battle as much as possible.
This meant he needed to understand Artosh completely.
Know thy enemy, and you will win a hundred battles.
To this end, Athena, Yahweh, and Alfia had been infiltrating the various races' settlements, secretly observing their techniques and power systems. This, combined with Schwi's database of the other races' abilities, had given Mika a deep understanding of this world's power systems.
After all, each race had been created by a God, their training systems designed by their respective creators. By studying these systems, he could gain insights into the Gods themselves.
It was a way of seeing the whole through its parts.
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"This is everything we've gathered." Athena touched a finger to his forehead, and a torrent of information flooded his mind.
He closed his eyes, contemplating the new knowledge.
"I see... Whether it's the Elves' Áka Si Anse or the Dwarves' E-Bomb, they're all masterpieces of ingenuity."
"I have to admit, the races of this world have pushed the art of slaughter to its absolute limit."
Mika's eyes were filled with admiration. His respect for the other races had grown immensely.
"I've made a decision. In our plan, 'Objective Two' will be modified. The target is no longer a single individual, but... all of them."
"All of them?" Athena's eyes widened, then a smile touched her lips. "It seems I'll have a chance to show my strength after all."
"Not you alone, Athena. All of us," Mika said, looking at the three before him.
After a year of preparation, their plans were nearly complete. Only two objectives remained.
First, to experience the Flügel's fighting style. As Artosh's creations, the Flügel undoubtedly carried his mark, especially their signature technique, Heavenly Smite, which was said to be a precursor to Artosh's own Divine Smite.
Mika wanted to see it firsthand.
However, unlike the other races, the Flügel didn't have a written record of this technique. The only way to experience it was to face a Flügel in battle.
Of course, this wasn't a task for Mika himself. He had entrusted it to Alfia. She would be the one to face the most exceptional of the Flügel, the one who would achieve great things in the main story: Jibril.
It was all part of Mika's plan.
The second objective was for Mika to personally test the power of a God. Before facing Artosh, the strongest of them all, he wanted a warm-up. After all, no matter how much he learned from the other races, he needed to verify his findings himself. He also wanted to see if the Gods of this world possessed any unique abilities.
He and Athena would work together, eliminating a single God without anyone noticing. Their target: the creator of the Elves, Kainath.
However, those were his previous plans.
Now, having seen the excellence of the various races, he had a new objective:
To Conquer Them All.
To do that, he would defeat all the existing Gods, returning them to their God Essence form. Then, after defeating Artosh, he would absorb all their God Essences, becoming the world's One True God.
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The Only God.
This was Mika's plan.
To achieve this, he had to defeat all the other Gods before his final confrontation with Artosh. After all, the Falna's consumption ability could only be used during his transformation into a God, and subsequently, only during God-level level-ups.
Unlike humans, Gods, as "Great Beings," possessed a purer, more refined form of power. This was why he had chosen to consume Gods. He wouldn't gain the ability to consume humans in his earlier stages. The human composition was too...chaotic compared to that of a God. Consuming a human would do more harm than good.
Therefore, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He had to be prepared.
"It seems all our plans are in place. Now, all we have to do is follow the steps, and the final battle will be upon us," Yahweh said, popping a snack into her mouth.
"Indeed." Athena nodded. While she hadn't yet seen the Star Grail, she could already imagine its power. They had several plans for obtaining it, but they were all too... unstable.
As Mika's strategist, she couldn't risk failure. True wisdom wasn't about clever schemes, but about constantly improving, then overwhelming the enemy with sheer power. That was true wisdom.
And their actions had all been in service of that goal.
"Then it's settled." Mika made his final decision. "I'll leave the final details to you two. I'll focus on preparing for the battle."
"I trust you both implicitly. So, let your wisdom shine," he said with a warm smile. He knew his strengths and his weaknesses. And in the presence of Athena and Yahweh, he would simply follow their lead. He knew they would never betray him.
This wasn't arrogance; it was a fact. They both knew that only by following Mika could they achieve a brighter future.
The God of the Bible, the Star Grail—these were treasures they couldn't have even imagined in their own worlds, opportunities unique to a world-hopper. And only Mika could grant them that status. That was the greatest opportunity of all.
Therefore, when they learned of the Star Grail, their first thought had been to give it to Mika, not to claim it for themselves. They knew that only by making him stronger would their own futures become brighter. They were a single entity.
And he, in turn, trusted them completely.
Athena and Yahweh smiled. While their personal feelings for him had created some...friction between them, they would never let it interfere with their shared goals, especially not in front of him.
With their business concluded, the atmosphere relaxed, and they began to chat casually.
And with that, their own little schemes resurfaced.
Yahweh, especially, had been wary of Athena since their arrival, and she hadn't let her guard down. She had been desperately trying to formulate a counter-strategy. Finally, she had found her target: Alfia.
In the myths, the squabbles of the Gods often ensnared mortals. And now, the same was happening here.
Yahweh's fear of Athena stemmed from a simple concern:
She wanted to be the first Goddess in Mika's heart. It was her bottom line. However, since her current form relied on Mika's power, she couldn't make a direct move on him.
So, she had chosen Alfia as her pawn. She knew of Alfia's hidden feelings for Mika. Her plan was simple: push them together. That way, in this world, Athena wouldn't have a chance. She knew Mika. While he was promiscuous, he was also incredibly responsible. Once he and Alfia crossed that line, Athena would find it difficult to interfere.
That was Yahweh's plan.
She looked at Alfia, who trembled under her gaze. She knew Yahweh's intentions, and she was both embarrassed and afraid.
While their age difference was negligible in the grand scheme of things—Mika had likely lived far longer, considering his travels—Alfia, still bound by human morality, couldn't shake the feeling that it was wrong.
If Mika knew how she felt—she would die of embarrassment.
"I'll be going, then," she said, trying to escape.
But Yahweh was faster.
"Wait!" She grabbed Alfia's shoulder, then turned to Mika and Athena with a smile. "We've been exploring all day. Why don't we all take a bath together?"
"An excellent idea," Athena replied with a smile.
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