Geese spoke with a somber expression, in complete contrast to the malicious smile that had hung on his face just a second before.
"We're in serious trouble here…"
His gaze swept quickly across the devastated field before settling on Badigadi.
"Badi, do you think you can use the Armor again now and keep control?"
"Bwahaha!" Badigadi laughed loudly, and answered naturally: "I'm sure I can't! In fact, I still feel its influence even now… and I'm fighting not to put it on at this very moment!"
Gall Farion frowned, clearly irritated.
He had just obtained a concrete way to become stronger, and in that same instant, problems had come knocking at his door.
Gall knew that in his current state he wasn't ready to face either the Beast God or the Dragon God, much less both together!
What he needed most at that moment… was time.
Vita, on the other hand, kept most of his attention focused on gaining an advantage in the mental fight against the Technique God.
Something that proved much more complicated than expected.
Laplace's mind was strange and complex; his thoughts were different from other lifeforms, and seemed to run like an endless river.
Still, Vita was a Miko. His consciousness was vast, multifaceted, capable of sustaining multiple focuses simultaneously.
Even while pressuring the Technique God's mind, he was perfectly able to hold a conversation through Randolph's body, which had already been completely dominated.
"That was impossible to predict," Vita said calmly. "Both the Beast God and the Dragon God are capable of deceiving Hitogami's vision. From the start, they were unpredictable pieces in this operation."
He paused briefly.
"But for both to appear together… that can only be bad luck, and it will be even more problematic…"
Meanwhile, beside them, Kalman III remained silent.
His mood grew increasingly dark as he replayed the previous fight in his mind.
Each moment in which he had been overcome with humiliating ease.
For those paying attention, it was easy to see that he was anguished and anxious.
And, above all, furious at his own insignificance.
It was then that Geese let out a deep sigh.
"The problem is that not one of us is even capable of holding these guys."
He spread his arms in a resigned gesture. "All of us here would be easily subdued!"
"BWAHAHAHA!" Badigadi laughed heartily.
A vein bulged on the young North God's forehead.
Alek turned his gaze slowly toward Geese, his hostility completely unmistakable. Those words were like throwing mud over his pride, which had already been crushed.
Gall Farion remained silent.
With his abilities almost entirely focused on offense, he knew he was truly terrible at holding any opponent.
Randolph, for his part, looked curiously at Geese.
Seeing Alek's furious look, Geese continued immediately:
"Haaaah! Who would have thought!" he said ironically. "In the end, everything is decided by the powerful!"
He turned and took a few steps, then lay down comfortably on the ground, speaking as he settled.
"We, spectators, have no chance against these guys!"
He crossed his arms behind his head. "All that's left is to wait patiently for death!"
That was the trigger.
Alek raised his sword in a sudden movement, pointing the blade directly at Geese.
"Speak for yourself, monkey!" he snarled. "You are the only powerless one here!"
Geese raised his hands immediately, in surrender.
Everyone looked at Alek, who kept the sword pointed threateningly.
"Hey, hey, hey! Wait there, boy! We're in the same boat here!"
Geese spoke quickly, and tilted his head.
"Haven't I already told you that Rygar and Orsted have the same strength as Laplace? Whether it's you or me, it doesn't make much difference to them!"
His smile thinned.
"We're just meat on the chopping board!"
The North God's red eyes shone with murderous intent.
Aleksander was young and impulsive.
But he wasn't stupid.
Normally, he would have acted more calmly — however, at that moment, his emotions were far from under control.
With his pride trampled and his dream destroyed before his eyes, all he wanted to do in that moment was deny reality with all his might.
"This is impossible! Pure nonsense!" He exploded.
He tightened his grip on the sword's hilt.
"Uncle Badi and that guy are exceptions! They've been alive for thousands of years! What can a mere Dragon God and a Beast God who just randomly appeared do?!"
Badigadi turned to him with the most serious expression.
"You're wrong, boy. You mustn't underesti—"
"Shut up!" Alek interrupted angrily. "Without that armor, you're not my match either, uncle!"
His gaze fell on the Golden Armor.
He was somewhat tempted to use it himself.
But remembering its side effects, he restrained himself.
He had recently discovered while fighting Randolph that his mental defenses were not particularly strong.
Under the Armor's control, his uncle Badigadi had destroyed the world and had killed his beloved after being dominated by the armor.
Alek was a proud swordsman; he refused to be manipulated that way.
He would not become a puppet because of an artifact.
He lowered his gaze to the sword in his hand and gritted his teeth.
Geese was nervous inside.
He knew he was treading on thin ice by speaking like that. Who could say when the boy would lose control and kill him right there?
Still, it was a necessary and calculated risk.
After a brief moment of hesitation, he delivered the final blow, speaking in an apparently carefree manner:
"Anyway, we can only hope that Rygar shows mercy!"
He smiled.
"After all, Badi, Gall and I know him. The rest of you will probably die without even a proper corpse!"
His gaze slid quickly to the gravity sword that Alek wielded with a clenched fist.
"Unless…"
Kalman raised his eyes at that instant.
"What?!"
Geese opened his mouth to speak — but gave up.
"Ha… forget it... you'd better fall back first, boy. Maybe you'll escape their hunt alone, I think it's too much to expect you to face them alone—"
"Hey."
Badigadi interrupted him.
Geese turned his head.
"Ah? What is it, Badi?"
"Bwahahaha!" Badigadi laughed. "The boy's gone!"
Geese looked around.
The North God was no longer there.
He shot down the mountain, but not in flight… he went straight to the source of the fight between Orsted and Rygar!
A genuine joy crossed Geese's face.
"Now!" he announced. "Let's retreat now! It's our only chance!"
Gall Farion looked into the distance with a terrible expression.
"What a despicable monkey…!"
Vita seemed hopeful.
Without any ceremony, he grabbed the Technique God's body and began to run.
Even knowing that external stimuli would interfere with the mind domination process, there was no choice.
If the Dragon God caught them… they'd be dead.
If Rygar caught them… they'd also be dead.
"Bwahahaha!" Badigadi laughed. "You're a sly one!"
He took the Golden Armor on his back and Geese over his shoulder, descending the mountainside on the opposite side.
"Alright! Let's go back and fight at full strength later! That will be more exciting!"
He cast a defiant glance toward the storms tearing the sky.
Normally, he would face everything head on.
But he was very interested in fighting Rygar wearing the Golden Armor.
Maybe it was the armor's lingering influence. Maybe it was his own warrior spirit inflamed.
He didn't know and didn't care either.
He simply chose to retreat.
The group fell back even faster than they had arrived.
Time was limited.
Limited to how long the young North God could buy for them.
---
Rygar and Orsted were approaching the highest mountain in the world ever more dangerously.
The colossal peak rose above the clouds as if driven into the skies, but at that moment, not even that overwhelming presence was enough to distract the two.
Both were completely immersed in their fight, where technique, magic and power collided every fraction of a second.
Still, the overall advantage belonged to Orsted.
The Dragon God raised the Godsword, the divine blade emitting a glittering white light.
"Secret Technique: Inverted Sky Departure!"
At the same instant, Rygar brandished Doomsday, the steel wrapped by violent purple flames.
"Secret Technique: Shimmering Purple Fissure!"
The blades clashed once more — for the umpteenth time in that combat — and the impact was devastating.
A shockwave exploded from the point of collision, the ground beneath them splitting violently.
Cracks spread in all directions, forming a spiderweb that advanced for hundreds of meters, while fragments of rock were hurled into the air.
This time, however, the fight did not continue immediately.
Both felt it at the same time.
A rapid approach.
Someone was coming at them at high speed. From the speed shown, it definitely wasn't someone to be underestimated.
Without exchanging words, Rygar and Orsted separated, each retreating several meters, opening space as they adjusted their stances.
Rygar turned his gaze to the newcomer.
With the acceleration of perception provided by his Demonic Eyes, he quickly analyzed the figure before him.
A young man with black hair, red eyes, wielding a large magical sword that exuded an oppressive presence.
"…So it's you."
Rygar knew exactly who he was.
Kalman III. The North God.
A smile appeared behind Rygar's black helm.
In fact, there was something he needed from that man. If possible, recruiting him to his side did not seem impossible at that moment.
More importantly, Kalman probably knew a lot about the Technique God's current situation, and about Hitogami's true intentions.
Orsted also did not attack immediately. On the contrary, his posture indicated that he likewise intended to start a conversation.
But, to both their surprise…
Kalman showed no intention of dialoguing.
His face was full of rage. Hatred. Impatience. He raised the blade without even asking a single question.
"Secret Technique: Gravitational Fracture!"
Before Kalman even completed the strike, Rygar perceived it.
An absurd amount of magic and touki began to stir violently in the air around, infiltrating the very body.
Everything around began to float.
Stones, debris, fragments of the mountain — everything was ripped from the ground, suspended by an invisible force. In the next instant, a flash exploded, sweeping absolutely everything in front of the North God.
---
POV: Aleksander Ryback
I observed the enormous destruction before me with renewed enthusiasm.
If those idiots were still here, I would have screamed.
Look!
What are a Beast God and a Dragon God!? Both cannot resist the most powerful Secret Technique of the North God Style!
Comparable to Laplace? These two are not worthy!
Even taken by excitement, I did not dare to relax. The Apocalypse Beast was world-renowned for its phenomenal resilience.
Therefore, I continued my attack, advancing without hesitation.
The Beast God was an infamous beast, known for its numerous crimes. Of course, there was evidence of numerous gestures of goodwill — but that didn't matter to him now.
First, I would defeat these two.
Whether they would be spared or not… that would be decided later.
I barely had time to observe the battlefield carefully, but a shiver ran down my spine when I glimpsed the absurd destruction they had caused before my arrival.
I was really right to launch a preemptive strike.
While thinking that, my mana flowed again into Kajakut, shaping itself around the blade, distorting space with gravity.
Then—
A violent impact hit my shoulder.
Before I could turn to identify the source, I was thrown away by a kick. My body spun in the air, completely out of control.
And before I could even complain or retaliate…
A huge flaming beam swept the spot where I had been a second before.
I was stunned.
Did that almost kill me just now?
I rolled awkwardly on the ground, forcing myself to regain balance as I retreated. Even so, I managed to watch the attack clearly.
It was like a dragon's breath.
No — it was something much worse.
The scale was completely different. And, contrary to what I expected, the attack did not stop. The flow of flame continued, pursuing the figure who had kicked me.
It was the Dragon God.
Orsted calmly dodged the breath, step after step, until the flames finally ceased.
Then I looked to the other source.
Rygar Adoldia.
The fire still burned around him, spreading like a living hell. The flames danced untamable in the air.
I watched the scene, completely stunned.
Okay… both surviving the Gravitational Fracture was already absurd.
But the two of them…
They didn't have a scratch.
And worse yet.
One of them tried to kill me — and the other had to save me.
What the hell is happening now!?
Rage rose like an explosion inside me.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
I screamed as I attacked furiously.
I raised Kajakut with more force than ever, unleashing the power of gravity without any restraints.
I refuse to be a spectator!
I am the hero!
I will be the greatest in the world!
With this sword in my hands… nothing can stop me!
-----
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