At last, the Silver Dragon finished his speech, his words ringing like a war drum in the hearts of the gods. His voice, full of pride and unshakable conviction, stirred a new flame of courage in God's assembly.
"Yes! We can do it!" one god suddenly declared, raising his voice in defiance of fear. The words acted like a spark.
Soon, others joined in—
"YES! WE CAN DO IT! WE CAN DEFEAT THAT MONSTER!"
Their united roar thundered across the sky as every god present stood tall, their resolve renewed and spirits burning with purpose.
But not everything in life is sunshine and glory.
Reality, as it always does, came crashing down—cold and cruel.
THUD.
A sudden sound echoed across the battlefield—a body collapsing.
Instantly, silence swept through the gods like a wave of dread.
All eyes turned once again toward the God of Destruction.
And there he was.
Not bleeding.
Not wounded.
Not broken.
He stood tall. Whole. Reformed.
The injuries he had sustained—the blow from the Dragon God, the strikes from the Vampire Goddess, even the devastating spear from the Elemental Goddess—were gone.
His body was completely healed, as if none of it had ever happened.
CLAP. CLAP.
The God of Destruction began to applaud.
His expression was amused—mocking. His pitch-black face, riddled with eerie cracks, twisted into a smile that should have been harmless but felt anything but. It was a monster's smile, painted on the face of something far worse than death.
"What a performance, little ants," he said, clapping slowly. "Truly, you've entertained me. I can confidently say—your pathetic cheering just made me even more motivated to kill every last one of you."
He grinned wider, that unsettling grin growing darker with every word.
But, suddenly the Vampire Goddess spoke,
"Tch. What an ugly-ass monster you are," the Vampire Goddess hissed, her eyes filled with disgust.
"Aww, that's hurtful, Fourth Sister. You hurt my heart with those words," the God of Destruction said mockingly. "Also, you should understand. I'm only like this because of Him—our father, Heaven himself. He was far too cruel. Even in death, he made sure I suffered."
His tone was drenched in victimhood, as though he were the one betrayed.
The Vampire Goddess looked ready to spit another insult, but the Dragon God interrupted her with a sharp bark—
"SHUT UP."
The Destruction God blinked in surprise, then chuckled.
"Oh? So quick to get angry, as always, Second Brother. I suppose it's part of your charm."
He waited, perhaps expecting another retort or even an attack. But instead, the Dragon God turned away from him and addressed the other gods.
"Change of plan," he said, voice commanding. "All gods except the Vampire Goddess and Elemental Goddess—retreat. Get as far from this place as possible."
At those words, a wave of unspoken relief swept through many of the gods.
No matter how tough they pretended to be, deep down they knew—they were little more than bags of blood in this battle. At best, they'd become red stains on the battlefield. At worst, they'd be fuel to heal the monster they were facing.
Still, some among them refused to back down.
One of them was the Silver Dragon.
"Dragon, please let us fight," he pleaded, his voice resolute. "Even if we can't wound him, we can still distract him—buy you time. We can be your shields."
But the Dragon God was unmoved.
"Don't be stubborn, Silver Dragon. You know why I'm doing this," he replied, firm yet understanding.
Still, he continued, knowing what kind of god the Silver Dragon was—unyielding in spirit, even when reason told him to fold.
"In this battle, you are a burden. We—myself, the Vampire Goddess, and the Elemental Goddess—barely have a fifty percent chance of winning as it is. With all of you here… that number drops even further."
His golden eyes locked with the Silver Dragon's deep violet gaze.
"Please. Retreat."
The Silver Dragon, after a long, painful pause, lowered his head. Frustration and shame weighed heavily on his shoulders.
"Okay," he said quietly. Then he turned and took flight, the rest of the gods following behind him like falling stars.
The God of Destruction watched them go with gleeful amusement.
"Incredible. You've changed, Second Brother," he said, sounding genuinely impressed. "A wise choice, truly. Though I may not be able to heal the wounds left by Him, the ones inflicted by you three? A single gulp of God's blood will erase them."
The Dragon God ignored him.
"Get ready, Third and Fourth Sister," he said, his tone sharp and deadly. "We're ending this—now."
And then—
BOOM.
In an instant, the three of them vanished from their positions, moving too fast for even most gods to follow.
The God of Destruction smiled widely as he raised his weapon, Godslayer.
"So, that's your decision. Very well... Come. I'm ready."
And just like that, the three Children of Heaven clashed once more with the First Child of Heaven—in a battle that would decide everything.