For the first time, Duanmu Huai witnessed with his own eyes the death of a god.
The roaring chain-sword split the Horned Rat's skull apart, and with a shrill, agonized scream, a writhing black mist burst out of its body. The next instant, the surrounding black flames pounced upon that dark vapor, devouring it completely. The mist exploded like gas, and with that deafening final cry, the ground cracked, the sky shattered, and the once-mighty Ruined Kingdom—the Horned Rat's divine realm—collapsed entirely, unable to sustain itself without its master.
Duanmu Huai wanted to stay and witness the end of this world, but the Warp Storm raging from the god's death was far beyond his ability to endure. He was still a lesser god, nowhere near strong enough to withstand such chaotic fury—let alone cause it himself like the Chaos Gods did. So, after one last glance at the collapsing world being sucked into the raging storm, he opened a portal.
"Time to go. I'm out."
——
"Squeeeeeeeeeeek—!!"
When Duanmu Huai returned to the material world, the sight before him was barely better than hell itself.
The shrieks of countless Skaven echoed like crashing waves, piercing even through the thick earth below. The death of their god struck them like a psychic cataclysm. The ratmen clutched their heads, writhing in agony. In the distance, he saw thousands of them bolt from the tunnels—mad, panicked—and fling themselves from cliffs into the sea, like a tide of suicidal lemmings.
Thousands upon thousands plummeted into the ocean, forming a wriggling black waterfall.
Well… guess the fish are eating well tonight, Duanmu Huai thought dryly.
Turning away from the grim spectacle, he opened his system interface and checked the results.
He had to admit—slaying the Horned Rat had been quite the payoff.
[God of Destruction – Level Up: LV5]
[Black Flame – Level Up: LV5]
[Gained 5 Attribute Points, 5 Specialization Points]
[Lesser Divine Power +8]
[Skill: Immortal Warrior (Unlocked) — 5,000,000 EXP required to refresh (Uses: 1)]
[You have destroyed the Horned Rat. Choose a sub-domain to inherit:]
[Murder / Betrayal / Decay / Calamity / Vermin / Hunger / Ambition]
"…What the hell is this garbage?"
He stared blankly at the divine domains. Not a single one appealed to him. Sure, taking on "Vermin" would let him gain power from rats' faith—but as he already knew, a god's essence reflects its believers.
That was precisely why he had aligned his faith with the Inquisition's doctrine—so that his nature and his followers' beliefs reinforced each other.
If he took up the domain of rats, though… his essence would start warping toward theirs.
And one day, he'd probably end up standing there in black armor, hammer raised, screaming:
"Big Rat! Big Rat! Mighty and strong! Big Rat will rule the world!"
Just imagining it made him shudder. No, thank you.
As for the others—Murder, Betrayal, Calamity, Hunger, Ambition… all incompatible with the God of Destruction's current path. And Decay? That'd be stepping on the Plague God's toes.
His aesthetic sense was still normal, and unlike that "Father of All Plagues," he wasn't so "lovingly inclusive." He'd pass on that one.
"Calamity" was the only one that sounded remotely relevant, but even that was weak. The Horned Rat's idea of "disaster" was plagues, famines, and swarms of locusts—honestly, Duanmu Huai's flagship's main cannon could cause more destruction than that.
"Feels like a bit of a rip-off…" he muttered, grinding his teeth as he reviewed the logs.
Truth be told, the fight hadn't been as profitable as he'd hoped. The Horned Rat's divinity was too far removed from his own, making it hard to absorb any of its divine essence. Skaven technology was junk with an 80% self-destruct rate, so that was worthless. And as for curses, poisons, and corruption magic—he didn't care. The Law of Death already allowed him to reduce max HP and all stats just by hitting someone; poison was redundant.
Worse, he'd had to burn through his once-per-battle Immortal Warrior skill to win—and now it required 5 million EXP to recharge. And that "(Uses: 1)" tag? Yeah, it was clearly going to get more expensive every time.
Meaning most of the EXP he earned from killing the Horned Rat had gone right back into that skill.
From a player's perspective, the main gains were:
God of Destruction LV5
Black Flame LV5
Lesser Divine Power +8
According to divine progression, reaching 20 Lesser Power would elevate him to Intermediate Deity status. At that point, he'd unlock his divine privilege skill: Instant Kill – Mortal Beings.
But for now… 8 wasn't 20. Not even close.
Still, from a non-player's point of view, this had been a huge success. The Horned Rat—a blight upon the world—was dead. The Skaven were decimated, their race driven to the brink of extinction. When the End Times arrived, at least no one would have to worry about rats stabbing them in the back.
And he'd gained some… other "benefits."
Yes—quotation marks absolutely required.
He sighed and opened the last section of the log.
[You have slain the Horned Rat, destroyed its realm, and completely annihilated a god. Countless entities across the Warp have taken notice.]
[Tzeentch, God of Change — Interest +100, Favor +100]
[Nurgle, God of Pestilence — Interest +100, Favor +100]
[Khorne, God of Blood — Interest +100, Favor +100]
[Slaanesh, God of Pleasure — Interest +100, Favor +100]
[Dwarven Pantheon — Interest +100, Favor +500 (Reputation: Friendly)]
[Human Pantheon — Interest +100, Favor +500 (Reputation: Friendly)]
[Elven Pantheon — Interest +100, Favor +100 (Reputation: Neutral)]
[Gork and Mork — Interest +300, Favor +100 (You are now a "Worthy Rival")}
"…MMP, I don't want the first four! Hell, I don't want the last one either!"
He rubbed his temples, exasperated.
But still—what a testament to how hated the Horned Rat had been. Killing him had literally pleased every god in the tutorial zone, both Order and Chaos. Not a single one disapproved.
Clearly, the rat's divine "social circle" had been completely empty. No likes, no followers. Maybe that's why it'd gone insane and tried to destroy the world—pure spite from being ignored.
At least this meant no divine backlash from allies of the Horned Rat.
…Probably.
His gaze fell on the final line again.
Gork and Mork, the twin gods of the orcs.
Fantastic.
Of all beings, they had noticed him—and wanted to fight.
He had zero desire to brawl with those two green lunatics. They made the Horned Rat look civilized.
Shaking his head, Duanmu Huai dumped his new stat points—+2 Strength, +2 Intellect, +1 Constitution—and upgraded Death Aura to Level 5, increasing its reflect rate and power.
Finally, exhausted, he opened a portal back to his ship.
The Immortal Warrior skill had saved his life, but the post-rage Weakened debuff was brutal. Every muscle in his body screamed for rest.
He staggered through the corridor, half-dead on his feet—only for a small figure to suddenly leap into his arms.
"Sir Knight! Help me!"
"Eh? Anne? What happened now?"
He blinked, recognizing the princess. Wasn't she supposed to be supervising construction of Manaria's first magic-powered commercial district?
"It's terrible! There's another succubus loose in the city!"
"…Huh?"
He rubbed his face, already regretting being awake. He promised to look into it later and went straight to bed, collapsing the moment he hit the mattress.
When he woke, fully refreshed, he sat through Anne's explanation over breakfast.
Apparently, five young noblemen had started a public brawl—all over the same woman. Each claimed she was his lover, accusing the others of stealing her.
"That's it?" Duanmu Huai deadpanned.
"What's that got to do with a succubus?"
"Well…" Anne fidgeted. "Those noble sons are all talented, respectable men. Their families refuse to believe they'd act so shamelessly, so they're convinced the woman must be a succubus. They're begging you to investigate…"
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"The Inquisition isn't the church, Anne. Why not send Lorena or Sahariel?"
"I already did! They said the woman is just an ordinary human…"
"Then case closed."
"But the nobles insist that you personally interrogate her…"
Duanmu Huai stared at her, speechless.
"…Fine. I'll look into it."
He'd just woken up; might as well treat it as light entertainment.
Still…
"Anne, what's wrong with your country's nobles? They're all insane."
"I—I don't know…" she whimpered. "I'm despairing too…"
If this was the next generation of nobility, Manaria's future looked grim indeed.
(End of Chapter)