Chapter 237: The Divine Side
The shadow in the sky's clouds, as if dancing?
Is this two people dancing with each other?
No, it's one person—a being with four arms—dancing.
As this ethereal figure rhythmically sways, the apocalyptic scene seems to shift in sync with its movements.
"Boom—!"
Another bolt of lightning strikes a populated mountain peak, obliterating it entirely.
Witnessing this, most of the humans and gods present turn ashen-faced.
"Heimdall, what are you doing?"
"Bastard, you're dragging the audience into the battlefield!"
"I'll kill you!!!"
Some of the gods begin cursing.
"Rest assured, everyone, please remain calm. What we're seeing now is, in fact, a historical recording,"
Heimdall, seated atop a strange flying vehicle, wagged his finger and uttered words that left most people stunned.
A few gods immediately grasped the meaning—this was essentially a large-scale journey into the past, immersing everyone in that era?
So now, they were witnessing the moment when that god stood at the pinnacle of his pantheon.
"Brunhilde, did we just collectively travel back in time?"
Göll also exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yes and no," Brunhilde gave an ambiguous reply.
In a sense, they were indeed immersed in the past, but they hadn't truly traveled to the era when the representative of the god faction stood at the apex of his pantheon.
It was similar to how human broadcasts of live events have a slight delay when transmitted to television screens compared to the real-time action.
The apocalyptic scene before them was merely the grand entrance spectacle of the opposing god faction's representative.
"Huh? Yes and no?"
Göll didn't quite understand.
Suddenly, the ground began trembling, and the vibrations of seismic activity could be felt.
It seemed as if something massive was stomping on the earth.
The next second, a roar that shook the atmosphere erupted—the trumpeting of an elephant herd.
Simultaneously, the largest mountain peak—one so high it nearly reached the stratosphere, covered in snow—began experiencing an avalanche.
"That's—!"
"An elephant herd—"
"Look closely! There's someone riding one of them!"
At the summit of this mountain, a herd of elephants charged toward the cliff's edge. On the head of the largest one—a colossal beast the size of a house—a figure was dancing.
With bluish-tinted skin, a bare upper body, and four arms, the figure had dark bluish-black patterns covering its neck. Legend says that when the gods were churning the Ocean of Milk, the serpent Vasuki, who was used to bind the cosmic peak Mount Meru for the churning, could not endure the pain and spewed venom that formed rivers flowing into the sea.
This venom would have poisoned countless beings, so this god drank all of it to save them.
Thus, the dark patterns on its neck are said to be stains from that venom.
Not just the neck—its limbs bear them too.
"This is the god faction's representative for the seventh round!"
Heimdall's declaration was met with thunderous cheers from one section—the Hindu pantheon.
"Could it be—"
"It's that one!"
"Namaḥ Śivāya~"
A group of people knelt and began praying—while being gods themselves, they were also absolute devotees of this deity.
"Creating worlds on a whim, then destroying them as they please!"
Heimdall continued with passionate narration.
"Building only to break, breaking only to repair, and when beyond repair, simply annihilating—the world is but their plaything!"
As these words fell, the heavens and earth grew even more terrifying, as if the world truly faced destruction.
"No need for words, no need for contemplation—simply destroy everything that displeases you!"
As he spoke, the dance seemed to reach a minor climax, shaking the very fabric of heaven and earth, giving the sense that this world could disintegrate at any moment.
"He is the embodiment of destruction—the God of Destruction, Shiva!!!"
The moment the god's name was proclaimed, a brief silence fell!
When countless gods regained their senses, earth-shaking cheers erupted.
"It's, it's Shiva!"
"It's the God of Destruction, Shiva!"
"Finally, he's made his appearance!"
"Did you see it?"
"Shiva's four hands each hold a divine artifact!"
One hand held a trident, another a divine bow, a third a sacred staff, and the fourth a divine sword.
"Bringing out divine weapons right from the start?"
Like Zeus, Shiva rarely wielded divine weapons.
Yet now, he appeared fully armed with them, causing countless gods to gasp in astonishment.
"It seems he's quite looking forward to this match."
One of the gods—Shiva—adopted a serious expression.
So, who would humanity's representative be?
This was Shiva in his serious state. If they couldn't produce an opponent who could bring him joy, it would spell trouble.
After all, Shiva's destructive desires had reached their limit. Brunhilde should have realized she couldn't just throw any random opponent at him.
Otherwise, he might truly go berserk, and after that, Ragnarök would struggle to proceed normally.
"R-really, is this really okay?"
One of the visitors from a parallel world—Irina Shidou—swallowed hard as she gazed upon that form, the very symbol of destruction.
It was as if he were the God of Destruction himself.
No, he was the God of Destruction!
"I-I don't know."
Le Fay also trembled as she replied.
The divine aura of this God of Destruction made her body shiver uncontrollably.
"Is this the Shiva of this world?"
Serafall also stared dazedly at that form.
In her world, aside from the two great Dragon Gods, Shiva was considered the strongest in the world.
So, would this world's Shiva be even stronger than Zeus?
Then, who would represent humanity?
"So, can humanity's representative curb this god's destructive desires?"
Heimdall began to introduce humanity's side.
The moment his words fell, countless golden rays pierced through the oppressive, leaden clouds.