Goblin Kingdom

“AAaAtivvvVv!!!”

“Dieee!!”

No matter how desperate the man attacked, he could never hope to reach the sword of a god. The technique, the strength, and above all, the divine authority contained in the sword would leave a fatal wound if taken head on.

In fact, every clash wounded the man’s body and shaved away at his life.

Yet despite that──

Metal clashed with metal. Blade clashed with blade. As scattered sparks bloomed, yet another collision came. Even should their swords break, already, they have clashed 20 times. Yet the will of the man continued to resist against Ativ’s gale with his own storm.

His fingers broke, his arms were half-shredded, blood poured ceaselessly, and the bones of his legs could already be seen, yet still, he stepped forward.

His breath-turned-flames have already stopped.

Yet despite being in this world where gods crossed over, the man did not pray.

To overturn his fate, he wielded his sword and turned away even the underworld.

He single-mindedly advanced.

So long as a fragment of soul was left in that body of his, not even the gods would be able to stop him from walking forward.

The black flames no longer protected the man. With the manifestation of the underworld, their power have long been directed toward the resurrection of their master. What was riding on the man’s blade was his indomitable will and a hint of the power of the old gods.

Before long, his soul would be exhausted.

Yet even then, the man continued to advance.

“────!”

He couldn’t even yell anymore.

Neither could he feel the souls of his powerful foes urging him to advance.

Even the souls of his reliable subordinates pushing him from behind seemed distant.

Despite that…

The man swung his blade and advanced.

He has come this far. Why shouldn’t he be able to take the last step?

Just one more strike.

There was just one last step remaining.

And through that simple thought, they clashed another twenty times.

His lungs burned, his eyes lost color, his ears gradually stopped hearing.

Yet even as he fought against the master of this world and contested against his divine power and skills, the man’s will refused to yield.

Before long, Ativ was driven into a corner and began to yield under his sword.

“O──OooOOAAA!!”

Ativ bellowed out to encourage himself.

The enemy before him was that strong. He didn’t even have time to attack with his True WordsMagic anymore. If he dared to direct his attention to that, the adversary before him would destroy him.

This monster which he had brought upon himself was so powerful he was certain of it.

His adversary should have long gone past his limits. So how could he keep moving forward, swing his sword, and fight against a god such as himself? Ativ couldn’t understand.

That’s why he hated him, and that’s why──he feared him.

The sword he extended, the legs he stepped with, and above all, the posture he took to attack….

“Impossible, impossible!”

Ativ screamed.

Like a child throwing a tantrum, this mad ancestor god that yet retained some rationality screamed.

He was absolute, and yet… He was afraid.

He could feel cold sweat on his back, he could feel his throat going dry.

What is this? He thought.

Then it swung for him.

That great sword clad in purple lightning.

He could see it, indeed he could still see, but his body wouldn’t move anymore.

“GAH!?”

The tip of the sword grazed his side, and as blood spurted, Ativ frantically screamed.

“Zenobia!!”

The red Goddess of Healing manifested. She didn’t come in the form of a shadow and instead descended into Reshia Fel Zeal.

The light of the Goddess of Healing healed Ativ instantly.

But this much was only a given. After all, she could not go against Ativ.

“Fu──fuhahaha!!　How’s that? I won’t die. No matter how much you cut me!　I won’t die!”

“──!”

But the sword moved even faster.

The great sword that had cut his chest, this time, cut from his side to his shoulder, but again the wounds healed.

It was a difficult ordeal akin to scooping up the bottomless waters of the ocean. That was what it meant to slay a god.

If so, then──

What else was left of him? The answer has already been given. That’s why there was no need to hesitate.

Even if meant paying with all of himself.

He raised up his great sword.

“It’s hopeless! Die!”

Light gushed out from Ativ’s long sword, illuminating the darkness and unleashing extreme light that tried to devour the man’s body.

The great sword raised up toward the heavens was like a lamp amidst the wings of the Goddess of Darkness, and the flames once again burned.

The black flame trailed in the wind from the tip to the base of the sword like a windswept battle flag. The great sword, raised to the heavens, towered over the surroundings as though to claim eternal victory.

“───!!”

The man yelled, but it could not be heard.

A single stroke.

The torrent of light and the flames of darkness collided. Amidst the clashing, deflecting, and saturating light and darkness, both souls painted their victory true.

Ativ was cut from the left shoulder to his right side, then the same sword struck out again for his heart.

“A, GAH──!?”

Without even the leisure to say anything, Ativ slowly backed off, but the man didn’t give chase.

He didn’t have the strength to anymore. Not after being wounded to his bones and even devoting his soul to the fight.

The man could no longer give chase.

But the heart that he pierced with his great sword continued to pulse. Though it poured out blood after blood, it yet beat.

Ativ’s eyes opened wide, shocked. He a backed off and vomited blood, but he remained standing.

His wounds began to close.

As defined by the principles the gods once agreed upon, the monsters would not be able to best a god. Regardless of what one might think, the body of the god harmed will continue to heal so that he might continue to win. The Goddess of Healing did as the principle dictated, and the victory that was decided long ago returned to Ativ──

“Ah, my beloved.”

But then a gentle voice resounded.

The goddess that manifested was divinely beautiful. The fragrance she gave off was full of charm, and the pressure of her existence was so overwhelming that it could dominate others.

“A, ltesi, a… There’s, no way, I can… lose…”

Altesia placed her arms around the neck of the dying Ativ, then as though she were caressing him, she brought her lips close to his ear and whispered.

“But you have lost. Oh, my beloved! Your pain, your despair, your fear, and every drop of your tears belong to me. I will never let you go!　I will never give you to anyone!　Fu fu fu, fu fu ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!”

The fatal wound at the center of Ativ’s chest started to open up again.

In fact, the underworld itself was starting to reveal itself from there. That was a wound once left by the God of War, then again by a man.

“Dee, t, na, you wench… Do you intend, to consume, me?…”

“Oh, I will give you even greater pain for betraying me. Greater despair, greater fear, for my beloved who dared harm my subordinates!　Ahahahahaha!!”

Despite his creaking body, Ativ somehow managed to move just his neck to look at Reshia, to his beloved Goddess of HealingZenobia.

“Ze no, bi… a──”

He wanted to see as much of her as he could in his last moments, but Altesia would not permit it.

“Oh, my beloved, but you cannot. The only one you can look at is me…”

From the underworld drilled into his chest an arm came out. Those arms reminiscent of the dead came out one after another and bound Ativ, then they dragged him inside.

“Gi, gi, ──gi, giuguua!!”

Ativ screamed a scream one wouldn’t think to be of this world, then he vanished without a trace.