Chapter 131 - Episode 19. War of the Six Gods (4)
Chapter 131: Episode 19. War of the Six Gods (4)
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The crows in the sky swooped toward the great warship. Its smaller cannons opened fire on them all at once.
Justice’s voice rang out amid the scattering black feathers.
[Keep firing.]
The impatience in his voice soon became reality. Crows that had slipped into the great warship’s engine vents began detonating.
As the great warship lost power and descended, the aboveground Dolls drew their bowstrings as if they had been waiting for this.
“Aim.”
At Ethan’s command, the Dolls prepared their respective 「Settings」. They were not as powerful as they had been in life, but their destructive force could not be ignored.
There were at least several thousand of them.
“Fire.”
About half the arrows that arced high through the sky failed to follow their intended paths and fell. The other half struck the front of the great warship with perfect accuracy.
No matter how sturdy a great warship was, it could not withstand dozens of volleys like this.
Justice finally made his decision.
[Deploy.]
As if they had been waiting, Followers leaped from the great warship’s stern. The passengers began descending like paratroopers.
They were members of Fire, Mogi, and Bihwa, three of the Five Great Alliances. Low-grade and mid-grade gods descended in person, joined by Vicegerents and Dolls representing some high-grade gods.
The aboveground Dolls met them, each raising a spear or sword.
“The day has finally come.”
“Let us fight them together.”
“Join the battle!”
Even without Ethan’s orders, the Dolls moved of their own will.
They had waited five hundred years for this day alone.
“Gyaaaah!”
“They are just Dolls. Kill them all!”
With battle cries, the Dolls and Followers clashed in a tangled mass.
The Dolls did not yield an inch to the Alliance members’ momentum.
They could fight without fear because Ethan constantly supplied them with World Force.
Watching the endless flock of crows rise, Justice drew his sword in the sky.
[This will never end at this rate. I will deal with Ethan myself.]
[Justice, but...]
[Rakers, Galateon. Keep that Awakened One occupied from the great warship.]
Jaehwan stood aboveground where Justice’s blade pointed.
Kwwaaaaa!
He should have been struggling to stand after taking the 「Prayer Flood Wave」. Yet Jaehwan was still moving. His movements clearly carried a penalty, but every time he unleashed a Stab, Alliance members steadily fell.
Even in that condition, his Combat Power overwhelmed the Followers of high-grade gods.
That was a monster.
In a one-on-one fight, the only one in the Alliance capable of facing that monster was likely its Leader.
He could not let Jaehwan get that far.
The Leader.
As the sole passenger in the 〈Metaverse〉 free to board and disembark by virtue of being ranked first, he could come and go as he pleased.
He had briefly left due to other circumstances, but if he returned to the bus, Justice would have to explain all the turmoil that had occurred.
He could not allow any more damage. Justice dropped from beneath the great warship.
[The God of Flash ‘Rayray’ points at Justice.]
[The God of Flames ‘Ignis’ thinks Justice is pathetic.]
[‘Anonymous God 583’ laments that Justice has not changed at all in five hundred years.]
[Some gods disapprove of Justice’s actions.]
Justice pressed his lips together and muttered inwardly.
What do those fools know?
He deflected several arrows that came hurtling toward him and landed on the ground. Up close, he could clearly see the Dolls’ faces.
They were Followers of the Revolutionary Army that had fought the Alliance five hundred years ago.
Familiar faces.
Followers of Andersen and Arteina. He also saw Followers of gods who had shared their cause.
Among those Dolls was one who had once been Justice’s own Follower.
「“Justice-nim.”」
「“I do not doubt that you will become the strongest god in the 〈Metaverse〉.”」
Justice, God of Definition.
The first of the Four Heroes to enter the 〈Metaverse〉 five hundred years ago.
[Benzene. It has been a long time.]
Justice remembered his Follower’s name. Benzene had once served at his side more closely than anyone.
[Rest now.]
Justice drove his sword into the Follower.
The instant the blade tore out the Doll’s heart, the Doll’s memories flowed into Justice.
It was a characteristic of Ethan’s Sanctuary, 「Graveyard of Crows」.
「“Losing the Holy War is not the end. We can grow stronger here. If we all work together to build our Worldviews and strengthen our Settings, we can still hold our own outside. I am confident as long as we are with you, Justice-nim!”」
An old memory.
Five hundred years ago, Justice had been a loser driven out of the Holy War in the Abyss and chased into the 〈Metaverse〉. He had dreamed of making a comeback here with his remaining Followers.
He had been a young low-grade god, filled with passion and spirit.
But what greeted him was the 〈Metaverse〉’s brutal reality.
「“You are the God of Justice! Why will you not save us? Why are you running away?”」
He lost his cherished Followers over and over. Some even betrayed him.
「“I am sick of your pathetic game of justice.”」
The ones who saved him as he gradually became a fallen god were his old Companions.
“Justice, what are you doing here? Are you still wandering around the third floor? You really are Justice with no sense of direction.”
“Just as expected of Justice, always arriving late.”
Justice often thought about it.
What would have become of him if Andersen and Arteina had not entered the 〈Metaverse〉 to save him back then?
“Justice!”
If that damned Ethan Cart had not been there.
Slash.
Ethan’s black blade flew through the air and grazed Justice’s cheek.
[Ethan.]
Justice swung his beloved sword, Judgment, at the charging Ethan.
[You do not know how I made it this far.]
The last five hundred years had been long for Justice as well.
If he lost here and was driven out of the tower, the foundation he had built over centuries would all collapse.
Most of the Settings he had used so effectively in the 〈Metaverse〉 would not work outside the tower. Skins and weapons made from exclusive Parts would lose their purpose.
[You do not know what I am capable of doing to protect this position.]
Ethan met Justice head-on and swung his own beloved weapon. Raven Claw, the sword that had fought alongside Ethan through thousands of battles, blocked Judgment’s blade.
“Is this really all you have?”
The collision of two World Forces shook the surrounding land as though it had been bombarded.
It was an immense clash of World Force.
“You betrayed your Companions and became the Alliance’s dog to grow stronger. Is this all that gave you?”
Ethan pulled a 「Part」 from his coat and put it over his mouth. It was his exclusive mask, made to inhale massive amounts of trust in battle.
The moment he inhaled, an enormous amount of trust converted into World Force.
Black World Force, like crow feathers, coiled around Raven Claw’s blade and sent Justice flying in one blow.
Rumble.
Covered in dust, Justice staggered to his feet.
“You could not defeat me five hundred years ago. Nothing has changed, Justice, God of Definition.”
[You always mocked my divine name.]
Justice planted his sword into the ground and caught his breath.
Looking at the line his sword had carved into the earth, he continued.
[But Ethan, I told you back then as well. I am not the God of Justice.]
Ethan’s expression changed.
Since when had Justice’s sword been drawing a strange pattern into the ground?
[You intend to face me even knowing my Sanctuary. You must have grown old.]
The pattern resembled a judge’s gavel. A bright light soon rose from it.
Sanctuary Manifestation.
「Sanctuary of Definition」.
Ethan knew that Sanctuary. He had seen that Worldview five hundred years ago.
“You can still only manifest it atop another god’s Sanctuary,” Ethan said.
[...]
“You have not changed, Justice. You are still a cuckoo. You should rename yourself the God of Bedbugs.”
At the same time, Ethan and Justice vanished.
In the brief instant it took to inhale, the two gods’ swords collided in the air with a fierce clang.
[I am the God of Definition.]
“You just said you were not the God of Justice. You still speak out of both sides of your mouth.”
[I am not Justice, the guardian of righteous order. I am Definition, the one who precisely defines the beings of the world.]
Whenever their battle intensified, Ethan’s Sanctuary, formed around the gavel pattern, grew brighter.
[That is the divine name I received to define gods filled with prejudice, like you.]
“Really? I only learned that after five hundred years. You should define your name as ‘Definition’ first, Justice.”
At last, the gavel pattern’s light reached its peak. Justice activated his Settings.
law-type Setting, 「Divine Weapon Restraint」
law-type Setting, 「Definition」.
In an instant, a wave of World Force rose above the gavel and bound Ethan’s body.
Justice placed a hand on Ethan’s shoulder.
[I announce the result of Definition for the 1,542nd round.]
A message appeared in the air.
[All conditions for ‘Definition’ have been satisfied.]
[The power of the law-type Setting, ‘Definition’, manifests.]
A terrifying amount of trust, nearly equal to what Ethan had used, flowed into Justice’s mouth.
[For ten minutes, a new ‘Definition’ takes effect in this Worldview.]
「The King of Crows ‘Ethan Cart’ is weaker than the God of Definition ‘Justice’.」
Ethan severed the force of 「Divine Weapon Restraint」 and quickly retreated.
Nothing seemed very different on the surface, but Ethan knew the true value of that Setting.
「Definition」.
It was a terrifying Setting that could reverse the balance of power as long as its conditions were met, though only for a short time.
It consumed an immense amount of World Force and trust, but that Setting was why Justice had risen to the position of one of the Metaverse Six Gods.
The only weakness of 「Definition」 was its short duration.
But Ethan did not even have that much time. The volcanic eruptions had been growing more frequent.
Ten minutes.
It was exactly the time remaining until this world’s destruction.
The nearby Dolls stepped in to block Justice’s path, as if they had been waiting.
They had to buy time somehow.
Boom!
More than ten Dolls blocking his path were hurled into the air with an explosive roar.
It happened in less than a blink.
[Was this really all you had, Ethan?]
Justice was suddenly right before him.
[Go ahead. Keep acting superior.]
Dozens of exchanges were traded through the air.
No, it could not even be called an exchange. It was a one-sided beating.
The moment Ethan, forced on the defensive, lost his grip on Raven Claw’s hilt, Justice’s fist buried itself in Ethan’s stomach.
Cough.
That was the beginning.
Face, stomach, shoulder.
Justice’s barrage continued, striking and shattering Ethan’s joints. Ethan could not even scream as he took every blow head-on.
Before long, the Doll Ethan occupied could no longer endure the impacts and collapsed to the ground.
Justice grabbed the limp Ethan by the collar and forced him upright.
For some reason, Justice stopped attacking for a moment and looked at Ethan.
More precisely, he looked at the Doll Ethan was using.
[Rachel Young. Andersen’s Vicegerent, was she not?]
“...”
[Do you know? Andersen came here to save me.]
Justice’s fist slammed into the Doll’s stomach.
It was a terrible blow that shook the Doll’s insides.
[She was my Companion. Until you showed up and joined us late.]
The moment the blow landed, Rachel Young’s memories spilled out.
Jihan, Ethan’s Vicegerent, and Rachel Young, Andersen’s Vicegerent, bickering as they walked away. Ethan and Andersen smiling as they watched their Vicegerents.
Justice waited for the memory to end as if watching a distant scene.
When the memory disappeared, Rachel Young’s bruised face was smiling.
“It seems I was not the one trapped five hundred years ago. You were.”
[Die together with the world you loved, Ethan.]
World Force gathered around Justice’s fist as he pulled it lightly back.
A blow more powerful than any he had delivered so far.
Just as Justice’s fist was about to move, as if putting the final mark on the memory...
[...]
Justice looked down at his arm.
[Did you come here to die?]
Jaehwan had a firm grip on Justice’s arm.
Justice looked Jaehwan over. Every shred of his clothing had been torn apart by the great warship’s attacks, and his entire body was covered in silver blood. His mind, already struck by the 「Prayer Flood Wave」, must have been in ruins.
Yet Jaehwan did not let go of Justice’s arm.
Justice tried several times to shake him off, but Jaehwan would not release him.
He still had this much strength left?
Justice was briefly taken aback, then his expression changed.
This was better.
Justice threw Ethan to the ground and twisted his grip around Jaehwan’s wrist as though restraining him.
[I announce the result of Definition for the 1,543rd round.]
Bright light rose from the six-pointed star beneath their feet.
[All conditions for ‘Definition’ have been satisfied.]
[The power of the law-type Setting, ‘Definition’, manifests.]
「‘Jaehwan’ is weaker than the God of Definition ‘Justice’.」
[For ten minutes, a new ‘Definition’ takes effect in this Worldview.]
It was the first time Justice had manifested 「Definition」 twice in one day.
It was truly excessive, and Justice felt his World Force suffer greatly.
Still, he needed to demonstrate the Alliance’s certain victory here, no matter what.
Boom!
Justice’s fist exploded against Jaehwan’s face.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Roars like cannon fire rang out.
He struck him again and again. The barrage was enough not only to turn someone to pulp, but to grind them into dust.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
How long had he been striking him?
Justice began to feel something strange.
His fist hurt.
Why?
Looking closely, Jaehwan was leaning his forehead forward and taking the punches head-on.
Did he have some kind of 「Stone Head」 Setting?
No. Even if he did, this should have been impossible.
「Definition」 had clearly taken effect.
Justice quickly checked the Setting’s status.
[‘Jaehwan’ is weaker than Justice, God of Definition.]
It was definitely working properly.
Then why?
[Unable to identify the ‘target of Definition’.]
What?
[An error has occurred in ‘Definition’!]
[An error has occurred in ‘Definition’!]
......
Setting messages filled his vision.
Justice turned pale, his lips trembling.
It was impossible. No matter how powerful an Awakened One was, he could not be immune even to a god’s 「Setting」.
[The target is an entity you cannot ‘define’.]
Justice hurriedly stepped back, trying to get away from Jaehwan.
But he could not escape.
Jaehwan’s hand had a firm grip on Justice’s wrist.
“Is it my turn now?”
Footnotes:
Chapter discussion