Chapter 188 - Episode 25. Deus Ex Machina (3)
Chapter 188: Episode 25. Deus Ex Machina (3)
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KRAAAAAASH!
With a deafening roar, Hatchinold’s hall was completely overturned. Gods screamed as the underground auction house’s pillars collapsed and the ground began to sink.
It was the result of Jaehwan and Russell’s combined strike.
Jaehwan and Russell kicked off the ground and soared into the air almost simultaneously.
Was it the backlash of their momentary World Binding?
Jaehwan forced down the nausea rising in his throat. Beside him, Russell bent over and vomited World Force onto the floor.
Russell casually wiped his mouth, glanced around, and muttered, “This is the first time even I’ve killed this many.”
Not many gods remained after the thick dust settled. Most of the survivors could barely support their wounded bodies.
Russell spoke in a hollow voice.
“You really are insane. You’ll be a public enemy of the Abyss now.”
“You’ll be one too.”
“I already am a public enemy of the Abyss.”
The Vicegerents of high-grade and supreme-grade gods had been wiped out. On top of that, Jaehwan believed two gods of Seven-Star caliber had been completely annihilated. He could still faintly sense Dark Heaven’s World Force, so it appeared they had failed to finish Dark Heaven off.
Survivors began emerging one by one from the collapsed ruins.
“Damn it, what happened?”
Those who had noticed the disturbance at the auction house were rushing over from afar. Among them were Awakened Ones from the 「Rupture」 and subordinates of the Seven Divine Thrones.
“This has become troublesome. Is it the same outside?”
Jaehwan remained alert as he scanned every direction.
Whooooom.
When he turned around, Raynald and the auction staff were floating up from the rubble inside a bell-shaped barrier. They had activated it at the critical moment and successfully protected Deus Ex Machina.
Dream demon magic truly was remarkable.
Rumble.
Jaehwan and Russell looked up at the sound from the sky.
“What a mess.”
Gods who had escaped the collapse earlier were engaged in fierce battles overhead.
Shiyu of the Eight Heavens and Thanatos were brawling with the Clockmakers. Pest, Ignis, and Chronos of the Seven Divine Thrones were glaring at one another while maintaining a strange deadlock.
They likely knew it as well. If the Seven Divine Thrones fought here, all of Hatchinold could be destroyed.
That was when a jet-black shadow approached Deus Ex Machina.
X.
The mysterious god who had bid on Deus Ex Machina alongside Jaehwan earlier.
Just as X’s elongated arm reached for Deus Ex Machina, a silver blade flashed like lightning toward it.
Clang!
It was Maiad.
X swung a steel prosthetic arm and confronted Maiad. Surprisingly, the two were nearly evenly matched.
Russell, who had been watching with Jaehwan, said, “I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but get out of here first. If you stay, you’ll definitely die.”
“I appreciate the concern, but I have something I need to do.”
A black shadow spread over their heads.
The ground caved in, followed by a sound like steel crushing bone.
Russell and Jaehwan were both sent flying and buried in the ruins.
When Jaehwan emerged from the wreckage with a frown, he found the being that had struck him from behind.
A steel giant more than seven or eight meters tall.
Deus Ex Machina?
No. It looked different from Deus Ex Machina.
[As expected of you, Heaven’s End. I never thought I would have to bring this out.]
The voice from within the steel body was familiar. Judging by the World Pressure, it belonged to Turis, whom Jaehwan had believed dead.
Russell ground out, “Damn it. A Gigantes.”
The pages of the 『Record of the Abyss』 turned in Jaehwan’s mind, and information about Gigantes began surfacing one after another.
The 《Abyss》’s war machines, Gigantes.
According to what was known, every Gigantes originated from Deus, the “Destroyer of Plausibility,” one of the Three Ancient Gods.
The God of All Machines, unrivaled when it came to creating Parts.
The method of creating Gigantes was a legendary legacy Deus had left behind in the 《Abyss》.
[Did Pao fall?]
Turis muttered bitterly from inside the Gigantes.
Chronos, who was still confronting the others in the air, glanced toward Turis.
It seemed Turis had been working with Chronos as well.
Small portals opened one after another nearby, and a large number of Gigantes emerged.
“This is insane... Everyone, run!”
“It’s a Holy War!”
Spectators who spotted the Gigantes began fleeing in a panic.
Jaehwan gripped Solitary Existence as he watched the approaching Gigantes.
There were eight of them at a glance. Those who had been on the verge of death moments ago were now inside heaps of scrap metal, overflowing with confident World Force.
KRAAASH!
The ground leaped as though it were being bombarded with every punch.
Their destructive power reminded Jaehwan of the warship 「Nebula」 he had encountered in the 〈Metaverse〉.
Russell warned him, “Be careful. Gods piloting Gigantes have their World Force greatly amplified.”
The Gigantes’ innate ability, 「World Force Amplification」.
Depending on its output, this Setting could multiply World Force by as little as 1.2 times or as much as 1.5 times. That was why gods coveted Gigantes.
“Make sure you survive.”
Jaehwan no longer had the leisure to look after Russell.
Craters formed across the ground as though meteor showers had struck. Every blow carried World Force too powerful to block head-on. Their World Force had been amplified, and the Gigantes’ unique durability had been added on top of that. It felt as though he was facing enemies more than three times stronger.
That was not the only problem.
「Fall」 was ineffective.
Jaehwan only realized it after clashing head-on with a Gigantes. Even after being struck repeatedly by 「Fall」, the gods inside the Gigantes suffered almost no damage.
He did not know whether it was because of the Gigantes Part or because he lacked enough World Force.
One thing was certain. He had no chance of winning in a direct confrontation like this.
“I thought it would be strange for such an incredible Setting to have no penalty.”
The irritating voice came from Maiad, who was fighting behind him.
“If you have time to say that, contribute some World Force.”
“As you can see, I’m in a difficult situation myself.”
Maiad certainly was not gaining an advantage against X.
It was unclear whether Maiad was deliberately holding back or X was simply that strong. The two seemed caught in a peculiar deadlock for some special reason.
[Kill him!]
Jaehwan used 「Earth Stab」 to escape the Gigantes’ attack range while gathering World Force.
He needed an extremely powerful technique, one that could bring down those Gigantes in a single blow.
Yet his World Force was nearly depleted.
Then a thought flashed through Jaehwan’s mind.
There was a way to restore his lost World Force, at least temporarily.
He reached into his clothes and gripped the blank check Maiad had given him. The check had no value unless it was exchanged for trust.
Still, it was not as though there was no way to obtain trust.
Dodging the Gigantes’ coordinated attacks, Jaehwan ran toward the vault guarded by the auction staff.
“W-What are you doing?!”
He subdued the two staff members in an instant and threw open the vault.
Trust that had already been paid as auction proceeds poured out like a waterfall.
Jaehwan quickly absorbed it.
Whooooom.
Trust was crystallized from the faith of Followers.
The Prayers clenched in Jaehwan’s fist were being converted into World Force.
[Over there! Attack him!]
Jaehwan turned at once and met the charging Gigantes’ fist with his own.
As the shockwave of their powerful World Force swept outward, Jaehwan immediately followed up.
KRAAASH!
The Gigantes struck by Jaehwan’s fist staggered back three or four steps.
[What?!]
A bare human had collided with a Gigantes, yet the Gigantes had been pushed back.
The Vicegerents of high-grade gods stood dumbfounded.
Jaehwan was not satisfied.
Still not enough.
World Force worth tens of millions of trust surged through his body, but it was not fully his own power.
The enemies inside the Gigantes also possessed formidable World Force.
Most of all, with 「Fall」 ineffective, recklessly wasting power would only make him collapse from World Force depletion again.
“Jaehwan! Take your clothes off.”
Andersen’s voice, having returned at some point, echoed through Jaehwan’s mind.
“Quickly! There’s no time!”
Jaehwan did not hesitate. He threw off his clothes.
Come to think of it, he still had one unused card left.
‘Was it 「Nakey」?’
Normally, Andersen would have snapped at Jaehwan for calling it 「Nakey」 instead of 「Naked」.
But Andersen was unusually serious today.
Andersen’s Setting resonated with Jaehwan’s World Force, and golden World Force covered his entire body. Jaehwan shone so brilliantly that it was almost blinding.
“Done! With this much World Force, even the full song won’t be a problem!”
‘Is she planning to sing that strange song again?’
Jaehwan knew this Setting well.
「Naked」.
He had learned it from Andersen. It had been extremely useful when fighting the Leader, but would it work against those machines too?
“Watch carefully. This is the true power of 「Naked」. This Setting was originally created to deal with Gigantes.”
He had no better option, so Jaehwan decided to trust Andersen.
At her words, Jaehwan leaped high into the sky.
[W-What is that bastard doing?!]
[He really took his clothes off! Be careful!]
It was already well known that Heaven’s End threw off his clothes whenever he fought. Still, the Vicegerents who saw it in person felt an odd sense of fear.
It felt as though an established pattern had been broken, as though the normal flow of battle had veered far from its course. The sense that something was wrong made them even more anxious.
[He’s just insane! Kill him!]
Then, the next moment.
A song began to echo from somewhere.
Long, long ago,
There lived a Naked God.
He hated clothes,
So he lived naked all his life.
No one knew who was singing or where the song came from.
Time slowed.
The surrounding space twisted strangely.
The Vicegerents watched Jaehwan.
A man walking toward them naked.
A naked god with light steps and an innocent expression.
Sanctuary Manifestation.
「Naked World」
Andersen’s Sanctuary appeared within the 《Abyss》.
A naked god walked gently across a field where a pleasant breeze blew. Like a scene from an old fairy tale, the gods were entranced by the magical sight.
When they suddenly came to their senses, they realized they had become part of the fairy tale.
One day, the Naked God
Went outside because he was bored.
And he met his first friend.
Soon, the fairy tale’s page turned.
The Gigantes pilot facing Jaehwan instinctively understood that they were a supporting character in this story. Fighting down an uncomfortable fear, they tried to collect their thoughts.
It was fine. This was only an illusion. The enemy before them was only a Vicegerent.
Of course, what stood before them was not a Vicegerent.
A god.
A gigantic Naked God was looking at them.
The Naked God spoke.
“Let’s play.”
The moment the pilot heard the voice, their mind went blank. The scene before them became a tangled mess inside their head.
Nothing had even happened to them, yet the Gigantes’ huge body began stumbling backward in a frenzy.
What was that thing?
They desperately tried to reassure themselves.
‘I’m inside a Gigantes. That bastard can never hurt me.’
The Naked God smiled before them.
“But what is that thing you’re wearing? Don’t tell me it’s clothes?”
The Vicegerent inside the Gigantes convulsed as though electrocuted, then collapsed into their seat.
No one could hear it, but the Vicegerent kept muttering like someone who had lost their mind.
“T-These aren’t clothes. They’re not clothes.”
A moment later, the Naked God’s voice rang out.
“Liar.”
Every fight in the hall temporarily stopped.
Maiad and X. Shiyu and Thanatos. Dark Heaven and Russell. Even the Seven Divine Thrones in the sky.
Everyone at the auction house held their breath and watched.
The enormous Gigantes body was being torn apart like paper.
Footnotes:
Chapter discussion