Silver and red tore through the sky.
―――――Kakiing.
As the wall of sound was broken several times, the god-king accelerated with silver wings. Physical dynamics and inertia laws were nothing more than meaningless limits to a divine being. Acceleration and stopping were freely repeated up and down, left and right, and in any direction.
S turn, Z turn... Even a dragon would get a concussion from the acceleration, but Nuada moved freely.
[Hrmm, you are running away well with human flesh.]
Rather, it was strange that Invidia could keep up.
[Suspension, Acceleration, Release, Refraction... There are three more. You have quite a few tricks to play.]
Nuada didn’t hesitate to evaluate the acceleration that combined seven Aura Abilities. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to find, let alone escape from, the god that wasn’t bound by the laws of physics.
“Ugh, you! How long are you going to follow me?” Invidia climbed up to the stratosphere in less than a minute and finally swung his sword as he gave up on running away.
This would be an injury that Nuada wouldn’t be able to avoid. The Aura Ability to see the future had allowed him to see it. An incredible amount of aura twisted the space around him and ripped the clouds apart.
Kesein’s Breaking the Sky Sword—this was the sword of the man who was respected by all swordsmen in Andras.
Sky Slash—the symbol of the founding king of Andras, Kesein Fernado, showed its power after centuries. It was a transcendent attack that tore apart the sky! According to Invidia, who had seen grandmasters, this was a power that Nuada wouldn’t be able to endure.
[This is a good one.]
Like blood pouring down from the torn sky, the bloody flash of the aura blade approached Nuada. There was no room to avoid or block it, the ultimate sword of one who saw beyond the peak and peered at the end.
It hadn’t reached transcendence, but Invidia’s immense power made up for the shortcomings. If this fell to the ground, it would pass through the mantle and outer core of Earth. Thus, Nuada raised some of his saved strength.
Claimhb Solais shone brightly. It started collecting the mana, light, and heat from around it. This sword was a treasure, a light in the dark that would bring victory. It was the symbol of the god-king, who had magnified the name of the gods and led the Elin to victory.
The moment that Nuada struck with the brilliant sword in his hand, there was a golden blast, like the roar of the sun.
Kuooooooh―――――!
Then the golden light rushed off. It was sacred and beautiful, a wave of overflowing light that broke the ominous blood. The blood split apart rapidly, with the golden light digging into every piece.
It wasn’t just the power that was different. The degree of completeness was different as well. As Nuada was a god and a warrior, his sword was able to strike down Kesein’s ultimate technique.
[Hrmm?]
Maybe it was because he lacked strength, but the golden light broke through the sky slash and lost its sharpness, turning into a shockwave.
The golden light’s form wasn’t a blade but a barrier.
The wall of gold grazed Invidia’s head and threw him back into the mountains, like a pebble struck by a big hammer. No, it was obvious that he had gone underground and penetrated into the bedrock.
The body of the host was indispensable for a parasitic grimoire. It took a few seconds for Invidia to recover from the damage received and to reach the surface.
[Let’s finish it here.]
Nuada called out in the name of the god of light, and all of the light responded.
Ku kwa kwa kwang!
Light poured down toward the area where Invidia had crashed. It contained more destructive power than a 7th circle great magic.
For Nuada who was the god of light, this power wasn’t much different from snapping his fingers. One side of the mountain collapsed, and one of the mountain peaks disappeared. The land melted, becoming a lake of lava.
Even the red dragon, who was almost completely resistant to fire, wouldn’t be able to endure it. An enormous amount of dust and heat rose from the shocked land. The shock was big enough to be delivered to Theodore, who was dozens of kilometers away!
The cloud of dust rose into the air like a volcano eruption, and Nuada’s eyes suddenly widened. He was convinced of the opponent’s death, so the result of the attack was unexpected.
[...Hoh.]
A translucent shield could be seen on one side of the mountain where Claimhb Solais had hit. It wasn’t even cracked despite taking on this onslaught. This wasn’t a level of defense that was possible with Invidia’s abilities. At first, the face of a woman with snakes for hair could be seen, but it soon vanished with the shield.
However, Nuada’s wisdom saw through it right away. [Aegis, Pallas Athena’s shield.]
This was the god-weapon that took away the power of a gorgon, a legendary monster. It was a shield that petrified all opponents facing it, as well as reflected most attacks. No, there was something strange about this.
[Invader, you aren’t its legitimate owner and can only use it once. Do you plan to use a divine artifact as a disposable item?]
“...God-King Nuada, I understand why you were called that,” Invidia responded to the question with a non-answer as he walked out from the protection of the shield. “The sword that brat, Fermut, took was Claimhb Solais. Your summoner stole it and used it to call you.”
[What?]
“How funny. If I wasn’t involved, I would laugh. But now that I am in this situation, my anger is rising.” Invidia didn’t want to talk. He was just trying to spit out his anger. Fermut, that brat, had grabbed his ankles. The item that Invidia collected was just used to call his worst enemy, and now he had to consume other collectibles that were in short supply. So, it was natural for him to be furious.
“...From now on, I won’t consider holding back for my own interests.”
His anger reached the boiling point, and Invidia reached out in a calm manner. Then he pulled out a sword from somewhere.
[―What?] Nuada’s expression hardened.
The shape of the straight steel blade, the bluish light―
Kwarururung!
Fearsome lightning bolts emerged from it. The absurd power of the ‘hard lightning bolts’ which had destroyed mountain peaks in the past... Nuada couldn’t help crying out the name of the sword, [Caladbolg?!]
It was the sword of Fergus mac Róich, Elin’s honorable hero! Nuada covered his sword with divine power and blocked the lightning bolts.
Invidia’s Aura Abilities might be crude, but he was holding divine battle gear that could kill a god. He wasn’t the legitimate owner, so the gear would disappear after one use. However, that one use was threatening enough.
This was the reason why Andras had been exploring the ruins from the Age of Mythology since its founding. The relics that Invidia monopolized for centuries started to finally shine.
“Kill, Dainsleif.”
It was a cursed sword that increased in strength when blood was steeped in blood. The curses were ‘Retribution’, ‘Retaliation’, and ‘Destruction.’ The consumable sword was broken the moment the curses were released, but Nuada received an injury on his left side.
“Come down, Moralltach!”
This was a sword that, once brandished, emitted a wave of light. This time, Nuada received the attack with his sword. The aftermath was so intense that the ground sunk down by dozens of meters.
Indeed, this was the power of the Age of Mythology. If Nuada hadn’t been using Claimhb Solais, any other blade would’ve broken because it couldn’t cope with the power.
[―Don’t climb up!]
Even so, Nuada Airgetlám was the god-king.
Kakang!
Nuada’s sword was one step ahead and shattered the sword that Invidia pulled out. It wouldn’t have been so easy if Invidia was the legitimate owner, but the sword chose to be destroyed by the god-king, rather than lend power to the ‘collector.’
Four swords were broken in succession, then the light from Claimhb Solais pierced Invidia’s body. No, it was more accurate to say that it looked like it was pierced.
Kwaduduk...!
The pieces of broken armor disappeared without a trace. That pure white gloss... it was Witege’s Armor. It was too late for Nuada to notice that Invidia was wearing it. However, this could only buy time.
Invidia barely survived and pulled out another sword, but it was rare that any sword could compare to the god-sword, Claimhb Solais. It was fortunate if Invidia could block a single attack. There were even cases where he needed to use two swords at once.
[Stolen power, stolen techniques, and now stolen weapons,] Nuada ridiculed as light emerged from behind him.
“Kuk, try and stop all of this...!” Invidia threw out many swords. The 34 blades were hit by a ray of light and disappeared without leaving any traces.
Increasing the number of weapons couldn’t win against these two qualities of Nuada, the instincts of a warrior and the acumen of a strategist.
[What will you bring out now? Almace? Or Beagalltach? Balisarda and Morglay are also not bad. You might be able to breathe longer if you have Tyrfing. You might not be struggling if you brought them out earlier.]
“Mocking me till the end!”
[Ridiculous. You don’t even deserve my mocking. Invader, this low nature of yours is grabbing at your ankles.]
It was time. Nuada raised his sword. Theodore had given him a non-standard offering, but Nuada couldn’t bring out the unlimited power of the god-king. Nuada would be evicted from this material world in 12... 13 seconds?
He, the god of victory, was sure this was enough.
[Maybe you have no more weapons to take out. If so, die here.]
Claimhb Solais drew in the light. The silver sword burned up as the light became close to the density of an artificial star. This was equivalent to an ancient dragon’s breath or even more.
Hyde had once wielded the god-sword to destroy the warlocks, but this was more than a thousand times more powerful. It was far from its prime, but this was still enough to completely kill Invidia.
A pseudo-sun was called. Claimhb Solais lost the shape of a sword, and a second sun emerged in the sky. The gold and radiant light, like the old sun, was the symbol of Nuada Airgetlám. It was the supreme light that warmly embraced all of its people and defeated the enemies!
[Annihilate the enemy, Claimhb Solais!]
According to the will of God-King Nuada, the pseudo-sun fell on Invidia’s head. A mortal’s Aura Ability couldn’t endure this for even a moment. Any shield would be destroyed. No armor could defend against this sun.
The only enemy who survived the power of this sword had been the evil Crom Cruach. The majestic and divine light of the sun enveloped the world.