This was the body that was the symbol of victory. Nuada’s divine power covered the greatly wounded masters and revived their vitality, to the point where fighting again was possible. Most legends admired him as a war god, but there were a few where he was a healing god.
The king of the gods wasn’t almighty, but he was close to all-powerful. He protected the fishermen in the sea, healed all diseases on the ground, and was the sun god who ruled from the sky. There was no god as powerful as Nuada, and he also had an army of followers. In the second battle of Mag Tuired, the guardian who risked his life to overthrow Crom Cruach was Nuada Airgetlám.
He spoke to Invidia in a voice filled with dignity, [You look different from that time, Invader.]
As Theodore had guessed, the two beings knew each other.
Nuada looked coldly at Invidia, who was in the shape of an old man. [No, I don’t think the shell means much to you. The shallow need to take away the power of others to fulfill that desire remains the same.]
“...Nuada Airgetlám. A ghost is insulting me?” Nuada’s words seemed to have struck a nerve as Invidia stiffened from the insult.
Even though Nuada had died, he was the king of the god clan and couldn’t be compared to simple ghosts.
However, instead of falling for the provocation, Nuada laughed like Invidia had made a funny joke. [Huhaha! If I am a ghost, what are you? You might split into 10,000 pieces, but you can’t become one by collecting 10,000 pieces. It has been thousands of years, and you are still walking in the wrong place.]
“Don’t talk as if you know everything!”
It was a conversation that couldn’t be understood. Theodore could sense profound principles in their words, but he lacked the ability to understand the conversation between the god-king and the Seven Sins grimoire.
However, there was one thing Theodore was able to know for sure. It was Nuada who took the lead in this struggle, while Invidia was falling prey to his provocations.
Nuada shrugged at the hedgehog-like response. [Well, okay. You haven’t changed your method even after falling down a few times. I will praise you for not knowing how to give up.]
As he looked down at his prey, Nuada sneered, [This seventh or eighth attempt, I will score it with my sword.]
It literally occurred in an instant.
“―Kuk!”
At the next moment, Invidia stepped back with a sword mark on his face. Theodore couldn’t see the attack or how it was avoided.
This was the power of Claimhb Solais. According to legends, it was said to produce black flames and emit light. However, this was an absurd remark made by people who had never seen Nuada fight in person.
[Hoh, you only got a light wound? I’ll give you 60 points.]
The essence of Nuada’s sword was that it couldn’t be recognized.
“Light Speed Sword, is it?” Invidia muttered as he barely dodged a serious blow. However, Nuada denied it, [That answer receives 0 points. If you can only think about that, you should give up on your unskilled attempts.]
“What would you know…?!” Invidia roared, drawing his sword. He used four types of Aura Abilities when dealing with Veronica, but now it exceeded 10 abilities.
Acceleration, Enhancement, Special Talent, Operating System, Discharge...
All types of Aura Abilities came together, distorting the space around the blade. If it were just the output, this would already be more than that of a grandmaster. 1+1=2, but Aura Ability wasn’t constant. If the abilities were well-balanced, it was possible to cause a synergy of four times, maybe even 10 times.
In a few cases, the synergy of the Aura Abilities was multiplied by 16.
The ability of the 6th stage, to combine all abilities to the maximum, was now being freed. It was a dimensional interference that could only be seen with ancient dragons. This power was undoubtedly the domain of the transcendents.
“Insignificant personification, go back to where you came from!”
Simultaneously, Invidia’s sword crushed the construct of time and space.
16 Compound Hidden Technique.
Six Paths to Kill a God.
World Breaking Emperor Strike.
The essence of swordsmanship was extracted from dozens of sword masters, and the 16 synergistic abilities combined. Theoretically, it could separate the walls of the dimension...
[A swordsmanship that is just a shell, with no depth of power...] Nuada looked at the fearsome swirl of power, evaluating it in a mocking tone, [It really is useless.]
Then the god sword flashed once again.
“...Kuheook?” Blood flowed from the arms, legs, and many parts of Invidia’s body as he rolled on the ground in an unsightly manner. World Breaking Emperor Strike... A technique with such a powerful name crumbled from one flash of light.
It was useless compared to the total amount of power contained within it.
There was a huge difference, like comparing a mountain to a grain of sand, or a lake to the sea. Of course, it was Invidia who had the dominant power in his attack, and Nuada was the inferior one.
In that case, what was this ridiculous result?
[Hmm, I tried to kill you, but you survived. Is it due to the extra power you put in your defensive abilities?]
According to Nuada, Invidia had just barely survived a fatal blow.
“You... you, you, youuuuuu―!!”
Invidia’s broken ribs and torn lungs were recovering at a rapid rate. The exposed bones from his right collarbone to his left hip were being covered up. ‘Adamantine Might’, ‘Immutability’, ‘Restoration’, ‘Joining’... It was thanks to the countless Aura Abilities that protected his body.
However, Invidia’s pride had long been torn to shreds. It had been a long time since he was knocked down by a person. If he were ‘Pride’, it wouldn’t be strange for him to be brain-dead from the shame.
Finally, a dull madness filled Invidia’s eyes. “You died, forgotten god who is a ghost...!”
[Ah, thank you for that fact, Invader,] the god-king said, nodding lightly. Then he declared, [If this was my divine body, you would be dead already.]
* * *
Kwarururung!
The sky was torn. It wasn’t an exaggeration. The sky was torn apart by the swords, revealing the black universe. It was evidence that 1,000 kilometers of the atmosphere had been destroyed. It hadn’t been the aim, but it was the aftermath.
A sword that could cut down a mountain? The capturing of a fortress? Such sagas weren’t even worth discussing under that eerie sky.
“Hey. I was fighting with that guy up there?” Veronica recovered some strength and looked up at the sky, where two colored beams were colliding.
Her body’s condition was a mess, and their movements were too fast for her to even catch afterimages. She had no confidence to block three of those attacks in her draconic state, and evasion was out of the question.
When she thought about it now, her actions had been truly reckless.
“...Invidia didn’t think of this as a fight from the beginning,” Theodore replied while moving his hands. He roughly joined together Edwin’s severed left arm and bandaged the neck of the barely breathing Ellaim.
Thanks to Nuada’s power, there was no need to worry about any life and death injuries. However, half the people here had lost their combat capabilities.
Randolph had his arms cured by Theodore’s potions, but the two elves were severely wounded. Orta had lost consciousness earlier and was in the best state, but space magic couldn’t be a threat to Invidia.
‘No, everyone is helpless in this situation.’
The masters realized it when watching the battle between Nuada and Invidia. They couldn’t get involved in this fight. Blundell’s Time Stop had only lasted a few seconds, and Veronica’s rampage seemed like child’s play. The only role left for them was to wish for Nuada’s victory.
“White Tower Master,” Theodore said, making the best decision he could, “Take the Blue Tower Master’s body and the two elves out of here. If Nuada wins, we will follow after you. However, you must be prepared for the worst.”
“In other words... I am running away alone?”
“Yes.” Theodore ignored Orta’s uncomfortable expression as he looked at the people around him. “I would like the other two to go with you as well, but... they don’t look like they will go.”
“Of course! How can I leave you alone?”
“Do I look that unsightly? Besides, that son of a bitch will just chase after me to kill me. It will only be delayed a few minutes if I ran away from here.”
They were already prepared to die. Theodore looked at the two smiling people and gave up on persuading them.
Orta remained silent for a moment before eventually nodding. “...Be sure to come back alive. Red Tower Master and Sir Randolph as well.”
“Ohh! Who knew you could say such sentimental things?”
“Let’s have a drink when we return.”
After fixing his mask, Orta picked up Blundell’s body and laid it beside the elf guardians.
It didn’t move. The body had sturdy muscles and a calm face. Orta stopped moving as he gazed at Blundell, who seemed to be asleep, before acting again. The teleport circle finished quickly, maybe because there were fewer people.
Flash!
There was a bright light, and only three people remained.
“Okay, we will be watching from now on? Which one is our side?” Randolph worried as he looked up at the sky.
“The silver light is probably Nuada.” Hearing Theodore’s words, Randolph and Veronica gazed at the silver light in the sky.
The universe visible beyond the torn apart sky, the starry sky in daylight, was spectacular. The two rays of light constantly facing each other against that backdrop were reminiscent of fireworks at festivals.
Nuada’s silver glow and Invidia’s blood red light...
Theodore, Randolph, and Veronica couldn’t fathom the fight, but most of the light filling the sky was silver. Sometimes, a bloody vortex burst out, but it always disappeared without a trace due to the silver glow. It was clear who had the initiative.
Veronica had the same thought as Theodore. “It seems like that guy called Nuada is dominating. What do you think?”
“I had a similar thought, but we still don’t know.”
That’s right. They didn’t know yet.
‘Nuada called Invidia ‘Invader’.’
The Seven Sins grimoire was colliding with a god from the Age of Mythology. Theodore couldn’t forget that Nuada had accepted the summoning due to personal emotions. It meant that the grimoire was an enemy of the gods, similar to the demons.
However, unlike the gods and demons, who no longer remained in this era, the Seven Sins were still active. In this area of survival, they surpassed both the gods and demons. Invidia had been active for 500 years, so it wouldn’t be strange if he had something hidden up his sleeve.
He wasn’t an opponent that Theodore could relax against until the very end.