In one breath, I closed the distance between us and made a slash from below. Gohma, on the other hand, used his greatsword as a shield and easily blocked my attack. I dodged the sword that was swung in counterattack by a hair’s breadth, rotated my body to the side and slashed him again. That, too, was easily blocked. The sparks and high-pitched metallic sound that echoed out proved the strength of the power we released.
It’s just a warm-up attack, but it’s still a power that I can feel strongly. There was no blurring in the greatsword as he swung it down, and there was no hesitation in his sword movement. The pressure of the sword against me was heavy, and although it is quiet, it conveys its strength like the spirit of a lion. There seemed to be an unwavering confidence and determination in him.
“As the God of Destruction, you should have entered there, right?”
“Are you talking about the room that was hidden behind the throne?”
“Yes. Now you can understand that the universe is controlled by them.”
“But what about it? It’s the same everywhere you go. All beings are always under some kind of control. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are higher-ranking ones.”
Our swords clashed dozen times every second. We changed positions, exchanged fists and aimed at each other fiercely. Although he was still not serious, he was definitely going after my life.
“I agree with you on that point, but what if the ruler is someone with malicious intent? Will you still accept the universe as it is?”
“That’s rubbish. You just don’t want to be dominated, don’t you?”
“I don’t deny that. Even I can’t see the bottom of my desire for domination. But even so, I still boldly claim to that I’m just. This universe is wrong.”
“It doesn’t matter if you’re right or wrong, we all live in this universe.”
I blocked his sword speeding up with my own and delivered a swift side kick that hit him directly in the solar plexus. Gohma smashed through the wall and was kicked into the next room. Even so, he emerged out of the rubble as if nothing had happened. He didn’t even change his expression at all.
Well, from the start I did not think that such an attack would work on him. It’s a wait-and-see situation, so to speak. I’m looking for what seems to be a weakness somewhere. Of course, it’s the same for him, but I don’t think he is as desperate as me.
Gohma raised his left hand. One of the rings shone and he turned into three. The main body slowly approached me while I deal with his two clones. As if they were using a two-meter-long sword as a dagger, the clones continued their attack one-sidedly without giving me a chance to breathe. The one in front of me slashed in a single stroke, while the other behind me slashed downward from above. I deflected the frontal attack with my sword and narrowly dodged the slash from behind. I quickly turned to attack, and with just a moment of serious swinging of my sword, the clone’s greatsword was severed from the base.
I see……
It is just a clone after all, so it cannot perfectly imitate the equipment that he has.
“Haaa!”
““!?””
I slashed one of the clone in half from underneath to the top of his head, then in the same motion, I cut the other one in half from the front. The two of them dissipated like steam brushed away by my hand and vanished.
“It doesn’t seem like much of an attack to you.”
The original Gohma holds a greatsword in a mid-stance. I took a low stance and moved to the side, putting some distance between us.
“Do you know why God can’t evolve?”
“Who knows.”
“The answer is simple, because there is no soul. God is just an empty puppet. They are slaves who manage the flow of the soul called samsara. Don’t you think it’s cruel?”
“…………”
Gohma continues.
“I would like to recreate the universe, but then I thought that they would come and put it back to its original state. That would make this act meaningless.”
“……I guess so.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t have the means to beat them right now. But if I obtain a soul, there is a chance that I can win.”
“Hmm.”
“We gods do not have souls, so we do not throw ourselves into the flow of samsara. But because of that, we have not been able to obtain the path that leads to the ultimate evolution. No, I should say it was not given to us at all. A soul is necessary for a god to take the next step you see.”
In other words, Gohma believes that the presence or absence of a soul is the key to victory over the superiors huh.
Even if he became a creator god, his existence itself does not leave the framework of this plane. If he is to stand up to the true rulers, he must at least break out of the boundaries of the plane and become equal or better than them. Of course, it is unclear whether the path of evolution continues that far. It’s insane to try to challenge an entity which nothing is known about them.
No, maybe this guy has met such superior being?
“I understand that God needs a soul, but is a soul something that the Creator God can create?”
“Yes, that is the point. Even a creator god cannot create a soul. At most, he can make a flesh vessel. In other words, the soul is not in the hands of God.”
“……But you’ve found a way out, right?”
“Soul can only be contained in things that are defined by man. Then what is the thing that separates man from God? Stupidity? Vulnerability? Is it useless greed? No, that’s what the deep system of this universe dictates. So all I need to do is deceive those eyes.”
A human face appears on his skin. A chill ran down my spine as I realized what he had done.
“There are tens of thousands of people fused together in this body. It also appears that souls also have qualities, and no matter how much I try to make it like a person, if the contents and the vessel don’t match, it won’t take root. So I came up with a way to take in countless souls and fuse them into one. Thanks to this, I became a god with a soul.”
Does he mean to say that he sacrificed tens of thousands of human beings just to create a single soul……?
It’s ridiculous. I don’t understand the point of doing so at all. Why would this guy try to resist so much? Sure, it’s not pleasant to be manipulated by an unknown superior being, but that doesn’t mean you’ve been harmed, or that anything has been dramatically changed. The absence of a soul does not mean that God will disappear tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
“Do you not wonder, why is there so much strife in this plane? That’s because that’s how the system here was made.”
“I don’t deny that, because by making them compete for survival, they grow and evolve.”
“Wrong. It’s a logic created by mankind for mankind. The reason is much simpler and darker. They’re looking for stronger souls that have been killed and refined. In other words, this place is ‘poison.’”
In the back of my mind, a sentence from the order I saw in the heavenly realm flashes back.
『I command my family, which is divided into two, to manage the worlds and samsara for all eternity. Your main objective is the salvation of souls and the expansion of our forces to defeat evil enemies. 』
The real rulers want power. And that power is created in this plane.
Is it that this plane was created with a clear purpose, and that purpose is severely distorted?
“I’m going to build a world without conflict and where they won’t interfere. What else can you call this but justice.”
“Then let me ask you, what are you going to do with the people in the future?”
“You know what. They are one of the main causes that are leading the world into conflict. I will of course eliminate them. All souls that reincarnate will become sacrifices to the gods I create. There is no need for mankind in the new universe.”
I stepped in with a strong force, closing in our distance and forcing my way past the greatsword that is blocking the way as a shield. A particularly strong gust of wind stirs up the room.
“That was stupid of me to ask. It was a waste of time to listen to all that.”
“I knew it would end like this. I would have liked to have you, the God of Destruction, as a comrade, but as a human who rose from the dead, it seems you were unable to understand my noble plan.”
What’s so noble about it? You’re making all sorts of excuses, but in the end, all you want is to create and rule the universe the way you want it to! Your words are nothing but a transparent lie. What’s with the poison anyway? You’re far more of a threat to me.
Now you’ll pay for killing Miyuki!
“Emperor Lightning Strike!”
I hit him with a very thick lightning directly from a close range. Suddenly, a dazzling flash of light illuminated the room, and a roar shook the entire building. In front of me is a large hole where I can see the sky.
“I already said magic doesn’t work on me.”
Gohma was floating in the air, his cloak fluttering and he was looking down at me. There was not a single burn on his body, and nothing changed from a few seconds ago.
“I just tried to see if magic attack really doesn’t work.”
“Then that’s proven.”
I also flew up and confronts Gohma. It seems that the time has come for us to get serious about it. The positions of both sides are clear. There is no point in exchanging more words. I want to protect this universe, and he aims for a new one.
“I, the Creator, am assured of victory.”
“I, who controls destruction, cannot be defeated.”
I instantly teleported and attacked from behind. Gohma instantly turns around and parries his sword against mine.
“This is how power is used.”
“!?”
One of his rings flashed, and his clone appeared directly above me. A greatsword sank into my right shoulder making blood splatter. When my force weakened, the main body rotates his body and hits me with a powerful roundhouse kick from above. I fell vertically into the sea directly below.
Damn, I didn’t think he would use his clone like that…… It was unexpected. Eh? What is this barrier?
I hit an invisible barrier in the sea. I tried to grope around but it just continues on forever. Guah! For some reason, the barrier begins to push against me rapidly. By the time I realized that this was a transparent box, there was less than two meters of space for me to move. It must be some kind of isolated space. Perhaps there must be something similar to that in one of his four rings.
“Come out quickly. I have no intention of getting wet.”
I heard such words.
Is he planning to drag me out of the water?
I used a wave of destruction to make the box disappear and unleashed a divine dragon breath at Gohma from the sea.
“It won’t work.”
The space around him is distorted, and the Divine Dragon Breath was diverted. As soon as the breath disappeared, I saw a small shield on his arm.
I floated above the sea and wrinkled my brows deeply.
“Kukuku, you look dissatisfied. I have a huge storage capacity on one of the rings, just like the bangle that you have. And, there’s a lot of tools in there.”
“Are you saying there’s nothing missing?”
“Yes. I can’t invite you here without preparation you see.”
Another troublesome thing…
Judging from his abilities, it is definitely a shield that distorts space, but he may have other abilities. I don’t want to lay hands on it carelessly.
“Emperor Lightning Strike!”
“It won’t work.”
The shield deflects the lightning strike.
“Universal Thread”
Shururi. A thread wraps around his left arm. In addition, a thread bomb was ejected, entangling sticky threads all over his body.
“This is…… what a pretty crazy trick.”
I accelerated rapidly and fired a barrage of attacks at him.
“Explosive Sword Dance!”
Sword strikes wrapped in flames are unleashed one after another. I tried to finish it off with a single flick of the sword, aiming to chop off his head.
—But the blade stopped on the surface, not even cutting a single layer of his skin.
“Didn’t I tell you that physical attacks won’t work either?”
He tore off the threads and set his body free. He smiled fearlessly and raised his greatsword straight up. A chill washed over my whole body, and I reflexively leaned my body back.
Shuiin. A strange sound echoed out and the huge palace behind me collapses in half. The structure, which began to crumble into pieces, fell into the sea, raising a column of water.
So this is what he meant when he said it can cut through space huh.
“I forgot that my palace was there. Oh, I guess I have to rebuild it.”
I immediately distanced myself and raised my sword. But I broke out in a cold sweat and was more frightened than ever. That sword is too dangerous.
“I’ve pretty much shown you my hand. Why don’t you show your power as the God of Destruction as well?”
“You knew…… that I have a trump card.”
“Naturally. I have been the chief god since Zefa was active.”
In that case, there is no need to hide it. I kept it as a trump card, but I can’t say that anymore.
The God of Destruction’s artifacts, the robe, bangle and ring resonated at the same time. They emitted a black light and enveloped my whole body.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
Previous ⚜ Table of Contents ⚜ Next
Yume Neiji's Works 