Chapter 85: You Are Nothing

“…..”

The first reaction was silence.

No, to be exact, they were ruminating on the meaning of my words.

It wasn’t difficult to understand but because it was unbelievable, because it was not something a mere human could utter, they were forced to ponder its meaning once more.

But soon enough.

***

“Blasphemy!”

A human dares to drag down the gods.

No matter how much they loathed the Order of Light and the Order of Darkness, in the end, all gathered here in Valhalla were gods, whether of high or low standing.

There was no way they would take kindly to a mere human speaking of judging gods.

“Why aren’t you enraged?”

Of course, I knew the reason.

Still, I asked again, “The Order of Light and the Order of Darkness are the ones who cast you into the abyss.”

No one could refute my words.

After the silence and anger, shock reigned next.

“How do you know that secret……”

Back when gods and humans still communicated on the Gritia Continent.

Naturally, various gods wielded their influence but at some point, only the Order of Light and the Order of Darkness retained any power.

It was inevitable because the eternal cycle planned by those two made their influence absolute over those who worshipped them.

It wasn’t simply a matter of differing levels of influence.

To solidify this dominion, the Order of Light and the Order of Darkness sent down oracles, persecuting the other deities and their worship.

Thus began the full-scale religious war.

With the endless cycle of Hero and Demon King already securing them overwhelming power, the victory of the Order of Light and the Order of Darkness was all but certain.

Victorious in war, they tolerated no other divinity.

They persecuted others as heretics, and thus, the Gritia Continent, once home to many active gods, was left under the rule of just two main deities—Light and Darkness and now, I spoke of that monopolized era.

Of that humiliating history unknown to any on Earth.

“Secrets are called secrets because they tend to leak out. It shouldn’t be so strange for me to know it, should it?”

***

“We’ve wandered a bit from the point. So—won’t you take revenge on those who cast you down into the abyss?”

Even gods have emotions.

No, they possess even more greed, more varied and intense emotions than humans.

For them, the Order of Light and the Order of Darkness must be the very traitors they’d tear apart on sight.

That grudge wouldn’t vanish just because they’d changed worlds and come to Earth.

“A grudge, you say. My hatred and resentment for them should come before all else.” A god surrounding us stepped forward, pushing through the crowd.

“Thud”

There was weight in his stride, a burden that was anything but ordinary.

“Rumble!”

He radiated a powerful aura as if flaunting his might—a muscular man.

“The dignity of war, I see.”

The God of War.

A formidable deity who once reached the domain of the principal gods, before the rise of Light and Darkness.

“To recognize me at a glance… You truly aren’t an ordinary human. However……”

With those words “Pop!” He vanished.

No, he approached with a speed surpassing the bounds of motion.

“…Know your place, human!”

Clearly, he was irked.

That I had dared to meddle in the affairs and humiliating history of the gods.

“Whoosh!”

He wielded no weapon.

Yet even a simple swing of his fist tore through the air with a tremendous sound.

‘As expected of the dignity of war.’

He had once reached the realm of the principal gods and war, after all, is inseparable from human history.

Countless humans have waged wars, prayed for victory, and offered faith and devotion to the God of War.

Though eventually pushed aside by the designs of the Order of Light and the Order of Darkness, one of his stature could well have built his own domain and palace.

For even now, war continues without end.

But—

“I think it’s you who should know your place.”

War?

I had once made even gods of the principal domain submit.

Would the dignity of war, cast down by Light and Darkness, be enough to challenge me? 

Hardly.

I had already read his movements.

“Swish!”

As his fist drew within a mere centimeter, I thrust mine forward—albeit belatedly.

At that instant—

“Thud!”

Though I struck late, my fist landed first, smashing into his face.

“……!”

The startled God of War staggered back.

“How…?”

It was beyond belief, he was a god.

Even though his power had lessened and he took on a human form, he was still divine.

In body, in mind—he was superior to any human.

And yet—

“Just because your specs are superior doesn’t mean that always decides the outcome.”

Certainly, the God of War had better specs than me now.

His physique and the movement born of that powerful body far outclassed mine.

Then why?

He had struck first—so how did my punch land before his?

‘A moment forged by fear.’

As I said before, gods possess myriad emotions but the most intense among them is fear.

For gods, fear and terror are unfamiliar emotions.

That’s natural—divinities are supposed to be omnipotent.

For them to feel fear is exceedingly rare.

Unfamiliar emotions are all the more intense.

Especially if they’re tied to annihilation and I exploited that fear in this god.

I had thrown my punch far later than the God of War but that punch carried a will to mutual destruction.

Sensing that murderous intent, the God of War hesitated for just an instant.

A flicker of fear that he might actually die by that blow.

That brief hesitation cost him; his fist never reached me.

“A step that brings death with no regard for your own life. For beings like you, who once created change and slew enemies with just a twitch of a finger, that one step is always lacking.”

Gods, accustomed to manifesting their power through mighty authority, are unversed in such combat.

Simply put, they cannot fully leverage the specs they possess by birth but for me, who’s crossed the boundary of life and death many times, taking that step is all too easy.

“Thud!”

I attacked the flustered God of War as he fell back.

He continued to retreat in confusion, barely managing to defend.

I thought this one-sided battle would go on but the next moment—

“You wretch—!” The God of War flew into a rage.

To him, this situation was humiliating.

No wonder.

A powerful deity, once a principal god, being pushed back by a mere creation—a human?

That fury, deeper than any fear, became the trigger for new authority to manifest.

– Flash!

From the center of his bald head, a third eye appeared.

“Clairvoyance, I see.”

A power only a few gods could wield.

A cheat-like ability to see the future, to predict the enemy’s movements.

“You can even recognize my clairvoyance? But now that I have opened this eye, you have no chance of winning.”

He was right.

Clairvoyance was just that powerful—a vision of the future to perfectly read the enemy’s movements.

With such foresight, could he possibly lose?

No—defeat was unthinkable.

“That’s the trouble with divinity.”

But contrary to his newfound confidence, I remained unfazed.

“Lost in your talent and authority, you forget what truly matters.”

Gods are arrogant and so, they rarely learn.

As I said before, their talents, their authorities, their strength—they mean little to me.

“Srrng—” At last, I drew my sword.

Fists were never my specialty.

I had only played along because he attacked with his bare hands.

But now that he had brought out clairvoyance, there was no need to hold back.

“Your crude weapon cannot reach a god!”

That was true.

Even in human form, a god is still a god.

To destroy them requires a special Divine-slaying Weapon matching their stature.

No matter how powerful Knight Sword Exidium might be, it could not harm a god.

“This is merely a medium.”

He misunderstood.

Excidium is not a weapon, but a vessel for my will.

What I imbue into Excidium is nothing less than the intent to kill.

To wound a god, you don’t need sharpness or swordsmanship.

You hone the blade with your will.

Of course, with a typical human’s resolve, the very thought of cutting a god is impossible.

That doubt blunts the will, dulls the sword but I have no such doubt now.

Just as I did when I once ushered in the twilight of the gods, when I struck down gods themselves.

“Vmmm!”

I poured my will into the blade.

Now I had honed enough will to wound a god.

However—

“Pop, pop-pop!”

My strikes never reached the God of War.

– Flash!

It was, of course, due to his clairvoyance.

His third eye darted ceaselessly in every direction, reading the future.

He saw every trajectory I might take and dodged with minimal effort.

It truly was a cheat-like authority.

If a human had this power, they’d be invincible.

“Pointless!”

Without any effort, the God of War closed in, having read all my movements through clairvoyance.

And then—

“Whoosh!”

Somehow, he had conjured twin blood-red swords in his hands.

Weapons manifested by the God of War—a single cut would cause unstoppable bleeding and inevitable death.

He used clairvoyance to catch my every move and deliver killing blows.

It was the ultimate offense and defense.

But—

‘I twist the future.’

My will twisted the future.

I crossed the boundary of fate and created a new one.

How?

By using the fear he had yet to overcome.

“Slick!”

I drew a trajectory, a sword path.

Of all the countless futures, I selected the one single route where I could succeed, after calculating every possible evasion.

That was possible only because of the weight of my accumulated karma.

So many brushes with life and death—experiences bordering on the prophetic—gave rise to a kind of foresight, almost akin to clairvoyance itself.

If he didn’t dodge, the God of War would die and if I aimed for mutual destruction, I’d also die.

This was another gambit, disregarding my own safety.

That murderous intent forged the sole path of survival.

As I said, to him—to the God of War—dying at the hands of a human was the greatest humiliation of all.

That’s why he could never take that single step leading to death.

Just like now!

“Srrrk—”

He stepped back.

In that instant.

‘It broke!’

His perfect evasion.

His certain future of killing me shattered.

With a single motion, I broke through inevitability—through his clairvoyance.

“Fwoosh!”

I drew the one and only sword path that would kill the God of War, a vertical slash from crown to groin.

“Slash!”

The blade traced from the top of his head to his groin, cutting through the God of War.

“H-How……”

His eyes widened in shock.

And then his body turned to grains of light, scattering in the air.

The instant his diminished divinity, unable to regenerate, was annihilated.

I gazed at the sight for a moment.

“Whoosh.”

With a flick of my sword, I brushed off the dust clinging to the blade.

“Next.”

A taunt thrown at the next challenger, anyone foolish enough to face me.