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Chapter 224: A Great Path Has No Gate (7)

It swelled up like a tidal wave and flooded the area.

Golden waves filled the view.

How much time had passed?

Soon, the Breath ceased and the first to fall was Tiyo.

Hoyt rushed to pick him up. He ran to the Goddess of Mercy, who was exerting her power beside Kumarak.

Tiyo\'s body did not move at all.

He lay there like a corpse.

Crockta saw it all.

He turned his head toward the Ashen God.

Golden waves and the white ashes tangled with red blood were flying in the air.

Standing beyond that was the Ashen God.

The protective barrier surrounding her had disappeared. Although she appeared unharmed, a stream of blood trickled from her mouth.

"I didn’t expect a gnome to wield Xantimur\'s dragon-killing weapon..."

Crockta stepped forward toward the muttering god.

He couldn’t afford to give her any more time.

There were a number of choices he could make.

He could turn back and run to Tiyo and help him. He could lay Anor and Tiyo side by side and pray for them. He could plead with the Goddess of Mercy, beg Tashaquil, cry a tear for their survival, or even offer his own life force to share with them or...

He could advance without looking back, wielding God Slayer in his hands.

"Ashen God———!”

Crockta leaped.

He swung the God Slayer at her, who seemed vulnerable.

Flames exploded.

But there was no slaying sensation in his hands. He immediately became increasingly aware of his surroundings. He sensed her presence from the left behind him. Without even looking, he swung his greatsword behind his back. His power collided with the Ashen God\'s.

"Crockta. Why don’t you give up already?"

Crockta did not respond.

"You cannot stop me," she said again.

Instead of answering, he swung his sword. God Slayer moved toward the gap between him and the Ashen God. Although very slightly, the situation had improved compared to before.

Tiyo\'s strike did, in fact, have an effect.

But the power descending from the sphere above was healing her again. He needed to inflict more wounds before she could fully recover. He had to erode her power, erode it further, and drag her down for decapitation.

Ah, right there!

Crockta saw a suitable place to strike her, but he was all by himself.

If he stood there and thrust his sword toward her from that spot, perhaps he could wound her. It was an opening too perfect as if someone had it prepared specifically for him.

If only someone could strike diagonally from that spot and slice through her...

Crockta imagined being there himself.

Then, there was a real sword thrusting down from that spot.

"Crockta!"

It was the War God.

Their blades simultaneously sliced the Ashen God. The flames from God Slayer and the War God\'s warfire enveloped her.

The Ashen God was hit. But it was not a fatal blow.

"Not even close," the War God exclaimed.

"I know."

She disappeared into the flames and then reappeared a short distance away.

Her body was scorched. Now, there was an expression on her face. It was a faint anger.

It was much more pleasing to see compared to her previous complacent expression.

Her face twisting even further would be even more delightful.

The two pressed on her. The same ashen spikes from before exploded, piercing them. Crockta dodged or blocked the vital shots and ignored the rest. Fresh wounds overlapped on his already-bloody body.

But the wounds smoked and rapidly regenerated.

His regenerative ability, having reached the ultimate realm, was healing his body. His entire being was in combat mode.

Crockta and the War God\'s blades simultaneously flew toward the Ashen God from both sides.

Clang!

She dispersed their blades with her power.

Ashen power began to wrap around their blades, taking over their control. Both their arms trembled.

At that moment, an arrow flew from afar.

It was Zankus.

The Ashen God hastily deflected it. The pressure that was acting on their swords lessened simultaneously.

They pressed on immediately, slicing her.

"Keugh!"

Her form blurred to deflect the physical wounds, but the flames emanating from their weapons struck her divine power. Her body flickered once as she gritted her teeth.

Her face slightly twisted.

Crockta grinned.

There was an old teaching among warriors.

Your fear becomes the enemy\'s strength.

The reverse was also true, the enemy\'s frustration becomes your strength.

Crockta and the War God, with a new breath of energy, pressed her harder. The Ashen God flew into the sky, escaping their attack range.

As she rose, Crockta and the War God\'s eyes met.

They nodded at each other.

Together, they leaped into the sky.

Crockta\'s body, having reached its peak, could leap high into the air, up to where she was. Meanwhile, Zankus\' attacks targeted her again. As she dodged the arrows, Crockta and the War God\'s blades were flung toward her neck and heart.

The face of the Ashen God was now completely distorted.

"You do this until the end!"

She spread her hands.

She paid no heed to the blades of Crockta and the War God approaching her. She simply flipped her palms, which had been facing the sky, downward.

Then, her power that was looming over the area was immediately reversed.

The gravity became materialized, and it slammed down upon the area.

"...!"

An immense force struck down on them like a gigantic hammer. Crockta and the War God flinched. By the time they realized, the Ashen God had already retreated.

Her power was coming straight at them.

At this rate, they would be crushed and suffocated by the pressure, but...

Suddenly, a giant appeared out of nowhere and bared the force with its body.

It was a massive golem made of earth. It had appeared unexpectedly to hold itself up against the Ashen God\'s crushing pressure.

Crockta and the War God were stunned.

"What are you doing?" a furious voice resounded.

It was the Goddess of Magic.

She lost her composure and screamed.

"This is getting really hard, so hurry the hell up!"

Smoke rose from her body. The magical power was overloading her body and consuming her flesh and divinity.

Two unnamed gods placed their hands on the shoulders of the Goddess of Magic, lending their powers to her.

She had cast another grand spell, \'Will of the Earth,\' following her meteor shower.

The golem, born from the power of the earth, used its shoulders to support the area against the gravitational pressure caused by the Ashen God.

"Hurryyyy!"

But the Ashen God was already too far away. Crockta and the War God had lost their target.

There was nothing more to support their footing in the air.

Falling was imminent.

But then, out of nowhere, there was a whirlwind lifting them up.

"Gooooo!"

It was Tashaquil.

Green light burst from his eyes. His entire body fluttered. The surrounding gods were astonished.

The ultimate realm that was never permitted to mere mortals.

It was a sorcery that reached the domain of demigods.

Who could have imagined that a mere orc shaman could wield such power? The storms emanating from his body erased the influence of the Ashen God. The swirling winds stretched to the sky, lifting the bodies of the two men.

"Do not stop!"

Like that, they were propelled up the sky.

They flew through the air.

The Ashen God was their sole target.

Both drew their swords.

But she was already fully prepared, her divine power was ready to pierce the hearts of the two warriors flying toward her.

The clash was imminent.

"That’s enough. Now, die..." the Ashen God whispered.

Two spikes she created moved straight toward the hearts of the War God and Crockta.

They pierced through their hearts without fail.

From the beginning, there was no chance of defeating her, who had the grand magic of the cycle with her.

Blood from their chests scattered down to the ground, it was a clean penetration. Crockta opened his mouth.

The Ashen God closed her eyes.

His death rattle was only going to torment her.

"Keheh... heh!"

"...!"

But instead of a death rattle, a strange laughter disturbed her ears.

She opened her eyes.

But it was still dark.

Despite opening her eyes, she could not see the sky, Crockta, or the War God who should’ve been in front of her. Instead, only darkness filled her sight.

And within that darkness, there was yet another darkness.

The core of that darkness, the darkest part of the darkness, was looking at her.

"Keheh... heh!"

Before she realized it, someone was standing beside her.

It was a strange orc shaman she had never seen before.

"When you’re looking into the abyss, a day and a year is no different, so you must always be wary of not losing yourself. Keheh... heh!"

What was this orc shaman talking about now?

"Alright, come on, you\'ve already been here too long. Keheh... heh!"

Their time together was but a moment, too short to be able to exchange anything more than just a few words.

But what did this orc shaman mean by saying she had been there for too long?

She blinked.

The moment she closed and then reopened her eyelids, right in front of her were the blazing eyes of Crockta.

"...ahh!"

Crockta\'s God Slayer had already pierced through her abdomen. The blade of the War God had also stabbed her heart from behind.

Enveloped in two flames that were capable of burning divinity, she and the two warriors became one and fell.

Keheh... heh!

Within the fading consciousness, that disturbing laughter was heard again.

She had been enchanted by that orc shaman.

The Ashen God had exposed a weakness to the two warriors and the divinity-burning flames were distorting her soul.

"Ashen God. I will kill you, save the world, and then return to where I belong," Crockta whispered.

She could feel his strong will.

The Ashen God could feel her divine power and life dispersing into the void. She could also understand what Crockta was trying to say.

Their intentions and hers were not different at all, and that made it all the more painful. She knew very well how important the lives of those currently living were and how meaningless even the fate of the world could be in front of them.

But, at the same time, she was staring at the ultimate death of the world, with everything disappearing as if it never existed in the first place.

Therefore, she could not leave the world to its fate.

Even if it takes hundreds of millions, or even billions of years for all civilizations to perish and new life to be conceived, she had to see it through.

Because their end would be a sadder demise.

"I\'m sorry."

That was all she could say.

Eventually, her body began to glow white hot.

"...!"

"The grand magic of the cycle has already been completed."

A pressuring force burst forth from her body. Crockta and the War God were flung away.

"Kugh!"

"Kaaaah!"

They fell far away.

White streams of light rose from the body of the Ashen God and connected with the sphere in the sky.

She was now burning bright white.

Shedding her physical form, she turned into a spirit and floated in the air.

The Ashen God and the sphere in the sky emitted light together.

* * *

"Keugh!"

Crockta, rolling on the ground, barely managed to get back on his feet.

"Kugh, kagh..."

He had drifted off the battlefield.

The aftermath of the fall had wrecked his body. His limbs felt so heavy that it seemed they might sink into the ground at any moment. Gritting his teeth, he endured his weight and leaned on God Slayer for support.

Was there a chance of winning this fight?

Everything seemed hopeless.

Suddenly, he noticed something rustling. His eyes widened.

"You are...?"

It was a familiar figure.

It was Laney the Youvidser.

She was watching him. As their eyes met, her face also showed confusion. Beside her was a man he had never seen before, trembling and hiding.

"Why are you...?"

Before Crockta could finish his sentence, a tremendous force erupted from the Ashen God.

It swept through the entire area.

As the Ashen divinity radiated, not a single blade of grass was left unscathed around her.

And it was quickly moving toward Crockta and the two broadcasters.

Laney and the man\'s faces turned pale.

They were all going to die at this rate.

Crockta clenched his teeth and summoned all his strength.

He reversed all the approaching death into survival. Clinging to a single thin thread of possibility, he imbued it into his body. Every muscle in his body tensed up, maxing out his regeneration ability to tolerate any fatal injuries.

There was no other choice.

Crockta\'s massive body wrapped around them.

* * *

It was an unbelievable battle.

The dragon\'s Breath was nothing compared to this.

As the sphere dropped by the Ashen God exploded, even gods crumbled, a gnome fired a golden energy, and Crockta and the War God attacked the enemy together. Golems made of earth rose, and shamans summoned storms. Every second and every minute was a series of miracles and anomalies. It was the true war of the gods, Ragnar?k, where it wouldn’t have come as a shock to anyone if the world broke apart.

It was a battle with the destruction of the world at stake.

They couldn’t do anything but stand dumbfounded, watching those scenes unfold.

Crockta and the War God advanced, attacking the Ashen God. Her retaliation was fierce, but others aided them.

Even in this battle, Crockta was the one leading from the forefront, rallying everyone against the enemy.

He was indeed the character she had been captivated by.

It was a job that could very well have been her last ever, but he was still the protagonist.

Eventually, Crockta and the War God penetrated the Ashen God. Laney and Polaroid cheered. They thought the battle had ended. They desperately hoped so.

However, as they were falling, the Ashen God\'s power was revived.

With an even greater force, she repelled them and ascended into the sky.

Crockta flew toward them, crashed to the ground, and rolled several times before coming to a stop in front of them. His body was battered, pierced, cut, and broken. An ordinary person would not have been able to even stand.

But he stood up again with an iron will.

And then he saw them.

"You are..."

His eyes widened as he looked at Laney. Did Crockta know her, or was he simply surprised by the sight of strangers?

"Why are you..."

That was when it happened.

Power radiated from the Ashen God once again, a blindingly strong force.

They could feel it, death was coming.

So, this is how it ends.

Laney and Polaroid clenched their eyes shut. To die upon meeting Crockta, what a cruel fate.

A huge ringing erased all other sounds of the world. It was as if their eardrums had broken, leaving them with only a continuous beeping noise.

Was death always this peaceful?

Then the ringing stopped.

The sounds of the world returned.

They were.

Still alive.

They opened their eyes.

In front of them, they saw Crockta, enveloping them to protect them.

"Ah...!"

Crockta had shielded them.

Laney couldn\'t understand. Who was this orc, and what kind of being was he to be capable of doing all this?

To fight against the world, to oppose an enemy intent on destroying the world, to risk his life to protect those whom he didn’t even know, who would be capable of all that?

And at that moment, Polaroid, with a dazed expression, raised his hand.

He pointed at something.

Laney\'s gaze followed his hand.

There, behind the steel helmet which had been completely shattered and flown away.

Crockta’s face was revealed.

His forehead.

Floating above his bloodied forehead was a white star.