Hell had descended on the battlefield.
Undying soldiers and living soldiers that fought alongside them without fear. Already the light of reason had left the eyes of these soldiers. Only the intent to fight that had been contaminated by the red light remained.
One saving grace for the goblins was that these soldiers had already become unable to maintain formation. They were now no different from monster beasts, merely throwing themselves at them on instinct. Of course, the monster beasts wouldn’t be happy if they heard that, but that was what the goblins thought.
Even when they crushed their feet, as long as they still had their arms, the human soldiers would crawl to their feet. They’d cut their arms next, but then they’d start biting at them. In the face of these undying soldiers, the goblins felt as though the forces of the underworld had descended upon them.
At the center of all that cried the goddessZenobia, who was responsible for bringing this hell onto this battlefield.
She cried because she had fallen, because she burdened the human girl she called her daughter, and because this terrible sight was manifested against her will.
In response, the saint too cried.
Tears flowed down from her closed eyes, and the sorrow of the goddess resounded from her trembling lips. But even in her sorrow, her voice was sweet to the ear, even sweeter than any song from this world. Unfortunately, even this sorrow that could crush one’s heart could do nothing more than heal the hearts of the people who’ve been affected by the Goddess of Healing.
The people near her did not just have their wounds recover.
Even their very form transformed. The old returned to their youth, to that time when they were at the peak of their strength, and forcefully made them stand up. Their swelling muscles transformed even the framework of their bodies, forcefully drawing out a transformation akin to that of monsters.
But this went against the providence of the world.
Promoting a class without first accumulating experience could only result in what could only be described as the very picture of hell. Distorted bodies where only the arms have grown, bodies that absorbed even the sword they once wielded, bodies that have fused… In the face of such abomination, even the layman would be forced to acquiesce that monsters still looked how a living creature ought to.
By this point, it was evident that the power of the goddess had already gone out of control.
And in the face of this sight seemingly drawn by the cries of Zenobia, the Goblin King walked furiously.
“…This is divinity? This is the power of the gods that established this world?”
Anger swirled within him as the reality that not even the gods could control their own power descended upon him. In the face of this god’s unshapely appearance after being summoned, the Goblin King drew his great sword, the God Class weapon, the Guardian Sword of the GiantsTitan Dagger, a sword that was once created so that the giants could fight with ancient monsters.
As wrath filled the Goblin King, the snakes of the underworld within him began to move. He did not know what the Goddess of the UnderworldAltesia that gave him his divine protection was currently thinking, but at the very least, Zenobia looked like she was trying to protect Reshia.
Unfortunately, she had been forcefully manifested in this world, inviting a calamity on the land. It wouldn’t be possible to save Reshia as long as she was possessed by that.
The pressure grew stronger as he approached.
Zenobia had been crying all this time in sorrow, a sorrow great enough to crush one’s heart, but as the Goblin King approached, her tear-stained eyes suddenly turned to him. In that moment, the ether that had been docile to the king suddenly started to spiral out of control, forcing him to stop.
It felt as though the air within his lungs was being expelled. His legs creaked as they shook. And a splitting headache that felt like a club was bashing his skull attacked him, while something else seemed to be whittling at his skull from the inside. Despite his body being unwounded, he cried out a hateful dissonant sound with every step he took.
“ZENOBIAaaA!”
To make things worse, Altesia’s anger that he had kept in check all this time started to control his emotions through the snakes.
The Protection of the Twin-Headed Snake was healing his body, the Blessing of the One-Eyed Snake was helping him control his ether. while the Blessing of the Serpent allowed him to transcend his vessel. It was miraculous how those three existences could exist in harmony while wrapped around his soul, but it was because of the three of them that the Goblin King came to be.
And now, that existence was starting to waver.
Even in death, these three snakes could not ignore the will of the Goddess of the Underworld that stood above them. Whether it was her anger or her sorrow, to resonate with her feelings was their duty as members of her household. And that will hindered the circulation of the power of the three snakes and gave the king much pain.
He grit his teeth.
How could pain stop the king?
How could he ignore the cries of a lone girl?
That was reason enough to overcome the pain and move forward.
But it was not only his body that was suffering, the will of the gods affected even his mind as it bound him, forcing him to his knees. He had to support his body with his great sword, and it seemed he could collapse at any time. Blood started to blend with the breath he exhaled and even his sight had become hazy.
Once his legs had stopped, moving it again seemed impossible, and his hands refused to budge.
“…KU!?”
Altesia’s will used this opining in his will to move his body. Against his will, his right hand that was holding his great sword moved on its own and tried to throw the sword at Reshia.
For an instant, the Goblin King’s will had been taken.
“ZENOBIAAaaAA!”
And what came out of the Goblin King’s lips next was the hateful voice of the Goddess of the Underworld.
That anger had touched the wrath of the gods. Death was her domain, but Zenobia’s power had even encroached into it. Whether she wanted to or not, Altesia was summoned from the depths of the underworld.
Her hate was turned even on Reshia, who was being possessed. After all, if not for her, Zenobia would not have been able to manifest herself here. It did not matter the form, all that mattered was that she was here, was affecting her, and was in front of her. And that stimulated Altesia’s hatred for Zenobia.
However, in that short moment, the Goblin King was able to wrestle back his consciousness.
“ALTESIAaAAA!”
And with an even greater anger, he crushed her will and forcefully took back his own body. Control was not her domain. For what reason had he walked this far? Was it not to regain control of himself that he cultivated his power?
The Goblin King was able to get back control of his body before Altesia could throw his sword. He stabbed it firmly into the ground, then he let out a breath of relief and looked up.
“I’ve made it this far…!”
Blood spilled out of his lips. Smashed fragments and fresh blood fell between his gritted teeth.
“So, don’t get in my way!”
The Goblin King desperately told his body. It seemed as though his body was connected to the depths of the underworld, and the figure of the devilish mother goddess seething in rage appeared, but he immediately drove it away.
“So what? This is my war!”
If he let his guard down for a even a moment, Altesia’s will would surely take over him to try and kill Reshia. Now, all that was left was Zenobia, who drove everything around them mad, and the woman predestined for it.
“—I’m going to save you. That’s why I’ve made it this far.”
Before Reshia, he said those words to himself and the world.
For a moment, his memories flashed, reminding him that he was not a goblin that possessed human intelligence, but a goblin with the soul of a human.
“I’ll save you! I will! This time for sure!”
His legs seemed like they were about to be crushed by the pressure, but he used those legs to plant himself firmly into the ground and raise himself up.
That person that he couldn’t save at that time, this time for sure, he would—
His hand that seemed like it couldn’t leave the ground anymore – he took that hand and used it to grip his great sword. He looked pathetic, but the Goblin King didn’t care as he forced himself to stand. With his great sword as a cane, and his two feet planted firmly on the ground—
“GURUUuuUOOaaAa aAA AaA AAaa!”
—he bellowed.
He had made up his mind. No matter what price he had to pay, he would not retreat, for he was the Goblin King! He was king!
The ground beneath him was like mud as it sucked his feet in. The pressure coming from Zenobia weighed down on him, but he endured the pressure on his mind and his body and moved forward.
His legs should’ve long been ensnared by the land, but he did not stop, and the squirming snakes within him and Zenobia’s emotions burned.
—They burned.
Everything within the Goblin King came together and burned in wrath as the Goblin King took one step after another, until eventually, he was before her, before the saint.
He used his wrath and his power to make himself stand upon that land, the breath exhaling from his mouth hot like fire.
He looked at her closed eyes, then he looked up and glared at the goddess. In the face of that overwhelming presence, the snakes within him screamed. Even Altesia’s hateful voice was silenced.
This was one of the gods that ruled this world.
Looking up at her this close, the pain rushing through the Goblin King made him want to scream. If he looked, he would find that his ribs had already twisted. The power of the Goddess of the Underworld and the Goddess of Healing were opposed to each other, and the Goblin King’s body screamed in agony.
But within that twisted world, he looked up at Zenobia. There was no time.
Seeing the Goblin King stand up, Zenobia acknowledged him and released Reshia from her arms, then as though she was about to welcome a lost person, she stretched open both of her arms, and the manifestation behind Reshia soared.
The blood flowing out of the Goblin King’s lips had already stained his chest. The blood from his wounds had already formed a puddle on the ground. Normally, the black flames would close his wounds, but in the face of this goddess, his wounds could not close.
The bone in his right limb was broken, and the bleeding of his wounds was only getting worse. The power of the goddess could crush him just by him approaching. He staggered, but this time, he did not collapse. He rose up his crushed body, then glared up at this existence whose power was so far beyond him that standing before her was no different from challenging the whole world.
The existence of the gods could not even permit a lower life form to stand in their presence, but the Goblin King raised his head.
“I will, save this woman.”
Blood was mixed in with his voice, and the Goblin King spoke clearly to this god who built this world.
“If you get in my way, this world of yours, I’ll destroy it – so watch me, and I’ll break this yoke of yours called saint, with my own hands!”
Already, he could not tell if he was holding something or not because of the pain, but he raised his arms all the same.
“Begone, Goddess! Come back—”
He didn’t really have the strength to hold it anymore, but with his great will, he lifted up his sword and spat out blood as he bellowed.
“—RESHIAAaaAAAaAaAAAaA!!!”
Then with a single stroke, he cut the goddess behind Reshia.
Was it the world that cracked or was it his own soul, but in that moment, the Goblin King clearly heard the sound of something cracking, and the power the Goddess of the Underworld had given him manifested. ‘Expel the power of the gods’ the sonorous voice of the Goddess of Vengeance declared.
The burning black flames of the underworld set fire to the God Class blade, repelling the interference of the gods and bestowing the authority to cut that power in exchange for wounds that could not be healed. As the flames burned, the Goblin King’s soul was sucked in and the world was encroached.
As a crack ran through the land that the Goblin King stood upon, Zenobia’s shadow behind Reshia was blown away by the power within that stroke. A single stroke that took all of the Goblin King’s physical strength and even whittled away at his life. So great was its might that it reached even the dark clouds up above and called forth the sun.
Relief seemed to show on Zenobia’s eyelids as the Goblin King embraced the fallen Reshia.
“…You really, are…” Reshia said.
The Goblin King gently held Reshia’s shaking shoulders.
“I told you, didn’t I? I’ll save you.”
“I…!”
Within the arms of the Goblin King, the woman known as the saint cried.
