Chapter 147

A faint glow of light appeared in the black sky.

A piercing cold gathered in one place.

Though he had called it hail for lack of a better word, it was far too massive to be hail.

Could ice fangs as large as an adult man truly be called hail?

A bluish spear like a glacier aimed at a single point from high above.

Leandros had no time to say anything.

The deity inhabiting Arenheit's body had merely flicked a finger.

-Kragagagagaga!

Blue dots poured down over the black goat.

Though they narrowly avoided Leandros and Aphoom-Zhah,

The spears that ceaselessly rushed around the goat indiscriminately pierced the buildings and ground.

Leandros wrapped Arenheit with his cloak against the thick dust and smoke storm.

He didn't care what happened to Aphoom-Zhah, but the body he was using belonged to Arenheit.

-Meeeh!

A faint cry was buried in the roar.

Only long after did the hail shower cease.

Aphoom-Zhah peeked out from behind the black cloak hem.

"This much is sufficient for an avatar, human."

"Is it over?"

"Yes. Though I am also a descent form borrowing a human body, the other side was merely an avatar using a goat. I was a bit ahead, so to speak. Unless it's the main body, there's no need for a bigger fight."

Could it have ended so easily?

The tips of his fingers were still tingling from the pressure he had felt from the goat's shadow.

Though Leandros found it hard to believe, he slowly withdrew his cloak.

Aphoom-Zhah fearlessly walked toward the scene where the ice spears had struck.

The spears, which had persistently struck just one point, gathered to look like a small ice mass.

"But the shadow."

"The shadow doesn't matter. It's just power subordinate to the goat, isn't it? If the avatar died, that's the end of it. Since the other side sent an animal avatar, this fight was my victory."

"Why? Because humans are stronger than animals?"

"Rather, it's because of the difference in magic power that the body can contain. You, human, didn't know about my worshipper's magic power?"

"......"

"You and the human woman are different from birth. This is a body created with a purpose determined from the making stage."

"Purpose determined?"

"It's similar to how ■■■ are made for combat or research purposes. The magic power contained in a single strand of hair or drop of blood is so much denser and more concentrated than that of ordinary humans that it can't even be compared."

"It contains magic power?"

"Yes. If I had been a snowman, I couldn't have manifested my divinity to this extent. Even if I borrowed magic power, more would have been wasted."

A body containing vast magic power.

Leandros recalled the education that the former duchess had Arenheit undergo.

Even to the point where, at the end, she allowed Arenheit to damage herself, the duchess.

When Leandros said nothing, Aphoom-Zhah continued speaking as he placed his hand on the ice spear and peered inside.

"Magic power and mental strength rivaling that of the Archmage Eibon. Humans who can see me through the ice and not go mad are rare. Of course, my worshipper lacks magical aptitude."

"Is it to that extent?"

"There's no better material for containing a deity. If I were to find a drawback, it would be that since the magic power possessed is so vast, the body could easily break if magic power is used frequently."

"Wait. Then those ice spears just now-"

"That much is fine, human. Don't make a fuss."

"Tell me the specific limit."

"Fighting at full power, the body would collapse in 5 minutes. Fighting more gently, 10 minutes. Perhaps?"

"From now on, get permission before revealing your divinity."

"A mere human! It's my worshipper's body!"

"Before that, it's my lord's body."

Leandros spoke coldly as he approached Aphoom-Zhah.

If it was certain that Shub-Niggurath's avatar had died, he planned to remove Aphoom-Zhah from Arenheit's body and leave the village immediately.

This should satisfy His Grace.

But before Leandros could even walk a few steps.

He heard the sound of a flute.

Following the thousands of bell sounds that had rung before the goat appeared, a flute performance offering a strange and unpleasant melody.

He felt his eardrums vibrate and a chill ran down his spine.

Where was the sound coming from?

In that moment, Leandros caught hundreds of ice spears cracking all at once with a sharp sound.

"Look out!"

The ice spears exploded simultaneously.

At the same time, ice fragments as sharp as glass flew in all directions.

Amidst the explosion sounds, Aphoom-Zhah shouted something in a sharp voice.

Once again, with a massive glow of light above the sky, ice spears flew down,

But when something stirred the air, the spears flew off in the wrong direction.

Since they also flew toward Leandros, he dodged, but the house behind him was completely pierced and collapsed.

All the ground within sight froze white, creating threatening ice crystals.

Black blood flowed over it, stopping its advance as it froze upon touching the ground.

But the amount of blood pouring out was more overwhelming.

The black blood that escaped the icy floor began to cause flames wherever it touched, whether bare ground or elsewhere.

Everything turned crimson in an instant.

A small scream was heard from nearby.

It seemed to come from inside a small house that had just caught fire.

Though he had thought Amelia and Verde had evacuated everyone, it seemed there were still people left.

While Aphoom-Zhah and the unknown being fought fiercely, Leandros ran in that direction and kicked down the burning entrance door.

"Help us!"

From inside, from a secluded corner hidden by various furniture, screams were heard.

As he made his way through the smoke filling the interior, he saw children and adults huddled together under the stairs, embracing each other.

There were so many of them.

"Why didn't you leave? Get out now!"

"B-but, there were s-scary sounds coming from outside..."

"This is your only chance! Get out now!"

The people who had hidden until the end finally stood up.

But the flames consumed the house faster than that.

The blackened roof collapsed with a crash, blocking the path to the door.

Everyone hesitated and stepped back, but the smoke had completely filled the place, making it impossible to see anything.

In the suffocating heat, Leandros pushed the people toward the safest possible direction, lowered his posture, and placed his hand down.

Cold spread slowly from where his hand touched, but sweat dripped from Leandros's forehead.

Only at this moment did he realize that fire and ice were completely opposed.

The snow and ice he had commanded like his own limbs when fighting the Northern Margrave were now more difficult to handle than dealing with a disobedient His Grace.

He was barely able to lower the surrounding temperature to stop the flames from spreading, but he didn't know how long he could maintain this.

Outside, the monster and Aphoom-Zhah were fighting.

Even if this building collapsed, there was no one to reach out a helping hand.

At that moment, someone crashed through the wall of the house that was about to collapse.

Though people cheered that they had barely survived thanks to the wall that had collapsed with a clean opening,

Leandros's expression hardened as he saw the person buried in the collapsed debris.

Aphoom-Zhah, possessing Arenheit's body, was rolling about, coughing blood in a terrible state.

"Duke, no, you!"

Despite Leandros's angry shout, Aphoom-Zhah merely wiped the blood flowing down his chin.

Breathing heavily, Aphoom-Zhah shouted.

"It's an incarnation!"

"Incarnation?"

"Not an avatar. A cowardly incarnation was hiding behind the avatar! It's Pan, one of Shub-Niggurath's incarnations, 'The Black Goat of the Woods With a Thousand Young'!"

Along with Aphoom-Zhah's cry, a massive goat head outside raised its head.

It looked as if parts from a woman, a goat, and a man had been taken and assembled.

The large black goat had horns that curved after twisting several times.

On its forehead was a black inverted pentagram star that glowed red, from which black blood ceaselessly gushed.

The upper body was a mix of goat and woman, and the lower body was a blend of goat and man.

The hands with hooves moved like real human fingers.

The long hind legs supported the ground as it stood up.

When Pan, Shub-Niggurath's incarnation, howled, a strange wheezing sound of the wind echoed from everywhere.

Leandros instinctively knew it was calling its "children."

If all the children gathered, the odds would be slim even with a healthy Aphoom-Zhah.

Moreover, Aphoom-Zhah, who had descended into Arenheit, was struggling to win even in a one-on-one match against Shub-Niggurath's incarnation.

Aphoom-Zhah muttered lowly.

"Shall I manifest?"

"You can do such a thing?"

"If I manifest, such things wouldn't even be a single mouthful. Of course, as the price of manifestation, the worshipper would be shattered to pieces."

"Denied."

Leandros tried to calm his mind and thought.

His Grace had said that a deity could kill another deity.

And His Grace had also said.

That the killing of a deity by a human doesn't appear in any forbidden book.

As he recollected, Leandros discovered a discrepancy in Arenheit's statements.

-Then what about 'her'? How do you intend to handle her?

-That's why you're here.

Arenheit believed that Leandros could handle Shub-Niggurath.

But what had he said afterward?

-Yes, the killing of a deity by a human doesn't appear in any forbidden book.

-But a deity can kill another deity.

Avatar, which conveyed a deity's will, incarnation, divinity, a deity descended into Arenheit's body, and deity slayer.

Only now did Leandros think he could understand this contradiction.

What Arenheit, his Duke, had been thinking was.

"Hey."

"What?"

"Can you bestow a blessing upon me?"

"What are you saying, human. I don't have the luxury to bestow blessings on a human who isn't even my worshipper-"

Aphoom-Zhah, who had been scornful even while gasping for breath and coughing blood, hesitated for a moment.

"Human. You..."

"The goddess over there can make a mere goat into an avatar, so I'm sure you can make an avatar even in your current state."

"Hah!"

Aphoom-Zhah burst out laughing nervously.

Avatar and incarnation. He had figured that out in this short time?

It seemed his worshipper wasn't the only interesting one.

"Indeed, I bestowed a blessing upon my worshipper to use my power. Because my worshipper was serving me in some way, the great Aphoom-Zhah could descend into this body. But human. What do you believe in?"

"I don't believe in any deity."

"Disrespectful one who holds no reverence for any deity. Unbeliever unknown to me. Are you asking me to make you, such a person, into an avatar as an apostle? How dare you?"

"Indeed, I don't want to believe in any deity or any doctrine. But if there's one exception, I."

The white eyes looking at the impertinent human met the pitch-black gaze that held the darkness of the abyss.

Leandros said.

"I believe in my lord and his desire for revenge. For that, I would gladly become an apostle of heresy."

Aphoom-Zhah's only worshipper was without peer in his impudence.

Just for this, to have a deity descend into his body and hear such words.

This would not have been possible as a snowman.

Aphoom-Zhah raised his dangling hand and bit his palm.

Blood pooled instantly in the snow-white hand.

The deity inhabiting the worshipper's body covered the unbeliever's mouth with his palm.

Arenheit's blood flowed into Leandros's throat.

A few drops of ice-cold blood chilled his stomach. But even that was more than enough.

The blood-soaked hand passed over Leandros's cheek, soiling it.

"Insolent one. By the will of the great Lord of the Extreme Realm, in the name of your lord, I bestow a blessing upon you. Slaughter the wicked goddess, offer her corpse to me, and sing of my glory."

The taste of blood was unfamiliar to Leandros.

Aphoom-Zhah's hand fell away.

"Be brave, my avatar. I shall personally watch over you."

Leandros thought those words were something Arenheit would say.

He rose not as Leandros, but as an avatar of Aphoom-Zhah and his vessel.

The goddess's "children" were gathering one by one.

The gathered people, after gauging the situation, rushed out when Leandros moved, using him as a shield.

The village was burning.

The raging flames devoured everything indiscriminately, be it people or buildings.

Sparks glittered in the wind, and the streets were filled with black smoke.

The pale mass of tentacles that leisurely strode through the streets passed by him, limply dangling what looked like a head.

Soot-covered people were running with all their might.

Leandros moved against the flow.

In his right hand, he held his old cherished sword,

In his left, a blue sword made of ice that would not melt even in the flames.

Before him, the massive half-human half-beast Pan looked down at him.

Leandros's intuition whispered.

He didn't think he could possibly lose.