Chapter 148

Most deities without worshippers do not hide their true forms,

But some deities with human worshippers understood what impact their true forms would have on fragile humans.

The ways such deities interfered with humans were limited to a few methods.

The two most commonly used methods were:

Operating avatars, or conveying their will through their attendants.

Among these, an avatar was a method of projecting their will onto a small creature unlikely to cause harm.

The avatar might be damaged in the process, but deities did not care about such trivial matters.

Avatars of deities created in this way were treated as a kind of saint, sacred animal, or sacred object.

Beings that lost their original identity and were worshipped as part of the deity.

And Leandros, who had volunteered to become a similar existence to such an avatar,

-Meeeeeeeh!

...was now facing an entity he had never imagined he would confront.

Pan violently swung its head.

Hanging onto the horn, Leandros used the centrifugal force to rotate once and then, after jumping high, brought down his blue sword.

A deep, long gash was carved from the back of the goat's head across its dry back.

The goat screamed at the dark red flesh revealed inside.

A sound like a herd of goats crying out shook the sky.

Leandros, who had slid all the way down, followed the ice path created beneath his feet before the tail could strike, lowering his posture and sliding between the incarnation Pan's legs.

With a strange screeching sound, a low wall of ice formed beside Leandros's feet, helping to reduce his speed.

Kicking off from it, Leandros leaped in front of Pan and swung his old sword from the ground to the sky.

With his gesture, sharp ice rose in rows from the floor.

It was a ferocious momentum that seemed it would split Pan in half.

As blood poured from the goat's forehead, it stained the pure white ice black.

Pan's blood pooled over the melting ice. Bubbles rose fervently from the black bloody pool, and dozens of yellow eyes emerged.

Leandros stopped in place, crafting ice crystals even in the hot air.

However, before he could properly manipulate the ice, black blood hot enough to melt a person came rushing toward Leandros.

Just as he was preparing for his skin to be flayed.

A massive barrier rose like a floodgate, blocking the wave and melting away with it.

When Leandros turned his gaze, he saw Aphoom-Zhah, still leaning against the collapsed debris, making a gesture.

Assistance from the descent form. So this was what he meant by watching over him.

'If I lose even with this, I won't be able to face His Grace.'

Leandros placed his old sword back into its scabbard.

Holding only the sword made of ice, he faced the incarnation Pan along with Shub-Niggurath's children who were gradually gathering around.

Blood that continuously caused fire kept flowing from Pan's back.

If he didn't want to burn the entire village, he needed to end this fight as quickly as possible.

The cool sensation of the ice sword felt pleasant in his hand.

The chilly feeling that circulated through his body, the breath that didn't become ragged,

He could feel Aphoom-Zhah's nameless blessing and magic power contained in Arenheit's blood growling as if about to burst forth.

There was a need to cool down the hot battlefield.

Leandros extended his empty hand, palm facing the sky.

As strength entered his hand, he slowly closed his fingers one by one, as if grasping something.

A cold wind blew from somewhere.

Something fluttered and fell, cutting through the hot air.

It was a white, delicate snowflake.

The snow melted immediately, but a second snowflake fell. Followed by a third, a fourth, and in an instant, a shower of snow...

It was almost like a downpour.

It was an alien scene.

Only the ground was dyed white in the burning street.

A black silhouette moved like lightning across the softly accumulating snow.

It was not the usual restrained movements that had been commonly seen.

Unrestrained and violent, a sword path like a hungry beast cut through the flesh and bones of the beings blocking the way, clearing a path.

Behind Leandros, who had lightly stepped on a flailing tentacle of a "child" and jumped, hundreds of small icicles solidified and poured down.

Black blood gushed like a fountain from the demonic beasts that had been slaughtered in an instant.

Even the falling snow could not cover the stench of festering flesh and decaying fluids.

Though liquid splashed onto Leandros's face, he did not stop.

An uncontrollable euphoria dominated his mind.

There was only one thing on his mind.

Killing the incarnation Pan.

That was the only revelation given in the name of the one he served.

Leaping again, using the crushed mass of tentacles as a foothold, he was incredibly light.

His body soaked in blood, the sound of soft muscles bursting beside his face, the hacked flesh and fat, the horrible sound of bones splitting.

Everything fueled his excitement.

What name should be given to such an emotion?

While surrendering himself to this unfamiliar yet strange flow, he stepped over the highly piled corpses of demonic beasts.

There stood the goddess's incarnation.

Leandros threw away his ice sword, soaked thoroughly in black fluid.

As he extended his empty hand toward the void, snowflakes that had been falling endlessly gathered one by one.

The ice accumulating in his palm gradually took shape.

A massive grip, a sturdy blade, a gigantic weapon forged from ice and tempered with cold wind.

A weapon made for him alone, which only one person in this world could wield.

Leandros witnessed the incarnation before him opening its mouth.

The glistening mucous membrane inside the black, red mouth contained a spring.

The spring was filled with terrible impurity unlike anything he had ever seen.

Countless things that were born and self-destructed countless times, things whose existence was not even established.

The incarnation intended to immerse Leandros in the spring of impurity.

With the embracing power of the divinity named the impure mother,

With the duty of the ominous black goat that poured madness into this world.

It extended its forelegs toward the small human before it for an embrace that led to death.

The massive face approached before his eyes.

Leandros gripped his weapon with both hands.

He suddenly realized that Arenheit had been right.

All the strength, power, and everything else he had trained until now had never helped his life.

At most, it only attracted the attention of madmen like Crown Prince Yurik.

Though he didn't lament his fate, he had always wondered.

Now that he had protected Arenheit until he returned to the castle as the duchess had ordered, was his role complete?

If Arenheit grew up and he became frail, could he then retire to the countryside and live quietly?

It had been the peaceful future he once desired, but now that it was approaching, he couldn't quite imagine it.

It felt like wearing ill-fitting clothes.

The sensation of walking an incongruous path sometimes assaulted his body.

But now, holding the blessing of the Lord of the Extreme Realm and weapons made of ice.

Leandros, paradoxically, felt that this was his destiny.

This moment, painted with blood,

This moment, observing the city freezing white due to the heretical blessing,

This ominous act of deity slaying that would never be written in any history.

If all of this felt right... was he mad?

Leandros raised his sword.

Neither the city's flames nor the incarnation's blood could stop him.

The gray smoke and heavy black clouds parted along his sword.

What could be seen through the gap was a dense cluster of stars.

Stars, planets, light burning with a mixture of ice and fire, all watched over the one who had found the right trajectory.

The flawless pure white sword drew forth all its power under the deity who had accepted his first worshipper.

It was a single strike.

A white shadow that reflected no light struck the incarnation.

Surroundings fell silent.

Living beings felt the breath of the north for the first time in their lives,

And the dead seemed to sleep peacefully under the vast snowfield.

The era was proceeding correctly.

Everything would flow as destined.

At the moment when all beings of this world were watching,

The goddess's incarnation, bisected by the star that had found its place, was miserably extinguished.

* * *

"E-everyone, d-don't be too n-nervous!"

"Don't move! No, don't try to go back to the village over there! Can't you see it's burning entirely? Do you need a new pair of eyes?"

Amelia and Verde were busy trying to calm the people they had evacuated from the village.

Most of the villagers had followed the elder's instructions to hide because something terrible would happen, only to face disaster.

Were the masterminds behind this calamity the elder and others separately?

Amelia bit her lower lip firmly as she comforted a crying woman and her children.

Verde spoke irritably.

"Miss, is this right? Is it right when the entire village is burning? Can that knight and His Grace even get out?"

"W-well, that."

"It would be better to seek help from a nearby village even now. Unless you want to make the village nothing but ashes from the fire!"

"Wh-what if they s-see the demonic b-beasts? Can we b-be responsible for th-that?"

"That's the village's responsibility!"

Though Verde was reckless, they couldn't just watch the entire village burn as he said.

Amelia gnawed at the inside of her cheek.

"I-I can't do this."

"What?"

"I'm g-going in to ch-check."

"Are you crazy? Didn't I tell you there's no medicine for insanity? What did you hear that as?"

"But th-there's no other w-way! If I can j-just check on His Grace and S-Sir Leandros."

"No, no, don't go! Don't go, I said! Are you really insane!"

When Amelia threw off her outer garment, Verde clung to her in fright.

While they were scuffling, one of the villagers shouted.

"Someone is coming out!"

At that sound, Amelia and Verde stopped their actions and looked toward the village exit.

Was it a villager who had come out late, like those who had joined earlier?

They watched the shadow slowly emerging from the exit and coming toward them.

The shadow, which was silently approaching with the crimson light source behind it, was carrying someone.

Amelia let out a joyful cheer.

"S-Sir Leandros!"

Verde and Amelia ran together, but the condition of those they saw up close was quite miserable.

Leandros was thoroughly soaked in an unknown dark red fluid, and Arenheit also had dried blood staining his chin and clothes profusely.

Amelia, who was receiving Arenheit and laying him on the ground, inhaled softly.

Excessively unfamiliar grayish-white eyes were staring at her.

"Y-Your Grace?"

"This is not Your Grace. Since he borrowed Your Grace's body, please let him rest for a while."

"B-borrowed?"

What did this mean?

As Amelia was puzzled, several villagers exclaimed.

"Sir Knight!"

"It's the knight we saw then!"

"Thank you for saving us from the fire, thank you!"

"Dad, this knight saved me!"

"And he fought against the enormous monster!"

"I saw it, he bought us time to escape. All by himself!"

"This person? Alone? Really?"

"My house caught fire and he got me out!"

"He also eliminated all those tentacled monsters."

Aphoom-Zhah, inhabiting Arenheit's body, must have been there too,

But strangely, there was no mention of Arenheit at all.

The individual voices of the villagers accumulated, gradually becoming a single voice.

"He saved us."

"He saved the village!"

"He defeated the monsters!"

"He's a hero who goes around saving people!"

"He's a savior, a hero!"

"Sir Knight! Good Sir Knight, Great Sir Knight!"

People approached Leandros, holding his hands, patting his back, and repeatedly expressing their gratitude.

Some praised him for his bravery, and some cried, saying he had saved their lives.

Leandros was confused among the people, but then his eyes met with Aphoom-Zhah who was lying down.

Those snow-white eyes were saying:

That's exactly what your "Duke" wanted.

So Leandros had no choice but to say:

"I've only... done what was natural."

'Hero of Gallo.'

It was the first of many epithets that Leandros would acquire in the future.