Chapter 94

"Then, what is your intention?"

Novia's soft, very gentle question penetrated into the soul of Hassan of the Phantom Valley.

His voice sounded both stern and accusatory, a strange mix of emotions. Hassan of the Phantom Valley felt he couldn't even utter a sound, or more accurately, he wasn't qualified to answer.

In the distant past, Hassan of the Phantom Valley embarked on his journey to the Valley of Shadows. And because of this, most of Hassan of the Phantom Valley's past has long since vanished into the abyss of nothingness.

"Foolish thing."

In the end, he encountered a supreme being, who was still in human form but covered in shadows, as if he were the embodiment of death, absorbed into the entire Underworld.

"What can your hand, which burns and brands like a shadow, and forbids even destruction, grasp?"

"Do you believe that preemptive atonement will bring liberation? Knowing full well that your enlightenment will yield no results, do you still wish to wander eternally between the realms of the living and the dead?"

Hassan of the Phantom Valley, who was created through human intervention, realized that he was the shadow of the old man before him.

He didn't weep with emotion, nor did he tremble at the intense sight of death before him; he simply accepted it calmly.

In his heart, there was only peace, for he, who had never understood why he was born, had finally come to the place he deserved.

"Okay—just stick your neck out."

At the same time, as his life came to an end, Hassan of the Phantom Valley heard a phrase that seemed to have been etched into the mountain temple from the distant past—

"Old man, everything is light and shadow; this will never change no matter where you go. Only an unwavering spirit is essential. Therefore, you need not abandon anything."

The voice that remained at the moment of death of Hassan, whom the old man had killed, overlapped with the voice of the man before him, without Pride or Desire, simply appearing before him as a matter of course.

"Please show me the way home."

Just as Hassan of the Phantom Valley made his statement, a voice that remained calm throughout came from behind.

"Heh, is that the World Tree from the far north? I wonder what would happen if I ate it."

The third challenger, and also the first to arrive before Novia with a provocative intent.

The White-Haired Goddess woman was merely walking around, yet the Thunderbolt that she should have punished were rapidly appearing around her at a speed that seemed to break through the wind and waves, as if a contradiction had arisen.

Beside him was a huge metallic creature with the constant Gears and the grinding of metal, its eyes still gleaming with intense white light, and a terrified girl.

The True Berserker Team Servant the Servant Humbaba and Master Haruli, as well as the Einzbern Homunculus whose body was usurped by the Goddess Ista, named Philia.

Philia wasn't troubled by the extremely powerful Novia before her, nor was she worried that her body might be destroyed at any moment.

He was simply thinking about what would happen if the Divine Beast he was summoning, the Bull of Heaven, ate the World Tree of Norse.

"I never expected there would be those from the Western Lands... The Gods of Greece are clearly all eccentrics, often inexplicably imposing their love and hate on humanity. It's normal for humans, ruled by such gods, to suffer from differing values, just like that Avenger I met not long ago."

Then, she seemed to realize something and let out a small gasp of surprise.

"And you're actually able to contain all that love and hate? It's truly remarkable that you haven't been profoundly distorted. Heh, to be honest, I never imagined someone of such value could exist."

177: The Goddess's Departure (5k)

"How could it happen so suddenly..."

Earlier, in the center of the Forest in the western part of Snowfield City, Haruli, the Master of the True Berserker, after recovering from the shock of Novia's declaration of war, looked at the Temple that had been completed before her with a surprised expression.

The Great Temple, resembling a mountain, has a massive, glazed gate adorned with lapis lazuli in front, followed by a long stone staircase leading to the Temple on a stone base.

At the top of the stone steps is a building resembling an ancient Mesopotamia ruin. The gold and silver statues on the left and right sides of the starting point of the steps are modeled after the Kokopelli figurines, which are known in the United States for bringing good fortune and charisma.

That's not all; what's outrageous are the statues placed on the outer edges. Those statues, set up like Guardian God, are all shaped like Monster that jumped out of fairy tales and other stories, making people feel uneasy just by looking at them.

Originally, in Haruli's plan, if they were to create an Age of Gods like Babylon Age of Gods of Gods according to the Goddess's orders, it would take two or three days to complete, even with the help of the Berserker.

"Heh, really, that's quite the smug human."

A voice from the side interrupted Haruli's confusion, and she immediately turned around and said tremblingly:

"That... this isn't it--"

"It's alright. Since you're the high priest I appointed, you'll build something like this sooner or later anyway." Ishtar narrowed her eyes, revealing a bewitching smile, then looked up at the city center. "The one who should apologize is that guy who's even more arrogant than those two..."

Ista was able to Present World using the Einzbern Homunculus because the blessing she once bestowed upon the world was activated—that is, the power she retained in the world.

When she was humiliated by the King of Heroes and thrown with the entrails of Divine Beast, he had already left his blessing deep in the world, and it never stopped until the moment she merged into Human Order and vanished.

That is why she came along with Enkidu, because Enkidu and Gilgamesh Present World together.

The Goddess of beauty, filled with Wrath and hatred, was so perfectly composed that the primordial rage, rekindled within the vessel named Philia, was a 'remnant' of the passions of the gods who once ruled this Planet.

But at this moment, even more anger flared up at those who had dared to drag him into the unknown world without his consent.

"You don't seem to dislike that person very much, do you? I thought he was a good person..."

"Disrespect is only allowed once. A second time is tantamount to 'doubting me,' so please be careful."

Ishtar gave a stern but smiling instruction, Haruli immediately shut her mouth as if frozen.

Why was Haruli appointed as High Priestess?

The Answer was simple for the Goddess: in faraway Uruk, there was a high priest who, though serving the King of Heroes, Faith extremely devout to her, and whose name was somewhat similar to Haruli's.

But then, amidst her fear, Haruli, with a complex mix of gratitude and awe, spoke to the deity who had saved her life:

"But but, who really..."

Seeing this, Ishtar lowered her voice slightly and said:

"... This is the second time already. Do you want to die? But since you've chosen to die, why not be happy?"

After the Goddess finished speaking, she grabbed Haruli's shoulders and embraced her trembling body. The dense Od Haruli, full of divinity, enveloped Haruli, giving her the feeling of being back in her childhood, being held in the arms of her now-deceased mother.

In this wondrous tranquility, Ishtar's Od gradually seeped into Haruli's entire body, Divine Power flowing into Haruli's Magic Circuits and painting them with other colors.

For Haruli, there was a strange feeling that her existence was being valued by something grand, even the world itself. Coming to her senses, she was already in tears. However, although she didn't resent it, she still rejected the Goddess who had 'blessed' her.

"Please... please don't do this..."

Even though she was breathing heavily and could barely speak.

With Haruli's rejection, Ista saw her memories, the memories from just moments ago on the shore.

Facing the sound of the waves, Haruli's past, which she didn't want to confront—the memory of her parents being murdered by Magecraft, the brutal destruction and wailing—is displayed on the other side of the sea, a scene that shattered all her past happiness.

"I want revenge... I don't care what happens to the world... whether mystery exists or not doesn't matter... I just want them to taste the same pain! To let them know the inevitability that what is lost can never be regained! Just like my family can never come back... Let them truly experience the feeling of mystery disappearing... and never being able to get it back..."

Originally, Haruli felt extremely inferior in his presence, given her emotional nature; however—

"No matter what kind of suffering you are in, I believe someone will save you. All your pain, and the Revenge that arises from it, is justified and never base. So, after your Revenge, be happy and live a long and prosperous life."

The waves stretch endlessly across the vast ocean, and at the edge, the World Tree extends its lush branches, passing on withered leaves that reflect upon the world.

"... So be it. You no longer belong to me. Choose as you see fit, but whatever the outcome, I will witness it to the very end for you humans. Whether that end is a beautiful demise or an ugly struggle, I will watch."

Upon seeing this scene from her memory, Ishtar closed her eyes and withdrew her Od from Haruli.

She didn't want to mention that on that coast, she subconsciously asked her followers for countless lapis lazuli.

Ista, looking back on her past and concealing that passion, said:

"And also, despite all this, I also allow you Haruli, to enjoy life, celebrate joy, and love this world. Use your hands to polish those joys and sorrows... 'give them their utmost value and then give them all to those you wish to give them to,' understand?"

With a voice as comforting as a mother's soothing words to a child, Ishtar uttered things a mother would never say to her child before gently pushing Haruli.

Despite this, Haruli continued to cry, even kneeling down on the spot, curling up into a ball and weeping uncontrollably.

Ishtar neither comforted nor complained, but simply watched silently, like a mother watching her child choose to leave.

"Just struggle and struggle as much as you can, dance your body in this world. Even if you dance terribly, as long as you haven't abandoned your humanity... no, you can't abandon it anymore, can you? That way, I can keep watching with a smile. Although I can't teach you how to dance now... at least I can give you a dance costume and shoes."

After Haruli calmed down, Ista took her and Humbaba to the city center.

The proud Goddess did not wait for those who came to 'pilgrimage,' but instead chose to become the first 'Hero.'

Let's return to the present, after the initial amazement.

Before the miracles arrived from infinitely expanding possibilities, Ista will place a beautiful smile, enough to freeze the heart, upon the heart of those who witness it, and say:

"Let me see if you can 'protect humanity' under my complete 'focus'..."

In an instant, as if her words had enraged them, the entire Thunderbolt roared, unleashing a torrent of lightning. The Thunderbolt, possessing the power and penetrating force to pierce through the earth and destroy all enemies, descended straight down, piercing through everything in its path.

"Before the heavens, what divine thing has the right to overstep its bounds?"

She created brilliance amidst countless Thunderbolt through a process of negation.

It was a clear blue light, born from the earth's surface, a star-like, light yet dazzling radiance that illuminated everything around it.

At the same time, before Novia could make a move, the Pale Rider reacted, letting out a completely emotionless roar at the Goddess.

"I am the sword, I am the beast, I am thirst, I am hunger, I am the being that brings death, I am the being that plays the melody of death, I am death—death."

The same applies to Hassan of the Phantom Valley.

"O fading starlight in this foreign sky, how dare you do this! Then I, in place of my ancestral blade... shall deliver your Evening Bell."

But Humbaba, who followed Ista, was not to be outdone and began to roar mechanically for the Goddess.

Then, in everyone's sight, Novia smiled happily, waved for the Pale Rider and Hassan of the Phantom Valley to step back, and then reached out with her free hand to shake hands.

"The age of gods is long gone, Ista."

The moment the words fell, Ista felt the surroundings instantly fill with the Ether the Age of Gods —no, it was as if the Age of Gods had instantly revived here.

For this reason, Ista is no longer the fading light of the past. In the realm where the Age of Gods already existed, she is undoubtedly the Goddess of Venus, the most beloved Goddess among the gods.

In that instant, beyond the echoing Thunderbolt, a roar resounded—a behemoth approaching the size of a typhoon.

The immense divine Od surging from the depths of the horns directly disrupted concepts of distance and direction in order to support the Goddess.

This is the Divine Beast belonging to the Goddess — the Bull of Heaven.

Ista has now regained her full divine power, and even the Bull of Heaven has arrived. From an outsider's perspective, the combined strength of the two has essentially surpassed the framework of Servant. In this Holy Grail War, is she truly the strongest now...?

The Goddess did not think so. She understood that the environment here, which resembled a re-emergence of the Age of Gods, was created by the man before her. In other words, how could someone with such abilities be easily defeated? Absolutely not.

Indeed, in her vision, a crack appeared in the man's hand that wasn't holding the gun, and a sword of mixed white, red, and black slowly emerged from it. This reappearance of the Age of Gods emanated from this sword, as if it were drilling into countless thunderstorms, enveloping his entire body.

For a moment, Ista felt that the sword looked somewhat familiar, but she didn't dwell on it. Soon, a confident smile appeared on her lips.

"Maanna!"

As Ishtar shouted this, lapis lazuli and gold instantly stirred and floated in the otherwise empty space, gathering around her.

Transforming into a bow-shaped boat with two graceful arcs, it carried Ista into the sky. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Goddess Ishtar used her charm to control the surrounding space, terrain, air currents, and even divine lightning, gathering them behind her.

With the confidence she possessed from birth, the Goddess continued to ascend into the sky. The wind and thunder around her approached, yet they seemed to follow her like smooth flowing water.

In the blink of an eye, Ishtar had already steered her boat into the sky, so high that it seemed as if she were flying towards the Star Sea and Venus.

The Maana is a celestial vessel capable of traversing the entire world, and even amidst the endless Thunderbolt that has been restored in the Age of Gods, it is able to maintain its maximum speed.

It also serves as an interstellar transfer gate connecting Earth and Venus.

"Open the Great Gate!"

Having regained her full power as a god, Ista is an undisputed Deity. Whether her words are ideal for humans or other animals and plants is irrelevant; her utterances are the sacred decrees of the star's surface.

As long as the Goddess Ishtar says, "Ravens are white," "Raven will disappear from the world," even if the raven species disappears from the earth, no one will notice.

"Heh heh, shatter everything, Mountain-Splitting Star Scorch!"

The Goddess did not unleash the expected "Eight Directions Kneeling to the Sky Hammer," but rather a replica of Venus's radiance, bringing destructive and apocalyptic energy to the world.

Instead, it was a far more terrifying move than the normal Mountain-Splitting Star Scorch. Although it had the same name, it was not just about taking the concept of Venus into its grasp and stuffing it into Maanna's missile bay as a conceptual Planet for launch, but about a phantom shadow of equal mass descending upon the world.

In response to its master's request, it was shaped based on the concept of the ferocity of the heavens, a divine Divine Beast that embodies the ravages of the gods. It illuminates the sky with thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of millions of lightning bolts, as if the Thunderbolt of creation or the end of the world shakes the world, and spews out a deadly torrent of thunder and torrential rain.

This is the power of Divine Beast, this is the grand undertaking of the heavens, a terrifying power that arrived in just a second.

However, just as the two converged, and the concept seemed capable of destroying everything was about to strike Novia, the two...

He held the sword in his hand.

"What..."

Cold sweat trickled down Ista's back, and a strange feeling seemed to slowly creep into the storm Gale.

Indeed, it was the Primordial Sacred Sword I had sensed before.