The Journey West (Continued)

The blond knight opened his mouth. Then, he lowered his head deeply.

Miss Surtr then turned her gaze to Athena. She watched as the delicate young girl's face shifted between light and shadow, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

"I know." She used a statement of fact.

"... Yes, I understand." Athena, unable to speak first, sighed and shook her head slightly. "The fall of the gods is imminent. Whether we return to the Mythical Realm or remain defiant... the corrupted fate will find us and mold us into something else entirely. How unwilling I am... is there no other path but death?"

"Yes." Miss Surtr raised her hand and tossed the Gorgon Stone, which had somehow ended up in her pocket, to Athena. The latter caught it but did not integrate it into herself. "Go to Greece and open the gate to Mount Olympus for me. I will destroy the foundations of your mythology and sever your destiny. Then, with the ruins of Olympus, I will recast a body for you that is no longer a god, but also no longer bound by fate."

"So you will kill me on Mount Olympus." Athena looked at her, a subtle glint in her eyes. "But I am the Goddess of victory. I will not surrender."

"I know, I allow you to resist with all your might. But I will still kill you in the end, and then recreate a new you, as a way of repaying you for all the trouble you've done for me these past few days," Miss Surtr said calmly.

She needs no promises, no guarantees, because her words are the only direction for survival.

So Athena nodded to her, her form disintegrating into a stream of light that vanished into the horizon—she knew Athena wouldn't obediently await her death at the end of the world. Athena would try, she would strive, she would resist. Even if the outcome was already predetermined. She would ultimately face her with a blade upon arriving in Greece.

But she will ultimately die at the hands of me and my Laevateinn. No matter how much she prepares or struggles, the final outcome will be the same.

She will die, and then come back to life. Because this is her destiny, the destiny I have ordained for her.

Miss Surtr immediately turned her gaze to her maid Luo Hao, whose brows were also furrowed—this God Slayer had tried to avenge herself after the war of the Seven Great Sages. However, during the battle, she hadn't held back and hadn't even let her get a second chance.

"Even God Slayer die." Miss Surtr looked at her calmly. "The war of the gods is about to break out, and there is no place for God Slayer in the new era I have planned. Do you want to die, or do you want to live?"

Luo Hao's gaze met hers in the air.

"In this new era, will you be the only king?"

"I don't think you need to ask such a foolish question," Miss Surtr replied. "I've said it before, I am from Otherworlder. I am Surtr, and only Surtr."

Luo Hao nodded.

"Then, I want to die."

"Alright." The Flame-haired maiden nodded in response. "Then go back to China. I've placed the Sea-Calming Divine Needle- Stabilizing Needle in the Duguang Wilds. I need it to become the Jianmu Tree, the stepping stone for me to ascend to the Heavenly Court. Use your blood to refine it. Or wait for me there. I'll give you the opportunity to prepare for battle with all your might, and then die by my hand as a blood sacrifice."

"Very good," Luo Hao replied, and she was about to turn and leave when she stopped.

"Surtr, do you care about the people?" she asked.

"I don't care, I don't hesitate, I won't hold back," Miss Surtr replied. "I will not hesitate because of the people's pleas. Nor will I be angered by the people's accusations. I will only do what I decide to do. And no one will die; it will only be a byproduct of my achieving my goal."

"You don't need to worry that I'll fail at the last minute. Because I won't make mistakes."

Luo Hao remained silent for several seconds.

"... If I had met you sooner... perhaps..." She didn't finish her sentence, but simply stood up and took flight.

"I'll be waiting for you in the Duguang Wilds. Don't keep me waiting too long." As soon as he finished speaking, the God Slayer from the east was escorted by a cloud chariot and disappeared into the horizon.

She left too.

So...

Erica knelt down on one knee as her gaze shifted away, so forcefully that her knee slammed into the ground, even breaking the stone's surface.

"Your Majesty! Please allow me to serve you! Even if it's just to stand on your back, please—"

Miss Surtr lightly placed her fingertips on her lips, silencing any remaining words she might have wanted to say.

"I have other things I need you to do." The string of beads, formed from the power of the God of War, silently slipped from her hand. "I need you and Liliana to control the Sun Palace. While I'm dealing with the Divine Realm of Takama-ga-hara and heading west, use the Sun Palace to guard this land and ensure that no supernatural force from the east of the Pacific Ocean can cross this island that serves as a barrier."

"But—" Erica was about to speak, but before she could open her mouth, the beaded string slid into her lips, blocking her tongue.

"No buts." Miss Surtr raised her hand. "Since I have decided to travel west, it means that I may not be able to keep track of the changes in North America while I am traversing Eurasian Continent. The divine realm there may manifest earlier than expected, which means that not all divine wars can end in the divine realm."

"The people on that continent are likely to die. And their deaths are of my own volition. It was my decision to go there last, to face the most troublesome adversary last. So..."

She paused for a moment.

"I can't find any capable assistants, so I have no choice but to let some die in exchange for others living. But if the living don't outlast the dead either, then it's just a waste and a wrong decision. Erica Brantelli, my knight, don't let the lives I've sacrificed be in vain."

People can be brought back to life, but that doesn't mean they've never died.

Wounds can be healed, but that doesn't mean the past injuries can be erased.

Miss Surtr had already prepared herself. She knew that at this moment, only she could make the choice. And she disdained to find excuses to shirk responsibility for her decision.

So her knight bowed deeply, knelt before her, and kissed the tips of her boots, for the second time showing his submission to her as if serving a god.

She knew that Erica had listened to her orders and would not make mistakes or act on her own.

And so, Miss Surtr closed her eyes.

Close your eyes, open your eyes. Everything changes.

As her senses expanded outward once more, the divine realm of Takama-ga-hara was already before her eyes.

What came into view was a vast continent high in the clouds. Takama-ga-hara —a plain high in the sky, the dwelling place of the gods in Japanese Mythology. And when Miss Surtr arrived, she could clearly sense the frenzy and curses that permeated this Mythical Realm.

The air is filled with the scent of stars.

They come from beyond the realm, from the unknown. They surge forth from the invisible boundary, seeping into every inch of this floating land.

Looking up, at the edge of my vision, there was a colossal sun. But that sun, which should have been infinitely brilliant and radiant, was partially shrouded in strange starlight from bottom to top.

"Amaterasu? Or Amenominakanushi?"

Miss Surtr grasped Laevateinn, the feeling of blood ties sensing that Laevateinn was also excited. With a whisper that received no reply, she raised her sword and swept it horizontally.

'Puff—'

The flames transformed into ocean waves, engulfing and igniting the surrounding trees and flowers. The Takama-ga-hara, permeated by starlight, also began to burn fiercely. It was as if a needle had been pierced into flesh that was not yet completely necrotic.

It stimulates nerves, causing the skin and fur to contract.

As the earth writhed, a colossal, towering giant, crackling with lightning, emerged from beneath the ground of Takama-ga-hara. Its entire body was covered in strange flesh and blood structures, and hundreds of eyes on its still-standard head constantly opened, closed, and merged, overflowing with tangible starlight—only one of its arms remained intact, and at the end of that arm, it tightly gripped a dark sword.

"Exterminate... the evil..."

From the giant's abdomen came overlapping words. And with its command, countless gods, demigods, and Divine Attendants appeared around the fiery domain, flickering like unstable old-fashioned television signals—there were burly warriors, their heads stuck in the banners on their backs, weeds sprouting from their seven orifices; there were withered nobles, carrying seventeen or eighteen wings like withered branches, floating, releasing a blood-yellow semi-gaseous liquid as they moved.

They are numerous, and they are densely packed together.

They swarmed forward at the command of the giant wielding the sword.