When Falco heard that Ansu had "come from the future," and that Elune would still fall into decline, it was as though the last straw had finally broken him.
"You're lying!" he roared. "Then everything I've done was meaningless? I was doomed to fail?"
"You've already failed, haven't you?" Ansu shook his head. "That night at the God-Making Base, Master Hoffman was in agony too. He felt just as defeated, and he asked me the same question..."
"I told him that his failure would give rise to my success. I convinced him."
"But you won't convince me!" Falco suddenly erupted.
Countless black vines burst from his back, gleaming with a filthy green light as they surged toward Ansu from every direction.
Ansu did not even move.
An immense tide of mental power spread silently outward. The vines struck an invisible barrier a dozen meters away from him and could not advance another inch. They could only writhe and lash wildly, futilely.
Ansu's mental power was now strong enough to hold Falco off for a moment even when he still possessed divine power. Now that a god had stripped him of that power, he stood even less of a chance.
The God of Nature watched the two of them quietly, helping neither.
Ansu could feel that ancient will resting on him the entire time.
He knew he was not trying to convince Falco now—Falco was beyond saving. His words were meant for the one watching.
He had to convince the God of Nature to join his side.
"Falco, Master Hoffman spent his entire life fighting the out-of-control God of Magic. To prevent that possible apocalypse, he made enemies of practically the entire world." Ansu's voice was quiet, yet it echoed clearly within the Divine Tree.
"He fought to his last breath