Gods

Half the sky in the distance was weighed down by dense, low-hanging storm clouds. A howling gale swept in, rolling the clouds together into a pitch-black mass that swallowed every trace of sunlight.

Between heaven and earth, only a faint glimmer of light remained. Despite it not yet being noon, the world felt as dim and oppressive as a sunset at dusk.

Thunder and lightning flashed intermittently, shaking the sky and the clouds. The thunderclaps sparked instantaneous bursts of brilliance, illuminating the heavy clouds and revealing the mountain-sized silhouette lurking within—a figure possessing the distinct outline of a god.

Behind him, the sky was bright and sunny, yet before him, it was like the dead of night. Leon stood at the boundary of light and darkness. As thunder roared in his ears, he took a deep breath, the air thick with the fresh scent of rain and soil.

Watching the god hidden within the distant storm clouds, Leon lowered his Holy Spear, gripped the Holy Sword of the Stars, and began tracing the newly learned Rune Script in the air.

The sharp blade of the Holy Sword of the Stars shimmered with a chilling light. Crystalline magical energy began to gather on the sword, flowing together like a torrent and emitting a dazzling radiance. As the magical energy saturated the blade, the golden light grew increasingly vibrant and eye-catching.

Holy and murderous.

Before the battle began, he would strike first to deal a heavy blow to this so-called god.

"The magical energy is just about enough..."

The energy accumulated in the Holy Sword had reached a critical point. Now, he could unleash a beam of light to destroy the False God in the sky with a single strike.

That was right.

After such a long period of instruction from his teacher Scathach, combined with his own diligent efforts, Leon had successfully mastered the Rune Script and used it to channel the magical energy of the Greater Source.

Of course, he could not be as thoroughly versed as Scathach, and there were many miraculous magics he naturally did not know; he only knew the most basic rune carving, using them to indirectly manipulate the Greater Source.

The simple, foundational techniques he had spent over a year learning from Scathach were exactly what Leon had prioritized as the skills he needed to master first.

Magical energy manipulation.

Manipulating the magical energy in the atmosphere to charge the Holy Sword, then unleashing the true power of the Holy Sword of the Stars to fire an unrivaled beam of light—the Roar of the Planet—was the only thing he could do right now.

It was the most practical method and could intuitively enhance his combat prowess.

Leon was unsure if Scathach, as his teacher, knew he had learned to manipulate magical energy through runes, but he believed he had hidden it well. Scathach likely didn't know; otherwise, she would have rushed to challenge him to a fight.

Likewise, even with Merlin's Clairvoyance, he could not see through Leon, so he naturally wouldn't know. As for Morgan, who shared his bed, she should be unaware under his deliberate concealment.

He was not yet proficient, and the time required for the Holy Sword to accumulate energy was quite long. It also required absolute concentration to guide the magical energy, making it impossible to use freely in the heat of battle; it could only be used as a pre-charged ultimate move.

Leon regarded this as his final trump card.

Now that the true form of the False God had appeared, Leon no longer needed to hide. He figured that using the remains of a Main God left on the ground as an opponent would not tarnish the brilliance of the Holy Sword of the Stars.

Just as Leon intended to launch a surprise attack and deal a massive blow to the entity in the sky, he suddenly received an urgent communication from Merlin.

"Merlin, what is it? I am just about to engage that so-called god in battle."

There was a hint of irritation in Leon's voice. The prospect of a great battle against a god made his entire body tremble with excitement; he could barely suppress the restless blood surging within him.

For Merlin to transmit a message at the height of his anticipation, the situation in Britain must have taken a special turn—one so dire that even Merlin felt helpless and had to turn to him for a decision.

"My King, I apologize for disturbing you during battle. The current situation in Britain has truly exceeded my expectations..."

Merlin adopted a solemn tone, causing Leon's heart to sink. He muttered to himself that it was just as he had feared; Morgan must have been up to something again.

Yet, even with his mental preparations, what Merlin said next truly exceeded his expectations.

Merlin was standing on a low hill by the coast, one hand shielding his eyes from the sun. His features were shrouded in shadow beneath his palm, and he gritted his teeth with a grave expression, his gaze fixed in the direction of Britain.

A humanoid giant made of stone and earth, bearing the chalky royal city upon its back, stood upon the island. Its excessively majestic body pierced through the clouds, a scene akin to the creation of the world, all of which was captured perfectly by his Clairvoyance.

"My King, Britain has stood up!"

"What?"

Merlin described the general scene he was witnessing to Leon, causing Leon's eyelids to twitch and his scalp to go numb. For a split second, he was completely stunned.

Even with his prior mental preparation, he was interrupted by Merlin's words, and it took a moment to reorganize his thoughts before he could continue to process the situation.

Britain...

Stood up?

"Merlin, what is going on?"

"It is Morgan... After Morgan resurrected Vortigern, she brought him into the Spirit Tomb. Once inside, Morgan blocked my Clairvoyance... I haven't seen anything since."

"I even sent a clone to try and stop them, but the clone was discovered by Vortigern in advance and destroyed in the process... Morgan has completely seized control of Vortigern."

Leon turned his head to look at the dim sky in the direction of Britain. Although he could not see it with his own eyes, through Merlin's account, he could visualize the general state of Britain.

But even if Morgan controlled Vortigern, their combined power was nothing extraordinary; how could they cause such a massive disturbance?

"Morgan's move is quite bold. What exactly is she trying to do?"

Leon was puzzled and was about to continue discussing it with Merlin.

But as he turned back, he saw a bolt of lightning suddenly ignite in the pitch-black sky ahead, radiating intense light.

This is...

That god's attack!

From afar, the lightning had looked as thin as a silk thread, but in an instant, it reached Leon, having grown as thick as a house.

In his field of vision, the bolt of lightning expanded from a mere speck of light to fill his entire view in the blink of an eye.

His vision turned completely white. Leon swung his Holy Sword to parry by instinct, feeling a heavy impact in his hands. A sharp, piercing sound rang out as the lightning collided with the Holy Sword, the blue-white and golden lights intertwining, neither yielding to the other.

Perhaps it was just an illusion, but he felt a faint numbness traveling through the palm gripping his sword.

With a single swing, he deflected the lightning strike, sending it crashing into the ground in the distance. It carved a black-and-red scar across the earth, incinerating all vegetation in its path; the soil melted, bubbling with a crimson glow and flickering with weak, lingering flames.

"My King, are you unharmed?"

Merlin could not see Leon through his Clairvoyance, nor could he see the figure of the god, which was shrouded by its own barrier.

Only by observing the attacks falling from the sky and the violent explosions erupting on the ground could he discern some clues, though he could only speculate on Leon's general situation.

The thunder, delayed by the distance, finally reached his ears, sounding in unison with Merlin's voice. Leon looked up, his gaze fixed on the blurred silhouette within the distant black clouds.

"I am fine, Merlin. I just didn't expect a god to resort to sneak attacks."

"It is a relief that my King is safe and sound; the current situation depends entirely on you."

Merlin wiped his forehead, only to realize he wasn't sweating at all. He let out a long sigh and continued his explanation to Leon.

"As a Machine God, even if it possesses parts from the original Great God, this deity is ultimately a brand-new construct. Its thought circuits remain mechanical; it lacks what humans call emotions. Ethics and interests are useless to it—there are only target directives that must be fulfilled."

Leon dodged another strike descending from the sky. Listening to Merlin's explanation, he immediately understood: this was nothing more than an AI-like mechanical intelligence. The gods of the Greek pantheon were all things of this nature.

Though he had known this, seeing it with his own eyes still made Leon sigh. The Moon World truly marched to the beat of its own drum.

"Does this thing have such a long detection range?"

Leon estimated the distance between himself and the Artificial God in the sky, but the clouds were too thick to see through. It looked incredibly far away—the very limit of his eyesight.

Merlin offered his own conjecture: "The detection apparatus of this god is highly sensitive. Perhaps it detected a massive energy source on your person."

Recalling his own failed scouting mission, where he was instantly discovered by the successfully activated god, Merlin warned Leon.

A massive energy source?

Leon looked at the Holy Sword glowing in his hand. That had to be it!

The immense magical energy of the Holy Sword must have been detected, prompting the god to make an instant judgment and launch an immediate attack.

Since he was already exposed, he had no choice but to press the offensive.

Leon made his decision and immediately charged toward the depths of the distant dark clouds, sword in hand.

Facing the god's relentless barrage, Leon either parried the strikes or dodged them in time, maintaining his communication with Merlin while dealing with the intermittent lightning.

"Don't worry about my situation here. It is merely a god, after all."

The battle had not yet reached its peak. As long as it was just long-range attacks, Leon could multitask and handle it.

"The most pressing matter is Morgan. How did she manage this?"

Merlin looked toward Britain and took a deep breath. After a moment of thought, he spoke slowly: "My King, I suspect that Morgan deliberately resurrected Vortigern to extract the concept of the Island's Will from him. By combining that with the massive magic circuits of the Vein Corridor deep within the Spirit Tomb, she was able to cause such a commotion."

"The ultimate goal must be to utilize the physical depth of the Spirit Tomb and the concept left behind by the dragon of Albion, which can pierce both the surface and the Reverse Side of the World, to completely open a passage between the two. This would allow the True Ether of the Inner Sea of the Planet to surge forth, returning Britain to the Age of Gods."

"And that Giant on the island looks like a counterweight foundation—a foundation meant to drag the Fairy Domain from the depths of the earth... Morgan intends to turn Britain into a domain for fairies!"

Merlin finished his observations and thoughts in one breath. Even he was shocked by his own deduction. He shook his head and took a few gulps of fresh air to steady himself.

Although this was merely Merlin's subjective speculation, a sense of certainty welled up in Leon's heart. Merlin was right; this was exactly what Morgan intended to do.

Understanding this, Leon could not help but sigh from the bottom of his heart regarding his wife.

"I truly underestimated her."

Morgan was doing all of this to reclaim Britain; Leon already knew her ultimate goal.

Yet, what he could never understand was why Morgan was so obsessed with the Age of Gods—so obsessed that she would betray him, her husband, to launch a rebellion.

What was so good about the Age of Gods?

Even if it were superior, it was the past, not an era where humanity belonged.

The gods were no longer the protagonists of the world. What followed was the era of humanity, the correct path that should be pursued.

Rumble!

Thunder and lightning flashed within the dark clouds.

Leon had reached the location of the False God. Looking up, he could see the massive figure that the clouds could no longer fully conceal.

Whoosh!

The god seemed to realize that lightning could not eliminate the human on the ground, so it broke through the cover of the clouds, abandoning its concealment and descending directly.

Its feet stepped onto the air as if it were solid ground. The Machine God stood majestically, hovering ten meters above the earth.

At this moment, Leon finally saw the true form of his opponent: the Machine God.

It had a tall, humanoid body with a metallic sheen. At the joints—the waist, knees, and elbows—exposed steel mechanisms allowed for fluid movement, radiating a sense of mechanical precision.

In the center of its chest was an oval, emerald-green gem, pulsing like a heart. Pipes resembling blood vessels connected to the skin around it; this was clearly the power source of the god.

Its face was full of majesty, crafted from golden skin with clear, intricate patterns. Silver structures were welded to both cheeks, and two lines running down from beneath its eyes looked like tear tracks, making it appear as if the god were weeping in silence.

In its left hand, it held a scepter shaped like a bolt of lightning, while its right hand—which Leon noted with concern—was distinctly pitch-black and empty.

"I am the remnant of the Great God Zeus left upon the earth, a sub-body possessing the side of the Great God's love, the Almighty God who governs all phenomena from the heavens."

"Hateful interloper, by my authority, I swear to burn you to ashes!"

The voice of the god was deafening, resounding across ten thousand miles with overwhelming force.

Staring at the now much clearer form of the god in the sky, Leon pressed his lips together, his face showing a hint of caution as he said to Merlin, "I am going to take down this False God next, and I will return to Britain immediately afterward. Until then, I leave Britain to you, Merlin."

"Leon, leave it to me with confidence, my King."

Merlin puffed out his chest, his tone brimming with self-assurance.

If Morgan had heard Merlin's conjecture, she would surely have been surprised that he could guess her intentions in such a short time.

Indeed, that was exactly what she was thinking.

Although the body of the dragon of Albion remained in the present world, its soul had successfully entered the Inner Sea of the Planet. Thus, the deep pit dug out by Albion and the tomb formed by its corpse possessed the concept of a passage connecting the inside and the outside.

Based on this, one only needed to dig a little deeper along Albion's tunnel to successfully reach the Fairy Domain, a demonic realm where no human had ever set foot.

However, merely punching a hole through the surface to connect the physical world with the Inner Sea, and waiting for the ether to fully saturate the environment of Britain—while that would work, for Morgan, it was too slow and carried too many variables.

With the possibility that Leon might return to Britain at any moment, it would be better to accelerate the progress, take a bolder step, and achieve everything in one go.

Holding this thought, Morgan devised her plan.

Rather than waiting for Britain to gradually return to the environment of the Age of Gods, it would be better to pull the Age of Gods, where mystery prevailed, back to the surface in one breath.

To accomplish this, she could not do it alone no matter what.

The concept of her being the sole Lord of the Island was too one-sided; she needed a helper.

What if she added the concept of the human avatar of the Will of the Island?

That would be enough.

To this end, Morgan resurrected the avatar of the Will of the Island, the White Dragon of Britain, the Vile King Vortigern.

Having set up the means to control Vortigern, Morgan manipulated the newly resurrected White Dragon of Britain and entered the Spirit Tomb.

Before entering the Spirit Tomb, Vortigern had discovered the Incubus that had been lurking for a long time.

Watching Vortigern destroy all of the Incubus's avatars, Morgan curled her lips into a mocking smile: "For a guy like you to take the initiative, it seems you've recognized your place?"

Vortigern waved his hand, his tone calm and solemn: "That is none of your concern. I have simply seen clearly who my true enemy is."

"That is, the enemy we share!"