508 - Flame of Protection #1

The breastplate of Mars, the God of Strife, swelled enormously. It was enough to make one wonder if a human chest could swell that much. Of course, Mars is not human.

"Everyone, cover your ears-!"

Simultaneously with Antiope, who shouted while covering her ears.

『Aaaaaaaah━━━━!!!!!!!』

Soon, a tremendous roar erupted, as if shaking the entire world.

Could it be called a battle cry?

It was an explosion so loud it felt like a missile had detonated right next to me. With that, nothing else could be heard in my ears.

Piiiiii-.

If anything was audible, it was only a terrible tinnitus.

I immediately felt that my eardrums had been torn and shattered by the powerful sound, and that sticky blood was flowing from my ears.

The sudden situation left me disoriented.

Wasn't the atmosphere just harmonious moments ago?

In the utterly silent flower garden, where even the tinnitus had faded.

Mars's lips, looking at me, moved slowly.

Seureureuk-.

My eyes, possessing ocular power strong enough to rival a Sharingan, naturally formed the words his lips were making in my head.

Who. Is. The. Trai. Tor.

I couldn't hear his voice.

But in this world of utter silence, Mars's lips spoke those words.

Traitor.

At that keyword, my mind, which had been locked down by tinnitus, quickly began to churn.

Mars is a god of the High Force who governs the world. And if Mars, a High Force god, would mention a traitor, it could only be one thing.

The one who is the master of the 13 Divine Seats, yet brought foreign gods like Elves and Gigas to this land. The one who influenced the murder of Bacchus.

And something like a black shadow that might become a potential threat to my peaceful life.

Why would Mars mention that traitor to me in this situation?

But without time to ponder that-.

『━─!』

-Mars, who had opened his mouth wide and shouted something, leaped into the air. The two swords clutched in his floating hands drew a large arc like a half-moon and plunged into the ground-.

Swaeeeeeeeeek-!

A fierce blade wind, strong enough to be heard even by my tinnitus-damaged ears, surged towards me.

Kwagagagak-.

The red shockwave flying through the beautiful flower garden was truly death itself made visible.

A manifestation of killing intent that would cleave all things, tangible and intangible, in half.

It was clear that even I, in my current state, would suffer a critical injury if I took that head-on.

Could I avoid it?

No, the seasoned God of War would not miss the moment I showed an opening to evade. I was being targeted by someone who could arguably be called the strongest in this world.

It was utterly impossible to survive with half-hearted resolve. And even if I barely managed to dodge, Paranoy, who was sitting on his butt behind me, would be cut in half by the blade energy.

In that case, I absolutely had to block it here.

"Heuuup-!"

I let out a loud shout and pulled out my club.

And then, I swung it with all my might, directly clashing with the incoming blade energy. My intention was to bat away the blade energy like a batter hitting a fastball. I had to.

Chaeng, Kaaaaagagagak-!

"Ugh-!"

The blade energy that touched my club pushed my body back with a long, drawn-out *juuuk-* sound.

A sword strike shot from a distance possessing such intense physical force and substance? It was fucking unbelievable, but it was actually happening.

It was like a savage dog with a living will. A savage dog whose entire body, instead of fur, muscle, and bone, was made only of sharp teeth and serrations.

Kagagagak-.

"Ugh-!"

If I kept getting pushed back like this, I might slip and fall off the mountain. I gritted my teeth and put all my strength into both legs.

The joints in my fingers and wrists creaked, and my muscles ached as if crushed by heavy iron. The air I had filled my lungs with was long since exhausted as energy.

"Gueuuut...!"

However, it was a good sign that Mars's blade energy also couldn't cut my body and club in half.

No, I can't just keep enduring like this.

I decided to expend all the remaining oxygen and energy in my chest. I turned my body sharply from right to left, adding force using the principle of centrifugal force-!

Kung-.

As I stomped my left foot hard, the surrounding ground was deeply indented as if hit by a meteorite.

"Mwaaaaa-!"

As I squeezed every cell, bracing myself for my entire body to shatter, the sword strike that had been pushing me slowly receded, then flew back as if bounced in the exact direction it had come from.

Piyuuung-.

It made a sound like an arrow released from the bowstring. But its power was incomparable to an arrow; it flew like a missile towards Mars.

『━─━━━─!?』

His eye-light, hidden by his helmet, and his lips were seen parting in great surprise.

I couldn't tell what he was babbling about because my ears were messed up, but inferring from his lip shape, it might have been something like, 'He deflected my full-power sword strike!?'

Seuk, Mars pulled out the huge shield he had been carrying on his back. Then, he plunged its lower part into the ground and braced himself firmly behind it as if supporting it.

Paaaang-!

Soon, a fierce explosion occurred, and at the same time, the surrounding air vibrated as if it would collapse.

"Hoo-."

I quickly regulated my breathing.

As I used my breath to properly circulate the mana and aura surging through my body, my vision, which had been dyed red, my breath, which had been pushed to its limit-. My hearing, which had been lost, recovered.

Good, if it's like this, combat can continue.

"Hassan-nim, are you alright...!? The wicked High Force god's cowardly sneak attack...!"

"Damn it, Gloria is disoriented by the terrifying roar! It seems she was too late to cover her ears!"

It seemed there were some problems with my companions too, but they were not in any life-threatening condition yet. Before any serious trouble could arise, I decided to quickly destroy this battle-!

Papat-.

I quickly kicked the ground twice. That was the basic Flash Step I learned from Kalidur.

Superhuman leg strength and agility create a streak of light just by kicking the same spot twice.

As a result, it wasn't that I became faster, but rather that everything around me felt slow, stretching out a fleeting moment to an incredible degree.

"Haaaaaaaasssaaaaaan-niiiiiiiiim-."

With Paranoy's lingering voice as my background, I charged towards Mars. Just as I was about to knee his empty abdomen, which was holding the shield-.

『You've already recovered your senses, which were broken by my roar-. Even Apollo struggles for a day with my roar. As expected, you're no ordinary person.』

Just before my knee struck his abdomen.

His two palms slapped my knee away as if deflecting it. To keep up with my speed, which made time feel like it was flowing slowly. But it was no surprise.

When Mars first appeared, he had shattered Hippolyte's armor seams in a time where everything around him seemed to stop. Of course he could keep up with my speed.

『Heuup-!』

Mars, who had slapped my knee with his hand, forcefully headbutted me with his forehead. It was a simple headbutt, but if I took that, it wouldn't end with a simple injury.

Seuk, I tilted my head to the left to protect it, then drew the dagger from his right side and counter-aimed it at Mars's neck.

However, it was blocked with a sudden sharp *chaeng-* sound.

My narrowed eyes saw a familiar dagger. The dagger I had favored since I became a slave.

Mars, who had defended my knee with his palm, seemed to have drawn the dagger from my waist and deflected my attack as if parrying.

Chaeeeng-!

With the sharp sound of our daggers clashing, Mars and I were pushed back several meters, creating distance.

Thanks to that, we both regained our stances and surveyed the battle situation.

『A good weapon, forged through countless battles. It has soaked up much blood and killed many lives. It's almost worthy of being called a holy relic.』

Ping-.

『I'll return it.』

Mars threw the dagger he held in his hand as if pitching it. Pat-. I extended my right index and middle fingers and caught the blade. How did I catch this? Amazing.

『Then, return mine too. That terrifying dagger was made with considerable effort by my brother.』

"Alright."

Seuk-. Pat-.

I, too, threw Mars's dagger back to him. Of course, Mars also easily caught my dagger throw.

"...."

Is this the God of Strife? He's strong indeed. Even after exchanging several blows, his skill feels limitless.

He is truly far and high.

However, Mars put his dagger back into his waist and, as if surprised by me, added.

『This is the first time in a long, long history that my precious weapon has been taken from me. How humiliating. Honestly, I never thought you'd counterattack to this extent.』

He seemed genuinely impressed by my fierce counterattack.

As his overtly blade-like fighting spirit softened a bit, I also felt my boiling blood cool down somewhat.

Perhaps the surging adrenaline was subsiding; my heart was pounding fiercely, and my hands and feet creaked, expressing pain.

Now that I looked, my hands were all torn and bloody. It must have been an injury sustained when blocking Mars's sword strike. Was I so caught up in intense excitement that I didn't notice?

I felt bewildered as to how I had managed to be evenly matched with Mars. Could I do it again if asked?

『In a long history, I've had a rare and interesting fight. I shall bestow a blessing.』

Mars laughed heartily with a *hahat-* sound.

『Kueueuk-.』

Just as I thought the fight was about to end, Mars suddenly gushed red blood with a *ulkkeok-* sound.

Ulkkeok-.

It was a vomiting of blood like magma boiling deep within his chest and abdomen.

『Damn it, I thought I blocked it. My ribs must be broken. To push me, Mars, this far with just simple physical ability. Interesting. *Cough*-.』

I realized that my knee strike, which I thought Mars had blocked, had actually dealt a more effective blow than expected. And that his internal organs had suffered more serious damage than I thought.

My attack was now effective enough against Mars, the God of Strife, who sat on the 13 Divine Seats of the High Force-. A shiver ran down my back and neck at that fact.

However─. If I thought calmly, what was important right now was not the details of this fight.

I carefully placed the dagger I received from Mars into the scabbard at my waist and asked.

"Didn't you have something to tell me earlier?"

About the traitor-.

I intentionally omitted the rest of my words. I didn't want to cause confusion among my companions by revealing that there was a traitor in the High Force.

However, even if I hid my words, the seasoned God of Strife, Mars, would have understood my intention.

Seueuk-.

Mars raised an index finger.

And then, he brought it to his mouth.

Did he mean for me to be quiet? No, that wasn't it.

He soon pointed his blood-stained index finger at me.

『Zigres, my brother. You've met him before. And, someday, the day will come when you must choose. To break the terrible chain of prophecy-.』

Beonjjeok-.

━━━─!!!!

Just as Mars was about to say something, a powerful thunderclap erupted. Lightning struck the clearly clear flower garden.

At that tremendous explosion, Mars and I, and all our companions, merely shrugged our shoulders.

When I came to my senses, the ground between Mars and me was scorched black and flickering with flames, as if a gunpowder magazine had exploded.

『My father is listening. For now, let's end our conversation here.』

Mars leaped back onto the stone statue he had jumped down from.

"Hey, wait-."

When I looked up, the God of Strife was nowhere to be found.

However, his voice lingered in the air like an echo.

『End the war. And choose a new leader. According to the prophecy of the sun, when the era of kings ends and a new era begins. With that, the High Force's silence will be broken.』

"Then, will I also know the answer to the question I asked?"

『Yes. So, for now, go to where you should be. First descendant, young and perfect god.』