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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 230
The place where the Dragon God disappeared.
Above the pitch-black ashes, ripples of water began to stir.
The water gathered into one, forming the shape of a woman.
It was the Water Goddess, who had recovered some of her strength now that the Dragon God, who had been acting in her stead, had vanished.
"His traces have disappeared..."
Though the Celestial Demon God hadn’t been completely eliminated, The Dragon God had fulfilled his duty faithfully.
He had been created in the first place to eliminate the Celestial God, who was believed to be a god of light.
‘In truth, without the Six Sword Godslayer, the results wouldn’t have been nearly as effective...’
The reason the Celestial Demon God's presence had nearly vanished from this planet was due to the power prepared by the Dragon God combined with the Godslayer.
The Celestial Demon God of the Moon was still intact, but—
Even so, with his traces nearly gone from this planet,
there would be some time before he attempted another invasion.
"No... we cannot wait for him to invade again."
The Water Goddess’s gaze sank coldly.
Thinking of how far things had come because they were deceived by a lowly moon deity pretending to be a sun god made her still seethe with rage.
‘I’ll strike the moon directly. I’ll end this.’
They couldn't keep sitting back and taking blows.
Strategically, shifting the battlefield to the enemy's stronghold was the natural choice.
However—
‘I don’t have the strength to send forces that far...’
The Moon.
A satellite unimaginably distant from this planet.
Unlike the Celestial Demon God, the Water Goddess had never once been there.
Let alone invasion—she didn’t even know how to cross such a vast distance.
Currently, not only was her divine power lacking as she was still in the midst of recovery after the Dragon God's disappearance, even if she were to recover fully, it was uncertain whether there was a clear solution.
‘And there’s another problem…’
In Alzass, capital of the Starn Empire, a massive sigil of the Six Sword had spread wide.
That may very well be the greatest problem now facing the Water Goddess.
‘Up until now, we cooperated to defeat the Celestial Demon God...’
But with both the Dragon God and the Celestial Demon God gone, and the Water Goddess still not fully recovered, For Kaylen, now was the perfect time to act—whatever he planned.
‘I’m worried about how he’ll move.’
In some ways, he was an even deadlier opponent than the Celestial Demon God.
He wasn’t stronger, but he could wield the sword that could slay stars.
‘I need to grasp his intentions...’
But before heading to him, there was something the Water Goddess had to do.
With a solemn expression, she looked over the ruined land, then pressed her palm to the ground.
Her body dissolved and was absorbed into the earth.
Fwoooosh—
The scorched, upturned land of Geysir began to slowly return to its original state.
Unlike the Dragon God, who was created solely to fight external enemies, The Water Goddess’s mission and reason for existence was to keep this world fertile and full of life.
‘This should be enough.’
Once Geysir’s lands had recovered to a certain extent, the Water Goddess shifted her presence to Alzass, capital of the Starn Empire.
Meanwhile— Inside the sigil of the Six Sword, now considered its main body, Kaylen faced a problem.
‘As expected, I can’t control a body that’s been taken away.’
After Kaylen’s body, now belonging to the Moon’s lineage, was pulled to the Moon—
Kaylen had intended to somehow regain control of it.
But the physical distance was simply too great.
‘The Dragon God defeated the Celestial Demon God… I had a sliver of hope.’
Though he didn’t witness the clash between the two gods directly,
seeing the sudden disappearance of the Celestial Demon God’s overwhelming influence on this world,
Kaylen could infer the result of the battle.
With the Celestial Demon God's dominance gone, he wondered if perhaps a connection to the Moon could now be reestablished.
But it seemed that was still out of reach.
‘I’ve already extracted all the useful information from that body…’
Unlike the last time, when he used Kaylen’s body as bait—
This time, the Celestial Demon God had personally witnessed the use of Starfall.
The Celestial Demon God, who had been deeply curious about the sword that could annihilate stars, may now, by pulling all he could from Kaylen’s body, somehow grasp a clue to that technique.
‘If he, by some chance, learns Starfall and returns with it… we’ll have no way to stop him.’
They had to strike back at the Moon before that could happen.
But how could such an immense distance be crossed?
As Kaylen pondered that—
“O Six Blades.”
From the center of the Six Sword sigil, water erupted like a fountain.
The Water Goddess soon took form.
“The battle is over.”
[I felt it as well. The Celestial Demon God’s influence is gone. What about the Dragon God?]
“He too has vanished. The divine powers that made him will now scatter and return to me.”
[I see… but you know, even with the Celestial Demon God gone, this isn’t over.]
“Of course I know. As long as he remains on the Moon, he’ll continue to be a looming threat.”
The Water Goddess quickly agreed with Kaylen’s words,
relieved that his resolve extended even to the Celestial Demon God on the Moon—unlike her worst fears.
[Then we’re of one mind. So—can you open a warp gate to the Moon?]
“…That is impossible.”
[Impossible? The Celestial Demon God did it easily… I thought gods could naturally do such things?]
“Just because we’re gods doesn’t mean we can do everything.
Especially crossing cosmic distances in an instant… as a goddess of water, that is a method completely unknown to me.”
She bowed her head deeply, as if ashamed.
The path Kaylen had assumed would be open was now blocked, leaving him at a loss.
Shhhhhh—
From the center of the Six Sword sigil,
a figure slowly began to rise.
No—calling it a person felt off.
Its face and neck were identical to Kaylen’s from before,
but its arms, legs, and torso were made of deep blue metal, lined with blades— a grotesque form.
The Water Goddess blinked at the sight.
“That form is…”
“I meant to reconfigure into a humanoid shape for easier conversation… but it’s not going as planned.”
“You, the one who wields Starfall, can’t even manage that?”
“You said it yourself. Just because one’s a god doesn’t mean one can do everything. And I’m not even a god to begin with.”
“…You’re right. My apologies.”
Crunch.
Even Kaylen, who had been holding it together, stiffened.
As a blade jutted out of his cheek, the Water God cautiously spoke.
"Shall I lend a hand?"
"I’d appreciate that."
Swoosh.
A bluish droplet wrapped around Kaylen’s body.
Then, it began gradually transforming his body into something sharp and metallic.
The Water God, who presides over the birth and growth of life.
To her, this was hardly any different from her area of expertise.
It didn’t even take a full minute.
As Kaylen looked at his smoothly restored body, just like before, he thought to himself—
‘Now she actually feels like a god.’
When she first appeared, her power had been so weak that she seemed like nothing more than a water spirit.
But seeing how she could reconstruct his body back to human form in an instant—
A god was still a god.
‘Now I can finally show myself in the Imperial Capital again.’
Ever since Kaylen’s body had been transformed into that of a Moon Clan being, he hadn’t had contact with anyone from the Starn Empire.
It had been unnecessary, especially with the final battle drawing near.
But now, there was no longer any reason to avoid them.
"What do you plan to do now?"
"I’m thinking of eradicating the Moon beings who’ve toyed with this planet... but I’m unsure how to close the distance."
"Hmm... what about asking the Earth God for advice?"
"You mean... the Earth God?"
At the mention of the Earth God, the Water God showed clear discomfort.
‘She doesn’t trust the Earth God.’
This planet had formed when Theia—the Moon’s former deity—collided with another planet.
The Water God and Earth God, each a deity from different planets, had clashed over dominion of the newly formed world.
And it was the Water God who’d won and come to rule over it.
"He’s not someone who can be trusted."
As expected—
She immediately expressed her disagreement with Kaylen.
"I get that there are personal feelings involved. But if we don’t eliminate the Celestial Demon God on the Moon... there’s a chance he could analyze my body and use the Starfall."
"Starfall...? You think he could use that?"
"Yes. Maybe not right away, but... my body, now part of the Moon Clan, still bears traces of that power. If he manages to restore it somehow, it might be possible eventually."
"That’s... but... the Earth God, he..."
"When I saw him in the Abyssal Gate, he didn’t seem all that dangerous."
At Kaylen’s words,
The Water God slowly shook her head.
"That’s only because he was in a sealed state."
"Then... what was he like before the seal?"
"Before that? He deliberately altered Theia’s stable orbit and crashed it into our world. He’s an extremely aggressive being."
"What... he did that?"
Kaylen was stunned by her words.
When he’d heard it from the Earth God,
it had sounded like an unfortunate accident, something inevitable.
But this… this was his doing?
"Why would he crash his own planet?"
"That’s obvious. He wasn’t satisfied with Theia. He wanted to become the god of a new world. Theia was too small to fulfill his ambitions."
Rumble—
Even before her words finished, mounds of soil rose up beneath their feet, merging together.
In a flash, a small, knee-high earthen doll took form.
Kaylen recognized it at once—
It was the Earth God.
[That’s harsh, Water God. Making me out to be such a villain.]
"You... how are you here? You’re sealed—you shouldn’t be able to emerge above ground!"
[Thanks to your weakened power, I’ve been able to manifest just enough to communicate.]
As the Earth God pointed a stubby finger at the Water God, her expression instantly twisted.
But whether she was upset or not, the Earth God kept speaking.
[You want to know how to get to the Moon, don’t you?]
"...You know?"
[Of course. But there’s a condition.]
"If it’s about lifting your seal—forget it!"
[I’m not asking for something that unreasonable. It’s something simple.]
Flick.
The Earth God pointed at Kaylen now.
[Kaylen.]
[Come find me alone in the Abyssal Gate. Then I’ll tell you.]
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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