— Leon Anemoi Greyrat —
An inexplicable tension settled between the three of us before the Man-God suddenly flicked his wrist to the side, his power pulsing as a sword began to take form, shimmering in a mix of white and gold with crystalline metal as its base.
That wasn't summoning magic… no, it was as if it was created out of nothing.
But… could earth magic craft such a fine blade?
I don't think it could… especially not this fast, no matter how skilled he was.
The mana cost alone to concentrate that metal into such a form would be incredible, not to mention how it didn't seem to have been crafted out of mana.
Maybe this was one of the powers he obtained as the 'Creator God'?
Just as Orsted had said, unlike our previous battles, we had no information this time… not the extent of his powers, nor how they worked.
But to find out… well, now that we were here, there was only one way to do that.
"I have ten minutes to use the Godsword… so we must make the most of it," Orsted said, his katana swiping to the side. "Unfortunately, it seems that it's abilities are limited in this space… but that does not matter. We must defeat him regardless."
'Godsword', huh?
It certainly looked the part, with that terrifying pressure emanating from the blade…
"That's obvious," I replied, narrowing my eyes at our opponent.
Orsted then launched forward, the pure power from his movement causing the surrounding space to quake in response, and in less than an instant, he appeared next to the Man-God, the one-sided blade swiping through the air before cleaving through… nothing… as the Man-God had already jumped away.
What?
I expected the Man-God to be strong, but I thought that it would be in the form of extreme vulnerability or overwhelming, pure power.
But that movement… it was that of an expert.
How…?
That question pervaded my mind, but it was silenced a moment later as I transformed into a state of absolute focus, my touki bursting from my body as I jumped forward to capitalize on the opening Orsted created.
But just as my sword was about to reach his neck… he disappeared.
I landed on the pale white, nearly translucent ground with a crash, my eyes narrowed in confusion as I slowly stood up.
He wasn't fast… he completely disappeared from my vision… was something like that even possible?
And more than that… my shoulder.
I slowly raised my hand to my new wound, looking back at my palm to see it covered in blood, the slick feeling of liquid beginning to bubble and trail down my arm as I felt a pulse of pain.
There was a cut… a gash so large that a normal person would have had their right arm unusable.
Thankfully, I had my healing magic, but still… not only did he evade another attack, but he even had time to counter, all without me being able to even see his movements…
"Hahaha! Ah, you look confused! You're wondering why I'm so skilled, right? But you know, in actuality, I'm quite a bad fighter," the Man-God's grating voice resounded, causing me to look back at him. "But you know… as I said before… that doesn't mean I'm completely powerless."
His mana… his touki… the energy was exploding outward.
Bursting, yet controlled, almost like Laplace's, but with touki mixed in as well.
And that stance, with his sword angled across his chest, ready to attack, defend, or counter within any moment… it was somewhat reminiscent of something I had seen before.
The Water God style… and also the Sword God style… mixed with the adaptability of the North God…
No, it was something simpler to that.
It was… a stance extremely similar to my own Elemental God style.
But… h-
"How, you're wondering? Don't worry, I can see the question clear on your face," the Man-God said. "But unfortunately for you two, it isn't a simple trick that has an exposed weakness. And for that reason, I suppose I can tell you… the power of the God of Man."
Orsted walked up to stand next to me, his face fierce as his blade continued pulsing with his mana.
Right… he was on a time limit, but still, it would be good to hear this if he was going to willingly give up some information.
It was the benefit of fighting an overconfident opponent.
"To put it simply, I have access to all of my apostles, both from the past, and the present. Their collective strength, experience, skills… that is my power," he said, smirking. "So it's not going to be an easy victory for you. You're not fighting me, but rather, the entire history of the world!"
His sword then began glowing in a pale white light.
"So first, let me tell you a little tale. One about an old warrior who was my favourite apostle. Honestly, he was so easy to mould with his naive value of human life, and as a pious man, his faith was easily swayed by my divinity," he continued, raising his sword over his head. "But that doesn't matter. Most importantly… he was the strongest human to ever live."
He swung down, a slash releasing from his blade that began cleaving through the ground with a wall of light, causing Orsted and I to leap to the opposite side to dodge it.
"Haa… that strike once tore through an entire continent, you know? And from that, a highway was built, and a religion formed from that very myth. Quite the amazing human, huh? You would never expect such a man to use his free time indulging in women," the Man-God continued, his demeanour remaining nonchalant.
That legend… and the person he must be 'embodying' right now… that was Saint Millis, right?
And calling him the strongest human… was he just bluffing, or was that the actual truth?
But either way, one thing was for sure… the Man-God had quite the powerful trick up his sleeve.
I looked over to Orsted, seeing his face set in a stern frown.
"Leon… I have nine minutes left. I may be weakened after using my mana for the spell, but I can now act freely without worrying about future issues… I will follow your lead," he said, raising his sword.
The world then shook as Orsted unleashed his power, a flash momentarily spreading across my vision as I looked over to the side, only to see the monster that was the Dragon God Orsted in his true form.
Holy… that mana… damn, he really was strong.
But still, while a few years ago I would find myself cowering in front of such power, now… now I felt completely comfortable with it.
I guess I had grown quite a bit over the years, huh?
"Got it…" I replied.
And it was about time that I put that growth to good use.
We both leaped forward, crossing the distance between us and our opponent in an instant as we both swung down simultaneously, a shock reverberating through my body as the Man-God raised his sword to defend both of our attacks.
The way he completely nullified our touki… that Saint Millis truly was a skilled swordsman.
The Man-God then twisted his sword, and I watched as his touki swelled to the edge of his blade, added by what seemed to be the energy that he had absorbed from us as we were then sent flying back from the resulting shockwave, that subtle pressure once again crashing into me like a wall.
Fucking divinity… it was like the Man-God could use it naturally.
Was that the Man-God's power, or was it something Saint Millis was able to do?
I guess it didn't really matter, did it?
And while his sword techniques seemed to be on the same level as mine, his limitless power… well, there was a reason he had just easily defended a strike from both the Dragon God, a being strong enough to destroy the world, and me, who was strong enough to defeat both Laplace and the Fighting God… at the same time, no less.
The Man-God extended his other hand, his face contorting in concentration, though his expression was still hard to decipher with his distorted visage.
And from that hand, a flash of mana flowed out, as a bolt of lightning suddenly shot towards me, forcing me to leap to the side.
So he knows magic too… was that another one of his apostle's abilities?
Could he use multiple at one time?
He never said he couldn't…
"Leon," Orsted said, his tone stern.
"Got it," I replied.
He was running out of time.
Of course, he would still be strong even without that sword, but if we were struggling against the Man-God when Orsted was at his strongest… well, that didn't bode very well for us.
The battle continued as we exchanged a few strikes, the skill and power of our opponent tearing through our defences with each exchange.
It wasn't as if we were completely outmatched, however.
In fact, we had the advantage for the most part, but just like in my fight against the Fighting God, that ended up not really mattering, as the Man-God seemed completely unharmed after only a moment from getting injured.
Was the answer… the same as last time?
I was definitely much better at getting into that state of focus and using that incomprehensible energy after using it against the Fighting God, but it was still a bit difficult to bring out that same concentration and strength of divinity, even though the Man-God seemed to do it naturally.
Well… he was a god, so I guess that made sense.
But the troublesome thing was that the Man-God… he was getting even more skilled as time passed, including different styles into his swordsmanship and other skills, such as magic, stealth, and illusions.
Right… he did say that he could use all of his past apostles, and he never said anything about being unable to use more than one 'incarnation' at once.
Tch… dammit.
As our blades found themselves locked once again, the Man-God didn't immediately send me flying back this time, opting to bring his face closer to mine as he held me in place.
"Give up, Leon Greyrat," he sneered. "You're fated to die here!"
My arm trembled under the weight of his being, my feet slowly sinking into the ground due to the pressure.
Fated to die?
Yeah… that would definitely suck, but still… I wasn't about to give up, especially when we were so close to our goal.
Abandoning my family, just because I was scared to die?
No… I had long since left behind such line of thinking.
Besides…
"Fate is just the religion for the weak," I replied, forcing myself to push forward through his strength, pushing him back as I straightened my back. "And besides… you're quite adamant about getting me to surrender for someone who is destined to prevail… aren't you?"
His blade faltered for a moment as his confident facade cracked, a shout releasing from his mouth a moment later as I was sent back from the sudden air pressure, my face having been instantly torn to shreds from the violent shockwave.
The beastfolk's howl magic too…
Healing my injuries, I got back to my feet as Orsted went forward to engage, deciding to remain behind to take advantage of the lull in battle I was granted.
This wasn't working.
And even if I could muster some bravado from the Man-God's desperation, it wouldn't mean much if we ended up losing in the end.
No… I needed something more.
Focusing inwards, I narrowed my eyes and evened my breathing as I attempted to embrace the feeling of divinity even more.
Let it encompass my sword… my body… my very being…
Orsted was parried to the side, sending him skidding along the ground as he attempted to recover, and with the Man-God standing still with a prideful aura radiating from him… I moved in.
Sound and colour disappeared from the world as I rushed forth in a blur, the power of my leap having fractured the bones in my feet, but I didn't care.
Our blades clashed together, with him having angled his blade to defend just in time, and that same overwhelming pressure exuded from him… but this time, I stood strong, matching that inexplicable energy with that of my own.
Now… while I had mainly focused on generating that divinity and not actively using it… now was the time to put that to action.
With our swords intertwined, I gathered the touki in my body, transforming it through my will as I forced it to the edge of my blade, crashing the energy together in a violent mix of touki and mana, along with the concentration of divinity, creating an explosion that sent the Man-God flying back this time.
So… that one worked.
His arm bent backwards as he crashed into the ground, a short cry of pain releasing from his mouth before he shot up to his feet.
It seemed that it had actually injured him… not through his physical body, if he even had one, but rather, something deeper…
Could it be his soul? Or was that the memories of fiction from my past life leading me astray?
Either way, it seemed that move… 'resonance', I guess I could call it… it seemed like that worked.
…Ha.
"What? What's with that smug look-"
The Man-God's words were interrupted as I appeared before him, swinging down my sword while he easily brought his own up to defend, but hidden behind my strike, was my fist that quickly crashed into his side, my touki clashing together against my knuckles as a flash of white danced across the world, sending him flying back once more.
And Orsted, the strongest being that he was, didn't let such an opportunity go to waste, easily weaving his sword through the air with the fluidity of the Water God style as he cut into the Man-God's chest, a cry of agony ringing in response only to be followed up by an explosion as the Man-God forced himself back with a burst of fire.
"You… damn ingrates… leaving me in a state like this… making me feel this pain…" the Man-God said, standing back up. "And you, Leon Greyrat… you're doing this for your family, right? All for that perfect little family of yours, huh?"
I narrowed my eyes.
Where was he going with this?
"Well… you know… you weren't the only one to be reincarnated. Didn't you ever think that your brother was an odd child? You must have, right!?" he said, chuckling under his breath. "That's right… Rudeus isn't the kind little brother you think he is… no, underneath that new body, he's a pathetic, sad excuse of a man who couldn't even leave his room at the age of thirty before he died… are you really fighting for someone like that?"
…Huh?
What was he… oh… Rudy… was reincarnated?
"Well!? How's that little revelation!?" the Man-God screamed, only to be interrupted by Orsted as he moved in for an attack.
To be honest, I already had a small sneaking suspicion about Rudy being reincarnated, especially after I had the chance to meet Kaito.
I mean, I had initially thought he was a Miko like me when he was born, but that idea had soon left my mind when he showed some of his immaturity, so I suppose it was a surprising revelation to know he was thirty in his past life… but still, so what?
Him being reincarnated?
A pathetic man?
Why would I care about that?
Maybe in his past life that was true, but he was different now… he was a father, a husband, and the seventh-strongest person in the world.
And did he think that knowing that would make me think less of him as a brother?
Me, who had been adopted into Mama and Paul's family, and also had memories of a past life… he thought such a thing would make me surrender?
Really… for a master at manipulation, this Man-God was quite an idiot when it came to me.
Although… if Rudy was thirty… then just what the hell was he doing when we were kids?
Okay, maybe this revelation did change things in that I would be having a long 'talk' with him later, but in terms of the Man-God…
"Did you think that such a simple thing would shake me?" I asked, extending my sword forward once more, looking into the air where the Man-God floated above with wings now extending out of his back. "No… I'll defeat you regardless."
And now, with that 'resonance' technique, and a deeper understanding of using divinity in battle… I was more than ready.