Book Eater

Chapter 417 – Era of Peace (17)

Shadows approached under an unknown source of light.

The sizes of the shadows were all different. Some were as big as a house, while some were smaller than dwarves.

There was also no sound of footsteps. It was as if they were sliding on the ground.

Furthermore, apart from the visual information, there was no way to sense their approach. As such, Aquilo knew about the existence of the shadows before him. Even with Theodore’s senses that could reach a radius of several kilometers, he couldn’t read their energy.

It was at this moment that Theodore felt a subtle sense of deja vu.

‘Um?’

Before he knew it, he could see the shadows that had come quite close.

They were just as inconsistent in shape as they were in size. Some looked like humans and some looked like beasts. There was also a mixture of demonic creatures and monsters that couldn’t be seen in today’s era.

Except for the fact that the area where there should be facial features was just a void, they were so vivid that they seemed alive.

However, Theodore’s sense of deja vu didn’t come from their appearance.

‘Is it possible that this power is… divine power?’

The type of power that flowed from the shadows was the source.

Divine power.

It was literally the power of the gods. It was energy that was at a higher dimension than mana. This power was many times more efficient than aura or magic power, which was the result of processing mana.

On top of that, divine power didn’t require complex research like magic, delicate manipulation techniques like aura did, or even a strong body.

The owner could use this power just by wishing.

As such, the gods of the old era enjoyed unprecedented authority.

The moment they were born, they overwhelmed the masters, who needed to train for decades or hundreds of years, and the dragons who needed hundreds of years of growth. No one dared to challenge the gods.

Of course, this was only until Ragnarok, where demons from the other side of the dimension knocked their dignity to the ground.

When his thoughts reached this point, Theodore’s eyebrows twitched.

“…Then again, it feels a bit strange to be pure divine power.”

Should he say that it was weak? An incomplete wave of power was transmitted. It was as if several important parts were missing.

It seemed they were remnants of power that trained to become divine power, but failed.

The unnecessarily large presence that came from an existence that didn’t feel alive touched his nerves. Theodore and Aquilo parted to the left and right without saying a word and confronted the shadows.

Theodore moved to the left and whispered a few words.

“Don’t face them head-on. They seem to use an excessive amount of divine power, so it won’t be a good match.”

“Okay.”

Aquilo’s fluorescent eyes darkened with killing intent.

Just having divine power was enough of a risk factor.

Divine power was based on the source of the physical world and had superiority over all types of powers. The power of dragons was no exception. If they hit each other with the same output, she would suffer great damage.

Immediately afterwards, countless shadows rushed toward the two of them.

A darkness that didn’t allow light to pass through gathered in one place, burying two figures immediately.

Keraunos.

A thunderbolt tore through that darkness.

The ultimate magic, derived from the power of Zeus, a main god of Olympus, shattered several shadows.

The shadows might possess divine power, but they couldn’t handle this destructive power.

Still, Theodore’s eyes showed intense caution.

‘Only a few were wiped out?’

An attack that would’ve blown away a mountain vanished with only several shadows smashed.

The consumption would be too much if he wanted to deal with all of these shadows.

It seemed he couldn’t use the method of sweeping them away with wide-area magic.

‘Efficiently eliminate them one by one.’

Theodore’s magic power subsided calmly after he changed plans.

He needed a blade that could cut or stab several times rather than a one-time storm. He felt sorry to the Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds which he sacrificed in the fight against Wrath, but he had another sword.

Blades of light soared from Theodore’s hands.

Soul Calibre.

It was a special magic taught directly by the great hero Reynolds, and it was more effective against beings with no physical substance.

Kuweeeoooh—?

Did it feel threatened despite its unchanging mind? The shadow that stood in Theodore’s way took a few steps back.

But Theodore was quicker than it.

Clovis Two Swords Style.

Wartime Confusion Hidden Technique.

Wolf Frenzy.

Two rays of light burst forth like a whirlwind forming emerald swirls.

They looked beautiful on the outside, but each was actually a crystallization of power that was compressed to the level of aura. They were merely imitations rather than a proper hidden technique, but they were still too much for a shadow that had lost its ego.

He stabbed one time and slashed three times.

Kuaaah!

The shadow had its head, heart, and abdomen pierced which caused it to writhe.

“Okay, it is working well.”

One blow like Keraunos was too much, but if he slashed it three times then it gradually stopped moving.

Observing the result of his slashes, Theodore wondered if it was blood that flowed from the cuts or just the components that made up the shadows.

He soon looked to the right where Aquilo was standing.

Thankfully, she didn’t seem to have any problems.

As he watched, something blue rose from behind Aquilo and a shadow fell down with a roar.

It was the tail strike that once sent Pride flying in the past.

Aquilo floated up from the recoil and pinched her fingers together.

“Die!”

A light flashed from the tip of her ten fingers and a little noise sounded.

A high-pressure water stream was fired from Aquilo’s fingertips and cut dozens of shadows into two. However, perhaps the cut edges were too neat as most of the shadows regenerated without major damage.

Nevertheless, Aquilo didn’t seem to be at a huge disadvantage.

‘She is fighting better than i thought.’

The attacks of the shadows were quite powerful.

One shadow shot out wind while another breathed fire. This power encompassed not only the four major elements, but also special attributes. The shadow’s usage was primitive for a power based on divine power, but the output itself was greater than 7th circle great magic.

Regardless, the sense of crisis that the two people felt was limited.

It was natural.

“…What? These fools.”

Aquilo moved back 20 meters with one step and clicked her tongue.

Earlier, she had in fact, been nervous after one clash with the shadows. Chunks of divine power rushed at her without regard for defense. These shadows were monsters that couldn’t be stopped even with the use of a Breath!

As such, she had been planning on running to hide behind Theodore’s back, even if she looked ugly, but the situation was a bit strange.

“They don’t know how to fight?”

It was as Aquilo said.

The power of the shadows was clearly strong, but their ability to handle that power was quite awkward. Should it be said that they were beginners with no real world experience? If Aquilo escaped between them, they beat each other up. When they attacked, they even attacked with opposing attributes.

“At this rate, I am wasting my energy.”

Aquilo had a lot of experience, so from her perspective, the fact that she was nervous for no reason was so absurd.

“No, let’s hurry as much as possible,” Theodore urged without letting his guard down.

“If they have the ability to learn, then we won’t be able to deal with them as easily as we are now. If we miss one, the information might be delivered to the rest.”

“So we have to wipe them out here. I understand, Darling.”

Aquilo grasped the situation and controlled her breathing.

Theodore was right.

If these shadows started to learn how to fight then it would become ten times more annoying. Aquilo changed her posture and rushed forward again. Theodore also raised his magic power.

There were less than a hundred shadows remaining.

Shortly after, the fight came to an end.

***

Bam!

The shadow pierced by Soul Calibre fell to the ground.

The soul sword containing Theodore’s magic power couldn’t be shaken off even with divine power. The divine power that the shadow instinctively generated was dissipated helplessly, causing meaningless convulsions.

Aquilo came to his side and roughly trampled on it.

“This is the last one. Should I kill it?”

The battle had awakened her ferocious instincts. Her pupils had split and killing intent was gushing out.

Theodore gently held her shoulder and said, “Wait a minute. I have something to test.”

If Theodore wanted to kill it, he would’ve killed it with one strike of his sword. He had captured it in order to find out information about Atlantis.

Aquilo shook her head as she grasped his intentions.

“You want to question it? It can’t speak because it doesn’t have a mouth. In addition, its ego is lost, so you shouldn’t be able to read its memories.”

“It is still worth a shot,” Theodore calmly answered as he reached out.

The shadow suppressed under his feet couldn’t move and had no choice but to accept it.

Soon, Theodore’s left palm touched the surface.

It felt cold and solid.

It was similar to special metals such as mithril or orichalcum.

‘There is no use in being this hard.’

The power he would use from now on couldn’t be physically blocked.

A dark tattoo appeared on the skin of Theodore’s left arm.

The Absorption Star Method.

This method preyed on all spirituality. The performance was slightly inferior compared to the original, but this shadow also wasn’t in a normal state. It couldn’t resist unless it became a true god.

Sure enough, the shadow only resisted for a few seconds before being helplessly sucked into his left palm.

At that moment, Theodore could see it.

“Ah!”

It was the history that the shadow embraced. Memories of the intact days flowed into him in small pieces.

The Age of Mythology, the Olympians, Poseidon, and Atlantis.

The few pieces of history filled in the gaps of what Theodore had been speculating.

‘It is as I thought.’

These shadows were beings who were real gods in the past. However, they lost their statue, and their divinity even started to deteriorate endlessly, causing them to lose their essence.

If he had to give the shadows a name, he would call them false gods.

Unlike the great gods, whose names and beliefs were passed down even after a thousand years, the weaker gods could only protect their existence by relying on higher gods. The minor gods who failed to do so either lost their status or perished.

Yes, like these shadows.

“…I can guess what happened.”

However, these shadows weren’t abandoned.

No, on the contrary, it was correct to say that they were kept.

Atlantis was a refuge for the gods who couldn’t participate in Ragnarok, the apocalyptic war of the old gods. It must’ve been a measure to protect the immature gods and gods who weren’t very helpful in a fight by placing them in a safe place.

It was why the entrance was at the bottom of the deep sea and why the security system was unnecessarily tight. It was a dimensional gate that couldn’t be opened without divinity. They must’ve wanted to preserve the dwindling number of gods.

Their intention was definitely good.

The only issue was the outcome of Ragnarok.

‘A door that doesn’t open from the inside. In addition, there isn’t a single god alive who can open this door from the outside.’

The safest refuge in the world had essentially been sealed.

During the thousands of years that passed since then, the door couldn’t be opened. The gods lost their power and status over time and were reduced to false gods. Unallowed to go crazy or perish, they were weathered down by the endless time.

This place had become a tomb. It wasn’t even a resting place. It was just a living hell that continued to exist until this day.

Aquilo’s expression stiffened as she heard his explanation.

“It is terrible. It is hard to believe that this was done with good intentions.”

“Yes, they didn’t expect to be wiped out.”

This expectation was true of the gods who were at the forefront of Ragnarok, as well as the gods who believed in them and entered this refuge.

It was the result of not taking ‘what ifs’ into account.

Theodore soon removed his left palm. Done with its role, the shadow returned to dust like the others.

In a way, this was a way of finally allowing them to rest.

At this moment—

“…Aquilo!”

“Huh?”

It appeared the moment Theodore sensed something sinister and grabbed Aquilo’s wrist.

This place had a sky that made it seem unclear if there was even a ceiling, but now the center of the sky was surrounded by ambiguous lighting.

[—Ahh! Finally! Finally! You’re finally here!]

Indescribable madness and affection swirled. In the midst of it all, was a beautiful woman. She had hair that fluttered over and over like waves. Her eyes were dull and unfocused. She was beautiful yet shabby.

She had a superb beauty that made anyone who saw her unable to blink. She was someone who could fascinate even the great gods of the past.

Theodore realized her identity without any difficulty.

After all, a struggling divinity was screaming within his body.

-I’m sorry, my love.

He could feel the affection engraved within the divinity that was only a fragment. There was only one woman Poseidon loved and cherished that much.

“Medusa.”

The youngest of the Gorgons, who was cursed by Athena and turned into a monster. Why was she in Atlantis?

The reason was obvious.