Chapter 839

【 ARE YOU CRAZY?! 】

A gentle radiance enveloped Diana’s body, and her ethereal form gradually became more solid.

It was the vibrant divine power of Life, healing Diana’s injuries.

As golden particles continuously poured into her body, Diana’s weakened aura gradually began to recover. Her strength, which had nearly fallen below the demigod rank, slowly began to rise up again…

Seeing Diana’s aura gradually recover, Kelez also showed a hint of relief in his eyes.

As an elf who had survived from before the Thousand Year Holy War until the present day, he had known Diana for a long time and held her in great respect. His reverence for her was no less than that which he had for his own teacher, Eris.

“Her Highness Queen Diana will still need some time to fully recover her strength. For now, let us first summon Her Grace’s Gate of Reversal.”

He looked at the two Mythical Dragons accompanying him and spoke in a solemn voice.

The distance from here to the Elven Forest was still far too great. With several thousand elves, both young and old, making the journey, they would certainly need at least a year or two to return.

Moreover, the mainland continent was far from peaceful at the moment with wars breaking out in many regions. Although these returning elves’ safety would not be threatened under the protection of three Mythical beings, it was still better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

More importantly, there was no reason not to make use of the Goddess’s spatial teleportation divine artifact.

Hearing Kelez’s words, the two Mythical Dragons nodded and flew before him.

The three Mythical beings stood in a triangle and simultaneously recited the prayer:

“O’ Great Goddess of Life, ruler of nature, protector of the elves, your followers beseech you to bestow your power upon us. Through the Sacred Gate of Reversal, bridge space and time, and guide your faithful believers back home…”

As the three Mythical beings prayed, golden radiance blossomed around their bodies.

In the next moment, the entire sky suddenly brightened, and the space above began to distort violently…

Under the astonished gazes of the returning elves, a magnificent stone arch gate gradually emerged above as vast divine power surged forth from within it, causing the sea below to churn violently.

Through the stone gate, the scenery on the other side could faintly be seen.

It was another stretch of ocean. However, beyond its horizon lay a land covered in lush vegetation, and along the coast, the vague outline of a beautiful city could be seen.

It was the coastal city of Milovia.

The Gate of Reversal connected the two locations through space. The closer the two destinations were, the less energy it consumed. Although Milovia was located on the western coast of the continent and seemed to be the farthest destination, if one traveled in the opposite direction and went all the way east before circling back, the actual distance would be considerably shorter…

Unfortunately, the vast Endless Ocean, as expansive as the Pacific Ocean on Earth, was unsuitable for navigation. The weather was also bizarre, and various terrifying giant beasts inhabited its waters. Although the straight-line distance was much shorter, crossing the ocean could potentially be even more troublesome than traveling across the continent.

Of course, none of that mattered anymore in the face of this spatial teleportation divine artifact.

The Gate of Reversal had opened, and the road home was clear.

The three Mythical beings also breathed a sigh of relief.

However, at that very moment, accompanied by a sharp sound tearing through the air, an arrow wreathed in platinum flames suddenly shot over from the distance, aimed directly at the back of Diana’s heart!

Surging divine power enveloped the platinum arrow as it dragged a long, blazing tail through the air, radiating a terrifying pressure that made one’s heart tremble.

“Hmph!”

Upon seeing the arrow, Kelez, who was controlling the Gate of Reversal, snorted coldly. He drew the divine sword bestowed upon him by the Goddess and brought it down in a slash.

Bolts of lightning converged upon the blade, forming a streak of sword light composed entirely of thunder that shot directly toward the incoming arrow.

Boom!

The two collided in an instant, producing a violent explosion as powerful shockwaves spread in all directions.

However, the other two Mythical Dragons quickly let out long roars and began chanting draconic magic. They summoned two deep spatial rifts, barely managing to absorb all the shockwaves that would otherwise have been enough to completely engulf the returning elves on the surface of the sea…

This had all happened in the blink of an eye.

If the three Mythical beings had not reacted so quickly, Diana would likely have been struck by the arrow, while the elves on the sea might also have been annihilated by the residual force of that divine arrow.

After intercepting the arrow, Kelez raised his head and looked toward the direction from which the attack had come from.

Several thousand meters away, a six-winged Seraphim clad entirely in silver armor stood suspended in midair, a longbow still drawn in his hands.

There was a trace of surprise and regret on his face, as though he was deeply disappointed that his ambush had failed.

Upon seeing the angel’s appearance, Kelez’s eyes filled with fury.

“Seraphim… Raphael!”

As an elf who had experienced the Thousand Year War, he would never forget that face. Furthermore, Raphael had been one of the Seraphim who participated in the siege of the Elven Forest back then, as well as one of the divine envoys favored by the Eternal Lord, Etriōu!

Even now, Kelez still remembered that Raphael had been the first to cross the line during the siege of the Elven Forest, attacking beings below the demigod-rank and slaughtering many Legendary-rank elves.

According to the elves who had returned to the Elven Forest, Raphael had also been stationed in the World of Seigües for many years. After the fall of the World Tree, he had repeatedly assisted the human armies in hunting down the surviving elves.

Whenever enemies met, their hatred burned all the hotter.

The fury in Kelez’s heart erupted instantly.

With a roar, he drew his longsword and charged toward Raphael…

His rage unleashed power Kelez had never displayed before. He brought his sword down, and terrifying thunder filled the sky, transforming into countless heart-pounding streaks of sword light that descended upon the Seraphim with overwhelming force.

Feeling that terrifying power, Raphael’s expression changed drastically, and he was soon swallowed by the lightning attack…

When the lightning finally dissipated, Raphael’s armor was scorched black, and he had clearly been injured.

However, Raphael seemed unwilling to fight Kelez.

After firing that single arrow, his expenditure of power seemed enormous. No, perhaps it was more accurate to say that he had already been lacking in strength to begin with…

It was the aftereffect of using Divine Descent.

In other words, at this moment, Raphael had already reached his limit after launching that surprise attack.

He put away his bow and arrow, transformed into a streak of light, and fled into the distance.

“You think you’re getting away?”

Kelez was furious.

He was about to pursue him when a soft sigh stopped him.

“Forget it, Kelez. Returning to the Elven Forest is more important. We still have so many of our people to protect… Moreover, Angels are incarnations of the Light Element. Once they flee, you won’t be able to catch them that easily.”

It was Diana.

She had already awakened. The radiance surrounding her had faded, and her blindfold had already been removed, revealing a pair of magnificent eyes resembling blue crystals.

After being restored by the divine power of Life, her body had completely recovered.

Kelez’s movements froze slightly.

He looked toward the direction in which Raphael had fled, then at the several thousand members of his people on the surface of the sea. After struggling for a moment, he finally let out an unwilling snort and sheathed his divine sword.

Diana was right.

Although this was an excellent opportunity to hunt down their enemy, there were still several thousand elves here. If Raphael had companions, splitting up would put them in danger.

Even if Raphael were alone, cornering a Seraphim could force him to turn back. With his advantage in speed, he could potentially use the elves on the sea as hostages…

Destroying something was far easier than protecting. Although their side had a total of four demigods, if Raphael fought to the death, the Seraphim could still pose a serious threat to their group.

And this was the sea, not the land. Even raising a tsunami would be enough to give several demigods a considerable headache.

“He got off too easily.”

Kelez spoke resentfully.

Suppressing his unwillingness, he and the other demigods guided the returning elves into the Gate of Reversal.

༺⟐༻

Several dozen kilometers away.

The Seraphim Raphael, injured by Kelez’s sword, flew toward an even more distant location.

His expression was grim, and his face was more serious than it had ever been.

“His Majesty’s deduction was correct. Diana really is on Dream Island…”

“And since Diana has acknowledged the Goddess of Life, it seems… the Deity Evé, really is the resurrected World Tree.”

“What a pity. I failed to kill her.”

“Alas, Diana knows far too many secrets…. her return will probably cause trouble for the Eternal Lord.”

“Sigh, I can’t use Divine Descent again for the time being. I’ve also expended too much of my power, so I can’t continue communicating with His Majesty. I need to return to the church headquarters on the Empire and report this information as quickly as possible…”

Raphael quickly came to a decision. He changed direction and flew toward the mainland.

However, just as he changed course, the seawater beneath him suddenly exploded.

Accompanied by a furious roar, a massive fist shot upward and slammed directly into his face.

Raphael felt an absurdly powerful force crash into him. A familiar, excruciating pain spread across his face, and his mind went blank for an instant.

The sudden attack had caught him completely off guard as his body flew through the air like a torn sack. Under the tremendous force of the punch, Raphael was sent flying a full three kilometers before plunging into the sea.

When he staggeringly rose back into the air, half of his face had already been beaten out of shape.

The divine power within his body had become chaotic, and half of his face was swollen.

Raphael’s heart was filled with both shock and fury.

“Who is it!?”

In the next moment, another fist came from behind and struck him in the back.

With a thunderous boom, Raphael was sent flying once again. He spat out a mouthful of platinum divine blood before plunging into the sea yet again.

When he staggeringly rose into the air once more, he finally saw who had attacked him.

It was a massive Titan.

Its single eye were bloodshot red, twisted with rage, as divine power burned around its entire body. The Titan’s muscles bulged as its aura surged violently.

“You?”

Raphael was stunned.

He knew this person.

The Titan Imheter, the Ancient God’s watchdog on Dream Island. Every few years, he liked to travel to the continent and bring back some beings without faith, and he especially liked taking elves…

But why had he attacked him?

Raphael was completely baffled. He had no idea how he had offended the Titan.

However, the Titan roared again and threw another punch.

“Imheter? Are you insane?!”

Raphael shouted furiously.

Under normal circumstances, this Titan, whose divine soul had been injured and whose mind was supposedly not very sharp, would not have been his opponent.

But now, Raphael had already exhausted his faith power and most of his divine power through Divine Descent. After launching a full-strength surprise attack against the elves, he had then been injured by a single sword strike. Thus, his current condition was already extremely poor.

That alone would have been bad enough, but now this lunatic had actually begun burning through his divine power, looking as though he intended to fight Raphael to the death!

Is this crazy!?

Did he not know that burning divine power while suffering damage to his soul could cause him to fall in rank or even perish outright?!

Raphael was utterly bewildered, but Imheter showed no intention of stopping at all.

To make matters worse, Titans in general already possessed tremendous physical strength. So after burning his divine power, Imheter’s strength reached an utterly astonishing level. Every punch from him was powerful enough to severely injure an existence who had only just stepped into the demigod-rank.

Fists rained down upon Raphael like a torrential downpour, and the unfortunate Seraphim could not help crying out in pain.

One punch, then another…

Platinum divine blood splattered like rain, mixed with fragments of feathers.

They had come from Raphael’s wings.

Under Imheter’s fists, the unfortunate Seraphim soon lost all ability to resist.

However, the Titan still did not stop his rampage. He grabbed Raphael and lifted him like a chick, then leaped into the air and landed on a small island.

Imheter slammed Raphael onto the ground, climbed on top of him, and continued beating him mercilessly…

One punch, another punch, then another.

At first, the Seraphim still groaned in pain and struggled desperately. Gradually, however, all that remained were muffled groans.

Fists rained down upon Raphael’s body, and platinum divine blood pooled beneath him, forming a stream.

Imheter panted heavily, his expression twisted with rage. As he continued striking, he roared:

“Die… just die…”

“How dare you hurt her… die!”

It was only when the anxious voice of the Fire Giant Surtr came from far away in the sky that he finally stopped.

“Imheter… what are you doing?! Stop! Stop!”

Hearing Surtr’s voice, a trace of clarity returned to Imheter’s bloodshot eyes.

He panted heavily, his massive chest heaving with each breath, before slowly coming to a halt.

The divine power burning around his body gradually dissipated, fading like flames being smothered by an unseen force. The Titan finally lowered his fists, though his towering body still radiated an oppressive aura of fury.

Soon, the Fire Giant Surtr also descended onto the island.

Looking at Raphael, who was almost unrecognizable, with all six of his wings torn to shreds, his armor completely shattered, his chest caved in, his flesh mangled, and his body lying unconscious, Surtr’s mouth twitched violently.

He rubbed his temples and pointed at the Titan, who was still glaring coldly at the barely living Seraphim.

“What are you doing?! That Angel is the Eternal Lord’s envoy here in the World of Seigües, the Seraphim Raphael!”

“The Eternal… Lord…”

Upon hearing Surtr’s words, Imheter suddenly clenched his fists.

His expression darkened, and the fury that had briefly subsided seemed to stir once more in the depths of his eyes.

Surtr sighed and began pacing around the island like an ant on a hot pan.

“Ah, this is going to be troublesome…”

“Raphael is an Angel capable of using Divine Descent! What’s more, his personality is as vengeful as the Eternal Lord’s. What you’ve done will definitely bring about his retribution! Haven’t you thought about the consequences?!”

However, just as he finished shouting, a sharp “crack” sounded from behind him.

Surtr’s footsteps abruptly stopped.

He quickly turned around, and the sight that greeted him made his pupils shrink.

He saw the Titan’s hands release their grip on the Seraphim’s neck.

Raphael’s neck had been twisted into an utterly unnatural angle.

It was clearly broken.

At the same time, the Titan had crushed Raphael’s soul with a single squeeze.

It was a unique racial ability of the Titans, one that allowed them to destroy souls and even bypass the protection of true gods sustained by faith.

There was only one prerequisite: they had to be able to physically touch their opponent with their own hands in the first place.

“Now… there won’t be… any retribution.”

Imheter released his grip and calmly spoke.

Surtr: “…”

—

---

〘 PREVIOUS 〙

〘 NEXT 〙

— —

---