Chapter 405: Grace of the False God (3)

Since the Goddess of Twilight had descended upon Serati, the Evil-Slaying Mage could hardly stand idly by. Having witnessed the goddess's miracle with their own eyes, how could they possibly continue to denounce the Twilight Order as heresy?

And so, the rest of the group had also chosen to join the saintess and walk the path of saving the world! ...Or so went Karnak's explanation. It felt rather flimsy, yet that very flimsiness made it seem oddly believable.

Without something beyond human comprehension intervening, how else could such events have occurred? After hearing the full account, Alius resolved to join hands with the Twilight Order.

Of course, no matter how much he personally trusted Karnak's group, he could not formally recognize the Twilight Order based solely on his own judgment.

However, the prevailing opinion within the church had already shifted toward withholding judgment on the Twilight Order. At present, Alius saw no reason to treat them as enemies. And so, he willingly accepted the forces of Twilight.

"It is an honor to stand together against the Black God. May the goddess's protection be upon us."

Thanks to that, Karnak let out a sigh of relief.

—Thankfully, that went smoothly. I was ready to persuade him if necessary.

Watching him quietly put away a mana needle, Serati clicked her tongue.

—Were you seriously going to do something again?

—I did it once already. What's stopping me from doing it twice?

—That kind of thinking is exactly what led to this whole mess.

—Maybe you have a point there...

Meanwhile, Leven was astonished for an entirely different reason. Come to think of it, everyone's lost their aversion to necromancy itself.

Even now, the Twilight Order continued to use necromancy freely without restraint. And yet, only a few years ago, the seven goddesses church had tried to exterminate anything that showed even the slightest trace of necromancy.

But now, somehow, the atmosphere had shifted to a casual "Well, if it works, it works."

Leven wondered, How did the world end up like this?

Thus, Karnak's group and the Twilight forces naturally joined Alius's allied army. Since their leadership had already shared close ties, the integration of forces proceeded smoothly. Afterward, the Twilight–Goddess Church alliance traveled across the Seven Kingdoms, rescuing people from the armies of the Black God.

And they continued to win. They did not suffer a single defeat. Strangely enough, the Black God's formidable armies would lose all momentum the moment the Saintess of Twilight appeared, retreating again and again.

Of course, the true reason was that Tesranach's subordinates fled on their own once they sensed Karnak's presence. But to those unaware of the truth, it could only appear as if Serati were performing miracles.

The reputation of Serati, the Undefeated Saintess, shook the entirety of the Seven Kingdoms. Many people came to believe without doubt that she was truly an incarnation of the goddess. Who else but a goddess could deliver victory in any situation, no matter how dire? But this was not entirely a good thing.

***

The streets of Zentarok City, a strategic stronghold in the southern region of the Felmayer Kingdom, were filled with the cheers of the crowd. The Twilight–Goddess Church alliance had achieved a resounding victory against the Black God's army led by the Fallen Pope Beneville. They had saved the city.

"Long live the Saintess of Twilight!"

"Long live Serakal!"

Everyone shouted the names of Serati and the Twilight Goddess in jubilation. It wasn't that they didn't shout the names of the other goddesses, but the former overwhelmingly dominated. At present, the Twilight–Goddess Church alliance was jointly commanded by Alius and Karnak. However, most people regarded Serati as the true leader.

There was no helping it. Karnak deliberately avoided drawing attention to himself. Alius, being a priest, naturally took on a supporting role from the rear rather than stepping forward. Meanwhile, Serati stood at the very front, fighting in the most dazzling fashion, unleashing the most grandiose techniques as she swept across the battlefield.

There was no need to even ask who looked like the commander. Even Alius and the other priests of the church felt little resentment about it. After all, it was an undeniable fact that she was the hero behind their victories.

Whenever someone else led the vanguard, the Black God's assaults were fierce, but the moment Serati stepped forward, their momentum collapsed. With such clear results before them, none of them were brazen enough to argue otherwise.

Amid the cheers of the people, Karnak's group headed toward the central city hall. They set up a temporary base and sat down for a late lunch.

As saviors and liberators, they were treated with the utmost hospitality by Zentarok City. Luxurious foods, things rarely seen on the battlefield, were laid out across the table.

"Wow, the bread here is delicious."

"How is it this soft?"

"Does the Kingdom of Felmayer use a different kind of wheat?"

They hungrily chowed down the food, and their hunger gradually subsided.

Then suddenly, a small child turned toward the group and spoke. "This cannot continue as it is, you know."

It was Dios, the archmage trapped within the body of a boy. Shaking his head while speaking with an adult's tone from a child's face, he continued. "I don't believe this is a situation where we should be celebrating continuous victories."

Thanks to their unstoppable advance and rapidly spreading fame, the faith directed toward the Twilight Goddess had grown significantly. This was a very good development. As a result, Serati's grace was steadily becoming stronger.

But this alone was not enough. They also needed to seize the Shadow of Doom that Tesranach's subordinates were collecting. Yet they were never given the chance. The enemy always fled before they could even attempt anything.

Even Beneville, who had been controlling this very city, had turned tail and ran without looking back the moment Serati and the Twilight forces appeared.

The Black God's army possessed one remarkable advantage: the ease with which their leadership could escape. After all, most of their soldiers were undead. Sending them all to the front lines to create chaos while the higher-ups slipped away was not difficult at all.

"I don't understand," Dios muttered. "Why are they so determined to do nothing but run?"

"I believe I have an idea." Grateria, in the white feline form, responded to his question. "Most likely, Tesranach has issued orders that they are to retreat immediately whenever Karnak appears."

It was a fairly reasonable assumption. "Because that is what I would have done."

Karnak scratched his head awkwardly. "Wait... then should I just not participate in battles at all?"

Leven shook his head. "That still wouldn't help. They'd naturally assume you were hiding somewhere."

"Then what if we deliberately reveal ourselves somewhere else?"

Drel shrugged. "Even then, I think they'd simply retreat from both sides."

This was the real problem. The Black God's army fought for only one purpose. They were to gather the Shadow of Doom. They had no intention of conquering territory or seizing power. Even if Karnak's absence were certain, there would be no reason for them to make the effort to kill Serati or the others. They could simply gather the Shadow of Doom elsewhere.

But what if they failed to escape in front of Karnak, even by accident? Then they would be disobeying Tesranach's absolute command. From the perspective of the Black God's cult, it was far more advantageous to avoid Karnak's entire group altogether. They could not risk falling into a trap.

"Wait a minute. So what you're saying is, if anyone from our group shows up, they'll assume I might be hiding somewhere behind them?" A smile suddenly formed at the corner of Karnak's lips. "Then why don't we just scatter in all directions?"

Each member of the group would lead their own unit and simultaneously strike different regions across the Seven Kingdoms. That way, since the enemy wouldn't know where Karnak might be hiding, wouldn't the Black God's army be forced to retreat everywhere?

Varos immediately objected. "If we do that, we might end up getting picked off one by one. It's far too risky."

"That's true."

In the end, the only real solution would be to deploy such a wide encirclement that the enemy would have no chance to flee. However, the Twilight–Goddesses alliance simply did not have the manpower for that.

Chewing noisily on a slice of meat sandwiched between bread, Karnak grumbled. "Things are going better than I expected, but not as well as I'd hoped."

***

Even as the serious discussion continued, the food on the table was disappearing rapidly. One particular diner, a fluffy white cat, especially passionate about eating, had buried their nose deep into a bowl of seafood soup. "Nyah! Nyah!"

Considering that the creature was actually the guardian of the world who had lived for thousands of years, it was quite an awkward sight. However, there was no denying how heartily he was eating.

For the group, however, it was no longer a strange scene. Ever since entering Floke's body, Grateria had behaved like that at every meal. Watching in fascination, Lapicel asked quietly, "Is it really that delicious?"

"As I mentioned before, this is the first time in more than three thousand years that I am tasting food." Grateria wiped around her mouth with her plump forepaw and smiled warmly. "If not for this child's body, I would never have experienced such a sensation again."

Originally, Floke should have died the moment all of her draconic mana had been drained away. But Serati, who had witnessed it at the time, felt pity and found herself thinking.

—I hope she doesn't die, at least....

Without even realizing it, she had let a portion of her grace flow out, turning the dying white dragon into her subordinate. However, since she herself had not fully understood her own power at the time, the dragon had barely survived and had reverted to a hatchling state instead.

"When the day comes that I must return this body to her, I suspect I will feel a bit regretful."

That said, he had no intention of continuing to occupy Floke's body forever. Such a despicable act was something only someone like Karnak would do. The dragon emperor would never stoop so low.

Suddenly remembering something, Serati spoke. "Would something like this be possible?"

"What?"

"A way to keep one's youth and live forever."

Grateria had lived for thousands of years, surpassing even the natural lifespan of dragons. But he had not become an immortal undead like Karnak.

"Couldn't Lord Karnak also live for a very long time as a living body?"

Even if not true immortality, if he could gain an ageless body, perhaps he could avoid the danger of returning to Astra Shunaph and destroying the world again. Unfortunately, it seemed impossible.

Grateria answered firmly. "Do you think Tesranach never considered that?"

Karnak also shook his head. "That approach doesn't work."

To begin with, the sensations and pleasures humans experienced were byproducts that arose from the flow of life itself. They were, in essence, side effects that existed because mortals were imperfect beings.

"You're talking about never aging or dying while still wanting to keep engaging in actions that bring you closer to aging and death. That's a contradiction in itself."

"Then what about aging normally like an ordinary person, and later restoring only the body to youth? Is that impossible too?"

Karnak and Grateria answered in turn.

"It's not impossible."

"But the problem is that, at the moment one regains youth, they would already have touched divinity."

One had to obtain divinity in order to restore youth. But that youth was sacred youth, one that had overcome the unnecessary desires of living beings. Was that not why the dragon emperor himself had only tasted food for the first time in three thousand years?

"Even I would not have been able to reside in this child's body if not for this unusual circumstance involving time and space." ℴℴ𝘮

The complete soul of a dragon emperor was far too powerful for an ordinary dragon to endure, just as had been the case with Karnak when he had been Astra Shunaph.

Grateria continued in a solemn voice. "Eternal life is possible. It is also possible to enjoy an immortal existence."

But for an immortal to live the life of a mortal, that was impossible.

"If one is no longer mortal, how could one enjoy the life of mortals?"

From the perspective of a god, pleasure was merely a flaw and weakness possessed by those destined to die. Pleasure arose during the process of filling what one lacked. But one who possessed divinity lacked nothing.

If nothing was lacking, there was nothing to fill, and if there was nothing to fill, there could be no pleasure.

"The laws of the world are not so simple that one can select only what one desires."

Hearing his gentle explanation, Serati let out a sigh. "I suppose we'll have to proceed according to the original plan after all."

She had wondered if they might prolong Karnak's youthful years as much as possible to avoid the coming end, but it seemed that was unrealistic.

"More importantly..." Dios returned to the original problem. "How exactly are we supposed to stop them from fleeing?"

According to Grateria's speculation, the enemy was bound by Tesranach's absolute command. Unless they were completely cornered, their highest priority would always be to escape.

Dios pondered, "Is there no way to make them disobey Tesranach's orders?"

Karnak slowly raised his hand. "Well, there is one method. But I'm not entirely sure whether it's something we should actually do."

Since he described it as questionable, it seemed even he was trying, at least somewhat, to avoid doing something truly terrible.

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but we should at least hear it." Serati asked cautiously. "What is it?"