Chapter 181: New Found Courage.

Ryan’s fist collided with the scales of the Storm Blizzard God in an unending barrage of punches. He struck the same area repeatedly, putting as much force as he could muster behind every blow, but the result remained unchanged. The scales refused to yield, and after a while, Ryan finally pulled back his bloody fist. His knuckles were torn and bruised, the blood slowly mixing with the snow and ice around him. This was the first time he had encountered an opponent whose body he simply couldn’t damage, no matter how hard he tried.

"Shit."

It wasn’t like him to curse, especially not out loud, but certain situations called for certain shifts in behaviour. Ryan had faced powerful opponents before, and he was used to relying on his physical strength when other methods failed.

Yet the creature standing before him made that strength feel almost meaningless. He could keep punching until his hands were nothing but bloody wreckage, and he doubted the Storm Blizzard God would even notice.

Yuri landed next to him, her body briefly illuminating the darkness with faint traces of lightning before the glow faded. The two of them had been trying their hardest to make even the slightest dent in the god’s body, attacking whenever they found an opening, but all their efforts had been for nothing. The scales remained intact, and the creature continued moving as though the people attacking it were little more than insects..

"The Storm Blizzard God is moving towards the settlement. We have to do something to stop it."

Ryan turned, his expression tightening as he considered their situation. He was at his wit’s end. "What exactly? This is a god, Yuri. We’re fighting a literal god. We’re nothing more than pests to it, and ever since we started attacking it, it hasn’t even responded once."

Yuri understood Ryan’s fear. He had every right to be afraid when faced with something so far beyond their strength, especially when their attacks weren’t accomplishing anything. But they were the strongest Awakened in the Ruins of Humanity. The survivors behind them had even less chance of stopping the creature, and if the people who could fight refused to stand against it, then who would?

"Are you done?" she suddenly asked, leaving Ryan speechless.

He stared at her for a moment before shaking his head and standing upright again. Complaining wouldn’t change their circumstances, and Yuri clearly had no intention of abandoning the fight just because their opponent was stronger than them. Ryan drew a breath and forced himself to consider their options instead of dwelling on how hopeless the situation seemed.

"We should target its eyes, its mouth, or any other opening we can find. The scales are too tough. Perhaps only Andrea could break through them."

Yuri nodded, accepting his suggestion without wasting time arguing over their chances. They didn’t need to defeat the god with a single attack. They needed to find something that could hurt it, and then they could figure out what to do next.

"Let’s go."

She vanished before her mouth had even closed, leaving Ryan standing alone in the middle of the raging darkness. He watched the spot where she had been, the cold wind whipping past him as he prepared to follow.

"I hate it when she does that."

...

Elias struggled against the raging storm as his massive body rose from the ground. Even with his enormous size and strength, the wind was powerful enough to make every movement difficult. He could barely see what was in front of him through the darkness and swirling snow, but after a moment, he quickly realized that the strange darkness was Damien’s miasma.

Then something truly horrifying began to happen.

The wind suddenly shifted, and Elias was blasted several meters away before he could properly react. His feet scraped across the frozen ground as he struggled to regain his balance, only for him to realize that he had been attacked without even being the target.

The Storm Blizzard God’s massive paw swept past him as it moved across the ruins. Elias watched the colossal limb pass by, and the sheer force behind its movement sent another wave of freezing wind across the battlefield. The god wasn’t even fighting him. Elias was simply in the way.

A single step carried the Storm Blizzard God all the way to the ritual dais, covering an absurd distance as though the ruined city beneath it were nothing more than a small patch of ground.

"It’s a whole different feeling being afraid of a god you can actually see."

Elias stared up at the creature, his expression tense as the realization settled in. He had always understood that gods were supposed to be terrifying, but understanding something and standing beneath it were two completely different experiences. The sheer difference in scale and power made his own strength feel insignificant.

Elias bent down and jumped high into the air. He quickly realized he wasn’t doing much down on the ground, where the god’s movements alone were enough to send him flying. If he wanted even the slightest chance of stopping this monstrosity, was by attacking its vulnerable sides, if it even had one.

...

Seris pushed aside a boulder nearly twice her size. She wasn’t a warrior, but she was still Awakened, and her physical abilities were well beyond those of an ordinary human. Even so, the weight of the rubble was beginning to test her strength as she searched through the ruins for anyone who might still be trapped beneath them.

"Achew... what in the corrupt gods is happening?"

Her question was answered by a raging roar.

The Storm Blizzard God in the distance had finally opened its mouth once again, and this time, the roar was even more paralyzing than the first. The sound rolled across the ruins with such overwhelming force that Seris felt her entire body tense before her legs gave out beneath her.

She fell face-first onto the frozen ground, unable to move as the pressure of the roar settled over her.

"Seris."

Chad called out as he approached. He squinted his eyes as he resisted the suppression of the Storm Blizzard God, his own body struggling against the invisible force that seemed to weigh down everything around them.

"Seris, I got you."

Chad lifted Seris from the ground and immediately began making his way toward the gate. He moved as quickly as he could while fighting against the suppression, carrying her away from the worst of the pressure. It wasn’t long before Seris slowly regained control of her body.

The moment she did, she pushed Chad away, choosing to fall to the ground once again rather than allow him to carry her.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing?... I can find my own way out of the city. I don’t need help, especially not from you."

Chad stopped and looked at her. He really didn’t want them to have this conversation right now. Not here, not while the ruins were collapsing around them and a god was moving through the city. But Seris clearly hadn’t forgotten what happened between them, and neither had he.

He heard the chime of the Emissary, loud and clear. Even that creature could make the Emissary change its tone, and that alone told Chad just how far beyond them the Storm Blizzard God truly was. If something capable of affecting the Emissary could unleash this kind of destruction, then what chance did Dormant humans like them have other than to die?

"Seris, I know I messed up. I messed up badly. You can punish me any other time and I wouldn’t object to it, but now we’ve got to run."

Seris went silent for a moment. Chad almost assumed he had finally gotten through to her, but then she suddenly spoke coldly.

"Run if that’s what you want. You seem to be really good at it."

Chad felt a knot tighten in his chest. Seris’s words hurt, but he couldn’t deny that they were deserved. He had spent a long time carrying the guilt of what happened, and no amount of apologizing could change the fact that he had run when her sister needed him most.

"Seris. You should know, I’m never gonna stop feeling sorry for what I did, and I’m gonna keep trying to make up for it. But you’re right, I do run a lot, so this time, I’m gonna run in the right direction."

Chad turned toward the Storm Blizzard God and charged toward it. There was no hesitation in his movement now. He was one of the most powerful Awakened in the Ruins of Humanity, but even he was no different from a pest before a god. The difference between what he was capable of and what stood before him was so overwhelming that charging toward it almost seemed suicidal.

"No."

Seris finally reacted. She was mad at Chad, but that didn’t mean she wanted him to foolishly throw his life away. Whatever resentment she carried toward him, some part of her still couldn’t bear the thought of watching him die.

She stood up to follow after him, but another roar from the Storm Blizzard God immediately swept through the ruins. Seris collapsed once again, her body refusing to move beneath the overwhelming pressure. She could only watch helplessly as Chad’s back disappeared into the incoming darkness.

"Damn it, Chad, you selfish prick."