Chapter 1079 – 1079. God’S Atlantis
Elena, who had been sitting against a rock, jumped to her feet.
A one-eyed giant emerged from the black pillar. It was Balor. Balor had descended upon Atlantis.
He wasn’t a false god. If he were just a false god, he wouldn’t have used such a troublesome method, and Samuel, the boss of Helten, wouldn’t have even paid attention to this matter.
Balor didn’t seem to be in a normal state. The system’s sanctions were being applied to him.
“I understand that Balor has descended in his true form. But… why?”
From a god’s perspective, there was no need to risk the system’s sanctions and the threat of divine annihilation.
Atlantis was just a playground for the gods. There was no need to abandon their absolute position.
“Elena, do you know the difference between a god and a human?”
Samuel asked. His voice, focused on Balor, was strangely excited.
“There are too many differences to count.”
“It’s power.”
“Are you talking about authority?”
“That’s included, but it’s the absolute power that a god possesses. Other than that, they’re not much different from humans. They just have excessively strong power and individuality.”
“…That power is what makes them gods.”
Elena seemed to understand what Samuel was trying to say.
“The proof that gods aren’t perfect is this world. They couldn’t stand the boredom and created this huge playground called Atlantis.”
“And we’re just toys of the gods moving around in that playground. …It’s disgusting.”
“I agree, Elena. Do you think all the gods enjoy the playground the same way?”
“Those gods? No way.”
“That’s right. Some gods don’t pay any attention, some want to ruin the game on purpose, and some even go all-in with their own assets.”
“…Is Balor the third type?”
“No. The fourth type. He went all-in, lost everything, and even bet his own life on the game board. Gambling addiction is a word that applies to gods too.”
This Atlantis was the eighth one. There had been seven previous Atlantises, and they were already over. It seemed Balor had suffered a great loss in the previous Atlantis.
“I understand that Balor’s goal is to sweep up the stakes placed on Atlantis. But why isn’t the boss stepping in? It’s a chance to kill a god.”
“It’s a rare opportunity, so it’s a shame to end it like this. I’ll observe until it gets dangerous. The important thing isn’t Balor, but the gods looking down from up there. And there’s still something that bothers me.”
“…Something that bothers you?”
“There’s a high possibility that another god is involved. It’s too big of a job for Balor to handle alone. The problem is, I don’t know who that god is. It’s obvious they won’t show themselves… I wish I could get a clue.”
“Hmm. I’m going to step in directly.”
“Do as you please. I’ve already confirmed most of what I needed to, so I won’t stop you.”
Elena turned away from Samuel and White, who were quietly sitting and watching the situation. Judging by their looks, they really weren’t going to step in.
Observe until it gets dangerous? Elena didn’t know what the standard for that was.
***
I swallowed hard, looking up at the giant.
A one-eyed god. Balor of the Evil Eye. A god had descended into this world.
The situation was the worst. Just as I was about to make that judgment, Balor’s huge body faltered. I didn’t miss that moment.
‘The system’s sanctions worked properly. And since he just descended, he hasn’t fully adapted to Atlantis yet.’
There might be a much better chance than I thought.
I gripped the sword hilt with both hands and swung it towards Balor, who was more than 30 meters away. A blue slash carrying lightning struck Balor’s body.
*Splat.* The giant’s skin cracked, and blood splattered. From my perspective, it was the amount of blood of two or three people, but for the giant, it was just a slight amount of blood.
Balor, who had been faltering, straightened up, putting strength into his legs. He lifted his heavy eyelids and looked at me with his red eyes.
*Flint.*
My body trembled on its own.
“You don’t die. Is it because you’re already dead…?”
Balor’s voice echoed in the space. It was a voice similar to the deathly wave emitted by the black pillar.
“…Is Qing Guoli dead?”
“Qing Guoli?”
Balor stroked his wound with his own hand. The wound healed instantly. It wasn’t a natural recovery.
“Ah, are you talking about the human who summoned me? That human is right in front of you. He will live forever as part of my body.”
“What happened to Qing Guoli’s soul?”
“You must not be very bright. I clearly said it. He will live forever as part of my body.”
“……”
Qing Guoli had been devoured. It was safe to assume that. Qing Guoli was likely backstabbed by Balor. I didn’t know what kind of deal Qing Guoli had made with Balor, but… Qing Guoli trusted Balor too much. Not all gods value contracts, but…
“I feel gazes.”
Balor raised his chin towards the sky.
“Gods, are you watching? I, Balor, am here. I will establish my foundation anew here. I will gather the source power, and I will make this world my territory and take a new leap forward.”
「The Lord of the Sky scoffs.」
「The Fallen Star chuckles.」
「The Shining Spear is silent.」
“Don’t forget! I remember the past humiliation! I will surely repay the humiliation!”
Balor roared.
It was beyond the ear-splitting noise, it was a power that instinctively made the listener cower.
Balor’s gaze locked onto me. Despite being attacked by me, he didn’t have any emotion towards me.
“The beginning will be you, human.”
I summoned Storm Breaker. I held it in one hand, taking a javelin stance. I even imbued the spear with Astrape. The spear flashed with lightning.
I threw the spear, aiming for Balor’s eye. The spear flew like lightning but stopped as if by a lie in front of the giant’s eye. It felt like time had stopped.
“Those who fought me always aimed for the eyes. At first, it was annoying, but I decided to understand. To them, my gaze must be the very definition of fear.”
Balor flicked his index finger at the spear that was stopped in mid-air. The spear flew in a random direction and stuck into the ground. I groaned.
‘…That was a pretty powerful attack, but it was blocked so easily?’
Mana surged from Balor.
It was magic.
Magic of a much higher dimension than what a mage would use.
“I already knew that my gaze doesn’t work on the dead. My eyes are dangerous, but their limitations were clear. So I pondered. How can I overcome the limitations and kill the dead? It was a foolish pondering. If I can’t kill with my gaze… I can just kill with physical force.”
Balor’s pupils blazed. Red beams shot out from his eyes, aiming for me.
Surprised, I quickly dodged, taking advantage of the moment. Balor’s beams melted the sand-filled ground. The sand turned bright red and boiled.
‘That’s an abnormal destructive power. If that beam hits my body even once, it’s over.’
I used the power of Tutankhamun’s golden mask. As Qing Guoli disappeared, the nearby undead returned to their wild state. I controlled those undead and sent them charging at Balor.
“You stinking corpses. In the past, I even considered ways to control you. But what can mere corpses do? Disappear without defiling my territory.”
The undead, who knew no death, didn’t feel fear even against a god. Red beams swept through the undead. The undead’s bodies burst into flames. They evaporated without even leaving ashes. But there were still many undead left.
Balor swung his arm as if chasing away annoying bugs. The Death Knight flew more than 100 meters and crashed into the ground. The Death Knight, who was crushed in his armor, couldn’t get up again.
‘A one-shot kill for a Death Knight.’
I clicked my tongue and used Illusiter to make my body transparent and secretly approached Balor. Balor’s arrogance was a great help.
I arrived under the giant. Seeing him up close, I felt an even greater sense of pressure than when I saw him from afar.
‘He didn’t notice.’
The conditions for a surprise attack were met.
Balor was showing off his power, crushing the undead forces. Balor’s movements were gradually becoming smoother. He was adapting to that body.
‘Timing is important to get the maximum effect of a surprise attack.’
I quietly waited for the optimal timing. That moment soon came. When he had crushed half of the undead forces with overwhelming power, Balor’s tension eased slightly, and he closed his eyelids as if to rest his eyes, which had become hot from shooting the beams.
* * *
Shadow Heaven Style (影天流) Lightning Flash (雷光).
The ultimate quick sword that I could use was activated. A red sword light left a trail in the air and cut off Balor’s right ankle.
“Kuaaaaaaaak!”
Balor screamed and fell forward. Blood poured from his severed right ankle.
“How dare a human! Not knowing your place!!”
Balor’s mana surged. I quickly retreated. Flames shot up from the ground. The flames spread in all directions. Even though my body didn’t directly touch the flames, my skin turned red.
The ground that touched the fire was being eroded into black earth.
‘…No. Strictly speaking, it’s just returning to its original state.’
I looked around and checked my forces. Less than half of the undead forces remained. They were still engulfed in the burning flames, and their numbers were dwindling. The wild undead were rushing towards Balor. Balor’s enormous life force must have stimulated the undead.
‘I have to deal with Balor while there are still undead. My chances aren’t high as it is, and if there are no undead, it’s over.’
Balor, who had lost his right ankle, raised his body. His right foot was still severed. He was supporting his body with only one left foot. He opened his eyes, which he had closed. His eyes were bloodshot as if he would shed tears of blood at any moment.
“I never thought I would suffer such humiliation from a mere human… I admit it. You are not an ordinary human, you are a hero. I can feel the fate of a hero in you. But that fate will be shattered here.”
I summoned a spear and threw it, aiming for his eye. It didn’t work. The spear was blocked by an invisible wall and bounced off.
‘…It’s not magic. An enormous amount of mana surged through his body and bounced the spear off.’
It was a kind of protective aura. However, it wasn’t a protective aura that Balor intended. It was just a phenomenon that occurred in the process of using mana.
An enormous amount of mana gathered in the air and took the form of eyes. Twelve red eyes, identical to Balor’s, appeared in the air. Combined with Balor’s, a total of thirteen Evil Eyes (死眼) shot red beams towards the black earth.
The earth burned. The undead melted. The thirteen beams devastated the surrounding area.
* * *
Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功) Heavenly Demon Descent Step (天魔君臨步).
I dodged the beams, using the Heavenly Demon Descent Step amidst the indiscriminate bombardment. But even that soon reached its limit. The problem was that the ground where the beams had passed once had become red-hot, similar to lava. There was nowhere to step.
‘Damn it…!’
It was impossible to fight up close. The area around Balor was already boiling. Unless I had resistance to heat, my body would melt the moment I went there. The only way was to attack from a distance, but my full-power spear throw didn’t work.
‘Is there no way? Modern weapons are only meaningful when dealing with weaklings. They’re meaningless when dealing with Balor. Is there another way…?’
Thirteen beams were flying at me from all directions. It was already too late to deal with them with the Heavenly Demon Descent Step. The full power of the Heavenly Demon Descent Step was only exerted when the surrounding space was controlled. But the space that the beams touched easily erased my control. With beams everywhere, the Heavenly Demon Descent Step was blocked.
‘I was prepared to die once… but I thought I would at least take an arm with me.’
It was then. A blue butterfly, out of place with the situation, fluttered in front of me.