The Strongest (1)

Sorry for the lack of updates. I wrote on my P4TRE0N that I caught a cold, but I'm already fine again. Two chapters now plus maybe another chapter in a few hours...

...

Regina's energy blade descended from the sky. It cut through the sea of shadow beasts, arriving in front of the Saint of Slaughter and slicing his arm.

If the Saint of Slaughter would have not moved aside instinctively, the energy blade would have not sliced just his right arm, but his entire body.

"You…" The Saint of Slaughter's eyes opened wide. He extended his remaining arm towards Regina, releasing a snake made of specter-like shadow monsters to swallow her.

But Regina just swung her energy blade, turning the foul creature into ashes. Then, she swung her blade again, this time attacking the monkey and wolf on the ground.

The fur of the two monsters stood up in horror. The only thought in their minds was to escape.

Unfortunately–

*Spurt!*

Regina's blade was faster.

Before the two monsters could run far, her energy blade cut the monkey into two and severed one of the wolf's ears.

Just like that, a demigod was killed and the other two were injured.

The Saint of Slaughter and the Wolf shivered. Looking at Regina, they felt as though they were looking at death face-to-face.

'How did she escape from the pursuit of the Sun God!?' The Saint of Slaughter screamed in his mind. Seeing Regina looking at him, he immediately prepared to escape.

But at that moment, a message arrived in his mind.

"Wait!" He shouted anxiously. "I have a message from my god!"

Regina frowned. She hesitated about killing him or not and looked at Bloed.

Bloed stood up while wincing in pain and thought for a moment before speaking.

"What is it?"

"My god says that he is merciful and just. If you give him the Heart right now, he can let bygones be bygones."

"Is it a joke?" Bloed's expression became dark, and Regina's eyes turned ice-cold. Liu Ying, Eres, and Elwha did not hide their hostility either.

The Church of Slaughter had been causing trouble for them for a long time, and Slaughter was the one that started everything. Now, he was saying that he was going to forgive them if they gave him the Heart of the Forest?

The self-righteousness in these words made Bloed feel disgusted.

Even without considering Elwha, Bloed would never give the Heart to him.

"Regina, kill him," Bloed said decisively. The Valkyrie nodded and raised her energy blade again.

"You should think about it." The Saint of Slaughter's expression was calm. "You should know that the other gods will not allow the Heart of the Forest to remain in your hands. It's better if you give it to us and use it to erase the enmity between us."

"Dream on."

"... I understand." The Saint of Slaughter sighed and nodded. "Well, that is good. Anyway, we never planned to spare you in the first place."

Bloed was startled. At the same time, a terrible foreboding hit him.

All of sudden, a terrible aura appeared on the horizon.

It was as though a calamity had awakened. The enormous pressure and the bloody feeling coming from this aura made Bloed and the others feel suffocated.

But that was just the start. After the first aura appeared, it was followed by a second aura. This one was as hot as the sun, and it seemed able to burn anything.

The third aura appeared an instant after that. This time, it was like an eternal glacial that wanted to freeze everything.

Next, a gloomy and cold aura filled with death and decay appeared. Anything alive withered before this aura.

The following aura was accompanied by the darkest darkness. The instant it appeared, the day seemed to turn into night.

The sixth aura was like a sharp spear. It appeared able to pierce anything in its path.

Finally, the seventh aura appeared. The seventh aura was not as pressuring as the others, but it gave the feeling that it could turn into a lethal attack at any time.

"Gods…" Elwha muttered with an ashen look.

The expressions of Bloed's group turned pale.

Right now, they felt as though countless knives were piercing their skin.

Seven gods, Slaughter, Sun, Ice, Death, Night, Duel, and Hunt had appeared. Moreover, unlike when they faced Regina, this time they appeared with their true bodies.

And they were angry.

Very angry.

The situation had far exceeded Bloed's wildest predictions.

[Did you think you could escape from us, doll?] The voice of the God of Death resounded throughout the sky. [You dared to blaspheme a god. Even if you escape to the end of the world, you will die!]

[Mm? It looks like she is not alone?] The God of the Hunt observed Bloed and the others with interest before looking at the traces of battle and at the Saint of Slaughter. [I see. So the Heart of the Forest must be here, huh. And that young man seems to be one of your people, Slaughter.]

The Night God sneered. [Cunning bastard. So you already knew the location of the Heart from the start and sent your men after it. However, it looks like your plan failed.]

The other gods chuckled in schadenfreude. With just a glance, they understood the situation.

Slaughter had sent his Saint here to get the Heart while he fooled the other gods into thinking that he did not know the location of the Heart like them.

The reason why he did not come to get the Heart personally was because he was afraid that the other gods discovered him and complicated the situation. Unfortunately, he underestimated Bloed's group.

He did not think that three demigods and an army of monsters could not defeat a group of four non-demigod kids.

[I kind of admire these kids. They sure seem like talented children. Unfortunately, they are out of luck.] The Ice God chuckled. [Now, give us the Heart. If you do, I promise I will allow you to leave this place alive. However, the doll must stay. She must pay for her offense.]

Bloed's expression changed.

'There is no way I will leave Regina here!'

His mind moved at great speed thinking of a solution. However, the pressure of the seven gods was like an insurmountable mountain.

Seconds felt like hours as he thought of a solution. During these seconds, he saw Liu Ying's anxious expression, Elwha's despairing look, Eres's unresigned eyes, and Regina's brief nod.

'There must be a solution. There must be...!'

[Then, what is your answer, boy?] The Ice God asked again.

Bloed sighed and put on a determined expression.

"I-"

But then–

"I think that the one that needs to give an answer is not him."

An old voice came from behind Bloed.

Without anyone noticing, an old man wearing worn-down clothes was standing there. He was holding a sword on his waist, and his muddy eyes were looking at the ground.

However, the seven gods became surprised as soon as they saw him.

[You!?] The Ice God's expression changed. But it was too late.

In the next second, the sword of the old man was unsheathed.

– And the seven gods were cut into two.