The Heaven's War - Part 4.3 [Tiberius]

[Part 1]

Someone once thought:

"Are our lives worth more than those of other creatures? And if so, is there any creature who thinks so?"

There was no merit in killing Elise Redhart. It was fear that moved humanity to turn against this common enemy.

There was no distinction of race, age or gender. The entire human race was united in the same cause.

Finding value in our existence after that was easy. We felt we were the dominant species. There was nothing and no one who could stand in our way.

This is a memory from a thousand years ago.

The wind was blowing my hair, which I had let grow back then. It had been a few years since humanity was victorious against Elise Redhart, and it had also been a while since I became a Lich.

Before locking myself in the library again, I decided to take a little walk on the surface. Visit some places I had always wanted to see in this world.

On the way to where I am now, I notice that there are many statues of Maxwell around every city, and festivals are held in his honour.

Everyone talks about the legend of Alexander Maxwell, the [Wizard King]. And it is known that he will go down in posterity as the greatest sorcerer in history.

However... that's not the same for me.

What is told of me is that my whereabouts are not known, nor what I am doing. That I am mourning the death of my people and my master. And that I will be ready when another calamity strikes the world.

Some believe that I am a sorceress who is able to fulfil everyone's wishes just by snapping my fingers.

...

...

...

If only it were that easy.

In the centre of the Cathedral of Kýena, located in Dei, the capital of Eloim Gaia. There lies the tomb of my master, Alexander Maxwell.

-I am sorry for not attending your funeral, master...

I can only mutter that regret to myself. I was unable to attend because I was recovering from the Lich transformation and had not visited the grave until now.

It was thanks to people's directions that I was able to get here and see the resting place of my master.

He is a hero to everyone.

Everyone cheers him to this day, and I am sure that his legend will be passed on for many generations to come.

On his epitaph, it says: "Here rests Alexander Yggdrasil Maxwell II, the Wizard King who took to the skies to free us from The Calamity".

To this day they still bring lilies, my master's favourite flowers. And I am no exception, as I brought a whole bouquet of them.

I kneel down, dropping my forehead on the rock on which his epitaph is written.

-Thank you for everything... Alexander Maxwell... thank you for giving me a reason to go on living...

What little humanity was left in me then broke. The tears I hadn't shed since the annihilation of Zawar Orcubalis, everything I was holding back until this day came.

And about me?

I wish it were that easy. But I can't.

I'm going to let them face all their problems alone. Humanity deserves to suffer after all. They are unworthy of protection after all they did to kill Elise Redhart.

...

Yes...

It will be many years before I have the desire to protect them from something that wants to hurt them.

They need to be humble again.

Otherwise, I will never return to society.

Because I won't. I don't consider our lives worth enough to feel superior to any other being.

That is my conclusion.

[Part 2]

Liselotte Sitri takes up a combat stance. She prepares to receive Tiberius' first attack and counter it.

At this moment, the skills of both are at the maximum limit.

Tiberius for reaching the highest Divinity.

Liselotte for being the current existence with the most power given by the "System".

Although Tiberius' body is splitting because of the extreme amount of "Divine Energy" present in his soul, he is a vessel that will not be broken easily.

Liselotte herself can feel how the "Supernatural Rift" is about to spiral out of control at any moment. She has no time to recite the chant of her absolute spell, so she has no choice but to confront him with brute force.

Liselotte's fighting style is a mixture of ancient martial arts that have perished over the centuries and some that have made it to the present day.

The stance she takes is similar to the one Enigma uses for full-contact fighting. The difference is that Liselotte is covering more the part of her abdomen, to avoid blunt blows in those areas that could destabilise her in combat.

Liselotte, ready for combat, shouts:

-Come and get me, Tiberius!

Responding to Liselotte's call, Tiberius propelled himself with explosive force towards her, and raising his trunk-sized right arm, threw a blow with such force that it could split a mountain in half.

However, Liselotte...

(Very slowly.)

She places her right hand on Tiberius' wrist, and deflects the direction of the blow. And with a technique that Enigma taught her, she returned the full power of the attack towards Tiberius.

-Guoh...!

The force of his blow being returned was something that caught Tiberius off guard, he just felt his internal organs burst.

However, Liselotte's counterattack didn't stay that way.

Pivoting on her foot, she swung one of her legs behind Tiberius' knees.

Liselotte dropped down, swinging both legs in opposite directions and causing Tiberius to fall backwards.

Liselotte then propelled herself with her arms, and the kinetic force did its thing. Her knee connected with Tiberius' face with all the force she could muster in that movement.

A crunching sound was heard, and Tiberius' nose began to bleed.

-Damn...!

-Gagh!

Tiberius used "Space Magic", and teleported one of his fists into Liselotte's blind spot using a wild swing, sending her flying to the side.

Not even all the protection of her spells was able to defend her from the explosive damage resulting from that impact. That was unpredictable for her. And Tiberius had learned from it.

The blow shattered her ribs, and fragments of them scattered all over her torso, causing Liselotte to cough up blood.

No sooner had Liselotte returned to her feet than another blow landed, this time a knee that connected directly with Liselotte's solar plexus, knocking the air out of her lungs in a single blow, and along with it, finishing by shattering the front of her ribcage.

-Now you can't help it!

Tiberius holds Liselotte's head with extreme force, she felt the full pressure of the gripping force on her temple, and subsequently the impact against the earth.

The God dragged Liselotte, almost two hundred metres, tearing several centimetres deep into the earth. Tiberius slows his pace, and begins to trample Liselotte's body, which begins to bury her bit by bit.

However...

-Why...?! How come the damage is being reflected on my body as well?!

Wounds appeared on Tiberius' body and face, his bones are receiving fractures internally, similar to the damage Liselotte is receiving.

He takes distance from Liselotte. Which allows the latter to get back to her feet very slowly.

(A little more and my head would have shattered...) -. she thinks.

Liselotte blows her nose, drawing out a blood clot formed in her airway from all the damage she received.

[Immortality has started to regenerate the wounds]. That notification reaches Liselotte's head.

-You don't see it happening, but all the attacks I started to reflect back at you with counterattack magic. Very functional, don't you think?

-Don't fuck with me! How can you be so miserable?!

Tiberius is burning with fury. He can't understand why Liselotte chooses to fight in this way.

-This world has not shown me that it needs my help again. My main interest now is to protect Elise and nothing else.

-And for that alone you will fight like a coward?! Show the dignity of your legend! Weren't you the one who personified death, the "Slayer of Gods"?!

-Tch... -. Liselotte clicks her tongue inwardly.

It had been ages since she had heard that nickname. A nickname that was imposed on her after her first encounter with Othinus. A nickname she hates above all else.

-You don't even come close to matching everything that has been said about you in the "Divine Pantheon"!

-... shut your mouth, you animal.

Tiberius then felt a claw prostrate itself on his chest, seeking to rip out his heart with a simple, swift movement that would also uncover his ribcage with a single tug.

That claw is "Death".

The atmosphere turned icy. And a black miasma emerges, covering the entire stage until it simply leaves him and Liselotte in that empty space.

Liselotte begins to take short steps, and Tiberius can only remain static in this environment where one false move would be tantamount to death. She corners him in mere moments.

She arrives in front of the motionless Tiberius, and makes a movement with which she raises her right hand...

-Believe me, if I had wanted to finish you off quickly I would have done it in an instant... that way you could call me a coward, for taking your head off as mercifully as possible.

Tiberius' mask was torn in half by Liselotte's movement. Thus both of them stare at each other.

-The legend you speak of is this, isn't it? It's not just about whether I can fulfil wishes... but the fear you gods have of me, am I right?

Tiberius looks into Liselotte's green eyes, which shine wildly like stars. The emotion coursing through the God's body right now is nothing less than fear.

Fear of death.

(Those eyes... they're like those of my uncle, Hades... to be able to see this in someone who isn't even a God is almost impossible... this proves once again that Liselotte Sitri is the personification of death...)

Although he is a mere step away from death, Tiberius is able to keep his cool...

No.

Not only that...

Liselotte's defences were lowered completely because she thought she had the situation under control. Tiberius noticed it.

And all the terror disappeared when he was able to connect with a full punch to Liselotte's face, sending her flying. However, it didn't stay that way, there was still the claw.

Tiberius barely managed to take a step back as the claw tore a chunk out of his chest, exposing one of his lungs. The sudden pain caused him to go on the defensive and create a force field using Hera's "Space Magic".

The claw lunged, trying to penetrate Tiberius' defence, but without any success.

That blow was so strong that it knocked Liselotte unconscious, for she did not expect to be attacked head on regardless of the threat imposed on her enemy.

That was... new, for her.

Fear was never overcome by any previous enemy, and Tiberius attacked her by overcoming her willpower over the instinctive fear of death that every being with the "Frill Stigma" should have.

All the miasma disappears. That means Liselotte lost consciousness.

[Part 3]

[Divine Pantheon]

-(He did what...?!) -. The same cry echoed throughout the entire "Divine Pantheon" at the same time.

All the Gods who were expectantly watching the fight between Tiberius and Lyselotte Sitri almost fell on their butts because of what just happened.

Tiberius caused Liselotte Sitri to lose consciousness! That's a feat that increases her value as a Deity!

There has never been anyone up to this point who could throw a blow hard enough to break her peace of mind, let alone knock her out!

This is the first time this has happened since Liselotte became the natural enemy of the Gods!

-Tiberius... is a God to be feared... -. Nergal puts a hand to his chin, watching through the crystal sphere what is happening in Zawar Orcubalis.

Tiberius advances towards Liselotte, who was lying several metres away from the blow he dealt her. Oh, that could be a problem.

-Even so, she's an undesirable element right now. An ordinary god cannot kill Liselotte Sitri. Thanatos, go.

The decision was made as if it was planned. But Nergal is not going to allow Tiberius to go forward as if it were nothing.

A Goddess stands, and makes a small bow to Nergal. Cloaked in a black hood, her mood is different from that of Morrigan. Though they are similar in the range of colours they wear and their skin tones.

This Goddess's black hood prevents her eyes from being seen. She is Thanatos.

-At once, Lord Nergal. I will bring you both corpses.

Thanatos lifts his face, and disappears into the shadows. Heading in the direction of Zawar Orcubalis to bring this conflict to an end.

Only it is far from over.