"Hyaah!"

Together with her shout, Ria's katana cut an angel in two.

A devil that had tried to rake its claws against her defenseless back was torn asunder by Carla's holy sword.

"As expected… there's a lot of them."

"There are. Our mana recovery is slow, too."

They descended to the Earth as a pair and fought together against gods, devils, and other minor gods.

Ria was using Gallach at first, but as its consumption was much too great, she switched to her normal katana.

It wasn't just Nagasone Kotetsu, though. She was using the best five swords in the world that she'd taken from Japan's sword museum in the confusion.

"As expected of Doujikiri Yasutsuna, it's great at cutting."

Demons, apparitions, angels, devils, she sliced apart all existences that rose up from human imagination.

The one guarding her back was Carla. She knew that this would be a test of endurance, so she conserved her mana as much as possible.

[Nee-chan, are you alright?]

And beside the two was a single Machine God.

Normally, Ferna would have been the one using it, but it was readjusted for Serge's use.

Serge, who'd thought that he would have held them back with his power alone, was also participating in the front lines.

Even so, whenever they find a surviving human, he forcibly sends them to the other world.

"Ria, something that looks like a huge snake is coming from other there."

When she looked toward the direction Carla spoke of, there was a several kilometer long snake flying at them. As for its distinctive features, that would

probably be the wings growing out of it.

[Quetzalcoatl…]

"What's that?"

[It's a god that existed in the Americas before Caucasians migrated over. I believe that it was a good god, if I recall.]

"Either way, it is our enemy."

Taking a hold of Gallach, Ria headed towards the Aztec god.

 

*

 

The battle lasted for a long time.

Day and night, Ria continued cutting down her enemies.

After turning into a dragon, Ria's physical abilities rose drastically. She didn't even get tired after staying awake for several days straight. Even without resting, her endurance would recover on its own.

Even so, she could still lose concentration if she got tired mentally.

An old man with a single eye threw a spear at her. Even when Ria tried to dodge it, it continued following her around.

When she attempted to intercept it with an ordinary katana, it broke apart. So Ria then unsheathed Gallach and destroyed the spear.

Continuing on the pierce that god's heart with Gallach, the god scattered apart into the atmosphere.

[That one was Odin from Norse mythology. So next is…]

A giant god appeared from another direction.

It was a huge wolf whose nape reached into the heavens. This existence was a godslayer from Norse mythology.

[Fenrir…]

"I've heard that name somewhere."

Carrying Gallach around on her shoulder, Ria flew towards the giant wolf.

Her fight with Fenrir lasted for three days and nights.

Meanwhile, Carla and Serge handled the weaker minor gods.

Ria penetrated the heart of the wolf that had already collapsed from exhaustion, winning somehow or another.

"That was a tough one…"

As expected, not even Ria's endurance recovery was able to keep up with her expenditure. That one was comparable to those older dragons—maybe even stronger.

"Let's take a short rest."

Saying that, Carla sat down. Ria followed suit, resting her back against some rubble that used to be a wall.

[We're lucky that the Cthulu mythology's gods were so weak.]

"What are those?"

[They were gods in a story created by Lovecraft from the 20th century, existences on the scale of the entire universe.]

"So… equal to Valis, or worse?"

[They were actually weak though. After all, they were born from mankind's imagination. How much faith could they have collected in that time?]

"Faith, huh…"

In that case, that was probably the strongest god.

The existence referred to simply as God. A ruthless being that chased humanity to the edge of destruction in the Old Testament.

"God…"

 

*

 

Ars and the God Dragons got in touch with the Black Cats' members through the communication devices. Although quite a lot of dragons were dying, the various pantheons were being killed of as planned.

"India's gods were fairly deadly."

Shifaka spoke. It was true, the Indian pantheon, filled with such incredible myths, was strong.

Gathering in the spot where China once existed, the Machine Gods and warriors were talking.

Black Cat members were missing, neither Azel nor Shana were there.

"They got done in by four of 'em. Thankfully, the navigator made it out."

Ars wasn't hiding his emotional state. Was he thinking about the two who weren't there? They'd both fought with him long ago.

"Have you cleaned up most of the famous ones?"

Thor had turned his big sword as a rod. Although his sword could be called a holy sword, it gradually lost its edge as it cut apart various gods' bodies.

The dragons still danced in the sky as ever, cleaning up the small and minor gods.

Eating angels, eating devils. It was like a god buffet.

"Where do we go next?"

Ria asked ars. Ars held the tentative leader position.

"Most of them have been settled, so the big shot should be appearing soon. It should be at a level that not even elder dragons can win against."

Earth's dragons were weak compared to the dragons of their world. Even with their blood and flesh, the warriors would not lose when pit against them.

"Leave the small fry to the dragons, let's get the last boss."

"Last boss?"

Hearing Shifaka's question, Ars responded.

"The majority of people on Earth believe in a single got. Perhaps no one other than the God Dragons could defeat it."

"Christianity's God, huh…"

Thor sighed heavily.

"Were you Christian, by chance?"

"No, I wasn't… just, he's also the god of Islam and Judaism, you know?"

Their original texts were the same, so of course it would be like that.

"I think we can win with our lineup. As science developed, the power of faith fell."

Though given that the dragons and gods were duking it out, most of Earth's population down on the land had been wiped out. There probably weren't even a billion people left.

What Ars meant by this lineup was the team of three from Ogress, Ria, Carla, and Serge, as well as Black Cats' Shifaka, Thor, and Alvis. As well as Ars himself.

Ohma and Terrew are holding up the barrier that's keeping Earth's gods from going over to our world. Lanna is in reserve, and Valis is keeping her mana full.

"If we defeat him, we can leave the rest to Valis. Now then, how about we set out for the final fight?"

Saying that in a light tone, Ars boarded his specially-made Machine God.

The Machine God Serge rode was a mass produced type, one that had almost no mana remaining in its magic core.

"Unfortunately, I'll have to retire here. Nee-chan, Carla-san, I'll give this to you."

Saying that, Serge removed the small magic core from the Machine God. As it was a mana crystal, it could be used like a bomb, as well as like a battery that could help restore your mana.

However, it was already prepared to fire off a magic with the rest of the mana in it.

"Super Acceleration. Use it in an emergency."

With that, Serge headed back to Manesh through teleportation along with the powered-down Machine God.

"We're one down, but I think we're still good?"

"Maybe? It would be great if a God Dragon assisted us if we needed it."

Ria's worries were justifiable, but Ars responded lightly.

"The gods up till now were strong too, but compared to the number of believers this one's had, it's probably incomparable."

"Well, we won't know if we don't try. We can think of a strategic retreat for if push comes to shove."

Their wounds treated, the group finally started to set out for their destination.

"By the way… if God shows up, where do you think he'll go?"

The one Ria asked was Thor, a Hero from two thousand years prior.

"Where… wouldn't he go to the Vatican?"

[I don't think he would.]

It was Ars who answered. Although he was summoned at the age of fifteen, he knew more than Thor.

[I'd say Jerusalem.]

Ria agreed with him. That place was the birthplace of God's legend.

The group flew with flight magic.

The ones in their own flesh rode on Ars' Machine God so as to save as much mana as possible.

Before long, something came into view. It was a giant pillar of blinding light that penetrated the sky.

"So big…"

Thor spoke, impressed.

The giant being of light penetrated the clouds. This was the figure of the last remaining god.

"My sword goes first!"

Going first, Thor brandished his holy sword and swung.

The slash could crush even mountains, yet it was sucked into that light and disappeared.

[Seal Release.]

The armor came off of Ars' Machine God, the body of a god appearing.

Ria also gripped Gallach tightly, transforming into a dragon.

The final battle had begun.