God Slayer

It began with Lavi's breath attack.

The divine dragon's breath. The same attack that had slaughtered the monsters earlier was blocked by the god with both hands.

One of its arms was torn off and sent flying. But the god paid it no mind and lunged at Lavi.

Lavi tried to create distance, but the god also controlled lightning, attacking Lavi with it.

Perhaps it had no effect on the divine dragon at all, as Lavi made no attempt to dodge.

A barrage of breath attacks rained down from above. Her mana was depleting, but her recovery rate was equally tremendous. Just when it seemed like this long-range battle might decide things, the god also took to the sky.

Against the god aiming for close combat, Lavi ascended even higher. Unable to keep up with her speed, the god was pummeled by consecutive breath attacks from above.

Little by little but surely, the god was losing life force, mana, and stamina. Yet it had no means to counter.

Gods were beings of tremendous power to begin with. Things that couldn't be resolved through brute force alone truly couldn't be resolved at all.

Just as Ria had said, the evil gods were idiots.

"Hmm, that one seems headed for an uneventful conclusion."

Quorfos, waiting in the air, watched the battle in the center.

Compared to Lavi, Mako was clearly struggling.

The problem was the difference in firepower.

Having obtained vampire abilities, Mako was actually stronger than her level would suggest.

But her weapon was the issue. Though it was made by Ria, a spear was still just a spear. It damaged the god but couldn't rapidly deplete its health.

On the other hand, Mako was also dodging the god's attacks.

Magic and physical combat. Mako evaded or blocked both. Her vampire-derived stamina recovery was turning this into a war of attrition.

"This one needs a little support."

The spirits under Quorfos's command attacked the god's upper body.

While the god was distracted by that, Mako's spear—enhanced with penetration and magic blade abilities—extended long and pierced its abdomen.

The god howled, the sound echoing throughout the cursed realm. But Mako wasn't one to flinch at that.

Mana was released from the twisted spear, shredding the god's abdomen.

But a god wouldn't die from just that.

Though its life force was depleted, it healed its wounds using mana and stamina. Mako clicked her tongue at this.

"You're doing fine. You're definitely dealing damage. Keep attacking."

Sending the message to Mako on the wind, Quorfos turned his gaze toward Sei.

As for Sei, he too was in no danger.

He ran up the god's body, coating his elongated blade with mana, slicing the god's flesh every which way.

The god's magic was even less effective on him than on Mako. The result of resistances gained from the divine dragons and Ria's rigorous training.

He carved through the blood vessel equivalents in its arms, legs, and neck. The god still regenerated, but it couldn't regenerate infinitely.

"Come on! Just fall already!"

"Keep dealing steady damage. Don't rush."

After sending that message to Sei, Quorfos looked at the remaining monsters.

The surviving monsters probably numbered less than one hundred thousand now. Some had reached the walls, but they had no means to breach them.

The elves were steadily reducing their numbers with magic and arrows. Laila's wind spirit arts were especially impressive. She was still a young elf, but overflowing with talent.

"I may have to grant her request after all."

Quorfos murmured, then turned his eyes back to the gods.

Lavi had severed more of the god's legs and arms. The god still had plenty of power left, but it had lost its means of attack. It was only a matter of time now.

"I knew it, but divine dragons really are incredible…"

That was just her juvenile form, yet she had that much power. How strong would she become once she gained a true divine dragon's power?

But Quorfos didn't consider Lavi a threat. The elves' role was similar to that of the divine dragons. To protect the world's order.

"She'll have to return to the Dragon Claw Continent eventually, but it might not be bad to let her travel for a while."

Mako in the center also seemed to be getting the hang of fighting against large enemies.

The opponent was huge anyway. So evasion had to be done quickly.

But being huge also meant being slow. At least this god was.

She unleashed the spear's power, steadily dealing damage.

It looked like a war of attrition, but she would win if this continued.

And as for Sei, he had made a slight mistake.

He had destroyed the god's eyes. Normally that would mean the enemy couldn't perceive him, but the god began flailing around wildly.

Being targeted deliberately was bad, but random violence with no pattern was worse because it was unpredictable.

Even so, he dodged the god's attacks and steadily dealt damage.

(Gods are simply strong, that's all.)

While fighting, Sei thought this.

This was far easier than fighting in the labyrinth or traveling through the wetlands.

After all, the enemy had no attacks that could reliably hit him, and his attacks easily landed because of its massive body.

(Well, it doesn't have much in the way of magic skills or special abilities, so I guess lower gods are just like this. The Cyclops that Master told me about sounds way stronger.)

That was a misunderstanding. When Ria fought the Cyclops, she was far weaker than Sei was now, and her weapon was also inferior.

However, this god probably would have died in one hit if the meteor shower had struck it.

This wasn't overconfidence on Sei's part—it was composure.

And Mako was employing an outrageous tactic.

She was eating the god's flesh as she carved it off during battle.

"It's not very tasty, though!"

Despite everything, her opponent was still a god.

By consuming its flesh, Mako was rapidly growing stronger mid-combat.

Gluttony—growing stronger the more you eat.

Its true value was finally about to be demonstrated.

The first to finish was Lavi.

After taking the divine dragon's breath to the head, even the god stopped moving.

"Absorb the divine core from its chest. That should result in a significant level up."

Looking somewhat reluctant, Lavi drove her claws into the god's chest.

Finding the massive divine core, Lavi absorbed the power within it.

The rapid level up made her feel a bit unwell.

But Quorfos helped with the absorption of magical essence, which alone helped her recover.

"Now then, let's go support our allies."

Prompted by Quorfos, Lavi turned her eyes toward the god fighting Mako.

The god whose divine core had been taken turned to salt and vanished.

The god in front of Mako lost both legs.

A breath attack from the side. Unable to dodge it, its legs were severed.

"Lavi! Nice!"

Mako drove her spear into the god's neck, which she hadn't been able to reach before.

One hit couldn't deplete all its life force, but it dealt more damage than attacking other areas.

Even so, she felt that a spear was difficult to use against giant creatures. It wasn't a problem since she was used to it, but perhaps a halberd would have been better.

After attacking the god's head numerous times, it finally fell.

Piercing its chest, Lavi absorbed another divine core. Mako, having dealt the finishing blow, also received a massive amount of experience.

"Gods are pretty good for leveling up, huh."

Mako said casually, but these were just lower gods.

"You still can't compete with higher gods. Keep that in mind."

Mako nodded honestly at Quorfos's warning as she emerged from the pile of salt.

Now, only Sei remained.

But with Lavi and Mako, who had defeated the other two gods, joining in, the situation was quickly decided.

"Urya!"

With the long magical blade, he severed the god's neck.

The god, whose life force had just run out, turned to salt, and Lavi extracted the divine core.

Another level up. Sei and Mako had also leveled up significantly.

"Wait, Mako, what did you do?"

According to Sei's Identify, Mako's level and special abilities had all risen across the board, and she'd gained an outrageous bonus.

Demi-god. And Immortal.

She also had the God Slayer title, but Sei had that one too.

"Ah, maybe because I ate the god? Well, now we match."

Mako replied nonchalantly, but eating a god might be unprecedented in recorded history.

"I didn't think eating a god would be possible. I didn't realize the Gift was this strong."

Even Quorfos, who had descended to the ground, seemed a bit put off.

"Well, this should lead to a significant boost in our combat strength. But don't be overconfident in your immortality. Mere immortality can be overcome by destroying the soul."

The drawback of an immortal body. Mako knew about that too.

But with this, she wouldn't have to leave dangerous opponents to Sei alone anymore.

"Well, fine. Let's return to the village then."

With Quorfos's teleportation, the group returned to the top of the walls, and from there, after a short time, they returned to the village at the center of the Great Forest.

"Now then, there will be a simple feast tonight. You should all enjoy yourselves."

The monster flood had been stopped. Their casualties were a remarkable zero.

It seemed that even elves liked to celebrate on occasions like this, and various dishes were prepared.

"The food isn't that different from human society."

"Elves are a race that doesn't change much. Those who seek change leave the village. And they bring back human culture. If it doesn't suit elves, it simply fades away."

The elven feast was not a rowdy affair.

They gathered in several circles to talk, then moved around and talked some more.

Unlike dwarves or halflings, a peaceful time flowed.

Kukuri also seemed to match the atmosphere, quietly playing music.

In the midst of all this, Sei and Mako had been called by Quorfos and were visiting his home.

"I'd like you to take her as a traveling companion."

The one Quorfos indicated was Laila, who had guided them to this village.

"I refuse."

At Sei's immediate decision, Laila snapped at him.

"Why not?! I'll have you know I'm strong. Sure, I'm probably weak compared to you guys, but I can protect myself!"

At Laila's aggressive manner, Sei glanced at Quorfos.

But he neither stopped her nor encouraged her, simply remaining silent.

Laila had apparently always been interested in the human world.

However, for an elf to leave the village required the elder's permission, and the elder had set the condition that she travel with someone experienced.

Sei's party was certainly in the middle of a long journey. They met that condition, and Laila was surely strong.

But Sei's journey was fraught with danger. Ordinary strength wouldn't be enough to keep up.

"Besides, your party doesn't have anyone who can use spirit arts, right? It's really useful, you know."

Laila continued to argue her case through anger, lamentation, and sorrow, appealing to tears while speaking to reason, dismantling Sei's concerns one by one.

"I think we have to take her at this point?"

Mako gave in first, and finally Sei also relented.

Above all, she had an attractive special skill.

Forest Walk

A Gift that allowed her to take shortcuts through forests. Considering Lavi couldn't teleport into forests, it was certainly a useful ability.

Laila hugged Sei after he reluctantly agreed, then immediately ran off to prepare for the journey.

"Was this really alright?"

Sei's question was naturally directed at Quorfos.

"She said she wanted to go. There's nothing to be done."

"But our journey will involve danger."

"That too is the path she chose. There's no reason to stop her."

Traveling with Sei was certainly safer than leaving the forest alone. At least, as long as the hero situation wasn't an issue.

The next day, among the group leaving the forest was Laila, dressed in human clothing.

Unlike the cheerful girl, the faces of her traveling companions showed bewilderment.

"Well then, I'm off. I'll be back in about a hundred years!"

The carriage set off. Through elven magic, a space large enough for a carriage to pass through existed within the forest.

This was certainly convenient. Combined with teleportation, it would significantly shortcut their journey.

"Hey, hey, where are we going next?"

Laila asked, full of anticipation. Sei spread out his map and compared it to a more detailed one.

"Millennia, I think. It seems to be a large city in Istria."

"It's an old city. I hear it's been around since ancient times."

Even Kukuri's knowledge only went that far. He had traveled from Lemdria to Ogress.

"I hope the next hero is someone reasonable…"

Sei said, as if raising a flag.