Apostle of the Goddess of War

Chapter 163

Ch.163 Apostle of the Goddess of War

"Can this plan succeed?"

Someone who had come to see Agnia asked.

Agnia lowered the clothes draped over one shoulder and glanced back slightly. An unwelcome guest. She had no desire to show herself bathing.

"It will succeed."

"Hmph. Aren't you being too confident?"

Agnia did not hide her displeasure. The very fact that she was cornered enough to receive advice from such a creature displeased her.

"You seem to have the leisure to chatter while visiting me?"

"Well. I just do as I'm told. You and Serine planned everything, after all."

The unwelcome guest tilted their head this way and that, provoking her. Finding them annoying, Agnia immediately submerged her body.

Serine's cold water cooled Agnia's hot flesh.

As she wet her body, the unwelcome guest spoke annoyingly again.

"So the responsibility lies with you two as well."

"You seem to keep worrying, but if you don't go rampant, there will be no problems. Rage."

"Hmph."

The unwelcome guest's eye twitched slightly, but they maintained their sanity. They had no intention of causing an incident here and now. They knew well it would be futile.

There was a separate existence for when they would unleash their rage.

"The plan has been flawless so far. We lured Achille and that dangerous apostle to the heart, and preparations to welcome our guests are complete."

"No matter how well prepared you are—your opponent is Achille. You must have calculated all variables, right? You know, don't you? She's insane."

It was a fact everyone knew.

She had the achievement of single-handedly cornering and trapping the Evil God forces. It was no exaggeration. It was a history of humiliation actually experienced by the Evil Gods, and witnesses still remained.

The reason the Goddess of Rage exercised extreme caution was nothing else. It was due to the terror of war etched into their soul because of Achille.

"Variables? They are all part of the plan. How long do you think we've been preparing?"

"Hmm."

"Just one thing—"

Agnia sighed briefly and whispered her concern. There was one thing worrying her like a thorn in her throat.

"How much of Achille's power has recovered… That worries me slightly."

"Power, you say."

"The last time I checked, it was about half of her prime."

"Then is that fortunate?"

"For now, yes."

Agnia trailed off. The Goddess of Rage also vaguely felt what Agnia was worried about.

"If. If she recovers even a little more than that…."

"If she becomes able to give 'that' to her apostle as well."

Agnia and the Goddess of Rage swallowed their remaining words.

Even without saying it, they knew best what kind of catastrophe would occur.

***

Whoosh!

Dozens of beams of light sliced through the dark sky and struck Sion's body. Pillars of holy light blew away all of Sion's fatigue and toxins.

'My body feels light. Moreover….'

Sion moved his dry lips.

"This power?"

His fist clenched involuntarily. A power he had never felt before surged up from his lower abdomen.

A thrill as if his pores were opening ran down his spine.

He had been growing stronger little by little, but he had never felt this strong before.

[Reach out your hand. And imagine. The most powerful, the strongest sword.]

'The strongest… sword?'

Screeech!

At the Goddess of War's words, Sion inadvertently imagined the strongest sword.

Then, the strongest sword Sion imagined appeared in his hand.

It had no fixed form. The shape of the sword seen differed for each person. The true form was something only Sion could see.

"Wow…."

Sion muttered, unable to finish his sentence.

Arwen, standing beside him, foamed at the mouth.

"Eek! Aaaah! A sword made by stitching together the bodies of Goddesses! Si-Sion! Are you mad?! How could you have such blasphemous yet fatally beautiful thoughts…!"

The strongest sword Arwen imagined was bizarre indeed. Menesia told her apostle the truth.

Only then did Arwen decide to hold her breath.

"I-I will hold my breath until I die. Hup."

"Yes, please do."

Sion glared slightly at Arwen before focusing on the sword again.

Achille spoke to her apostle.

"It is my main weapon, my beloved blade, and the object that was placed in my hand the moment I was born."

Sion asked in surprise.

"Is-it really alright to lend me something so precious?"

"It is fine. Because you are my apostle. Moreover, right now, it is right for Sion, not me, to wield it. The flow of events demands it."

"This is absurd…."

Sion's eyes sparkled. It was so beautiful and mysterious that just looking at it stole one's heart. It was clearly not an object of this world.

"If you fight wielding the War Sword, you will be victorious on any battlefield. My apostle, win."

Sion looked down at the War Sword. He had steeled his mind and body ahead of the war of fire. From now on, it was a civil war among Goddesses.

It was opening a great war to contest the hegemony of the world.

"……Understood."

Cough, cough!

Achille suddenly coughed. Blood stained the corners of her mouth.

Sion spoke stiffly.

"My Lady! Are you alright?"

[……Ugh, as expected, is it still too much?]

"Don't tell me? Is it because of this sword?"

[I merely used a bit too much power. This much is fine.]

"Still—this doesn't seem right."

[My apostle knows that ending the war before this Goddess collapses is the better method.]

Achille was serious. Sion, feeling troubled, scratched his head before gritting his teeth.

The Goddess's will was clearly conveyed. Even though she pretended to be calm, Achille knew.

She knew how difficult it was to fight a full-scale war against the Fire Cult and battle forces that had joined hands with Evil Gods.

'A swift victory. Let's finish this quickly.'

In an instant, Sion's aura changed.

Eyes like a beast.

Sharply honed senses.

The familiar air of the battlefield.

Hoping to end this arduous war and regain peace as soon as possible, he infiltrated the interior of the Fire Cult.

***

Sion ran alongside Arwen, rolling his eyes left and right. Whenever the humid wind blew fiercely, his black cloak fluttered.

"Hmm."

Sion and Arwen leaped to the top of a building and surveyed their surroundings.

'No presence.'

Despite penetrating inside the Fire Cult, not a single person was visible. They weren't hiding their presence either. They could not deceive the senses of Sion and Arwen, who had already transcended humanity.

[Something is strange.]

'Do you feel nothing either, My Lady?'

[Yes. Except for the fact that Agnia is in the center of that temple, there is no presence whatsoever. Menesia, do you feel anything?]

Menesia also crossed her arms and nodded. Either an incredible power capable of deceiving even a Goddess was spread throughout the area, or the Temple of Fire was truly emptied without even a single ant.

'But we saw a priest enter earlier, didn't we?'

[That is true. It shouldn't be that there are no people….]

Sion climbed to a slightly higher place and strained his eyes. As he enhanced his vision with holy power, blood vessels bulged around his eyes. His pupils repeatedly expanded and contracted.

'I must find something moving.'

True to the Temple of Fire, the only things moving were dancing flames. However, Sion did not give up. He began to capture even the slightest crack, trivial air waves, and faint scents.

Sion's eyeballs expanded as if they were about to pop out. His hair waved, and instantly, a mental realm unfolded around him.

'South, north, west, east.'

Within the temple stopped like still life, Sion expanded his perception. It was a sense beyond the category of humans. The War Sword in his hand vibrated.

Swish

'Something.'

Sion detected a minute change in the air. He quickly turned his head and caught the change. He gathered all the senses he had spread out into one spot.

The focused location became as clear as if it were right in front of his nose.

'A person….'

There was a person. Someone holding their breath and glaring at the spot where Sion and Arwen were.

'I didn't notice that?'

Sion concentrated without even breathing and accelerated his brain. No presence was felt, yet a person was definitely there. Their concealment wasn't excellent enough to hide from the sight of the two.

'Rather, our senses have become dull.'

Sion quickly reached a conclusion. His heart pounded. It was the moment he realized the true nature of the trap.

"Hoo-!"

He exhaled the breath he had held until the verge of suffocation. When he came to his senses, Arwen was supporting Sion.

"Sion? A-are you alright?"

"Arwen. Why is your head spinning?"

"Huh?"

Sion pressed his throbbing head firmly. The aftereffects of extreme concentration had arrived. Supported by Arwen, Sion stood up.

"Arwen. We are surrounded."

"Huh? That can't be?"

"It's true. You don't feel anything, do you? Arwen too."

Arwen bit her nails anxiously.

"W-well. Is it perhaps that my training is insufficient…?"

"No. Our senses have become dull."

"Eh?"

Only then did Arwen realize that the sensation transmitted to her fingers when grabbing Sion was not detailed.

Tears welled up in Arwen's bewildered eyes. Clear tears trickled down her cheeks.

"…Am-I a fool?"

"There's no time to cry."

Sion slapped his own cheek and gripped his sword.

"Let's focus and break through, for now!"

Arwen rose to her feet. Sion was already dashing forward.

To avoid interference as much as possible, he fearlessly threw his body onto the building roofs.

Whoosh, whoosh!

Arwen also hopped around like a wild monkey. The effect of chasing away monkeys with stones while observing their movements had paid off.

Crash! Crash!

Iron bars shot out from beneath the roof.

"As expected."

They had all been waiting and setting traps. Though he didn't know how they dulled their senses, since it was the Fire Cult, it was reasonable to assume they had some secretive methods.

Boom!

A large crossbow, not an arrow, grazed above Sion's head.

Arwen also performed aerial acrobatics, dodging bows, spears, crossbows, and the like.

"Sion! Ahead!"

Arwen shouted. Ahead, Fire Knights holding weapons began to appear, waiting on the rooftops.

The entire temple had been turned into a stage for traps.

[They intended to confront us in the main church from the start.]

'It's annoying!'

Having decided on a direction, Sion swung his sword.

Screee—ch!

Then.

……A storm arose.

Boom-boom— Booooom!

Buildings were uprooted and flew away. Merely swinging it created gusts of wind. The screams of the Fire Knights echoed in the sky.

'Insane.'

Sion realized its power. The War Sword. He also realized how dangerous the Goddess of War's weapon was.

'The consumption is equally huge.'

The speed at which holy power disappeared was tremendous. Even without showing it, the burden on Achille must be increasing.

"Arwen! Let's break through quickly! Let's leave the rear to Kaia!"

"……Yes!"

Dash!

Sion turned 90 degrees. He could not keep fighting those blocking his path.

Every minute and second was urgent.

The longer the Fire Goddess took to absorb the fragment, the worse the situation would become.

"Where do you think you're going!"

"Burn the intruders!"

"Catch and kill them!"

Fire priests and knights gradually narrowed the encirclement. Layer upon layer of Fire Cultists multiplied like an ant army.

"Time—"

Sion landed on the ground, bending his knees deeply. Then, he kicked the ground with all his might and soared upward.

"What a waste!"

The Apostle of the Goddess of War soared into the sky.

The Fire Cultists simultaneously looked up into the air. They simultaneously let out suppressed gasps of admiration.

The next moment, realizing their mistake, they shut their mouths. The blood drained rapidly from their faces.

Three people intersected in the sky.

Sion and Arwen moving away.

And.

"I'll take over!"

"…Just get lost."

It was a girl furious due to the annoying mission.

The girl floating in mid-air stretched her hand toward the ground.

"Meaningless order to a world tangled in chaos."