As he fell, Ymir watched the distant ground. Only when the scenery was obscured by clouds did he manage to shake off his sense of defeat.
"Mages... they’re something else."
He didn’t mind crashing into the ground. Wandering around in a ’partial’ state was tedious. It would be more fun to have a durability contest with the ground below.
That’s what he thought.
But the moment the boy appeared, the smell returned. The bloody, acrid scent unique to the battlefield.
Nothing was over yet. The hottest place in Heaven was still the Great World War.
"I can’t miss out on that."
He had to go to the Great World War.
Attempting a leap would weaken his ’partial’ power, but the scent of blood from the battlefield called to him. There was no need to hesitate.
Ymir inhaled deeply, swelling his body.
As oxygen was cut off, his skin hardened like porcelain. The color drained from his face, and his eyes lost their vitality.
His lips parted, and his pulse stopped.
Pop! His corpse exploded, and an identical Ymir emerged.
With a powerful leap, Ymir covered dozens of meters, embedding his fingers into the pillar supporting the battlefield.
"Huu, this is always so annoying."
For someone who pursued strength, the weakening of his power was an unbearable frustration. Especially since transitioning from one ’partial’ state to another required death, making it extremely unpleasant.
The reason he endured all this humiliation was simple: to witness the end of the battle with his own eyes.
Hanging from the pillar, Ymir pressed his feet against it and relaxed his shoulders. As he pulled his arms, his massive body defied gravity and surged upward.
-Life Art progress: 80%.
Shirone surveyed the Great World War. As he approached the entrance, Peope handed over all the memories she had gathered so far.
Shirone looked down at Rian, who was bleeding.
"Are you okay? Sorry I’m late."
"No. You’re not late. Go in and save the women."
Rian was in bad shape. He needed time to recover at least some stamina before he could return home.
Amy shouted. The emotions she had been holding back exploded, tears welling up in her eyes. She thought she had been holding up well, but deep down, she had been suffering.
"We’re out of time! Once the information is transmitted, it’s over!"
Shirone knew what her words meant. He was so angry that his fingertips trembled.
Throughout their time together, Shirone had never thought that Amy needed his permission for anything.
But in this situation, he finally realized it.
No one could treat Amy recklessly without his consent.
Canis emerged from Shirone’s shadow.
"What’s the situation? Did you find a way to escape? Is Ikael going to release the women?"
"So all this was for nothing?"
"Maybe. But from now on, I’ll handle it."
Shirone walked toward Baalv, but his gaze was fixed on Kariel beyond him.
"If you release the women now, I’ll leave peacefully."
"And what would that change? Destruction is inevitable. The final war will come, and all humans can do is wait for death."
"No. You can’t destroy us."
"I don’t know what basis you have for such nonsense. The power of Heaven is immense. If not for Ra, your world wouldn’t even exist."
"That might be true. But Ra is not a god."
It wasn’t a baseless claim or sophistry. Shirone truly believed it. And so did Miro.
-Shirone, a god isn’t necessarily a great being. They’re just the designer of the world.
When Miro had said those words, Shirone hadn’t understood at first. He thought it was the arrogance of an Unlocker who wielded scale magic, belittling the concept of a god.
But now, having uncovered the secrets of Heaven, he understood.
Miro had known all along. A being who considers themselves great cannot become a god.
There is only one God. The one who designed the world.
"Humans aren’t as foolish as you think. A being we can see, feel, and analyze cannot be a god! We will fight! If the final war comes, it will be Heaven that falls!"
Kariel’s expression twisted. It had been a long time since he had heard such blasphemy.
"This confirms it. Humans deserve to die. Baalv, execute them."
"It would be my greatest pleasure, Lord Kariel."
Baalv’s massive body began to stir. With each movement, nameless organs flailed meaninglessly.
Countless photons rose around Shirone. The tension in the vibrating light was terrifying, as if it would burst at the slightest touch.
As Baalv lunged at Shirone, a dozen photon cannons fired.
Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Pew! Bang!
Surprisingly, Baalv’s body was pushed back. A horrifying scream followed.
The photon cannons relentlessly pounded the massive body.
Insect legs snapped, and mollusk tentacles lost their elasticity, as if chewed by molars.
Baalv’s body was completely flipped over. Even in that state, the barrage of cannons pushed him toward Kariel.
Only then did Shirone stop the spell. It was an attack fueled by all the anger he had bottled up.
Yet, he felt no fatigue. Despite the increased power of each shot, he didn’t feel any exhaustion.
Canis, watching this, was in disbelief. Could a human really elevate the power of their magic to such a level in just a few hours?
On the battlefield, it wasn’t uncommon for someone to gain new insights at the cost of their life.
But Shirone hadn’t undergone a mental transformation. Every aspect of his being had uniformly improved.
’This can’t be. He can’t be this far ahead.’
Just a few months ago, when Canis had fought Shirone, the gap hadn’t been this wide. After losing to Shirone’s light magic, Canis had trained harder than anyone to surpass him.
But Shirone had moved even further ahead.
Why wasn’t he faltering? What was the source of his power?
Kariel spoke to the fallen Baalv.
"Enough playing around, Baalv."
His expression showed no sign of concern. Of course, Shirone’s magic was impressive for a human. By the standards of the divine, he would easily rank within the top 40%.
But that wasn’t enough to defeat an Arch Mara like Baalv.
By the laws of Heaven, even ten Shirones wouldn’t be enough to match Baalv’s might.
"Forgive me, Lord Kariel. It seems the Great World War might take some damage."
With Kariel’s approval, the ground began to shake. The countless organs that made up Baalv’s body writhed, reaching toward the ceiling.
"Kikiki! Awakening my precious experiments. You’ll regret this nightmare."