Editor : Amethyst00



'What… is this?'

Nyx's eyes were filled with confusion.

'Is this truly… a mortal?'

She had been consumed by the Calamity's Flame, and how much time had passed since then—she could not say.

Absorbed by Erebos, her consciousness had vanished entirely.

Yet for some reason, the will of Frozen Death had awakened once again.

The fall of the Calamity's Flame—

To the Frozen Death, it was a rare opportunity.

A chance to once more return the world to a state of eternal stillness.

To fulfill her deepest, most desperate wish.

When she regained consciousness, the world had changed.

Blasphemously, the residents of the lower realm had forgotten the grace of the gods.

It was necessary to remind the ignorant once again—

—of who their true master was.

That was how it should have gone…

Flash—!

A golden line split the air before her eyes.

CRAAAACK—!

The unmelting ice scattered to dust.

THWACK—!

Kar kicked off the ground.

With speed beyond comprehension, his sword carved dazzling arcs through the air.

The moment Nyx's ice sought to expand, Kar's blade filled the space first.

Her face hardened.

'Precognition? Impossible! That's something only a god could wield!'

What in the world had happened, for such a monster to exist as a mortal?

SLASH—!

Kar's sword tore through Nyx's body.

"You filthy beast dares—!"

Nyx's fury raged.

Tap—!

"Huff—huff—"

Kar landed, gasping for breath.

Even with complete mastery over his hypersense, keeping it at its extreme pushed his mental strength to the brink.

On top of that, to receive and process that information and move accordingly consumed a truly absurd amount of stamina.

Even Leo—second only to Kar in hypersense—wouldn't dare attempt it.

It was a realm of battle reserved only for Kar, whose technique and endurance had once earned him the title of War God.

But…

'I still… can't defeat her alone.'

All he could do was delay her.

Had the teachers and students of Azonia not been fending off the army of Styx, he wouldn't have lasted this long.

Kar stared down at his own trembling hands.

In this urgent moment, a certain figure came to mind.

'Valhar.'

The reincarnation of Dweno, The Divine Blacksmith—and a trusted advisor.

Kar recalled the sight of Valhar not long ago.

Compared to his previous life, he had grown stronger.

The fire he wielded was proof of his agony, his effort, his will to move forward after reincarnation.

When he saw that fire, Leah had been shaken.

But Kar had simply admired it.

'…I was complacent.'

He had resolved to finish off Erebos completely this time—for Kyle's sake.

And yet, he himself had not changed since his past life.

He had been standing still all this time.

'How pathetic.'

Perhaps, more than anyone, he had been intoxicated by the peace he'd never experienced before.

The Brave Aaron had lived a life untouched by peace.

His inborn hypersense had left him constantly afraid, forcing him to live a life closer to fear than anyone else.

That's why this peace he'd first encountered had captivated him so deeply.

But…

'That's just an excuse.'

He had never truly considered the one who gave him this peace.

Because of that—he'd grown complacent.

'I… will change.'

FOOOOM—!

The aura pouring from Kar's body began to refine itself.

'If the world calls me a Brave…'

His eyes gleamed with clarity.

'Then I will no longer stand unworthy of the title.'

He would become someone truly courageous.

'The most fearless beastman in the world.'

A hero who could summon great courage even when alone.

'I don't want to be devoured by fear anymore. And to do that…'

Kar met Nyx's eyes.

'I'll kill you.'

Flash—

Kar's eyes shone with a clear, unmistakable killing intent.

The moment their eyes met— Nyx felt a chill crawl over her.

A killing intent so strong it seemed to bind her body.

'This… this is something a being of the lower realm could emit?!'

It was dangerous.

This beastman's relentless potential caused even Nyx—an immortal—to feel something like death.

'I must eliminate him here and now.'

GOOOOOOO—!

The reach of Nyx's frost spread even wider.

At that moment—

Thunk—!

Her vision twisted. Nyx's face filled with shock.

This sword strike—was in another league.

Before she could even recognize it, Kar's sword had already slit her throat.

She couldn't even follow the blade with her eyes.

No—the moment of action didn't exist at all.

Only the result remained.

And Nyx knew better than anyone—

What that meant.

'…Authority?'

A phenomenon that occurred without any restriction when one willed it.

If death could touch her—she would have died just now.

Nyx stared at Kar in disbelief.

He, too, was staring down at his sword in confusion.

'Was it… unconscious instinct?'

Nyx didn't know.

She didn't know just how much of a coward Kar had once been.

That up until the moment of his death in his past life, he'd been so afraid of his friends dying that he never even bore hatred for Erebos—the one who killed him.

And so— She could not understand what it meant for that very coward to harbor killing intent.

'I must kill him. No matter what!'

As she watched Kar reach toward the realm of gods, Nyx's fear and tension reached their peak.

'I'll kill them all!'

Her eyes gleamed coldly, and an explosion of frost surged to break free—

FWOOSH—!

But golden fire rose, forming a massive wall.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!

In an instant, the golden flames were extinguished.

Overwhelmed by Nyx's frost.

At the center of Frozen Death's cold—

—a single dwarf stood.

'He blocked Frozen Death?! Just how many monsters are there in this era's mortal realm?!'

Nyx's expression twisted.

But regardless, the dwarf was surely dead.

Frozen solid—he would never rise again.

Crack—

"……!"

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK! BOOOM—!

"Hmph."

Valhar stepped out of the broken ice, exhaling lightly.

"Cold."

His dry remark sent Nyx's face into disbelief.

"How…?! That's unmelting ice!"

She stared at him, shocked, and Valhar replied calmly.

"True. This ice is quite similar to the Calamity's Flame."

He walked forward, parting the frost.

"But your opponent's unfortunate. My flame can resist that one."

He held up a palm—and golden fire roared forth.

"Ice melts before flame. I don't know what you are, but you and I don't mix well."

He wasn't wrong.

Dweno's golden flame had once held out even against the Calamity's Flame.

Though he had eventually been consumed and perished, the fact he could resist it at all was miraculous in itself.

So, it wasn't impossible for him to resist Frozen Death either.

"More importantly."

Valhar turned to Kar with surprised eyes.

"You're looking good."

To that, Kar nodded.

"I'm done hesitating."

"Good."

Valhar chuckled, then turned his gaze on Nyx.

"So? I got here because of the support call, but… what is that thing?"

"Seems like a fragment of Erebos. Not Erebos himself."

"How curious."

Even as he said so, Valhar summoned his battle axe.

Nyx's face twisted in horror as she saw it.

'There's nothing to gain by fighting those two monsters…'

With that conclusion, she snapped her fingers.

The demons of Styx vanished.

"Running away?"

Valhar raised a brow. Nyx spat her words with venom.

"Next time we meet—I'll crush every last one of you under my heel… you filthy vermin…"

WHACK—!

"Then get lost already. Spare us the cliché threats."

"I'll make your death as painful as possible, dwarf!"

With a small hand axe lodged between her brows, Nyx vanished with a howl of hatred.

Valhar folded his arms.

"So… what the hell was that?"

"She introduced herself as an evil god. Called herself the Frozen Death. Name was Nyx."

"Frozen Death… Sounds like she's Erebos's cousin or something."

"Another evil god… Nyx… hmm… where have I heard that name before?"

Until a moment ago, Kar had just thought she was another form of Erebos—but now that he thought about it, the name sounded familiar.

As he racked his brain, Kar's eyes widened.

"Ah! Kyle mentioned her once!"

"Kyle did?"

"Yeah! He said that in his world, there were multiple evil gods. Erebos was the one who devoured all of them. And this one… is a fragment split off from him. No wonder! I had heard it before!"

"I see. So then? How did Kyle tell you that?"

"Oh—oops! I wasn't supposed to say anything!"

Kar quickly clamped his hands over his mouth.

Valhar narrowed his eyes.

"I thought it was odd since you met Leah… Out with it. What are you hiding?"

With a sigh, Kar opened his mouth.

"That evil god just now was from a parallel world…"

"You mean Kyle was summoned here? I see."

"Wait, I didn't finish explaining yet…?"

"If you've already said 'parallel world,' then there's nothing left to explain. I get it."

"What?! Even though I listened to Kyle explain it over and over, I still don't get it—how do you understand it right away?!"

"Simple."

"Simple?"

"You're an idiot."

At that, Kar looked utterly heartbroken.