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*****
Joining the God of Combat in the fray was the Earth Mother, a trump card that gave the God of Combat absolute confidence in his victory.
Even if the Evernight Goddess had been feigning her state and had already successfully absorbed the Death's Uniqueness and Beyonder characteristics, she would hardly be able to exert her full strength while fending off the simultaneous assault of three True Gods. With himself and his mother, the Earth Mother, joining forces in the attack, victory was a certainty.
"You've celebrated far too early!"
Upon seeing the movement, a flash of cunning suddenly crossed the Evernight Goddess's face. She swiftly withdrew all her power to parry the God of Combat's strike.
However, the Earth Mother, who had been lunging toward her, abruptly shifted her power. Every ounce of her lethal intent was suddenly redirected entirely toward the God of Combat.
It was a backstab that the God of Combat had never anticipated in his wildest dreams.
"Mother?"
"Be a good child. Do not resist... Mother loves you!"
Lilith shed her disguise, revealing her true appearance and the iconic fangs of a Sanguine. Her subsequent attacks grew even more ferocious.
"It's you!"
Seeing the Earth Mother reveal her true form, the God of Combat finally realized he had been ensnared in a scheme that had lasted for millennia. That was not his mother at all; it was the Ancestor of the Sanguine, Lilith.
In the Second Epoch, she was supposed to have self-destructed after the betrayal of his father, the Giant King, and the Elf King—an explosion that had claimed the lives of the King of Demonic Wolves, Flegrea, and the Mutant King, Kvasirton.
He never imagined she was still alive, let alone that she had collaborated with the Evernight Goddess to kill his mother, the Earth Mother, and had maintained this masquerade until this very moment to strike.
In a fit of righteous fury, the God of Combat mobilized every fragment of his power to resist. However, he was a True God of only a single pathway, while both Lilith and the Evernight Goddess possessed dual pathways.
Furthermore, the initial sneak attack from Lilith had already left him severely wounded. He couldn't even manage to self-destruct before being systematically cut down by the two goddesses working in tandem.
With his death, his Divine Kingdom began to collapse, causing the barrier left by the Original Creator to weaken instantaneously.
Witnessing this from beyond Earth, the Outer Deities of the cosmos began to stir with excitement, their forms undulating through space. They watched with the singular hope that the True Gods of Earth would tear each other apart until another one or two fell. If that happened, they could finally breach the barrier and descend upon Earth to scavenge to their hearts' content.
Meanwhile, the Lord of Storms, the Eternal Blazing Sun, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom—though stunned by the fall of the God of Combat—did not halt their advance.
They surged as one toward the Uniquenesses and Beyonder characteristics that were now left unguarded by the Evernight Goddess. During this scramble, the three hindered and clashed with one another, locked in a fierce contest.
After all, whoever could seize the Uniquenesses of the Hanged Man and the Visionary, and claim the first Blasphemy Slate, would essentially become the second Ancient Sun God.
"The time is right."
Seeing that the moment had ripened, George suddenly snapped his eyes open.
"You dare try to snatch my spoils of war? You're courting death!"
Feigning a mask of pure rage, George utilized a 'Grafting' to redirect the trio's powers outward. Then, in one swift motion, he gathered the Uniquenesses and Beyonder characteristics of the Visionary and the Hanged Man.
"Roselle, head to the Divine Kingdom of the God of Steam and Machinery! I'll handle these three!"
With a thunderous shout, George—who had already integrated the Uniqueness and characteristics of the Error pathway—split into three avatars on the spot. Tucking away the Sefirah Castle and the Chaos Sea, he flew toward the respective Divine Kingdoms of the three Orthodox Gods.
At this moment, Grisha, who had regained consciousness but possessed only the strength of a Sequence 2, turned pale. He muttered under his breath:
"This is going to be trouble. I hope he remains rational. We cannot afford to lose another True God."
With the fall of the God of Combat, the Original Barrier was already hanging by a thread. If George and Roselle were to take down another Orthodox God, the barrier would likely fail to hold back those Outer Deities. Unless George and Roselle could quickly plug the gaps, the Outer Deities would not miss such an opportunity.
"Adam, Amon... it's time we settled our accounts!"
By now, Augustus I and the others had recovered from their shock and blocked the path of Adam and Amon. They sought vengeance for Augustus III.
Adam and Amon shared a brief glance and chose not to entangle themselves with Augustus I. They swiftly disengaged and fled from Luen. Although they were currently reduced to Sequence 2 strength, their former status as Great Old Ones and True Gods ensured they had little trouble evading a pursuit by Sequence 1s.
In the "Perfection" Divine Kingdom of the God of Steam and Machinery, the crowned Roselle was locked in a fierce battle with a muscular man wearing glasses.
Though Roselle had only just been resurrected, his history of traversing three pathways meant he could exert more than just the powers of the Black Emperor; he could also wield the abilities of a Mentor and an Imperator of Knowledge. Furthermore, he possessed an intimate understanding of the God of Steam and Machinery's abilities, ensuring he was not at a disadvantage.
The stalemate didn't last long, however, as the Evernight Goddess arrived with Lilith to provide support. Together, they quickly subdued the God of Steam and Machinery.
On the other side, George's main body and his two avatars had reached the Divine Kingdoms of the Eternal Blazing Sun, the Lord of Storms, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom.
"This is a misunderstanding! Continuing this fight will only hasten the coming of the Apocalypse!"
Because George had previously defeated the half-Great-Old-One Grisha and the True God Amon, and had now absorbed Amon's Uniqueness and characteristics, the three Orthodox Gods felt a deep sense of trepidation—even when facing a George split into three.
"If you and Roselle are willing to stop now, you shall be the eighth and ninth Orthodox Gods. We can face the Apocalypse together!"
"That's not what you were saying when you were trying to steal my things just now," George replied, uninterested in small talk. "Besides, I believe that if I absorb your Uniquenesses and characteristics, it will be much easier to fight off the Apocalypse."
George didn't waste another word and moved straight to the attack. He refrained from using extra magic, relying solely on the authorities of the Seer, Door, and Error pathways. He calibrated his output to just barely suppress the three gods, keeping his integrated strength at the level of a Great Old One.
He knew the Outer Deities watching from outside the barrier were of similar caliber; he didn't want to scare them off with a display of power that was too overwhelming just yet.
Just as George was finishing off the three gods and preparing to extract their Beyonder characteristics, the Evernight Goddess arrived, escorting the captured God of Steam and Machinery alongside Roselle and Lilith.
"George, you cannot kill them now!"
Her concerns mirrored Grisha's. If even one more Orthodox God fell, the Outer Deities outside might break in. This was why she had only sealed the God of Steam and Machinery rather than executing him.
"Seal their power first. Wait until I have absorbed the God of Combat's Uniqueness and merged with the power of the River of Eternal Darkness. Once you and Roselle have established your Divine Kingdoms in the sky to replace theirs, then it will not be too late to kill them!"
She believed it would be safest to wait until they could also break the Celestial Worthy's seal on the Western Continent and secure all the Sefirot.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
George gave the Evernight Goddess a quick wink. He ignored her suggestion and proceeded to directly extract the Uniquenesses and Beyonder characteristics of the four Orthodox Gods.
His goal was precisely to weaken the Original Barrier. He wanted the Outer Deities to invade in full force so he could catch the "turtles in a jar."
As for the four Orthodox Gods, he didn't truly kill them; he simply demoted them back to Sequence 2.
(End of Chapter)