Chapter 096: Celestial Manipulation, Nine Stars Align
Rapid footsteps echoed through the spiral staircase.
As Göll stared at the seemingly endless steps, her anxiety grew.
She had to hurry and warn Sister Brunhilde about the evil sorcerer's scheme—she had to stop it.
Suddenly, a speck of light appeared ahead. The exit was right in front of her.
In the blink of an eye, she emerged onto the highest corridor of the arena. Glancing to the side, she spotted Sister Brunhilde.
"Göll, brace yourself!"
The next moment, Göll was flying.
Flying?
"Huh?"
She froze—because she wasn't flying. Sister Hrist had grabbed her mid-sprint and thrown her.
"WAAAAAAAH, SIS-BRUNHILDE!!!"
She let out a tearful wail.
But when Brunhilde heard her cry, she didn't even glance her way—she just sidestepped.
So—
"THUD—!"
Göll's face made intimate contact with a nearby pillar, earning another pained shriek.
"Ow, that's so mean! Sister Brunhilde, why'd you dodge?!"
Rubbing her nose, tears welling in her eyes, Göll shot her elder sister a resentful glare.
Unfortunately, Brunhilde paid her no mind, instead staring at the arena with an ecstatic expression.
The arena?
And the spectators—they were acting strange too.
What were they all saying? Misfortune? Why misfortune?
"Ugh, seriously, why am I so unlucky too~"
Göll's face darkened, tears brimming as she began reminiscing about her own misfortunes.
Oh no, oh no! That evil onmyōji on the field just said he was going to eat—is he about to devour Zerofuku?!
This is bad, this is really bad!
"Sister Brunhilde, this is bad! Stop the match quickly, stop that evil from devouring Zerofuku!!!"
A slightly shrill voice escaped Göll's lips.
Yet her sister still paid her no heed.
"Sister, this is no joke. That guy has a scheme—he's going to break the seal of Amatsu-Mikaboshi!"
"Oh? Break the seal of Amatsu-Mikaboshi?"
The unfamiliar name made Brunhilde glance slightly at her sister.
"Who's that?"
"Ah? I'm not entirely sure myself, but in the history I just witnessed, Lord Susanoo mentioned it was an evil god who nearly wiped out their pantheon."
That was all Göll had heard, but the weight of those words was immense.
An evil god who almost annihilated Susanoo's entire pantheon—it was unimaginably terrifying.
"Nearly wiped out their pantheon?"
Brunhilde's expression hardened slightly.
For an evil god to nearly destroy its own pantheon spoke volumes about its power.
"That is interesting. But what does it have to do with me?"
"Huh?"
Göll was stunned. Wouldn't releasing such an evil god be disastrous? Why did her sister seem so indifferent?
"Sister, but that's—"
"Göll!"
"Yes!"
The sharp interruption made Göll snap to attention like a soldier responding to a drill instructor.
"Have you forgotten your position?"
"Wh-what do you mean?"
Göll was bewildered.
"Whose side are you on? Humanity's? Or the gods'?"
The question made Göll pause, then she understood why her sister was suddenly angry. Brunhilde didn't care about that wicked onmyōji releasing some terrifying evil god.
As long as humanity won, her sister wouldn't bat an eye at any evil or malevolent deity being unleashed.
Besides, whatever emerged would only give the gods a headache—something Brunhilde would love to see.
"I... I'm on humanity's side."
Göll fell silent after her reply.
For humanity's victory, as a trainee Valkyrie, she was prepared to pay any price, even her life.
But not all the gods were truly evil.
For example, there were gods like Brother Heracles, who also loved humanity.
So she couldn't accept innocent, benevolent gods losing their lives due to the chaos this duel might unleash.
"Wh-what is this?!"
The commentator Heimdall's exclamation snapped Göll out of her thoughts.
The black sun was absorbing Zerofuku's power.
No—it wasn't just absorbing his power. It was stealing his Misfortune as well.
Then Zerofuku's entire form was swallowed by the black sun, and another figure emerged: Ashiya Dōman.
Now shrouded in black flames, he looked utterly terrifying.
Upon closer inspection, the black flames seemed to writhe with countless cursed inscriptions. Was that... a curse?
This transformation was the result of absorbing too much Misfortune.
"Let's begin!"
Begin what?
Ashiya Dōman spread his arms wide, and the black sun behind him flashed once—blinding everyone.
When they recovered, the black sun had vanished, seemingly marking the end of the confrontation.
Yet, for some reason, a few gods felt uneasy, an inexplicable sense of dread creeping over them.
Suddenly, the restored daylight turned back into night in the blink of an eye.
Someone noticed—the sun in the sky had been abruptly obscured by something.
Then, night shifted back into a dim, partial daylight, repeating several times before they realized the cause: the moon had blocked the sun's rays, causing an eclipse.
What was going on? Was this anomaly caused by Ashiya Dōman?
Then, both day and night disappeared, replaced by a starry sky?
Even more terrifying, they saw a massive planet looming so close it felt like it was about to crash into them—
"That's Venus, right?"
Not only was Venus unnervingly close, but they also saw other celestial bodies approaching, aligning into a straight line?
It had to be a straight line—because someone noticed Ashiya Dōman holding a miniature solar system in his hands.
The eight planets and the black sun, all aligned in a single row?
Had this man performed astronomical manipulation beyond imagination?
A planetary alignment?
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