Chapter 099: An Explosion That Shook the Stars
Originally, everyone had been discussing just how terrifying this "Demon Star" [Venus] was and whether it was truly safe.
Especially right when Heimdall was about to reassure them—a streak of light plummeted from the sky.
Instantly, everyone, including Heimdall, fell dead silent.
There were many stray meteorites and such floating in space, so it wasn't unusual for them to fall onto Venus like shooting stars.
But ordinary meteorites wouldn't trigger a reaction from the barrier.
Yet the streak of light that had just struck it violently agitated the barrier, causing it to emit a blinding radiance.
The impact also blasted a massive hole through Venus's atmosphere—far denser than Earth's—allowing a much clearer view of the barrier and the planet's surface.
So, everyone could see—unless they were idiots—that this was clearly an attack on the barrier.
And contrary to Heimdall's assurances, the barrier wasn't entirely safe. After being struck, it flickered unsteadily like a faulty lightbulb, making everyone uneasy.
So, what exactly had attacked the barrier?
The camera zoomed in, magnifying the object—was that… a spear?
And was that a skull impaled on it?
"Sister Brunhilde, th-that spear… it looks like…"
Göll stammered, doubting her own eyes.
"Don't doubt it. It's exactly what you think it is."
Brunhilde confirmed it—that spear was the very one Odin had thrown.
Was Odin trying to destroy the barrier?
Of course not. It had been exploited.
She glanced at the chief god, whose expression was particularly dark—so dark it secretly amused Brunhilde.
Several other chief gods were also questioning him about the situation.
It seemed about eighty percent likely that Ashiya Dōman had outmaneuvered him, causing the spear to fly here—probably to strike down the physical remains of Ashiya Dōman in the real world.
But to destroy that body, the barrier had to be breached first.
Crack!
Oh no—the barrier had cracked.
The next second, with a sound like crash-smash-bang, the barrier shattered like glass.
A barrier that even Lord Zeus at full power couldn't destroy—had been obliterated in one strike by Odin's divine weapon?
This wasn't because Odin was stronger than Zeus, but because of the unique properties of Odin's weapon.
The spear plummeted towards the ground once more, piercing through Ashiya Dōman's body again before vanishing, its duty fulfilled.
At the same time, something began to rain down from the sky—countless talismans, the very ones Ashiya Dōman had used.
Under normal circumstances, these talismans would have been nothing more than ordinary paper, devoid of any special power, merely inscribed with runes.
Without an infusion of energy, they were just sheets of paper.
But at that moment, Ashiya Dōman's pierced body and the skull left behind reassembled, no longer headless.
In the next instant, endless darkness erupted from the hollow sockets of his eyes and his gaping mouth.
The moment the talismans touched the ground, the earth itself began to warp, as though the paper was melting into it.
The entire ground writhed like a swamp, then took shape—forming countless puppets?
These were the very same chibi-style puppet bombs Ashiya Dōman had deployed in the third round of the final battle between man and god.
The sight of this vast army of self-destructing puppets made countless onlookers gulp in fear.
Among them, one stood out—gigantic, towering like a mountain, encasing Ashiya Dōman's remains within.
All of them suddenly raised their heads, gazing at the sky as if locking eyes with the distant stars and the gods beyond.
Then, with smiles that seemed both absurd and infuriated, their bodies began to glow.
In an instant, everything was swallowed by blinding white light.
As the view pulled back, the Demon Star's surface could be seen from the void of space, where a cataclysmic explosion shook the planet itself.
The colossal dust cloud from the explosion was swiftly devoured by a terrifying vortex of darkness erupting from within.
Within that vortex, the gods glimpsed spectral figures—ghoulish wraiths and monstrous entities—their murderous intent transcending the void, sending chills down the spines of countless deities.
Then, as if disrupted by interference, the image abruptly vanished.
At that moment, the entire arena fell into dead silence.
"Boom—!"
A resounding impact echoed as the entire coliseum trembled, drawing all eyes toward the source of the disturbance.
It was Zeus, who had merely struck his staff against the ground.
"What are you all panicking for? Are you afraid? Since when have the gods become so spineless? Has too much peace erased the violence and bloodlust from your hearts? Turned you all into weak sheep?"
His words only deepened the silence among the gods.
Then, one by one, their shoulders began to tremble—before they erupted into roars.
"Impossible!"
"If they want war, then war it is!!!"
"The outcome from years ago remains unsettled—this time, we'll settle it once and for all with that bastard!"
"War! War! War...!"
The gods had transformed into war fanatics, terrifying the human spectators.
However, full-scale war wouldn't break out immediately. The things unleashed wouldn't be foolish enough to attack right away.
Imprisoned for so long, most of their physical forms had been destroyed, leaving only their souls—now a far cry from their prime strength.
So, these creatures would undoubtedly lie low for a while before beginning their rampage.
And now, the final battle between humans and gods continues as usual!
Fearless, everything proceeds normally—any obstacle to this interesting confrontation will be crushed!
...
Weng Xingshen bathed his body in the long-lost sunlight.
Of course, direct sunlight would be fatal to humans, especially since this was Venus, and its upper atmosphere had already been blown away.
Finally free, he was naturally here for revenge—against Susanoo and the others.
A group of despicable, shameless bastards who had taken everything from him.
Hmm?
Heh heh, so this is how it is!
Zerofuku, was it? Trying to create something to replace him?
But he was originally the god who governed fortune and misfortune!
And this so-called Zerofuku was, in a sense, also part of him. So after breaking free from the seal and no longer being suppressed, everything about Zerofuku had returned to him.
What a pitiful creature, also toyed with by Susanoo.
Moreover, he had learned something even more interesting.
So, the final battle between humans and gods, huh?
But he was a bit puzzled—had that onmyoji broken the seal here purely to cause chaos?
It didn't seem like that was the only goal.
"Hmm? What... what is that?"
"Ugh—"
Some people stared in shock at the sky, prompting Weng Xingshen to open his closed eyes. He froze in disbelief.
Had humanity already advanced to this extent?
An enormous metallic construct hovered in the sky above.
Upon closer inspection, it didn't seem to have come from outer space but rather from another dimension.
Correction—the sky of another dimension had connected with this one, allowing the colossal object from that space to become visible.