Chapter 38: The Celestial Prison-Gate

Cross Tanathus broke the dimension and approached Seiya. There was no way to escape.

However, a ray of light appeared under this helpless situation.

「…Wait right there, demon. 」

I heard a dignified voice of a god that stood in front of Tanathus. Gods and goddesses of the God’s realm surrounded that evil monster in the courtyard.

「I don’t know how you managed to come to the God’s realm… 」

「Demons aren’t allowed to come to a place like this. 」

「Evil, disappear! 」

Whoa! It was Frala the Goddess of Wind, Orlando the God of Thunder and Kieron the Goddess of Ice! They were famous gods that went against that demon! We were so lucky! Maybe they’ll help us!

Just as I expected, they fought the demon with confidence! Frala casted wind magic, Orlando invoked a thunder and Kieron hit with an ice stake…But Tanathus walked towards us as if nothing happened.

「The…The attacks didn’t work on him…! 」

Nor fire, nor wind, nor thunder, nor ice was having any effect on this thing!?

「Hey…Lisutan… 」

Elle spoke to me with an uneasy voice. I wanted to say “it’s going to be okay”. But right now, I didn’t have the confident to even smile. I was hesitant to reply to her…

「Lista! Hey, Lista! 」

Mash forcibly shook me.

「Look over there! Master is…! 」

「Eh…? 」

Mash and Elle were pointed their fingers at Seiya. Then, I noticed that Seiya was running away extremely fast.

「…Ah!? That…That bastard!! Stop right there!! 」

We chased after Seiya. Apparently, he was running towards the temple. This reminded me of the other times when he ran away as well!

「Don’t you dare run by yourself!! Damn you!! 」

Even so, Seiya continued to run without stopping. When he reached the temple and opened the doors, he jumped inside.

I was out of breath when I reached temple’s entrance. When I looked back, I noticed that Tanathus repelled the gods’ magic powers and was approaching us from behind.

「Ah!! Lisutan!! He’s almost here!! 」

「Hu…Hurry! Let’s get inside now! 」

We rushed inside and closed the door. I heard a strong stepping sound on the stairs as soon as I came in. I looked up and I saw that Seiya was running up the stairs that led to the second floor. The second I tried to follow him; I heard a huge “bang” noise coming from the doors. The doors opened widely and the god of death stepped inside.

「Oh god!! That thing even entered the temple!! 」

Thankfully, the Gatekeeper Gods stood near the door and blocked the path of the demon.

「Demon, how dare you! Demons are absolutely forbidden in the sacred temple! I am the Fist God Arx! My unbeatable fist will crush you into pieces…Gyaaaa!!」

「Don’t underestimate Arx and the rest of us, demon! I, the God of Sumo, will be your opponent as well! I’ll show you my divine battle skills through my hands…Gyaaaa!!」

The gods in the temple challenged Tanathus to a fight. Of course, they won’t be able to succeed in defeating that thing, but at least, they managed to buy us some time. I ran up the stairs rapidly…

「Seiya! Please wait! 」

Somehow, I managed to reduce my distance from Seiya.

「He is only targeting me. You guys should hide somewhere. 」

「But, we can’t just leave you alone. 」

Even after arriving to the second floor, Seiya did not stop running through the hallway. A muscled man with a beard appeared right in front of us. The Swordsman God Celseus was carrying a big cake on a plate.

「Hey! So, you came back again! Look! I baked a new cake! I made it with a lot of effort! The cake looks so yummy delicious. 」

「I don’t need it. Move away. 」

Seiya was moving so rapidly that he pushed the cake on Celseus’ face. Celseus screamed, as he was “defeated” on the spot. Mash, Elle and I ran after Seiya. We passed by cream-faced Celseus as the remains of his cake fell on the ground. (Editor: Noooo such disrespect of Celseus, damn you Seiya)

It…It was too pitiful!! Next time he bakes a cake, we’ll definitely eat it…!!

Just when I was immersed on my thoughts, a well-known goddess appeared on our pathway.

It was the Goddess of War Adenela. She spotted us on the way and she started to smile with crazy eyes. Her face looked unhealthy because her expression was a bit disturbing.

「Se…Se…Seiya…! You…You came back…! 」

Seiya stopped right in front of Adenela and talked.

「Adenela. Stop the thing that is coming after me. If you do it, I’ll play with you next time. 」

「Eh…Re…Re…Really…!? 」

Adenela drew her sword from her sheath. On that moment, I looked behind and I saw that the evil was coming towards us.

「Se…Seiya…I…I…will protect you! 」

She took a unique stance as if she was drawing a circle.

「I…I will show you…! I’ll…show…my true…consecutive gunshot sword…!?」

She jumped right at the approaching Tanathus!! The consecutive shots were so fast that it created an illusory image of several swinging swords!! It was so fast that it exceeded the technique that Seiya showed before! She cut Tanathus’ body in an instant!!

…Oh!? As expected of that technique’s creator!! It had an amazing speed and power!!

However, Tanathus was divided every time she cut with the continuous gunshot sword! Two bodies became four, four bodies became eight, eight bodies became sixteen, sixteen bodies became…

I shouted loudly to Adenela.

「No, it’s splitting too much!! Stop it!! 」

But Adenela continued to slay the opponent. Amidst that chaos, she gazed at me with a troubled face.

「This…thing…can’t…be stopped… 」

Seiya touched my shoulder.

「It’s useless. As expected, she won’t be able to defeat it. Let’s escape. 」

So he expected her to fail! Anyways, we tried to run away from Adenela’s fight with Tanathus. When I looked back, I could see that the temple corridors were filled with Tanathus’ remains from Adenela’s slashes. After a while, the remains were sucked into the center of one part of the body. The god of death merged into the main body once again. Tanathus resumed his pursuit.

…Even Adenela, who is the Goddess of War, failed to inflict damage on that thing!! What…What should we do!?

After running through the long corridor, Seiya ran up the stairs leading to the third floor.

「Seiya!! You can’t run forever like this!! 」

I was being chased by an invincible demon. My head was panicking excessively.

「Ah!! C’mon!! What are we going to do!! 」

Seiya looked back at me when I yelled deplorably.

「Calm down a little. Lista. 」

「It’s impossible!! You said it yourself, don’t you remember!? You said “I have no idea how to win”!! How can I calm down in a perilous situation like this!? 」

Even if Tanathus was chasing us, Seiya spoke with his usual bored tone that never changed.

「I certainly said “I have no idea how to win”. But I already knew how to “deal with an enemy that we don’t know how to win”. 」

「…Eh? 」

「Her hobby must be drawing. Regardless of her appearance, it seems. 」

「Ah? What are you talking about? Drawing what? 」

「That person must be drawing a scene on the temple’s roof because that’s where the entire heavenly world can be seen.」

「But who? 」

Before I knew it, we ran through the whole long stairs. Seiya reached the door at the very end.

「Li…Lisutan! Mister Seiya! I can’t run anymore! But I’m almost catching up with you all!」

It was almost simultaneously when Elle spoke loudly from behind and when Seiya opened the door.

As soon as he opened the door, a strong wind blew in and shook my hair. We were at the top of the temple and I saw a stunning view of the God’s realm. I noticed that a goddess was sitting on the gently inclined stone roof.

「That person is…! 」

Just as Seiya said, her hobby was indeed drawing but it was a hobby that didn’t suit that person.

The goddess Valkyrie, who was wearing just a chain to cover her cheat and lower body, had a paintbrush on her hand that seemed to belong to an oil painting. Valkyrie was so concentrated on her drawing that she didn’t notice our presence.

「In other words, Seiya!! You wanted the strongest goddess in the God’s realm to fight against Tanathus!? 」

「That’s right. But given her hastily personality, she wouldn’t fight against that demon even if I asked her properly. So… 」

The door opened and Tanathus jumped to the roof. Seiya didn’t run anymore and challenged the demon. Tanathus released his extended cross. Seiya looked back and shifted his location. Seiya awaited for the attack until the last minute. He barely managed to dodge the offensive strike, but the long extended cross hit the oil painted drawing that Valkyrie had on her hands and was immediately destroyed!

「Great. It went as intended. 」

Seiya spoke with a low voice.

Oh my god!! He purposely let Tanathus destroy the drawing!?

「…This is…a joke…right? It was…almost completed… 」

The cross that broke her drawing shrank in size and returned to its owner, the god of death. She gazed at demon-shaped offender who broke her unfinished drawing. A great silver aura started emitting from Valkyrie’s body when she stood up.

「You bastard!! What the hell do you think you are doing! I will destroy every inch of you! You bastard!!」

The goddess’ speech was so aggressive that I forgot for a moment that she was, in fact, a goddess from the heavens.

「…Here. Stay away from them. 」

Seiya invited Mash, Elle and I to the edge of the roof. After we walked to where Seiya was standing still, I looked back to know what happened and I was startled. Valkyrie was already by Tanathus side with zero distance between them! She grabbed the head of Tanathus without hesitation!

…That was…fast!! When did she…!?

「You damn underling…! I’ll break you into pieces…! 」

The fearsome aura that surrounded Valkyrie’s body immediately increased in quantity. Soon, that incredible force concentrated on her right hand that grabbed Tanathus’ head!

「Destruction Operation Method the First…“Shattered Break”…! 」

Oh!! A destruction technique!? Somehow, that sounded pretty amazing!!

…Nonetheless. Nothing happened. Eventually, Tanathus altered his body like a fog and literally vanished away. After the release of Valkyrie destructive attack, that demon appeared and materialized once again.

「What’s up with this bastard…a ghost huh? ‘Kay, bring it on! Then, I’ll… 」

Valkyrie put her hands on the chain that wrapped around her chest.

「Destruction Operation Method the Fourth…“Astral Break”…! 」

Valkyrie’s chain transformed like a terrifying snake that entangled Tanathus in the process!

It…It made sense! That was a destruction technique to destroy ghosts! Formidable! She could deal with any enemy based on that skill alone! I bet this will bring us victory…!

However! The black aura that came from the body of Tanathus shattered the wrapped chain in an instant! Valkyrie collapsed because the broken chain was connected to her chest!

*screams* Eh!? It didn’t work!! Why was the Goddess of Destruction’s skills meaningless against that thing!?

With this, I could only feel despair.

The strongest goddess in the God’s realm couldn’t defeat that demon…! That thing was a perfect life form without weaknesses that transcended everything…! There was nothing in the three thousand worlds that would be able to defeat this unbelievable enemy…!

*bizarre laugh*

Suddenly, Valkyrie began to laugh. And then, after laughing for a while, she turned her face around. She was tremendously enraged. She spoke with an awfully red face…

「I have an order!! Isister!! 」

She shouted with an enormously loud voice that pierced through the heavens.

Order! She intended to release her suppressed divine power!

Soon Valkyrie’s aura changed from a normal silver to a dazzling silvery. It seemed that the Great Goddess Isister granted Valkyrie’s request.

…Just how much power did she receive with that order…!?

I saw Valkyrie’s skills using my clairvoyance ability…and I was speechless.

The Goddess of Destruction Valkyrie

Level – 999

HP – 999999999

MP – 999999999

Attack – 999999999

Defense – 999999999

Agility – 999999999

Magic – 999999999

Potential – 999999999

Resistance – Fire, Wind, Water, Thunder, Ice, Earth, Holy, Darkness, Poison, Paralysis, Sleep, Curse, Instant Death, Abnormal Condition

Special skills – Status Limit Breakthrough

Skills – Destruction Operation Method

Personality – Fearless

What’s up with this status! So, this was the strongest power of the God’s realm!!

Seiya also saw her ability value. He nodded right next to me.

「Yes. She doesn’t compare to the other gods. Well, a god should originally be something that is far beyond the human knowledge. 」

I’ve never seen a status that broke through the limits! Still, the opponent was a legendary monster that didn’t get damaged by any attacks! On the other hand, what kind of power will the Goddess of Destruction use on that unbeatable demon!? We were holding our breaths as we were watching the fight closely!

Valkyrie took a deep breath. Then, she put her left hand lightly on her right wrist as she faced Tanathus straight on. Soon, an overwhelming aura that swallowed the entire God’s realm started to diverge!

「Take this bastard…! Destruction Operation Method the Final…“Valhala Gate”…!」

I thought that something would be coming out from her hand. But I was wrong. A huge gate appeared above Valkyrie’s head as if it came out of nowhere. At the top of the old-looking gate was the face of a goddess made of plaster.

…Was that…a summoning magic!? I bet she was trying to summon something from that gate!!

A black door, that was not a lattice-like door, appeared on the gate. I couldn’t see the inside because of that door. However, eventually that door started to open slowly.

I was shocked when I saw what was inside.

Inside there was a figure wrapped in a dark robe that held an iron holy cross. It was the god of death Cross Tanathus.

Mash and Elle raised their voices in astonishment.

「*screams* Eh!? How!? Why is Tanathus in there!? 」

「Don’t tell me that he split up in half from the main body!? 」

However, there was no other Tanathus around. There was only one Tanathus and it was inside that gate. That demon must be the one that fought against Valkyrie until now!

「What…What on earth is that technique…!? 」

As soon as I murmured, the goddess of plaster on the top of the gate opened the eyes. The face of that goddess, that resembled a supernatural creature, dripped bright red blood from the opened mouth.

*eccentric laugh*

A creepy laugh was heard. It sounded like it crawled right from the bottom of hell. That disturbing-looking goddess, who laughed like crazy, was bleeding excessively from the mouth. Soon, it started to bleed from the eyes as well.

「That thing is so scary!! 」

I almost wetted myself.

Tanathus tried to crawl out of the gate, but the black door gradually closed with a creepy laughter. Countless of needles were installed outside the door as they pierced Tanathus without mercy.

Although Tanathus was always unresponsive to any magic or attack, when those needles pierced through the door, we heard a crackling sound as if bones were being broken.

*screams*

Suddenly, we heard Tanathus’ voice screaming in distress through the open cavities on the door that the needles pierced through…

*agonizing screams*

I thought the god of death was just a lifeless form with no emotions. And yet, it screamed painfully. Tanathus continued to scream loudly…

*excruciating pain*

An amusing smile appeared on the bloody mouth of the plaster goddess.

*smashing sound*

Then, a heavy sound echoed as the gate closed completely. Soon, the borders of the gate became transparent as if they were disappearing. Before long, the whole gate disappeared as if it melted away.

Everyone was at a loss of words. Yet, Valkyrie spoke with confidence.

「The moment the gate is invoked, it will swallow the target automatically. It will trap the enemy inside, and then it will attack it directly and painfully. Last but not least, it will destroy it completely. It’s the absolute destruction technique…The Valhalla Gate. 」

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If you can’t beat the enemy, run until you find someone who can.

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