#146

“Alright. Then the moment the swords are drawn, we fight until one of us dies?”

It was a chaotic duel.

No witnesses, no inspection of belongings.

But that was exactly what Pandemonium wanted.

‘Adding this and that to the duel conditions just makes it tedious.’

He felt that if a condition like “do not kill if the opponent admits defeat” were added and he couldn’t kill him, it would be fucking annoying.

It didn’t matter if Athanas used poison or some strange Divine Power given by Insanity.

He was confident he could win regardless.

This was because the Blessing of the God of War boasted absolutely broken performance in a life-or-death 1-on-1 duel.

‘If the laxity of the procedure becomes an issue, I’ll just handle it with the family’s power.’

He placed his hand on the hilt.

The moment he drew his sword, he ensnared Athanas with Telekinesis.

‘There was no condition saying I couldn’t use Divine Power, right?’

However, the Heretic Butcher cut through the strands of Telekinesis without even knitting his brows.

‘Fuck, his reaction speed is insane.’

Pandemonium raised his drawn sword to block a sharp attack aimed straight for his neck.

To be forced into a defensive posture from the start.

It was a bit humiliating.

He had forgotten because the image of him swinging the Divine Hammer was so strong, but the Heretic Butcher was fucking fast when he held a sword.

Pandemonium sank into thought while blocking the subsequent attacks.

‘How do I kill this guy?’

Athanas cut through the Telekinesis every time he used it, but Pandemonium noticed the reaction speed was gradually slowing down.

It was a difference of about 3 frames (In gaming, conventionally meaning 1/60th of a second), but…

‘With a gap like that, forget cutting him in half—I could cut him into a cute little star shape.’

What Pandemonium was pondering was a different matter.

‘Should I just cut his neck normally? No, I shouldn’t win too overwhelmingly.’

He had to make it look like he had no choice but to kill him.

I almost died too.

The situation had to be an excuse like that.

Only then would his brother be unable to resent him.

‘Where should I let him hit me?’

He groaned, pretending to struggle, while contemplating.

Where should he be injured so that the sight of it would take one’s breath away?

Maybe a long gash across the forehead?

That way, there would be a lot of blood relative to the severity of the injury…

“Oops.”

The tip of the blade, thrust out expecting to be blocked, pierced Athanas’s flank.

Pandemonium sighed inwardly.

‘Losing on purpose really isn’t easy.’

Surely he wouldn’t tuck his tail and surrender now.

The moment Pandemonium applied force to pull the sword out, Athanas moved.

‘Huh?’

Pandemonium understood the situation a beat too late.

Athanas grabbed the blade and deliberately pushed it deeper, pulling Pandemonium toward him.

And then…

‘Fuck.’

In an instant, the sword pierced through his heart.

The time it took for the blade to slice through the flesh was a mere 6 frames.

It was a speed that was absolutely impossible to react to while off-guard.

The one acting clumsy first had been the other party.

‘Isn’t this fucking broken?’

He clicked his tongue inwardly.

He let go of the sword hilt and stepped back.

‘Fuck, the War God doesn’t grant resurrection.’

The reason was that it lacked style if a general who lost a life-or-death duel just came back to life saying, “That was a good fight!”

Instead, a miracle equivalent to that had been arranged.

“Ha, fuck, this is so embarrassing.”

He pulled the sword out of his chest.

Blood flowed backward, and the ruptured heart reconnected.

Not a single drop of blood remained on the blade.

A ‘restoration’ ability limited to the physical body.

Had it been said that even if the head is cut off, one can survive if it’s picked up and attached quickly?

‘I feel like the one who insists they haven’t lost even after being decapitated in a duel would be even more pathetic.’

How could a human understand the aesthetics of an Othergod?

As Athanas pulled the sword from his flank, blood gushed from the wound.

He seemed to have avoided the artery, but without stemming the bleed, he would soon be unable to move due to excessive blood loss.

They had effectively swapped swords.

“…A power of a heretic.”

“You got proof?”

The healing was already complete; all that remained was the tear in his clothes.

Athanas pointed the sword, from which blood was dripping.

“If you repent before the Lord, I shall sheath this sword.”

“Ridiculous. You act as if you aren’t a heretic yourself?”

Self-defense or whatever, it was already too late, so he decided he had to kill him quickly.

Pandemonium thought.

‘There’s no way I’m losing.’

Since he was doing this after being caught off guard, it felt a bit like a defeat flag.

But this was a conclusion reached after an objective assessment of the situation.

Honestly, the moment he possessed a skill to recover from fatal wounds, it was a fight he couldn’t lose.

‘…Is that really true?’

Suddenly, Pandemonium noticed a sense of dissonance.

‘He’s been too calm for a while now.’

It’s normal to be at least slightly shaken when an opponent you thought you killed is perfectly fine.

Why isn’t Athanas surprised?

Even Insanity doesn’t know that there’s a ‘trait’ that prevents immediate death even if the head is severed.

No, even if he had found out and warned Athanas, being this calm makes no sense.

Unless he had already experienced all of this…

‘…Regression?’

There was no time to gather clues and verify the validity.

He assumed the worst.

What if Athanas had Regression?

Even if he won now, Athanas would find a way to counter that attack and come back.

Pandemonium thought.

What should I do? No matter how strong an attack I use, isn’t that just revealing another pattern? No, the one I’m about to use might already be a countered pattern. Then should I stall for time? Is there a way to prevent the use of Regression before that? Should I cut out his tongue? Blow off his head? I don’t know. I don’t know. What should I…

‘…Let’s tell brother.’

His brother doesn’t know.

If he knew Athanas had Regression, he would never go near him.

Because there’s no telling what he might do.

Look at him even now.

He’s probably charging in recklessly because he thinks this time will just disappear anyway.

What did this lunatic do to brother during the time that vanished?

If I just tell brother…

“Ha….”

At that moment, his body froze.

It was a strange sensation.

What was stranger was that Pandemonium knew what this sensation was.

‘This is…’

It wasn’t a power from the side of Order.

Instinctively, he circulated divine power within his body to break free from the state of rigidity.

His thoughts followed a beat late.

No way.

Just then, Athanas threw something into the air.

His eyes naturally drifted toward the object.

A blood-stained sphere.

With pieces of flesh still attached.

With purple pupils…

‘Skydes?’

And what followed was Athanas, hoisting the Divine Hammer.

“Ah.”

‘That bastard has a quick slot.’

That was the last thought Pandemonium had.

Crunch.

…The smell of blood wafted from afar.

It was so strong it made his head throb with pain.

‘Fuck, fuck, fuck.’

Without even considering how others would look, he called out to Pandemonium.

But the window stating he was still blocked continued to appear.

And when he arrived at the scene where they were fighting.

“…Athanas?”

At first, he thought he was just pounding the stone floor with a hammer.

But beneath it.

‘…What is that?’

“Fabio.”

Athanas looked back at him.

The sight of him drenched in blood from head to toe felt surreal.

If it were a score for special effects makeup, it would be about a 2.

How should he put it—he looked like someone who had just come back from a tomato festival.

‘Are tomatoes famous for being high in iron?’

Spinach is a vegetable famous for high iron content.

But it’s said that the belief that spinach is rich in iron was an error caused by someone misplacing a decimal point.

In reality, it’s at an ordinary level.

So, red tomatoes might have more iron than green spinach.

If so, this metallic smell might be coming from the tomatoes.

“What brings you here?”

Athanas, the tomato festival participant, took a step toward him.

He felt a pain as if someone were stabbing the back of his eyes with an awl.

He felt like he might shed a tear.

Is this a migraine?

“Pandemonium…”

Nothing pops up.

Nothing.

But it’s not strange that nothing pops up.

The System always neglects him.

“Pandemonium, Pandemonium, Pandemonium…”

Athanas said.

That it feels like he’s having a nightmare.

Then is this a nightmare?

It’s certainly a sight that cannot be called a pleasant dream.

Then it must be a nightmare.

What a strange dream to have.

“Fabio.”

Athanas puts down the hammer.

The smell of rusted iron approaches.

It takes his left hand.

“Why are you covering your eyes…”

“Aaaagh!!”

He tried to shake off that arm.

He felt like vomiting.

He felt as if his heart were about to leap out of his mouth.

“…Fabio.”

It eventually pulls his wrist.

The whole world is red.

Why…

‘Why is he smiling?’

What’s so funny?

Pandemonium was right.

That thing is the Heretic Butcher.

No, it’s something worse than that, wearing the skin of the Heretic Butcher.

Because a butcher, at the very least, doesn’t smile like that.

“Haha…”

“Fuck, why are you smiling?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m just a bit happy.”

“Happy…?”

What?

What is?

“Does it hurt a lot?”

He reaches out to stroke Fabio’s left eye area, then hesitates.

He seems concerned that some sticky liquid might get on him.

Fabio looks at his captured hand.

A red liquid is smeared on his palm.

His sense of smell isn’t that great.

There’s no way he could have smelled blood from so far away.

That means he had been shedding tears of blood all along.

This splitting headache too…

‘…Reliquary.’

His gaze shifts to the breastplate on Athanas’s chest.

As expected, it is drenched in blood.

Seeing that, he reaches a truth he does not want to acknowledge.

He knows what is inside.

“I won’t get hurt next time.”

No, that can’t be the answer.

If so, it would be strange that his head still hurts.

No way.

This is just a continuing nightmare.

You know, it happens often.

A dream that strangely connects to a previous one…

Athanas kisses the sphere made of insects.

“…I’m sorry.”

And then.

>> It’s a bit belated, but I’m really glad brother is a Happy God Player.

[Fuck, what. You mocking me?]

>> No, I’m serious. Honestly, I don’t have the confidence to beat brother, who is a Mother God Player.

‘Then what about now?’

…He probably lacks confidence in a different sense.

Confidence that he’ll lose.

[But even if I became a Mother God Player, I couldn’t play according to the Clip. I’d be a total scrub then.]

You have to eat bugs and create bug-humans and all that.

How can anyone do that while sane?

>> I don’t know. Wouldn’t you have also gained the mental fortitude to endure it?

[Ugh… that’s fucking disgusting.]

Could someone who changed like that even be considered “me”?

A lunatic who eats human flesh, gives birth to insects, and regards those grotesque monsters as children.

[Thinking about it that way, I’m really glad I’m a Happy God Player.]