By Zephyria 
※ This section contains content related to bloodshed, violence, and death.
I deeply cut the hand that kept reaching out to grasp both me and the water. Instead of blood, it shed water. The clear water, as if alive, reached out towards me again. Like branches growing from a large branch, smaller streams of water grew from the large ones.
The surprised cries of the Sylphs and the weeping of Undine filled the surroundings. I dodged the large branches and cut the small ones. The Oasis, with its red eyes, smiled white.
Yes, white.
A blinding white light burst from its body.
Could water from such a deep embankment overflow?
As the Oasis, armed with powerful Divine Power, thrashed about, the water level lowered. Still, because the water was so deep, there was nowhere suitable to escape. The Sylphs continuously leaped beneath my feet, supporting me with their bodies. I gladly stepped on them, rising higher and higher.
Reaching the highest point I could, I gripped the sword hilt with both hands.
And leaped down.
Dozens, hundreds of blows were exchanged rapidly.
Even as I parried and parried, it was impossible to block all the streams of water shot at me. My entire body felt numb, as if it had been thoroughly beaten.
Torn-up flagstones flowed like a river. Through the gaps where water and stone poured down, the Oasis whipped out water, elongated like a snake. Each time the azure stream collided with my sword, it shattered into white foam and cascaded down.
When would this thing finally come to its senses?
Looking at the Sun God or the God of Records, their bodies were not singular. I thought it wouldn’t matter if one of them was severely injured, so I hadn’t held back from the start. Yet, the Oasis acted as if it would never fall.
No matter how much I cut, its body remained whole, just as it was at the beginning. It was like flowing water. Even if I managed to cut off its right arm, it would reattach, and if I severed its left arm, it would grow back.
I even tried cutting the curse around its neck, from which Mana flowed like blood. But that black band was not a magic formula, but a wound. Its torn scales scattered in all directions, glinting. Its luminous fins were ripped off, fluttering like poorly washed laundry.
Seeing that there were parts of its body that wouldn’t heal, it seemed possible to defeat it, yet there was no clear method.
Water pillars shot up from all directions with loud pongs. If they were cannonballs falling from above, I could at least see and dodge them, but with water all around, water pillars erupting, I couldn’t gauge where or how an attack would come.
Swoosh.
The water surface churned.
Kkuh. A groan escaped my tightly shut lips. I couldn’t tell if its tail, which had struck me, had fallen from above or shot from the side. My vision darkened. I lost my bearings again. I didn’t know where or how I was hit; my left leg wouldn’t move properly. I strained my eyes, flailing my free arm to keep my balance.
If I could just get above the water, I could get help from the Sylphs.
It was then. I saw a white shadow approaching me. A hand? It was a hand. The Oasis’s giant hand was coming to grasp me. If I couldn’t escape its grip no matter how much I fled in the water, I thought it was for the best.
I waited until it was about to grasp me, then pressed the center of my palms together within its grip.
It was a battle of internal energy against internal energy. No, it was a battle of internal energy against Divine Power.
The divine body was a massive chunk of Mana. Therefore, I couldn’t induce Cultivation Deviation in it with my energy. However, I could swallow fragments of the god. I decided I had to make its power entirely my own.
Who was it that said Divine Power was a gentle energy? I couldn’t recall if it was the Magic Professor or the Theology Professor. Or perhaps it was Professor Douglas or Boulder.
Regardless, that statement was wrong.
The Oasis’s Divine Power was incredibly ferocious and volatile. It tried to sweep me away with violent waves. It violently pierced my Middle Dantian and pulsed within. As the energy that had completely filled my Lower and Middle Dantians had nowhere to go and swirled, blood trickled from my lips.
A colossal energy raged within my body, making it impossible to open my mouth. My vision flashed white. It turned red. It subsided to blue. The divine body holding me shook violently. It was then that I found a knot, a place where energy was gathering, within the divine body that held me.
Where my heart went, my sword followed.
Heart Sword.
A sound like the sky tearing apart.
Thunderous lightning struck from the heavens to the earth, cleaving the god before me. A divine punishment falling in one perfect line. It was the Emperor’s Sword that I had envisioned and drawn over and over.
Instantly, the Oasis’s entire body poured out like water from an overturned bucket.
I couldn’t believe the sudden silence.
By then, the water level had dropped to below my knees.
With a heavy heart, I stood and looked at the Oasis, now sprawled on the ground in a form resembling a human. The flagstones, which had been perfectly laid, were completely shattered and overturned by the fierce battle, and the god lying on the dirt no longer shone.
Did it die?
I dried my body, soaked in internal energy.
One step, then another. With each step, the overflowing water drained away somewhere. The water that had reached my knees receded to my shins, then my ankles, and finally only barely wetting the soles of my feet as it seeped into the ground.
If it didn’t come to its senses, I had to find its Origin and chase it far away. I remained tense, fearing the Oasis might suddenly rise and unleash water. Dragging my still-uncomfortable left leg, I approached it.
A familiar melody began to echo from afar.
It was a frequency beyond human hearing. Yet, I heard it.
It was a distance beyond my sight. Yet, I saw it.
Naturally, I raised my head. Monsters who had learned Demonic Arts and zombies who had died long ago were leaping into the drained pit. Thump, thump. Each scene of the monsters charging forward appeared vividly before my eyes.
Whether made human or monster, zombies were ultimately created by stitching corpses together, and even if they learned Demonic Arts, they still needed to breathe to live. Unless they were Mermaids, neither type of enemy could withstand the water pressure 400 meters below.
But now, with all the pooled water gone, it was different. Before the swarming zombie hordes could get any closer, I slung the limp body of the Oasis over my shoulder.
“Sylphs! Is anyone there?”
“Lord Wyber! Hyoo Senior!”
I shouted with my voice and cried out with my mind, but no one answered. Where had they gone? A sense of urgency washed over me. Nothing remained on the haphazardly dug-up flagstones. There were no Mermaid corpses, nor were my companions in sight.
What happened to Elvin, who was closest to me? Did Leon wake up? What about the others…
Ruben.
Would my child be safe?
He would be safe. That’s why I had surrounded Ruben with Battle Mages and excellent Knights.
In a fight between a Knight and a Mage, maintaining distance was paramount. In a battle between Mages, the speed of mental calculation and the number of spells known were crucial.
Then what about a battle between a Mage and a Sorcerer?
The great adversaries from the Central Plains primarily used wicked arts rather than swords. Therefore, I could only earnestly hope that the ones in this land were more cunning than my enemies.
This was the first time in my life I had ever run with such desperation.
I ran straight towards the southwest. At some point, the Communication Artifact, which had been malfunctioning, picked up a signal. As familiar figures in familiar clothing came into view, running towards me, a smile bloomed on my lips.
By then, they had returned and regrouped.
Among the members of Squad 1, Ruben’s lovely head popped up. Behind the Knights charging forward in a rush, I saw hundreds of monsters and zombies following. But I felt no fear at all. It was even amusing.
If Ruben and I are together, is there anything to fear?
Elvin, who approached, took the Oasis from my hands and carried it away.
The strange melody grew louder and louder. The frenzied monsters’ eyes, bloodshot and burning, turned a vivid crimson. Just like the Oasis earlier… The Oasis?
The third god’s eyes opened again. The bloody aura that filled its eyes was clear.
“Lord Brooks!”
I was about to tell him to throw it away immediately.
Elvin Brooks began to sing. His voice resembled the sound of the desert wind. It sounded like flowing water, like sand being swept away. A melody with a very low timbre, contrasting with the high notes of string instruments, pushed against each other.
The movement of the enemies, who had been running with heavy footsteps, slowed down just a little, just a tiny bit.
And.
“…Bai-Sak?”
The third god murmured in a dazed voice.
Would that really make it come to its senses? I had never imagined that a song could overcome a song. Since it seemed to have regained consciousness, I spoke my piece without giving it time for anything else.
“Where is your Origin right now? Hurry and put it back, and the other gods…”
However, the Oasis paid no mind to my words.
“Why are you so late? When did I call you, Nadi is… Nadi is.”
The Oasis began to weep. Seeing the torrents of water that poured out like a waterfall every time I cut its body, this sight felt chilling.
Elvin Brooks patted its back, which was as broad as a cauldron lid, with his hand. From his lips came the sound of wind striking an empty cliff.
Looking at the scene, a sigh escaped me. I wanted to pull out all of its hair to make it speak the necessary words, but I didn’t have the luxury.
Ruben’s resolute voice cut through the battlefield.
“All units, defensive formation 8!”
“Yes!”
Each squad gathered into small concentric circles. Then, those concentric circles drew close to each other like flower petals. This defensive formation, slowly rotating to the right and alternating between combat and rest, was the method for long-term survival on a battlefield where retreat was blocked.
Furthermore, it was a formation that could only be formed by trusting someone to open a path of retreat.
It would be I who would become their path.