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Chapter 243: Federica. (2)

[Hmmm.]

The Tower Master stood on the roof of the Magic Tower, gazing into the distance.

Beyond the horizon where he was looking lay Federica\'s temple.

"Are you still worried? If you\'re that uneasy, instead of just sending your regrets, why don\'t you go there yourself?"

It was the Tower Master\'s apprentice, Elian, who spoke.

The Tower Master replied indifferently.

[You know that\'s impossible.]

"Well...," Elian conceded.

The Tower Master was currently in the Magic Tower.

But that didn\'t mean he was idly resting.

While his true self was here, numerous dolls were scattered across the continent, acting on his behalf.

If it weren\'t for him, the chaos across the continent could have been twice as severe.

"Then stop looking and forget about it. Didn\'t you already judge that there wouldn\'t be any problems? You\'re not an old man worrying about his grandchildren left near the water, so what are you doing?"

[You\'re young and speak harshly. But… you\'re not wrong.]

Ketal would be able to handle the situation, whether by fleeing or using force.

Given his personality, the problem wouldn\'t spread outside.

Yet, something still felt off.

The Tower Master\'s instincts were warning him.

He knew he couldn\'t just sit back and watch.

\'...Maybe I should go and check.\'

Just as the Tower Master was about to make a decision—

The world trembled.

A wave from beyond the horizon rippled across the entire world.

It was the surge of a power so high and mighty.

Most people wouldn\'t even realize that such a wave had occurred.

Only those qualified to sense it, those who had reached a level where their will could intervene in the world, would recognize it.

Only those called heroes.

And that’s why both the Tower Master and Elian were shocked.

"Huh?"

[Wait a minute. This is...]

It was a wave that literally enveloped the entire world.

It meant a passage to a higher-dimensional space had opened.

"M-Master? This is..."

[What madness.]

The Tower Master cursed.

It was the first time he uttered such a curse in decades.

And it was with good reason.

[A passage to the heavens has opened?]

* * *

"Aaaaaaah!"

"Oooooh! Ooooooooh!"

The believers, who had been driven out of the sacred grounds by Federica, wept as they bowed their heads.

They couldn\'t keep their sanity.

The profound joy and reverence had broken their minds.

They could only bow their heads and cry out Federica\'s name.

And that was indeed the correct response.

Their brains would have been fried if they dared to look upon the great god\'s appearance.

"Ah, ah."

Liltara’s pupils were also shaking madly.

The heavens had opened.

The great Federica was directly gazing down upon the earth.

That alone was enough to make the world submit.

All beings bowed in worship to the great god.

Even those who denied gods, even dark magicians, would feel a sense of awe and reverence.

And the gaze of the god.

Federica, the god of hunger.

Everything touched by that gaze lost its value and became desolate.

Buildings decayed into dust.

While their foundations remained, they became uninhabitable and unstable.

The land rotted, unable to sustain life for centuries, though just barely allowing a few seeds to grow.

The same went for the air; only just enough breathable air remained to prevent death.

Beneath this space—

Ketal was simply overwhelmed with emotion.

"Ah, ah..."

The heavens could be seen through the passage that had opened in the sky.

It was the place where the great god resided.

And there, gazing down at him, was something like the universe itself.

That was the god.

Ketal had prayed every day on Earth to that god.

He prayed every night for hours without stopping, asking to be taken to a fantasy world.

And his prayer had been answered, albeit in a twisted form.

Because of this, the god held great significance for Ketal.

And now, he had seen the true form of the god.

Tears of emotion streamed down his cheeks.

Ketal spoke earnestly.

"Thank you. Truly."

And Federica realized as well.

Ketal wasn’t on guard against a powerful enemy but was merely overwhelmed with emotion at the presence of his true god.

[...Broken.]

Federica spoke with a voice full of contempt.

[I shall erase you.]

"If it’s your request, I want to grant it... but that’s something I cannot do."

Ketal smiled.

Federica had made up her mind.

She would kill Ketal.

The heavens obeyed her will.

A massive pillar of pitch-black light descended upon Ketal.

It was power incarnate, embodying the concept of hunger.

It was too immense a force to be contained on this earth.

Therefore, the moment it touched the ground, it rapidly deteriorated.

But even so, it was the power of a god.

Ketal raised his axe.

"Hup!"

Crack!

The axe blocked the pillar of light.

Ketal\'s body was driven deep into the earth, his knees almost buckling.

"Hrrrrgh!"

Ketal exerted all his strength in his arms.

Clang!

The pillar of pitch-black light was deflected.

Ketal, who had repelled the god\'s attack, burst into laughter and shook the arm holding the axe.

"Strong."

His knees had nearly buckled.

It had never happened to him before.

It wasn’t because the power contained in the pillar was stronger than his own.

The moment it touched his axe, it interfered with his body.

As if exhausted from intense exercise, he suddenly felt a wave of fatigue.

It was Federica\'s power of hunger.

‘At this level, she can definitely interfere with my body.’

A power incomparable to that of ancient dragons, demons, or anyone else.

And even this was a deteriorated form of it.

This was a god.

[Die.]

Federica spoke calmly.

Following her will, pillars of pitch-black light fell in succession.

Ketal moved his body to evade them.

But he couldn’t dodge all the descending lights.

In the end, Ketal raised his axe to block and deflect them.

Crack!

And each time, Ketal\'s body was eroded by Federica\'s power.

The strength in his body was gradually being worn down.

He wanted to counterattack, but Federica was attacking from the heavens.

Since she was attacking from beyond the sky, there was no way for him to retaliate.

He was being toyed with one-sidedly.

It was his first true crisis since emerging into the outside world.

It was also a very unpleasant situation.

But.

[...You\'re smiling.]

Federica murmured.

Ketal was genuinely smiling, as if he was truly enjoying himself.

"Hahahaha. This is great. Absolutely great."

The threat of death meant nothing to him.

Even during the final quest to escape the white snowfield, he had almost died more than a dozen times.

But what truly terrified him wasn’t death.

It was the thought that if he failed, he wouldn’t be able to go out into the world.

That he wouldn’t be able to step into a fantasy world.

That was the only thing that frightened him.

Now, he was in a fantasy world.

And no less than a great god was personally trying to kill him.

Why should this be unpleasant?

He should be rejoicing in such a special experience.

And then—

‘With this power level, it’s not like I haven’t seen this before.’

Federica, displeased by his smile, expressed her dissatisfaction.

[You seem to be enjoying yourself. Then remain buried while still enjoying it.]

Vroom!

Federica gathered her power.

She was about to unleash a light even stronger than before.

\'Now then.\'

What should he do?

Ketal thought.

While the situation was enjoyable, it wasn’t exactly favorable.

Federica’s power was slowly eating away at his body.

The rate of consumption was outpacing his recovery.

Since she was high up in the sky, it was difficult to launch a proper counterattack.

But that didn’t mean the situation was entirely against him.

Ketal looked up at the heavens.

The gate to the heavens was rapidly collapsing.

Federica’s power was forcibly holding it together, but the collapse accelerated.

Opening the gate itself must have been an enormous strain.

From Federica\'s perspective, she had to kill Ketal before the heavenly passage collapsed.

It was a battle to see if he could hold out.

Focusing on defense until the gate closed would have been the best choice.

But Ketal had no intention of doing that.

The reason was simple.

‘That’s no fun.’

Although enduring the attacks of a god was enjoyable, simply enduring and letting it end like that wasn’t his style.

‘I want to land at least one hit.’

What should he do?

Various methods came to mind.

He could use the same method he used to escape the white snowfield.

As Ketal pondered, the beast roared.

Grrrr…

The beast, called Mystery, slumbered within him.

It had been trying to break free ever since he started fighting Federica.

It responded to the hostility and power, trying to rise.

Mystery growled, displeased.

It seemed as if the mere fact that Federica was attacking Ketal was unacceptable.

The beast, usually indifferent even to its master, now seemed ready to bare its fangs against this external enemy.

If Ketal allowed it, the beast would immediately leap out.

‘No.’

Ketal suppressed the beast.

It wasn’t it’s turn yet.

It would get it’s chance later.

The beast growled in dissatisfaction but lowered its head quietly.

After a moment of contemplation, Ketal made up his mind.

Keep it simple.

He checked the condition of his body.

Although his body was fatigued due to Federica’s power, he had recovered quite a bit.

This should be enough.

Ketal gripped his axe tightly.

Crunch.

His arm swelled.

Veins popped, and his muscles bulged as if they were about to burst through his skin.

Beyond sincerity, with full power.

Whoooom.

Just exerting strength made the space around him appear distorted.

For a moment, Federica felt threatened by the power gathering in Ketal’s arm.

Dangerous.

Federica quickly gathered her power.

[Hunger shall be established upon the world.]

Federica’s power manifested.

A pillar of pitch-black light struck down toward Ketal.

It was stronger than any power Federica had wielded before.

The mighty power had erased the value of countless demons in the past.

With this strength, she could penetrate even the core of a planet if she willed it.

And against such immense power, Ketal responded very simply.

“Hup!”

Gripping the axe with the arm he had powered up, he threw it.

The axe, thrown with all his might, collided with the descending pillar of pitch-black light.

And the pillar shattered.

Crash!

The god’s power shattered like glass.

The axe, having smashed the descending pillar, surged upward.

It hurtled toward the lofty heavens.

[……!]

Federica activated her defense.

The axe clashed with her barrier.

Whoooom!

The impact reverberated through the sky.

Clouds were scattered, and trees around the holy land fell in droves.

Worshippers who had been praying screamed as they were thrown into the air.

The axe slowly fell from the sky.

Ketal caught it with his other hand.

He looked at his arm.

The arm he had used to throw the axe had its muscles twisted and veins burst.

His body couldn’t withstand the power, and it had been damaged.

But Ketal looked satisfied.

“Still intact.”

This was a very favorable condition.

His injuries were healing rapidly.

“Perfect control of my strength, even after all this time.”

Satisfied with himself, Ketal looked up at the sky.

“Whew.”

And he whistled.

The place where the great god resided.

The heavens had a crack.

There was a hole in the barrier Federica had erected.

Crack.

A small blemish on Federica’s true form was visible through that hole.

It was a blemish so small that it could hardly even be called a fragment, given Federica’s enormous size.

But it was undoubtedly a wound.

Crack.

The shattered fragment fell toward the earth.

It was a piece of Federica.

Ketal grasped the fragment.

“A piece of a god, huh. I’ll gladly take it.”

[You…….]

Crackle.

The words didn’t continue.

The passage to the heavens forcibly closed.

Already unstable, it had reached its limit after taking in more power than it could handle.

Ketal turned his gaze toward Federica’s saint.

“You’re still there, it seems. But it looks like you’re at your limit as well.”

The presence of Federica, who had descended into the saint’s body, was gradually fading.

She was no longer permitted to remain on the earth.

“It was a lot of fun. I thank you for that.”

[…….To be in such a state of deficiency, and yet still… how in the world…?]

Federica groaned.

[You…… should not exist on this earth…… The defeated are meant to be confined to the prison of eternity……]

“I don’t know about the past. But the one defeated now is you. And for what it’s worth, I truly love this world. So don’t worry, nothing like what you’re concerned about will happen.”

Ketal raised his fist.

“So, stop interfering and get lost.”

He swung it at the saint.

The force swept away the Federica who had descended into the saint.

Crash!

The saint’s body collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

“Hmmm.”

Ketal stretched as if feeling refreshed.

In his hand were the axe and the fragment of the god.