"Know your place."

The capital of Krata. Elhaen, who had been dragged into a sphere by Yuru, had returned and revealed himself.

"You people really don't know when to stop."

His appearance had become messy in the meantime. As if he had had a fierce fight inside the sphere.

He finally completely emerged from the sphere and staggered to his feet.

"No matter how much you struggle, you cannot escape my grand plan. So just realize your place."

Immense anger.

He seemed to have no intention of maintaining the dignity he had painstakingly upheld any longer.

The sphere he had come out of cracked and shattered. Before the sphere completely disappeared, another person shot out from within.

"Keut...!"

It was Yuru. Battered and bruised, she tumbled out of the sphere and then immediately got up.

"Elhaen!"

Hearing that cry, Elhaen turned around. As if he was utterly sick of it.

"You weren't dead?"

"Yeah."

Yuru said, wiping the blood from her mouth.

"You're still alive, so I can't die."

As Beatrice watched Yuru, who was letting out a mad laugh, from a distance, she held her breath.

'Really, that one looks more like a monster.'

Elhaen was clearly a being stronger than anyone else here. But looking at Yuru, for some reason, she couldn't help but feel more chills than when she looked at Elhaen.

"My brother will never be yours."

An obsession riddled with regret.

That driving force was moving her now.

"So, die here."

Yuru rushed at Elhaen again. Their fight began to destroy the city that had just been somewhat rebuilt.

Sparks flew here and there, and the surroundings shook as if an earthquake had occurred.

There was no rest.

In a situation where it was difficult to even gauge the passage of time with the sun covered, the battle continued for a long time. A very long time.

"......"

At some point, Nael had also joined the battle that Beatrice was watching. She was getting as close as possible to Elhaen and swinging her fists.

In the meantime, the shadow of the moon that Beatrice had been trying to remove was fixed in place as soon as Elhaen appeared. Nevertheless, seeing Beatrice continuously pouring mana into the moon that was covering the sun, Elhaen shot a single burst of divine power and blew it up.

Beatrice tumbled to the ground. She groaned and lifted her head as quickly as possible. A follow-up attack might come.

However, such a thing did not happen.

As if not to give him a chance to rush at Beatrice, Yuru and Nael were pushing Elhaen back again.

Because of Yuru, who was continuously shooting magic from a distance, Elhaen, who on the contrary couldn't pay attention to Nael approaching, was hit several times by the fists she swung.

And one more thing.

Tia, who seemed to have fully recovered, had also joined in. In an environment where fists, blades, and magic were raging simultaneously, Elhaen was exploding with divine power with an enraged expression.

It was marvelous. That fight.

More time passed, and there were almost no traces of buildings left in the city. Beatrice also had to push her body into a crater and watch the outside.

The world looked like a fiery hell. Tia, Nael, and Yuru were gradually becoming covered in blood from Elhaen's attacks.

In contrast, Elhaen, though he looked hurt, seemed to have suffered no fatal wounds at all. As the battle dragged on, it seemed Elhaen was gaining the advantage.

'At this rate...'

The gap in power was significant. To the point where if that alliance had something hidden, they had to use it now.

'Surely, there must be, something.'

She felt something from Tia. She thought she might have met the World Tree. Beatrice let out a slight groan inwardly.

'Is she not trying to use it yet?'

She couldn't know why she wasn't using it. But what was certain was that if things continued like this, the three of them were doomed to fail. No matter how strong they were, it was impossible to win against Elhaen, who had appeared on this earth with full preparations.

Even if his true body wasn't here, he was the strongest god who had established the history of this world itself. Even the ancient gods were no match for him.

'I...'

She didn't like those who were fighting Elhaen. Because they were the ones who were tormenting Clay, the one she had finally come to rely on.

But she had no choice but to admit it. The fact that they were now throwing away their status and even their lives and struggling to save Clay.

If so, it became truly clear who the immediate enemy was.

"Kruuuaaaaaah!"

With her broken body, while screaming in pain, she used every last bit of mana she could muster and sent magic flying at Elhaen.

The tedious fight continued like that.

The situation was dominated by Elhaen. Nevertheless, Beatrice gritted her teeth and held on. For her protagonist, who would be coming here.

KWAAAAAAAAANG!

And how much more time had passed?

"Elhaeeeem!"

With the attack of numerous demons riding on gargoyles, Clay appeared.

***

♧

At the final execution platform, there was only one thing Clay had wished for.

—For them to step forward for me.

In fact, he was not unaware that it was not a rational judgment. In a situation where everything was already decided, to voice a different opinion was no different from facing death together.

Nevertheless, he had believed.

Because he thought that through a long time, they had become a relationship that transcended such reason.

But the reality he faced was a final moment where he was hung by a rough rope alone and became a laughingstock for the public.

And now.

In the scene he was seeing, a sight he had not seen at that time was unfolding. The sight of Nael, Yuru, and Tia fighting his enemy, Elhaen.

They had fought so fiercely that their bodies were already almost half-destroyed. They were so covered in blood that it wouldn't be strange if they collapsed at any moment.

That, he felt, was so strange.

"You've come!"

In the midst of that, Elhaen, who had heard Clay's cry, shouted so.

"The body I will reside in!"

The body to reside in.

Because of that one greed of Elhaen, this whole situation had occurred.

A sense of displeasure swept through Clay's entire body. He jumped down from Goe and landed right in front of Elhaen.

"Clay!"

Nael, who saw him, shouted.

"Not yet!"

With a face contorted from her injuries, Nael tried to stop him from approaching.

"I haven't properly subdued him yet..."

At that moment, Elhaen kicked her and sent her flying.

"You were careless."

Elhaen, who had a twisted smile on his lips, sent a wave of light flying at Clay.

Yuru rushed over and created a magic to block the wave, but it was not enough to offset the impact.

Seeing her sent flying, Tia shouted at Clay.

"Clay! You can't come!"

She quickly informed him that Elhaen was sourcing power from here.

"In this city, there is something that amplifies Elhaen's power..., keuk?!"

However, her words were not finished. Tia was pushed back while defending against the sword of light Elhaen swung and was sent flying to where Yuru had been sent.

The three of them, taken care of in an instant.

Elhaen looked at Clay and smiled brightly.

"Clay."

In a completely different manner from when he had hastily left Barungenia, he leisurely spread his arms.

"The preparations are complete."

Preparations.

Clay instantly understood what that meant.

"Preparations?"

Nevertheless, when he asked, Elhaen opened his mouth again.

"The preparations to descend."

In an instant, a giant golden circuit on the ground emitted light.

"If you hadn't come here, I was planning to recover my strength first and bring you by force, but I'm glad things have become easier."

"Clay!"

Athanasia, who was still riding the gargoyle, shouted.

"Dodge! That is..."

"I will take it now."

As Elhaen spoke, the circuit that was engraved on the ground like a picture rose up like blades of grass. And then it wrapped around Clay's ankles.

"!"

Clay immediately tried to lift his foot, but he couldn't. The golden circuit was already wrapping around Clay's entire body.

"Your Majesty!"

Syltanaro, who was riding another gargoyle, jumped down, transformed into a sword, and fell on top of the largest circuit that was holding Clay.

Thanks to that, Clay, who was briefly released from his restraints, swung Excalbren, which he was holding in his hand.

"No, you don't."

Elhaen, who had approached at some point, struck Excalbren hard with his sword of light.

『What...!』

It was when Excalbren, which had fallen from Clay's hand and was stuck in a distant place, was trying to return to its master.

Elhaen, who had approached it in an instant, stomped on Excalbren with his foot.

"How troublesome. Do not interfere with me any longer."

『Keuk! Kuaaaak!』

Excalbren was completely crushed under the ground.

"Seal."

At Elhaen's one word, the surrounding circuits grabbed Excalbren and dragged it somewhere underground. The voice of Excalbren, which had been heard for a short while, disappeared.

"Keut!"

In the meantime, Syltanaro had transformed back into her human form and was tearing off the circuits attached to Clay's body.

"How is it? Can you tear it off?"

Elhaen approached her and asked. She quickly turned her head, but his sword had already pierced her abdomen.

"Keuk!"

"The sight of you gathering, thinking you could do something, is truly ridiculous."

Elhaen let out a laugh.

"Is this the end?"

As he raised his head, his eyes caught sight of Selimia, who was riding a gargoyle and just passing over.

"Unfortunately, it seems she has no intention of stepping forward any further."

Elhaen, who thought she wasn't coming down because she had judged who had the upper hand, looked at Clay.

"Now, there is only one thing left for me to do."

The end of all the waiting, which he had wished for since long ago.

"Clay."

Elhaen brought his face close to Clay's.

"The pain you are experiencing, and the pain you will experience in the future, I will erase it all."

"Elhaen!"

"It will only take a moment. A very short moment."

Elhaen caressed the face of Clay, who was trying to get away from him.

"!"

In that instant, Clay's eyes were dyed with a golden light. The surrounding circuits wrapped around Clay's body even more strongly, and the rest bound Elhaen's body.

Connection.

Elhaen, who had been staying as a medium in Neville's body, began to move into Clay's body.

"Uwaaaaaaaah!"

Clay let out a painful scream. In his vision, past memories flashed by like a stream of water.

And it was when those memories disappeared from in front of his eyes in an instant and only darkness was visible.

"Finally."

From his mouth, a voice that was not his own, but another's, came out.

"It is accomplished."

In front of him was the fallen figure of Neville. The figure of Neville, who was no longer of any use as a vessel to contain a god.

"Lord Clay."

With his now dry lips, Neville called him once and then went limp.

"I, have descended."

Clay, no, Elhaen, declared.

(End of Chapter)