Perhaps Neltarid had felt they couldn't afford to waste any more time.

Regardless, they were growing stronger. There was probably a limit, but it was clear that the damage would only increase if left unchecked.

Willow said that Neltarid was in the dimensional rift, but even though Davey could travel through the rift, he had no way of pinpointing their exact location.

Fortunately, since Davey knew Neltarid was the culprit, he had some options.

He went to the headquarters of the Church of Neltarid to figure out what to do next. Upon arrival, he saw a small girl run toward him.

“Agatha.”

“Master!” Agatha, who called him master, wore a bright expression, but clear exhaustion showed beneath it.

He couldn’t help but marvel at how ridiculous it was that even a child so young had been sent to the field to treat the wounded.

‘I wonder if Neltarid predicted this situation? Wait... is that why they entrusted Agatha to me?’

Agatha, who regularly received pointers from him, had grown rapidly like a sponge absorbing water, but she was still left lacking in some areas.

Currently, the headquarters was incredibly noisy. Conspiracy theories about the mad angels trying to undermine the church’s standing had caused an uproar. As a result, the headquarters was constantly busy trying to quell both internal and external chaos.

“Master, what brings you here? Everyone is so busy...”

“Agatha, is the Pond of God safe?”

“The P-Pond of God? Ah... Yes! It’s fine.”

The Pond of God was one of the most sacred places within the church's headquarters. It was like a sanctuary protected by the Holy Empire of Valchas, but it was essentially a sanctuary Neltarid had created through their own power.

“Why there?” Agatha asked.

A priest to the side chimed in, “It is forbidden! Even for the Saint of Tionis...”

Davey didn’t have time for such drivel. “See this?”

“T-that’s?!” Judging by his reaction, he seemed to have only recently become a high priest.

“It's the stigmata Neltarid gave me a long time ago. This should be enough qualification, shouldn't it?”

“Y-yes, that's true. However, as for the others...” He seemed hesitant about Illyna and Isildi at Davey’s side.

“Hey. Human. Stop being annoying and just show us the way.” Isildi, a Princess of the Abyss, pressed him with annoyance, and his face quickly paled.

Agatha cut in, saying, “Please stop, High Priest. These people are qualified to enter.”

“But, Saintess...” He was clearly reluctant to make any exceptions.

“Trust me and open the way. I'll go with them, too.”

With her going that far, the middle-aged high priest sighed. “Please be careful, then. Release the barrier to the Pond of God.”

At his command, some priests moved to dispel the outer barrier.

Even though Davey hadn’t intended it, Agatha ended up coming along.

After the barrier was released, they walked through a sacred corridor, soon coming to a large pond emitting a beautiful, pale green sparkle. It was filled with beautiful plants and trees, as if the concentrated power of nature had seeped deep into the area.

“It's dangerous, so don't follow.”

When Davey tried to stop Agatha, she puffed out her cheeks. She looked like a typical kid throwing a tantrum. “I'm going to go, too! I know you're doing something important! I have so much I want to say to God Neltarid, as well!!”

“He’s only saying that because it could be dangerous,” Isildi advised her.

“How could the path to God Neltarid be dangerous?” Agatha couldn’t comprehend what could possibly pose any threat to them there.

‘Should I just tell her the truth and get it over with?’

As Davey was considering this—

“Hey. Get ready.”

The pond flashed brightly once, and a massive pillar of light began to form. Illyna swallowed hard from the overwhelming divine power, nonetheless shouting, “I... I'm going too!”

‘Ugh, should I just knock out the little kiddo and leave her behind?’

Before them lay the only remaining passage actively connected to Neltarid. If they continued through, Davey couldn't guarantee that Agatha would be able to keep her sanity after seeing what awaited them.

Still, she was his disciple. Not wanting to resort to drastic measures, Davey tried to soothe her. “Then, you can pray here.”

“Huh?”

“I’m going because Neltarid is in trouble and I want to help. So, you should stay here and pray that things go well and we can come back safely.”

It would be a pointless act, but Agatha didn’t know better. “A-Are you sure?”

“Of course.” Davey stroked her head, and she finally seemed convinced. She knelt on the spot and clasped her hands together.

‘Well that was easy.’

Davey snickered, and Isildi gave him a look that seemed to tell him to keep his poker face. He muttered, “You really didn't need to come along.”

“I owe Neltarid, and I need to loosen up after a long time.” Isildi made various excuses, but ultimately, she seemed bothered that Neltarid, who had lived for the sake of the world, had fallen so far—even though he was once her enemy.

Soon, a huge light engulfed Davey, Illyna, and Isildi. The surrounding scenery changed at an incredible speed, and a massive flow of energy wrapped around them. A huge ripple erupted and started to construct a new world.

“This place...? It's that same place again.”

The space with the ash-gray sky Davey had seen in their memories.

Illyna had glimpsed their memories as well with his help, so it wasn't her first time seeing this place. Isildi, however, was different.

“A bit unsettling...” she said with a slight frown.

“What the?” Illyna seemed to recall something. “This is... the Erpenta Plateau.”

“The Erpenta Plateau?”

“Wait... huh? Why do I know this?” She was baffled by her own knowledge. “It seems like fragments of Thanatos's memory. This place... it's the Tionis from ten thousand years ago.”

Her words made Davey realize what kind of place they’d arrived in, confronted with burning mountains; horribly distorted space; and a countless number of sword tombs.

As Davey strode inside, he found the place he had seen in the memories.

However, before he could approach to inspect it, two beings appeared, blocking their path.

“Kain!” Illyna said, her eyes widening.

He just gave a wry smile, telling them, “Please return.”

'So this is where he went after suddenly vanishing.’

They were of the Valkyrie race, one of the remaining apostles of Neltarid. In the past war, they conveyed their will as their apostles.

“Are you going to kill Neltarid?”

“I have to,” Davey solemnly told them.

“Then, we cannot let you pass.” With those words, Kain and Frelia stepped forward.

“Even if you are our benefactor, we cannot allow our creator, our parent, to die.”

“Even if it means turning this world upside down?”

“Please do not forgive our foolishness.” As Frelia spoke, the wings on her back turned black.

“Aaaargh! Ughhh!” Frelia, writhing and letting out painful groans, flashed her blood-red pupils. “Please! We can't let you harm them. Please, just go back...”

“No can do. At the very least, your god wouldn't want that either.”

Neltarid was already calling for Davey. Whether they had finished their preparation, or because Davey had made up his mind, it was Neltarid's doing that they had been summoned through the Pond of God.

Kain solemnly announced, “The part of me that worships you as my mother has been suppressed within me, since he would absolutely not be able to harm you.”

Even with his twisted personality, his other half was still a being who called Illyna mother. Judging that he couldn't let that part of him out in such a situation, his other side created a sword made of light. “Please do not forgive us.”

“Please, Kain. Just open the way. I don't want to hurt you, either.”

Regardless of what was happening inside his heart, Illyna held considerable affection for Kain, and she couldn’t help but make a sad face.

Soon, Kain also began to transform.

As the two apostles of God transformed to look like fraternal twins, Illyna finally shed a single tear, and Isildi stepped forward. “I'll handle them, so you two go.”

“Isildi...”

“It makes sense for me to do it, since I'm the one who isn't really attached to these guys.”

Illyna forcibly choked back her sobs and drew Caldeiras. “Davey, go on.”

Having finally made up her mind, she showed her will to fight, and he sighed.

“Don't kill them.”

“I know.”

They were only doing this to protect their god.

They had only changed because they inherited Neltarid's twisted power, but their essence hadn't changed.

In that two-on-two standoff, when he tried to walk past them, Kain attempted to stop him. Nonetheless, if Davey wanted to break through, he could do so easily.

Clang!!

“Sorry, but you're going to spend some time with them here.”

He figured that if he could at least sever the connection between these Valkyries and Neltarid’s power, he could subdue them without killing them. As soon as he passed the two, a tremendous explosion echoed from behind.

Frelia and Kain.

Illyna and Isildi.

They began to clash.

Even if Kain and Frelia had become quite strong, he knew they probably wouldn't last long against Isildi and Illyna. That was, of course, if the intention was to kill them, but just holding out until Davey severed the connection between them and Neltarid wasn't too difficult.

As he strode forward, the surroundings changed. Pieces of the sky-land, floating like living things, gathered to create a bridge. Ash had piled up like snow. Every step he took left his footprints pressed into the ground.

After climbing a small hill, he saw hundreds of what looked like sword tombs.

‘This place looks a little different from what I saw before.’

Davey looked up at the sky and saw a massive eye, floating like the sun, staring directly at him. Then, at the far end of the wide clearing, he saw a familiar grave with a staff stuck in it, a massive throne set in front of it.

A being made of pitch-black mist was waiting there silently, resting one arm on the throne.

“Neltarid.”

When Davey revealed their identity, Neltarid, who had seemed to have their eyes closed, slowly stood up, their yellow eyes flashing.

The weapons stuck in the surrounding sword tombs then began to rise one by one, flying toward Neltarid and embedding themselves into his body.

[Grrr. GAAA!!]

Neltarid, groaning in pain and staggering, looked at the swords stuck all over their body and slowly began to release their power.

The weapons all turned into black mist at once, seeped into their body, and formed a pitch-black armor. They slowly rose and reached a hand into the air.

The remaining weapons gathered, forming a pitch-black greatsword. The pressure they released was incomparable to the power Neltarid originally possessed.

“Neltarid,” Davey called out once more

“You came,” they spoke to Davey. Their voice was laced with profound sadness, unlike before.

Soon, blood-red flames began to flicker on the skeletal black wings that sprouted from their back.

Davey was still reluctant to fight them. “If possible, I want to subdue you. Not kill you.”

“It is already irreversible,” they solemnly declared. “If you do not kill me, you will die.”

Having said their piece, they gripped the sword with both hands.

Crack!! Clang!!

The space instantly warped, and his pitch-black sword clashed with Super Ribbon.

[GAAA!!]

Davey heard Super Ribbon scream. Having never experienced that before, Davey was a little confused. “Are you okay?”

[F-Father... I'm fine...]

While her authority was strong, she wasn't a completely invincible sword.

Therefore, after that single clash, Davey made a decision.

Poof!!

Davey separated her into Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon, floating the two in the air. Then, he took out the weapon made of helixium he kept in his Pocket Plane, the divine spear Longinus. Its biggest advantage was its durability, so he decided to overload it. It soon transformed into a woldo.

However, before he could do anything, Neltarid’s black sword, flickering with dark flames, came swinging toward him. Although Davey knew he had to kill them, he still couldn't easily bring himself to do it.

“My ego will soon disappear. Kill me before it is too late, Freyja,” they desperately begged.

Davey aimed the spear tip and thrust forward.

[Paladia-style Galactic Spear]

[Tectonic Shift]

Crack!!

Something was warped, and a massive shockwave exploded. Even though they instantly bounced off each other in the collision, Neltarid and Davey didn’t stop.

Fwoosh!!

The black flames on their sword grew darker than before, and Davey slashed once more.

[Paladia-style Galactic Spear]

[Tearing the Mantle]

A giant claw scraped the ground and sky in dozens of streaks, clashing with their sword.

Even though Davey used the same attack, Neltarid didn’t easily give ground this time. It seemed they had become stronger with the darkening flames.

The black flames on their sword grew even darker, apparently amplifying their power in stages.

‘Then I need to match their pace.’

[Paladia-style Galactic Spear]

[Unearthing the Outer Core]

The attack, packed with immense power, drove straight toward Neltarid. However, once the black flames on their flickering sword suddenly surged, most of the blade energy from Longinus was swallowed.

Neltarid’s slash eventually sent Davey flying.

“Sss... Do you still not intend to kill me?”

Davey had said he would kill them, but he simply couldn't bring himself to kill Neltarid, knowing they were clearly suppressing a profound sorrow.

“Fool! What stands before you is merely an evil god!! Strike me down. Kill me!” Neltarid seemed to know well that if Davey fought with the intent to kill, he wouldn't have allowed himself to be hit so much.

The flames on their sword shrank, as if their stack attack broke.

Davey’s mind raced. He wasn't just holding back because Neltarid was his former ally, because he knew their situation, or because of how much Neltarid was suffering.

“If you die, Earth is screwed.”

When he revealed that single truth that others hadn't yet realized, Neltarid briefly hesitated, eventually saying, “All authority over Earth will be passed to her.”

“Stop with the bullshit, Neltarid. Willow’s not a goddess who can handle Earth’s burden.”

Although their hierarchy might’ve been similar, Willow and Neltarid were gods of completely different lineages.

What Willow could do, Neltarid couldn’t, and what Neltarid could do, Willow couldn’t.

Neltarid briefly backed away and fell silent, seemingly realizing Davey knew more than they’d expected.

Then they spoke again. “The time for Earth to break away from me has come.”

“All excuses and bullshit.” Calling it nonsense, Davey charged toward them again. “Will you repeat the same mistake as before?!”

Once, twice, thrice. The pitch-black flames in his sword burst out violently the moment they clashed. At this rate, Davey knew his attacks would be swallowed, and he’d be sent flying again just like before.

“Hey, it won’t work a second time.”

Squelch!! Squelch!!

Just as Neltarid was about to swing his explosively powerful sword, two swords flew in from behind and pierced them.

Despite this, they spoke to Davey, their eyes flickering, “Draw your sword, Freyja.”

“I’m not Freyja, you son of a bitch.”

“If you do not kill me...” They paused for a moment. Simultaneously, the giant eye floating in the sky let out a massive thump, and their voice turned cold as they announced, “I will turn that child Willow into a mad angel.”

Clang!! Clang!!

Davey instantly pinned them down, and they looked up at him.

The reason they fought Davey so hard, even though they wished for their own death, was simple. Their hatred for this world had become too deep, surpassing their will to die.

To love the world more than anyone, yet also hate it more than anyone. It was quite the irony.

“Do you know who the mad angels you’ve fought were?”

“What?”

“They were all your friends and family, Freyja. I became a god for the peace you wished for, but I was actually consumed by the providence of this damn world, killing all of them with my own hands to protect my domain. And all the while, I kept deluding myself into thinking I still loved them.”

They continued, “Even after that, I ruined them like that in the name of saving the world. Can you tolerate that? Even to those unrelated, this situation is horrific. How do you expect me, the one responsible, to endure this hell?”

The fragments of emotion Neltarid had shown in the past were merely imitations.

The emotions Neltarid was now displaying were genuine.

The mad angels were the family and friends of Priestess Freyja. The names they called out in their memories were likely their true identities. In other words, the family and friends of Priestess Freyja were also special people to Neltarid.