The giant sword in the Giant King's hand was peculiar—half imbued with twilight's decay, half rusted and bloodstained, exuding a martial ferocity.
"This is…" Truman frowned, eyeing the exaggerated longsword, mismatched with the Giant King's twilight decay.
The moment he saw it, Truman felt as if the sword had locked onto him, its edge stirring unease, as though it pierced his flaws and weaknesses.
The sensation was familiar—he'd felt it from Medici before, but this was far stronger.
"A high-sequence Red Priest characteristic or its uniqueness?!" Truman inhaled sharply, uncertain, as the Giant King's decaying aura was too overpowering to approach.
But the sword, blending twilight and martial blood, was no ordinary weapon, tied to the Red Priest pathway.
"Did the War God die by the giants' hands?" Truman speculated.
"Or… could this be from the Spiritual Creature God?"
The War God, a subordinate god of the Mutant King Kvastir, fell in the ancient god war, his name now forgotten by most.
The Mutant King wasn't solely of the Seer pathway; what characteristics he consumed was unclear, but his War God subordinate likely held high-sequence Red Priest characteristics.
In that ancient god war, the War God perished, and the Spiritual Creature God absconded with the Mutant King's treasury, vanishing.
Truman knew only that the Spiritual Creature God traded for the entire Seer pathway from Sasrir.
Perhaps this Red Priest-related item came from the Spiritual Creature God?
Over centuries, the ancient god races fought ferociously, with countless deaths and unpredictable incidents.
"A Red Priest characteristic—that's valuable!"
"With something this good, why not come to me? I've got a 'God's Sin' to trade," Truman muttered, but the divine war between the two ancient gods had begun.
Terrifying thunder cleaved the twilight, exploding above the Giant King's Court. The Giant King swung his sword upward, while the Elf King, wielding a trident, met him head-on.
Lightning and twilight engulfed everything, obscuring all view. Truman wisely averted his gaze.
Watching a divine war too long wasn't always wise—one stray bolt of thunder or twilight could strike.
The battle was brief. As the thunder faded, the Elf King was gone.
Did the Giant King gain the upper hand?
Otherwise, with the Elf King's tyrannical nature, he wouldn't retreat easily.
"Twilight and Red Priest, huh?" Truman vaguely recalled a madman from later eras.
But the Giant King didn't try to assimilate it, using it as a weapon instead.
Absorbing another pathway's high-sequence characteristic would drive him madder, unable to suppress his destructive urges.
"It seems the Giant King has some confidence to cooperate with the Ancient Sun God."
Truman observed the receding twilight, gaining a clearer picture of the giants' current strength.
Let's see who comes out on top…
Boom!
The Elf King returned to the Elf King's Palace, sitting on his divine throne.
"You went to the Giant King's Court?" Queen of Calamity Cohinem asked.
"Gave Aurmir a little lesson!" the Elf King snorted.
The elven attendants in the palace lowered their heads, sensing the Elf King's words weren't so simple.
Moments later, slimy tentacles lashed the void, crackling with blazing electric serpents.
"Aurmir's grown stronger!" After the attendants left, the Elf King revealed the battle's outcome.
"The giants are still contacting human secret organizations, led by 'Harvest' and 'Dawn,'" Cohinem said, her face tinged with worry.
"Humans? It's that sun!" the Elf King's voice thundered. "The Angel of Dreams?"
Gohinam nodded coldly, then said, "We can't let them unite."
"Contact Gregrace. She doesn't need to trust us—just inform her of Aurmir's moves!"
"And we prepare to deal with the humans and the sun!" Cohinem was decisive, quickly locking onto their targets.
"Good! I've long found that sun insufferable! If not for wanting to eat that dragon every time I see him, I'd have teamed up with him against the sun!" The Elf King's lightning crackled, itching to charge in recklessly.
"Ankewelt…" Cohinem paused, then judged, "Ignore him. This time, we only need to show our dominion over seas, rivers, and lakes to make humans wary!"
"Swift and decisive!"
Cohinem now seemed the true elven leader, with ample resolve and rationality.
"Have 'Beauty' and 'Luck' lead the allied Sanguine and elves to block the giants, while you unleash calamities on the humans!"
The Elf King, hot-tempered, couldn't wait, immediately issuing the oracle.
"Another war?" The God of Luck balked, resisting the battlefield, especially against the Sun God's camp.
Since centuries ago, he'd felt uneasy about the book-wielding Angel of Dreams, a sensation unlike any he'd felt facing ancient gods!
"What is he?!" The God of Luck reluctantly left his palace. Sheltered under the Elf King, some duties were unavoidable.
He invoked his luck, hoping to avoid that "monster."
"Hm?" In the Giant King's Court, Truman suddenly felt a strange sensation, muttering, "Something's interfering with me."
"That Mercury Snake?" He quickly recalled the familiar feeling from memory.
"He's the Elf King's subordinate god!" Truman's eyes narrowed, sensing something amiss.
"Buzz!"
His Sage Robe flickered with information, triggering a prophecy.
Truman closed his eyes, sinking into the vision.
A bolt of lightning tore through the darkness. Truman saw a human city-state, and beyond it, a towering tsunami hundreds of meters high!
Wind and thunder roared, giant waves churned, and the world trembled!
The city-state was too frail before the waves, utterly defenseless.
"The elves are targeting humans?!" Truman snapped awake from the prophecy.
"They're laying it all bare, putting it on the table," Truman realized almost instantly what the elves planned.
"This could rouse all the ancient gods."
Decisive… Truman silently praised. This likely wasn't the Elf King's idea, known for his volatile temper. He'd probably prefer to brawl with the Ancient Sun God.
"Queen of Calamity, Cohinem!"
(End of Chapter)