NOVEL WEB Chapter 41
“Hammer down the Goddess’s Mark at the deepest part of the Holy Kingdom!”
With the Goddess herself asking for this, Eliserde thought of the mark as the key to solving everything. It might not be the perfect solution, but it was an essential step on the road to that perfect resolution.
“Here it is!”
Eliserde answered the Saint’s call and dashed forward.
A massive abyss of the Holy Kingdom. The dark interior was illuminated by the divine light of the Saint, lighting the way.
Kugugung…
Even at this moment, unsettling vibrations were continuing outside. Had it only been about 20 seconds? But the waves crashing in felt like they were overlapping dozens of times every second, making it clear there was a colossal time gap between her and Lord Jörmungandr.
What felt like one second to her could feel like one hour to him.
Furthermore, the uproar caused by Jörmungandr meant he was definitely fighting.
And so, she ran even faster— not wanting to waste even a single second.
The Saint ahead seemed to be heading toward a known destination, quickening her pace.
With each stride she took, the white divine light bloomed beneath her feet, pushing the darkness back.
[Grrr….]
From the darkness emerged a monster. Rotting flesh and jagged, sharp teeth.
It was charging in a mindless frenzy. A ghoul.
But it wasn’t much of a danger. Before Elly could even pull out the dagger she had hidden, the essence of the Saint made contact, causing the ghoul to disintegrate.
“Let’s run quickly!”
“Yes!”
As they approached the center, the surrounding darkness thickened.
The divine essence of the Saint was reaching its limits, so Eliserde released the divinity she received from Lord Jörmungandr.
Pasuus….
The blue divine light spread at her gesture, dispersing the encroaching darkness and driving back the undead.
How long had they run like this? At the center of the Holy Kingdom, a dark altar revealed a shape perfectly accommodating the mark.
“Over there!”
The Saint shouted. No more hesitations remaining.
Eliserde rushed forward, extending her hand to insert the mark.
And in that precise moment…
[Grururru….]
From behind the altar, a creature concealed in the pitch-black darkness revealed itself.
A massive body seemingly stitched together from numerous corpses.
Its gigantic hand reached out. If she continued on this path, it would strike her.
In that instant she sensed it.
Tukaank—!
A colossal flash repelled the monster’s body.
“Thank you!”
With those words, the white mark was engraved upon the altar.
The white light blossomed, inscribing the holy symbols and, at the same moment…
Paaa—!!
A blinding white flash pierced the sky.
*
A gigantic pillar began to descend. It was far larger than anything Jörmungandr had seen before, coming down upon the Holy Kingdom.
Wrapped in a pitch-black aura, an unsettling and dreadful presence loomed.
It was so enormous.
What he thought was a pillar was not that at all.
[It’s a finger.]
Indeed, it was a finger. The massive structure filling the sky was merely a finger belonging to the Demon God.
It felt like the physical laws themselves had gone awry. The sight of a finger descending toward the Holy Kingdom—nay, the entire planet—looked thoroughly preposterous.
If that was just a finger, what would happen if the Demon God physically manifested?
Rather than fear, curiosity bubbled up.
Just how immense and powerful could the Demon God truly be?
Those questions continued to arise. It wasn’t resignation; it was more akin to a challenge. If even that colossal finger harbored such overwhelming power, how colossal and indomitable must the Demon God’s true form be?
Jörmungandr’s body expanded.
In an instant, the figure of Jörmungandr loomed larger, covering the sky and opening his mouth wide.
What would happen if he swallowed that finger?
Would it thrash about in his stomach? Or would it simply digest without resistance?
He couldn’t be certain. After all, he had never devoured a divine existence before.
Let alone that the target was the Demon God, claimed to be the mightiest among deities.
A wicked satisfaction arose within him. Just being near it radiated an overwhelming power capable of reducing ordinary divine beings to mere pulp.
A lethal poison. An ultimate toxin capable of exterminating all life.
That’s why he was curious. What flavor could such an ultimate force, potent enough to annihilate all beings, have?
Just as he was about to act…
Paaa—!!
A white flash erupted from the underground of the Holy Kingdom.
A flash ignited toward the sky, engulfing the entire Holy Kingdom, eventually aiming at the emerging Demon God.
Tukaank!
The moment the flash made contact, all evidence of destruction vanished, and everything returned to its original state.
Even the citizens wrapped in cocoons.
The sight of time reversing for those who had perished in the clash with the remnants of the Demon God and their rebirth was truly a wondrous spectacle.
It was overwhelming divine power. The God who created the world alongside the Demon God wasn’t called the primal deity for nothing.
Her dominion contained the overwhelming strength to even reverse death.
Yet, her power didn’t stop there. The might aimed at the sky grazed the portal through which the Demon God’s finger descended.
With a massive shockwave, the enormous portal, which had been agape, suddenly began to narrow.
The Demon God hastily tried to retract its finger, but it was too late. As the portal shrank, the finger was effortlessly severed.
All that remained was the severed finger itself.
“Uh, uhh…?”
A shadow loomed over the dazed citizens regaining their bearings.
While clutching their heads and groaning, the citizens of the Holy Kingdom looked up, bewildered by the sudden oppressive aura falling upon them.
Something infinitely massive was descending upon them.
If that fell on the Holy Kingdom, their fate was tragically obvious.
“A, aah….”
“T-the Goddess has wrathfully descended…”
The citizens of the Holy Kingdom could do nothing but pray toward the heavens.
Like the last humans preparing to meet their final end, they kneeled respectfully, praying to the sky.
At first glance, it could seem sacred.
Pouring their prayers skyward while confronting their doom, the citizens’ eyes were filled with sorrow over their regrets rather than fear of death.
Of course, it was quite absurd. Nothing of the kind they feared would ever happen.
[Is it my turn now?]
Everything fell into place perfectly. Due to his earlier efforts in battering the remnants, it seemed the Demon God wouldn’t have enough power or time to fully manifest itself.
Additionally, thanks to the mark sent by the Goddess, he had severed one finger entirely and managed to restore the battered Holy Kingdom.
Now it was his turn. The Goddess appeared unconcerned about the aftermath the gigantic finger might cause.
It was no surprise. If that colossal finger fell, the entire Holy Kingdom would be utterly doomed.
Instead of shattering the finger with a flash, he had opted to close the portal, allowing the finger to plunge downward.
As if that finger had been an arrangement for someone else.
Jörmungandr smirked. Whether this situation was crafted by the Goddess or not was irrelevant.
All that mattered to him was that his greed was now aimed at that finger.
Jörmungandr’s size grew further, surpassing his original limits, and once again, his immense form wrapped around the horizon.
The sun rose. As the divine light blossomed upon Jörmungandr’s colossal body, another sun illuminated the world with just his vast size.
Burning away all that was unholy.
The greatest sun that would devour it all.
“[I humbly accept.]”
And with that, it was over. Even the grand catastrophe filling the sky didn’t stand a chance against the serpent coiling around the planet, consuming its own tail for a single bite.
The finger vanished. In an instant, the once-mighty appendage struggled within his stomach, but it was futile.
Jörmungandr coiled tightly.
Instantly, his dimensional stomach formed an endless space, woven together infinitely, creating an immense void.
A two-dimensional space that swallowed everything. Even a divine finger was no exception.
The finger of the Demon God flailed in vain.
Exuding horrific malice, that immense finger morphed, summoning calamity-class abominations that could obliterate the world, but even they were all ensnared within the void and ceased to exist.
How much time had passed? An eternity or a mere second chopped into thousands of moments.
Within that time, the finger of the Demon God had long since been completely annihilated.
Jörmungandr savored the sufficiency of his satisfaction.
How long had it been since he felt this full? Especially the sharp taste of mana was reminiscent of sipping soda.
At the same time, Jörmungandr sensed his body feeling cramped.
As if he was trapped in a narrow, confining space.
[A shedding is in order.]
Once again, the massive serpent had grown.