Contrary to what some of the Gods assumed, Ira did indeed land within the tainted lands. It was just that walking directly out didn’t seem like a good idea to him so he teleported to one of the places he had memories of which he gained from Indras. That place was none other than the site of the battle which wiped out just about every Avarus.

Much like his arrival in the Mortal Realm, Ira stood in the middle of a forest without a shred of clothing.

“Damn it,” He cursed while waving his hand.

A pile of clothes appeared in front of him before immediately disintegrating. It was clear that items from the Mortal Realm weren’t allowed in the Divine Realm. A long time ago, those who managed to ascend assumed that it was symbolic in a way, telling those who achieved the impossible to cut all ties with their former home. That lesson was completely lost on Ira, who hurriedly stashed away the Godsteel ring. It may have been due to the divine nature of Godsteel but it took longer to break down.

“So what am I supposed to do?” Ira asked aloud while looking around.

A lush forest that hummed with pure spiritual energy surrounded him on all sides. The sight of the bloody eradication of the Avarus Lupum was nowhere to be seen, buried undearth the growth and long forgotten by nearly all.

“Sss...Someone carries a scent I’ve never tasted before…” A glowing golden serpent slithered through the air.

Ira’s eyes flickered as he looked to the flying serpent. It was as long as a tree but almost appeared to be light as a feather as it gently glided in the air.

“A talking snake,” He muttered. At the moment, he couldn’t help but to feel a little peckish. Though Gods didn’t need to eat in order to replenish energy, Ira didn’t have any real divinity. As such couldn’t sit down for a few hours and let his body naturally recover from the divinity. No, the only thing would suffice was the consumption of another source of energy and a potential meal just made its way to him.

“Sss...Such a crass term to describe a creature such as me...What a wonderful smell you carry.” The Golden Serpent began to circle around Ira with curious eyes.

“I need information, snake.” Ira stated as he let the serpent examine him.

“Ha! You are mis-sss-staken. You are nothing but prey.” The Serpent’s golden scales began to shake in excitement. “I only took this moment to savor your scent–”

Before the Serpent could finish, Ira’s arm changed into its beast form becoming disproportionate to his body. The beast-like arm covered in black tendrils snatched the snake out of the air and slammed it into the ground before squeezing it until it appeared as if it would burst.

“W-wait! Information! You asked for information! I can answer any questions you may have!” The serpent hurriedly spat out anything it could to delay Ira.

“It’s a bit too late now,” Ira said with clear indifference. “Besides, I’m a bit hungry, you see.”

The second Ira finished speaking, the serpent was absorbed into the darkened hand of a beast, leaving behind a few scales.

A flash of memories filled his mind and none of them related to the Gods. It appeared that the Gods had little to no interaction with Divine Beasts, or at least, the ones that were serpents. The memories showed him territories that the many type of beasts held reign over with the most powerful being located near a mountain.

Ira leaped up to the top of one of the towering trees and could see his next destination. A nearby mountain covered with a faint fluorescent glow. From what he just learned, the mountain was off-limits to the weaker beasts since the “King” sat atop it. Instead of going directly to it, Ira decided to find more “food” on the way.

He dropped down from the tree and shifted into his beast form. A lumbering horned creature with four yellow eyes with its entire body covered in a coat of writhing darkness. The shine of its metallic teeth was the only thing that could contrast the ever present layer of moving shadows.

Ira let out a low growl that vibrated through the air, alerting any and every living creature in the forest that he was coming. He lowered his body and began running forward while spreading out his senses as his search began.

One thing that Ira had to admit was that his ascension gave him an irreplicable sense of freedom. In the Mortal Realm, the feeling of sealing all his power away was uncomfortable to say the least. Now, he struggled not to get lost in the instinctive urge to let loose though it wasn’t very hard considering his goals were still fresh in his mind.

The next thing Ira stumbled upon were a group of large hare with luminous blue fur. They tried to run away but they couldn’t escape his grasp and half of them were eaten in an instant.

He pushed further in the forest, finding white winged elk who flew away upon discovering him. His arm shot out, stretching to unnatural proportions, and grabbed several of the winged elk out of the sky before pulling them into his body and absorbing them.

“Still not enough,” Ira growled to himself before increasing his speed, his footsteps thundering throughout the forest.

…

Not too long after Ira began his hunt for food, Kara arrived where he previously stood. Her silver hair fluttered in the wind while she remained still, observing her environment. The scales of a Golden Serpent lay at her feet which drew her attention but that had nothing to do with an Avarus. Nearly hidden by the thick undergrowth, were a set of human footprints. She followed them and noticed that they abruptly increased in size until they were no longer the steps of a human.

“The Avarus!” Kara exclaimed before summoning a sword and a shortspear. Her silver wings spread out wide and she began to fly forward with the hopes of catching him. Along the way, she could see broken trees and half-eaten carcassess of various creatures. She found it shocking as she remembered her own experience after ascending. Dozens of Gods surrounded evaluate her and she struggled to adapt without a weapon in her hand. It was only soon after that she learned clothing and weapons were supposed to be created through magic or divine power.

Suddenly, a loud and painful roar reverberated through the air, breaking her away from her thoughts.

…

Meanwhile, Ira, the cause of the disturbance, was busy fighting.

“You intrude on my mountain!” A deep growl emerged from a large bipedal creature that sat between a bear and a lion with short antlers atop its head. It even stood shoulder to shoulder with Ira who towered over twenty feet in his beast form.

“Die!” Its dark bronze fur stood on end as its green eyes burned with fury. It raised its claw and swiped down at Ira who easily dodged while a rough laugh escaped from his lips.

“I don’t have time to enjoy this so…” As Ira trailed off he raised his hands and black mist spread out from his body before forming into a solid mass and wrapping around the angered beast king.

It roared out in pure rage but could do nothing as its limbs were broken and it was pulled toward Ira’s body. It thrashed around and unleashed its power but it was already too late, he was absorbed into the darkness covering Ira, leaving no sign he was even there to begin with.

“Not too far from Rythar’s level.” Ira could guess the level of strength after consuming the beast entirely. He didn’t gain anything noteworthy as far as abilities went, but there were memories of lower-ranked Gods as well as their locations. To be specific, there was God of Nature who wasn’t too far away. Since a Divine Beast fell in under the God of Nature, it made sense for any beast on the cusp of Godhood to be allied with it. There were many factions among the Gods even though they rarely ever engaged in combat.

“His domain shouldn’t be too far from here.” Ira shifted back into his human form, narrowing his eyes and gazing far into the distance. An array of huge trees assemble into a dome shape lay just beyond the horizon.

Just as Ira was about to move, he jumped backward without any warning. A second later a silver line cut through the air at a frightening speed.

“That wasn’t very nice.” Ira turned to see who his attacker was when he spotted a familiar face. “It’s you!” He shouted.

“Avarus! What have you done to my daughter?!” Kara’s face was a cold grimace as she charged toward Ira and thrust her short spear.

A thin silver line rushed out and bore through the mountain’s peak before continuing on until it couldn’t be seen.

“Hold on, just wait a second.” Ira disappeared before reemerging in front of Kara and attempting to restrain her.

“Don’t you dare touch me!” Kara’s sword flashed and Ira felt an immediate weightlessness where his forearm should've been.

“Hey!” Ira shouted as he watched his separated arm fall to the ground with a soft thump. He had no time to admire the swordsmanship that even escaped his perception as he was shocked at Kara’s violent reaction.

“Wait! Just hold on!” Ira waved his remaining arm as a sign of peace.

“My daughter, Avarus! If you know me then you must know of my daughter. There is no way you would’ve found record of me otherwise.” Kara pointed her sword at Ira.

“I know your daughter, yeah,” Ira said with a laugh.

“Speak clearly, Avarus.” Kara grit her teeth showing she was on the cusp of lashing out.

“Your daughter, Lauren Thynne, is in perfectly good health...I should be the one to know since I married her granddaughter.”

“...What?” Kara’s weapons nearly slipped from her grasp after hearing Ira’s words.

“Yup, Avery Thynne. I guess that makes you, what, my Great Grandmother-in-law?” Ira smiled brightly.

“A descendant of mine...married...you?” Kara looked Ira over in pure disbelief. Not only were they connected, but he was the Avarus that made many Gods cautious. And yet he stood in front of her and showed such a strange personality.

“Great Grandmother!” Ira shouted before covering his body with his hands. “Please, don’t stare so much!”

“You...You’re not serious are you?” Kara dropped her weapons, ignoring Ira’s comments.

If the Avarus had a relation to her that meant she was obligated to ally with him and face the wrath of numerous Gods. She had no fear toward fighting, but it meant a certain death unless Ira was as powerful as he made himself seen when he threatened the Gods and killed Rythar.

She looked at Ira again who twisted his body timidly upon noticing her stare.

“Great Grandmother, show some restraint,” Ira whispered shyly, though he intentionally said it loud enough for her to hear.

“Lauren...what have you done?” Kara’s face darkened even more as Ira’s teasing continued.

…

A few minutes later, the two were sitting across from each other. Kara created a dark grey cloak for Ira to cover himself with and the two began talking. After giving a short summary of how he got involved with the Valkyries, continuing on until the war with the Angels and his subsequent ascension. Kara kept her eyes closed and maintained her silence with unknown thoughts.

“I suppose I can rest easy knowing that she’s okay,” Kara sighed.

“Now, I think it’s time to discuss what it is you plan to do next...Ira.” She changed topics while regaining her serious bearing.

“Eat the God of Nature,” Ira replied plainly. He was no longer smiling as he did before since he was more than aware of the grave nature of his current situation.

“...Please try to be serious.” Kara spoke as patiently as she could.

“I am.”

“If you were you’d understand that Gods aren’t as easy to kill as you think. I even managed to sever your arm.”

“I let you.” Ira smirked.

“Did you really?” Kara seemed skeptical but Ira shrugged.

“You think I would let you get that close otherwise?” Ira flashed a faint grin.

They met each other’s eyes and neither of them showed signs of stepping down.

“Wait…” Ira suddenly averted his gaze, his brows were pinched together in confusion. “If the Angel’s maintained contact with the Gods, they should know that we have a connection.”

“What do you mean?” Kara inquired.

“The Thynne Family Valkyries were practically seen as their own nation back in the Mortal Realm and everyone knew I married one of them. There’s no way the Angel’s skipped over that detail when reporting to the Gods...Did you really have no idea?”

Kara went silent before her eyes flashed in realization. “Then...at least some of the Gods already know and they would’ve made plans for it-”

She was about to continue when she noticed that Ira was looking past her. She followed his gaze and looked up only to see a bright array of light shining down.

“Defend yourself!” Kara shouted just before the mountain erupted under a bombardment of blinding divine energy.

A powerful aftershock spread through the forest of Divine Beast uprooting the trees and overturning the soil. Clouds of dust filled the air and then slowly fell, revealing part of a huge crater with no trace of the sturdy mountain from before.

Three Gods were floating in the air by different means, they each surveyed the sight of smoldering destruction without the slightest hint of remorse.