Chapter 324 - A Plan from Ancient Times (2)

“Bring them all down?...”

A shiver went down my spine.

‘Not just one, but them all?’

Surely, that was what echoed in everyone’s mind. My gaze immediately turned to Eryn. Most of us knew about the effects of Godfall, but only the two of us had seen it happen before our eyes. Lamps Magellan, having called the God of Mana down, became a force to be reckoned with.

But that had resulted in control over his own body wrestled away, taken over by the divine being. Somehow, Olivia managed to get through to him, dragged his spirit out. He regained control again, long enough to reject the plan of turning everyone in the world into mindless puppets.

Granted, the power that each God possessed was immeasurable, and likely, the researchers may have seen no other way to fight back a world that was decaying. But taking control of the Gods and using their power…

“…It’s far too dangerous,” Lady Kaguya said. “Stories tell of the Divine Gods being able to rewrite the very existence of the world. That does not belong in the hands of man. We could easily destroy ourselves before we have the chance to save it.”

Even an Electi’s power, being a fraction of a god’s power bestowed upon a person, showed how devastating of an impact one became. All of us could feel it in our cores. Bringing the Gods down was better left sealed off like it had been in the first place.

“Damn, guess we shouldn’t have just ripped up the defenses, eh?”

“For once, you point out something intelligible before me.” Wen Lu jabbed his brother in the arm.

Katalina scanned through the windows, finally bringing up one before us.

“It appears that this site is set up to bring about such an operation, but it was never carried out.”

“For good reason too, it would probably make the battle with the Demon Army a cakewalk in comparison. I can’t imagine what would happen if all of us lost our minds due to this. Then truly, there would be no one left to defend the world.”

A thought flashed into my mind.

‘Could this be the cause of everything? That ominous landscape, my friends defeated.’

That which had god-like powers was likely the only thing that could take us all down. Just like the threat that the previous Godfall had almost caused, the realization of this danger suddenly sprung upon me. On all of us.

We all turned toward the terminal. Like a big red button of doom, it lit up in queue for activation, waiting for an Apostle to confirm its execution. Katalina had broken through all the security that this operation was placed behind. And now, we were staring at the contents of Pandora’s box.

“We’ve got to find a way to deactivate this. To make sure no one can use it.”

I approached the terminal, knife drawn. I swallowed as a single conclusion bubbled up to my trembling hand.

“Should we destroy it, this whole place?”

Rid this world of a power that could upend it – that seemed like the best thing to do. As the others nodded for me to cut the terminal into pieces, I took a step forward to charge up a mana-imbued swing.

My arm moved forward, bringing about a white glow of destruction. We got everything that we needed from this place. It was time to put it to rest.

“…Change.. the world…”

A voice suddenly whispered to me, almost like it came from within. I turned to see where it was coming from, but it might have been an illusion for all I knew. But then again, I found my thoughts to be a bit fuzzy in this divine glow.

“Claude, wh-what are you doing?!” Katalina cried out, which snapped me back to attention.

I looked down and became horrified. Instead of cutting down the terminal, the knife had dropped out of my hand. Instead, my palm was placed firmly upon the surface.

“Systems executing…”

An artificial voice echoed in the room, surprising all of us.

“Why, why is my hand, why can’t I take it off?!”

The divine glow was still surrounding my hand. I found myself unable to move it off the terminal as Operation Godfall started up. And all during that time, the whispers became louder and louder.

“Change the world… Change the world! Change the world!”

And they became ever so clear. It was my own voice. Or rather, the same voice that the God of Critical talked to me in. He was waiting, waiting for the slightest window of opportunity. The divine powers that I was using traveled up my arm, holding it firm. It wouldn’t let me move from that very spot.

“Claude, your divine energy signature! It’s off the charts! What is, what is even happening?!”

“The dreams, this moment, it must be that god! It’s done everything it could to lead me here! But why?! I don’t get it! I don’t get it, but everyone, get away from me now!”

Everyone was going to get caught up in it. Presumably, every Electi that stood here would likely have a god forced upon them. And then, what would become of us?

The ground began to shake. Divine energy grew dense all around us. I beckoned for everyone to escape, while they still had the chance.

“The gateways aren’t… working?” I heard someone say, but I couldn’t see who. The hum of mana flooding the terminal drowned it out.

“All the divine energy is making this place unstable! We have no other choice!”

Voices of panic echoed in the room as they sought for another way to escape. I cursed at myself. I had questioned the motives of a whimsical god that never seemed to give me all that many answers. But I had some measure of trust in it, as I had been helped so many times in the past.

But the sinister voice as it spoke to me just now – that made me drop all respect for it. It was a voice full of greed and wily anticipation. Like that of a villain whose plan had finally come to fruition after biding his time for so long.

And as a beam of white light hit me, I suddenly realized what its objective was. But I was too late, far too late to warn the others of its grand plan. And as I lost feeling in my extremities and the will of another infected my core, I was ever so certain.

‘We were doomed.’

The God of Critical’s goal had been all of us. Or rather, the death of all the other Gods. But the only way to do that was to bring them down into mortal shells. Cores that served as prisons. But by destroying those cores housing them, a god’s powers could be consumed.

Just like Lamps’ end.

Just like when I had slain the god within Eryn.

The powers combined into one.

And in the end, the God of Critical would be a ‘God of All’.

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A fierce explosion rocked the terminal, sending everyone trying to escape flying. Hardly anyone could tell what was going on around them. And for the Electi themselves, it seemed like white columns of light struck them where they stood.

Slowly, signs of life moved from within the debris, a new part of the city wrecked. Two ladies crawled forward, reaching their hands out to pull the other towards them. Dust settled around the area, kicked up from the terminal where they once were blowing up during the activation of Godfall.

Katalina and Kaguya stared in awe at the sight around them. Their respective Electi were frozen in place, trapped by the very power that they drew strength from. They looked around, seeing that Saki, Ludmila, Chrys, Lau, and Koujiro were in a similar situation. Those around them tried to pull them out of the light, but it merely knocked them back.

All they could do was stare and wait for whatever was to come.

Their hands gripped each other’s hard. They could feel it as well. Something very wrong was going to happen, but what, they couldn’t tell.

The dense white mana around them caused the hairs on their body to stand straight up. The light coming down from the heavens was an ominous beacon.

After almost a minute, the bright column dissolved, leaving a set of Electi who carried auras rich in divinity. Far more than Ascended, their powers felt like another step above. Their faces looked up, blank, like they had just woken up from a deep slumber. Almost confused, they tested their bodies, as if a feeling long forgotten and brought forth again.

But where the center of the explosion happened, where Claude had remained, the underground room of the terminal was merely a crater, with the ruins of a city fanning around it.

Katalina immediately thought to head back, to check on him. But then, a bright white aura shone from within the dust cloud. All at once, the dust cleared, like it had been swept away. Or rather, ‘cut’ away.

A glowing Claude walked out from the crater, holding an expression that she had never seen before. Immediately, she knew that it was not Claude inside. It was the God of Critical that possessed him.

But even knowing that, what could she do?

Katalina turned toward Kaguya, but the Oracle was busy lamenting over her own troubles. Her mouth was agape, staring at the Sun twins who had changed as well. The closer the ties, the quicker it was that one would know when their partners were not themselves. It took only ten seconds for tears to well up in Kaguya’s eyes.

“How… how could such a thing happen?...”

That statement alone was a wall of faith crumbling from a lack of cement holding it. For the divine beings that she had worshipped to suddenly become humanized and take over the very ones that she loved, it shook her beliefs. In her mind, gods had to stay as gods and man as man.

Unsure of what to do, Katalina pulled out her magic guns and walked forward, leveling her aim right upon her own lover. She watched as he walked forward, a look of utter confidence upon his lips. It was a sneer, conniving and cold. It was not Claude. It was not Claude…

The first one that he approached was Ludmila, which made Katalina tighten her grip on the button to fire. But then, Claude stopped and looked down at her, giving a nod of the head.

“Milensea, long time no see.”

“C-Claude? But I feel Grendosa and Cielle within you as well. How can that be?”

Claude, who Ludmila suddenly referred to with other unfamiliar names, shook his head.

“It’s a long story… but it’s alright. Things are finally working out. Won’t you lend me a hand as well?”

Ludmila, who was referred to as Milensea, backed away in surprise. But then, she leaned forward to grasp Claude’s hand. All during this time, Katalina watched on, dumbfounded by gods speaking to each other with a sense of familiarity.

But that all changed in the next moment.

With one swift motion, Claude’s hand plunged into Ludmila’s belly. And with a bloody gurgle from her lips, she turned to Claude in surprise. A god betraying another god had never occurred to her. But the evidence was the ripped-out core from her body. With a flash of white light, the core exploded in his hands, sending a small ripple through the area.

It was not the explosion that happened in Bryansk, as this time, the powers of the God of Speed were sucked into Claude right away. Having gotten what he wanted, he let Ludmila’s lifeless body drop to the ground.

Now, four powers were housed in one body.

And as Claude- or rather, the god possessing him looked upon the others, they all knew that he was coming for them as well. It was him that the dream had warned about.

Katalina fired her guns at him. Even knowing that it would likely do nothing, even if she knew it was hopeless, Claude would want someone to stop him.