Chapter 290: How Evil Deities Are Born, Backing and Backgrounds?
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Aschuc found it hard to believe.
He had never expected the Divine War to trigger this early.
Seeing the sheer disbelief etched on his face, Seito's eyes flashed with a sharp, calculating gleam.
"Do you happen to know something?"
Seito surmised that this Divine War wasn't as straightforward as the literal name implied. Otherwise, a literal deity wouldn't be showing this kind of reaction!
Hearing Seito's voice, Kirukiru Amou held off on launching her next attack, stepping back to wait for the Blade God's answer.
"I do know a thing or two," Aschuc replied grimly. "Though it is called the Divine War, it would be more accurate to call it a trial that separates True Gods from Evil Deities!"
"In this conflict, the victorious deities will ascend as True Gods, gaining the authority to enter the higher echelons above the God Domain. As for the losers... they are branded as Evil Deities and permanently banished from the universe!"
He didn't particularly mind sharing this information with Seito and his group. After all, it was a piece of lore that anyone could easily unearth just by asking around among other deities.
Hearing this, Seito and his companions exchanged meaningful glances.
So that's how Evil Deities are born?
No wonder the journal entry back on the 51st floor had expressed such profound shock regarding the true identity of an Evil Deity. At their core, Evil Deities were still gods—they were simply the discarded pool of candidates who had been slapped with the loser's label.
However...
The revelation that the Divine War was a contest to secure the title of a True God and gain passage to the upper realms thoroughly piqued Seito's interest.
"It looks like I'll have to fully commit to this Divine War after all," Seito murmured, stroking his chin with a smile. There was no way he was going to pass up an opportunity to climb to a higher realm.
While Seito was lost in thought, Aschuc narrowed his eyes and spoke up, his voice taking on a warning tone.
"I advise you all to tread lightly. I belong to the Divine King Star Region, serving directly under the Weapon Divine King. I suggest you carefully weigh the consequences of executing me!"
Hearing this, the expressions of Seito and his crew turned thoroughly amused.
Well, damn.
Talk about a cliché. They actually stumbled upon a deity with powerful backing?
However... a Divine King, huh?
Seito tapped his chin in contemplation. He wasn't entirely sure if a Divine King could bypass world boundaries to descend into the God Domain and slaughter them. But logically speaking, a powerhouse of that caliber wouldn't be able to cross over so casually. Even if the enemy utilized some sort of high-tier, specialized artifact, it shouldn't pose an existential threat.
At worst, they could always report the breach to the God Domain's system logs. As long as the Divine King couldn't wipe them out in a single, instantaneous strike, it wouldn't be an issue.
Seito already had a solid contingency plan in mind. He would have Kirukiru Amou beat the Blade God within an inch of his life, and then he would step in to deliver the final blow himself!
That way, even if the Weapon Divine King possessed a tracking mechanism to register who killed his subordinate, Seito could easily use his Kamui dimension to completely evade any retaliatory strikes or tracking curses.
The only potential headache would be dealing with the fallout once they eventually advanced into the Divine King Star Region themselves.
But that was a problem for future Seito. For now, he had plenty of room to farm and grow within the God Domain. By the time he actually set foot in the Divine King Star Region... who was to say he wouldn't be a Divine King himself?
With that thought, Seito brought up his personal status panel.
[Name]: Seito
[Divine Title]: Spatial God
[Level]: Peak-tier Deity
[Divinity]: Spatial Divinity Core
[Innate Talent]: Spatial Mastery
[Divine Energy Required for Advancement]: 3,280,000 / 10,000,000
[Skills]: Velocity Space (Exclusive), Spatial Movement (Exclusive), Spatial Void Step (Exclusive), Spatial Dragon's Roar (Exclusive), Spatial Dragon's Breath (Exclusive), Dimensional Slash (Exclusive), Kamui Dimension (Exclusive), Spatial Storm (Exclusive), Blessing of the Swift Wind (Exclusive), Spatial Perception (Exclusive), Life Heal.
[Equipment]: Spatial God Set (Divine Tier)
Ever since he had hunted down a few deities earlier that morning, his Divine Energy reserves had climbed to over three million. At this rate, it wouldn't take long at all before he successfully broke through to the Divine King realm!
This farming efficiency is absolutely beautiful, Seito grinned broadly.
The moment he ascended to a Divine King, the level caps for all his Subordinate Gods—including Kirukiru Amou—would automatically scale up with him. Thus, he felt zero intimidation toward Aschuc's threats.
Lifting his eyes to look at the battle-ready goddess, Seito offered a confident smile.
"Amou, don't kill him. Just beat him until he's completely crippled!"
"Got it!"
Hearing the sheer confidence in Seito's voice, Kirukiru Amou smiled fiercely. With a surge of divine light, she manifested a long spear in her grip!
This was her second offensive divine artifact, one she rarely brought out in combat. After all, compared to standard weaponry, she vastly preferred the raw, visceral satisfaction of driving her bare fists into an enemy's flesh. But that didn't mean she lacked mastery over the spear.
Whoosh!
Closing the distance with blinding speed once more, Kirukiru Amou launched a fierce offensive against Aschuc! Her strikes were exponentially more violent and chaotic than before, instantly overwhelming the Blade God's defenses.
"Damn it!"
Aschuc's heart hammered against his ribs in sheer panic. He had already thrown down his ultimate trump card, yet Seito and his crew didn't display a single shred of hesitation. This was entirely outside his calculations.
Could it be... do they have an equally terrifying backing? Is there a rival Divine King standing behind them?
Aschuc felt utterly slighted by fate, his mind spiraling into dark frustration. Under Kirukiru Amou's relentless spear techniques, his ability to deflect her blows rapidly deteriorated. Incorporating the spear allowed her to weave complex, unpredictable attack patterns; the moment he successfully parried the tip of her spear, a heavy fist would crash into his ribs. When he shifted his focus to block her fist, the spear would lunge forward to pierce his flank.
The desperate scramble left him completely battered. His divine form shattered in multiple places, golden divine blood spraying across the vacuum of space like water from a broken main.
"Looks like this match is effectively over," Sora chuckled, a relaxed smirk on his face.
Kirukiru Amou truly proved herself to be one of the strongest Harbingers alongside himself, Shiro, and Maple. Her raw, instinctual combat experience was simply unparalleled.
"Yeah," Seito nodded in agreement. Turning back to the party, he suggested, "How about the rest of you retreat into my Kamui dimension or the Divine Kingdom for now?"
"Eh? Everything is going so well, though. Why do we need to hide inside the Divine Kingdom?" Maple asked blankly, blinking her large eyes in confusion.
Ako, Nishimiya Shouko, and Liz looked equally bewildered.
"Sigh," Sally let out a helpless breath, stepping forward to explain the potential threat of the Weapon Divine King tracking them and the strategic precautions Seito was taking.
Hearing her breakdown, Maple and the others finally experienced a moment of clarity.
So that's what he's planning!
"Seito-kun, we'll head into the Kamui dimension then! We know for sure we can still leech experience points while party-sharing inside the Kamui dimension, but we aren't sure if the party system stretches across the Divine Kingdom," Maple answered reasonably.
As long as they remained inside the Kamui dimension while maintaining an active party status, the game mechanics would still allow them to absorb the massive experience bounty from the upcoming kill.
"Alright, sounds like a plan."
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Thank you for reading.