Chapter 160

Ch.160 Apostle of the Goddess of War

Ka-BOOM!

Anarantis’s flaming sword clashed with Sion’s black greatsword. Shockwaves rippled outward, shaking heavy boulders.

Clang! Clang!

Anarantis resisted fiercely—her swordsmanship honed through countless battles against monsters.

She would not yield, even before the Apostle of the Goddess of War.

Clang!

Sion thrust his blade sharply. Anarantis barely dodged by tilting her head, then countered instantly.

Her fiery arc scraped across the ground, drawing a ring of flame—depriving Sion of footing.

Whoosh!

Sion blinked. He accelerated a divine ring beneath his feet, stepping lightly over the flames and continuing his footwork.

Whoom!

He swung his greatsword in a massive arc—but Anarantis jumped back in shock.

The greatsword, absurdly huge, had bent like a whip.

“What!”

She’d never seen such swordsmanship.

Anarantis was skilled—but her experience was narrow.

To grow stronger as an apostle, she needed to fight not just monsters, but diverse human swordsmen and demons as well.

“Fire!”

Ka-KABOOM!

Anarantis urgently invoked her power. Fire erupted, consuming the area—heat so intense it became nearly impassable.

But Sion wore the Mantle of Divine Descent—infused with countless protective blessings.

Flames kindled by mortal hands couldn’t harm him.

Whoosh!

Sion cleaved through the inferno—this time wielding yet another blade.

‘Already the third…!’

First the Yogeo, then the black greatsword, now the eerie-patterned, unsettling Demon Sword—Mago.

Mago extinguished the surrounding flames—leaving Anarantis no way to block Sion’s advance.

Clang!

Gritting her teeth, Anarantis parried the strike—her wrist bones aching sharply.

“To wield so many blades with such mastery… Truly the Goddess of War’s Apostle.”

While binding blades, Anarantis attempted conversation—to better gauge her opponent.

But Sion answered only with attack—denying her any chance to catch her breath or decipher his intent.

“Hah.”

His steadying breath was brief—white vapor escaping his lips.

‘Dangerous!’

Anarantis instantly assumed full defensive posture—so startled she deployed every defensive measure available as Apostle of Fire.

Slice!

A lock of Anarantis’s long hair fell—severed.

Mago had grazed her neck in an instant she hadn’t even perceived.

Had she not reflexively used her power, her head would’ve been gone.

Click.

Sion sheathed his sword.

His back alone radiated overwhelming knightly majesty. Anarantis felt as if she’d hit a wall.

“I meant to finish it. Impressive.”

Sion muttered to himself.

Anarantis wiped cold sweat from her neck—her palm came away with a faint smear of blood.

‘Thankfully shallow. I nearly died.’

Sion reached into empty air and drew the Yogeo once more.

Whirl

.

He spun the blade idly with his wrist—radiating utter composure.

‘We’re both apostles… yet this gap exists?’

Anarantis stared at Sion with an unreadable expression—somewhere between laughter and tears.

Sion paused mid-step.

“Why are you smiling?”

The Apostle of Fire replied:

“Feels like I’ve found my goal.”

“Your goal?”

Anarantis assumed a stance—her competitive spirit now even stronger.

“I just realized I have this rivalry within me too.”

“Hmph.”

Sion twisted the corner of his mouth in a faint smile—the silent language of warriors. He was delighted.

He felt a petty, reckless urge—to forget the mission entirely and just exchange blows endlessly.

“That’s good.”

The two apostles smiled at each other.

Sparks ignited in their hearts.

Just as they steadied breath for a final strike—

Ka-BOOM!

The earth trembled—literally shaking, then melting and flowing like liquid.

“W-what?”

Anarantis looked up in shock. Sion stared at the same place, muttering:

“Huh. Seems she’s using too much power.”

“What…?”

Anarantis stared at Sion, demanding explanation.

Sion sighed and sheathed his sword—this was no longer a fight.

Goddess Achille was speaking to him.

[Sion, Kaia is rampaging. She hasn’t shaken off her old Evil God habits. Go stop her.]

Achille truly sought to punish the Fire Cult—but never indiscriminate slaughter.

So far, not a single Fire Cultist had died.

Whoosh!

Sion vanished instantly—as if carried by the wind.

Anarantis barely caught her breath—but with the ground melting beneath her feet, she had no time to rest.

[Hurry and regroup your people for retreat, my apostle.]

Agnia’s command also reached her.

“But shouldn’t I help, my Goddess?”

Agnia replied, voice tinged with irritation:

[Do not question, my apostle. Just obey. I have a way to crush those fools.]

“…My apologies.”

Chastised by her Goddess, Anarantis gave a bitter smile.

After a brief hesitation, she immediately sheathed her sword and rushed toward the gate.

‘No more thinking. I am the Apostle of Fire. I move only as the guiding flame commands…’

***

Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!

Sion stood atop a hill, watching the disaster Kaiya had unleashed.

A girl stood with arms raised toward the sky—channeling her power.

Yet her old epithet—Evil God of Chaos—had not faded.

From her fingertips and beneath her feet, ultimate chaos erupted.

Earth and sky liquefied, flowing like rivers.

A colossal typhoon swallowed ground and rock, hurling them into the heavens.

Ha-ha-ha-ha…

“Insane.”

[Seems she held back too long—and now her nature breaks free. Perfect excuse to topple an enemy, don’t you think?]

“Is she disobeying you, my Goddess?”

Achille crossed her arms, watching Kaiya’s rampage with clouded eyes.

[She probably meant to hold back at first.]

“So she got carried away and lost control…?”

[Precisely. She holds a Goddess’s power within a human body—she hasn’t adapted yet.]

“Ugh. My head hurts.”

Sion clicked his tongue. Thanks to Arwen’s efforts, there were no casualties—yet if Kaia wasn’t restrained, total annihilation loomed. She was a catastrophe capable of obliterating the entire continent.

“The power of Goddesses is viciously overwhelming.”

Achille nodded calmly—her black hair fluttering beautifully in the tempest’s gale.

[Well, yes. Any of us could wipe out humanity if we truly wished.]

They’d only been restrained by Eru’s presence—

Achille’s eyes turned bitter, and she swallowed her words.

“Then I’ll go stop her before it’s too late.”

Sion drew his sword.

Whirr.

The Yogeo roared menacingly.

He took a breath, staring at the chaos vortex swelling madly in size.

‘I must throw myself into that maelstrom.’

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t afraid—but with the Goddess of War watching over him, he felt safe.

His fear scattered like wind.

[No, Sion. Even you can’t approach Kaia right now.]

“Then what do we do?”

Achille smiled confidently. As the world grew more chaotic, the Goddess of War’s name only rose in value.

[My power has recovered further. I shall bestow a gift upon my apostle.]

“There’s such a thing?”

[She’s mine—my steed who’s fought beside me across countless battlefields.

My divinity has finally grown strong enough to summon her again after so long.]

Sion gulped.

The Goddess of War’s personal mount—its sanctity and beauty were beyond imagination.

[Rise.]

Thus spoke Achille.

The ground beneath Sion split open—thick, scaled reptilian hide emerged.

“Huh!?”

Sion staggered once, then regained balance atop the suddenly risen mount.

GwOOOO!

The Goddess of War’s steed roared beneath the swirling sky.

“What is this…!”

Sion cried out in surprise. The Goddess stroked the monstrous lifeform emerging from the earth with affection.

[Long time no see, Bashi.]

“Bashi?”

KwOOOO!

The creature called Bashi was a lizard the size of a small mountain.

Except for its obsidian-black hide—so stunning it stole breath—it was indistinguishable from a world-shaking Earth Dragon.

[A Basilisk. Bashi is her pet name.]

“Oh… pet name.”

[What’s that look for, my apostle?]

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”

[Is it truly nothing?]

“Of course.”

[Do well, my apostle.]

“Yes.”

Thwack!

At Achille’s gesture, reins formed at Bashi’s mouth.

Sion instinctively seized the divine reins.

GwOOO!

“Aaaaaah!”

Bashi charged without warning—leaping off the cliff the moment the reins appeared.

Ka-BOOM! Ka-BOOM!

Each of Bashi’s steps shook the earth—each stride triggered earthquakes.

Yet even Bashi’s overwhelming size was but a puppy before the vortex Kaiya had created.

“Let’s go!”

Sion shouted.

Puppy Bashi roared, hurling her body toward the airborne boulders circling above.

Whooooom!

Wheeeeeee!

Plunging into the typhoon, Sion faced a storm that shredded everything in its path.

The eye of the storm.

At its center, Kaia raged uncontrollably.

Sion yelled to Bashi:

“There! Take me right there!”

Grrrrr!

Bashi writhed like she was dancing—dodging boulders and uprooted trees hurtling at impossible speeds.

Whizz! Whizz!

Rocks of all sizes and unknown debris posed constant threats.

Sion immediately drew his greatsword, holding it like a shield.

Everything here was chaos itself.

Order did not exist.

Whizz!

A boulder grazed just over Sion’s head.

Heart-stopping—but exhilaration surged through him.

He shouted, releasing his heightened emotions:

“Yikes! I’ve completely lost my mind!”

GwOOO!

Bashi joined in—battering rock fragments with her armored body.

Even massive boulders couldn’t pierce her iron scales.

Ka-BOOM! Ka-BOOM!

Bashi tore violently through the vortex, leaping across orbiting rocks that circled Kaiya like heavenly stairs.

Whizz!

Bashi and Sion finally reached the eye of the storm.

Sion cried out from midair:

“Bashi! Throw me there!”

GwOOO!

[Go, Sion!]

Even the Goddess shouted, fully excited. The roar of war enveloped Sion.

Tiny fragments were blocked by sanctity and the Mantle of Divine Descent.

Sion fell like a meteor— a black streak plummeting toward Kaia.

Kaia still hadn’t regained consciousness—

she existed only as pure Chaos, bent on drowning the world in entropy.

‘Should I cut her down?’

No.

She must not die.

He never wished for that.

Nor was it the Goddess’s command.

Sion sheathed his sword.

Just before colliding with Kaiya— he clenched his fist tightly.

Thwack!

With a forceful landing, Sion veered past Kaia’s head—

landing a solid bonk.

“Aaah—!”

Kaya screamed, regaining full consciousness in an instant.

Accelerated from the heavens, that

‘bonk’

carried more destructive force than most attacks.

Only her divine body allowed her to survive.

Kaia’s pupils vanished—covered by white—the Evil God of Chaos had returned to the Goddess of Order.

But she couldn’t hold consciousness—Kaia fainted instantly.

“

Phew

…”

Sion staggered to his feet—landing had taken a heavy toll.

Starlight flickered along his legs.

Thud.

He finally collapsed.

“My—my Goddess… I think my legs are broken.”

[That’s what I expected.]

The Goddess laughed in relief, stroking her apostle’s head in gratitude.

His shattered bones slowly reknit.

The sky had already cleared.

Moonlight gently bathed Sion and Bashi.

She still hadn’t calmed from the humiliation of treatment she’d never experienced before.

“I’ll burn Elim to ashes to repay that disgrace.”

Ravienne twisted her cherry-like lips into a smile.

Elim was defenseless—its apostle absent.

Even the War Knights or the Apostle of the Wildflower Cult would be overwhelmed by her current forces.

“Well then…”

Ravienne began galloping across Elim’s quiet fields.