Chapter 206: Battle begins

Outer space above Orimund trembled faintly.

The five gods stared at Zane for a moment after his declaration.

Then—

Laughter erupted.

Drakthar threw his head back first.

“Ahahahahaha—!!”

His divine aura shook as he laughed, veins bulging across his muscular arms.

Even Vorathrax allowed a low chuckle to escape his lips, the sound cold and disdainful. Beside him, the twins exchanged glances before laughing openly, amusement flickering through their identical green eyes.

Lilithara laughed the loudest.

Her voice was sharp, venomous.

“You’re a funny mortal,” she said mockingly. “I’ll give you that.”

Her black eyes narrowed.

“But you should know your place. Stand behind Eirenyssa.”

She tilted her staff slightly.

“You may be the strongest among mortals. That’s probably why you’re this confident.”

Her smile twisted.

“But compared to us… you are nothing.”

Zane waved his hand lazily.

“Bla bla bla,” he muttered.

The laughter faded.

Vorathrax stepped forward, divine pressure rolling outward.

“Eirenyssa,” he said calmly, “we are here to destroy the mortal realm.”

His gaze hardened.

“And to destroy you along with it.”

Eirenyssa stiffened.

“You possess knowledge of the destruction plan,” he continued. “That alone warrants execution in god realm as your realm is against this plan they can’tknow about this.”

He paused.

“But I do not wish to kill a divine being needlessly—especially you’re standing before us.”

He raised two fingers.

“You have two choices.”

The first finger lowered.

“Stand aside. Watch this planet be erased—along with this mortal.”

The second finger followed.

“Then come with us to the god realm and face your punishment.”

His eyes gleamed faintly.

“If you obey, I will speak with the higher gods to lessen your sentence.”

A beat of silence.

“If you refuse,” Vorathrax said flatly, “we will kill you first.”

“And destroy the planet regardless.”

Eirenyssa turned her head.

Her stormy grey eyes looked at Zane.

“…What should we do, my lord?”

Zane didn’t hesitate.

“Let’s just kill all of them.”

She nodded instantly.

“Yes, my lord.”

Drakthar’s expression snapped.

Veins bulged across his temples.

Lilithara’s eyes flared with rage. The twins’ calm expressions shattered, divine power surging violently around them.

Even Vorathrax’s composure cracked.

“Drakthar,” he ordered coldly.

“Kill them.”

Drakthar stepped forward.

“You are a divine being,” he growled at Eirenyssa, “yet you lower yourself to follow a mortal.”

His aura ignited.

Yellow divine mana exploded outward, forming a blazing storm around his body. Shockwaves rippled through space itself, distorting the stars behind him.

“You defy the will of the higher gods!”

Eirenyssa clenched her fists.

Her own divine mana surged.

A pale golden aura bloomed around her—beautiful, refined… yet clearly weaker.

The difference was undeniable.

Her power paled compared to Drakthar’s.

Between them—

Zane stood calmly.

No aura.

No pressure.

No divine glow.

Just a relaxed smile.

Drakthar looked down at them, power roaring around him.

“So,” he said coldly, “before I kill you both—any last words?”

Zane tilted his head.

“Oh. I do have a question.”

Drakthar sneered.

“Speak, mortal.”

Zane’s purple eyes glinted.

“Does your realm have a god of war?”

Drakthar frowned slightly, then answered proudly.

“Yes. There is one.”

His chest swelled.

“The one and only God of War—an existence of unimaginable might.”

He smiled viciously.

“My master.”

“Ares.”

Zane’s lips curved upward.

“…So if I kill him,” he said casually,

“does that make me the god of war?”

Space went silent.

Drakthar’s eyes turned blood-red.

Every vein on his body throbbed violently.

“How dare you,” he roared, divine mana detonating outward,

“insult my master—a higher god—!”

He vanished.

A golden blur shot straight toward Zane.

Drakthar crossed the distance in an instant.

Divine mana screamed as his fist tore through space itself, aimed straight at Zane’s face.

Eirenyssa’s eyes widened.

She moved on instinct, divine aura surging as she prepared to intercept—

But Zane stepped forward first.

He raised a single finger.

Just his index finger.

The punch collided.

BOOM—!

Orange sparks erupted at the point of contact as if metal had struck metal. Space folded inward, then burst outward violently. A colossal shockwave expanded in every direction, ripping through the void.

Far below, Orimund shuddered.

Both of its moons trembled, their orbits shaking as the aftershock reached them seconds later.

Drakthar’s fist… had stopped.

Completely.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

The other gods froze.

“…What?” one of the twins muttered.

Lilithara’s pupils shrank.

“Impossible,” she whispered. “How is that possible…?”

Drakthar staggered back, retreating instinctively toward the others, his arm trembling as if he had just struck an immovable wall.

Vorathrax’s expression darkened.

“He’s not simple,” he said slowly.

“That man is no mortal.”

His gaze sharpened as he studied Zane.

“I believe… he is a divine being as well.”

Lilithara snapped her head toward him.

“That’s impossible. I don’t sense even a trace of divine mana from him.”

Vorathrax let out a low hum.

“Then my estimation is this,” he replied calmly.

“He practices a technique that completely conceals divine presence.”

The leader’s lips curved faintly.

“He is either equal to Drakthar—”

His eyes narrowed.

“Or stronger.”

Lilithara clenched her staff.

“But he stopped Drakthar’s attack with one finger…!”

Vorathrax smirked.

“Do you truly believe,” he said quietly,

“that Drakthar was using his full strength?”

Zane glanced down at the planet Orimund far below them.

The familiar red sky, the twin suns, the countless lives continuing beneath its surface.

He exhaled lightly.

“Hey,” he said, looking back at the five gods, “why don’t we take this fight somewhere else?”

Lilithara’s lips curled faintly after hearing Vorathrax’s assessment of his strength.

“Oh?” she said mockingly. “You’re worried about the mortal realm?”

Vorathrax gave a small nod.

“That would be acceptable,” he replied. He raised his arm and pointed toward the far void.

“There’s a lifeless planet approximately one point three million eonspans from here.”

He glanced briefly at Zane.

“In mortal measurements—around forty-three million waymarks.”

Zane calculated automatically.

…So about one hundred thirty million kilometers.

That’s close.

“Yeah,” he said casually. “That works.”

Lilithara tightened her grip on her staff.

Violet-gold hex runes ignited around its wings, spiraling outward as space itself twisted under her spell.

In the next instant—

The gods vanished.

Zane and Eirenyssa vanished with them.

—

They reappeared on a dead world.

A cold, dusty planet stretched endlessly beneath their feet, its surface cracked and lifeless. Thin storms of frozen ash drifted across the land. Above, an orange sky burned beneath two distant red suns, smaller than Orimund’s, yet still oppressive in their glow.

Zane looked around once.

Then smiled.

“Alright,” he said lightly.

“Now come—let me kill you.”

Eirenyssa stepped forward, divine aura tightening around her body.

“My lord,” she said firmly, “I want to fight as well.”

Zane glanced sideways at her.

“I don’t want to be a useless servant,” she continued. “I can fight.”

He studied her for a moment, eyes calm but measuring.

“…You sure you can handle one of them?”

Eirenyssa nodded without hesitation.

Zane pointed lazily toward the witch.

“Then you take the hex goddess. Or whatever her name was.”

Eirenyssa nodded and stepped forward.

Lilithara’s expression twisted violently.

“You bastard—!” she screamed.

“After I kill this bitch, you’re next!”

Eirenyssa ready to face Lilithara, aura flaring.

Zane turned back toward the remaining four gods.

A faint smile spread across his face.

“Alright,” he said.

“All four of you—come at me.”

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