"Did we do it?" Ragnar asked curiously, didn't expect the victory would come that easily.
"It seeds like it." Ravenna stretched her arms and yawned. "Ahhh~ When will Benimaru finish? I had to wake up so early today."
"It won't take much time. With the Lord's new strength, he might be able to finish the mission in a few minutes." Ragnar made a rough estimation with the information he knew of. Ragnar had seen Benimaru's growth, and he could feel the energy radiating out of him every time he exited from his cultivation session.
A glittering smile appeared on Ravenna's face. "Really? Let's go! I can have a long rest before Benimaru finds a new mission."
"Uhhh…" Ragnar got reminded of something when he saw Ravenna make this claim. He hesitated a bit before deciding to spill it out. "Umm… Miss Ravenna, you have to work on making new potions and pills after this mission. Oh, also, you have to find apprentices that could take your teaching."
"Wha-" Ravenna was left speechless, as she had never heard of anything like this. "Ragnar, are you joking with me? Tell me this is a lie."
Ragnar stared at Ravenna's puppy eyes, filled with tears. He wanted to lie, but it would be no use as her end was inevitable. "Sorry to say this, but the Lord has discussed this with me these past days."
"And you didn't try to deny such a task? I thought we were comrades." Ravenna started throwing her usual tantrums, giving Ragnar a large headache.
Fiain just watched them do their shenanigans with a slight smile on her face. It was true that she was always cold and devoid of any emotion, but that didn't mean she didn't like this. She would rather stay with them peacefully than go to war every time. But if it was Benimaru's wish, then that was a different case.
However, at that moment, Fiain's eyes shot open as she shouted, looking at where Ahat was lying. "Be Careful! He isn't dead yet."
Ravenna and Ragnar's faces changed, replaced with seriousness. They armed themselves and prepared themselves for battle.
"You..demons..how dare…you?" Ahat walked out of the rubble, staggering, with his head hung down.
Thrud
Ahat removed his helmet, revealing his face for the first time. He had rough skin and a thick, blonde beard on his neck. His short, blonde hair was swept down because of the blood. He exhaled loudly, while glaring at the trio.
"You have to die. You all have to die before the goddess!"
Thud
Ahat knelt on his knees and looked to the sky, pleading by spreading his arms. "Dear Mother! Your children are crying. They are dying to save the very place where mortals could glance at you. We are trying, Mother! But our strength is nothing in front of these dreadful demons, the vilest creature to this beautiful world of yours."
The trio gave him weird glances, feeling that what Ahat was doing looked stupid. Gods were untouchable, unseenable, and unattainable beings. How could they spare their time for insignificant beings? Sure, Ahat might be following her given path and working under her, but there were many others who were far better and stronger than him.
"We should kill him now. I am having a bad feeling." Ravenna suggested the other two.
Ragnar might not have felt it, but Fiain agreed with Ravenna. There was a promotion in their hearts that something outrageous might be happening.
"Mother! I beg you. Please, give this child of yours strength to defend your holy ground." Ahat cried out loud, ignoring the trio rushing toward him.
"Please… let me at least die saving your sacred place." Ahat's voice gradually lowered, but a raw emotion could be felt in his voice.
At that moment, Ragnar and Fiain had already closed in on him, and Ravenna's blood spikes were blooming around Ahat.
But, these were all nonexistent to him. Ignoring his life about to end, he still looked up at the destroyed ceiling, No! To the sky above, trying to see if his goddess looked back at him.
He didn't lose hope. He believed, believed that the goddess would not let her children die of injustice.
""Your heart is so full of love for your mother, my child.""
At that very moment, a soft, melodious voice echoed throughout the hall, bringing a certain calm to everyone's heart. But it also filled their hearts with fear. The fear of losing your own self, destiny, and path.
"Mother, you listened to your child." Ahat had tears rolling down his eyes, not believing that the elusive goddess that he vowed to protect and worship till his death had finally appeared because of his cry.
No one could see the goddess, not even Ahat. But they could feel her presence despite her absence.
""How can I not listen to my most devoted child? I have not had a child like you for centuries."
Gradually, a smile appeared on Ahat's face. "Thank you, mother. Mother, let me lend your strength to slay these fiends that are sullying your sacred ground."
""I can't give you much, but this is enough to defeat the enemies in front of you.""
Instantly, a radiating green glow fell from the ceiling, slowly descending onto Ahat.
The trio wanted to go and kill Ahat before it reached him. But what can they do when they are in the presence of a goddess? They were sweating heavily right now because they knew that if they made a move, they would cease to exist in this world forever.
Eventually, the green luminescent glow—coming from just a small dot—entered Ahat's chest.
First there was silence, then tremors started to appear on the ground.
"Ahhh~ This skill... this power... Mother, I will show you that your gift isn't in vain." Ahat stood up, and every second, the injuries in his body started to heal. His skin got rejuvenated, and he seems to be filled with much more energy than before.
"Heed my call, O great earth. From the soil that I was made and the soil that I will go back to." Ahat words reverberated throughout the hall as soil and brown specks of condensed mana entered his body. Then his eyes shot open, and as he said with pride. "Let me be your protector once again! [ Warrior of Earth ] "
A strong wind blasted, that blew dust into everyone's eyes, But it didn't take time for it to settle and see what Ahat had become.
The sword in his hand was combined with rock and soil. It was eight meters long and looked refined, like a new sword out of a furnace. A rocky armor enveloped Ahat's body, leaving no opening. But there were some holes in his helmet that helped him breathe. It wasn't only Ahat's appearance that changed, there was something more inside that was making the trio have thoughts of running away.
This made their hearts shake, as they had never had such thoughts before. No matter what the situation or what their future might be, they would always go on the path fearlessly that their Lord told them to go.
"Don't you joke with me!?" Ragnar shouted out loud and rushed toward Ahat, trying to deny his fear.
Ravenna and Fiain yelled simultaneously, seeing Ragnar acting recklessly.
"No! Stop!"
"You do not have to fight him!"
But their words didn't register in Ragnar's ears. The only thing that was running through his mind was to kill Ahat. The fear that made him think of betraying his lord's words.
Ahat didn't move from his place. Pressing his right arm forward, he whispered softly. "Lock."
Puchi!
In a matter of seconds, several rocky spikes with high density burst out of the ground at breakneck speed and immobilized Ragnar in his tracks.
"Whe- Blurgh!" Ragnar spurted out a huge amount of blood. He felt he was losing control of his body and vision.
"Ragnar!" Ravenna and Fiain were beyond shocked by the sudden turn of events. Then their emotions were only filled with rage.
"Die!" Fiain dashed forward, with the intention of killing Ahat. Her senses were deteriorating, but she still held on, as she needed a calm mind to win against Ahat.
Meanwhile, Ravenna used [ Blood Spikes ] and was freed from the rocky spikes. She quickly used the blood as ropes and brought him back to her.
At that moment, Fiain had already arrived close to Ahat. She aimed her sword's sharp point at Ahat. " [ Gale Thrusts ] "
This was a skill that used to attack at a single point with as much strength as possible, best for using on someone who had strong armor or defense. Ahat fit that criteria, making her feel this skill was the only plausible weapon to injure him.
But before she finished thrusting, a towering shadow cast itself on her. She glanced up and saw Ahat swinging his sword down at her.
'When? How can he lift such a heavy sword and swing it that quickly? This is impossible." It might seem impossible to her, but here she was, witnessing it with her own eyes.
Fiain knew she couldn't dodge, she had to take that head-on. Just putting her sword forth would not be enough to block that strike; she had to put additional force behind it. " [ Raging Wind ] "
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