Boom!
A violent explosion resounded as the fireball thrown by the Fear Demon God landed on the battlefield where Cyric, the God of Murder, and the Hidden Demon Lord were locked in combat. It exploded like a miniature sun, unleashing scorching solar flames that swept across the stars.
A cry of pain and an enraged roar rang out simultaneously. Clearly, the Fear Demon God's strike had wounded the Hidden Demon Lord. However, it had also severely injured Cyric, the God of Murder, and left him badly hurt as well.
"Haha! You see, we can still intervene in this war!" The Fear Demon God didn't care that he had harmed Cyric. Gods, after all, were not so easily killed. Even if he destroyed Cyric's manifest form, the reserves of his divine kingdom would allow him to revive soon enough. It was no big deal.
"Fear, you're courting death!" While the Fear Demon God thought nothing of it, Cyric saw things differently. He was fighting an external enemy, only for an ally to unleash an indiscriminate attack. Who could tolerate that? It was even more unbearable since it seemed like Fear was trying to steal his kill.
"Why are you making such a big deal out of this? I was only trying to kill the foreign evil god and protect the world!" the Fear Demon God replied indifferently to Cyric's angry roar. They were both powerful gods—why should he be afraid? If he could profit from this, it wouldn't matter if they became complete enemies.
While they argued, the Fear Demon God formed another fireball identical to the first. For him, unleashing such a destructive, wide-ranging attack didn't require much preparation. In battles at their level, every second counted. Abilities that took too long to charge were useless in such fights, where seconds could mean life or death.
Abilities requiring long preparation times were mostly for show in the mortal realm, with little use in real combat between equals. Using such slow abilities against an opponent of the same level would get one killed many times over before even finishing the attack.
"Fear, that's enough!" The God of Justice, Tyr, intervened. He couldn't stand by and watch as Fear recklessly attacked both enemy and ally alike during an external war.
"Tyr, what right do you have to command me? What gives you the authority to tell me what to do?" Fear sneered. Tyr's reputation as a powerful god was well-known, but the Fear Demon God wasn't afraid of him.
"What if I add my voice to his?" The Dawnlord Lathander's cold voice joined in, followed by the Sun God Pelor, the Elven God, and many other powerful deities. Even the weaker gods glared at the Fear Demon God alongside their leaders.
This was the first foreign evil god to infiltrate Erathia, but it might not be the last. In other words, the war with these outsiders had only just begun. Now, a god was attacking his allies while trying to strike the enemy. Such behavior was intolerable to the other gods. No one wanted to be stabbed in the back by a supposed ally while fighting external threats.
Aside from the major gods, even the lesser gods—those of intermediate, lesser, and minor powers—were enraged and terrified by Fear's actions. A single attack like that could cripple a god of intermediate power, and for a god of minor power, it meant preparing to have their followers resurrect them.
Though the Fear Demon God knew they were at war and had made some adjustments to his behavior, his usual habits hadn't fully changed. He still acted as he pleased, but this time, he had angered too many gods.
The rules of this war had shifted. Any evil god wishing to join would have to curtail their habit of betraying their own side. Otherwise, they would be purged by the major gods, as no one wanted a backstabbing ally during battle.
"Fine, this time it's my fault. I won't do something like this again during the war!" Facing the collective fury of so many gods, even the normally arrogant Fear Demon God bowed his head and backed down.
He could sense that if he maintained his defiant stance and threw that second fireball, a god-slaying battle would erupt right there, and the gods would join forces to kill him.
So, for once, the usually unrestrained and wild Fear Demon God restrained himself, choosing to submit rather than risk death.
"I'll hold back, but are we really going to let Cyric hog this entire kill?" Although Fear had backed down, he didn't stop sowing discord. "Are we really going to let him get all the benefits?"
The atmosphere grew silent. In the distance, Cyric was still engaged in a fierce battle with the Hidden Demon Lord, slicing through the void with each blow, leaving deep, horrifying rifts.
"This war might see only this one evil god breach our defenses. If that happens, Cyric will be the only one to profit from it!"
The prospect of reaping the benefits of a foreign evil god, who had ascended to epic status through source power, was extremely tempting. Gods could offer the slain evil god as a sacrifice to the world, and in return, they would receive increased divine power—power that did not depend on the faith of their followers.
A god who ascended through the slaying of an evil god would become a true deity, independent of faith. As long as they didn't act recklessly, they could continue existing for eternity without needing worshippers.
Of course, few gods ever managed this, as one needed divine power to rival an epic being in order to slay one. Before reaching godhood, no being had the power to challenge a foreign epic.
But for the evil gods of Erathia, the temptation to maintain their divinity through this war was immense. After Muria's war on the Synapse subcontinent, the followers of evil gods had been steadily decreasing, and many deities found their divine thrones weakening. Some had already shown signs of degradation.
A god whose followers were all killed would lose their godhood and descend to a demigod state once their stored faith energy ran out. This made many evil gods desperate to maintain their divine status. The weaker they were, the more anxious they became. No one wanted to become prey for legendary heroes seeking to slay a weakened demigod, as demigods still retained certain divine qualities that mortals coveted.
Now, an opportunity to stabilize their godhood had appeared in the form of a foreign epic, and the evil gods were eager to seize it. If they could kill and sacrifice the outsider to the world, they could secure their divinity.
"There might be a second, or even a third, evil god that breaks through!" a god whispered, clinging to hope.
"Heh, from what I know, most of the Titan epics have already taken action in this war. The Seraphim have also deployed the majority of their forces. Having one evil god sneak through is already an incredible result."
"Perhaps we could negotiate with the Titans? Maybe they could let a few more evil gods through so we can benefit as well. Why should they get all the rewards?"
A minor god cautiously spoke up, viewing the foreign epics as opportunities, oblivious to the dangers of facing them.
Many gods shared this sentiment, turning their eyes toward the Dawnlord Lathander, the God of Justice Tyr, and the Sun God Pelor. These gods had close ties with the Titans.
"I'll see what I can do," Lathander replied slowly under the gods' expectant gazes. It wasn't just the evil gods who wanted to kill these foreign epics—he, too, longed for a chance to claim such a prize. He was just one step away from becoming a major god, and this war presented an opportunity.
However, the problem was that the Titans and Seraphim were too powerful. Their epics had kept the war from spilling into the world of Erathia, leaving the gods with no role to play. The gods couldn't display their full power beyond the world's boundaries.
Someone had once said that epics were like the spears of the world, while gods were like its shields. The spear was for attack and conquest, while the shield was for defense.
But now, the gods, who were supposed to act as the world's shield, had their role overshadowed by the epics. The Titans had kept all the invading evil gods out of the Erathia world cluster, leaving the gods with no opportunity to act.
"What if the Titans refuse?" The Fear Demon God sneered. "How likely do you think it is that the Titans will agree to something like this?"
The gods fell silent.
"So, we should take the benefits that are right in front of us!" the Fear Demon God said with a smirk, turning his attention back to the battlefield where Cyric and the Hidden Demon Lord fought.
"Cyric, you heard that! This foreign epic doesn't belong to you alone. Be reasonable, and you'll get a portion of the body."
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