More than four million years had passed. Erasa still reigned like a deity, seated on her throne, when one of her messengers rushed to her, visibly worried.
"Lord Erasa! Lord Erasa! A newcomer from the world of myths, whom I was tasked to inform you about... there are gods challenging you, wanting to end your reign! What should I tell them?!" he exclaimed.
Calmly, Erasa remained still on her throne for a few moments, then slowly turned her eyes toward him.
"That's perfect... I was just beginning to get bored. I'll pay them a little visit myself," she declared.
She rose gracefully, then spoke in a clear voice:
"Jérôme... Nehemi!"
The two summoned appeared immediately before the throne, bowing deeply.
"What do you desire, my lord?" they said in unison.
Erasa descended the steps of her throne with a certain majesty.
"I'm going to be away. Jérôme, you guard my world. Nothing can happen there as long as you are there. Nehemi, you come with me."
The two bowed respectfully.
"Understood!"
Erasa then headed toward the palace door, Nehemi walking at her side. They crossed the large courtyard, where many flowers bloomed. A guard, kneeling, was carefully watering them.
Erasa bent down, picked a flower, gently smelled it, and said:
"You do an admirable job. One can feel the passion you have for plants."
Blushing, the guard replied, embarrassed:
"Th-thank you very much, Lord Erasa... That really touches me..."
But at that moment, Zémira approached, protesting:
"Hey!!! I work on these plants too! It's not fair to always praise others!"
Erasa placed her hand on her head, stroked it gently, and replied with a slight smile:
"I'm not thanking you... nor praising you. You are my precious friend."
Then she winked at her.
Zémira looked away, cheeks red.
"Yeah, yeah, sure..."
Erasa looked at her tenderly one last time.
"Sorry, Zémira... but I have to leave for a while. I'll come back later."
She opened a portal, which she crossed with Nehemi. They immediately emerged in the world of myths, in the heart of a village populated by monsters and legendary creatures.
"Lord Erasa, why have you come here?" asked Nehemi.
"I'm here to make certain things clear to these fools," she replied sharply.
"Ah... I see," said Nehemi simply.
No sooner had they exchanged these words than an ogre appeared, shouting:
"Who are you?! What are you doing here?!"
Erasa, advancing without slowing, answered in a cold voice:
"Step aside. Or I'll eliminate you on the spot."
"What?!"
The ogre lunged to attack, but Nehemi drew his weapon and pulverized him with a single blow, reducing him to a shower of pieces.
Other ogres rushed at them, shouting in unison:
"Kill them!!!"
But Erasa didn't flinch. She made a throne appear and sat on it, crossing her legs, while Nehemi launched into a methodical carnage.
She was slaughtering ogres by the hundreds of billions with a simple movement. Guts, torn limbs, and blood splattered in all directions.
"Magnificent. She's been letting off steam for a while now," Erasa noted, satisfied.
In record time, Nehemi had reduced the horde. 300,000 ogres... 90,000... then 70,000... until a richly dressed ogre appeared and shouted:
"STOP!!!"
All the ogres immediately froze. Nehemi did the same.
The ogre floated in the air, evidently endowed with powers. He approached Nehemi.
"My name is Eder, master of these ogres. The lord of the ogres. You have massacred my warriors. These crimes will be punished by death, pronounced by me."
Erasa rolled her eyes.
"Pfff... what an idiot. You'd better shut up before I lose patience."
Eder frowned, outraged.
"No way?! What insolence toward-"
He didn't have time to finish. Nehemi cut him off sharply:
"Silence when Lord Erasa speaks. Otherwise, I eliminate you. Understood?"
Eder burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Eliminate me? You struggled against my warriors... and you think you can beat me?!"
"Struggled? You're funny. That was just a warm-up," Nehemi retorted.
She then raised her weapon and struck it violently against the ground. A sphere of red aura instantly spread in a shockwave, annihilating all the remaining ogres on the battlefield. All except Eder.
Shocked, he whispered:
"What? How did you do that...?"
Nehemi smiled haughtily:
"I'm in a good mood today. If you behave, I might let you live."
Huge drops of sweat formed on Eder's forehead.
"Hmm... What exactly are you looking for in this world? You look human, so why come here, to a world that's not yours?"
Erasa slowly stood from her throne and made it disappear with a simple gesture.
"If only the other ogres had been as respectful as you... I've come to meet a god. He's somewhere in this region. Tell me nicely where he is."
"A god? The only one we know here is Lord Nimrod."
Erasa thought for a moment.
"Nimrod? Hmm... isn't that guy more of a sorcerer?"
"No idea... Maybe a legend. But he's always been known by that name."
"Very well. Nehemi, he deserves a reward for his politeness, don't you think?"
"I agree, my lord."
Nehemi struck the ground again with his weapon, and all the dead ogres were resurrected.
"H-How is that possible? Is that weapon magical?!" Eder exclaimed.
Nehemi twirled his weapon in his hand.
"No. But with the [Hastou], nothing is impossible for it. I alone control it, even though it weighs more than 300 million times the mass of a star."
Eder sneered sarcastically:
"Sure..."
Nehemi threw the weapon to him.
"Catch!"
Eder caught it, but immediately his arms were torn off from his body by the weight. The weapon crashed to the ground with a bang, causing a shockwave like an earthquake.
"B-But...!!!" stammered Eder.
"Pathetic," Nehemi said.
She calmly retrieved her weapon and rested it on her shoulder.
"Let's go, Nehemi," said Erasa.
"Understood, my lord."
Eder sneered again.
"Maybe you know the way, then?"
Erasa smiled slightly.
"Of course. A skill called [Perception] allows me to."
She activated it immediately and became aware of everything in the region: places, types of living beings, energy...
Grabbing Nehemi, Erasa disappeared... then reappeared in a vast city populated by several billion inhabitants.
"Interesting... So this god built all this?"
"Nimrod, that famous god... I doubt he's even on your level," Nehemi replied.
"We'll find out," concluded Erasa.
Erasa and Nehemi arrived in front of a castle where soldiers blocked their way. This city was inhabited by various creatures: fairies, dwarves, dryads...
"What are humans doing in this kingdom? It's forbidden!!" exclaimed a soldier.
Nehemi snapped his fingers, but Erasa immediately stopped him with a gesture.
Erasa fixed the soldier and calmly declared:
"I am a demon, and Nehemi is one of my servants. I am not from this world. As a demon, I come from elsewhere... I just need to see a certain Nimrod, I need to speak with him, please."
The soldier seemed to think for a moment.
"Hmm... Very well, wait here, I'll go get him."
He walked away.
Nehemi, intrigued, whispered to Erasa:
"Lord Erasa, why not impose your will on this kingdom that insults us? Instead of showing sympathy..."
Erasa replied serenely:
"I have nothing against the inhabitants of this kingdom. It's Nimrod I want, nothing else."
"I see... You are truly great," Nehemi acknowledged admiringly.
But soon, the soldier returned, looking sullen.
"Lord Nimrod refuses to see you. He orders you to leave."
Nehemi panicked.
"What? What a coward!"
The soldier frowned.
"I will not tolerate you insulting him, understood?"
"Oh yeah? And what do you plan to do?" Nehemi retorted defiantly.
Without warning, the soldier cast a level 6 spell: a black flame capable of destroying body and soul.
Nehemi simply stood still, deliberately letting the attack hit her. But it had no effect.
"How?..." the soldier wondered, surprised.
Nehemi replied mockingly:
"Weak creature... Did you really think you could kill me? To affect me, you'd first need to possess the hastou."
"The what?" asked the soldier, puzzled.
"The hastou, a kind of physical and spiritual aura that runs deep through my being. Without this energy, you can never hurt me, nor even affect me. However, I can kill you anytime."
"That's nonsense!" shouted the soldier.
Suddenly, the soldier moved at near light speed and attacked Nehemi from multiple fronts. She just yawned, motionless. Furious, the soldier charged for a final attack, but Nehemi was faster: in an instant, she tore his head off with her bare hands.
"What a bore..." she sighed.
Erasa then intervened:
"As long as the hastou exists, Boaz will never die in the real world. I created and bound it to Boaz to grant him a form of immortality... And today, Boaz, like the hastou, is already 4 million years old."
"I like your idea, my lord," Nehemi approved.
"Thank you!" Erasa replied.
Suddenly, a shout interrupted their conversation. Nimrod, furious, appeared.
"Who dared kill my soldiers?!"
Nehemi stepped forward, provocative:
"It was me. Does that bother you?"
Nimrod, beside himself, replied:
"What insolence! Very well, follow me for a moment."
He returned to the castle, followed by Erasa and Nehemi.
"Where are we going? I came to talk for a few minutes, then leave," Erasa asked.
Nimrod entered a room and declared:
"Welcome to pure combat. If one of you wins and the other loses, the loser leaves immediately. You will only get the information if you both triumph. If you refuse, you will be considered losers and expelled."
Erasa shrugged.
"Really? Why not. Actually, I wanted to massacre you, Nimrod, so this is perfect!"
Nimrod was sweating, visibly uncomfortable.
"Hmm..."
Nehemi looked at the room with amazement.
"What is this? This room is made of stars, galaxies, like in our world. Is this a universe here?"
"Yes," Nimrod confirmed. "It's a room created in a dimension. I was inspired by the universe itself to design it so everyone can enter easily. This door is a direct access."
Impatient, Erasa asked:
"So, when do we start?"
"Now, if you want. Here's the fight board... Look."
A table appeared, displaying the names of the participants. Four fighters were registered, and the matchups were:
[Erasa vs. Gim]
[Nehemi vs. Nimrod]