The War God's might towered over heaven and earth, a golden light piercing the entire sky.
Under the fearful gazes of all the world's powers, the War God Artosh, high in the clouds, cast his gaze upon a black-haired, black-eyed human male.
The two stared at each other. Though no clash had yet occurred, the very atmosphere seemed to freeze.
"Waaaah! The Master God has come to save me, meow!" Azriel's face lit up with extreme joy. Though her body was still weak, she proudly lifted her head.
"Jii-chan, it's not too late to turn back now! Otherwise, Lord Artosh might not spare you and your master, meow!" she warned, half out of goodwill.
Faced with the suddenly spirited Azriel, Jibril gave her a speechless look and stuffed a rag in her mouth.
"Shut up, you!"
"Jii-chan, you'll regret this, mmmph mmmph!" Azriel was now unable to speak.
Before she could struggle further, the War God Artosh suddenly spoke. His voice, like a heavenly decree, crossed a thousand kilometers, yet remained clear and undiminished.
"Are you human, or god?"
Hearing the War God's voice, Azriel finally quieted down, her antics ceasing. Her gaze toward Su Mo shifted from hostility to complete gravity.
In all of known history, the only one her Master God had ever spoken to as an equal was the End Dragon, Hartyleim. No other being, not even the gods, was worthy of making the War God Artosh move a single step.
The reason the War God had remained motionless on his throne for over ten thousand years was that there were no opponents left in this world worthy of his serious attention.
But now, Su Mo's mere presence had drawn the War God's full attention. Not only had he stood up for the first time in memory, but he even showed a desire to understand him.
As Azriel was reeling from the shock, she couldn't help but wonder.
What is this person's identity?
Was a question like "human or god" even necessary? Those frail humans, nearly extinct and practically indistinguishable from monkeys or beasts, how could such a powerhouse emerge from among them?
During the great war of the No Game No Life world, humans were ephemeral creatures, often confused with wild animals, not even considered a race. No one would associate that name with strength.
Although her Master God's words must have a deep meaning, wasn't this possibility a little too absurd?
Just as Azriel was thinking this…
"Not a god." Su Mo shook his head leisurely, his reply calm. "A human who wields the power of myth… you could roughly consider me a poet."
Labels like Godslayer or god no longer fully corresponded to the power Su Mo now wielded. Compared to a god, a poet who records and sings of myths was a closer description of what he was currently doing.
"A poet?"
Hearing this unfamiliar word, Artosh's tone was slightly puzzled. However, getting bogged down in minor details was not the War God's style. He quickly dismissed it and looked at Jibril and Azriel.
"Irregular unit, did you defeat the first unit?"
"Mmmph mmmph!"
Seeing the War God look at her, Azriel became agitated, but she couldn't get a word out.
At her side, Jibril proudly puffed out her chest.
"That's right! Lord Artosh, I have received a new power from my master. A mere Azriel is no match for me. So you should be careful too. The moment you've been waiting for might just be delivered by my master's own hands!"
As a retainer of the War God, she had just openly and righteously declared her betrayal. The other Flügel were stunned.
However, hearing this, Artosh did not get angry.
"Your master?"
The War God looked at Su Mo again, a hint of anticipation in his majestic eyes.
"I thought my end would be brought by the weakest, but I never expected it to be a powerhouse from another world."
"Poet from another world, will you grant me the battle I desire?"
Hearing this question, all the Flügel tensed. Although they didn't know what a powerhouse from another world was, the atmosphere of battle was palpable. If he agreed…
"If you want a fight, I'm ready anytime."
Before they could finish their thought, Su Mo nodded, accepting the challenge.
"However, before that, may I ask a question?"
"What is it?" Artosh assented.
"Is all of your current energy from Elementals? Or rather, do you believe it all comes from Elementals?"
His sharp gaze seemed to pierce the very essence of the War God as Su Mo asked an extremely strange question.
"Naturally." After a moment's thought, Artosh replied.
It was common knowledge in this world that the power of the Old Deus came from the Elemental Corridors.
In fact, the power of all beings who could use Elementals came from the Elemental Corridors. In the world of No Game No Life, the Elemental Corridors were the source of the Great Source.
It was because of the inexhaustible Elementals produced by the Elemental Corridors that the life in this world possessed such immense energy.
If Lancelot were to come here, his divine power would naturally surge by several times without him even having to do anything.
"Is that so… It seems even you haven't come into contact with imaginary energy yet."
Hearing this answer, Su Mo nodded slightly, confirming his suspicion.
In the original story, during his final battle, Artosh had violated the law of conservation of mass-energy, directly drawing a large amount of energy from the void.
In that state, the increase or decrease of power was meaningless to him; he had as much energy as he wanted.
Su Mo had long had a theory about this phenomenon, which was comparable to a perpetual motion machine.
As mentioned before, the so-called True Aether could be said to come from the energy of the natural world.
Generally, when one mentions True Aether, one immediately thinks of the planet's Great Source—a natural energy that gushes forth from the planet's own pulse, much like the Elemental Corridors.
However, just as most people equate the planet with the world, the conceptual scope of True Aether was not actually that narrow.
Within a planet, the natural power dominated by the planet's Great Source is True Aether.
But in outer space, in locations not close to a celestial body, there is also a similar natural energy, which is another form of True Aether.
If the True Aether within a planet mainly comes from the planet's Great Source, then the True Aether in space mainly comes from imaginary energy.
It could be called imaginary internal energy, or the zero-point energy from the Dirac sea. The S² engine of the Angels in Evangelion was a mastery of this kind of energy.
After completing the Primordial Mother Goddess Mythological Thaumaturgy, Su Mo could receive the support of Mother Earth Gaia as long as he was on Earth.
This had directly compensated for his long-standing energy disadvantage.
And this characteristic was also effective on the masterless ley lines of other worlds, even the current world of No Game No Life.
Now that he no longer lacked energy within a planet, Su Mo naturally set his sights on the interstellar. In both scale and power, imaginary energy was far stronger than the usual planet's Great Source.
He had thought he could get some clues from the War God Artosh's Divinity. Now it seemed that Artosh, not having been pushed to his limits, was unaware of this ability of his.
But it didn't matter.
The fact that Artosh could do it proved that the divine essence of this world could indeed draw on imaginary internal energy.
If he carefully studied the structure of this world's divine essence, he might find the key to unlocking it.
"Imaginary energy?" Artosh was puzzled again.
He knew Su Mo was from another world, so many concepts would not be mutually intelligible, and he didn't care. Compared to the meaning of the word, he was more concerned about…
"Is this the purpose of your trip?"
"No, my purpose is the Ex-machina. I have use for them." Su Mo shook his head, with no intention of hiding anything.
"Is it to become stronger?" Artosh pressed after a moment's thought.
"You could say that." Su Mo nodded.
If he could completely analyze the Primordial Divinities of the Christian and Greek pantheons, Su Mo could truly ascend from a master of Divinity to a Master of Myths.
At that time, his strength would likely be elevated to a level that completely surpassed Zeus the Father. In other words, at least the realm of Tier 5 Star-Busting.
"Is that so…" The War God suddenly withdrew his brilliant light and sat back down on his throne. "It seems now is not the time for our final battle."
"?"
A question mark appeared above Azriel's head. Are they not fighting?
Su Mo and Jibril exchanged a glance, immediately guessing his thoughts.
"You want to wait until I've become stronger before we fight? There's no need for that. The road ahead of me is still long. With your strength, I don't need any special preparations," Su Mo stated frankly.
By the time he stopped getting stronger, Artosh might not even be able to beat Jibril.
"It's fine. Since it is the final battle, it should be as exhilarating as possible." Artosh shook his head, a mighty smile on his lips. "I have waited for over ten thousand years. I don't mind waiting a few more days."
"But I don't want to wait." Su Mo shook his head. Why do something in two steps when you can do it in one?
Hearing this, Artosh was slightly taken aback. After looking at his Flügel retainers, an idea suddenly struck him.
"Then let's do this. I will make a pact to fight you, but only after you have become stronger this time. Then we will have our final duel."
"As payment, until the day of our final battle, my Flügel will be at your disposal."
Who said a War God doesn't use his head? When faced with a being of his own level, he even made a deal.
Su Mo had originally intended to refuse this offer.
But seeing the thousand-plus Flügel in their main base, and recalling that he had only cleared out a small corner of the Divine Realm, Su Mo silently changed his mind.
"Deal."
He couldn't help it. Artosh's offer was just too good.