"Perhaps because you're Omebella's child?" Alaric met the God of Combat's gaze, not bothering to conceal his intentions. He smiled and said, "Omebella is a very special existence. She had to die, and so must you."
The God of Combat fell silent. He truly didn't know what made his mother so special, but that didn't stop him from reading Alaric's attitude.
There was no malice toward him, but no goodwill either.
Alaric simply wanted him dead. That was all.
"Ha! How absurd. It's all so absurd!" The God of Combat suddenly laughed... not with madness or despair, but a bitter chuckle. After a moment, he raised his greatsword, pointing it at the Evernight Goddess. "Amanises, you may kill me today, but I still don't yield to you."
"You're no warrior... just a schemer, a laughable, pitiful schemer. Someone like you would sell anything, betray anyone, for the right price!" The God of Combat declared. "You did it to the Demon Wolf back then, and later to The Ancient Sun God. So what about now? When will you betray your current master?"
The Evernight Goddess remained unruffled, offering no defense. She simply looked at him calmly and said, "Aren't you the same? Or have you forgotten why your father died…"
The Giant King fell at the hands of The Ancient Sun God, yet the God of Combat, his son, inherited part of his characteristics and even joined the Rose Redemption.
The reason was obvious.
The God of Combat continued to laugh. "Yes, I'm the same. My father was the same. We're all alike... equally pitiful, equally laughable."
As if he'd finally had his fill of laughter, he sobered and turned to Alaric. "I don't know what kind of existence you are, but let me warn you: this woman's superiors and allies rarely meet good ends. Many have died, yet she keeps surviving. That's no mere coincidence."
"Are you trying to sow discord?" Alaric asked with a smile.
"You could say that," The God of Combat admitted, not denying it. He was indeed trying to stir trouble.
"You're starting to seem a bit interesting," Alaric remarked, suddenly enthusiastic. "Though I can't let you go, do you have any last wishes?"
"Last wishes?" The God of Combat paused, his thoughts in that moment unknown to others. After a few seconds of silence, he shook his head. "I have no other wishes. If possible, let me die like a warrior."
"I am the God of Combat, the God of Battle. I should meet my end in combat."
"…A group fight, perhaps?" Alaric pondered for a moment before asking seriously. "Because in a one-on-one, none of us here could likely defeat you."
Though warriors were often mocked, no one could deny that in a direct confrontation, they were undeniably top-tier.
"…Hahaha, I'd ask for nothing less." The God of Combat's gaze swept over the group, his smile brimming with satisfaction. "I'm curious, too... how many Sequence 0s will it take to bring me down?"
…
The God of Combat met his end in a fierce, exhilarating battle.
Regardless of who he had been... glorious, arrogant, or cunning... at this moment, he genuinely reveled in the fight.
Even if the outcome was his inevitable destruction.
When Alaric's sword pierced the God of Combat's chest, destroying his heart and extinguishing his life with the final blow, the god didn't look at him or anyone else present. His gaze fixed on a distant point.
…
"Cough…" Blood spilled from his mouth. The God of Combat finally looked at Alaric, his eyes growing unfocused. "You can go to the Forsaken Land of the Gods, right?"
"Yes," Alaric nodded, not denying it. "Do you want to be buried in the Giant King's Court?"
"…Thank you." The God of Combat smiled, a hint of relief in his expression. He glanced at Lilith one last time but said nothing, closing his eyes.
Thus, in the first year of the Republic, the God of Combat fell.
"Hm, the Memory of Time potion has digested further. Why…" Alaric sensed the increased digestion of his Memory of Time potion and, after a moment's thought, understood the reason.
Lilith's betrayal of the God of Combat mirrored historical events to some extent... whether it was the Quasi-God Almighty Grisha killing Omebella or the God of Combat betraying the Giant King. There was a certain similarity to this moment.
The potion's requirement for historical reenactment clearly didn't demand perfect precision.
"Honestly, thinking about it, the Giant King's family is practically cursed, always at odds with their kin…" Alaric couldn't help but muse inwardly. Though Lilith wasn't the God of Combat's true mother, if The Ancient Sun God could be considered Omebella's father, Lilith could certainly pass as his mother.
With this digestion, Alaric was confident that even without major events, the Memory of Time potion would be fully digested in a matter of days, thanks to the Republic's reenacted policies.
As for the ritual to ascend to Fictionist, Alaric was largely banking on Medici's ascension to Sequence 0. Completely erasing a Sequence 0's traces was no easy feat, especially in a short time.
The God of Combat, as a true god, had far too many followers. Alaric couldn't brainwash them one by one. The six gods had erased The Ancient Sun God's existence mainly through the passage of time.
So, instead of erasing the God of Combat's traces, Alaric leaned toward fabricating Medici's past.
In fact, he'd already begun. Tales of the Republic's general had spread far and wide, becoming stories relished by the masses.
Of course, if something went wrong with Medici, the God of Combat could serve as a backup.
After all, Alaric had personally delivered the final blow, fulfilling the ritual's requirements. That was why he'd ensured he struck the last hit.
"…Sigh!" Lilith suddenly let out a sigh, her expression complex as she gazed at the God of Combat's remains.
"What, did you actually start seeing him as your son?" Alaric turned to Lilith, his expression curious.
"He was with me for many years... many, many years, from the Second Epoch to now…" Lilith neither confirmed nor denied it. She spoke softly, "Sometimes, I can't tell if I was moved when he called me Mother."
Lilith was the God of Combat's false mother, yet she had spent far more time with him than his true mother, Omebella.
So long, in fact, that Lilith sometimes wondered if she was the sanguine ancestor Lilith or the Giant's Goddess of Harvest Omebella.
She had played the role for so long that it had become inseparable from her.
***
The story has officially concluded with Chapter 491 on Patron, so if you want to read the ending early, feel free to check it out on Patron.
And if you want to read up to 50 chapters ahead, don't hesitate to visit our patron: pat reon . com / XElenea (remove space)