Seeing that the battle was at a stalemate, Takumi could no longer sit still.
He casually drew a counterfeit Sword of Promised Victory from the Gate of Babylon. Then, transforming into a bolt of lightning, he arrived instantly in front of the Evil God.
The power and attributes of this counterfeit sword were no less than those of the genuine article. The Sword of Promised Victory struck down toward the head.
The Evil God, who had appeared casual at first, suddenly changed his expression and quickly raised the short knife in his hand to parry.
He had obviously underestimated Takumi.
A sharp sword energy flashed, and the short knife was cut in half like tofu.
Although Takumi did not fight often, it did not mean his combat skills were poor. He had received extraordinary swordsmanship talents from the system rewards for receiving visitors a long time ago.
Even though he hadn't practiced specifically, as his basic strength continued to improve, his swordsmanship level also increased significantly. Now, Takumi's swordsmanship alone was enough to split a country in two with a single strike. How could a mere short knife block his attack?!
Even if this short knife was no ordinary weapon!
The counterfeit holy sword was not hindered in the slightest and continued to fall toward the Evil God's head with undiminished power.
"Ah! It hurts!"
"Hateful! You bastard! A surprise attack!"
"This is simply despicable and shameless, and yet you still have the nerve to call yourself decent!"
The Evil God was no longer as calm as before. He covered one ear in embarrassment and retreated repeatedly while screaming. As he retreated, he cursed Takumi for his sneak attack, devoid of martial ethics.
Blood constantly seeped from the gap between his fingers as he covered his ear. On the ground in front of Takumi lay a bloody ear. Needless to say, everyone knew this had just been sliced off the Evil God's head.
"Tsk, is that all? You have some tricks," Takumi clicked his tongue, unsatisfied with the result of the attack.
At the same time, he recalled what had just happened. His sword had struck the Evil God's skull firmly. Taking advantage of the momentum, he should have split the Evil God in half, just like the short knife.
However, something strange occurred. The place where the Evil God was struck was undamaged. To be more precise, the sword did not cut in at all. Instead, one of the Evil God's ears fell off.
It felt right—the sword had hit his head—but why did only an ear fall off? Damage transfer? Or some kind of sacrificial life-saving method?
Forget it. No matter the method, as long as he continued, there would be an end. If once didn't work, then he would kill him a few more times. Takumi, unable to understand the mechanism, simply gave up analyzing it.
"Leave this guy to me. You go help the others."
After saying this to Arcueid and the rest, Takumi raised his sword and charged at the Evil God again.
Seeing this, Arcueid and the others wasted no time. They turned around and threw themselves into the battle elsewhere.
"Damn it! Again?!"
The Evil God, having lost his weapon, saw Takumi rushing over and his face changed wildly. He quickly dodged backward.
But his speed was not as fast as Takumi's. Although he could bypass the seal and use some divine power, the seal was not completely broken. The strength he could exert remained limited.
Although this portion of his strength allowed him to easily crush most adventurers, Takumi's current strength was already at a level that broke the balance of this world. Even if the Evil God completely broke the seal and used all his strength, he would not be Takumi's opponent.
There was no use in escaping. Takumi immediately closed in on him again. The counterfeit holy sword arrived with unrivaled sword light.
The Evil God felt the breath of death and his heart sank. The method he used just now was useless now. Although it wasn't a one-time use ability, it couldn't be used again in such a short time.
"Damn it! I will fight you!"
Knowing he would die if he didn't resist, the Evil God braved the consequence of being forcibly returned to heaven and took the initiative to break through the seal.
A powerful aura burst from the Evil God. Evil and terrifying divine power instantly filled his body.
The next moment, the Evil God advanced instead of retreating. His fist, gathering all his divine power, rushed toward the sword in Takumi's hand.
"Go to hell!"
However, it was useless.
The figures of the two clashed. This time, the hand the Evil God used to punch, along with half of his arm, followed in the footsteps of his ear and was severed from his body.
"Grass (an expletive)! It hurts so much!"
"Damn it! How can you be so strong?! This is unreasonable! How could a mere mortal from the Lower World have such strength?!"
"There is something wrong with you! There is definitely something wrong with you!"
The Evil God kept yelling and cursing, his expression extremely distorted by the heartbreaking pain. He stared at Takumi with eyes filled with resentment, as if wanting to inflict harm through his gaze alone.
Takumi said coldly, "Whatever happens to me has nothing to do with you. Go to hell."
He originally planned to kill him, so he was too lazy to waste words on this Evil God. As he spoke, the counterfeit holy sword swung out again, heading straight for the Evil God's vitals.
"Heh, you want to kill me? You no longer have the chance."
However, at this time, the Evil God did not panic at all. Instead, he looked confident and sneered:
"Just wait. I have remembered you. When I return to Tenkai, I will definitely repay you for the pain you have inflicted on me."
"Ten times? No! A hundred times, a thousand times! I want you to repay it a thousand times!"
As the words fell, just when Takumi's attack was about to hit, a beam of light penetrated the cave, fell from the sky, and enveloped the Evil God, blocking Takumi's attack.
"Hahahaha! It's useless. This is a forced return from Tenkai. Even gods like us can't stop it. You still want to touch me? Keep dreaming!"
The Evil God laughed triumphantly, and immediately his body began to be pulled up by the beam.
Forced return refers to the mechanism of returning gods who have broken through their seals and used divine power in violation of regulations back to Tenkai. The Evil God had just forcibly broken the seal, so now he was being forcibly returned by the system's execution.
Well, although he is an Evil God, he is still a god after all, so this mechanism is effective for him too.
"..."
Takumi frowned and said nothing, silently returning the counterfeit holy sword into the Gate of Babylon.
"Ha! Out of tricks..."
Just when the Evil God thought Takumi was giving up and was about to continue taunting him, something seemed to flash past. The Evil God's head disappeared as if something had chewed it off. His body fell limp, completely dead.
The beam that was forcibly returning him also had a hole punched through its front and back. But even though the target was dead, the beam still performed its mission and continued to bring the Evil God's headless body back to Tenkai.
"Don't judge others by your narrow vision, idiot."
Takumi, who was in a throwing posture, cursed. He relaxed his stance, raised his hand, and a simple spear appeared in his grip.
This was one of Takumi's trump cards, the divine spear form of the Universal Tool: Gram.
It has only one function: to penetrate! To absolutely penetrate! To penetrate everything!