Chapter 149: God Slayer

"Such a handsome ability! What kind of magic or skill is this? I've never seen it before!"

"He doesn't even need to chant! I want this boy so badly!"

The enthusiastic shouts and joyful applause of the gods almost blew off the roof of Babel. Completely unfazed by the charred corpses lying not far from Roland, they immersed themselves entirely in pure delight.

"A gaze that can kill!"

"A true hero!"

The grand hall seemed to boil over. Witnessing such a cool yet cruel scene, most of the gods let out cries of amazement.

Freya stared fixedly at Roland. In her eyes, the surging malice within Roland's soul had become even deeper and more dazzling. Subconsciously pressing her hand against her chest, she recalled that brief instant when their eyes met as Roland swept his gaze across the crowd.

Emotions of danger and pleasure had never blossomed so vividly within her body. Freya was completely lost in this ecstasy, feeling her entire body grow scorching hot, her lower abdomen burning as if on fire.

Seeming to completely cast aside her image as the goddess of beauty, she cradled her flushed cheeks in a trance, an undisguised obsession and madness plastered across her face as she stared unwaveringly at Roland with enraptured eyes.

In stark contrast to the cheering deities who were engrossed in a good show stood Apollo, looking utterly blank. He stared at his decimated Familia, his mouth agape, unable to close it no matter what.

Though he could hardly be called a dedicated manager of his Familia, the sudden sense of loss of having everything stripped away in an instant was difficult to recover from right away.

After all, that was the fruit of his many years of effort. Yet, Apollo no longer had the heart to dwell on it. He stood frozen in place, watching Roland raise his hand in celebration of victory and Loki walking back to the center of the arena.

"The victor of this War Game is... the Hestia Familia!"

As one of the few gods still managing affairs, Loki's gaze was also fixed on Roland, who was shining brilliantly.

Clearly, this War Game came as a tremendous shock even to her, someone always renowned for her craftiness.

An attack speed that top-tier adventurers couldn't catch even without using immortal spirits; a peculiar magic that could be cast without chanting; an awe-inspiring gaze.

And that epic hero, as if enveloped in radiance.

Given time, this fellow would surely become a legendary protagonist whose name echoed across the entire continent. Loki could assert this with absolute certainty.

Perhaps even everything happening right now was already the prologue to his legend.

"Hestia, Hestia! Come and trade children with me!"

Hestia, who had been just as bewildered as the rest of the gods and had yet to recover from her confusion over how Roland acquired these abilities, was suddenly surrounded by a throng of active goddesses.

By now, not a single god harbored any doubts about the conditions Roland had initially set; their hearts were filled only with envy for Hestia's incredible luck.

"In your dreams!"

Hestia, who had just been flashing a sweet smile at Roland, instantly turned vigilant. Angrily swishing her twin tails, she drove away the surrounding goddesses.

Amidst the curious gazes of the cheering gods, Roland approached the trembling Apollo.

"Now, it's time to decide the punishment."

Seeing Roland's approaching figure, Apollo's face turned even paler.

Due to the existence of gods and their Familia, many rules in Orario were quite ambiguous. Aside from the Guild's mediation, the War Game was the most authoritative option.

In severe cases, outcomes such as sending the opponent back to Heaven existed, but the most routine situation usually involved the losing party handing over all their property and being permanently exiled from Orario with no right of return—a merciless punishment.

For gods who descended to the lower world simply to alleviate their boredom, there was no crueler punishment than this. Being far away from Orario, built right above the Dungeon, meant being forever cut off from the most thrilling and interesting things in the lower world.

"Well then, let's handle it according to the standard procedure. Disband your Familia... though there are only two people left anyway. Then surrender your wealth and leave Orario alone. After all, I'm not some kind of demon, am I?"

Under Apollo's despairing gaze, Roland smiled as he pronounced the final verdict.

He did not propose any unconventional judgment, but the exact same operation would yield entirely different results in a different era.

Orario at present had only barely cleared out the massive hordes of zombies on the main roads, and plenty of them still wandered the desolate paths. Under such circumstances, letting a god whose divine power was sealed leave alone was practically equivalent to sending him to his death.

He wasn't someone like Takemikazuchi or Artemis; this journey was far too dangerous for him.

The most troublesome part was that his Familia members had basically been slaughtered, and the remaining two probably wouldn't return to him. Moreover, after the outcome of this War Game spread, no fool would likely choose to join his failed faction and set out on the road together.

Apollo looked at Roland in panic. At this moment, the youth's image was no different from a devil in his eyes.

Like the customary end of any loser, he dropped to his knees, covered his face, and let out a desolate wail.

"I only did it on a whim because you were too cute! You can't, you can't treat me like this, driving me out into the hell outside Orario!"

Roland gazed coldly down at Apollo, saying nothing more as he turned and walked away indifferently.

Clearly, Apollo had not truly understood that this seemingly lenient punishment was precisely proof of Roland's boiling fury.

The outside world, riddled with holes and devastated by hordes of zombies, could be called hell? Compared to the boundless hell in Roland's memory—which featured a red sky, jagged rocks of all sizes, and a place that incessantly eroded wisdom and strength—this was utterly not worth mentioning.

Even now, possessing multiple authorities, Roland was still searching for a way to resist that hell and maintain his sense of self.

He wanted to make Apollo understand what true hell was, compared to a permanent banishment from Orario.

***

In the dead of night, Apollo, carrying a bow and arrows, walked cautiously along the street, peering ahead from time to time. Occasionally, he had to draw his bow and loose an arrow to make a commotion, luring away the zombies hiding in the dark shadows.

Once the outcome was finalized, the Guild showed no mercy and drove Apollo straight out of Babel.

Thanks to the fact that, compared to Hestia, though accustomed to a life of luxury for years, Apollo wasn't entirely devoid of combat ability. Sticking to the strategy of walking along the main roads cleared by adventurers, he actually managed to make it out of Orario's gates.

Yet even so, he felt no joy whatsoever; instead, his face was twisted in bitterness.

Compared to his former glory, how desolate was he now?

The Familia he had built was completely wiped out, many of the children he had seized through force had died wastefully, and he couldn't even return to Orario.

What good was there in going to the outside world?

Upon reaching Babel, the intelligence transmitted from the outside had already revealed that it was likewise a boring hell.

"That damn hero, and Hestia!"

Once outside the city, Apollo could no longer suppress the anger burning in his chest, wearing an ugly smile.

"Don't think I'll just let this go!"

Someone as arrogant as he was had suffered such humiliation before a mere mortal; just the thought of it was enough to make Apollo restless and agitated.

Though a strong sense of regret filled his heart, Apollo still did not believe he was in the wrong. He was a upper god bound to succeed; it was merely due to bad timing that he had encountered an unsuitable opponent. If there were a next time, he would definitely make more preparations before attacking that hero.

"You just wait!"

Apollo stomped his feet in anger and walked toward the end of the forest path.

Deep within the pitch-black shadows, a voice answered his words.

"There's no need to wait; let's settle it right now. I've been coveting you troublemaking gods for a long time."

"Who's there?"

As the voice pierced into Apollo's ears, he first startled, then abruptly raised his head and loosed an arrow in the direction the voice came from.

"Whoosh—!"

In an instant, the sharp arrow turned into a streak of light, flying into the shadows like a phantom darting through the atmosphere.

Then, the moment it touched the shadows, the sound of the flying arrow vanished, leaving only the tranquil moonlight.

A greyish-blue arm wrapped in black clothing firmly grasped the arrow. Under Apollo's astonished gaze, one pitch-black ninja after another emerged from various parts of the forest path, blocking all his escape routes.

The ninja who had just caught the arrow merely glanced at Apollo with crimson pupils as thick and intense as fire, then turned sideways, slowly retreated, and knelt on one knee to welcome their eternal master.

"Oh? To still possess such sharp archery skills in a mortal state—you aren't quite as useless as I thought."

At this moment, Apollo noticed that a figure had appeared there at some unknown time. The newcomer wore a somewhat frivolous smile, teasing the nervous Apollo. Under the moonlight, those crimson pupils displayed a jewel-like magnificence.

"It's you? The Sword Hero? Haven't you already decided on the punishment?"

Seeing Roland appear, Apollo felt a deep sense of foreboding. Perhaps due to the dark night, the opponent's previous chilly demeanor had grown even deeper, faintly carrying an evil aura that left no trace of a hero's grace.

Within those dual pupils, a distinct murderous intent lingered.

"Naturally because the punishment isn't over yet. The Guild's punishment and my punishment are two different things."

"What do you want? Calm down! Although I did do many terrible things, if you make a move against me, the nature of it will change completely!"

Clutching at straws, Apollo kept backing away, trying to persuade Roland.

God-killing was an absolute taboo in the lower world. Although achieving it was somewhat difficult due to the effect of divine might, it was far from a miracle—after all, the gods here were in a weakened state, and there was no Pandora's dark ritual where killing a god granted divine authority.

Moreover, the commotion and power released upon a god's return would directly destroy everything around them; even the old Evils had to use schemes to pull it off.

Aside from repatriation between gods, mortals doing such a thing could only be described as treasonous rebellion.

Yet Roland gave no response, merely walking slowly toward him.

"So-called rules are only prepared for those who cannot survive better without following them. And your rules can no longer bind me."

The escalating murderous intent within those arrogant words made Apollo widen his eyes in disbelief. No matter how boring the lower world was, it was still better than Heaven. Yielding to instinct, he instinctively turned and ran backward.

Then he was blocked solidly by a wall of Shadow Corps members, tumbling straight to the ground.

"Are you really going to kill a god?"

Apollo's voice carried a hysteria-like madness as he looked at Roland stepping closer and closer.

Yet the other party merely smiled faintly and slowly opened his arms.

The next moment, under the moonlight, the shadows in front of Apollo expanded continuously. Sharp claws, a powerful tail, an imposing face, and ivory teeth that accidentally protruded all exuded a ferocity and nobility that was by no means inferior to divine might.

"God-killing? That term isn't grand enough. Slaughtering is a more accurate description."

Roland looked down at Apollo from on high, his pupils flickering slightly. Watching the other's horrified expression, he wore an excited smile, as if finding it amusing.

"You're no hero at all! You deceived the entire Orario! What kind of evil god are you... No, this power is similar to divine will, but different! What on earth are you? And what do you want?"

"Didn't I say so from the beginning? I've been coveting you gods for a very long time."

"Eh?"

Before Apollo could process what Roland meant, he was hoisted into the air by a claw, moving slowly toward Roland's progressively widening, abyss-like maw. With his keen eyesight at such close range, he clearly saw the interlocking teeth born for the sole purpose of tearing things to shreds.

Even an ordinary person could imagine that being bitten by teeth like these would undoubtedly result in being sliced into pieces without any ability to resist.

"No, no! You can't do this!"

Apollo struggled frantically, erupting with his divine might, yet even so, he failed to shake the claw containing terrifying power by even a fraction.

Soon, he was brought right to Roland's lips. By the time Apollo could smell the bloody, evil aura, his desperate and angry roar had echoed throughout the entire forest.

"NO!!!!!!"

"——'No' is useless!"

Faced with a term incomprehensible to a denizen of the lower world, Roland quickly gave his reply. Then, under Apollo's terrified gaze, his mouth slammed shut, biting off the Sun God's head in a single snap!