Barbarian in a Failed Game

315. The Heavens (11)

Thud… Thud… Thud…

It was an eerie sound.

At first, Khan thought it was the beat of his heart, but he was acutely aware of his own death. His heart had stopped at the mere word from the God of Death.

Of course, just because Khan, who had reached the realm of a demigod, had one heart stop didn’t mean he would immediately cease to move.

‘Did it connect……?’

As death, like a nightmare, pressed his eyelids to the ground, Khan reached out a fist toward the descending God of Death. He was sure of it. His punch had indeed connected with the God of Death’s body.

The ash-gray lightning carried by his punch struck the God’s divinity, and he saw the holy power waver. But, as if it were a lie, the God of Death regained stability in his divinity.

‘If you ever face the God of Death, remember my words and you’ll regret it deeply.’

Indeed, was it something like this?

Khan recalled what E-Urel had said while discussing the God of Death and internally smirked bitterly.

It was impossible to grant death to the concept of death. Through Esperus, he had experienced that the concept of death was far removed from both the highest gods and the true scions of the Arch Demon, but the God of Death himself was something entirely different.

Thud… Thud… Thud…

He couldn’t be killed.

Yet, his heart stopped from just a single word from the God, ceasing his life functions. The gap in power was too vast. Even so, Khan did not think he was without a chance.

‘I am not dead.’

Thud… Thud… Thud…

His heart had stopped, and his bodily functions had ceased? Khan knew all too well that his body could not die from something like that. The ‘soul’ that was currently contemplating how to kill the God of Death had not perished.

Thud… Thud… Thud…

The eerie sound persisted. No, it grew louder. It sounded like the drumbeat signaling war, or the booming noise caused by a colossal impact.

Thud… Thud… Thud…!

Neither.

‘Heart of Predation.’

It was the sound of the other heart located in his right chest pounding roughly. It wasn’t just thumping; it was trying to transfuse blood to revive his body.

Thud! Thud! Thud-!

The blood of Esperus and the blood of a giant. The two mixed together, injecting vitality into his dying body.

The movement of the Heart of Predation did more than just resume life functions.

『A transcendent being maintains homeostasis.』

A mocking laugh from a Spirit of Resentment-bearing phantom flashed through his mind as it reached out a hand.

The transcendent gene, the unknown substance that composed a transcendent being’s body, settled throughout his body under the guidance of the Spirit of Resentment.

And it began to elevate Khan’s already near-perfect body to an even higher level. It was akin to a metamorphosis, shedding the old skin and being reborn anew.

But this should not happen.

Khan was keenly aware that he should not fully ascend to the hierarchy of transcendence. The moment he became bound by the laws, it would become impossible to defy them.

‘Is it possible to kill a God without reaching the level of transcendence?’

Could he kill a being like the God of Death, who had become a concept itself, rather than just a high-ranking divinity or a demon?

It was possible.

‘Karyan.’

The human who had pushed Esperus to the brink of annihilation and defeated her. Although Khan hadn’t witnessed the battle, he had clearly seen the outcome.

However, it was impossible to perfectly mimic Karyan.

Admitting it himself was distasteful, but as Karyan had claimed, he was an extraordinary genius beyond comparison. His talent was so unique that imitation was out of the question. Had he not become a divinity himself to serve as a seal, the continent would not be in its current state…

‘Or perhaps, it would be in an even worse condition.’

With a small, ironic laugh, Khan ran the calculations. What was the best choice among all the possibilities available to him?

Possessing talent like Karyan’s was realistically impossible. However, reaching a similar level… was not entirely out of the question.

‘The blood of Esperus, the true Scion of the Arch Demon, and the blood of the giant Desegonos, once the confidant of the Giant King.’

He would reconstruct his body with these two powers that held unprecedented potential. He would shape it after the flesh and bones of the giants, using Esperus’s blood as fuel. If he became a perfect transcendent being, it would be a problem. But Khan was not aiming to resurrect the giant Desegonos from Paradise.

‘The Giant’s Strength.’

He intended to mimic his S-rank skill, the Giant’s Strength.

A skill that granted the immense strength of a giant to an ordinary human the moment it was used—something beyond unrealistic, almost surreal. Or rather, closer to a miracle.

***

『Damn it…! Let’s cut this out! Why are you doing this all of a sudden! God of Death……!』

A Sword of the Night Sky drew a vast arc. The sword strike, which had swept away the high-ranking gods in one blow, spread out like a net and immediately pushed back the encroaching death. However, E-Urel’s frown did not ease.

Outnumbered and outmatched.

No matter how hard he tried, he could not completely repel the death that dyed the pure white sky black. The best he could do was to maintain a precarious balance by constantly unleashing sword strikes. No… even that balance was gradually tipping, making E-Urel click his tongue in frustration.

When the God of Death first proclaimed death, E-Urel, like Khan, also experienced physical death. But his existence was the aura of the night sky, and as long as the aura remained, he was immortal.

However… the two mortals below were different.

‘The young apostle is protected by the Goddess of Justice…. That brute seems dead too, but given the reactions, he seems to have some means of resurrection.’

E-Urel knew his role well. Especially since the changes occurring to Khan seemed ominous, he decided to draw as much attention as possible.

『Could it be that you too have fallen for that fake God?!』

『Fake God. So, you think that as well…. A paradoxical existence that yearns for freedom, yet its own path has drawn immortality?』

At that moment. The encroaching death seemed to hesitate, and unexpectedly, the God of Death responded to the comment.

『What do you mean…?』

『This world is fundamentally twisted. Apostle who has transcended your own karma. Have you never felt that? Living for hundreds of years and observing the chaos of the Great Demonic Realm. Have you never thought that something in this world seems broken?』

『What kind of nonsense is this!』

Kwa-ga-ga-gak!!

E-Urel shouted as he unleashed an angry sword strike at the nonsensical words.

『The broken ones are the heavens and you, who have fallen for the fake God and threaten us! The God of Magic, you said? What sweet lies did that God whisper to deceive you!』

『I have never been deceived.』

Sssaaak….

As the scars left by the Sword of the Night Sky were wiped away, a man emerged from within the cloak of death. A pale face with shadowy eyes, a visage so gaunt it seemed almost grotesque. His age was indeterminable.

He had a physique similar to that of an ordinary human. He touched the crookedly worn crown, and E-Urel instinctively realized that the crown itself was the ‘God of Death.’

The human appearance was just a shell.

『Death is too rampant. It is the natural order of the world, and I have taken it upon myself to gather and care for all these deaths. Whether the deceased were good or evil in life, I embraced them all with the same heart.』

『So? Did you get tired of it? Is that why you’re trying to overturn Midland?』

『Apostle. You know nothing.』

Krrr-

The voice of the God of Death carried a power that resonated within the voice itself. The profoundly mournful tone directly impacted E-Urel’s spirit, causing him to stagger momentarily in his doppelganger state.

『If all death was a lie. If the natural order and the law that death, which should naturally come, is being mocked. As the sanctuary for the dead, I am prepared to bear any sin.』

With those words, it was as if the conversation had ended. The somber man’s face disappeared back into the cloak of death. And the death, which had briefly loosened, surged toward E-Urel once more.

No, it sought to devour E-Urel even more fiercely than before. Reluctantly, E-Urel had to scatter his sword strikes again….

『Damn it…! Hey! If you’re going to do something, hurry up! I can’t handle both Light and Death alone─!』

Thud… Thud… Thud─!

The sound of a heartbeat was heard. At that sound, E-Urel’s head turned, Aries, who had been praying with her eyes closed, opened her eyes.

『…So you were the great enemy she spoke of.』

The God of Death turned his attention to the heartbeat.

Thud! Thud! Thud!!

To beings who had lived for a very long time, it was a familiar sound, but to E-Urel, who had lived only a few hundred years, it was somewhat unfamiliar.

A giant.

The mighty beings who roamed the ancient continent with unrivaled strength. It was the heartbeat of a giant.

Thud… Thud… Thud….

The gradually rising sound subsided. It was not a sign of something going wrong. It was a signal that Giant’s Strength had fully assimilated with the body and had completed its adaptation.

“Hmm.”

Khan’s eyes snapped open. He rose to his feet as if he had never been lying dead. His gaze turned to the two divine beings facing each other in the sky.

First, he looked at E-Urel, who was surviving in his doppelganger form, then directly at the God of Death.

“Does this even the playing field a bit?”

It was a cryptic statement. After all, the height difference between the God of Death floating in the sky and Khan standing on the ground required a significant craning of the neck.

‘Something is different….’

E-Urel tilted his head as he observed Khan, who now exuded an odd aura. Something had changed. But what? Outwardly, Khan’s body looked no different than before. Even when trying to discern more, his senses felt blocked, as if by some barrier.

However, it was clear that Khan had undergone a significant internal transformation. And that change was so dramatic that Khan could now claim to be on par with the God of Death, one of the highest-ranking gods.

『You defy the laws. As if mocking the world, you toy with them. Such privileges should not be yours. Therefore… I will reclaim you through death.』

The God of Death also recognized the changes in Khan.

However, the God of Death proceeded with his own will.

No matter what changes an entity close to a demigod might undergo, it was impossible to contend against him, the overseer of death.

『Die.』

Once again, death was decreed. Neither E-Urel nor Khan were naive enough to fall for the same method twice. However, avoiding the death pronounced by the God of Death was impossible.

It was a near-certain death directly inflicted upon the ‘target’. Naturally, Khan’s heart stopped, and all life activities ceased.

『Damn this God…!』

E-Urel, having already abandoned his physical body, was not significantly affected. But the God of Death sought to completely erase the aura of the night sky by overlaying his divine essence onto E-Urel. It was clear he intended for E-Urel to face complete annihilation.

In response, E-Urel condensed his aura into a small sphere.

『For now, we retreat…! There is no benefit in confronting this mad God here!』

As E-Urel proposed to create a storm of aura to buy time for retreat, Khan quietly took a step forward. The process was exceedingly slow. It seemed so slow that it was like watching a video in slow motion.

Left foot forward. Lower body descending to firmly support the upper body. The waist aligning elastically with the drawn right arm. The drawn right arm moving lightly.

Every movement flowed seamlessly. Even from afar, E-Urel’s eyes, even in his aura form, could discern the shift.

Khan’s figure appeared as if it was shattering like glass, distorting and collapsing the space around him, creating an illusion. Despite merely assuming a punching stance, the dimension of the heavens seemed to scream as it crumbled.

What would happen when that punch was fully extended?

A chilling sensation ran down E-Urel’s spine, and he hurled the newly formed aura sphere toward the God of Death before swiftly pulling back. Grabbing Aries, who had been staring blankly at Khan, E-Urel tried to get as far away from the impact zone as possible.

E-Urel’s flight speed surpassed that of a dragon. As he focused entirely on fleeing, the distance between Khan, the God of Death, and himself quickly stretched until they appeared as mere dots.

It was only then that E-Urel felt a sense of relief. But just as he was about to turn around— Booming sounds that seemed to herald the collapse of heaven and earth swallowed all other noises in an instant.

Even E-Urel, who had faced all manner of monstrosities in the Great Demonic Realm and countless battles, had never experienced such a sound before…. If someone had witnessed the ancient battlefields, they might have described it as the sound of the King of Giants moving.

But even that terrible noise did not truly shock E-Urel. The space along the trajectory of Khan’s punch was shattered and crumpled, distorting until it was unrecognizable, like a broken view…

『This… is insane.』

The God of Death, along with a part of the heavenly dimension, was completely obliterated. It was as if the God of Death had been erased from existence along with a part of the dimension.

One could not decree death upon the God of Death. However, it was possible to completely destroy the very existence through extreme physical force. Khan, having accomplished this seemingly impossible feat, chuckled and muttered.

“Now that’s a relief.”