Chapter 89 – Sacrifice for Ascension

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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A lot of effort and attention was needed to lead a group.

Especially if moving for the purpose of fighting.

It was naturally not an easy task to produce something while moving.

Furthermore, if they were not lightly dressed but marching while carrying heavy armaments, they had to eat twice as much as usual.

This was the reason it was difficult to organize an army in a world where life was going extinct.

The tremendous amount of supplies needed to feed those who only consume.

Mobility to escape from the sweeping raids without a safe zone.

Unmaintained roads and the danger of ambushes lurking everywhere.

Finally, up to the gaze of the Black Sun glaring at the scaled group.

All of this was related to the fall of civilization.

Supply was an important issue even within the game.

The player had no choice but to go with a small elite group whether they liked it or not.

However, paradoxically, an army was absolutely necessary at some point.

I was not saying that ordinary people could beat demons with combat power.

In the end, fights between divine beings were bound to be decided by the authority and influence they possessed.

And to predict victory from a group that already ruled the world, stronger power was needed.

Not the faith of those quietly sitting and praying for victory, but the faith of those gathered to win.

The reason was simple.

Because an army advancing to the battlefield together with a god madly strengthened their god.

The only risk a god ordering to arm and march had to bear was not forgetting the fact that the number of the living was the seal preventing the descent of the Sun God.

It was different from angels who could be resurrected and used as much as you want.

One had to constantly remind themselves of the constraint that the soul of the dead belonged to the one who killed them.

The contradiction of having to reduce the number of casualties to a minimum while moving an army was inevitably followed by death.

The irony of driving the people barely rescued to fight against terrifying evil enemies again.

Only by overcoming all moral dilemmas and realistic difficulties could one challenge the Sun God.

Possibility was only seen if consumption was reduced in all areas except the bloody battles fought directly.

This was the reason I poured all sorts of power into feeding and putting the soldiers to sleep.

Sparkle-.

Every time the stars inside my flesh orbited, the Sowing Star answered.

A star that would have normally scattered life all over the world was focusing its attention only on one place.

Lard Mushrooms and Starflower blossoms sprouted from all directions.

The people who chose to serve in the holy war repeatedly let out exclamations looking at the sprouting life.

Thinking that was not enough, I poured out the authority of growing life to my heart’s content.

-Exercise of rights, Growing Life

Small seeds and spores instantly swelled their bodies and filled the shadows.

The darkness that couldn’t be driven away with just starlight was being pushed back.

Mushrooms ripening plumply as they grow rapidly in real-time and Starflowers blooming buds.

It was the moment people let out cheers not to be outdone.

“You said there’s no need to pack food, it’s really true!”

“How many is this?”

“Whoa, I can’t pick them all even with both hands!”

It’s been a truly long time since the Sowing Star concentrated all its power on a single point.

As the mouths to feed increased, the number of Lard Mushrooms allocated to one person had also decreased.

In the midst of that, everyone’s laughter bloomed in full as they came to hold armfuls of mushrooms.

Of course, taking care of the people didn’t end with this.

A vicious enemy that cannot be left out when talking about marching… blisters catching on the soles of feet were also a problem I had to manage.

I gladly endured the trouble every time we stopped briefly for meals or rest.

“Ugh, why are you taking them off near the campfire, it smells. Go over there.”

“Give me a break. My blister popped. Ouch, ouch…”

“Making a fuss over just a popped blister. You didn’t even get a blister.”

“What are you talking about. The blister popped…. Huh?”

“Stop exaggerating. Didn’t you just get poked by a stone?”

It was worth continuously breathing out breaths harboring stardust.

I didn’t consider it a waste. Even if the exact distance couldn’t be measured, it was by no means a short march.

I carefully examined every single detail because I knew that marching was easier said than done.

If drinking water seemed lacking, I scattered it in advance on the way in case people might get wet.

I adjusted the food I created while keeping an eye on how much people ate.

I smashed the mountain ranges blocking the way.

Ominous forests packed tightly with skeletal, dried-up dead trees were pushed away in a single breath.

Muddy swamps and riverbanks covered with yellowed reeds were burned away.

If river water was flowing crossing the marching route, I cut it off.

Solely to advance in a straight line.

I desperately tried to be literally perfect.

It was the first holy war where divine authorities clashed.

You should not have thought of a common strategy simulation, a battlefield where commanders tested each other’s tactics and deceptive plans.

Because I could determine all the variables that humans had to consider.

-Protection Miracle, Comet Tail

-Protection Miracle, Barrier

-Punishment Miracle, Thunder Sound of a Thousand Branches

-Punishment Miracle, Crushing Death

Clumsy ambushes hiding in the shadows aiming for this side were repeatedly blown away entirely along with the terrain.

The vast majority of people didn’t even realize the fact that enemies were nearby.

Only the Holy Knights barely noticed that the nearby threats were being eliminated one by one.

Although it was a bit perplexing for the Holy Knights who volunteered for the role of scouts.

“Commander, again before we even noticed…”

“Don’t blame yourself too much. When Star Creation has to fight in earnest, we will also have to fight without rest.”

“I’m worried we won’t be able to meet his expectations like this.”

“You worry too much.”

Shek repeatedly comforted the self-blaming Holy Knights one by one and occasionally looked up at me.

It was a gaze awed by the overwhelming power, and anxious not knowing how fierce the battle prepared ahead was.

I intuited what answer I had to return to that anxious gaze.

[“Stockpile all your strength. The holy war towards the capital will be strenuous even if you put in all your power.”]

Of course, I was not afraid of the Dream-Shedding Eye itself.

I did not adopt a strategy that abnormally relied on stigmata, and I had already created numerous Holy Knights to assist me.

However, knowing the bizarreness of the sacrificial rituals demons use, I couldn’t let my guard down.

Like that, under the night sky the people didn’t realize, the Dream-Shedding Eye and I clashed several times.

Remaining silent instead of announcing the victories in the preliminary skirmishes already reaped over dozens of times.

=God who creates stars, we too only wanted to become stars!=

I crushed and crushed again with starlight the succubi rushing in to inflict even a small scratch on the people.

=We found someone to replace us! As long as there’s someone to replace me, it’s fine!=

=Aaaaaaaah! P-Please don’t send me! I’ll do anything!=

=Tell us, why did you abandon us! Why can’t we rise to heaven!=

I was the god of those who will become stars, not a god for demons residing in the abyss.

I couldn’t hear the sorrowful moans of the living while listening to the screams of the succubi.

The judgment towards the succubi was handed down a long time ago, and they chose a life of making others sacrifices instead of themselves.

Even if it was a judgment handed down by the Sun God, and even if that punishment was excessive, as long as they tried to make innocent others into burnt offerings without regret or hesitation, they were not objects of relief.

I repeatedly swept them away without giving any answer to the succubi.

And as the number of demons I defeated increased, the time taken for the march also shortened day by day.

The number of campings was the proof.

Unlike the original expectation that it would easily take twenty times, we had the destination right under our noses in just eight times.

Before we knew it, nothing remained except for the gentle hill blocking between us and the capital.

The people had peacefully finished the march under my care.

Some sat around the campfire and occasionally expressed concern, saying it was too peaceful.

Of course, they often changed their minds at the voices of those who gained confidence.

“Those demon bastards, there’s no news at all. The capital is right in front of us.”

“They got scared. Even I would run away if you came running smashing all the mountains, forests, and rivers.”

“Hehe, even those guys get scared? It’s good that I lived long. To think I’d see all sorts of weird things.”

“Is there a reason only we have to tremble because it’s the end of the world? Praise the Great Godfather of Stars, the young father!”

This guess wasn’t entirely wrong either.

Because a voice I had never heard before, but seemed to know who it was, rang in my head.

The situation was just ahead of a fierce battle after successfully completing the march.

Furthermore, since I was looking down at the desolate capital while floating in the sky, it was obvious who it was.

[God who creates stars, god after the Pantheon.]

“Hanging up.”

There’s no way an attempt to softly coax me now would work.

The moment I tried to cut it off at once, the Dream-Shedding Eye desperately shouted.

[The Sun God refused to intervene! He abandoned me, for the sake of an insidious plot!]

“The Sun God did?”

[Do you understand now? I am trying to tell you the fact that there is a commonality between you and me, my confined subjects. And even the wicked scheme the Sun God has prepared.]

The Dream-Shedding Eye shot out words like an arrow before I could answer anything.

Perhaps out of worry that I would forcefully attack without listening, its tone was also very fast.

[The Sun God is currently plotting a complete descent of his true body. Even I, facing you, can tell. At this rate, even the Sun God will not be able to guarantee victory against you. Do you approach me even knowing that he intends to trample you before that?]

“That is a wicked scheme?”

[The Sun God wants to throw me before you, and have his constraints lifted by you slaughtering me. If that happens, there will only be two Great Demons maintaining the constraints… Cooling Breath will fight to protect its kin, but what about the Celestial Church?]

The Dream-Shedding Eye forced its lips to blister speaking of the Celestial Church’s fanaticism.

[The maddened Celestial Church will willingly do so if the Sun God urges suicide. The maniacs who would even offer their existences if they could be forgiven by the Sun God, the fanatics who are already offering the world, are none other than them! If I die, and the Celestial Church proves its fanaticism aiming for the gap when the constraint is lifted.]

Befitting the same hometown, the Great Demon knew its compatriots well.

Even up to what kind of actions the Celestial Church from a completely opposite origin would take.

[…The Sun God will descend to kill Cooling Breath. And the moment the three constraints are lifted simultaneously, it is obvious he will aim for you and your stars.]

“What is it you want to say.”

[Accept me as an ally, as your subordinate. If you ascend me to a star and accept me into your church, the world will gain a new power. The precious wisdom remembering the esoteric secrets of the old Pantheon and the pieces of god’s flesh kept by my formless subjects. And if it’s hatred towards the Sun God, isn’t it enough to prove loyalty.]

“What if I say I cannot tolerate your subjects, the succubi?”

At that moment, an unhideable joy tinged the Dream-Shedding Eye’s voice.

The expectation of one who peeked through a small gap spread into delight.

[Just one person. It would be enough if even just one person could be saved.]

…Even though the person to give the rice cake (the one granting the favor) wasn’t even thinking about it.

“No. I cannot tolerate even one person.”

[….]

“Hanging up. Just prepare your paltry tricks.”

[God who creates stars. Are you serious? You’re saying we’ll mutually slaughter each other here, exactly as the Sun God wishes?]

The answer to return to the Great Demon repeatedly attaching babbling reasons was exactly three syllables.

“Instant kill of evil.”

Of course, it was not wrong.

It was exactly as the Dream-Shedding Eye said.

The possibility of the Sun God descending was extremely high, and if we met, we would fight.

But if those who set out to the battlefield with a god had firm faith, it was different from before when they were helpless.

The stars inside my flesh began to spew out bright light.

To drive out the Great Demon’s influence creeping into the dark night sky and surroundings.

[You know. God who creates stars, you know what you are doing!]

“Of course.”

[Are you truly going to bring about the Sun God’s descent? If you make him descend here, all the living you cherish so much will also die!]

“I just have to kill him again and take them back.”

[It might be possible someday. But not yet. You need time, I’m saying I can give you that time!]

“No. I’ve used enough time.”

I completely chased out the Dream-Shedding Eye’s consciousness and declared.

[“It is time to deliver the second promise to the world.”]

***

Flash-!

An overwhelming amount of light enough to burn the optic nerves struck the audience chamber.

The Dream-Shedding Eye wailed, shedding tears that stained its body whitish.

[You stubbornly blocked bastard, more thickheaded than the Armed Church kin! Could there be such an inflexible one among the numerous gods!]

The fierce crying sound spread throughout the chilly court.

It was a desperate wailing that the living could never resist.

To the extent that all the survivors captured and kneeling bound in ropes shrank their bodies.

There was only one exception.

“The god who creates stars is the envy towards light, a star that never compromises even under the black-dyed sky. Did you think such a person would negotiate with a demon?”

Ched, who was a Heresy Inquisitor of the Celestial Church.

The cleric who was once captivated by skepticism, after facing the gracious tears shed by the Ever-Weeping Constellation, was burning with faith towards a face he had never even seen.

And this upright attitude became the cause of bringing upon disaster.

The wailing Great Demon immediately heightened its malice upon hearing the cleric’s straight remark.

[Ah, it was worth keeping you alive.]

“Demon, I do not yield to any threat. Since I know the god who creates stars has come, I do not have a single speck of fear!”

[A trivial mortal babbling without even knowing its fate. Consider it a blessing that my benevolence reaches you.]

It was the moment Ched was about to retort to those words.

The mages who had been keeping silent and guarding the surroundings of the prince of the audience chamber were moving busily.

Ched firmly hardened his face realizing what the mages were moving for.

Clink, clank.

All sorts of metal tools were sparkling even in this dark audience chamber.

Tongs to forcibly pry open, spoons to dig out, bowls to catch bloody water.

“W-What in the.”

[Rejoice, in the fact that you become my throne.]

The moment the mages put on white ritual gloves with tense attitudes.

Ched felt the chains entangling him becoming even heavier.

The mages didn’t miss this moment and approached.

Click, clack.

Checking if the tongs opened properly.

And before Ched could even resist, the mages clung to him.

Even if he wanted to shout curse-filled words or prayers, it was impossible once his jaw was grabbed.

The mages looked around Ched, who was only shedding meaningless groans, and thrust the tongs in.

Crunch.

Bloody water flowed down between the pinched eyelids.

It was exactly at this time that the young mage holding Ched put on a crying face.

“I’m sorry, grandpa. Don’t worry instead.”

“U, uuugh.. uwa, ah…”

“Grandpa will survive unlike the other people.”

“Ah, ahah, agh.”

Not everyone was holding Ched.

Several mages approached the throne of the audience chamber and picked up the Dream-Shedding Eye.

The mirror with flesh and an eyeball stuck to it approached borrowing other people’s hands.

Everything was becoming clear.

“U, uuugh.”

[Upright priest, you should wish for me to become a god.]

The Dream-Shedding Eye revealed its thirst for life.

Amidst the misery of not being able to walk alone without help, the shadow of a king longing for past power and glory was reflecting.

[If I do not become a god, you will also be dragged into the abyss with me.]

“Uuuuuuugh, uuugh! Uuuuuuugh.”

Aaaaaaaaaaargh…..

The painful scream made everyone dragged to the audience chamber tremble.

And the priest’s scream did not stop even after hours passed.