267 The worst god ever

The north god just stared at him without understanding what the big deal was, "I said I'm working for Knucker... And from your reactions, I guess you guys are not the ones he sent to become my champions..."

"What!? No way!! Knucker is our enemy!! And he should be your enemy too!!" Leona screamed while feeling repulsed by North even suggesting that, "How could you work with someone like that?? Don't you know what he has done?? He blew up the temple of the east!! He killed all of the east followers!!"

The god began to sigh while shifting his gaze, "Not my temple, not my followers, not my problem..."

Leona began to pull up her sleeves while continuing to glare at North, "Listen here you little piece of sh-"

"Leona! Leona! Calm down!!" Daren said while jumping in to hold her from pouncing on the bored god.

"No! I'm not gonna calm down!!" She yelled while struggling with Daren, "Gods are supposed to protect us, to guide us, to stay by our side when we face our darkest moments!! But look at this guy!! How did this loser became a god!!??"

"Leona, please!! I know how you feel but just remember that if you raise your hand against him, he will be allowed to fight back!!"

"Ughhhh!!!!"

Daren was surprised that the day came when he would need to stop someone from bearing their fangs against a blessed being. usually, he is the one that would need to be stopped.

"But she's right..." Daren commented, "How can you just stand there and allow Knucker to spread his chaos around just like that??"

The north god began to rub the back of his neck, "I told you man... Knucky-bro is going to help me become the next supreme divine deity... You know how these things go... Usually you would need to slay a freaking ton of demons to even be considered for these things... But have you seen how late to the party I am??

Compared to West, South, or East... I would never be able to kill enough of these guys in time... Even more so right now after so many already went 'Poof!' during that big-ass battle that happened a little while ago...

The demon race is almost extinct by this point..."

"So you just gonna let people die instead of actually trying to do your job??" Leona accused.

"That's the plan..." North admitted.

"That's a horrible plan!!" the fire mage yelled while stomping her feet.

"Depends on who you ask to... Now could you guys please beat it? I need to get the place ready for when the champion Knucker chose for me arrives..."

"No!!" Daren stated, "We are not going anywhere!! And we also are not letting anyone chosen by that maniac get the power of a god..."

"Oh, really...? So what are you going to do about it exactly?" the god asked.

The god smirked, "Guilty... But if you plan on taking on him... You dudes better get some proper weapons... I don't think Knucky-Tucky is gonna send any pushover to represent me..."

"We'll take our chances..." Leona added, showing that she was also onboard with the idea, "And stop calling us 'dudes'!! You're a god!! Act with some dignity!!"

"Okay, mom... Let me know when you guys are finished... I'm gonna take a nap..."

And with that, the god began to engulf himself in light and vanished in front of the two.

Leona stared at Daren, "So... What now...?"

Daren raised his fist, "We do like we said... We wait for whoever would be foolish enough to take Knucker's side and kick his ass... And after that, we can use him or her to tell us where the dragon's real body is!"

"How are we going to beat someone in our current state?? We have no power on our side!!"

"Mmmm... Is there any chance that you could become a master-class mage right now?"

Leona glared at him, "Oh my Lord, you really don't know anything about magic, do you?"

"I know that you need a piece of the channeling tree to use it... You could try looking for one in this island while I guard the entrance!"

"You?? By yourself??"

"Hey, I'm stronger than I look, ok? I know I'm not a mage, a champion, or a demon... But I can still put up a fight if I put my mind into it!"

Leona was taken back by Daren's surprising confidence in himself. She almost forgot that this man was also one of the adventurers that used to travel with Evlin. While he probably was nowhere near as versatile as her, he was probably still very capable of taking care of himself in a dire situation.

The mage exited the temple and began to focus on her mission, "O- Ok... I'll trust you... You stay here and don't let anyone come in! I'll look for a piece of- Oh..."

Daren noticed Leona suddenly stopping her speech, "What? What's- Oh, come on..."

Deep inside that cave, a shadow could be seen walking towards the temple of the north, a figure of a large man with a body full of scars carrying a sword that was double his own size on his back. His hand was dragging a dead monster that appeared to be some sort of mixture of a lion with a serpent in the place where its tail should be.

"Guess this must be the candidate..." Daren whispered.

"How is he here already?? What are the odds of he arriving right at the same time as we did??" Leona wondered.

"I'm not sure... But its just like Evlin said... Someone must be spying on us... Everywhere we go it seems there is always some kind of problem waiting for us... Or maybe its not a spy... Maybe..." Daren whispered as suddenly, a thought came to his mind, the face of the woman he loved, Lilith, and her ability to always look into the future to predict any incoming danger "I think Knucker has access to future sight..."

"Future sight?"

Before the two could finish their conversation, a massive sword was launched between the two and carved into the doors of the temple.

The blade moved so quickly that neither had time to properly react. They just gazed at the large piece of metal that looked way to heavy for any normal human to carry, and then, to the one that threw that at them.

"You two are in the way... Move..." the man with scars announced.

"Are you here to meet the north god?" Leona asked.

"No... I'm here to bake a pie and watch the sunrise while listening to the lovely melody of a lullaby... OF COURSE I'M HERE TO SEE THE NORTH GOD!! NOW, MOVE!!" the man yelled while continuing to stomp his way in.

Daren stood in front of him and began to glare at the man, "I'm not gonna let you pass... Boris!"

The man raised an eyebrow, "Eh... You know me...?"

"You know him?" Leona asked as well.

"You bet I do... You are that psychopath mercenary that a group of demon-slayers hired to come after my group many years ago... You almost killed my fiance back then!!"

"Wait a sec... I know you... Your face... That glare... You were that skinny kid that was in the crossbow girl's group!!" Boris stated.

"And what if I am?"

"Hehehehe... This is my lucky day... I've been dying to get my payback on that bird girl after what she did to me... Just thinking about the humiliation from that day... getting trashed by a girl half my size... You have any idea how much that damaged my reputation??"

Boris raised his fist and tried to punch Daren, but he reacted faster and dodged out of the way.

"I've been dreaming about ways to hurt her back every night since them... I wonder what face she would make if I delivered her friend to her without his arms and legs!!"

"Dreaming about getting payback just because you lost to a girl... Man... What a badass..." Daren replied with a smirk.

"Oh, you little..."

Boris pulled his sword that was stuck on the door away from it and began to chase after Daren with blood lust in his eyes.

Daren saw the enormous man coming and started to dash into the cave.

"Daren!!" Leona screamed.

"Find a piece of the tree!!" Daren yelled back.

Leona then understood his plan. There was no way they could beat Boris head-on. But if he could keep him busy while she looked for a staff, they could demolish him with her fire magic.

The gamble was on. Either Leona managed to find a staff to fight, or Boris would cut Daren into pieces. Victory belonged to whoever was faster.

"I won't let you down!" Leona whispered, followed by rushing deep into the cave and starting her mission.