Chapter 396

The God of Destruction and the God Wolf

The roar that Asagi unleashed then was that of a wolf. There was nothing human about it.

His hair was now silver and went down to his lower back. I could see fur of the same color sticking out from the gaps of Gleipnir. His nails had become long, black and sharp.

“Asagi…?”

I called to him, and the wolf ears on top of his head twitched in response. And when he slowly turned his head…I saw that his face was still the same.

“Wooo…”

“Do you know who I am?”

“Ooo… Da-Daniela…?”

“Yes, it is me! Daniela!”

While he was not himself, he was aware. His personality remained. But I did not know to what degree. However, I felt a sort of panic…if I did not continue to call to him, what little that was left might vanish completely.

“It’s coming. Be ready.”

It was easy enough for her to say that. Was she really on our side? Well, there was no point in questioning it now. I had to help Asagi return to himself so that we could fight this god of destruction.

“Yasushi, Rindo. Stay back.”

“Ye-yes!”

“Take care of him!”

I stared ahead but nodded. Of course, I will. I could not leave him like this.

The lines forming the figure of the god were almost complete. It really did look just like a human. Well, aside from the size. It was closer to an orc.

However, I could feel the pressure on my skin. Now that I was an Origin Elf, I felt even more sensitive to things I could not see.

“Asagi. We are going to kill this thing that is in front of us.”

“Aa…ah…I know…”

I had nothing but doubts, but I had to trust him.

I unsheathed the rapier of the tree of life and death. Perhaps it was because of the transformation, but I understood the weapon more than ever. It was a divine artifact used in ceremonies. An inheritance from the distant past. But regardless of its name or its past uses, it was still a weapon.

My magic also felt different as I sent it into the blade. It began to change shape. It was a rapier, but now the blade was just as wide as that of a short sword.

“Yes. That sword was made from the tree of life and death. A holy tree that once presided over the living. Death is the end but also the beginning. Life is the beginning but also the end. It has inherited these qualities of change. And so it can transform through the power of the maiden.”

She was telling me how to use it. This sword could transform into different shapes.

“I see. If only I had Jack of all Trades, Master of None.”

I glanced over to my partner. He looked to be in pain. He must be trying his hardest to stay in control. We needed to end this quickly…

“Ah…”

I heard Yasushi’s voice. When I looked ahead, the god of destruction had appeared at last.

“Haa… So this is the next one…”

Those were his first words. His voice was low and seemed to echo from the ground. But there was also listlessness as well.

He looked ordinary enough. Though, the clothes were not familiar to me. Was this how gods dressed…? No, there was no point in thinking about that. I held up my sword.

“Let us go, Asa… Asagi!?”

“GGGGGGRRRAAAAAGGHH!!!”

As soon as I raised my blade, Asagi jumped forward. He wasn’t even carrying a weapon. His claws were swinging in the air as a tail of platinum wind streaked behind him. And like that, he crashed into the god.

“Huh? A beast…”

“GGGGAAAGGHH!”

But the claws did not reach the god of destruction. He dodged it at the last second. Asagi was not defending himself at all, and the god was about to unleash a kick into him. That was when I thrust with my sword.

“No…!”

“Tsk… Nuisance!”

He caused blasts of wind to erupt around him with just his voice. The invisible attacks hit my body, and Asagi flew back into the air.

“Gg…”

“Grrrr…”

I was able to land on my feet without stumbling, but Asagi slid across the floor. It was not like him… Turning into a monster had made it difficult to control his body.

Besides, it was rather unthinkable for Asagi to attack an enemy with his bare hands. His skill was all about being able to use and understand things he held in his hands. He would never have fought like this.

“This world will be destroyed… Stop this futile resistance… Then I can move on to the next world…”

As the god spoke, I quietly looked around the room. The other two were fine. They had not been hit by the previous attack. The goddess was just floating in the air, doing nothing else. Asagi stood up slowly.

“Shit…shit…!!”

Finally there was something human in him. Had he regained some of his sanity through the impact?

“So you were human…”

“Shut the hell up…you talk too much…”

It was not entirely the usual Asagi either. Perhaps being a monster was affecting his emotions.

“Shit… Your face. I thought it looked familiar… You’re that burglar…!”

“What? Ah… You’re that clerk! Oh, this is spectacular!”

…? They knew each other? I had never seen him like this before.

“How does trash like you become a god…?!”

“Like I give a damn! You just vanished right in front of me. And when I started looking around, I was suddenly taken away to some strange world. And before I knew it, the god of destruction’s power was in me. …Thanks to that, I’ve become the destroyer of worlds!!”

He roared as he spread out his arms. That was enough to send shock waves through the ground, carving out chunks of floor and sending them flying.

“You reap what you sow… You were an idiot for coming. And it’s going to cost you your life!”

“Silence!! I’ll make you drown in your own blood once again…!”

“GGGGRRAAGGHHH!!”

Asagi had told me about his past. A burglar had come into his store and stabbed him in the stomach. Asagi had lost consciousness then, and when he awoke, he was in this world.

And judging by this conversation, this god had also been summoned to a different world. He was a former human who had somehow acquired the power of a god. Not only that, but he was the culprit who had stabbed Asagi.

This god was my enemy. It had nothing to do with obeying the goddess or even saving the world. This was the villain who had tormented my beloved man. And there was no forgiving that.

While Asagi lost himself in rage once again, he attacked the god of destruction with claws and kicks. As there was no way to stop him, I acted to support him instead. I would attack the god from the other side. However, he was not one to stand by idly.

“There have been many others like you before… And none of them could beat me.”

He met Asagi’s kicks with kicks of his own, and Asagi went rolling on the ground. And he managed to dodge my blade with taking a step back.

“I’ll kill you…kill…kill…kill…”

“You’re all talk and little else.”

“No. I promise you…you’ll die… I’ll tear you to shreds and stomp over your remains…!”

Asagi’s vengeful words caused me to slow down. How could I bring him back?

“Then give it your best shot! Let’s see how far you can go against a god!!”

“Ggg…!?”

The god must have detected my brief moment of hesitation, and its hand reached out and grabbed me by the throat.

“Or I might just kill her first?”

“!? Daniela…don’t touch her…”

Asagi said quietly as his body shook. His face was consumed by rage.

“I’ll eat you aliiivvvvve-gggggrrrraaaaaggghhh!!!!”

There was an explosion of platinum wind as Asagi’s hand reached out to me. I reached out my own hand. However, the god would not allow it.

“Haha!”

“Waa…!”

The god threw me towards Asagi. I could not stop it, and I crashed into Asagi without being able to slow down.

“Asagi. I am sorry. Are you hurt!?”

“Ggg…gg…”

I shook him, but he would not get up. It was no use. It seemed like he was regaining himself, but he was overly emotional and much too slow. Either it was that he was not used to moving in this body, or the monster in him was too strong…

The god was toying with us then. It just watched us and laughed. There was no follow up attack. But as time passed, more of the dragon vein’s energy was being used. The goddess was waiting as if to intervene if she had to. But that would also consume energy.

…To be honest, we were losing. I had to bring Asagi back from this madness and…

“Something…there has to be something…!?”

Think. There must be a way out of this.

Desperately, I looked through my hollow bracelet.

And then one answer appeared in my hand. This… Ah, this was useful. Yes, there was someone who could help us.

I took the key and pushed it into the air. Then I turned it.

“Come, Rachel!”