Chapter 417 - The Moment Everything Went Wrong
# War with the Gods
The battle between the Sun God and Stardust, the representative of the Star God, had ended with Stardust's victory.
After awakening three times during combat, Stardust finally defeated the Sun God with the power of stars, and the Sun God, having exhausted all power, disappeared.
The fight should have ended there, and the world should have ended.
...Surely, that's what should have happened.
"Why should I do that?"
"....!"
A plain.
In that half-destroyed battlefield from the fierce combat, inside a deep crater created by the Sun God.
There, the silver-haired Sun God kneeling.
He had clearly said that.
The battle that seemed to be over.
As Egostic had said, after the god fell, Stardust had been relieved thinking everything was over when he spoke as if he would flee.
...Even though she had awakened her divine nature, her body wasn't unscathed.
Finally, I can rest now. That's what she had thought.
...Until she instinctively sensed danger from his next words.
And at that moment.
Boooooooom-
"Ugh..."
The ground trembled.
While Stardust was caught off guard by the situation.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
Somehow, the Sun God Helios, who had clearly been defeated, began to rise into the sky again.
White smoke enveloped him.
...And a new, sticky, black smoke.
Rising amidst the black and white smoke.
Helios, with his head bowed, began to mutter in a low voice.
"...Yes. If I continue fighting like this, my body will break down. No, I will certainly face existential annihilation."
"But, what does that matter?"
"...Then, as a god. After suffering such humiliation from my own creation... should I just run away like this?"
"No. No."
Boooooooom-
The orange sky shining with twilight as the sun set.
Beneath it, the risen Sun God was now covered in black and white smoke clouds, looking down at Stardust with golden eyes.
And... looking at Stardust who was staring up with eyes wide in disbelief.
He gave a sinister smile, then hardened his face, turned his gaze, raised his head, and spoke while waving his hand.
...With an expression of glaring at some distant place in front of him
"And."
"You children of the stars..."
All my plans
All my sacred relics
"After seeing how you've taken and destroyed everything—my daughter, my incarnation, even my priestess... I simply, simply cannot forgive this."
Whoooooosh
BOOOOOOOM-
With those words.
With a tremendous roar, as the Sun God released his power with a flash of light.
Stardust gritted her teeth and braced her body against the incoming wind.
The Sun God was now floating in the crimson sky, dressed in white clothes again.
...Behind him.
[............]
A giant divine figure of grayish color—a mix of gloomy silver and sticky black, as if resurrected from death—stood tall in the sky.
The Sun God himself was bleeding black blood. As if he had let go of everything, transcended the mortal realm, yet clearly threatening... an unknown, overwhelming pressure that only a god could exert.
Looking closer to death than ever before.
"Humans, I hereby declare."
The Sun God, so that all humans throughout the world could hear.
In a transcendent, divine voice that could drive some to madness just by hearing it.
He clearly told everyone.
"Even if it means my existence will be extinguished."
"Today, here and now..."
"I will kill all of you humans."
With those words, a giant scythe as black as the night sky formed, created by the divine giant of mixed silver and black.
The Sun God, staking his divine existence on the sole determination to kill humans.
Then, looking down at Stardust before him.
He spoke quietly, so that only she could hear.
"...And you, child of the stars. Stardust, you."
"I will tear you to pieces and kill you first."
Feeling the god's intense hatred directed at her.
...Receiving his murderous intent, Stardust clenched her fist with a hardened face.
Instinctively sensing one fact.
'...With my current power.'
That she could never defeat a god who had staked everything.
***
The orange sky of twilight as the sun set.
Under that transcendent scenery that seemed like the end of the world.
...On the plain stretching to the horizon, where a symphony of death seemed to play.
A hero was facing off against living death.
[GRAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!]
Zing
Clang Boom Clang Boom Clang Zing Boom
"Urrrrrgh..."
BOOOOOOOM-
The spot where Stardust had been just moments ago.
The gray divine form of the Sun God closed the distance instantly, delivering thousands of slashes in a split second as if cutting through space itself.
And in the sky above, there was now a black galaxy-like scar, as if the sky itself had been cut.
But Stardust's evasion wasn't the end.
Ziiiiiing
BOOOM
Pure gray solar power relentlessly pursued her wherever she moved.
...Meanwhile, Stardust, her blonde hair flying, could barely defend against the attacks with her star power and barely escape.
An overwhelming difference in power.
Having gained enough power to destroy the world in one go by pouring out his existence... Yet focusing all his power in a confined space just to finish off Stardust, the only one with star power that could oppose him. The Sun God.
Under the Sun God's fierce attacks driven by malice.
Stardust was already battered and tumbling through the sky, despite not much time having passed.
"......"
BOOOOOM
Another gray solar power grazing her.
The golden giant she had summoned with her divine power had nearly exhausted its strength protecting her, now glowing with a dim golden light.
Stardust tasted blood in her mouth as she looked at the Sun God surrounded by gray light with blurry eyes.
'...What went wrong?'
In truth, there was nothing wrong per se.
No one had expected the Sun God to act like this, and her power had simply been insufficient.
Even Egostic's control tower instructions that had been coming through her earpiece:
[This is terrible!!! Gray rain is falling all over the world... AAARGH!]
...After what sounded like someone's death cry behind Egostic, no further communication came through.
A situation that felt like a dream.
She never imagined things would go so wrong.
Stardust was just... flying through the sky with her injured body, bleeding.
Even when she tried to launch attacks infused with starlight during brief openings.
"Haha. Did you think that would work?"
Thwack thwack thwack
The Sun God's slight hand gesture easily blocked her attempts.
...Of course, the Sun God didn't look particularly good either. His silver hair had discolored to gray, and his golden eyes were being consumed by darkness.
However, he was still in much better shape than Stardust, who was already pushed to her limits.
She felt like all her internal organs were twisted.
No, they might actually be.
"Cough."
Red blood flowed from her mouth after being hit by an attack she couldn't properly evade.
Under the twilight sky, the attacks of the gray-silver shining god of creation... no, now the god of destruction, Helios, came endlessly with the sole determination to kill this one child of the stars.
As a result.
"...Ugh."
Crack-
BOOOOOM
Finally.
The divine giant of Stardust, having used all its power, completely shattered and disappeared.
She fell and hit the ground.
Standing on shaky legs, holding her seemingly broken left arm and bleeding, she looked up.
"Now, it ends, child of the stars."
The Sun God, expressionless, was simply concentrating solar power in his hand to end everything.
Looking at him.
'Is this... the end?'
Stardust thought with blurry eyes, breathing heavily.
...It was fine if she alone fell.
But if she died here.
What would happen to this world, to the Association people, to Da-in, to everyone?
She couldn't fall here.
She had too many people to protect.
So.
"...No."
Stardust, without realizing it, painfully reached out her hand.
Offering a prayer that would never be heard, she gathered her last strength in her hand.
'Please, God..'
One last miracle.
"Perish, child of the stars."
And just before the Sun God's attack flew.
She released the power in her hand.
At that moment.
FLASH-
As an incredible light spread from her hand.
Suddenly.
Boom-
Her body felt like it stopped.
.....
Everything stopped.
The Sun God who was about to attack.
The blowing wind.
The flying dust. Everything.
"Huh...?"
In the time that had turned gray.
Stardust alone expressed her confusion in a tired voice.
And... she could realize.
"...Time has stopped?"
That's right.
Stardust, facing the Sun God directly.
She had completely unleashed the power of stars.
And stopped time.
"What is this..."
She hesitated for a moment, confused by the incomprehensible situation.
But soon Stardust quickly grasped what was happening.
'Ex Machina from America who could turn back time, he also had the authority of the Star God...'
She recalled the information Egostic had shared before.
The Star God governs time, the Moon God governs space, and the Sun God governs existence.
If so, that explained why she suddenly stopped time.
Then, then...
'This is my chance.'
She instinctively realized it.
This was her first and last opportunity to strike the Sun God.
She didn't know exactly how long she could stop time, but somehow she could intuitively feel.
That this ability would reach its limit in a few minutes.
So, before that.
"HAAAAAAAA!!"
With that battle cry, she exerted force into her hand raised to the sky.
FLASH
Starlight shining more brilliantly than ever in her fist.
With a concentration that felt like blood might pour from her eyes, biting her lips until they were crushed, she channeled starlight to her limit.
To take down the Sun God with this one strike.
'Wait for me, Helios.'
As she made that determination, gritting her teeth and gathering power in her fist while glaring at Helios.
.....
"...Huh?"
For a moment.
The Sun God's pupils, suspended in the air looking down, seemed to move.
And the next moment.
Twitch.
His fingers seemed to move.
Before she could do anything.
"HAAAAAAAP!!!!!"
—CRASH
The Sun God suddenly roared.
The next moment, the black and white frozen time shattered like glass.
And the next moment, before Stardust could prepare.
BOOM
"Urrrgh...!"
Gray solar energy blasts rained down on her.
Caught off guard, Stardust took the hit head-on and was sent flying.
In the flowing time that had suddenly returned, the Sun God wiped his mouth and muttered.
"To think she would surpass her power five times and even awaken the ability to control time... Indeed, she is that woman's daughter. Well, it doesn't matter."
With those words.
Still expressionless, showing nothing but hatred.
Helios, summoning a gray scythe in his hand, quietly muttered as he looked at Stardust who couldn't get up from the impact.
"Now, return to your mother's embrace."
And with those words, a massive gray energy blast fired toward her.
Boom-
Seeing it, Stardust, collapsed without the strength to move a finger, blankly thought as she watched the massive beam of light flying toward her.
...Ah. This is it.
This is where everything ends.
In fact, facing death, she had no regrets about her life. She had done her best.
But thinking about it... she was only worried. What would happen to those she left behind? That was her only concern. Actually, it wasn't just concern. Fear, anxiety, confusion, guilt, sadness, despair. All those emotions were weighing heavily on her. Therefore, she could only pray until her last moment. Please. The Sun God's power was now more depleted thanks to her... Please. May those who remain be able to defeat him. More desperately than for her own life.
'Haha...'
Like that.
Thinking about it as she faced death.
This wasn't the first time she had faced a situation that seemed so hopeless and filled with despair.
It had always been there.
And in those times.
The one who always came to save her in those situations.
It was Egostic.
...Haha. Would he come this time too?
With a bitter smile, thinking such thoughts until the end.
Just as she was about to close her eyes at the sight of the beam of destruction right in front of her.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes wide involuntarily.
'Wait.'
This time.
He shouldn't come.
He shouldn't come to face something like that, being weaker than her.
And just as that thought finished.
WHOOSH
BOOOOOM
Suddenly, a pitch-black light flashed before her eyes.
With a tremendous roar, something blocked the silver beam that was flying toward her.
As she frowned for a moment, feeling her heart pound. When she opened her trembling eyes again.
What she saw before her was.
"...Cough. Hello, Ms. Stardust."
With black blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.
Standing in front of her, facing forward, surrounded by black light.
It was Egostic, blocking the god's attack with his body.
With a hole pierced through his body.