Anything it touches can be turned into crystal, even if that thing is made of magical energy.
And then there was that body structure, like a gigantic spider.
In this South Arican Lostbelt, there was only one possible answer.
"That is... ORT." Shiomi's heart started pounding.
The threat of death rushing toward him beca sothing tangible at that mont.
How long had it been since he had faced sothing that could so directly threaten his life?
"This scene is Mictlan's reality a few days from now. You are a being created by Nuwa, a modern god arranged to live among humans in the twenty-first century." Tezcatlipoca looked at Shiomi. "You play gas, right? Think of this as a 'trial version of destruction.' You'll get the full experience sooner or later, so enjoy an early preview."
He strolled across the collapsing, weightless ruins as casually as if he were out for a walk, completely unconcerned by the possibility that ORT might strike him the very next second and turn him into one more corpse here.
That was the essence of the Unpredictable Wind, the god of war.
"The Oceloh will perish. The Deinos will be wiped out. The world won't care. It'll keep turning all the sa. Just as always. I've seen it happen many tis." Tezcatlipoca's mouth curled crookedly, his face full of delight.
"A god who has destroyed one sun age after another, then created one sun age after another, would say sothing like that so easily." Shiomi looked at the Smoking Mirror. "For gods like you, this kind of destruction and reset is probably as ordinary as breakfast, isn't it?"
"Looks like you've grasped the essence of Aztec mythology. I'll give you credit for that." Tezcatlipoca said, "But eating breakfast all the ti gets boring. Every now and then, you want a lavish dinner instead."
Artoria could not keep the anger out of her voice. "You call this kind of destruction dinner? To you, are lives nothing more than food laid out on a table?!"
"At this point, there's no point getting angry over a god's values." Scáthach rested a hand on Artoria's shoulder. "Especially not with gods from so other mythology. Trying to understand them is aningless to begin with."
"Then let give you an early taste of it. Neither the Crypter Daybit Sem Void nor the Alien God could possibly imagine a chef of this caliber."
Tezcatlipoca's expression grew a little more serious, yet he still referred to ORT, in that sa flippant tone, as the chef of this banquet of destruction.
"First, you die. Then Mictlan disappears. Then this planet reaches its end. That monster hasn't awakened yet in Proper Human History... you know that much, don't you?" Tezcatlipoca said. "It is a star-eater that survives only in this Lostbelt, the one with the highest degree of completion. It will ravage the underground world, crawl up to the surface, reach Antarctica, and shatter your hopes. Chaldea's base will likely return to nothingness. The Celestial Sphere will probably be devoured. It will spread its nest across the planet, ignore even the cycle itself, and deal this celestial body a fatal blow."
Shiomi frowned. "So not just the Lostbelt, but the planet outside the Lostbelt will be destroyed too. Is that how you plan to stop the Celestial Sphere?"
"That's Daybit's concern. I don't care. I'm just showing you the ending I've seen." Tezcatlipoca fixed his eyes on Shiomi's. "This planet is going to die sooner or later anyway. The only difference is whether it dies early or late. But without the planet itself, then even if Proper Human History can't be restored, you still won't be able to create a new world again on a planet with nothing left on it, will you?"
"Daybit!" Shiomi ignored Tezcatlipoca and demanded an answer from Daybit instead. "Is this your answer?"
"For now, yes." Daybit stood near Tezcatlipoca, looking only at Shiomi. "I know you've already gained a power great enough to change everything, Teacher Shiomi. But you still haven't decided how exactly you intend to use it. And you also understand that the true Alien God is not humanity's enemy. Everything has to be witnessed firsthand in Antarctica before the proper answer can be reached."
Morgan let out a sigh. "So in simple terms, if we can't break this future, you're going to continue with this plan."
"..." Daybit said nothing, effectively admitting Morgan's guess.
Then the weightless fragnts of ruined stone beneath his feet suddenly gave way, and Daybit fell into the bottomless abyss without any ability to resist.
"That man...!" Scáthach's eyes widened.
"Don't panic." Morgan raised a hand. "It's only a substituted phenonon."
"Hmph. Even if it's a substituted phenonon, ORT itself is the real thing. If you don't start running, you're dead." Tezcatlipoca said.
Even as they were talking, ORT had already noticed them and launched an attack.
At the very instant the attack ca, Shiomi fused with Morgan once more and beca the Unity God, taking Scáthach and Artoria with them as they shifted outside the attack's range.
"Oh..."
Tezcatlipoca noticed what the Unity God had done and showed an amused expression.
The group that should have been struck directly ca through completely unhard under ORT's magical beam, the kind that could crystallize all matter.
Using the opening created by the failed attack, Unity God Morgan pulled farther away from ORT while carrying Scáthach and Artoria.
"So you've already learned phenonon creation. Fast learner." Tezcatlipoca said.
"Thanks to having such a good teacher demonstrate it right in front of us." Morgan shot back with imdiate sarcasm. "My husband and I have never had a deep enough understanding of authority, but what you just did was an excellent demonstration of how to use our power."
Strictly speaking, ORT's attack had indeed hit them.
The Unity God had simply created a substitute phenonon to take that extrely dangerous blow in their place.
If she had not done that, the Unity God herself might still have been fine, but Scáthach and Artoria would certainly have been crystallized, losing at least half their bodies.
"Is that so? Then do your best. Survive ORT's attacks, or defeat it."
After tossing out that mocking line, Tezcatlipoca withdrew from the area.
He had created this whole situation himself, yet had no intention of fighting in it. Instead, he retreated to a safe distance and watched those marked by ORT struggle for their lives.
"To be honest, I've imagined a lot of ways to die, but being turned into crystal and eaten by ORT is one I'd really rather pass on." Scáthach said as she kept searching for footing in the violent winds. "So what's the plan, my beloved disciple? Morgan?"
"What do you an, what plan? We're holding this thing here. You two get back to Chichen Itza as fast as you can." Morgan said. "The phenonon Tezcatlipoca substituted wasn't limited to xico City. All of Mictlan has been replaced."
It was exactly that absurd authority, bordering on cheating, that had pulled a destruction certain to arrive several days later forward into the present.
"But..." Artoria could not hide her worry for the two of them.
...
What's up, PinkSnake here.
I finally finished translating this book, all volus included. I'll be releasing chapters here at a faster pace from now on, but if you can't wait, feel free to follow on P@treon:
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