Sovereign of the Ashes

“Strange crafting styles that I have never seen before. Definitely different from those of the ancient era... You must be the heretic who has invaded our Prime Materia Plane, right?”

Not long after the explosions and the blood-red curtain lit up the sky, Gondrath, the God of Craft, emerged from beneath the lake’s surface.

The weak deity, whom Sein had marked as his next target, looked surprisingly calm. He even had the mood to raise his head and study the crimson metal sphere hanging in the sky, speaking to Sein like they were having a casual chat.

“Oh? So you know me?” Sein replied, sounding mildly surprised.

Though he had not activated his Flame Demon transformation, flames imbued with the distinct power of ashes were already starting to burn along the surface of his body.

It seemed like most of the Justice League deities knew who he was. The God of First Light had also instantly recognized him last time.

“Your appearance may be different, but your distinct power and aura haven’t changed all that much. The God of Radiance seems to have taken quite an interest in you,” Gondrath said.

Muso, a greater deity, was a Rank Six powerhouse by the Astral Realm’s standards.

Being on the radar of a Rank Six entity was hardly comforting. The battle had not even begun, and pressure was already starting to build inside Sein.

“If this were a trap, I imagine that greater deity would’ve struck already,” Sein said, pointing to the sky. “But so far... no one’s come to save you.”

Even though several Justice League lesser deities were currently gathered in the San Jose Kingdom, most were too busy fending for themselves.

And with so many gods and factions watching from the sidelines, it was hard to say whether anyone would come to Gondrath’s aid in time.

As far as raw combat strength went, Gondrath ranked among the lowest of the weak deities—he was not a fighter at all.

Even his followers were mostly non-combatants. In fact, during the earlier attacks, most of them had already been wiped out.

With just the God of Craft to deal with, Sein figured this would be a relatively straightforward hunt.

However, reality was a little different.

Gondrath might not have been skilled in direct combat, but his craftsmanship made him different than most other lesser deities.

Whirr....! Whirrrr...!

The sound of gears turning echoed throughout the lake as soon as Sein and his team appeared.

It was as if Gondrath, the God of Craft, had built an entire mechanical city beneath the water.

As Sein unleashed the blood-colored light curtain above, a massive wooden giant began to emerge from the lake’s surface.

Gondrath stood at the head of the towering construct.

According to the Succubus Queen, this giant’s combat power had already reached the Saint level, which meant it was a demigod-tier weapon.

Though still submerged and not yet fully visible to Sein, its frame had to be at least a hundred meters tall.

The golem was not the only threat.

With the keen eye of an alchemist, Sein quickly spotted at least four divine artifacts on Gondrath himself: a ring, the clothes on his body, his boots, and a strange, wrench-like device he gripped in one hand.

As expected from a deity specialized in crafting, Gondrath’s ability to mass-produce divine artifacts was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

And that was just what he had on display—who knew how many hidden goods he still had in reserve?

In terms of wealth, Gondrath might have even surpassed the God of First Light.

Sein could not help but wonder if the dragons were among the groups that had previously tried but failed to bring this god down.

While Gondrath seemed intrigued by the unique magic artifacts Sein had crafted, Sein could not help but envy the god’s crafting prowess.

The wooden golem featured mechanisms and structural designs Sein had never encountered before.

If he could just get his hands on its core components for research, he was confident he could push Yuri’s mecha to an entirely new level.

More than that, Sein felt a powerful urge to disassemble every divine artifact Gondrath wore and uncover the secrets of his forging techniques.

Without another word, Sein made the first move.

He raised his right hand, and in the next instant, hundreds of energy beams converged on the heart of the lake from every direction.

They came from the portable magic cannons Flynn and the others had carefully positioned in advance.

The earlier explosions were just the opening act.

With the Purgatory demons’ financial backing and his own wealth, Sein had more than enough resources to keep the magic cannons firing until their barrels gave out.

The previous battles had already proven one thing clearly: low-level creatures had limited use in god hunts.

That was why Sein refused to let Flynn and the others take part in the direct assault on Gondrath, the God of Craft.

Their main role in this operation was to wear down the golems Gondrath had built as a first line of defense.

If Gondrath could construct a demigod-level golem, it was only natural that he had other cannon fodder-tier golems ready.

As expected, when Gondrath activated his divine power, waves of golems began emerging from within the underwater mechanical city.

While their individual strength was unremarkable, they could control the mechanisms and traps throughout the city with precision.

A barrage of arrows, wrapped in energy-imbued runes, clashed against the long-range spells Sein had unleashed.

These divine runes, developed by Faeloria’s natives, were not as refined as the Magus World’s magic arrays, but they were still highly effective in their own right.

The collisions sent tremors rippling through the southern part of Mysirral City.

In terms of sheer destructive force, Sein’s battle with Gondrath was shaping up to be even more devastating than his clash with the God of First Light.

Raising his magic rod high, Sein unleashed a flurry of Penetrating Eye spells—each one blasting from the weapon’s tip with devastating force.

In addition to the Demon Mask, his magic rod had also been engraved with the array of this powerful spell.

These spells required no incantations—they could be released directly from the weapon itself.

In a battle between beings of this caliber, speed often decided the outcome of the battle.

The tip of Sein’s magic rod was embedded with the God of Fire Crickets’ divine relic.

With that relic as a power source, Sein’s Penetrating Eye spell surged with intensified pyro elemental energy, turning each blast into something that looked less like a demigod-level mage’s attack and more like the wrath of a god descending upon Faeloria in avatar form!

A few volleys of that spell alone would be enough to make any Faelorian god reconsider their next move.

Though Gondrath was not known for his combat skills, he had a rather unique approach to battles.

Instead of channeling his divine power into brute strength, Gondrath raised his right hand, mirroring Sein’s movement.

The ruby ring on his finger flared to life with a brilliant crimson glow.

As multiple magic shields appeared around him, three fireballs—each one shaped like a diamond—launched straight toward Sein.

Sein’s magic rod could now be considered a divine artifact, just like Gondrath’s ring.

When it came to divine artifacts, Gondrath had just as many as Sein did.