Sovereign of the Ashes

Just like Gondrath earlier, Furey’s interest was clearly piqued the moment he laid eyes on Sein and Yuri—though he hid it well.

After a brief glance at the two of them, his focus quickly shifted back to Gondrath.

This time, Furey had moved entirely on his own, without the backing of any external forces or the knowledge of other deities.

It was clear he had come to settle things with Gondrath once and for all.

Facing Gondrath, who was still roaring in anger, and Sein, who silently had his magic rod trained on him, Furey remained calm.

As an intermediate deity wielding two powerful divine artifacts, he was more than capable of dealing with the two pests before him.

On top of that, Gondrath was already badly wounded, and Sein had burned through much of his strength and resources.

From Furey’s perspective, this was not a fight he could possibly lose.

“I’m not looking to get involved in some feud between Faelorian gods. Just let me leave, I’ll pretend I saw nothing,” Sein ventured.

He did not expect Furey to agree, but it was still worth a shot.

The smirk tugging at Furey’s lips gave him all the answer he needed.

“The Elemental God despises you—and the heretical force behind you even more. I won’t hurt you, but I’ll take you to it,” Furey replied.

His eyes shifted to Yuri and added, “Besides, I’d love to take that little toy of yours apart too.”

“I guess that’s a no,” Sein muttered, tightening his grip on his magic rod and quickly downing several recovery potions.

Furey’s gaze lingered on Sein’s magic rod and the Demon Mask on his face, then he made his move.

His divine pickaxe flew toward Sein with terrifying force, and just standing in its path, Sein felt like his mind was being torn apart.

At the same time, Furey lifted his divine hammer and sent it crashing down toward Gondrath.

In that moment, it became clear that Furey, the God of Smithing, was a better fighter than Gondrath.

While Gondrath relied almost entirely on divine artifacts to fight, Furey’s close combat ability was enough to meet the standard of an intermediate deity.

The sharp pickaxe had already proven its terrifying power when it tore through the air and struck Gondrath earlier.

Meanwhile, Furey’s massive hammer blazed with fire as it descended. From afar, it looked like a meteor crashing down from the heavens.

The “toy” Furey had mocked moved before her master could.

She unleashed a barrage of concentrated energy beams and projectiles, but none of them were enough to stop the divine pickaxe.

Gritting her teeth, Yuri activated her thrusters and launched forward in an arc, charging straight toward Furey.

She had intended to shield Sein with her own body, but he shut that down with a firm command.

Instead, he began chanting rapidly, layering himself with multiple magic shields.

Combined with the auto-barriers provided by his magic artifacts, over a dozen protective layers formed around him in an instant.

On the other side, Gondrath gritted his teeth and began his desperate resistance.

He activated his divine relic and fused himself with the giant wooden golem that had sunk to the bottom of the lake.

This was his unique fighting style, one that fully showcased his craftsmanship.

Unlike Furey or Sein, Gondrath had taken a different path as an artisan.

His fusion with the golem was not all that different from Yuri piloting her mecha.

No wonder he had been so intrigued by her earlier.

Powered by Gondrath’s divine relic and energy, which had been on the brink of collapse, suddenly surged with renewed strength.

Its body began repairing itself rapidly, its aura flaring even more fiercely than before!

But even then, it was not enough. Furey’s full-powered hammer strike smashed the golem back into the ground.

From a distance, it looked as if a meteor had slammed it down.

Sein did not fare any better.

The shields he conjured tore like thin paper before the divine pickaxe’s absurd piercing power.

The pickaxe impaled his chest.

Intermediate deities were Rank Five beings by Astral Realm standards—and even with their powers suppressed during the Avatar Crisis, they were not the kind of enemies low-ranking creatures could afford to provoke.

Sein had always been aware of his own limits. That was why the targets he chose were all weak deities—he did not even want to provoke those of lesser power.

Getting targeted by an intermediate deity today was pure bad luck.

The sharp tip of the divine pickaxe drove nearly a third of the way into his chest.

For most Rank Three beings, that would have been a serious wound. But for Sein—whose body had been tempered by verdant flames and fortified by his Flame Demon form—it was still manageable.

More importantly, the instant he took the hit, Sein instinctively shifted from his Flame Demon form into his elemental body—greatly reducing the pickaxe’s penetration.

His magic robe, woven from the Spider Queen’s divine silk, absorbed a portion of the impact as well.

From the force of the impact, Sein immediately gauged the massive difference in strength between him and the enemy.

There was no point in trading blows. He turned and bolted south at full speed.

A battered demigod mage and a severely wounded weak deity stood no chance against an intermediate deity who had clearly come prepared!

There was no shame in running from a fight he could not win.

Overhead, the divine cube Furey had tossed into the air had formed a crystalline barrier that completely enclosed the battlefield.

One glance was enough to tell that it would not be easy to break through it.

Even with the contingencies Sein had prepared in advance, there was no guarantee of escape.

As he fled, Gondrath managed to get back up and take another shot at Furey.

However, Gondrath’s combat abilities were not even on Sein’s level.

After just a few more exchanges, the golem he was piloting took another round of heavy damage.

Only by draining the last of his divine relic’s power was he able to hold it together.

Seeing Sein retreating south, Gondrath swore under his breath and followed—fighting as he withdrew.

At this point, they were stuck in the same sinking ship. Their only chance of survival was to stick together. Splitting up would only get them killed faster.

Sein was not just running.

With Yuri offering constant fire support from the flanks, he kept hurling destructive spells at Furey as he moved.

Surprisingly, their frantic attacks did manage to slow Furey down, despite the composed front he maintained.

Even an intermediate deity was not immune to the effects of the Avatar Crisis. His strength was still weakened.

Furey would win eventually, but it was not going to be quick.