Chapter 118

On the other side, inside the Divination Bureau.

「You wish…… to kill the Star God? 」 Xing looked at Kafka in disbelief.

「Huh? How could that be? That's not our wish. 」 Kafka gave a light smile, shook her head: 「I just want to tell you about something that once happened: the stories of those fallen Star Gods. 」

「Immortal Dragon, Pure Beauty Idrira, Order Taiyi, Prosperity Tayzhuros, and…… Pioneer Akivili. 」

Kafka gazed up at the firmament beyond the clouds: 「These are names that once echoed through the universe; now they have vanished, leaving only lordless paths. 」

「The methods known to humanity for causing a Star God to fall are three. 」

「First, when paths of overlapping concepts collide, the broader path will subsume the narrower one—just as Order's Taiyi was assimilated by Harmony's Xipe. 」

「Second, in the divine war between Star Gods, the stronger side will annihilate the weaker—this is how Prosperity's Tayzhuros fell. That is, the Astral Vessel Alliance, led by Hunt, traversed the Star Sea to exterminate the abominations of Abundance's Yuhua. 」

Nazarick Underground Great Tomb.

Ainz Ooal Gown sat alone on the throne, inwardly pondering the weighty word Kafka had spoken: 「War of the Gods……」

——This is entirely a war of another dimension, a higher realm. Not even humanity, not even he, could set foot therein. Before the power of a Star God, magic might be naught but a mere trick.

Gazing at Kafka's calm expression on the light screen, Ainz leaned back into the throne and tapped his staff lightly on the ground.

This seemed like a signal—the demon nearby understood, he bowed respectfully to Lord Ainz and said: 「Lord Ainz, what information would you like to review from the light screen? 」

「Demiurge, do you still have any records on the explanation of paths? 」

「……Of course, Lord Ainz. 」

In the demon's hand a brown parchment scroll appeared out of thin air, unfurled, and upon it flowed magical characters.

Demiurge cleared his throat and chanted: 「The nature of paths is still under study, but a path is a part of imaginary numbers; when a certain condition is met, that portion of imaginary numbers can be occupied by a sentient being—that being is a Star God. 」

「Thanks for your meticulous records…… however, Demiurge, what's your take on paths? Hold nothing back—say what you think. 」

「As you command, Lord Ainz. Regarding paths……」

Demiurge hesitated a moment, then continued his answer.

「There's little valuable information now, but according to my thoughts… one day Lord Ainz will surely blaze a new path on his own and become a Star God. 」

「Oh, oh…… wait!? Huh?? 」

「Become…… a Star God? 」

Although he tried to keep control, inside he was genuinely shocked.

After adjusting his breath, Ainz's voice carried a hint of amusement; that profound feeling made Demiurge tremble with excitement, and he couldn't help but smile.

His voice was quite pleased: 「Yes, Lord Ainz, once you gain more knowledge of paths and Star Gods, you can absolutely become a Magus Star God. You are not only the Supreme Overlord of Nazarick Underground Great Tomb, not merely the ruler of this world…… but the ruler of countless worlds. 」

「I see…… that's your idea, huh. 」

The woman named Kafka said, "The stronger side will destroy the weaker side." With Lord Ainz's strength, destroying the other Star Gods is definitely no problem. Demiurge's tone was very confident; it seemed his imagined future was being projected onto his transparent glasses.

"To be able to continue serving the supreme sovereign who is a god is truly the happiness of this subordinate..."

"..."

Ainz didn't speak, only turning his face awkwardly to one side. He looked at the other guardians kneeling on one knee below the throne, saw the worship and reverence in their eyes, and his heart surged as if ten thousand horses were galloping.

— This is completely killing him with praise, right? Who could possibly defeat a monster at the level of a Star God?!

And this 【Magus】 path, Ainz can't even complain anymore... How many people can actually walk this strange path? If he becomes a Star God, he feels he'll be the first to be swallowed by other paths!

—

"This is a story that those who walk the righteous path will never tell you." Kafka's smile deepened.

"What is the third method?" Xingren couldn't help but ask.

"…… 'Wait a moment, the time should be about right.' Kafka didn't answer directly, but her gaze turned to a point in the distance: 'Oh, it's started.'"

"The ground suddenly began to tremble slightly, and a rumbling sound came from afar."

"Xing turned toward the sound and saw that the withered World Tree they had seen earlier was now rapidly swelling and growing!"

"The branches and trunk seemed to connect heaven and earth, golden light shining from the trunk, carrying an endless surge of abundant vitality. In the blink of an eye, the World Tree seemed to pierce the clouds, its branches seeming to blaze with fierce fire, guiding countless golden inscriptions down from the sky."

"At this moment, Xing finally understood what Qingque meant by 'clinging to the firmament, hanging the celestial bodies'—what kind of picture that was."

"This this this... Is this the World Tree? A trace left casually by the Abundance Star God?" Hutark's jaw dropped in astonishment.

This was still the first time in his life he had seen such a grand scene!!

"I finally understand how the Immortal Vessel people felt when they first saw this thing."

Zan Yin smiled wryly, "No wonder the Medicine King's secret transmission makes the Abundance pharmacists so loyal. That big thing they casually threw away back then, even if it became withered wood, could still rise from the ashes after thousands of years—this Abundance... is really hard to kill."

"But I've heard that this World Tree divine tree was split by an arrow from the Hunting Star God back then." Filien looked worried, "Could it be that we need to have the Star God shoot another arrow this time?"

The power of a single arrow from a Star God is extraordinary; even if the Immortal Vessel's patrol and hunt, that arrow's power would inevitably affect the innocent lives on the Immortal Vessel—what a tragic human scene that would be!

Thinking of the worst—half of the Luofu Immortal Vessel would probably just vanish into smoke.

"Don't rush, Filien." Frieren said confidently: "Trust General Jingyuan; everything happening now is still within his expectations. As long as the general takes action, everything will get better."