Chrunus dispersed into mist as Cedric fell on his back. He had fought the god of Chaos for a long time, yet despite the fatigue he had felt for the first time since he came to the new world, he felt at peace.
The Divine Realm was barely held together; it was shattered with massive ravines stretching as far as the eye could see, yet Chrunus was defeated.
<< Announcement: Contender of Chaos has been defeated by Anomalous Entity: Cedric.>>
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The headache returned. 'Why?! Chrunus is defeated!'
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It was possible that Chrunus was not the cause of the voice of God being scrambled. However, what else could it have been?
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He gripped his head as he wriggled in pain despite his apex existence. It felt like the voice of God had worked against him. 'Have I failed?!'
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Yet as the voice subsided and assigned him as the contender of light, it finally dissipated. He couldn't help but wonder.
'Have I failed? Or...' He clenched his fist. A heretical thought formed in his head. What if the voice he had been following was not that of God?
He had been attacked by it at the very moment he was supposed to deal with one of the greatest threats to humanity.
'No!' He had called upon Angels, despite their unique quirks. He had channeled the most holy light. There was no way he was guided by anything but God.
He raised his hand toward the sky and tightened his fist. The Lands of Chalk were completely decimated; if left like this, it would crumble in mere years, which would cause the allies that made the defeat of Chrunus possible to perish.
He could not allow it.
"Father!" He heard Alael's voice as she rushed to him. She sat on her knees and gently pulled Cedric's head to rest against her thighs. "You did it! I never had any doubts!"
"Hah... It was... ugh... the Will of God that he would be defeated, it was only a matter of time." He pushed himself up with the help of Alael.
He had expected the fight to be difficult; however, the amount of power Churnus had thrown at him was far too large for a mere demon.
It was no wonder God had seen fit to empower him to the extent that he had. If he had been weaker, he would have perished instead of Chrunus and thus would have failed the mission.
Yet the ugly doubt had found its way inside his head. What if he had been tricked all along? What reason would the voice of God have to cause headaches at the crucial moment?
"I need to pray..." He stumbled forward.
He fell to his knees as he ignored Alael's worried expression. His skills had healed him fully, yet the pain remained.
He clasped his hands together, "God, thank you for guiding us here so that we may set things right. The false god had fallen, and those who had seen the truth had turned to light."
"Perhaps I had failed your will that you see fit to inflict pain upon me, and thus I accept it. I will not let doubts fester and consume me. For you are the truth and light that guides all of us. Amen."
He pushed himself up as the pain slowly receded. "Alael, let's go back. The victory is ours!"
Alael's lips stretched into a wide smile. "It is the most natural outcome!"
'We should fix this land... God had granted me the right to summon the Ruler; it would be a shame if one of God's Worlds crumbles.' He shook his head. He would summon Ruler once he had a chance to rest and talk with the others.
The lands of chalk rumbled. The time to fix them and return them to God's glory was fleeting, yet he knew that he had enough.
He cracked his neck and adjusted his shoulders. "Iguva will most certainly be even worse... I need to prepare even more."
"Father, Forgive me for being unable to join the fight... despite being your most powerful soldier..."
"No, Alael, if even a single Angel had died, I would not be able to live with the guilt. Chrunus was far too powerful for even you..."
"But... my purpose is to be your blade..."
"No... Angels are more than mere weapons. Each of you is worth more to me than my own life. God had granted me the privilege of summoning you, but losing you is inexcusable."
Alael beamed with a warm smile, "Father... you are truly wonderful..."
The duo made way toward the gate, despite the distance, the land around them was rained beyond recognition, yet Chaos was completely eradicated. The Lands of Chalk were free of the tyrant.
Before him were the former false gods and Fortuna, who was the sole reason the crusade against Chrunus was even possible.
They knelt in unison. "Lord Cedric! We thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We sensed the destruction of Chrunus..." Fortuna shed a tear. "Thank you... so much!"
Soon, another voice reached him; it belonged to the girl with orange hair and long ears. Her voice was rather soft and shaky. "I... Can't even describe how thankful I am for your deeds..."
His gaze then wandered to the blonde girl, whom he had assumed was Celara.
"You and your forces... You are beautiful... I beg you to let me join your service!" Celara stared at Cedric with mad glee.
Payne interjected, "Our words cannot describe the depths of our gratitude. We will fulfill your will no matter what it is!"
Cedric nodded. These entities were not demons, he thought of them as. Only demon was Chrunus, who had led them astray from the one true faith.