Chapter 41 Without Ruthlessness, a God Cannot Maintain Their Status

'Very good, but no god has ever surpassed me in the divine arts of life." Even after losing the divine authority of life, agriculture, and harvest, Kreiss continued his exploration of the mysteries of life, speaking divine words. 'Rejuvenation." The divine authority of growth emitted a brilliant light, and the giant hand formed by the plants suddenly froze. Its body continuously shrank and regressed; the leaves contracted, the branches withered, and the flowers closed, ultimately transforming into seeds that were on the verge of breaking apart. 'Song of Youth." With a gentle breath from the goddess, the seeds that had been pushed back by Kreiss ceased to move. The divine authority of youth allowed all things to remain in their optimal state; the seeds sprouted again and grew wildly, transforming once more into a giant hand that reached out toward Kreiss. 'Embrace of Thorns." The staff in the god's hand glowed again as he cast another divine art. A patch of eerie blue thorns erupted from the ground beneath him, twisting and entwining to form a giant hand that countered Hebe's green hand. The thorny giant hand was covered in dark green poisonous barbs, which pierced through the green hand, spraying venom that caused the plants to wither away. 'Hibernate!" The crown of the winter god shone in the goddess's golden hair, and the thorny giant hand was covered with a thick layer of frost, the dormant divine power causing its movements to slow down. 'Wild Growth." However, Kreiss was not in a hurry. The divine power of wild growth caused the thorns to grow wildly again, breaking free from the constraints of the winter divine power, seizing the green giant hand and tearing it apart. Flowers shattered, showering the entire valley with a rain of blossoms, creating an incredibly beautiful scene. Kreiss furrowed his brow, sensing that something was amiss. In the blink of an eye, the sound of rushing wind came, and a beam of golden light pierced through the rain of flowers. Hebe's figure had somehow appeared in front of him, her right hand enveloped in divine light, plunging into the god's heart. Hebe had never thought of relying on the divine arts of life to defeat an ancient giant god of life. The realm of life was merely a façade; it significantly enhanced her speed and strength. The giant tree hand had deliberately fallen, and the divine power that mingled with the rain of flowers obscured the opponent's vision, all for this moment of a decisive strike to pierce the heart of the god. However, the familiar sound of flesh and blood shattering did not occur. Hebe frowned; Kreiss's smile remained unchanged, as if carved from stone, and his eyes held an air of the uncanny. When she looked down, she realized there was no blood or flesh—only a piece of dead wood! The god of growth, Kreiss, did not have a divine body at all! Of course, Kreiss did not have a divine body. He had indeed fallen; during the Titan War, he had been bisected, and his divine body had shattered. From beginning to end, this Titan god had existed in a state of divine soul, attached to a wooden puppet, and concealed beneath the aura of life laws. The degree of deception was so profound that it led Hebe to mistakenly believe he was still alive. 'Oh, naive goddess. Did you think I created a being comparable to a chief god like Demani by mere chance?" 'That monster was created using the remnants of my divine essence and flesh." Kreiss's palm shone with divine light again, and countless tiny spores burst forth, quickly filling the entire canyon in an instant. They were as small as fireflies, yet omnipresent. A gentle wind blew, carrying the spores toward Hebe. Sensing the vigorous life force emanating from the goddess, the gray spores trembled, seemingly catalyzed by something. In an instant, they swelled and exploded, growing countless tendrils filled with thick death energy. They writhed grotesquely, like maggots, lunging toward the goddess. Hebe was far too close to them; the nauseating tendrils moved with incredible speed, wrapping around her in the blink of an eye. Their tips opened into sharp claws, piercing through her divine body, burrowing into her limbs. The tendrils grew wildly within her, heading straight for the location of her divine essence in her heart. In that moment, golden divine blood spilled forth. Kreiss reached out to catch the divine blood, his light green eyes betraying a hint of greed, but he quickly regained his composure. This scrap of divine blood was hardly enough for the elaborate scheme he had devised; his performance deserved a far richer reward. 'Heart of Withering." As the divine blood splattered, an unknown curse invaded, and a wave of helplessness surged into Hebe's body. The domain of life shattered, flowers wilted, and her divine power was sealed. The goddess of life, Hebe, uncontrollably fell into unconsciousness. 'Damn it!" Paxos, who was entangled with Demani, sensed that his main body was in trouble. His expression turned anxious, and his crow-golden wings flapped as he prepared to turn back and assist Hebe. 'Roar!" The furious giant widened its crimson eyes, its colossal hand blotting out the sky as it descended toward Paxos, stirring up a tempest. The overwhelming pressure was something even a chief god could not underestimate. 'Filthy divine abomination, get away from her!" Paxos shouted, and the shadow of the sunless sky brightened. The frost-covered sword blazed with the flames of the cataclysm, and the purplish-red fire transformed into a massive blade, sweeping toward Demani's incoming arm. The speed was comparable to light, and Demani had no chance to evade. Blood sprayed as the giant arm was severed, spinning through the air before falling to the ground. 'Roar!" The hundred-armed giant winced in pain, unable to help but take a few steps back. Its massive foot stomped on the canyon floor, causing the ground to shake violently. 'Filthy fallen god, don't you dare touch her with your dirty hands!" The dark-haired deity's dark golden eyes flashed with a crimson glow. His crow-golden wings flapped rapidly, transforming into a streak of dark light that charged toward Kreiss. Paxos swung his sword, unleashing a wave of deathly divine power. The black-and-white death energy took the form of a blade, slashing toward Kreiss, attempting to force him away from Hebe. Kreiss turned his head, and the divine authority of growth in his hand shone brilliantly, absorbing the opposing death energy entirely. With one strike failing, Paxos wielded his sword, the blade blooming like a lotus. The divine powers of the solar and sunless domains surged within him, unleashing both the extinguishing divine power and the flames of the cataclysm in unison. 'Ugh…" Cold light flickered across Kreiss's form, and with a loud bang, the puppet's body shattered. Kreiss frowned as he looked at his broken body and felt the discomfort and pain emanating from his soul. 'I underestimated you." Even with his body in ruins, Kreiss's divine soul floated in midair, his expression relaxed and his tone indifferent. 'Turning stone into gold." His shattered arm still grasped the divine staff, and the Midas Staff suddenly emitted a blinding golden light directed at Paxos. ‘Not good!' Paxos quickly tried to dodge, but it was too late. He felt his body grow heavy, nearly falling from the sky. The black-haired god of the underworld, struck by the artifact's golden light, found half of his divine body transformed into gold, rendering him immobile. 'Roar!" Demani's massive hand came crashing down. 'Bang!" Paxos's figure fell like a meteor from the sky, creating a deep pit in the canyon. Golden divine blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, and his dark golden eyes were now a vivid crimson. Unbeknownst to him, a patch of ghostly blue thorns had emerged from the ground, binding his limbs and burrowing into his heart, sealing away his divine power in the same manner. 'Hahaha, good, good, good! I have finally waited for this day." Kreiss's fingertips shimmered with divine light as he manipulated his shattered body to reassemble. Clad in a green robe, he held the golden staff, looking at the two gods before him, representing life and death. Perhaps this was a gift from the world's will, a sign of its pity for him. The smile on Kreiss's lips could no longer be contained, growing increasingly maniacal. 'With your divine powers, I will not only be able to resurrect, but I will also return to my peak—no, I will even surpass it!" 'Roar…" Demani knelt before Kreiss in submission. This violent, bloodthirsty monster appeared docile before Kreiss, waiting patiently for his master's command. Kreiss looked at the grotesque hundred-armed giant before him, one that shared his bloodline, and a gentle expression spread across his face as he reached out to stroke the giant's massive head. 'You've done well over the years; I appreciate your hard work." 'Roar…" 'Now, please die." Divine power erupted from the god's hands, and emerald vines shot up into the sky, wrapping around the hundred-armed giant on the ground. The vines seemed to have found fertile soil, taking root on the giant's body and continuously siphoning its life force. 'Roar!" The hundred-armed giant cried out in pain. Even as a mindless creature, when its life was threatened, it instinctively struggled to resist, driven by the will to survive. But Kreiss was employing the supreme divine art of life—the Life Drain. The vines anchored to the giant were relentlessly extracting its life essence, and the vigorous life force surged through the vines into the divine authority of growth in Kreiss's hands. This was his signature technique; even the true Demani might not be able to break free, let alone this incomplete version before him. Gradually, the majestic and violent giant ceased its struggles. Its body began to stiffen, and when the last trace of life was drained away, the incomplete Demani collapsed, its body transforming into a mountain. What a true monstrosity…