"Understood!" Master commanded coldly.
Understood!
..
The Monsters continued to let out meaningless screams, while the advancing Party pressed forward like a torrential downpour.
—To avoid being invaded by the Cthulhu Lifeform's translucent bodies, which were so fragmented they could blend into the air, They generally resorted to long-range attacks, attempting to keep the enemy at a distance as much as possible; if the enemy breached the close range, they primarily relied on fire attacks!
Under the intense offensive, the Cthulhu Lifeforms, which had originally been surging like a tide, also began to hesitate and retreat, but just at that moment—
Wood suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of horror.
He looked up following his instinct and saw that the ceiling, over five meters high, had somehow become filled with a thick, translucent substance, much like Amoeba!
“This—"
Watch out!
The warning had just been issued when the viscous Gelatinous Monsters clustered on the ceiling began to merge—wriggling slowly, coalescing into a massive, pale-blue, slightly translucent, constantly vibrating Monster, its surface emitting swirling, multicolored lights. Under the influence of gravity, these things were approaching the Earth Gods below with a slow yet steady gait.
—Ahhhhhhh!
A God could not help but let out a heart-wrenching scream.
Wood also—
[Run! Papa! Run!]
Jormungand roared and charged forward, his massive body leading the few Gods who had reacted in time, including Wood, as they forcefully broke through the impending Cthulhu tsunami and rushed into a relatively safe area.
But even so, the thought that a vast number of Companions had now been covered and shrouded by Cthulhu Lifeforms, that the ceiling and surrounding walls were still crawling with these Monsters' kin, any of whom could slide down onto his head or neck at any moment—
Keep moving forward! We must move forward!
Wood said, still feeling shaken.
Jormungand nodded his massive head, carrying Wood and the others on his back as they rushed forward, charging out of the corridor and through the room—countless works of art displayed in the hallways and rooms whistled past their eyes, but at this moment, no God had the leisure to stop and admire them.
All Gods were running, running without end, running forward to find the heart of Valhalla and defeat the Cthulhu Lifeforms gathered there!
Suddenly—
A massive Rhombus Void appeared ahead.
Dazzling White Light shone from the Rhombus Void into the world that was almost being occupied by Cthulhu Lifeforms.
“Over there—"
What if it's a trap?
A voice asked from within the traveling Party.
Hearing this, Wood looked at Master with concern. "Boss, we.."
“Even if it is a trap, it is better than not seeing the Enemy.”
That's true!
Having realized this, the Gods walked toward the Rhombus Void that shone with an eerie, intense White Light, encountering Companions who had arrived here through other means along the way.
(Could it be that everyone who enters Valhalla, if they aren't devoured by Cthulhu Creatures, will inevitably end up at this..)
Wood thought instinctively, then suddenly turned his head, gasping in shock—
Those gelatinous Monsters, which had almost coated every gap in the Heroic Spirit's rooms and passages, had stopped in their tracks at some unknown moment!
They piled up in one spot, wriggling and rustling as they rolled together, forming a high wall. Within their transparent bodies, countless eyes peered out at the Gods approaching the Rhombus Void filled with White Light—yet, no matter what, they did not dare take a single step forward!
(What kind of terrible thing is hidden within that void, that even Cthulhu Creatures are hesitant to approach?)
It was just before entering the hole that Wood shared his doubts with the Earth Gods gathered there.
Upon hearing this, the Gods all repeatedly and carefully scrutinized that hair-raising, translucent mass.
Their current state is indeed very abnormal; they are constantly restless, yet they do not dare to chase after us—
Because there is something in the world behind the hole that they fear extremely?
It certainly seems that way!
Wait a minute! Look closely. Although the Monsters piled against the wall and the Monsters on the ceiling look very similar, they don't seem to be of the same kind. They—
[Roar—]
The roaring surged violently toward them. Before the Gods could even react, something burst out from behind the white void—
A Tyrannosaurus Rex?!
What happened this time?
Wood was stunned.
In fact, almost all the Gods present were stunned.
Because in almost all the myths created by Human Civilization in the Current Era, humans were created by Gods, the myths did not include any prehistoric megafauna, including the Tyrannosaurus Rex!
What is this thing!
Th-th-this..
The Gods were instantly thrown into chaos; the thing before them completely exceeded the scope of their understanding.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex grew larger and more complete in its frantic sprint, becoming a giant nearly a hundred meters tall in the blink of an eye!
Immediately following, even more prehistoric creatures rushed and flew out from the White Light's Rhombus Void, like the apocalyptic scenes depicted in Revelation!
—Aaaah!
As the scream rang in his ears, Wood reflexively closed his eyes; even so, blood splattered across his face, the deathly wail pierced his eardrums.
Then—
The Dance of Death has officially begun.
Having regained their senses, the Earth Gods revealed their Divine Artifacts one after another, fighting to the death against those Monsters of unknown origin.
Once his mind stabilized, Wood also threw himself into the battle, using the Holy Sword to pierce the Tyrannosaurus Rex's blood-filled maw filled with rows of sharp teeth, forcing it to let out a death roar as its massive, mountain-like fleshly body writhed frantically, struggling desperately—
It's fine, right?
It's fine!
Wood replied instinctively, just as he was about to land a finishing blow—
A hand forcibly yanked him away from the Tyrannosaurus Rex's side, pulling him to a higher vantage point!
Why?
Wood looked at the man reaching out his hand with dissatisfaction: "Boss, you—"
See for yourself.
Master said coldly.
Wood looked down, seeing in surprise that the body of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, which he had sliced open with the Holy Sword, was..
It was rapidly melting, starting from the cut!
It turned into a large puddle of terrifying, bluish-white jelly!
Then.. the jelly-like mucus coalesced, rapidly forming a brand new, even stronger and more ferocious Tyrannosaurus Rex!
How.. how are we supposed to fight this!
Several Earth Gods present at the scene also noticed this, letting out strangled roars.
What else can we do? We fight to the death!
Lucifer gave an unsatisfied glance at Michael and the other Christian Archangels who had maintained their strength until now. "All Earth Gods originate from the Collective Imagination of Human Believers. Therefore, even if they are unfortunately completely killed by these Cthulhu Lifeforrms, as long as the Earth Crisis is successfully resolved and Human Civilization continues, the Gods can be reborn! Since they will not truly die, what are you afraid of!"
We—
Don't make me look down on you! Michael!
Lucifer emphasized angrily, "If you still want to maintain your status as the first Archangel before God, then lead your colleagues and charge immediately! Because the Demons of Hell have already charged ahead!"
As his voice fell, Lucifer led the Seven Lords of Hell toward the Tyrannosaurus Rexes that were undergoing continuous rebirth, engaging in an indescribable life-and-death struggle with this group of undying Monsters!
Seeing this scene, Michael, who had been intentionally standing still out of disgust, also revealed a shocked expression, then—
Charge! For Earth!
The full-scale battle has officially begun. Although the Monsters will continue to respawn incessantly, the Earth Gods engaged in combat with them are equally fearless—as long as Earth is saved and Human Civilization continues, They can be resurrected as an Imagined Community.
Moreover—
Their rebirth is neither infinite nor limitless!
Nuwa shouted, "They fear Fire just like the Monsters we encountered before; extreme high temperatures can cause the elements that constitute their bodies to briefly lose their activity!"
Understood!
The Gods responded in unison.
The Fire scattered, the Monsters, composed entirely of translucent, trembling, jelly-like matter, were instantly driven back. They eventually reverted to their shapeless forms before reshaping themselves into upright lifeforms that looked infinitely close to Earth Humans—even their eyes radiated an aura similar to humans: curiosity, rationality, fear, struggle, misery.
Why won't you accept us? We only want to survive, to coexist with you..
“When you attack and devour us in the form of monsters, you don't show even a shred of sincerity regarding coexistence with us!”
Wood cursed loudly, while a strong sense of vigilance rose from deep within his heart: these things could actually perfectly simulate humans, they seemed to have understood human emotions and ways of thinking from the very beginning.
Thinking of this, he looked at his companions with worry: "We seem—"
We underestimated the level of intelligence of these things.
Master said soothingly.
At this moment, a massive amount of bluish-white translucent substance suddenly flowed out from that Rhombus Void, enveloping all the Gods present within it.
Wood instinctively tried to resist, but for some reason—
As soon as that gauze-like substance touched his body, his hands hung limp at his sides. He felt neither fear nor despair, nor did he have any thought of resisting; as if the outcome had been predestined from the very beginning, he was naturally enveloped by the gauze from head to toe.
(It ends here..)
Wood thought to himself.