I Became the Guild Leader in Exile

120 – 9# End of the Goddess (4)

Zikfried.

A hero who had shone as a swordmaster and dragon slayer. At one time, his power was considered the strongest before Isaac appeared. But now, he’s being pushed back by his own child.

Is it because he was too complacent? Or did he become arrogant because of the master’s favor? As a result, the battle has returned to square one. Zikfried calmly swung his sword again.

From now on, if I use all my strength and mobilize every means possible, I can easily win. That’s what he thought. But Zik didn’t give him the time to regroup.

“I’ll take it to the end.”

I need to drag him into a muddy battle somehow. I don’t want to admit it, but for now, I’m still inferior to that man in terms of swordsmanship. However, the gap is not overwhelming.

If Zikfried were the same type as the master, it would have been difficult, but fortunately, Zikfried is a person who has reached the pinnacle through technique rather than physical ability, which is relatively weak.

As a result, Zikfried’s physical abilities are slowly deteriorating. Zikfried scowled. He had allowed Zik to attack him again.

“This isn’t good.”

The situation has turned around. His physical abilities are deteriorating due to his injuries, and as a result, he’s allowing Zik to attack him again. It’s a vicious cycle of attacks that’s getting worse and worse.

If this continues, I’ll lose. Even if I buy time, the chances of losing are high. Zikfried, who has experienced many battles and is a hero of reversal, has made that judgment.

“I need to settle this here.”

Before things get out of control and I can’t turn back, I need to settle this while my body still listens to me. If I lose, I’ll lose face in front of the master who chose me.

“I cannot lose to you.”

“……!!”

Zikfried grasped his sword with both hands and pointed it at Zik. It was a textbook-perfect stance. Despite his body being mostly broken and bleeding, his aura was still intimidating.

“Do I really need to have a head-on battle with you?”

“Of course.”

“What’s the reason?”

“If you don’t kill me, your master won’t be able to win.”

It sounded like nonsense, but Zik decided to listen to the story. At least, he knew that Zikfried wasn’t the type to spout nonsense or useless words.

“The power of the Goddess of the End is immense. Therefore, a sacred artifact is needed to control it.”

“Why can’t you control it yourself?”

“Because the goddess of the end is not in her full power.”

The god who governs all things had hoped for the world to perish through hatred. At least, it wasn’t a normal power, so naturally, the repercussions would reach herself as well.

So, Gaia thought of a clever plan. She would use sacred artifacts to counteract the hatred, and I, Ziegfried, was chosen as that artifact.

“Did you accept it willingly? You’re not crazy, are you?”

From my perspective, it was absurd. No matter how I looked at it, it was something that couldn’t be considered good. Why did that foolish person voluntarily accept it? I, Ziegfried, replied.

“Because I believed her path was the right one.”

“What?”

“Look at the world; no matter how many people you save, nothing changes.”

I had saved many people until now, but nothing changed. Perhaps… I was exhausted from the continuous pain.

It was Gaia who saved me. She would erase this rotten world and create a new one from scratch. The dangerous but kind salvation of the goddess of the end.

From then on, I, Ziegfried, decided to become a sacred artifact for Gaia. After hearing the whole story, I looked at him with an expression of disbelief, then let out a sigh.

“Yes, that’s the life you chose.”

“And you chose your own life.”

“There’s no need to argue about it anymore.”

“Then let’s start.”

I would use all my strength to crush everything in my way.

Just clash.

* * *

Mjolnir.

Thor’s power, embedded in Mjolnir, began to destroy Gaia’s temple. Isaac was using Mjolnir and Balder to slowly push Gaia back, but it was only a matter of time.

For now, he might be able to hold his own or gain a slight advantage, but when his power and physical strength were depleted, it would become impossible to turn the tables. Gaia, realizing this, took a defensive stance.

She acknowledged that even with the goddess of the end’s power, she was no match for Isaac. Thanks to that, Isaac was in a position to kill her. He had to break through her defense and deal a blow somehow.

It was almost impossible to pierce the infinite power of the earth. But, even if Gaia was the goddess of the end, it was impossible for her to use her power endlessly in this way.

“Ah, I see. So, Ziegfried has a sacred artifact.”

Thanks to my slightly different knowledge, I realized it late. In the original story, Gaia could use her power through sacred artifacts, which was described as almost infinite.

In other words, if the sacred artifact was broken, the goddess of the end’s power would weaken. In reality, when three sacred artifacts were about to be broken, Gaia, the goddess of the end, was defeated by Ziegfried.

However, even though Gaia appeared directly, for some reason, the sacred artifact didn’t appear, which seemed strange. Isaac finally realized the reason.

“You know about the sacred artifact, don’t you? You’re not ordinary.”

“Don’t dodge the question and answer me.”

“Yes, it’s true. To be exact, Ziegfried is my sacred artifact.”

Gaia frankly revealed the truth. There was no need to hide it in the first place. Right now, it was impossible for Isaac to leave this place and attack Ziegfried.

But Gaia didn’t think Ziegfried could win against Isaac. In other words, it was already a lost cause. However, Isaac laughed and said.

“Ah, I see. Then there’s no need to worry.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ziegfried will win against Isaac.”

“Poor thing, you’re holding onto a futile hope.”

Gaia genuinely pitied Isaac. Of course, she wasn’t belittling Ziegfried’s power, but compared to Ziegfried, who was called the Holy Sword and Dragon Slayer, it was lacking.

But Isaac believed that Ziegfried would sincerely win against Isaac. Was it because he was the main character? No, it wasn’t that. He had seen it with his own eyes until now.

That person would definitely win. So, until then, Isaac would use all his strength to push Gaia back. With that determination, Isaac released all the power of Mjolnir he had been holding back.

“Kuuh!!”

As Mjolnir was completely released, Thor’s lightning struck Isaac’s body. If it weren’t for the power of Hera’s glory, his body would have turned to ashes by now.

“Do you not need to hold back?”

“Don’t worry. You’ll soon reveal your limits.”

“Try your best.”

Gaia ridiculed Isaac, who was full of hope. Yes, you’ll experience the pain I’ve been through. Always holding onto hope, only to be betrayed in the end.

Kwaang! Kwang!

The lightning from the sky was defended by the temple. However, unlike before, this time the temple was on the verge of collapse just from the lightning. Gaia was taken aback by its power.

Indeed, the power was immense. Gaia evaluated Isaac’s strength and solidified her defense. Then, Isaac poured all his energy into breaking through the defense.

About an hour had passed. Thor’s lightning, which had been so powerful, was now visibly weakening. Isaac glared at Gaia, panting heavily. Gaia ridiculed Isaac.

“It seems my words were right.”

Even though time had passed, there was no feeling of defeat. If Zekefried had been defeated, the artifact would have collapsed, causing a massive shock.

Gaia took advantage of Isaac’s weakened state and moved the earth. Soon, a rocky fist emerged from the ground, attempting to bind Isaac. However, Isaac blocked it with his strength.

Was he still not exhausted? But that too would soon be a matter of time. Gaia was confident, but suddenly, a limit was reached.

“What’s going on?!”

“Something’s strange.”

“Don’t joke around.”

Gaia denied Isaac’s words. Her strongest guardian couldn’t possibly lose to a mere brat like him. Gaia clenched her teeth, denying it, and moved the earth again.

Although her power had weakened, it was still not something to be underestimated. Moreover, she had received the power of the goddess of the end. Isaac had also consumed a tremendous amount of energy.

“I’ll settle this here.”

The final battle, with the fate of the world at stake, had entered a new phase.