Light gathered around his divine body—and exploded. The ear-piercing explosion shook the entire Mother Sea, but Wenzel’s power to raise life was strong. Anahem’s source explosion had shredded the giant tree and its roots, but the water of the sea released a light of its own in return. The tree regained its original form in no time at all.
“Whoa... I’m shocked. I never thought a god would use Gavuel...” Eleonore remarked. She flew over to Wenzel, Zeshia and Ennessone in tow. Their gazes were fixed on the spot where Anahem had last been. With one move, he had completely erased himself.
“That god perished... Will his order be okay?” Eleonore asked cheerfully, holding up an index finger.
“The sources of perished gods all end up at the same destination—the Withered Desert of Da Qu Kadarte. In other words, the divine domain of the God of Demise. While any other god would meet their final end there, Anahem’s source has no end. His divine body and source will merely be regenerated.”
“Is he cheating...?” Zeshia grumbled, making Wenzel laugh.
“That’s right! I wouldn’t want to fight a zombie that can never really die... I’d rather leave him for Anos,” Eleonore added in agreement.
“You’re safe here in the Mother Sea,” Wenzel said. “The Four Principles have absolute control of their order in their respective domains. Not even the God of Demise can use the full extent of his powers in the sea of birth. He won’t be able to touch me.”
“In that case, I’d like to rest for a bit,” Eleonore said.
Wenzel chuckled and turned to face the tree. “Let’s head over there.”
The four flew over to the tree. The firedew wind blew right beside them, rising up in an air current towards the sky up above. Now higher up than before, the green wind swirled in circles, transforming into clouds, from which emerged a deep azure light. The firedew was transforming from wind to water.
“Help yourself to any space over here. Unfortunately, this isn’t quite a living space, so there’s no chairs or any furnishings,” Wenzel said.
“That’s fine!” Eleonore replied.
Eleonore and the others entered a hole in the tree trunk and sat themselves down on the cavity floor. There they took a breather while enjoying the warm wind and gentle light.
“Come to think of it, why was he so insistent that it was Enne who stole the firedew? Do you have any idea, Wenzel?” Eleonore asked after some rest.
“No... It seems an abnormality occurred in Da Qu Kadarte during my absence.”
Wenzel looked confused. The God of Depth had hypothesized that the decrease in firedew flow was due to the chaos Demon King Anos possessed. Yet just now, the God of Demise had directly judged Ennessone to be the thief. What was currently happening in Da Qu Kadarte was probably inexplicable to all of the Four Principles.
“While that matter is also concerning, our first priority is to save Rauzel.”
They had lured Anahem out of the flower bed domain, so the God of Bloom should be safe for now. But there was no telling if, left by himself, he’d just end up destroyed again.
“That flower god...saved us,” Zeshia said.
The God of Bloom had sent his pollen along with the firedew wind, allowing them to reach Wenzel’s divine domain.
“This time...Zeshia will save him! I will return the favor!”
She stood up with confidence.
“Ennessone will help too!” Ennessone exclaimed.
“Isn’t it a little strange, though? Why would a god kill another god?” Eleonore wondered.
“I’m not sure,” Wenzel replied sadly.
“Is the God of Culling...the God of Demise?” Zeshia asked.
“It’s a possibility, but there’s too little information to say for sure. I don’t really want to imagine the Four Principles doing something like that...”
Wenzel’s expression was gloomy.
“Huh? I thought the God of Culling was the title. Is it just a nickname?” Eleonore asked.
Wenzel looked down in thought for a long moment before answering. “It shouldn’t be possible for an order that destroys gods to be born. Gods exist to maintain the order of the world, and if there were a god destroying gods in that domain, he would be disturbing order.”
“Oh, I see. That’s right. So what is this Romuen guy then?”
“The God of Culling shouldn’t be his true title. Someone in Da Qu Kadarte is destroying gods while claiming that name...” Wenzel murmured with a pained look. “Someone insane.”
“Could it be a god that’s awakened to their emotions?” Eleonore asked.
“It’s hard to believe, but perhaps so.”
A god killing gods. Order destroying order. Such a thing should have been impossible, but the Goddess of Termination had also gone crazy with hatred and tried to destroy herself to take out Ennessone. In short, no matter how crazed, it was still acting for the sake of order.
But there was no benefit to destroying the God of Bloom or other gods in the domain. Just who was the God of Culling? For what purpose were they destroying gods?
“Ugh, my head hurts from all this thinking. At any rate, our first goal is to save the God of Bloom. Can we leave the rest of the thinking to Anos?”
Wenzel contemplated Eleonore’s words carefully. “We shouldn’t move recklessly. If Ennessone visits the Celestial Canopy, Anahem may show up again. We may not be able to escape a second time.”
“But if we leave things like this, we don’t know when the God of Culling will go to finish off Rauzel.”
“Anahem’s goal is Ennessone alone. Eleonore, Zeshia, the two of you should stay here and protect her. I will tell the Mother Sea to restrain everyone else. Even if the God of Demise shows up again, that should buy enough time for me to return,” Wenzel said with a determined look. “I will return to the Celestial Canopy myself and rescue Rauzel.”