CHAPTER 669

【 GOD OF DUSK AND TWILIGHT 】

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What distinguishes an evil god from a righteous god?

Some say that evil gods are agents of the Abyss, beings who delight in leading sentient creatures into corruption.

Some say that evil gods stand as enemies of the world, bringing war and ruin wherever they go, so the realm itself gradually sinks toward the Abyss that spawned them.

All of this is true.

However, there is an even greater distinction between evil gods and righteous gods, a characteristic reminiscent of the ancient and primitive deities of antiquity, one that makes every true god in the present era wary and hostile, and one that causes all intelligent life to tremble at the mere thought of an evil god’s name.

That is, evil gods act without restraint.

They harbor no concerns, and they are not bound by the rules that govern balance among the gods.

They act entirely according to their own desires, and in pursuit of their own personal goals, they never hesitate to strike at beings far weaker than themselves.

In January of the year 1071 of the Eternal Era, the Holy Maniya Empire mobilized one hundred thousand soldiers to suppress the rebellion in the Maple Leaf Territory. However, when the decisive battle unfolded in the southwestern Fertile Plains, the imperial army suffered an unexpected massacre due to the sudden intervention of an evil god.

More than two thousand ruling nobles fell on that battlefield, including Duke Lawson, one of the seven Electors of the Empire. Eighty thousand imperial knights and more than twenty thousand conscripted mercenaries were also completely wiped out.

Cardinal Nicholas, who presided over the western diocese of the Eternal Church, perished and returned to the Eternal Lord’s Heavenly Paradise. The three thousand Judgement Knights of the Church’s Inquisition who accompanied him were also reduced to ash in an instant.

Among all who took part in that battle, only one person survived, the legendary-rank archmage Conrad von Lawson of the Lawson household, who had not yet joined the fighting and thus escaped by what could only be called a miracle…

When this news finally reached the capital, the whole Holy Maniya Empire was shaken to its core.

It is said that its reigning ruler, Empress Maria the Second, who was already eighty two years old, fainted on the spot upon hearing the report and has remained bedridden ever since.

The entire imperial court was thrown into chaos, and the Imperial Council had to convene an emergency meeting overnight. Eventually they reach a decision and in accordance with the holy mandate issued by the founding emperor, Carl the First, they urgently placed Princess Theresa, the empress’s thirteen-year-old granddaughter and sole surviving heir, on the throne as Regent, with the Archbishop of Winster, one of the seven electors, serving as regent minister…

Yet even this was not the most shocking part.

The most shocking news was the rumor that spread three days later, told by the few survivors who had been fortunate enough to witness the catastrophic battle from afar.

Although the Eternal Church tried its utmost to contain the spread of these rumors, they still circulated throughout the empire, terrifying and bewildering everyone, from the homeless commoners living on the streets to the nobles enjoying luxurious lives in their castles…

After all, the great Eternal Lord had ordered fifteen of his angels of judgment to descend and aid in the battle, yet these angelic legions, who had never before suffered defeat, were still slain by that evil god.

No wonder panic swept through the empire.

As these rumors spread like wildfire, they grew faster and more distorted with each retelling, snowballing until they reached the scale of an apocalyptic scenario wrought by the evil god. Terrified, the residents of provinces adjacent to Maple Leaf Territory began fleeing en masse toward the heartlands of the empire, plunging the western regions into complete disorder.

To make matters worse, a few days later, yet another shocking report arrived, pushing everyone’s fear to an entirely new level.

Otto von Cappadocia, the Borderlord of Maple Leaf Territory, who had already been unanimously stripped of his title by the Imperial Council and formally condemned by the Empress, boldly declared that he would establish the Red Maple Kingdom, with Maple Leaf City as its capital.

Not only that, but Otto, now styling himself as the King of Red Maple, publicly proclaimed that he would convert his faith to the God of Twilight and Dusk, Anos, before announcing that the Church of Twilight would become the state religion of his new kingdom and issued a formal declaration of holy war against the Holy Maniya Empire and the Eternal Church.

At this point, the rebellion in Maple Leaf Territory had irreversibly escalated into a whole new crisis, one that could potentially affect not only humanity as a whole but other factions as well. ṞἁNő𐌱ĘⱾ

The emergence of a mysterious and terrifying evil god has plunged the human faction into chaos and as these rumors spread rapidly across the continent, it even reach the elves in the Elven Forest.

In fact, the elves may have received the information even earlier than the upper ranks of the Holy Maniya Empire since some players had participated in that battle as well.

Moreover, even after the battle, many players continued infiltrating the newly formed Red Maple Kingdom as mercenaries, gathering intelligence.

At the center of this entire conflict, the terrifying evil god responsible for annihilating the empire’s army, was also captured in high-definition images thanks to the relentless efforts of the participating players. These images flooded the official forums.

One photograph, taken from ground level, showed the titan god in all its terrifying majesty. In the sky above, rolling clouds parted to reveal a cold and merciless face gazing down upon the land, its single golden eye shimmering with unbridled madness, as a colossal hand descended from the heavens.

There was also unedited video footage, clearer and more harrowing than any still image.

“Anos, the God of Twilight and Dusk…”

Watching the footage recorded by the players, Evé narrowed her eyes while seated upon her divine throne in Eden.

“The King of Titans? He is still alive? Wasn’t he driven mad during the war between the Titans and the dragons and perished in the end?”

A hint of doubt flickered in her eyes.

In the long history of this universe, there had only ever been one mythical being named Anos, the Titan King who had reigned supreme during the Titan Era.

Yet as the thought solidified in her mind, Evé shook her head slightly.

“No, even the World Tree was able to summon my soul after her demise, thereby allowing my predecessor to ‘reincarnate’ in another form. So it is not impossible for Anos, who was also a ruler of an era, to revive himself.”

Each mythical being possesses their own secrets and hidden powers. Especially those ancient beings that have lived for a very long time.

Recalling the undiscovered Titan ruins situated in the Maple Leaf Territory, Evé felt her thoughts racing.

“If it is truly the Titan King, Anos, then that would explain why he immediately established a church for himself and declared holy war against Etriōu. After all, according to the records, one aspect of Anos’ divinity was the sun, which now belongs to the Eternal Lord. However, their control over the sun divinity differs slightly, with the Eternal Lord holding authority over the Dawn, while Anos commands the Dusk.”

“If my judgment is correct, Anos intends to reclaim full control over the divinity of the Sun.”

Evé muttered, idly tapping the armrest of her throne as she sank deeper into thought.

The Eternal Lord possesses three primary divinities: Light, Order, and Thunder.

However, his original divinity was not any of these, but the divinity of dawn, which he later expanded to incorporate the divinity of the Sun. This became the origin of his holy emblem, which has remained unchanged ever since.

In addition to these, it is said that he also holds the divinities of Judgment, Dominion, and the racial divinity of Humanity, the latter still-developing and not fully matured yet.

However, as Evé pondered further, she frowned.

“Something is not right… Since Etriōu already incorporated the authority of Dusk into his own, Anos shouldn’t have lost control of it already. Logically speaking, even if he is an ancient god, Anos has only recently awakened, so he shouldn’t be this powerful yet…”

“To be able to so easily kill three Seraphims and twelve angels who had activated a sealing domain through a descent ritual, his strength must have reached the level of Lesser Divine Power.”

“It is unfortunate that the memories I inherited from the World Tree contain little information about this Titan King. So far, the only thing recorded is that my predecessor seemed to strongly dislike him. Even I felt influenced when reading those records.”

Evé shook her head.

Regardless, one thing was certain.

While the planetary barrier that protects the realm of Seigües—and forbids the gods from descending in their complete, true forms—still remained unbroken, a revived evil titan god with Lesser Divine Power, especially one originating from ancient times, posed a terrifying threat.

Opening the official forum of Elven Kingdom, Evé saw that most players had reacted to the incident in Maple Leaf Territory with schadenfreude. Not only that, when they heard that the resurrected evil god had declared war on the Empire, many players strongly suggested that High Priest Taylor and Saintess Alice consider forming an alliance with the newly formed Red Maple Kingdom.

Evé glanced at those posts briefly, then set them aside.

Although the notion of turning one enemy against another had momentarily crossed her mind, the thought vanished as she observed certain scenes from Maple Leaf Territory through the players’ perspectives.

On one hand, although she did not consider herself a benevolent figure and had no desire to imitate her predecessor; yet, at the very least, she believed there was a fundamental difference between herself and an evil god.

On the other hand, if one intends to unleash a tiger to devour a wolf, one must be absolutely certain that the supposed tiger is not, in fact, a dragon in disguise.

If the opponent truly was the Titan King Anos, Evé did not believe that she—having only recently ascended halfway along the path of divinity—could possibly outmaneuver an ancient being like him, one who had lived for countless years.

Furthermore, the divinity she wielded was itself dangerously attractive to an evil god who had just reawakened, making her a potential target simply by existing.

Besides, even though the Elven faction had not yet been directly targeted by Anos, what guarantee was there that they would remain untouched in the future?

Even more pressing, Evé urgently required a vast amount of divine power to ascend to the rank of Greater Divine Power.

Considering the peril a revived evil god might pose, Evé weighed all factors meticulously and ultimately concluded that she could not afford inaction.

However, the timing of her intervention, the method she would employ, the way she might extract a heavy price from the Eternal Lord afterward, and even how she could simultaneously bolster her own reputation—all demanded careful planning and precise maneuvering.

After all, Evé was not an evil god.

She still had a bottom line she would not dare cross, and although she already had some ideas and predictions, before taking action she needed detailed information about this so-called “Titan King.”

She knew little about this ancient being, but someone else should know far more about him.

With this thought, Evé rose from her divine throne, manifested her divine incarnation, and descended into the mortal world.

In the central region of the Elven Forest, near a beautiful lakeshore, gentle ripples spread across the water and mountains rose in the distance.

It was an idyllic scene, a place that could serve as a picture perfect landscape even in the already picturesque Elven Forest. One could even call it otherworldly beauty.

That was, if one ignored the noisy cries of vendors and players forming parties nearby.

Groups of players had gathered around the lakeside. Some were running open air stalls, some were shouting for teammates, and in the distance, players had even built makeshift tents and small wooden huts.

There was already the faint sense of a settlement.

The bustling commotion disrupted the serene charm of the lake, giving this place, which should have been detached from the mundane world, a somewhat vulgar atmosphere.

Still, a careful observer would notice that players moved in a clear pattern. Except for some fully armed teams, most avoided approaching the lake’s immediate surroundings.

Those who did step into the lakeside area would vanish the moment they crossed an unseen boundary, as if passing through an invisible barrier.

Most reappeared seconds later, looking battered, as if something had thrown them out.

Even so, players continued charging in with excitement, one after another.

When Evé descended, this was the scene she was greeted with.

She concealed her presence, so none of the players noticed her.

Watching the players enter and exit the invisible barrier with bright, eager expressions, Evé felt her expression grow somewhat strange.

With a step, she entered the unseen boundary as well.

The scene flickered as the noisy chatter of players disappeared instantly.

In the next moment, the lakeside landscape vanished, replaced by a barren desert. Several ferocious earth dragons emerged before her, roaring as they charged towards her.

Yet, Eve’s expression remained calm.

She merely cast a single glance at these incoming earth dragons, and they instantly froze where they stood.

Their bodies trembled, then shattered.

The surrounding desert dissolved in a burst of white light, and everything returned to the tranquil lakeside.

“What an interesting illusion spell.”

Evé remarked with interest.

The next moment, accompanied by an angry roar, a frustrated voice echoed across the lake.

“Who barged in again without my permission? Do they not know I prefer silence while I rest?”

Water surged as a massive golden dragon rose from the lake.

His enormous face was tinged with irritation, and his long golden whiskers trembled.

It was the golden dragon Mars.

However, the moment he saw the elven girl at the lakeside, smiling faintly at him, all the anger vanished from his face and was replaced with deep respect.

“Your… Your Grace… why have you come?”

He asked awkwardly.

“I thought I would take a look at your new lair. I heard you chose a scenic place, and it is indeed very beautiful. As expected of a golden dragon, your kind is always fond of such peaceful places. I also came to ask you a question regarding ancient times.”

Evé said with a smile.

Mars sighed.

“Please do not mention it. I now realize that choosing this place for my lair was a mistake. No, the true mistake was letting the elves know where my lair is in exchange for a steady supply of roasted meat. I beg your pardon Your Grace but your believers are just… unbearably noisy.”

Eve: “…”

After speaking, the old golden dragon turned back to Evé, curiosity flickering in his eyes.

“My Grace, what would you like to ask?”

Evé went straight to the point.

“You have lived here for quite some time, so you should have noticed that I am not exactly the same as the World Tree of a thousand years ago. In fact, my memories contain very little information about matters regarding the ancient times.”

Mars shook his head.

“No, Your Grace. Since you have revived as the World Tree, then by all accounts, you are the indeed the great Lady Yggdrasill.”

Evé did not continue the argument. Instead, she lifted a hand, and the image captured by the players appeared in midair.

“This Titan god… do you perhaps recognize him?”

Mars frowned slightly, clearly surprised.

“Hmm, This looks like…. the Titan Princess Sehemmet?”

Looking at the bald Titan projected in front of her, Evé could not help but fall briefly silent.

Prin… Princess?

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