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Chapter 303 part 2

Galilius, sustaining his weakening body through sheer willpower, saw the image of the unarmed Thanatos. Thanatos, still standing where she had thrown the rope and summoned the wind, gazed at Galilius with “black-purple” eyes.

「The evil eye that bestows death upon those it sees. Just how high-ranking a death deity’s favor do you have?」

Galilius remained alive under Thanatos’s lethal gaze only because he had hastily imbued the remaining power into the Ganaghiya, boosting his resistance to the death stare.

「You’re a sharp-witted goblin. It seems you’ve had your fair share of battles with superior foes on the battlefield.」

Without Galilius’s own quick thinking, wit, and mental strength, he would have been overwhelmed by Thanatos’s death long ago, despite the aid from Ganaghiya. Thanatos esteemed Galilius’s ability to have survived until this moment.

「Well, well. To think that Gwandan alone was an unexpected formidable enemy, and now I face a woman akin to death in human form. What a ‘fortunate event’ to encounter such overwhelming foes, even after exhausting all my strength. However, it’s time for a strategic retreat.」

Even in this predicament, Galilius’s spirit, declaring the situation a ‘fortunate event,’ was something even Gwandan had to admire. If there were warriors so thoroughly committed to living and dying on the battlefield, even Sagurabas, the ancestor god, would likely be smiling.

From Thanatos’s perspective, it didn’t matter if Galilius spoke of fleeing; she wouldn’t let him escape. However, Galilius knew well how difficult escaping from Thanatos would be.

But here arose a drawback of Thanatos’s descent to Earth. The time limit for overwriting existing laws with new laws of death.

A mental strain, previously non-existent, now emerged due to the unforeseen resistance by Ganaghiya, bringing the limit of death by gaze. The moment Thanatos involuntarily closed her eyelids…

「Damn.」

「Well then, perhaps we shall meet again, Gwandan.」

「Hmm, let’s leave it at that.」

Galilius’s form, either through his own magic or a magical tool, became hazy and vanished as if dissolving into the air. His presence disappeared not only from Ras Lomar but also from the Vastazi Hills.

Gwandan might have been able to finish Galilius before he teleported, but he refrained from doing so. The interference by Thanatos and the understanding that this was essentially a battle between the Romal Empire and the Demon King’s Army held him back. Perhaps this was his way of apologizing to Galilius for Thanatos’s intervention.

When Thanatos opened her eyes again, Galilius was gone. She briefly showed a hint of frustration on her otherwise composed face, then erased it before turning and walking towards Gwandan, kneeling at his feet.

「Not only did I intervene in your battle without prior notice, but I also failed to finish off the enemy and let him escape. I have no words of excuse. Please punish me as you see fit.」

Gwandan found this situation troublesome. Thanatos’ intervention in the battle with Galilius stemmed purely from her good intentions, and once this became apparent, it was difficult for Gwandan, the kind-hearted Ancient-Celestial Dragon, to be harsh with her.

Thanatos’ original superior, Hades, might either sigh deeply, covering his face with his hands at her meddling, or, on the contrary, be holding his belly laughing.

Wondering what Hypnos would think, Gwandan urged Thanatos to raise her head. Continually being bowed to by a woman he had known since her birth was an uncomfortable feeling for him.

「Raise your head for now. There’s no collateral damage… I am surprised, Tana… no, I should properly call you Turner. I knew you went there with them.」

「I was there because His Holiness graciously heard my request and allowed me to come here.」

「Hmm, you yourself are like me. That’s only natural.」

This meant that the Thanatos present was not the main body descended to Earth. Much like Gwandan was an offshoot of Dran, the maid-form goddess of death before him was also an offshoot or what one might call a terminal.

The main body of Thanatos continued to fulfill her duties in the underworld as the foremost of the death gods.

「Since I’ve come this far, accepting this is the choice I should make. However, I have three acquaintances who know my situation. I will tell them about you, but don’t be too upset if they act inappropriately for dealing with a goddess.」

As for the intervention in Gwandan’s battle, Lynette, Gundeus, and Kyrlinne would likely not react well. They might even have some harsh opinions.

「I am here as a maid, as this attire suggests, to serve. As fellow servants to you, there is no high or low. No, I am below.」

「That’s quite a humble attitude for a great god. You were like that when you first met them, and they were overwhelmed, weren’t they?」

Gwandan recalled the first time he met them – it was during Thanatos’ encounter with Dran, Selina, and others as Hades’ messenger at the Royal City during the Magic Tournament.

To the great god Thanatos, Selina and Dramina were insignificant earthly beings, but she behaved humbly as they were Dran’s lovers.

「It seems you haven’t yet held the wedding ceremony. The Holy Father and the other two are quite concerned about you. As for your son, they are even more interested.」

「Well, things are quite hectic right now. We’ll see after it settles down. After things calm down.」

With Galilius’ retreat, the elite Goblins battling Lynette and others outside Las Romals also withdrew from the battlefield via teleportation.

The only ones left were the elites of the Romal Empire and Lynette’s three sisters, who managed to fight in coordination without harming each other.

While sparks and purple lightning burst from various parts of her armor, Lynette relaxed her guard and dropped her hammer. Kyrlinne, looking dissatisfied with her nicked greatsword, understood the end of the fight and gradually relaxed her tension.

Gundeus, however, still seemed eager to fire, keeping the muzzles of the long cylindrical firearms in both hands raised. Despite having scattered over a thousand bullets, the outcome was not as satisfactory as she had hoped.

「Looks like we’re done for now, Lynette.」

「Yes. But there’s this mysterious aura that appeared on the deck. It’s very similar to the presence that occurs when those people descend…」

「Hmm, true. It’s unlikely Nuhaha-sama or the overly modest time sister would come here. But maybe Nuhaha-sama could?」

「If she couldn’t contain herself, she might come, but it’s highly unlikely she would interfere in the battle between Gwandan-sama and the goblins. She would have intervened before their fight started.」

「Hmmm, that makes sense. She wouldn’t easily interfere in an ongoing battle. So, who could have come? What do you think, Gan-chan?」

「Those cowardly fools. They should have fought until their bodies were riddled like a honeycomb.」

Lynette and Kyrlinne exchanged glances, then let out a deep, heavy sigh.

「Galilius-sama!?」

Grilim’s incredulous words made Yachiyo and Fuuko twitch their ears and tails. This reaction was more than enough to confirm Gwandan’s victory, though they had only imagined victory.

However, the battle, estimated by Galilius and Gwandan to be evenly matched, turned out to be as fiercely contested as expected.

Grilim’s left arm hung down, bleeding, and motionless. She had taken a blow that pierced her armor, bleeding from various parts of her body, and bearing signs of burns and frostbite from Fuuko’s ninjutsu.

Yachiyo and Fuuko were fortunately not seriously wounded, but the one-on-one fight against a stronger opponent had greatly drained their concentration and mental strength, leaving their faces pale as if they were on death’s doorstep.

「Curse it, I’ll remember you, dog-person and fox-person!」

As Grilim, like Galilius, began to fade and shift to a distant location, Yachiyo and the others responded in a way characteristic of them.

「No, no, no, that I do not want!」

Yachiyo shouted loudly, and Fuuko followed, sticking out her tongue and expressing her true feelings to the disappearing Grilim.

「No way, no way, that it is! Don’t show your face again! You are too strong for us!」

「I don’t have the hobby of fighting tough enemies like you and enjoy it, you fool! We care about our lives!」

Grilim was taken aback by this reaction. She blushed and was about to say something, but disappeared before she could.

「You, this… that’s how it ends…!」

Realizing they had made a statement that could seriously anger their opponent, Yachiyo and Fuuko cautiously watched the spot where Grilim disappeared. After waiting a while and seeing no sign of her return, they heaved a great sigh and collapsed to the ground.

「I thought I was really going to die, that I did! Why did we have to fight such a monstrous strong man, that I ask?」

「I was prepared to risk my life to protect Lady Amria, but it’s still scary, that it is, that it is.」

「Lady Amria~, scold me again~~」

「Hey, Hachi, no sneaking away, that’s not fair.」

At any rate, these two were as usual. Having survived an encounter with a foe as formidable as Grilim and able to react in their usual way indicated significant growth, though their mental maturity seemed unchanged.

Thus, the surprise attack on the leaders of the two factions of the Romal Empire was thwarted by the empire’s guardians and third parties that had been present since the time of the first emperor.

The chaotic situation caused by the unexpected invasion of the Demon King’s Army was temporarily settled by this battle, and the fight against the Demon King’s Army intensified, moving towards a climax.

It would not be long before Dran of Arkrest Kingdom and Gwandan, standing by Amria, would join forces, both with wry smiles on their faces.