Chapter Twenty-Three: The Battle Ends

Thor beside him quickly reacted as well, dropping to one knee and offering Asgard's highest courtesy toward the beam of light. The golden pillar gathered in midair, and where its brilliance converged, a humanoid figure gradually emerged. The dazzling golden radiance was his armor, adorned with blue gemstones—splendid and noble; the blue sky was his cloak, white clouds imprinted upon it—elegant and regal; the pitch-black night was his waterfall-like hair, starlight shimmering within—mysterious and beautiful. A golden gem appeared upon his brow, and his body emitted a faint glow, illuminating this dark world.

The instant this figure appeared, all bubbles in the sky fixed their gaze upon him, each shooting forth a pillar of violet-black light toward the descending deity. Al opened his eyes, countless runes flickering in the depths of his golden pupils. As the god of knowledge and wisdom, deciphering the principle behind these beams should have been trivial, yet he sensed something amiss.

Distracted by calculations, Al struck back; as his eyes opened, the golden radiance behind him formed a halo, suspending all incoming attacks in midair. He tilted his head slightly to regard those eyes, and the halo trembled sharply. A shockwave surged from Al, annihilating all assaults. The bubbles' eyes snapped shut, withdrawing their presence from this spacetime to evade Al’s attack.

“Impressive,” Al murmured, narrowing his eyes. In a flash, his figure vanished before the crowd and reappeared before the bubbles.

Once more, countless bubbles focused upon Al. Sensing the evil, decay, and corruption emanating from them, Al’s brow furrowed. He extended his right hand, unleashing countless golden chains that surged toward the bubbles, binding all spreading bubbles and dragging them toward himself.

Though Al ensnared all the bubbles, they showed no fear. Before the chains could draw them together, they began to merge of their own accord. The chains fused as the bubbles did, yet Al noticed a faint darkness creeping along the other end of the golden links.

Al heightened his vigilance against this evil deity, dismissing the chains and instead summoning his small bell—if a lion hunts a rabbit, it must still use its full strength; swift victory is the true principle.

After Al’s descent, everyone present sensed a warm aura radiating from his figure, as though a sun had come to earth. When Al and the evil god clashed and departed, those who dared not raise their heads felt the malignant gaze from the heavens vanish. They rose from their knees and looked toward the portal.

To prevent the evil god’s power from leaking, Al wrapped the bubbles and himself in a golden barrier. Those present, gazing skyward, saw only a vast golden sphere. Within, Al stood beneath his small bell, wielding a golden sword, striking at the massive bubble.

His blade split the bubble in two, but in the next moment, the halves merged once more. Violet-black beams battered the barrier before Al, sending ripples across its surface.

Al had no desire to continue battling this troublesome evil god. He withdrew his sword, closed his eyes, and gathered his power. The golden halo behind his head spun ceaselessly, energy converging within until a golden sphere slowly expanded at its center.

The evil god sensed imminent danger and launched a frenzied attack, but Al’s bell effortlessly deflected every blow. The bubbles quickly shifted focus, assailing the golden barrier enclosing them. Through relentless effort, a breach was finally formed, but Al’s attack was ready.

“Ultra-high energy reaction detected—warning!” The detectors of the Star Spirit Empire first registered the surge. Even hidden within a spatial fold, the detectors risked destruction from such energy. The message quickly returned to the empire.

S.H.I.E.L.D. and Tony Stark soon detected the same phenomenon; even a mere trace of energy leaking from the barrier was enough to obliterate Midgard. Preliminary calculations suggested that if all the energy were released, the entire solar system would be reduced to ashes.

Al opened his eyes, divine power erupting in full. The golden sphere instantly expanded, filling the entire barrier. The massive bubble let out a wretched scream as countless black energies were annihilated by golden light, its enormous form shrinking rapidly.

The breach in the barrier now served its purpose. The giant bubble, using its last strength, sent a wisp of blackness outside, a small bubble racing toward the still-open portal.

Golden energy followed close behind. Realizing the evil god had escaped the barrier, Al withdrew it. Observers on the battlefield felt as if they were staring into the sun from the vacuum of space, the blinding brilliance temporarily robbing them of sight, tears streaming from their eyes.

Only Thor and Artanis remained unaffected, gazing with longing upon that place—for there was the power of a true deity.

The remaining bubble, darting toward the portal, suddenly veered, causing the golden beam to collide with the blue light of the cosmic cube. The two beams exploded with tremendous force. Seizing the moment, the bubble leapt into the closing portal, and Al did not intervene.

This bubble was but an incarnation of the evil god; inflicting severe damage was already a remarkable achievement. As a peer among principal deities, Al had only relied on his creator god’s rank to draw upon greater energy, forcibly suppressing his foe.

The explosion severed the portal’s energy supply, the backlash destroying the equipment that had opened it, and the cosmic cube finally ceased its operation.

Al withdrew his gaze from the closed portal, turning instead toward the cosmic cube on the ground. The aftermath of the blast had destroyed only the device that used the cube to open the portal, sparing most other structures; the water tower atop the nuclear plant suffered some damage—fortunate amid misfortune.

With a wave, Al summoned the cosmic cube into his hand, discovering traces of dark energy upon it. He swept them away and, in a flash, appeared before Artanis.

“Your Majesty, do you wish to return to the Divine Realm?” Artanis greeted Al with a bow and then inquired.

Now that His Majesty Al had descended in person, arrangements for his residence required careful planning. Ulna, the Divine Realm, was the place in the Star Spirit Empire closest to the divine domains; living there would surely be most comfortable for His Majesty Al.