D.I.O

Woong! Woong!

The space shuddered, and an eerie sensation pressed in from all around Merlin. It was a precursor to the interference of two new forces, who had decided to take action after being convinced that Apollo wouldn’t help Merlin.

Rumble!

Black lightning struck down, split the space, and revealed a gray giant. With an almost human-like appearance, the female giant stood still with her long hair, which matched her skin color, flowing gently.

“Darn it. It’s Sadness. Of all the beings they could have sent, why that woman?” The elf man, who was driving Leaf into a corner with furious force, took a step back before frowning.

Likewise, the other alien pirates, who had been attacking the Masters, distanced themselves from their opponents and created a gap between them. This was because the alien pirates realized that if they were to focus too narrowly on defeating the minnows who were, in this case, the Masters, they’d be caught in turn by a powerful enemy.

“Damn it. In this sort of situation, Caesar would definitely throw his weapon in frustration.”

“Those guys would be simple trash if the situation were normal…”

Unlike before, the alien pirates spoke in grave tones of voices, which made the Masters feel unsettled.

“Sadness? Isn’t that the highest Numbered in the Grotesque? The Grotesque’s top slayer, right?”

“Yeah, Number One…”

That wasn’t all.

Whoosh!

A wormhole opened out of nowhere, and a steel giant appeared. It was a Gigas, a mechanized weapon that someone rode in and piloted, but at this moment, no one was riding in the newly appeared Gigas. The reason was that this Gigas had an ego of its own.

“Ah, damn it. Another celebrity.”

“Celebrity? But that’s not even a person.”

“It’s Alexander… Wouldn’t you consider it a celebrity?”

The Gigas was a Legion member that had completed its own soul and possessed its own name. In other words, it was a Named. Named-class Legion members were famous for being powerful, but Alexander was a particularly famous Gigas.

“What the hell? That’s a human-like Gigas…” Cruze’s face turned pale.

She was briefly freed from the unidentified Irregular pirate, who had been attacking her incessantly like crazy, but she knew the overall situation on the battlefield had gotten worse.

Gigas, a state-of-the-art mechanized weapon that was widely used throughout the universe, had a classification system called Divine Takeover. The classification classes were God, Star, Human, Beast, and Machine. The Gigas that appeared had the title of a [Human], Alexander, so it should have been a Machine in accordance with the Divine Takeover classification class.

However, this Gigas was a member of Legion, had it obtained a soul and perfected itself, completely transcending the limits of its mechanized body.

“I can’t believe that a machine, which had been produced in a factory or whatever, could become a transcendent being… Moreover, that Gigas was made to be piloted…”

Alexander had perfected itself and reached the transcendent realm. There were dozens of similar Human-class Gigas models in the wider universe, but Alexander proved to be on a different level from the rest as it had gained self-awareness. So, its powers had become comparable to a God-class Gigas!

Alexander was considered the fifth in the Legion’s Numbered. The five members of the Basara were all pseudo-transcendents, while Sadness, who was famous for her strength and power, was only a high-level demon. This meant Alexander outclassed the Basara and Sadness… but the Basara members and Sadness didn’t seem fazed.

In fact, their reaction was natural. Each of their camps—the Basara, the Legion, and the Grotesque—had forces stationed throughout the wider universe, but all three sides were limited as to who they could send.

Those who had appeared on Earth were of the maximum level of force that the three forces could send considering the restriction of Earth’s civilization level.

[Accept the great calling. You are the hated target!]

Sadness, the Grotesque’s top slayer, let out a powerful spiritual word and took control of the surroundings. Simultaneously, her back exploded as she spread her translucent wings.

“Sadness…” Sadness said as her long gray hair fluttered, “… shall accompany your death.”

A bloody spiritual pressure descended and oppressed the surroundings. Some of the Masters collapsed onto the ground and groaned, but not everyone was overwhelmed by her show of force.

“Kikiki! Don’t be so full of yourself, you witch!!” Chan said.

Chan, an assault soldier of Basara, raised his huge sword, and a volcano-like eruption of internal energy spread around him. He was a High Elf, commonly referred to as a ‘chosen elf’. Currently, he was exuding the energy he had accumulated over his lifetime of two thousand seven hundred years.

“Be considerate of your age, old man. You’re outputting a lot of internal energy for a being who hasn’t even reached the full transcendent realm.”

“Don’t die for nothing. Maintain the formation.”

The draconic being, who was just fighting against Merlin, and the dwarf girl, who attacked Arc with her heavy weapon earlier, stood to the left and right of Chan. However, they weren’t right beside him; they were about one step back.

[Confirmed. Bloody Square is complete…]

When the fish floating in the air began to emit a strange wave from behind them, the whale-headed man, who was standing in the middle of them all, quietly opened his eyes.

“This should be fun.”

As he let out a hearty laugh, a mighty wave erupted.

When the uniquely different powers of the Basara members came together and meshed with one another, their powers harmonized and amplified. This allowed the collective to enter the [transcendent] realm and become comparable to Alexander and Sadness.

[Oh, my goodness.] The penguin, who was looking down at this unfolding scene, shook its head.

The situation was completely different from when the Masters and Merlin’s group first fought against Leviathan. Now, there were three more transcendent parties, and they weren’t underestimating Merlin and his party.

That wasn’t all. There were representatives from the universe’s major forces, such as Elohim and the Noblesse—the majority power of the Union, which currently ruled over the universe. In addition, there were representatives from the Legion, the Grotesque, and the Basara—the three forces considered the Union’s main adversaries…

The girl, who was this dimension’s Planet God, was standing beside the penguin.

She looked over at the penguin and quietly grumbled, “You dummy. The crap you brought in is multiplying and getting out of hand.”

[I didn’t expect this to happen… but it’s quite funny. The situation has turned into a free-for-all with all the major powers of the universe stepping in.]

The penguin narrowed its eyes. Of course, originally, the penguin had no intention of meddling in human affairs, and it didn’t seem like the penguin’s stance would change anytime soon… However…

[I’m a bit angry that everyone is just acting as they please… They’re just assuming I won’t intervene…]

The penguin displayed its displeasure, and the surrounding space shuddered. As a high-rank transcendent, the penguin’s emotions exerted an influence on the material world.

Seeing the penguin act this way, the girl widened her eyes. “Hey, are you thinking of interfering? You’re not broadening your interpretation of the situation to suit your emotional whims, right?”

Intervening now was a completely different matter compared to when the penguin, Earth’s Planet God, teleported everyone, including Leviathan, Tan’s true body, to Another Plane—which was another dimension of Earth that the girl managed as its Planet God. The sudden appearance of Leviathan on Earth was a clear indication that a walking [disaster] had appeared, but the alien beings that were invading this current space, Another Plane, were mere terrorists or opportunists.

[What are your thoughts?]

“It doesn’t matter what I think. Even if you change locations again, this is ultimately still something that has to do with your planet.”

The girl took a step back and didn’t commit to any position. The jurisdiction of such a decision fell on the penguin, so this was a natural response for the girl. Yet, the penguin turned its head and made eye contact with the girl.

[What if I asked for some help?]

“…” The girl frowned because she knew what the penguin meant by [help].

In the end, what the penguin wanted was consent and for her to back him up.

To begin with, the penguin outranked her and had even been given authority by the power vested in the Creator God, the most powerful being of all. So, there was no way the penguin lacked strength or power. As Earth’s Planet God, the penguin didn’t need any additional strength or power, but it did need a wider interpretation of the law. Namely, the penguin needed a companion to share the burden of extending its interpretation of the current situation to give it a justifiable reason to interfere.

Since the girl was Another Plane’s Planet God, her endorsement would go a long way in giving credence and support for the penguin’s interpretation and subsequent actions.

“Well… normally, I would have told you to take your crap and to get out of here, but…”

[But?]

After seeing the penguin tilt its head in anticipation of her answer, the girl looked down at the tightly grouped Masters.

Among them was Youngmin, a handsome young man who was passionately wielding his sword with a serious expression on his face.

***

In the meantime, Merlin groaned as he watched the three forces tenuously hold each other in check.

“This isn’t funny. What the hell is there in this little corner of the universe for all these forces to act like this…”

Merlin wanted to activate the Flame Ruby in his hand right away, but he knew he shouldn’t activate its magic power. Though the three newly appeared forces were currently keeping each other in check, Merlin knew that all three—the Basara, the Grotesque, and the Legion forces—were keeping their eyes on him, so any sudden move on his part would make them react swiftly.

“Can you help me?”

At Merlin’s words, Jiang Ziya, who was standing in one corner of Merlin’s field of vision, shrugged. For some reason, the three enemy factions didn’t seem to notice Jiang Ziya’s presence. Even the pets, who had noticed him in the beginning when he first appeared, didn’t seem to recognize his presence anymore; it was as if the pets had forgotten about him.

“I’m sorry, but standing still like this is my limit.”

“Not doing anything is your limit?”

“Yeah. Doing nothing as I’m doing now is the limit of my help.”

After saying so, Jiang Ziya looked at the three enemy factions. All three were major enemies of the Union, and they all had their eyes on Merlin. Of course, these three factions presented a huge problem. However, the real problem was…

- Hahaha!

The Sun God raised his body. His size had suddenly grown so large that he seemed to fill the sky. Leviathan—the ancient dragon that had existed since the beginning of time and was also called the Beast of the Apocalypse and the King of the Arrogant—was currently burning under the pressure of Apollo’s tremendous wave of heat.

‘Such tremendous power… Moreover, that guy isn’t facing any level restrictions or penalties.’

Even when one considered that Leviathan was currently in a level-reduced state due to the Planet God’s penalty, the power Apollo wielded was just too overwhelmingly powerful. Apollo had received an incredible amount of magic power from Merlin once, twice, three times, four times… and because of this, it didn’t seem like he’d be disappearing anytime soon.

Of course, there were bound to be limits and terms, but, in the first place, this sort of miracle shouldn’t have been possible for a non-transcendent being.

“Even I, a high-level god, don’t understand exactly what you’re doing. Do you get it? Right now… the whole universe is in awe of your actions,” Jiang Ziya explained.

Merlin, who was narrowly focused on the situation on Earth, had no idea, but all kinds of information were currently being transmitted to Jiang Ziya’s mind from all corners of the universe. Instructions and requests for explanations were flooding in even from the highest place in the Celesti World, so what more needed to be said? Even Daode Tianzun, the ruler of the spiritual world, didn’t have a proper [understanding] of this situation.

‘The situation has gotten a bit twisted.’

The chessboard itself was shaking. This battle was no longer just a matter of ownership of Earth and of DIO. Considering the circumstance, it was natural that the Union’s enemies mobilized. This was because these universal factions—the Basara, the Legion, and the Grotesque—were always frantically looking for a way to flip the chessboard and overturn the status quo.

Bang!!

“Ouch!”

Bruce Wayne, the de facto leader of the Masters, had taken on a defensive posture, but he couldn’t even let out a scream as he flew away like a baseball hit by a bat.

After lightly smashing Bruce Wayne away, Chan, the elf swordsman, spoke with a vicious smile on his face. It was an expression that didn’t match his beautiful appearance.

He said, “There’s no reason for us to fight against Merlin first, right? Since that’s the case, let’s clean up the surroundings first!”

After Chan spoke, Sadness laughed softly. “In the end, you too will die.”

Alexander also nodded with a heavy metallic sound. [Agreed.]

The faces of the Masters become pale at the sight of the newly appeared enemies pouncing on them. Merlin gritted his teeth as he squeezed the Flame Ruby in his hand. This action indicated he was making threat; Merlin was letting everyone know that, in the worst-case scenario, he’d let the power of the Flame Ruby run wild and destroy everything. The Flame Ruby was also the reason why the newly appeared enemies didn’t directly confront Merlin and instead stood a distance away from him.

‘Everything’s ruined.’

Despite that, Merlin ultimately realized that the newly appeared enemies didn’t value their lives very much. For the gigantic forces that these enemies represented, even the enormous power of a transcendent was an acceptable [cost] of doing business.

On the other hand, Merlin had no intention of dying, so his threat was essentially just a bluff.

However, right then…

“Meteor Strike. Part One.”

With the feeling of something clicking, a bundle of magic power ran rampant. It was the trigger to Arc’s prepared spell. Once the prepared spell was activated and her magic power was rearranged according to the established rules of the prepared spell, mana rushed into Arc’s hands.

Whoosh.

Sensing the incomprehensibly powerful destructive power swirling in Arc’s hands, the party members looked back at Arc in surprise. They couldn’t see her facial expression, but they could clearly see her black armor shaking as if she was screaming internally.

“Hey, wait a minute… Enchanted Meteor Strike? She enchanted a meteorite magic spell…? In both hands?” The dwarf girl, who was part of Basara’s party, made a shocked expression.

She couldn’t comprehend how such a magic spell could exist.

Regardless of what the others were thinking, Arc continued to raise her hands. Then…

“Demolish Hand.”

Just like that, her two hands collided in the air.