Chapter 4: The Madman Who Provokes Gods
The dragon's head alone exceeded thirty meters. Once its entire body surged out from the magic circle, it reached a staggering length of one hundred and twenty meters!
The gargantuan black dragon unfurled its wings, completely veiling the sky. Light could no longer reach the ground, and the entire city was instantly plunged into darkness. However, the citizens could only see the sky turn black; they could not witness the manifestation of the dragon itself.
Mortals cannot perceive a "Heretic God," yet every movement of such a god can annihilate countless lives.
"Is that... Nidhogg...!"
Terror surfaced in Liliana's eyes. She felt a primal dread toward the colossal shadow that blotted out the sun. At this moment, she realized just how ignorant and foolish she had been to harbor the ambition of slaying a Heretic God, usurping its Authority, and becoming the seventh "Campione" to follow the six Devil Kings.
It wasn't until she saw a Heretic God with her own eyes that she truly felt her own insignificance. Her strength as a Great Knight, once her pride, was a mere speck before an exalted deity.
High above, the black wings spread, obscuring even the light. Even from a distance, Liliana could perceive the overwhelming power radiating from the black dragon. In Norse mythology, Nidhogg is the dragon that gnaws at the roots of Yggdrasil. According to prophecy, when the dragon and its serpentine helpers finish consuming the roots, the World Tree will rot from the lack of sustenance, ultimately bringing about the end of the world.
"Such terrifying power... just looking at its body makes it hard to breathe... If it is allowed to leave, all of Rome, Italy, Europe—even the whole world—will fall into catastrophe..."
Liliana's eyes were wide, and the hand gripping her silver saber trembled slightly. Though her mind urged her not to succumb to fear, merely staring at that sky-shrouding shadow made the very air feel thin. Her breathing grew ragged and sharp; her heart was locked in a constant, desperate struggle.
Seeing the girl beside him trembling with fear, a trace of confusion flickered in Shirou's gaze. He remembered Liliana from the original story as a serious, upright, and brave girl; she shouldn't be this timid.
'Unless, her character hasn't matured yet...'
This stage was definitely not the timeline where the original story began. Shirou thought of something, but now wasn't the right time to verify it.
"Anyway, let's deal with the enemy in front of us first."
Murmuring this, Shirou looked up at the massive black dragon coiled in the sky.
At that moment, Nidhogg opened its great maw. Instantly, the stench of poison and sulfur began to drift down. A dragon breath like black mist filled the city in an instant, engulfing every street and alley in a thick, dark haze.
The moment the black mist shrouded the city, all electronic devices failed. This sudden darkness sent the people trapped within the mist into a state of panic.
"What's happening...!?"
"It was clear skies just a moment ago. Why did it turn pitch black? Is it an eclipse?"
"Phones and computers aren't working. Even the cars won't start. What is this black mist?"
"Heavens! Is it the end of the world?"
"Oh God, please save your faithful followers!"
The entire city was besieged by darkness, and the human fear of the dark—etched into their genes since ancient times—erupted. People stayed helplessly by the roadsides, staring into the gloom and looking up at the sky. But no matter how hard they looked, they could not see past that pitch-black barrier.
The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.
As the people fell into terror of the unknown within the darkness, several venomous serpents—colossal to any tiny human—burst forth from the gloom. While the Heretic God remained invisible to human eyes, the serpents summoned under the black dragon's command could be seen once they manifested.
These were the serpents that gnawed at the World Tree alongside Nidhogg: Goin, Moin, Grabak, Grafvollud, Ofnir, and Svafnir.
"Oh! My God, what is that? A python!?"
"Lord! Its body is at least twenty meters long!"
"Father, your faithful servant begs for your protection!"
"As long as we are devout, we will survive this disaster!"
However, their prayers were meaningless. While these serpents were only twenty meters long—miniscule compared to the 120-meter Nidhogg—they were an irresistible natural disaster to the even smaller humans.
People screamed and prayed, hoping the god they believed in would provide sanctuary. But reality was cruel; their faith could not be heard. The only thing that manifested was a "Heretic God." These are deities who refuse to follow their mythological paths; their presence brings only calamity, and those seeking salvation find no harbor.
The people running frantically were no match for the serpents' speed. One by one, they were overtaken and swallowed whole. The crisp sound of bones snapping echoed from the serpents' mouths, plunging the survivors into deeper horror and despair.
"Damn it! I have to do something...!"
Liliana's pupils vibrated at the sight, and she immediately prepared to jump in and save them. But before she could act, she saw the red-haired youth beside her.
He was staring at the black dragon in the sky without a hint of fear, like a hunter in the jungle locking his eyes onto his prey.
"You... what are you planning to do!?"
Liliana looked at him in shock. For a fleeting second, a certain suspicion flashed in her mind, but she dared not follow the thought because it seemed too absurd. However, his next move began to align perfectly with that very suspicion.
As Shirou stared at the sky-veiling dragon, a violent wind of magical energy whipped up around him. Pale blue mana rippled outward in a circular wave.
"I'm going to kill it."
A sentence so simple, yet it made Liliana's mouth drop open in stunned silence.
'Is this person a madman, too?'
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting