Chapter 204 - Phoenix Engraving

"Gugigi…"

"Hou? A mere puppet dares to direct its resentment at me? –Very well. Come."

"Gugaa!"

In response to Elysium's provocation, the Blackdoll leaped upon him with irregular movements.

Although he was originally human, he seemed to recognize Phinis-sama as his creator because of the blackdollification, and he couldn't forgive Elysium for hurting her.

However, Elysium was already beyond the realm of saints, he was a new god of genesis.

"Stop—!?"

Against such an opponent, a mere Blackdoll couldn't hope to win even if he had a Sacred Treasure.

――Slash!

""""""""Wha!?""""""""

The Blackdoll was shredded in a blink; all pieces of his flesh disappeared like smoke before they even reached the floor.

His Sacred Treasure fell to the floor with clattering sounds a moment later.

After which.

"How foolish."

――Clang!

Elysium trampled it in an uninterested manner.

Things were just getting worse.

Now it was no longer possible to make the last Hallowed Sacred Treasure.

Which meant, we had no way to oppose Elysium, who had become a god of genesis.

"Now, let's continue where we left off. I will be using monsters to completely wipe out all humans. You may try to stop it if you'd like to. However, can you save all humans in this world with just a few of you?"

"You…"

Laughing scornfully at us when we clenched our teeth tightly, Elysium wrapped himself and the monsters in something like a black flame.

"Struggle as hard as you can, Savior. And Saintesses. In a world where the goddesses no longer exist, mortals can do nothing but be overwhelmed by despair while lamenting their powerlessness."

Leaving those words behind, Elysium and the monsters disappeared from the hall.

◇ ◇

Afterward, we hurriedly returned to the dwarven village using the gate, explained the situation directly to the chief of the village, and asked him for a room where Iris, her sisters, and the goddesses could rest.

Although Iris and her sisters were quite exhausted, their lives weren't at risk, and they would be fine after resting for a while.

I could heal them back to health, but they were likely mentally shocked.

So we decided to give them some sleep for the time being.

But the more urgent problem we got was the goddesses.

Having been deprived of all their power by Elysium, they no longer had the power to maintain their existence. Especially 'her'. Coupled with the damage she'd received, she seemed like she could disappear at any moment.

"…Why are you helping me…?"

Yes, Phinis-sama was being healed by Magmell.

We couldn't just leave her alone at that place, so we'd brought her back with us.

However, her complexion was paler than it usually was, and she looked like she didn't even have the energy to move her finger.

Rather than the fact that she had been deprived of her power, perhaps the fact that she'd become unable to make a child she had longed for anymore was the one that made her despair.

"You still have to repent. Please don't disappear as you please."

"Is that so… I'm sorry…"

Despite receiving Magmell's scolding, she sounded like her heart wasn't here with her.

"Dammit!? Is there really nothin' we can do!?"

At that time, Ophir who was by Turbo-sama's side revealed her feelings.

Needless to say, the other goddesses didn't have much time left, either.

It was no wonder Ophir couldn't suppress her frustrations. "Hey, Exa!? Can't you do somethin'!? Your power is extremely close to that of the gods, ain't it!? Hey, do somethin'!?"

"Ophir…"

As I was wondering what to say to Ophir clinging to me with a face that looked like she going to break down crying at any moment, Igniver-sama, whose complexion was slightly better than Turbo-sama, said in a gentle tone, "Don't be sad, child of man," before continuing, "Even if our bodies perish, our hearts will always be with you. So is Turbo."

"B-but…"

"She's right, Ophir. Nothing can be done about this. So at least, you can send us off merrily," said Fluga-sama with a smile on her face. She still had some energy left, just like Igniver-sama.

The remaining three goddesses seemed to have a hard time getting up, and they were still lying on the floor.

Was there something that differentiate the goddesses whose power got stolen?

"!"

Right then, I noticed something. I hurriedly made my way to Fluga-sama who was sitting cross-legged on the bed and forcibly rolled up her clothes.

"Hey!? W-what do you think you're doing in this kind of situation!? T-that kind of thing should only be done in private… wait, huh?"

It seemed that Fluga-sama also noticed the 'abnormality' on her body, then.

"This is…"

Something was clearly engraved on her body. Yes—it was the 'Phoenix Seal', which originally couldn't be engraved on the gods.