Meanwhile, in the Storm Sea.
"Starlight Tether activated. Estimated arrival of the Velber core at the terminal jump point in ten seconds. Countdown begins… ten…"
The final remnants of the Mesopotamian, Orpheus Cult, and Olympian lineages, more than a hundred gods in total, transformed into streaks of light and surged toward the Storm Sea, where an abnormal change was unfolding. They crossed hundreds of miles in an instant, and along their path, surging Ether tides tore open vast chasms across the sea's surface.
In the blink of an eye, the gods had closed to within a hundred meters of Sefar, converging their Authorities in an attempt to sever the monster's guidance.
"Laaa!"
Sefar reacted even faster. The stellar patterns across her body pulsed as she released a shrill, sacred chant. Interlocking star rings spun violently, unleashing countless beams of Mana that swept across the entire sea.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Under the dense barrage, the gods' advance became extremely difficult. Figures that failed to evade in time were shattered amid dazzling explosions, their forms obliterated, their divinities destroyed, reduced to scattered motes of light that rained down into the sea.
Even so, more broke through the curtain of fire.
"Nine!"
Sefar remained completely unmoved, her voice cold as she continued the apocalyptic countdown.
Athena rode forward atop her divine steed, raising the Aegis Shield to take the lead. Themis and Medusa flanked her on either side, forming a triangular formation as they advanced against the torrent.
The Spear of Victory swept outward. The Sword of Justice cut down in a clean arc. Crimson serpent hair lashed and constricted. One suspended star ring after another collapsed and shattered, dissolving into clouds of gold-and-blue dust.
Earth's Authority! Celestial Tribunal!
Medusa and Themis exchanged a glance, their tacit understanding erupting into divine might. In a single sweep, the dense ranks of giant soldiers and mutated aberrations were wiped away.
"In my name, I summon victory!"
The Goddess of Wisdom and War tightened her reins, seizing the opening created by Medusa and Themis. She raised the Spear of Victory, forged from the divine maiden Nike herself, lowered her head, and pressed a solemn kiss to it. Sacred words flowed from her lips as Authority was poured into the weapon, and she hurled it forward with all her strength.
In an instant, a golden streak cleaved through the sky, arriving almost the moment it was released.
"Eight!"
The God of War's Sword in Sefar's hand flared with blinding brilliance as she swept it forward.
Boom!
Within the raging Ether tide, the heavily damaged Spear of Victory let out a mournful cry as it fell toward the sea. The unabated force of the sword's light sent Athena flying back a hundred meters even as she raised the Aegis Shield. Her face went pale, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.
"The heavens shall reign above all, and thunder shall shatter the stars of this world!"
The golden chariot, driven by Artemis, darted through a storm of falling meteors, weaving nimbly as it passed the three goddesses who had been thrown backward and continued the charge. Zeus raised his divine shield and swung his Thunderbolt Scepter. Dark clouds gathered across the sky as thunder and lightning intertwined. Serpentine arcs of light converged into a single bolt that twisted downward, piercing several star rings before striking toward Sefar along an unfathomable trajectory.
"Seven!"
The seven-colored blade of the God of War's Sword softened and extended, stretching a full hundred meters. With a single swing, it split apart the thunderclouds and scattered the lightning itself. Sefar's body merely swayed slightly, and the stellar patterns on her surface dimmed by a small degree.
In the next instant, a whip of pure light lashed out at blinding speed, striking the golden chariot. Artemis and Zeus were forced to break off and retreat at once. The three divine steeds and the chariot were sliced apart midair, their forms collapsing as flesh and blood scattered through the sky.
The Mesopotamian gods, advancing in a tightening encirclement, unleashed their full divine might and bombarded Sefar with relentless attacks.
"Kur Kigal Irkalla: The Bellows of Kur that Tramples upon Ekur!"
"Six…"
"Enuma Elish: The Star of Creation!"
"Five…"
"An Gal Ta Ki Gal Šè: Kindling of Venus that Shook the Mountains!"
"Four…"
Yet even under this unbroken onslaught, the combined efforts of the gods only succeeded in delaying Sefar's countdown. The gashes and puncture wounds torn into her body were swiftly washed away by cascading starlight, erased without leaving a trace.
Her rate of recovery had already surpassed the speed of destruction itself.
"Damn it, don't underestimate me! Go, Unit Two! Teach this thing a lesson!"
Blazing with rage, Ishtar immediately took a baseball-throwing stance atop Maanna and casually hurled the horned piglet with black fur and golden stripes straight at Sefar.
"Waaah!!!"
The tiny creature was battered back and forth like a ball by crisscrossing Mana beams. After enduring the abuse, it let out a shrill, miserable cry before plunging into the sea, splashing up nothing more than a pitiful ripple.
"I raised you for all this time, and you couldn't even buy me a few extra seconds? Show some backbone, you useless bastard! Or I'll stew you the moment we get back!"
Seeing her pet perform so disgracefully, its shameless owner immediately erupted into furious curses.
"Moo!!!"
Whether Ishtar's threat finally worked or Gugalanna had snapped out of it, a deep, resonant bellow thundered across the battlefield. The sea began to boil violently as the miniature pig's body expanded at an astonishing rate, revealing the towering, majestic form of Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven. It reared up, lowered its head, and charged straight at Sefar, hooves trampling forward amid storm winds, thunder, and blazing lightning.
Celestial Thunder Flames, Heavenly Echo Shrine, Gugala Inanna!
"Crash!"
The sharp horns punched through the light ring guarding the Alien and drove deep into the monster's abdomen, forcing it backward step by step.
However, after retreating only a few paces, Sefar's star patterns flared in unison. Three pairs of multicolored light wings unfurled from her back and beat violently, unleashing a massive Ether storm that surged in reverse, forcibly halting Gugalanna's charge.
Boom!
The Alien immediately gripped the God of War Sword with both hands, twisted his body, and drove the seven-colored blade deep into Gugalanna's twin horns. With overwhelming force, the Bull of Heaven was blasted back a full hundred meters.
"Moo…"
Gugalanna let out a mournful cry as its immense body rapidly shrank. Its divine power exhausted, it reverted to its miniature form and crashed into the sea once more.
Sefar returned to her original position, and her delayed voice rang out with icy detachment.
"3..."
"Aaaaa!"
In that instant, crimson, azure, and dark beams pierced through the sky, melting a hole several meters wide straight through the Alien's chest.
Yet damage of this level still failed to halt Sefar's self-healing or interrupt her navigation.
"Humm!"
Seeing this, the Goddess of Beginning Tiamat's emerald wings trembled behind her. The gray-white Nega-Genesis Reality Marble surged forward with the Chaos Tide, eroding Sefar's body inch by inch as it attempted to break her down and disassemble her once more.
Sefar struggled fiercely, the star patterns on her body flashing in rapid pulses as the God of War Sword in her hand gathered power.
"2…"
"Shh!"
At that very moment, golden-red threads manifested from the surrounding void. Born from the Authority of Fate, they solidified instantly and bound Sefar's movements.
At the same time, a narrow spatial rift split open behind the Alien. The ancient serpent, lying in wait for ages, seized the opening and descended gracefully. It bared its fangs and transformed into a hundred-meter-long cross spear of overwhelming radiance, cleaving the monster straight down the middle. The cold countdown stopped abruptly.
A little more time bought.
Argo's crew… where are you?
If you're going to create a miracle, then hurry!
Samael gazed gloomily down at the Eye of the Tidal Sea, now blocked by Sefar. The light in his eyes grew increasingly dim, anxiety gnawing at his composure.
"1...…"
Yet in the very instant the ancient serpent lost itself in thought, a whisper that seemed to rise from the depths of hell echoed chillingly from above.
When he looked up, the Sefar that had been cleaved apart and destroyed had already sealed its wounds in an instant. Raising the God of War Sword high, she brought it down in a sudden, thunderous slash.
It's over!
Samael's pupils shrank violently as terror seized him. He stared at the lightning-like blade, and beyond it, at the main body of Velber looming within the star-filled sky.
…
At the same time, within the Grand Altar, stars shook and fell as the structures themselves began to collapse.
A mechanical god wreathed in surging lightning gripped Triton by the neck and slowly lifted him with one hand, almost casually. In its left palm, blazing white lightning gathered, compressed to the brink, ready to be unleashed.
Bathed in crackling arcs of electricity, the merfolk prince, his legs severed and blood dripping steadily down, forced open eyes matted with blood. Pulling his facial muscles taut, he managed a bitter, apologetic expression. His right hand lifted weakly, his lips moving without a sound.
This monster is stronger than all three previous Machine Gods combined.
We… never had a chance of winning.
Jason, his face smeared with blood, stood stiffly in place. He clenched the iridescent scales in his hand and stared at the Machine God Zeus standing before the flickering starship, as well as the destructive Mana beam gradually taking shape. A chill seeped into his bones, bordering on despair.
In the next instant, Mana compressed to its absolute limit, and starlight erupted.
Boom!