What did a seventh-tier Velber even mean?
In theory, this thing could reach a ninth-tier life form. Of course, theory was notoriously unreliable. Humans, in theory, could generally live to between 100 and 175 years old, yet plenty of them died long before that.
In practice, limited by the laws, concepts, and Ether concentration of this planet, a Velber could grow only as far as the seventh tier.
In other words, on the surface of the planet, this thing was practically invincible. The creator gods of the major pantheons, Scandinavian, Greek, Mayan, Mesopotamian, Indian, and others, were no match for this monster!
Its power already stood at the very pinnacle of the planet!
Samael realized at once that things had gone terribly wrong. His expression shifted again and again as thoughts surged through his mind.
It seemed the battle of the titans on the Sea of Oceanus had not been a complete victory.
They had gathered the power of the Greek and Mesopotamian gods and destroyed the three Velbers deployed to Earth, but they had still left behind a hidden danger.
Clearly, under the guidance of the Star Ship, the main body of the predatory Harvest Star Velber had most likely already sensed Earth's coordinates and descended nearby.
That Star of the Demon Broom was, in truth, only one final step away from invading Earth.
The countless sacrifices made by gods and humans alike had merely delayed the coming of the apocalypse. They had not truly resolved the crisis.
Of course, it seemed to be constrained by some sort of rule. For this thing to descend, it needed an anchor point fixed within the inner side of the planet, then had to break through the World Wall.
And the one who had helped it gather every necessary element was none other than Marduk, the King of Kings.
At that moment, the Ancient Serpent was spreading his divine presence into the distance while driving off the two female pharaohs, ordering them to notify the allied forces to prepare for battle. At the same time, he wracked his brain, desperately searching for a countermeasure.
The white colossus standing in the Sea of Chaos moved.
That monster, towering over ten thousand zhang, strode toward Peloponnesus like a sovereign standing above all things, dragging the churning seawater along with it.
At that moment, the Great Hollow in the World Wall above Egypt gradually widened with every step the monster took. Beneath the blazing white heavenly light, that place had already become a deathly silent sea of nothingness.
Chaos was the beginning of life, while nothingness was the end of all things.
Everything beneath the Velber's feet underwent a horrifying change. Sea beasts multiplied, grew, mutated, twisted, and finally collapsed at terrifying speed.
The sea was stripped of the spirit particles that nurtured all things, deprived of the authority of creation, washed clean of life's foundation, and reduced to a pallid expanse.
Not good! The Sea of Chaos, which separated the different Ages of Gods, was being divided and remade by that monster at a speed visible to the naked eye!
Samael's expression changed drastically. He beat his wings and charged forward, blocking the surging white tide as he rapidly chanted the divine incantation.
"Light springs from darkness. Destruction is rebirth. Gods are born from demons! My might is above, your power below. Mandate of Heaven: Suppression!"
The Book of Destiny in midair flipped violently. Its Words of Destiny turned into golden cuneiform characters, falling like meteors from the sky as they smashed down upon the towering white colossus.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the golden divine runes fell like stars, billions of tons of divine pressure forced the airspace and sea ahead to sink by a hundred meters. Roaring waves surged outward in every direction, and salty mist steamed into the air.
Yet against the powerful Words of Destiny, the monster was like a giant pelted with pebbles by a child. The light flames around its body rippled faintly, and its movements only stalled for a brief instant before it continued forward, forcing its way through that Purgatory of divine might.
"The Book of Destiny? You think you can judge this King with something like that? Ahahahaha! I have ascended above the gods and stand at the pinnacle of all things. The world lies beneath my feet!"
The white colossus stared ahead, its blazing white right eye locking onto its arch-enemy suspended in the air. It spread its arms and laughed wildly, venting all the resentment it had long suppressed, while bands of Mythra shot from its body in every direction like laser beams.
Faced with this, Samael was like a dead leaf floating on the water in a raging storm. He beat his wings, dodging left and right, doing everything he could to avoid the swift onslaught and buy time.
At the same time, the confusion that had built up in the Ancient Serpent's heart suddenly cleared.
He finally understood why, in their previous battle, this thing had recovered faster than he had despite being more badly wounded.
He understood why the Seven Horsemen of God had appeared at Thermopylae together with the Great King of Persia.
And he understood why Altera, the Great King of the Huns, the incarnation of the wandering star's vanguard Sefar, would obey God's orders.
The reason was simple. After escaping the First Sanctuary, the will of this King of Kings had most likely been assimilated and corrupted by the Harvest Star Velber.
And judging from the situation in Egypt, even if the Persian gods had truly existed, they had likely been hollowed out and devoured by Marduk long ago in preparation for Velber's descent.
Only by swallowing the entire Persian pantheon could Marduk have recovered so quickly.
Wait!
Cyrus... Ahura Mazda... Marduk... Velber...
At that moment, Samael twisted aside to avoid a Mana beam and looked at the blazing white silhouette standing in the Velber Vanguard's right eye, at its synchronized movements with the white colossus piercing heaven and earth, and at the pulsing Star of the Magic Broom in the monster's abdomen. One familiar image after another flashed through his mind.
Or rather, fusion was the more accurate word!
The Harvest Star Velber possessed only the instinct to harvest stellar civilizations and sustain itself, while Marduk's consciousness gave the monster intense emotions, preferences, and hatred.
The two had merged into one, completing each other and existing in symbiosis.
Earlier, on the Great Altar in Egypt, Marduk's consciousness had resonated with Velber's, awakening the Giant God Altera. With his own consciousness in control, he commanded the highest-tier Velber to take action. That was the clearest proof.
Not only that, but it seemed Cyrus had also been corrupted by Marduk!
That explained why the Greco-Persian Wars had erupted one after another, and why Greece had become the target of all sides.
Greece was the original anchor point used to mark Earth's coordinates. The World Wall there had once been destroyed, and after the War of the Titans, it had been badly weakened. In theory, it was the weakest node, making it the most suitable altar to welcome Velber's descent.
On the other hand, that god's obsession with the land of Greece likely had some connection to the so-called Inner Sea of the Planet.
But Ahura Mazda, the supreme god of Persia, or rather, Marduk, had clearly underestimated the Greeks' resistance. The Persian army had suffered setbacks twice in succession, preventing his plan from ever succeeding.
As his thoughts raced and he sorted through the clues one by one, the Ancient Serpent dodged through the barrage of light beams with perfect evasion, moving like a fish darting through water.
He lifted his knee, stepped across, dipped his shoulder, dove, twisted one hundred eighty degrees, pulled a high-G turn, spun into a Thomas flare, and performed one difficult maneuver after another, leaving trails of afterimages behind.
The missed cannon fire slammed into the sea, plowing through the water and even exposing the dark seabed below.
Seeing the long serpent slip away again and again, Marduk, standing within the Giant God's right eye, flew into a rage. He spread both arms, and tens of thousands of tiny wheels of light formed and focused one after another in front of his outstretched arms.
"Psionic charge. Mythra beam focused. You lowly serpent! Die! Burn to nothing like worthless weeds!"
In an instant, terrifying heat made the sea boil and churn as the blazing white band of light compressed to its limit.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
However, just as the white colossus was about to fire, dense streams of Ether light streaked across the sky and slammed one after another into the space before the colossus. The light patterns in front of its outstretched arms shattered in swathes, setting off a chain of explosions.
At the same time, figure after figure descended upon the nearby sea, standing in midair before the monster.