The Ancient Sun God shot Alaric an odd look before turning his gaze to the God of Steam and Machinery. With a slightly apologetic smile, he said, "My apologies, Your Excellency!"
The Ancient Sun God was a good person, but that didn't mean he shied away from throwing punches. Back in his day, he hadn't liberated humanity through words alone but with fist after fist.
As for the God of Steam and Machinery… frankly, the Ancient Sun God didn't particularly like this younger deity. Many of his actions were, to put it mildly, unbecoming.
If Alaric had asked him to kill the God of Steam and Machinery, the Ancient Sun God would have refused. But just a beating? That was no big deal.
In his era, thrashing angels and true gods was commonplace... hardly worth mentioning. Given the God of Steam and Machinery's track record, a beating wasn't exactly undeserved.
"Wait, why are we suddenly beating me up?" The God of Steam and Machinery exclaimed, eyes wide, completely baffled by how things had escalated to this point.
The Ancient Sun God seemed to recall something and turned to Alaric. "Lucifer, want to come watch?"
Since they were going to deliver a beating, it wouldn't be to the powerless divine puppet here but to the God of Steam and Machinery himself in his divine kingdom in the Astral World.
"Of course! How could I miss the show?" Alaric nodded eagerly, then glanced at Roselle. "You in?"
Roselle raised an eyebrow and nodded without hesitation. "Obviously!"
"Wait, what are you all planning to do?" Bornova, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up. Even his usual calm demeanor faltered.
"Don't worry, kid! They've got it under control. They won't kill your lord!" Roselle said in a soothing tone.
Bornova's expression turned complicated. After a moment of hesitation... perhaps weighing the odds... he said, "I'm coming too."
"Alright, you're in!" Alaric glanced at him, nodding with a smile.
Sure, it was a bit devilish to let Bornova, a devout follower of Stiano, watch his lord get pummeled. But he'd volunteered, and besides…
Maybe seeing his lord take a beating would shake Bornova's faith!
Alaric figured it was worth a shot. At the very least, they had enough people to hold Bornova back if he tried to rush in and "protect" His lord.
"I want to come too," Amon said, raising his hand with an eager expression, clearly thrilled.
It wasn't surprising. Beating up a Sequence 0 was something Amon hadn't witnessed often. By the time he was born, most ancient gods were already gone, and the Ancient Sun God's interventions had become less frequent.
After the Ancient Sun God's fall, with no beings above Sequence 0, wars between Sequence 0s were intriguing but usually evenly matched. One-sided beatdowns of a Sequence 0 were rare.
The Ancient Sun God had no objections. He didn't mind how many spectators there were.
As for the God of Steam and Machinery's puppet, hopping around in agitation, no one paid it any attention.
Soon, in the Astral World, just outside the divine kingdom of the God of Steam and Machinery, a group of uninvited guests arrived.
"Well, well! Looks like he's refusing to let us in!" Alaric said, raising an eyebrow at the "sealed" entrance to the divine kingdom.
"Pretty normal, right? Stiano's not stupid. We've made it clear we're here to beat him up... why would he let us in?" Roselle said, eyeing the divine kingdom with a grin, already cracking his knuckles.
He still harbored deep, conflicting feelings for the God of Steam and Machinery, but the desire to give him a good thrashing was genuine.
After all, Roselle couldn't let the matter with Bornova slide without some payback.
"No worries. Opening it up is no trouble for me," The Ancient Sun God said with a gentle smile.
Gods had a close connection to the Astral World. Though only half a God Above the Sequence, forcing open a divine kingdom's gate was child's play for him.
"Hang on, don't open it just yet," Alaric said, stopping the Ancient Sun God. He produced a megaphone and handed it to Roselle with a mischievous grin. "You know what to do."
"Whoa, you've got all the gear!" Roselle raised an eyebrow, took the megaphone, cleared his throat, and shouted into it, "God of Steam and Machinery, open the door! I know you're in there!"
"You've got the guts to brainwash kids, so have the guts to open the door!"
…
The God of Steam and Machinery felt his head spinning. He couldn't comprehend how things had spiraled to this point.
One moment, everyone was joking and laughing; the next, they were all gearing up to beat him up. What in the world?
He hadn't even done anything that bad!
The God of Steam and Machinery felt deeply wronged, and amidst that grievance, a flicker of worry crept in. Were they really coming to beat him up?
Could he even fight them off?
He wasn't sure. He'd never been particularly skilled in combat, so he'd chosen to seal off his divine kingdom's access before they could arrive.
Just then, a familiar voice echoed from outside.
"God of Steam and Machinery, open the door! I know you're in there!"
"You've got the guts to brainwash kids, so have the guts to open the door!"
"..."
What kind of nonsense was this?
He pursed his lips, moving to the edge of his divine kingdom where the commotion was coming from. Listening to Roselle's taunts, his emotions were a tangled mess.
He knew Roselle genuinely wanted to beat him up, all because of the "blessing" He'd given.
Why?
The God of Steam and Machinery still didn't understand, but a faint sense was dawning on him that perhaps he had indeed done something wrong.
As he stood there, lost in thought, the shouting outside suddenly stopped. Startled, he was about to cautiously peek out when a deafening boom rang out.
The sound, accompanied by a shockwave, exploded in his ears, making him wonder for a split second if he'd gone deaf.
A breach had appeared in the once-impregnable barrier of his divine kingdom.
The God of Steam and Machinery stared, dumbfounded.
"My apologies, Your Excellency. My methods were a bit… crude," The Ancient Sun God said, offering a sheepish smile as he retracted his right leg.
Yes, he had just kicked open the God of Steam and Machinery's divine kingdom barrier with a simple, unadorned whip kick.
He'd had a more civilized method in mind, but Alaric had insisted that since they were here to deliver a beating, they needed to do it with flair. So, he'd switched to this more brutal approach.
***
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