）UbermenschChapter 187
Time was stolen.
As if to declare that fact, the destroyed Battlestar returned to its original state. The molten metal regained its shape, and the fragments that had exploded and scattered in all directions returned to their places.
Could there be a more despairing sight than this?
“Did the Lord of Time… fall?”
It was a sight as horrible as its implications.
The Battlestar was an ordinary structure without divine power, and because of that, it was actually the most efficient way to use the power of time.
“How are we supposed to fight now?”
As the Elder Gods froze, the Battlestars slowly began to retreat.
Seeing them, Azathoth also began to retreat in a hurry.
But this was not a victory.
It was a defeat.
A defeat they had to suffer without even fighting.
Slowly but surely, Mason…
“Damn it.”
… had to admit that there was nothing he could do.
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Before the Elder Gods could overcome their sense of defeat, the aftermath of losing the Lord of Time began to surge from all sides.
“Death is overflowing throughout the universe.”
Nodens, who could see various dimensions, spoke in a worried voice. Mason said with an anxious expression,
“Is there nowhere I can be dispatched?”
“No.”
It took 72 hours for the Destroyer to capture the dimensional coordinates and actually move. If he rushed, they had 36 hours. Oztalon’s Pantheon would descend within those 36 hours, crush the Destroyer’s reconnaissance team, and rescue the civilians.
“The Destroyer exists in all time.”
However, they didn’t have that much time now.
None at all.
The Destroyer existed everywhere they could observe.
Thanks to him obtaining the power of time.
“Likewise… his army.”
And that meant the Destroyer’s forces were growing stronger at a rate incomparable to before.
After eliminating lifeforms from a dimension, the Destroyer would mine the planet and harness the star to augment his own power.
In the end, it was a matter of time.
“Damn it…”
The Destroyer couldn’t be called a brilliant strategist. But he was a solid tactician, and once he gained the initiative, he never let go and pressed his enemies.
‘I should have noticed it sooner.’
In particular, his specialty was diversionary tactics.
Just like Mason did when raiding, he was adept at dividing his forces and making tactical movements.
‘When I move conspicuously, the main attack is always elsewhere.’
More precisely, he used his troops to draw attention and attacked another place himself.
‘There’s no way to do anything now.’
Even if they chased the Destroyer, they wouldn’t be able to catch him unless he deliberately stopped. And it was clear that the Destroyer wouldn’t even allow an encounter unless his victory was certain.
Now that the Destroyer had conquered time, there was no way to confront him, let alone find a way to minimize the damage.
It was a strategic and tactical defeat.
Nodens had a regretful expression.
“I should have eliminated him when I was still whole.”
“Don’t blame yourself. It’s because of Azathoth.”
“Don’t say that.”
Nodens said with a grave expression.
“You know that Azathoth was me.”
“Yes, I know.”
Mason said,
“But it’s also true that he stopped you.”
“…”
Nodens sighed as he looked at the dimensions.
He was clenching his teeth in frustration and feeling heartache.
“If I were my former self, I wouldn’t have any thoughts while looking at this. No, I would even feel joy at the sight of the Destroyer growing stronger. I think… it might have been better that way.”
“Don’t trivialize your feelings, Nodens.”
Mason said calmly.
“Because of Azathoth, because of your madness, the Destroyer was able to become this strong. If you erase your compassion because you want to be comfortable, you’ll be no different from Azathoth.”
“…Yes.”
Nodens nodded with a bitter expression.
If they couldn’t help, they should at least mourn.
If their bodies couldn’t go, they should at least send their hearts.
However, nothing changed.
They were trapped in Dreamland, and the Destroyer was running rampant.
In every world except Dreamland.
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Time felt distorted.
Time stretched, bent, and tore, and its reverberations were felt even in the safe haven of Dreamland.
Countless people saw ghosts, islands that didn’t exist appeared and disappeared in the sea, and ghost ships flew in the sky.
It was happening on a universal scale.
False stars and meteor showers. Ghost clusters and so on.
But the most frequent phenomenon was auditory hallucinations.
Death rattles. There were moments when death rattles rushed in all at once like a choir’s chorus. It was not a simple auditory hallucination, but an echo of the massacre that transcended the laws of physics, and the death rattle of collapsing universes.
Even the gods could do nothing but cover their ears.
Dimensions, time, space, everything was becoming a mess.
The Lord of Time respected and allowed even events and phenomena that were unfavorable to him, but the Destroyer did not tolerate even a speck of error or loss.
He made time tattered like a rag and crushed space. Because he crossed dimensions so often, the walls between them were like a hole-ridden sponge.
However, the gods could do nothing.
With dimensions and space already collapsing, Nodens tried to enter another dimension and fight the Destroyer, even at the risk of the dimension collapsing. However, the Destroyer disappeared to another dimension before Nodens could even complete the dimensional shift.
He was everywhere and nowhere, anytime and no time.
Thus, the gods could only wait for the destruction of the universe.
After the universe was destroyed, they could do nothing but wait for the Destroyer, who had finally harvested the entire universe, to invade Dreamland.
‘We shouldn’t have lost time.’
Mason deeply regretted it.
‘What can we do now?’
Those who despaired could pray to the gods.
But who do desperate gods pray to?
Disheartened, Mason found a deserted star within the solar system. One of Jupiter’s moons, Ganymede.
It was a star that had been terraformed in advance to be used as a habitat if the population increased someday.
But it was empty.
Without a single flower, only a red horizon stretched out.
Mason descended there.
He didn’t want to show the gods’ frustration.
He didn’t want to show weakness in front of the people who believed in him and relied on him, including Nodens.
Therefore, Mason stood on the red field and sobbed.
“What should I do?”
He grabbed a handful of soil.
Countless microorganisms would be active within it. Waiting for the day when seeds would be sown, dreaming of sprouting and growing into giant trees.
But that day would not come.
Because there would be no more residents in the solar system.
Because Mason couldn’t save anyone.
Ganymede would remain a virgin land forever.
He wanted to pray. He wanted to throw his whole heart into praying and hope for someone’s blessing.
Even a violent being who wanted a living sacrifice would do.
He could even sacrifice himself if it meant saving people, saving the universe.
But there was no such being.
Because Mason was a god, and Mason was the one who had to save the world.
“Give me an answer!”
Mason roared.
“Anyone will do, show yourself! Tell me anything!”
The savior who couldn’t save the world cried out in despair.
“What are we supposed to do?!”
Only silence answered.
Mason sobbed and clutched the ground.
It was the same as then.
His last days as a human.
When he despaired before the Destroyer rushing towards Earth.
Even though he had become a god, even though he had gained great power, nothing had changed.
The gap between him and the Destroyer had widened instead of narrowing, and Mason was once again wailing bitterly, unable to do anything.
And…
“…!”
At that moment, Mason faltered.
He had forgotten.
‘Red Girl.’
The being who gave him a revelation when he was a human, despairing before the Destroyer.
‘Is she really on our side?’
Red Girl’s advice was to ask about the Evil God. But thinking about it now… even if Mason had slaughtered everyone on Earth and become the Evil God, he wouldn’t have been able to stand up to the Destroyer.
Rather, her advice meant to talk to Yekaterina.
Because Yekaterina had made a plan to evacuate Mason, even deceiving him, to prevent him from becoming the Evil God.
Red Girl was not an honest being.
But it was clear that she was a being friendly to humanity, or at least to Mason.
After all, her advice had led Mason here.
Kneeling, Mason stood up.
He looked up at the sky and muttered.
“Red… Girl.”
Mason said quietly.
“Can you hear me?”
There was no answer.
“If you can hear me, and if you want to stop the Destroyer, please appear before me.”
There was no answer.
“I am willing to make any sacrifice. If I can save this world and the universe, I am willing to sacrifice everything I have.”
Mason clenched his fists.
Crack…
Blood dripped from his fists, which he had clenched so tightly.
But Mason, unaware of even that, said earnestly,
“Please. If there is still hope for our world and our people, if there is still a chance… give me a revelation!”
It was then.
“…!”
That was when someone’s voice was heard from behind Mason.
Red Girl, holding a broken greatsword, was speaking in a calm voice.
“There is still hope.”
“You. Oztalon.”
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）Without a Heroic Spirit, I Can Only Hand-Craft a Mythical Version of Myself
