Death of a God (End of Vol.1)

Ji-Hye's blade slashed Ur's arm, drawing a thin line of blood. She attempted a low kick to sweep him off his feet, but Ur countered with a powerful punch to her face, sending her stumbling backward.

Nia conjured water tendrils that linked with her fingers. The tendrils lashed out like whips, targeting Ur. He dodged the initial strike, but the second hit him on the cheek and the third struck his midsection. Before the fourth could land, Ur caught the tendril and yanked it hard, pulling Nia toward him. He raised his sword, ready to strike.

Lilith, a few feet away, catched her by the leg before she reached Ur. The water tendrils dissipated, and Nia landed safely on her feet.

"Thanks," Nia said, breathless but relieved.

"Stay focused," Lilith responded, eyes still locked on Ur. "We're not done yet."

Ji-Hye moved in once more but was struck down by Ur with a single swing of his sword. The blade pierced through her stomach and exited the other side. With a brutal action, Ur lifted her with the sword and flung her against a nearby wall.

"No!" Nia screamed. "Ms. Ran!"

"Shit," Lilith gritted her teeth. "Shit!"

"Oh, crap," Ayame gulped nervously. "No, no, no."

Seeing Ji-Hye's motionless body, the rest of the group attacked in unison, but their assault was short-lived. Ur stood still, absorbing the damage as if it were nothing.

"You could've run away. But no --" he taunted. "You had to intervene. You had to do something."

"Okay --" Soul stepped into the room, eyes closed. "I guess I should lose control a bit."

When he opened his eyes, they had changed. Instead of their usual brown color, they were now pure void, black with white stars scattered within. The surroundings shifted, transforming from the room to the temple's dungeon, and then into the Void itself.

In the distance, Ulgath'khal's massive form appeared. Her body, covered in eyes that twitched constantly, resembled a floating octopus with two enormous, colorful wings like those of an amphithere. Her primary eyes, glowing a faint green, were immense, at least five stories tall and wide. Her void-black body with red accents undulated like a snake, constantly in motion.

The group momentarily forgot about Ur, their attention riveted on Ulgath'khal. Everyone was in awe, except for Ayame, who seemed strangely pleased.

"Ur," Soul said. "I told you I would take your heart."

"Void spawn," Ur growled. "I'll kill you! Kill you!"

With a sound that distorted everything around it, Ulgath'khal disappeared and reappeared near the group, plunging them into her shadow. The monster, with at least five hundred tentacles, attacked Ur. The god couldn't hold his ground for long, as he was ensnared by twenty of the tentacles.

Ur screamed in pain, his left arm twisted in the wrong direction, the bone jutting out from his elbow. The armor he wore crumbled to dust like nothing.

"Die, false god," Soul said, slowly walking toward him. "Die as you feed the Void."

"I am the only reasonable god!" Ur yelled in desperation. "I am the only one who can see the truth! What needs to be done!"

"You just had to sit on your ass, get prayers and be happy about it!" Lilith said with pure rage. "But you couldn't. You fucking attacked my realm! Killing demons!"

"It was Take's idea! He wanted more power! So he attacked demons, kidnapped them and made them pray to him!"

The tentacles tightened, causing Ur to let out a blood-curdling scream as he was forced to his knees. Soul kept walking, his gaze never wavering. Ulgath'khal roared, a sound so overpowering that everyone instinctively covered their ears, desperate to block out the noise. But Soul remained unaffected, accustomed to the monstrous roar.

One of Ulgath'khal's tentacles slithered into Ur's mouth, moving deeper and deeper. It inched toward his heart slowly, wrapping around the organ gently. Ur's eyes widened in terror as he felt the cold, invasive touch inside him, knowing his end was near.

"No… No!" Ur desperately tried to remove the tentacle, but his efforts were futile. "No! I can't die!"

Lightning struck from the sky, but Ulgath'khal effortlessly shielded the group with her tentacles.

"That's it, old man?" Lilith taunted. "Pathetic."

"You hide behind the blood ma –" His words were cut short as the tentacle tightened around his heart. "Ah! Fuck all of you! Fuck everyone that betrayed me!"

"Yeah, yeah. All talk, no action," Nia chimed in. "The god that blessed me is a total idiot. Man – I'm so unlucky."

With a disgusting sound, the tentacle crushed his heart and exited his mouth. Ulgath'khal then dropped the heart on the ground, near Soul, who stepped on it without hesitation.

The blood from Ur's body formed an orb in the sky before entering Soul's body through his eyes. The surge of power was so strong that his hair briefly turned red before returning to its original silver color. He could feel the incredible strength coursing through his veins, his mana pool seemingly limitless.

"Well…" A rift opened to the dungeon. "I guess we're done here. Let's go."

"Did we just kill – a god?" Ayame couldn't believe her eyes. "No… did we? Wow… we did."

"Hey, Ms.Ran!" Nia yelled. "Are you okay? Please say somet –"

"I'm okay" Ji-Hye said dryly, spitting blood on the ground with a grimace. "Hurray. We killed the god."

"Oh…" Nia hurried toward Ji-Hye. "Don't move, ma'am. I'll use a healing spell. I may not be Dierman-blessed, but… I'll try."

"Yeah, that'd be great. Thank you, Nia," Ji-Hye said wearily, sinking to the ground on her back with a heavy sigh. "Fuck… That was too much. Are we sure Ur is really dead?"

"Hmm," Soul confirmed. "I'm pretty sure he's dead."

"Like, dead dead," Ayame said, slumping into a nearby chair with exhaustion. "I'm so tired… hey, where's Hyun-Ki?"

"He's with another blood mage, trying to save Zindra's sister," Ji-Hye explained. "I hope he's okay though."

"Zindra? Who is that, ma'am?" Nia inquired. "And – another blood mage? Don't tell me that person is a god too… ugh…"

"Ur's new champion… well, she 'was' her new champion," Ji-Hye clarified, wincing as she shifted her position to get more comfortable.

"Enough chit-chat," Soul said with a boring voice. "Let's get out of here."