Chapter 15:

Chapter 15: The War

I Blame God in Another World Because I Can't Die


The palace of Welch was carved into the earth itself, beneath the Reuben. Cold stone walls slick with damp, lit only by veins of blue glowing crystal. The air was heavy, every breath tasting of dust and minerals.

A long obsidian table stretched between them. On one side sat Lyon, Kinana, Neema, Tiana, Jorelle, and Louille. Across from them, Ray with awkward as always, Cerys, Evan, and Nagi, with Pupa curled asleep on his shoulder.

They had just finished listening to Cerys. She stood with exaggerated pride, throwing her arms wide as though she were introducing a god.

“And that… is the power of lord Kawamura Nagi.”

She gestured at him with a flourish, as if expecting applause.


The heroes' side stared in disbelief. Neema's eyes narrowed, Kinana leaned back with her arms crossed, Louille's jaw tensed, but nothing could deny the weight in the air around Nagi. Even the crystals seemed to dim against his presence.

Only Tiana wasn't looking. Her head was down, fists trembling against her knees. Sweat clung to her temples.

“Why am I even here?” she thought bitterly. “I hate this place. I hate these people. These worshipers of the underworld gods… and worse, why is he here?”

Her teeth ground together. Inside, her thoughts churned violently. “I'll kill them all. I'll kill every last one of them. I'll—"

“Oh.”

The shout broke her trance. Tiana's head snapped up. Evan was glaring at her from across the table, his grin spreading to reveal jagged teeth.

"What's with that look, girl? You are acting strange."

Her breath caught. Everyone's eyes turned toward her.

Before she could form an excuse, Evan's grin widened. "Ahhh, I get it. You're scared. Because of lord Nagi, huh?"

A silence fell like an axe.

Nagi's eyes rolled lazily toward Evan. “Shut up.”

Evan stiffened instantly. The grin vanished. His shark teeth pressed together, jaw locking shut.


Tiana dared to take a glance at Nagi. Her chest tightened. Her breath hitched.

“Of course I'm afraid,” her mind screamed. “Who wouldn't be? He's still alive... even after I already beheaded him.”

Nagi's gaze shifted. From Evan to her.

Her stomach dropped. The blue glow cast his face in an otherworldly light, his crimson eyes boring into her.

“You…” His voice was low, but it echoed across the chamber.

Tiana's body shivered violently. Her breath came ragged.

“…Have we met before?”

The question was simple. But it pierced her like a blade.

Her lips trembled. She didn't answer. Couldn't.

Beside her, Lyon leaned closer, worried. "Tiana? Is everything okay?"

Her heart skipped. “Idiots!” she screamed inside. “Why did you have to say my name?!”


Nagi blinked slowly, crimson eyes narrowing just slightly.

“Anyway,” his voice broke the silence like falling stone, “let's talk about the demigod.”

The tension cracked. Louille cleared his throat, seizing the opportunity to drag the conversation back into safer ground.

"Y-yes. Exactly. The alliance."

Across the table, Tiana's entire body was still trembling. For a moment, her mind spun, “Did he let me off? Or…” Her eyes widened, and against the sweat still sliding down her cheeks, a faint, twisted smile tugged at her lips. “He doesn't remember.”

Louille pushed on. His voice grew stronger as he found his feet.

"Our kingdoms cannot survive fractured. If we want to stand against the demigods, we must first unite. Reuben and Welch… alongside Crestoria and Luminette."

Nagi leaned back, listening in silence. His head tilted slightly, but his gaze never left Louille.

Finally, he asked in his flat, unyielding tone:

"How do we find them?"

Louille straightened, almost proud to answer.

"If the demigods still walk this earth... Lady Myria can track them. Afterall, she is the goddess of the earth."


Nagi paused. For a heartbeat, the whole chamber waited on his silence. Then, he gave a single node.

"Okay. Let's meet the god."

The words rattled everyone present.

Evan suddenly barked out, “Wait—!” His sharp teeth glinted as his jaw clenched. His eyes darted between Nagi and Cerys. "Does that mean we working together with them?"

Nagi turned his gaze on Evan. The air dropped cooler.

"Why? You don't like it?"

Evan's jaw dropped. The shark-teeth froze in his mouth. He opened it as if to speak, but no words came. His tongue locked, throat dry.

Nagi rose to his feet. The long table seemed smaller as his shadow stretched across it. Pupa stirred faintly on his shoulder, but never woke.

“From now on,” he said, voice calm but absolute, “Reuben and Welch stop their war.”

No one dared to argue.

And without another word, Nagi turned and walked toward the chamber doors.

“Mr. Nagi. Wait.” Ray followed his back until it faded into the dark.

The heavy door shut, leaving the rest in silence.


With that, the others left the hall one by one, until only Evan, Cerys, Louille, Lyon, Kinana, and Neema remained.

Evan groaned and slumped into his chair, one clawed hand pressing against his temple.

Cerys mirrored him, rubbing her head with an annoyed pout.

“How am I supposed to tell my people this…?” she muttered.

Evan bared his teeth and added with a growl, “The worse of all… why the hell do I gotta work with you?”

“What did you say?!” Cerys shot up from her seat, buzzing her little wings furiously. She grabbed onto Evan's horns and pulled with all her might.

“Oi—!” Evan hissed, snapping back by pinching her cheeks until they puffed out. "Don't act innocent! It's the fact!"

Their bickering echoed across the chamber, so absurd after the suffocating weight Nagi had left behind.


Lyon watched, his brows knitting in disbelief. “Is it really that hard… just to have peace?”

At that, both Evan and Cerys froze mid-scuffle. They turned their heads toward him, still locked in their childish tug-of-war, and snapped in perfect unison,

“Of course it is!”

Louille sighed and stepped between them, brushing dust off his shoulder. "Is there another way?”

Finally, Evan and Cerys let go of each other, though not without muttering under their breaths. They sat back down, their faces unusually serious.

Evan leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Since the God of Immortality declared war on the God of War, they both left the earth and fought in the underworld. Five hundred years ago."

His shark teeth glimmered faintly under the crystal light. "That's when Reuben and Welch began their own war. It's passed down. Generation to generation."

Cerys lowered her head, arms crossed tightly. "That's why peace isn't just hard. It's unnatural to us. It's like trying to undo blood that's already soaked into the ground."

The table fell quiet.


Then—

Kinana leaned back in her chair, arms crossed behind her head, her mouth curving into a smug grin. "Hah. You're overthinking it."

Both Evan and Cerys blinked at her, tilting their heads in sync.

"There's another way to have peace," Kinana said, her tone so confident it almost sounded mocking.

In an instant, the scene shifted.

Cerys and Evan stood side by side, their jaws slack in disbelief at what they were witnessing.

In the heart of Reuben's kingdom, a massive crowd had gathered, people of Reuben on one side, Welch on the other. Suspicion and hatred burned in their eyes, blades and staves already drawn as if the air itself begged for war.


At the center stood a raised wooden stage. Upon it, an object loomed beneath a heavy curtain.

Kinana stood proudly before the restless mob, one hand holding a clunky wooden speaker horn to amplify her voice.

"Hear me, people of Reuben! Hear me, people of Welch!" she shouted, her tone dripping with theatrical bravado. “Today, we settle your endless war once and for all!”

A roar of approval thundered from both sides. Weapons flashed, spells lit up like sparks in the crowd.

But Kinana only raised her hand, silencing the chaos. "Wait! I didn't say this war would shed blood."

Gasps rippled through the masses. Even the most bloodthirsty warriors faltered, their blades lowering with confused murmurs.

With a smug grin, Kinana turned and whipped the curtain aside.

Behind her stood a massive circular target board, its center marked with a bright red circle.

The crowd blinked, stunned.

Kinana slammed down a heavy crate at her feet and flipped open the lid. Inside, rows of iron-headed axes gleamed under the blue glow of the crystals.

“This!” Kinana declared, hefting one of the axes high above her head. "This is how you'll fight your war! No blood, no corpses, just pure skill and guts!"


The crowd erupted into bewildered shouts.

Kinana jabbed a finger toward the sea of ​​warriors. "So! Who among you dares represent your kingdom in this contest of ax throwing?!"

Almost immediately, the crowd parted as two figures stepped forward.

One was a scarred, hulking brute from Reuben, his fangs bared as he cracked his knuckles.

The other, a gaunt yet wild-eyed fighter from Welch, who sneered with pure venom.

They climbed onto the stage, glaring at each other with centuries of hatred simmering in their eyes.

Kinana grinned wider, clapping her hands once. "Good! The rules are simple. Throw the axe. Hit the target. The kingdom with the highest score wins! Easy enough even for blockheads like you lot!"

The crowd stirred, tension shifting from bloodlust to excitement, their cheers building once again.

Cerys buried her face in her hands. “This… this idiot just turned war into a carnival game…”

Evan, gripping his horns like they might snap, hissed through his teeth, “And it’s… IT'S ACTUALLY WORKING!”


The stage crept beneath the weight of the two warriors.

The man from Reuben cracked his neck, baring his shark-like teeth at his opponent. “Try not to cry when I split the board in half.”

The Welch fighter spat on the floor and rolled his shoulders, his voice sharp as a blade. “Try not to cry when you miss the whole thing.”

The crowd from both kingdoms roared insults at each other, already caught up in the contest.

Kinana stood in the middle with the wooden speaker, grinning ear to ear. "FIRST ROUND! REUBEN VERSUS WELCH! THROWERS, READY YOUR ARMS!"

She shoved two axes into their hands and gestured toward the towering target across the stage.

The Reuben warrior went first. With a loud snarl, he spun his shoulder and hurled the axe.


THUNK!

The blade embedded itself deep, just a handspan away from the red center. The crowd of Reuben howled in triumph, stomping their feet and clanging their weapons against shields.

“Closer than your brain to a thought!” the man bellowed at his rival, flexing.

The Welch fighter sneered and twirled his ax with a single hand. He drew a slow breath, squinting at the target with icy precision.

He threw it.

THUNK!

His ax struck even closer, just on the edge of the bullseye, quivering as if online the Reuben man to do better.

The Welch side erupted into wild cheers, screaming and jeering, their voices shaking the cavern walls.

The two warriors leaned into each other, their foreheads almost touching as they snarled. “Lucky throw.”

"Better than your whole miserable bloodline."

The audience was on fire now, half screaming for Reuben, half screaming for Welch, but no weapons were drawn, only fists pumping in the air and eyes glued to the game.


“THE NEXT BATTLE! A WAR OF STRENGTH!” she shouted, pointing toward the stage. “PULLING ROPE WAR!”

The curtain behind her dropped, revealing a massive rope thick enough to strangle an ogre, its middle tied with a bright red cloth dangling above a painted line on the stage floor.

The people from Reuben and Welch screamed with excitement, stomping, hollering, and rushing forward to volunteers.

On the Reuben side, a group of shark-toothed brutes with bulging muscles stomped onto the stage, cracking their knuckles. On the Welch side, pale and wiry fighters with sharp eyes and long braids tied their sleeves tight, grinning like wolves.


Kinana stood in the middle, hands on her hips. "RULES ARE SIMPLE! First side to drag the other then the line WINS!"

Evan's jaw dropped. "This... this isn't war! This is a joke!"

Cerys jabbed her finger at him. "Shut up! Look at them! They're more fired up than ever!"

Indeed, both sides grabbed the rope, snarling, planting their feet, ready to tear each other apart through sheer willpower.

“READY—SET—PUUUUULLL!!”

The rope snapped instantly, the red cloth jerking wildly as both sides roared in unison. Veins bulged, teeth gnashed, dirt sprayed across the stage as heavy boots dug trenches into the wood.

"PULL! PULL!" The Reuben crowd screamed.

"DRAG THEM! BREAK THEM!" The Welch side countered.

The fighters leaned so hard their bodies trembled like bowstrings. Some slipped, scrambled back, bit down on the rope itself. The stage creaks, ready to snap under the chaos.

Lyon, sitting at the table nearby, blinked in disbelief. “I… can't tell if this is terrifying or hilarious.”

Louille chuckled weakly. "Both. Definitely both."


Kinana, meanwhile, was laughing out loud into the speakers. "YESSS! THIS IS TRUE WAR! A WAR OF MIGHT! WHO WILL STAND? WHO WILL FALL?!"

At that very moment, the Welch side gave a furious heave, dragging the Reuben fighters almost over the line—

But the Reuben brutes roared back, their shark teeth bared, pulling with monstrous strength, and the red cloth swung wildly back toward center.

The entire underground kingdom shook with cheers, laughter, curses, and roars, not of hatred, but of contest.


Kinana slammed her wooden speaker again, her grin wider than ever.

“THE WAR OF BLADES!”

“The rules are simple!” she bellowed. "One versus one! No magic! No tricks! Only steel and skill! If your sword breaks or falls from your hand, you lose! You may surrender, if you have the guts to admit defeat!"

The crowd howled, stomping and screaming for blood.

Louille rose from his seat, brushing dust off his red cloak. His eyes gleamed with excitement. "A duel of honor. I like this."

Before Lyon could react, Louille grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him onto the stage.

“Partner! Let’s do this!”

“W-wait—what?! Why me?!” Lyon protested, stumbling.


The crowd roared as the two faced each other. Kinana raised her hand dramatically. “READY… FIGHT!”

The clash began.

Steel rang against steel as Louille came forward in a flurry, his strikes clean, precise, full of noble training. Lyon held his ground, parrying with sheer instinct, his arms trembling but his eyes focused.

The crowd gasped and cheered at every exchange, Reuben and Welch alike shouting as though the duel were their own war.

“Not bad!” Louille laughed mid-strike. "Partner, try to defeat me."

Lyon snapped, pushing forward with a desperate swing.

For a moment, it looked like Lyon might turn the tide, his blade cutting the air with raw, unrefined strength, but Louille sidestepped, his sword sweeping Lyon's weapon clean from his hand.

The clang of steel hitting the wooden floor echoed through the underground palace. Silence falls.

Then, an eruption of cheers.


Louille stood tall, his sword raised high to the sky above.

“For LUMINETTE!” he shouted, his voice echoing through the cavern.

The Reuben and Welch crowds instantly booed, stomping and jeering at the mention of another kingdom.

Louille blinked, scratched the back of his head awkwardly, then grinned, lifting his sword again. "Then come! If anyone among you thinks they can best me, step forward! Anyone can fight me!"

The crowd erupted once more, warriors from both sides shouting challenges, pointing, pounding their fists against their chests.

Kinana nearly doubled over laughing, her wooden speaker squeaking in her hands. "THIS! THIS IS WAR!! A WAR OF GLORY!"


Kinana pointed dramatically at the stage. "A battle fiercer than axes! More brutal than ropes! Deadlier than swords!" she paused, her grin grew wider. “THE BATTLE… OF STARRING!!”

The crowd went silent. Then someone shouted, "HUH?!"

Kinana puffed her chest. "You heard me! The strongest warriors of Reuben and Welch will settle their hatred the only way that truly matters… with their EYES!"

From the benches, Evan stood up, veins bulging in his sharklike forehead. “WHAT KIND OF WAR IS THIS?!”

Cerys smirked, arms folded. “Scared you'll lose?”

The crowd from reuben erupted in laughter and jeers.

"Yeah, the prince is afraid of our leader?!"

“Coward's eyes!”

Evan's pride snapped. He stomped onto the stage, horns gleaming under the sun. "FINE! I'LL TURN HER TO STONE WITH MY GAZE ALONE!"

Cerys flicked her hair, strutting to stand opposite him. "Please. You'll blink in three seconds."


Kinana raised her arm high. "THE RULES, first one to blink, look away, or cry is the loser! BEGIN!!"

The crowd fell silent.

Evan and Cerys locked eyes, faces inches apart, their glares burning like rival suns.

Seconds dragged. Sweat rolled down Evan's forehead, but he gritted his shark teeth, refusing to move.

Cerys smirked wider. "Pathetic. You're sweating already."

“SHUT UP!” Evan barked, but his eyes stayed locked.

The crowd roared, stomping in rhythm, "DON'T BLINK! DON'T BLINK!"

Minutes passed. Both were trembling. Cerys' eyes twitched, Evan's veins bulged, their faces twisted in unyielding stubbornness.

“Unbelievable…” Ray muttered from the crowds.


Kinana nearly cried from laughter, slapping her knee. "LOOK AT THEM! TRUE WARRIORS! TRUE SPIRIT!"

And then—

Whoosh!

Cerys suddenly blew a sharp gust of air right into Evan's eyes.

"Ah-!!" Evan yelped, stumbling back as his eyes watered uncontrollably. He tried to keep them open, but they squeezed shut on instinct.

Kinana declared into the speaker, "THE WINNER! CERYS CRONABELLE!"

The Welch side exploded in cheers, laughing and clapping, while the Reuben side groaned in outrage.

Cerys planted her fists on her hips, chin up proudly. “That's the power of wit over brute force!” she declared.

Evan rubbed furiously at his eyes, glaring at her with bloodshot pupils. “Y-You cheated!”

"It's not cheating," Cerys shot back smugly. "It's strategy."

The crowd erupted in laughter, and Evan could only growl in frustration.


Ray, who was laughing in the crowd, suddenly felt a finger tap on his shoulder. When he turned around, he saw Tiana, her violet eyes carrying a seductive gleam.

“Can you help me?” she asked softly.

Ray swallowed hard, his throat dry as he stared into her eyes.


Meanwhile, Lyon sitting in the bench with Neema seemed to be looking for someone.

“Lyon?” Neema asked.

"Nagi should seeing this. I’m going to find him.” Lyon replied, then walking away.


In a dark alley, Ray continued to follow Tiana until she stopped abruptly.

"Why did we stop?" Ray asked, confused.

Before he could react, a needle struck into his neck. His body collapsed instantly, though his mind remained conscious. He tried to move, but his strength was gone.

Tiana let out a low, sinister laugh as she drew a dagger from her belt.

“I’ll start with you.” she whispered, stepping toward him slowly.

Ray's breathing shallow, the sting of the needle burned in his veins. He tried to crawl back, but his limbs betrayed him.

Tiana's dagger gleamed in the faint crystal light. Her violet eyes narrowed, dripping with contempt.

“Poor soul,” she whispered, voice low and twisted. "I'll end you myself. Slowly."

Ray squeezed his eyes shut, heart pounding—

—but then the sound of footsteps echoed.

“I had a feeling about you.”

Nagi's voice cuts through the air like frost. He emerged from the shadows, his expression dead calm, his red eyes glowing faintly.

Tiana frozen. Her smirk faltered, and she instinctively stepped back. The dagger trembled in her hand.

“You…”

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