Chapter 414 - Dichotomy

"My silly grandchild, I did not turn into an enemy. I was created as the enemy…"

"What?"

Both Alinea and Ivan got more and more confused. But they couldn't let their guard down. The elementals surrounding them hadn't stopped with their enmity. If ever, the malice they exuded only became stronger. However, with the wave of the man's fair hand, all the elementals suddenly calmed down. 

There was no longer malice or murderous intent in the atmosphere. But Alinea's and Ivan's hearts were not yet reconciled. They had come so far— had planned meticulously before coming here. What was going on? 

"Child, I see the questions in your heart. Since you've come this far, I ought to entertain a couple of them. But you have to answer some questions as well," Czernobog drawled lazily and snickered at Ali's drawn sword. 

"It's useless to fight. I am not someone you can kill," he added as he disappeared only to appear in front of Alinea. 

Ali and Ivan stepped back, but she swung her sword to strike the Black God as she did. But he easily caught the blade. 

"Did you know that if someone bore a piece of my soul, he could hurt me?" he asked and Ali's eyes narrowed. 

"I know," she snapped between her gritted teeth as she pulled her sword only to swing it again. 

But just as he did earlier, Czernobog easily caught the blade with his bȧrė hand. 

"Too bad," the Black God said in amusement. "You don't have it," he said as he flicked his hand, and Alinea was suddenly thrown far away. 

Ivan quickly moved on his feet and caught her just in time and it was his back which slammed against the cavern wall. Still, even if she did not hit the rocks directly, Ali felt pain. As for Ivan…

The forced knocked him out, and it only proved the prowess of the enemy.

Urgh… 

Czernobog was strong. He was supposed to be level S just like her husband and uncle, but the air the Black God gave off was similar to her father. How? 

And he said she didn't have a spawn? She didn't have a piece of his soul? How was that even possible? She clearly had a dark entity within her. It was even proven true when her father broke her soul into three. 

"That's not true…"

Alinea wouldn't let this devil mislead her, she thought, which amused the man. 

Czernobog walked towards her and with the wave of his hand made her stand up. He reached out and grabbed her hand that was holding the sword and made her properly handle it. 

"Then see for yourself," the Black God said as he moved her hand so she could plunge the sword she held into his heart. 

"No…way…"

Alinea couldn't believe it. She was expecting to go all out battling him. But now, the enemy even made her stab himself voluntarily and he didn't even flinch. 

"No…way…"

Alinea slumped on the cavern floor. Her resolve, her beliefs, and her everything shattered. She came here to end everything. But in the end, it turned out that everything she knew was not real. 

Or at least not all. Czernobog did say that the spawn could kill him, but she couldn't. So what was she?

Czernobog easily removed the blade from his body and disappeared only to appear again back on the rocky throne. 

"I already told you earlier. You are not a spawn— you are my grandchild," he said. 

"Then my mother…" Alinea started but bit her lip, refusing to continue this train of thought. 

But the Black God smiled. 

"Your mother, Shitara is my child," he answered the unspoken question in her mind. 

"The one Fanya brought back to the surface during the Immortal War when the seal weakened was not a piece of my soul but a piece of my flesh. When Perun sealed me in here, I was not alone. My wife, the Goddess of Avarice and Fortune was with me, and Shitara is our child."

What… Alinea thought her mother was human. 

"Her powers were of course sealed so she was no more than a human. The parents who raised her were humans." The scarlet pair of eyes narrowed on her as he spoke. "With my wife's blessing, it was not surprising at all that she'd cross paths with Perun, isn't it?"

"And all of that for your revenge?" Alinea was more than livid but the man laughed. 

"Revenge?" A mocking smile formed on his lips. "Only fools like Fanya take revenge. That vile woman would do anything and everything to hurt the man who could not love her even if it meant destroying herself."

"She's dead?" Alinea thought that her father's ex-wife was still around. After all, she had Ozomene as the host for her soul, and the mother of harpies was still alive somewhere. 

"Alive or dead— what's the difference? From the moment she had succumbed to her greed, her life was over," he answered enigmatically. 

"Then what's your purpose?" If she could not kill him, she might as well find out what he wanted. "What do you want?"

Again, those scarlet eyes studied her face as a small smile fixed on his lips. "As soon as you stepped inside this place, I already got what I wanted."

"What do you mean?"Alinea had a very bad feeling about it.

"Rod," Czernobog said enigmatically as he held out his palm and a ball of light appeared showing scenes like a projector. "The ultimate God created the King of Heaven who'd govern all other gods as well as the mortals. But he also created me, the King of Destruction and Chaos. To what purpose? It's to keep the balance of everything. Gods are supposed to be omnipotent but in reality are riddled with flaws."

At his words, she remembered what she told Ryuu about the selfish nature of deities. She couldn't disagree with what the Black God was saying. 

"The only exemption is your father… and me. Good? Evil? This is a very common dichotomy. Opposing but one couldn't exist without the other— and we're perfectly black and white." He pointed a finger at her. "You asked me what I want, child. All I want is to release that man and myself from the hands of Rod, and you are the key that unlocked the catastrophe that would grant us that freedom."