Chapter 239: Meeting

"I give up."

"Ha?"

Sofia could not help but blink a couple of times as she heard Noah expressing his defeat. Her hand was still held by Viel as the mana she gathered was quickly dispersed by him.

"I overstepped my authority." Noah continued as he let out a long and deep sigh, "It would seem that Viel… is a god that far outranks my level. It truly is a miracle that you are still not--"

"Agh, there you are!"

Before Noah could finish his words, the group heard a deafening scream coming from inner into the city.

It was Gabriel, whose heavy breaths were obvious even with the heavy armor that he was now wearing. He was about to get Lyanna since she suddenly disappeared from his side, but as soon as he saw the other people present, he halted in his steps.

"...Perhaps I should go," were Gabriel's words before he slowly lifted his feet and sneakily moved away. When the shield bubble was lifted, he quickly ran towards Sofia to check what was happening.

But since the mayor was definitely not paying him enough to deal with deities, the best course of action was to just leave.

"..."

And so, the group watched as Gabriel slowly walked away… very slowly.

Afterward, Sofia looked at the damage outside. Although she could not see the extent of the damage, the destruction was probably in miles. She only saw this kind of damage once in her life, and it also involved Viel.

It was back in her old world before they left when the red-haired man suddenly appeared out of nowhere and fought with Viel. She had once dreamed of reaching this kind of level with her magic, but alas, it was but a dream.

"I give up." Noah once again repeated his words, "But please, I ask that you let me finish my Prophecy. It is almost at its end."

"Eh, no problem. We're just living our lives out here peacefully before you came. Isn't that right, Sofie?"

"Y… yes?"

"Sofi and I plan to start a family here, you see. We won't get involved with this… prophecy of yours."

"Wait what!? When have we discussed tha--"

"I see."

Before Sofia could even voice out her side, Noah interrupted her. "But a family with a human… is illegal."

"Eh?" The teasing smile on Viel's face completely disappeared as he heard Noah's words.

"A lot do it, but it is illegal and is looked down upon by the ranking members of the Planet of the Gods. Some pretend to be the husbands or wives of an already married human just to build a family."

"...What?"

"One even turned into a horse and impregnated non-humanoid creatures, causing the destruction of the world he was tasked in taking care of."

"..."

"But I am not a god." Viel let out a sigh.

"You are. It would be better for everyone if you accept it, Viel." Noah shook his head as he let out a sigh of his own, "But no one seems to know of your existence yet. If they knew that someone as strong as you was born on this planet, then someone from the Planet of the Gods would have already come to get you. So it should be alright for you to have a family for now, but make it fast."

"You heard that, Sofi?"

"That--"

"Even the young Demon God Xanthus has a child here before he perished, but it was preordained by me so it is somewhat different."

"!!!"

Viel let a loud gasp, with his voice even cracking as his legs gave out and dropped him to the ground. It felt as if his lungs were exploding from the sudden forceful thump that drummed in his heart.

"W… what?"

"Vi!"

"Mister Viel, are you alright!? Did my father do this to you!?"

"...Why are you blaming me for everything?"

"Graaah!"

Lyanna was about to approach Viel, but she quickly ran back to Noah's side as soon as she saw the sharp fangs protruding from Viel's mouth, there were also horns starting to extrude from his shoulders.

But after a few seconds, they started to settle down and return back to normal.

"What… what happened!?" Sofia quickly asked as she helped Viel up.

"Xanthus… seems to be waking up?"

"Xanthus!?"

As soon as Noah heard Viel's words, his human ears quickly perked up. "One of the gods inside of you is Xanthus!?"

"Tch." Sofia once again gathered her mana as she saw Noah's frantic expression. But once again, before she could get the chance to use it, her hands stopped as Noah's panicking expression turned into warmth.

"So… that boy is still alive. That's good… that's good."

Seeing the warmth on Noah's face. It would seem that he was not lying with his earlier statement. That the old gods treated the younger gods as their children. This was the first time that Sofia and Viel have seen Noah with such an honest expression on his face.

However, it would also seem that Lyanna was starting to get jealous as she was letting out small pouts here and there.

"You… have another god left inside of you. Maybe I know him as well?" Noah then said a clear excitement was now present in his voice.

"Eh… I don't think so, he was a very quiet dude according to Miss Lu Yi. His name is Jack."

"...Jack? No, I don't believe I know anyone with that name. There are only a thousand of us, so we usually all know each other."

"Oh, his full name is Judge of Karma. But that just sounds weird."

"I see."

"!!!"

It took a few seconds for it to register inside Noah's mind, but when it did, his eyes flashed blue and almost popped out from their sockets. He could not help but slightly back away, his eyes not leaving Viel for even a second.

"You… have the respectable Judge of Karma… inside of you!?"

"Hm? He's asleep, but yes."

"That… so I attacked the Judge of Karma!?"

"It's alright. I am sure he will forgive you. Mirella also seemed to have done the same and he didn't seem to mind."

"Mirella fought you!?"

"So I was told."

"Ho…" Noah's godly stature could no longer be found as he grasped his head. He never had a headache before, but this is what it probably felt like, he thought.

"W… wait. If the Judge of Karma is inside of you… Then who is overseeing the Cycle of Life!?" Noah's voice almost cracked as he raised his voice, his godly demeanor completely disappearing by the second.

"This… this is quite unbelievable. To think that I was in the presence of the Judge of Karma himself."

Lyanna could not help but look back and forth between Viel and Noah. Weren't they just fighting a few minutes before? So why were they talking so casually right now?

Her thoughts, however, were completely overwhelmed as soon as she looked at the scenery outside. The grass were all but gone, the trees, the field… it was as if they were now in the middle of the desert.

"Ack!" Lyanna screamed as she pointed towards the outside. "What have you done!? You destroyed everything, father!"

"...Why are you blaming me again? It was Viel that did most of the damage."

"But I am blind. There is no way I could possibly do all of that."

"Ah! He's right! Father, mister Viel will not be capable of something like this! Fix it! Fix it now!"

"...Fine." Noah raised his hand, the ground reacting as he did so. The craters that littered the field started to flatten and life started to return to the field as the blades of grass once again showed themselves.

"There's still more there! Let's go! We will not leave until you clean this place up! Ack! There's a broken house there!"

"..."

"Please excuse me for a second, sir Viel." Noah nodded his head before being pulled away by Lyanna.

"..."

"What… happened between the two of you?"

As soon as they were left alone, Sofia touched Viel's cheek, cleaning off the dirt from it.

"And you can walk again?"

"...I always can."

"What!? What about your eyes!?"

"No, they are probably forever gone." Viel let out a wry smile as he slightly tilted his head down. Whatever his old self did, it would seem that it is permanent.

"I… see," Sofia's voice slowly became meek, but after a few seconds, she once again raised her voice, "Wait, so you can walk and you let me take care of you all this time!?"

"..."

"Sofi, thank you for taking care of me all these years. I… love--"

"Oh no, you think I would let you off that easily!? Let me see your legs! I will experiment on you to see if what you're saying is true! Your legs should have atrophied for not walking all these years!"

"What!? No!" Viel quickly trotted away as Sofia started chasing him, "Help me! Help me, miss Lyanna!"

Viel was about to rush and follow Lyanna and Noah, but he suddenly stopped in his tracks when a figure suddenly landed in front of him.

Sofia, on the other hand, bumped her nose on his back as she did not expect him to suddenly stop.

"V… Vi, what's--"

"X… Xanthus?"

Before Sofia could even start her words, a rasp but high-pitched voice entered her ears. She then leaned over Viel's shoulder to see who the voice belonged to.

It was a woman with long silver hair, with a strand of blood trailing from both her eyes.

"Xanthus… Is it… Is it really you?"