I Never Run Out of Mana

Wheatgrass stayed still without movement.

They kept on pulling the trigger of their pistol while standing their ground, without a word and without changing their expression.

It seemed that they still did not care for my approach.

It was probably because they knew that only a minuscule amount of damage would be inflicted on them.

Just like before, I ran forward with swords embedded with light and darkness in each hand.

The moment that I made contact with them, all my power would be extinguished, and it was obvious that it would end up with only my Butcher’s Sword would end up reaching them.

One could wonder why I would charge forward, despite leaving myself open to their attack.

Like a moth hurling themselves into an enticing flame, even though they know that they would lose their lives.

However, I was waiting for this timing.

That timing was when that thing used its own skill equivalent of Status Negation.

I wasn’t sure of it, I became suspicious when they healed themselves.

My guess was that they had an ability equivalent of Status Negation, and used it to dissipate my power.

I was sure that my body was immortal due to the effect of King’s Marbles.

While that would block an enemy’s attack and debuffs, it wouldn’t block their buffs or healing skills.

Thus, their version of Status Negation would not be considered as an attack.

Remember the fight with Park Hyun, who was a part of the radical faction?

Getting past my Mana Shield fueled by infinite mana, her Status Negation hit me and dealt a serious injury.

Wheatgrass’s version of Status Negation must have been used in the same way.

Obviously including King’s Marble, mana, magical energy, and more, they had returned me to a state before invoking all the powers that I could use.

They were trying to inject me with poison disguised as a beneficial skill.

A skill that returned the body to a state 24 hours before.

If they returned me to a state before I used my incredible powers, then the only thing that remained was human and Awakened strength.

What I was waiting for was the moment that they used their ability akin to Status Negation.

It was hard to explain, but I was planning to cancel out their version of Status Negation using my own Status Negation.

After being able to use mana freely as I wanted, cooldowns didn’t exist for me anymore, so I should be able to cast skills without limitations, similar to how it was for Wheatgrass.

I was able to think this way due to facing off with the God of Earth, Dehaka.

It was thanks to the Bind skill Dehaka used and I owned, which caused the enemy’s feet to be bound.

All the artifacts and skills that the Awakened used were made by the Unrivaled Goddess Karupedan and the Goddess of Death, Gera.

The reasons why each of them did so was different, but it was true that these things had been created by them.

No matter how creative someone is, it was inevitable that some of their creations would have a bit of what they might have seen and heard around them mixed in subconsciously.

I wondered if that was the case with Bind and Status Negation.

“Now!”

It was when I swung my sword near them.

I purposefully spaced my attacks after one another.

As I did so, my powers disappeared as expected.

The timing that I had aimed for had come.

Not missing my chance, I quickly casted Status Negation.

“Kuhuh!”

“Guess you aren’t mute, after all?”

“Kuhu…… Bastard……”

My attacks landed accurately on Wheatgrass’s shoulder and chest.

And unlike the attacks that only left shallow wounds before, these attacks cut deeply and cleanly through enough to show the background through them.

My guess had been spot on.

Status Negation really was the key to defeating them.

Should I consider this as being lucky?

If I didn’t know about Status Negation while continuing the fight with them, then I would have never found out their weakness.

Blood poured out from Wheatgrass’s wound.

When you think of blood, it was usually red, or purple for monsters.

As if declaring that they were a special existence, the liquid that poured out was letting out a massive amount of light.

Almost as if their body was made from the light of the celestial plane.

From their mouth came a groan, despite having been silent all this time.

Their face that had been like an emotionless mask crumpled in pain.

However, that didn’t last long.

Since it was obvious that they were very talented with their Status Negation ability, they had turned their body back to a state before the injuries.

However, this wouldn’t be a huge problem for me.

I already have identified their weakness.

They would continue to use Status Negation endlessly, but my attacks would continue to succeed.

And I also knew how to nullify their Status Negation ability as well.

“Status Negation… If it is about that, I know somewhat.”

“Bastard……”

“Returns back the target or self’s body to a state they wish within the last 24 hours. That pretty much sums it up, right?”

“……”

“Aha… I forgot something important. The catch! The target needs to be alive in order for it to work. If they die, then you cannot use the spell on them. How about it? I’m correct on this matter, right?”

“Is this the butterfly effect…… To think that Karupedan and Gera toying around could cause such rippling effects and come back like a snowball.”

“I think of it as karma. You’re being done in by the monster you raised.”

“Kuhu! Karupedan!”

Wheatgrass howled the peerless goddess’ name.

The owner of the name that would be observing us from somewhere without ever intervening, remaining only as a bystander.

Their body that was ruined by cracked skin and wounds flushed red.

It seemed that they were filled to the brim with rage.

Looking at their state, I couldn’t help but laugh at how silly it was.

Then I spoke.

“It’s the same crying out. No. We were far more desperate. Over 40 years, humans have pleaded for help. But what did you all do?”

“What……?”

“Are you upset? You feel rage rising up? Nothing will change, despite all that. You’ll have to figure this out on your own.”

“……”

“Karupedan and Gera’s toying? Do you think that was the beginning? You’re wrong, you snob.”

“Shut up!”

“You shut up and listen! This won’t be over easily. I’ll let you feel every bit of the pain and despair we’ve felt for over 40 years.”

“You’re just a human.”

“Yes. This human you look down on is going to make you feel all that. As you know already, I have my own Status Negation. You also are aware that your body will accept my spell without any resistance.”

“AHHH!”

“You shouldn’t ignore good will like that……”

Their attacks disappeared pathetically before my immortal body.

The King’s Marble’s effect disappeared for a short while, but I quickly brought it back.

I wasn’t that stupid to be done in by the same attack pattern again.

From there on, the game of mental chess began.

We were both paying close attention to one another, thinking of the most optimal time to use Status Negation.

However, the winner had been decided before the fight even began.

The reason for that was simple.

Canceling my Mana Shield, I wasn’t using any skills right now.

The sword I was holding right now wasn’t a skill, but something that I had obtained from defeating the demon king and the gods.

Both hands were free and I had a Dual Casting passive. The number of skills I could cast at the same time was three.

Unlike me, it seemed that they could only cast one at a time.

Seeing as how they were allowing my attacks to get through, I was sure of it.

It was the equivalent of them fighting 3 to 1.

And it wasn’t as if those three were on the same level of power as the one, but far superior.

“ARGH!”

My attacks continued without rest.

At the same time, their use of the Status Negation followed to recover from the wounds.

I didn’t have the slightest intention to let this fight end so easily.

Just like how I have been being all this time, I was going to sear pain into their mind.

I was going to make them realize just how severe their sin was.

I wondered how long passed like that.

Without having a choice but to let my attacks through nonstop all this time, they had stopped healing and stood still.

“Kuhu……”

“Hm? Did you run out of mana? Do you even have mana to begin with?”

“Augh. Kill me……”

“You won’t heal yourself?”

“Do you think that a pathetic human such as yourself could avoid the consequences after insulting a god! Ugh!”

“This is something that I also came to realize recently. Apparently I’m a god too. Hm… So I guess you can consider it as a god insulting another god. How about it? If I say this, will it make you feel a little better?”

“Shut up! I have already commanded you to kill me!”

“You can’t die by your own hand anyways. Without me, you cannot die. The gods are that kind of an existence, right? They cannot choose their own life or death despite reigning at the top, and if you look really closely, they’re the weakest of all…… Their existence is like that.”

“Kuhu……”

“If you won’t heal yourself, then go ahead. Stay still just like that. I’ll do as I please, as much as I want.”

“Stop!”

“No. It’ll continue!”

****

“Yikes. How brutal. Even though you acted so kindly.”

“Whew…… You might end up like this too.”

“Kehe. Don’t forget. I’m the Unrivaled God. I won’t be done in one-sidedly.”

“Look at you, change your stance so quickly.”

“Only one remains.”

Wheatgrass had perished.

Towards the god who had lost their will to recover, I used both my swords and 3 of my main attack skills at once.

With absolute power far beyond that of what could be recovered by Status Negation to boot.

After all, it was an attack that was destructive enough to reap a life in a single go.

After taking them down, as per usual, Karupedan appeared next to me without alerting me with her presence.

Squinting, she scolded me.

As expected, while she seemed happy for my victory, a shadow of regret seemed to loom over her.

I spoke to Karupedan, who had a mischievous expression.

“Unlike the other gods, it seems that Wheatgrass’s ability won’t be very useful, you know?”

“Hm… that’s because it’s an ability you can use already?”

“Yep.”

“Kehe. I guess so. But their ability isn’t just Status Negation.”

“Hm? What do you mean? Until they died, they didn’t use anything but Status Negation to resist. If they had another ability as you had said, then they should’ve used that to struggle all they could to keep their life?”

“Of course. But it’s a skill that one could not use on living targets.”

“……”

“Wheatgrass is the God of Life. They are also referred to as the God of Revival. Their other ability was the ability to revive.”

“Does that mean that I can resurrect?”

“No. You can’t use it on yourself. But you can do so on other targets.”

“It seems that I’ve obtained a power strong beyond what words could describe.”

“Kehe. You’re a god though, right? That much power isn’t too much for a god to wield.”

“Is that so……”

Since I could find out how to wield the powers that I obtain, no more explanation from Karupedan was necessary.

Quietly opening my status window, I thoroughly read through the ability that I had obtained from Wheatgrass.

It seemed that Karupedan stopped her ramblings for a bit and was waiting for me.

“T…That’s possible?”

“Kuha! Yep! It’s one of the powers that you, who has achieved near the powers of an Unrivaled God, has.”

“……”

If it was possible, I wanted to return myself back to a time before obtaining this power.

After all, this ability was strong enough to be considered overkill for me.

“Break time?”

“No. Let’s get this over with.”

“Hehe. Good!”

With that, we headed for the remaining god, the God of Water.