Chapter 1431: Chapter 1431

"This is impossible. Something's not right. Yes, you deceived me! You tricked me into abandoning my weapon."

With those words, the man from the Treehouse tried to leap from the glacier, to plunge into the sea and retrieve the slate. But Jenkins wasn't about to give him that chance.

The White Bone Holy Sword sliced forward, but the demigod ignored it and threw a punch straight for Jenkins's head. Jenkins changed the blade's trajectory mid-swing, aiming for his opponent's arm, but only managed to tear through the sleeve of his coat.

"I see now!" the demigod roared. "If I kill you, this one-of-a-kind ability will be masterless. I can still become the Child of Disaster!"

The demigod from the Treehouse suddenly bellowed, his legs coiling before launching him off the glacier in a ferocious pounce toward Jenkins.

Jenkins spun to dodge, only to remember he was standing on a frozen wave. He turned back to meet the man's charge, thrusting his sword toward his brow. The demigod roared, impossibly stopping the blade with his bare forehead. Blood streamed down his face as he threw his arms around Jenkins, twisting his body in an attempt to drag them both off the glacier and into the icy depths.

Jenkins cursed, abandoning his sword. Empowered by his Titan's Power, the very ice under his feet began to crack. With a surge of strength, he violently broke free of the demigod's hold and drove a fist into his chest.

But this was a man who could stop the White Bone Holy Sword with his forehead. A punch that should have shattered his heart failed to kill him. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel⸺fire.net

The demigod from the Treehouse shrieked and lunged at Jenkins again. Jenkins met his charge with another punch aimed straight for his heart.

"It's useless! That slate has granted me power beyond mortals. You're no demigod—you're not even seventh level. You can't defeat me!"

A strange black light flickered in his eyes, his murderous intent fixed. The power of disaster was surging through his transformed body.

But as the spirit within him reached his heart, it suddenly grew sluggish. He then realized it wasn't just his spirit; his entire body had become impossibly stiff. He looked down to see that his legs were frozen solid to the glacier, and a layer of white frost was spreading over his chest.

"You saw me freeze an entire ocean, yet you still dared to fight me on a glacier," Jenkins said. "I must admit, I admire your courage."

Jenkins spoke as he took a swift step back.

"Since you insist on calling this life-or-death struggle a duel, I suppose I should observe the rules. A piece of scum like you doesn't deserve the honor, but I won't use a weapon on an unarmed man."

True to his word, he did not summon his sword again.

"Your organization has committed so many atrocities in Nolan over the last six months, all for some vague, illusory goal. And you... for the sake of becoming the so-called Child of Disaster, you've sown chaos and ruin everywhere you've gone. In my eyes, even a death sentence by hanging—an execution from a bygone era—would be too good for you. But I am a merciful man..."

"They were just common people. What's wrong with them serving as stepping stones for chosen ones like us, the children of destiny?"

The Treehouse demigod still didn't understand, and Jenkins felt the profound chasm in values between them. Sometimes the difference between two people is greater than that between a man and a cat. Jenkins was certain even his own cat possessed a basic sense of compassion, but the man before him had none.

"You can't even manage to be human, yet you want to become a god?"

He asked this as he began to trace clockwise circles with his hands at his sides. The falling snow swirled and gathered, drawn to the motion. Only a fraction of the immense cold he'd channeled from the ice palace remained, and Jenkins unleashed every last bit of that borrowed power.

Snow and moisture in the air rapidly condensed and froze. Aided by his Psychography and the Creation Pencil, hundreds of icicles slowly materialized, hovering silently on either side of him.

"Does being human have anything to do with becoming a god?"

the man, now frozen to the glacier from the waist down, demanded. When Jenkins didn't reply, he turned his head and bellowed insanely at the church demigods watching them from a distance:

"This is absurd! He actually thinks being human has anything to do with godhood!"

"Silence, you lunatic! You speak blasphemy!"

Someone shouted from an angle Jenkins couldn't see. He suspected the rebuke was meant for him as well.

He shook his head, saying nothing more. He spread his arms, extending them slightly with his palms turned up as if cradling something unseen. The hundreds of sharp icicles hovered silently at his sides. This was the absolute limit of his power; if not for his position on the frozen glacier and the lingering energy he wielded, he could have managed a dozen at most.

"If you're lucky enough to meet Death, don't forget to tell him you died because you initiated a duel. The pity is... you won't be able to tell him who killed you."

With a flick of his wrists, the hundreds of icicles shot through the air. They streaked toward the frozen man like a volley of bullets.

A series of sickening thuds echoed as the icicles buried themselves in his flesh, staining the snow-capped glacier crimson.

The snow continued to fall, but the sun now peeked from behind the clouds, its light quietly illuminating the brutal scene. Jenkins waited in silence for the man to die, watching as the point of light that signified his status as an Enchanter slowly faded. A strange melancholy washed over him.

"Tell me, do you think gods are capable of an emotion like mercy?"

He suddenly turned to the clergy behind him. Now that the demigod from the Treehouse was dead, they were the only ones left for him to speak with.

"Believer of Lies, the answer you seek is beyond the grasp of mortals. Why not ask your god? I imagine he would be pleased to enlighten you."

The eldest among them spoke, a demigod from the Church of Death and End and one of the city's most ancient guardians.

"I am reluctant to seek answers from a god of lies," Jenkins replied, "because... I cannot trust the answers he would provide."

It was a genuine answer; he truly did not understand, which was why he had asked.

The others were taken aback by his reply, but after a moment's thought, they found they could not refute his logic.

"Wait a moment, Believer of Lies," another voice called out. "Is it true what that man said? Have you truly gained the mark of a Savior?"

The one who stopped Jenkins as he was about to leave was an Astrologer, a woman who seemed to be a friend of Audrey's. Jenkins, however, had already forgotten her name.