Fate, who had grown—no, evolved—turned her golden-patterned purple eyes toward the Gods and gave a casual wave of her hand.
In that instant, the members of the Human-Demon Allied Forces, who should have been bound by the judgment Chronoah had unleashed, suddenly found their bodies free once more.
"Impossible... Did you just nullify Shallow Vernal-sama’s Authority?"
"I didn't nullify anything. I simply decided that, from the very beginning, it never hit."
"From the beginning? Surely you don't mean... God of Fate, have you altered the past?"
"I told you, didn't I? The current me has transcended both space-time and life. I can even rewrite past fate."
"What!?"
As a Goddess who had stepped into a realm bordering on omnipotence—the realm of a Creator God—Fate had altered the past with staggering ease.
In truth, because she was still far from the level of existences like Shallow Vernal, Kuromueina, or Eden, she had chosen to rewrite the event so that the attack "hadn't hit from the start" rather than attempting to directly dismantle it.
However, the Gods had no way of knowing that. In their eyes, it appeared as though Fate had obtained power rivaling Shallow Vernal herself.
The revelation sent a wave of agitation through their ranks, creating a momentary opening in their composure. Seizing that mental gap, Fate raised her voice toward the Allied Forces standing behind her.
"All of you, the useless hindrances! Is it frustrating? It must be. You came here with your own resolve, wanting to save Kai-chan, yet instead of keeping up with the battle, you find yourselves to be nothing but a burden because of your weakness. You must hate it, don't you?"
Her words pierced the hearts of those who had been unable to join the fray. Sieglinde, Kaito's lover, clenched her fists so tightly that blood began to trickle from her palms.
Lilia could still manage to fight against Low-ranking Gods, but Sieglinde lacked the strength to even participate. In fact, it was because she understood that she would only end up dragging down her best friend, Lilia, that she had remained within the barrier, lamenting her own powerlessness.
She was not alone in those feelings. Even Lilia, who was actually fighting, felt the sting of regret, knowing that holding her own against Low-ranking Gods was the absolute limit of her strength.
Fate looked upon them with a faint smile and made her declaration.
"I feel the same way about wanting to help Kai-chan. So, I’ll take you there! For just a little while, you will transcend the limits of your species and the years required for training. I will bring you to the zenith that your innate talent can reach! To the Critical Point of Fate!"
In that moment, Magic Power capable of shaking the very foundation of space erupted from Fate's body, raining down upon every member of the Human-Demon Allied Forces.
The Gods immediately recognized this as a dire omen. The high-ranking deities sprang into action without delay.
The God of Flash, who possessed overwhelming speed second only to Chronoah, lunged toward Fate. At the same time, a single shadow darted out from the Allied Forces to intercept.
Driven by an initial speed born from the depths of her self-loathing, the one who leaped out was Sieglinde.
Normally, despite being an elite among humankind, Sieglinde would not have stood a chance against an empowered High-ranking God. Her life should have been extinguished in a single exchange.
But that was not what happened. Sieglinde easily shattered the God of Flash’s spear with her dual swords, which were now infused with a massive amount of Enchantment Magic. Not stopping there, she followed through with a strike that deeply slashed the God of Flash across the chest.
"I-Impossible..."
The words escaped Chronoah's lips instinctively. It was only natural; Sieglinde, who had been completely discounted as a combatant just moments ago, was now wreathed in Magic Power that somehow surpassed even that of a High-ranking God.
Furthermore, it wasn't a simple raw increase in power. The refined, crystal-clear magic flowing through her was proof that Sieglinde was in total mastery of her new strength.
Chronoah stared with wide eyes at the unbelievable sight, but sensing a shift in the flow of time, she braced herself to intercept Ein.
Within the frozen seconds, just as they had at the start of the battle, fist collided with fist—and one of Chronoah's arms was blown away.
"Gughhh!?"
"God of Space-Time!?"
Chronoah had been completely overpowered. It was an absolute defeat, so overwhelming that her arm had been pulverized by the impact. Though stunned, Life immediately provided treatment, restoring the limb, while Chronoah stared at Ein with a look of pure shock.
Under that gaze, Ein lightly pinched the skirt of her maid uniform and gave a respectful bow.
"I must be grateful to Fate-san. As a maid, I believed I had trained myself to my absolute limits... but it seems there was still a 'beyond' for me to reach."
"What is happening? This power... just what is it?"
"Tch, you—eh?"
Life still couldn't grasp the situation, but she understood that Ein had completely surpassed Chronoah. She moved to provide immediate support, attempting to use her Authority to manifest an infinite military force. She tried to summon over a hundred million cavalry, only to stand in a daze as the ability failed to activate.
"Why... Why will it not trigger?"
"I... 'killed'... the activation of your ability."
Isis appeared before Life with a peaceful expression. The moment she saw her, Life was shaken to her core.
(I don't feel any intimidation? That’s impossible. Which means...)
She couldn't feel even a trace of the aura usually emitted by the Magic Power of Death. Just as Life realized what that implied, Isis spoke quietly.
"I’ve always... dreamed of this. Perfectly controlling my Magic Power of Death. The current me... can even kill things that don't have life."
"Surely you don't mean... What the God of Fate did was..."
Looking at Isis, Life finally understood the true nature of the "Critical Point of Fate," and she trembled with terror. Chronoah, reaching the same conclusion, turned pale.
"The Zenith of Talent... the Critical Point!? Dammit! Never mind us, focus on the others!"
If Fate had granted them growth to the absolute limit of their innate talent—disregarding the physical constraints of their race and the centuries of training usually required—then a specific individual leaped to the forefront of Chronoah's mind.
"Someone! Anyone! Stop Lilia!"
A split second later, multiple trails of light appeared in the sky. They weren't trails showing where she was; they were the aftermath of where she had already passed.
The glowing paths were etched across the battlefield again and again, and with every pass, the Gods were cleaved in two at a speed that Life’s resurrection could not possibly match.
In this world, there was a common understanding that humankind—and the human race in particular—was inferior to other species in individual Combat Power. It was a fact that only a handful of humans in history were ever strong enough to face a Peerage-class High-ranking Demon.
But were humans truly inferior? No. Their characteristics were simply different.
Humans had short lifespans and lacked the physical hardiness of other races. However, if a human and a Demon with identical talent were raised in the exact same environment with the exact same training, the human would always become stronger first.
They would grow at a rate that left the Demon child in the dust, and they would likely dominate in a fight until the human reached old age and their physical abilities began to decline.
The human race surpassed all other Long-lived Species in growth rate. Humans were incredibly precocious and short-lived. They possessed overwhelming growth potential, but their potential was always cut short by time.
But what if a human was released from the decay of aging and the physical limits of their race? What if a genius born with unparalleled talent—someone who had reached the Peerage-class realm in less than twenty years, a feat that usually took Demons centuries or millennia—was released from every shackle?
Chronoah had personally instructed Lilia in Time Magic after performing her True Blessing. She knew better than anyone that Lilia was an absolute monster.
Lilia Albert had mastered Time Magic, which Chronoah estimated would take decades, in a mere month. That bottomless talent was now unleashed.
Magic Power surged like lightning as Lilia Albert mowed down the Gods with talent that none could hope to follow. A single swing of her sword cleaved through several High-ranking Gods, and the very space shook with every step she took.
Just how many existences in this world could hope to stop her now? With such overwhelming power, the rare genius trampled the Gods into the dust.
"Wow, what a spectacle. Everyone got a super power-up. The power balance has completely gone out the window, hasn't it?"
"Hey, Shaltan? Why are you drinking tea and relaxing? I’m working my heart out here..."
"I can see that. You probably shouldn't push yourself too hard. That state won't last long, will it?"
"Well... it is a bit exhausting."
Alice was casually sipping tea she had pulled from thin air while watching the violent struggle, whereas Fate was staring at the battlefield with heavy beads of sweat on her brow. The two were a study in contrasts.
Fate had indeed risen to a higher stage as a Goddess. However, for the newly evolved her, exercising such gargantuan power was a heavy burden, and the Critical Point of Fate would not last long.
Furthermore, she was still inexperienced and hadn't yet learned how to handle her new strength with finesse.
Because of that, Fate was desperately forcing her body to stay upright as she prayed for the battle to end quickly.
"By the way, Shaltan, does my power not work on you? You haven't changed at all."
"Ah, well, that's a simple story. To put it bluntly, I’ve already hit the level cap and finished min-maxing my stats, so there's no room left for growth. That’s been the case since before I even came to this world."
"What? But compared to twenty thousand years ago..."
"That’s because of my specific traits. I’m a bit unusual; I only grow under very specific conditions. Minor techniques are one thing, but my physical stats and Magic Power won't budge unless those conditions are met."
"Does that mean you fulfilled those conditions between our last fight and now?"
"Yeah, just a little while before your passionate punch. Well, she’s a total pain in the neck, but as far as this situation is concerned, the growth I gained back then is proving to be incredibly useful. I suppose I should be grateful."
"Hmm?"
After that cryptic comment, Alice said nothing more and returned to watching the battlefield in silence.
(Now then, thanks to Fate-san's hard work, this is turning out to be one of the best-case scenarios I envisioned. But hmmm... a conclusion won't be reached before Fate-san hits her limit. The Gods still have one trump card left, after all. Besides, even if we defeat the Gods here, we’ll probably still lose anyway.)
With that thought, a small smile played on Alice’s lips as she took another sip of her tea.
(Well, it looks like I’ll have to move in a little while. I might as well enjoy my tea time while I can.)
New Authority Used by Fate
Critical Point of Fate Range: Everyone Fate recognizes as an ally. Duration: Until Fate’s Magic Power is depleted. Effect: Temporarily breaks the Level Cap and pushes levels to the maximum; stats rise to their respective peaks; all skills that could potentially be learned in the future are temporarily made available; once the effect wears off, the user becomes incapacitated for a period of time.