Panic has spread all over the world as one by one, people collapsed on the streets, in their homes, and everywhere around the world. It was a very big incident as the cults that were previously praised and are currently on the rise have suddenly plummeted as all members who joined are now dropping for unknown reasons.

Doctors who examined them declared them dead but for some reason, their bodies still functioned but their consciousness has died. In doctor’s terms, they are technically dead but due to their bodies still functioning, they must be brain-dead right now. Some people even guessed that they might have their souls sucked out of them which caused them to die. Right now, all that was left there are their empty husks. This event will be remembered by all people who have remained as the world falls under destruction.

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I am not sure what to do right now as the Goddess of Life sucked a lot of the souls of people all over the world, including the Earth. Judging from the swirling power above the Goddess of Life’s palm, it seems she has taken a lot of lives and is now under her control. It was like she harvested all souls that believed in her and used them to control and use the souls she harvested.

"This is bad, wielder. I don’t know what the goddess is doing but one thing I know is that she is making things not good. Be careful, she might utilize the souls of her believers and use them as expandable resources and she might use them as something she will use for powerups later on. We should defeat her immediately and maybe use the Rhongomyniad to destroy her immediately."

"That doesn’t sound like a good idea. We have to deal with her and let her spread those souls back to their bodies. We can’t just keep her like this. And besides, if we use the Rhongomyniad right now, isn’t that also going to destroy all the other souls she was wielding? Those souls will die!"

"Think rationally, wielder. You finish the Goddess of Life immediately with the Rhongomyniad. You won’t have any problems next. I know you want to save everybody but you can’t save everyone by yourself. If you want to save the majority of people, you need to choose what makes this war much easier, and not harder."

I struggled if I should do that or not. Because he has a point. It doesn’t matter if I make a sacrifice by using the Rhongomyniad and deal with the Goddess of Life immediately but in turn, also obliterate the souls in the process. Is it the best option? It might sound like an evil approach but there is no right or wrong in reality, it’s just a moral compass that people use to measure what people could say moral and immoral.

I wanted to not do it, but is it really for the best? Perhaps. However, I don’t want to just end it immediately for a shallow win with so many deaths as a result. I might be capable of killing people but that doesn’t mean I am capable of murdering everyone without remorse. I still know how it feels and I don’t want that to happen.

Instead of following the suggestion of the Shadow Dragon, I changed my weapon again to the Excalibur form.

"What are you doing now, wielder?!" the shadow dragon seems confused about my actions.

"I may not be a hero but I am not just fighting for myself here. Even if those souls are not supposed to live, I am not going to just leave them be and kill them along with the goddess. I know some will die, but I am not going to abandon them. I might not be able to save them all, but I will try my best to save as many as I can."

And with that, I once again rush ahead to the Goddess of Life. Our brief conversation might seem a bit long, but it only lasted a few seconds as the Goddess of Life prepared the souls she hauled all over and carried them like she was going to use them.

"My dear believers, it’s time for you to offer your lives and help me win this battle. You will not regret offering your life for the greatness of the world. Once I win, everyone who is sacrificed will receive the life that they have been wishing for."

She then started to float into the sky and the souls gathered around her, swimming like they are fishes. It’s kind of creepy as they are moaning like they are in pain as they revolve around her.

"You sick bastard," I aimed the Pain Delivery and fired a few bullets at the Goddess of Life.

"I don’t really mind whatever you are calling me, human. However, just because you are trying to fight me doesn’t mean I will make it easy for you to win. My followers, protect me from his attacks!"

As soon as she said the command, the souls immediately formed around her and made a protective barrier using themselves as the barrier. As soon as the bullets pass through the souls, the unfortunate ones who blocked the bullets disappear and disperse like smoke as their screams fade into silence. I don’t know what happened but perhaps I killed those souls in the process.

Realizing this, I stopped firing the Pain Delivery. I know she plans on using those souls to the battle but not for defensive purposes like this. I change the form of the Devourer and make it turn into hook and chain. Without thinking too much, I throw the hook straight at her. The Goddess tried the blockage of the souls again but the hook ignored all of the souls and went straight to the main body and quickly clung to her.

As soon as I got a good grip on her body, I didn’t hesitate and pulled her hard.

"URGH!"

The Goddess of Life was not expecting it and before she realized what happened, she was pulled from the sky and was sent crashing to the ground.

"I don’t care what is happening now but don’t you dare mess with the lives of everyone," changing the Devourer once more into the Excalibur, I approach her who is still lying on the ground, face down and put one of my foot down, pressing it hard for her to prevent her from standing."

"Heh, and you think your puny weapon will kill me in the process? Think again, a human killing a god is impossi-GAAAHHH!" she didn’t get to say things properly as I strike down her back using the Excalibur as hard as I can and made sure that the weapon will not just impale her but wound her as well.

"Increase the intensity of the blade, make her suffer the pain of all the lives she toyed!"

The Shadow Dragon didn’t hesitate and increased the power of the Excalibur as it started to burn through her flesh. The goddess of life is now screaming as pain tries to overwhelm me and topple me away from her back. The souls on the other hand are trying to rip me away from her body but at this point, I anchored myself to her body which is to ensure that she will not be standing up anytime now. She will remain on the ground until she will perish. Right now, it seems we are finally reaching the final stretch and is ready to finish her off.

"I see...so I am finally gonna die? Then perhaps it is time to also finish the final preparation in case things got here. And here I thought this would be useless."

She started shining and her body turned into light. She didn’t leave her post but her body seems to be fading and is being absorbed somewhere else. I don’t know what is happening but before I can react, the altar that I was protecting suddenly caused a large branch sprout out before creating a very large pathway that seems to lead upwards.

"Finally...the time has finally...come."

And before I can react, it seems the Goddess of Life has perished.

"Huh? She died?"

"Be careful wielder, she didn’t fully die. It seems she used her soul as a payment to awaken something dreadful. I felt it earlier when I am still impaled on her body, she used her soul technique and let it be released and go straight to somewhere else."

"Then..."

"Yes, we are still not done. If my assumption is correct, we will have to ascend this new path and get to the area and deal with whatever she awakened there."

I groaned in frustration as I looked at the lifeless body of the Goddess of Life and to the new pathway that appeared out of thin air.

"I don’t know what she was trying to do now that she died but whatever it is, I will deal with it."

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At the end of the new pathway, the sleeping beast that has been sleeping for over a million years, has been disturbed from its eternal slumber. It is time for the final boss.