The Sonar River, which curved halfway around the city before cutting through it, was far more ferocious during the rainy season—waves rolled and crashed, roaring without cease.
On a high bank overlooking the river, in front of a temple, Nobu stood holding an exquisitely crafted scepter made of laurel wood, his face ashen as he awaited Francis. He had never imagined that the priest of the "God of Resurrection, Abundance, and Redemption" would suddenly demand a duel with him. Why couldn't the man have waited just one more day? Once tonight had passed, he wouldn't need to risk fighting an unknown opponent at such grave danger—because the dead couldn't issue challenge invitations.
Not long after the morning theological conference had ended, Nobu had received the oracle of the Lord of War, delivered through Nenna, commanding the Moon God and the Lord of the Underworld to kill Leviathan and Francis together tonight, in order to draw out that El, who made even gods uneasy. He had immediately used the agreed-upon secret method to contact the Moon God, who was hiding in the nearby mountain forests, and by noon they had met in the temple to discuss the evening's plan—how to launch a surprise attack, how the priests should coordinate, how to guard against betrayal by other sects, how to use the Lord of War's support to win over some factions and crush others, and how to torture and kill Leviathan and his companion so as to enrage the "God of Resurrection, Abundance, and Redemption" to the point where He could no longer hold Himself back from acting.
But just as Nobu and the Moon God Axin were discussing their plans with great excitement, believing victory was within reach and their loathsome opponents were on the verge of ruin, the formal "invitation" to duel arrived before him, leaving him stunned and on guard.
What terrified him even more was that he saw the great Moon God display a flicker of fear—fear of the brazen, unbridled audacity of El's priest, and fear of whoever stood behind them. This in turn filled Nobu with intense unease. No one had ever heard of the "God of Resurrection, Abundance, and Redemption" before. No one knew to what level He had attained. All they could do was speculate based on those imagination-surpassing descriptions from the "theological debates." So how powerful would His high priest be?
Nobu had wanted to postpone the duel until the next day, but Francis refused to yield in the slightest. And in a theocratic society, a duel launched in the name of defending divine honor was one of those things that simply could not be refused. If anyone tried to evade or back down, both he and the god he represented would be thoroughly disgraced, abandoned by their followers, and the challenger would gain the right to strike at any time, in any place. So Nobu had no choice but to grit his teeth and accept.
"It'll be fine. There's a very good chance he's a false god, a charlatan," Nobu murmured to himself, watching the gathering crowd.
The Sonar River Valley was rich and prosperous. Before the Lord of War had seized control with an iron fist, the various sects had frequently engaged in open conflict, and duels between priests were commonplace. The people of Husum City were well experienced in such affairs and understood that even if they wanted to watch the excitement, they needed to keep their distance—for instance, on the opposite side of the Sonar River. After all, the battles between those blessed by the gods were nothing like ordinary brawls; the sound and light could carry over vast distances.
"The God of Resurrection, Abundance, and Redemption must be incredibly powerful—His priest surely won't be weak either. I think the Moon God's high priest is about to return to the embrace of moonlight," a young man exclaimed excitedly on the noisy riverbank. He had previously been a casual believer of the Lord of the Underworld, but now he was leaning toward conversion.
"That's not necessarily true. Before, it was only a theological debate. Whether or not they're truly powerful won't be known until the real fight begins," a devout follower of the Moon God countered.
Behind them, Ramiro stood with his arms folded, quietly listening to the surrounding discussion, thinking to himself in puzzlement: "Before I set foot on the Erdo Peninsula, I gathered detailed information about this place—how is it that there's absolutely nothing about the 'God of Resurrection, Abundance, and Redemption'? The target points to the Moon God Axin—could this be Silver Moon Eitna in disguise? Has Her rank fallen that far? Or is someone from another power impersonating a god?"
His face had already been transformed into the standard Balirian profile, and standing among the crowd he was like a drop of water falling into the sea—invisible and indistinguishable.
At that moment, two young men clad in simple, unadorned white robes ascended the steps before the Moon God's temple, and the clamor from the riverside fell silent at once.
Lucian, who was also carrying a greatsword on his back, stopped more than ten meters in front of Nobu, closer to the Sonar River flowing below, and spoke solemnly: "Today, we fight for the glory of our Lord. We will not retreat until death. Priest Nobu, are you ready?"
*Not retreat until death? These two are far too confident.* Hearing these words, a fierce surge of anger rose up within Nobu's worry and dread. "Leviathan—is it you, or Francis?"
"As a blessed one of the great God of Resurrection, Abundance, and Redemption, as His covenant-bearer and spokesman in the Sonar River Valley, a false-god priest like you is not worthy of dueling me. Francis, send him to the Underworld to repent and face my Lord's just judgment." Lucian said whatever would provoke Nobu the most.
"False-god priest—fine, fine! I'll make it clear to everyone who the real false god is!" Nobu was furious beyond measure at "Leviathan's" arrogance, and in his haze he could almost hear the great Moon God roaring from within the temple behind him. "Once I've killed Francis, I will challenge you—and you will not be allowed to refuse this duel!"
Lucian smiled faintly. "Priest Nobu, remember one thing—dead men cannot issue challenges."
"Very well! Just wait!" Nobu took a deep breath and forced down his anger. The most important thing right now was to face Francis. He couldn't let that demon Leviathan provoke him into losing his senses.
Francis had not uttered a word until now. He slowly drew the great two-handed sword from his back, then walked forward with measured steps, his eyes fixed on Nobu: "I judge you on behalf of my Lord!"
"And I, on behalf of the great Moon God, will deliver your punishment." Nobu's duel declaration made Lucian's eyelid twitch—he nearly laughed aloud.
The priest of the War Temple beside them announced in a deep voice: "The duel begins!"
Francis gripped his sword with both hands, drove his right foot hard against the ground, and burst forward in a gale-like rush toward Nobu. The greatsword swept horizontally through the air with such force that the wind cut to silence.
The silver-white moon in Nobu's eyes "ignited," and layer upon layer of alternating light-and-dark phantasmagoria materialized before him, like the dark shadows cast by moonlight at night.
The greatsword struck into the phantoms and seemed to lose itself in a mist, its silhouette vanishing for a brief moment.
Seizing the opportunity, Nobu thrust his laurel scepter forward. The temperature around them plummeted instantly as tier upon tier of razor-sharp ice shards condensed into existence, packed densely together like a sphere, and wrapped themselves around Francis.