Chapter 439: Beginning to Alter Mythology
The mighty Susanoo, a principal deity, slain just like that?
It was unbelievable, feeling like a dream.
To instantly defeat such a powerful god meant the opponent possessed unimaginable, overwhelming strength?
However, the next second, the severed head and body dissipated into blue smoke and vanished, while Susanoo's figure reappeared in another location.
He clearly hadn't been decapitated—
No, on his neck, there was a red line that was healing—a wound.
This meant he had still been injured.
"That sword has the power to sever divine power, similar to the ability of the God of War Verethragna. Did you steal his ability?"
Susanoo, having touched his now-vanished wound, narrowed his eyes as he stared at the being across from him. He hadn't expected them to acquire such a troublesome ability.
Fortunately, if the opponent had known all the details of his origins, that sword might have truly severed his head.
As long as he concealed the secrets of his mythology, he could avoid a fatal blow.
Then, the being across from him only responded like this.
"Sword, Famine, Death, Beast"
A completely irrelevant response. For a moment, Susanoo felt a slight mental daze, but he immediately focused his willpower and snapped back to clarity.
This wasn't a battle between ordinary humans, where a momentary lapse dozens of meters apart could be tolerated without much worry about an instant attack.
This was a duel between gods. The slightest lapse, even for a fraction of a second, could be fatal.
So, having regained his focus in less than a fraction of a second, Susanoo saw that the opponent hadn't launched an attack.
It didn't seem like the opponent had given up because the mental attack hadn't caused any delay; rather, it appeared the opponent had no intention of launching a sudden assault in the first place.
So, what ability had they used?
There must be something strange going on. Susanoo carefully observed his surroundings but found nothing unusual.
"Susanoo is actually a god of deception"
"In truth, he is not one of the Three Noble Children. The Three Noble Children do not exist; there are only two."
"Susanoo is actually an Amanojaku, a creature that mimics others' appearances, voices, and mannerisms, or reverses people's words and actions to cause mischief."
"Susanoo is in truth a nameless god."
"Yearning for an identity, he deceived Izanagi."
"When Izanagi washed his left and right eyes, giving birth to Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi, the nameless god seized the moment of Izanagi's weakness. Using his own abilities, he tricked Izanagi, devoured the incompletely born Susanoo, and took his place, thus obtaining a true god's name."
"He was no longer an unknown, nameless deity. In one stroke, he became one of the three noble children of myth with a prominent identity."
Such voices continuously transmitted from all directions, causing Susanoo's expression to subtly change.
This shift in demeanor was noticed by the observing party, who couldn't help but cast meaningful glances, interpreting it as guilt from having been exposed.
In reality, Susanoo's sudden change in expression was due to the ongoing alteration of his mythological narrative.
His myth was being tampered with.
Therefore, after descending to the human world and choosing not to return to the immortal realm, he had been continuously interfering in human affairs, particularly in the regions where his myths were woven.
He sought to influence humanity as much as possible, ensuring that if new myths involving him were created, they would not be fabricated recklessly.
Simultaneously, through his interference, he aimed to acquire additional identities, thereby gaining extra divine attributes.
For instance, some gods possess a trinity nature, meaning they hold three distinct identities. Unless all three are identified, such a god cannot be fully defeated.
Thus, by meddling and weaving new myths, he sought to obtain new identities for himself.
It is important to note that the weaving of new myths, which genuinely affects the gods in existing mythology, requires a substantial human foundation and the passage of time to gradually bring about change. Yet, here it was being forcibly altered—an extremely abnormal occurrence.
In other words, the voices he heard from all directions were attempting to distort his identity as Susanoo.
These voices grew increasingly numerous—men and women, old and young, thousands upon thousands, and still multiplying.
So, where were these voices coming from?
Regardless, one thing had to be done first—attack the one responsible for this situation. Gripping his Totsuka-no-Tsurugi tightly, he lunged forward with lightning speed.
"Oh? Such an intense reaction, Nameless God? It seems this is indeed effective."
The mocking words of the one who blocked his thrust darkened his expression further, especially since he was directly addressed as "Nameless God."
"Yamata no Orochi is generally regarded as a powerful yōkai or calamity god, also known as the Eight-Branched Giant Serpent, for it brought chaos to the world and devoured the sisters of Kushinada-hime, ultimately slain by the hero Susanoo. But this is incorrect—a tampered myth. The truth is the opposite."
As these words were spoken in the form of kotodama, their blades had already clashed countless times.
Thus, the surroundings were littered with scars from their swordplay, with compressed air currents—or what could be called sword energy—lingering everywhere from their high-speed movements.
The residual sword energy alone was enough to effortlessly tear apart the heaviest animal on Earth—the elephant.
"After all, since ancient times, after the 'Steel' gods dethroned the Earth Mother Goddesses, to assert their superiority and justify their actions, they have always disparaged the Earth Mother Goddesses. The truth is, the Nameless God coveted Kushinada-hime—also known as Yahashira-me—and to rationalize seizing her, after defeating Yahashira-me, he tampered with her myth, demoting her from a benevolent Earth Mother Goddess who protected the land to the calamitous Yamata no Orochi ravaging the world."
As the kotodama reached this point, the Hime-Miko observing this divine battle noticed something unusual.
The blade giant that had swallowed Ena suddenly began to act strangely, as if struggling against something.
"Upon slaying Yamata no Orochi and obtaining the divine artifact—the Sword of Gathering Clouds of Heaven—from its tail, the true form was actually Kushinada-hime, that is, Yashiro."
As the words of power concluded, the blade giant suddenly melted away in an instant, revealing the figure of the swallowed girl.
But the focus wasn't on her; it was on the female figure that appeared beside her—a woman who seemed to be in great pain, gazing at Susanoo with eyes full of hatred.
This was Kushinada-hime.
The reason for her manifestation was that Renji was also performing a myth reenactment, though he hadn't exerted much power. Combined with Susanoo's own resistance, the stage couldn't fully materialize.
However, forcing Kushinada-hime to reveal her true form was enough. There was no need to expend too much power on the myth reenactment; the power would be primarily used elsewhere.
So, were these words spoken through the power of language fabricated by Renji?
Not at all; these were told to him by Athena.
Thus, the success rate of his divine myth alteration was further enhanced.
Because even those people in this country who hadn't been covered by his influence began to waver.
Why were they wavering?
Nearby, there were some locusts.
These locusts were also holding miniature cameras, broadcasting live from Nakagawa...