The divine magic of the dog burned at Keith's shield. But he could still withstand most of it thanks to his unique constitution. 

The divine dog looked stunned. Its expression made the magic surrounding Keith sharper and deadlier. The magic was observing Keith now, waiting for the opportunity to strike at him.

"You did not lose your magic? That is impossible. My mistress's curse is supposed to be eternal and binding. A punny human like you should not be able to avoid it."

The divine dog growled out in frustration. It moved forward and backward in its frustration and then looked at Keith with a vigilant eye.

Keith was not sure if the divine dog could figure out his secret or not. But the air was beginning to crush Keith's insides now.

The magic might have not affected Keith but the after-effects of magic surely did. The divine dog noticed this as soon as Keith began to have problems breathing.

It let out a loud yell before aiming at Keith with its giant paw.

Keith managed to defend himself in time but the impact still left him winded.

"No matter how good of a defense you put, in front of divine power you will have to kneel. I will show you the difference between myself and your pathetic self."

The divine dog promised before its body grew and smacked the ground. It caused the floor to get cracked and Keith was not able to keep his balance. 

He would have fallen into the crack if Lune had not acted fast and sent her doll to cushion Keith's fall.

"Hurry up and run away. The divine dog will not be able to chase after us if we reach out of the city limits. It has no authority outside of its master's domain."

Lune promised as she navigated her doll to carry Keith outside. The divine dog gave chase after them, its eyes shaded an angry red.

It tried to make it to Lune's doll that carried Keith, but Lune's other dolls combined with Nigel's magic slowed the dog down. But the chase was still a tight one and the divine dig stayed on their tail the whole time.

Finally, the end of the village was reached and they all crossed it. They were finally safe from the tyranny of that divine dog now.

Or, that was what they thought before the divine dog easily managed to dodge over the boundary of the village and stop their group from running.

"You all have run away long enough. Now it's time to face your punishment."

The divine dog growled those words out. Divine power built around its body, just ready to be unleashed anytime now.

Keith decided that he had no other choice but to use divine power as well. That was the only way he was going to live past today.

He had two artifacts that contained divine power. So, Keith opened himself up to both and sucked in as much power as he could.

As a result of this, his body felt weird and his stomach hurt. He felt bloated to the point of being over-stuffed. But Keith continued to take in more and more divine power.

Two similar powers clashed against each other. Both Keith and the divine dog were pushed back when their magic collided.

The divine dig was in shock to see Keith's usage of divine power. No normal human should have been able to use the divine power this freely. This human in front of him was not a simple one.

And yet, the divine dog could not feel anything other-worldly from this human. The awe and respect one felt when one looked at a god was missing.

"A punny human like you scared to use the sacred divine power? You are lucky that you are not dead or consumed by your desire. But you need to be put down now. Divine power is not for human usage."

The divine dog knew that it was taboo for humans to wield this divine power. Even a small dose could make someone go mad with desire.

How that man managed to contain so much divine power in his body was beyond the divine dog.

But that needed to end right here and now. This man was a danger to the heavens and his master. So, the divine dog was going to kill him.

"Oh, and if I do not stop using the divine power then what will you do? I can see through your bluff. You cannot harm me in any way."

Keith panted these words out. His words made the divine dog angry. 

"That is not the truth. I was just playing with you until now but you still had a chase to escape. But now, I will no longer give you a chance to run away. This place will become your grave."

The divine dog was agitated. It began to concentrate. But something hard and heavy rammed into his body, rendering his concentration to fall.

The dog growled at the huge doll that was trying to hold it in place.

"Lune, what are you doing? We need to run away from here."

Sara yelled as soon as she noticed her friend's reckless actions. 

And reckless action it was. The divine dog tore into the doll that was holding it down. As a result, even Lune's body sustained damage due to her connection with the doll.

But where one failed, two more would succeed. Lune continued to send her dolls to help Keith out.

"That thing would come after us once it's done with Noah. I don't think we have another choice but to fight it right here."

Lune spoke up for the first time. Her voice was tense she sounded in a lot of pain. Her powers were not enough to stop the divine dog that was attacking them.

But she still did not back down. It was her powers that were acting as a barrier between their group and the divine dog right now.

"Well, when you put it like that, then it makes sense. Man, why did breaking that curse have to be this complicated? What did we do wrong to be cursed in the first place."

Sara asked with an annoyed expression. The divine dog heard those words and it scoffed at Sara's question.

"You humans are too full of yourselves, thinking that you are above the gods. You all even forget your offering for the last harvest festival and ended up being cursed for it. In the end, it is all your fault."

The divine dog managed to yell back as it threw the dolls away from its body. The divine magic tore away at those dolls and Lune coughed our blood as a result.

She was in pain but she still refused to back down.

The divine dog was amused to see this, but that did not mean it was not getting irritated with all this.

"You humans need to learn that God's power is absolute. Now die and become a servant of my master."

The divine dog gathered its powers but the delay in its attack was all that mattered. Keith had managed to gather his power and managed to attack back as well.

His divine power was harsh when it washed over the dog. The dog looked stunned when it felt the burns of divine magic.

"Y-You feel like a human, but your magic is not human-like. How can a creature like you control such a huge amount of magic? Are you even a human?"

The divine dog asked Keith as its body was being vaporized by Keith's attack.

Keith had taken a huge risk and now his insides felt as if they were boiling. Using this much magic could have been fatal for his body, but Keith had still risked this happening.

*cough*

"Believe it or not, I am as human as they get. This is all because of my determination not to fall behind."

Keith pushed his body forward and fell to his knees. His body was hurt but it had managed to give him the outcome he had wanted here.

The divine dog looked at Keith with an expression filled with disbelief before letting out a startled laugh.

"You don't know what you are doing kid. Divine magic is a curse, and you are wielding it regularly. Sooner or later, it will consume you as well and you will lose your being."

The divine dog promised before it disappeared into a light-filled sparkle. 

They were safe once more but Keith's body shivered as soon as he recalled what he had heard the divine dog say.

He would regret using the divine power? Maybe in the future when the side effects begin to show on his psyche. But for now, Keith was alright and he had no choice but to use this cursed power.

"N-Noah you! Your hair and eyes! What the hell is wrong with them? Were they always this color? They remind me of someone."