'A God.'
The moment that absolute presence descended, everything stopped. The sky, shattering and collapsing like a broken pane of glass. The earth, horribly fractured and split. The movements of the angels, fighting fiercely upon it. The movement of all those things stopped entirely.
[My interest has waned.]
Itarim's monotone voice contained clear anger and a deep weariness with all this amusement. The god's blatant emotion pierced the souls of all created beings. And then…
[This is the end. All of you, disappear.]
Pop! Pop-pop-pop—!
'…?!'
At that moment, an unbelievable thing happened. All of humanity, who had been fighting so excitedly until now. Billions of avatars… as if by a lie, burst like fireworks on the spot. Like a finale after the entire performance has ended.
Pop-pop-pop! Pop-pop-pop-pop—!
Not even a splash of crimson blood. No resistance, no screams. This was the rank of a god. At Itarim's single word, all of humanity on Earth literally 'disappeared.' Like stage props whose original role had ended.
However, there were still beings here who 'dared' to defy that absolute command of a god. The Monarchs who harbored the Primordial Darkness. And, Beru.
[You too, die now.]
Itarim looked down upon those still remaining from an impossibly high place. The god's overwhelming presence pressed down on them.
[You dare speak of death?]
Beru, who had at some point returned to Suho's side, lifted his head and glared at Itarim with blazing white eyes.
'....'
The noisy battlefield fell silent in an instant. The vast land, now empty after billions of humans had vanished.
Surveying the desolate scenery, Kandiaru's voice penetrated Suho's mind.
[Hmm. The great god overexerted himself. A mere forced logout command. The humans' souls have safely returned to Earth. The design was quite good.]
Fortunately, the moment the players' avatars exploded, their souls were forcibly sent back to the game capsules on Earth. Because the avatars had been designed with a magical framework that firmly protected them.
[Even for a god, annihilating billions of souls at once is no easy task.]
But for some reason, for the first time, a serious sense of caution was laced in Kandiaru's voice, which had been full of amusement until now.
[…Unless a powerful new law is created.]
[You know well.]
Itarim grinned whitely. A most cruel expression. But his eyes were not smiling at all. He was a god first and foremost. An absolute being whose emotions ran on a different track from humans. Even at this moment, tears of blood were still flowing from his one eye. That wound was the one Suho had inflicted, piercing Itarim's eye when he first crossed into this world. Itarim could heal his wound anytime he wished, but he wasn't doing so. The reason was trivial. To him, who had existed since antiquity, even this pain was 'amusement.'
Kiiiiiiiiiiiiing—!
And suddenly, with a chilling roar that seemed to scrape the nerves, a new law, inspired by this 'pain,' began to be created. Watching that absurd law, Kandiaru circled Suho, clicking his tongue.
[This is where it truly begins. Once that law is complete…]
"You mean I have to end it before then."
All the Monarchs gathered around Suho who lifted his head and met the gaze of Itarim, smiling while shedding tears of blood. An overwhelming and thrilling presence, felt just by looking. But. Itarim had made a critical mistake. Thanks to him forcibly expelling all of humanity just now, the 'Stage of the Lonely God' had completely shattered. Which meant…
"…My shadow has returned."
Shwaaaaaaak—
The shadow that had been taken away returned. From beneath Suho's feet, a black shadow shimmered and boiled like lava.
"Arise."
At Suho's command, all the soldiers who had been waiting for this very moment began to rise.
Kraaaaaaaaaaaaaa—
Their roar was of a completely different quality than the cheers of the humans who had fought fiercely on this land until now. A cruel requiem of the battlefield. A funeral dirge sung by dead souls. Thus, all of Suho's soldiers began to fill this world. Among them were creatures who were originally from this dimension, creations of Itarim, now shimmering with black steam, having become part of Suho's legion. At that sight, Itarim frowned.
[…The Itarim who created you deserved to die.]
A blatant displeasure was woven into that voice.
[To bestow upon a mere creature an authority beyond its station.]
Following his will, the gray angels serving Itarim swarmed, once again filling the sky like storm clouds. New apostles, incomparably more powerful and heinous than before, blocked the path of Suho's Shadow Legion. But unfortunately, they were not for combat.
Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing—!
'…?!'
Itarim ground up the numerous gray angels he himself had created as material for the new law.
Kyaaaaaaak—!
Kuaaaaaaaak…!
Thus, with screams and shrieks, the gray angels were ground apart. Becoming ingredients for the new law.
[…Truly a mad god.]
Thomas Andre muttered, disgusted by the horrific sight. Replying to his words, Kandiaru gritted his teeth softly.
[More than that, we're in trouble. The materials are so numerous that the law is already complete.]
That was clearly the law of annihilation. The most certain destruction enacted by a god of creation. An absolute death that could neither be avoided nor blocked was now upon them.
Kyaaaaaaak—!
Finally, an all-out war! The gray angels filling the sky charged towards Suho's legion like demons. If they remained behind, they would only become material for the new law! To survive their own god, they had to kill the enemies and have their existence acknowledged! But…
[Disappear. From my world.]
Crack!
Behind the angels, an invisible jaw bit into the empty air. Beyond the torn space, another universe was visible. The angels who had been in that spot were gone without a trace.
Crack! Crunch! Crack!
The invisible jaw began to bite and tear the entire world indiscriminately. There was no rule or pattern. If caught in it, even the gray angels were not safe. In fact, their deaths only strengthened and accelerated those jaws.
[Everyone, scatter!]
[Disperse and aim for Itarim's main body!]
All the Monarchs gathered around Suho desperately began to unleash their respective authorities. But they instinctively understood the nature of those jaws.
[If you're bitten by those jaws, you return to 'nothingness'.]
Just then, Kandiaru identified the name of that law of Itarim.
Ting!
[Itarim uses God's Authority: 'World Predation'.]
Crunch! Crack! Crunch! Crunch!
That's right. There was nowhere to run. The 'Jaws of Nothingness' created by Itarim were devouring this entire world. A forced reset, so to speak. Itarim had finally decided to burn down the entire house, rather than dealing with the insects that had entered it one by one.
[Lord Suho! Let's return to our dimension for now! My Void Insects are clearing a path now!]
Arsha, the weakest in combat power among the Monarchs, urgently shouted at Suho. She desperately began to command all her Void Insects to pierce a path back to Earth. But it was all useless anyway. Eventually, after those jaws had devoured this entire world, they would cross over to Earth.
[Young Master! This humble servant shall block it as much as possible! In that gap, even if it's just the Young Master, please escape…!]
Beru also shouted urgently at Suho. He grabbed a gray angel and threw it towards the approaching Jaws of Nothingness, World Predation, to draw its attention. But it was all useless. World Predation had no eyes. No intelligence. No instinct. There were only teeth, for chewing up everything. There was no other way to deal with these jaws but to run unconditionally.
Kyaaaaaaaak—!
The screams of gray angels echoed from all directions. Those close to Itarim had no time to even avoid those jaws. And knowing that it was the will of the god they served, they had no will or intelligence to actively resist. They were simply devoured, feeling the pain. Ground up as material for that powerful law.
[Young Master!]
Beru shouted at Suho again with an urgent tone.
But Suho… even in this desperate situation, remained silent.
"…"
Silently standing in his original spot. Gritting his teeth, he was drawing up all the power in his body.
Crunch! Crack! Crunch!
'Think!'
And to find a way to break through this situation.
'Find what I can do!'
He was desperately racking his brain. Thanks to that damned Outer God, he had briefly become a non-Awakened and returned, so his mind felt unusually clear.
'I've blamed the situation for my helplessness countless times…!'
So he knew now. He knew it to his very bones!
'If I do nothing, nothing will change!'
Crunch! Crack! Crunch!
'What can I do here?'
Hadn't he prepared for this anyway? From the time he was level 1, it was already decided that he would fight a god. He knew it from the start. So Suho had been fighting for this very moment from the beginning. Considering the countless possibilities of fighting a being called a god. He had grown, one step at a time. Believing without a doubt that every step was a way to approach his father, who was fighting alone in the distant outer universe.
'If it were Dad, in a time like this, what would he…!'
At that moment…
'…!'
He saw it! His father's back!
Crunch! Crunch! Crack!
No, was it a delusion? The void left behind after the Jaws of Nothingness, World Predation, had devoured everything showed the image of the distant universe. It showed the back of his father, fighting alone against those powerful Itarim. And then. His father's head turned slightly, and his gaze and Suho's crossed.
"…Found it."
At that moment, a curve formed on Suho's lips. A faint, yet confident smile. The numerous possibilities he had considered to approach his father's level, conceived to face a god. He retracted all of them, he finally thought of the one and only way to kill Itarim.
Crunch!
Suho kicked off the ground, dodging the approaching Jaws of Nothingness. Simultaneously, he sent his will towards the small being slumbering within his shadow.
"Ragnar!"
Shwaaak—
At his cry, the small dragon who had been merely watching this entire situation from Suho's shadow opened its eyes.
[Dragon King Antares]
Antares, once the King of Dragons and the Monarch of Destruction, had awakened within Ragnar. And then…
"Kandiaru! Transfer all the experience points I've gathered here to Ragnar!"
Suho currently had two status windows. One was the stats he earned on Earth until now. The other was the product of a massive leveling spree, raising again from level 1 right here in Itarim's dimension.
[…I know not what you intend to do… but understood!]
Kandiaru immediately complied.
Ting!
[Experience Share System is applied to Pet: 'Ragnar'.]
[Pet: 'Ragnar' grows explosively!]
At that moment, Ragnar's form, emerging from Suho's shadow, was no longer that of a small, fragile whelp dragon.
Gooooooooooooo—!
[…Hah. Now I can finally breathe.]
Chwaaaaak—
Thus, Antares, having undergone tremendous growth, spread his giant wings. It was the resurrection of the Dragon King, blazing with the flames of destruction. He was once… The King of Dragons. The Monarch of Destruction. And at the same time, the strongest Monarch who had fought at the very forefront against the army of god.
Hoooooo—
That Dragon King took a deep breath, full of mana. At this moment of ultimate destruction.