Chapter 338

Chapter 338
It was a quality destined to vanish the moment another metamorphosis took place.

“Druid of the Golden Rule, to find you once more in this place!”

Standing upon the stage of the colosseum.

Before my eyes stood a crimson ursine and a reptile radiating intense heat from every scale.

Grizzly and the Salamander of Madness!

The shimmering intensity in their gaze, as if fueled by pure adrenaline, was quite a sight to behold.

“You are the sovereign of Yanti Mountain.”

Upon hearing this, Grizzly paused, his eyes widening.

“…You are familiar with me?”

“How could I be ignorant of the lord who rules the magnificent Yanti Mountain at the continent’s western edge?”

“…!”

In an instant, the frantic, wild light in his eyes settled into a calm steady glow.

Grizzly, the Tyrant of Yanti Mountain, was a figure of great renown among the players.

Known primarily for ‘shredding everything to pieces’.

He had earned the moniker ‘the Tearing Bear’ because he would literally rip apart any opponent he could grasp.

To date, over a hundred players had met their end being dismantled by Tyrant Grizzly.

‘He is a key figure in one of the seven major hidden objectives.’

There was no benefit in being purely antagonistic.

Our paths might cross again under different circumstances.

“…I did not expect the deity of the Druids to be aware of a peak located so far to the west.”

Tyrant Grizzly pressed his paws together in a gesture of respect.

“Pay me a visit in the future. I shall ensure you receive a most grand reception.”

A reception where he tries to shred me as well?

I held back the sarcastic retort that nearly escaped my lips.

“I shall do that.”

“It is a privilege to face you in combat.”

“The honor is mine, to duel the master of Yanti Mountain. Let us have a fight defined by integrity.”

“Rest assured. I have no desire to show any leniency.”

A small laugh escaped me.

The aggressive nature of the ‘Tearing Bear’ remained perfectly intact.

‘Quite intriguing.’

He was a fascinating individual.

Naturally, that didn’t mean I intended to hold back either.

I possessed a competitive streak that matched his own.

Tyrant Grizzly was certain of his triumph.

His opponent was, at its core, a mere mineral centipede.

Furthermore, the elemental properties of the match were heavily in his favor.

The possibility of defeat didn’t even cross his mind.

“…”

However, as the combat unfolded, Tyrant Grizzly fell into a stunned silence.

The incinerating heat unleashed by the Salamander of Madness was capable of liquifying almost anything, yet…

The Dianax didn’t show even a hint of distress.

‘Surely minerals should be vulnerable to extreme heat?’

On paper, the Salamander held the elemental advantage.

Yet, the creature’s inferno proved completely ineffective.

He was at a total loss.

Even if the Dianax utilized the legendary metal Orichalcum, it served only as external plating.

It protected specific zones, not the entire organism.

There should have been enough exposed points for the fire to penetrate the Dianax’s internal vitals and burn it from within.

Nevertheless.

‘This is no common Dianax…!’

Tyrant Grizzly only grasped the reality when he witnessed the Dianax coiling its body around the Salamander, constricting it.

It bore the shell of a Dianax, but its true nature was something else entirely.

《Through the power of the Primordial Attribute, damage from the ‘Salamander’s’ inferno is cut by 50%.》

《Due to the structural shift of the ‘Dianax’, its Health Points are locked at ‘150’.》

《Physical resistance has been vastly enhanced.》

《Under the influence of ‘Strong Holiness’, all strikes from the ‘Dianax’ are categorized as ‘holy’.》

By the time he understood the situation, the window of opportunity had slammed shut.

Kieeeeeeeek!

The Salamander, trapped in a crushing embrace, let out a piercing wail.

《The ‘Dianax’ emerges victorious!》

“This makes no sense…!”

《‘Tyrant Grizzly’ has suffered a defeat.》

He had been convinced of his success.

Yet, in a heartbeat, he had been utterly bested.

As the round of 40 concluded, twenty contenders were sent home.

A significant number of those belonged to the Knight Order of the Golden Rule.

“…Please forgive me.”

Serengeti lowered her head in a deep bow.

Her loss had been devastatingly one-sided.

To say she was ‘obliterated’ would be an understatement.

Her match against Mok, the King of Ruin, ended almost as soon as the signal was given.

Consequently, she stood there, consumed by a sense of failure.

But she wasn’t the only one who had fallen.

“Only five of us remain…”

“…The competition is fiercer than anticipated.”

Out of thirteen, only five had survived.

It meant our ranks had been cut by more than half.

The only members moving into the round of 20 were myself, Hudson, Albino, Valter, and Priest Andrew.

“It does not matter. Success belongs to the one who stands last. Place your faith in me, O Druid of the Golden Rule.”

Albino spoke up.

However, his words didn’t offer much solace.

The gap in raw power was far too apparent to ignore.

‘This will be difficult in a war of attrition.’

It seemed unlikely that we would face a fellow member in the brackets to allow for a strategic rest.

But, as Albino suggested, the headcount was secondary.

The only thing that mattered was being the final one standing in the circle.

The real issue was…

《The round of 20 is about to commence.》

《Druid of the Golden Rule (Dianax) VS Forgotten God (Primeval Dragon)》

The genuine threat was the ‘Forgotten God’.

The Primeval Dragon hadn’t started in that state.

But when it encountered a teammate in the tournament ladder, the two had suddenly merged into one.

‘If it meets an ally, it combines; if it is beaten by a different order, the essence transfers and it levels up.’

Even in failure, it grew stronger.

The ‘Monster Soul’ of a fallen Forgotten God would migrate into the ‘Monster Soul’ of the victor, triggering an evolution.

Essentially.

‘It implies that by the finale, all thirteen could become a single entity.’

…It wasn’t technically breaking the rules, but it felt like a blatant exploit.

The Forgotten God was definitely pushing the boundaries of what I expected.

‘It’s a contest of who holds the more powerful hidden cards.’

I was in the same boat, though.

Just as the Forgotten God was a mystery to me, it had no idea what I was holding in reserve.

Specifically, it couldn’t possibly anticipate the shapeshifting capabilities of the Nameless Eagle.

The Dianax was merely the opening act.

This was a chess match where we revealed our pieces one by one, planning and reacting.

The advantage clearly lay with the person who had more depth and could wait longer to show their hand.

‘I’ve struck gold.’

In that regard, this pairing was perfect.

It was a premier chance to gauge the true strength of the Forgotten God’s arsenal!

With the bracket finalized, I stepped onto the field.

I fixed my gaze on the ‘Forgotten God’.

In that moment.

-You shall never triumph over me, offspring favored by those two repulsive goddesses.

…The ‘Forgotten God’ communicated with me.

The Supreme Soul.

The tone was far from cordial.

In fact, it was dripping with animosity.

It was a voice vibrating with deep-seated rage.

The ‘Forgotten God’ was declaring my certain defeat.

Furthermore, it had referred to the two goddesses as ‘repulsive’.

It clearly knew who they were and held them in utter disdain.

It also proved that it could see the divine favors I carried.

This meant it was going to do everything in its power to stop me.

I simply gave a casual shrug.

“Oh, so you’re acquainted with Lea and Pina?”

Normally, using the goddesses’ names so casually would be seen as a grave sin.

A member of the Goddess Church would likely have a heart attack hearing it.

But calling them by name signaled a level of ‘closeness’.

A relationship of equals rather than one of worship.

Like a companion, a partner, or a neighbor.

A presence that was comfortable and free of formal weight.

That was my dynamic with the two goddesses.

While Wilhelm had served and revered them, I wasn’t a native of Pangenian, allowing me to view them with familiarity.

-…Do not utter those disgusting names in my presence, child.

As I suspected.

The ‘Forgotten God’ reacted with extreme hostility.

The response was incredibly sharp.

It was a level of emotional instability that seemed beneath the dignity of a divine being.

‘It appears these forgotten deities have trouble keeping their temper.’

Thinking back, the first ‘Forgotten God’ I encountered also seemed prone to outbursts.

Didn’t it fly into a rage when I bypassed its puzzle by smashing through the door instead of following the rules?

“Why? Did Lea and Pina pull some kind of fast one on you?”

-Very well, I see that logic is wasted on you.

Fair enough.

Even I admit I tend to play by my own rules.

But my curiosity was genuinely piqued.

I had rarely met anyone who truly hated the two goddesses.

Especially not another ‘god’.

The use of the word ‘repulsive’ suggested a specific history.

You don’t use a word like that for a minor disagreement.

It’s the kind of word used when you’ve been defrauded, stabbed in the back, or treated with utter contempt.

‘I don’t actually know that much about the goddesses.’

When I thought about it, it was true.

I knew the legends and the major events, but I didn’t ‘know them’ on a personal level.

I was clueless about their day-to-day existence.

That went for Wilhelm and the Church as well.

But here I was, looking at a ‘Forgotten God’ who seemed to have a direct, personal history with them.

I smirked.

“Lea and Pina…”

-Silence!

Whoa.

I let out a quiet whistle.

Those names were clearly a raw nerve I shouldn’t have touched.

【You have completed the extraordinary feat ‘Enrage the Forgotten God’.】

Wait.

…There’s actually an achievement for this?

I was stunned by the notification.

But such an achievement wouldn’t trigger for a minor insult.

It meant nobody had ever pushed a ‘Forgotten God’ to this level of fury before.

Moreover, the appearance of an extraordinary achievement signaled something else.

【The ‘Forgotten God’ has placed you upon a ‘test bed’.】

…It meant my opponent was absolutely livid.

-I am keen to see if your prowess matches your arrogance.

It had grown quiet, the kind of quiet that comes from being too angry for words.

I nodded and spoke.

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

-…My initial plan was to claim only half, but for you, I shall seize every one of your ‘souls’.

The souls of the forgotten knights.

If I lost them all, I would be cast into eternal wandering, losing my sense of self.

It wasn’t just my risk; it applied to my entire order.

It was a direct threat to take everything the moment I fell.

“And what are you putting on the table in exchange?”

If there’s a risk, there has to be a reward.

I and my Knight Order couldn’t be the only ones putting skin in the game.

I already knew I would get the ‘symbol’ for winning, but I wanted to see if there was more.

-The ‘Supreme Soul’ that manifests when all my children become one—a prize that all deities once lusted after. I shall grant you that.

A soul unified by the blending of thirteen creatures.

Just two of them had created a ‘Primeval Dragon’.

If all thirteen combined, the result would be beyond imagination.

And it was offering to hand over that entire ‘Soul’ to me.

‘The Supreme Soul.’

Indeed.

A soul bearing the title of supreme.

The compensation was more than fair.

However, I couldn’t just agree immediately.

It also meant that, eventually, I would have to face the ‘Supreme Soul’ in battle.

-If you have lost your nerve now that the talking is over, you are free to decline.

Seeing my silence, it tried to bait me.

It clearly expected me to back down.

It likely believed it was impossible for me to defeat the progressively merging souls using only a Dianax.

If it had any inkling of my full potential, it never would have offered such a bonus.

‘It definitely doesn’t know about the Nameless Eagle.’

The Forgotten God was blind to that card.

But now, I had the intel.

I knew exactly what the Forgotten God’s final move was.

The Supreme Soul.

If it formed into a high-tier monster, it would be a massive threat, but…

“I’m in.”

…It wasn’t an impossible mountain to climb.

【The ‘Forgotten God’s Supplemental Trial’ has been initiated.】

The plan remained the same.

I just had to keep fighting.

Only the stakes of the outcome had been raised.

It was just like my first encounter with the Forgotten God.

‘Win it all, or lose it all.’

So, let’s put everything on the line and see who comes out on top.

Let’s see whose resolve carries more weight.

I was curious to find out.

-…

The ‘Forgotten God’ was momentarily speechless.

She hadn’t truly anticipated that he would agree.

‘With nothing but an upgraded Dianax… such audacity.’

In this realm, the World Tree’s labyrinth, countless ‘forgotten entities’ existed.

Among them, a Dianax was nothing particularly remarkable.