[Final Judgment - Light Wheel Benevolent God & Sinful Heaven Malevolent God]
[Light Wheel Benevolent God: Exerts overwhelming power against all entities with negative moral alignment. Effect range extends across an entire world.]
[Sinful Heaven Malevolent God: The inverse. Exerts overwhelming power against all entities with positive moral alignment. Effect range extends across an entire world.]
[These twin artifacts form the core authority of the Judgment God system.]
The power Takeyo unleashed was the Light Wheel Benevolent God, one half of this devastating pair.
His target? Every creature in the Realm of the Dead whose moral alignment fell into negative values.
"Target designation... Grim Reapers."
While he could have judged every being in Hades' domain, Takeyo limited his focus. The Grim Reapers were the system's backbone. Remove them, and the entire reincarnation cycle would collapse.
A few rare exceptions like Persephone would remain unharmed, their alignments falling outside the judgment parameters.
The wave of divine power erupted from Takeyo's body, expanding outward in concentric rings of golden light. Within seconds, it covered the entire Realm of the Dead, passing through ancient Greek temples and over the wastelands where no living thing could survive.
Every Grim Reaper it touched simply... ceased to exist.
Destroying the reincarnation system, that was always the plan.
"Alright then." Takeyo turned to the small figure beside him, extending his hand with a gentle smile. "Ophis, let's go."
This had been their agreement from the beginning. Once he'd grown strong enough, he'd come for her.
He just hadn't expected it to take quite this long.
Ophis stared at him, her dark eyes narrowing slightly. Something wasn't right.
"The scent of Great Red..." she said quietly, a trace of dissatisfaction flickering across her usually expressionless face.
She could feel it, Great Red's aura clinging to Takeyo like perfume.
"Sorry about that. I did run into Great Red recently."
Takeyo scratched his cheek helplessly. Great Red seemed fascinated by the human world and kept dropping by unannounced to hang out with him.
Since he needed her cooperation for other matters, he couldn't exactly refuse her company.
"Follow the agreement," Ophis said after a long moment of contemplation. She reached out and took his hand.
Takeyo had promised to help her when he became strong enough. However, the exact terms had never been explicitly defined, whether that meant helping her defeat Great Red or allowing her to return to the Dimensional Gap.
Maybe her objectives would change over time. Who could say?
"Right. Let's leave first. As long as we're together, this world will be safe. I guarantee it."
Takeyo's smile widened with confidence.
"Mm..." Ophis nodded slightly, a hint of approval in her gaze.
She'd expected his growth to take far longer. That he'd reached this level of power in such a short time was... impressive.
However, just as Takeyo made contact with Ophis, a new notification flashed across his awareness. This one made him wince.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for triggering a plot check-in! Sign-in level: King!]
[Sign-in plot: Dance of the Two Dragons!]
[Plot Objective - Dance of the Two Dragons: Have Ophis and Great Red reach a mutual understanding.]
[Sign-in time limit: 10 years!]
[Remaining time: 10 years!]
"You've got to be kidding me..."
Takeyo's eyebrow twitched. This was the first time he'd triggered a ten-year sign-in quest. The difficulty level spoke volumes.
Ophis held strong opinions about Great Red, the dragon who'd taken over her home in the Dimensional Gap. And while Great Red's feelings toward Ophis weren't quite as intense, Great Red's personality was... let's call it willfully capricious.
Getting these two ancient Dragon Gods to reconcile? That would be monumentally difficult.
Ten years might seem like a long time to other races, but for beings like the Infinite Dragon God and the Red Dragon God Emperor, entities who'd existed for eons, it was barely an eyeblink.
The concepts and grudges they'd formed over countless millennia wouldn't dissolve easily.
"Looks like I'll need to create some... stimulating situations to push this along."
Takeyo sighed, then opened a portal. He'd accomplished his primary objective in the Realm of the Dead. Time to leave and let events unfold.
When Cao Cao finally tracked down Ophis's location and arrived, he was far too late.
Today was supposed to be the day he'd seize Ophis's power and create a controllable Infinite Dragon God for the next phase of his plans.
He'd even secured Samael from Hades.
But the moment Samael made contact with Ophis, both of them had vanished in front of his eyes, transported elsewhere.
That's when Cao Cao realized he'd been played.
After expending considerable effort, he finally located where Ophis had been taken. He was ready to confront Hades and demand an explanation.
His True Longinus might not affect Ophis, but Hades, despite being one of the Top 10 Strongest Beings, wasn't beyond its reach.
What greeted him instead was a field of enormous skeletal remains.
"These are... all Ultimate-Class Grim Reapers, aren't they?" Cao Cao's voice was hollow as he surveyed the carnage. "And judging by this aura, stronger than even the highest-ranking Reapers, these must be what's left of Hades himself."
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Something had gone catastrophically wrong with his intel.
How the hell had Hades, who ranked in the top ten beings worldwide, been completely annihilated? He should have been able to hold his own even against Ophis wielding Samael!
"This is the fate of those who provoke a Dragon God," Cao Cao muttered, shaking his head.
Without Ophis, his entire strategy had just collapsed.
"Forget it. I'll focus on stopping Rizevim for now. He seems to be making his move."
Cao Cao raised his holy spear, feeling a strange sense of powerlessness wash over him.
Are humans really this limited?
But after only a few seconds of doubt, his resolve hardened. If humans had limits, then he'd simply transcend those limits.
As that thought crystallized, a particular figure came to mind, someone who might hold the key to surpassing humanity's ceiling.
Meanwhile, in the Greek pantheon...
Starting today, the entire Realm of the Dead had descended into chaos.
The Greek gods preparing for the international competition stared at the devastated underworld, at the missing Hades, and at the countless vanished Grim Reapers. They felt utterly exhausted.
This disaster happening right before the start of the tournament? It was a nightmare.
Wasn't this just losing face in front of every pantheon in the world?
Yet the Realm of the Dead required immediate attention, and the international competition couldn't be postponed.
In the end, they implemented only minimal containment measures. They'd deal with the full cleanup after returning from the tournament.
Though something catastrophic had befallen the Greek pantheon, the international competition remained on schedule. It was a massive undertaking, prepared over months. You couldn't just cancel it because one faction hit problems.
On the night before the competition's opening ceremony, all the invited gods gathered in the territory of the Demon Lord Lucifer.
Ajuka and the other Satans were receiving dignitaries from various pantheons when Shiva of the Hindu faction approached, his eyes gleaming with interest.
"I didn't expect the Satans of the Underworld to hide such strength. Hidden dragons and crouching tigers indeed!" Shiva's youthful face broke into an approving grin. "Three of the four Satans at Transcendent-Class. That's far more impressive than the original Satan line-up."
Normally, three Transcendent-Class beings in leadership positions wouldn't warrant much attention from someone like Shiva.
But the Satans had made their power public for a specific reason.
Before sending out invitations, they'd deliberately demonstrated their strength, taking out monsters Rizevim had resurrected, hunting down evil dragons he'd failed to transport to another world, even engaging in a friendly exhibition match with Thor, Odin's Transcendent-Class son.
In short, they'd abandoned their previous low profile and revealed their hand.
With four Transcendent-Class beings backing them, plus witnesses who'd seen and fought the otherworldly Great Red, most pantheons had accepted the invitation.
The competition's stated purpose was clear: after its conclusion, an inter-pantheon organization would be formed. Rankings in the tournament would determine power distribution within that organization.
Higher placement meant greater authority when dealing with threats from other worlds or managing affairs in this one.
Everyone except the Three Factions understood it this way.
Using notes left by the late God of the Bible as collateral, Michael had ensured all attending gods felt both curiosity and fear toward beings from other worlds.
After all, the other side definitely had multiple combatants equal to or surpassing the Red Dragon God Emperor. How could that not command attention?
Facing Shiva's praise, Sirzechs offered his own response.
"Lord Shiva, to forge a new world order and unite against external threats, someone must take the first step."
That was accurate enough. With at least five Transcendent-Class combatants among them, Sirzechs, Ajuka, Serafall, the Dragon King Tiamat, and Michael (who could match Transcendent-Class through the Biblical God's system), the Three Factions wielded tremendous influence.
Combined, they could potentially overwhelm any single large pantheon.
Even after the God of the Bible's death, no one had dared attack Heaven despite its seemingly vulnerable treasures. That was because of the system Michael operated, it granted him power far exceeding ordinary Transcendent-Class beings.
"Pioneers indeed."
Shiva's youthful features took on an expression that didn't match his apparent age. "But may I ask you something?"
"Please."
Sirzechs smiled. Their task was complete anyway, all the major pantheons and top-tier gods had arrived.
These deities probably thought they'd come to participate in a grand divine competition. How... naive.
"I want to ask, have you seen Vishnu recently?"
"He traveled to the Far Eastern islands not long ago, but we haven't heard from him since."
"Originally, I assumed you couldn't possibly have defeated him. But now that you've revealed such power..." Shiva's smile remained pleasant, but his eyes burned with battle-lust. "Should I assume his silent disappearance in your territory is connected to you?"
Though phrased as a question, it carried clear implications. One wrong word and Sirzechs would find himself in Shiva's crosshairs.
"What are you suggesting, Lord Shiva?" Ajuka interjected with his own diplomatic smile. "We've had no conflict with Lord Vishnu. How could we know anything about his disappearance?"
Well, tomorrow they'd reveal that Takeyo had killed him. But Shiva would definitely come looking for trouble then.
Better to delay that particular revelation.
"Historically, no conflicts, true." Shiva's smile didn't falter. "But there's one thing that concerns me greatly."
"And what's that?" Michael asked, his own smile serene.
From the beginning, Michael had seen everything most clearly. That's why he supported Takeyo's every action without reservation.
Even the formation of the Transcendent-Class defense team had his backing, though he'd sent the joker Dulio to Takeyo's side with ulterior motives.
He'd been waiting for this moment, the awakening.
Now that both the Lord and the Son had returned, there was nothing left to fear.
The system had become a bit more interesting too. Originally, he'd wanted the Lord to resume control, but the Lord, who held ultimate authority, had refused.
Well, Michael only had usage rights anyway. He'd simply learned a useful trick from Takeyo: exploit the loopholes.
A system with vulnerabilities opened up far more possibilities. That suited the Lord's philosophy perfectly.
"There's a historical detail I can't quite reconcile..."