[The Northern Mountain - 48 Hours to Duel]
The wind howled across the obsidian stadium. A group of S+ rank adventurers, their faces pale with terror, scrambled across the perimeter. They didn't dare look at the figure in the center.
"It is useless hiding from me," Gudmaro said, his voice echoing like thunder. "I can sense your mana signatures fluttering like dying moths."
The adventurers didn't respond. With trembling hands, they began planting massive Mana Crystals into the rock. These weren't weapons; they were high-frequency broadcasting relays.
Gudmaro watched them, a cold smirk forming on his "Perfect" face. "So... he wants to show this fight to the entire globe? He wants the world to watch their 'heroes' fall in real-time? This is funny. Tell your masters I am ready. Let the universe watch its new King be born."
[The Tree of Life - The Hidden Grove]
Back in the sanctuary, the air was heavy with the weight of ancient secrets. Yoru looked at the Arcon of Life with wide eyes.
"If you are the source of every living being," Yoru whispered, "does that include the Monarchs?"
"Yes," the Arcon replied softly. "They are my children, just like you, and everyone else."
"Then... if they kill you, they kill themselves," Yoru realized, her hand tightening on her blade. "It's a suicide mission they don't even understand."
"Precisely. But they believe I am a myth. They don't know I still exist."
"But why?" Yoru pressed. "If they are your children, how could they forget their own creator?"
The Arcon of Life looked toward the horizon, her eyes seeing back to a time before stars were born. "Because... 700 Billion years ago, existence was only just beginning."
[Flashback: The Dawn of Time]
"In the beginning, there were the Outer Gods. They held the power to delete and destroy everything on a whim. On the other side, there was me—the Arcon of Life. I held the power to create. I birthed universes; I crafted gods and goddesses to populate the void. One of them was my closest companion... the Goddess of the Sun."
The vision showed two radiant beings weaving galaxies like silk.
"Together, we created Earth. But the Outer Gods did not want peace. They wanted entertainment. They began to whisper into the ears of my children, corrupting them, inciting them to turn their blades against one another. The Goddess of the Sun and I tried to stop the madness, but then... an Anomaly appeared."
The Arcon's voice trembled. "A Monarch emerged. I couldn't sense him. To my eyes, he was a glitch in the system—a void where life should be. To save me from his touch, the Goddess of the Sun threw me toward Earth and sacrificed her entire existence to hold them back. The Outer Gods watched her fall and believed I had perished with her."
[The Present]
"When I landed on this world," the Arcon continued, "I found the dying plant I had blessed so long ago. It had become the Tree of Life, a tether for my remaining power. I used it to cast a barrier over the entire Earth, and a second, deeper barrier around this grove. I made us invisible so that no one—not the Monarchs, and not the Outer Gods—could ever find the 'Core' again."
Techyon stood frozen, his mind reeling from the scale of the Arcon's story. "That means... logically, you are the 'Mother' of everything that exists."
"Yes," the Arcon of Life replied, her voice filled with a mother's ancient sorrow.
Yoru didn't look comforted. Her tactical mind was spinning. "Wait... what do you mean by a 'glitch in the system'? If you created everything, how can something exist that you can't sense?"
"The Monarch who killed the Goddess of the Sun was pure darkness," the Arcon explained. "I couldn't sense a single heartbeat, a single drop of mana, or any life force. It was like he was already dead—a walking void. I cannot recall his face, for it was masked by shifting black flames, but I will never forget his eyes. They were pure red... and his aura was fueled by a rage that could consume galaxies."
Yoru gripped her blade hilt until her knuckles turned white. "So, if we survive Gudmaro , we still have to fight the Monarchs? And the Outer Gods?"
"Yes," the Arcon said firmly. "Until they are all gone, no soul in this universe is truly safe."
"You said you created other gods and goddesses," Yoru pressed. "Can't they help us? We need allies!"
The Arcon looked toward the Northern Mountain. "Even if they came, they could do nothing. Gudmaro is their natural predator. He would simply absorb their divine energy and become even more unstoppable."
Yoru's jaw set. "That is a serious problem."
[Two Days Later – 3 Hours Before the Duel]
The time for training was over. The air was thick with the scent of ozone and destiny. Yoru looked at Techyon, Alya, and Lapis. "Okay, everyone. Let's go."
[The Northern Mountain – The Perfect Stadium]
They landed on the obsidian platform. The world was watching through the Mana Crystals. Gudmaro stood in the center, looking as if he hadn't moved in days.
"They are here," Gudmaro noted, his voice smooth and cold. "So, who is going first? Ah, I forgot... it's just a one-versus-one duel. Who is the sacrifice?"
Yoru stepped onto the arena, the ground cracking slightly under her weight. "I will destroy your 'perfection' today, Gudmaro."
Gudmaro laughed, a sound like grinding glass. "A perfect thing is always perfect. No one can destroy it. I am that perfect thing. Do you truly believe a mere warrior can defeat a God?"
"I need to add some rules first," Yoru said, her golden aura beginning to flare.
"Fine. Add them yourself," Gudmaro replied dismissively. "Rules are for those who fear losing."
"If someone is forced out of this arena, they are eliminated."
Gudmaro's purple aura erupted, matching her intensity. "I don't think I even need to drain your energy to defeat you under those terms."
They stared at each other, the distance between them shrinking as their auras—Golden Light versus Purple Void—crashed together in the center of the stadium, causing the very mountain to tremble.