The hall of the Holy Palace was buried in silence.

No sound of footsteps was heard, no sound of breathing, not even a whisper from among the people standing around the massive heavenly array. Only the weak, flickering light of the sacred runes turned on and off every few seconds on the golden walls of the hall, as if the array itself had not yet recovered from what it had seen.

The image of the battlefield still floated before them, but that place no longer resembled a battlefield.

The desolate ruin... was destroyed. Mountains that had stood for thousands of years no longer existed. The ground had split apart, and the deep layers of the world were visible like open wounds. The sky still had cracks, and behind those fissures, the absolute darkness of the void rippled quietly.

And in the middle of that hell, Daniel stood, calm and motionless like a being that remained untouched even after the apocalypse.

No one spoke, not even the Holy Emperor.

What could he say? What could he do? Was there any path left they hadn’t tried? Was there any effort they hadn’t made?

They had done everything within their power.

Even the greatest army in history had been unable to do anything.

The man who had led the continent for decades now just sat quietly on his white throne, staring at the image, but for the first time in his life... he looked old.

Not because of his face.

But because of the pressure that had fallen on his soul. His hand rested quietly on the treasure floating beside the throne.

The Divine Heart.

A massive orb of golden light that still, with each pulse, released a wave of sacred mana into the hall.

The same treasure he had been forced to activate to contain the last wave of the battle.

The Emperor’s eyes closed for a few moments.

"...If that attack had left the ruin’s boundaries... half the continent would have been destroyed." And then with a quiet, tired, heavy voice, he said.

No one objected, because everyone knew he spoke the truth.

The final clash between Valdrak and Daniel was no longer at the level of battle between beings of this world. It was something that should only exist in the legends of the end of ages.

Not even an operation at that level had been able to kill that monster, wound him, or at least damage his clothes!

The Grand Minister swallowed hard, his gaze still locked on Daniel’s image.

This battle had practically shown that if this monster wanted, he could destroy the entire continent! And if he decided to do such a thing, who could stop him?

All those who had gone to stop him were now dead!

"He... after that battle, didn’t even seem tired..."

And that sentence made the hall’s silence even heavier, because everyone had seen this.

Valdrak was dead. The monster of war, the being whom even the Holy Emperor called "a madman who lives only for battle."

But Daniel, after killing him, just stood and looked at the field, like someone whose brief entertainment had just ended.

At that moment, Serius’s quiet voice echoed in the hall.

"The problem isn’t just his power."

Everyone quietly looked at him.

Serius was still as calm as always, but this time, even in his eyes, a shadow of pressure could be seen.

His gaze didn’t leave the image of the field.

"After the battle... he immediately started making himself stronger."

"What do you mean?" The Grand Minister frowned.

"He used the remnants of the army."

The image in the array changed.

The corpses of dragons, dead elves. And then a scene that made everyone in the hall fall silent again.

Daniel.

Devouring the dragons. And then the fallen army of elves.

Beings with galactic purple-black skin, taller bodies, empty eyes, and dark wings that had quietly opened behind them.

"He’s not just powerful... every battle makes him more dangerous." Serius continued.

This battle had shown them that besides that insane offensive power, this monster also had other terrifying abilities.

Such as devouring dragons! And building an army from beings that should be dead.

This situation raised Daniel’s threat level to a point that words could not easily do justice.

The Emperor’s eyes narrowed quietly, and this time the Grand Minister said nothing more.

Because now everyone understood: Daniel was not an enemy who could be defeated through attrition.

The more they fought against him, the stronger he became.

Silence swallowed the hall again, but this time the silence was mixed with fear.

"The four commanders of the army..." The Grand Knight said.

"...he turned those four into those strange monsters, and even Lord Valdrak..." And then he continued.

The names repeated in everyone’s minds.

Rodric.

Alindra.

Miralia.

Varkas.

And Valdrak.

Some of the continent’s strongest beings, heroes whose names people whispered like legends.

And now all of them were under Daniel’s command.

"We didn’t just lose our army..." The Emperor whispered quietly.

"...now he has that army too." His gaze fell again on the image of the fallen.

This sentence fell on the hall like a hammer, because it was true. The power that was once the continent’s greatest shield was now part of the enemy’s army.

Then gazes slowly turned to the white-gold fruit behind Daniel, a fruit that now shone almost like a small sun.

With each pulse, space rippled.

"It’s still not complete." The Emperor continued.

"What?" Serius asked. He knew many things about that fruit, certainly more than ordinary people, but not as much as the Holy Emperor.

"The Divine Prophet had said... when the shedding is complete, the true birth will begin."

His words sent a heavy chill through the hall.

"What is going to be born?"

No one answered, because no one knew exactly, and that unknown made it even more terrifying.

"It’s not just us who are terrified." The Emperor sighed and waved his hand.

Suddenly, the array image changed for a moment, showing human cities, streets that had fallen into silence, and people looking at the cracked sky.

Some prayed, some cried, and others just stared blankly at the sky, as if their minds still hadn’t accepted what had happened.

The news had spread, not that they had intentionally spread it, but with all that noise, the tremors of the continent, it was impossible for people not to notice what was happening.

And besides the Holy Empire, many others had been watching that battle from afar.

In sacred temples, candles went out one by one. Even some priests had lost their faith.

Because if that monster existed, then where were their gods?

Then the image changed.

The land of the elves. The World Tree was restless, its branches trembled quietly, and nature’s mana had become disturbed.

Some elves realized with horror that their connection to nature had weakened.

And for a race like the elves, that was something close to death.

Then the dragon realm.

And there, complete chaos reigned. Roars filled the sky. Some dragons were furious, some terrified.

And others knelt, because they had seen with their own eyes: Varkas had knelt.

The commander of the dragons, a being who had never bowed even before death.

But he had bowed before Daniel. And for a race like dragons, that was more terrifying than death.

Even now, some of them had begun to believe that Daniel truly was the Dragon God.

And that belief had brought the dragon realm to the brink of collapse.

Seeing those scattered scenes, the hall’s atmosphere had now grown heavier than before.

The array known as the Holy Eye could oversee almost the entire continent and show anything.

Because the main question had finally been raised.

"What should we do now?" The Grand Minister whispered, losing hope. In his view, the outcome was already decided. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

This world would be destroyed by that monster, and any resistance was foolish.

"We have to activate all the forbidden treasures!" But the Grand Knight still didn’t want to give up.

"Are you insane? Those might destroy the continent itself!" The Grand Minister snorted.

"So we should run?!"

"Perhaps... perhaps we could still negotiate..." This sentence made several people simultaneously look at the speaker, the Grand Minister.

But the worst part was that no one was sure this idea was impossible. Because no one knew what Daniel truly was anymore.

A monster?

A god?

Or something beyond?

"How do we know he’ll listen to us and not kill us all? Is he even logical?"

"Yes." In the midst of that chaos, Serius said quietly.

Everyone fell silent.

"He is still completely logical."

Several people looked at him in disbelief.

"That’s the most terrifying part." And then he continued.

If Daniel were just a mad monster, his behavior could be predicted.

But he thought, analyzed, grew, and now had even built his own army.

"But I don’t think we can negotiate with him. We have no leverage for negotiation. I doubt he would accept negotiation; rather, he might just want us to surrender completely."

But before anyone could listen to his words, suddenly the massive doors of the hall opened.

The sound of their impact echoed in the palace’s silence.

A holy guard with a pale face and heavy breathing entered.

"Holy Emperor...!"

All eyes turned to him.

"The Divine Prophet..." The guard breathed with difficulty and said.

At that moment, the hall’s atmosphere froze. Even the Emperor quietly raised his head.

The guard continued.

"...has requested an immediate convening of the Holy Council."

The Emperor’s face truly changed, because the Divine Prophet had finally made a move

A heavy silence swallowed the hall, and amidst that silence, Serius quietly stared at Daniel’s image.

"So finally... she too has realized that the time for watching is over." Then he said very quietly.

---

( A/N : Sorry for the irregular updates, everyone.

I’ve been working on my new novel for a while, and it’s finally finished and published. ;) I hope this one succeeds, unlike the previous one. )