Chapter 38

“Danger!”

“Extreme danger!”

“Might die!”

Tannin, who had just dodged a barrage of light arrows, stared at the divine arrow that had just been released. An unprecedented sense of crisis rose from the depths of his heart. He had only felt this kind of pressure from two beings, Great Red and Ophis!

"That's enough!"

With a slightly anxious voice, a man’s shout echoed out as the arrow, capable of piercing heaven and earth and shattering worlds, was unleashed.

Ajuka appeared instantly in front of Tannin using a teleportation magic circle, extending one hand. In a blink, countless defensive spells unfolded in front of him! A multitude of magic circles painted the sky with dazzling brilliance, demonic magic circles, Eastern sorcery, Norse runes, and even Ajuka’s own self-created formations. In a flash, thousands of defensive circles were deployed!

Crack! Crack crack crack crack!

Yet, even these were torn apart by Shoyo’s Divine level Shot. One after another, they shattered, until only one remained. It was extremely complex spell, a powerful combination formation even among Super Devil-level magic.

Crack!

Cracks spiderwebbed across the final formation, then it, too, was pierced! The arrow slammed into Ajuka’s palm!

Tzzzz…

Ajuka frowned. The arrow pierced the flesh of a Super Devil, his palm skewered through cleanly! This was the strongest of the three arrows; the other two he had barely managed to block.

“Such power… I underestimated Shoyo-kun. He’s now a fully capable combat force.” Ajuka sighed and began healing his wound with a spell.

“Whoa! Holy crap! Damn!”

Tannin couldn’t stop cursing. He had genuinely thought he was going to die! For the first time in his life, he brushed shoulders with death. Even with his mighty Dragon King heart, his chest was still heaving in recovery from that fear.

Thump!

After releasing the arrow, Shoyo collapsed to his knees.

Hah! Hah! Hah!

His spiritual energy had been completely drained. Although his reserves and origin were slowly regenerating, it would take several days to return to full combat strength. Fortunately… the mission was complete. He could afford to give up the fight. If it weren’t for the sign-in reward, he wouldn’t have exerted himself so much against Tannin.


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[Ding!]

[Congratulations on completing a triggered story sign-in!]
[Sign-in Level: Gold]
[Sign-in Story: The Dragon King's Fear]
[Story Objective: Make the Demon Dragon Tannin fear you.]
[Reward: Excalibur (Star Holy Sword Version)]

[Excalibur: The Star Holy Sword that saves the planet.]
[Forged to repel extraterrestrial enemies who once tried to destroy Earth, this golden blade repels nearly all forms of evil.]
[Only six of the "Thirteen Seals" on the sword have been released. Since less than half (i.e., seven or more) remain sealed, its true potential has not yet awakened.]
[Even so, its power is a brilliant light capable of eradicating overwhelming evil.]
[Once all thirteen seals are unlocked, it possesses the transcendental might to save the entire planet.]

“EX-rank Noble Phantasm… Star Holy Sword?”
Shoyo muttered. “I remember… Arthur’s Star Holy Sword is EX-rank. Artoria’s Excalibur is only A++.” The difference was clear. Arthur’s version was the supreme version.


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“Shoyo? …Shoyo?”

Ajuka watched as Shoyo collapsed and shook his head helplessly. Teleporting beside him, he gently supported him.

“You really are a little monster. I almost feel unqualified to be your teacher,” Ajuka said with a wry smile, half helpless, half proud.

“Hm… Teacher Ajuka, I’m going to sleep for a bit. Please send me back,” Shoyo murmured before falling into a hibernation-like state. Though he bore no visible injuries, the drain on his spirit and energy was equivalent to moderate trauma.

“Sigh.” Ajuka sighed again and teleported Shoyo back to the human world.

“Rest well. You won’t have much time to relax next.”

Ajuka’s eyes were filled with determination. With power like that, Shoyo's curriculum would now be upgraded to the highest difficulty level! He would personally ensure it, even if it meant losing sleep.


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“Ajuka sama… are you sure… that he's really your disciple?”

Tannin finally came back to his senses. While most didn’t know, he, being one of the top powers of the Underworld, knew exactly how many Super Devils existed. And this Shoyo… had just broken through the defenses of one of them!

“He is indeed,” Ajuka replied calmly, gazing at the darkness in the Dimensional Gap.

“Ajuka sama… I saw the future of the Underworld in him… No, the future of this world!”

Tannin’s voice rang with absolute conviction.


Ajuka pursed his lips. He had said similar things before. In any case, today’s test was a success. He wrapped up the experiment, and the isolated space dissolved into the Dimensional Gap.


---

The Indian Pantheon

In Brahma’s domain, a boy in his early teens with deep blue-black hair had arrived.

“Hey… do you know where Vishnu went?” he asked rudely.

Brahma slowly shook his head. “No. But ever since that anomaly appeared in the Far East, he’s been uneasy.”

He wasn’t ambitious, he just drifted along with the flow. Still, their pantheon had many schemers. Indra was one of them. Shiva, whom Indra saw as a mortal rival, was another.

Since Brahma knew nothing of Vishnu’s location either, the boy, Shiva, glanced toward the heavens. “I’ve searched everywhere… I think…”

“You think he went to that small island in the Far East?” Brahma asked, his eyes glinting with starlight. “I think so too.”

“He likely went to investigate the phantoms that appeared. That phantoms are connected to him, after all,” Shiva muttered. While most were still unaware, he knew better. It made perfect sense for Vishnu to be restless.

“What do you think it is?” Brahma asked, voice heavy.

“A high-dimensional existence… something that surpasses us ‘gods’ in rank,” Shiva said firmly. Though he was known as a battle maniac, this was different. Against this presence, he couldn’t muster any desire to fight. For the first time, he felt an absolute suppression! Not even the Infinite Dragon God gave him that sense of fatality. But gazing upon the phantom’s avatar had nearly suffocated him.

What Shiva didn’t know was that the only reason Ophis didn’t give him that same fear was because she bore no hostility toward anyone except the Great Red Dragon God Emperor.


“Is the wheel of destiny finally turning again?” Brahma sighed.

But the truth was… it wasn’t that the wheel was turning.

The carriage of history was about to collapse.

The enemy approaching in future, a being capable of beheading even the Great Red Dragon God Emperor, was about to destroy their world’s destiny. And none of them were prepared.


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