I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-270

Ch-270. **One Loved by the Goddess**

—

“……”

Aaron could not bring himself to believe what was unfolding before his eyes.

Batrtash.

Who was he?

One of the highest-ranking holy knights personally sent by his father, Cardinal Johansson.

Even within the Church of the Goddess, his name carried immense prestige—just hearing it was reassuring.

The level of blessings he bestowed upon himself was unrivaled.

That guardian, a gift from the cardinal who wished for victory in the tournament, had lost his life in a single strike.

*This makes no sense. This can’t be happening!*

Aaron had seen it.

He had clearly seen the blessings being erased.

He had seen the Divine Word fail, and the Sanctuary disappear.

Every patch of ground the man stepped on was, in real time, being overwritten—subsumed by him.

How could such a thing be possible?

The other holy knights, too, stood dumbstruck, staring at Batrtash’s severed head lying on the ground.

They also could not accept the reality before them.

*Even if stats were reduced, there should be limits!*

Three hundred stat points.

Everyone had the same amount, distributed under the same rules.

But only the total was equal—everything else was different.

This struggle was supposed to end, inevitably, in victory for the Church of the Goddess.

*With blessings, no cult can ever rival the Church. None!*

Countless blessings that elevated both body and mind.

When it came to blessings alone, the Church of the Goddess stood supreme.

Power that let one surpass their limits in the name of the Goddess.

Because blessings granted additional power, they should shine even more in a place where abilities were restricted like this.

So why?

Why couldn’t they kill this single man?

*Why? Why? Why?*

All the holy knights gathered here were elites.

And yet thirty elites together could not deal with just him.

Was he a monster?

Or was he truly an apostle of an evil god?

If he was an apostle capable of nullifying the Church’s Divine Word and Sanctuary, then what kind of evil god did he follow?

Thud.

Footsteps drawing ever closer.

Aaron lifted his gaze.

The Hyun of Adrium.

The man was slowly approaching him.

Black hair.

Pitch-black eyes.

Colors ominous beyond measure.

Looking closely, even his features felt subtly alien.

Tall stature, pale skin, prominent lips, a straight nose, slightly pointed ears…

A face that made it hard to believe he came from the Holy City of Adrium.

More than anything, his presence was strange.

At a glance, he looked ordinary enough to slip from notice if one paid him no attention.

Yet the longer one stared, the harder it became to look away—an uncanny allure that drew the eye.

Even in a situation like this.

It must be the influence of an evil god.

*Evil gods do not reveal their names. Other gods gain stronger divinity by revealing theirs, but evil gods grow weaker once named.*

So he had to find out.

The Hyun of Adrium.

The name of the evil god he served!

If he could just speak that name aloud, the situation would turn around.

The Church of the Goddess had studied the Evil God Realm as well.

*Balaccas, Angra Mainyu, Gaz, Diablo.*

These were the so-called “Four Great Evil Gods” as defined by the Church.

The most powerful among evil gods—especially Balaccas, strongly suspected to be the chief deity of the Balrog Cult.

A chief deity stood one rank above ordinary gods.

They ruled not a tower, but an entire world, unable to directly intervene in the Middle Realm—yet they could bestow power upon their followers.

The Goddess herself was also a chief deity.

But this man—at the very least, he was not an apostle of the Four Great Evil Gods.

His nature was far too different from theirs.

He had to guess correctly, in one shot.

Probing carelessly could invite a curse from the evil god instead.

“Wicked spawn! Reveal the name of the evil god you serve!”

Abandoning speculation, Aaron recited a prayer.

A prayer praising the Goddess.

If this man were merely an apostle of a lesser god, this prayer alone would force him to reveal his master’s name!

“……”

Thud.

Only three steps remained.

Aaron’s pupils began to shake violently.

The prayer didn’t work either.

Then again, if prayers had worked, Batrtash’s Divine Word would have worked as well.

“D-Don’t come any closer… stay back!”

“Divine Sword!”

“O Goddess!”

Only then did the holy knights snap back to their senses and step in front of him.

Thud!

…But then—

In an instant, all blessings were nullified.

The blessings they had always carried, as naturally as breathing.

The weight of their heavy armor and the harsh pounding of their hearts became vividly tangible.

“……”

“What is this…?”

“Snap out of it! He’s a powerful apostle of an evil god! Protect Lord Aaron!”

They raised their swords again—

*CRASH!*

*KWAANG!*

“Ghk!”

“…G-God…?”

“…dess…!”

Every holy knight who tried to block him was torn apart.

Swords shattered, armor was pierced, and some were crushed so thoroughly their forms were unrecognizable.

All with a single strike.

Yet that wasn’t the only strange thing.

The dying screams of the holy knights—

And where their gazes were directed.

*Why are all the fallen knights…*

Every single one died staring above the man’s head.

They perished with eyes filled with awe and terror.

The word “Goddess” seemed to form on their lips, yet Aaron still could not understand.

Was there a goddess above the head of an evil god’s apostle?

If that were true, the holy knights would have sensed it.

They were followers of the Goddess.

Devout believers—

“Ah…”

Now he truly didn’t understand.

An existence that defied comprehension itself.

The words “save me” wouldn’t even leave his mouth.

“I’ll take one, just as I foretold.”

A prophecy?

What prophecy?

*Don’t tell me—!*

Aaron instinctively jerked his left arm back—but he was already too late.

*SLASH!*

“Aaagh!”

His left arm, severed cleanly from the shoulder.

“It hurts—! It hurts—!”

Rolling on the ground, Aaron screamed.

Blood gushed out, quickly soaking the floor.

*Please—stop this pain! End it!*

His body soon thrashed like a fish, then went limp, his face deathly pale as he passed out.

The pain had overwhelmed him.

Yet just before losing consciousness, a hallucinated voice rang in his ears.

—On this 11th floor, you’ll lose your left arm.

—…?

—On the 12th floor, your right arm. On the 13th, your left leg. On the 14th, your right leg. And on the 15th… I’ll think about that when we get there.

A hallucination telling him that his suffering had only just begun.

—

—

 

《100 challengers have been eliminated.》

《The remaining 900 challengers advance to the Tower of the War God, 12th Floor.》

《When 90 more are eliminated, the challengers may proceed to the 13th Floor.》

《‘Equal Struggle’ will begin again in 30 minutes.》

The 12th floor.

Its layout and structure were identical.

But one thing was different.

“……”

“……”

The *looks* directed at me.

From the start, I had been labeled a “person of interest,” with everyone predicting my elimination.

But they were wrong.

On the 11th floor alone, I had eliminated ten holy knights.

I had accounted for 10% of the eliminations by myself.

How many had witnessed that battle?

*All of them.*

Everyone gathered here had seen it.

And they reached a conclusion.

*They’ve decided to completely exclude me.*

Their movements were suspicious.

They wouldn’t attack outright, but the moment I showed an opening, they would strike.

Yet with so many hostile groups around, they chose to keep me excluded—for now.

*The most likely forces are Hustar’s group, disciples of the Mercenary King; the Dersian group; and the group led by the Sun Knight Hanches.*

A three-way standoff.

No one could claim absolute dominance yet.

Which meant there was no manpower to spare to turn against me.

They were probably hoping Aaron and the holy knights would deal with me—or at least buy time.

*That said…*

Honestly, it was fine by me.

I had no intention of turning my attention to them just yet.

Instead, something else caught my eye.

《‘Heavenly Demon Divine Art – Record of Life and Death’ activates, absorbing mana.》

《Mana has increased by 5.》

Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Record of Life and Death.

*The Absorbing Star Technique absorbed the mana of those I killed.*

Killing ten holy knights increased my mana by five.

This was entirely different from the Necromancer King’s skill.

Not everyone who died became an undead.

But the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was different.

It absorbed the mana of everyone I killed.

And converted it into my own.

*…This is insane.*

Even at a glance, its ceiling was far higher than the Necromancer King’s skill.

And my *vessel* had no limit.

Which meant it could expand endlessly.

And it wasn’t just my mana that had grown.

《‘Transcendent Earth Sword’ absorbs blood and strengthens by one stage.》

《Upgraded to ‘True Transcendent Earth Sword’.》

The Transcendent Earth Sword.

A sword that grew on its own.

After completing four stages of growth, it would transcend into an entirely different form depending on the environment it grew in.

And—

《Through ‘Great Legacy,’ the hidden class ‘Eraser of Sacred Radiance’ has been synthesized.》

《Would you like to inherit the hidden class ‘Eraser of Sacred Radiance’?》

…I killed holy knights, and another hidden class was created.

*Eraser of Sacred Radiance.*

My actions directly led to the creation of hidden classes.

Now I understood.

*I’ll climb to the very top and rewrite the record.*

My objective had changed.

I would climb all the way.

No matter what, I would see it through to the end.

I was certain that beyond all the hidden classes revealed so far, a greater *legacy* awaited.

I slowly loosened my body.

Then—

《30 minutes have passed.》

《12th Floor, ‘Equal Struggle’ has begun!》

—

—

《30 minutes have passed.》

《14th Floor, ‘Equal Struggle’ has begun!》

After passing the 12th floor, then the 13th, and reaching the 14th—

Every remaining challenger shared the same thought.

*That man is dangerous.*

*The Hyun of Adrium!*

*We must eliminate him first.*

The power he displayed was overwhelming.

And with each floor, he only seemed to grow stronger.

One by one, the remaining groups began to unite.

They realized it was no longer time to fight among themselves.

“L-Lord Aaron… are you conscious?”

A holy knight called out, looking at the unconscious Aaron.

For reasons unknown, every time the struggle began, Aaron was forcibly awakened—and, just as foretold, lost another limb.

It was a terror beyond description.

“Why…”

As the struggle began, Aaron’s consciousness returned once more.

Only three holy knights remained.

They poured all their divine power into healing him, but—

*Why can’t I forfeit…?*

Aaron’s expression was pure despair.

Forfeiting was impossible.

Even if he tried, it wouldn’t be recognized.

From the start, the Tower of the War God had no intention of letting them leave alive.

Aaron had lost all will to fight.

The severed limbs would not reattach.

The man’s mana was too high—holy power could not take hold on the wounds.

Only his right leg remained.

He could no longer walk.

At the same time, a deep sense of regret flooded him.

The Hyun of Adrium.

He regretted provoking him.

Thud.

Thud.

The struggle began, and the man was approaching.

“L-Lord Aaron?”

“M-Move…”

Aaron crawled along the floor.

He realized this was his final option.

Using his one remaining leg, his torso, and his head, he crawled desperately—crawled and crawled.

Until he stopped before the man.

“I-I’ll crawl. I-I was wrong… I misjudged…”

But he hadn’t stopped merely to apologize for his provocation.

Aaron lifted his head.

And looking above the man’s head, he spoke.

“You are n-not… an apostle of an evil god. You are…”

At first, he hadn’t understood.

Why the holy knights died staring above the man’s head.

But now he did.

The closer death came.

The closer he stepped to its boundary—

…He felt it.

And he saw it.

Even then, he hadn’t believed it.

But now, he thought he could.

Aaron traced the Church’s holy sign in the air.

“You are… the one the Goddess… loves most…”

The man was an apostle of the Goddess.

No—far beyond an apostle.

An existence that could not be defined by such a word.

One *loved* by the Goddess.

Closer to her than even a Saint, closer than the Pope himself.

What should such a being be called?

Someone like him could never define it.

“……”

The man looked down at him silently.

Thud.

Then he walked past Aaron.

“Hyun of Adrium! We admit our mistake!”

“Sorry, but you’re next.”

The groups began to merge.

Everyone united to bring down the Hyun of Adrium.

Their number easily exceeded two hundred.

Aaron hurriedly spoke to the remaining holy knights.

“You… help that man…”

It was already too late.

No matter how strong he was, facing that many alone should have been impossible.

And then—

*Whoosh!*

Black flames erupted across the man’s entire body.

—*Heavenly Demon Descent.*

The true power of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art—Record of Life and Death.

The Heavenly Demon—

Had descended.

 

 

 

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