I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-215

Ch-215. **Undefeatable / Impossible to Conquer**

—

*Rrrrrrrrumble—*

The sky roared.
The earth trembled.

“…Something’s not right.”

From atop the steep cliff, the Black King looked toward the source of everything — *the Beyond.*

But the sight that greeted him from the *Beyond* only made him tilt his head in puzzlement.

What lay there was **Despair.**
One of the Four Calamities — one of the peerless beasts once feared by the world.

The creature that had been quiet all this time suddenly began howling as if tormented.

“Aaahhh….”
“P-Please, stop…!”

At that same moment, countless insects below the cliff stiffened and fell to the ground.

All of them were monsters enhanced by the Black King through hidden traits.
Each one was powerful enough to rule over an entire mountain—yet Despair’s cry shattered their spirits.

They had completely lost their will.
All that remained in them was paralyzing fear — a sight so pitiful it was almost tragic.

*…Phermon. He’s trembling too.*

The one who had subdued and commanded all these monsters —
**Phermon, the Ant King.**

The Black King’s greatest masterpiece, reborn as the strongest insect thanks to a mutated hidden trait — and even he was not free from Despair’s roar.

He acted composed, but his nonstop twitching antennae exposed the truth.

*Despair’s power surpasses hidden traits.*

Thanks to that, one certainty emerged.

The Ant King possessed more than just the trait *Mutant.*
He also had **the Heart of an Iron-Blooded Monarch** — the hidden trait that granted steadfast composure in any circumstance.

And yet even that trait could not withstand Despair’s cry.

Meaning Despair stood **above** hidden traits.

*And that Despair is trembling. What could possibly make it react like this?*

The insects weren’t the only ones disturbed.
Despair itself — something that had *never once shown a reaction like this* — was shaken to its core.

What could possibly make *Despair* tremble?

*Only another of the Four Calamities could affect Despair.*

As far as the Black King knew, only a fellow member of the Four Calamities could provoke Despair.

But Baal was dead.
And there were no signs that any of the others had been resurrected.

And the only remaining possibility — the Death King — had been entirely consumed. There was no consciousness left to respond.

*Rrrrrrrrumble—*

Despair continued to howl.
A sound that was like a cry of pain… yet also like a mournful wail after losing something precious.

Listening to it continue on and on, the Black King summarized Despair’s state in a single sentence—

“…It sounds like a cat in heat.”

—

—

 

“Haaah!”

With a gasp like a dying scream, a man pushed himself upright.

Cold sweat drenched his body. As soon as he opened his eyes, he scanned his surroundings.

*A dream?*

Warm sunlight and a breeze drifted through the window.
It meant the night had already passed.

Which only made things more confusing.

The memories of last night felt like a dream — too unreal to be accepted as reality.

And yet they were far too vivid to write off as merely a dream.

*What did I see?*

**Raiga — Commander of the Fang Knights.**
The head of the Eight Families stared at his own trembling hands.

Did he have a nightmare?
His hands were shaking violently, as if stricken with severe tremors.

He tried to calm himself — failed.

*I was definitely in Fang’s training hall.*

He retraced his memories.
A place he always visited whenever he came to the imperial palace.
A secret space only the heir of the Eight Families could access.

There, he met someone.

*Who did I meet?*

Raiga frowned.

A faint afterimage — memories torn apart as if forcibly erased.

*I definitely… met the Goat.*

Ah.

A splitting headache suddenly crashed through his skull.

His body was warning him:

Do **not** force the memory back.
Do **not** drag it out.

*I crossed swords with the Goat. Then I shattered his mask.*

Raiga fought to continue the memory.

He remembered clashing wildly against the Goat, who had already completed Reinforcement.
He had even overwhelmed him — and successfully broke the mask.

But then what?

Why had his body forcibly erased his memory of the rest?

*The moment the mask broke… something that wasn’t the Goat appeared.*

What was it?
What did he see?

*Brrr…!*

The tremor in his body intensified.

*Craaaack!*

Raiga clenched his fist so hard it almost shattered.

He — a man who had slaughtered countless powerhouses and hunted fragments of Destruction — could not accept that he had been frightened by something nameless.

“…Ah.”

His complexion turned deathly pale as the memory returned.

He finally understood why he had awakened not in Fang’s training hall, but in his bed.

“I… ran away…?”

But that made no sense.
It was impossible — something that had never happened once in his entire life.

Staring blankly out the window, Raiga muttered—

“…Did I really flee?”

—

—

**Primal Armor**

Originally, the wooden staff that once carried the First Flame had no particular shape.
It was simply a tool meant to transport fire.
Even if reforged with the First Flame, it could never become armor.

But with the addition of a **Purified Bone Fragment of Despair**, the wooden staff *became armor.*

Armor — a creation of humankind meant to block spears, swords, and arrows.
The **Primal Armor** maximized that purpose.

It reflected damage back at attackers, and its defense was absolute.

But that was not its true ability.

> **〈The alternate name engraved onto “Primal Armor,” — *Primal Despair* — is activating!〉**

**Primal Despair.**

When the wearer reached their threshold, the armor changed its very nature.

Empowered by the *Purified Bone of Despair,* it summoned a completely different type of **Despair** —
a new being, like how Eve emerged from Adam’s rib — the same, yet fundamentally separate.

*Rrrrrrrrrrr—*

The moment Raiga saw that *shape,* he could not move.

Just seeing it froze him.
It was unlike any monster he had ever encountered.

“You are… not the Goat. What in the hell are you?”

One thing was certain — this was not the Goat he had fought.

It had borrowed the Goat’s body, but it was not the Goat.

*…That is a monster that annihilates all beings who bear hostility.*

Instinctively, Raiga erased every trace of hostility.
He knew that the moment he expressed even a sliver of killing intent, that monster would attack.

He could not strike — and must not strike.

But if he held no hostility, the creature did not move.

*The will I feel from it is singular — it wants to protect something.*

Protect…?

No — it felt more like protecting *someone inside.*

No doubt — this thing had appeared to safeguard the Goat.

*Like armor.*

The closest analogy was armor that shields its wearer.
This monster seemed to be that concept made manifest.

If so, there was a method.

If it only reacted to hostility — then he simply had to attack *without* hostility.

**A mind free of thought and emotion.**

Raiga closed his eyes — erased every impulse — and prepared to let the sword move on its own.

“…!!!”

But he could not swing.

Instead, he stumbled backward.

“Hah…! Hah…!”

His breathing went ragged.
Cold sweat poured from his body.

In that instant — in his subconscious — he witnessed **his own death.**

“What… is this…?”

He couldn’t understand.
Did the creature not move based on sensing intent?

He had erased his intent completely — so why had he seen that vision?

*That wasn’t a hallucination. If I had swung, I would have truly died.*

It was the hyper-intuition carved from countless battles.
Even attempting the strike would have triggered the creature.

If conscious attacks were impossible — and unconscious ones too —

*Right now, it cannot be killed.*

There was no method.

…Not right now.

*It won’t be able to maintain that state for long — it’s burning all of its mana.*

Yes. He just needed to wait.

That state wouldn’t last long.

At this very moment, it was devouring its own mana.

But he soon realized how wrong he was.

*Time…?*

Everything slowed.

It was like time itself had stopped.

Worse —

*Thump… Thump… Thump…*

Inside that frozen world, Raiga’s heart pounded violently — as if it would burst.

His lips dried.
A chill flooded his body.

His death played over and over and over again in his mind.

The monster did not even allow him to **wait.**

After what felt like hours — hundreds of hours —

*Damn it.*

Raiga finally stepped back.

There was simply **no answer.**

**Impossible to conquer.**

The only way to deal with *that thing* was to kill it *before it appeared.*
Attacking it once manifested — was impossible.

After retreating ten steps, Raiga finally turned his back and fled the area entirely.

He later staggered back to his quarters.

*Why isn’t it stopping?*

Even after erasing hostility — even after abandoning the thought of killing — it didn’t help.

Even distance changed nothing.

The despair he felt from that monster would not fade.
His death replayed endlessly.

Raiga writhed in agony for a long time.

There remained only one method:

Erase the memory entirely.
Avoid it until he found a different strategy someday.

But the problem was—

He had remembered again as soon as he woke.

*Thump… Thump… Thump…*

His heart raced once more.
The image of Despair… the image of his death… would not leave his mind.

Raiga clenched his pale face and hissed—

“…Damn it.”

—

—

 

 

When I opened my eyes, I was in my room.

The night blessed by the *Great Will of the Moon* had already passed.

“My head aches.”

I shook my head once.

…I remembered crossing swords with Raiga, and fully inheriting Wilhelm’s memories.
My last memory was Primal Despair activating.

I had no memory of what happened afterward.

*Knock. Knock.*

Someone rapped on the door.

“Who is it?”

“A trainee knight of the Fang Order.”

…A familiar voice.

It was unmistakably Isabella.

Why had she come to see me so early in the morning?

“Enter.”

*Creaaak.*

As expected, Isabella stepped inside.

But I could not greet her as an acquaintance.
For all I knew, Raiga might have sent her with ulterior motives.

Even if not, there were too many watching eyes.

“What business brings you here?”

I asked casually. Isabella slowly opened her mouth—

“The Commander wishes to meet you.”

“The Commander?”

“Commander Raiga of the Fang Knights has summoned you.”

I hadn’t misheard.

But I couldn’t fathom Raiga’s intent in calling for me.

Our swords had not clashed under friendly circumstances.

And I remembered nothing after Primal Despair activated.

Meeting Raiga like this could easily backfire.

“If he has business, tell him to come himself.”

I couldn’t afford to appear as though I was being summoned.

If the Golden Mask and the Cult executives found out, needless misunderstandings could arise.

So I responded harshly.

“…I will deliver the message.”

Isabella withdrew obediently.

…Also strange.
He summoned me, yet she gave up so easily.
Did he not have urgent business?

Even if he did, he would no longer come.

I was, on the surface, one of the Cult’s executives — and the executives and the Fang Knights were sworn adversaries.

Especially in the Imperial Palace, there was no way Raiga would personally move toward me.

Yet — as if mocking my prediction—

“…Let us speak. Just for a moment.”

—**Raiga, Commander of the Fang Knights.**

He really came to find me himself.
Not even five minutes after Isabella left.

And his eyes looked **desperate.**

—

 

 

 

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