I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-289

Ch-289. **The Most Holy Existence**

—

The moment *“it”* appeared—

Everything within the tower, Raiga included, froze in an instant.

*It* scattered a curse of malice, seizing control of the tower at an overwhelming speed.

Yet Raiga could not comprehend *its* existence.

*Wasn’t it a Dragon God?*

Two children who bore the rank of Dragon God.

Among them, the girl called Lucaria.

An existence that ought to be purely holy, utterly pristine!

That such a being could manifest malice of that magnitude—he could not easily accept it.

Yes. There was no way he had seen it wrong.

That was a mass of *malice*.

But malice of that degree does not arise under normal circumstances.

*The pain of having one’s living flesh torn apart. A soul screaming until it finally falls into corruption.*

Only by tasting pain and despair beyond imagination—

Only by collapsing under a profound helplessness that surpasses even that—

Could such a thing come to be.

And even if one did fall into corruption that way, the doubt still remained.

Even if a holy divinity were to fall to overflowing malice, *that*—

It was a mass of evil that dared to overwhelm even that level.

Was it not as if malice itself had taken form?

If one were to describe *it* in a single word—

“…Despair…?”

…Indeed, it deserved to be called *Despair*.

A girl who possessed both the rank of a Dragon God and the soul of Despair.

The form born of that imbalance was truly chilling.

Like wings,

black hands burst forth wildly, staining everything they touched with despair.

All that they touched became dominated by *it*.

A power that beguiled, brainwashed, and finally forced submission.

And yet, unsatisfied even then, it continued to devour endlessly.

“Hehe, hihihi……!”

Those who were dominated were dyed in malice and lost their reason.

Aaron of the Goddess Church was no exception.

“O Goddess! I shall sever the heads of these heretics and offer them unto you!”

Aaron clasped both hands together.

At the same moment, radiant light poured down upon him.

Terrifying holy power, incomparable to before.

Soon after, Aaron became a Holy Warrior—

And not just any, but a top-tier one.

He was sharing the power of despair.

*Forced implantation.*

Insane.

Raiga stared blankly at the sight for a moment.

What made the beings commonly called the *Four Calamities* truly terrifying was their ability to increase their numbers.

Just as Baal, within the tower, continued to summon nonexistent things through his curse as a medium—

Despair too possessed the power to replicate itself by implanting its own cells.

And currently, the Empire believed that one of the Four Calamities—*Despair*—was held by the Black King.

Then why… was the power of *Despair* manifesting here?

By forcibly implanting its cells, it shared its infinite power and pushed others beyond their limits.

Moreover, unlike Baal—who created and summoned dolls of curses—Despair amplified only the innate power of those into whom its cells were implanted.

But to think it could amplify even holy power—this was unexpected.

*Is it because it resides within a Dragon God’s body?*

Whatever the case, that thing was not a monster one could confront head-on.

Yet from the moment *it* appeared, escape became impossible.

《‘Emergency Escape’ is unavailable.》
《You cannot leave the ‘Tower’.》

*…The divinity of the Tower and the divinity of the Dragon God are colliding.*

Just as expected.

Until a conclusion was reached, no one could leave this tower.

Either the tower would collapse, or that monster would have to disappear for things to normalize.

Ah—

Aaaah—

It sounded like singing.

Lucaria, completely consumed by darkness, continued to emit strange sounds.

*The Voice of Temptation!*

Even avoiding the black hands was not enough.

Raiga covered his ears.

He drew up all his strength, sealing himself without the slightest gap.

Ah— aaaah—

And yet, it continued to be heard.

The voice grew sweeter little by little, bewitching everything around it.

—Raiga, my proud knight.

—Your Majesty…!

—The debt owed by the Fang shall never be forgotten.

—Your grace is immeasurable!

—I bestow upon you *Sacred Blood*. No one shall ever again scorn your blood as base.

—……!

He saw it.

The Emperor awakening and praising him.

He heard it.

The very situation Raiga desired most unfolded before his eyes.

*Damn it.*

He knew it was an illusion, yet the power of temptation was too strong.

Even blocking it did nothing.

But once the temptation ended, only brainwashing and domination would follow.

There was only one way to escape this phenomenon.

“Run!”

“To Lord Randolph……!”

Eternal Randolph.

Challenging him—

And being dominated by Eternal Randolph.

In the end, it meant choosing one of two options.

Submit and obey that unknown *thing*—

Or challenge *Eternal Randolph* and willingly accept defeat.

No matter how transcendent Raiga was, once caught in this *phenomenon*, there were no other choices.

He had already stepped into the swamp.

A deep swamp from which escape was impossible.

“Damn it all……”

Raiga twisted his face in frustration.

Nothing—absolutely nothing—was going as expected.

It was supposed to be just a tournament to save his disciple. How had it come to this?

Was this some kind of surprise party orchestrated to target him?

Otherwise, nothing about the flow of events so far could be called normal.

*Whoosh!*
*Whoooosh!*

One by one, they vanished.

In the blink of an eye, aside from those already dominated, Raiga was left alone.

Shishishish.

Mocking laughter echoed once more, as if ridiculing him.

But one thing was certain.

If he were dominated by *that*, there would be no future.

Even if he somehow resisted domination, *it* would only hasten his death.

He might die before this *phenomenon* even ended.

In truth, the choice had been singular from the start.

*Crunch!*

“You piece of shit……!”

《‘Raiga’ challenges ‘Eternal Randolph’.》
《The ‘Curse of Dominion’ activates. Control established.》

*

*

 

**Boss Room.**

Phase 3—the domain where Eternal Randolph existed.

The moment he arrived—

《You are under the dominion of ‘Eternal Randolph’.》
《Those under control cannot attack one another.》
《Repel the intruder.》
《If ‘Eternal Randolph’ is defeated, the ‘Curse of Dominion’ will transform into the ‘Curse of Death’.》

Several lines of text floated before his eyes.

The surroundings were already filled with those who had challenged him and chosen defeat.

“Phermone…… you idiot.”

Among them was Phermone.

Ant King Phermone.

He had completely lost his former self.

Raktusha clicked his tongue bitterly.

He had expected that Phermone’s habit of charging at anything indiscriminately would lead to his ruin—but it had happened far too quickly.

*Where is ‘Eternal Randolph’?*

Raiga scanned his surroundings.

But no matter how he looked, there was no one who appeared to be Eternal Randolph.

Instead—

“H-He… that person is ‘Eternal Randolph’.”

“…Aria?”

Someone appeared.

Aria, daughter of the White King—who had once challenged Randolph to uncover his true identity.

She suddenly appeared and quietly pointed at something.

Panting heavily, Gunggi asked,

“…You’re saying Ant King Phermone is ‘Eternal Randolph’?”

“At present, the Ant King is undergoing molting.”

Come to think of it, it was strange.

Ant King Phermone had not moved at all.

He was crouched down, completely still.

“‘Eternal Randolph’ has taken residence within the Ant King during his molting. He’ll finish it soon.”

“Taken residence? Then does that mean ‘Eternal Randolph’ has no physical form?”

Aria nodded.

But she said nothing more.

Of course, Aria had seen Randolph’s true form—

…that of a *swordsman*.

But she chose not to mention it.

After all, that swordsman was her lifesaver.

More than anything, there was something unsettling about Randolph’s condition.

Just then—

*Rumble!*
*Kurrrrrr!*

“What is it?”

“Why… is it shaking?”

The boss room began to tremble.

But Eternal Randolph was currently molting within the Ant King’s body.

Then what was this sudden phenomenon?

Soon, they found out.

《‘It’ challenges ‘Eternal Randolph’.》

“…It followed us?”

Their eyes shook violently as they stared at the message.

It had followed them.

*That thing*.

That horrifying existence stained with despair!

*Whoosh!*
*Whoooosh!*
*Whoooooosh!*

And not alone—but accompanied by an overwhelming number of *challengers*.

Hundreds of thousands who had been climbing the tower, all dominated by *it*, appeared before their eyes simultaneously.

*

*

 

I looked at the summoned *Omen King*.

But all I could do was look.

“…Did you summon me?”

The thing before my eyes—

Was not the *Omen King*.

Slowly, I spoke its name.

“War God Karas……?”

Why had War God Karas been summoned?

War God Karas was the divinity that ruled the Tower of the War God—and simultaneously, the *King of Ash*.

Not the King of Omen.

Was this too part of the two gods’ intent?

—Kraah?
—Kraah?

…It didn’t seem so.

Both the God of Omen and the God of Ash tilted their heads in confusion.

So I had to ask.

“Karas. What is happening in the tower right now?”

“You… who are you? Why have you entered the ‘Gap’ and are conducting trials at will?”

Karas did not recognize me.

Worse, he was angry.

“You intend to end this foolish battle between main gods? Stop. I will never allow it.”

*Flap!*

Karas spread his wings.

“If one side loses, the loser is annihilated. The crows who lose their main god will grow smaller, dumber, and lose authority over the tower. Did you enter knowing that?”

That was why the two had been fighting endlessly.

Because by a foolish pact, the defeated side would be erased.

Whether it was the Omen race or the Ash race—if one vanished completely, the balance of the world would collapse rapidly.

Thus, no one was allowed to enter the *Gap of the Tower*.

An absolute rule both the King of Omen and the King of Ash had agreed upon.

And now some strange intruder had broken that rule—it was only natural he would be furious.

“…Answer me. Why were you summoned?”

Still, I couldn’t understand it.

The fact that Karas had been summoned when I had summoned the Omen King.

So I asked again.

“What are you doing? King of Ash—War God Karas.”

“…The normalization of the abnormal. To return everything to how it was meant to be.”

An answer that still explained nothing.

What was certain was that everything happening in the tower right now was caused by War God Karas.

“I will no longer be dragged around by the battles of foolish gods. A god who abandons their race is no longer a main god. Therefore, I will take control.”

*Guaaaaaaaah!*

Divinity gathered across Karas’s entire body.

…Strong.

Stronger than ever.

Even stronger than when I climbed the Tower of the War God and lost.

I had lost even with Randolph’s body—there was no way I could win in my current state.

*Don’t tell me…?*

A worst-case thought finally struck me.

—He’s mixed with the Omen King’s factor.
—Mm.

The main gods spoke, as if confirming my suspicion.

Mixed.

The factor of the Omen King.

There was only one person who could possess such a thing.

*Did he absorb Randolph?*

Randolph.

The one who inherited the will of the dreadful omen and the Omen King—there was no one else.

…But even if that were so, he couldn’t have absorbed *everything*.

Because *Paradox of Fate* wasn’t activating—even with Karas standing right before me.

“Disappear.”

*Boom!*
*Kuaaaaaang!*

A bolt of lightning imbued with divinity fell from the empty sky.

A strike premised on unavoidable, absolute death.

“…What is that?”

Yet it did not reach me.

It wasn’t only *War God Karas* who had been summoned.

“Could that be… the ‘Throne of the Sun God’?”

The throne said to have been sat upon by the Sun God.

The *Throne of Light* had been summoned as well.

I didn’t know why the Throne of Light had appeared together with him, but when seated upon it, all attacks were nullified.

Even Karas’s.

But Karas sneered.

“That throne is not eternal. When the sun sets, its invincibility will be undone.”

The sun floating in the sky—

It was slowly setting.

Before long, once the sun’s light vanished completely, the Throne of Light would lose its power.

So the choice had to be made before then.

“What will you offer, and what do you intend to become? No matter what, the result will not change.”

The Throne of Light.

At the same time, it was a chair that endlessly devoured *sacrifices* to bring something into descent.

The Hexagonal Sword Saint Riley, and even the dreadful omen, had both been summoned by the Throne of Light.

But in this situation, there were limits to what could be offered as sacrifices.

And even if I did offer something, there was no way I could defeat the now-empowered Karas.

I deliberated.

*No sacrifices?*

That wasn’t true.

My equipment was nowhere near enough.

The Primordial Armor and the Spear of Longinus were immortal—items that could not be used as sacrifices.

*There is one certain sacrifice.*

My hesitation was brief.

I immediately offered what I had thought of.

《You offer the ‘Throne of Light’ as a sacrifice.》

《The ‘Throne of Light’ manifests as the ‘Most Holy Throne of Light’.》

《You may use ‘Holy Radiance (Lv. 50)’.》

《The soul of the most holy and glorious one is summoned upon the throne.》

《‘Complete Golden Scale’ is consumed according to the summoned soul’s scale.》

What should I bring forth to overturn the current situation?

The final chance granted by the Throne of Light.

Riley—the hexagonal hero of the Old Empire, supreme dragon and Sword Saint—

Or an existence even stronger than the one summoned as the dreadful omen.

*I will call forth the strongest being I know.*

…Then, there was only one answer.