I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-359

Ch-359. **Even if I have to crawl like a dog.**

—

A mortal can never tear apart a god’s barrier.

That is something only a god of a higher order can accomplish.

That was precisely why, even after the advent of Ruin, the Goddess’s barrier still remained over the holy city of Adrium.

The Goddess’s barrier existed to block evil and petty things from entering.

But Outer Gods were different.

Gods from beyond.

Omniscient, cosmic existences.

No one knew where they came from.

Some claimed they descended from the heavens; others said they were gods born from ruined worlds.

One thing was certain—they were not bound by the ordinary laws of the world.

And whenever they appeared, they brought even greater chaos.

That was why a petty Outer God could enter the Goddess’s barrier and settle within the holy city.

“That’s impossible. There’s no way *He* would allow a mere human to wield His power…!”

Yet even they had their own rules.

For instance, an Outer God could only manifest once the world’s chaos exceeded a certain threshold—and only if there was a vessel capable of containing it.

Just as the Outer God appeared using Sonora’s hollow body as its vessel.

Now, using the man before them as a vessel—

*He* had manifested.

Moreover, *He* had planted only His authority into the man’s left arm.

That meant the man possessed a vessel vast enough to contain *Him*, and an overwhelming rank capable of wielding even that authority.

“Where is the real Sonora?”

The man’s gaze turned toward her.

At the same time, the Outer God’s eyes shook violently.

Just meeting his gaze felt as though her soul would be sucked in.

As though it contained the truths of the universe itself.

How could a mortal’s soul be this vast?

The Outer God reasoned.

What this man possessed was merely the power dwelling in *His* left arm.

*He* was a being so exalted that His name could neither be spoken nor even known.

The authority residing in that left arm had the power to tear through all barriers and transcend them—

But still.

“…Do you really think you can harm me?”

The Outer God smiled leisurely once more.

If she were killed, the real Sonora would die as well.

And even if it came down to tearing through barriers, she was confident she would not lose.

Sssshk.

Like a ghost, the Outer God’s form turned translucent.

Then, as she slipped free of the man called Hyeonmyung’s grasp, two enormous wings erupted from her back.

“I have already claimed the authority of the Goddess.”

Flaaash!

Particles of light poured forth.

Holy—like a benevolent Goddess.

An absolute domain no wielder of light could intrude upon.

Even beings endowed with divinity—could they truly dare to harm the Goddess of Mercy?

Humans never seek to escape the Goddess’s embrace.

“Goddess!”

“Protect our Goddess!”

In an instant, chaos erupted outside.

That alone was proof she possessed the Goddess’s divine authority.

Ever since Sonora’s body had arrived in the holy city, everyone within had begun falling under the Outer God’s influence.

Now that she had revealed her authority, all the people of the city would rush forth to protect the Goddess.

“Kneel. You can never defeat me.”

A smile returned to the Outer God’s lips as she regained her composure.

That man could not defeat her.

To do so, he would have to kill Sonora—and every single person in the holy city.

Could he truly walk such a path of carnage?

At that moment—

“So all Outer Gods are parasitic gods, then.”

Park Hyeonmyung, the man who defined the Outer Gods, smiled as well.

Hah.

Parasitic gods.

It made her feel like a parasite herself.

And more than that, the Outer God couldn’t understand that smile.

This was a moment of absolute peril.

He could not withstand the tidal wave that was about to crash down upon him.

And yet—such composure?

Was he planning to flee using the authority that tore through barriers?

“You said you obtained the Goddess’s authority?”

“I am already the Goddess you worship and serve.”

The Outer God already was the Goddess.

The vacancy left by the Two Goddesses.

The moment the Outer God entered the holy city of Adrium and was accepted by the highest apostle—the Pope—it had become inevitable.

So then, what would he do?

If he killed her, the Church of the Goddess would no longer be able to use divine power.

The Church would collapse, and evil would flourish even more.

The owner of this body wouldn’t survive either.

Then, he spoke heavily.

“Then I suppose I’ll have to take the Goddess’s power away first.”

Take it away?

The wording was flawed.

The Goddess’s power was not something that could be taken.

…And yet, before long—

The Outer God realized those words were not a lie.

Ruuuumble!

The earth shook, and something rose from the ground.

“……”

Something massive, overwhelming, and steeped in darkness.

*

*

The God of Dreams, Hypnos, lifted his head and gazed beyond the horizon.

Somewhere far away, he sensed that something which should never have risen… had risen.

“…So you have decided to use the power of Ruin.”

Hypnos knew Park Hyeonmyung’s true nature.

That he wielded the power of Ruin—and that he himself was *the End*.

Though he had become “the End” within the World Tree’s interior and wielded Ruin there, this was Pangaenia.

It could not be concealed.

No—he had never intended to conceal it.

By now, some beings would already have noticed the emergence of Ruin.

Hypnos shook his head.

“With the Hundred Gods War gone, the Outer Gods are running rampant.”

There was an Outer God in Adrium.

And not only Adrium.

Outer Gods were appearing all across the world.

They were devouring the divine authorities of existing gods and taking their places.

Pangaenia was the perfect world for Outer Gods to settle into.

“Raging chaos and the void left by the gods have begun summoning them.”

There was no god of sufficiently high rank to interfere—let alone a Hundred Gods Hall.

After a prior wave of Ruin had already swept the land, there was no natural enemy left.

To the Outer Gods, this place was a paradise.

But Outer Gods could not be summoned without summoners.

“The Balrog Order… they’re summoning Outer Gods indiscriminately.”

Hypnos had once been the Eye of Ruin himself.

Through his tower erected in this Sanctuary of Honor, he observed the world.

And he confirmed that most of those summoning Outer Gods were the Balrog Order.

The Balrog Order.

A truly strange group.

Were they trying to conquer Pangaenia by recklessly summoning Outer Gods?

In truth, they were invading the lands of many gods, importing vessels for Outer Gods, and devouring gods themselves.

From the outset, these lands were ones where only divine authority remained—making gods easy prey.

Since the death of the Goddess, no intact chief deity remained in Pangaenia.

As long as an Outer God could enter a land where divine authority lingered, it could replace that god.

Just like the Outer God that replaced the Goddess in Adrium.

Hypnos stroked his chin.

“The Balrog Order is expanding rapidly. Which means someone stands behind them.”

Yet summoning Outer Gods was no easy feat.

First, one needed to create or find a vessel capable of containing them—and only a few places on the continent could process such vast information.

And yet, the Balrog Order was even making contact with the Lands of the Abyss.

Perhaps they intended to ally with abyssal monsters like the Heavenly Demon.

Despite expanding so steeply, they remained quiet.

Everything was proceeding in utter secrecy.

“The Empire is involved. But it isn’t the whole picture.”

There was only one place capable of all this.

The Arhon Empire.

But it wasn’t the only one aiding the Balrog Order’s growth.

Hypnos expanded his observation range.

This warranted closer scrutiny.

Soon, Hypnos’s gaze landed upon *someone*.

“…Mm!”

Hypnos groaned softly and quickly shut his eyes.

But when he opened them again, he could not comprehend what he had seen.

“How… is he alive?”

Deep within the Balrog Order, he had clearly seen someone.

The problem was—

“The Dark Elf Lord… he’s still alive?”

How could this be?

The Dark Elf Lord Hypnos saw was a being from the Golden Age.

Countless eons had passed since then.

He should have long since turned to white dust.

And yet, when Hypnos looked at him, the Dark Elf Lord looked back.

He had perceived Hypnos’s power—something even gods could not detect.

That alone proved he was no ordinary Dark Elf.

An Outer God?

Or… an “Operator”?

Then why aid the Balrog Order, and why serve under the Black King?

“Evil is gathering.”

…Evil was gathering.

Far greater than expected.

Evil disguised as light—chaos itself.

An evil more vile than anything that had ever appeared.

No one knew.

Quietly, secretly, evil was devouring the light.

The power of light alone was too weak to oppose them.

“But you don’t know either.”

Yet—

At the same time, they did not know.

That another Destruction—another End, Park Hyeonmyung—was here.

That once he began “erasing gods,” everyone would have to be on edge.

For an Outer God wearing another god’s authority could never be free from Ruin.

And that wasn’t all.

What Park Hyeonmyung had obtained upon leaving the World Tree’s dungeon—

That “feather of an Outer God”—

Hypnos knew directly from Ruin itself.

Among the stories Ruin had told him, there was mention of a being connected to that feather.

“…It once belonged to one who nearly brought the heavens to ruin.”

And perhaps—

“The Blue Bird… could its Operator be the very ‘He’ the Outer Gods speak of?”

Hypnos thought that feather might belong to the Blue Bird.

*

*

Had I not cleared the World Tree’s dungeon—

Had I not come here afterward—

I would never have grasped the severity of the situation.

I would have been unable to deal with an Outer God masquerading as a Goddess.

Moreover, by destroying the symbol of a Forgotten God and acquiring numerous Ruin Points, I had learned how to “erase a god.”

“There’s no longer any reason to hesitate.”

As long as I couldn’t fully control Randolph’s power, I had no intention of revealing myself recklessly.

But transforming into Randolph wasn’t the only way to wield Ruin.

I had hesitated to use Ruin itself.

I believed the emergence of Ruin would bring no benefit to Pangaenia.

But I was wrong.

When I put together everything I’d heard through Hypnos, using the power of Ruin was the only sure way to eliminate the Outer Gods.

“I am your Ruin.”

Ruin was neither light nor darkness.

It was the natural enemy of both.

There was a reason even evil gods trembled in fear.

And so, I intended to sound the alarm for the creeping evil and darkness.

To instill a terrifying misconception—so they would never dare reach beyond their station.

“W-what is this—Ruin’s power?!”

The Outer God screamed as it recognized me as its natural enemy.

The momentum reversed.

No smile bloomed on the Outer God’s face any longer.

The shadow of Ruin falling over the holy city of Adrium.

It was—

《The ‘Tower of Ruin’ has appeared in ‘Adrium’.》

《If the ‘Tower of Ruin’ is not conquered within 48 hours, ‘Adrium’ will be corrupted into a ‘Land of Ruin’, and the ‘Goddess (Outer God)’ will lose her power.》

Gazing up at the Tower of Ruin that had risen,

I spoke leisurely.

“Now then—crawl up like a dog, you nameless petty god.”