**Chapter 401. The Dragon God Council**
—
**Dragon Gods (龍神).**
Among dragons—hailed as the greatest of all races—the title of *Dragon God* is a name only the most exceptional may claim.
As guardians representing an entire world, their selection and appointment are carried out with extreme rigor.
It is not a name one can earn through strength alone.
Only dragons whose qualifications have been verified by the **Dragon God Council** may become Dragon Gods, and only they are granted absolute authority over their respective worlds.
Thus, a dragon whose qualifications have not been validated can never be a Dragon God.
“……Lately, there have been those who were never verified, yet dare to call themselves Dragon Gods.”
“In the world where Lucaria died, even that *mutant*……”
“Einhassar broke the rules and raised a hand in favor of that *mutant*.”
“But didn’t a motion come up to expel Einhassar from the Dragon God Council the moment he became a *Mad Dragon* through Destruction?”
“It was voted down. Even as a Mad Dragon, he continued to carry out the Goddess’s duty.”
The **Dragon God Council**.
Even here, where Dragon Gods convened, discussion about two particular worlds had not ceased of late.
The Blade Dragon God **Hana**, and the Seventh Lord **Basara**.
Unverified beings—never recognized by the Council—had begun calling themselves “Dragon Gods” and exerting influence over their worlds.
That alone was a serious issue, yet worse still was the emergence of a Dragon God who violated the rules to aid them.
**Dragon God Einhassar.**
A Dragon God once cursed by Destruction and turned into a Mad Dragon.
Yet because he faithfully fulfilled his original duty even in that state, he had not been expelled from the Council.
And yet……
Once his curse was lifted, Einhassar suddenly answered the request of a mutant.
Normally, dispersing a Dragon God’s power across an entire world required the Council’s permission.
He had exercised that power freely, without approval.
“Summon Einhassar. We must demand recompense for his violation of the code.”
“And what of those two?”
“Both are mutants.”
“……Mutants cannot become Dragon Gods.”
“And in Basara’s case, hasn’t she already crossed over to the Demon Realm?”
“Ah. A dragon who became nothing more than a lackey to a mere Demon King.”
“The same applies to Lucaria’s world. We have more than enough candidates to send there.”
“Three dragons have already been mentioned……”
For mutants to become Dragon Gods was an act that undermined legitimacy itself.
Naturally, the Dragon God Council would never accept such a thing.
Rather, their orthodox stance was to strip both of all qualifications entirely and entrust those worlds to new Dragon Gods.
No dissenting opinions were needed.
The Council’s will was truth itself.
Even the gods of the worlds were forced to bow before it.
Unless one was of the rank of a *High God*, the Dragon God Council did not even deign to converse.
Of course, there was a single exception.
“How are things in *Heaven*?”
“……Recently, two Dragon Gods betrayed the Council to obtain a reprieve from *Destruction*.”
“One of them even joined hands with the *Outer Gods*.”
“Tsk. Fools.”
**Heaven.**
The Dragon God Council was the only faction that stood in opposition to Heaven.
The Council protected worlds; Heaven destroyed them.
The problem was that, as of late, the number of Dragon Gods flowing into Heaven had been increasing.
More and more Dragon Gods were submitting to Heaven in exchange for delaying the destruction of their worlds.
Some had even gone so far as to ally themselves with the Outer Gods……those filthy, barbaric entities.
“The Dragon God Council’s prestige has fallen to the ground.”
“Does Heaven intend to destroy all worlds?”
“Can we still not overcome those *Three Destructions*?”
Ruin.
Annihilation.
And Destruction.
Heaven’s most powerful weapons—then as now—were beyond their ability to stop.
So overwhelmingly powerful that their use required countless conditions, yet all worlds that met those conditions shared a single fate: annihilation.
No—there was, in fact, one lone exception.
“*Pangaenia* is the only world to survive after being struck by Destruction.”
“Most would argue that falling into the *Abyss* hardly counts as survival.”
“What is certain is that the worlds Heaven is watching most closely now are *Earth* and *Pangaenia*. We’ve found traces of *Truth* intervening several times.”
At that moment—
“What?”
“Truth?”
“……That *Truth* intervened several times?”
At the opinion of one Dragon God, the entire Council stirred.
Truth’s intervention meant Heaven had shifted its gaze.
It meant there was something in those two worlds worthy of their attention.
Moreover, cases where Truth intervened multiple times were virtually unheard of.
Truth could make anything possible with a single intervention.
“Is there something in those worlds that runs counter to Truth’s intent?”
“……What could it be?”
“Could it be……a *fourth weapon*?”
The emergence of a fourth Destruction.
If that were true, it would certainly be something Truth would covet.
Ruin, Annihilation, and Destruction were all weapons Truth had forged by seizing them from specific worlds.
Blades honed to cut down all beings who sought to exist outside of Truth.
To the Dragon God Council, this was troubling.
Should a fourth Destruction appear, the balance between Heaven and the Council could shatter in an instant.
As all eyes turned toward him, the Dragon God who had spoken said:
“Something is being created in those two worlds. Something Truth would desire. Perhaps even at this very moment.”
*Suuuh—*
A scene appeared at the center of the Council.
Blade Dragon God Hana, locked in battle with the Reaper Cult.
“A mutant?”
“So that is the mutant claiming the role of Dragon God in Lucaria’s world.”
“And she’s rampaging.”
“Why are you showing us this?”
At a glance, they recognized Hana as a mutant.
The power she wielded in her frenzy clearly surpassed that of most Dragon Gods.
But……
“We are not showing you the mutant. Look at the one wearing the *golden mask*.”
“Hm……”
“That presence feels familiar.”
“And those spirits—are they modeled after *Spirit of Souls*?”
“No. They are the Spirits of Souls themselves. From Heaven.”
**Spirits of Souls.**
Spirits that existed only in Heaven.
The immensely powerful heavenly god, the *Celestial God*, carried his power by infusing it into Spirits of Souls.
They were vessels that sealed and wielded divine power.
And yet they existed in Pangaenia?
This was news even to them.
In truth, it would be more accurate to say they had taken no interest in Pangaenia at all, a world already once driven to the brink of destruction.
“I suspect the one Truth intervened for is that man in the golden mask.”
At those words, the other Dragon Gods stroked their chins.
It was not an implausible claim.
Only the Celestial God and Truth itself should be capable of handling Spirits of Souls.
It was possible Truth had handed them over, intending to forge a fourth weapon.
“But isn’t he far too weak to become a fourth weapon?”
The humans fighting the mutant were being overwhelmed without resistance.
That was only natural against a rampaging dragon.
“Keep watching.”
The speaking Dragon God shook his head.
A relevant scene appeared at that very moment.
“Mm?”
“T-that is……?”
“The Spirit of Souls is *devouring* other Spirits of Souls……?”
Devouring.
Consuming its own kind.
Not just one—but many.
Each time the wielder of a Spirit of Souls fell incapacitated, the Spirit of Souls possessed by the golden-masked man absorbed the escaping soul and mana.
Endlessly, as though without limit, its presence swelled larger and larger.
They had never known Spirits of Souls possessed such a function.
And if it were to devour all the spirits present there……
*It could become Heaven’s fourth weapon.*
The Dragon Gods thought so.
This was not something they could simply overlook.
Nor was the golden mask the only thing drawing their attention.
As the battle dragged on—
“…….”
“For a mutant, she’s quite impressive.”
They could not help but admire Blade Dragon God Hana’s combat prowess.
It surpassed that of most Dragon Gods by far.
*
*
**Blade Dragon God Hana.**
Once before, she had already gone *berserk*.
When all her demon-blooded kin were lost to the Second Lord, Issera.
By creating an Overlord in the breeding grounds using the hearts of Dragon God Lucaria and Second Lord Issera, they had barely managed to subdue her back then.
But this time was different.
In fact, the situation was far worse.
《‘Dragon God–Devotee’ is linked to its object of devotion, ‘Randolph’.》
《‘Dragon God–Devotee’ only takes damage when ‘Randolph’ is attacked. It is immune to all other attacks.》
《Randolph’s existence has vanished.》
《The state of ‘Dragon God–Devotee’ has been released.》
《‘Invincibility’ is released, entering ‘Frenzy’.》
Randolph’s disappearance.
His presence could be felt nowhere.
Which meant—
*He was dead.*
That Randolph no longer existed in this world.
Amid overwhelming confusion, she lost her reason.
Though she had barely managed to protect Lucaria, she could no longer control her rampage.
A rage far greater than during her previous frenzy boiled up within her.
*You killed him.*
Everything before her became an enemy.
“GRAAAAH!”
“Are you insane—! What is that thing?!”
Screams erupted from all sides.
This was nothing like when she had first manifested in the world as a Dragon God.
Back then, she barely knew how to wield her own power.
But after accepting Lucaria and Issera as Overlords of the demon-blooded, after building her forces, her power had more than doubled.
Even in her rampage, she knew how to wield it properly.
“……She’s nothing but a monster.”
“Another two are dead already.”
The Death Cult’s executives clicked their tongues.
Two more executives, including the Golden Pig, had been slain.
That made four confirmed executive casualties so far.
The Giant of Ruin had fared better, at least.
He had not fought on the premise of his own death.
He had been forced back, if only temporarily, by other Star Guardians.
But the Blade Dragon God was different.
She fought them while assuming her own death.
And the more they pressed her……
*She’s a blood-crazed demon.*
She did not tire.
She thirsted madly for blood.
Even demons recoiled at the sheer horror of it.
Never before had a single monster driven them this far.
*But she’s not unscathed either.*
Her arm was torn apart, her left eye gouged out, and the blades on her back had all been severed.
Before long, she would reach her limit and fall.
To fight the Death Cult’s executives to this extent was already astonishing.
Frankly, she was an opponent none of them wished to face again.
“Just die already!”
*KWA-RAAANG!*
As the Golden Lion swung his fist, a flash of light erupted, slamming the Blade Dragon God’s body into the wall.
“……Is it over?”
“Has she finally stopped?”
The executives muttered in voices thick with exhaustion.
They could no longer tell how much time had passed since the battle began.
What was certain was this:
The Blade Dragon God had massacred three executives and over seven thousand Reaper Cult soldiers.
Alone.
……All by herself.
“The damage is greater than expected.”
“……We’ll have to join forces with the Balrog Cult.”
The golden mask nodded.
To properly break through this labyrinth, their numbers were woefully insufficient.
The Black King would surely refuse, leaving them no choice but to contact the Balrog Cult and combine forces.
*Swish.*
That was when—
From somewhere, a sound that should never have been heard echoed out.
The Blade Dragon God lifted her head.
“……This is insane.”
“Does she even die?”
“We’ll have to kill her until she’s dead.”
She was clearly spent.
Just as she drew a ragged breath and prepared to assume a fighting stance once more—
《All demon-blooded offer their mana to the Queen.》
《The aura possessed by ‘Lucaria’ surges into the Blade Dragon God.》
《The ‘Blade Dragon God’ recovers mana through the ‘Lord’ trait.》
《The status abnormality ‘Frenzy’ changes to ‘Frenzy (Despair)’.》
Shattered bones knit back together and regenerated.
Her skin and eye returned to their original state.
From her gaze surged a crimson hue, as red as blood.
The blade-wings extending from her back had grown more than twice as large, resembling hands of despair reaching outward.
“…….”
All members of the Reaper Cult could only stare at the sight in sheer horror.
