**Chapter 402. Family.**
—
Earth’s Awakeners were tense.
The phenomenon of the *Black Dome* simply wouldn’t end.
Those dark clouds hanging over the entire ocean showed no sign of dispersing.
But before that tension could even settle—
《Corrosion Rate 30%》
《The Third Invasion has begun.》
《Prepare yourselves.》
《‘The Third Lord, Mammon,’ and the Primordial Spirit Legion are advancing.》
…The message announcing the Third Invasion appeared.
The rapidly rising corrosion rate had filled to 30% in an instant.
Fear was plainly written across the faces of those who had assumed battle stances.
“Is the system still unavailable…?”
“Auctions and shop transactions are the same.”
“…We’ll have to conserve everything.”
This invasion was different from the previous ones.
Originally, they had actively used the system to procure supplies.
For example, through the auction house, they could obtain weapons or potions they needed at any moment—even from the other side of the globe.
They could ask for opinions and countermeasures through the World Tree community or from constellations.
They could even check the Hall of Fame to see which rankers had lived or died.
And the Golden Scale Shop—needless to say.
Yet now, all of it was unusable.
The worst possible situation.
It was an invasion that no Awakened on Earth had ever experienced before.
But there was something even worse than that.
“What about contact with the strike force that headed for the Black Dome?”
“…None.”
“Then is there a way to enter from the outside?”
“We’ve tried several times, but…”
“Of all times… damn it!”
The five hundred-strong strike force that had departed to investigate the Black Dome.
They were composed solely of the strongest individuals at the very pinnacle of the world.
Heroes who could rightfully be called the axis of the world itself.
And after they entered the Black Dome, the Third Invasion began.
The problem was that all contact had been cut off—and there was no way to reach them.
In the worst case, there was even the possibility that every last one of them had been annihilated.
“It’s over…”
“There’s no way we can stop this…”
Voices filled with despair spilled out naturally.
Because no hope was visible.
The system was gone, and the frontline Awakeners who had protected Earth had vanished all at once.
In this state, what could they possibly do?
–Hiiiaaah!
–Whiiiiiing!
That was when it happened.
Across the entire sky of Earth, thousands of warps opened.
Invasion warps.
And through those warps, countless *Primordial Spirits* began to pour out.
It was as if the entire sky had been submerged.
Seeing that sight, people shut their eyes tightly.
“Ah…”
“O God…”
“Have you truly abandoned us?”
*
*
Crunch!
The Black King sank his fangs into the White King’s neck.
He devoured the White King’s blood and stole the authority of the White Tiger Clan.
But he did not kill the White King.
“White King… how dare you.”
The Black King looked down at his left hand.
Fur that had turned stark white.
White patches of fur had sprouted like stains and now crept all the way up to his wrist.
“I will not be corroded by the likes of you.”
Yet he was undeniably being corroded.
Soul corrosion.
From the beginning, this must have been the White King’s intention.
Through foresight, he would have known that he couldn’t win a direct confrontation.
And yet he had shown himself on the battlefield—meaning he had planned this from the start.
The moment his fangs sank in, the White King revealed his intent.
To uproot and erase the Black King’s soul itself.
The White Tiger Clan sought to reach the ultimate through the evolution of the soul, making them the most proficient race when it came to manipulating the *spirit*.
Naturally, he must have believed it would succeed.
*If you desire my soul, then I will seize even your body.*
The Black Lion Clan were those who sought the ultimate through the evolution of the body.
The instant the Black King realized the White King’s intent, he fused the hollow shell of the White King’s body with his own.
Moreover, in a body that had grown even more resilient, no stray soul could easily take root.
Yet driving out the White King’s soul proved difficult.
With each passing moment, white fur continued to grow across the Black King’s body.
Eventually, only white fur occupied the left side of his body, while only black fur remained on the right.
A form split perfectly in half.
“Grrrrrr…!”
The Black King twisted his body.
He had thought victory would come easily—never imagining such stubborn resistance.
From the outset, the mixing of soul and body between the Black Lion Clan and the White Tiger Clan was a taboo.
An absolute rule that must never be broken between the two races.
Should it be violated, even a king would have to forfeit his life.
But the White King had broken the taboo first.
Thus, the Black King broke it as well.
For only a taboo could be answered with another taboo.
At last, the twisting of the body ceased.
Standing upright once more, the Black King smiled faintly.
“…Now I understand why the fusion of the White Tiger Clan and the Black Lion Clan is forbidden.”
The unity of soul and body between two utterly different races.
“This… is the ultimate.”
A shuddering power welled up from within.
Was this how it felt to stand at the final destination of all evolution?
The attempt had been admirable, but in the end, the victor was the Black King himself.
A blessing born of misfortune.
Calamity had brought forth a far greater fortune.
“‘Beast God’…!”
The Black King’s smile deepened.
Fusion with the White King had granted him more than that alone.
The evolution of hidden traits.
Several of his hidden traits evolved, and as a result, the martial power of the *Black Beasts*—to whom he had bestowed hidden traits—grew vastly stronger.
But above all else, the pinnacle was the hidden trait *Beast God*.
The apex of all beasts, the one and only god who reigns supreme.
“The dominion over Black Beasts goes without saying, but…”
The Black King looked toward the colossal giant.
Despair.
Complete control over that creature now seemed possible.
“The Old Empire failed to control the Four Calamities. They misunderstood their purpose.”
The Old Empire had tried to use the Four Calamities merely as weapons.
They sought only to have massive, colossal monsters clash and battle.
Failure was inevitable.
But that was not the true use of the Four Calamities.
The Black King knew their real purpose.
For instance, Baal of the Four Calamities was a medium for summoning curses.
Offer Baal as a sacrifice, and even an evil god could be summoned in its original form.
Then what purpose did *Despair* serve?
Cell transplantation?
That was merely one of Despair’s functions.
Its true use lay elsewhere.
*Now… it’s possible.*
The Black King raised his right hand.
Then he commanded Despair.
“…Dwell within my hand, O Despair.”
*
*
Kwaaang!
A madly spreading explosion.
It had already repeated dozens, hundreds of times—but now, the end was in sight.
“…I’ll admit it.”
The Golden Mask spoke with a gaunt expression.
There had never been an existence that fought this fiercely against the executives of the Reaper Cult—just a single Blade Dragon God.
“You’re the first to push me this far.”
The Golden Mask spoke as he gripped the Blade Dragon God Hana by the neck.
She was also the first to make him this tense.
The Blade Dragon God had gone berserk and revived again and again.
In the process, six executives had died.
But with each death, the Golden Mask’s power surged sharply.
By absorbing the Lineages of the fallen guardians into his own, he was being completed.
The reason they surrendered their souls to the Golden Mask so readily was simple.
–His Majesty the Emperor is awakening.
–We must offer everything to Him.
–Through me, we shall all welcome Him.
…The sleeping Emperor was awakening.
That statement was true.
The Emperor was opening his eyes.
Regaining consciousness.
Somewhere in this world, a *Golden Spirit* had appeared and was awakening the Emperor.
And on the day the Emperor truly awakened, they would usher in an unparalleled revival.
Moreover, the omnipotent Emperor would resurrect them as his angels.
They believed without doubt that they would awaken as entirely new beings—far more powerful beings.
Thus, they handed over their souls to the Golden Mask along with their Lineages.
Crunch!
The Golden Mask snapped the Blade Dragon God’s neck.
Her body slumped like a puppet with its strings cut.
At the same time—
Rumble!
The labyrinth shook and began to move once more.
And when everything finally came to a halt—
‘Level 9.’
The level designation engraved on the wall had changed.
Considering that the area where the Blade Dragon God had just been defeated was level 8, it meant a being stronger than her now stood before him.
It was hard to believe that such an existence could exist here.
“…A Druid?”
What appeared was a druid.
Alongside him were several others whose humanity was hard to discern.
And they radiated an aura similar to *Raiga’s*.
“You… what relation do you have to Raiga?”
The Golden Mask frowned as he asked.
He had never imagined there would be others who carried an air like that of the lone Raiga.
Then—
The legendary druid Albino glanced around at those who had come with him and spoke in a flat tone.
“Family. You trash.”
*
*
…The darkness is too strong.
Watching the pitch-black darkness surge in, Hudson bit down on his lip.
“Ah, God…!”
Even the Blade Dragon God Hana had fallen.
If Albino fell as well, it would be the end.
“Still… can’t we reach it?”
“Our origin?”
“O Phantom…!”
Behind Hudson, the avatars of Phantom sat in a circle around the *First Flame*.
Since the war began, nearly three hundred avatars had gathered, yet Park Hyunmyung still showed no sign of awakening.
There still weren’t enough of them to wake him.
But… there was no time.
The Black King’s army advanced without end.
Especially after that ‘right hand’ transformed, there was nothing they could do.
The Hand of Despair.
Everything it touched became *despair*.
It spread despair like an infection.
Even the Ancient Phoenix *Al Raum*, who had stood against the Black King, and Auril and the elves—all had turned into despair and returned as enemies.
The enemy multiplied, while allies dwindled.
Even though Phantom’s avatars continued to increase, the gap in power was overwhelming.
A situation where no future could be seen.
“Is this where that bastard Phantom is?”
At that moment—
A man suddenly entered the center of the labyrinth.
He was not guided by the Executors, nor had he appeared in Hypnos’s sight.
“How did he get in?”
“It doesn’t look like he came through a warp…”
“Don’t tell me he cleared the labyrinth alone?”
“That’s impossible…!”
The Executors voiced their shock one after another.
No matter how chaotic the war was, this labyrinth was not something one could clear alone.
And if someone truly had pierced through it solo, Hypnos’s sight would have detected it.
Yet no one knew.
No one gathered here had perceived the man’s arrival.
Stealthily and silently—
Or overwhelmingly.
He had cleared the labyrinth by the shortest route.
“I’ll ask one last time. Is this where that son of a bitch Phantom is?”
The man asked, irritation laced in his voice.
The man was a farmer.
His shabby clothes were smeared with fertilizer, and in one hand he held a small sickle.
But the moment Hudson saw him, his eyes shook violently.
Because he recognized who the man was.
Yet as if denying the impossible, Hudson’s trembling voice followed.
“Y-you are…?”
