Chapter 5: Hunt Order

Avarice Empire

Anthony's POV

    3 days after my son's death, my depression became worse. I never expected this misfortune to strike under our noses and my heir is dead.

    I walked past the 1.5 km. tall pillar-looking empty ice graves that are thick enough to be holding the ground ceiling. They're decorated with chains of magic light orbs to lighten the area. This ice graveyard has millions of empty graves and only 500 of them were currently occupied. Thousands of corpses can fit in one grave but the first Avarian emperor's greed never let that happen which means there's only 1 corpse in 1 gigantic grave.

    This place has extremely cold temperatures but that doesn't mean there's no life is striving in here. Some of the graves were covered with the vines of the Icy Heart Rose. The main roots of this mystical flower are coming from my ancestor's grave. Before my ancestor dies, he said that only his descendants will pick one flower from his grave and no more, no less.

    I picked one flower that bloomed near my son's grave and manipulated the ice platform to lift me up until I reached the transparent part of the grave which was in the middle of its height. The cold temperature in this graveyard never bothered me but it is meant for protecting the Bringer corpses from the non-Bringers.

    The Frostbringer Family graveyard can only be located somewhere underground of my palace. Our tradition during the burial ceremony is unique to our family. We may have long life spans but death is chasing us. Once we die, our corpses must be inside the simple transparent ice coffin that was placed vertically so we'll not rot in there.

    And now, I'm standing in front of my son's grave. The white light coming from the magic orbs that surrounded his grave revealed his appearance. He's wearing the blue hooded coat which was the same as mine and he seemed levitating inside his coffin.

    Since my son is now in the hands of our god, the Duke, the Prime Minister, and even the Archbishop suggested me to marry another woman so I can make a new heir but I can't accomplish it because I am old while my heart is already chained by the woman I loved.

    I understand why they chose that choice because without an heir, there is no one to become qualified as the new emperor in this empire and I rejected it. They seemed disappointed but the archbishop has no other choice but to use his ˹Divine Discussion˼ skill. It is a skill that the user will sacrifice one of their eyes just to ask our god some advice. Only archbishops can use that skill because of their faith. Unfortunately, he didn't get any reply and lost an eye that cannot be healed by any magic.

    Our god never replied to the archbishops' prayers after the Shadow Wars until now. I shuddered at the fact that I'm running out of time.

    If I die, who will lead this empire?

    The divine barrier will disappear forever and my people will be forced to move to another continent. I can't just ask the fire emperor to take care of my people when I'm gone. His hands are always full and I myself is another burden for him.

    I sighed while placing the ice rose on top of my son's ice tombstone and stared at it for a moment. Its icy cold appearance laying in front of my son's grave seems lonely. I want to pick up more of them but I hesitated.

    Unfortunately, I only merely touched the flower and the icy vines whipped my hand. I was startled because I never thought that thing dared to hurt me. Honestly, my hand became numb in just a few moments. I glared at the biggest grave that can be located at the heart of this graveyard. It is a thousand times bigger than any graves in this graveyard and only one corpse was placed in there which was my ancestor, the first Avarian Emperor.

    I glared at it for another minute before leaving this insufferable place. I knew that thing (Icy Heart Rose) is alive and greedy but I'll never piss it off because its strength scales my overall status as if I'm trying to fight my reflection.

    Before I could reach the exit portal, the golden window appeared in thin air with a blinking sound effect.

    You received a message with a video!

    Fire Emperor: Bruh! You better put your shit together because we got some serious business.

    [Top_Secret_Video.mp4]

    His message is a bit infuriating because he sounds like an asshole. He never said something like this to me when I fell into despair but now, he didn't hesitate to send this filth. I was about to delete his message but the delete button disappeared.

    System: Watch the video.

    As I read the system's message, I'm a bit surprised because this is the first time it ordered me something like this. The system usually ordered me if there's something important. But my bastard friend's message is also important. I thought it's just trash.

    I played the video and the 6 familiar silhouette figures surrounded by different auras can be seen in the holographic screen. The man in yellow aura stood at the center of the gigantic round table as he looked directly at me, presumably that he's looking at the camera.

    "So it is time for him to decide." The death emperor in white aura said with expectant eyes.

    If the Emperor of Superbia stood on the round table, he'll make a poll with only YES & NO options, and the human emperors will vote. The downside of this voting system is ancient and annoying. If one of the voters choose the opposite option, the Emperor of Superbia's decision is automatically rejected. The reason why this kind of system is created because that's the only way to keep the leaders of humanity united.

    The golden holographic screens appeared and I knew this kind of decision will appear again.

    Conquer the World

    > Yes

    > No

    Most of the emperors are delighted by this poll as they immediately pressed YES except the Death Emperor and the one who recorded this video which was the Fire Emperor. Those two didn't vote yes or no because they're still thinking.

    "Yow, why are you making this poll? Anthony is absent you know." The Fire Emperor said as he hovered his index finger near the NO option.

    "We can just wait for him and he'll come here after the burial of his genius son." The prideful emperor replied but he immediately looked at the Death Emperor when the holographic screens turned red which means one of them pressed the NO option.

    The old man rested his right cheek on his hand and said, "I disagree with this."

    The prideful emperor's hands trembled and said with the resentful tone in his voice, "I see. I don't understand why you always reject this decision. I've been reading through the historical records about the ancient polls but you. You're the only one who has some guts to reject my ancestors' decisions."

    The Death Emperor sighed in disappointment and stood up, "Your looks and personality are so much alike my youngest sibling. No wonder why you chose that blasphemous decision."

    How in the world did he know about his appearance? He's blind!

    The prideful emperor retorted, "Blasphemous?! I'm just following the order from the system!"

    "That's the same excuse they used to persuade me." The Death Emperor said, ready to leave the Human Great Circle but the giant golden holographic hand stopped him by lifting his entire being in the air. Surprisingly, the old man didn't react as if he expected this to happen.

    "As long as I'm standing on this round table… I can't let you leave without an explanation, old geezer."

    The old man simply yawned, "I thought you already know my reasons because you read all the historical documents."

    The prideful emperor shook his head, "The reason is unknown, old geezer. My ancestors only wrote something like, you rejected their decisions and walkout the portal without any explanations."

    The old man scratched his head as he pondered, "What? I did that? I thought I told them my reasons."

    The giant holographic hand shook him and the prideful emperor yelled, "Stop joking around, old geezer! This is a serious business!"

    I shook my head while looking at this video. This ancient emperor is lazy. I wonder why the One True God gave him the [Humanity's Guide] title. I think because his age as ancient as fossils made him guides us to our downfall.

    The old man chuckled as the giant holographic hand stopped shaking him and it slowly fading. All the members are shocked by this scene and including myself as I watched this video because none of us can negate the power of the round table.

    When the old man was free from the grasp of the giant holographic hand, he floated in midair and said in disappointment, "You already know that I am the eldest child of the first generation of Bringer Family and I have the power to guide our race to a better future. As long as I'm fulfilling my role, the round table will not hurt me. You and your ancestors are all the same. You seek vengeance and destruction in this world. Our god never ordered us to take that path."

    Of course, my grandmother, father, and even the ancient documents always informed me about this old geezer. He's someone that we can't mess with because he's not just powerful but he's also gifted with god's wisdom.

    In his generation, he's just a 12-year-old boy who's leading humanity while his younger siblings are ignorant in ancient politics. His siblings until in our generation can't surpass his accomplishments.

    "You youngsters must learn from me. My people and the native residents of the Air Continent live in harmony for millions of years. I believe that you can accomplish the impossible."

    "Learn from you? Hahahaha!" The prideful emperor laughed mockingly at the old man and continued with the burning rage in his eyes, "Our ancestors already copied your style and failed miserably. Do you think those demons will accept us with open arms? What about those dragons? Do you think they'll give us a free ride? Will those undead people stop spreading their miasma? The same goes for the mermaids and elves, they see us like filth. Especially the angels, they closed their gates before we try to talk with them."

    The old man didn't say anything as he landed on the non-existent floor and starts to walk towards the exit portal.

    The prideful emperor shouted at him, "What?! You're leaving without a piece of advice or just running away because you don't have a solution?!"

    The old man stopped and replied, "I already gave them the detailed guides for those simple problems but they didn't follow them. They doubted my abilities as if they doubted their creator. Our god."

    The Death Emperor continued as he looked over his shoulder, "They wasted the perfect opportunity and made the problem even harder to solve. If you youngsters want my new guides, fix your current problem."

    The members looked at him in confusion even myself who's watching the video is confused. We have a lot of problems we're facing and we don't know the specific problem that he wanted us to fix first. Then the prideful emperor asked, "Then what is the 'current problem'?"

    The Humanity's Guide yawned before he answered, "Yourselves."

    Then he finally left, leaving us with a cryptic answer.

    The prideful emperor said as he looked at the camera, "That fucking lazy old geezer… He left us hanging!"

    I paused the video because I have to continue my duty but I felt a surge of white aura appeared right before my eyes. A man in a white hooded coat who's slightly taller than me walked past beside me. I never expected this ancient fossil teleported inside my family's graveyard without notice.

    "Stop right there." I commanded him even he's ancient.

    He stopped and turned around while yawning. I restraint my anger because of his behavior and said, "I didn't ask you to come here."

    The death emperor stretched his limbs and replied, "Have you forgotten? Today is your ancestor's birthday."

    I crossed my arms and replied, "Nobody cares about his birthday in this generation. Why celebrate a birthday of the dead sibling if there's a death anniversary?"

    "Oh… I'm sorry. I forgot about that. I promised my siblings that I'll celebrate their birthdays even they're dead. So don't worry, there's no need for other people's involvement about this celebration."

    I narrowed my eyes, "I never read anything about that in my ancestor's last will. So get out and never come back."

    The death emperor chuckled, "I did this celebration every year and no one noticed my presence but today, I simply letting you know this just in case if you don't know."

    He continued while clenching his hand on his chest as if he was hurt, "Unfortunately, none of my siblings take my promise seriously. And now, they didn't give me permission to visit their graves."

    I grumbled and pointed to the exit door, "Leave."

    He crossed his arms and shook his head as I feel the gust of wind, "You can't stop me, youngster."

    The death emperor simply whistled to summon the solid air resembling musical notes that form the Walls of Melody. He basically made an air barrier mixing with his aura around the graveyard so no one can get inside. Without his aura, his barrier is invisible and easily bypass through breaking it or using teleportation. This is the first time seeing this ancient emperor showcasing his power and I never expected that he can activate his skill without saying a word or lifting a finger but he still using his mouth.

    I planned to break his barrier but his words refrained my thoughts, "Your problem right now is easy to solve. Try to keep yourself alive if you don't want an heir just like what I did."

    How did he know my problem? Did he just read my mind or am I just so easy to read even he's blind?

    I know that he's not the type of person who needs spies to check his allies but him, being so ancient and gifted is something that I need to get used to it.

    He starts heading to my ancestor's grave and said, "It's time for me to play his favorite song, my sonata."

    I didn't say anything while watching his figure become smaller and let my mana flow in my eyes to see him clearly. When he reached my ancestor's grave, the solid air platform lifted him up and stopped at the middle. Then he summoned his gorgeous transparent grand piano that is made of magic crystal from his spatial ring. Though my curiosity struck me and I used my ˹Hearing Enhancement˼ skill to hear his song.

    The death emperor said in Akēdian language, "Nadneđor naters. (Happy birthday.)"

    Hearing his sonata in just a few minutes, depression struck my heart. I left him because I can't stand it. I may hear many songs but his song is just too powerful.

    Anyway, it's time for my duties. I teleported inside my office and my general is standing in front of my table, presumably, he's waiting for my arrival. Since the captured shadow walkers are gone, I ordered my general to hunt more half breeds where Elios and his family were captured 15 years ago.

    "But what about the barrier, your highness? It will disappear again once I leave this country."

    I replied confidently, "No worries. I'll handle this."

    Then I continued, "And one more thing… If you see an elf near the Shadow Walkers' territory, kill it."

    He nodded, "As you wish."

    The reason why I kept those shadow walkers alive in the underground house is to get some samples of their genes. My scientists are almost done to understand and copy their self-replicating abilities. Elios and his siblings are the only shadow walkers that made our progress a bit faster but now, they're gone. Not just them, but also my son.

Kale's POV

    The emperor let me wear his hooded coat and left the country as fast as I could because he gave me one week to catch half breeds as many as possible.

    This coat has a lot of boost for my stats at least I can withstand the Elf emperor's attacks.

    ATK: 3,000,123 + 2,000,000

    CONT: 2,934,532 + 1,000,000

    STR: 1,342,000 + 8,000,000

    DEF: 1,943,243 + 15,000,000

    CRIT: 1,800,000 + 1,000,000

    DEX: 1,820,999 + 1,000,000

    SPD: 10,902,492 + 1,000,000

    MAG: 5,039,293 + 26,000,000

    INT: 1,324 + 1,000,000

    WIS: 2,245 + 1,000,000

    SPT: 1,534,492 + 6,000,000

    CHAR: 8,923 + 1,000,000

    LUK: 958 + 1,000,000

    Before I stepped out of the barrier, I activated my passive skills that I rarely used just to conceal my presence and I can run without leaving any trace. I never expected that the emperor wanted me to capture some shadow walkers. I'm not specialized in hiding in the shadows but a war mage like myself can't complain to him.

    Once I finally exited the barrier, the red window appeared before my eyes.

    Avarice Empire's Divine barrier has been destroyed

    The general must return to the empire immediately.

    I'm sorry system. The emperor ordered me to catch some shadow walkers.

    The system didn't reply to my thoughts so I let it be.

    I've been running non-stop for half a day and stopped for a lunch break. If I'm a human without magic and used the fastest flying cart reinforced with magic crystals, it'll take me 3 days to reach my target location. If I just ride a drake, it'll take me 3 months depending on the weather.

    The mask's goggles are my artificial eyes so, as I removed my mask, everything around me turned dark. After eating my favorite mushroom soup, I frowned as the food enters my mouth. It's cold and the taste is bland. I tried to touch my spatial ring but I forgot that my hands were still covered with metallic gauntlets. Removing them is a pain in the ass.

    I'll check my spatial ring later.

    When my artificial ears caught some noise from a mile away, I immediately stood up. They are footsteps coming from the elves who're talking about random stuff in elven language.

    It seems like I'm near the Elven territory. I better move before they spot me or else, it'll be the end of my life if I fail the mission.

    A few minutes later, I reached my destination but I found the Elves are guarding the border. Behind them is a thick purple fog and I sensed the shadow auras from a few miles away. Most of them are kids of 4 different races. Those are elves, fairies, beastmen, and insectoid shadow walkers.

    Lucky for me, those max-leveled knife-eared bastards are just a bunch of small fries.

    Surprisingly, I felt the surge of mana coming from the ground. Then the giant red plant sprouted right in front of the elves. The 40 ft. red flower bud blooms as the blonde female elf in green dress exited from it.

    I widened my non-existent eyes in disbelief as my goggles appraised her status. In addition, the female elf said something unbelievable. Good thing my artificial ears can auto-translate the elven language.

    "Remember your training. Don't let them touch you or you will lose your life." She said as those elves who wore silver armors and oxygen gas tanks are holding the corrupted nets and chokers that we usually used to catch shadow walkers.

    I don't know why their empress, the wife of their emperor is leading this kind of operation. Anyway, I don't want to waste my time just theorizing about their business.

    No way in hell they'll catch my prey!

    I can feel my veins are pulsating as I ran towards them and calmly activated my skill, "˹Electric Bladed Shield˼."

    The blue lightning from my hands and feet spread out as it formed into a solid electric barrier to protect me from the possible ranged or melee attacks. Outside of my barrier, the rest of my electricity formed into thousands of electric daggers to stab the enemies. I summoned my corrupted sword from my spatial ring then I let those bastards paralyzed by the electricity that spread around me with 500 meters in radius. Some of them died because they were burned internally. I held back the radius of my attack because I don't want my prey to feel their hunter's presence.

    I never expected that the elf empress is too slow or am I just too fast. At least my electric daggers hit her arms and legs as she ended up lying on the ground. She tried to stand but the electric daggers are still active which made it difficult for her to move. So she barely lifted her head just to see her attacker and I'm a bit shocked at her words.

    "Hu-Human emperor?" The elf empress uttered as she looked at me in horror.

    She mistook me as the emperor of Avarice Empire because of this coat. She was about to use her nature magic while the emerald orbs are slowly emerging from thin air but I won't let that happen. Thanks to my speed, I stabbed her in the heart and I'm sure she's dead after I received the death message. I'm disappointed as I read the system's message. I wasted the experience points because I forgot that I'm already at max level.

    Some small fries tried to avenge the death of their empress but they never get close to me because they turned into ashes when the electric daggers that were still pierced in their limbs exploded.

    After receiving the death messages from the system just to make sure those small fries are dead, I looked at the dark territory that was covered with purple fog where the shadow walkers reside.

    I need to hurry and catch those kids before they reached their lair. I don't let the elf emperor interrupt me or the shadow walkers' guardian kills me.

A Random Child's POV

    Our field trip is fun. We do some activities like catching our prey and play some games but today, our teachers were alerted by something from afar.

    Maybe some monsters lurking from outside of the border? The adventurers will handle them.

    My shadow senses failed to sense it but the adults suddenly warned us, "Storm!"

    We're all disappointed because another storm is coming to our homeland. Those ugly Air Spirits from Air Continent send their storms once a week but now they send a second storm this week. Because of them, we keep ourselves staying at home since the inner barrier protected us from their storms. We have a very rare occasion such as this field trip and now they ruined it. I wish our god will come here and erase their existence.

    Since the adults wanted us to go home with their horrified expressions on their faces, we simply did what they said. I didn't run because I have wings to fly but those adults made us feel worried.

    Why would they act like they're scared of the new storm?

    Is it stronger than the previous storms?

    As I looked above, the purple sky became darker like usual but the lightning is bluish. The lightning that we usually experienced is purple. Then we felt the strong winds rushing to the east but they suddenly changed their direction which made us hold the trunk or branches from the ancient trees.

    Unfortunately, a weird cold sensation creeping from my head to toe. I never felt this kind of feeling before. Was it because I'm scared that we're all too late?

    I looked behind and my whole body became even colder than before as I witnessed my friends are being sucked by a giant purple tornado but my shadow senses said that there are more tornadoes near us. The ancient trees can't hold the ground any longer as they flew up to the sky including us.

    I screamed on top of my lungs as I flapped my wings, trying to avoid all the obstacles that are heading my way but it only hurt me because the wind is too strong. When the branch of the tree that was bigger than me coming closer to me, I closed my eyes and activated my Disaster Mode just to erase it.

    As I waited for that thing to clash at me, the surrounding became silent and the strong winds disappeared. I slowly opened my eyes and I found myself inside a cage. I looked everywhere and there are so many empty cages in this huge white room. I planned to escape but my Disaster Mode didn't erase the cage. I was frustrated as I repeatedly kicked the metal bars. Unfortunately, the cage is invulnerable to all my attacks and skills as if this annoying thing was designed to trap me in here.

    A few moments later, the empty cages are starting to be filled with shadow walkers. Then one of the teachers who is in the other cage said, "Impossible! Someone captured us!"

    The other teacher said, "The one who captured us has a strong wind affinity and is also capable of using a long-ranged – mass teleportation spell. It means that bastard must be a max level user!"

    "No! It's a gifted human! Because there's no way a non-gifted human or non-human bypassed the fog!" One of the adventurers yelled.

    "Hey! I just saw a big guy in a blue coat while watching us being sucked by thousand tornadoes!"

    When we heard the words 'blue coat', all of us became silent. There's no need for more explanations because we all know that person is super strong. I hope our guardian will help us escape from this place.

Kale's POV

    Even I used my tornadoes, the purple fog still remains. Anyway, it's just only 3 minutes and I captured thousands of shadow walkers by using my tornadoes with the help of my Mass Teleportation Scroll. However, this thing is powered by my mana and I marked all of my targets from afar. My targets are all inside of my spatial box which is a glowing blue cube with silver edges.

    When I was about to escape by using my teleportation scroll, I felt the incoming attack but unfortunately, I'm not fast enough to dodge it. An arrow that has the same size as an average spear pierced my lower back. It hurts like hell and it almost killed me even my Lightning Armor and Storm Barrier are active! Good thing the emperor's coat gave me a lot of boosts to withstand this attack.

    Then the red window appeared.

You have been detected by the Elf Emperor!

    Fuck! How annoying!

    I immediately pulled out the arrow and threw it somewhere before that thing explodes. Then I ran as I activated my 10 Layers of Lightning Barrier. My opponent from the west with an estimated distance of 135 miles away from me shoots more arrows with an extreme level of precision and power. With that distance, the range of my Presence Detection can't reach my opponent. No wonder I didn't notice the sneak attack earlier.

    Suddenly, I felt something big behind me. I used all of my speed and dexterity to dodge the largest attack in my entire life. I made myself levitating in the air by using my tornadoes and when I looked back at the suspect, a shiver runs down my spine.

    I'm maybe 5 km. away from the border but the thing that almost one-shot me because of its size and power is out of my league. A 13 km. tall black spear that emits shadow aura intimidatingly pierced on the ground and created a black massive crater. In my perspective, that spear's shadow made my surroundings turned dark as if the daytime turned into nighttime while the mountains that were filled with beautiful ancient trees are nowhere to be found.

    The owner of the giant spear is obviously massive as well and the history books about this monster are true. I'm maybe immune to the shadow walkers' Disaster Mode but if he comes at me, I'm sure I'll die in an instant when I get hit only once. The only way to win against him is to never get hit and shoot with all my might.

    Unfortunately, I'm at my limit and no matter how prepared I am, there's no way to one-shot a monster like him even I wear my majesty's coat. I only came here to finish my mission and return to the empire safely. A few moments later, the red window appeared once more.

You have been detected by G.O.D.'s 3rd Divine Beast!

    That monster is coming from the south, the shadow walker's lair. Well, thanks to this monster's attack, it gave me enough time to activate the teleportation scroll and leave this place.

Haldir's POV

    As Ava's (Goddess of Nature) champion, I want to know more about humans because they are a bit troublesome. They are the root of the problems that we are experiencing today. The true inhabitants on this continent are the only ones to clean up their mess. Reasoning them is part of my plan but the Divine Contract prevents me from doing it. I spent my time reading human history but their origins didn't match Ava's story.

    Ava said that humans are the 8th God's former believers and they were the original citizens of the Shadow Continent but she never mentioned who's the original creator of the human race. Well, I did learn about how the other races were born. For example, an ancient god-like Ava gave birth to elves, fairies, insectoids, and beastmen but humans are still a mystery. My curiosity made me start reading the world history even my body is an infant.

    Billions of years after the birth of the 7 gods, the world with 7 continents were created. Those ancient gods created life in this world but even they're siblings, they divided themselves into two groups: Good and Evil. How cliché.

    Those ancient gods are the ones who gave birth to the intelligent beings that were known as mortals. The first generation of the mortals were so devoted to their creators. So the gods gave them a little bit of powers and let them grow strong until they reached their limits. With those gifts they received from their creators, they put them into good use but the evil nations such as the Demon, Dragons and Undead races are the ones to cause so much trouble around Octavia.

    However, the ancient civilizations didn't know the existence of the One True God and the 8th God.

    Thousand years after the creation of life, the ancient civilizations discovered the void that is so menacingly massive which they have no courage to explore.

    Unfortunately, there are many reports about the missing investigators who're snooping at that place which made the leaders created the law to keep the citizens away from it. That enigmatic area is known as The Center of the World.

    The mortals can communicate to their gods through prayers and they can hear their voices through their minds. They did that to ask for advice.

    Their gods may be told their creations about the relationship of the other ancient gods but they never mentioned about the 8th God which made me assumed that the One True God made a mistake. The 8th God is a mistake to begin with which makes a lot of sense if his influence didn't leak at that time. Maybe he's trapped in the Center of the World that is now known as Shadow Continent, the birthplace of the Shadows.

    But Ava said that humans are the 8th god's previous believers but their faith instantly vanished when he failed to undo the corruption of the continent. She may not mention the name of the continent but maybe the humans were born in Shadow Continent.

    Uhm… I don't even know what kind of corruption that spread around the continent.

    Did the corruption spread before humanity or after the birth of humanity?

    If the corruption spread before the birth of humanity, why the 8th God can't undo it?

    And if the corruption spread after the birth of humanity, how did they survive the corruption of the continent?

    Oh well, they're troublesome to think about them. And…

    I don't understand why the One True God trapped the cancerous 8th God and not eliminating him while it's still early.

    Is my intellect not high enough to analyze the mind of the One True God?

    500 years after the discovery of the void, the starless night sky rained meteors. Well, the whole world experienced that phenomenon and presumably, the Center of the World is not included. Those meteors are the humans that fell from the sky together with the mysterious ancient lamps. Those lamps can only be touched by humans and if the non-human races touch those powerful racist items, they will be disintegrated. The purpose of those lamps is unknown but the humans instinctively treasured them as if their lives depend on them.

    Upon discovering the existence of the human race, the ancient civilizations feared them even they're powerless and hardly survived in the harsh environment. The reason why they didn't mess with them is that because humans are devoted to the One True God. They claimed that their god created them to co-exist with other races. In addition, the 7 Ancient Gods confirmed the existence of their maker.

    Thousand years later, the Dragon race wants to dominate the world as if they've forgotten the existence of the One True God because that's their nature. The worst thing was, their god allowed them to conquer the world. Then they attacked the weaker Kingdoms such as Air Continent and Mermaid Continent.

    Unfortunately for them, the demons are also planning to dominate the world. The war between Demons and Dragons didn't last longer than 6 months. The demons may have defeated the dragons but they never planned to exterminate the other races because the demons planned to enslave them together with the residents of Air Continent and Mermaid Continent which means, humans are also included.

    However, the Angelic Race can't tolerate the demons' activities so they decided to crush some demons' skulls. They did manage to free the slaves but the demons are too tough to fight especially the Demon Lord.

    24 years of war between Angels and Demons, the Angels persuaded the Emperors of the High Elves, and Fairies to join their cause and help them defeat the demons while the Undead Continent is neutral which means the undead citizens didn't want to join the war. The undead only watched the war until the end.

    I was confused at reading this part because the undead is evil in nature but they chose to silently watch the war. Anyways, I will know more about the other nations later because I'm focusing on humans and the 8th God.

    The humans who live in the secluded part of the demon continent are unaware of the war.

    The demons managed to find them because they wanted something from them. It is the largest lamp known as The Head of the Wishing Stars. The length, width, and height of that floating thing is 300 ft. It was made of unknown materials and it has a shape of a black cube as its rainbow light escaped from the cracks. Unlike the other ancient lamps, that thing has the ugliest appearance but it has massive energy that lingered inside of it. If that thing is a living being, it can possibly trample the powerful mortal leaders of Octavia.

    Well, humans at that time aren't strong which they gave up their artifact and hoping their perpetrators won't hurt them. Unfortunately, demons are not compassionate beings so they slaughter half of their population and the survivors were taken as slaves before they left with the artifact.

    The artifact is part of the demons' plan to win the war. They used it as the main power source of their ultimate weapon known as Death Wish. Its height is 7 km and width is 4 km. It's made of gigantic demonic thorns that formed into a crescent and floated near the head of the wishing stars as it sucked its power.

    The creator of that thing is the Sin Goddess, Brohra. The youngest daughter of the One True God. She was known as the main villain in this world while the God of Light, Alous. The eldest son of the One True God is like a hero. Those two ancient gods are always fighting ever since they were born.

    Their fight is meaningless and stupid to me because if they fought for eons, how the hell they didn't feel bored of it?

    Anyways, they sent their massive doppelgangers in magical orb forms to fight in this world. Brohra's doppelganger looks like a giant magma orb with floating 3 pairs of demonic horns in different shapes and sizes.

    And as for Alous' doppelganger, it's a giant silver orb with glowing yellow angelic carvings around its surface. It has a halo and 3 pairs of wings in different sizes that were made of yellow light.

    Descending themselves in the mortal realm is prohibited which makes sense that they'll just use their clones to fight in there.

    Youngest sibling versus Eldest sibling. I can't relate.

    How does it feel to have a sibling?

    Anyways, those two ancient gods (Alous and Brohra) are like water and oil.

    They'll never get along.

    The battle between those two ancient gods is devastating because of their sizes. They have their own gravity and slight movements can cause tsunamis. The other 5 gods sent their doppelgangers to create a barrier so the damage will not spread around Octavia.

    Brohra used the full power of the Death Wish to eliminate Alous' doppelganger but that thing malfunctioned as it was covered with purple numbers. The strange portal that was covered with purple zeroes and ones appeared in the middle of their fight. Then the unknown small being that was shielded with purple numbers emerged from the portal as it mysteriously walked on the nonexistent floor.

    The mortals who witnessed this legendary battle can't believe their eyes.

    The history books I read so far have different versions of the sudden appearance of the 8th God. This god's appearance is insanely randomized.

    Since I read the main human history book, the 8th god's doppelganger has an appearance of an enigmatic goat that floats in the sky. Its fur and horns are darker than the void itself, its pair of glowing mismatched eyes, blue and red were looking down at the 7 ancient gods. It may look small and weak but everything screams about it is: Dangerous.

    As the 8th God spoke, its voice can be heard in everyone's minds. The whole world (maybe except the center of the world) heard his child-like voice but it spoke in numbers 0 and 1.

    Then the humans received the golden gaming screens that appeared before their eyes while the ancient gods together with the 8th god disappeared. Those gaming screens are called System and the creator is the One True God. Though, humans are the first mortals who received the power of the system.

    The war didn't end even their gods' doppelgangers disappeared. Fortunately, one big meteor in 7 different colors fell from the sky. The amount of mana coming from that thing is the same as the Head of the Wishing Stars. That thing didn't land on the ground but it only stopped midair and shrunk its size until the 7 flying humans in hooded coats emerged. Those humans are young and the eldest is 12 years old.

    They called themselves as Bringer Family, the most powerful humans that brought order to mankind. The eldest bringer who has the title of Humanity's Guide ended the war and unite humanity. This kid is gifted with great intelligence, wisdom, charm, and power. I guess he was born to become a politician and a weapon while his siblings are bad news.

    Anyways, since humans are curious about the system, they asked many questions and it replied but not all of the questions were answered because they're confidential. However, the system told them about the 8th God. He is the youngest child of the One True God but his purpose is unknown. The One True God ordered him to look after the humans.

    As I read all the contents of the history books about this god is giving me a headache because all of them are bad news. No good things about him can be seen in any history books as if he was born more villainous than Brohra.

    I wanted to believe that this guy is innocent since he's the youngest and completely different from his siblings because they were born with solid purposes. If he has no purpose, the One True God must have a lot of issues to fix this guy but the results didn't meet his expectations. Everything turned upside down when he let the 8th God watching over the humans.

    The history books are not always reliable because, in my past life, some of them are lies just to ruin the image of the person for decades. I didn't mean to side with the 8th God. All I wanted is to know more information about my target so I can see all of his weaknesses. His crimes are unforgivable and he deserves to disappear.

    I was about to sleep but the green gaming screen popped up.

    You have a new quest!

    Searching for Weak points

    The only way to spot the 8th God's weakness is to catch some Shadow Walkers and test them out however you like.

    Rewards: ???

    Time Limit: 3 Months

    Deduction if you failed: -1,000 to all stats

    I called my parents through the power of the system and both of them immediately went inside my room. The quest forced me to use my parents' people to catch those dangerous monsters. Good thing that they knew where they reside and how to catch them without dying. They sent the elites but then my mother said, "The system said that I must watch our hunters from afar. If they're in trouble, then I –"

    My father cut her off, "No. I should be the one to go there."

    "But."

    "You already know their abilities. They can kill you with minimal effort." He said as he caressed her hair.

    My mother smiled at him but my gut told me that there's something wrong with it. Then the green light covered her entire being. Both my father and I widened our eyes in disbelief because mother was being buffed by the goddess.

    Then mother said as she entered the giant flower, "We can't disobey our goddess' order."

    When she left, my stomach churned and I can't sleep that night. The next day in the afternoon. The red gaming screen made me feel like someone threw me in the sea of ice.

    Acacia Almarin died at the hands of a gifted human!

    She cannot be revived.

    The hero can continue this quest.

    Gifted Humans are the people with the blessings coming from the One True God. They're immune to the shadows' powers and slightly stronger than the non-human leaders or demi-gods. The human emperors are gifted as well which made them superior and the New Gods feared them because they can become gods.

    I can't believe a gifted human murdered my mom even she was given a buff by the goddess. Then my memories before I died in my past life came back at me. I regret that my technologies can't protect my parents and now, I failed once more because I'm not prepared.

    I'm so sorry, mom.

    This is all my fault.

    If my body is strong enough to do this task, you wouldn't die like this.

    I clenched my small hands as my eyes glared at the gaming screen.

    I swear… Whoever you are, I'll hunt you down.

Ava's Domain…

Ava's POV

    I watched my champion's current situation through the power of the system and the old man beside me clapped his nonexistent hands in satisfaction.

    The man beside me is covered with golden light and he said as I imagined him grinning, "The death of his mother will make him motivated to hunt down his target."

    Then he summoned billions of small golden clocks in different designs that emerged from different portals. Those portals are coming from different timelines and that man who has the power to manipulate time is no other than the God of Time but the other half of himself is the God of Space and he's busy searching for the new heroes.

    The God of time simply floating in midair but the truth is, he checked each of those clocks through his nonexistent eyes without moving an inch. Then he said, "I see… You did the right choice, Ava."

    I doubted his plans while furrowing my nonexistent eyebrows because our enemy is always billion parallel universes ahead of us. In the end, I followed his commands just for the sake of our victory.

    The End of Chapter 5