Hidden Trait: Eye of Truth

Agnes, the Fire Spirit King.

Having been reverse-summoned to the summit of the Spirit Tower, he refused to answer Isera's re-summoning.

"Agnes. Do you mean to break the terms of our contract?"

Iquerel, the Water Spirit King, looked at him and smiled. It had been an unimaginably long time since a Spirit King had entered into a contract with anyone.

Yet Agnes was violating his contractual duty by refusing the summons. Instead, he spoke with flat indifference.

"…I agreed to become a spear that pierces all things. But if I cannot pierce my opponent, then I am no 'spear that pierces all things.' The reason to answer the summons has simply vanished."

Sophistry, pure and simple. Iquerel clicked her tongue softly.

"So Isera wasn't to your liking."

In the end, Agnes simply hadn't wanted to answer the call. A Spirit King's change of heart was an exceedingly common occurrence. That Isera had managed to contract with Agnes in the first place had been a miracle — he had been summoned with a Dragon God's Wish Bead as collateral, after all.

Afterward, Isera, having contracted with Agnes, began using Miron's Wish Bead in its place. Perhaps that was why he had never properly drawn out Agnes's power — twenty percent at best. On his first outing in ages, being stuck with a half-measure who couldn't even pull out his full strength might well have soured his mood.

That spirit is definitely…

Of course, the real reason was entirely different. Agnes didn't bother answering. Instead, he thought about what he had seen — the spirit that wore the form of a reaper.

It has to be the spirit that drifted down from the Heavenly Realm and fell into the Chaos Zone.

The Chaos Zone. Even the Spirit Kings who ruled the Spirit Tower could not enter that domain. Yet Agnes had always watched it carefully, for he knew that a portion of the Chaos Zone was connected to the Heavenly Realm. The Spirit Tower itself had once been part of the Heavenly Realm in the distant past, so it was only natural.

But the Heavenly Realm had poured every manner of "contaminant" into the Chaos Zone as if dumping refuse. The Heavenly Realm had to remain perfectly pure, after all. Then one day, for the first time, something different had flowed down from that place — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an unhatched spirit egg.

The spirit eggs stolen from the Heavenly Realm. They were created for a single purpose alone.

Agnes knew what that purpose was. In all the eons he had lived, there was no spirit in this world he did not know. The spirits artificially created in the Heavenly Realm had been born for one purpose only.

Soul spirits, meant to resurrect the Heavenly Emperor.

By definition, they were "soul spirits" that had never before existed — materials to be used in resurrecting the master of the Heavenly Realm. That was why Agnes had agonized for so long. He hated the Heavenly Realm that dumped its filth into the Spirit Tower. Naturally, he could not help hating the soul spirit that had drifted down from it either. Had he encountered it, he would have vaporized it on the spot.

But he had been unable to attack. All he could do was watch. The reason was simple.

A replica, and yet not a replica. That form was unmistakably…

…far too close to the original.

When Hana the Blade Queen acquired the karma of a Dragon God, I saw the Gate of Truth open with my own two eyes. At the same time, I realized that something inside me had responded.

And so I could not help but deliberate.

Enlightenment is a thing of instants.

That was why I had no choice but to leave the battle against Isera entirely in Hana's hands. If I delayed even a little longer, this realization — this something within me — felt as though it would slip back into hiding.

"Mm."

When I opened my eyes again, the war was already over. The endless cascade of system messages made that fact abundantly clear. But among them all, the most eye-catching was the reward — a transcendence of rewards driven by overwhelming contribution.

Five total transcendences.

Over ninety percent contribution. It meant a single Dragon God had faced Isera alone — and won. Up to this point, everything had unfolded exactly as I expected. And so I had earned the right to enter the Ancient Dragon God's Treasure Vault.

Still, this was an entirely different reward from when I had sealed Ahram, the first Hell King.

When I sealed Ahram, I got a Platinum Box.

The Holy Grail from that Platinum Box had become the foundation for Priest Andrew's infinite Indulgence duplication. The benefits that followed had been immense. Whatever I might obtain from the Ancient Dragon God's Treasure Vault would surely prove just as useful — it would be a lie to say I wasn't looking forward to it.

But I couldn't simply revel in it. I looked around. A clear change had taken place inside the Dragon Vein.

"…The hatching has stopped."

No eggs were being produced in the spawning grounds. The eggs that had already been laid would not hatch. Not a single ant larva remained. Everything had simply… stopped.

And that wasn't the only strange thing.

My mental link with Hana has been severed as well.

Given that the Dragon Vein was still intact, Hana couldn't be dead. And yet the consciousness that should have been connected had been cut. Proof that something I hadn't anticipated had occurred. We had won the battle against Isera, but something else had clearly become entangled.

What on earth had happened?

How much time has passed?

If the war was over, a considerable amount of time must have gone by. But to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me it had felt like an instant. The enlightenment itself had been momentary, yet the process of confronting it had apparently stretched longer than expected.

—I shall give you a gift.

…The Eye and the Mouth I had met at the very bottom of the deepest layer had spoken to me. To me, who had found them, they would give a gift. And the gift ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they gave was remarkably simple and clear.

A Hidden Trait evolution! The Great Sage had been elevated into the Eye of Truth. Afterward, the Eye and the Mouth vanished once more.

—See clearly and judge. The time will come when you must choose one of two worlds.

…Leaving only those cryptic words behind. Whether "one of two worlds" meant Pangenia and Earth, I still didn't know. I still had no idea what that thing was — but one thing was certain: it was not hostile toward me. Not yet, at least.

I drew a deep breath and set my thoughts aside. This was no time to dwell on the past.

"…I need to go outside."

To grasp the situation, it seemed I would have to leave the Dragon Vein.

Frenzy.

A state of rampage that does not stop until death — a word for the condition in which the body is slowly consumed until it finally meets destruction. But Hana did not die. The karma of a Dragon God, the conditions themselves, kept her from dying.

—Kill them!

—Kill every living thing!

Before she was a Dragon God, she had been the Queen of the Blood Clan. No matter how newly reborn she was, she was still far too young. She lacked experience. And so she could not help but fall into chaos. In an unforeseen situation, the presence that should have shown her the way was absent — Randolph's consciousness had momentarily vanished from her senses.

The moment she felt the absence of her god, Hana lost her path.

—Your god has abandoned you!

—Abandoned you, and your children!

—Kill them!

—Die!

The voices of malice rising from her blades. Once begun, the frenzy would not stop. Until she died, it would not stop. If she did not die, she would kill every living thing forever.

I have to destroy everything.

A fierce urge to destroy. She could not suppress the rage boiling up inside her. The being who now stood before her was no different.

"…I'm a step too late."

Randolph. Though his current form was darkness itself, it was unmistakably him. But not even her former god could quell her fury.

I admitted my mistake.

Until now, I had resolved every situation by moving myself. This time, I had failed to do so. Blinded by enlightenment, I had neglected the war — neglected Hana. I had believed the conditions made defeat impossible, but that judgment had only been half right.

Hana, freshly hatched from her egg, was still young. I had forgotten that she was complete and yet incomplete. I should have properly recognized that without a connection to my consciousness, she would inevitably fall into chaos.

The only way to end a frenzy state is death.

One of the conditions belonging to Hana as Queen of the Blood Clan, not as a Dragon God — and one of them was the frenzy state now before my eyes. It was a final, desperate thrashing granted to a queen who had failed to protect her clan. The only thing that could silence that thrashing was the queen's death.

And to kill the queen—

Only I can face Hana.

Hana takes damage only when I am under attack. In this world, I am the only one who can fight her. Likewise, I am the only one who can kill her.

…If I leave Hana as she is, Earth will be destroyed.

Leaving her alone was impossible. Her range of perception was expanding by the day. At this rate, she would erase every living thing across the entire planet. A clear mistake. I had to correct it, even now.

But it would not be easy.

She consumed Isera. And Lucaria, whom Isera had consumed, along with him.

Right now, Hana was stronger than I was. Facing her by conventional means would be difficult. The two blades she gripped in either hand — the moment I saw them, I knew. They were Lucaria the Dragon God and Isera, given form as weapons. Those two swords alone were unleashing power at Unique grade or higher.

Tch. Can't even Observe because of the ring.

A bitter taste filled my mouth. I could roughly grasp the blades' nature, but that was all. The Absolute's ring I had given her in preparation for Isera using a Wish Bead — the Phase of the Radiant Pureblood — was blocking any detailed observation of Hana and her swords.

I settled into a stance and opened my mouth.

"Come at me, then."

"…"

Snap!

In an instant, Hana vanished from my field of vision. When she reappeared, she was already right in front of me. Fast — too fast to register. Before I could even block—

Thud!

Hana's blade pierced straight through my body.

"Guh…!"

Insane, searing pain. I had given up my guard with absurd ease.

Strength drained from my entire body. In the form of The One Who Blooms Darkness, I was inevitably vulnerable to holy-attribute strikes. And yet I had insisted on this form for one reason alone.

"…!"

Blood trickled from the corner of Hana's mouth. Not only from her lips — from her body as well. A wound had opened in the exact place where her blade had pierced me.

Just as I expected.

The condition of a Dragon God — Follower. It stated that she could only be struck when someone attacked me, but there was room for interpretation. If that meant that once I died, no one could attack me and she became permanently invincible, that made no sense. In other words, when I took damage from an attack, Hana should take damage as well.

The key had been landing a near-fatal blow without killing her in a single strike. Fortunately, the gamble paid off — both of us fell into a near-death state.

Hah.

I let out a breath of relief. Using the near-death state, I had succeeded in fully controlling Hana. Forcing the Eye of the Dreadful Omen into her had required creating exactly this situation.

"Hel."

—Kyahahaha!

Hel opened a warp beneath my feet. Instantly, Hana and I were sucked into it together.

My consciousness felt as though it might slip away. Strength drained from my entire body, and my eyes kept wanting to close. But it was still too early to collapse. I moved my feet into the Dragon Vein, carrying Hana with me.

I've managed to relocate her for now, but…

I had resolved the immediate danger. I couldn't die, and Hana couldn't die with me — so for the moment, this was the best option. Inside the Dragon Vein, no matter how far her perception range expanded, she couldn't harm anything else.

I still haven't resolved the frenzy state itself.

Of course, this wasn't a fundamental solution. Frenzy only ends with death. But that couldn't be the only way. I had to find another method. If I didn't, one of us would have to die.

First, I need to get that ring off.

The Phase of the Radiant Pureblood, which made observation impossible. I pulled the ring from Hana's finger first. And then—

…I can see it.

Hana's condition laid itself out with perfect clarity. The Hidden Trait Eye of Truth showed me things in far greater detail than before — things that had been invisible.

…Even the subtle seams between hearts that should have been utterly invisible. Because the fusion was still incomplete, the two hearts exceeding her capacity were further stoking Hana's frenzy. Once the fusion finished, the situation would become even more hopeless.

But if I could see the seams, separation might be possible. If I succeeded in separating them, I might find a clue to ending the frenzy state.

The moment that thought took shape—

Thump! Thump!

It felt as though the two Dragon Gods' hearts were already gripped in my hands. There was no room for hesitation. I immediately began separating Hana from the two Dragon Gods' hearts.