The Tower of Ruin
Hypnos, the God of Dreams, raised his head and gazed beyond the horizon.
Somewhere far across the land, he sensed that something which should never have risen had risen.
"……So you have decided to use the power of Ruin."
Hypnos knew Park Hyunmyung's true identity.
That he possessed the power of Ruin, and that he was Demise itself.
Though he had become Demise within the World Tree and wielded the power of Ruin, this place was Pangenia.
It could not be hidden.
No — he had no intention of hiding it at all.
By now, several beings would have noticed the appearance of Ruin.
Hypnos shook his head.
With the Vaccine War gone, the Outer Gods are running rampant.
There was an Outer God in Adrium.
Not only Adrium.
Outer Gods were appearing all across the world.
These Outer Gods were devouring the existing divine authority of the gods and attempting to claim those seats for themselves.
Pangenia was currently the most ideal world for Outer Gods to establish themselves.
The fierce chaos and the vacuum of the gods have begun to summon them.
There was no Vaccine War, nor any god of high enough rank to hinder them.
This was a land already swept once by Ruin, so there were no natural predators to speak of.
To the Outer Gods, this place was a dream paradise.
But an Outer God could not be summoned without a summoner.
The Balrog Cult. They are summoning Outer Gods indiscriminately.
Hypnos had once been the Eye of Ruin.
Through the tower he had erected here in the Sanctuary of Honor, he observed the world.
As a result, he confirmed that the majority of those summoning Outer Gods were the Balrog Cult.
The Balrog Cult.
A truly peculiar group.
Were they planning to conquer Pangenia by summoning Outer Gods at random?
In truth, they were invading the lands of numerous gods, bringing in vessels for Outer Gods, and engaging in god-eating.
Since these were lands where only the divine authority of the gods remained, dealing with the gods was far too easy.
With the death of the Goddess, no intact Chief God remained in Pangenia.
If an Outer God could simply enter a land where divine authority remained, it would replace that god.
Just like the Outer God that had replaced the Goddess in Adrium.
Hypnos stroked his chin.
The Balrog Cult is expanding its influence at a rapid pace. That means someone is behind them.
However, summoning Outer Gods was no easy task.
First, one had to create or find a vessel to contain the Outer God, and there were only a few places on the continent capable of processing that vast amount of information.
Moreover, the Balrog Cult was also making contact with the lands of the Abyss.
Were they intending to join forces with the monsters of the Abyss, including the Heavenly Demon?
Despite expanding so steeply, they remained quiet.
It was all proceeding with extreme secrecy.
The Empire is involved. But the Empire is not everything.
There was only one place where all of this was possible.
The Arhon Empire.
But the Arhon Empire was not the only one aiding the growth of the Balrog Cult.
Hypnos expanded his range of observation.
This part, he felt, needed a more detailed investigation.
Then Hypnos's eyes fell upon someone.
"Ugh……!"
Hypnos let out a groan and quickly shut his eyes.
But when he opened them again, he could not understand.
"How…… is he still alive?"
He had clearly seen someone deep within the Balrog Cult.
The problem was—
"The Dark Elf Lord…… he's still alive?"
How could this be?
The Dark Elf Lord Hypnos had seen was a being who had lived in the Golden Age.
Eons of time had passed since then.
He should have long since become white ash and dust.
Moreover, when Hypnos looked at him, the Dark Elf Lord looked back.
At Hypnos's ability, which even the gods could not detect.
That he had sensed it was proof he was no ordinary Dark Elf.
An Outer God?
Or an Operator?
Then why was he aiding the Balrog Cult and serving under the Black King?
Evil is gathering.
……Evil was gathering.
A far greater evil than expected.
Chaos itself, disguised as light.
An evil of such foul quality that nothing like it had ever appeared before.
No one knew.
Quietly, secretly, evil was devouring the light.
The power of light was far too weak to oppose them.
But you don't know either.
But…… at the same time, they did not know.
That Park Hyunmyung — Another Ruin, Demise itself — was here.
That if he began erasing gods, everyone would have to be on edge.
Because Outer Gods wearing the divine authority of other gods could not be free from Ruin.
And that was not all.
What Park Hyunmyung had obtained upon leaving the World Tree's dungeon.
That Feather of an Outer God—
……Hypnos knew of it, having heard it directly from Ruin.
Among the stories Ruin had told him, there had been mention of a being related to that feather.
……It once belonged to one who came to the brink of toppling the Heavenly Realm.
And perhaps—
Blue Bird…… could that Operator be the one the Outer Gods speak of?
Perhaps that feather belonged to Blue Bird, Hypnos thought.
If I had not cleared the World Tree's dungeon.
If I had not come here afterward, I would not have recognized the severity of the situation.
I would not have been able to do anything about the Outer God disguised as the Goddess.
Moreover, by destroying the symbol of the Forgotten God and obtaining numerous Ruin Points, had I not learned about how to erase a god?
There's no reason to hesitate anymore.
As long as I could not fully control Randolph's power, I had no intention of revealing myself carelessly.
But transforming into Randolph was not the only way to use the power of Ruin.
I had been hesitating to use the power of Ruin itself.
Because I thought the appearance of Ruin would bring no benefit to Pangenia.
But that was not the case.
Piecing together what I had heard through Hypnos, using the power of Ruin was ultimately the only sure way to eliminate the Outer Gods.
"I am your Ruin."
Ruin was neither light nor darkness.
It was the natural predator of both.
There was a reason even the evil gods trembled in fear.
And so, I intended to sound a warning bell to the evil and darkness that were creeping forth.
To give them a powerful delusion, so they would not dare to overreach.
"W-what is this — the power of Ruin……?!"
The Outer God, recognizing me as its natural predator, let out a scream.
The momentum had reversed.
No longer did a smile bloom on the Outer God's face.
The shadow of Ruin cast over Holy City Adrium.
It was—
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.
Looking up at the risen Tower of Ruin, I said leisurely,
"Go on. Crawl up like a dog, you nameless minor god."