"Why are you here?"
Daniel looked at him coldly, his voice devoid of even the slightest relaxation.
The Mind God of Knowledge halted several steps before Daniel. Unlike the other Gods of Knowledge—those beings driven by cold logic and near-fanatical rationality—his expression carried something entirely different.
Caution.
Restraint.
And a very human sense of fear.
"I don’t want to bee a fool," he said slowly, "a disposable pawn who exists only to prepare the wedding gown for someone else."
"So," he continued, his gaze unwavering, "I intend to struggle."
Then, without hesitation, he asked the question that truly mattered.
"Are you willing to cooperate?"
Daniel did not answer immediately.
Instead, he studied him in silence, then shifted his gaze toward the distance—toward that other presence, the one whose aura had already risen beyond prehension.
Knowledge Daniel.
That terrifying existence whose power now surpassed all known limits.
"Cooperate?" Daniel finally spoke, his tone sharp and merciless.
"Do you really think you still have the right to talk about cooperation?"
"Of course I do."
The Mind God of Knowledge replied without hesitation, his voice firm.
"Because I know you want to win."
"And I," he added quietly, "happen to know a secret that will allow you to do exactly that."
Once again, Daniel said nothing.
But this time, his response came through action.
Behind him, the vast army of millions of gods began to stir.
Divine power surged, converging, forming terrifying constellations of authority and annihilation.
At any moment, a single mand would be enough to erase this uninvited guest from existence—body, soul, and concept alike.
Seeing this, the Mind God of Knowledge did not panic.
On the contrary, he calmly placed his final bargaining chip onto the table.
"The God Rank Skill pendium," he said.
"The number-one ranked skill."
"Are you not curious about it?"
"It is located within the Infinite Divine Temple. If you doubt my words, you are free to verify them yourself."
Daniel’s spiritual fluctuations wavered for the briefest instant.
In truth, among all divine legacies, the first-ranked God Rank Skill had always been the object of his greatest attention.
Yet no matter how deeply he searched, no matter how many deductions he ran, he had never been able to uncover even a trace of it.
Still, despite his doubts—and despite not understanding how a God of Knowledge could possibly possess such information—Daniel chose to act.
He turned his attention inward.
Within the Infinite Divine Temple, he began searching once more.
Moments later, his pupils constricted.
Because he discovered the truth.
The formula—the plete blueprint for the number-one God Rank Skill—had been hidden all along.
Hidden within his own throne.
The Mind God of Knowledge had not lied.
More than that, Daniel immediately activated Mental Deduction, forcefully simulating and analyzing the other party’s true intent.
The final conclusion shocked him.
The purpose... was simply to gain his trust.
Daniel’s gaze sharpened.
"What do you want?"
The Mind God of Knowledge did not evade the question.
"Very simple."
"I do not want to be fused."
"I do not want to bee a part of him."
"And I do not want to lose myself."
He took a deep breath.
"When the endgame arrives, I want to continue existing as an independent being."
"That is all."
Daniel fell silent.
On the surface, the condition did not sound excessive.
It was, in fact, almost modest.
But the problem was obvious.
Why should he trust a God of Knowledge?
As if sensing Daniel’s hesitation, the Mind God of Knowledge made a decision—one that even Daniel did not anticipate.
He reached inward.
Then, before Daniel’s eyes, he forcibly separated a portion of his own origin core.
A radiant, trembling fragment of existence floated forward, stopping directly before Daniel.
"This," he said calmly, "is my Core of Existence."
"I give it to you."
"With a single thought, you can annihilate me pletely."
He lowered his head.
"Let this be the price... for my loyalty."
Then, to Daniel’s surprise, he knelt on one knee.
His posture was low—lower than anyone would have ever imagined for a God of Knowledge.
For the sake of survival, he had abandoned all dignity, all pride, all divine arrogance.
Daniel stared at the origin core hovering before him.
He could feel it.
There was no deception.
Once he accepted it, the life and death of this God of Knowledge would belong entirely to him.
"I accept your loyalty."
Daniel extended his hand and closed his fingers around the core.
The pact was sealed.
Meanwhile—
On the opposite end of the battlefield.
Knowledge Daniel pleted the final stage of his fusion.
With the sole exception of the escaped Mind God of Knowledge, every God of Knowledge across all worldlines had merged into him.
Their existence, their authority, their cognition—all of it flowed into a single vessel.
A power beyond Inner God.
Beyond all known realms and classifications.
A terrifying, unprecedented force radiated outward from his body, warping reality itself.
Kartora.
Aurelia.
And the other newly ascended Inner Gods found it nearly impossible to remain standing under this pressure.
Even maintaining consciousness required everything they had.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Knowledge Daniel laughed, reveling in the overwhelming power surging through him.
He swept his gaze across the battlefield, finally letting it settle upon Daniel.
He noticed the subtle exchange between Daniel and the Mind God of Knowledge.
But at this point—
He no longer cared.
"The betrayal of a coward," he said dismissively, "changes nothing."
"The strongest Daniel... I should thank you."
"If you hadn’t pushed humanity this far—if you hadn’t forced me to reveal my final trump card—I wouldn’t have reached this realm so quickly."
He spread his arms.
"Now, the game is over."
"You—and the pathetic, laughable gods newly born behind you—will bee the final stepping stones on my path to being the sole ruler."
"You will all be destroyed."
Daniel raised his head.
Under pressure that threatened to crush even the soul itself, his expression did not waver.
There was no fear in his eyes.
Only resolve.
"I wouldn’t be so sure," he said coldly.
"I’m not as weak as you think."
He turned away from Knowledge Daniel.
Instead, his gaze swept across the vast sea of light behind him.
Millions upon millions of gods.
He looked at Alice.
At Charlotte.
At Faer.
At every familiar and unfamiliar face.
They were his people.
The future of humanity.
Daniel inhaled deeply.
Then, as the Human Emperor, he issued his final mand.
[Human Emperor mand]
"All human brethren!"
"Do you trust me?"
"We trust you!"
"Forever we trust Lord Crossbridge!"
"We offer you everything!"
Millions of gods answered in unison.
It was an ocean of absolute faith—a torrent of will so immense that, for a brief moment, it tore open the oppressive pressure radiating from Knowledge Daniel.
Daniel smiled.
Slowly, he raised his hand.
And activated a divine authority he had never imagined he would one day use.
[Divine Authority III — God Core]
"In the name of the Human Emperor, I mand!"
"All human gods who respond to me—"
"Your souls shall bee the core used to forge the final weapon!"
"Use everything you are in exchange for our future!"
"I mand you—bee my power!"
The moment Daniel’s final word fell—
The battlefield descended into an eerie silence.
The smile on Knowledge Daniel’s face froze.
And then—
A terror unlike anything he had ever felt flooded his being.
Alice and Charlotte, standing closest behind Daniel, were the first to glow.
Their bodies shimmered with golden light.
They gazed at Daniel’s back, their expressions free of fear, free of hesitation.
There was only gentleness.
And unwavering resolve.
"Lord Daniel," Alice said softly.
"To bee your strength... is our honor."
Their voices faded.
Their bodies transformed into two streams of the purest golden radiance, willingly flying toward Daniel.
Then Faer laughed.
And so did the other awakeners who had once fought at Daniel’s side.
"Hahaha! So this is how it ends—on the first day of being gods!"
"But hey... to take part in the final battle?"
"Worth it."
"For humanity!"
One after another, countless human gods responded without hesitation.
They abandoned their divine forms.
They abandoned the immortality they had only just obtained.
They converted their souls—
Their everything—
Into the purest form of God Cores.
The final weapon had begun to take shape.
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