Rattle, rattle. However, Dae-ha could feel a tremendous amount of power from inside the door. Even though he was holding on to the door with a firm grip, it felt like white steam was leaking out of the gaps.

Rattle! Rattle! Rattle! Dae-ha's face turned pale. He blocked the door with all his might, but his mind was growing fuzzy. He was just like someone who was distraught after drinking continuously. Rattle! Rattle! Boooom! Then, the door was forced open.

"You bastard!" Duke Howard, assisted by the transcendents behind him, destroyed their way through Ares' chest armor. Of course, the Avalon System that was installed on Ares was protecting Dae-ha, the pilot. That was the only reason Dae-ha was still unharmed. However, he was in a defenseless state, so it would only be a matter of time before that happened.

Then… Dae-ha, who had been in a momentary turmoil, turned calm. "Agh, this shit. Sorry, sorry." Flip! The thick page, that was invisible to Duke Howard, was flipped and the Ability changed. Ares' shattered outer armor started to recover in no time.

"Ack, nooo!" As the sight of Dae-ha, who could be seen through the gaps of the shattered armor, was covered up again, the flustered Duke Howard swung his fist indiscriminately. However, Ares was no longer defenseless. The wave of soul energy, which was released from Ares' body, had blown away all the approaching enemies.

The repairs were completed in an instant. Being flung back, Duke Howard clenched his teeth as he saw that Ares' armor was restored to its original state. Not a single scratch could be seen. Every single screw that had fallen off was returned to where they initially were, and Ares' armor was even sturdier than before he even received any damage.

Groarrrrr--! Ares' and Ra's Iron Heart were operating, flaring up a tremendous Spiritual Pressure like a raging fire. The transcendents that Howard sent forth tried to approach Dae-ha again, but having already regained his composure, Dae-ha began to overpower them without any difficulty.

"I can't believe my mind wavered at such a moment, it could have been a disaster." As Dae-ha smirked and laughed, Ares took a step forward. The raging soul energy was dispersed in all directions and began to turn into a giant shining in gray. It was Ares' Transcendence skill, . "This is just the beginning."

*

'That was pathetic.' It reminded me of the first time I opened the door in the darkness of nothingness. At that time, I was decisive and violent, which was unlike my usual self. However, even then, I did not have a completely different disposition from my original self. Even though it was a battlefield and it was not a time of peace, I moved in a way that would subdue the enemy rather than killing them. It was the same later on when I overpowered the nobles at the main council hall.

Therefore, even though the method might have been violent or aggressive, I judged that all the things I did while in the opened door state were things that I desired to make happen. I thought it was things that I wanted to do from deep down in my heart, and that I couldn't prevent from putting them into motion while I had power.

And now, I had committed a massacre that was too gruesome to even imagine. I could fully agree with handling Duke Howard and his gang. It was natural to be prepared for death if he wanted to kill someone. As long as he attacked me first, a counterattack on that level was a justifiable action that could've been done. However... There was no fault of those who only belonged to Howard's Duchy. They had no idea what Howard tried to do, or why he did it either. Was it really right to be indiscriminately punished for something they did not take part in, or agree to?

This was definitely not what I had desired. During the time when I fought with my enemies for the sake of surviving, or during the time when I saved Celestia out of pity, it was acceptable to have such a thought deep down in my heart after yielding a hundred times. However, this was not right.

'...This is the end.' I could see the scene that was unfolding outside. Ares, who was wearing a shining crown, was smashing dozens of battleships. No one could stop me. The battle prowess I possessed when I wielded the authority of God, while on board of Ares, surpassed the power of a decent intermediate-rank God.

An Empire-class nation was not considered a small force in the Great Universe, but even so, I was not an enemy that they could deal with. They didn't know if it was even a possible feat upon focusing the power of the entire Empire on me. Hence, how would they be able to deal with me when I now could justify that I was assaulted? Nevertheless, fortunately, not all the enemies were slaughtered, and only Howard's Duchy was crushed...

'It's the end.' I was so dejected that I could only laugh in vain. I couldn't even begin to fathom how I should handle this wicked act. 'I should have known that the awakening of the Godly bloodline wasn't just a convenient power.'

It was possible for someone to control themselves, with caution, from crossing any lines if they were behaving indecently while under the influence of alcohol. However, what if that person murdered another while intoxicated? What if no one could punish me for my sins, even when I was drunk? I thought, 'For starters... I should stop drinking[1].'

"I don't think you'll be able to do that." However, just then, a sharp voice pierced through my mind. I was taken by surprise and, as I came back to my senses, I was transported to a particular place that had nothing but darkness. It all happened before I could register what was happening.

"You are…?"

"You're hoping to stop awakening your Godly bloodline, aren't you? It's too late, you fool." The generally calm-looking, black-haired handsome man glared at me with his sharp eyes. However, perhaps due to his lack of any intention to harm me, he had his back against the huge door and did not move.

"No, wait... What the crap. You have a body, don't you? That aside, where is this? Why is it so big?" In the dark, I was just watching myself, who was drunk on my Divine Spirit and laying waste to everything. However, I could not help but be flustered at the huge temple that appeared in front of me. As if it was a temple that was exclusive for the sole use of Gigas, the size of the door was bigger than a decent-sized building. Here, the only one who was of a similar size to me was the man who sneered at me a while ago.

"Tch. Because of this idiotic brat... Focus, you idiot. Focus and look at the library again."

"Focus...?" I asked and as I wondered, I glanced back at the temple once again. And as I did that... The temple, which had a door handle as big as I was, started turning smaller. Kriekkk---! It felt like the whole world was distorted. The size of the temple, which had a size so huge that deformed and distorted its overall shape, was reduced in size in an instant. At that sight, which ignored the laws of physics, I knew that the place I was in was not the reality.

"Thankfully, you're quick to adapt. If you had wandered around here, I would have just left you aside and entered."

"...By the way, who are you?"

"Do you have to ask to know that? You can see, right?" Upon hearing his cold voice, I sneaked a glance at his title.

Legion

The First Child, Adam

"This..." I froze. It was because although the current him was different, I remembered his clear hatred and jealousy that was burning in black.

-I hate you.

The overwhelming hatred, resentment, jealousy, and chaos... Rather than a God that transcended everything, it was a storm of emotions that seemingly came from a crying lost child. However, it was different now. Of course, the current him was still looking at me with an unpleasant look on his face, but the madness of that time was nowhere to be found.

"Follow me." Krieeeek. Boooom. I stared at Adam entering the temple-style library with a blank expression on my face. I thought I was quick-witted thus far, but even so, I was not able to grasp the situation. I lost control of my body and was locked inside my consciousness, so why was I meeting Adam in the first place? Also, why was Adam so calm right now, especially when he was crazily rampaging before?

"For starters... I guess I'll have to follow behind him." I turned my head. It was useless, even if I was absent-minded here, because I could not see the scene that was unfolding outside as the background emerged anyway. I approached the door that Adam passed by and shut behind him. As I grabbed the handle of the door made of a strange material, I momentarily felt the flow of an electric current. "This is..." I frowned at the strange, indescribable feeling, but that was all I did. I tilted my head and opened the door, before entering the building.

Whispering… Whispering. Rustle, rustle. It looked like a huge library, just like what Adam had said. There were large bookshelves lined up to the point of having no end in sight, while the bookshelves were packed with all sorts of books of different genres.

However, rather than the books, the thing that got on my nerves was the presence of wandering shadows. "These things... What are they?" I asked. Some looked like humans, and some even looked very similar to Adam. There were some that looked over 3 meters tall, but there were also others who were less than 30 centimeters tall. However, one thing in common was that their images were all blurred. None of them could be properly identified.

"They're the Accessors."

"Accessors?"

"That's right. The ability to access the Sky Library is not exactly a rare type."

"Sky Library..." I murmured. It was another name for the Akashic Records. It was also called the Space Library. The Akashic Records, which recorded the thoughts, words, and actions of everything that occurred throughout the universe—from the beginning of time till eternity—were known to store all the information that existed in the universe.

"What you're sweeping right now is obviously just an image. The form that is perceived varies from person to person. The Akashic Records is essentially coded knowledge in a non-material form."

Upon hearing the low voice, I looked at Adam. It was a calm and orderly atmosphere, and I casually said, "How kind of you."

"...Hmph." He snorted and started walking again. He picked one of four crossroads and moved up the stairs. However, there was a very unnaturally-shaped door installed in the middle of the stairs.

Krieeeek. Boooom. I grabbed the door handle to follow Adam who had opened the door and entered prior. However, the door did not open. "Hello there?"

"Come in on your own. If you can't come in, it means that you do not have the qualifications to do so."

As the voice had already faded away, I grumbled and used the key. There was no keyhole on the door, but this was not an object that considered those kinds of things anyway. Clack! I went up to the second floor. Clack! Then I went up to the third floor.

As I went up the floors, the number of shadows wandering around decreased drastically. The first floor was like a marketplace, while there were only a dozen shadows on the second floor. As I walked up to the third floor, aside from Adam and I, there was only one shadow. Judging from the form of the singular shadow, it seemed to be a human being or a species similar to a human. Yet, he put his hands on one of the many books piled up against the wall, perhaps because he was not able to sense us.

"This is the last one." Adam was standing by the door that led to the fourth floor.

I then expressed my doubts, "Why aren't you going in?"

"It's not that I'm not going in, it's that I can't."

"Hmmm?" I tilted my head and used the key. Clink! However, the key did not go in. It couldn't be inserted in the wall and was slightly deflected.

"As expected..." Adam's complexion turned dark as he saw that sight.

"What's going on?"

"What's going on is that..." Adam smiled bitterly as he stared at me. "You and I are in the same boat[2]."

"Same boat..." Adam's words reminded me of his appearance, the one which I saw in reality — a First-Tier Untouchable that was full of madness and burning with hatred. Then, I finally realized. "Don't tell me, did you also lose control just like I did?"

"That's right. It's ludicrous. I turned into this form because I was devoured by Father's Status of God, and it seems you were devoured by Father's Divine Spirit."

The Adam that was in reality was filled with madness. It wasn't as if he lost his rationality, but he was swayed by his emotions. That was why he was impulsively violating even the rules that he had to absolutely adhere to.

As one might expect, the current me had turned into a different person from who I originally was. I turned into an arrogant existence, who was merciless and cold-hearted, and saw humans as nothing more than an insect.

"Wait... It might be weird to ask you this now." My expression hardened. This was because I remembered Adam saying that it was too late for me, who thought of no longer awakening the Godly bloodline. "What do I have to do, so that I can get out of here, and regain control over my body?"

"You must hone yourself and complete a soul that can overcome the Divine Spirit, or the Status of God."

"What if I can't?"

"In your case, you would have to watch your body become the Emperor that reigned over the Empire. Just like how I could only watch myself go crazy and rampage around."

I let out a forced laughter at the ridiculous story. "How long have you been here?"

"It hasn't been that long," Adam said in a light-hearted voice, "About 150 years."

"..."

1. This is a metaphor, as he was drunk on power after opening the door.

2. In the same boat means to be in the same difficult circumstances as others.