The Evolution of a Goblin to the Peak

Alice's eyes widened at the old man's words.

Ieshi Clan?

The legendary clan from the distant past.

The patriarch was still alive-and Souta was his grandson.

"Disaster is approaching, and the Imperium is preparing to combat it," Kryvon said, pausing to glance at Alice. "But I don't think it'll be enough. If we leave everything to the Imperium, it'll end just like last time."

He studied her for a moment before continuing, "From what you've said, my grandson is in danger. But unless it's a god, you have nothing to worry about. Instead, you should be concerned for yourself and your friends. If none of you are blessed by the Imperium, then there's a high chance you won't survive."

"What...?" Alice's eyes widened.

Kryvon's gaze remained steady. "My grandson won't die unless it directly involves a god-or something from that door. After all, he will become one of the blessed children, and I wanted to raise one myself.

"One month after fate has shattered, there's a ninety percent chance the Imperium can protect them from danger. After two months, that drops to eighty percent. And after ten months... the chance is zero. At that point, it will be up to them. They'll have to face their challenges with nothing but their own strength."

Seeing her expression, Kryvon realized-she had no idea when fate had shattered.

"If ten months have passed since then, my grandson's survival will depend entirely on his own ability," Kryvon added. "The foreign energy had already seeped into the Mother by that time, so the Imperium will no longer be able to protect them."

There was so much to take in. It was Alice's first time hearing any of this, and she could barely process the weight of it. Her heart churned with complex emotions.

"Hmm..." Kryvon mused. "Remember the Mars Archipelago. Once the Great Barrier opens there, tell my grandson to go and find the remnants of the Ieshi Clan. I'm going to erase this, so you'll have to go deeper. It's up to you to bring him back."

"Wait-!" Alice started, but before she could ask anything, Kryvon snapped his fingers again. Ohm!!

The entire world twisted around her. In the blink of an eye, she was deep in the ocean.

"What is this...?"

Alice frowned as a wave of emotions crashed over her grief, despair, fear, hatred. She could feel them all at once, raw and overwhelming.

Scenes unfolded before her eyes.

Everything Souta had been holding back poured out like a raging tide.

She saw it all-his arrival in the Imperium for the first time, and then, the countless deaths he endured when he first stepped into the Nightmare Realm. Of course, what she saw was just images but based on this she could guess what happened. The worst thing was the emotions here that was trying to pierce her mind.

It was horrible.

Ugh!!

Alice dropped to her knees, struggling to breathe as the overwhelming scenes suffocated her. So... Souta went through all of this... I...

Everything else faded away. Nothing else mattered. She just wanted to bring Souta out of here -no matter what.

"ARGH!!!"

With a desperate cry, she pushed forward, breaking through the layer-

-and arrived in a vast, white space.

In the middle of the vast white space, a massive writhing mass of black tendrils twisted and churned, radiating pure grief and fear.

At its center, Souta lay curled up, his eyes closed. He looked like the human Souta she had seen before, but his face was contorted in pain. The eerie, gooey black substance clung to his body, as if trying to consume him.

These things weren't just darkness-they were the physical manifestations of accumulated negative emotions.

Just looking at them made Alice's mind waver. Fear, grief, and hatred surged through her, clawing at her sanity, trying to drag her down into it.

"SOUTA!!!"

...

"SOUTA!!"

A faint voice called his name. It was familiar-so familiar.

"SOUTA!!"

His head throbbed, the pain unbearable, as if it were about to explode. It was too much. The agony consuming him was beyond anything he had ever felt.

With great effort, Souta forced his eyes open.

Through the swirling darkness, he saw a figure rushing toward him.

Alice.

'Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!'

Voices filled with madness echoed in his mind, clawing at his sanity. They wouldn't stop.

They were driving him mad.

'Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!'

"S... Stop!!"

Souta gritted his teeth, his eyes locking into Alice. He reached out, desperate-but the black mass clung into his arm, dragging him deeper.

Alice lunged forward and grabbed his hand.

The moment their skin touched, the overwhelming emotions inside her intensified tenfold.

"Argh!!"

She clenched her teeth, struggling to keep control. The violent surge of rage, grief, and despair twisted inside her, screaming for destruction.

'Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!'

But she refused to let it go.

With all her strength, Alice tightened her grip and pulled, determined to drag Souta back-no

Matter what.

"Souta!! You have to come back!! Don't let this beat you!! We still have to return to the Giza Continent! How could I face them if you're gone?! Souta!! Please-Argh!!"

Desperate, Alice activated her dream power.

A tidal wave of emotions crashed into her, threatening to tear her mind apart. The madness, grief, and rage were unbearable-but she had to endure it.

Gritting her teeth, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Souta, pulling

Him close.

The darkness clung to him, writhing and suffocating, but she refused to let go.

She shut her eyes and focused, absorbing the overwhelming emotions. With every ounce of

Strength, she pulled.

Ohm!!

A brilliant light erupted, flooding the entire space.

Alice's eyes snapped open.

The black tendrils still clung to Souta. But beyond them-something else.

From the distance, a massive eye opened.

And it was staring straight at her.

"S-Souta...!"

Alice whispered, her gaze locked on the eye. It felt like it was Souta, but as she thought more

Carefully, she realized it made sense. She was in his mind, after all. This place was a manifestation of his emotions-his subconscious, everything he had buried inside. The black tendrils slowly retreated as the eye continued to watch her, unblinking.

"Huh?"

Alice felt the atmosphere shift.

The overwhelming hatred, fear, and grief that had consumed her earlier began to fade. She couldn't explain why, but she sensed a shift-like the emotions now trusted her, no longer

Wishing to harm her.

"So you trust me this much..." Alice muttered, her eyes softening as she looked down at Souta

In her arms.

Then, her gaze shifted toward the black mass-the physical manifestation of all his negative emotions, lingering inside his mind.

Alice reached out and touched the mass. The moment her fingers made contact, she felt the

Raw emotions swirling within it. But before she could process them fully, they faded,

Retreating quickly as the black tendrils pulled back.

It was clear: they were afraid of harming her. Even these negative emotions, born from

Souta's pain, seemed to treat her with a kind of caution.

Deep down, it seemed Souta didn't want anything harmful to come to her.

"Eilish's death triggered it... and I..."

...

Ekatoe City.

A surge of energy rippled through the air once more before it quickly diminished.

Trander and the other warriors stepped back, wary of the sudden shift in power.

"Did it work?"

The warriors watched as Souta's body cracked, the blood armor fragmenting and falling away.

His transformation unraveled, and he collapsed to the ground.

Cough! Alice coughed up a mouthful of blood, her body battered from the intense strain. Still, she

Forced herself to hold onto Souta, checking his condition.

After confirming that he was safe, she let out a sigh of relief.

'You did it...' Saya's words echoed in her mind, even as the vajra sword clattered to the ground.

"Alice! Souta!"

Alice turned at the sound of her name, her heart lifting slightly.

It was Isabella.

Isabella rushed over, her eyes wide with concern. "Look at you, Alice! Do you have any idea

How worried I was when I found out you'd returned? And Souta... He won't let you do

Something like this."

Alice shook her head, offering a small smile. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that it

Worked out."

Trander observed them for a moment, then turned away, raising his voice. "The immediate

Danger has been quelled, but the damage has been done. Our mission is complete. We'll take Grain Leader Souta back to Champion's Den."

Isabella opened her mouth to respond, but Alice cut her off. She shook her head, her expression serious. "It's better this way. Who knows if those people will return? If they do, who's going to protect Souta here? We can't. That's the truth. We can't fight another group of

Experts like them."

Their forces had already taken significant losses, and they wouldn't survive another major battle. If those enemies returned, they would likely be even stronger than before. Despite their victory, there was no celebration. The people of Ekatoe City were far from joyful.

The damage done was immense, and recovery would take much longer than anyone had

Hoped. Countless lives had been lost on the battlefield.

This battle served as a harsh reminder-anything could happen now, especially with one of the Deadly Sins on the move. Countless lives would be affected by the chaos it would bring.

Nothing in this world could be taken for granted, particularly when the Gods themselves were involved.

The warriors who had chased after Arden returned, their faces grim. They reported that Arden

Had managed to escape, warning that they should remain vigilant-there was always the possibility that he would return.

The entire Dragon Council needed to prepare as well. They could easily find themselves

Caught in the wake of something much larger, and if they weren't ready by then, the consequences would be far worse.

The following day, Athen's Champion sent a group of warriors-mostly B-ranks and A-ranks -to assist the Astros in rebuilding Ekatoe City. Along the way, they learned about the

Devastation that had spread to other regions, where reinforcements had arrived too late.

It was total destruction.

Thousands of cities, like Ekatoe, had been razed to the ground.

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