The pressure... was unbearable.
The moment that massive palm reached the edge of impact, the entire capital was buried under its shadow. The sky was no longer a sky. Layers of reality were bending, like fabric being stretched under the weight of something far beyond itself.
And in the face of that power, the forces of this country were released one after another.
One of the Heavenly Kings raised his hand and forcibly compressed the Law of Time. Around the palm, the flow of time stretched and slowed, as if the moment of its fall had been caught in an invisible swamp.
Another stepped forward and with a single motion stabilized the structure of space. A network of invisible lines, like a massive cage, wrapped around the palm to stop its movement.
The third Heavenly King, with shining eyes, diverted its energy, a wave of mana that pulled away like flowing water to change the path of its descent.
And the fourth... directly targeted the concept of "fall."
He raised his hand and with a silent pressure tried to separate that Law from the attack itself, to stop the "coming down."
For a moment, everything stopped.
Several Laws, several wills, piled on top of each other. Their pressure was so great that even the space around them cracked.
But the palm... was still there and still coming down, only... a little slower.
They sighed. No matter how powerful they were, how capable they were, and even though they stood at the top of this country’s power, in front of just the hand of a Demi God, all of it was worthless.
They were like lowly and worthless ants that practically had no ability to do anything against this massive hand.
Was this really the end? Would the capital really be destroyed? Would they all be killed?
They couldn’t accept such an outcome! But they knew there was no other result... This was not something they could handle.
In the middle of this chaos, Valkraz raised his head. His smile was still on his face, but this time, behind it... there was hidden urgency.
Without saying anything, he gave a short look to Morkan.
And at that moment, the space behind them broke, not with an explosion, but with a clean, deep rift that opened directly into the void.
Both of them, without hesitation, retreated and entered it. The two of them also had no chance against this hand, and when it landed they would be killed too.
Even though all dimensions of the capital were locked and exit was impossible for the others, this didn’t apply to the two of them and Alaric as well. Fortunately, they could retreat without any problem.
But no matter where they looked, they couldn’t find any trace of Alaric...? They had to search with their supreme senses, and when they saw where he was, a ruthless sneer appeared on Valkraz’s face.
On the other hand, no one stopped them. No one even took their eyes off that massive palm.
Because everyone knew that if this fall completed, there would be nothing left to fight for.
The attacks failed one by one. Even though they knew this, they still couldn’t stop resisting.
They used one after another of their Guild’s strongest weapons, their trump cards, and everything they had... but it was useless.
The first Heavenly King’s beam of light, upon contact with that palm... vanished. It wasn’t deflected, it didn’t explode, it was as if it had never existed.
The spatial cage cracked. Its lines broke and collapsed one by one.
The Law of Time... shattered.
The flow of time returned to normal, and the fall sped up again.
Even Schneitz, with all his power, took a step forward. Moonlight around him became dense, to the point that it bent space, and with heavy pressure he moved toward that palm.
For a few moments the fall... stopped.
But only for a few moments.
One of the Heavenly Kings, with a voice that trembled for the first time, said:
"...We can’t hold it!"
This sentence, like a final verdict, echoed through the field.
In the middle of all this, Daniel still hadn’t moved. He just stood there and watched.
Everyone was too busy and didn’t have the chance to pay attention to him. If he didn’t want to help, the others couldn’t force him.
And he didn’t have the time to do it either. Seconds were extremely important now.
On the other hand, Daniel’s eyes were locked on that palm, and deep in his gaze, something changed.
He let out a soft sigh. It seemed he had made his decision.
"...There’s no choice." He raised his hand and slowly reached into his inventory.
Then he pulled out a piece of paper. At first glance, it was nothing but a simple sheet of paper. No special glow, no wave of mana.
But if you looked a little closer, if you could sense it, you would understand it was filled with something that couldn’t easily be described with words.
The closest word to describe it... was eternity.
An endless wave, calm but absolute, as if it was separated from reality itself.
Eternal Authority.
"I didn’t want to use it here..." Daniel’s eyes stayed on it for a moment.
This was one of the rewards from conquering the Eternity Pagoda. He had obtained it from the Library, an item that was said to be able to even kill a god.
He really didn’t want to use it in such a situation. He had saved it for a moment like clashing with a god or a Demi God, but it seemed there was no choice.
And then, without hesitation, he tore it.
At that exact moment, the world... stopped.
Sounds cut off.
The wind stopped.
Mana... went out.
Time, like a clock that suddenly froze, locked in place.
Even that massive palm in the middle of its fall... became motionless.
Death and life, the flow of fate, the cycle of time, all of it, in one point, stopped.
Daniel’s eyes turned completely white. There was no emotion in them.
Only... a verdict. In this absolute silence, his lips moved.
"This phenomenon... is erased from eternity." His voice wasn’t heard, but the world understood it.
And then nothing happened.
No explosion.
No collision.
The palm simply began to crack. Cracks that formed not on its surface, but on its "existence."
And then it turned to dust, not that it was destroyed, but as if it had never existed.
A moment later, everything returned. Sounds, light, mana, time, all began to flow again.
But the sky... was empty. The palm... no longer existed.
A heavy silence covered the field.
The Heavenly Kings, the National Rank Awakened, all of them, without exception, looked at one point.
Daniel.
No one spoke, but in their gazes there was shock, admiration, and gratitude...?
And something deeper... a fear they didn’t want to put into words.
"...What was that?" Kaiser said quietly, in a low voice.
"...It doesn’t matter," Adrian replied without taking his eyes off Daniel.
He paused briefly and continued.
"He saved us." They all let out a sigh of relief.
They had finally been saved! That massive hand had just disappeared like that? It was hard to believe. They didn’t even understand exactly what had happened.
But did it matter? They and the entire capital had been saved! That was the only thing that mattered!
And the one who had saved them was that young man, Daniel!
But at that moment, Daniel’s body trembled.
His aura, which moments ago had been bending the world, began to collapse.
Self Transcendence turned off.
His existential pressure dropped and his knees bent slightly. His breathing became heavy.
"...Don’t let... them escape..." His voice was weak, but clear.
His meaning was obvious, and even if he hadn’t said anything, they weren’t going to let those Goblin Guild bastards go.
The Heavenly Kings, for a moment, gave cold smiles and then moved. Space split open and six presences entered the void at the same time.
On the other side of the rift were Valkraz and Morkan, and this time... there was no escape.
A short but merciless battle took place.
Valkraz and Morkan’s Laws were crushed one by one. Their connection to their power source was cut.
Their spirits, under the pressure and in the fight against several Heavenly Kings, cracked.
Morkan couldn’t endure in this storm and his existence finally collapsed.
Valkraz survived, but there was nothing left of that Heavenly King. He fell to the ground.
His breathing was heavy, his aura... extinguished and broken, on the verge of death.
No matter how powerful they were, against six angry Heavenly Kings they had no chance, especially since they were already injured.
Morkan, who had just become a Heavenly King, was killed without any chance, and he too was on the verge of death.
His eyes were filled with rage and hatred. How? How could that bastard stop the strike of a Demi God? What trick did he use?
If it weren’t for that bastard, their plan would have succeeded! They could have taken control of the entire country!
The existence of that annoying piece of trash had ruined all their plans and destroyed everything!
"Hahaha, you think this is the end! Especially you, Schneitz! You might think you’ve won! But haha, you can’t even imagine what just happened to your son!"
And at that exact moment, Schneitz paused. His body froze for a moment. His eyes widened and his breath caught in his chest.
"...No." His voice trembled for the first time, and his gaze dropped, or perhaps... looked at something the others couldn’t see.
He looked directly at the Moon Spring.
"My son... No!"