The sky trembled under the pressure of thousands of arrays.
Massive threads of light like heavenly chains covered the entire horizon, stretching from the clouds to the depths of the earth, as if the world itself had been bound to prevent anything from escaping.
The wind passed through the tree’s massive roots, and each time the golden fruit above the branches pulsed, a heavy wave spread through space; a wave that forced even the countless armies outside the ruins to unconsciously hold their breath.
As if the tree was also trying to help its protector, conveying the feeling that he was not alone against this great army.
And at the center of all that pressure, Daniel sat calmly.
His golden eyes stared without the slightest anxiety at the four beings, each of whom alone could change the fate of a superpower.
But the strangest part of the matter was that he truly seemed calm.
Not like someone who was surrounded, but like a being who had finally found something interesting.
And that was truly the case. Ever since the fourth floor had started, he had not yet faced an opponent who could withstand even a single one of his attacks and resist him.
But now? And this massive army? Perhaps they could finally force him to get a little serious.
Or perhaps not... but in any case, it would certainly be more entertaining than the previous ones.
After that insulting sentence, a massive silence fell over the field.
No one attacked, no magic was released, even the armies behind the commanders remained motionless.
Because everyone here had heard the story of Walterk.
And now no one was foolish enough to strike the first blow without thinking.
The elf woman’s emerald eyes moved calmly over Daniel.
In her long life, she had seen ancient monsters, corrupted beasts, and even remnants of old age wars.
But this being had no resemblance to them. Monsters were chaotic, their power unstable.
But Daniel? The entire space around him was too calm, as if the laws of the world were silently rotating around him.
And this calmness was more terrifying than any mana explosion.
The dragon also narrowed his golden eyes. From the moment he had arrived at this ruin, he sensed a familiar smell.
A very ancient smell, one that remained only in the depths of dragon-kind’s memories.
Not the smell of a human, nor of any monster, but something close to primordial beings.
Beings that even ancient dragons whispered with respect.
On the other side, he didn’t know why, but he felt a special feeling toward this person; even he himself didn’t know what that feeling was.
On the other side, Rodric Halvis, commander of the Sky Knights Guard, stood motionless, but behind that cold silence, his mind was analyzing at high speed.
Thousands of suppression arrays were active. Arrays that could paralyze even an Eternal Warrior.
But Daniel’s presence had hardly changed, and that made Rodric truly understand the concept of "unknown threat" for the first time in recent decades.
Today, they might be facing the second greatest threat to the continent, an unknown being that, if not destroyed, could be a disaster for the continent’s future.
Miralia, the old woman, quietly moved her fingers. Hundreds of magic circles spun behind her, consuming a massive amount of mana every second.
More than her calculations, much more. As if the world itself was resisting this being being confined.
And that made a slight shiver run down the old woman’s spine for a moment.
She had had training battles with Eternal Warriors before and had not consumed such a terrifying amount of mana to maintain this many arrays even against them.
What is this monster, that even the arrays can barely breathe in his presence?
Amidst that heavy silence, Daniel finally spoke.
"Who are you?" His voice was calm.
The question was simple, but its simplicity made the field’s atmosphere even stranger.
Because the being that had moved the entire continent was now acting like someone who was simply curious.
Varkas was the first to step forward. His massive dragon wings covered the sky, and black flames flowed between his dark scales.
"Varkas." His voice was like the roar of a storm.
"Son of the Ash Dragon Tribe, he who has devoured the hearts of three dragon kings." Then he gave a dangerous smile, his sharp teeth gleaming among the flames.
"And the one who will take your head today."
After him, Alindra quietly stepped forward. Unlike Varkas, her presence was not explosive, but like a calm forest before a storm.
Her long silver robe moved in the wind, and her white bow reflected the moonlight.
"Alindra Alwin." Her gaze fixed on the golden fruit behind Daniel for a moment.
"Voice of the Eternal Forest, representative of the High Elves." There was no threat in her voice, no anger. Just duty. As if she had come because she had to. And that was truly the case. If the Holy Empire had not given them the Life Crystal, the elves would not have come today. But now that they had come, she would make sure to do her duty well.
Rodric also stepped forward without extra movement. His white and gold armor shone under the light of the arrays.
"Rodric Halvis, Divine Sword and Commander of the Sky Knights Guard." He said with authority and clear killing intent in his voice.
For him, the Divine Prophet was like a mother, a saint, and the embodiment of the gods in the world. And the being before him had dared to disobey the Divine Prophet.
He had the most anger toward Daniel. In fact, perhaps he was the only one among those present who truly felt hatred and anger toward Daniel.
The others who had come, except for the Sky Knights Guard who shared his feeling, had come for honor, reward, or simply because they were ordered to.
Miralia was the last.
The blind old woman slowly raised her head, and golden light shone from beneath her closed eyelids.
"Miralia, Keeper of the Sacred Arrays and Disciple of the Lady of a Thousand Laws." Her old voice echoed across the sky.
"As long as I live... this encirclement will not be broken."
Daniel’s golden eyes moved over each of them for a moment. Not with fear, but with a kind of calm analysis. Then his gaze fixed on Alindra. Among all those present, this elf was the most interesting to him.
Because the weapon in her hands was the only thing here that could truly hurt him, or even kill him.
And wouldn’t that make this even more exciting?
The elf woman also quietly stared at the tree behind him.
"What is that tree?" For the first time, a small crack appeared in her calm face.
The wind wound through the massive branches. Her gaze locked onto the golden fruit.
"And that... fruit." She paused briefly.
"Why do I feel that even nature is afraid of it?" Elves are the beings closest to nature.
All trees are part of nature, but she could feel that nature is afraid of this tree they call the cursed tree.
They had also heard the Divine Prophet’s order about destroying this tree, but they had never paid much attention to it. They are isolated and do not follow the Divine Prophet’s orders.
But now that she sees this tree with her own eyes... a tree that nature fears... perhaps it is the right decision to destroy it today.
A brief silence formed.
"Where did you come from?" But before Daniel could answer, Rodric asked directly.
"No being with such power is recorded in history. And what gave you the audacity to disobey the Divine Prophet?"
"Or maybe you just crawled out of hell." Varkas sneered, the black flames around his mouth intensifying.
But Daniel remained calm. He was silent for a few seconds.
"Just a passerby." And then he just said.
His answer was neither like a lie nor the complete truth, but more like a being who truly did not consider himself belonging to this world.
Varkas suddenly laughed. His laughter shook the air.
"A passerby?" Then he released his mana pressure.
In an instant, the sky ignited. The clouds parted, and black flames twisted through the sky like massive dragons.
"Enough." His golden eyes gleamed.
"We didn’t come here to tell stories." Behind him, hundreds of dragons roared.
A sound that shook the mountains. But despite that massive pressure, Alindra looked at Daniel in silence.
And for a moment, an unwanted thought crossed her mind: four against one really wasn’t fair. And this wasn’t going to be four against an ordinary person.
They had an entire army behind them. A very massive army. The largest allied army in the history of this continent.
But immediately, she completed that thought: this being is a monster.
Rodric silently accepted the same truth. For him too, justice was an important matter.
They had heard the story of Walterk. They didn’t want to take any risks and fail this entire operation.
Of course, they didn’t think they would fail today. No matter how powerful this monster was, he would have no chance against them.
They were even confident enough to be sure that if all ten Eternal Warriors—well, now the top nine Eternal Warriors of the continent—stood before them, they would be defeated.
At the center of all that pressure, Daniel just calmly watched them. Not a trace of tension on his face.
Rather, he was analyzing every name, every power, and every presence like new data. His gaze lingered on Varkas for a moment.
A dragon. And these dragons would be the most foolish if they thought they could attack him. He had sensed that the same connection he had with the dragons in the Celestial Domain, he also had with the dragons of this world.
That meant, in a sense, he was the god of these dragons.
Then the four commanders quietly moved away from Daniel. Not from fear, but because they understood the moment of beginning was near.
Varkas returned to his full dragon form, black flames gathering between his teeth.
Miralia activated hundreds more magic circles, and the entire sky was submerged in golden light.
Rodric quietly placed his hand on his sword’s hilt, and Alindra nocked her first arrow.
At that moment, Daniel... just smiled quietly.
Because finally, the entire world had decided to put its power against him.
"I think with this amount of life force, the fruit will be completed today."