All eyes were focused on Count Palatio.  

The terrified soldiers.  

The despairing knights.  

Even Penia and Deus.  

The giant standing before him.  

The giant’s expressionless eyes looked at Alon, and Alon’s emotionless eyes returned the gaze.  

Then.  

[Sssss-]  

A smile crept across the giant’s lips.  

[Hahahahaha!]  

The giant’s laughter echoed through the entire space as if it would crush everything.  

The ground shook, and the laughter was so powerful that even the dead, who sang of despair, closed their mouths.  

Most of the living thought the giant’s sudden laughter was filled with mockery and contempt, but contrary to their thoughts:  

[Good. Very good! Oh, noble one!]  

The giant’s laughter was filled with genuine sincerity, joy, and exhilaration.  

The atmosphere around the giant’s body shifted.  

Privacy Settings

From contempt to joy, from joy to ecstasy.  

And then.  

[I, Ulthultus, will accept your duel under the great pact!]  

At the giant’s cry, the dead who sang of despair began to move in unison, forming a massive circle around Ulthultus and Alon.  

Drip—drip—  

The blood that flowed from the dead soaked the ground, marking its boundary.  

Thus, a blood-red colosseum was formed.  

In the arena of ashes decorated by bloodshed,  

[Under the great pact, until the duel is over, no one may interfere with this sacred battle!]  

As soon as the declaration was made, the bodies of the dead exploded, creating a blood-red wall. With that, a thick smile appeared on Ulthultus’s face.  

It was a clear expression of delight.  

However, in contrast, Alon’s face remained utterly emotionless.  

But—  

“…I want to go home.”  

Behind his impassive face, Alon was trembling with desperate fear.  

***

No matter how many times he reminded himself, the reason Alon came to the North was to kill the Outer God Ulthultus standing before him.  

For that, Alon had prepared everything he needed to face the god ever since hearing of the god’s awakening. Now all that remained was to carry it out.  

Yet, despite being fully prepared, Alon’s mind was filled with fear from the overwhelming pressure emanating from the god, far beyond his imagination.  

‘…Stay calm.’  

Even though he had taken the “Elixir of Exceptionality,” which was supposed to stabilize his mental state, Alon barely managed to soothe his restless heart, but unlike his emotionless face, his heart began to pound uncontrollably.  

It wasn’t just the instinctive pressure the god exuded. There was one thing that differed from his expectations.  

‘Why has the manifestation process advanced so much already?’  

All Outer Gods, once they descend, take time to adapt to reality and eventually complete the process of becoming a “wise god.” Ulthultus should have been no different.  

And yet, despite this, Ulthultus’s manifestation had progressed faster than expected.  

Though there should have been about a month remaining, the Outer God before him was already close to becoming a complete wise god. It was clear to see.  

This rapid progress in manifestation was a factor Alon had not anticipated.  

Privacy Settings

The closer a god gets to becoming a wise god, the stronger they become.  

[But more curious still. Oh noble one who bloomed amid savagery, why do you know of our pact, though you are not of this era?]  

As Alon swallowed dryly, recalling that point, Ulthultus questioned him.

However, Alon no longer had the luxury to respond leisurely to his words.

‘Can I do this?’  

Countless doubts and confusion filled his mind.  

Ulthultus, who had become far stronger than expected, was shaking the resolve that Alon had barely maintained with potions, but he soon shook off the negativity.  

From the moment he had reached this point, Alon knew there was only one path left for him to walk.  

As Alon sorted through his confusion and fell into silence, Ulthultus, still in high spirits, smiled broadly and spoke.  

[If you don’t wish to speak, so be it. You have the right. Then, let us begin the sacred duel.]  

As the giant’s smile deepened, he raised his arm.  

[The duel of Babylonia.]  

Ulthultus began to step toward Alon.  

With each step, the ground, stained with ash and blood, echoed with noise and left footprints, yet Alon made no move.  

He simply stood there, waiting for the being before him.  

And then,  

Thud!  

Even when Ulthultus reached him with a massive sound and raised his fist, Alon remained silent, merely watching.  

From a distance, curious voices of the living began to rise, but Alon maintained his silence, observing the giant’s actions.  

The reason was simple.  

‘The rules.’  

To flee or move in this situation would violate the rules of the great Babylonian duel, which had existed in the forgotten age of gods.  

There were only two rules in the Babylonian duel.  

1. The attacker and defender take turns, and the defender cannot move.  

2. The one who requested the duel must yield the first attack.  

This turn-based style of duel meant that if Alon moved even a single step, the significance would be lost.  

Moreover, doing so would strip him of the chance to deal with the Outer God before him.  

Without the restrictions of the duel, there would be no way for him to kill this god, who could effortlessly slaughter even Master Knights in a single strike.  

Privacy Settings

In other words, this duel was the only means for Alon to impose restrictions that would allow him to win.  

“Fixation.”  

Thus, the only thing Alon could do in this moment was defend.  

Muttering under his breath, a sphere appeared before Alon.  

“Condensation.”  

The condensed sphere focused on his left arm.  

“Reinforcement.”  

With the words muttered, the condensed energy in his left arm began to emit a deep light.  

“Intensification.”  

As he finished speaking and sealed the final gesture, Ulthultus, still smiling broadly, drew back his fist.  

Muscles pulled back like a ballista.  

The gathered force began to concentrate in the drawn fist.  

Alon knew this technique well.  

Because he had seen it before.  

With one second, it could shatter the ground.  

With five seconds, it could break the sky.  

With ten seconds, it could overturn the world.  

This was the Song of Destruction.  

And then,  

[Truly impressive…]  

Feeling great joy in following the rules of Babylonia, Ulthultus smiled as everyone around them wore expressions of shock.  

Even though they didn’t fully understand, they instinctively realized.  

The force in the Outer God’s hand was far from ordinary.  

At the very moment when everyone’s gaze converged,  

[Oh, honorable one who understands the nobility of the duel!]  

The fist was swung.

!!!!  

With a deafening roar, everything was swept away.  

The ground burst open as if its shell had shattered.  

The air vibrated, creating a rough explosion sound.  

The world within the range of his punch momentarily became a vacuum.  

And then.  

Boom—!!!  

Privacy Settings

Following the delayed, ear-splitting explosion, gray dust scattered in all directions.  

“This is unbelievable.”  

They could see it.  

The world, utterly obliterated, with nothing left where Ulthultus’s fist had struck.  

A massive cone-shaped crater formed in the ground, and the gray sky cracked open, allowing a purple sunset to cast its light over the land.  

Overwhelming power.  

As the living, who had been staring blankly at Ulthultus standing against the sunset, began to feel a mixture of despair and awe,  

“Th-the Count… he’s still alive?”  

“What? What do you mean—”  

Everyone’s gaze shifted toward the conical space at the murmuring of one knight.  

And then.  

“Unbelievable…”  

Along with a knight’s low curse, they all saw it.  

Count Palatio, drenched in blood, was standing up.  

The Count’s condition was far from normal.  

His right arm hung limply, unable to exert any strength, and the blood pouring from his body seemed to signal that his death was drawing near.  

Yet, despite such circumstances, Alon stood firm, staring straight at the giant without a trace of emotion.  

As the lotus-shaped pendant around the Count’s neck turned to ashes and vanished,  

“The conditions have all been met.”  

The Count’s voice echoed.  

“I invoke the Oath.”  

***

The “Ring of the Arrogant One” is an item that, like the “Oath” he originally acquired, grants power in exchange for a price.  

The difference in the game is that the item you obtain varies depending on whether the protagonist’s class is a mage or another profession.  

There are two other differences.  

One is that unlike the “Oath” he originally used, the ring offers four oaths at once.  

The other is that, unlike the original Oath, the ring’s activation condition is that the wearer must be in a near-death state.  

Thus, all the conditions were met.  

He had intentionally drawn the Outer God into a duel with restrictions.  

Privacy Settings

He had blocked out most of the pain with the potion of Leviteon.  

He had used the one-time artifact he acquired before stopping at Caliban—the “Pendant of Reincarnation,” which ensured survival no matter how grievously injured— to withstand the god’s attack.  

He had obsessively reinforced only his left hand, holding onto the recovery potion, to force it into his mouth.  

And with that, he fulfilled the conditions for the “Oath.”  

“…I shall perform it.”  

In the frozen moment of time, Alon, having completed the Oath, looked ahead.  

Before him stood the giant, filled with great joy, arms spread wide, unmoving.  

As if waiting for Alon’s attack, the giant did not move an inch.  

Alon staggered, stretching out his unscathed left hand.  

“It took so long to prepare the potion of Leviteon, and without it, I wouldn’t have even been able to stand.”  

A reflection uttered amidst the dull pain.  

Even after taking the pain-suppressing potion of Leviteon and forcing the highest-grade recovery potion into his mouth, Alon’s body was still broken.  

Unless it was an elixir, his body couldn’t be instantly healed.  

But for now, being able to lift his left hand was enough.  

The giant, who revered duels, had reached the pinnacle of savagery and gained honor, would neither interfere with nor avoid Alon’s attack.  

No matter how long it took to prepare that attack.  

“Huu—”  

As Alon watched the magical aura spiral upward from his raised hand, twisting into a vortex, he recalled the Oath he had just made and smiled faintly behind his expressionless face.  

The nature of the Oath, requiring a great sacrifice in exchange for greater power, had made his restrictions even more severe than originally planned.  

Ulthultus had grown stronger due to his rapid manifestation, exceeding Alon’s expectations.  

However.  

Now, Alon was certain.  

This strike would reach the Outer God.  

Crack!  

As the spiral of electricity began to twist with a bizarre sound, Alon muttered under his breath and recalled the four Oaths.  

“Refraction.”  

The first Oath. To twist the laws of the world when using magic on this frozen earth.  

“Point.”  

Privacy Settings

The second Oath. To twist the laws of the world when using magic in a near-death state.  

“Condensation.”  

The third Oath. To twist the laws of the world when facing a god with magic.  

“Annihilation.”  

The fourth Oath.  

To twist the laws of the world when facing the great duel god Ulthultus with magic.  

Alon looked ahead.  

Before him, a massive line of red lightning had formed.  

Thin and long.  

Illuminated by the purple light of the setting sun, it gleamed a deep crimson.  

The gray magic flowing from the bracelet on his left hand enveloped the red line of lightning like smoke.  

In the eyes of the knights and soldiers, Alon’s figure stood against the backdrop of the sunset.  

In the eyes of Deus and Penia, two “eyes” appeared behind Alon, etched into the sunset.  

With that.  

“Line of Silence.”  

As Alon murmured, a blinding white flash shot toward the smiling giant.  

Boom!!!  

The gray land briefly regained the appearance of a pure white snowfield.