SON OF THE HERO KING

The only known current Divine Beast to have broken the limitations and reached the level of False God.

As Surtr faced the woman that was so small that she looked like a small bug, he couldn’t help but show a serious expression on his lava-filled face.

Surtr was a Titan. A being born from the power of Fire and Destruction as willed by the Goddess of Chaos. He represented the personification of a Calamity. His appearance had nothing human.

A dark rock-like skin from which lava seemed to flow made up most of his body. As if he was the very incarnation of an erupting volcano.

Even then, Surtr knew that his chance of winning against Tiamat alone was rather small.

“Tiamat. I will ask you again, why don’t you join our side? As the Dragon of Chaos, you will fit nicely in our midst.”

Despite being in the void of space, his voice was rumbling.

All Chaos Beasts had very high magic resistance and all dragons were immune to one specific element. Meanwhile, as a Chaos Dragon, Tiamat was immune to all pure magical attacks.

Why did Tiamat have the title of Chaos Dragon?

For some, it was simply a joke of a goddess Superbia, made because of the similarity between the passive skill of Dragons and Chaos Beasts.

But…As one of the oldest beings, Surtr knew that the truth couldn’t be so sinmple.

The goddesses might be childish but even children never gave names without meaning. In fact, it was because they were children that they wished to give even more impressive and full of meaning to their toys.

This was no coincidence.

Tiamat was unperturbed, and she scoffed, “Even though I hate them, I like the world as it is. Between two evils, I choose the lesser one.”

Tiamat did not care about her origin nor did she feel any sort of shame. After all, she cared not for Order or Chaos.

She didn’t know if she was really related to Chaos but even if she was, it wouldn’t change anything for her at all.

In her mind, Chaos and Order were simply the same. But at least, the world under Order was more pleasing to live in.

She had no plan to live in a disgusting world where she would fight eternally with no rest.

“Is that so? Then, it’s a shame.”

Surtr wasn’t disappointed. In fact, if Tiamat really accepted this, would that have disappointed him?

Light shone and his humongous slowly began to shrink. From the gigantic body, he transformed into a warrior that was about 6 meters tall.

It was a far cry from his previous form, but Tiamat knew that this was his most dangerous battle form.

After all, at their level, a huge body was simply a waste of energy. Meanwhile, in a smaller form, they could condense all their strength more easily.

In this form, the black rock-like body of Surtr changed to a deep red, and the lava that was openly coursing his body changed into pure fire. Even his hair was entirely made out of the fire. In his hand was a beautiful sword that seemed to be just out of a furnace.

If Surtr were to land on a planet that wasn’t under the protection of a demigod in his current appearance, then it would only take a few minutes for all the water in the atmosphere of that planet to evaporate and slowly change into a sea of fire.

This was also why Tiamat had made it so the War form of Dragon King was developed. While the bodies of dragons were naturally powerful, they were also limited.

As she thought this, the flame began to gather around her body as her form slowly changed.

Two large curved and menacing horns appeared on either side of her head, while her clothes disintegrated and gave place to a body nearly entirely covered in purple gold scale, leaving most of her chest and a small part of her breasts. Even her dainty small hand were covered in scales and her nail changed into wicked claws that could tear monsters apart.

<<War form: Primordial Chaos Dragon>>

The aura that Tiamat emitted was so dangerous that the space seemed to quake. Her will alone could slightly affect reality. In the same way, Surtr could create a world of fire and lava with just a thought.

She allied beauty and dangerousness in a perfect way, bringing both fear and awe to those who faced her.

Surtr's two eyes shone with golden luster as he looked at Tiamat with appreciation,

“It has been a long time since I saw this form.”

Tiamat shrugged, “The last time you saw this form was when you were fleeing for your life with your tail tucked between your legs. What gave you the courage to face me now?”

Surtr growled and his grip on his sword tightened. His last fight with Tiamat was the greatest humiliation of his life.

Not because he lost. After all, for a warrior like him, dying on the battlefield was in fact an honor. It was an even greater honor when the opponent was someone as honorable as Tiamat.

But, back then, the order of his goddess was clear. He had to retreat. While his pride as a warrior was terribly wounded, his pride as a soldier didn’t allow him to reject the order of a superior.

“Indeed. All things said I was inferior to you back then, Dragon Empress. I am still, now. But it doesn’t matter. For I am not alone.”

As soon as he uttered those words, ten red portals opened all around Tiamat and people of different heights and appearances walked out of it.

Even so, if all of them had one thing in common, it was that…They were all Demigods.

Looking at the new arrivals, Tiamat showed no change in expression, she already knew that she was about to be besieged by demigods thanks to Skuld.

“Relying on numbers?”

Surtr showed no shame. He was a warrior and a soldier. If possible, he really wished to fight Tiamat one vs one and wash away his previous defeat. But the most optimal choice was to use numbers against her.

Once all the demigods appeared, another portal opened and an angel with golden hair and crimson eyes could be seen walking out of it.

Tiamat looked at the last demigod to arrive and chuckled once again, “To think the child of Michael, the most loyal Archangel, would become a traitor. How ironical.”

“The most loyal Archangel? You must mean the most loyal slave, right?”

“Heh…”

Tiamat sneered at those words. After all, it was true. Michael managed to reach the level of Demigod by using the concept of Servitude. Calling him a slave was already an understatement.

He was the most loyal hunting dog of the goddesses.

Nihil looked down at Tiamat, even though she was facing the strongest demigod, she showed no fear, only unrelenting will.

“Then again, there is not much difference between you and my father. You might have more free will. But the moment the goddesses decide so, they can easily take away your will and control you like the puppet you are.”

Tiamat stayed silent. “I have already broken free of the Chain of Heaven.”

“That's what you think.”

The frown of Tiamat grew deeper. She remembered something Skuld told her. Something about her hunting down Sol when he became a dangerous existence.

Back then, she had dismissed this as she was sure that she has broken all the restrictions the goddesses had put on her body when they created her.

She hadn’t decided to train back from the beginning and discard the King's name and Duke power the goddesses had given to her just for fun.

But, what if it wasn’t the case?

What if…?

Looking at the silent Tiamat, Nihil continued to speak.

“Tiamat, the only way to obtain true freedom is to join Chaos. Be it Ymir or the others, they care not about controlling or limiting us. The principle of the Mother Goddess is unlimited evolution. There would be no need to restrain your growth and you could even realize your dream and become a true goddess.”

This was another tactic they had come out with.

Secrets should always be revealed at the most appropriate moment.

Beating Tiamat was extremely hard. But at their level, mana and technique were not as important as the power of their will.

Only a powerful will could use effectively the power of the world.

If they managed to shake Tiamat’s will, even if nothing else changed, she would be much weaker than normal.

It would be even better if she really accepted

“Sigh…What a beautiful drama I encountered. Though… That thing about controlling divine beasts is intriguing me. I hope my little wife isn’t under control.”

Be it Nihil or Surtr, all of their expressions changed when they heard the voice that sounded in the void before a man walked out and appeared near Tiamat.

Nihil’s face which was full of confidence a few moments ago even paled a little as she nearly took a step back.

“You are finally here.”

The hesitation that was on Tiamat’s face vanished like a lie.

Nihil immediately understood that Tiamat had never been shaken by her words, she was simply stalling for time until that accursed being appeared.

Indeed, while Tiamat was surprised by Nihil’s words, she would never lose control because of this.

But she didn’t want to fight 12 demigods alone. After all, she was also keeping control of her territory currently to avoid someone sneaking into it while she was absent.

But now that Anubis was here… Tiamat grinned.

“You take half?”

Anubis was stunned, before he exploded with laughter, “No problem, I will also take care of that fugitive on the way.”

It was as if fighting 6 demigods was no big deal.

Tiamat shrugged as she faced Surtr again who couldn’t help but sigh.

Even though the current situation was two against twelve, he knew that even if they won, this would be at the cost of the life of a few demigods.

Since all negotiations broke down, it was now time to fight to the death.

(AN: Many shocking info in this chapter. All these are preparation for Book 3: Divine realm. Hehe. If you are interested in reading my other stories, come support me on P@treon. Link is: /HikaruGenji.)