Chapter 96: The Turning Point

The battle for the artifact Auravene had finally started.

Hundreds of participants from different races had gathered, each hoping to become the successor of the legendary artifact. Among them were Kida and Ragnir, who desperately wanted to obtain its power so they could save the countless people depending on them.

"Next, Kida Tundral against Leo the Warrior!"

An elven announcer shouted through a large stone that amplified his voice. The two contestants stepped into the center of the arena as hundreds of spectators watched them from all around.

"You look frail. Are you sure you want to continue?" the lizardman warrior asked.

Kida didn’t respond. Instead, he lowered his body and entered a fighting stance.

"Then, begin!"

The moment the announcer’s voice echoed through the arena, another voice suddenly interrupted him.

BOOM!

The sound of an enormous explosion shook the entire area.

The announcer’s voice was cut off, leaving only a distorted echo spreading throughout the arena. Several spectators turned toward the source of the sound with confused expressions.

"THE ELVEN ELDER HAS DIED?!" Someone suddenly shouted.

Kida immediately turned around.

His expression changed when he saw several people collapsing to the ground. Panic spread throughout the spectators as screams erupted from every direction.

"RUN! RUN!"

Another person shouted before his voice was suddenly cut off.

Kida stood frozen for a moment, trying to understand what was happening. His eyes eventually found Ragnir, who was standing nearby with the same confused expression.

"Ragnir, let’s go!"

Ragnir seemed frozen in place.

Kida immediately rushed toward him, grabbing his arm as another explosion shook the arena. The two of them began running without knowing exactly what they were running from.

But instead of fleeing toward the outskirts, Ragnir suddenly changed direction.

He ran toward the center.

Toward the artifact Auravene.

Kida’s eyes widened. "Don’t tell me..."

Ragnir reached the artifact and immediately grabbed it. A strange light surrounded his body for a brief moment before disappearing.

He turned toward Kida. "Let’s go."

"Why did you take it?"

"My senses are telling me to."

Kida stared at him for a moment before deciding there was no time to question it. The two immediately ran toward the deep forest.

The arena had already become unrecognizable.

The stone floor was covered in cracks, overturned weapons, and fallen bodies. Those who had come seeking Auravene only moments ago were now desperately trying to escape with their lives.

Kida glanced behind him while running.

"What is that...?"

"What’s what?"

Ragnir looked back. The moment he did, his entire body froze.

A massive distortion had appeared in the distance. The air itself seemed to bend around it, as if reality was being twisted by something that shouldn’t exist.

Then something emerged from within the distortion.

It was enormous.

The creature towered over the mountains, its eight massive limbs stretching toward the ground and making it resemble a gigantic spider. Every step it took caused the earth to shatter beneath it, while trees were knocked down simply from its movement.

"What the fuck?! Is that the Zillagod from the textbooks?!"

Kida’s voice trembled. "No, it can’t be. It said that Zillagod only appears every thousand years!"

Another distortion suddenly appeared in the distance.

Kida’s face became pale. "Another one appeared..."

Ragnir stared at the horizon. "Then another one..."

The two continued running as fast as they could, realizing that even if every warrior in the region joined together, they wouldn’t be able to defeat something of that size.

"What is happening?!"

The ground beneath them suddenly cracked, forcing the two to stumble as dust filled the air. Kida could hear people screaming behind him while the sound of collapsing stone followed them through the forest.

"I wasn’t planning to!"

Ragnir tightened his grip on Auravene as they disappeared deeper into the forest. The artifact was strangely warm in his hand, almost as if it was reacting to the creatures that had suddenly appeared.

"Don’t look back!"

Kida didn’t answer.

Behind them, another mountain-sized figure emerged from the distortion. Its appearance alone caused the surrounding air to tremble, and Kida finally understood why the ancient texts had described Zillagod as a disaster rather than a creature.

"Ragnir..."

"What?"

"Whatever this is, we can’t let it reach everyone."

Ragnir remained silent.

He looked down at Auravene.

"I know."

They continued running.

Neither of them knew why Auravene had chosen this moment to fall into Ragnir’s hands. But somewhere deep inside, Ragnir felt that the artifact had already known this destruction was coming.

---

Far at the bottom of the world, the South Continent remained relatively peaceful.

The beastmen kingdoms had no idea what was happening in the distant lands. Their cities remained active, their markets were filled with people, and their warriors continued their ordinary routines.

Then the sky distorted. A massive void suddenly appeared above the continent.

"KING VALADIN! KING VALADIN!"

A beastman soldier rushed into the throne room, his breathing abnormal and his face pale.

King Valadin immediately turned toward him.

"What happened? Why are you pale?"

"Look outside!"

The soldier struggled to breathe. "Words can’t simply explain it."

The muscular beastman king immediately stood from his throne and rushed toward the nearby window. The moment he looked outside, his eyes widened.

The same creatures were standing outside.

"What are those?!"

His hand slowly moved toward his massive axe. "Are those from the demons?"

"We don’t know yet. Our warriors tried to fight them, but their defenses are too tough."

Valadin’s expression became serious. Without another word, he grabbed his massive axe and jumped through the balcony.

"Beasts! How dare you invade my land!"

He shouted while repeatedly jumping from one rooftop to another.

Below him, the streets had already descended into chaos.

Warriors gathered outside the city walls and launched arrows, spells, and heavy weapons toward the creatures. None of them seemed to cause any meaningful damage.

One of the creatures slowly turned its massive body toward the city.

The warriors immediately stopped attacking.

Valadin landed heavily on a rooftop, gripping his massive axe with both hands. His eyes remained fixed on the creature as fear slowly spread through the people below.

"Everyone! Get the civilians out of the city!"