Dungeon Predator (WN)

The Mayanes within Ulam's palms weren't in good shape. They were like dried up husks. Their wings were missing most of their feathers too.

Kang Oh recalled what Deborah had told him prior to coming to the Great Temple of Destruction.

"You don't need to prepare. If things go well, then all you'll need to do is stick your sword into them and they'll die."

She was right. He could kill the Mayanes with a single strike of his demon sword.

However, he couldn't help but wonder.

'So wait, if you're capable of weakening the Mayanes like that, then why the hell did I have to go through so much trouble?'

It would've been so much easier if Deborah, Luhan, and Gainus had kept their prisoners at the edge of death.

However, only Ulam was capable of such a feat. The God of Destruction was a unique god.

Ulam's power didn't require faith or life force. In other words, he was capable of destroying the captive Mayanes over and over again.

In exchange, excessive use of his power could lead to the destruction of the continent, or puncture a hole through the world.

Thus, Ulam kept his power in check, and used only a small portion of it to keep destroying the two captive Mayanes.

Of course, even with his great power, he couldn't kill the Mayanes.

On the other hand, Deborah, Luhan, and Gainus didn't possess the means to keep their captives at the brink of death. Thus, they had chosen to seal them instead.

Deborah's seals were especially lax, as she was busy overseeing the underworld. This allowed Diabol and Krishan to capture humans and drain them of their life force.

Then again, Kang Oh had no way of knowing the circumstances that went behind their decisions, so he felt like he'd gone through more work than he should've.

Then...

"Kang Oh, do your duty," Deborah said telepathically.

"Understood." Kang Oh pulled out Demon Sword Ubist.

Then, Ulam placed the two Mayanes on the ground.

Kang Oh had no reason to hesitate. He immediately raised Ubist into the air, and thrust it into the heart of the Mayanes on his left side.

Stab!

The Mayane's HP was already at 0. Ubist's darkness immediately devoured the Mayanes.

[You have defeated the Arrogant King, Mayanes Buehler.]

[Fame has increased significantly. You will become more well-known to people of faith in particular.]

[Remaining Mayanes: 1]

'Nice!'

It was so easy to kill the Mayanes. Kang Oh smiled, and then raised his blade once more.

'You're the last one!'

Kang Oh thrust his sword into the final Mayanes.

[You have defeated the Arrogant Staff, Mayanes Aragon.]

[You have cast judgment on an unforgivable criminal, who not only insulted the gods but also attempted to supplant them.]

[Fame has increased significantly. You will become more well-known to people of faith in particular.]

[You have completed the Goddess's Quest. Please receive your reward from Deborah!]

He'd finally completed the Goddess's Quest!

Kang Oh could choose among three potential rewards: master a skill or spell, obtain a weapon imbued with the Goddess of Death's power, or have the goddess lift his limitations as a human being.

He would obviously pick the third option.

'Now I can get to the same level as Valan.'

Grandmaster Valan!

He thought back to Valan's overwhelming strength, and felt goosebumps on his skin.

'What if I get as strong as him?' He was excited just thinking about it.

In any case, the darkness devoured the two Mayanes, causing two shining 'stars' to roll onto the floor.

Then, they floated into the air and flew towards the ring of six sources.

There were eight sources in total!

With this, they had gathered all of the God of Creation's sources. Once the two sources gathered with the rest, they all began to spin in midair.

Whir!

They suddenly radiated intense light.

Kang Oh, Cyndia, and Sephiro closed their eyes.

The light remained with no end in sight.

Sometime later...

Noticing that the blinding light had weakened, Kang Oh peeked with half-closed eyes.

'Ooh.' Kang Oh suddenly opened his eyes.

He bore witness to white wings that were similar to the ones the Mayanes possessed. However, this figure's wings were larger and radiated dim light. Moreover, they had three pairs of wings.

These wings were possessed by the God of Creation, Maya.

But because he was engulfed in bright light, Kang Oh couldn't make out his facial features.

[The God of Creation, Maya, has been revived.]

[This is a legendary moment in history.]

"Maya."

"Maya..."

Deborah and Ulam simultaneously called for him.

However, Deborah's voice was filled with anticipation, while Ulam's voice seemed more concerned than anything.

Kang Oh also swallowed some spit.

After all, think about all the crimes that Maya had committed. He had favored the Mayanes so much that he had abandoned his duties as a god. Not only that, but he had imparted his power to them and had granted them immortality.

How would the revived Maya act?

"Deborah... Ulam..." Maya's voice rang out. It was soft, unlike Deborah's grim voice or Ulam's stiff, gruff voice.

"I revived you," Deborah said.

"Why?" Maya asked.

"To bring change to the world."

"Change..."

"You create, Ulam destroys, and Luhan and I preside over life and death. Are you going to abandon your duty again?" Deborah rebuked.

"I... I..." Maya was completely confused. "I don't know."

"Are you going to make another mistake?" Ulam fiercely yelled. It was like the crack of thunder.

Tremble!

The temple shook.

"I loved the Mayanes. I created them in my image, and treated them like my children. However, the love and power I gave them caused so much pain to countless beings."

Maya had seen firsthand what the Mayanes had done through the eight sources.

It was truly horrifying what he was forced to witness.

Yes, he favored the Mayanes, but he didn't hate his other creations. He obviously loved them too.

In the end, Maya watched in anguish as the Mayanes did unspeakable acts of evil.

"The Mayanes were punished appropriately. So I don't plan on reviving them again," Maya said bitterly.

Although he'd seen the evil the Mayanes had committed, he still didn't hate them. It was as if a parent was watching their children commit great crimes.

"That's a relief," Ulam said.

"But I'm not sure it's right that I, who made such a huge mistake, be given the power of a god again. What if I make another race like the Mayanes?"

"I'll destroy them. That's my role," Ulam immediately said.

"Ulam is right. Just do your duty. Creation and change. The rest is the other's responsibility."

"But..."

Maya was afraid. Afraid that his creations would spread that same pain and suffering towards his other creations.

"All life has a will. You may create them, but it's up to them to decide what kind of life they lead. So anything you create from this point on will have to take responsibility for their own actions."

Deborah's argument was completely reasonable. However, Kang Oh knew that parents were different. They would always be haunted by the crimes their children committed.

In other words, any wrongdoings caused by his creations would ultimately hurt him.

"I... I..."

As expected, Maya was unable to answer.

Then...

"May I speak?" Kang Oh raised his hand.

"Go ahead," Deborah said.

"From the moment I was born, I was happy. After all, I was given the chance to live my life as I see fit. At times, I'm happy, and at other times, I'm sad. There are even times that I get screwed over... Ahem, I mean times where bad things happen to me. Lord Maya, you will be giving your creations the chance to live, to experience these feelings."

'Don't overthink things.'

"A chance... But what happens if my creations spread pain and misery to other living beings, like draining their life force?"

"Then you punish them. Punishing your children is also the job of a parent."

If his little sisters did something wrong, then he'd punish them. After all, teaching them what they did wrong was his responsibility as their older brother.

There was a brief moment of silence.

"Ah, is that so?"

He just needed to punish them.

It seemed like Maya had been enlightened.

Thus far, he'd believed that love was hugging, forgiving, and supporting someone. However, Kang Oh had opened his eyes; that wasn't all there was to it.

"If you have trouble doing it by yourself, then you can always call on me. I'll punish them for you."

Kang Oh pointed at himself with his thumb. It seemed incredibly disrespectful in front of three gods, but they would probably let it go.

"Thanks."

Maya's body radiated bright light. Then, he rose into the heavens. He had completely passed through the ceiling.

Later, Kang Oh would hear that a giant pillar of light could be seen in the Arth continent.

And...

A huge change swept through the continent.

* * *

At the very edge of the western grasslands lay a dark body of water known as the Devil's Sea. However, the once dark sea transformed into a body of blue seawater. It was at this moment that the Devil's Sea transformed into the Western Sea.

After that, a huge earthquake rocked the entire continent.

Various islands rose from both the Western and Southern Seas, resulting in a giant tsunami sweeping through.

Arth's largest mountain range, the Phamas Mountains, had gotten even higher too. Never-before-seen caves, cliffs, etc. formed along the mountains, and a portion of them became dungeons.

In the east, the sand parted in a few locations, causing water and rivers to begin flowing through the land.

Different animals and fish appeared within these new bodies of water.

New species adapted to the water or the land appeared too.

In the south, the Great Forest went through great chaos. After all, they too felt a huge earthquake.

"Uaah, the World Tree is angry!"

"The World Tree!"

Denizens of the Great Forest held great respect for the largest tree in the world, the World Tree. They believed that the earthquake was caused by the World Tree's anger.

However, they were mistaken.

The events that were occurring had nothing to do with the World Tree.

In any case, the Great Forest began to change while the earthquake went on. Some places rose, while others fell. New rivers and waterfalls flowed too.

New animals popped out of the shadows cast by the Great Forest's giant trees.

Wood Golems were birthed from the ground too.

Great change came to the north as well.

The north originally consisted of a ton of flatlands, but various hills rose from the ground. Surprisingly, plants thrived within these hills.

The trees and grass were extremely resistant to the cold.

A few ruins were formed out of tough dirt and ice as well. A white haired, blue-skinned species took residence there.

Crack!

The shamans in the Great Temple of the North Sea heard something cracking. They assumed that the earthquake was causing the temple to collapse, so they quickly rushed out.

However, it was merely the ice in the North Sea that had been cracked. A pitch-black herd of whales had appeared within the water, spraying water out of their blowholes.

The central region had changed significantly too.

In some areas, a volcano suddenly appeared, while in others, a lake appeared. Some mountainous areas became flatlands, while previously flatland areas became mountains or cliffs.

The Great Change resulted in several cities taking significant damage.

Altein was no exception. The city's eastern district flooded, as a river suddenly appeared smack dab in the middle of it.

On the other hand, the ground rose in the western district, causing the buildings to crumble.

"Uaaahk!"

"Oh god!"

The citizens were panicking.

While the players were...

"Uoh, this is crazy!"

"Holy crap!"

"What a huge change!"

They couldn't keep themselves silent. To think there was an event that completely changed the entire continent. As expected of the best game!

Arth wasn't called a masterpiece for no reason, after all.