The System Awakens: Rise of the Champion

Damian raised his arm, preparing to devour The Storm God, Thor, when suddenly he felt a force trying to stop him.

He narrowed his eyes as he noticed multiple presences appearing.

At the same time, thousands upon thousands of Divine magic circles manifested around him, followed by hundreds of strange symbols, unrecognizable letters, that circled him one after another, layering atop each other like a prison meant to hold him.

The aura of death surrounded the Vampire King like a ghoulish black mist, trying to drain and destroy every trace of life from him.

Suddenly, a sea manifested out of nowhere, and from it chains forged from the Divine Concept of the Sea shot forth from the seal, wrapping around the King of Night tightly.

They coiled around him like serpents, pressing with such force it felt as though they were trying to crush his entire body with pure divine pressure.

Many powerful Divine Concepts targeted Damian just as he was about to devour the remains of Thor and his soul, preventing him from moving.

He could feel countless divine powers restraining him simultaneously, draining his life, weakening him, destabilizing his overwhelming power, disrupting his control, and doing everything possible to break him.

The Divine Concepts of Runes, Magic, Death, Sea, War, Protection, Order, Guardianship, and Stability all converged at once, forging an unshakable, unstoppable prison around him.

"Using so many Divine Concepts just to restrain me… I guess you really want to kill me, huh?" the Vampire King muttered, his gaze shifting to the dozens of gods and tens of thousands of Norse warriors floating behind them, weapons gleaming in their hands.

The King of Night turned his eyes toward the elderly-looking god levitating at the front, strange letters orbiting around him like electrons.

"The God of Runes himself…" he said with a cold smile.

"You abomination of a creature…" Odin, the All-Father and King of the Norse Pantheon, said with a tone that carried both fury and fear.

His eyes trembled as he looked at what remained of his son Thor, only part of a head and a torn torso remained, with his soul cracked and splintered.

One more soul-rending attack from the Vampire King would shatter it completely, erasing Thor from existence, true death.

Gods were true immortals.

For them, death did not exist.

Even if their divine bodies were destroyed, they would eventually return.

The only way to kill a god was to utterly destroy the soul.

As long as even the faintest fragment of their soul remained, they would revive in time.

Even now, Thor's soul, severely damaged, stripped of his power and severed from his Divine Concepts, still clung to existence.

As long as a single speck endured, he could recover.

There was still hope, but only if Odin and the other gods could survive the threat before them, the Vampire Progenitor, whose presence remained overwhelming even under the crushing restraint of so many Divine Concepts.

"For a wise god, the things you do seem rather foolish…" Damian said casually.

"You are the foolish one…" Odin roared, his aura flaring outward, his godly presence expanding like a storm.

"That's funny," the Vampire King replied with a sly smile. "Because last time I checked, it isn't me who came begging to die at the hands of a mortal, it's you."

"You think a mortal like you can threaten the might of the Norse gods?" Odin's voice thundered, splitting the air like a storm breaking across the heavens.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask your son, or what's left of him?" Damian mocked, pointing at Thor's broken remains.

Odin clenched his fist, his teeth grinding as he stared at the state of his beloved son. In response to his fury, the very fabric of space around him began to tremble.

"So what?!" Odin bellowed, his divine voice shaking the skies. "So what if you defeated a god? Here and now, before you, stands the might of the entire Norse Pantheon to show you what despair truly feels like!"

"Hahaha… nice one," Damian laughed, his voice booming with amusement. "I'm getting bored. Just get on with it already, won't you?"

...

Back in Midgard, Damian's wives, along with the System Administrator, Eden, were in one of the human towns watching the battle between the Vampire King and the Norse Gods.

"He is really enjoying himself, isn't he?" Amaya muttered.

"Of course he is… Darling loves battles. But since he's too strong, he would kill his opponents if he fought seriously. These gods are nothing more than playmates to him," Amelia said with a satisfied expression.

"Still, I'm worried… Can he really fight against so many gods, powerful gods, ganging up on him at once?" Tiana asked.

"He'll be alright… If you think his current strength might not be enough, remember that he has many forms and abilities in his arsenal that he hasn't even used yet," Lenora added.

"That's right… He's only been using his True Progenitor form, and I don't think he's even shown half of that form's power yet," Kathryne said.

Not only that, he hasn't used any of his Progenitor abilities, nor has he drawn his swords.

All he has used so far is his Vampire Progenitor form, [Blood King's Descent], relying on the immense boost in physical attributes it grants, combined with the natural enhancements of his vampire bloodline, to attack and defeat Thor using sheer strength alone.

He hasn't even tapped into the special trait of that form, [One With The Blood].

Not to mention, he can also use the abilities he gained from being the Progenitor of Werewolves, Humans, and Demons.

What's even more terrifying is that he can stack all of those racial abilities and transformations without limitation, activating them simultaneously.

Their effects would compound, making him literally unstoppable.

The only reason he hasn't done so… is simply because there's no need.

His [Blood King's Descent] alone is more than enough to deal with the Norse Gods.

"The gods should know that as well, and yet they are still trying to fight him... such a pity," Lenora sighed.

"I know, darling is going to devour all of them, but I couldn't help but wonder, killing a god has consequences. But killing so many gods... wouldn't the consequences be apocalyptic?" Akira asked.

When a god dies, the concept they hold dominion over also disappears, and that concept ceases to exist in reality.

For example, if a goddess of Love dies, then Love itself will cease to exist.

The same goes for every other concept.

"Well, not necessarily," Frigga added.

As one of the oldest goddesses to exist, she knew more about the gods than anyone else.

"If this were the primordial age, killing a god would have serious consequences. But not anymore. Back then, when the universe was still in its beginning phase, every god that lived or perished mattered, because divine concepts were scarce. But that is not the case now," Frigga continued.

"The population now, while still relatively low, possesses higher intelligence beings. They don't need a god to regulate a concept for reality to sustain it. And the number of gods who share the same divine concepts is also relatively high. So, it shouldn't be a problem killing a few hundred gods. Besides, I don't believe he would kill without considering the cause and effect."

"Hmm... you really aren't bothered by my darkling killing your children and husband, are you?" Lenora asked.

"When Odin and the others began preying on mortals to increase their power using that artifact... I begged them again and again for hundreds of years. But my words held no value. They began to value that artifact more than me. I was once the strongest goddess of motherhood and family, but now I am not. I can't even be considered a goddess of family anymore." Frigga looked at Lenora with an expressionless face.

"It's understandable why I'm so unbothered by it all, because I truly don't care. The moment they chose to do what they did, they were already dead to me."

...

Back in Alfheim, Damian, still bound by countless Divine concepts, looked at Odin, his children, and the other gods with a casual smile, almost amused.

"You gods are using every bit of your power, every one of your strongest divine concepts, just to restrain me. But I wonder… do you even realize that I can break free whenever I want?" the Vampire King said, grinning.

Odin and the others said nothing.

No matter how angry they looked or how much confidence their godly presence displayed, deep down they were terrified.

They knew the truth: the monster before them was restrained only because he chose to be.

Battles between gods were never decided by strategy, plans, or techniques.

It was simple, whoever was strongest won.

Most of these clashes lasted only a few seconds, sometimes just a handful of exchanged blows.

And it wasn't only true for gods, but for every being who had reached their level of strength.

Just like Damian's fight with Thor, it had ended in only two or three moves.

The only reason it lasted minutes at all was because Damian wanted to have fun.

Even now, Damian could finish them all within minutes.

But instead, he chose to wait.

He wanted to see how these foolish gods would act under the crushing weight of death and lies.

"We'll see who has the last laugh, you monster," Odin muttered, raising his hand as it began to glow with an intense golden light.

In the next instant, the light from his hand began to elongate, growing larger and brighter until it covered the entire dark sky like a world-devouring golden serpent.

Then, it transformed into a golden chain, massive enough to wrap around mountains with ease.

As soon as it appeared, the god's body released a powerful divine aura, as though he were channeling his strength into the chain itself.

"Interesting," Damian muttered, watching the golden chain manifest before him.

Back in Midgard, the women narrowed their eyes, especially Frigga, who instantly recognized what it was.

"Is that…?" one of them asked.

"Yes, it is," Frigga replied with a grave expression.

"It's Gleipnir, the chain that once bound the beast of the end, Fenrir."