The System Awakens: Rise of the Champion

The four goddesses among the group, Lenora, Amelia, Freya, and Frigga, watched with wide, astonished expressions as they saw Damian use not one, but two laws in succession to instantly heal the annihilated land of Alfheim.

"You can use Divine Concepts despite not having achieved godhood, huh? I don't know if I should be surprised or not," the goddess Freya said. Still, she couldn't hide the amazement and admiration on her face.

"Laws, not Concepts. Only beings who have achieved godhood can use Divine Concepts. If I were using Divine Concepts, it would have been many times more effective," Damian replied as the divine glow faded from his eyes.

"But how is that possible? To use a Divine Concept, you need Divine Essence, and only gods can wield that energy. Even laws, which are considered a much lower form of Divine Concepts, would still require Divine Essence to activate," the goddess Frigga questioned.

Laws are what mortals comprehend before they achieve godhood.

Laws are what eventually evolve into Divine Concepts.

For a mortal to achieve godhood, they must have comprehended at least one law.

It doesn't need to be mastered at its peak, but one law is the minimum requirement, as that law becomes their Divine Concept once they ascend.

The only purpose of comprehending laws was to eventually reach the understanding of Concepts.

Laws themselves cannot be used in the same way as gods use Divine Concepts.

Yet Damian was somehow able to wield Laws as though they were Divine Concepts, and, even more shockingly, without using the unique energy known as [Divine Essence].

[Divine Essence] is a unique energy that only those who have achieved the status of godhood can wield.

Its sole purpose is to power the Divine Concepts of the gods.

No other energy can replicate its function, as it holds a special property: the ability to transform into anything, create anything, or even destroy anything, depending on the god and their Concept.

But Damian hadn't used [Divine Essence].

Instead, he had used his [Infinity Essence], not to wield [Divine Concepts], but to manipulate laws themselves.

Such a feat had never been heard of before, nor was it thought possible.

Damian's [Infinity Essence] was even greater than Divine Essence, but that didn't mean it could do everything Divine Essence could.

The latter had unique properties that allowed gods to manifest Divine Concepts, properties [Infinity Essence] did not possess.

What Damian did was closer to mimicry.

Since he wasn't using Divine Essence or actual Divine Concepts, the energy required to use laws through his [Infinity Essence] was exponentially greater.

The goddesses Frigga, Freya, Lenora, and Amelia exchanged knowing looks.

"Darling, have you achieved godhood?" Lenora asked.

"Not yet… I almost became a god, but I stopped myself," Damian replied casually, as if ascending to godhood was no big deal to him.

"Let's just say I still have some more laws to comprehend, laws essential for my future plans. I should be able to grasp them once we conquer the Biblical Heaven," Damian added, noticing one of his servants from Biblical Hell requesting an audience.

"How many laws have you comprehended so far, darling?" Amelia asked.

"All the laws of the Negativity Side, and a few dozen from the Neutral and Positivity Sides. Once we reach Heaven, I'll comprehend every law of the Positivity Side. When that's complete, I'll allow myself to ascend," Damian answered.

"Don't tell me… you're trying to become the god of Negativity, Positivity, and Neutrality?" Frigga asked, her face filled with shock and disbelief.

"Something like that…" Damian shrugged.

To him, becoming a powerful god was only one of many steps toward his ultimate mission for the future.

"Y-you do realize what you're trying to do, don't you? If you become the god who holds dominion over the Divine Concepts of Negativity, Positivity, and Neutrality, then you will—"

"I will have dominion over every single god who commands any Divine Concept within Negativity, Positivity, or Neutrality. No matter what kind of god or goddess they are, I will always stand above them," Damian said with a smile, amused by their stunned faces.

"That's the plan, or at least part of it."

"No wonder the gods are wary of you… even afraid of you. You're literally turning into a conqueror," Frigga sighed, relieved that she hadn't sided with Odin in his blasphemous schemes.

"Conqueror? That's amusing. The entire universe is supposed to be ruled by me. My very existence was born to govern and protect everything within it, to ensure the survival of the universe itself," Damian said, his voice cold and deep.

The Goddesses Freya and Frigga looked at him in shock and bewilderment. "You are him, aren't you? That overpowered god who once led the High Order, the one who vanished hundreds of thousands of years ago."

"Mmm. I'm surprised you figured it out… No one outside my family should be able to recognize me between my past and present lives," Damian said with a curious look.

"I suppose it must be thanks to that connection of yours."

"It still feels blurry… as if my memories are clouded. Everything is hazy. I can't clearly place your face with the god in my memories," Freya admitted.

"That's how it should be. Let's just say I didn't want the gods to know about my return, at least not until this lifetime. Most of them would try to kill me before I regained my power. So I made sure no one, not even the mightiest gods, could sense or recognize me. Of course, I ensured my wives would always recognize me, and I them, when we met again," Damian explained, glancing at Lenora, Amelia, and Lilith.

Just then, a figure appeared within a transportation magic circle: a man with long blonde hair, wearing white, robe-like garments, and three pairs of purplish, raven-like wings unfurled behind him.

"Lucifer? What the hell are you doing here?" Lilith asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I came to support Master in his conquest of the Biblical Heaven," Lucifer said with an eager expression.

"What's with that flashy costume?" Freya asked, eyeing his odd attire.

"These are the clothes I was wearing when I was cast out of Heaven," Lucifer replied.

"You mean kicked out helplessly?" Lilith grinned.

"…" Lucifer wanted to retort, but he remembered Lilith was no longer just ruler of half of Hell; she was his master's wife.

That meant she deserved the same respect as Damian himself.

Speaking against her might even earn him Damian's wrath, so he had no choice but to endure the mockery.

"I vowed that when I returned to Heaven, I would do so in the same robes I left in," Lucifer sighed.

"You do know you're a Dark Angel now, right? Heaven is like poison to you; the very environment is corrosive," Lilith pointed out.

"For that matter, we werewolves and vampires will also suffer if we enter Heaven," Avenya Rughal added.

"Don't worry about it. That's a simple problem to resolve," Lenora said with a smile.

Damian nodded and raised his hand.

A massive magic circle formed, opening a path to the one and only Heaven of the Biblical pantheon, ruled by the God-King, the Heavenly Father.

Without hesitation, Damian took the first step forward.

The others followed. Lenora lifted her hand, channeling her [Divine Essence] to activate her Divine Concept of [Protection].

In the next instant, an invisible barrier covered the vampire wives, werewolf wives, Lilith, and Lucifer, shielding them from the harmful holy atmosphere of Heaven, an environment lethal to creatures of the night.

Demons and Dark Angels were also considered creatures of the night.

In fact, all beings aligned with Negativity fell into that category.

Heaven was the realm of light, unforgiving to strangers.

But with Lenora, the goddess of Family, Moon, and Protection, among them, they were safe.

Amelia required no such protection, as she was a powerful goddess herself. And Damian…

Damian needed none, for nothing in existence could harm him.

As they crossed through the magic circle, they found themselves standing on pristine white-bricked floors.

Ahead of them stretched a long staircase ascending into the heavens.

A golden-white light illuminated everything.

The sky above was bright and blue, dotted with clouds of pure white.

The silence carried only serenity and peace.

But none of that held their attention.

What caught their eyes were the hundreds of thousands of holy angels gathered before the staircase, tens of thousands more hovering in the skies, and their king himself, the Heavenly Father, the Holy God of Life, Creation, Order, and Light.

"So this is Heaven, huh?" Amaya muttered with a curious expression.

Perhaps it was because of Damian's presence, but the five vampire countesses and six werewolf ministers felt no fear.

They weren't intimidated, though deep down, they knew exactly what kind of power they stood against.

"We meet once again, Heavenly Father. But this time, I won't be talking. Just state your decision so we can proceed with what must be done, depending on your choice... For your sake, I hope you have chosen wisely," Damian said, as he began to feel the unique energy present in the environment of Heaven trying to harm him from all sides, like the wind.

Heaven is the counterpart of Hell.

And just like Hell, which possesses a unique energy known as [Miasma] in every part of its existence, Heaven also holds a unique energy called [Aurema].

[Aurema] is the positive counterpart of [Miasma], which is born from the side of Negativity.

[Aurema] carries properties opposite to those of [Miasma], able to counter its influence.

Just as [Miasma] is dangerous to creatures of light, [Aurema] is harmful to creatures of the night.

[Your talent [Limitless Refinement] is taking effect.]

[Your resistance to [Aurema] has significantly increased.]

[Your constitution [Undying Battle King's Physique] is taking effect.]

[Due to your increased resistance to [Aurema], a trait has been triggered.]

[You have developed the trait [Aurema Resistance].]