Too flashy—so flashy it was as if he feared people wouldn't notice his existence.
Originally, many people had already planned to retreat, but they were all caught off guard by this sudden turn of events.
In the region being eroded by the miasma rising like hell itself—a domain that previously belonged to the Demon King alone—a figure now stood. That land had once been solely under the Demon King's control.
Now, in everyone's eyes, a figure had appeared—an extremely, extremely radiant figure, constantly exuding a blinding presence.
Setting aside who this figure was for now, there was no doubt about it—he was a hero.
Why? Because his appearance practically screamed "hero" with such overwhelming force that anyone who laid eyes on him would think the same.
His entire body was wrapped in dazzling golden armor—an extremely traditional heroic outfit. Even his head was covered by a fully enclosed helmet.
Looking closely at the armor, one could see numerous embedded gemstones emitting a powerful divine aura. It was so intense that even the dark miasma exuding from the Demon King was evaporating like a mirage.
The cape draped around him was clearly no ordinary item either, fluttering on its own without wind and radiating an extraordinary brilliance.
As for the hero's hands—he held an enormous greatsword, nearly as tall as himself, its tip resting on the ground. It radiated an indescribable, holy glow. Without a doubt, this sacred sword exuded an aura that only a true savior-level hero could wield.
This sword didn't just seem capable of annihilating demons—it felt as though it had the power to judge the gods themselves when they failed to fulfill their divine duties. It was a sword of divine arbitration.
Of course, he also had plenty of accessories: necklaces, bracers, rings—all high-grade divine equipment.
In short, this golden hero before them was a fully divine-geared champion.
"Aqua-senpai, did you see it? That gem on his chest—isn't that the thing?"
That was the voice of the angelic goddess Eris, sounding quite shocked.
"It definitely is!"
A gasp followed from the airheaded goddess.
"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not an airhead—!"
"What is it, Lady Goddess Aqua~?"
"Oh, that—"
"If I'm not mistaken, that's a Divine Core."
The one who answered wasn't Eris, but Lucoa. Thor, who stood beside her, had also asked the same question, feeling the unusual aura from the gemstones.
Divine Core?
That answer didn't just stir this side—everyone observing from afar received the news through their own means and were deeply shaken.
What is a Divine Core? Though it might go by different names in different worlds, it is essentially the heart of a god—vital to their existence. It symbolizes a god's life, their essence, and their soul.
Yet someone had forged Divine Cores into holy weapons? How insane. How extravagant.
Not that such weapons didn't exist—just that they were exceedingly rare.
These transcendent divine weapons were never given to heroes unless the situation was absolutely critical.
Any hero who obtained such a weapon was someone even the gods themselves would tread carefully around. Who could say if that hero's personality was reliable, or if they might end up absconding with the weapon?
Such weapons were never meant to be permanently handed over to heroes. They were always meant to be retrieved in the end.
"That sword!"
Armor and accessories aside, the most critical item was that sword. It glowed so intensely that no one could discern its true color.
Those with no evil in their hearts would see only its sacred radiance and feel an overwhelming calm that soothed all anxiety.
But those harboring dark thoughts would feel the light like sword edges tearing through their flesh.
If any demons or dark creatures were nearby and not strong enough, they would be instantly unable to withstand the holy light—like being drenched in gasoline and lit ablaze—consumed by sacred, pure white flames in an instant.
Even the gods of Earth and the otherworldly pantheons watching through various means now wore serious expressions.
That sword was too dangerous. Not because it could judge them—that only happened when a god abandoned their divine duties—but because it could throw the world's balance into chaos.
Just as there must be both day and night, the absence of one would cause the laws of the world to collapse.
Light must coexist with darkness.
Evil is a necessary part of existence. If this sword were to eradicate all evil, the world itself would fall apart, returning to primal chaos and void—ushering in the end.
So now, the gods began pointing fingers at each other. Just who was the reckless deity responsible for this? Shouldn't they have given everyone a heads-up?
However, up to this point, no world had claimed the hero as their own. Each one insisted that their divine weapons of this caliber were still sealed.
Normally, a hero worthy of being granted such sacred equipment would be someone with transcendent talent—appearing once every hundreds of millions of years.
Which meant… some world had produced such an extraordinary hero?
That possibility cast a shadow over the faces of many gods. Jealousy began to brew.
At this very moment, countless gods were surely thinking about how to eliminate this hero. If such a hero were allowed to grow, he would eventually ascend into a powerful new deity—and bring his entire world to a higher level of evolution.
Such were the thoughts dominating the minds of the gods.
As for the heroes present, many of them were already nearly blinded, unable to suppress the intense longing in their hearts for that divine equipment.
Of course, those who had remained were self-aware enough to keep themselves in check. Yet their eyes shimmered with strange lights, their hearts plotting who knows what kinds of schemes.
In the next second, that legendary hero twisted his blade slightly.
In an instant, an endless surge of pure white light exploded outward—almost completely purifying the entire demon-infested region corrupted by darkness.
At that moment, even the deadened earth began to show signs of life.
And then, the hero fiercely raised his sword.
It looked like he was about to deliver a divine judgment upon the Demon King.
At that moment, countless eyes locked onto him—and what followed shattered the very fabric of everyone's expectations.