The Monarch

Kayden hadn't moved from that place in a very long time.His sudden departure was strange and sparked curiosity among most gods, especially Yasmim, who had had the most contact with Kayden and yet knew almost nothing about him.

"How exactly did you offend them?"Kayden was floating slowly, with no sense of urgency, while Kayn walked beside him, clearly anxious about what was going to happen. His only confidence came from the fact that Lucius was accompanying them.

"I refused to give up my place at the city's training tower," Kayn explained.Kayden raised an eyebrow."It's a tower with multiple floors and different challenges on each level. The waiting line is usually long, since it's a very exclusive facility."

Kayden figured it was something petty like that. It was amusing how the same kinds of situations repeated endlessly throughout existence — this had probably happened more times than universes had even been created.

"I see."Kayden said nothing else, and after a few minutes, they approached the headquarters of an organization."Lucius, I ask that you don't interfere or use your family's influence."

That statement caught Yasmim and the others who had come along by surprise. Most were curious about Kayden and decided to follow him — no one really knew how he would handle this confrontation. Organizational disputes were rare, mostly because the power gaps between them were usually enormous.

"They hit you, didn't they?"Kayden didn't need to look twice to realize that one of Kayn's arms was broken.It was strange, though, since Kayden couldn't think of any mortals capable of breaking just one of Kayn's limbs without doing more serious damage.

"A little.""Your arm," Kayden pointed. "And you didn't react when other mages humiliated you?"Kayn didn't reply — he had nothing to say. The event had shattered his pride.

The organization's headquarters was a massive ship, symbolizing the family's main source of income — in this case, being merchants. This meant that at least half of the gods were probably away, managing vast trading networks.

The ship stretched several dozen kilometers and was docked some distance from the city. Its wood and the runes engraved around the hull were of exceptional quality — truly a masterpiece of naval engineering, and at the same time, a colossal base of operations.

"There are two ways to live, Kayn,"Kayden floated high above as he spoke."You either swallow your pride and bow… or you die with it. Which one do you think is better?"The answer was obvious — one was foolish, and the other let you see the next day.

"To live another day," Kayn replied without hesitation."And the next day, you bow again? And again after that? Before you even notice, you'll be at the top of the world, stuck beneath someone else's foot, and you'll have spent your whole life like that."Kayden smiled.

He clapped his hands with a burst of mana in a gesture that was utterly rude toward the gods inside.He didn't even need a second clap before dozens of gods appeared in the sky.

With Lucius hidden and the other gods camouflaged, there was nothing in the heavens except Kayden — his aura fully unleashed and completely undisturbed.He gazed at the dozens of gods who had surrounded him and Kayn.It took only a few seconds for their leader to appear.

A god in the form of a colossal shark emerged in the sky, measuring several hundred meters. He dripped water in torrents of billions of liters, and whenever the water fell even a few meters from his body, it would rise back to the top by magic.It looked almost as if the water itself was carrying his enormous body.His aura — the unmistakable power of a peak second-level god — was obvious to all.

"A god I don't recognize… this is peculiar," the shark god rumbled. "Introduce yourself."Kayden's madness made the shark god a little more cautious than usual.

"My name is Kayden. It's a pleasure to meet you."His calm tone was disconcerting."I'm here to resolve a disrespect toward my disciple — and therefore toward me."His tone turned sharp, and his stance left no room for discussion.

"Who do you represent? Obviously, we'll handle this according to proper channels."The tone and aura Kayden carried made it seem as though he was backed by someone powerful — but…

"I represent no organization."Kayden's response shattered the entire mood.The shark god didn't wait another second — he launched a full-force attack against Kayden. A massive tidal wave surged toward him and—

BOOM!

A bolt of lightning clashed against the wave, destroying them both.

Kayden's full aura erupted, revealing his hidden title: Monarch of Monarchs.A title granted directly by the celestials, his other title was completely hidden.It was not something most gods had ever seen in their entire lifetimes.

"I'll treat your action as a direct offense," Kayden said with a smile as he began to convert everything around him into energy like a lunatic.Fortunately, being slightly outside the city meant they were still hundreds of billions of kilometers away from any urban area.

Atherion began regenerating at the same intensity that Kayden was burning through its laws.There was no hesitation on Kayden's side.There was hesitation from the shark god — he had never dreamed, not even in his wildest nightmares, that Kayden would be this insane. That moment of hesitation cost him — he had to start on the defensive after receiving several dozen lightning strikes.

But the shark god was no fool.He had been shaped by time itself.His waves rose to strike Kayden, and an unrelenting battle began.

There were no breaks.It was the unstoppable clash of two lunatics.

Every attack from Kayden was ridiculously powerful.There were no weak or strong moves — they were all equally devastating.

Atherion fought like mad to withstand such a tremendous drain on its laws, but Kayden continued without pause.Meanwhile, the shark was filling the entire area with more and more water — a kind of divine wave-law water that Kayden couldn't convert.It was an extension of the god himself.

No one dared interfere.To join against Kayden would be seen as an offense to their leader — it would be admitting he was too weak to face his fights.The battle raged on for several minutes without any pause.

Slowly, the waves began to gain the upper hand.Kayden's lightning strikes started to scatter, becoming increasingly irregular.

At least… until a moment arrived.

A lightning bolt — tinged green — surged forward.