The Transcendent Godslayer

In one second, Menelaus went from feeling intense rage... So powerful his Will even evolved, to facing the most excruciating pain he had ever felt in his life, and then came a flood of notifications.

[You are in the presence of one marked with the stench of TABOO]

[All Attributes +100%]

[Your Core Skill has evolved and ascended]

[Fourth Ascension 'Hand of the Forge' (Active) has become Fifth Ascension 'Saint of the Forge' (Active)]

[Corruption: 89%]

The moment he saw the last notification bar, he knew it was over. Instantly, he blanked out.

When he regained his bearings, he saw himself in serrated chains that dug deep into his body, filling his mind with immense pain and torture.

With every passing second, the chains dug deeper into his body at an excruciatingly slow pace, and the pain that came with it was only comparable to the feeling of hot molten metal on skin.

[Corruption: 90%]

A black notification hovered before his eyes, and he seemed to finally understand his situation.

He had first received a notification like this the day he began feeling an increase in the density of dynamis in the world.

---

Corruption. That wasn't something he had ever heard of before.

It took him by surprise, and for a second, he thought it was Ares being corrupted by something.

If it was...

A man walked into his store, completely ignoring the sign outside that said No Entrance.

Most bizarre of all—he was human. Although Menelaus couldn't recall his features, how he looked, or even his voice, he was sure the man was human.

The man walked up to him, and before Menelaus could say anything, he released a wisp of his aura... and Menelaus' legs almost turned to jelly.

Just as quickly, he withdrew it, and Menelaus fell on his ass, despair and desperation overcoming him.

That aura... it was something far beyond Zephyrus, who was an apex Fourth Ascension ascendent. That was the aura of a Saint.

The man stopped in his tracks, and his expression twisted in disgust.

"With such a weak mind, I'm not surprised you're corrupted as well. How pathetic," he scoffed.

Menelaus, however, was still finding it hard to control himself. Even if his mind wanted to, his body wouldn't stop trembling.

One, due to the fact that he was in the presence of a much higher power, and two, because, well... it was a much higher power. From the day Menelaus became conscious, he had undergone terrible things at the hands of those with greater power.

Zephyrus just happened to be the last, but also the most vile, ruling over his being for more than thirty years. It was always the same suffering; he couldn't grow powerful enough to stop it.

"Get up!" the man ordered.

His body, which hadn't been listening to him, instantly shot up like an arrow released from a bow, standing ramrod straight.

The human Saint's expression turned even uglier, before finally softening into something that resembled interest.

"You're quite the surprise. You're the most compatible, yet at the same time, the most incompatible with your skill. Hand of the Forge... a rare skill indeed."

Menelaus' eyes trembled as he heard the name of his core skill being uttered by an unknown stranger.

"You must have killed someone powerful to gain it. Why... No, how is your willpower so weak, then?"

Menelaus visibly shuddered this time, a small gasp escaping his lips.

"Hmm? Oh, don't mind that. I'm corrupted too," the Saint said, releasing a faint aura that felt both familiar and unfamiliar to Menelaus.

Focusing on it, he discovered the same aura on himself.

"That is the aura of corruption... or rather, Ascension. Never mention corruption to anyone," the Saint warned.

"Now... how did you get your hands on a Fourth Ascension skill? It also happens to be your core skill. Quite interesting. A Second Ascension ascendent... No, that's not quite right. A pathetic Second Ascension weakling with a Fourth Ascension core skill. That should be making headlines," the Saint said, tilting his head.

Menelaus gritted his teeth, being forced to remember something he wished to forget. And under his astonished gaze, his mouth uttered the words of its own volition.

"I massacred my family."

"Oh? Now that's a juicy story I didn't expect. Why?"

"I hated them," Menelaus replied monotonously. His eyes widened even further.

'Why can't I stop myself?!' he panicked inwardly.

"Interesting," the Saint chuckled in amusement. "Why?"

"They oppressed me. They made me hate them. They tortured me. They said I was weak. They said I was a disgrace. They..."

Menelaus' voice suddenly cut short as he finally regained control of himself.

"I get it. I get it already. You don't have to tell me all that," the Saint said with a wave of his hand.

A flash of anger erupted in Menelaus' eyes.

He got what? What did he get? Who made him say all of that?

His anger, however, was snuffed away, and he visibly trembled when the Saint looked into his eyes.

"Now that's better," the Saint said with a nod.

"Here..."

Bang.

"In here is the solution to your problem," the Saint said, his expression suddenly becoming serious.

"Of course, you know no one should know of this book. There is an organization for those like us—whose Wills are being corrupted by their core skills. Naturally, no one should know about that information from you either."

"Ares will be put through a tumultuous time in the coming days. We need more of Ares' bloods than the abominations we would have to become," the man said with a solemn sigh.

"Your corruption is still in its infancy now. Five percent corruption might look small, but it is very dangerous... That is the highest you can endure without battling for your sanity."

"It is better for you if you follow the instructions in the book now, before it gets worse. Once it gets to forty percent, your skill will automatically hijack your mind. At that point, there's no coming back... You'll remain an abomination forever," the man said with a tone of finality.

Menelaus gulped, his mind racing, head throbbing from the unexpected bombshell. Thoughts reeled from one possibility to another, trying to find a way to avoid this catastrophe.