Chapter 195: Messenger Of Karth

A Demi God was the connecting tissue between mortals and the divine.

At this stage, all living creatures experienced a substantial boost in their quality of life and life clock.

This granted them not only near-perfect health, but also a lifespan of up to one thousand years.

For most beings, reaching this stage meant stepping far beyond the rigid limitations that had defined their mortal existence.

"Hmm."

Standing outside the imposing Great Pyramid of Karth, Ethen looked down at the ruined landscape of the Great Hall of the Bastion.

The brutal attack from Duke Ao had not stopped after his initial strike against Ethen.

He had followed up with several other destructive attacks, each one severely battering the structure.

The stark aftermath was still entirely visible from where Ethen stood on the elevated platform.

It had taken Mogar personally moving to finally send that powerful avatar away from the area.

Clearly, the heavy blow Duke Ao had received from their binding bargain was far more infuriating than it had appeared to everyone else.

"God Almighty..."

Ethen muttered the bitter words quietly under his breath.

After everything that had just happened, it had become painfully obvious that he would never be truly safe in this world.

As long as people significantly stronger than him existed, his life remained hanging by a thread.

A true God Almighty could nearly kill him with a single casual attack.

Even with the massive protection of the Bastion backing him up, there were strict limits to what others could do for his personal safety.

Every single layer of defense had been pushed to its absolute limit during the clash.

The inner wards had shuddered, and the structural integrity of the surrounding sector had nearly collapsed under the sheer pressure.

He could not rely entirely on external shelters or the intervention of higher entities to keep him breathing.

There was only one real solution left to him.

Absolute strength.

Ethen could only steel his mind and harden his resolve for the difficult trials to come.

"Come in."

Ulric suddenly appeared outside the entrance of the pyramid and beckoned Ethen forward.

Ethen gave a brief nod before stepping inside.

Inside the ancient pyramid, everything looked exactly the same as before.

The massive stone statue of Karth remained seated upon his high throne, completely unmoved and staring straight ahead into the dim light.

Ethen had come to understand a fundamental truth over time.

At the God Almighty stage, remaining physically on the mortal planet was no longer sustainable for true divine entities.

They needed avatars just to remain here for even a short period of time.

The fact that even beings at that supreme level couldn’t freely descend with their true bodies was a testament to their raw and absolute power.

[Congratulations on touching the Divine Realm.]

A series of glowing divine texts suddenly appeared in the air before him.

Slowly, the massive stone statue came to life.

The eyes of Karth shone with brilliant, blinding light as his true consciousness descended into the vessel.

"Thank you, Almighty."

Ethen bowed graciously with deep reverence.

He was now officially a Demi God.

No one within the faction could deny his power anymore.

He had successfully crossed the terrifying boundary that separated ordinary mortals from the divine.

[Good.]

[As a reward for your breakthrough, I shall bestow upon you the title: Messenger of Karth.]

Karth’s divine words lit up the dark sky once again.

This time, however, the message didn’t remain trapped inside the pyramid.

It burned right through the fabric of the air, spreading rapidly throughout the Bastion and reaching every relevant faction party.

[A Twelfth Messenger of Karth has been bestowed: Ethen Algar.]

The sudden announcement immediately elevated Ethen’s status by several folds.

He was no longer simply a talented junior member of the Dawn faction trying to prove himself.

He had officially become a core member of its elite hierarchy and a widely recognized figure throughout the Bastion of Humanity.

For many people, the prestige of this title alone would be enough to permanently change how they viewed him.

Within the upper echelons of the faction, such a title carried weight, influence, and tangible resources.

It granted him access to restricted zones and archives that had previously been locked away behind layers of clearance.

Doors that were once shut tight would now open with a single word from him.

Yet, despite the newfound authority, Ethen felt no sense of comfort or relaxation settle into his bones.

Titles were only as meaningful as the power of the individual who held them.

[Now, would you like to see your summon?]

After a brief moment of silence, allowing the monumental news to settle, Karth spoke again.

This was the primary reason Ethen had come here in the first place.

The terrifying strike from a God Almighty was not some casual matter that could be easily brushed aside.

Even the powerful angels who had taken the initial brunt of Duke Ao’s attack were still struggling to recover from the destructive cosmic energy that had entered their bodies.

That was without even mentioning the condition of Adam.

A second later, Ethen’s consciousness drifted away from his physical body.

Warm light wrapped tightly around him.

Then Karth moved him through the swirling currents of the Spirit World at incredible speed.

In less than ten seconds, Ethen appeared before a young man lying flat on his back with his eyes closed.

He was floating in the middle of a vast, quiet grassland adrift through space.

Adam.

Ethen’s expression immediately became grim and serious.

Typically, no matter how severe the damage, a summon would begin recovering almost instantly after entering the protective environment of the Spirit World.

But the hostile energy left behind by a God Almighty was entirely different.

Adam’s evolution requirement was only meant for a Tier 2 God.

He had never been designed or tempered to withstand the apocalyptic power of a God Almighty.

Only a high-ranking Angel could dispel the deep cosmic energy from an attack of that magnitude.

And even then, the cleansing had to be done by the carrier himself.

No external source could simply reach in and remove it.

For now, remaining hidden within the Spirit Realm was the only thing keeping Adam alive.

"His situation is stable for now," Karth explained calmly as the two divine figures floated before the usually casual Adam.

"But you can’t stay at the basic Demi God stage for too much longer. At most you have a year before I won’t be able to help him suppress it."

Ethen stared down at Adam.

The usually relaxed summon remained completely motionless, his eyes closed as he lay within the endless grass.

It was a difficult and sobering scene for both of them.

Mainly because this entire dangerous situation had been caused by the Dawn faction’s ongoing machinations against the powerful Ao Clan.

"I want to be posted to Dragon God Ridge."

Ethen’s voice was firm and unyielding.

He fully understood how desperately dire the situation had become.

He needed to become stronger.

And he needed to do it much faster than normal.

That dangerous climb could only begin with his next scheduled ritual.

"Yes, Ulric told me about your upcoming summoner ritual."

Karth suddenly frowned, his expression darkening.

Most humans who successfully reached the Demi God stage needed to completely switch their classes.

Remaining a summoner became heavily counterproductive because it required a god to provide their own precious Demi God spirits to their summoner.

Most gods were entirely unwilling to do that for subordinates.

The rare exceptions were usually individuals who were directly related to them or rare talents they considered too valuable to let go.

Karth would gladly give Ethen his own personal spirits without hesitation.

Unfortunately, he didn’t control the mechanics of Ethen’s specific summoning rituals.

He didn’t control the mysterious creatures Ethen summoned either.

Whatever entity existed far beyond the boundaries of his divine authority was solely responsible for them.

"After what just happened between you and the Ao Clan, I honestly don’t know if it’s a good idea to send you there," Karth said calmly.

There was clear, unmistakable worry in his eyes.

Dragon God Ridge was a brutal place located deep within the Nether Realm where the human clans with dragon lineages and the fierce Dragon God Clan had been struggling for supremacy for years.

It was a volatile zone of constant conflict and deadly battles.

Aside from those who directly possessed strong dragon bloodlines, most people avoided going there whenever possible, unless they had absolutely no choice.

"That’s my only real option right now."

Ethen didn’t budge in the slightest.

He had already made up his final decision.

"Sigh."

Karth slowly shook his head.

His glowing gaze returned to the resting figure of Adam.

The young man remained lying quietly in the grass, completely silent as he fought to recover from the devastating wounds inflicted by a God Almighty.

For a long, tense moment, neither of them spoke another word.