Chapter 565: Golden Deity

Damian calmly cleaned his ear with one finger, a vague look of discomfort crossing his face as Lazarus’ roar continued to echo through the Realm of Dreams. He pulled his finger away and flicked away whatever he had collected before looking at the furious God.

"Don’t scream my name like that. He was a burden. The only reason you couldn’t go all out. You should be grateful," Damian said indifferently.

Rin immediately chimed in from his shoulder, "This is why we don’t help people these days. Very ungrateful."

Damian nodded with complete seriousness. "I know, right?"

The casual exchange only made Lazarus’ fury worse. His entire body trembled with rage as the golden sea surrounding him began bubbling violently, releasing waves of golden steam that rolled across the ground.

"I was going to play this safe, not to push my damaged soul further than it can handle..." Lazarus’ voice trembled with barely restrained fury as his golden eyes locked onto Damian.

His expression suddenly became vicious. "But now you have crossed the line. Fuck caution... Fuck everything! I’ll kill you where you stand!"

A monstrous shockwave erupted from his body and swept across the city. The moment it reached Damian, his figure dispersed like a puff of smoke, the illusion collapsing without leaving behind even a trace of his presence.

Lazarus did not bother searching for the real Damian. His anger had already overwhelmed whatever caution remained, and instead he slammed his foot into the ground.

Bang!

The ground beneath him sank under the pressure as crimson energy began spreading across his body. Steam poured from his skin while the golden sea around him churned violently.

"Greed Inheritance: Infinite Accumulation!"

Buzz!

A powerful golden ripple exploded from Lazarus’ body and raced outward through the city. Buildings caught within its path began trembling before their foundations cracked and collapsed, while structures thousands of meters away suffered the same fate as the golden energy continued spreading.

Damian’s figure finally appeared on one of the collapsing buildings, standing calmly on a fractured section of stone as he watched Lazarus’ body increase in size, height and physical strength. Yet beneath his calm expression, Damian’s thoughts were far less confident.

’Everything is going according to plan, so why does the plan terrify me?’ Damian frowned deeply.

The first step had been to shatter Lazarus’ soul. The second was to drive him into blind rage by taking away something he considered his property, forcing the Sin of Greed to react exactly as greed demanded.

Hagrid had been more than an enemy.

To Lazarus, he was something he possessed, and Damian had deliberately stolen him away. Now Lazarus was burning through his strength, damaging himself further and exhausting the power he needed for the final stage.

The third step was the most dangerous of all: unleash the power of the Abyss and end the battle before Lazarus could recover.

’Well, you have to endure. You are most elusive within this Territory, and you can make him waste so much of his energy. If you unleash the Abyssal Inheritance right away, he will have no problem burning his soul just to temporarily boost his power and gain an edge over you. That’s why you must make him waste all that power here, so that he will have nothing left at the final stage,’ Rin reminded him.

Damian’s brow tightened as he flexed his shoulders, feeling the pressure building throughout the Territory. ’I know the plan... I’m just worried it may backfire and I may take a fatal hit.’

’Then stop worrying and focus!’ Rin scolded.

Meanwhile, Lazarus’ body continued expanding until he stood roughly twenty feet tall, his muscles becoming thicker as crimson energy pulsed beneath his skin and steam poured from his body.

He stared directly at Damian, who remained standing on a building that should have already collapsed.

"Since bringing all my wealth to this realm to fight, I will use its worth to boost my power!" Lazarus hissed.

Damian’s eyes narrowed as he noticed something strange. The building beneath his feet was completely shattered, yet it was not falling. He looked around and realized the same thing was happening everywhere.

Every structure that should have collapsed remained suspended in the air, frozen in place as though the entire Realm of Dreams had stopped obeying the normal laws of physics.

"One more!" Lazarus growled viciously.

"Greed Inheritance: Golden Body!"

The boiling gold surrounding him suddenly began flowing toward his body, slipping through his pores and entering through every opening in his flesh.

Lazarus’ entire body buzzed violently as an overwhelming concentration of power flooded into him. His red skin gradually developed an amber undertone, then became increasingly golden as the wealth accumulated inside his body.

When his insides could contain no more, the excess gold began overflowing through his pores, forming an external layer that hardened over his flesh.

For several seconds, the transformation continued while the entire city trembled around him. Then the chaos finally settled.

Lazarus stood firmly in the middle of the golden sea, now twenty feet tall and covered entirely in polished gold. His hulking physique resembled a gigantic Greek statue of Hercules more than a living creature, yet the divine pressure radiating from his body made it clear that the golden shell was far more than decoration.

He slowly clenched his fists, testing the immense power flowing through his new body before exhaling with satisfaction.

"Greed Inheritance: Golden Deity..." Lazarus muttered with a sigh of relief.

His golden eyes fixed upon Damian. "Now, I will make you pay for your crimes against this God."

Damian suddenly felt goosebumps spread across his entire body.

For the first time since the battle began, his expression lost its mocking amusement. His instincts were screaming at him, warning him that the creature standing before him had crossed another threshold entirely.

Damian lowered his center of gravity and assumed a proper fighting stance, his muscles tightening as purple energy gathered around his body.

"COME!" Damian roared.

"BE CAREFUL OF WHAT YOU WISH FOR!" Lazarus’ voice boomed from his golden statue like thunder.

He slowly pulled his fist backward. Damian raised an eyebrow, confusion briefly replacing his tension. Nothing happened. Lazarus remained standing in the exact same position, yet the pressure in the Realm of Dreams suddenly became unbearable causing the world to tremble violently!

Then Lazarus punched forward.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The entire Realm trembled violently. A vicious blast of wind exploded from Lazarus’ fist with such force that everything caught within its path was ripped from the ground and hurled backward.

Buildings shattered and spun through the air while enormous clouds of dust and debris were swept across the city. Damian’s body was caught in the blast and launched backward alongside dozens of buildings, his hair whipping wildly as he struggled to regain control.

’But he didn’t even move. What kind of strength is this?’ Damian gasped, genuine shock filling his eyes.

Before he could stabilize himself,

Swoosh!

Lazarus suddenly appeared above him, his golden fist already retracted and positioned beside his body. Damian’s pupils contracted as he looked upward. Lazarus had crossed the distance without him sensing the movement.

"DID YOU THINK THE GOLDEN DEITY WAS A JOKE?!" Lazarus’ voice boomed as he raised his fist.

Damian’s expression hardened. "You can hear my thoughts?" he gasped.

"IT’S CALLED HAGGLERS EXPLOIT. A TECHNIQUE ONLY THE MASTER OF GREED CAN POSSESS. NOW TAKE MY FIST!" Lazarus bellowed as his golden fist descended toward Damian with enough force to make the entire Realm of Dreams tremble.