Ouros had ascended into being a Demigod.

Less than a decade after his audience with the Divine Matriarch, he finally broke free from the bounds of mortality, successfully igniting the divine fire of his own law, and became a genuine Demigod.

At the same time, an oracle from the World Tree was issued to all Temples of Nature across the land.

Demigod Ouros officially received the Divine Matriarch’s recognition, becoming one of the esteemed eight demigod-rank Godwardens under her service.

For the World Tree, which had no true god-rank subordinates, this was tantamount to having a subordinate deity.

From that moment, the prodigal elven rebel, notorious amongst elves and half-elves alike in his youth for his defiance of their traditions, was no more.

In his place stood the Church of Nature’s eighth demigod Godwarden, the Guardian of Life, who had forged his divine path by comprehending the laws of life.

Ouros’s rise caught both the elves and half-elves by surprise, as no one had expected that this prodigal figure would earn the favor of their Patron Deity.

Yet, from this point on, Ouros’s conflicts with the Church only intensified.

To ordinary elves and half-elves, many of Ouros’s radical ideas bordered on pure heresy—which was utterly unacceptable.

Even after his promotion to demigod and formal entry into the Church’s clerical leadership, his relationships with other elves, especially his fellow demigods, did not improve much at all.

“Arrogance, you say? This is not arrogance; it is our pride!”

“We, the elvenkind, are the most perfect beings the Divine Matriarch has created. We are a race conceived by a True God and are in no way comparable to those of lowly bloodlines!”

“Without us, how many other races could have even dared to develop a civilization of their own!? And you would have the audacity to think they could ever actually surpass us?”

“Ouros, you worry too much about them.”

“Let’s just ignore his radical ideas. He’s nothing but a madman, I say—a paranoid lunatic!”

“Your ideas is nothing but sheer blasphemy!”

“Such heresy is far more terrifying than believing in the occult…”

Isolated.

Marginalized.

Ouros eventually found himself increasingly excluded within the ranks of the Church.

Yet this didn’t dampen his convictions but only made them grow stronger.

“The Divine Matriarch herself recognized the merits of my ideas. This was a clear sign of her trust in me!”

“Alas, the current Elvenkind has fallen from its former glory… I must do something to change how most of my fellow elves and half-elves perceive the outside world!”

His prior conversation with the Divine Matriarch had undeniably shifted some of Ouros’s views.

At the very least, after understanding Her Grace’s stance and vision regarding Elvenkind, he no longer sought to preserve their dominance as the pinnacle of civilization.

However, figuring out how to help the elves accept their current reality, how to make them realize the threat, and how to make them accept that their only option was to seclude themselves posed a delicate challenge.

Nevertheless, sometimes in life, certain events often unfold in unexpected ways.

Suddenly, without warning.

War came.

One day, out of nowhere, a vast amount of divine power flooded the skies, and towering golden figures appeared above the Elven Forest.

Almost every other sentient race, as if acting in cohesion, deployed their numerous armies to encircle the Elven Kingdom.

On that day, the various gods of faith…betrayed their mentor, the Mother of All Gods who had led them to the path of divinity.

Led by the gods of mankind, a total of 138 faith-based deities surrounded the World Tree.

Their majestic voices reverberated above the Elven Forest:

“Your Majesty, the Mother of All Gods… this will be the last time we address you as such.”

“Your power surpasses all, and your strength is a peril beyond measure.”

“The era of the ancient gods and the elves shall now come to an end from this point on. Your very existence, your boundless potential, and your uniqueness… present a tremendous threat not only to the realm of Seigües but to the entire universe itself.” R

“For this, we are deeply sorry.”

“Your Grace, Yggdrasill, you shall fall today.”

The voices of the deities of faith were sacred, yet frigid in their tone.

Meanwhile, Ouros and several other elven demigods stood by the Divine Matriarch’s side.

They gazed at the assembly of gods advancing toward them, their expressions filled with disappointment and fury.

“Your Excellency Uller! You too have joined the attack against the Divine Matriarch? Have you forgotten who helped the orcs through their darkest hour?”

Ouros turned to one of the towering figures, his voice trembling with anger.

In response, he received only a soft sigh.

“I am grateful for the aid Yggdrasill once offered,” the figure said.

“But I value the future more than the past.”

“Traitors! You are unworthy of being called a god!”

Ouros roared, his fury unrestrained.

Such defiance toward a true god was heretical, and his outburst drew cold, disdainful hums from many of the deities.

Instantly, waves of oppressive divine power bore down upon him.

But with a simple gesture, the Goddess of Nature brushed away their oppressive force as if it were nothing.

“So, this is your choice…”

She only murmured with a faint sigh.

Her voice carried a mix of resignation, sorrow, and regret, whilst her expression also reflected a trace of self-mockery.

“It seems I, too, have succumbed to arrogance… Foolish enough to believe you lot would understand.”

Turning to the elven demigods at her side, she smiled softly.

“Leave now.”

“Take the rest of your fellow clansmen to safety.”

“This is my personal war with them—therefore it does not concern any of you.”

“Remember, the future of the elvenkind solely depends on you…”

With those words, she waved her hand, teleporting the eight elven and half-elven demigods into another dimensions.

Then, the Goddess of Nature turned her gaze back to the attacking gods of faith, her aura swelling with unstoppable power whilst all the plants within the Elven Forest seemed to come alive in that instant.

From her lofty vantage point, she looked down upon the invading gods with a faint smile.

“Come, then. Show me just how much you lot have grown…”

༺⟐༻

Thus, the war of the gods had began.

It was a battle of unimaginable magnitude, lasting a full day and night.

As the gods waged their war, the heavens themselves seemed to tremble, and the earth below quaked under the force of their conflict. The very air crackled with energy, as the very laws of reality themselves were bent to the will of the divine.

Mountains crumbled, lands collapsed, and the entire realm of Seigües suffered devastating damage.

In the end, after defeating over twenty gods, the World Tree could no longer withstand their combined assault and finally fell, succumbing to a near-death state.

Ouros, after being teleported to another dimension, did not personally witness the entire course of the war.

By the time he and the other demigods returned to Seigües, the battle had already ended.

Alas, what awaited them was the grim reality:

The World Tree had already fallen, and their territories had been divided among the victorious gods.

In its aftermath, the realm of Seigües, having suffered grievous damage from the war, was left teetering on the brink of destruction.

Its mana levels plummeted to the point of nearly falling below the standards of a mythical realm, causing all external dimensional passageways to close one after another and forcing the gods to leave Seigües and retreat to the heavenly realm.

But while the war had just ended, the nightmare for the elvenkind was just beginning.

Before departing, the gods placed a curse upon the entirety of the Elven race, binding their potential to a rank below their lineage.

Without the protection of their Patron Deity and shackled by the curse, the elves eventually became easy prey for the other races.

In a single night, the once-prosperous elven civilization collapsed entirely.

Ten thousand years of glory dissolved like a fleeting dream.

Ouros and the remaining demigods could only lead the remnants of their people to survive in the shattered remains of the Elven Forest.

“The Divine Matriarch could have held the entire realm hostage to fight the gods,”

Ouros muttered bitterly.

“But in the end… she chose to sacrifice herself.”

“I will bring her back! No matter the cost, I will reawaken our Great Mother!”

Clenching his fists, his resolve burned like an unquenchable flame.

— 456 —

【 BETRAYALAND FALL 】

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