Ethan was half-skeptical of the old man's words. Although he said that, who knew what he was really thinking? Maybe he was just giving a convenient excuse.
When it came to this family, Ethan would do his best to lower his expectations of their moral baseline, just to avoid getting stabbed in the back unexpectedly.
The old man had no intention of offering further explanations. Instead, he gently raised his hands and made a swirling motion. Ethan saw the chaotic void around them, which had been steadily expanding, slowly stabilize and begin to calm down.
Although the destroyed worlds did not recover, the Main God World itself was now stable.
After doing this, the old man seemed to be speaking to himself. He looked at Abraham and muttered, "Let me see what exactly is going on?"
With a gentle motion of his right hand, a thin line suddenly appeared connecting Ethan and Abraham, and several other threads extended from Ethan into the void.
The old man followed the threads back and forth, nodding as if he had come to some understanding.
"So that's how it is."
Ethan didn't look at the old man but lowered his head to observe the threads on his body. He still couldn't understand what they were or what kind of power they contained, but he could guess their significance.
Just as he was about to say something, the old man made a light beckoning gesture. Ethan felt the threads on his body tremble simultaneously. The next second, several figures appeared out of thin air around them.
Madeline, Drake, Douglas, and another person Ethan didn't recognize. Aside from the last one, all were involved in the current situation.
Judging from the shocked expression on the unfamiliar man's face after he took in his surroundings and his immediate attempt to flee, it was clear he wasn't just some uninvolved bystander...
"Father..."
Abraham saw his father suddenly raise his hand and pull Drake in front of him. His expression changed drastically, as if he wanted to speak, but his father glared at him, silencing him on the spot.
"What? Feeling reluctant? I didn't see you feeling any hesitation when you were about to detonate the core of the Main God World."
Douglas and Drake were confused at first. Seeing their father (or grandfather) nearby, they didn't sense any danger.
With Ethan standing not far away, they assumed this was the final battle. Although they didn't understand how they had been brought here, their father's (or grandfather's) power was strong, so this wasn't too surprising.
But they didn't expect to hear such shocking words from this strange old man.
"Detonate the core of the Main God World? In that case, Drake..."
"That's right. Even if Drake was incredibly lucky and wasn't annihilated along with the world, he... no, he would definitely have been reduced to nothing. After all, the core of the Main God World is closely tied to the Main God. Unless he happened to hide inside the core at that exact moment."
At this point, Madeline had floated over to Ethan's side and asked what was going on. Ethan briefly explained the situation, focusing on his intense battle with Abraham. As for his previous self-destruction and more than ten years of hiding, he didn't mention that part.
When he mentioned that Abraham had tried to detonate the core of the Main God World, Madeline was shocked as well.
Noticing that Ethan didn't seem to understand much, she briefly explained: detonating the core of the Main God World was a Main God's last resort. However, this method was only circulated among Main Gods who had reached a certain level. No one ever truly expected it would be used one day.
This method would annihilate both the Main God World and the invading enemy. The Main God who owned the world would perish as well. The only way to survive was to enter the core at the moment of detonation, using the link between the core and the Source Sea to preserve one's life.
Only then did Ethan understand. Abraham had planned to detonate the core and hide within it, but if he did that, his grandson Drake would definitely die. That old man was truly ruthless.
Just as Ethan was silently amazed at how dark Abraham's methods were, the old man gently patted Drake.
In the next instant, Drake turned to nothingness in front of everyone's shocked eyes.
"What!"
Douglas was completely stunned. He never expected this to happen. He first looked at his father, only to see that his father showed no reaction.
Just as he was about to speak, he felt a hand pat his shoulder. The next moment, everything went black...
After watching Douglas also turn to nothingness, the old man withdrew his hand and looked at the final person.
"Although I don't think much of these useless descendants, since so many things happened because of your scheming, did you think you could stay out of it?"
Ethan stood nearby, arms crossed, watching the spectacle unfold. This mysterious old man's power was terrifying. Ethan had already realized there was a fundamental difference in realm between them. In this situation, he could only stay silent and let the old man do as he pleased.
From Madeline, Ethan learned that the final unfamiliar Main God had some history with her. Apparently, the entire situation had been orchestrated by him—he had tried to frame Madeline, causing her to clash with Drake, which in turn provoked Douglas and Theresa, and eventually enraged Abraham.
He hadn't expected to fail to trap Madeline, and instead drag Ethan into the mess, escalating it to the point where Abraham nearly detonated the core of the Main God World. Such an event would have caused a disturbance in the Source Sea, and it was to prevent that very outcome that this great being had appeared.
Now that the cause had been identified, there was no way for that person to escape judgment. He was directly dragged out. The old man didn't even interrogate him. He simply said, "Because of this, I'm going to kill you," and then did just that.
From beginning to end, the Main God didn't even get a chance to defend himself. His death was clean and decisive. Ethan didn't even know his name.
After killing three Main Gods in a row, with all of them completely annihilated and unable to resurrect, Ethan understood clearly: this old man was definitely not a merciful or talkative figure. In fact, the fact that he had even taken the time to explain a few sentences to Ethan was already giving him quite a bit of face.
"Young man, now we can have a proper talk."
Ethan understood that most of what just happened had been done to make a point to him. Showing off strength might be crude, but it was undeniably effective.
In this situation, even if Ethan didn't want to talk, he had no choice. He couldn't withstand even a casual blow from this old man.
"Don't be nervous, and don't worry that I'm biased. What I just did proves that."
If the old man were biased, there was no need to kill Drake and Douglas first. With his strength, even if he openly protected his descendants, who could say anything? Ethan certainly wouldn't think it was wrong.
"The grudge between you and Abraham needs to be resolved. I know there's no possibility of reconciliation, so I won't say anything foolish like 'let bygones be bygones.'"
Neither Ethan nor Abraham spoke. Though they showed no reaction, they both agreed in their hearts. Their conflict could only end with one of them dead. So long as the other lived, they could never be at ease.
"But fighting like before is not acceptable. With your current strength, destroying a Main God World is nothing, but damaging the Source Sea is something I will not allow."
As he said this last sentence, an overwhelming aura suddenly burst from the old man. Ethan and Abraham instantly felt a crushing weight on their bodies. Even moving a finger became incredibly difficult. Madeline, not far away, felt even worse. She was forced to her knees in the void, as if two invisible boulders were pressing down on her. She could barely support herself, sweat pouring from her like a broken faucet.
She had already heard about the old man's identity from Ethan and was shocked by it. But she hadn't had a clear sense of his power until now—the difference in realm was too vast for her to gauge.
Only at this moment did she realize how massive the gap was between her and these three gods. Compared to this terrifying old man, she was no different than a mortal before a true deity.
"What do you want?"
Was the old man going to set up a battlefield for a proper duel between Ethan and Abraham? Ethan thought that would be ideal.
Abraham had the same thought. He didn't object either.
As Abraham's biological son, he understood his father well. This father, who only cared about pursuing higher realms, was never very satisfied with him. As for his grandson and great-grandson, he looked down on them even more. Their conduct, in his eyes, didn't even deserve the title of Main God. That was why he had eliminated them so decisively.
In this situation, hoping his father would protect him was unrealistic. Abraham was already content that he hadn't been obliterated like those two.
"Come with me."
Though he said "come with me," Ethan and Abraham had no choice at all. Almost the moment he finished speaking, the two were transported to another place.
It was a stone platform suspended in the void, surrounded by magical energy that flowed like water.
But the most eye-catching thing was the only structure on the platform—a staircase. It had no handrails or supports, just a line of steps stretching upward diagonally.
Looking up into the distance, the staircase seemed endless. It was impossible to tell where it led.
The old man pointed at the staircase.
"You two, settle it there."
(To be continued.)