Fear not the man who commits evil for pleasure, but the man who does it because of necessity. For he who is convinced evil is necessary to obtain what he desires, will stop at nothing to achieve his goal. Even if that includes burning this world to the ground.

Flames, that was all one could see no matter where you turned your head. Ravaged by an endless battle, the world was reduced to a sea of flames.

“Hah~! Hah~! Hah~!”

In the middle of this hell, stood one man. With his naked torso stained in blood and his wet purple hair sticking to his face, he stood there breathing heavily. Silhouettes slowly appeared in the flames around him.

“Foolish mortal, you brought this upon yourself.”

“You challenged our authority, so this end was destined to happen.”

“Your life ends here, Augustus.”

The silhouettes mocked the man. The man laughed and gripped the golden sword in his hand as tight as he could.

“Such big talk for a bunch of cowards. You couldn’t beat me by yourselves so you formed a coalition with your enemies.”

He grinned.

“Some Higher Beings you turn out to be.”

“Silence, you abomination!”

“Did I hit a nerve, Ares? You’re a disgrace of a god of war.”

“Damn you, Augustus!”

“Calm yourself, Ares. He’s baiting you. He’s on his last leg.”

“What Thor said was right, I’m baiting you. However, even in this state I can still kill each and every one of you here.”

He lifted his sword and pointed at the silhouettes.

“So how about it? Are any of you willing to test your luck? Thor? Ares? Susanoo? Horus? Shiva? Lucifer? Heracles? Asmodeus? Fenrir?”

No one answered his challenge. All he got was silence. Even so, he smirked.

“See? Cowards.”

“Your death is certain, Brat. Just accept it.”

He turned around and glared at a specific silhouette behind him.

“Zeus.”

“You’ve been an eyesore for far too long. That’s why this happened. Accept your death like the mortal you are.”

“Oh, I already accepted my death.”

“What?”

The man shrugged in response to the gasps around him.

“Why are you people so surprised? You wanted me to accept death and I did. I’ll die today, but that’s fine.”

Augustus’ grin widened to the max.

“It’s fine because my legacy will live on.”

“It won’t. We’ll slaughter your clan after this.”

“You won’t be able to. They’re my children after all.”

Augustus lowered his center of gravity and tightened his grip on his sword. The silhouettes simultaneously flinched in response.

“Even if you did kill them all, my legacy would still live on. There will be others like me who will rise up and hunt you all down as I did before them. Your lives will never know peace, only in death will you be able to rest.”

“Stop talking nonsense. That will never-”

“It will.”

Augustus’ eyes held a sharp glare as the flames of hell reflected in them. He lifted his sword overhead.

“More importantly, let’s get this over with.”

He suddenly burst out laughing.

“Let me show you, cowards, a conqueror’s last stand!”

A battle so great that the world barely held on erupted. When the battle finally came to an end, the surviving gods decided to hold a meeting before returning to being enemies.

“It’s been 10,000 years since this War For Supremacy began. Everyone here has tried to kill each other countless times since then, but despite all the death and destruction, the war hasn’t ended. We have yet to decide who will be the new Supreme Being. That’s why we’ve decided to implement a new system that will change the way we fight. It will also prevent Augustus’ words from becoming reality.”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

All the gods gave Odin their full attention as he lifted up a glowing parchment for them all to see.

“This is the Peace Treaty Contract that the gods of oaths such as Mithra, Var, and Sancus drafted up. Once everyone signs this with their blood, the war will change and the world will enter a new era. An era where we’ll choose warriors to represent us in battle, instead of us destroying the world with our wars. These warriors will be known as Proxies and they will be granted our power. However, this contract will also make it so that no mortal will be able to hurt us, Higher Beings.”

He put down the parchment on a table.

“Keep in mind if anyone breaks the rules of this contract they’ll be hunted down by the rest of us without exception. If you understand, then let's all sign.”

One after the other, Gods, demons, Heroes, and Beasts of legends signed the parchment signaling the start of a new era. Odin lifted up the parchment with a smile.

“Welcome, everyone. Welcome to the Proxy Era.”

It was currently 10,000 years into the Proxy Era, the world was ruled by lesser beings while the Higher Beings took an observer’s position. On one of the seven continents, the Silver Continent, there was a powerful empire known as the Dragna Empire. It was an empire that existed for countless years and was still standing tall. It was recognized as one of the powerhouses of the world. The ones that headed this empire were none other than the Dragna clan, which was a clan famous for its powerful members as well as being the direct descendants of the first-ever dragon, Tiamat.

It was currently nighttime in the empire’s capital.

“He’s back!”

“Don’t let him get away!”

“Tonight is the night we kill it!”

People were running through the city armed with weapons ranging from swords to firearms. An explosion erupted some distance from them, partially illuminating the night. Some of the people leaped into the air and picked up the pace by jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

“I see him!”

One of them pointed in the direction of a burning building. A bipedal beast shrouded in darkness was spotted near the building.

“Attack!”

The people accelerated towards their target. The first to reach it was a pair of men wielding warhammers. They swung their weapons from two different directions. The beast leaped over their attacks. That instant, three persons thrust their swords at him. He shattered the blades with a swing of his leg. Crackling reached his ears. He looked up. Lightning bolts rained down on him. Those attacking him retreated and readied themselves.

“Raah!”

The beast shot out of the smoke and charged toward them. Those with firearms stepped forward and opened fire. A barrage of bullets and lasers rushed at the beast. Its body flickered. It popped up above the crowd. He spun his body and swung down his heel. The earth burst open as a giant of a man was forced into the ground. His comrades backed off to avoid the attack. When the dust settled, they witnessed the beast standing on the man twice its size. A smile appeared on its face. As the flames of the burning building shone on him, he crushed the man’s head with a casual stomp.

“Y-You…You damn monster!”

The crowd opened fire. Some fired their weapons while others fired elemental attacks like lightning, ice, and flames. Black lightning danced around the beast’s body. He turned into a bolt of lightning and pierced through the barrage of attacks.

“Shit!”

The black lightning bolt ripped through the crowd. Body parts flew as screams resounded through the night. The lightning dispersed and the beast reappeared. Bodies scattered around him. Less than half of his attackers remained.

“Dammit! Why won’t you die?!”

A man cried while holding his shoulder that was missing an arm.

“You first.”

The beast spoke as it approached its attackers. Blood splashed on its feet as it walked past people bleeding out on the ground.

“Once you die, I might consider your request.”

Shivers ran down their spines as the crowd saw its red fangs in its mouth.

“Though, if you people are going to the underworld, I think I rather live forever than see your faces ever again.”

“Oh, I never expected for such words to come out your mouth.”

An oppressive pressure fell onto the beast. He was forced to lay flat on his stomach.

“I-I can’t move.”

“Really? The way you were acting I thought that you’d be better than this.”

The beast recognized the voice talking to him. A pair of feet appeared before him. He couldn’t look up to see who they belonged to, but he didn’t need to. He already knew who stood before him.

“Emperor Nero!”

The survivors’ expressions changed from despair and rage to hope and excitement.

“Nero!”

The beast howled.

“Nero? So that’s how you’ve decided to address me now? Well, not that I mind.”

Nero stooped down but the beast still couldn’t see his face.

“Your Majesty, you must kill that monster!”

“Please, Your Majesty! He’ll only bring harm to this empire!”

Nero ignored the crowd’s plea and continued to look down on the beast.

“…When I heard that you snapped, the first thing that came to my mind was “That took longer than expected”. It might sound cold but it’s the truth. I think everyone here knew that this was going to happen one day.”

He placed his hand on the beast’s back.

“Don’t touch me! Let me go so I can kill those bastards!”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. Even though this title of emperor was forced upon me as punishment, I still have to act like a leader every now and again.”

“Leader?! Like I—”

*Boom!*

The beast was hit body an invisible force and a crater opened up underneath it.

“No matter how pissed off you are, you should always respect your elders.”

Nero stood up.

“At least until you’re strong enough to fight me properly.”

The darkness around the beast started to fade away.

“Nina.”

A girl around 10 walked out of a dark alley.

“Meet your new master. I want you to keep him company when he’s not with his family.”

“Yes, Lord Nero.”

“Now then…”

Nero smiled as the beast shrouded by darkness disappeared and a child around the same age as the girl appeared.

“Time to take this idiot grandson home.”

Five years later.

In the imperial capital, there was a thousand-year-old tree on the outskirts of the rural area. It was over 1000 ft tall and could be seen from almost anywhere. On one of the branches, someone sat while bracing themselves on the tree, facing the sun. This person was around 14 or 15, had long azure hair which was tied in a ponytail, a lean figure, honey skin, and a very beautiful face. They were dressed in white, black, and gold clothing.

“……..”

They sat on the tree branch with their eyes closed and arms behind their heads, as they leaned on the tree. Small birds would sometimes land on them, while animals would gather as if admiring them. The entire scene was serene and tranquil.

“…….Hm?”

The scene was disturbed when the person slowly lifted their eyelids to reveal their ocean blue eyes. When they looked in front of them, there was someone standing there with one hand on their hips.

“Momo…”

They spoke before yawning. The person who stood in front of them had similar physical features such as azure hair, honey skin, and blue eyes. They, however, looked younger and more feminine. It was a young girl around 12 or 13 who had her hair divided into twin tails, had on a pretty floral dress, and was holding an umbrella.

“I just knew you were up here. I was looking for you, Miko.”

Rookie Proxy Saga Opens!

Miko Arc Begins!