I will be the Strongest

"i***t, understand... there are no heroes or villains, everything is done based on your own desires and goals, it's like that and has to be that way. Don't be deceived, don't cling to the notion that having power obligates you to help the weaker ones. That's not true. In this world, weakness is a flaw. The worst flaw. In the monsters' eyes, hunters and other humans are as hideous as one can imagine. By being able to understand them, you, better than anyone else, should certainly grasp that. But the fact that there are no innocents doesn't make you incapable of helping those you deem deserving. As I said, do what you want, when you want, and for whom you want. Don't confine yourself to races. If you want to help, even if it's a goblin, do it. In this world, nothing is above your desires, nothing except family, except us. We are each other's weakness, remember that, understand that, and strive to reach a point where nothing could affect you even if you had prior knowledge of this fact. We are the most powerful in this universe, but it's not a burden, let alone a curse; it's what makes us free, our greatest blessing. So don't stop. Always seek more, no matter the level you have already attained. In this universe, we are the most powerful, but that's just the beginning. Being my brother, don't accept being beneath anyone else, be it demigods, gods, or dragons; don't let anyone tarnish our name, her name. And if, for some reason, any of them turn against us, be prepared; we won't rest until they've all been wiped from existence. That's my greatest wish. My promise to you." *************** The year was 2012. Twenty-first of December, 2012. It was almost 13 years since the emergence of systems, dungeons, and monsters around the world, but a global system message, the first message even the non-awakened could see, came to supposedly put an end to everything. [Warning] [The tutorial will end in 20 hours] Many thought that maybe it was salvation, that something or someone had finally heard their prayers. Others believed that the end of the tutorial would be only the beginning of another long and b****y journey, but even they didn't want to believe that this would actually happen, that this path would be the only one that awaited them. Even in these people, perhaps there still existed some semblance of faith, similar to the faith devoted followers have in entities, something that made them hope to be saved, to think they deserved it, despite knowing it was the least likely to happen. However, even if the end of the tutorial were to truly set them free, they probably would never find out. At least not on that day. [The tutorial was not completed] [The Leviathan roams freely on the earth] The world's most powerful hunters were gathered, all in one place and with a single objective. For the first time in ages, all of humanity had only one purpose: the end of the tutorial. But even that wasn't enough. Difficult. They expected the end to be more challenging than any other dungeon ever seen, but not this much. Not to the point of being impossible to complete. With the emergence of the monster that would mark the end of the tutorial, everyone lost the few sparks of hope that still remained. That monster was not something that could be defeated by mere humans. Its size stretched for tens, maybe hundreds of kilometers, and for hunters who had never seen anything like it, it was colossal. Its greenish scales didn't c***k, break, or even scratch, no matter how many blows they took. Its roars shook the planet, causing hurricanes, floods, and even tsunamis, which at first destroyed cities, then entire countries. Swimming slowly away from that monstrous creature was the last surviving hunter, who had been sent along with the others on that suicidal mission. The Leviathan noticed his presence, and with just its gaze, it made the hunter freeze in place. The monster attacked. Its mouth was enormous, and even its teeth carried at least twice the size of an adult person, maybe even larger, but Daniel wasn't curious about that. Frozen, the hunter couldn't move a muscle. However, at that moment, when humanity's despair was at its peak, what could be seen as a new light emerged. [Lucifer feels disgusted] With the appearance of this global message, the Leviathan's attack stopped; in fact, everything stopped, everything except humans. [He offers a new chance to humanity] Humanity was in complete despair, indeed. But would it stoop so low as to accept the help of the devil himself? Yes. Being the only one who appeared, the only one who extended his hand to the weak, he was inevitably accepted by all. [Do you accept his help?] It didn't take long for an almost unanimous decision, one that didn't require a single exchange of words among the voters. Because even before the last message appeared in the system, everyone already had their answers. Well, everyone except Daniel Rich, the hunter who was at sea. "Is it worth it?" He wondered. "Apparently, they forgot to whom that name belongs, or maybe the despair really drove them all insane." [Yes] [No] The system message continued floating before him; but his time was running out. 10 seconds, that was the time he had to decide whether to sell his soul or indirectly be responsible for the destruction of humanity. Daniel closed his eyes and went against what he himself believed. "Yes!" that was his answer. Time started flowing again, those who were about to die, whether by a hurricane or a tsunami, had no other choice but imminent death. The chance offered by Lucifer did not extend to that; it was limited solely to the Leviathan, after all, the devil couldn't be so "generous." A haunting glow appeared before Daniel and the Leviathan. In front of that, the giant serpent trembled. "What is this?" Daniel wondered. Before him, for the first time in ages, Lucifer himself stood on the earth. "They couldn't kill a mere serpent... truly pathetic." Strange words in the distance seemed to be compressing Daniel's head; it felt like it was about to explode. He didn't know what they meant, not even if they were indeed words, but one thing was certain – even that simple sound existed on a much higher plane than his own. While trying to lift his head and look into the center of that light to see what was inside, Daniel didn't realize that he was slowly being drawn upward, and with him, the waters of the ocean and everything in them. "Human... even in complete despair, facing death, you still hesitated to make a choice... you were the only one who hesitated." Daniel was far away; kilometers separated him from the source of the light, yet he already felt the pressure. He had come to his senses, but it was in vain. His body didn't obey him. His mouth wouldn't open. He didn't even know how he was still alive, as he was certain that the pressure wouldn't allow him to breathe or move a single muscle. Normally, he should have been completely crushed by now. Looking at the Leviathan, Daniel had a unique vision – that terrifying being, which was making the world tremble with its roars, now bowed its head to the cause of that dazzling light, Lucifer. "Interesting..." With his mere presence in that world, Lucifer was causing rifts in the fabric of space and time. Small cuts in the reality around him were pathways to other realities, other universes. With a brief movement of one of his hands, Lucifer made the monster disappear. He raised one of his fingers and pointed it at Daniel. "I hope you can show me something even more interesting next time." Daniel felt his vision blur, and a strange warmth took over his body, but he didn't know if it was also caused by those strange "words." Suddenly, something stabbed him. His chest burned, and he didn't know why. Despite having all that light before him, his vision, already blurry, darkened completely. His body, once enveloped in a comforting warmth, now seemed to be on fire. But at some point, perhaps after minutes, hours, or maybe days, that ceased to be unpleasant; that feeling had strangely become comfortable. [A unanimous decision has been made] [The end of the tutorial has been indefinitely postponed]