From God of Lies to Lord of All Worlds

Chapter 175: The Price of Greed is the Descent of a Dragon!

"Is it you?" The moment Gao spoke, everyone present abruptly turned around!

In the eyes of this group, the events of yesterday were practically public knowledge.

Every single person mentioned in that intel had been recorded in their files. It was an agent's instinct, and precisely because of this, their hearts skipped a beat the moment they heard those two names!

Their gazes swept back and forth across the two men, as if examining some rare, priceless treasure.

Of course, Professor Tore Erik was merely an afterthought. Practically no one paid him any special attention; after all, he was just an old man with nothing much to look at.

But Olavur Thorsen was different. He was the descendant of the Dragon Slayer, the wielder of the Dragon Slayer's weapons. Within the confirmed inheritance of the ancient Mythological Hero, this young man could be considered the biggest winner of that Supernatural encounter.

Most importantly, judging by their current behavior, they were entirely different from the other students and teachers. They seemed to have suffered absolutely no side effects!

However, just as the crowd was feeling tempted to act, Gao had already stepped forward and extended his hand. "Deputy Director of the Special Affairs Bureau of America, Gao Simmons!"

"Hello, Director Simmons. I am Tore Erik, a professor at ETH Zurich!"

"I am the professor's student. My name is Olavur Thorsen!"Neither of them had any intention of exchanging pleasantries. Professor Tore Erik immediately stated, "You should all be representatives from various countries, right? Don't bother explaining or covering it up. Since you've shown up so openly, you clearly aren't afraid of being investigated!"

Those words rang true. Coming out so brazenly meant they simply didn't take this small Realm seriously at all.

Ultimately, they were the top players on this planet. While they had to mind their manners in the homes of equals, in a small country like this, the only reason they weren't running completely rampant was the fear of negative international repercussions.

"I also received calls last night, but I didn't trade with any of you. Similarly, I advised you not to make trades so casually. But it seems no one listened to me!"

Professor Tore Erik sighed before continuing, "The result is the current situation inside the Hotel... Olavur told me that just in the time since we came out, he saw six people die in there!"

Hearing his words, the crowd couldn't help but ask, "Professor, what exactly happened when you went to that cave? Why is it that here..."

"Nothing out of the ordinary happened in the cave; it was exactly as you have been informed!" Professor Tore Erik explained. "The only difference, perhaps, is what they failed to tell you. Orpheus and Delian explicitly stated that each person could only take one item!"

"Yet they all took more than their share!"

Hearing this, the agents looked at each other in dismay. "Everyone took more? Seven people took twenty-four Supernatural Items... That's an average of more than three per person!"

Gao sighed deeply. "Insatiable greed, so they paid the Price, right?"

"Yes, from beginning to end, this disaster was caused entirely by greed!" Tore Erik declared decisively. "In Norse Mythology, even the gods wouldn't dare take what they desire without paying a Price. How could they dare do so?"

"Are we just going to stand here and watch?" The head agent from Bharat frowned. "Commissioner Singh went in there too. Can we figure out a way to save them?"

Professor Tore Erik shook his head. He opened the book in his hands and spoke slowly. "It's impossible. The book makes it very clear that the Price of greed is becoming the treasure itself! They thought they had obtained Transcendence, but in reality, Transcendence obtained them!"

"The curse of these Supernatural Items is to turn the wielders themselves into part of the supernatural creation. In truth, the moment they greedily seized those items and failed to restrain their desires, their lives were already over!"

He flipped the book to a specific page containing a poem detailing the curse of greed:

"When Andvari's fingertips brushed the Rhine River's Gold Dust, The Furnace branded through the Curve of Repentance on his Palm Lines:

'Whosoever taints their lifeline with wealth, Shall suffer their own Livestock devouring their heart and liver!'"

"Oh, the Golden Lair where Fafnir lies curled, Every Gold Coin sprouts fangs to gnaw at the dragon's belly:

'You cast your nest with Hatred, And this Molten Pool shall eventually boil your eye scales!'" (These words were written in Runic Script).

"Fafnir... is the very dragon my ancestor Sigurd killed!" Olavur Thorsen explained. "In legend, the reason he transformed from a dwarf into a dragon was greed!"

"Greed turned him into a dragon, and greed turned my classmates and teachers into Monsters!"

The agents remained noncommittal. After all, if they asked themselves honestly, had they been in that position, few among them would have been able to resist reaching out.

Therefore, the Price brought about by this kind of greed was something they practically had to endure!

Right then, the agent from England noticed the Ring on Tore Erik's finger and suddenly realized something. "Wait, Professor, you just said that by restraining greed, one could walk out... Could it be..."

"Yes, I brought this Ring out of the Hotel. One of my students gave it to me right Before Death..." Tore Erik said with a hint of sorrow. "Such an outstanding child, dead in such a meaningless place just because of this!"

"But I didn't turn into a monster, because I harbor no desire to possess it!" He opened his hand, displaying the Ring for everyone to see.

Instantly, everyone's gaze was drawn to it. The Transcendence they had just been discussing was right in front of their eyes. How could they not feel a surge of Expectation?

"You see? The item I just brought out has already incited your greed. So, gentlemen, let me ask you once again: what is the Price of greed?" The professor spoke with a touch of exasperation. Why did these people completely ignore the consequences!

"Do you also wish to enter the fray and become the Price of this conflict?"

Tore Erik's words seemed to freeze the surrounding air, abruptly jolting everyone in the area back to their senses!

Indeed. They were looking at the tragedy before them, fully aware of what was happening inside that Hotel, yet they still stared greedily at this Ring. Weren't they also victims of their own greed?

"Roar!" At that exact moment, everyone heard a thunderous bellow erupt from inside the Hotel, a roar that sounded entirely inhuman!

Following that came the sound of violent tremors. This five-star Hotel, highly prestigious even within Reykjavik, violently collapsed right before their eyes!

The collapse made everyone's hearts clench. Their High-level Officials were all inside. Now... even if they weren't dead, they probably didn't have much breath left in them.

However, they soon lost the capacity to worry about their High-level Officials. Standing amidst the architectural ruins was a massive Fat Man, easily thirteen to sixteen feet tall. He sported crimson skin, a terrifying and Ferocious face, and was draped head-to-toe in Supernatural Items!

Blades, Swords, Spears, Rings, Jewelry, necklaces...

Those items that originally belonged to different people had now all converged onto his body. It appeared that this Fat Man, who still bore the Police Uniform Shards clinging to his frame, had become the sole victor of this Battle Royale!

And that previous roar had erupted straight from his maw!

Yet, this was not the end, but rather the beginning of another transformation!

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the Fat Man slowly dropped to all fours. Amidst a terrifying burst of flame, his massive body violently split open!

"Roar!" An even more massive inferno spread across the perimeter of the Hotel, enveloping practically every inch of the area and utterly extinguishing any lingering thoughts these people had of saving anyone.

Anyone capable of surviving flames like these wouldn't need their rescue anyway. It seemed the High-level Officials from various countries gathered in this Realm were truly doomed to be wiped out this time...

Then, the flames gradually died down. The Chief of Police named Ralst, that massive Fat Man, had vanished from the blaze. In his place stood an absurdly gargantuan Dragon!

Flames seemed to burn within its eyes. It spread its wings, unfurling a wingspan of over forty feet across the ruins, before unleashing an even more deafening roar that directly shattered the surrounding Glass!

"Fafnir's Dragon Transformation..." Everyone muttered this phrase. The Supernatural Miracle unfolding right before their eyes thoroughly crushed the last shred of wishful thinking in their hearts.

Tore Erik chanted the ancient verses even louder, turning them into a genuine, undeniable prayer:

"The ultimately greedy shall fall into a cycle of self-cannibalism, just as the World Serpent devours itself:

'Sails may measure the oceans, But greed can never fill Hvergelmir!'"

The warning from the Prose Edda echoed like a prophecy delivered from thousands of years in the past: "Fafnir's gold is still squirming, forever seeking a new abdomen to parasitize!"

The Dragon flapped its wings, ascending to reign over the skies of the city!

But this was no natural disaster; rather, it was a calamity of desire brought about by human folly!

This massive Red Dragon was reborn from the flames, carrying with it an indescribable, terrifying aura of sheer dominance!