The God's Faltered Game

The mid-air collision between Eren and the Demon King shattered the sky.Eren's rusted blade, roaring with the 10x amplified light of a Demi-God, crashed directly against the dark barrier generated by the Demon King girl's pale finger. A violent shockwave of gold and midnight-black energy ripped outward, blasting away the remaining clouds and sending a deafening boom across the entire Nileges Empire.Clang! Explosion! Flash!Eren didn't stop. Moving at a blinding, impossible speed, he materialized behind her using the Zephyr's Swift Edge, his blade cutting a crescent arc of pure divine fire. The Demon King twisted in mid-air with fluid grace, her starry eyes flashing as she unleashed a barrage of black spatial spikes. Eren countered instantly, using the Imperial Thunderclap Stance to smash the spikes to pieces.Every single drop of his 10x Demi-God power was pushed to the absolute limit. He was moving mountains, shattering reality with every swing, pouring every ounce of his gamer reflexes into the battle. Yet, the Demon King blocked, parried, and dodged with an unbothered, calm expression. The gap between a half-step Demi-God and a true, primordial Demon God was immense.With a final, desperate surge of mana, Eren willed his Absolute Adaptability to forge a hyper-condensed thread of golden lightning. He thrust his blade forward, piercing straight through a sudden gap in her dark barrier.Rip!The edge of his blade caught her cheek. A single, tiny, hairline scratch appeared on her flawless skin, and a microscopic drop of dark blood welled up before instantly vaporizing into mist.Eren was blown backward by the kinetic recoil, landing firmly on the arena sand, his breathing heavy but his golden eyes burning with satisfaction. To the terrified nobles in the stands, a scratch looked like nothing. But to Eren, a veteran gamer, it meant one thing: she had a health bar, and she could be damaged. He was one step closer to his ultimate cosmic goal.The Demon King girl slowly floated down, landing gently on the sand a few paces ahead of him. She reached up, touching her flawless cheek where the scratch had already completely healed. A slow, deeply intrigued smile spread across her face."Brat... you are really good," her melodic voice echoed softly, devoid of any anger. "You actually managed to put a scratch on me. In ten thousand years, no mortal or god has touched my skin. You are truly worthy of being my husband."Eren's jaw dropped. "Wait... what?""But you are still too weak," she continued, her starry eyes locking onto his spiky blonde hair with a sudden, playful possessiveness. "You must wait two more years. Grow, train, and reach my level. When you are as strong as me, I will return to claim you."Eren was completely shocked, but a cocky, thrilled grin quickly returned to his face. A beautiful, world-ending Demon King girl just proposed to him. His cosmic harem plan was moving faster than he ever expected.But up in the divine realm, watching through a mirror of celestial light, Alexus, the God of War, was not happy. In fact, he was absolutely terrified.Alexus had never intended for Eren to be a true hero. He had planned to use Eren and the Demon King as mere chess pieces, forcing them into a brutal war of attrition to weaken them both so the gods could rule the cosmic stage forever. But now, seeing a mutual alliance forming between the two anomaly entities, a cold sweat broke out across the God of War's divine face.If they unite, they will overthrow the heavens, Alexus thought in a panic. I must cripple him before he grows any further!Ding!A sudden, agonizing pain ripped through Eren's soul. The phantom system interface shattered, flashing with blinding error messages:[WARNING: Divine Blessing '10x Amplification' has been forcibly REVOKED by the Creator.][Current Realm: Demoted to Mortal Magic Swordsman (Level 1).][Divine Favor: Lost.]Eren fell to one knee, gripping his chest as the massive, golden-silver aura faded into nothingness. His body felt heavy, returning to the baseline strength of a normal twelve-year-old boy. Alexus had stripped away his cheat code.The Demon King girl frowned, sensing the sudden drop in his power. She looked up at the sky, her eyes narrowing with absolute disgust. "The cowards in the heavens are playing their petty tricks again."Eren slowly forced himself back up to his feet, leaning on his rusted iron blade. He looked down at his unamplified hands, but his expression wasn't one of despair. It was pure defiance. His cheat code was gone, but his gaming mind, his Absolute Adaptability, and his memories of every noble fighting style remained locked in his brain."Hey, don't worry about it," Eren called out to the Demon King girl, a sharp, fierce smirk cutting across his face as he looked toward the sky. "A true gamer doesn't need a cheat code to beat the final boss. Alexus thinks he can bench me? Fine. I'll just have to get strong the old-fashioned way—through pure, brutal hard work."He looked up at the royal box, where Marine was watching him with deep worry, and then back to the beautiful Demon King who was waiting for him. The gods wanted him to fail, but Eren's cosmic dream hadn't changed. He was going to grind his way back to the top, build his legendary royal harem, and take down the God of War himself.