Infinite Returns : The More I Give, The Stronger I Become

While some people were missing him, and others were already plotting against him, the man in question was calmly walking through the Forest of Death with a leisurely pace, as if this cursed land wasn't soaked in the blood of those who dared step foot inside it.

At his side walked a red-haired beauty in an ashen-gray robe, her long hair trailing like shadows behind her. And on the back of her robe—etched boldly—was the symbol of a hand folding the heavens and the earth into one sphere.

Of course, it was Ethan and Airi, casually strolling through the very forest that was infamous for not letting a single soul leave alive.

"So… did you kill all the people who came here before?" Ethan asked, tone nonchalant, as if he were asking about the weather and not mass murder.

"Yes. Everyone who dared to enter was killed by me," Airi replied with ease, no remorse in her voice, no apology in her eyes.

And Ethan didn't blame her. He didn't condemn her.

This was the Tower.

This was a place where mortals clawed their way toward godhood with bloody hands and cracked bones.

This was not a world of mercy. This was a forge. A divine crucible where ascension was the prize, and the dead were the price.

Don't let Ethan fool you.

Ethan was an anomaly. A walking cheat. A man with a system so unfair it would make even gods flinch in envy.

Seriously—where else would you find a system that gave you anything you wanted as long as you had the points? And how did you get the points?

Simple. You helped people.

And in the Tower?

There were plenty of people in need.

If Ethan truly wanted to, he could farm billions—no, trillions of points in record time. He could buy realms. Bend rules. Rewrite truths.

That was his system.

And then there was his class.

Epochwrought Sovereign.

A transcendent class. Not one that followed myths—but one that created them. A title that declared, without shame or hesitation, that Ethan was the one whose stories would be whispered through the Tower, across dimensions, and into the ears of gods themselves.

With just the system or just the class, he was already a monster.

But with both?

That was unfair.

And Ethan didn't care.

In fact, he liked being unfair.

But that didn't mean he was blind. That didn't mean he didn't understand the cruelty of this world. That didn't mean he judged Airi for the things she had done to survive or even out of spite because of her situation.

Instead—

"Nothing worth plundering from the poor fools you killed?" Ethan asked with a soft smile.

Airi chuckled. "Even if there was, I doubt any of it would satisfy you, Ethan."

And then, without warning, a question came to her mind. A sudden one?

"What does satisfy you, Ethan? What makes you happy or even excited?" she asked, all in one breath.

Ethan blinked, caught a little off-guard. But only for a second.

He didn't need to think about the answer.

He stopped walking.

In front of them stood a massive black river, its waters thick and slow, falling from the gaping mouth of a stone beast carved into the cliffs above. It should have felt eerie.

Instead… Ethan felt calm. Peaceful, even.

He stood there, hands behind his back, eyes locked on the churning river as he answered.

"Well, what do you think? What could possibly make me happy—or angry? Because honestly, I barely even remember the last time I felt true anger."

Airi tilted her head.

"You clearly don't lack money. Or influence. And power…" she chuckled softly, "you're a D-rank, but you can shatter bindings made by a god. You have an SSS-rank being serving under you. So no, it's not power either."

"Then what, Ethan? What makes you happy?"

Ethan didn't hesitate.

"My family. My close ones."

He spoke it plainly. No dramatics. Just truth.

"Seeing the people I love happy. Watching them thrive. Watching them reach their goals—and then surpass them. Seeing them be themselves—fully, without apology. That's what makes me proud."

He turned to look at Airi.

She was staring at him with her eyes slightly wide, clearly not expecting that kind of answer.

Ethan laughed.

"Surprised? I'm a family man, Airi. And…"

He took a step closer.

Another.

Then stopped just an inch from her.

"…and you, Airi, are now one of them. One of my own."

He reached out—not with his hand, but with words that sank deep.

"So don't hold back. Don't be shy, my dear Saintess. Dream wild. Be delusional. Wish for something even your mind never dared to think possible."

He grinned.

"And I, Ethan Yagami, will drag that dream into reality for you. No matter what."

Airi's heart skipped a beat.

Those words… those exact words… no one had ever said them to her.

Not her god. Not her people. Not even herself.

Emotions she thought had long died began to stir.

"Will you… will you make me a Stage-4 Goddess if I wish it?" she asked softly, voice barely above a whisper.

Ethan blinked. Then frowned.

"Stage-4?" he repeated like the word offended him. "Girl, I said delusional. Stage-4 is something I wouldn't even need to try for."

Airi's lips twitched.

"…Then what about Stage-6?" she asked again, testing him.

Ethan shook his head.

"…Stage-7?"

Another shake.

"…Stage-9?" Her voice cracked—quiet, trembling, like she was afraid the very act of speaking it would doom it.

Ethan stared at her for a long moment.

Then sighed.

"Please, Airi… don't you realize who you are?"

She looked at him, still puzzled.

So Ethan took a step forward and spoke, slow and clear.

"Airi… you are the Saintess of Ruin. You are the one chosen by the Allholder."

"You are the divine messenger of the one who owns everything between heaven and earth."

Her heart pounded.

Harder.

Faster.

"If you still don't understand, then let me make it simple—"

He paused, then delivered the words like a vow, like prophecy, like a law the Tower itself would have to obey.

"There is nothing you can't become or own as my messenger."

"So again…"

He grinned, voice dropping into something fierce and infinite.

"Be delusional."

"Aim for the moons—no…"

"Aim for heavens themselves, my dear Saintess."

—End of Chapter 74—