The Temptation of the Eleventh Circle
The war against the Substitute Gods had reached a critical juncture, and a request for additional reinforcements finally arrived from the Main God of the Divine Realm. But accepting it was not a simple matter.
‘The divine power of the Substitute Gods exerts twice the effect on ordinary gods and demon gods. That means the Main God of the Divine Realm and the Demon God of the Demon Realm would have to fight an opponent possessing four hundred billion in divine power.’
It would be like a rookie hero party challenging a top-tier Demon King. No matter how much infinite support the Divine Realm and Demon Realm provided, it was simply impossible. If they took a direct hit from a Substitute God Lord like before, they would be annihilated before they could even regenerate.
Above all, with his body already on the verge of vitality depletion, he couldn’t even get close. As if sensing his reaction, a message came from the Demon God of the Demon Realm.
If you stop moving just once, we can win.
I will give you anything you desire from what I possess.
The sword of the Demon God of the Demon Realm had now become an abyss that devoured everything around it, consuming space itself. Since ordinary methods wouldn’t work, she unleashed the strongest authority of the demon gods.
‘If that hits, any opponent will be annihilated.’
It was one of the demon gods’ absolute techniques—absorbing all time, light, and space before crushing them with ultra-high temperature and pressure.
‘A direct hit will annihilate any being below a Creator God. The problem is that it takes a long time to activate, and the user cannot move while preparing it. Above all, the more-than-double difference in power is unavoidable.’
The Main God of the Divine Realm also gripped his sword in reverse with his right hand, preparing something. The sword of light turned pure white, forming a sphere resembling a white sun. From within it, divine power surged violently, linking with the Demon God’s abyss and becoming one.
‘There is no roar, no shockwave—only the sword exists.’
An overwhelming, majestic presence filled the universe as if only the sword existed upon it. Even the highest-ranking Substitute God Lords had their presence crushed beneath it.
‘This is a joint technique possible only for a top-tier Main God of the Divine Realm and the Demon God of the Demon Realm. Any being below a Creator God or Demon King will be annihilated the moment it hits, regardless of the power gap. As long as they exist in this universe.’
Bind the highest-ranking Substitute God Lord for just one moment.
I will form an equal contract with you under equal Karma.
To reach the Eleventh Circle as a Black Magician, the vitality and demonic energy of a highest-ranking demon god who has surpassed the Eleventh Circle is essential.
No matter how pure the demonic energy of the Great Forest is, there is a limit beyond that.
Thud—!
His heart pounded violently at the unexpected information. He had finally identified why his maximum output exceeded three hundred billion yet he still couldn’t ascend.
‘It was just a matter of purity? No wonder no matter how much demonic power I absorbed, it didn’t work. To think I made such a mistake—avoiding the relatively turbid Demon Realm because of the pure demonic energy of the Great Forest.’
The circle of magical power and demonic energy were like a powerful magnet and the iron that clung to it. Yet he had mistakenly excluded anything beyond the purity of the Great Forest’s demonic energy from his thoughts.
‘The vitality of a highest-ranking demon god aiming for the Twelfth Circle would surpass the demonic energy of the Great Forest!’
Woooong—!
Once again, the Karma Contract appeared before his eyes.
‘Even the Main God of the Divine Realm would find it difficult to make such an absolute contract, yet I’ve already done it several times.’
Each time, his life had hung in the balance, eventually leading to this decisive battle against the highest-ranking Substitute Gods.
‘Thanks to that, I became a Lord God and gained power, but I keep getting dragged into more and more dangerous situations.’
His goals of survival, comfort, and a happy life grew further away with each passing moment. However, the contents of the Karma Contract were so sweet that they made him ignore those goals.
The eternally ruling Demon God of the Demon Realm forms an equal contract with the noble and great Black Magician.
She shall provide the vitality and demonic energy of a demon god to lead him to the Eleventh Circle.
In return, the noble and great Black Magician shall prevent the actions of the highest-ranking Substitute God Lord at this moment.
The contract was so concise that the Eleventh Circle he craved seemed within reach.
‘A highest-ranking demon god aiming for the Demon King would never form an equal contract unless she were facing such dire annihilation.’
Moreover, in this vast galaxy, only about ten such demon gods existed. They were infinitely great beings who waged war against monstrous Lord Gods possessing over twenty billion divine power over the Main God Stars personally created by Creator Gods.
‘There’s no way a demon god of that caliber would form an equal contract with me, even if I am a Lord God.’
Normally, in such a situation, she would immediately freeze the star and join forces with other Demon Gods to subjugate the threat together.
‘It’s unbearably tempting! But I truly don’t have the strength right now to fight the main body of the highest-ranking Substitute God Lord.’
If he were annihilated in battle, without his own Divine Realm, he wouldn’t even have a chance to regenerate.
‘It would be better to wait for the next opportunity. The Eleventh Circle is nice, but annihilation means it’s all over.’
His goal was to survive and be happy; the Eleventh Circle was not everything.
‘The Eleventh Circle is merely a useful means for survival, not the goal itself. I am not a fool who cannot distinguish between goals and means.’
Through the joint Karma Contract with the Main God of the Divine Realm, he had done his best to drive the enemy into a corner. And now, as payment, he was nearly in a state of total exhaustion.
‘Considering this achievement, there should be no negative application of Karma. The reason we couldn’t finish it is entirely due to the inadequacy of the Main God of the Divine Realm and the Demon God of the Demon Realm.’
Since it wasn’t his own star with a Divine Realm, he didn’t need to risk annihilation.
‘It would be better to cleanly freeze the star and request support from the other Lord Gods.’
It would take an enormous amount of time, but during that period, he only needed to support Granzoa and that Divine Realm. As both a God of Mercenaries and a Black Magician, his power did not originate entirely from a star like it did for the Main God of the Divine Realm and the Demon God of the Demon Realm.
In the end, he politely conveyed his refusal.
‘I truly have no strength at the moment.’
As an advance payment, I shall give you a little vitality. Taste a fraction of the greatness of the Eleventh Circle.
The Demon God of the Demon Realm lightly bit her lower lip, drawing blood, mixed it with a bit of saliva, and sent it toward him.
‘A single drop of vitality mixed with the demonic energy of a demon god appeared right before his eyes!’
Woooooooong!
His circle of magical power, which had already surpassed the Tenth Circle, shook violently.
‘It feels like all my magical power is being sucked into that drop. Every sense is screaming at me to take it.’
The rational thought that eating it would kill him and the emotion that it would be worth dying for clashed fiercely, preventing his body from reaching for the vitality.
‘No! That’s the advance payment. If I touch it, in this exhausted state I’ll have to stop the main body of a highest-ranking Substitute God Lord with over two hundred billion divine power.’
Gooooooo—!
The biological armor embedded in the colossal Lord Slayer spear had almost completely vanished. From within, fighting spirit and divine power far surpassing the initial levels surged forth, threatening the entire stellar system.
‘Even in perfect condition, I only managed to inflict a critical wound by catching him off guard. Now he will charge in prepared to die. There will be no openings; he will focus solely on me, determined to annihilate us together. If I go in this state, I will be annihilated in an instant.’
Yet his eyes could not leave the demon god’s vitality and demonic energy for even a moment. His desire as a magician to raise his circle gradually eroded his reason.
‘As expected of the eternally ruling great Demon God of the Demon Realm. She knows exactly how to tempt a Black Magician.’
He hesitated endlessly yet kept inching closer. However, his survival instinct barely allowed him to turn his face away from the drop right before his lips.
‘There has to be a chance of survival before I charge in. This is truly not it. Since it’s a matter of purity, there must be other ways to ascend.’
Seeing him turn away, the Main God of the Divine Realm and the Demon God of the Demon Realm rapidly exchanged wills.
‘Damn it! So he really isn’t going to join the battle?’
‘He seems to have truly reached his limit. It’s impossible for a Black Magician to ignore circle ascension.’
‘Is it true that becoming an Eleventh Circle Black Magician requires the vitality of a demon god above the highest rank?’
‘No!’
‘What? You were scamming too?’
The moment he overheard the exchange of wills between the Main God of the Divine Realm and the Demon God of the Demon Realm, he was stunned.
‘That Demon God was pulling the same scam as the Main God of the Divine Realm? There really is no one I can trust.’
But the next will that followed left the Main God of the Divine Realm speechless, and even him, who had been secretly listening, utterly dumbfounded.
‘It’s possible with the vitality and demonic energy of the Demon King.’
A Demon King was a being who could slaughter Lord Gods like him as if they were insects. Even that monstrous Main God of the Divine Realm probably wouldn’t last more than ten seconds. Moreover, the Demon King of this galaxy had, for some reason in the past, killed every Transcendent he laid eyes on.
‘Although I was appointed among the gods, I am ultimately still a Transcendent. A contract with the Demon King who hates Transcendents is impossible.’
The Demon King of this galaxy’s hatred and massacre of Transcendents was infamous. Trying to form an equal contract that shared power and vitality with him would be like a moth willingly flying into flames.
‘Sorry. I thought you were the same as me.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘There’s that. Even I wasn’t like this in the old days. After the Divine Realm and my star were created and I even got married, I ended up this way.’
‘No one could have predicted that the craziest sword in the Divine Realm would go around scamming people.’
‘Ahahaha. Please forget that nickname. And I’m sorry about back then.’
‘Then how about dying by my hand? No, since you’ll be annihilated anyway, it doesn’t matter. If the Creator God does well, he might resurrect you, so good luck.’
‘Who knows? I grew up alone in this field, so I never had such an opportunity. Even this much is a miracle in the Divine Realm. That’s why I struggled so hard to establish a foundation for my damn child. You, being a direct descendant of the Demon King, should be able to resurrect, right?’
‘Pfft—! Out of more than ten thousand direct descendants, I lost to the Main God of the Divine Realm and lost my right of succession. The other demon gods will just take over my Demon Realm.’
‘Ugh—! I don’t want to exit like this. If I can just bind him somehow…’
‘That Substitute God Lord seems to have noticed and isn’t coming close. Just who created this joint technique? It’s strong, but the characteristics are so distinct that the opponent notices, and the activation is way too slow.’
The two of them, even recalling the past and feeling regret, seemed to have completely given up.
‘The joint technique of the Main God of the Divine Realm and the Demon God of the Demon Realm is complete. But it’s clearly not a technique anyone would willingly take.’
It wasn’t something that moved through dimensions or space; it was a slow throwing type. And judging by the divine power and demonic energy it consumed, it couldn’t be maintained for long.
‘Even I would dodge if I saw it coming. Who would stand still and get hit by something like that?’
The highest-ranking Substitute God Lord was seen severing his main body from the core and crawling out of the planet. Though his size had shrunk to about ten kilometers—similar to the Giant God race—his divine power still exceeded two hundred billion.
Instead of approaching, he turned the barrels of his divine power cannons toward the joint technique of the Main God of the Divine Realm and the Demon God of the Demon Realm. Seeing this, the hollow laughter of the two gods reached him.
‘Haha. Looks like that bastard already knows about this joint technique.’
‘Hoho. So this really is the end.’
Even he was left speechless by the activation of that tremendous divine power. Then suddenly, behind him, he felt a surge of demonic energy and Dimensional Authority, and something struck the back of his head.
Thwack—!
Gulp—!
“Kuhuk—! Waak—! I swallowed it—!”
He had swallowed the single drop of the demon god’s vitality and demonic energy that had been offered as an advance payment under the Karma Contract.
‘This is invalid! Some bastard hit the back of my head. My head naturally jerked forward, my mouth was already open, so I swallowed it whole!’
However, the Karma Contract presented by the Demon God of the Demon Realm began to shine. It was the sound announcing the establishment of the contract.
“Stop—! This is a scam! Who is it? Who did this terrible thing? Another being intervening in the middle of a Karma Contract? Even a Creator God couldn’t do that!”
Contrary to the screams in his heart, the Karma Contract emitted a majestic light.
“The contract is approved. I commend the noble and great Black Magician’s reckless courage.”
“Damn it—! You never say things like that—! You only ever declare the end of the contract! Why are you commending reckless courage? Don’t tell me it went up for approval to him as well? Cancel it immediately!”
Amid his scream-like wail, the Karma Contract disappeared.
It had truly become a mess.
‘If it went up to him and received such words again, there’s no way out.’
The Demon God of the Divine Realm and the Main God of the Demon Realm looked at him with eyes full of expectation.