The One-Eyed God Descends

Three hundred undead stood before me.

The dead came charging without a shred of fear, driven only by the mission to kill me. Their momentum was savage enough to make the air itself feel hostile.

But a cold look told the real story. They were chaff. More than two hundred of the three hundred were low-grade undead — skeletons and zombies. The rest were ghouls and skeleton knights. Death Knights and Dullahan numbered fewer than ten.

On top of that, the enemy had no strategy at all. They were simply rushing me head-on like a mindless wave.

They're basically handing me free food. Qing Guoli's probably banking on the Death Knights.

He must have decided I couldn't dominate high-grade undead.

Dominating every high-grade undead is hard. Their cost is so high it shrinks the army I can control.

An elite few? What I needed right now was numbers.

Even with the Golden Mask's effect, dominating Wang Xuan had been impossible. Cost. His cost had simply been too enormous.

I have to plan for the worst. If I fill my ranks with nothing but high-grade undead, Qing Guoli might snatch the control rights right back.

I was wearing the Golden Mask of Tutankhamun, but I wasn't a necromancer. I had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to account for the possibility of losing dominion over the undead again.

Crack.

I activated Astrape. Blue-white current raced along the blade.

I swung at the undead charging straight at me. Sword-ki wrapped in lightning scythed through their ranks. Skeletons and zombies ended right there — but the Death Knights and Dullahan, clad in thick armor, took the blast and kept coming.

About thirty down.

I sent another wave of sword-ki. Again, only skeletons and zombies were swept away.

A headless knight with a flail in hand closed in. A Dullahan. It rushed me at high speed, raised the flail high — then froze. A moment later it brought the weapon down on a skeleton beside it. The skull shattered into powder.

I felt an invisible thread connect me to the Dullahan. Domination successful.

Kill them.

I gave the order and met a charging Death Knight blade to blade. Black energy clung to its sword.

In a pure contest of strength, I was the one forced back. Raw power favored the Death Knight.

This one… up close, the leg armor's already broken. Reject.

We exchanged blows. It wasn't easy. Death Knights, forged from the corpses of knights, carried their living skill into death.

If anything, dying often makes them stronger. Bodies that never tire, enhanced power, Death Aura…

A Death Knight living up to the name.

A sword came from the right. Death Knight technique was fundamentally linear — straightforward to the point of bluntness.

Being already dead, they leave openings right out in the open.

I slipped the blade and stepped into its guard. Target: the elbow joint. The weak point in the armor. I cut through. The armor kept the arm from severing cleanly, but more than half the joint was sliced open and the limb hung loose.

As an undead, the Death Knight felt no pain. It simply switched the sword to its other hand and kept fighting. A tough killing machine.

But there were limits.

Its skill dropped. Must have been right-handed in life.

I kicked the flat of its blade aside and drove my sword into the face beneath the helmet.

Discharge, Astrape.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!

I dumped every amp of current in the blade at once. The Death Knight locked up mid-motion. Its body burned under the shock. Then the black energy left it and rose into the sky. What hit the ground was just an ordinary corpse.

Dies with style, I'll give it that.

No time to get sentimental. The undead still hunting me were still moving.

The fight ended.

My haul: three Death Knights and five Dullahan. I had the sense I could dominate more Death Knights, but none of the remaining ones appealed. I'd wait for a better opportunity.

Rubbing a throbbing shoulder, I walked toward the pit.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Wang Xuan was still burning inside the hole. Chained, thrashing, unable to escape.

Dwarven craft never disappoints.

I watched him with quiet satisfaction. How many times he'd died already, how many more times he'd have to die — I had no idea.

He can't run. It's only a matter of time.

I waited with patience. It wouldn't take thirty minutes.

At some point Wang Xuan's thrashing stopped. The soul-screams fell silent. The body that had shrugged off fire and spears grew steadily more ruined. It didn't take long for Wang Xuan to become ash.

"Go… go… dammit…"

Those were his last words. I was mildly surprised any will had remained at all.

From the distant black pillar, a voice thick with rage roared out.

"Damn it!!! Do you have any idea how much I invested to make that thing?! I will not forgive you, Heavenly Demon!!"

I snorted.

"As if that's news."

Merit.

That word meant the rewards would be bundled and paid ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out only after the job was finished.

In short: clear the raid and hit the jackpot. Fail, and walk away with nothing.

That was the undead army under my command.

Ordinarily I couldn't handle this many.

My guess is I'm benefiting from this zone's influence. A place empty of life and saturated with death favors undead — and necromancers.

I had done everything I could. There was no way left to strengthen my forces further.

The counterattack began.

I led the undead army toward the black pillar.

Qing Guoli opened the path. He deliberately refused to stop me, luring me all the way to the foot of the pillar. I knew it was a trap. I had no other choice. Destroy the black pillar. Kill Qing Guoli.

Undead burst from the earth and surrounded my forces.

"I knew you would come in the end. But you are late. Far, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠far too late."

I ignored Qing Guoli's mocking voice and summoned the great spear.

Astrape!

The skill flared. Blue lightning blazed along the spear. I put everything I had into the throw. Target: the red eye atop the black pillar.

The spear flew like literal lightning. But an invisible wall guarding the eye knocked it aside. It failed to pierce through.

"Hahaha! Hahahahahaha!"

His laughter grated.

If a throw won't work… I'll climb up there myself and pop that eyeball.

I sprinted for the black pillar. Undead poured in from every direction. My army locked with Qing Guoli's. They held their ground and bought me time — that alone made gathering the horde worthwhile.

They wouldn't last long, though. Outnumbered and outclassed, thirty minutes was the absolute ceiling.

"Hell!!"

I drew a crimson staff and drove it into the ground.

The staff's power, earned in hell.

The surrounding land transformed into a red desert. The undead that had been closing in floundered. The black pillar still stood unmoved.

"Heavenly Demon. I am grateful to you."

Qing Guoli's voice again. I ignored it on purpose. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠black pillar was right in front of me. Up close it looked like a living creature — revolting.

To kill him, I have to climb.

I seized the black pillar and started hauling myself upward. Its surface bulged with vein-like ridges that writhed and pulsed. Good for handholds. The warm, slick texture was pure filth.

"These past ten days, your presence kept the time from growing dull."

I poured mana into my hands and feet and climbed faster. Ten meters. Twenty. Thirty… At around sixty, the black waves radiating from the pillar hit my body directly.

In my current half-undead state, it registered as a buff. I climbed harder.

"One might even say a bond has formed. Heh. As payment for entertaining me these ten days, I shall grant you the honor of becoming a part of me."

"Sounds like you've got a bumper crop of bullshit this year. I'm almost there — sit tight. I'll dig that eye out for you."

"I already told you. You are late. Far too late."

Thump-thump.

The black pillar pulsed like a heartbeat. Climbing, I froze at the ominous shift and looked up. Only about fifty meters left — and the eye at the summit slid downward and sank into the pillar itself.

Shit. What the hell is happening?!

If I stayed like this, I'd end up the dog that chased the chicken and lost it.

I gritted my teeth, summoned Hwaryeonbido, and swung at the black pillar. For something that looked organic, it was hard enough to bounce the Fire Lotus Flying Dagger's edge.

CRACKLE-CRACKLE-CRACK!

I drove the blade — wreathed in red lightning and blue sword-force — into the pillar with everything I had. The edge sank in. Blood sprayed from inside. Gripping the hilt with both hands, I put my full weight into a downward cut.

Part of the surface split open, revealing the interior. Fierce curiosity hit me. I wanted to know what was inside this thing. I pressed my face close and looked in.

Within the pillar, a giant curled like a fetus. Its body twitched. The bowed head lifted. The giant had only one eye. The eyelid trembled, then rose.

A red pupil met mine. The same eye that had sat atop the pillar.

"…Fuck."

Original-story knowledge flooded back, and I understood exactly what was unfolding.

This pillar was a kind of womb. Qing Guoli had offered his own body to become Balor's flesh. That explained why his voice had come from the pillar, and why he had never moved in person.

Gotwall's goal is to become gods. Merging with a god is one path to that.

In other words, Qing Guoli had achieved his purpose.

Balor's purpose was achieved as well. Balor had descended upon Atlantis not as a False God, but as his true self — his original divinity.

The curled giant began to rise. It reached a hand toward me. I recoiled and leapt from the pillar.

"System!! What are you doing?! Sanction that thing right now!!"

"That's not a False God — that's the real one! Am I wrong?!"

Before I hit the ground I activated Lightning Flash, converting my body briefly into pure lightning to erase the physical impact.

"So that thing is the true body. Confirmed?"

The System was calm. Their deal was already done. The System had judged that Atlantis could withstand Balor's true form.

…And dozens more divine seats besides, all fixed on me. A clash between a human and a god who had appeared not in a False God's vessel, but in his true form.

Spectacle enough to hold every divine seat's interest.

The black pillar writhed. Its center split, and a black giant emerged. Compared to the pillar, the giant was small — about fifteen meters. Probably the System's sanctions at work.

Fuck. I want to run.

Even under sanctions, the opponent was a god. Not a False God — the original. An existence of fundamentally overwhelming scale.

But leaving this zone is impossible. I have no choice but to face him.

I clenched the hilt of my sword.

There was only one option left.

I had to fight him.