Chapter 366
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 366
Chapter Title: Ruler of Hedonism.
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Ruler of Hedonism.
Jin.
A being born from the emotions of indulgence and pleasure.
Outwardly, he was smiling right now, but inwardly, he was engulfed in great confusion.
What the hell should I even call that thing?'
In Jin's eyes, no matter how he looked at it, the figure was human.
A mere created being.
And yet, that created being had just pulled out a divine relic.
Which meant he had wrested it away from one of the celestials, just like Jin himself.
'I can't let my guard down.'
That was why he had pulled out his own relic from the start.
But the candelabrum never got used.
"Jin."
Because the puppet wielded by his master had already positioned itself right in front of him.
"M-Master."
Jin hurriedly stowed the candelabrum away and dropped to one knee, paying his respects.
"Go back."
"Understood."
His master's command was absolute.
Jin withdrew immediately.
Once he was gone, the woman called his master turned her gaze to the human before her.
"So you're the human chosen by Tenebris."
'Damn, she's fast.'
Jeong Hoon kept a poker face as he stared at the puppet in front of him.
Psyche.
Tenebris softly called her name.
His expression carried a hint of longing somewhere in it, but the feeling vanished in an instant, returning to blankness.
"Did you come here to erase Tenebris?"
"And if I did?"
"Then I'd kill you."
Psyche let out a scoff at Jeong Hoon's response.
"You don't actually think that's possible, do you?"
"Why? You think I can't?"
"There's a saying in your world: Ignorance is bravery."
"......"
"Face reality. No matter how hard you try, to us, you're nothing more than a child's plaything."
As Psyche spoke, she snapped her thumb and index finger together.
In that moment, death loomed over Jeong Hoon from above.
"Urk!"
Jeong Hoon grimaced at the searing pain in his left chest and dropped to one knee.
Using 'God's Healing.'
He hurriedly activated God's Healing, but the agony didn't subside.
'Damn it, why can't I stop my life force from draining?!'
He had to think.
Find a way out of this crisis.
"Still think this is a lie?"
Psyche walked toward Jeong Hoon, then squatted down in front of him, meeting his gaze.
She flashed a benevolent smile and stroked his head.
"You're going to die soon."
"...Fuck off."
"Fine. Since it's your last words, I'll forgive the vulgarity."
Utterly unfazed, Psyche watched with evident delight as Jeong Hoon edged closer to death.
"Urk!"
The pain intensified.
At this rate, his life force would hit zero, and he'd die.
If you die, the deleted Great Rift will resume.
Earth would be done for.
Even as he glared at Psyche with bloodshot eyes, veins bursting and blood trickling out, Jeong Hoon pulled out the Chalice of the Void.
Death has been determined.
Cannot use divine relic.
Damn it.
Not even the relic could be used.
Now he understood why the named ones handed over their relics to the celestials so freely.
They were confident they could crush any rebellion, relic or no.
"Tenebris, are you watching this right now?"
Psyche asked, eyes fixed on Jeong Hoon.
That dogshit bastard...
Tenebris glared at her murderously.
Life force below 20.
The Creator's seal is released.
Just then, as Jeong Hoon's life force dropped to 20, a new message appeared.
At the same time, the Creator near his heart, which he hadn't felt before, began to stir.
'Ha, what the hell. So it was there.'
Even after becoming half-divine as its master, there had been no reaction from it inside his body.
Who would've thought he simply hadn't sensed the power it held.
'I should be grateful for this.'
If not for Psyche, he might have discovered it even later.
Jeong Hoon began channeling the Creator to resist death.
Rejecting death.
Twisting fate.
As he warped fate, the pain in his chest eased enough for him to move.
He threw a punch straight at her face.
A devastating blow combining the Heavenly Demon's power and the Creator.
But rendering that power meaningless, Psyche effortlessly caught his wrist and blocked it.
"Think that'll work?"
Psyche grinned.
Jeong Hoon curled his lips upward in response.
"Guess we'll find out."
In that instant, the Heavenly Demon's power and the Creator flowed from his fist into her wrist.
Psyche's pale, flawless skin turned pitch-black, then exploded outright.
The impact must have been severe; she grimaced and loosened her grip.
Now free, Jeong Hoon backhanded her across the face.
"Ghk!"
Psyche cried out in pain and tumbled backward.
Using 'God's Healing.'
Jeong Hoon used God's Healing to rapidly restore his life force to 100.
"How's it feel? Getting hit by a human?"
That wasn't Psyche's true body.
Just a puppet.
But allowing a solid hit from a human would bruise any ego.
"Heh, now I see why you were chosen."
"Enough pointless chit-chat?"
For some reason, Jeong Hoon felt like she was testing him.
If she'd targeted him and Tenebris from the start, she could've imposed death and dragged them to the divine realm by force.
But Psyche had merely observed his reaction.
"I'll help you."
"...What?"
Her words completely threw off Jeong Hoon's expectations.
Too absurd to even respond, he watched as Psyche rose and approached him.
"If you don't believe me, ask Tenebris."
Tenebris?
Jeong Hoon turned to Tenebris, who was silently watching from the side.
Bullshit. You expect me to trust the bitch who stabbed me in the back? Don't believe her, no matter what!
A chuckle escaped at Tenebris's furious outburst.
'Yeah. I wasn't planning to.'
To Jeong Hoon, Psyche was the enemy, not an ally.
An opponent who had to be eliminated to perfectly end the game.
"Tenebris wants to rip you apart. What now?"
When Jeong Hoon relayed Tenebris's reaction, she nodded as if she'd expected it.
"Guess the time isn't right yet."
"Time?"
"Think about it. Do you really believe I just sat back because I couldn't find Tenebris?"
"......"
Jeong Hoon didn't answer, and Tenebris snorted.
Psyche, quit screwing around. You couldn't find me because you're incompetent.
"He's probably saying you couldn't find him because you're incompetent, right?"
She nailed it perfectly, despite not being able to hear Tenebris.
He went dead silent.
"And he's too stunned to speak right now."
"...Spot on."
"Heh, I'm not rushing you to accept my help right away. Tenebris's memories seem incomplete too..."
"Incomplete?"
"I'll explain that later. More importantly, I'm here to warn you that a catastrophe is about to hit Earth soon."
How long had it been since he deleted the Great Rift? Another catastrophe?
"What kind of catastrophe?"
"Not something like the Great Rift. The ultimate goal is you."
"So, you want to force me into the divine realm."
"Yes. Earth's gotten pretty chaotic from the invasion already, hasn't it?"
"You're saying the invasion's ramping up?"
"As expected, quick on the uptake."
Stronger foes than now would come pouring in.
"So how exactly are you gonna help with that?"
Not exactly surprising, since he'd anticipated it.
But what help could Psyche offer during this invasion?
Hey, why the hell are you even listening? She's one of the ones who sealed me! I could chew her up and spit her out!
Tenebris threw a fit, but Jeong Hoon brushed it off and waited for her answer.
"Higher species will appear. Defeating them in battle will minimize dimensional damage."
"So how are you helping?"
"I'll divine your fate."
"Fate?"
"Yes. I'll foresee the outcomes of battles against the higher species."
This was huge.
Even for a simple invasion, no 100 success rate had appeared.
Despite his specs ballooning to monstrous levels from Storm Level-Up.
If higher species invaded on top of that, the 98 would plummet.
To boost that even slightly, he'd need a lineup of reliable humans to fight them.
'If Psyche gives solid intel, I can assemble a team primed for victory in advance.'
The issue was whether he could trust her.
"What's your price?"
Helping Tenebris meant betraying the existing named ones.
No, it meant she had something she wanted badly enough to betray for.
Otherwise, it was a ploy to lure him out.
Judging by Tenebris's reaction, the latter seemed more likely.
"Will you make a deal if I tell you?"
"I'll think about it."
"Heh, sorry, but you're the desperate one here."
"Not really?"
Without hesitation, Jeong Hoon drew Titan.
He cloaked it in the 'Form of Nothingness,' then wrapped it in the Creator.
The Creator took slightly different forms depending on its wielder, but since Jeong Hoon was borrowing Tenebris's, it aligned with 'modification.'
However, the small amount he gained as dimension lord focused on 'destruction' per his will.
'Can't take the real body, but a puppet should be easy.'
Aware of that, Psyche put distance between them.
"If you cut me down here, we can't talk anymore."
"Bummer?"
"Huh?"
"If it's a bummer, just say so. Drop the pride."
Cracks formed on Psyche's face at his words.
The smile she'd worn from start to finish vanished.
"You won't regret this?"
"As if."
Jeong Hoon swung his sword, unleashing the Moonless Blade that Escannon had wielded.
Empowered by the Creator, it split into three strands, caging Psyche, then merged into one to engulf her.
Crack.
The hand-sized puppet split vertically and shattered.
Psyche, watching it all, drummed her fingers on the table, lost in thought.
"Lady Psyche."
She looked up at the voice calling her.
"What of the human?"
He was Jin, ruler of the 71st through 75th demon realms, including the 72nd.
Sent here on her orders to stand by, he set off for the 72nd the moment the puppet broke.
"Seems he's gone. Couldn't find him no matter where I looked."
Psyche nodded.
"Figured as much."
"What if he's hiding in the demon realm? Targeting me..."
"That's why I sent two puppets with you."
As she said, two puppets identical to Psyche had flanked Jin.
To account for him possibly hiding, she'd divined and marked his fate while imposing death.
The result confirmed the human had left.
"...Yes. I'll hurry to restore the 72nd."
"No need."
Psyche snapped her fingers.
Instantly, Jin let out a pained groan and collapsed.
"L-Lady Psyche..."
His eyes trembled like aspen leaves as he looked at her.
"You were fated to die there."
With her benevolent smile, Jin's neck snapped.