Chapter 409
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 409
Chapter Title: Psyche's Reply
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"Really... Isn't this going too far, no matter how you slice it?"
Michael, who had crossed into the Demon Realm, was crouched in the bushes, too busy cursing Jeong Hoon to think straight.
To deliver this note in his hand to Psyche, the Goddess of Fate.
How could he issue such an absurd order?
As long as he wasn't caught, nothing major would happen?
How was he not supposed to get caught while delivering it to Psyche?
"Should I just call it a failure and head back...?"
Michael turned his head to gaze at the shimmering small portal.
Using that portal would take him back to the 8th Demon Realm.
But if he returned like this, the evil spirit would be waiting for him.
No matter what, he had to hand this note to Psyche to ensure his safety.
"F-First, let's move."
Perhaps because his master hadn't entered, the Demon Realm was relatively quiet.
Michael scanned his surroundings and began to move, taking care to stay hidden as much as possible.
He didn't want to be spotted by any of those things.
"Hey."
At that moment, someone called out to Michael.
Michael flinched, then stiffly turned his head like a malfunctioning robot.
"Wh-who...?"
There stood a being glaring at him.
Not a Named, but Jecheon, who followed him.
He ruled over no less than five Demon Realms.
"You... a lackey from the Divine Realm."
He glared at Michael and appeared before him in an instant.
"You bastard?"
Michael had grown quite a bit in the meantime.
Even so, before Jecheon, he was like a pup facing a tiger.
Of course, true to the saying that a pup has no fear of a tiger, Michael considered clashing with Jecheon.
"Psyche told me you would come."
"M-me?"
"She said it's fine to kill you if you resist. Choose. Will you come quietly? Or resist?"
Killing intent rippled through his voice.
At the thick murderous aura, Michael felt a chill run down his spine.
'Yeah. It might be better to go to Psyche after all.'
The note his master had told him to deliver.
If she dragged him to her, delivering it would be that much easier.
Having made his decision, Michael raised both arms above his head.
"Fine. I'll come quietly."
"It would be wise not to try any tricks."
"I got it... Ack!"
In the middle of speaking, Michael grimaced and lost consciousness.
Jecheon, or rather Lephle, had struck his neck to knock him out.
"She said to bring you without touching you if possible, but I just don't trust you."
He hoisted Michael over his shoulder and leaped away from the spot.
At the same time.
Jeong Hoon entered the nearby Demon King's Castle and sat upon the throne to rest.
'Master, are you sure it's okay sending just Michael?'
'What if he gets caught? That'd be a disaster.'
Mukho and Anima were pacing anxiously, convinced Michael would get nabbed.
Jeong Hoon agreed with them on that point.
"Michael will get caught. Through Psyche."
And yet, he could afford to relax.
Because Psyche could read fate.
The Psyche he had seen would surely have foreseen Michael entering the Demon Realm.
Even if something went wrong, he had implanted a bit of his spirit energy, so he could forcibly reverse-summon him the moment danger was detected.
"Master!"
Fortunately, no reverse summon was needed.
Michael returned after just 7 hours.
And in perfect condition, no less.
"Yeah. Did you deliver it?"
"Yes! I delivered it safely."
Michael explained in detail, starting from how Psyche had sought him out and ending with handing over the note.
She had checked the note and placed a prepared reply in Michael's hand.
"So this is the reply."
Jeong Hoon unfolded the folded note.
Make the Dark Energy 100. Evil must be judged with evil.
Dark Energy?
Before his regression, he had raised it to 78.
But after regressing with divine power, the Dark Energy had vanished without a trace.
Meaning he had to start from scratch.
But that was fine.
He had acquired 9 Black Souls while sweeping through the 8th Demon Realm.
One each from the six Demon Kings, and three from the Overlord.
A total of 9.
Black Soul
-Type: Consumable
-Grade: ???
-The essence of a demon.
-Randomly increases stats.
Jeong Hoon familiarly swallowed the orb.
Strength increases by 50.
Agility increases by 47.
Mana increases by 82.
Acquire 1 Dark Energy.
The stat increases weren't important.
What mattered was the Dark Energy acquired through the Black Soul.
The pure Dark Energy had stacked by 1.
You need to gather Dark Energy?
Tenebris tilted his head.
"Why? Do you know something about Dark Energy?"
Didn't you already know? It's reaching the Abyssal Realm.
"In simple terms, it means corruption, right? Advancing demonization."
You know it well.
"I've also heard that avatars contracted with Transcendents undergo incomplete demonization and become demonic humans."
Correct. But this Dark Energy is different.
"Different?"
Even Baal hadn't been able to answer properly.
No one had ever accumulated it to 100 in the first place.
According to Baal, gathering energy this way made Jeong Hoon the first.
It's the process of becoming a true demon.
"A true demon?"
Yes. We accumulated that energy to gain new powers. It was our weapon against the Divine Realm.
"So that's why I could get it from Demon King level and above?"
It was just remnants of power left as they died.
"But it still fills 1?"
One Black Soul per 1.
Plus, before regression, he remembered filling 47 at once via the Chalice of the Void, reaching 78.
If Jeong Hoon wanted, he could hit 100 in no time now.
If only it ended at 100.
"What?"
100 doesn't grant complete power. It just lets you accept a portion of it.
"Hmm, so you have to repeat 100 endlessly?"
Yes. I filled it countless times myself.
"I'll need a divine artifact then."
Like the Chalice of the Void, there had to be one that granted massive amounts of Dark Energy.
Using that artifact to mass-acquire Dark Energy was the new task at hand.
Didn't I explain this to you before your regression?
"Yeah. You kept your mouth shut."
Before regression, Tenebris hadn't explained Dark Energy in detail.
He must have judged the time wasn't right yet.
A demon beast mimicking a divine artifact.
To obtain it, he had to seek out Jecheon.
Otherwise, he'd have to fill it solely with Black Souls like thishow long would that take?
I also didn't mention you could convert it to divine energy using a divine artifact?
"Oh, you did say that."
He had trailed off about the tricky conditions and glossed over the details, claiming he didn't know them fully.
That's why prioritizing the Divine Realm had been put off.
Did he know the conditions after all?
Actually, it's not divine energy. It's Dark Energy.
"...You mean to hide that it's a demon beast, not a divine artifact?"
......Yeah. I think pre-regression me was trying to hide that it was a demon beast.
"Tch, damn bastard."
D-Damn bastard?
Jeong Hoon let out an irritated sigh.
"Seeing this, it's clear you were hiding more than one or two things."
Ahem, sorry. But now, there's no need for that, so relax.
It was sincere.
Jeong Hoon had ascended to demigod, gathered all seven main threads, and become an existence even Named couldn't touch.
With the current Jeong Hoon, he could reveal everything truthfully.
"Explain the conditions."
It's not tricky. Just absorb the power contained in the demon beast.
"That didn't work?"
Jeong Hoon had owned 3 demon beasts before.
Of them, only the Chalice of the Void had Dark Energy; the other two didn't.
Ah, precisely, you destroy the demon beast. When you do, the power the Named injected scatters, and you absorb it, converting to Dark Energy.
"Ah, so you could create demon beasts thanks to this energy?"
Correct.
"...Then how do I lure out Jecheon?"
For now, how about wandering all the Demon Realms like the 8th and filling Dark Energy to 100?
"Don't even joke."
Jeong Hoon glared at Tenebris as he spoke.
Ha... Guess my pre-regression trustworthiness was in the gutter.
It was amusing to hear trust complaints after all that secrecy was exposed.
Jeong Hoon didn't respond and headed to the next Demon Realm.
At that moment.
Lephle returned after completing his mission.
"My liege, I sent the intruder back to the 8th Demon Realm."
"Well done."
Psyche, seated on the throne, toyed with the orb beside her.
"Um... may I ask one thing?"
"Go ahead."
Psyche was in an exceptionally good mood right now.
Her planned events were unfolding smoothly.
"Are you really staking everything on that human?"
Lephle had sided with Psyche despite being created in the Demon Realm.
He was her loyal servant, but originally, Psyche had handcrafted him as a demon precisely for uses like this.
"We'll see."
She had told him everything.
By now, Tenebris's seal should be broken.
If he rapidly accumulated Dark Energy through him, facing a Named wouldn't be impossible.
Of course, she intended to pave the way herself to ensure that process went smoothly.
"I brought the divine artifacts."
What Lephle produced were 7 divine artifacts.
Including his own, they were from the Jecheons under her command.
Artifacts infused with massive dark power in preparation for a day like this.
"Good. Take these to the Demon Realms and hand one to each Overlord."
"I'll tell them to do their utmost to eliminate the human."
Quick on the uptake, as befitting a subordinate of Psyche.
Confirming her satisfied smile, Lephle bowed and departed for the Demon Realms.
And soon after, an unwelcome guest arrived.
"Psyche, what are you pondering alone here?"
"Armageddon..."
Psyche didn't hide her displeasure.
"Oh dear. Aren't you hating me a bit too much?"
"How could I not hate someone who nitpicks the moment we're in the same room?"
"Heh, you managed your expressions well back there, though."
"What are you here for?"
"As you know, the human has taken the 8th Demon Realm. That's two lower dimensions lost already."
"So?"
"I thought you'd have foreseen it... Was I wrong?"
Armageddon peered piercingly into Psyche's face with soulful eyes.
At the distasteful gaze, Psyche let out a scoffing laugh.
"Pfft. Your probing looks are quite the sight."
"What?"
"I'm telling you to get lost and quit the lecherous thoughts."
"......"
"Go back quietly and wait for Beelzebub. Don't act like a paranoid patient when you've volunteered as a spy."
"I'll watch how long that confidence lasts."
Armageddon left those meaningful words and vanished from the spot.
Left alone, Psyche muttered with a hardened expression.
"Suspicion has turned to certainty. I need to hurry."