Chapter 627: The Demon God
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 627: The Demon God
"Aberrant believers?"
Muen’s mind flashed back to the evil cultists he had encountered before, and then to the Ghost Blood Princess—the Demon Grand Duke who had recently smuggled herself into the Empire to collude with the Inner Council.
The cultists still looked somewhat human, but that Ghost Blood Princess...
To say she looked human would be a lie; she was practically a different species. She was a far cry from the legendary succubi with their ample chests, long legs, revealing outfits, and swaying pointed tails.
"Due to the effects of distortion, the appearances of the Demon Race vary wildly. They are split into several major tribes that are constantly at odds, though some do closely resemble humans," Mela explained. She shot Muen a half-smile. "The 'type' you’re looking for exists too."
"Well, that’s certainly... Wait, no. The Demon Race is the Empire’s mortal enemy. How could I possibly harbor such improper thoughts?" Muen straightened his face, righteously denouncing such scandalous ideas.
"Really? None at all?"
"None."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive!"
"Staaaaare..."
"Ahem... Do they have the kind with... heart-shaped marks on their lower bellies?" Muen lowered his voice.
"Who knows? Why don't you go catch one and find out?"
"Too much trouble."
"Then how about you come over here? If you want a heart carved on your belly, I can help you with that right now..."
"You were making that same lame joke a hundred thousand years ago!"
*
With the banter out of the way, Muen’s attention returned to the abyss before them.
"By the way... that Demon God who single-handedly triggered the chaos that swept the continent a thousand years ago... the one who, according to you, crushed an entire era into oblivion... is He really dead?"
This was what Muen truly cared about.
He vaguely remembered that in the original novel’s plot, the major boss Ariel faced in the mid-to-late stages was an entity known as the Demon King.
But a mere King of the Demon Race? In a world where Evil Gods were constantly causing trouble and triggering world-ending crises, a Demon King didn't seem to have the prestige required to be the final boss.
So, according to his deductions...
"Dead. Of course He’s dead," Mela replied. "I participated in that battle personally. I can guarantee you that the Demon God is as dead as dead can be. However..."
"However?"
"That doesn't mean He can't be resurrected," Mela said nonchalantly.
"..."
Muen was silent for a moment before he couldn't help but complain, "A final villain who can be resurrected at any time? That feels like such a cliché trope."
"What do you want me to do about it? Only a god can kill a god. No matter how hard we 'ants' of the mortal realm strive, how hard we fight, or how much we sacrifice..."
A dim light flickered in Mela’s eyes, vaguely sketching out desperate images of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. She sighed. "The best we could do was dismember Him, hack His body to pieces, and suppress those remains in separate locations."
"What about the other gods? Wouldn't they intervene in a disaster that threatens the world?"
"Heh, if the other gods got involved..." Mela let out a mocking laugh for reasons unknown. "That would be true, irreversible despair."
"Is that so... Wait, suppressed in separate locations?" Muen, who was about to join her in a moment of melancholy, suddenly froze. He stared at Mela with wide eyes. "Don't tell me the thing suppressed under the Academy’s Sea of Mercury is..."
"Yes, exactly. It’s one of the Demon God’s remains," Mela nodded. "Back then, the Love God and the Silent Moon were both desperate to break into the Academy specifically for that thing."
"...So, when I usually soak in the Sea of Mercury, it’s the equivalent of..." Muen’s face turned even paler.
"Well, it’s pretty much like bathing in the formalin used to preserve a corpse."
"..."
For the thousand-and-first time, the urge to strangle this mischievous old loli surged in Muen’s mind.
"Pfft... Alright, alright, I’m just joking. The Sea of Mercury is naturally isolated from the Demon God’s remains. Otherwise, the lingering corruption would have leaked out long ago." Mela patted Muen’s shoulder, offering a smiling consolation. "Besides, it’s not like you haven't had close contact with an Evil God before. What are you afraid of?"
"Anyone would shudder knowing they’ve been sitting on top of something like that."
"Then if I told you that the piece suppressed by the Life Church has already been stolen by the Love God, would you shudder even more?" Mela asked with a teasing grin.
"Oh." Muen merely gave a casual response. "I see."
"Hmm?" Mela blinked in surprise. "Kid, your reaction is all wrong."
"How else am I supposed to react?"
"Shouldn't you be bursting into tears, clinging to your teacher’s legs, and crying about how scared you are?"
"Where did you get the idea I was such a coward?" Muen rolled his eyes. "Since we’ve already got the cliché plot of the final boss being sealed, it’s only natural for the seal to be gradually undone. It’s standard procedure."
"...That makes sense. I actually can't argue with that." Mela crossed her arms and tilted her head, muttering to herself before adding, "But don't worry. The Love God stealing one piece won't do much. For now, the other pieces are in a very secure state."
"Oh, that’s great," Muen said, his voice devoid of emotion.
I’m not worried at all. The protagonist is still just a Tier 4 weakling. Even if the Demon God really is the final boss, there’s no way He’d show up this early. The small fry haven't even finished showing up to give the protagonist experience points yet, Muen grumbled internally.
"Alright, small talk over. Let’s get down to business," Mela said, suddenly clapping her hands.
"Huh? Weren't we just talking about business?"
"That hardly counts. Did you forget why I brought you here?"
"The purpose?" Muen thought for a moment, remembering that the reason he had been forcibly pinned to the bed by Teacher Mela was... "To recover my spiritual power?"
"Exactly. But in reality, you’ve already been asleep for three days. Through my special recuperation methods, you’ve basically fully recovered." Mela’s fingers flexed and extended rapidly, a wicked smile appearing on her face like a big bad wolf about to devour a little white rabbit. "However, in my opinion, mere recovery is far from enough."
"So what do you want?" A chill ran down Muen’s spine, and he took a few wary steps back.
"So... I think your spiritual power needs some tempering. Although your current spiritual power far exceeds that of an ordinary person, you still have that thing inside you. No matter how strong your spiritual power is, it’s never enough."
"H-how do we temper it?" Muen’s sense of foreboding intensified. That familiar feeling of being about to be pranked or screwed over, which he had experienced not long ago, surged back into his heart.
"Don't worry. I’m just going to let you see something a bit... 'adult-rated' and stimulating." Mela put on a pair of sunglasses and pointed upward. "And like I said, the discomfort will only be a little bit. Just a little."
"..."
Only a fool would believe it’s 'just a little.' Do you think anyone would fall for the same lie twice?!
The moment Mela pointed up, Muen reacted, sensing imminent danger. He tried his best to control himself, determined not to be toyed with by this lethal old loli.
But clearly, he lacked the capital to resist the oppression of this wicked woman, and she had no intention of giving him the chance.
Accompanied by the sound of grinding joints, his head began to tilt upward uncontrollably. And then, he saw it...
At some point, the dust and smoke that had shrouded this desolate land had been swept away by the wind. Even the sound of the wind had vanished, leaving the world as silent as if it were in a deep slumber.
But in that clear expanse, Muen did not see the familiar blue sky.
Instead, he saw a massive scar that split the two ends of the heavens, seemingly echoing the abyss on the ground.
A scar... upon the world!
Its black edges were composed of constantly spreading spatial rifts. Upon its profound silhouette clung terrestrial fires, astral winds, and heavenly lightning. Massive, shattered mountain peaks hung inverted, having escaped the shackles of gravity.
Endless voids expanded layer by layer, resembling a hideously colored eye, or perhaps... a terrifying maw ready to devour everything.
The entire world was distorted here. All existing laws no longer applied. This was a domain completely beyond human comprehension. Just by looking at it, Muen felt a horrific tearing sensation in his mind.
And in the very center of that giant wound floated a faint, ethereal shadow.
The shadow was so illusory that its shape couldn't even be discerned. Muen’s gaze could pass right through Him to see the lightning and rocks flying past. Yet, the moment Muen saw that shadow, a terrifying chill crawled up his spine until it settled at the crown of his head, clawing at his scalp and screaming at him:
Run! Run! Run!
This was something far more terrifying than any entity he had ever seen, any Evil God projection, or any "unspeakable" thing!
Run!
...Muen naturally wanted to run, but his body felt as if it were nailed in place, unable to move an inch.
That shadow was like a black hole, constantly pulling at his flesh, his consciousness, and even his soul.
Thus, amidst the agonizing pain of his mind being torn apart inch by inch, he was forced to gaze upon the existence he was never meant to see—
The Demon God.
*
"Relax, kid. This thing doesn't even qualify as a lingering afterimage."
Mela was still wearing her sunglasses. She had somehow produced a lounge chair and a glass of juice, and was now lying back with her small feet kicked up, comfortably sipping through a straw.
"Still, something fished out from the phantoms of the past is very useful for tempering the mind."
After all, a god cannot be looked upon directly.
An ordinary person might go insane just by glancing at an Evil God’s projection, let alone the First Evil God.
Therefore, Muen being forced to look directly at it was like someone intentionally getting slapped in the face to toughen their skin. While it involved a bit of pain, it was undeniably effective. Three days of this would surely make his mental defenses as thick and indestructible as a city wall.
And since this was an illusion constructed by her through the Authority of the Eternal Clock, everything was under her control. It wouldn't be as dangerous as actually looking at an Evil God.
"Sigh, you should be secretly laughing for having such a good teacher. Who else has the ability to find such a great training scenario for you? And yet you spend all day thinking about being disrespectful. Hmph, rebellious disciple. It’s good to give you a little lesson."
Mela shook her head and shifted into a more comfortable position, wanting to get a clearer view of her disciple’s pathetic state.
However...
Crack.
The moment she moved, the sound of something shattering suddenly rang out. In the absolute silence, it was incredibly sharp.
"Are you kidding me?" Mela froze. She looked down at the shattered juice bottle in her hand, her expression instantly turning grim. "It’s clearly just a phantom... and separated by a full thousand years of time, yet..."
*
Muen was still staring at that void-like shadow.
The tearing sensation in his mind continued. Distorted hallucinations and noisy whispers constantly bombarded his senses. That horrific pressure seemed to be gradually sinking into his soul, threatening to grind him into nothingness.
But... as his mind grew stronger through the cycle of tearing and healing, Muen gradually adapted to the pressure. He began to find enough room to catch his breath.
And it was this slight reprieve that allowed him to recover a bit of his thinking capacity. His eyes narrowed as he subconsciously tried to see the shadow... even more clearly.
...Muen didn't know why such an absurd thought occurred to him.
It was like knowing you shouldn't touch a tiger’s backside, yet still feeling the suicidal urge to give it a playful slap. Or perhaps, some influence caused his mind to instinctively produce this thought.
Hum!
The moment the thought surfaced, the world seemed to shudder. A ripple rapidly expanded outward with the shadow as its center.
Muen watched in horror...
Even though it was just a phantom that didn't even count as an afterimage.
Even though it was separated from this time and space by a full millennium.
Even though... He was already dead, His remains sealed away.
At this moment, as if noticing Muen’s gaze, the illusory body of the shadow moved. Then... it slowly turned around.
The shadow remained ethereal, its silhouette indistinguishable, yet Muen clearly understood the meaning of that movement.
He was turning around, casting His gaze... across endless time and distance, toward this very spot!
Muen’s body went cold instantly. A fear and trembling countless times more terrifying than before seeped through his pores, reaching the depths of his soul...
"Damn it!"
The horrific sense of impending death stung his nerves. Muen’s expression turned feral as his survival instincts drove him to frantically mobilize every ounce of power in his body.
But...
As his consciousness swept through himself, he felt only a void.
Fighting Spirit, Mana, the Alchemy Core, even the Black Sun... it was as if every power he possessed had been easily stripped away. Only his purest consciousness and soul remained, like a lonely boat before a tsunami, facing destruction alone.
There was nothing he could do.
Only despair.
So... am I going to die?
"Don't look!"
At the critical moment, that familiar voice—both childish and ancient—echoed in Muen’s ear, drowning out the whispers gnawing at his soul. Simultaneously, a warm little hand quickly covered his face, shielding his eyes.
"Hold your breath! Focus your mind! Cut off your senses!"
Mela pulled Muen into an embrace, followed by an anxious, sharp command. Her pale hair whipped in the wild wind, and a terrifying aura was released without reservation from her petite body.
Her crimson pupils glowed faintly. Ancient and profound runes floated around her, acting like a wedge driven into a giant stone, violently slamming into the blurring boundary between past and present to separate them once more.
Muen finally regained his sense of reality. Feeling the small body holding him, the string in his mind finally snapped, and he fell unconscious.
Mela shot him a quick glance before pushing him behind her, standing fully in front of him as a shield.
"Come!"
She stomped her foot violently. Accompanied by the tolling of a grand bell, the solemn phantom of a clock manifested behind her.
The River of Time shook violently. Endless, brilliant light fell from the void, instantly drowning heaven and earth.
Mela activated the Authority of the Eternal Clock. She spread her fingers, aiming her palm at the shadow—which now looked slightly more solid—and spat out solemn syllables:
"Get back! This is not a place for you to meddle!"
"..."
The shadow finally finished turning around. His gaze fell upon Mela, flickering slightly. He seemed to say something, but those syllables, which no human could comprehend, ultimately failed to pierce through time, remaining isolated a thousand years in the past.
Heaven and earth shook again.
Under the isolation of the Eternal Clock, all the horrific phenomena that had nearly torn this place apart began to fade. This already fragile phantom began to turn into a mere glint of light in the real world.
He no longer tried to strike at this shore of time, merely gazing calmly.
"Go back," Mela said again.
the mass of shadow writhed.
Finally, under Mela’s wary watch, He suddenly cast one last glance at Muen behind her before dissipating along with the phantom of the past.
*