1360——————==

Soul of the Evil God

When Hermes appeared, I responded with indifference.

“What are you up to? I was just planning to summon the Three Sovereigns with the Six Needs right now.”

“…Didn’t I tell you to bring me the core of the World Tree?”

“I’ll use it when I face the Three Sovereigns. I was thinking of using what’s left afterwards.”

Hermes smiled fiercely.

“Hehe… No matter how much you use the Six Needs, Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen will wipe the floor with you. Are you looking to die in vain out here in this outer universe?”

“Are you seriously worried about my life right now? Thanks a bunch.”

Swoosh

Hermes stretched out his hand and said, “Hand over the core. Then I’ll help you escape this outer universe right away.”

“…….”

“Hurry up. Nailatop could come back to life at any moment.”

Although Hermes urged me, I merely stared at the core I was holding and didn’t hand it over. Hermes seemed to sense something off, and I grinned slyly.

“No way.”

“Are you out of your mind? You’ve made an enemy of Nailatop already, and now you want to turn me into an enemy too?”

In disbelief, Hermes continued in a condescending tone, “Don’t be foolish. Hand over the core. You know there’s no way back to the original world from this outer universe!”

“Is that really true?”

“What?”

When I countered, Hermes flinched. I kept a smile on my face as I replied, “In my twenty-eighth life, I had loads of experiences. And one thing I realized after getting completely blindsided was…”

“…….”

“That reincarnators should act like reincarnators.”

Swoo

I reached for the Six Needs on the altar. Suddenly, during the ritual, the Six Needs was summoned right next to me and began emanating spirit energy. As I started to control the Six Needs, I felt an immediate surge in power, and for some reason, Hermes hesitated and stepped back.

With the core of the World Tree in one hand, I grasped the handle of Xu You floating in the void with the other hand. Then I declared, “You know what? I don’t have any reason to do what you want. If you don’t back off now, I swear I’ll blow you up like Nailatop.”

Hermes, looking dazed, swung an arm and shouted, “…No reason? Don’t you want to return to the original world from this outer universe!”

“Yeah, I do.”

“There’s no way! What the hell are you thinking….”

“Why isn’t there a way?”

Hermes, now agitated, I grinned as I replied.

“You just die.”

“……!!”

“I’m thinking of making a glorious exit after challenging the emperor one more time. Lucky for me, I can choose how to die.”

I could see Hermes’ expression hardening at my response. Then, he growled like a beast, “You truly are a fool… If you die in this outer universe, your reincarnation will also start here again! If a reincarnator ends up in a loop like this, there will be no hope left! How could you not know this…?”

I replied with a dismissive tone, “I doubt it.”

“What… what do you mean?”

“You might not know since I didn’t give you the obsidian, but I’ve already spoken with Nailatop. And during that conversation, I discovered one fact.”

I let my aura shine brightly.

“I reincarnated after dying in the outer universe where Dharma existed. And Nailatop didn’t outright deny my story when I shared it. This means that if I die in the outer universe, I won’t continue cycling in this closed loop, but will simply return to the original world and start a new life.”

“…….”

“I actually already knew that. But I was unsure if every outer universe would work differently, and now, with a bizarre scientist of the otherworld confirming my theory, I have no worries about getting trapped here. If it comes down to it, I can just die.”

Hermes listened to me with a stiff expression, then said, “You really are the dumbest… Even the Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen couldn’t take on that Evil God. And as soon as it starts, it’ll show its worst side and start targeting you. You can barely manage to deal with one of the Three Sovereigns; how could you face the Evil God?”

“So, like I said, it can’t be helped? When the time comes, I’ll figure things out. Didn’t I always?”

“You’re insane. Don’t you fear the Evil God?”

“Thinking about it, it doesn’t seem that scary.”

I purposefully let Xu You hang limp as I continued, “During my twenty-ninth life, the Evil God was in the process of reviving while making plans. But the amount of time to stop that ritual was surprisingly generous. It felt like it was saying, ‘Good luck trying to stop me.’ So, from my position, I can attack and fight against the Evil God’s revival ritual dozens of times if needed. If all else fails, I can just negotiate with it again then.”

“You… you just keep spouting nonsense! How long do you think the Evil God will continue to be lenient with you!!!”

“Shut it, you scoundrel! Quit pretending to care about someone else!”

“What….”

I shouted a curse and glared at Hermes.

“If I were that stupid, I would’ve handed you the core of the World Tree, but I’m not! If this miserable situation is going to continue, isn’t it best to reduce the number of traitors trying to rip me off?! And I’ll decide how I die!”

“…….”

“That’s your last warning. Close your mouth and keep quiet. Otherwise, the next time I find you, I’ll take you out first!”

With my threat, silence swept through the hall for a moment. Hermes stood there with a look of doubt and surprise for a while as he processed what I said. Then, with a slight gloom in his expression, he finally spoke.

“…I’ll have to revise my plans. This wasn’t what I originally intended.”

Crackle

Lightning began to spark from Hermes’ crystal staff. Simultaneously, overwhelming magical power began to surge from him, and his entire being turned pitch black right before my eyes. Soon, Hermes transformed into a chaotic form of energy, emanating blood-red aura and proclaimed his divine words.

[Reincarnator! From now on, I will bind you and torture you to shatter your mind. Additionally, I will brainwash you, thus escaping the vengeance of future beings and securing my place as the Demiurge!]

So, his true colors are finally showing!

WHOOSH

At that moment, five summoning magic circles appeared right in front of Hermes. Over those magic circles, I could see the familiar faces of those I recognized.

The Eight Parts of the Divine!

“Gasp…?”

“Where am I?”

Suddenly summoned, the Eight Parts were in a state of confusion when one of the members from the Thief Gang spotted me.

“Ah, is this the situation?”

He quickly came to realize what was unfolding and shouted urgently, “My lord! Due to my higher contract, I cannot resist Hermes! Please accept my [Name]!”

“What nonsense is the Thief Gang spouting?!”

My companion Gin Nara looked confused, but I quickly grasped the meaning behind his words. I then replied to him, “I will accept it!”

“Oooh…!!”

Flash

In the next moment, Gin Nara’s body transformed into a white smoke and was drawn into my arm. And then, the name of [Thief Gang] was added to my arm. I felt the heavy influx of the Thief Gang’s magic and gritted my teeth in response.

“That bastard… each and every one has deceived me!”

[Hehe. You caught on.]

With a sinister smile, Hermes slammed his crystal staff down on the spot.

“Ugh.”

“Ahhh!!”

Crash

At that moment, the humanoid forms of the four members of the Eight Parts abruptly twisted and forcibly transformed into Demon Kings. Once transformed, they stood frozen like dolls, clearly having been brainwashed by Hermes.

Hermes said, [I had hoped to build trust and then manipulate them when it mattered, but it seems that plan has gone awry.]

“Damn it! As if I expected anything less from you, you worthless scumbag!”

I shouted in anger, but at the same time, my heart felt a chill settle within me.

‘From the very beginning, Hermes handing the Eight Parts to me was nothing but a deception. On the surface, the Eight Parts swear loyalty to me, forming a master-servant relationship. But in reality, due to the Crystal Stele’s fragment from Hermes, my command overrides are subordinate to him!’

The more I thought about it, the more horrifying it became. What if I had decided to trust Hermes as he suggested? At some point, the Eight Parts, whom I believed to be under my command, would have turned against me and assisted Hermes in binding or sealing me!

Growl

As I witnessed the four members of the Eight Parts exuding the power of the Demon King, their blood-red auras sent a shiver down my spine. No matter how I looked at it, they were Demon Kings, and without using the Four Great Spirit Deities, defeating even four Demon Kings’ combined attack wasn’t going to be easy. The real question was, what if Hermes joined in on their attack too?

While I didn’t count out the possibility of victory, I sensed an incredibly difficult battle ahead and carefully began to plot my strategy.

‘I need to make good use of the Apostle’s Power and the Six Needs… huh?’

At that moment, I suddenly noticed that Lee Kwang standing next to me had gone missing. As I figured out where Lee Kwang had disappeared to, my eyes widened.

“…Hey!! What are you up to right now?!”

Lee Kwang had already walked up to Hermes. Hermes just stared at him as he approached and spoke.

[Lee Kwang, are you planning to rush at me for your master’s sake?]

Lee Kwang confidently shook his head.

“Do you really think I’d have that much loyalty to my master?”

[Hmm…?]

“That one has given me all sorts of humiliation and disgrace. He has fooled me with all kinds of lies while tearing my pride as a martial artist to shreds!”

[Oh?]

As Hermes looked puzzled, Lee Kwang gradually lowered himself, kneeling before Hermes.

“Join your side and obliterate Baek Woong for me, and in return, send me back to the original world. Also, I would appreciate it if you could grant me the strongest powers.”

[…….]

After a brief pause, Hermes burst into laughter.

[Haha! This is quite amusing… I never thought you’d betray the reincarnator at this point! Haha, welcome! Lee Kwang, I will accept you as an ally.]

“Thank you.”

I watched the scene, my face contorting in disbelief. I thought I had Hermes cornered well, but I never saw this twist coming. I glared at Lee Kwang, furious, and yelled, “You little shit!! I taught you the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique and so much martial arts, and now you’re stabbing me in the back?!”

“You also betrayed Nailatop and Hermes, didn’t you? Of course, it’s only natural for the disciple of a treacherous master to learn treachery!”

Clang

As Lee Kwang’s spear became enveloped in thunder, the mighty energy of the Nine Chambers of Thunder filled the air. He assumed a battle posture and declared, “You brought me to this incomprehensible world and pushed me to the brink of death; you have no right to blame me for seeking a way to survive!”

“……”

I stared at Lee Kwang with wide eyes.

I can’t believe he’s doing this!

‘That Lee Kwang, damn it…’

With a chuckle, Hermes spoke in a lightly amused tone, [Hehe. I’m curious how far you can endure with just the half-assed Six Needs. A reincarnator betrayed by even his own disciple!]

“Ugh…”

[Now, Demon Kings of the Eight Parts… Attack Baek Woong!]

Just as Hermes swung his crystal staff and gave the command to attack, that moment arrived.

“Finally dropped your guard, huh.”

Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique

Triple Nine Chambers

Secret Technique: Heaven’s Light Entry Ruin Strike!

Boom

With a loud bang, a streak of electric energy shot past. And then came the sound of shattering glass.

Before I knew it, Lee Kwang’s spear was embedded in Hermes’ crystal orb, and a web of cracks formed like a spider’s web, scattering shards all around. As the orb shattered, the Eight Parts that had seemed like they were ready to pounce stood frozen like ice.

Flapflap

Lee Kwang appeared three steps away, leaving behind the shadow of lightning.

“……”

[……]

In the fleeting silence, neither I nor Hermes could say a word, both merely staring at Lee Kwang.

Lee Kwang, clicking his neck, quietly spoke, “Once you’ve betrayed, can you not betray again?”