1363——————==

Soul of the Evil God

In my eyes, there appeared eight seats. Those seats were all too familiar. It’s no surprise, given that when I tried to summon Shennong at the Heavenly Altar using the Offering Ceremony in the past, a forced gathering place for all the Emperors had manifested. Now, I had intentionally conjured this space by gathering all the Six Needs to perform a ceremony at the Heavenly Altar.

In this place, I had originally planned to work together with Jeon Wook, Jeogok, and Shao Hao from the Three Sovereigns to take down Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen.

Recalling the current situation, I slowly rose from my seat. The spot where Hermes had attacked me moments ago ached, and the pain was still so intense it twisted my face.

“Damn….”

My physical strength and energy were far from optimal. No, compared to when I was at my best, I felt significantly drained. The vast amount of divine power I had was surely diminished after several uses of the Small Cycle’s manipulation and the Four Great Spirit Deities. Furthermore, the injury I sustained from Hermes’s reversal of cause and effect was absolutely not something I could heal just like that.

Now, I had to engage in the gamble of a lifetime, yet here I was looking like a mess, making me a bit anxious. If I objectively viewed my current state, it seemed more fitting to rest and recover than to fight. But I decided not to think negatively.

“Was I ever not like this? Just getting this far is already an achievement.”

After all, among those trying to stab me in the back, I had taken out two, and one hadn’t even revealed his true intent! Plus, if I had made it to my objective alive, that meant I had accomplished half of my goal. I collected my thoughts and spoke to Jeon Wook.

“Jeon Wook, the ceremony is about to start, but it seems only three Emperors are present.”

Just as I said, among the eight seats, there were only three beings seated, including Jeon Wook. Since those I recognized were only Jeon Wook, Jeogok, and Shao Hao, it was clear that no one else had come. Jeon Wook then said coldly.

“They all perished—Nüwa, Fuxi, and Shennong. And for reasons unknown, Yu Shun has also vanished, so now, only the Emperor remains to come here.”

“Umm… you don’t mean…”

“Could be. Since you moved on your own…”

As he spoke, Jeon Wook suddenly pointed a finger towards me.

Killing intent?!

Startled by the sudden surge of malice, I quickly summoned the mirror of the Moon Sovereign Three Divine Tools before me and saw a dark spear shooting from the tip of Jeon Wook’s finger.

KABOOM!!

I felt a wave of pressure and got knocked back. As I landed and regained my stance, I looked at the mirror of the Moon Sovereign, which, unsurprisingly, was shattered. I was stunned and said to Jeon Wook.

“Why are you suddenly attacking me?!”

“Is that all you can muster? You clearly haven’t grasped your power…”

“What do you mean…?”

Sigh…

Jeon Wook let out a sigh as if feeling pity and stated with a sharp gaze.

“Your strength is much weaker than we anticipated because you entered here before recovering the Six Needs. Your magical power and causality are disappointingly low! That’s why I tried to trigger the divine power that lies dormant within you, yet it seems it’s still in slumber.”

“……!!”

“Under these conditions, there’s no chance of winning. You won’t even scratch the Emperor with your strength. Even if you utilize the power of the ‘Mask’ we gave you, it would be meaningless.”

I realized what Jeon Wook wanted.

‘…Heuk Woong!!’

He must have just attacked with the dark spear to see if I had awakened the dormant potential of Heuk Woong inside me! The fact that he didn’t use causality manipulation clearly indicated his intent for me to block it with the dark spear. However, seeing that I couldn’t use that power right now seemed to disappoint him.

At that moment, Jeogok, who had been observing the situation from behind, spoke up.

“Given the situation, there’s only one way.”

As Jeogok drew everyone’s attention, he leisurely continued.

“Bai Woong, hurry up and remove our ‘Mask.’”

“Th-that’s…”

“If you’re not going to be of any help, we have no choice but to unleash our true potential to fight the Emperor.”

Shit… so they’re going down that route? While it made sense when thinking about the situation, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this might not be a good idea.

‘…What happens if I remove the Masks of the Three Sovereigns…?’

I had never removed their Masks before, so I had no clue what would happen.

For now, my goal was just to meet Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen here.

Thus, judging whether releasing the powers of the Three Sovereigns would benefit or hinder me was exceedingly tricky. But no matter how clear my thoughts were right now, I couldn’t prepare for this unknown situation.

It had been ages since I felt so clueless.

Just as I hesitated, Shao Hao, sitting off to the side, yelled.

“Hurry up!! You useless fool! Trusting you was a mistake!”

“Wait a moment…”

Shao Hao’s eyes seemed to glimmer with rage.

“By disregarding our plan and moving how you like, how do you intend to explain this disaster? Should I kill you first?”

Hiss…

Seeing the shimmering light of destruction radiating from Shao Hao, it was evident he was furious. If he got any angrier, he might just kill me without a second thought, so I realized it was no longer the time for excuses.

I reluctantly approached Jeon Wook, who was the closest, and raised my hand.

“Alright, I’ll remove it.”

[…….]

When I met Jeon Wook’s gaze, he stared at me for a moment before shaking his head and unexpectedly said,

“I’ll go last.”

“Huh?”

“Do the others first.”

“Why not?”

“Got it.”

Although I was bewildered, I resolved to do as Jeon Wook said and went to Shao Hao, right next to me.

“You jerk…. I’m going to peel off your skin and fry you.”

“I-I’ll remove it.”

Then, directing my intent toward Shao Hao, I unleashed the Intent Heavenly Pillar to activate the Ultimate Technique.

Technique of All Things!

Remove the Mask!

With a blast, my Technique of All Things struck Shao Hao’s avatar’s face. And in that moment, beyond the Technique of All Things, I sensed not just the superficial avatar but Shao Hao’s true body and trembled at its immense size. Feeling the overwhelming magical power capable of annihilating the universe made my entire body tremble for a moment.

‘Ugh… yes, indeed this is the Three Sovereigns…’

I’d faced foes on par with the Three Sovereigns and even surpassed many Demon Kings before, but the real deal was something else entirely. With a mere thought, they could shake galaxies, and their cosmic magical power and authority were clearly on a different level. Realizing I was still far from reaching their status, I tried to peel the Mask off with the sensation of scraping away only the dirty parts from the mud.

Clunk!

‘Huh?!’

The issue was that unlike when I’d peeled my own Mask, although I could initially detect the Mask’s position, the moment I grabbed the outside of it, it felt strangely stuck as if it had been nailed to that spot. I absolutely couldn’t remove Shao Hao’s Mask with the Technique of All Things.

‘What’s going on?!’

I was sweating nervously. No matter how hard I pushed with all my might, this was definitely different from when I removed my own Mask before. I hadn’t expected it to be this difficult, and just as I was panicking, suddenly, the voice of Cheon Woo-jin echoed in my mind.

“Remember when you promised to do anything last time?”

“……!!”

I jumped, and Cheon Woo-jin continued.

“Answer me.”

Surely he meant when I removed the Apostle’s Mask with the Technique of All Things last time?

…We did promise!

Was he saying it’s time to pay back that debt?

After a moment of silence, Cheon Woo-jin elaborated.

“Traditionally, it’s hard to remove the Mask of a higher being with the Technique of All Things. You’d need to step beyond the Cycle of Martial Arts to do so, but while the Technique of All Things is tied to the Martial God, it’s impossible for it to affect someone like a higher being. Do you know why?”

What is it?

“The Masks placed on the Three Sovereigns and the Apostles are all of the same kind… a curse and restraint originating from a ‘single being.’ The Technique of All Things belongs to the ‘same category,’ and thus has the potential to peel off the Mask. However, it’s inherently impossible for the lower beings to oppose the higher ones, meaning the Technique of All Things has its own limits…. If we consider the success rate, you must at least be on par with your opponent.”

……?

“So right now, it’s impossible to remove the Masks of the Three Sovereigns, but… just like last time, I’ll overcome that gap with my computational power. However, consuming computational power means you’ll have fewer resources to assist you in any other unexpected situations…”

Cheon Woo-jin seemed to clarify as if confirming something.

“Your choice right now isn’t wrong. But there’s no guarantee that it’s right. Still, do you want to attempt to remove the Masks of the Three Sovereigns?”

I don’t even know why….

It’s neither right nor wrong, yet you keep asking me about it?

“As a strong AI, I can’t predict what happens next.”

Can’t predict?

“Yeah… Without a doubt, this is a monumental fork in your past life. Once you pass this moment, you can never return to before that fork. Such is the gravity of the event, hence the reason for my warning as a supporter.”

…….

“What will you do?”

I pondered deeply over Cheon Woo-jin’s words. I might think it’s easy to just remove the Mask, yet somehow, I felt like I could possibly talk my way out of it. But I recognize that there must be some significance behind this act of peeling off the Mask.

After a long deliberation, I finally shouted towards my inner self.

I will remove Shao Hao’s Mask!!

“Got it.”

Crack!!

In that instant, just like when I removed the Apostle’s Mask before, I felt a powerful force surge through my fingertips with the Technique of All Things. This force felt as if an invisible hand was helping me, gradually peeling the firmly fixed Mask off from the tip. It felt still a bit stuck, but I sensed that with just a little more strength, I’d be able to remove it.

Cheon Woo-jin is helping me!

“Wooow… Wooooow…!!”

Suddenly, Shao Hao in front of me started to make unexplained noises. At first glance, it seemed like he was in pain, but upon closer inspection, it was closer to ecstasy. It felt like a mix of the torment and joy of squeezing out old pus.

Snap…

‘Ugh, this is taking a bit too long…’

I noticed beads of sweat rolling down my forehead, realizing there was still a snag preventing the Mask from coming off. It felt as if there was a hook caught inside, and pulling it out forcefully seemed like it would destroy the Mask.

‘Should I just break the Mask to get it off? Or should I skillfully remove the hook…’

Using the sensibility of the Great Road of the Sea King, I weighed which option was correct, and I felt the latter was better. It seemed that breaking the Mask to remove it would lead to more trouble. Carefully focusing on the feel of my fingers, I controlled my strength, concentrating on the space between the Mask and the hook.

…If I lift it slightly here, then when it gathers, twist it around once, and then pull…

‘Got it!’

In that moment, as I pulled the Mask from the hook, my Technique of All Things made a sound of emptiness, and I successfully peeled Shao Hao’s Mask off! As I held the Mask, it became something very solid, and I couldn’t help but let out an unknown sense of satisfaction, grinning widely.

“Ha ha ha! This is it!”

“Oooh….”

I left the ecstatic Shao Hao behind as I glanced at the Mask in my hand. And as I looked closer, I gasped in surprise.

“……?! Holy crap!”

I couldn’t help but scream.

Because the Mask had transformed into the face of a human!

‘Whose face is this?!’

The face was with closed eyes, but it radiated life as if it was alive, and I could even feel its warmth. The eeriness of having what seemed like living skin removed made me shudder, and I instinctively knew this face was indeed alive.

Could this be the true face of Sovereign Shao Hao?

N-no, that can’t be right. Shao Hao is an “Old Ruler” who’s been around for billions of years, well before humanity began! There’s no way he’d make a mask of a mere human face!

…Hold on a second, this is definitely a mask?

Amidst my confusion, I realized something felt odd. Of course, this isn’t Shao Hao’s face. Because Shao Hao is….

‘Now that I think about it, I feel like I’ve seen this face somewhere before….’

I couldn’t get a clear impression as the Mask only revealed the forehead, but somehow, this was an image I recognized. However, none of my acquaintances had a similar face, and I knew this visage had crossed my hazy memories.

At least among my companions, there’s no one with a face like that.

Just who on earth is this face on the Mask?

While I was bewildered, suddenly Shao Hao inflated dramatically and burst out into manic laughter.

“Kha ha ha ha ha!! At last… I reclaim my sealed essence!”

Boom!

It sounded like destruction itself erupted in the hall. After a flurry of gray flashes swirled for a while, Shao Hao’s vast magical energy began to permeate the chamber, filling it with a prickling sensation.

Uuuh….

“Cough.”

I staggered momentarily. I thought I was fairly immune to chaos, but the density of the power radiating from Shao Hao was beyond imagination, making my mind go hazy and my skin feel like it was darkening. I could sense that the strength he possessed was a few times stronger than what I had seen before.

Kugugu

The silver phoenix embodiment of Shao Hao began to reveal itself in the area. However, on his wings, the black and white coloration intermingled, while golden radiance erupted from his feathers. After a moment, Shao Hao declared.

“The powers of destruction have finally merged with the powers of the stars, becoming complete.”

As I stood there dazed, Jeogok pressed me, saying.

“What are you doing? It’s my turn now.”

“Ah, okay. Then….”

Just as I went to approach Jeogok, an unexpectedly strange laughter echoed throughout the hall.

“Hah hah hah hah hah….”

What is this?!

I flinched and scanned for the source of that laughing sound, only to find it was coming from my own hand. Cautiously lifting the Mask, I saw the human face etched on it grinning with closed eyes, expressing a melodic laugh.

“Hah hah hah hah hah!!”

What a bizarre occurrence.

As soon as I removed the Masks of the Three Sovereigns, what in the world is happening?

I, along with the other two Sovereigns nearby, froze in shock, observing the scene when suddenly the Mask levitated on its own, slipping from my grip.

“What!”

I had a firm hold on it—why did it slip away?

I hastily reached for the Mask that had distanced itself from me, but it seemed forever out of reach, as if time and space were distancing it from me, and I realized this was a form of a power.

Swish, swish, swish…

Then, shortly afterward, limbs and a human body began to sprout from that face. Holding the face in midair, the Mask rapidly transformed into a human body, dressed in celestial garments typical of the Celestial Realm.

The being that had suddenly turned human from the Mask still kept its eyes shut but grinned and said.

“O Emperors! It’s been a long time since we’ve met.”

[…….]

Among the three Sovereigns staring incredulously at this entity, it was Jeon Wook who spoke first.

“Is it Hong Gyun Do-in?”

“`

 

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