---

“I wasn’t too worried about Hermes showing up.”

Sure, that dude was also a Demon God and could be called an “Old Ruler,” but I had knocked him out once before in a different universe.

But surprisingly, my teammates were acting a bit different.

‘Huh?’

Tremble tremble

“Huff… Huff….”

Mangnyang’s eyes were bloodshot, and he was gasping, practically paralyzed by the demonic aura. Though he’d trained in the Three Sovereigns’ Inner Gate and become a pretty good sorcerer, he seemed like a total lightweight here.

“Hmm….”

“Oh my….”

Even Asura, who was way stronger than Mangnyang, and Seimei looked pretty tense from Hermes’s aura. Seeing my friends all squished down made me feel awkward for a second.

‘Sure, it’s intimidating, but is it that serious…?’

Either way, it looked like Mangnyang’s mental strength was about to hit the limit, so I quickly sent divine power his way in the form of a blessing. Giving divine power this way was super draining unless they were a messenger or avatar, but it seemed worth it to resist the demonic energy.

Finally snapping out of it, Mangnyang said with great effort, “Be… careful… That guy is the biggest blackmailer in the current imperial palace… He surely is a Demon God!”

“……”

Despite Mangnyang’s urgent warning, I just scratched my head, feeling unimpressed.

Hermes, watching this, chuckled and said, “Hahaha… Mortals. Don’t sweat it. I’m not here to wipe you out today.”

I looked up at Hermes and shot back, “Then why are you here?”

“To claim this place as my territory.”

“What?!”

Woosh!

In the next instant, a massive serpent aura erupted from Hermes’s staff, and at the same time, a complicated magic circle, dotted with hundreds of intricate symbols, instantly covered the sacred altar tree peak. Seeing the circle, Seimei let out a gasp.

“Such overwhelming magical power…! How can such a being wield that much strength in this world without draining the Law of Cause and Effect?!”

In response, Hermes seemed to hear Seimei’s words and replied, “Oh, so the defender of Dongyoung is here. How about joining my ranks?”

“……”

“I promise to protect your Dongyoung and give you a position under my rule. You seem like a decent enough fighter.”

It looked like Hermes was well aware of Seimei’s identity. Seimei, after a brief pause, responded, “I refuse. You might look human, but you are a dark and evil existence… Joining forces with you is akin to allying with evil itself!”

Hermes chuckled, “Hahaha… To be told this by someone who has reached the pinnacle of demon magic is quite a compliment. How amusing.”

But then his gaze turned feral, “There will be no second chances… Insolent fool!”

Crack!

In that moment, Seimei seemed to explode. It was so sudden that I couldn’t react in time, and as I turned, I saw Seimei completely charred like burnt charcoal. He trembled, spewing dark blood before collapsing.

“Cough…!”

Thump

“Seimei!”

I was dumbfounded. Could Seimei really have fallen in one hit?

He was armored with the legendary weapon Mjolnir and, being a semi-divine entity hosting half the body of the sun god Amaterasu, he had trained in yin-yang arts for thousands of years. No way someone could take him down so easily; not even the Master of the White Lotus Sect or the experts of the celestial realm could manage that.

Hermes remarked, “I intended to turn him to dust, but at least he didn’t die, proving he was a decent guardian. Hahaha…”

“You little…!”

I gritted my teeth and glared at Hermes as he said, “So you must be Soeul’s Village Chief, Baek Woong. I have an offer for you… Will you join my ranks?”

“……”

It hit me that he had no clue about my real powers. Of course, the sacred altar tree peak had strong suppressive energy, and I hadn’t needed to use my divine strength here, so I had kept it low-key. Unlike other divine beings, I had maintained my human form while gaining divine powers, so if I concealed my strength like this, it wouldn’t be easy for someone to detect.

‘He probably only knows my strength from the 30th cycle as “Soeul’s Village Chief”… He has no clue about my growth since entering the outer universe.’

I decided to play that angle and replied bluntly, “I asked first, so answer me properly. What do you mean by making this your territory?”

“Heh heh… It means this.”

Fwoosh…!

In the next moment, a colossal magic circle of the heavens was summoned by Hermes, unleashing dark lightning all around as if it formed sticky pillars connecting the magic circle and the sacred altar tree peak. As these pillars rooted in a circular pattern around the peak, Hermes clenched his fists, adopting a pull-in posture.

Rumble!

“……!”

The entire sacred altar shook violently, resonating a massive roar. Mangnyang, witnessing this, gasped.

“Th-this… Is he actually trying to pull the sacred altar out with magic?!”

“……?!”

Huh?! He can do that?!

I was stunned at the thought and turned to Hermes, who just smirked and waved his staff again, which made the floating ships of the Master of the Twelve Joules start to disappear from reality.

Shushshushsh!

Seeing what he was up to, I finally realized what was happening and said incredulously, “Y-you thief! You’re trying to snatch not only the sacred altar but all the weapons belonging to the Master of the Twelve Joules?!”

“Hahaha! Precisely. I never expected a mere mortal like the Master of the Twelve Joules to hide such strength—this is quite the windfall!”

“What? You weren’t planning to take the sacred altar from the start?”

“No. I came to recruit the Master of the Twelve Joules. I didn’t expect the barrier of the World Tree to suddenly break, and I was hoping to recruit him, but now it feels like an even greater gain!”

“……”

“So let me ask again. Will you be my subordinate? If you decline, you will end up like Seimei!”

I glanced at the charred Seimei lying there and cautiously replied to Hermes, “What’s your end game? There’s no way you could defeat the Three Sovereigns who truly control this world just by getting the sacred altar.”

“Curious, are we?”

“Even if you took me on as a subordinate, grabbing a hold of a lifeline without hope isn’t my style. You shouldn’t think I’d hesitate to ask that question either.”

“Hooh… That’s a rational thought!”

As I calmly responded, Hermes looked at me with approval.

“Seems fair enough. Surprisingly, you look like you may have great potential, so I’ll share a bit with you.”

“……”

“You’re correct; even if I get the sacred altar, I wouldn’t defeat all the Three Sovereigns. But my goal isn’t to fight them directly. Instead, I intend to summon those strong enough to crush them into this world.”

“……?!”

“And of course, with the sacred altar’s magical power boosting mine, I’ll be strong enough to overwhelm the playing field,” he added with a chuckle.

Summon?!

That was a twist I didn’t expect, and it made sense of a lot of Hermes’s ambiguous actions until now. I was curious and asked, “Who do you plan to summon that would allow you to take down the Three Sovereigns?”

Hermes just smirked as I asked.

“You foolish fool. Why would I reveal that even if you agreed to be my subordinate?”

“Hmmm….”

“I offered you free information, and now it’s time for you to decide if you’ll be my subordinate!”

It seemed futile to extract more information, so I replied to Hermes, “Sorry, but I can’t be your subordinate. It’s awfully brazen of you after leaving my comrade Seimei in this state!”

“Hehe! Silly… You just threw away your last chance to live!”

With that, Hermes’s eyes lit up with bloodlust, and at the same moment, countless blades of light were summoned around me, slicing through time and space effortlessly.

Swish!

“Baek Woong!”

Mangnyang’s scream pierced the air. As expected, Hermes’s magic was of a nature that disregarded space-time itself, making it impossible to dodge at the last moment. It was one of the most vicious spells designed to kill before you even realized it, and it had the power to cut down even a Great Immortal like Dae Ra in one blow. Even in the celestial realm, only the top-tier fighters could escape injury from such an attack.

Yet, I frowned and said, “Ouch!”

“……?!”

Hermes, floating in the sky, seemed shocked. The swords of light hadn’t hurt me at all; it was as if they had brushed against my skin. Sure, I felt a slight sting as if my skin had been grazed by some twigs, but the magic didn’t harm me.

That’s only logical. I had already gathered my divine power all over my body, meaning his instant spell was doing nothing to me.

“This guy…?! Is it possible?!”

Hermes seemed to realize something, but I just grinned and clasped my hands together, activating Trimurti.

“If you were using martial arts, I would’ve matched that, but as you are an evil sorcerer, I’ll respond with pure authority!”

Trimurti!

As I unleashed Trimurti, I resolved to efficiently combine three powers.

‘Since he’s the strongest demon sorcerer, he must have every magical barrier prepped to counter attacks. Let’s go for a combination that can break through his magic walls!’

First off, I channeled the power of Shiva, the most destructive energy. It was absolutely essential for smashing barriers, so I couldn’t leave that out.

‘Next, let’s pull out that worst spell, Tetragrammaton, which I used to obliterate Hermes!’

The catch being that I had only activated it with Cheon Woo-jin’s help before, so I didn’t exactly know how to initiate it properly. As I pondered, trying to find the best addition for the combo, something hit me.

‘Oh? Then…’

Suddenly, I spotted the various [Names] etched on my forearm. An off-the-wall idea crossed my mind.

‘Could the [Names] listed here also be compatible with Trimurti?’

Hadn’t considered that before, huh?

Curious, I scanned through the list of names, intending to pick one to combine.

[?????]

[???]

[*]

[@@@]

[@@@]

[@@]

[Powerful, strong, and super fast ancient spider]

[Cunning and sweet ambush specialist ancient spider]

[Ki^ #ho]

[Yuun (有信)]

[Hang-a]

[Heuk Woong]

[Adam Cadmon]

[Saitan]

[Golden]

[Izanagi no Mikoto]

It seemed the name of the [Legendary Abyssal Rampaging Chaos Mega Mutant Blood Crab], which I’d snagged in Aokigahara Life Sea, had been offered to four great spirit deities, and thus vanished. I decided to choose two names from those available.

‘Fine! Excluding the invisible names… and weak ones like ancient spider… Then first up, let’s use Saitan!’

Saitan hailed from the heavenly realm, so I figured he’d resonate well with this guy. Already, the combination of Shiva and Saitan felt excessive, so I could pick the last name without worry.

‘Then… what if I go with all angelic origin? Last would be Adam Cadmon!’

Once the powers of Shiva, Saitan, and Adam Cadmon fused into Trimurti, a red gemstone glimmered. Moments later, a gigantic giant appeared before me with an unidentifiable radiance.

Kuguguung!

“……!”

The giant was as massive as a mountain range! Seeing this colossal figure shocked me, while Hermes, floating off in the distance, seemed equally stunned.

“A-Adam Cadmon? How on earth did you get here?!”

And lo and behold.

It was none other than winged Adam Cadmon!

Flap!

The giant Adam Cadmon spread his body-wide wings and lifted off without touching the ground. The sight of a mountain-sized giant taking flight with his even larger wings was reminiscent of a scene from the mythological age, with the sheer wind force rush threatening to blow the sacred altar tree away.

Reaching the stratosphere with astonishing speed, Adam Cadmon roared in a resounding voice.

“This is the Law of Cause and Effect, Hermes! You wicked sorcerer who deceived me to become a Demiurge and let yourself be devoured by the outer messenger… today marks your last day!”

Goooh!

A massive depraved gem materialized behind Adam Cadmon, its size far exceeding hundreds of moons, looming like a celestial body. Adam Cadmon quickly charged at Hermes.

Human King Technique!

月 (Akasha’s Moon)

KaBoom!

Hermes seemed to scream but couldn’t even manage a sound before getting annihilated by the gem that collided with him. Whatever the reason, that gem seemed to nullify all the magical barriers and protections Hermes had set up.

“……!”

What the heck?! Adam Cadmon was this strong?!

No matter how impressive it was to have summoned him with Trimurti and gain Shiva and Saitan’s abilities, I never expected he’d take out Hermes that easily, which only deepened my astonishment. After vanquishing Hermes, Adam Cadmon shrank from mountain-sized to estimated palm-sized in an instant before teleporting back to me.

Swish

The giant with wings, Adam Cadmon, gazed at me with ghostly eyes.

“Thank you for avenging me, my master!”

“I didn’t think you’d actually be summoned… How did that happen?”

“All of this is the Law of Cause and Effect. While all forms are sanctioned by Trimurti, since the opponent has a grudge against me, Trimurti activated in the best way to resolve the cause and effect.”

“……!”

So that’s how it works!

Aside from that newfound realization about Trimurti, I understood that its combination techniques could lead to new forms tailored to the situation’s cause and effect. Struck with this inspiration, I addressed Adam Cadmon.

“So that Hermes was the one who trapped you in the outer messenger’s disguise?”

“Indeed. He tricked me into thinking I could become a Demiurge… Though I was coaxed by the outer messenger, transporting me across universes only ended with me sacrificed as a tribute to ensure his own safe passage into this world…”

“Ah!”

“Since I was the king of mankind and inherited all the blessings of archangels, I must’ve made an excellent offering.”

Now the whole situation started falling into place. I had always been puzzled as to why this demon-sorcerer Hermes was in our world out of nowhere. It turned out, while crossing from the outer universe using Qliphoth’s power, Hermes had offered Adam Cadmon’s soul to the outer messenger! That’s how the otherworldly sorcery of Kabbalah emerged in this universe, thanks to the links formed via Simon Magus and Zhuge Sa.

Just then, a sense of unease hit me.

“Didn’t you used to resent me? After all, you were about to teach me magic when I suddenly absorbed you with the [Name].”

“I did. But I came to learn so much more about you while existing within the [Name]. So I ended up finding it better to serve you as my master.”

“What? What do you know about me?”

“……”

As if he didn’t want to answer, Adam Cadmon slowly extended his hand towards Seimei, still charred beside us.

Pah!

In that instant, Seimei reverted to normal, completely healed! He glanced down at himself in disbelief, having realized his pain vanished.

“No way! No matter how many healing spells I threw at myself, I couldn’t recover… what just happened?”

“Sorcerer of the otherworld. Hermes’s magic was rooted in Kabbalah, making it beyond the reach of your healing arts. Hence I healed you using my World Tree authority.”

“Hmm… the World Tree…”

“Time’s running out for my summoning…”

Adam Cadmon turned to me and continued, “My master. Hermes isn’t dead yet. Though I’ve dealt him significant injury, he drew his magical energy from his wicked true form and fled.”

“Really…?”

It was as I expected, so I frowned. Despite being heavily wounded, I knew Hermes didn’t die just because of such a clean escape. Still, I found some comfort in thinking he likely suffered a serious injury, like losing an arm.

I responded to Adam Cadmon, “I’ll personally finish Hermes myself. By the way, what is it you know about me?”

“…… The limitation on me due to taboo prevents me from saying much. But the names inscribed on your forearm are no ordinary entities; they are astonishing beings…”

“What?”

“My master. You should uncover the identity of the topmost name inscribed on your forearm. They may unveil your true nature…”

Paf!

In an instant, Adam Cadmon vanished. Apparently, the time limit for his summoning was up.

At that moment, I glanced at my forearm, noticing Adam Cadmon’s name had faded, barely legible anymore.

‘Right, once a name gets used for summoning, I can’t invoke it again until it recovers…’

As I pondered this new piece of knowledge, Mangnyang beside me exclaimed, “Baek Woong! You’ve gained some incredible power!”

“Well… a lot happened in the outer universe. I trained and built my strength while surviving.”

“What’s the plan now?”

“As if it needs to be asked.”

I smirked and replied, “I’m heading straight to the imperial palace to deal with Hermes.”

It’d be foolish to wait for an injured beast to recover.

I’ll finish Hermes off while he’s down!

‘Once I get rid of Hermes, I’ll return for the Master of the Twelve Joules!’

With a flash, I teleported with my party to the imperial palace in Luoyang. But somehow, the moment we arrived, something unexpected caught my eye.

“What’s that?”

Gooohhh!

A massive divine tree towered where the imperial palace once stood, reaching up as though it pierced the heavens. It was clearly abnormal, but Seimei murmured as though he expected this.

“It seems that the Demon God Hermes had the seed of the World Tree as his hidden card. And he must have sprouted it through human sacrifice.”

“Wait… what’s that mean for the people of Luoyang?”

“They’ve likely all become sustenance for the tree.”

“Ugh.”

I felt a knot form in my stomach. Even if I hadn’t fully accepted it yet, after being whisked away to the outer universe during my 30th cycle, I couldn’t imagine Hermes going this far. Thinking back, it seemed that taking on Hermes early on in cycle 30 would have been quite the challenge.

I clenched my fists and declared, “Hermes… I’ll never let you go!”

“For sure. He really is a guy you want to deliver a beatdown to.”

“……!”

Then suddenly, a voice drew our attention, causing us to look. An ominous presence had appeared without a sound nearby.

From the darkness behind a rock, a figure emerged, grinning.

“I’m sorry, but I have a prior engagement with Hermes.”

I recognized that entity immediately.

“……Primordial Void Ruler.”

 

---