1314——————==

Soul of the Evil God

An auction, you say?

Whew!

In the next moment, a white screen like a spear popped up before the Eight Parts of the Divine and also in front of me and Lee Hwan-woong. As Lee Hwan-woong glanced at the screen, he mumbled.

“Is this the so-called status screen I’ve only heard about? Truly otherworldly….”

“Huh?”

Lee Hwan-woong tried to poke at the screen with his finger, only for it to pass right through, leaving him scratching his head in embarrassment.

“Uh… doesn’t seem like it?”

“…….”

What a ridiculous fellow….

While I was bewildered, I felt the King of the Life Sea communicating with all of us in a grand voice.

[First, write your desires here for the purpose of your presence…]

With a swish, a silver pen like a writing tool appeared in one hand. He wanted us to write our objectives, but one of the Celestials in the Eight Parts of the Divine scoffed.

[You’re kidding, right? Our king must have passed by here, so what do you intend to test us with?]

[…….]

[Just stop this pointless charade.]

At those words, the King of the Life Sea seemed to ponder briefly, and then replied with a hint of laughter in his voice.

[Heh…. Yes…. Chi You might have passed through here. Regardless of whether it’s a formality, write what you desire in this space.]

[What if we don’t want to?]

[If not, you will be disqualified from participating in the auction. The choice is yours.]

Silence.

A strange stillness flowed as if everyone was waiting for a cue, and I glanced at the distant Eight Parts of the Divine, thinking.

‘The King of the Life Sea… wants to toy with the Divine.’

I wasn’t sure if I should go along with the King’s intentions. Regardless, getting rid of the Eight Parts of the Divine would be beneficial for me. After a moment of deliberation, I made a decision.

‘Let’s pretend I don’t know anything.’

Then what should I write down?

‘It would be best to simply write that I want to escape with my companions peacefully from this place.’

There was no need to reveal any ulterior motives to the King of the Life Sea. After all, once the Eight Parts of the Divine were eliminated, there would be no need to deal with the Life Sea any longer, and getting tangled up with the King wouldn’t yield any benefits. After quickly writing everything down, I waited for about half a sit and noticed the King of the Life Sea raising his hand.

Swish!

The white screen that had been before us disappeared. The King of the Life Sea began reading the screen that floated around him, and suddenly, a mouth appeared on the blank face as it grinned unpleasantly.

[Heh heh… I see….]

Then the King of the Life Sea spoke.

[You all came here with different desires to this place of death. As the ruler of this estate, I am more than willing to grant your wishes. However…. I must inform you that I cannot grant wishes for free.]

[If not for free, then how?]

[This is an auction.]

The King of the Life Sea spread his arms wide. With a ringing sound, a golden circular structure resembling some significant artifact appeared before us, emitting a sense of chaotic energy. The King continued.

[From now on, the wishes you wrote down will be randomly up for auction. If you bid and become the ultimate victor, I will grant that person their wish without fail.]

[What is this nonsense….]

[But I don’t care whether or not you fulfill others’ wishes, so let’s add one more rule….]

[What rule is that?]

[If you bid on someone else’s wish and win, you acquire the right to fulfill that wish. However, if you don’t like that right, I’ll grant you one use of the outer universe return privilege instead… or provide you with one of the strongest commands I know at random.]

[……!!]

At that moment, the Celestial who had been responding to the King of the Life Sea looked greatly startled. Then he cautiously asked.

[Interesting! What happens to someone whose wish was bid on by others?]

[They naturally cannot fulfill their wish and have it taken from them, becoming my subordinate forever…. Unless they are rescued before the auction ends, of course.]

[…But what if the cost of fulfilling wishes becomes insufficient for all bidders?]

[In that case, it will be settled by a duel among the bidders.]

The Celestial smirked, as if finally understanding something.

[I see. Understood.]

[Also, any type of wish cannot include “all” or a multiplicity in its conditions. While it’s not impossible, some limitations must apply. I will provide the details when asked at that time….]

[…This won’t be easy.]

Listening to the King of the Life Sea, I shouted.

“Hey!! I’m not interested in participating in this auction anymore, just let me out!!”

I meant it. Based on experience, I had never seen anything good come from proposals made by those in the class of the Old Ruler. It would be a hundred times better to escape from this place than recklessly ask for some absurd outer universe return privilege or spell!

‘Anyway, the Eight Parts of the Divine will probably just cause chaos and disappear on their own. I refuse to serve the King of the Life Sea!’

Then the King of the Life Sea spoke with a voice mixed with laughter.

[Heh…. There is no right to refuse. Since you have come this far without formally challenging this place of death, your lives are already at my mercy…. If you want to do nothing and be humiliated by me, feel free!]

“What?!”

“Hold on.”

I protested loudly, but just then, Lee Hwan-woong quickly spoke up beside me.

“Are those who seem to be Baek Woong’s companions also participating in this auction?”

In response to Lee Hwan-woong’s question, the King of the Life Sea replied.

[Of course….]

“Then why can’t we see them?”

[I want to see Baek Woong’s abilities.]

That unexpected answer left me puzzled.

“My abilities?”

[I know you…. The Sea God is eyeing you and has sent his subordinates to gather information on the Sea of Heaven and Earth as we speak…. Perhaps a fate bound by the duel born of a destiny unknown even to the Sea God….]

“……”

[I want to see what kind of person the Sea God’s archenemy really is. If you can demonstrate what you can do without your companions’ help, then you could receive substantial benefits and be freed here.]

It seemed the King of the Life Sea hadn’t caught onto the fact that I was a Reborn Person.

“Nonsense.”

I muttered as if spitting it out. I did not like the feeling of being toyed with by the King of the Life Sea. Then Lee Hwan-woong spoke to me.

“Baek Woong. It might be better to engage in the auction for now?”

“Winning would be fortunate, but if I lose, I’ll become that guy’s subordinate, so I can’t just rashly choose.”

“Anyway, fighting head-on has little chance of success. What can we do when we have no right to refuse?”

“…….”

“Let’s come up with a strategy and do our best for now. Complaining won’t help us.”

“…I guess you’re right.”

I acknowledged that Lee Hwan-woong was correct and spoke to the King of the Life Sea.

“I will participate! But there’s a condition.”

[What condition is that?]

“I don’t need any outer universe return privileges or spells. I want all my companions to escape!”

[Oh….]

The King of the Life Sea thought for a moment, then said amusedly.

[Alright. But know that you will only be able to save one person each time you win.]

“I understand. What happens to the wish of the one who escapes?”

[It will be considered as if it never existed.]

After the King of the Life Sea answered, he slowly gestured with his hand.

[I will begin in ten minutes…. Until then, I will grant you the opportunity to modify your previously written wishes with the silver pen again.]

Woosh!

Once more, the silver pen and white screen appeared before my eyes, displaying the wish I had just written. As I made a wiping motion with my hand, the writing disappeared too.

[Develop a strategy on your own….]

Woosh!

A moment later, a large white circular barrier surrounded us, obscuring the external scenery. The Eight Parts of the Divine were likely encircled in a similar manner.

I turned to Lee Hwan-woong and asked.

“A strategy? What kind are you talking about?”

“Just to let you know, my winning conditions differ from yours.”

Lee Hwan-woong sat down heavily and pulled out a combat knife from his possession, carefully trimming his nails while he spoke.

“My original goal is to return to my world. In contrast, your goal is to escape from here while simultaneously getting your companions out.”

“…….”

“But you promised me earlier. You said you’d help me return to my world. Since I am the priority, it would be great if you’d ignore the stake and assist me.”

“Do you think that’ll work? If I lose in this auction, I’ll become a subordinate of the King of the Life Sea.”

“As long as we both win, it’ll be fine.”

Lee Hwan-woong grinned.

“Let’s make sure the Eight Parts of the Divine bleed. It’s entirely possible.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“The wishes in the auction will be limited. My guess is that the Eight Parts of the Divine came here desiring to meet Chi You, so their wish will be to [cross the outer universe]. Yours is the safe return of your companions, and mine is my own return. In total, we have three kinds of wishes.”

“Hmm…. That seems right.”

“The basic strategy will be for you to bid against the Eight Parts of the Divine for your companions’ wishes. They must have all input the wish to [cross the outer universe], so you’ll have six chances to win it back.”

“……?”

I stood there, not fully processing what he was saying.

“So, I have to snatch the Eight Parts of the Divine’s wishes?”

Lee Hwan-woong looked at me with a confused expression.

“Hmm? Wasn’t that what you were thinking when you included the escape for your companions? If you want to save all three of your companions, you’ll need to win at least three times. And if you’re thinking of escaping yourself, you’ll need to succeed at least four times.”

“Uh…. Obviously, I got that basic idea. But can’t we just leave them alone?”

“Uh?”

“If we let their desire to cross the outer universe be, it’ll vanish naturally, right?”

Lee Hwan-woong grinned, appearing to understand something from that remark.

“You know, it’s impossible to cross over without a hitch, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“Hm…. You’re more cunning than you appear.”

Lee Hwan-woong mumbled and then said.

“It may vanish on its own, but you still need to realize your own desire to escape. You can’t just let it slide!”

“Hmm….”

“And if you steal their wishes, that will mean they will become the King of the Life Sea’s subordinates forever. You may also fulfill your goal of eliminating the Eight Parts of the Divine.”

“Is that so….”

“One more thing. The Eight Parts of the Divine will be bidding to snatch your companions’ wishes.”

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you notice earlier?”

Lee Hwan-woong lowered his voice as he continued.

“From the perspective of the Eight Parts of the Divine, giving up their precious treasures and forcing all six to cross the outer universe won’t have enough payoff. The least they can do for minimal cost is to snatch your desires. Why? Because if they steal it, they automatically get one use of the outer universe return privilege.”

“……!!”

“If the Eight Parts of the Divine are the Demon King, then naturally they will beat the humans and snatch their wishes.”

Gasp?! Was that so?!

I was genuinely shocked as I hadn’t considered that at all. Seeing this expression on my face, Lee Hwan-woong was also taken aback and said.

“Uh… Huh? Were you really caught napping on that one?”

“Yeah. I didn’t really understand what you were saying…”

“……”

After a brief silence, Lee Hwan-woong, who was carefully managing his expression, said.

“Well, anyway, that’s the same for us too. I don’t know how many treasures you have, but to bring back all four of them while also sending me back to the outer universe, it’s probably impossible.”

“Hmm. That would be the case.”

“In the end, the only strategy left is to steal each other’s wishes. The only troubling part is that you haven’t coordinated with your companions.”

“Why is that?”

“You probably wished for the safe return of your companions, right? If your companions are smart, that may not be the case. If they devised some unnecessary strategy, things could get complicated.”

“……?”

“Ugh…. This is getting a bit too much… I’d elaborate more, but there’s no time.”

Lee Hwan-woong scratched his head and finally said.

“Anyway, what’s crucial now is whether you have the power to defeat the Eight Parts of the Divine. Do you think you can manage it?”

“We’ll have to try.”

“Great. Then let’s go with this….”

After a moment, Lee Hwan-woong shared his strategy with me, and I nodded as I listened intently. Then, moments later, the voice of the King of the Life Sea echoed.

[The time has come. I will collect the modified wishes.]

Swish!

[Let the auction begin.]

Creeeek!

In the next moment, an enormous circular table appeared in the middle of the space, and Lee Hwan-woong and I stood atop it like ants. In the distance, there stood the Eight Parts of the Divine, alongside my companions, Mangnyang, Asura, and Abe no Seimei.

The King of the Life Sea, looking at the three groups of bidders, announced.

[Here’s the first wish.]

At those words, I widened my eyes.

[“It would be nice if Asura died.” Who wants to bid on this wish?]