Chapter 113: Becoming Your God (XVI)

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Chapter 113: Becoming Your God (XVI)

A powerful sense of danger rose within the four gods. The War God’s aura made their very souls tremble, and the fighting spirit that had burned so fiercely moments ago became pitifully fragile beneath his divine pressure.

They had assumed that after such a long period of peace, the War God’s strength must have declined. Only now, facing him directly, did they realize how utterly wrong they had been. The War God possessed the greatest offensive power and strongest defense in the world. When he fully unleashed his domain, almost no god could escape unscathed.

The Fire God, Water God, Earth God, and Dream God were trapped within his domain, their forms completely frozen. They could neither gather their power nor escape. Staring at the motionless Saya, none of them dared make a sound.

At that moment, Saya suddenly raised his eyes. The air, which had been completely still, surged violently. The four gods were struck as though by an enormous wave and hurled backward at the same time. Their bodies burst apart like splashing water before they were instantly sent back into their respective idols. Then, to their horror, they discovered that they had been imprisoned inside those idols and could not break free no matter what they did.

A seal? Impossible! The War God couldn’t possibly seal four ancient gods at once!

Indeed, Saya could not seal all four of them simultaneously, but he could imprison them temporarily and then seal them one by one.

At that moment, Saya wanted nothing more than to unleash the violence raging inside him and make every god who had persecuted Uno pay the price.

The battle intent pouring from him continued to rise. Every worshiper of the War God was affected. A thirst for combat began growing deep within their subconscious, planting the seeds of wars that might one day erupt.

【Why are you trying to drive me away?】 Saya remembered the first time he had met Uno in Kanse City.

【I’m the one who lost to you, yet even I had the guts to come here. Why don’t you have the guts to let me stay?】 Despite being his former enemy, Uno had questioned him with such complete confidence.

【I spent more than a thousand years suffering alone in that ruined temple… At least give me a chance to turn over a new leaf.】

He really had changed, but none of the gods had been willing to give him that chance.

Saya pressed the mask in his hand against his forehead, as though trying to draw even the smallest trace of comfort from it and calm the rage in his heart.

Only after a long while did he finally emerge from his fury. When he lifted his head again, his eyes were utterly cold. He rose, robes billowing, and vanished from the spot before reappearing inside the Temple of Uno.

Uno had merely been sealed. With Saya’s power, releasing him should have been simple. But when Saya looked toward the idol, he discovered that there was no trace of Uno’s divine consciousness inside it.

Where was Uno? Saya immediately unleashed his divine power and searched everywhere for Uno’s aura, but found nothing.

If he had not been sealed, then there was only one other possibility… the fall of a god.

No!

Saya’s entire body trembled. Darkness churned through his eyes, and the battle intent he had only barely suppressed erupted once more. The thought that Uno might have disappeared completely—vanished forever from his world—shattered the last of his control. His overwhelming divine pressure exploded outward like a storm, ravaging everything in every direction.

The gods who had only just recovered from their previous fright were once again battered by the War God’s fury.

Holy fuck! Which blind idiot had gone and provoked the War God?!

“Uno…” Saya clutched his forehead, his features twisting as stabbing pain tore through his mind. Countless chaotic images flashed through his head.

…Little Ze… flames… Filmore…

Saya felt as though he had been split into countless different selves, each one carrying a beautiful yet agonizing memory. The memories themselves were blurred beyond recognition. The only thing that remained crystal clear was the bone-deep pain.

When the War God raged, all the gods cowered.

“From this day forward, within my domain, there will be no place for the Fire God, Water God, Earth God, or Dream God.”

Saya did not seal them, but throughout every land under the War God’s protection, worship of those four gods would no longer be permitted to exist. Their followers could receive no blessings from them within Saya’s domain, while the four gods themselves could draw no power from those worshipers. The only alternatives were for the gods and their followers to leave the War God’s territory entirely—or become powerful enough to oppose him.

The Imperial Yi Empire, which worshiped the War God, was the most powerful nation on the continent, with vast lands and an enormous population. Saya’s believers were also scattered throughout countless other regions. Most places entirely beyond his influence were remote, barren territories.

The War God’s banishment left the four gods suffering bitterly. If they had known from the beginning that Saya valued the Evil God this much, they never would have acted so recklessly.

And that was not the end of their problems. The time had also come to fulfill their bargain with the Death God. Yet Saya imprisoned them for ten days, and by the time they regained their freedom, they had already been expelled from the War God’s domain. Every sacrifice they had promised the Death God was now under Saya’s protection. If they wanted to avoid having the Death God come collect his debt personally, they would have to commit the crime right under Saya’s nose. Unfortunately, they could afford to offend neither the Death God nor the War God.

What happened to the four gods perfectly fulfilled the words Unos had spoken before disappearing: “You are going to regret this.”

How had they forgotten? Besides slaughter, the Evil God possessed another terrifying ability—curses. They simply hadn’t expected his curse to work even on gods!

The four gods wanted to calm the War God’s fury by undoing the Evil God’s seal. It was comparatively easy for the ones who had performed a sealing to remove it themselves. However, to their horror, they could not find the Evil God’s divine consciousness anywhere. Could both his form and soul truly have been destroyed?

Impossible! The Evil God had been so powerful. How could they possibly have destroyed him so easily?

In the past, the Evil God’s fall would have had them cheering in celebration. Now, however, it meant there was no longer any room to repair their relationship with the War God.

The four gods felt like crying themselves to death—especially when the smiling Death God came to collect what they owed him.

With no other choice, they could only make up the numbers using worshipers belonging to lesser gods. The Evil God had possessed more than three thousand followers. That meant they now had to offer the Death God more than three thousand lives.

Gods could not directly seize mortal lives, so the four could only act through their followers. Before long, water sacrifices, fire sacrifices, and similar rituals began appearing throughout lands beyond the War God’s domain. Mortals influenced by the four gods started capturing worshipers of other deities on a massive scale, preparing to conduct a collective sacrificial ceremony when the appointed time arrived.

Many people had relatives and friends taken away. They desperately prayed to their own gods for help. But those lesser gods did not dare offend the Fire God, Water God, Earth God, and Dream God. Nor did they dare approach the War God while he was still consumed by rage. In the end, they could only remain silent.

Yet after they begged the followers of other gods for aid only to be turned away, and even their own gods quietly disappeared from sight, the only people who finally stood up to help them were the Evil God’s worshipers—the very people everyone had once condemned as the source of disaster.

When Yitamo decided to send troops, his parents strongly opposed him and refused to grant him so much as a single soldier. Those outsiders were neither subjects of Imperial Yi nor its allies. The empire had no reason to interfere in a foreign land’s affairs and sacrifice its own military strength for them.

But Yitamo insisted on going. The mobs terrorizing those lands were all worshipers of the four gods. He wanted not only to save the captives but also to avenge Uno. Ordinary mortals knew nothing about the four gods’ attack on Uno, but Neil, the Love God who had become friendly with Yitamo, had told him the truth.

In the end, Yitamo left with only a few hundred personal guards and headed toward the remote foreign territory. The moment he passed through the city gates, he found the Shu Clan waiting outside. Nearly a hundred of the clan’s strongest men and women, led by Tima, had decided to go with him.

They had only just reaffirmed their faith when the four gods took away the deity they were willing to give their lives for. Their hatred toward those four gods burned so fiercely that only blood could extinguish it.

Several hundred people traveled day and night and arrived at the sacrificial grounds just as the ritual was about to begin.

In an open clearing beside a river, thousands of people were tied to wooden stakes. Every one of them was gaunt, filthy, and miserable. Cries and sobs rose continuously from the crowd, creating a horrifying scene.

Surrounding them stood a vicious-looking mob at least four thousand strong. Some carried torches, others wielded long whips, while still others had axes or massive blades resting across their shoulders.

Hidden among the trees, Yitamo and the others sucked in a collective breath at the sight. With only a few hundred people, they had no chance of confronting such a force head-on. Their information had said that one tribe of several hundred people was holding a few dozen civilians captive. Clearly, several groups had joined together instead.

Yitamo gritted his teeth and decided to abandon the idea of a direct assault. They would have to wait for an opportunity to ambush them instead. But when the mob began setting the piles of firewood alight in preparation for the first sacrifice, some of the rescuers finally lost control and charged out of the trees.

Their loved ones were being used as sacrifices and tortured before their eyes. Even though they knew they could not afford to act impulsively, how many people could remain unmoved after witnessing something like that?

Seeing the situation spiral beyond control, Yitamo drew his weapon and, with a determined expression, led his guards and the Shu Clan warriors into battle.

The mob froze when several hundred people suddenly burst from the woods, then immediately seized their weapons and rushed forward with furious shouts. Every one of them was powerfully built and ferocious. They were clearly not easy opponents.

On Yitamo’s side, however, only his few hundred personal guards possessed any real combat ability. Most of the others were essentially charging forward to offer up their heads.

The men grinned excitedly like a pack of vicious starving wolves. Their eyes almost glowed as though they could already see blood spraying everywhere. Yet none of them noticed the faint flashes of red light passing over the bodies of their opponents.

When the two sides finally clashed, the massacre the mob had imagined never happened. Instead, they were the ones caught completely off guard. The force of only several hundred people became a sharp blade driving straight into a wave several thousand strong. They tore through the enemy ranks almost without resistance, scattering them in every direction as easily as chopping melons and vegetables.

Yitamo and the others fought as though possessed by a god, fearless and unstoppable. Even several thin, weak-looking youths displayed strength far beyond anything natural. The Shu Clan warriors were the most frenzied of all. They grinned savagely while swinging their weapons, slaughtering enemies far larger than themselves with movements that were both spectacular and bloody. Wherever they passed, blood blossomed and screams followed.

Then an absurd scene unfolded. Several thousand hulking men fled across the mountains with only a few hundred soldiers and farmers chasing after them.

The Evil God’s power of slaughter was unstoppable.

The Evil God’s worshipers, led by Yitamo, could all feel their god’s power flowing through them. Even the few dozen people among them who did not worship Uno experienced the intoxicating thrill of killing.

Their god had not disappeared. Their god was still protecting them!

The realization filled Yitamo and the others with excitement and sent their morale soaring. In contrast, their thousands of opponents grew weaker and more dispirited with every exchange until they could barely lift their weapons.

At last, the mob completely lost its nerve and fled in every direction in panic, screaming as they ran, “Demons! Demons!”

While Yitamo and the others celebrated, a different confrontation was unfolding between Shang Ke and the four gods. His appearance filled them with shock and fear.

The Evil God had neither disappeared nor been sealed. He had merely hidden himself in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to take revenge.

“Unos, you cowardly bastard! Stop hiding and come out!” the Fire God roared.

“I’ve been here the entire time.” A cool voice came from the center of the sacrificial grounds. A hazy figure appeared atop one of the wooden stakes, one leg folded beneath him and the other bent upright. One hand rested casually on his knee, while the other loosely held a stone hammer upside down.

“You… are Unos?” The Fire God stared uncertainly at Shang Ke below. His jet-black hair drifted gently in the wind. The face that had once been concealed beneath the mask was astonishingly handsome, and his deep eyes carried a sunlit warmth. Meeting his gaze felt like standing in the heart of nature itself, making one instinctively want to lose themselves in it.

Only after seeing him did one truly understand what an embodied god was meant to be—beautiful, noble, overflowing with power. No wonder the War God was obsessed with him. Who could possibly have imagined that the legendary Evil God of darkness would possess such a radiant presence?

Damn it. Why didn’t he show that face earlier? For the sake of a face like that, the Fire God might have surrendered without a fight. Anything would have been better than ending up trapped in this miserable situation. Still, if Unos was alive and well, perhaps there was still hope of repairing things with the War God.

Thinking this, the Fire God forced out a smile. “Unos, we only intended to seal you for a few decades, and in the end, we failed anyway. Since that’s the case, how about we wipe the slate clean and forget our old grievances?”

“I have no objection,” Shang Ke replied with a faint smile.

The Fire God had not expected him to be so easygoing and was just about to say a few polite words when Shang Ke added, “However, it looks like you won’t be able to fulfill your agreement with the Death God.”

The four gods’ expressions changed instantly. Only then did they remember that the sacrificial ritual had already been destroyed, and the deadline agreed upon with the Death God was rapidly approaching. What awaited them would be a terrible disaster.

“I told you,” Shang Ke continued. “You would regret it.”

Ruining their bargain with the Death God had been Shang Ke’s plan all along. He intended to save the mortals they were using as sacrifices, use the Death God to teach the four gods a lesson, and at the same time drive their hatred toward him even higher so he could achieve the death required by his mission.

Sure enough, the moment Shang Ke finished speaking, all four gods glared at him furiously. Their divine power soared and surged toward him from every direction.

Shang Ke had just divided much of his divine power among Yitamo and the others and was at his weakest. Under the combined assault of four gods, his body swayed like a tiny boat trapped in a violent storm.

Yitamo and the others pressed their advantage and finally ended the battle. When they looked up and saw Shang Ke standing at the center of the sacrificial grounds, they immediately shouted, “Victory to Uno!”

“Victory to Uno!”

It wasn’t only the Evil God’s worshipers. The rescued captives began shouting with them as well. They didn’t care how terrifying the Evil God was supposed to be. All they knew was that when every other god had abandoned them, this was the only god willing to extend a hand, lead their rescuers to victory, and save their lives.

Their cheers rose like mountains and crashing seas, filled with the joy of surviving certain death and reverence for God Uno.

Then Yitamo noticed something was wrong. Shang Ke’s once-solid body was gradually becoming transparent, flickering in and out as though he might vanish at any moment. One by one, the others noticed as well. Their cheers slowly faded until complete silence fell.

Everyone stared toward Shang Ke on the altar, worry appearing across their faces.

While the crowd stood helpless and uncertain, four hazy figures gradually appeared in the air, surrounding Shang Ke from every direction. Their hostility was unmistakable.

Although their divine forms were indistinct, Yitamo, the Shu Clan, and the others quickly recognized them as the Fire God, Water God, Earth God, and Dream God. They still wanted to hurt their god? And four against one?!

The crowd exploded with fury. They grabbed their weapons and hurled them at the four gods. When they ran out of weapons, they threw stones. When they ran out of stones, they threw clumps of dirt. It was completely fucking useless, but none of them cared.

None of them noticed that the mob they had driven away earlier had seen the four gods manifest and was now quietly creeping back, preparing to launch a surprise counterattack.

Shang Ke noticed. A dark gleam flashed through his eyes before transforming into a cloud of black mist that silently swept toward the approaching men.

At the same time, his body became even more transparent.

A sudden chorus of agonized screams startled Yitamo and the others from their rage. They turned around and discovered that the mob had indeed returned to ambush them. But for some unknown reason, some men were collapsing to the ground, others were falling unconscious, and still others had begun attacking and killing one another.

“It’s… a curse,” Yitamo murmured, his eyes shining.

The power of a curse was eerie, invisible, and impossible to predict.

The Evil God’s powers of slaughter and curses did not inherently represent destruction and disaster. What mattered was whether the god wielding them possessed a heart that still held light.

Even while trapped in mortal danger himself, Shang Ke was still willing to expend his remaining divine power to protect ordinary people. Yitamo had never seen a god like him. The legendary Evil God was actually such a kind deity. The world had misunderstood him for more than a thousand years for one reason alone—he was the Evil God.

Yitamo raised his head and stared at the almost transparent Shang Ke, tears glittering in his eyes. Uno, for the rest of my life, I will restore your name, praise your virtue, and spread your teachings!

Shang Ke’s power was almost completely exhausted, and even his soul was on the verge of dispersing. Death was drawing near, yet he felt no fear.

Because he had come.

A familiar aura wrapped tightly around him, firmly protecting the last remaining fragment of his soul.

Through his fading consciousness, Shang Ke vaguely saw the four gods vanish from before his eyes as though they had turned to smoke. Then everything fell into darkness…

【Main mission complete—obtain the War God Saya’s recognition.】

After that, Shang Ke drifted endlessly between sleep and wakefulness. Every time he opened his eyes, he found himself completely naked in the equally naked Saya’s arms. The two of them seemed to have been locked together like that since birth. At most, the surroundings changed, the seasons changed, and occasionally even their… sexual position changed.

Shang Ke had no spare energy to think about anything else because each time he woke, he remained conscious for only three to five minutes. Saya made frantic use of every one of those minutes, having sex with him without wasting even a moment.

Shang Ke thought that perhaps spending an entire lifetime like this wouldn’t be so bad. No missions, no death, no separation. As long as Saya didn’t mind how much he slept, Shang Ke was willing to remain peacefully by his side for the rest of their lives.

But Shang Ke knew that to truly reach that goal, he still had to complete three missions. Strangely, after finishing the main mission this time, the additional mission never appeared.

Just when he thought this state might continue indefinitely, after his ninety-ninth awakening, he never opened his eyes in this world again.

The Evil God’s mask crumbled into powder before Saya’s eyes. Immediately afterward, cracks spread across the idols of both the War God and the Evil God. The two embodied gods fell together, still locked in each other’s embrace…

System Space.

“What the hell happened?” Shang Ke demanded of the System. Why had no additional mission appeared after he completed the main mission? And why had Saya fallen together with him?

After an eerily long silence, the System finally replied: 【Congratulations, Host, on completing the Main Mission—obtain Saya’s recognition. The Curse Halo has disappeared. All attributes receive +10 points.】

“…And?”

The System continued: 【The Host’s Constitution, Memory, Mental Power, and Appearance have all reached their maximum values. Perfect Journey has been unlocked. Obtained: Return Keys ×2.】

Shang Ke: “Return Keys? What are those?”

【Two Return Keys allow the Host to randomly select and enter two previously experienced worlds.】

Shang Ke stared in surprise. “Wasn’t I supposed to complete all my missions before I could go back?”

【Completing all missions and reaching a Perfect Value above 50% will unlock the passage back to the real world. At present, the Host may only return to two previously experienced worlds and cannot yet return to the real world.】

The surprise came so suddenly that Shang Ke had no idea how to react.

【The Host may also choose to give up the Return Keys.】 Seeing his silence, the System thoughtfully offered another option.

“No, I’m going back!” How could Shang Ke possibly give up an opportunity like this?

【Then, is the Host prepared to begin the return journey?】

“Wait.” Shang Ke hurriedly asked, “I already died in those worlds. When I go back, will I have a different identity, or am I going to repeat the same death?”

【The Return Key opens a journey toward happiness. The Host’s life will continue, and previously experienced deaths will not occur again.】

In other words, he could finally spend an entire lifetime with his man? Shang Ke’s face lit up with delight.

The System added: 【Of course, if the Host gets himself killed through his own stupidity, even the System cannot save you.】

Shang Ke: Holy fuck. You say that like you’ve ever saved me before!

【Does the Host have any further questions?】 Shang Ke shook his head. Several floating cards immediately appeared before him. 【Please select two World Cards.】

Shang Ke casually drew two cards. The moment they entered his hands, words appeared across the previously blank surfaces.

One read: Jian Chenfeng.

The other read: Tylor.

Jian Chenfeng was the man Shang Ke had met in his second world. To complete his mission, Shang Ke had lived as Jiang Yumo, pursued Jian Chenfeng’s younger sister, and eventually donated his heart to her. At the time, his feelings for Jian Chenfeng had still been vague and uncertain, so his own death had not felt particularly painful. But Jian Chenfeng had given Shang Ke his heart. Shang Ke wondered how he had lived after Shang Ke died.

Tylor was the man Shang Ke had met in his third world. Tylor was a prince of the Holy Empire on the Turan Continent, while Shang Ke had been Osari, once one of the academy’s Twin Stars and later a fallen apostle of the Devil’s Tree. To complete his mission, Shang Ke had joined them in sealing the Devil’s Tree, only to be stabbed to death by a traitor corrupted by demonic energy just as the sealing succeeded.

Besides Tylor, there was someone else from that world Shang Ke still missed—the adorable Pupu. He trusted Tylor to have taken good care of her. His death must have made her sad for a very long time.

Filled with anticipation, Shang Ke used his first Return Key and began his journey toward happiness…

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