Volume 9, Chapter 61 – The Spear That Pierces the Heavens

A white world.

But this wasn’t a place of blank whiteness, devoid of anything. It was surrounded by a vast number of incomprehensible, arcane characters. Even though Yisi didn’t understand the magic symbols of this other world, she could discern that these characters weren’t from this world—at least, not the magic symbols possessed by the continent of Alexia.

If anything, they bore a strong resemblance to the magical aura Evelyn used during [Demonic Evil Annihilation]. Back then, Evelyn had surrounded herself with the symbols of the six major elements and the one representing mental magic, then unleashed the terrifyingly powerful spell, far exceeding her own limits. The symbols dancing in this white world now bore a certain resemblance to those.

Have I been pulled into some kind of barrier, or has the Gospel turned the room I’m in into a barrier?

Remaining vigilant, Yisi calmed her mind and took out a one-time-use recording crystal from her storage—a paid item from “Ragnarøk” capable of recording images and sounds. She adjusted her body into a state ready for combat at any moment.

Based on past experience, the latter situation was more likely. Forcibly pulling her, someone whose level was permanently fixed at 427, into a barrier without her consent was almost impossible. But if the barrier enveloped the room while she happened to be inside, then everything made sense.

“So the Gospel isn’t a fool either.”

Condensing a magic blade in her hand, Yisi raised her right fist.

She possessed the permanent magic [See Through]. Ordinary illusions and barriers were completely ineffective against her. Since she couldn’t clearly see the room’s layout, either these white lights were physical objects obstructing her vision, or this barrier was powerful enough to interfere with her perception.

Yisi looked down at her hands—she could see them clearly. These lights couldn’t block her sight. In other words, the barrier had reached a level capable of interfering with her. It sounded impressive, but that was only because she hadn’t intentionally used [See Through], merely treating it as a negligible passive ability. If she actively used it, everything would instantly return to normal. Of course, there was a more direct method: simply bombard the barrier with energy so immense it couldn’t withstand it, and it would shatter on its own.

Completely devoid of the panic one should feel after being dragged into a barrier, Yisi instead felt calm and intrigued. A slight smile curved her lips. Like a caress, the side of her hand rubbed back and forth across the spine of the Gospel. However, it was less a caress and more a cutting motion—a very slow, torturous slicing, like death by a thousand cuts.

The hand caressing the Gospel was condensing a magic blade.

After about ten seconds of eerie silence, Yisi stopped.

“Still not coming out?”

In her mind, the reason the Gospel pulled her into this white barrier was that only within it could the Gospel observe her. After all, from the Gospel’s perspective, being suddenly attacked by an unknown source would immediately lead it to suspect someone it couldn’t observe. To deal with her, an existence undetectable by conventional means, it had to use some special method to either make her appear before it or escape to a location safe from her attacks.

And now, the Gospel was right in her hands; it couldn’t possibly escape elsewhere. Since it didn’t reveal itself even under the threat of her magic blade, Yisi could only conclude that the Gospel’s level was far too low compared to hers, to the point where even using special means, it couldn’t perceive her.

How comical.

Perhaps she should wake Tina, have Tina lower her level to one observable by the Gospel, and then deal with it.

Yisi couldn’t help but let out a mocking laugh. After learning the Gospel was something created with the Goddess’s help, she had initially thought its power was at least on par with Tina’s, perhaps even stronger than the world dragon in its complete state. But it turned out to be just this much.

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“Well, let it be. There’s another copy anyway.”

Unwilling to waste more time, Yisi let out a soft breath. Without hesitation, she applied the magic blade, intending to slice the Gospel in half.

However, before she could.

“Hoh, impatient after all, are we?”

A piercing voice, difficult to discern whether male or female, echoed through the space. The sound, like nails scratching a blackboard, made Yisi frown just by hearing it, halting her slicing motion.

“Impressive you could wait until now to appear. Weren’t you afraid I wouldn’t stop and would cut you in two directly?”

Facing the direction the voice came from—although there was nothing there, the voice had definitely come from directly in front of her—Yisi casually waved the Gospel, already mostly torn, in her hand.

“Eek! That’s why I appeared, isn’t it? Master, you created me, yet now you wish for your subordinate to disappear. Should I call you cruel, as expected? Honestly, I worried for a long time at first, wondering what this thing unobservable by the Gospel could be. Now, taking the opportunity of you touching me, I finally see. I didn’t expect it to be my respected Master.”

Master?

Yisi subtly raised an eyebrow.

This Gospel—or rather, this demon—might have mistaken me for someone else. Yisi glanced at her [Omniscient Map]. The entity stood five meters directly in front of her, its level barely reaching ten.

However, more than mistaking her identity, Yisi felt this demon was toying with her. Its voice held a playful tone, never serious. If it truly considered her its master, it should show more loyalty.

“If you truly considered me your master, you should be kneeling at my feet right now.”

“Oh dear, was I seen through? Ah, I don’t deny you certainly have my master’s scent, but the fact that you are definitely not my master… I, the demon within the book, could tell at a glance. Although my respected master was always like that, like two souls inhabiting one body—one my master, the other a detestable fellow…”

At this point, the entity conversing with Yisi finally emerged from behind the curtain. It was a demon formed of purple mist, with only two yellow points of light serving as eyes. As if appraising her, the demon remained silent for a moment before continuing.

“Looks like you’re not even that detestable fellow. A visitor from afar with my master’s aura… this is the first time I’ve seen such a thing. Tell me how you discovered me, outlander. Then perhaps I can spare your life. After all, I still have a mission given by my master. If I’m discovered again later, and it affects the mission, it would be troublesome for me.”

Outlander?

As if sensing Yisi’s confusion, the demon elongated its mist-formed body, circling around Yisi while speaking in a mocking tone.

“As the demon within the book, I can borrow the Gospel’s power. Everything the Gospel knows, I know as well. This is the reason the Master allowed me to enter the Gospel. The Gospel knows all the elements in the world and can perceive and influence possible future events through their movements. But there are always exceptions. The Gospel only knows the powers of ‘this world’—no, more accurately, only this land of Alexia, besieged by the gods. If it encounters something from elsewhere, the Gospel becomes a cripple without eyes or ears. My beloved Master Ouranos was like that, and so are the beings called Gods on the continent of Alexia. They cannot be perceived by the Gospel. Of course, you are the same. You do not belong to this continent either.”

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So that’s how it is?

Yisi pondered the purple demon’s words for a moment.

The Gospel couldn’t observe her because she didn’t belong to the world of Alexia. Previously, she thought the reason it couldn’t observe Demon Lords, Gods, and herself was because their power far exceeded the Gospel’s. But now, it seemed it was simply because Demon Lords and Gods didn’t belong to this world. This also corresponded with what the world dragon had said: Gods and the first angels were outsiders. As for why the Gospel couldn’t observe Demon Lords, she would have to keep asking to find the answer.

“Now then, you should answer my question. How did you discover my existence?”

The demon posed the question to Yisi. Yisi, in turn, grabbed the demon swaying before her—its back-and-forth motion was too annoying.

However, the demon’s body was like air; Yisi’s hand passed right through it without actually grasping anything. Sensing Yisi’s impatience, the playfulness in the demon’s tone intensified, evoking disgust.

“As the demon within the book, I possess only a soul. Ordinary methods cannot touch me. Furthermore, with the Gospel’s power under my control, I can easily kill you. Don’t get carried away, Blood Clan.”

“You said you can borrow the Gospel’s power, meaning you were the one issuing its previous commands?”

As if hearing a hilarious joke, the mist-like demon even manifested hands to clutch its stomach in laughter.

“Hahahaha! Of course! As the demon within the book, I naturally have the power to alter the Gospel! In fact, that was precisely the purpose for which Master created me! To allow the caged ones to escape the gods’ prison, my respected Master needs more power! Nothing is more convenient than the Gospel for finding those who can assist Master! That’s why my respected Master replicated the Gospel and let demons like me reside within it! Through the Gospel, we can create one powerhouse after another, continuously accumulating strength! Eventually, one day, we can escape the prison set by the gods!

Of course, we have another mission: while searching for allies, we eliminate the running dogs who believe in false lights! Imagine, when those who believe in gods obtain the Gospel, what will they use it for? They will surely try every means to eliminate the Demon Lord! So, after entering the Gospel, we are responsible for guiding them, step by step, towards destruction! As long as these most loyal and powerful individuals devoted to the gods perish, humanity will never produce a force capable of threatening Master!”

“…I see.” Suppressing the urge to deal with this demon immediately, Yisi emotionlessly posed one last question. “Then why did you send Lin, Red, and Purple to their deaths? Was the tragedy of the dead city also orchestrated by you?”

“Ooh! Knew you’d ask that! Although I cannot observe you through the Gospel, I can perceive your existence through those around you! Sending those humans to their deaths was merely to gauge your strength and your attitude towards those pitiful creatures! Initially, I did intend to take the Calamity named Lin as Master’s dog, but compared to you, a more powerful outsider, she became insignificant. Hmm, quite useful as a tool to test you, though.”

At this, the demon nodded satisfactorily, pausing for a moment.

“Now then, back to business. Since you’ve discovered my existence, I no longer need to hide. Join us. I can make you continuously stronger, even granting you power rivaling a Demon Lord. Otherwise, I can only reluctantly turn you into a puppet.”

Although the story is somewhat convoluted, it’s not far from my initial hypothesis. This Gospel was indeed not the same one Laxy encountered.

But the truth is far too cruel.

A Demon Lord planted a demon within the Gospel, and the demon exploited humanity’s trust in it to eliminate the most promising individuals while gradually turning usable people into demons to bolster its own side.

Even though this demon mentioned the gods’ prison, implying the gods were the evil ones, considering everything the demon had done using the Gospel… believing that would be confusing good and evil.

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“Should I call you honest, or foolish?” Drawing Gungnir from her storage, spear tip pointed directly at the purple demon, Yisi narrowed her eyes. “You’ve made two mistakes.”

“Oh?”

Facing Yisi’s spear tip, the demon showed no fear, instead humming with interest, as if waiting for Yisi’s reply, its mist-formed hands crossed over its chest.

“First, I hate being threatened. Even Pepe, from the very beginning, knew the consequences of threatening me, yet you touched a nerve even Pepe didn’t dare touch. Of course, if your apology is sincere enough, I can pretend nothing happened. But the second mistake… I absolutely cannot forgive you for it. If you truly observed everything about me through the Gospel, then you should know I don’t let my friends be toyed with. Even setting aside Lin, your manipulation of the Divine Religion has crossed my bottom line. Those martyrs didn’t die for their faith; they were guided step by step towards destruction by you from the very beginning! Anyone would feel anger over this!”

“So what? As a demon created by Master, the meaning of my existence is to execute Master’s commands! Even if you possess strength far exceeding mine, I will not fear it! Besides,” at this, the demon began to cackle harshly, eventually turning into a scream filled with madness, “the angrier you get, the happier I am!”

[Fate Interference].

Accompanying Yisi’s spear thrust, two black crosses appeared out of thin air on the purple demon’s body. After freezing for a second, the crosses shattered violently, instantly disintegrating the purple demon into air.

However, the barrier enveloping Yisi did not disappear. On the contrary, the runes originally circling within the barrier began to flow rapidly. In just a few breaths, a monster appeared before Yisi, similar in height and general shape, except it was entirely monochrome white, identical to Yisi herself.

The demon’s laughter echoed throughout the barrier.

“Not tearing up the Gospel immediately sealed your failure! The power of this barrier comes from countless individuals connected to the Gospel by causality, who ultimately died because of it! Over these tens of thousands of years, the power accumulated by the Gospel has reached a height unattainable by humans! Even if Azazel stood here, he wouldn’t be certain of defeating me! You might know Tartaros’s magic called [Realm of Manipulating Fate], but the power I possess is even stronger! I can create a powerhouse identical to you! Despair under your own power, arrogant Blood Clan!”

“Hoh.”

This time, it was Yisi who hummed lightly. She simply glanced at the white ‘her’ standing silently opposite, identical to the background.

Admittedly, the demon was right. Over tens of thousands of years, the Gospel had accumulated magic power exceeding human limits. Yet she could still feel that the thing standing before her was pitifully weak. If she could pin Tina down with one finger, then this white version of herself would only require two.

Tens of thousands of years, just to create this thing.

Yisi couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Hehehe… Is this what you call ‘identical to me’? Demon, it seems you misunderstand my strength. I’m not some run-of-the-mill Blood Clan like a Demon Lord. My level is higher than a Demon Lord’s—427. Saying this, do you understand the gap between us now?”

“…Just pretending to be calm. Back in the Hels Kingdom, you were dragged into Tartaros’s [Realm of Manipulating Fate]. That sufficiently proves your weakness.”

“Ah yes, I was indeed dragged in. But that was because I deactivated my resistance magic. The only thing in this world that can truly harm me is Tina’s fangs.”

Not to mention, even if the demon created a level 427 version of her, she could still utterly defeat it with [Third Form Awakening].

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Seemingly angered by Yisi’s composure, the demon laughed maniacally and ordered the white Yisi to attack. However, facing the spear thrust from ‘herself,’ Yisi simply extended her left hand, meeting Gungnir with her palm.

Immediately after, like a rooster whose throat was choked, the demon’s laughter stopped abruptly.

Yisi hadn’t suffered any damage. On the contrary, the spear in the white Yisi’s hand shattered inch by inch, as if struck by an unbearable force.

The difference in strength was obvious.

Retracting her extended arm as if it were nothing, Yisi lightly blew on her palm.

“Looks like you still haven’t given up hope. Hmm—Right, there’s one thing I need to remind you.”

“How is this possible!”

Ignoring Yisi’s words, the demon just let out a cry mixed with hints of panic. Yisi returned it with an aggressive smile, revealing her white teeth.

“You’re right, I don’t belong to this world. Perhaps beyond the Sea of Thunderstorms exists another nation, like the race possibly related to Mary. But I don’t belong there, nor even to this world. I come from another planet. Saying this, you might not understand my meaning. Let me make you understand with this. Dealing with you doesn’t require the Third Form.”

Yisi took out an exceptionally magnificent rainbow-colored longbow from her storage, seeming to gather all the world’s colors onto itself. The moment the bow appeared, all elements went berserk, desperately converging towards it. Even someone outside the barrier could see a world-devouring elemental vortex appearing in the deep blue pre-dawn sky, seeming to consume the heavens.

“Th-This is… The Gospel, the Gospel can’t sense it! Damn it, what is this! This elemental power—Who exactly are you!”

Panicked, the demon ordered the white Yisi to attack physically. But Yisi simply threw a casual right punch, shattering the white Yisi into pieces.

“The one who brings you death—No, considering everything you did to the Divine Religion and Lin, letting you die just like that would be too lenient. I am the one who brings you pain and despair. But I dislike the titles Demon Lord and God. Let me think… Right, you can call me ‘Player’. This bow is a paid item from ‘Ragnarøk’, one of the few weapons I possess on the same level as [Twilight of Eternal Frost]. Its name is [Sylph’s Bow].”

Drawing the bow, entwined with emerald vines, Yisi aimed at the sky. Sensing this immense power, panic began to creep into the demon’s voice.

“You can’t kill me! As long as there is still one Gospel in this world, I can transfer indefinitely!”

“Perhaps. But under the elemental vortex formed by Sylph’s Bow, do you think you still have a chance to escape? Even [Advanced Teleportation] cannot be used in a place with such violent elemental forces. The moment you met me sealed your failure. I won’t kill you right now. So, until dawn, prepare yourself to feel pain. Compared to the suffering Lin endured, the pain I give you is merely superficial.”

Her voice filled with icy killing intent, Yisi released the rainbow-colored bowstring, brimming with magic power.

“『 Spear That Pierces the Heavens 』.”