Chapter 170: Heaven-Surrendering Martial Emperor (2)

"Leaving our guest here seems inappropriate. Shall we go inside?"

Bellona guided us indoors.

Step.

With just one step, a multitude of sensations enveloped me.

Obstructions surrounded us. Divine auras blended into one another.

And.

Gazes.

Countless gazes pierced into me.

['The God of Gods, the Divine King,' is focusing on you...]

['The God of Thunder' is focusing on you...]

['The God of War' is focusing on you...]

A moment later, a flood of notifications appeared.

'Are they welcoming me?'

Some were mixed with caution.

But whether for better or worse, none seemed indifferent to me.

As we moved further inside, the resplendent interior of the temple came into view.

The Pantheon was splendid.

It was also grand.

At the center, 124 statues faced us.

'It's not exactly a hundred.'

Pantheon.

A place where a hundred gods resided. However, perhaps due to the increased number, it wasn't exactly a hundred.

'No, in a way, it might be right to call it a hundred gods.'

Twenty-four were minor gods, not even worthy of being called transcendents.

Their power felt so weak that I could easily kill them myself.

"This is the Pantheon…"

Yoo Eunchae spoke with a tense voice.

-What do you think?

I asked Yoo Eunchae.

Most present here would have noticed our conversation anyway.

I purposely spoke towards the 'principal'.

To secretly convey the message to Yoo Eunchae.

Realizing that, Yoo Eunchae gave a slight nod.

Yes, that was enough.

I could interrogate her in detail later.

"It's truly grand, the Pantheon. I didn't know how magnificent it would be, hearing so much about it."

Of course. This place was created by a hundred gods with their divinity.

The Upper Layer.

A man stood before Shin Yura in a place with only ten statues.

"Who are you?"

"I am Wisdom, the God of Storms. I have been watching you."

"You've been watching me? No way…"

"Yes, I have chosen you as my apostle."

"Apostle?"

At my puzzled tone, Yoo Eunchae approached and spoke.

"An apostle of a god. It means you receive the god's power directly and are granted the authority to act on their behalf."

"Is that so?"

I opened my hand and looked at it. The power of a god…

I had that too.

My Divine Name, Eternity.

The power of a higher god, one who wielded exceptional strength even among deities.

A unique trait related to time.

For now, I could only extend time.

'If I grant them that, will they be pleased?'

Eternity was always beneficial when it came to magic.

Martial arts, well…

All I could do was draw out the sword energy to its maximum and maintain it for a long time.

'Unless the martial art is something special.'

Anyway, I looked at Shin Yura.

Could I make her my apostle?

"What are you thinking, Master?"

"…"

"…?"

When I silently looked at Seo Boram, she tilted her head.

"More importantly, aren't you going to stop her?"

"What?"

"Stop her from becoming an apostle."

"Shouldn't she obviously refuse?"

"…?"

"Being an apostle means you can't refuse whatever the god commands, right?"

"Uh, right?"

"But the power they give isn't even enough to surpass a transcendent."

"Uh, isn't that standard too high?"

"If they're going to mortgage someone's life, that's the least they should offer."

Yet they expected so much in return.

They claimed they want quality faith, yet they reduced their followers to mere entertainment for the masses.

-…You.

The guy who called himself Wisdom was staring at me.

I didn't like the look in his eyes.

I felt like I could fight him if I provoked him just a little.

So, you're this kid's master?

"And what if I am?"

-Then isn't it time to let them go if they've found a better master?

Wisdom smiled as if he were a good person. It wasn't even disgusting.

It was just too obvious.

Well, it made sense. Until now, people probably fell for such words and ended up in his grasp.

I let out a deep sigh inwardly.

"I was somewhat looking forward to this so-called Pantheon… Why are they like this? No wonder they couldn't exert power on Earth."

-What did you say?

"The gatekeeper didn't even know his place and dared to pick a fight with us. And one of those so-called gods tried to take my disciple right in front of me."

I lightly placed an arm around the shoulders of the one called Wisdom.

-…?!

He didn't even notice me approaching.

Judging by the holy power I felt.

'Roughly an intermediate level among transcendents.'

Thinking about this, I realized I had truly become stronger.

Or maybe this guy was particularly weak. It's not good to make hasty judgments.

However, one thing was certain.

'At this distance.'

The moment this guy tried something, I could kill him instantly.

Realizing this, the one called Wisdom kept silent.

-You, you...how?

Was he just too shocked to speak?

"Enough of this. Come out already, and stop with the obvious theatrics."

I apologize.

Bellona bowed her head immediately.

Countless gazes felt in this place.

Wisdom was evidently flustered.

He seemed unaware.

-My apologies.

A massive figure appeared.

A being close to 5 meters tall. A person dressed in white cloth.

Holding a spear shaped like lightning, with a mane-like beard and hair.

-I am called the Divine King. The leader of the Pantheon… is how I introduce myself.

Divine King.

His presence was overwhelming.

The space here was saturated with divine energy.

'This is…'

He was much stronger than I expected.

Even if I returned to the time of the Heaven-Surrendering Martial Emperor, it would be hard to claim victory.

When I had chased him, perhaps comparable to the Sword Demon King…

'Stronger than that.'

Yet it was puzzling.

If the Pantheon was this strong, then a place like Veda must have similar strength.

'Then why create the boundary?'

Were they bickering with the Demon Kings?

The Boundary, I could understand.

This was a kind of place to protect Earth.

Earth was a space where they could gather the faith they found.

I thought it was possible to create a place called a boundary to protect Earth.

'But.'

The one called the Divine King couldn't kill the Demon King.

Even the Veda, a force comparable to that, couldn't kill the Demon King.

'In the end, the ones who killed the Demon Kings…'

Were me, and me alone.

Are you sizing me up?

The Divine King looked at me as if amused.

"You're stronger than I thought. I was wondering why the Demon Kings are still alive."

Well, considering you killed a Demon King the moment you arrived here, your reaction makes sense.

The Divine King looked at me.

A blue light of lightning.

His eyes, filled with that lightning, were locked onto me.

This is something I should clarify. I have no desire to turn you into an enemy.

"If I become your enemy, it would indeed be quite troublesome."

It's more than that. Despite being of the Supreme Realm and having acquired the Archgod's divine name, your unmatched power is enviable.

I was taken aback by the Divine King's words, but I pretended not to be.

If it's the Divine King, he could certainly discern what divine name I possessed.

Well, of course.

Divine King.

Bearing the title of the God of Gods, such insight was expected.

We cannot simply eliminate the Demon Kings. While it's true we could kill them if we wanted to… doing so would unleash a backlash.

"Backlash?"

I asked, feigning ignorance.

The Divine King spoke with a smile.

As beings who ascend to transcendence and are born as gods, they all step outside the laws of the stars.

Thus, they possessed the power to single-handedly destroy a nation without hesitation.

However, if that happened…

The laws of the universe would act more strongly. If the transcendent beings, those who receive the power of magic, and the evil-hearted deities all go rampant, there would be no means to stop them.

"So, is that why you didn't bother with the Heavenly Demon and the Duke of Extermination?"

-Yes, because it seemed like they might eventually be able to kill the Demon King.

"…"

I tried to grasp the Divine King's intentions.

But was the gap in our realms too vast?

I realized I couldn't read the Divine King's intentions.

'This is the first time I've encountered such an opponent.'

I could always read others' intentions.

But with the Divine King, it wasn't possible. It might not be just a difference in realm, but perhaps an ability to block such perceptions.

"So, because of this 'backlash,' even the ones in Veda… no, they… can't make a move either?"

Did you figure that out as well?

The Divine King opened his eyes wide, as if genuinely surprised.

That you realized the one in Veda is, in fact, 'they'…

The Divine King hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

We had originally intended to give you something. But now that you've discerned part of his identity in Veda, it would be unnecessary.

Crackle.

Lightning sparked.

A blue clear light.

Slayer of the Demon King, who killed the Demon King in our place at the boundary. In honor of your achievement, I shall bestow upon you my lightning.

[You have obtained the Divine King's Thunder (Ex-).]

It was a dark space.

A massive table stood in the center.

There were five entities present there.

This is absurd.

A skull head laughed with a chuckle.

There was a being wearing a pitch-black fur coat.

The entity that transcendents called death, the Immortal Demon King.

The being opposite was inside a mirror, and next to it was a presence that looked like a swordsman, with a sword at its side and a deeply pressed straw hat.

So now, out of the eight Demon Kings, only five remain. Even the bug and the useless one who wasn't prepared have died.

Perhaps we need to rethink how dangerous this entity called the 'Regressor' truly is.

It's merely a human… or so I thought. However, there are troubling aspects. Even the Insect Dragon King, who received power directly from the Demon God, was defeated.

What about the Mighty King? Sure, he was taken down by that so-called Heaven-Surrendering Martial Emperor, but I don't believe for a second he was killed by just a human. We all know how troublesome his clones were.

It's not the time to be fooling around at the boundary.

No, that's not it.

The skeleton clad in black fur looked at the Sword Demon King.

There is someone here who killed the Black Flame Demon King.

There's something a bit suspicious about that guy too.

The Sword Demon King thought of the man with white hair and blue eyes—Han Seojin.

Suspicious.

That man easily evaded his spatial slash.

Someone who hadn't even reached transcendence.

His swordsman's intuition told him.

That guy was dangerous.

Perhaps.

'He might become a monster like the Heaven-Surrendering Martial Emperor.'

The Sword Demon King shivered for a moment.

That damned monster-like guy.

He didn't believe that another like him would ever appear again.

But someone with that potential had appeared.

If so.

'It's only logical to kill him by any means necessary.'

If they met, he planned to kill that man first.

He still felt soreness when he thought of him.

Scars that couldn't be seen now, thanks to the power of the Demon God.

[You, how foolish. Do you aim to be the best in the world with just that sword?]

The blue light in his eyes looked down on him.

An unforgettable, horrific nightmare.

The shame of his sword not being able to pierce even his still body.

Oh, come to think of it, you… were you the Demon King created where the Mighty King once stood?

Is that the place where they said the fully prepared one died?

What? The Mighty King, who was fully prepared, couldn't kill one guy?

I remember because it was unusual. It was the guy called Heaven-Surrendering Martial Emperor. He was also in the boundary.

That guy is a fake.

The voice naturally boiled over. The Sword Demon King spoke clearly.

That guy is a monster with whom even I, as I am now, can't guarantee victory. But he's just a monster who's good at 'imitating.'

We must be clear. That guy, who prepared perfectly, can only not kill about three people here.

Anyway, make sure to kill the guy who killed the Black Flame King. Two Demon Kings should be enough.

Are you trying to catch the Regressor? But how?

It will take about three months… but I have a plan prepared.

The skeleton turned its back.

As if the meeting was over.

Tch, so self-centered. Then again, it's inevitable when a group of egotistical bastards gathers.

The being in the mirror grinned with a smirk.

So, am I joining forces with the Sword Demon King?

Should I come along just in case?

Your presence would be overkill… No. Those damned women might come, so you should come too.

The Duke of Extermination and the Heavenly Demon, was it? Indeed, those bitches are tricky.

We don't need anyone else. The man with the blue eyes. I'll kill that guy.

The Sword Demon King spoke with a resolute expression.

'There's no way he's the Heaven-Surrendering Martial Emperor.'

Even if that were the case.

With his current self, he could defeat him.

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