『…What?』
This was the first time Yeon-woo had been so shocked. Kronos muttered in disbelief as well. It must've been something the beasts were hearing for the first time as well, because they were exuding confused thoughts.
'A face of the Heavenly Demon!' The only Heavenly Demon Yeon-woo had seen so far was the Monkey King's exuviae. But that alone was difficult to grasp exactly how powerful the Monkey King had been. The power of a vestige body was hard to calculate, so Yeon-woo could only imagine how powerful the real Monkey King would be.
But of course, it probably wasn't that all of the Heavenly Demon's faces were strong. From the beginning until now, all of his past lives were called his "faces," so there were probably a few normal lives where he had been a farmer or a fisherman… However, that didn't mean the level or potential of his soul disappeared. Even if he had lived a normal life, he had most definitely shown his aptitude somehow. Taking that into consideration, it wasn't strange at all that Yvlke was a face of the Heavenly Demon.
「Ohoho! If that's true, many of the questions I've had about Yvlke are now answered! How he was the Tower's first Guardian, how he was abnormally strong… And that's how he was always to pick up all those fallen emperors!」Laplace laughed as he tried to bind Yvlke but was flung back.「But it's strange. I get that he's a face, but how can he do as he wishes like that?」
From what was known, most of the Heavenly Demon's faces had a free spirit. That was certainly how the Monkey King's exuviae that Yeon-woo saw had been. None of them were beings to be tied to something.
However, within that free-spiritedness, they had their own path and duty. It was as if they had some obsession to complete that duty. In other words, it was their "fate" or "destiny." This was a kind of cycle that was passed down from the first protector of fire, Li. Beings with the Heavenly Demon's spirit couldn't avoid this.
But Yvlke seemed to have none of that. If he truly was a face, it was impossible for him to act against the Heavenly Demon's purpose.
"Of course, I only 'used' to be one. I'm not one anymore! I'm me, and the Heavenly Demon is the Heavenly Demon. The difference is great, so I hope you don't get us mixed up. Ohyohyo!" The canines glistening between Yvlke's mouth seemed sharper than usual.
'Did that mean he didn't share a soul with the Heavenly Demon anymore? Or like the Monkey King's exuviae, is there a being named Yvlke, and this is his vestige body?' Yeon-woo had no idea.
Boom! Yvlke blasted Heaven Bracket's Lightning Strike.
As the explosion and multiple rays of light approached Yeon-woo like a prison, Yeon-woo quickly swung Scythe in the air. Tatatang! Crash, crash, rumble. Yeon-woo felt his range of cognition becoming messed up by the continued shockwaves.
"Anyway, that's it for today, and I'll see you again next time. It's time to return home."
"Says who!" Yeon-woo felt a black shadow moving behind Yvlke. The shadow was spreading its tentacles to the injured beasts. It was a piece of another dream. They were trying to return to where they came from and hide. But naturally, Yeon-woo didn't overlook it.
"Ohyohyohyo! Says me, of course." At that moment, Yvlke clapped.
Yeon-woo was attempting to use Shukuchi to approach Yvlke when his vision suddenly began to spin.
[Parts of the disappeared dream attempt to multiply!]
[Erosion occurs!]
[The 'dream' is descending!]
…
[Warning! The recognition of the world is becoming messed up! The stored data is experiencing confusion. The connection to the backup cloud is unstable.]
[Find and eliminate the cause! If this situation is prolonged, it will affect keeping the world intact!]
[Warning! The laws are shaking due to the collision with other 'dreams.' Idea is receiving static!]
…
[Eye of the Heavens scatters!]
[Ear of the Heavens fails!]
Static crackled. It wasn't just Yeon-woo's vision but his entire mind that was shaken. His range of cognition that he spread throughout the entire universe was dispersed, and the information was no longer refined.
'Who am I? Where is this place?' Yeon-woo almost lost his own ego. Although he had definitely escaped the prison-like dream, it felt like he was trapped in there again. He felt dizzy. It was difficult to catch his balance as if he wasn't fully awake yet. Trapped in a dream—that was an apt description.
[You maintain your rationale with the trait 'Intense Light.']
『Yeon-woo? Yeon-woo!』
It was Yeon-woo's first time feeling this sensation after becoming the Black King's main ego, so he couldn't help but be taken aback. Fortunately, he was able to regain consciousness with the evolved Cold-blooded trait, Intense Light, and he restored his ego. It was less than a tenth of a second that he lost consciousness, but Yvlke and the others were already gone.
'That just now…!' Yeon-woo was very confused. What he had just experienced was similar to what he felt in the Black King's world, the 'Essence of Dreams.' 'How is a face of the Heavenly Demon using the Black King's power?'
However, what made Yeon-woo more confused was that the Black King, who should've been asleep, was showing a reaction.
[From somewhere, the Black King watches his shaking ego.]
Although Yeon-woo was closer to the main ego, he didn't understand what that meant. 'There's something about him. I have to catch him.' Yeon-woo grit his teeth and attempted to use Shukuchi.
『Where do you think you're going?!』Just then, Kronos grabbed onto Yeon-woo. Strangely, Yeon-woo's skin was cold to the touch. Kronos could feel Yeon-woo sweating through his scales.
"We have to chase after him!"
『In that state?!』
"That's the reason why, father. Things will become extremely botched if we allow them to continue acting up!"
『…That's true too, dammit!』Kronos thought it was dangerous, but he knew Yeon-woo's instinct wasn't something he could ignore, so he crumpled his face.『Do you know where he is? It's impossible to read where he is because of the fragments of the lost dream!』
"There's something he missed." Yeon-woo spread his palm open. Kiaaaaa. Souls trapped in pain were dancing on his hand.
『Oh! The Virtue Stones!』
Zeus' Apostle, Kim Bum-seung, returned to Yvlke with the two Virtue Stones. While Yvlke had opened the dream fragment, Yeon-woo had sensed the coordinates to where Yvlke went even in his dizzy state.
"Yes. I sensed something momentarily. We can move in that direction."
『There really is no day of peace.』
It had only been several days since Yeon-woo awakened from his sleep. Kronos was concerned that Yeon-woo kept on pushing himself. However, Yeon-woo soon arrived at the coordinates as if he had no time to waste.
[You have entered the <Jie Sect> headquarters 'Geumo Island!']
『What? Jie Sect?』
It was an entirely unexpected message. Yeon-woo quickly looked down at the ground below him.
[Demons of <Jie Sect> sense the presence of a trespasser!]
[Qiongqi becomes taken aback after recognizing you!]
[Taowu suspects you are trying to worsen the war!]
[Galaganta straightens his back at the appearance of the new intruder!]
…
[Hundun looks at you with a welcome expression!]
…
[The leader of <Jie Sect> Tongtian Jiaozhu narrows his eyes at you.]
Countless gazes focused on Yeon-woo.
* * *
[The godly society <Deva> has surrendered!]
[Agni drops his weapon and wails.]
[Varuna closes his eyes miserably.]
[Kubera furiously says he can still fight.]
…
[Vayu sighs in relief that he's finally convinced them.]
[The subjugation is finished!]
『What…are you doing to do with us?』The leader of Deva, Krishna, had no choice but to kneel and look up at Ares with a trembling gaze.
After Yeon-woo declared war, Ares and the First Corps invaded Deva immediately. They knew how furious Yeon-woo was, so they entered the war without wasting any time.
Of course, it wasn't easy to subjugate everyone within Deva. They were among the strongest societies in the heavenly world along with Olympus, and they had many followers. Each being within the society was powerful.
However, such hierarchies of power only worked before Yeon-woo took authority. Yeon-woo had reached the emperor-level, and because he ruled Olympus, their force increased as well. Most importantly, as Yeon-woo's Apostles directly received their strength from him, they had the strength of supreme gods.
Moreover, Olympus had fought against Night on the frontlines for the last ten years. Ten years was short for gods, but the gods of Olympus had become close to death on countless occasions. That was how intense the fight against Night had been. The gods of Olympus gained outstanding legends during that time, so each of them was like a one man army.
Deva, who had barely escaped the Tower with their lives, was no match for the gods of Olympus. In the end, they kneeled in front of the great gap between their strength.
Ares, who was the commander of the subjugation unit, firmly said they wouldn't accept Deva if they surrendered unconditionally, so Deva raised their white flag with humiliation. The matter of their lives and the existence of their society all laid in Ares' hands.
pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ "Hm. I haven't thought that far. Since my uncle told me to get on it, I have no choice but to do so as his nephew." Ares grinned. He was extremely amused by this situation. He was a war fanatic from birth, so he was glad that Deva, who was always compared to Olympus, had finally been defeated.
Krishna gritted his teeth. There were many things he wanted to say, but being on the losing side, whatever he said would be mocked.
"There's something I want to ask before we officially put you to trial. Uncle said I have to ask you this."
『What…is it?』
'The Black King's ego ordered Ares to ask something?' Krishna widened his eyes, wondering what the question was.
Ares smirked. "What's the reason why Brahm, no, Brahma, left this place in the past?"
『H-He left of his own accord…!』
It was an unexpected question, and Krishna stuttered as if he was guilty of something. Realizing something was amiss, Ares, cut Krishna off. "We know that Brahma left on his own two feet. But Uncle thinks something happened here. Although we don't know what that is."
『That's…!』
"You know you're over if you get caught lying, right?"
『…!』Krishna wasn't able to reply and hesitated.
Ares put more pressure on Krishna. "So what is it?"
『It's…!』Krishna bit his lower lip. Just when he was about to speak…
[The godly society <Memphis> has surrendered!]
[The godly society <Avesta> has been destroyed!]
…
Like Deva, the messages of surrender from other societies continued to pop up, but there was one message that was different. Ares widened his eyes. "Hm?"
[The Eighth Corps has failed their subjugation!]
[The allied forces <Chan Sect> have been defeated!]
[<Jie Sect> is victorious!]
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