Chapter 102: Hunting the Demon King (6)

Clearly, the gods in Valhalla were beings of a higher status than the Demon King. 

However, the power of a god stems from faith—the worship and belief of the people. 

The current Demon King, a remnant of the God of Darkness who had attained Lord Tier Status, was naturally stronger than any minor god who received no faith.

But there was still something unexpected.

“M—Mother?!”

“How can this be!”

It was the hollow death of the Mother Earth Goddess, often called the mother of the gods. 

The Mother Earth Goddess was a symbol of fertility. 

Her power was influenced by every birth. 

Because of this, she could maintain a powerful status without any specific faith.

Such a being had perished under the Demon King’s attack, unable to withstand even a single strike. 

Of course, it was not an eternal extinction. 

However, it would take a very long time for her to reform into a divine shape. 

For the time being, no trace of the Mother Earth Goddess would be found in Valhalla or anywhere else.

And the Demon King, who had realized the unbelievable, dropped the head of the Mother Earth Goddess he was holding.

“Thud!”

Then he crushed her head in an instant, as if stepping on an insect.

“Crunch!”

“This is why you are called remnants of the past. You know nothing of your place and only ramble about your glory days.”

It was an insult to every god present.

“You wretch—” The God of War stepped forward. 

No, it was not just him.

“Arrogant bastard!”

“I will tear you apart right now!”

Led by the God of War, the gods of Courage, Wisdom, and Thunder occupied the space and rushed forward. 

It was a narrow space. 

Moreover, did Valhalla not have the effect of strengthening the power of gods and weakening the power of intruders?

In particular, those rushing forward were all beings who once boasted enough power to have attained Lord Tier Status. 

They judged that attacking simultaneously could trouble the Demon King, but…

“Look at this. Still acting out of place and running wild, aren’t they?”

He showed enough composure to yawn even against the gods’ attacks. 

In such an urgent situation? 

No, it was not something that could be called an urgent situation. 

It was as if time were flowing slowly.

It had to be that way.

The energy emitted by the Demon King—the Supreme King’s Aura—not only weakened the abilities of the gods but also stole their time.

“Yawn!” The Demon King, who had been yawning as if bored, finally began to move.

“Step.”

As if trapped in a curse of time, the gods could not react to his movements.

“Tap, tap—”

The Demon King merely touched their foreheads with his fingers and in the next moment.

“Pop, pop-pop!”

When time resumed, the gods exploded from the tremendous impact.

…….

The hall, which had been boiling with rage, fell into silence. 

The Demon King’s strength? 

They knew of it. 

He was a being crafted from a part of the God of Darkness who currently held Lord Tier Status, so he was naturally strong. 

But for him to finish off the Mother Earth Goddess and the gods who had attained Lord Tier Status in a single breath… 

Everyone had to remain silent before that absolute strength.

“Hmm. Have you finally become obedient? But it is too late.”

What was silence? 

It was a form of bystanderism. It meant they would not interfere in the deaths of the Mother Earth Goddess and the other gods. 

But regardless of that will he disappeared from the spot.

-Flash!

It was a peak movement that transcended not just space, but time itself—truly transcending time and space.

…….

While the gods, unable to track the Demon King’s movements, stared in the wrong direction, a slaughter occurred.

“Pop!”

“Pop-pop, pop-pop-pop!”

Initially, they did not even realize they were dying. 

Only after a short time passed did they react.

“What?!”

“How!”

They let out groans of confusion. 

However, such reactions could not change the already determined result of death.

“Pop!”

The true bodies of the noble gods exploded. 

The status they had accumulated was scattering in vain.

“Aaaah!”

It was something that should not be happening. 

A god shrieked. 

Gripped by terror, they were showing an unprecedented reaction that had never existed before. 

But that was only for a fleeting moment.

….

Before long, the hall was enveloped in the same silence as before. 

The reason? 

It was simple. 

Every god except the Demon King had reached extinction.

-Flick!

The Demon King brushed off the remnants of the gods stuck to his hands.

“This is why I hate gods. They have no ability, yet they act as if they are so great.”

Having achieved his goal, he looked toward the wall of the bar.

“Salmora.”

The wall, where clearly nothing existed, distorted as someone revealed themselves.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Just give the order.”

A being in a green cloak wearing a crow mask appeared. 

He was the most mysterious of the Six Legion Commanders, whose identity remained the most hidden.

“It is messy here. You can clean it up, right?”

At the Demon King’s command, Salmora replied, “Heh—heh—heh—. That is precisely my specialty, is it not? Do not worry.”

“Yes, that is your specialty.”

The Demon King, having given the order to Salmora, left Valhalla and in the next moment…

-Whoosh!

Green flames enveloped all of Valhalla. 

Surprisingly, those flames cleanly erased the place where the gods resided—the place called the absolute forbidden zone.

“Creatures who don’t know their place. You dare try to interfere with my affairs?”

Though it did not show much on the outside, the Demon King was currently enveloped in extreme rage. 

It was inevitable. 

The Hero, one of the reasons for his existence, had died. 

Moreover, he had died at the hands of a mere human like Kim Si-won, whose very origin was unknown.

That anger was like an active volcano, burning everything around him. 

The gods were no exception. 

The sin of daring to cooperate with Kim Si-won to disguise the God of Falsehood as the God of Victory… 

For that sin, Valhalla and the gods were cleanly erased from this world.

“Next time, I must control them thoroughly so they cannot even maintain their forms.”

Faith arises unknowingly. 

Controlling that would not be an easy task. 

But for the Demon King, it was possible. 

Of course, the prerequisite was to completely dominate this world, the Earth. 

Thus, if not even a small amount of faith was given, it would be impossible for the gods to maintain their forms as they did now.

Of course, the matter of the gods was secondary.

“Now that I have given those arrogant gods a blow…”

Now, all that remained was Kim Si-won and every human in South Korea.

“Tremble in fear, foolish humans. I shall personally show you what you have done to me and how far my wrath can reach.”

***

An ominous energy, like black tentacles, flickered. 

The Demon King intended to completely destroy South Korea, which was currently before his eyes, and everything within it.

‘They have been extinguished.’

Although I could not expand my domain as far as Valhalla, I had a peculiar intuition. 

The Demon King had killed all the gods residing in Valhalla.

The time it took to deal with those gods was roughly three minutes. 

It was hard to believe but for him, it was possible. 

If it was the Demon King crafted from a part of the darkness, it was possible.

If it was someone who had accumulated heavy karma over eternal time, extinguishing the supreme beings called gods could happen in an instant. 

Because of that…

‘Thank you.’

It was an action he would not normally have taken. 

The Demon King was cold-blooded. 

For his goals, he would use any means and methods, and he never excluded any possibilities. 

But right now, he was enveloped in rage. 

Due to a curse placed at the beginning of time, he had fallen in love with the Hero and was now frantic to eliminate everything related to the Hero’s death.

One of those secondary objectives was Valhalla, the bar of the gods. 

He had completed his objective, but he likely did not anticipate the consequences of his actions.

-Grip.

I manifested the divine power—the status—that occupied a place within me. 

In that moment.

-Flash!

Light enveloped my body. 

It was my past appearance that the God of Falsehood had imitated. 

The Status of Victory, crowned with light. 

Originally, I had intended to save it for the battle against the Demon King. 

It was inevitable, as manifesting a divine status was limited to once a day. 

But now that the Demon King had caused this incident, I could not do that.

Manifesting my will, I moved.

-Whoosh!

It was a space that could only be reached by those who had achieved a status that transcended space and even dimensions.

‘Asgard, the realm of the gods.’

The home and sanctuary of the gods.

“Crunch.”

I visited this island in the sky, where clouds decorated the ground, because of those guarding the entrance.

“You have come…”

As if they had guessed I would come, those guarding the entrance were the Mother Earth Goddess and the gods who had just met their end at the hands of the Demon King. 

Although their current manifestations in the world had been extinguished, their energy remained in Asgard.

“I have heard the news.”

“The news that we were pathetically defeated by the Demon King?”

Even the calm, benevolent Mother Earth Goddess was in a state of great rage. 

It was only natural. 

Just because she was the Mother Earth Goddess did not mean she lacked divine superiority. 

No, rather, she simply did not show it; she possessed immense pride in being the mother of the gods.

Because of that, I had treated her with respect to avoid wounding her pride. 

But the Demon King? 

He had delivered an indelible insult and humiliation to her. 

It was something that even the God of Darkness, who had crafted the Demon King, should not have done. 

Faced with a humiliation she had never experienced once since her birth, the Mother Earth Goddess was in no position to be picky.

And the purpose of this visit was to exploit that rage.

“Lend me your power.”

I did not bother to mince words.

“If the gods here lend me their power…”

“And then?”

“…I will grant the wish you currently long for.”

“Do you know what my wish is?”

“The annihilation of the Demon King. And ending the darkness that created him, and furthermore, ending the cycle of light and darkness.”

…….

That was the correct answer. 

If I had said I would only kill the Demon King, it would likely not have been enough to satisfy them. 

But at the mention of the God of Darkness and ending the cycle of light and darkness…

“You are a wise child.” The Mother Earth Goddess wore a satisfied smile.

“Light and darkness. Those beings are arrogant. They act triumphantly as if all this belongs to them. To end their world—yes, the power of everyone will be needed.”

Fortunately, the Mother Earth Goddess understood my plan.

“I will gladly participate in your plan.” She reached out her hand as she spoke. 

It was the same for the other gods. 

Numerous gods reached out, and within them…

-Hummmm!

The faith they had gathered until now, the status that formed divine power, was contained. The moment I clasped hands with them, including the Mother Earth Goddess, I could feel it. The power they possessed, that status, was further elevating my own status.

The Demon King had looked down on their power. Like dust gathering to form a mountain, it was merely tiny fragments of power, but what if I were the one absorbing them?

“Your wishes will be fulfilled.”

Absorbing all those statuses, I left Asgard. I would surely use this power to strike down the Demon King. And I would break that eternal cycle of light and darkness.

But there was a fact that the gods, including the Mother Earth Goddess, did not know.

‘Light and darkness aren’t the only ones. The age of the gods will also come to an end.’

To realize a world where gods could not intervene, just like the Earth of the past. That was the end of the grand plan I had envisioned.