The Demon King is unfathomable

Chapter 379 Imitation of others
Merck...who is Merck?
On the other side of the 178th virtual realm, the scavenger Kyle felt his life rapidly slipping away, and in his hazy state, he vaguely heard a name.

The voice seemed to come from the void, resounding deep within his soul.

Kyle no longer had time to worry about anything else.

The toxins of "rust disease" had already invaded his internal organs; he could feel his flesh hardening and decaying piece by piece, like rusted metal. The cold hand of death was gripping his throat, making it impossible for him to breathe!
Just as his consciousness was about to sink completely into darkness, a warm and holy white light suddenly descended from the sky without warning, completely enveloping his broken body.

Before Kyle could even be surprised, he found himself seemingly immersed in warm spring water, and his consciousness, which had seemed to have sunk to the bottom of the sea, gradually rose to the surface.

The excruciating pain that penetrated to the bone was subsiding at an incredible speed.

He saw the rusty, decaying tissue on his body peeling away inch by inch under the power of holy light, revealing healthy, vibrant new flesh!

Incredible—

He should have died, but he's alive?!

Then, the grand and majestic voice gradually became clearer, telling him about the sacred gospel from another world and guiding him to master a supreme power called "Source Force".

Kyle was completely confused, but he understood a few things.

Although it was an unfamiliar language, its ripples resonated within him...

"I am Merck, your savior."

“From this day forward, you will be my ‘apostle,’ my first divine messenger on earth.”

"Feel this power, take control of it, and then...act for me."

In any case, it was a good deal.

Filled with the elation of surviving a disaster and a deep skepticism about this mysterious power, Kyle stumbled and crawled out of the junkyard.

He breathed in the air filled with toxic smog, but to his surprise, the smog that would sting an ordinary gray man had no effect on him at all.

His "filter gills," made up of countless fine folds, seemed to be enhanced by the milky white light!

Kyle embarked on his journey back to the settlement.

He had walked this road countless times, but never before had he seen it so clearly, even seeing the mottled graffiti and stains on the wall, and the screws scattered in the corner.

He saw scavengers like himself, emaciated and fighting over a few pieces of useless scrap metal, with small children lurking around them, ready to pounce and snatch the last bit of belongings from the losers.

These "gray people" living at the very bottom of society mostly cannot afford expensive protective suits and gas masks.

They could only wrap their mouths and noses with tattered strips of cloth, letting the toxins corrode their skin, which should have been as tough as leather.

Many people, like him before, developed spots of "rust disease." However, due to the endurance and adaptability that the Greys had developed over a long period, the vast majority had acquired a mild immunity to the toxin.

When Kyle arrived at the gate of the residential area, which was surrounded by wire mesh, several fully armed guards were leaning against the gate, coldly watching the crowds coming and going.

Their equipment was far superior to that of the scavengers outside; they even wore old-fashioned gas masks that could filter out most toxins.

An old man who wanted to go into the city to beg for some food was ruthlessly pushed to the ground with the butt of a gun.

"Get out! Don't bring your plague in!"

The guard's voice was cold and impatient, followed by shrill laughter that echoed from all around, chasing the stumbling old man into the shadows beneath the dust.

His hungry child was waiting there expectantly, but eventually that hopeful gaze was shrouded in a gray, misty shadow.

Kyle walked past with his head down, not daring to look at the unfortunate old man or the guard.

In the wasteland, compassion is both the cheapest and the most expensive luxury.

Only by remaining cautious and humble can one survive.

As you walk through the gate and further in, the scenery changes dramatically.

The outermost area is a slum built from shipping containers and abandoned pipes, which is also his narrow but cozy little home. As for the relatively clean central area, it is the territory directly ruled by the settlement's ruler, "Iron Hand".

The place was brightly lit, and the fortress, converted from the remains of a huge steam engine, was bustling with activity. It was said that they also produced some delicious canned food.

Kyle could even see through the window that "Iron Hand" and his cronies were gathered around the campfire, enjoying precious delicacies and clean distilled water.

That was the "tax" he and other scavengers at the bottom of society earned and paid from the ruins with their lives.

Thanks to these taxes, they are able to live as they did before the apocalypse, and even enjoy a level of luxury that they never experienced before the world collapsed.

Everything outside seemed irrelevant to them.

They neither envy the prosperous past nor want to go back.

Why?
Kyle's fists clenched involuntarily.

Why should Iron Hand and his men live in luxury while other scavengers have to suffer from hunger and die like maggots?
Of course, he was too weak to do anything but endure the injustice and swallow all his complaints.

He didn't publicize his legendary survival experience, fearing he would be captured and dissected, so he hid in his drafty "home".

At that moment, after calming down, he saw his younger brother lying on the bed, barely alive.

A strong impulse surged from his heart, and he began to follow the whispers in his mind, trying to use the power that had appeared out of nowhere in his body.

He stretched out his newly regenerated, no longer rusty hands, and following the guidance of the voice in his mind, directed the "source power" within his body to his fingertips.

"Holy Light... I beg you, please take away the pain of my loved ones."

A soft light appeared, carrying a rich life force, and slowly enveloped his sleeping brother.

Under Kyle's watchful eye, a miracle happened again!
When he saw that his younger brother had also recovered and was weakly opening his eyes, Kyle's last trace of doubt was completely replaced by fervent gratitude.

He knelt on the ground, facing the empty wall, expressing his gratitude to the god from beyond the realm, and swore a blood oath to serve the great god named "Merck" for the rest of his life.

Seemingly sensing his piety, Merck responded to his prayer and gave guidance for the next step—

"coal."

"That is not only the fuel you rely on to survive, but also imbued with pure source energy. If you want to become stronger, go and obtain more coke infused with resentment."

“I will teach you the knowledge to harness this power and guide you to become stronger. All you need to do is offer me tribute regularly.”

Kyle was overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement.

Praise be to our Lord!

Of course, in his heart, besides gratitude, a sense of greed also quietly grew.

He longed for more power.

He wanted those who had driven him and his brother to such a desperate situation to also experience the despair of struggling helplessly in the abyss!

……

Kyle wasn't the only one thrilled; Merck, standing on the other side of the virtual realm, was also overjoyed. His usually expressionless face finally broke into genuine elation once more.

He succeeded!

The mental frequency of the "divine messengers" is synchronizing with theirs, and in this process, the virtual realm is gradually becoming stable!

"Accelerate the experiment!" Merck excitedly ordered. "Make our pieces move faster on the chessboard!"

The mages inside the mage tower began to activate their source power, accelerating the flow of time on the other side of the illusory realm and dragging the sluggish progress bar backward.

The "divine messenger" was clumsy; after all, he was just a scavenger at the very bottom of society. Even with extraordinary power, he could only cautiously explore his own path in the wasteland.

This was undoubtedly a "waste of time" for the researchers in the Mage Tower. But for Kyle, it was a completely different story.

Kyle returned to the familiar ruins, but this time, his identity had changed from prey to hunter.

He began consciously seeking out the scavenger gangs who had bullied and robbed him. He stopped hiding and started showing himself.

As the scavengers, as usual, brandished rusty iron pipes and daggers, trying to snatch his seemingly clean clothes, Kyle grinned maliciously, a gesture that represented divine wrath directed at the hyenas.

"Source Power" can be used for more than just healing.

It can also be used for killing!
The power that had once healed his body shot out from his fingertips, no longer warm and gentle, but transformed into a burst of sparks powerful enough to melt steel!

The screams didn't even have time to escape before they were swallowed up by the instantaneous high temperature.

After killing the scavengers, Kyle stole the coal from them, which was the so-called "wraith coke" that the voice from behind the void had told him about.

The moment he touched the coke, he was surprised to find that these coal mines, stained with blood and violence, seemed to possess more and purer power than those directly mined from ruins!

A crazy idea quietly took root in his mind.

He began to consciously hunt down the raiders who roamed the wasteland.

He snatched the charred remains from their hands, absorbed their power, and grew stronger in the process.

Of course, the number of people at the top of the food chain is ultimately limited, and he can't always find those who run rampant.

Therefore, he would occasionally take action against scavengers who were not so despicable, and the criteria for doing so depended on his mood.

This standard could be because some clueless person stole the trash the children had collected, or because some impolite brat spat on his back.

His fame, like a snowball, spread among the desperate scavengers at the bottom of society.

They didn't think he did anything wrong; they said they would have done the same in the same situation.

The Greys struggling in the ruins regarded him as a "spirit of vengeance" who had fallen from the sky, and they flocked to his cause.

Finally, after accumulating enough strength, Kyle launched a rebellion.

He led thousands of his supporters, fanatical scavengers, like an unstoppable torrent, towards the heart of the settlement—the fortress of "Iron Hands."

In the sparsely populated wasteland, this was a force that could be described as devastating, enough to overwhelm the pitiful guards in no time.

Then, a leader who was both more brutal and more intelligent than "Iron Hand" was born.

His name is "God's Messenger," and he serves "the Great Merck."

Time continued to pass behind the virtual realm. The "divine messenger" at the top of the food chain began to implement harsh religious laws in the settlement. In the name of his god, "Great Merck," he confiscated all the scavengers' property, taking everything, including people and things, into the possession of the "church," and then made the scavengers supervise each other.

He knew very well how he succeeded. His extraordinary power was only one aspect; more importantly, it was the lack of order in the slums that allowed powerful figures like himself to take advantage of the situation.

Something like this must never happen again in his settlements; the world doesn't need a second savior who declares war on the wasteland.

He began to select servants among his followers who had the potential to sense the "Source Force," and to grant them power on behalf of the extraterrestrial gods in the void. He appointed them as "Shepherds of the Ruins" and sent them to more distant wastelands to spread the holy gospel of the "Savior."

A massive holy war has begun.

A “divine messenger” who is ten times more brutal and absurd than the mob declares war on the mob across the wasteland and seeks to establish a divine kingdom free from violence and death.

Although it sounds absurd, it's absolutely wonderful for those scavengers struggling in the wasteland...

……

Merck was successful, and so was Kyle.

At least, that's how it started.

In the cruel "Steam City" of the 178th Void Realm, there is no power more alluring than that comparable to that of a god.

And coincidentally, the person he was mentoring was a "vengeful spirit" whose ambition was in no way inferior to his own.

This vengeful spirit will soon assimilate other vengeful spirits. Time flows faster, and the snowball built of resentment rolls across the wilderness at an incredible speed.

A new cult called "Redemption Ark" has grown rapidly under the leadership of "God's Messenger" Kyle, attracting countless desperate scavengers.

They quickly grew in strength, using the flesh and blood of believers and the holy light bestowed by God to conquer and annex the surrounding tribes, large and small, with the most brutal means. Then, they used false promises and a bright future to deceive the fools in the distance.

The initial success made Merck extremely excited in the observation room.

He practically regarded Colin's paper as gospel, believing that he had completely grasped the ultimate secret of virtual interference!
That's way too easy!

"not enough!"

Through the illusory lens, Merck greedily gazed at the rapidly expanding theocratic kingdom, constantly issuing new commands to his "divine messenger," Kyle.

"Kyle, you don't have enough followers. You shouldn't just be greedy for immediate enjoyment. There are still many more pitiful people in these ruins waiting for you to save them!"

"Go and unleash their potential! Let them embrace your divine kingdom with their hearts and souls until this filthy wasteland is completely purified!"

Kyle firmly believed in Merkle's teachings.

As he learned from history, it is precisely because of people's endless pursuit of material things that the world has headed towards the abyss of decline.

Now, he sees a better option.

Why not lead his people to embrace a more advanced spiritual ideology?
This is the most advantageous choice, both for civilization and for him personally!

A greater ambition was growing within Kyle: he wanted not only to be the king of this land, but also its god!

As Merck's mage tower accelerated the passage of time in the virtual realm, Kyle was also actively recruiting more extraordinary individuals to join his "savior army."

The immense advantage brought by the Source Force did indeed accelerate the end of the chaos in the wasteland, allowing the sphere of influence of the "Ark of Redemption" to expand at an unprecedented speed, and even bringing a brief but incredible period of prosperity.

On the other hand, it also gave rise to new and more terrifying chaos, sowing the seeds of disintegration for this huge and bloated organization.

Those selected “ruin shepherds” who also possessed extraordinary powers soon became dissatisfied with the worship of the lower-class believers and their ethereal spiritual sustenance.

They began to crave more practical things—such as wealth, slaves, and power to do as they pleased!

They enslave in the name of "salvation," plunder in the name of "charity," and spread ignorance and stupidity in the name of "education."

A more thorough form of exploitation than feudal aristocracy took shape on this advanced yet decadent land.

Here, "nobles" are not called nobles, but "saviors." Just as the nobles in the tower are not called nobles, but professors or mentors.

While wielding supreme power, they were exempt from any corresponding feudal obligations. The oppressed "saved" could only silently endure and humbly pray that these high-ranking saviors would possess good personal morality and character…

But in the wasteland, this is precisely the rarest thing.

Merck did not intentionally weave the doctrines of the Ark Cult, but he inadvertently passed on the Xuebang model to his "divine messenger," who then cleverly "localized" it.

At the same time, in order to obtain more "source power" to please the gods and to satisfy their own inflated desires, the "Ark of Salvation" sect began to adopt more radical and even cruel methods to spread the gospel of holy light.

This includes, but is not limited to, slaughtering all nonbelievers as evil spirits, and deliberately bringing about man-made disasters in order to spread salvation.

For example, create a plague or famine, and then rescue the survivors when the scavengers are on the verge of death, while praising the death that could have been avoided.

In the end, the redemption was attributed to the true god Merck, while how death came was casually buried in the dust.

Merck didn't even bother to teach Kyle how to do it; the latter grasped the ultimate secret on his own.

Although they have different colored blood, they share almost identical mental frequencies, which may be the reason why they can cooperate so well.

Ultimately, a monster more twisted and insane than the wasteland itself was born, greedily devouring everything in its path.

Just when Merck was smugly believing that he would soon achieve final success, even surpassing the success of the 440th Virtual Realm, an unexpected event suddenly occurred.

The atrocities committed by the "Ark of Redemption" finally made the other pragmatic scavenger tribes in the wasteland feel an imminent threat to their survival.

Faced with fear, they united.

These grey people, who saw through the hypocrisy of the divine kingdom, finally realized that there was never any savior in the world, and that they could only rely on themselves.

They no longer believed in any gods descending from the heavens, but only in the rusty weapons in their hands and the old-world machines that could be repaired and made to roar again.

In the darkest hour, a true hero was born.

He was once the most devout believer under the messenger of the "Ark of Redemption," but after witnessing firsthand the various atrocities committed by the church, he awoke from the lies about the Holy Light.

He escaped, covered in wounds but with an indomitable will, and began traveling between the surviving tribes.

At his call, the tribes that were originally hostile and suspicious of each other united for the first time, forming a loose but purposeful military organization – the Wastelanders Alliance.

A war between "materialism" and "idealism" erupted on the gray, fog-shrouded ruins, just like the war they fought hundreds of years ago for resources, except this time they were fighting for the little remaining space to live.

The wastelanders used the knowledge salvaged from the ruins to modify themselves and the roaring steam engines, and with their crippled bodies repaired by prosthetics, they launched a fierce counterattack against the "Ark of Redemption," which had fallen into paranoia and madness.

This time, the rebels were no longer a mob, but an iron wall forged by the flames of resistance and ravaged by countless storms.

The war quickly spread throughout the wasteland.

The purges began not only on the battlefield, but also off the battlefield.

After realizing that the supernatural powers wielded by those "ruin shepherds" would only bring enslavement and destruction, the wastelanders finally abandoned what little shame they had left and began to indiscriminately slaughter and cleanse all "outsiders" who could use supernatural powers.

They viewed this power as a plague more terrible than "rust disease," and the whispers in the void as an evil spirit like a "natural disaster"!

This was something that had never happened before in the history of the continent of Os—for the first time, mortals raised their knives against the extraordinary!

Ultimately, in a decisive siege, the Wastelanders' army surrounded the holy city of the "Ark of Redemption".

Standing atop the ruins of the city wall, looking down at the dark, imposing army of steel and fury below, "God's Messenger" Kyle felt a deep-seated fear for the first time.

He staggered back to the temple, slammed the doors shut, knelt on the ground, and cried out in a hoarse voice to the heavens.

"My Lord! Great Merk! Where is your divine power? I beg you to unleash your boundless power upon your servant once more! For my sake, which is so faithful, please burn away those heretics who blaspheme against you!"

Inside the mage tower, Merck stared at the scene, his face pale, unable to understand why such a promising situation had turned out this way.

Until a few years ago, everything was fine, but then those “unbelievers” who had been suppressed suddenly became powerful.

He has given Kyle everything he could.

At that moment, he could only watch helplessly, powerless to do anything.

"Are these guys insane?! Rebel against their savior?! Do they even know what they're doing?!"

Merck roared uncontrollably, wishing he could dive into that virtual realm and show those ugly gray people his strength as a gold-level expert.

He had no doubt that he would be like a god descending to earth, sweeping those foolish thugs into the garbage heap without leaving a single one behind!

however--

He could never get past that door.

That is another world, and the interference of source power has its limits.

He can loosen a screw that no one notices, ignite a wildfire, and even change the relative flow of time between two worlds, but he cannot stop the collapse of the entire building, nor can he turn back time.

He could use Kyle to kill a few wastelanders, but he couldn't kill a whole bunch of fearless guys.

Not to mention, as his followers continue to die, the source power he can draw upon has become negligible.

The extraordinary beings of this world are ultimately too weak!

Finally, under the desperate gaze of countless fanatics, the wastelanders raised their rifles and shot the "messenger of the gods" dead with flashing light.

With his fall, this absurd farce, directed by a clumsy imitator, finally crumbled amidst cheers of victory.

The tower was completely silent. The teaching assistants looked at each other, not daring to breathe.

Merck stared intently at the illusory realm, his wand trembling slightly, wondering how this farce would ultimately end.

This hard-won victory led all the surviving "Greys" to completely abandon their vague spiritual beliefs and the so-called "great Merck".

They regarded the rise and fall of the "Ark of Salvation" as a costly and painful lesson, and erected monuments for the victims.

Gods are untrustworthy, and evil spirits behind the void are no good either. Only the tools and knowledge you hold in your hands are real and reliable.

They became even more determined to follow the path of "materialism," frantically excavating the relics of the old world, restoring forgotten machines, and continuing the research that their ancestors had halted due to arrogance.

They soon discovered that although fossil fuel resources were exhausted, there was something else that could provide them with an inexhaustible supply of energy...

That is the source of "light".

This is a secret they discovered while battling cultists.

Initially, they only wanted to expose the lies about the Holy Light, but they inadvertently discovered the true nature of sunlight—it was two tiny particles that released a power comparable to that of a star in a chain reaction!

Through their study of matter, they have found a way to bring the light of stars to Earth!

Merck couldn't understand what kind of magic it was, nor could he see it, because beyond the incomprehensible "horizon," there was no "viewpoint" from which to establish observation. He only saw the flames boiling on the horizon in the instant a secret believer's faith collapsed.

Merck gradually felt despair.

The world behind the No. 178 virtual realm is gradually slipping out of his control, and this slippage is all-encompassing; the consensus between the two worlds is crumbling little by little.

The Greys have finally stepped into their own history, arriving at a timeline where no one knows the future.

On this timeline, there are no whispers of the ancient gods or unpredictable spells; instead, there is a vast and boundless starry sky.

The entire intellectual climate of civilization has changed.

As a result, they seem to be getting better, more united, and stronger.

However, this kind of "good" that the Greys like seems to have no meaning for Xuebang, who is far away in another world.

Inside that cold and lonely mage tower, Merck was horrified to discover that the image through the lens of the 178th illusory realm was becoming increasingly faint and blurry!

It's like an old photograph exposed to acid rain, its edges constantly shrinking and blurring under the raindrops of time.

"Quickly! Close the magic circle!"

In order to avoid the complete collapse of the virtual realm and bring even greater trouble upon himself, Merck issued his final order in a panic.

Before the last sliver of energy was severed, the teaching assistants frantically cut off the magic supply, freezing the scene in the virtual realm in the final second before its apparent collapse.

The light in the illusory realm dimmed instantly.

That lens that once reflected the rise and fall of a civilization eventually turned into a desolate grayness in the midst of chaos.

Although the time between the two civilizations has not yet come to an end, the day of their parting seems to be not far off.

"...It's over."

Merck muttered to himself, then slumped into his chair in despair.

"The charred remains of the 178th Void Realm have become history. Although it was only a matter of time, it happened in his hands."

He completely botched the task Professor Alistair assigned him...

(End of this chapter)