Brain bloom

"But we are the devils, and we believe in reciprocity in transactions. If you don't pay the price, no one will work for you to summon the ancient devil king for free."

The devils chattered amongst themselves, remaining completely still, for devils are principled.

Hodge's seaweed-covered body, which had been flowing like threads, was now gradually showing signs of taut. Although it smelled terrible, the seaweed covering its body could actually sever laws and concepts, making it a powerful weapon.

But suddenly, an overwhelming aura descended upon Hodge.

The market buildings, which had just been repaired under his direction, also developed numerous cracks due to this overwhelming force.

Unbeknownst to anyone, the ancient demon king silently arrived at a nearby rooftop, disappearing into the darkness, leaving only his two bright golden eagle eyes radiating an extremely terrifying and powerful aura.

"I haven't had a good night's sleep in ages. If you have something to say, do it quickly, evil god," the ancient demon king whispered.

"You're far too late. Have your wings become dull, Ancient Demon King?"

“Apart from my daughter, no one has dared to speak to me like that in a long time. Is this how you ask me for a favor? You schizophrenic evil god.”

Hodge scoffed: "Anyway, you'll always have to abide by your own rules. No matter how much I mock you, as long as we don't actually fight, you can't do anything to me. What can you do besides stop time? That's useless against me. Besides, you'll have to obediently accept my trade request."

Yes, that's right.

"And your deals have always been fair. Since there's no risk involved, why can't I humiliate you a few times before making you obediently accept my deal?"

The ancient demon king was unmoved by this: "But I advise you to restrain yourself, otherwise I can just laugh it off. So, what do you want?"

"I demand that the ruler of the demon realm, the ancient demon king Ron Stolt, refrain from interfering in anything in the human world for the next week. Come, state your price."

"Is this your deal?"

The ancient demon king found this a strange deal, but when his gaze swept over the powerful monsters around him, he quickly understood everything. What it was going to do, and—why it had become so violent and erratic.

"If you want to awaken the primordial evil, now is not a good time."

"I don't need your guidance."

"That's true, since your divine status has become someone else's tool anyway. Well, I'm very reluctant, but I have to abide by my own rules... This deal comes at a high price."

"explain."

"Thirty thousand suffering human souls."

The demons watching the scene erupted in uproar. What an enormous deal this was... Even if you searched through all the trading records in the demon realm and throughout history, you would rarely find so many souls being bought and sold in a single transaction.

But Hodge remained unmoved and even began to bargain—

"Three hundred."

"Oh."

"Don't laugh so stupidly, I haven't finished yet. I'm referring to the souls of three hundred human girls, filled with negative emotions, soaked in the filth of the sea for countless years, unable to see hope or light, only knowing how to cry!"

The uproar was abruptly silenced by Hodge's rising voice.

Apart from the ancient Demon King, no one else had any color left on their face; their already pale demon skin became even more ashen. They all knew where these souls came from, and how powerful they were to the demons…

“Not enough,” the ancient demon king said decisively.

"why?"

"In your infamous Hodge Theatre, those three hundred girls are indeed... well, some are already heartbroken, and some are too young to be as perfect as you describe, so they don't make a fair price."

Hodge scoffed: "You petty, damn devil, what more do you want?"

"May the deity that makes you kind and holy appear for an hour when I need it and unconditionally do me a favor."

"Oh... this price is interesting. I've heard that you've been raising a half-dead human as your head of household, hoping I'll save her? How ridiculous—"

Before Hodge could finish speaking, it noticed that the Ancient Demon King had vanished.

The owl that was perched on the roof is gone—

Instead, an indescribable, colossal presence appeared in the realm of demons in an instant.

It was a terrifying form that the eyes could not comprehend and words could not describe, yet it transcended everything. Hodge felt that this strange form somewhat resembled an owl, and only then did he realize who it was.

In that instant, everything in the Demon Realm changed. The market, unable to withstand the power, was reduced to ruins in a flash. Some lowly creatures, devoid of self-awareness, were annihilated into dust before they could even utter a cry.

The portal shattered in an instant, and the heavens and earth shook violently.

All the true gods who had been hiding in the realm of demons—no, in the three realms—were simultaneously awakened.

But it was only for a moment.

The owl appeared on the roof again, anxiously pacing back and forth on the cracked but barely collapsed wooden house.

Thankfully... I managed to restrain myself.

Otherwise, the little wooden house that Yuan had specially built would have been torn down. If she returned to find only ruins, she would surely be heartbroken…

"What a spoiled daughter! Can't we even criticize her?"

Hodge's shrill voice forced the ancient demon king to look up.

"Even if you reveal your true form to intimidate me, so what? Your original size is too enormous to exist in the past world. Forcibly revealing it will only make the constraints on you stronger..."

The ancient demon king wanted to refute and deny the truth of what Hodge said.

But if it can be denied, then it is not real.

"...You're right." It could only admit.

Admitting with frustration

Volume 1 #286: The Unfinished Deal

The conflict did not escalate, and Hodge looked rather grim.

The ancient demon king's previous angry expression had brought about a lot of unnecessary trouble.

In the beginning—an ancient phantom dragon, whose countless forms were indistinguishable, emerged from the shadows. Even without wings, it could reach anywhere and bite off any enemy.

“Gray Tears…” the ancient demon king uttered a complex sound.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not here to help you, I just want to see what kind of farce is going on here."

Then—from the portal emerged a silver-haired old man, leaning on a cane, his steps faltering. He seemed unable to move an inch; it was no surprise he was dead in a coffin. His filthy robes were stained with many marks, all from the blood of a true god.

Everyone gasped, for even a baby should recognize this old monster.

The origin of magic, the supreme ancient hero of human history, the blood enemy of the true god...

But the ancient demon king preferred to address him by this honorific title—

"The end of the myth."

The old man nodded, the gesture so subtle it was almost imperceptible.

Hodge clicked his tongue in amazement: "An ancient hero who put an end to the age of mythology... What does Eden Bank look like?"

But the ancient hero did not answer. His one cloudy eye, seemingly about to go blind, stared intently at Hodge's soul, sending chills down the latter's spine.

Faced with such overwhelming momentum, Hodge reluctantly restrained his attitude, preferring to finish the transaction as soon as possible and return home.

Time is running out.

However, once he opened his mouth, it unconsciously turned into a joke—

"Ha, the Demon Realm is truly terrifying. I've heard there's a Demon Grand Duke at the level of a true god, and five great nobles who have reached the demigod realm... Why didn't they all come out together? Let me see just how grand their entourage is!"

But the atmosphere became even more tense, as if if it continued to speak so recklessly, the deal would really fall through.

"Alright, alright, I understand... Deal... Deal! I'll deliver the souls you need right away!"

“Then get out of here,” said the ancient demon king.

"Tsk."

Hodge waved his hand, and a gate connecting to the human world opened.

The view opposite is an endless expanse of azure sea, but when it waved a piece of seaweed off its body, a magnificent and grand floating theater appeared as if by magic.

It is not silent.

Instead, it became noisy.

Hundreds of brightly dressed human girls stood on the stage, singing to an empty audience.

"It sounds awful." One of the devils in the group bluntly remarked.

“It’s good that it sounds awful.” Hodge laughed sinisterly, his voice becoming sharp and joyful. “The singing is exactly the negative emotions in their hearts. Is it beautiful? Well, don’t glare at me.”

Just as Hodge was about to deliver the souls, someone took them away ahead of time—it was that ancient hero who had always remained silent.

A trembling hand slowly reached out, and with some unknown magic, crushed the extravagant theater out of thin air, leaving not a speck of dust behind. The girls who had been singing on stage had their lips sealed, and when they came to their senses, they had been transported to the realm of demons.

"It's much quieter now." The ancient demon king breathed a sigh of relief.

"Unfortunately, you don't know how to listen..."

"It would be quieter if you could just get out."

"Fine, as you wish, great and pathetic devil."

As Hodge's men left first, and it was about to take that step, the ancient demon king suddenly spoke seriously.

"—By the way, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're out here. It's impossible for you to awaken the primordial evil. The human world is more complex than you think. There is a terrifying true god there who won't stand idly by."

Every piece of seaweed in Hodge was filled with astonishment.

But it didn't ask any more questions, because asking the devil questions was too costly.

It simply left.

Everyone present then toned down their imposing manner and became more easygoing.

"Hodge, did you accept the invitation from the Mist?" Graytear asked. "I saw some Mist creatures in Silvermoon City that smelled very similar to it."

"It seems so."

The ancient demon king thought for a moment, then changed his mind—

"But it's not an invitation from the Evil Mist, it's from the native inhabitants of the human world, the souls of travelers. Awakening the primal evil can return the world to its original state, desolate as before... In that case, they would have a slight possibility of going to Eden Bank."

“Eden Bank…” the ancient hero uttered a deep, almost dreamlike sigh.

"King of the Ancient Demons, you speak of a true god who can stop Hodge..."