Brain bloom

Clearly, this is not a frightened enemy, but a danger that has been lurking for some time.

This man, known as the Martyr, was always with the faintly visible heart of primordial evil, doing something unknown, but one could always sense danger in him.

Moreover, there is another destabilizing factor that could influence the outcome of the victory—

Mori turned his gaze to the broken, charred fragments of the island.

Standing atop it, one feels like an elf, freely dancing with magic.

Indeed, Mori arrived with powerful allies, whose assistance could even tip the scales of victory in his favor.

But—how much time does she have left? Thinking of this, Mori could only shoot another gem at Hodge while cursing a few words.

"Hodge, just go die already, okay? I'm in a real bind."

I don't know how this thing got its shape, able to withstand so many bombardments.

……

The souls of travel—those who dwell deep within ruins all over the world—have now been awakened and gathered here.

It was a powerful force that accompanied the ominous mist and had plagued the world for many years. Even though major countries knew of their existence, deeply feared them, and even secretly dispatched many people and tried many methods, they could not shake their foundation.

Their work in the depths of the earth predates even the history of the oldest city-states.

But from nightfall until now, in just half an hour, thirteen of them have already been killed.

"The fourteenth..."

Silently reciting the numbers, Yuan put away the magic in his hands and took a slight breath.

She had just unleashed a high-level ice spell, instantly freezing the last enemy in her sight. The traveling soul, along with the Evil Mist and the puppet, was perfectly frozen inside the cube-shaped ice, still maintaining its posture from life.

A face devoid of joy or sorrow, not at all like a soul, vibrant and full of color.

But in the cold, all of this seemed lifeless.

Yuan was already quite experienced; ordinary methods wouldn't work against these enemies who only possessed souls. The only option was to use powerful magic to defeat them on a spiritual level. This was a considerable burden, as inevitably, drawing spiritual power from their souls would bring out some curses.

That will cause pain.

But he could still hold on; the exhilarating feeling of crushing the enemy could offset the pain.

“Hoo… Only… Hodge, it’s your turn.” Yuan took a sip of water and whispered with her moistened lips, “It’s been a long time since I’ve killed a true god. I wonder what you will be like before you die.”

"Insolence! You can't kill me. On the high seas, no one can kill me. Not even the coffin bearers. They've been bombarding me for so long, and I'm still perfectly fine, aren't I?"

The words drifted out from the sea, and at the same time, a disheveled clump of seaweed emerged, peeking out with half an eye looking towards the sky.

"Those despicable coffin bearers, how many more times can they fight with this level of power...?"

"—It can be fired ten thousand more times!"

After the coffin bearers finished their loud announcement, another bullet was fired, creating towering waves in the sea. Hodge cursed and quickly retreated, but this time it didn't go smoothly; its worst fears came true…

Lightning...

With the enemy completely wiped out and no longer needing cover, the thundercloud worm ceased its bombardment of the remaining islands. Under Mori's command, it instead channeled its thunderous power into the sea.

Suddenly, a powerful electric current shot through the sea, forcing Hodge out.

You can still faintly smell the enticing aroma of seaweed seasoned with salt. What awaits it is a somewhat ferocious smile, and the loud laughter of the coffin bearers.

"After I kill you, I should have enough time to disrupt your ritual, right?"

"Be careful, don't kill it."

"How about we spare its life and take it back to make soup?"

"It should... be tolerable, right?"

The scene was deathly silent.

Even the thunder fell silent, for signs of victory had already appeared.

They actually wanted to use a true god to make soup? What utter disrespect! Even among true gods, no one would be so rude. Hodge was extremely anxious. This shouldn't be happening! This shouldn't be happening!

It had no idea what its ally, the Martyr, was doing. The situation was so dangerous; the plan was on the verge of collapse if it took another step, yet he still wouldn't show himself... Damn it.

Moreover, logically speaking, after so much time, shouldn't the primal evil have been awakened by now? Thinking of this, Hodge grew increasingly angry and couldn't help but shout in the direction of his allies.

"What are you dawdling for? Martyr! Help me!"

"Don't be impatient."

An old, worn-out voice whistled out with the night wind.

What approached was a soul, but its aura was quite unusual. It didn't seem like a soul that had died and lost its body, wandering aimlessly. Rather, it seemed like a free soul that didn't want to be bound by a physical body. Mori even had the illusion that what approached was some kind of being higher than humans.

Perhaps this is true.

The martyr revealed his face, unhurried and natural.

He held up his hand, where there was a piece of paper that Sen Shi found familiar, or rather, some kind of voucher.

"Preparation takes a long time, and the beauty of victory lies in extinguishing hope when it burns brightest."

Sensing something, Mori immediately aimed his slingshot at the martyr and fired without checking. However, he was a poor man, and the slingshot drifted into the sea without even creating a ripple.

Mori stepped on his foot and shouted, "Beat him up!"

The thundercloud worm unleashed a thunderous roar, but lacking preparation time, it was blocked by seaweed suddenly extended by Hodge. Mori, annoyed by his grave mistake, immediately turned the slingshot towards Hodge, while simultaneously commanding the thundercloud worm to fire again.

But it was too late; even when the battle was at its most intense, the enemy had already made preparations.

So the martyr tore the summoning ticket apart, shattering it into a thousand pieces that drifted like snowflakes. The lightning of the thundercloud worms could no longer illuminate the night sky, for true darkness had quietly arrived.

An owl was summoned.

It silently watched everything, its eyes filled with boundless sorrow. Unlike usual, it uttered no boastful words to assert its status.

“…Annie Hodge broke the contract? She tore up that unfinished…but already binding deal…”

“Otherwise, how could I have summoned you?” the martyr sighed. “Then, ancient devil king, use your hand to kill your most beloved daughter.”

The martyr issued the order, leaving no loopholes.

Volume 1, Chapter 330: A Plea

Everyone knows that once a deal is made with the devil, it means absolute certainty. Whether it's a written agreement with thick ink or a verbal deal that's fleeting and difficult to maintain, it's a bond that cannot be escaped.

But this only applies to transactions that have been reached.

In addition, there are two other states that are not legally binding.

First, there are rejected deals. Even the most notorious devils always follow their own rules and won't make things difficult for those who refuse a deal; it's just that few people can resist the temptation.

Second, there are unfinished transactions.

Previously, the ancient Demon King believed that the deal with the Sea God would go smoothly and that both parties would keep their promise. Therefore, he silently fought against his inner unease in the Demon Realm, and, bound by the terms of the deal, did not interfere in the affairs of the human world.

However, Poseidon chose to breach the contract, causing the deal to fall through.

Even though this would incur the wrath of the demons and the initial payment would be irrecoverable, Anne Hodge, the benevolent goddess who rules the sea, still smiled and chose to breach the contract.

Thus, another ancient covenant that even the ancient Demon King could not break came into effect, summoning the Demon King, a man of his word, to this place. The summoning ticket possessed immense power, a childish pretext left behind some long ago.

The night wind blows, and the heart of the ancient demon king is as cold as stone.

"willing……"

It blinked hard, and for a fraction of a second, its vision was obscured by darkness. But when the darkness vanished, it saw it again—the wish was right before its eyes, and had not disappeared with the blink.

In the blink of an eye, the outcome remained the same; the ancient Demon King could only accept reality…

Yuan's body bears the marks of a battle.

The stench that permeated the battlefield should have been something she had no connection with.

In the eyes of the ancient Demon King, who could always see into souls, the white flame that symbolized life in Yuan's soul had become a tiny flame... Any flicker could extinguish it.

Like the ancient demon king, she remained silent, their eyes meeting.

"My God, isn't this the Ancient Demon King..." The Thunderstorm Cloud Worm exclaimed in astonishment, "You want to kill its daughter? No, no, no, coffin bearer, think of something quickly."

"owl……"

Mori bit his lower lip, and involuntarily, the scene from last time flashed through his mind. That boyish, traveling soul had summoned him to the battlefield in the same way.

For Mori, this was a scene that seemed all too familiar.

But everything was completely different.

His dry throat uttered words, his lips and tongue parched: "Owl, how about... we play a coin toss to decide the winner? Okay..."

"This time, no."

Its silhouette blends into the darkness, and the same color is applied to every word in its voice, making it heavy and sorrowful.

The ancient demon king was suppressing something—it seemed to be an emotion, but not quite. Rather, it resembled some uncontrollable force about to surge forth. Therefore, its elegant owl form seemed to be subtly fading away.

The summoning ticket was torn into pieces and danced in the wind.

The martyr's eyes were filled with an emotion called "joy." He wasn't looking at the battlefield, but the expression on his old face was one of pure satisfaction.

"You devils, you're always so focused and swift when it comes to trading, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Like that desolate era that you and I have almost forgotten. Yes, you bought this world with despicable tricks. You kicked us out the moment we signed the contract... You wouldn't neglect me, would you?"

"..."

“King of the Ancient Demons—isn’t this great?” Sensing the reversal of fortune, Hodge fully surfaced from the sea, every strand of seaweed waving wildly. “Your daughter didn’t have many days left to live anyway, and now you’re personally sending her on her way. You’ll be happy, won’t you?”

"Can you hear that? That increasingly loud heartbeat."

The martyr is like a conductor, waving his powerful hands toward the summoning scene behind him.

"Although I was delayed by a few minutes in summoning you, it will awaken in a little while... The primordial evil will awaken! Ancient Demon King, come! Let us see the final hurrah before the world's destruction! Go and slaughter!"

"Owl! Stop time—"

"Don't even dream about it." Hodge chuckled. "Perhaps mortal time can be frozen, but can the tolling of the final bell be stopped?"

Sen gritted his teeth and tapped his toes a few times.