Inner Destroyer

　The Loli Evil God squinted his eyes cutely, with a smile still on his lips.

　"This ship will sink completely into the sea of ​​unconsciousness in about thirty minutes. You can go refuel and save people."

　As soon as the words left their mouths, Elaine and Artemina felt the immense weight that had been binding them vanish without a trace. They no longer even felt the pain from Samael's aura. But the shock to their hearts far outweighed the pressure their bodies had previously endured.

　This wasn't the nun's first time facing a demon—but a demon like this? She couldn't imagine that darkness could possess such power. The lovely girl's appearance was merely the veneer of a monster. At first glance, it looked like a human, but in reality, it was a black leather suit scribbled by a child, a terrifying sight that threatened to tear her apart if she touched it.

　Sitting on the crimson throne, she laughed at everything that was established, laughed at the ignorant and weak nuns, and looked down on everything in the world.

　How horrible. How arrogant.

　How could such a demon exist? Why could such an enemy exist?

　Facing such a monster, Sister Elaine realized for the first time how insignificant she was, as if she would disappear with a single blow.

　She wanted to just run back home, pretend she hadn't seen anything, and forget everything that happened on the ship.

　However, if the cruise ship sinks further from the deepest layer of the "Inner World," it will fall into the ocean of human collective unconsciousness, also known as the "Ocean of Disintegration." Any human consciousness will dissolve in it, and even if rescued, there will be no memory of the original personality.

　It seemed that Samael had no intention of stopping them. But with only thirty minutes, it would be difficult for Qi Xing and the other two to rescue five hundred people.

　What to do? Only by destroying the core of the "Inner World" and returning the entire cruise ship to the material world. In this case, there would probably be a mass panic on the ship, as hundreds of men would suddenly wake up and find their bodies cut open. But there must be a way to deal with this, maybe.

　Or he could directly obtain infinite divine power from Samael, reverse the reorganization of time and space matter, and solve all the problems in the world.

　How to do?

　Qi Xing had actually thought of a solution.

　As the saying goes, a time traveler can be bad, but never cowardly. They can be cruel, cold-blooded, and selfish, backstabbing their allies and being ungrateful. But they must never retreat because of the possibility of failure. They can be treacherous and despicable, shameless, and righteous, even treating others as non-human beings—but they must never be cowardly.

　Qi Xing no longer wants to be bad, selfish, or treat others as non-human beings.

　Because he is kind, he cannot be a coward. Evil without courage is normal; kindness without courage is worse than hair.

　"I've got an idea. Ladies, would you be willing to play with me?"

　He pulled his two teammates a little further away and asked them in a low voice.

　The evil god conjured a pair of red, fluffy earmuffs from thin air and put them on, adopting a casual, "Just chat, everyone!" attitude. No one knew if she was just teasing. But Qi Xing didn't care anymore.

　He spent three minutes discussing and explaining his ideas with his teammates.

　After hearing this idea, the magical girl hesitated: "I... don't think this method is very reliable..."

　The nun directly

37

　Wangdi sighed.

　But they were good kids, the kind who would be absolutely heartbroken to see two or three thousand people potentially die tragically. There are very few of them left in the world.

　Do you need a reason to save lives?

　The two girls exchanged glances. Though they'd only just met today, they both had a mutual understanding. Artemina had a realization: "Wow, being Rape's assistant is so hard!" Elaine, on the other hand, began to question herself, wondering if she really needed more teammates.

　But when there's no other way, you have to take a gamble and give it a try, no matter how crazy the method. You can't just limit yourself to common sense.

　The two girls who had been saved by Qi Xing were particularly clear about this principle.

　"No matter what the outcome, I will do my best to provide support."

　The magical girl nodded vigorously, her determination firmed.

　"At this point, can I still say no?"

　Elaine complained, but did not continue to object.

　Looking at their expressions, Qi Xing couldn't help but feel a little warm and a little uncomfortable at the same time.

　Qi Xing must be grateful for his good luck to have teammates who are willing to take a gamble with him (even if one of them just showed up today).

　Because of this, he could not betray their trust and expectations.

　"Samael."

　Qi Xing turned around and said to the evil god on the throne,

　"I refuse to serve a master weaker than myself. So I will challenge you to a bet. If I lose, I will willingly serve as your agent, loyally worshipping you as my god and keeping my word. If you lose, you will give me the power fragment for nothing."

　"Hey! Mr. Qi!" The latter part of his words was obviously a bit greedy, which made the nun anxious. "Why don't you just ask her to break the 'inner world' if she loses?"

　But Samael still laughed. Her laughter was as cheerful as a bell, crisp and lovely. "You want to fight me? Winner takes all? How do you fight?"

　"First, pause the ship's sinking into the 'inner world.' We'll prepare for thirty minutes, then it'll be you and me. They won't attack, so don't hurt them," Qi Xing said cautiously. "As long as I break your projection, I'll win."

　This was a bit much to ask, but Samael still smiled like a cat: "Then, as long as I beat you to your knees and make you unable to move, I will win."

　She had no objection to this and seemed brimming with confidence. Perhaps for an almighty being, this was perfectly reasonable. After all, Qi Xing was only a half-baked half-immortal, a mere mortal powerhouse.

　But this mere demigod on earth also has his own skills.

　You know that Tom and Jerry cartoon where Tom sprints off the edge of a cliff, only to realize he's overrunning. What happens then? He doesn't look down. Instead, he cautiously feels for something beneath his toes. Right up until the moment before he falls, he doesn't... well... give up.

　Qi Xing must be feeling the same way now. Perhaps if he hadn't stopped to check if there was ground beneath his feet, he would have continued to charge forward endlessly.

　"make a deal."

　016: Playing God

　Thirty minutes before the gambling fight begins, outside the temple.

　"First of all, there's one thing I really need to ask."

　Qi Xing opened his mouth and said,

　"Why does Samael keep saying he is God? Satan is not God."

　Samael = another name of Satan, a name He once used in the Mesopotamian region in ancient times. This is not difficult to understand.

　Satan is probably the most famous and powerful evil demon in the world. Therefore, Qi Xing could easily understand Samael's incredible strength.

　Satan is a fallen angel, a devil, a dragon, the original serpent, the great enemy, and the king of darkness. Qi Xing understands all of this.

　But Satan is not God... The devil should not be God... right?

　"Uh,"

　He didn't expect that after hearing this question, Sister Elaine hesitated for several seconds before answering.

　"Actually, Satan can indeed be considered a god."

　Ah? ?

　These words shocked Qi Xing for a moment: Elaine, you are not doing something heretical, are you?

　"It's not heresy, it's legitimate. The Gospels call Satan the 'prince of this world'; the Son of God's apostles call him the 'chief of the powers' and the 'ruler of this world.' St. Peter, in his epistles, calls Satan the 'god of this world'—and even you, uneducated as you are, have probably heard that famous story."

　Elaine sighed and calmly commented,

　"The devil took the Son of God to the highest mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, saying, 'All this I will give you if you fall down and worship me.' Indeed, just as she did to you just now. Because this world truly belongs to Satan. It can be said that in this world today, Satan truly acts as the world's most powerful evil god."

　Qi Xing was speechless. He had indeed heard this story before.

　In the most traditional Christian worldview, the present world, this sinful, flawed, and chaotic earthly world, is not governed by God in heaven, but has long been in the hands of Satan. Therefore, Satan is the king of darkness and the god of this world.

　As for the future decisive battle between good and evil, God’s final judgment, the resurrection of the dead, and the beautiful “new world” after the end of the world—those are all the “new” worlds of the future. What do they have to do with my “present” world?

　Interestingly, this is not unique to Christianity.

38

　Many other religions, including Buddhism and Taoism, share a similar worldview. Because any mature religion must acknowledge that the world we live in today is not some beautiful paradise, and does not adhere to an idealized law and order.

　Some Taoist sects argue that the mortal court is the embodiment of the divine order of the heavenly court. However, this worldview clearly doesn't make sense when the Mongols and Jurchens arrive, destroying your court and enslaving your people in the Central Plains. Could it be that the heavenly court has also been emptied out by the Eternal Heaven Tengri?

　Therefore, it is clear that the one who currently controls the Dharma-Ending Age is neither the Buddha nor the Heaven, but the Heavenly Demon, Mara.

　"You say heresy? If we really apply the ideas of some ancient heretical sects, such as the Bogomils, who believed that the current world was not created by God at all, but by Satan; that Satan is not a demon, but the second son of God and the chief of all angels. If we go back to even earlier ancient heretical theories, such as the Marcionites of two thousand years ago... God, this is too heretical."

　Elaine shook her head and made the sign of the cross. Although she was wearing a combat uniform that exposed her thighs and navel, her views were actually quite orthodox. It was just that she had studied all the heretical scriptures.

　As for Qi Xing... Sorry, I can't tell the difference between all the different sects in your Christian church. Who can?

　Qi Xing suspected that even angels and demons couldn't tell the difference. For two thousand years, people had been messing around. Even a Mediterranean carpenter would smile wryly, and even God would be amused.

　However, Elaine's words still vaguely touched Qi Xing's mind - she said that "this sinful, flawed, and messed up world today" might be created by Satan.

　To the people of this world, these claims are merely religious speculation, mere notions. Because they haven't truly seen "other worlds," they have no sense of them. Elaine's wearing a nun's uniform that exposes her thighs and navel is no problem. A powerful magical girl wouldn't fight back against an ordinary person if threatened. Why would someone so powerful be bullied by a school teacher like Rep? There's no point dwelling on these things. All you can do is accept reality.

　In this world, villains can talk endlessly about their evil plans without any heroes interrupting them. No one will aim for the villain's genitals.

　Except Qi Xing.

　Because Qi Xing is a time traveler.

　He truly had experienced a different world. While his hometown wasn't the ideal, free, utopia it once was, it was still far better than this butter-soaked cesspool.

　So who created this huge cesspool?

　"That's great. If I finally get the chance to meet this culprit who's causing all this trouble today, I'll give her a good beating."

　Qi Xing breathed a sigh of relief. After hearing Elaine's explanation, he didn't feel any more pressure. Instead, he felt a sense of sudden enlightenment, and his fighting spirit increased.

　-

　Thirty minutes later, they were ready.

　Only Qi Xing returned to the temple.

　"Ready?"

　The devil, the evil god, Samael, was waiting patiently here. She looked very interested.

　"Then come on, I'm looking forward to your moves."

　Unconsciously, perhaps because of Elaine's explanation just now, Qi Xing found that he was actually looking forward to this battle more and more.

　I'm fighting the Dark Lord? Really?

　Unfortunately, the Dark King had no intention of seriously engaging Qi Xing. She said she was looking forward to the fight, but she still sat on the throne, smiling and waiting for Qi Xing to strike first.

　Fortunately, Qi Xing had no intention of having a fair duel with Samael.

　"Just because I'm weaker than you doesn't necessarily mean I'll lose. It's our mindsets, strategies, and minds that determine our defeat in battle. Samael, you're so arrogant, you're bound to lose at my hands!"

　Without waiting for the Loli Demon God to reply, Qi Xing had already exhaled the true energy accumulated to the limit and took a step towards the throne!

　boom!

　Extreme speed!

　He took a step forward and his body soared into the air, creating a sonic boom like a fighter jet in flight. The air waves and strong winds even cut cracks in the surrounding temple walls!

　With just one step, Qi Xing entered supersonic territory. The mighty force of his punch was as if he were about to pierce the sky with his hand! Wherever the fierce force reached, broken stones and bricks flew everywhere, all burned red and hot by the lightning!

　This is lightning. By the time you see the light, your head has already exploded. In this abominable R18 world, hypnotists, hostage-taking, traps, poison gas, the Mystic Eye, even time freezes—you'll be punched in the head if you don't react in time!

　He charged towards Samael like a rocket.

　Then something extremely terrifying happened.

　Because the evil god used a movement that seemed to be slower but actually seemed faster. He slowly conjured up a cup of black tea from the void, took a sip elegantly, ate a small piece of chocolate, wiped his mouth, and then flicked Qi Xing away with one finger.

　How could this be true? !

　Samael flicked his finger, and the roc spread its wings, swooping down like a celestial being, crashing down from the sky. At the critical moment, Qi Xing transformed his yin and yang energies, transforming his fist into a palm, his masculine strength into a feminine softness. With an extremely light and supple touch, he spun rapidly in circles in the air.

　He saw that his zhenqi, which had accumulated to the limit, first appeared in black and white, like a yin and yang fish with its head and tail entangled, but without the white and black dots in each. Then it spun faster and faster, and finally turned into a dark and gloomy thing.

39

　A deep and dark cave.

　Thunder is born from the interaction of yin and yang. If Qi Xing's thunder training had focused solely on the pursuit of extreme strength and ferocity, he would have perished midway. His "Yin Yang Fate-Reversing Nine Transformation Tribulation Hand" is truly his life's true talent. The flow of yin and yang transforms the calamity threatened by others into a path of survival.

　The rapidly swirling, dark, chaotic cavern spun a full thirty-six times before barely dissipating 70% of the force Samael had casually unleashed. Qi Xing's energies were immediately dispersed, sending him flying to the ground a short distance away, his hair standing on end in shock. The remaining 30% of destructive force continued to blast forward. The temple was completely ripped apart by this devastating shockwave.

　This is not the end yet. The remaining force of this power continues to move forward and hits the boundary line of the "inner world".

　Theoretically, this boundary should be absolutely indestructible, because there is nothing beyond it, and it is beyond the scope of this small world's narrative.