Chapter 244
‘Damn, what kind of gods are…’
As soon as Lee Shin shattered the barrier stone, he unleashed his mana in all directions, picking up the enemy presence scattered throughout Daejeon. He could sense lives being stamped out like candles every minute. Many people were dying, and this battle needed to end as soon as possible.
[Shadow Space]
[Summoning of the Grand Spirit]
Lee Shin summoned all the subordinates he could call, and sent them out in an attempt to minimize as much damage as possible.
"We need to find the one who’s in charge of this whole thing," Lee Shin muttered.
- Find the God of Destruction.
- Huh, did you just say the God of Destruction? You're saying that guy is here?
Gene Ebrium commented and the God of Chaos scoffed and asked in return.
“Do you know something about him?” Lee Shin asked the God of Chaos.
- Of course, I do. I’ve fought with the God of Destruction before.
"You fought him?" Lee Shin asked with a surprised look.
- Yes, that's right. And he was the first one that I failed to capture back in the day.
From the way the God of Chaos spoke, it seemed that while he might have won the battle, he could not devour the God of Destruction. Yet, the fact that the God of Destruction, though on the losing end, was able to escape from the God of Chaos was a feat in itself. After experiencing the power of chaos himself, Lee Shin felt that way more keenly.
- He was quite something, but I wonder if he's become even more formidable now.
"The God of Destruction..." Lee Shin muttered.
Lee Shin continued to detect the presence of enemies and tried to process them all and quickly.
"...No way…” Lee Shin muttered, because a vast amount of divine power could be sensed from a particular area. At the same time, he sensed a waning vitality, causing his expression to stiffen. With swift determination, he hurried to the location.
Upon his arrival, a gruesome battlefield sprawled before his eyes.
"Finally you are here,” said a god.
A god with blue hair floated in the air, and a mischievous chuckle escaped their lips as they cradled someone in their grasp. At the mere sight of this, Lee Shin hastily began amassing mana on the ground.
[Earth Thrust]
Kuguguguk!
In the next instant, razor-sharp spears surged forth from the ground, aiming for the God of Destruction. While the spears had pierced through their target swiftly, their traces started to look indistinct. The God of Destruction had instantaneously transported to another spot while holding Alice, and he had a look of nonchalance.
"Are you looking for this woman?" the God of Destruction asked with a smirk.
Without responding to him, Lee Shin unleashed the next spell.
In the vacant expanse, a dark and sinister bolt of lightning crackled. The tendrils of the lightning bolt interlocked like the bars of a prison door and ensnared the God of Destruction before unleashing its electric fury.
Pizz— Pizz—!
In perfect synchrony, the God of Destruction’s malevolent divine energy obliterated the lightning bolts into nothingness.
“I wouldn’t have done this for anyone else, but since it’s you, I’ll hand her over to you willingly,” the God of Destruction said.
With those words, the God of Destruction launched Alice into the air. Lee Shin, with his psychokinesis, skillfully caught her and quickly assessed her condition. She was breathing faintly, barely clinging onto life, almost at death's doorstep.
Turning his gaze away from Alice, Lee Shin spotted some familiar figures on the ground. Temporarily setting the God of Destruction aside, Lee Shin approached them. The God of Destruction watched him with interest.
"Lee Shin..." Laurent called out, his voice strained.
Laurent laid in the crater, desperately trying to catch his breath. His shattered sunglasses and tattered attire were above his head. Also, his weapons laid in ruins beside him; he looked as if there was no strength left in him to fight.
"That guy... Please get back at him…” Laurent said.
"I will," Lee Shin replied solemnly.
The next moment, Lee Shin gently placed Laurent beside Alice. Glancing behind him, he noticed Emperor Pyon Dunaide of the Lostria Empire, barely holding himself upright as he leaned against the remnants of a building.
"Hey… You’re late…” Pyon Dunaide muttered, struggling to speak.
His right arm was severed at the shoulder. The weakened Emperor, who was on the edge of consciousness, fixed his fading gaze upon Lee Shin. Then, the next moment, he fainted and collapsed. He had maintained his resolve until he spotted Lee Shin, but Lee Shin’s presence had shattered his composure. Thankfully, he was still breathing.
Lee Shin gently lifted him and put him next to Laurent. Then, with his magic, he set up a protective barrier, encircling them using the surrounding debris to shield them from further harm.
"Lilian," Lee Shin called out. He summoned Lilian from the void.
"Yes, Master," Lilian replied.
"Protect them at all costs," Lee Shin ordered.
"Understood," Lilian replied.
After saying that, Lee Shin sighed, which was rare in recent times. As he looked around, his gaze fell on the numerous individuals who had met their end. Those once-vibrant lives were now reduced to cold, lifeless forms that scattered across the ground. The weight of these countless losses began to descend heavily upon Lee Shin’s shoulders.
- Don't let it get to you. If it weren't for you, the world would have been toyed with by the gods and then discarded.
- Don't be bothered by petty sympathy. Your only duty is to devour the God of Destruction, who is arrogantly gazing down from above.
"Shut up," Lee Shin said to the God of Chaos in a cold voice.
For the first time in a long time, a deep anger welled up from inside Lee Shin. It had been a while since he had lost his composure like this. The thought of guarding against the pleasure that had surged from Chaos just moments ago did not cross his mind now.
- Make sure to stay calm!
- Haha, do as you please! Do whatever you want! Be true to your desires!
The two voices in his ear no longer reached Lee Shin. Right now, the only thing that was inside was vengeance and anger against the gods.
"Oskepel," Lee Shin called out.
From the shadow space, the Commander of the Corps of Divinity, Oskepel, crawled out.
"Yes, Commander," Oskepel replied to Lee Shin.
"I'll give you Martyr, so go save the people," Lee Shin said.
"Yes, sir!" Oskepel replied.
Oskepel was the only subordinate of Lee Shin, who was approved by Martyr. If he were to save all the dead, there might not be enough divine power, but it did not matter. That was because Lee Shin did not think he needed divine power to kill these beings.
"So, did you say your last farewell?” the God of Destruction mocked Lee Shin.
"Of course not," Lee Shin replied.
Lee Shin’s sly smile appeared on his face as he extended the mana he had been meticulously crafting, engulfing the space around him.
The God of Destruction possessed the power to traverse space at will. In this case, Lee Shin had to devise a strategy to strike within a range from which the God of Destruction could not escape, regardless of his spatial movement.
Harnessing the heat of the atmosphere and fanning the flames, he manipulated the wind and unleashed a torrent of fire.
[Blaze Tornado]
A massive tornado of fire enveloped the space, scorching the atmosphere.
‘It doesn’t matter even if he blocks it.’
Lee Shin had interwoven Chaos into his mana, ensuring that even the smallest collision or contact would ultimately shift the fight in his favor.
Woong—!
The flames, clinging to the wind, voraciously devoured the surrounding air, expanding in size with each passing moment. The God of Destruction, who had been casually observing the Blaze Tornado, cracked a faint smile, and his eyes gleamed.
Then, in an instant, the Blaze Tornado vanished, much like how a candle flame would be extinguished by a sudden gust of wind. Lee Shin’s eyes widened in astonishment and then frowned at this perplexing turn of events.
"...Eyes of the Wise Man," Lee Shin muttered after seeing his ability.
"Hehe, that's right. You know it well," the God of Destruction replied, chuckling.
The God of Destruction's satisfied laughter resonated. The Eyes of the Wise Man, a potent instrument for deciphering the complexities of the universe and uncovering its deepest truths, had the potential for diverse applications and capabilities that depended on the user. Although the approach Alice had employed was not incorrect, it represented only a fraction of what the Eyes of the Wise Man could become.
Once beings like the God of Destruction possessed the Eyes of the Wise Man, it became an all-purpose tool and made everything in battle much easier.
‘Tsk.’
The situation was not favorable for Lee Shin. He had suspected as much, but it was now undeniable that the God of Destruction had, in the past, taken this unique ability from Alice.
With the Eyes of the Wise Man in his possession, dealing with him had become a formidable challenge. Magic, at its core, was a discipline that probed into the intricacies of various phenomena and concealed truths. The Eyes of the Wise Man, capable of penetrating all veils and uncovering the essence of magic, effortlessly delved into the core of magic spells.
In the usual course of magical battles, deciphering an opponent's spells required a thorough understanding of the intricate and convoluted magical formulas. However, with the Eyes of the Wise Man, one could see through the inner workings of magic spells and discern their true nature.
At that point, dismissing spells cast by others became a relatively simple task. It was this advantage that allowed the God of Destruction to maintain his relaxed demeanor.
‘Jeez, I tried my best to hide her though.’
Lee Shin wondered when the God of Destruction knew that Alice possessed the Eyes of the Wise Man.
- Concentrate. That guy can't be using the Eyes of the Wise Man endlessly.
Gene Ebrium spoke to Lee Shin, as if he was comforting him. Lee Shin acknowledged with a nod and activated his mana. He then contemplated the idea of employing Chaos. Could the Eyes of the Wise Man see through even the enigmatic Chaos?
Lee Shin could see all the phenomena in the entire world in plain view. Now that he had become an Adversary, he could see phenomena that were extended only to them, which human eyes could not perceive. No matter how powerful the God of Destruction was, he could not use his recently acquired unique ability limitlessly. Therefore, Lee Shin started pulling and fusing everything in this world that he could see and access.
Woong— Woong—!
If the God of Destruction could see through everything, Lee Shin just had to create and create and create, until his eyes grew tired.
[Dark Sky]
Lee Shin reversed the trajectory of light raining from the sky and altered the properties of particles. The world was tainted by darkness, and from within it, Lee Shin sent a dense wave of death aura to the God of Destruction.
"You do realize it won't work, right?" the God of Destruction said to Lee Shin in a mocking tone.
The God of Destruction's intense gaze bore through the void. A hole was formed in the darkness, revealing the sky. At the same time, waves of light were shot through the hole. With a fluid motion, the God of Destruction extended his left hand into the void and used his divine power to intercept the incoming waves of light.
Although the light waves vanished in no time, a subtle smile appeared on Lee Shin’s face.
[You have taken away the divine power of the God of Destruction due to Chaos.]
Upon contact, the power of Chaos could absorb an opponent's power. The God of Destruction had already known about this ability because he had clashed with the God of Chaos once before. However, the fact that the God of Destruction had taken direct defensive action was evidence that he did not possess enough advantage with merely the Eyes of the Wise Man.
"You look quite flustered, don’t you?" Lee Shin asked.
"Do I, really?" the God of Destruction replied.
As the God of Destruction snapped his fingers, a giant cloud suddenly formed on the other side. A portion of the mountain completely vanished, and the presence lingering there also vanished as well.
"Do you think the time is on your side, or on mine?" the God of Destruction asked.
"..." Lee Shin could not say anything.
From Lee Shin’s perspective, having Earth as the battlefield was burdensome. There were many things he had to protect in this world, and as a result, fighting on equal footing with his opponent felt like carrying a heavy burden.
Furthermore, among the mana that he could detect from the edge of the mountain, there were several familiar ones. Lee Shin could sense that Cha Yu-Min, Yu Jia and Kim Kang-Chun were present.
Could there be survivors from that place that looked as if it were torched to the ground? It seemed like there would not even be fragments of their corpses remaining. In this situation, even if Martyr were present, there might be no way to resurrect them.
- You should get angry. Even if you have my power, you can’t stop everything by yourself at the moment. So let me just help you.
- Lee Shin! Don't give in. This guy is…
Woong—!
At that very moment, the void split open and a massive Gate came into his view. From within, an unending horde of dark-skinned monsters spilled out.
"Hahaha! I've arrived, Mr. Lee Shin!" A devil flapping its huge bat wings approached Lee Shin and cheerfully called out to him.
Leading the countless demons and dominating over them was a formidable Great Devil known as Zephyr. He had persistently tailed Lee Shin, eventually ascending to the esteemed rank of a Great Devil.
"Why are you here?" Lee Shin asked with a surprised look.
Rather than welcoming him, Lee Shin frowned at Zephyr’s appearance. This was not a place where Zephyr could offer any assistance. On the contrary, Zephyr might be a burden to Lee Shin.
Besides, Lee Shin could not think of him like he did when they had first met. Through numerous interactions with Zephyr, a certain bond had formed between Lee Shin and the Great Devil. Consequently, Lee Shin could not bear the thought of Zephyr meeting a devastating end at the hands of the God of Destruction.
"Tsk," Lee Shin clicked his tongue.
He extended a larger chunk of his mana than before to cover the entire area and keep the God of Destruction from focusing on Zephyr and the other monsters that he brought with him.
"The pests have arrived," the God of Destruction muttered.
The God of Destruction, looking at the entrance of the Gate, gathered his divine power to his fingertip. It was a delay that only those who had reached the level of Transcendance could react to. In between the brief, segmented moments in time, only Lee Shin reacted and countered with his mana.
‘Darn, that was late—’
Just as Lee Shin sighed, a bizarre-looking Great Devil with a spider-like body sprang out from the Gate and employed demon power to block the enemy's attack.
Kwaaaaah!
In his memory, there was only one devil who could thwart the God of Destruction's strike, even if it was a relatively minor one.
"Long time no see," said the Great Devil with a spider-like form.
The demon with the gleaming red eyes was Baal, the ruler of the first district of the Demon Realm. He had crossed over to Earth with Zephyr and now stood in the way of the God of Destruction.
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