Chapter 106
A colossal roar from the Spirit Realm made Lucifer turn his head in a hurry.
Surely Gluttony, Baalzebub, had gone to stop the Evil God.
How did he manage to notice?
A moment later.
Lucifer knew the answer.
[Damn it! Damn it!!]
Far behind Abaddon, Baalzebub could be seen rushing frantically from a distance.
The traces of resentment smeared around his mouth made the situation obvious.
The Evil God must have thrown bait to divert Gluttony's attention elsewhere, and while Gluttony was frantically devouring the resentment, he skillfully evaded Gluttony and made his way here.
Lucifer glared at Baalzebub for a moment, looking as if he wanted to tear him to shreds, but the deed was already done.
It was ridiculous to think that Baalzebub alone could continuously stop the Evil God in the first place.
The reason Lucifer sent Baalzebub was simply that he thought he would buy them some time.
Indeed, Baalzebub had successfully obstructed the Evil God for quite a long time.
The problem wasn't Baalzebub, but that Satan, Belphegor, and Leviathan had taken too long.
With one hand, Lucifer desperately blocked the Authorities of all sorts of Deities trying to descend from the Pantheon, while with the other, he gripped the Black Chains that had emerged from Asmodeus's wings.
Both sides were slowly running out of strength.
In this situation, he had no energy left to deal with the Evil God.
So Lucifer puffed himself up as much as possible.
Pretending to be unfazed.
Pretending to be strong.
He looked at the Evil God.
[The Creature of the Abyss has crawled out quite well. What brings you here?]
The Evil God burst into laughter at Lucifer's words.
[You talk big for someone whose Abyss is just as much a cesspool as Hell. Satan, Leviathan, and even Belphegor were sent down, yet the Saint still hasn't fallen, it seems. It must be terribly difficult to corrupt him. I know this well, as a Part of Divinity of mine was annihilated within him.]
The Evil God suddenly wiped the snickering smile from his face and snarled fiercely.
[We both know there's no such bullshit as trust or faith between us, so I won't ask why you deceived me. But trying to make that Lust creature Hell's again is too much, no matter how I think about it. Do you need to have Lust's Chosen One killed again like last time to come to your senses? I recall Lust's self-destruction was quite spectacular back then.]
At those words, Lucifer growled roughly.
[Dare to lay even a fingertip on the Saint. Do you think I'll just stand by and watch?]
[That's what I should be saying. It looks like you've already laid more than a fingertip on him. Are you trying to break the balance, Lucifer? Seeing you struggling like that, it seems you're quite serious.]
[Shut up and get out, you Creature of the Abyss.]
At Lucifer's growl, the Evil God let out a relaxed laugh.
[Listen, Pride. You have to uphold the implicitly agreed-upon rules. Didn't we agree to maintain balance, with you holding back the Pantheon and me holding back the Fallen Deities? If you act like this... I'll have no choice but to keep you in check. Asmodeus has grown too powerful. I can't just let her cross over to Hell.]
Lucifer sensed the chilling malice hidden behind the relaxed smile and quickly began to calculate.
He urgently looked at Satan, Belphegor, and Leviathan.
“[It's taking... it's taking too long!!]”
Belphegor shouted, her finger embedded in the Saint's forehead.
“[This idiotic bitch!! Get out of the way! I'll join in! Satan! Keep him busy!!]”
The Demon King of Envy.
Leviathan stopped holding Asmodeus and joined in to help corrupt the Saint.
“[Amael!!]”
Lucifer had to quickly grab the Black Chains to stop Asmodeus from going berserk.
It was difficult.
Asmodeus is currently incarnated in the Human Realm.
She was unable to unleash Authority strong enough to harm the Saint's body.
Despite being burdened with all sorts of restrictions, Lucifer felt his strength waning.
Trying to block the Pantheon while simultaneously controlling Asmodeus felt like it would drive him mad.
But he couldn't show it.
His deliberation didn't last long.
Lucifer let out a colossal roar at the Evil God, loud enough to make the Spirit Realm tremble.
[Get out. Go back to the Abyss you crawled out of. I know a Part of Divinity of yours was devoured by Asmodeus within the Saint's soul. You must be busy recovering from that, aren't you? Can you handle all of Hell in your current state?]
Lucifer roared fiercely, but it was actually a bluff.
He desperately wished the Evil God would quietly return to the Abyss as he was.
No.
He just wanted to buy a little more time.
Just a little more.
They were almost there.
Two Demon Kings were moving to corrupt the Saint.
Once the Saint's soul was corrupted, everything would be over.
Lucifer continuously roared, struggling to block Asmodeus, who was resisting so violently that his Divinity was being torn away, and the Gods of the Pantheon, who were madly unleashing divine power and Authority.
[Get out!! Get out!! Don't provoke me, Abaddon. I'm warning you. Go back quietly. Otherwise...]
[Are you going to rampage like you did during the Heavenly War?]
[Do you think I can't?]
[It'll be tough, won't it? Because... you'll have to focus all your attention on the Pantheon from now on.]
The Evil God pulled something from his pocket.
Lucifer's eyes widened.
[You!! What are you trying to do with that!!]
[Isn't it funny, Lucifer? The Pantheon, I mean. They were so miserably defeated 300 years ago, weren't they? The aftermath hasn't fully recovered yet, to the point where you alone can block them. They are truly the weakest.]
What the Evil God pulled from his pocket was 14 Brilliant White Orbs.
They were extremely suppressed into orb-like forms by the Evil God's Authority, but Lucifer, Baalzebub, and the Evil God all knew very well what the orbs truly were.
[But faith is truly terrifying. Its recovery speed is incomparably faster than ours. In the end, it's become strong enough to once again form a pillar of balance.]
[Don't do it, Abaddon. You must know what it means to use that, don't you?]
Lucifer's voice finally grew urgent.
Baalzebub, who had been watching, subtly moved to Abaddon's side.
Despite clearly seeing the movements of the two Deities, Abaddon remained relaxed.
[I know. I know very well. I know that if I release these, only the Pantheon will unilaterally benefit. It means some of the 24 empty thrones will return, so their power will probably become quite strong. If they become stronger than a certain level, I'll interfere at every turn. But listen.]
The Evil God took out two of the 14 orbs from his pocket.
[If the Saint falls and becomes Hell's own right now, I'm completely finished. I can't let that happen.]
[Abaddon!!]
Using Lucifer's near-scream as a signal, Baalzebub frantically charged at the Evil God.
But it wasn't a fight from the start.
With a single gesture from Abaddon, an overwhelming pressure erupted, and Baalzebub was unable to move, sent flying to a corner of the Spirit Realm, and crushed as if pinned.
[Do you think Gluttony alone can face me? Have you forgotten who killed Lilia a long time ago, Lucifer?]
The Evil God replied with a relaxed expression but a fierce voice that didn't match it.
[If I weren't using my strength to suppress the 14 Deities in my pocket, I could easily overwhelm even you. Gluttony alone can't face me.]
Two Brilliant White Orbs moved around in the Evil God's hand, emitting a brilliant sound.
The Evil God deliberately held out the two orbs for Lucifer to see.
[These are the Goddess of the Moon, Mnesia, and the Goddess of Wisdom, Aneta. These names should be familiar to you. They were Goddesses who fought on the Front Line during the Heavenly War and gave you quite a hard time. Lucifer, this is my gift to you.]
The Evil God released the two orbs from his hand.
[No!!]
With Lucifer's scream, the two Deities broke free from the Evil God's hand.
The ascension was brilliant and beautiful.
So much so that the entire Spirit Realm trembled.
Amidst that tremor, the Evil God left behind a mocking laugh and returned to the Abyss.
[Have fun with the Pantheon, Demon King of Pride.]
Lucifer released all the Black Chains that were controlling Asmodeus.
[This damn bastard!! Abaddon!! Abaddon!!!!!!!!!]
Two empty seats in the Pantheon were filled.
The amount of Authority and divine power pouring from the Heavenly Realm suddenly became extremely strong.
Now, controlling Asmodeus while simultaneously blocking the Pantheon became an impossible task even for Lucifer.
***
Belphegor was frantically trying to delve into the Saint's mind and soul.
He endlessly replayed the most horrific of the Saint's memories.
The memories of the terrible pain of burning to death in the flames were replayed.
The despair of the moment his father suddenly died was replayed.
The despair of the moment his Mother, whom he so desperately wanted to save, slowly faded away on her sickbed and finally passed was also replayed.
[Break. Please, hurry!!]
When endless despair and frustration continue, humans eventually fall into Sloth.
Sloth and laziness eat away at a person's mind and soul, like water absorbed by cotton.
And eventually.
They completely collapse.
Then it was Belphegor's stage.
She skillfully manipulated and modified human minds to make them her own.
So, quickly.
The Saint's mind had to break as quickly as possible.
But...
The Saint's mind did not break.
“Son! Eat a lot. Your dad is proud of you, son. Just working hard is a blessing in itself.”
It was his life, which his father had tried to protect even at the cost of his own.
His father's death was sad precisely because of that.
The Saint could not give up on life.
“I need to make the green onion kimchi our son likes.”
It was the same with his Mother's last words.
The Saint did not break.
He was recalling his mother's love.
The Saint transformed those shocking and cruel memories into a driving force for life.
The shocking events of his father's and mother's deaths could not destroy the Saint's mind and soul.
Then what about pain?
Couldn't the memory of that terrible moment of burning to death corrupt the Saint?
“It hurt like hell, but the children must have lived, so... it's fine.”
The Saint simply accepted it.
[This idiotic bastard!!!!! What kind of human just brushes off the pain of burning to death with a single sentence!!!!!!]
Belphegor roared.
He is steadfast and good-natured.
He doesn't excessively pursue perfection, nor is he the type to desperately reject his inner original sin and fight his instincts.
He's just foolishly upright.
He was the most difficult type to corrupt.
He was an existence that could not possibly be corrupted in a short amount of time.
And Leviathan, unable to watch Belphegor any longer, rushed forward.
[You damned Saint. Let's see if you can endure this too.]
Leviathan's Authority began to pour into the Saint's mind and soul.
If Belphegor's style was to slowly break a mind with feelings of despair and frustration, then taint it with Sloth to corrupt it; Envy was completely different.
Envy was intense.
All sorts of negative, burning, and stimulating emotions began to boil within the Saint's mind.
[So? In the end, you couldn't protect your Mother or your Father.]
[What was the price for enduring the pain of burning to death? That child won't even remember you.]
[Your death was a dog's death.]
[You stupid bastard. You are a foolish idiot who couldn't even pass the Suneung properly and leeched off his parents.]
[If you had earned more money, your Mother wouldn't have died. She would have received better treatment at a better hospital, so she wouldn't have died, right?]
[You're a loser.]
[Why do you live? You're useless, good for nothing.]
[An uneducated fool with nothing he's good at.]
[Other people go to college, get girlfriends, get jobs, buy cars, but what about you?]
[Is your life worth living?]
The self-hatred and negative emotions buried deep within the Saint's heart began to flare up like a wildfire.
The flames quickly began to eat away at the Saint's soul and mind.
It was much faster than Belphegor's method.
[That's it!! Belphegor! Just a little more! Once his mind completely breaks, then you Brainwash him!!]
A smile spread across Belphegor's lips as she watched the Saint's mind.
Just a little more.
It was almost done.
It had been terribly long and painful.
The moment the Saint became theirs.
Everything would change.
The balance would shatter, and Hell would take everything.
Belphegor anxiously waited for the Saint's mind to break.
She waited.
And waited.
[What is this? Why?.......]
The Saint's mind did not break.
The endless negative emotions buried deep within his heart could not consume the entirety of the Saint's mind.
Leviathan felt something strange and looked deeper into the Saint's mind.
And then.
[Th...this!!!!!]
Anger erupted from Leviathan's mouth.
[This damn Unicorn bastard is protecting the Saint's mind!!]
It was an unexpected variable.