Chapter 219 – Summoner (1)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read more at Nineheavens.org

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A giant mountain collapsed.

And valley water surged up, and the earth rose.

If the fight until just before was a human fight, this was not at that level.

All the people of the cult, including those sitting among the collapsed halls and training grounds and injured people groaning, prayed to the gods in terror.

[Kuhahaha! You fool! What do you think you can do with just one saintess! On top of that, daring to attack me with that measly divine power? I'll annihilate you and properly protest to the System!]

The Supreme Emperor possessing the Heavenly Demon mocked Sun-woo attacking him while feeling the increasing divine power.

The Supreme Emperor certainly had reason to mock.

At first it was still about equal, but the Supreme Emperor's power gradually grew stronger from the prayers of believers who witnessed the gods' battle.

The various abilities Sun-woo possessed were unfortunately abilities with flaws compared to a god's ability.

The earth spirits trembled in shock at the god's status, and psychic powers were destroyed by the god's force.

Illusion techniques didn't work, and magic wasn't properly displayed as mana scattered.

Even martial arts had limits in chasing a god's ability.

However, thanks to these numerous abilities and the bracelet that gained divinity, Sun-woo could endure in the fight against the Supreme Emperor.

But now even that became difficult.

The Supreme Emperor's increasing divine power became hard to block with miscellaneous techniques.

Moreover, unlike the opponent's continuously increasing divine power, Sun-woo's divine power was only being consumed.

Crack!

Sun-woo, who avoided the divine power that split a mountain in half through spatial movement, sighed and took out another sealed ability.

"I have no choice but to take it out after all."

Buuuung!

Instead of bright light sword energy, murky gray energy began dwelling on the Rotating Divine Sword.

Murky light as if the world's chaos dwelt there. Demonic energy revealed its form.

[No way! Is that demonic energy!]

Indeed, the Supreme Emperor recognized it at once. And at that moment clouds distorted and the sky rippled.

Other gods who were secretly spying on the situation were shocked and the world shook.

"It's demonic energy."

Sun-woo, who coolly acknowledged it was demonic energy, used spatial movement toward the Supreme Emperor.

The Heavenly Demon's handsome face distorted wildly and hastily dodged. The Supreme Emperor also knew well what would happen if struck by demonic energy.

[You! You've entered the path of destruction! The battle is stopped! I'll judge you together with the gods.]

Along with the Supreme Emperor's voice, the appearance of the Supreme Emperor exiting from the Heavenly Demon's body was caught in Sun-woo's eyes.

"It won't go that way."

Tsuaaak!

Demonic energy burst from Sun-woo's sword like threads and wrapped around the Heavenly Demon and the Supreme Emperor's spiritual body trying to escape.

The god's spirit didn't exist anywhere and had no visible form, but at moments like now when possessing, it had to exist in form.

[Krak! Let go!]

"Works well as expected. I should thank the goddess."

The technique Sun-woo used now utilized the technique Goddess Frigg used to capture the Demon Lord's spiritual body that possessed Sigmund.

If divine power could capture the Demon Lord's spiritual body, he thought demonic energy might also capture a god, and that was correct.

Crack crack crack.

However, thanks to the mighty god's power, the demonic energy kept breaking off, but he bought enough time.

Sun-woo's sword filled with demonic energy pierced through the translucent Supreme Emperor's body.

Krak!

A scream was heard for the first time from the god's spirit body.

That scream swept the surroundings with tremendous shockwaves and tore clouds.

The scream didn't end there.

Sun-woo's sword continued penetrating the god's body with the Heteromorphic Sword's technique, no, as if alive.

The screams continued, and at some point the screams stopped.

The demonic energy Sun-woo wrapped around the god's spirit body was already shattered, but the Supreme Emperor's spirit had already changed to a state unrecognizable as a god's form.

[You, you bastard. Do you think they'll acknowledge the battle if you annihilate me with demonic energy! And now, since you, you took out demonic energy, all gods, and even the System that made you, you will try to eliminate you!]

Though the god's spirit flickered like a candle flame, it still said everything it wanted to say.

"For that, I just need to finish with divine power. I'll handle negotiations with other gods myself."

Sun-woo thrust his hand into the remaining god's spirit.

"You just need to regret attacking me."

Divine power burst from Sun-woo's hand.

[Kraaa, impossible! How can you use divine power and demonic energy together! Other than the legendary Demon God from the past, I've never heard of such a thing!]

"But there was one."

[He, he is the first and last heretic, a heretic! For someone like you to be like him… No. No way…]

It seemed like he realized something, but the Supreme Emperor's spirit could no longer continue its thoughts.

It was ultimately annihilated by Sun-woo's divine power.

At that moment, Sun-woo felt the consumed divine power in his body being replenished.

"Is this succession of divinity?"

Though no phrase like "Congratulations on succession. You have become the god of the Demon Cult" appeared in his head, Sun-woo could feel he had inherited the position of the Demon Cult's god, the Supreme Emperor.

The prayers of Demon Cult members were returning as his divine power.

"Hmm, divine status doesn't increase or total amount doesn't grow from prayers."

Of course, if the number of believers kept increasing, his divine power would likely grow too, but for now it was just recovery of consumed divine power.

"But that's not what's important."

Sun-woo stood on the destroyed mountain peak and looked up at the sky.

Sun-woo's appearance holding divine power in one hand and a sword emitting demonic energy in the other seemed like looking at some god from the past.

Centered on where Sun-woo stood, clouds split and the sky began opening.

The gods began descending.

***

Collapsed training ground and halls. People groaning from injuries.

Yeonhwa, who was going around among them treating them using divine power, at some point felt increasing divine power and strengthened healing ability.

And she could feel the divine power enveloping the cult gradually changing.

From the Supreme Emperor's divine power she used to believe in the past to Sun-woo's divine power. And she could also feel people's prayers strengthening her divine power.

"He must have won."

Yeonhwa looked at a mountain peak in the distance.

It was an intact mountain unlike the many collapsed peaks around, and clouds were piercing through above that mountain with light pouring down.

People didn't know their god had changed, and only the saintesses could know a new god had become the master of the cult.

"Will it really be okay?"

The priestess helping Yeonhwa treat people, Cho-ryeon, became a bit frightened at Yeonhwa's words to try praying to the new god.

Cho-ryeon and other priestesses had all gathered at the headquarters in response to Yeonhwa's summons after she secretly returned to the cult a while ago.

Thanks to that, they were a great help in treating the injured, but all the measly divine powers had disappeared just before, so everyone was terrified.

Unlike ordinary believers who couldn't recognize when the god changed, saintesses would lose that divine power when the existing god was annihilated.

Thanks to that, all of the Bright Cult's priestesses and Yeonhwa's master who had barely regained divine power all lost their divine power.

Yeonhwa's master was still sitting in one spot with a dazed expression, but the priestesses who were treating people following Yeonhwa gathered around Yeonhwa in terror.

Though it was divine power they could barely feel because they were priestesses, not being able to feel even such divine power could only be terror as priestesses.

Though she was the most respected and beloved saintess, Yeonhwa's words to try serving a new god were not easy to follow.

"If it doesn't work, you can worry about it then. Anyway, since the Supreme Emperor was annihilated, if you want to continue as priestesses in the cult, you have no choice but to serve the new Supreme Emperor. Plus this Supreme Emperor is pretty cool… I mean, doesn't hold grudges so won't say anything."

Though she had often seen he held many grudges, telling the truth wasn't always good.

"Cho-ryeon saw him before."

"That's true, but he definitely didn't seem like a god…"

Cho-ryeon, who was hesitating, carefully began praying at Yeonhwa's repeated urging.

"Supreme Emperor, insufficient as I am…"

Whoosh!

Cho-ryeon's prayer couldn't even finish the first sentence. As she began praying, divine power descended upon her body.

Cho-ryeon, who was checking her body with a bewildered expression, changed to an extremely joyful expression.

That was because the divine power felt from her body was close to a saintess's divine power.

Seeing Cho-ryeon regain divine power, the other priestesses also prayed one after another.

And they could all obtain divine power.

But unfortunately, the other priestesses' divine power wasn't much different from their past divine power.

"Why did he give only me such blessing…"

Seeing the other priestesses' divine power, Cho-ryeon asked Yeonhwa with an awkward expression.

Yeonhwa nodded with an expression that said it was natural.

"The new Supreme Emperor plays extreme favorites. Between people he knows and doesn't know is heaven and earth. That's why I made the first move."

Yeonhwa brazenly revealed the god's weakness, but naturally no divine punishment descended and no grumbling voice was heard.

Yeonhwa looked with some worry at the cloud-cleared mountain peak starting to look isolated from the world.

She had heard everything from Sun-woo. No matter how unique she was, she couldn't help but worry.

'Stay strong. My god…'

***

Sun-woo was in a situation where it was difficult to separately muster strength.

After the clouds cleared and a hole opened in the sky, Sun-woo could feel he had been moved to an unknown place.

No, he could tell the entire region had been converted not to a different place but to a different dimension while being the same space as the existing dimension.

The flat mountain peak had changed to a flat wide lawn, and around the lawn an endless sea of clouds spread.

The sky had an endless Milky Way spread across it, and four identical moons were side by side in the sky sprinkling light.

"Where is this?"

[This is the gap between dimensions and the gods' dimension.]

At some point, a woman stood before him with a somewhat regretful expression and answered his question.

Though a face he was seeing for the first time and a beautiful woman who couldn't be seen in the mortal world, Sun-woo could tell who she was.

"Goddess Frigg."

[You recognize me right away.]

"The face is different, but the atmosphere and divine power haven't changed."

[I see.]

"But why are you out here first?"

[I came forward first as responsibility for not recognizing Sun-woo had demonic energy. If Sun-woo resists, I'm the role of blocking you first.]

An apologetic expression briefly appeared on Sun-woo's face and disappeared.

"You being here means this isn't a place with just one dimension's gods?"

[Yes, this is a gap between dimensions shared by four dimensions' gods. Even now, the place was arranged at the request of the gods of Dimension Delta called Murim. Many, no, almost all gods are watching you and me.]

Only then could Sun-woo feel all kinds of divine powers surging from all directions.

A shadow that looked like an Eastern dragon was strolling through the Milky Way, and a form that looked like a giant whale swam the sea of clouds.

Various forms of gods and spirits were changing forms while watching this place.

"Surrounded?"

[Sigh, surrounded? Just think of it as standing in a courtroom in human terms. If you were just a semi-divine existence with a physical body, we could finish with annihilation, but since you already possess divinity that succeeded another god's position, we must go through formalities.]

"What kind of formalities are needed?"

[The conclusion is out, but still, an opportunity for rebuttal and all gods' decision are needed.]

Seeing the goddess's regretful expression, it certainly wasn't a good conclusion.

[But I don't understand. Why did you deliberately fight a god and reveal demonic energy like that? Didn't you know it would come to this? You can't fight all gods just because you have demonic energy.]

At the goddess's words, Sun-woo smiled wryly.

He naturally knew the story would proceed this way.

If luck was bad, he could have been annihilated without even coming to this place, but fortunately he came alive to here.

"After my parents died, and after I became a summoner, there was one thing I really wanted to confirm."

Sun-woo turned his head and looked at the existence standing on the left.

"I really wanted to ask why you made me a summoner, why summoners must be contaminated, and by what standard you make summoners."

The one who existed only in shadow form even in this gods' dimension.

The existence that made Sun-woo a summoner and gave him abilities to prevent contamination.

The Summoner was standing before Sun-woo.