Episode 557

A deep, guttural roar echoed through the air.

The master of the Sakyung Palace writhed in agony, his divine form letting out a tortured scream.

Clutching the adamantium spear embedded in his chest, he spat out words in the divine tongue.

“This… this is impossible!”

In the mortal realm, no being could stand against a celestial of higher dimensions. Yet, the exception lay in the divine-slaying stone now lodged in his chest.

This stone, crafted long ago by the god of chaos, could only be wielded by one: Solomon.

The celestial’s greatest flaw, their most fatal mistake. The very being they created to manage the mortal realm had turned against them, using their own power.

Though that blasphemous traitor paid the price and was ultimately destroyed, the betrayal of Solomon remained a haunting memory.

And now, history seemed to be repeating itself.

The master of the Sakyung Palace struggled to remove the divine-slaying spear from his chest, but it was as if the stone had taken root, refusing to budge.

Crackling energy surged around him as he turned to where the remnants of trust lingered.

Zeke, whose very existence had been erased, was slowly reconstructing himself.

Shrouded in shadows and wielding the Levatein, Zeke stood fully restored.

The master of the Sakyung Palace sensed an unfamiliar aura emanating from Zeke, one he hadn’t noticed before.

In disbelief, he muttered, “That aura… the ‘Self-Illuminating One’?”

The title belonged to the arrogant savior before his fall into the demonic realm.

Having absorbed the essence of the arrogant savior, Zeke had narrowly escaped erasure by the celestial’s power, reconstructing his existence through the power of recreation.

Golden eyes flared in Zeke’s gaze as he addressed the master of the Sakyung Palace in the divine tongue.

“Master of the Sakyung Palace. King of the Cruel Thunder.”

With the arrogant savior’s soul fully absorbed, Zeke could recall information about his adversary.

His golden eyes gleamed as he continued, “True name, Ramiel. One of the first apostates who betrayed the primordial light.”

Ramiel, inhabiting the body of an angel, trembled at Zeke’s words, shocked to his core.

“You! What are you? How does a mortal know a celestial’s true name… and possess the aura of a fallen one?”

Ramiel couldn’t comprehend the existence of Zeke, a mortal with divine power.

A mortal with divinity. That alone was hard to grasp.

Yet here was a being wielding the power of the god of chaos, the strength of a fallen celestial, and even the might of dragons.

Countless civilizations had risen and fallen, but never had such an entity appeared, nor should it have.

Occasionally, beings in the mortal realm grew unexpectedly powerful, consuming excessive karma. But they were transformed into spirits and isolated in other dimensions, preventing any real issues.

The mortal realm had always operated smoothly under the celestials’ will.

But now, Ramiel faced a being that defied all of that.

Zeke raised the Levatein, drawing Solomon’s chains from his left hand.

He looked at Ramiel and spoke, “Did you really think the celestials could toy with the mortal realm forever?”

He resisted the gods of his own volition, intending to slay them.

“It’s time you realized we’re not your playthings.”

Chaos surged from Zeke’s sword.

The power of chaos, now more freely wielded after absorbing the arrogant savior’s soul, overwhelmed Ramiel.

‘Isn’t this the power of the god of chaos?’

The only force capable of twisting the order they had established.

Even the first apostates, like Ramiel, had borrowed the god of chaos’s power to slay the primordial light and create the current world.

Solomon had discovered the hidden god of chaos and, like them, used that power to find a way to slay gods.

‘That dreadful power has been passed to this mortal.’

Realizing the gravity of his situation, Ramiel understood he couldn’t return to the celestial realm without dealing with this blasphemous being.

‘Damn it, there’s no choice!’

Cursing inwardly, Ramiel attempted to abandon his angelic vessel and return to the celestial realm.

But something was wrong.

‘I can’t return?’

His soul, pierced by the divine-slaying stone, was trapped within the angelic vessel.

Realizing he couldn’t return, Ramiel understood the trap he had fallen into.

‘Could it be that I’ve been ensnared by this mortal?’

Trapped in the vessel, unable to return to the celestial realm, Ramiel felt an emotion no god should ever experience.

Fear.

The same fear he felt when Solomon, the god-slayer, had hunted and devoured gods long ago.

‘I must escape this place quickly.’

Ramiel sought to close this world and find a way to remove the divine-slaying stone and return to the celestial realm.

But Zeke wouldn’t allow it.

Chains clattered as Solomon’s chains unfurled from the spear’s end.

Ramiel’s eyes widened in shock.

“Solomon’s chains!”

The cursed weapon capable of binding even the souls of gods had appeared.

Panicking, Ramiel struggled to remove the spear from his chest.

Zeke pulled the chains with all his might.

The angelic vessel, impaled by the spear, was dragged swiftly toward Zeke.

With one hand gripping Solomon’s chains and the other wielding the chaos-infused Levatein, Zeke swung at the oncoming Ramiel.

Ramiel hastily gathered his wings to block the attack.

The chaos-infused strike shattered Ramiel’s wings, even wounding his soul.

Light spilled from Ramiel’s mouth, the sacred blood of a celestial scattering across the forsaken world.

Reeling from the soul-shaking blow, Ramiel struggled to regain his composure, glaring at Zeke.

“How dare a mere mortal! Blasphemy! Blasphemy!”

Zeke, unfazed by Ramiel’s cries, replied, “Still have the strength to shout nonsense, I see.”

Simultaneously, Solomon’s chains shot from Zeke’s left arm, wrapping around Ramiel’s body.

With the divine-slaying spear embedded and Solomon’s chains binding the vessel, Ramiel’s soul was trapped.

Realizing the dire situation, Ramiel understood the damage to his soul would be severe.

Even celestials weren’t immortal. They needed vast amounts of karma to maintain their souls, and external damage required even more.

With limited karma from the mortal realm, such wounds would deplete their reserves, reducing their influence in the celestial realm.

‘If the other celestials find out, they might invade my domain and hunt me.’

The celestial realm wasn’t free of conflict. In fact, disputes there could be more devastating than in the demonic realm.

While the soul itself wouldn’t be destroyed, as the celestial realm required thirteen celestials to maintain balance, they could strip away karma, minimizing influence.

This would force the celestial to rely on karma from others, becoming a humiliating plaything.

Recalling the cruel amusements of other celestials, Ramiel shuddered.

‘That can’t happen.’

Steeling himself, Ramiel addressed Zeke.

“Mortal, as a merciful celestial, I will forgive your blasphemy. Release me, and I shall bestow a divine gift upon you.”

A gentle halo glowed behind him, his voice soothing as he urged Zeke to release him.

Zeke regarded Ramiel with disbelief.

‘Does he really think I’ll let him go just because he says so?’

To Zeke, it was incomprehensible, but for Ramiel, it was a drastic measure.

The divine words of celestials held immense power over the creations of the mortal realm, akin to a grand decree.

Any other human would have been moved to tears by Ramiel’s benevolence, obeying without question.

But Zeke, possessing divinity himself, was immune to Ramiel’s divine words, leading to this farcical situation.

Ramiel was taken aback by the look in Zeke’s eyes.

“Did he not hear my divine command properly?”

Any mortal would have been reduced to tears and retreated immediately, yet Zeke showed no such signs. Instead, Ramiel felt as if the chains wrapped around him were tightening even more.

Zeke looked at Ramiel and spoke, “Perhaps I’ve been too kind.”

With those words, he grasped Solomon’s chains, unleashing the power of chaos and the flames of authority simultaneously. The energies surged through the chains into Ramiel’s avatar.

Whoosh—

The combined force of chaos and flames ignited, consuming not only the avatar but also Ramiel’s very soul.

[Aaaaargh!]

Ramiel screamed in agony as his soul burned. Even when he faced the god-slayer Solomon, he had never been captured, never felt such direct pain. For the first time, he experienced the excruciating torment that engulfed his entire being.

Zeke nodded in satisfaction as he watched Ramiel writhe. “Now this is more like it.”

Zeke was putting his skills in torturing demons and fallen celestials to full use. After he withdrew his power, it took some time for Ramiel to regain his senses.

Ramiel glared at Zeke, roaring, “I am a celestial! How dare a mere creature defy a god!”

“God, you say? You exploit the mortal realm and treat it as your playground, yet you expect reverence? How shameless.”

Ramiel was momentarily speechless at Zeke’s audacity. Never had he imagined hearing such blasphemy from a mortal. He had spent eons creating and destroying countless civilizations, but this was a first.

With trembling eyes, Ramiel asked, “What is your name?”

Only then did Ramiel inquire about Zeke’s name. Zeke chuckled, gripping Solomon’s chains once more.

“Do you really think I’d tell you?”

Revealing one’s true name to a celestial meant giving away significant information about oneself. Zeke knew he had to keep it hidden, as beings capable of manipulating karma could access related data through the Akashic records.

He gave Ramiel a cold smile. “Let’s see how long a celestial can endure, compared to a demon.”

The chains glowed red-hot with the power of flames once more.

Hours passed, and eventually, Ramiel succumbed to Zeke.

“Please, stop…”

Zeke looked at Ramiel with indifference. “Now we can have a proper conversation. Ramiel, answer my question.”

His eyes flashed as he continued, “Why does the celestial realm allow the demon king’s descent and the ensuing chaos in the mortal realm?”