Chapter 28: Chapter Twenty-Six: Human World

At the same moment, the showdown between the Dark God and the Death God was gradually entering its final stage.

After Mu Ze obtained the Death God's power, no matter how strong the opponent, he won in a single battle. Even experts like the Fire God and Wind God could only withstand a few moves in his hands.

After all, the power of gods and mortals cannot be compared. The only thing that could contend with a god was probably the Supreme God who, centuries ago, made the whole continent tremble at his name. Yet the legend of the Supreme God exists only in history. For thousands of years, producing such an expert among humans has already been remarkable.

But what if it were a clash of gods? As the Death God, he possesses the power to destroy heaven and earth—could he still win? If he couldn't win, would his fate be destruction?

He had never before drawn out every ounce of his strength to face such a powerful foe. Meanwhile, Makas was also exerting his full effort. He was disadvantaged by lacking a solid body; no matter how great his magical power, he could not wield it as freely as Mu Ze. As the battle dragged on, he gradually found it hard to keep up.

Makas knew Mu Ze was also at the end of his rope; this contest of strength tested not only the depth of their magical power but also their will and spirit. As soon as either side could no longer endure the endless pain, the other could seize the opening revealed in the opponent's power and press the advantage. Yet both were masters of supreme arts, and at this moment they fully understood this, each gritting their teeth, refusing to yield.

After all, in such a duel, defeat means eternal ruin.

They fought for another half hour; both sides' beams weakened from massive magical expenditure. Makas's seven beams dwindled to five, then to three. Mu Ze's colored light likewise thinned and weakened, leaving only a single strip of pure white barely holding on. Mu Ze knew his strength was near exhaustion; even if Makas collapsed now, the Death God's power he had inherited had already been worn away.

Obtaining supreme power had been his wish since he was a mere evil spirit. That wish finally came true when he gained the Death God's Fruit, becoming the supreme ruler of the Nine Nether Lands; any force opposing him needed only a light sweep of his hands to be reduced to ashes. Confident in his power, Mu Ze remained assured even in the Pure Black Land where he could not use magic, facing the Six Divisions Allied Army nearly twice his number and the fierce Wind Spirit Tribe Army; he ultimately defeated the Fifty Thousand Six Divisions Allied Army with inferior forces, eradicating the last resistance in the Nine Nether Lands. This supreme sense of achievement was what he had always dreamed of.

Yet now, for Luo Shan, for this so-called sworn brother, he dared to battle the mighty Dark God Makas, ending up mutually devastated—an action he would never have dared to contemplate before.

Why, why did he do this—even his own heart had no answer. Although Luo Shan shared a sworn bond with him, such a contract-like relationship was inherently fragile. Strictly speaking, he and Luo Shan had merely fought side by side, drenched in blood, while seeking the Death God's Fruit months ago, and in the Pure Black Land battle where Luo Shan helped him lead troops against the Wind Spirit Tribe's fierce assault; beyond that, their lives had actually intersected hardly at all.

As Makas said, someone like Luo Shan might, given time, become another Supreme God. If that day came, Luo Shan would naturally not bother with brotherly feelings; toward Mu Ze he would likely, just as the Supreme God once slew Mikael, cut him down with a single stroke. Mu Ze knew that if things reached that point, it would be understandable, for if he were in Mu Ze's place, his actions would be no different.

Yet he stepped forward. To protect Luo Shan, to keep that so-called sworn brother from having his soul taken by Makas, he chose to fight the Dark God to the bitter end.

Was such a choice foolish? Mu Ze sighed in his heart.

He seemed destined to die here. Even if he luckily survived, he could not face a self stripped of all power. Although as a lowly undead he had never lost the will to live due to his weakness—rather, he had single-mindedly sought strength—now things were different. Having tasted the Death God's formidable power, the joy and authority of commanding others' lives and deaths, to have it all ripped away in an instant and be reduced to a mere evil spirit would be utterly intolerable to him.

Since he could not endure it, death was his only recourse. Yes, this was an escape, the privilege of the weak. But after losing his power, what would remain for him? Dignity—is that dignity? And if he did not die, how could he preserve even that shred of dignity?

Thinking this, Mu Ze gave a wry smile. Since he had no meaning left to live, he would now exert all his strength and defeat this guy before him!

Even in death, the glory of defeating the Dark God would forever shine upon his head.

After all, that is the Dark God Makas, whom even the Supreme God could not kill!

A sudden clarity struck his heart, and the power in his fingers surged. Makas, who had been at the end of his rope, suddenly felt the opponent's magical power swell dramatically, and he could not help being secretly startled. Bent on victory, he only hoped that after defeating Mu Ze he could control Luo Shan's mind, use Luo Shan's body to fulfill his long-held wish of rebirth in the human world and rule the continent; with fame and gain weighing on his mind, he could not, like Mu Ze, see through life and death to unleash unprecedented power. At that moment Mu Ze's magical power rose wave after wave; Makas saw the duel's magical lights gradually shifting toward him, his mind falling into turmoil. His spirit panicked, his power waned further, and—added to his already depleted state—his magical beams quivered and were shattered by Mu Ze's spells.

Is this really it? Is it ending? Makas watched Mu Ze's spell come straight at him, shock and dread mingling, and he suddenly let out a fierce, prolonged cry. Apart from one defeat at the hands of the Supreme God, he had won every battle, big or small, numbering over a thousand. The Dark God's power was so astounding that he had almost forgotten what fear was.

Yet now, the Death God's power swept in like a crushing force, shattering his magical beams at that very moment, and he truly felt what those he had slain had felt in their final instants—gazing upon incoming spell-light, they had experienced infinite despair and terror. Would his lofty ambition to dominate the world, his flawless plans and schemes, and his awe-inspiring divine might that once commanded the winds and clouds, all vanish in smoke with this defeat?

White, infinite white, a piercing white that cut through all darkness—this became the last color in his memory.

Seeing the strong foe reduced to dust, Mu Ze's heart suddenly emptied; the light at his fingertips vanished. He stood dazed for a moment, then a sudden tightness in his chest made him spit out a mouthful of blood. He knew that although he had defeated Makas, the Death God's power he possessed had already been gradually worn away in that prolonged magical duel.

He felt only infinite emptiness; even lifting a hand felt as heavy as a thousand jin. His vision blurred, he could barely make out the distant figures of Pei Er and Luo Shan, their faces indistinguishable. He had truly lost his power. For that sworn brother, for the camaraderie he had always scoffed at, he had expended everything he had been proud of and his splendid future. Was this really not worth it?

Indeed, it was foolish. He vaguely thought.

Yet for some unknown reason, although he had lost all power, his frail body teetering on collapse, his consciousness no longer as clear as before, a sudden great sense of peace welled up from deep within Mu Ze's soul—something he had never felt during his long possession of the Death God's power.

He began recalling his experiences over the past few months. Although he had wielded the Death God's divine power, six of the eight tribes in the Nine Nether Lands opposed him. Nearly every day, experts came to his door, naming themselves to challenge the new Death God. To establish his authority, he naturally answered every challenge, usually defeating opponents within a few moves, reducing them to ashes. Yet even so, challenges kept coming, and he endured every sort of underhanded tactic. During those months he hardly got a sound night's sleep.

Even with the Death God's power, would that be enough? Even if he became the leader of the Nine Nether Lands, what about the wider continent beyond? Could he grasp its authority? Neither the Dark God nor the Light God would be inferior to the Death God. Moreover, to pass through the passage between the Nine Nether Lands and the human world, he would have to pay a heavy price.

During these days as Death God, he was not happy.

Yet now, as his power faded and his life neared its end, he suddenly realized how happy it was to not have to worry about the future, to not need to sleep gripping his sword hilt.

The supreme authority he had spent everything to pursue could only have brought him fleeting peace—yet now this tranquility lay within reach.

"Big Brother..."

Mu Ze gazed at the young man and woman not far away and murmured involuntarily.

His life had been made and broken by power. He now had no future, but that person could still possess a brilliant tomorrow. The happiness and stability he himself had never attained, Luo Shan could obtain—and deserved to obtain.

Mu Ze closed his eyes, a bitter smile touching his lips.

It is time…… Luo Shan, Pei Er, you should return to the place that belongs to you, that tract called the Human World, go there and seek your happiness.

In this life he had no fortune to gain those things. Yet after all, he could still do something—help others.

Mu Ze expended his last strength, staggering forward a few steps. "Pei Er." He endured the pain in his body and shouted at the blond girl with the loudest voice he could muster.

"Come here."

He strained to raise his right hand; a white ring of light began to form before him. As the passage gradually opened, his own body, from the feet upward, slowly dissipated into grayish dust.

Mu Ze watched his body gradually fade, his heart filled with infinite peace.

Ending this life in this way might not be a bad outcome after all.

That was……

He gazed at the passage opened by his own life before him, and suddenly a certain light shone in his eyes.

Was that…… the Human World?

Such green mountains and clear waters, birdsong and floral fragrance—compared to this Nine Nether Lands where darkness reigns everywhere, it truly is paradise.

It is only a pity that, after all, he had no chance to go to the Human World.

Yet, born and raised in darkness, he nevertheless had enough luck to catch a glimpse of the Human World's beauty before his soul drifted away.

In that light, it is not a pity either.

"Human World……"

Mu Ze gazed foolishly at the paradise before him; as his cheeks turned to dust, a faint smile flickered there, barely perceptible.

To him, this was eternity.