<787 – Like a Hero (33)>
The powers of the gods are convenient and powerful.
When one acts according to the Domain of God, faith is gained, and by consuming that faith, vast powers can be manifested.
This mechanism is particularly effective for a deity suited for it, allowing a talented individual to unleash capabilities simply by living their daily life, showered with additional power as a bonus.
In fact, the bonus includes an extra boost, making it easier to increase faith the higher it is.
– If Yufi, who decapitates villains when bored, is polishing her scythe, I should reward her with faith!
– What? Yufi is slicing meat with a knife? She must be imagining the decapitation of a sinner while eating! Time to boost her faith.
– Yufi… took a deep breath?! Could it be that she’s unable to contain her excitement for the upcoming moment of decapitation?! I need to shower this devout believer with faith NOW!!!
In this way, there exists a vessel for the Apostle that can earn 100 points of faith with just a single act of faith, making it well worth bestowing faith upon these biased gods.
Humans pour more money into ventures that yield profit, and what difference is there for gods? They spend abundantly to spread their faith across the continent.
[Take this, Oknodie. Here’s my extreme faith!]
[I shall fill that delightful pocket of faith with my offerings! Become my preferred big pocket!!]
The gods were all fired up until they could pour faith without restraint.
Just inserting faith was yielding returns multiplying by 100 times, and they were even encouraged to buy stocks tipped as highly profitable, with actual verification.
Seeing the gods clamoring over each other, even if distrust lingered, the urgency to have more than them trumped it.
Well, they might not be able to endure this mountain of faith.
If the frail vessel bursts, all the invested faith would vanish.
But if they pull it back before it bursts, that’s fine, right?
Thoughts akin to moths drawn to flame led some gods to recklessly invest additional faith late in the game.
As such, a question arose: Why was the Demon King Oknodie, who should be rolling on the floor in agony from the overwhelming divine mana, surprisingly unscathed?
Why was it not falling apart?
This pain was not something that could simply be endured.
The soul should be swelling to the point of bursting from agony.
Divine mana interfering with actions and constraints, and especially the gathering of 24 variants of distinct divine mana, constituted such a serious incident that one might worry about shock death.
Yet, Oknodie was fine.
The reason for this was revealed through the glowing summoning circle forming around her.
“Kraaaak!”
“Aaaaargh!”
The avatars, as soon as they emerged from the summoning circle, rolled on the floor screaming, shedding tears and collapsing in agony.
Oknodie transferred the divine mana pouring in upon her directly to echoes of herself from previous turns connected to her.
Even though they didn’t share the same body, since the ‘soul’ was the same, it was a responsible act of transferring the burden around.
In fact, it hardly looked like she was suffering from multiple divine manas of various types.
They were only receiving one or two.
By selectively receiving specific types of divine mana, the internal mana collision incidents were minimized.
Without damage from mutual collisions, the total amount of divine power that could be held increased, and the divine mana showered by the gods flowed in greater quantities for longer durations.
It was like pouring water into a bottomless pit.
A bucket with twelve holes would be filled with plenty of water balloons to replace the missing water.
Moreover, the water balloons implemented solutions for handling divine mana before their vessels burst.
[Body Explode]
[Body Regeneration]
Strength-All-in consumed divine mana by injuring itself based on mindless strength, using divine power to recover the damaged areas.
[Continuous Divine Mana Usage]
Mana-All-in stormed through divine magic in a wild frenzy, entering a berserk state.
[Outsmart Judgment]
Intelligence-All-in endured to the limits of sanity, even deceiving forced physical collapse judgments.
[Retainer Summon]
Major NPC Friend took it a step further by actively utilizing summon-type magic that enhanced efficiency proportionate to charm, beginning to summon divine retainers without limits.
“Hahaha. I guess this will turn out to be a bust?”
“This isn’t the time to laugh!! We’re in serious trouble!!”
Major NPC Friend immediately prayed to the God of Death to bestow immense power upon Rich B.
With another usable vessel, the God of Death joyfully lent his strength.
Under Rich’s command, countless death retainers quickly increased in number, with shinigami leading the charge.
However, the shinigami appeared to have been through a tough battle, with cracks on their scythes and damage evident on their faces.
Several of the shinigami had been targeted by an academy graduate who had taken down shinigami as her graduation project, leading to injuries and even some death.
“If I don’t kill that betrayer acting as a relay for the gods, the supply of faith bombs will continue unabated. If I don’t want the pocket of divine power to burst, I better hurry!”
A brutal civil war among the All-in series caught between the Demon King Oknodie and the gods began.
Due to their status as “already dead” beings, the death retainers exhibited enormous affinity and formidable strength, standing against the others with sheer numbers.
In the midst of this golden balance spectacle, the director noticed cracks beginning to form on Rich B’s body, handled by the Major NPC Friend.
No matter how efficiently one wields strength, divine power is too overwhelming for mortals to handle.
A lich is permitted an afterlife but is not an existence that transcends death.
“I’ve gained an opportunity, but there’s a time limit. This isn’t bad at all. At least one pattern has been successfully sealed.”
Having achieved this, the avatars like Oknodie couldn’t interfere with the director any longer.
The All-in series, particularly the Rich B favored by the God of Death, were sharply blocked from interfering, providing the perfect opportunity for the Demon King Oknodie to engage directly.
“Though you are my precious daughter, I must ask for your forgiveness for injuring you today.”
“Lies. You only wanted to bind me with family ties because you know I’m weak on sentimentality.”
Oknodie participated in such games, but the Demon King Oknodie was different.
[Resonance Magic – Memory of the End]
“This is a punishment that only Papa, who peeked at my diary, can enact. If you can surpass this, you may approach me as much as you like.”
“Hahaha. You’re calling me Papa while pretending it’s a family game? I’m truly touched by your deep filial piety.”
As the director walked over with a warmly smiling face, the scenery around him twisted.
The astounding implementation of resonance magic impacted the director’s inner world, even causing phenomena to manifest slightly in the real world through the energy he spread.
As a consequence of having seen the unseen, unlimited mental attacks became possible without the appearance of the ‘executioner.’
Even before the memories of Oknodie, which were tantamount to a forbidden book, the director showed no sign of faltering.
“Hmm~ Not bad?”
“It seems just like what I saw. How about this?”
The director unleashed resonance magic from one hand, scattering it toward the Demon King Oknodie.
Several ending scenarios unfurled within the Demon King Oknodie’s mental world, struck by the mana waves.
An ending where the long-held wish of the Seonhwang was distorted and mocked by the God of Death, tragically collapsing.
An ending where the Dragon Principal intuitively sensed the end of the last amusement, collecting the resources of the long playground for fuel for migration.
An ending where even after defeating the principal, the inevitable incursion of the hundred-dimensional realm and the resulting disaster led to destruction.
Certainly, this Papa was impressive.
An NPC managed to reach a supreme difficulty end that even a veteran player wouldn’t achieve.
To achieve a feat that would require piles of ending bonuses without stacking huge rewards as a player could do, this director’s capabilities were remarkable.
There might not be a player as competent as the director among those who share a starting experience.
Yet for the Demon King Oknodie, it was merely one of the many pasts she had long surpassed.
Bang!
With the sound of a bubble bursting, the mana barrier surrounding the Demon King Oknodie shattered.
As they drew closer step by step, the director unveiled the mysterious and forbidden knowledge that mortals could not comprehend, and the Demon King Oknodie faced forbidden mysteries no NPC could handle.
The mental waves of resonance magic exchanged between the two created a resonance phenomenon, leaving an ominous imprint of mental waves on the minds of a select few, those with a strong affinity for spirituality and mana.
That alone caused a number of pale-faced individuals to tremble down below, but both fighters had long since dismissed such distant trivialities.
5m.
Finally, the father and daughter stood face to face.
There were things visible up close that had not been seen from afar.
“I never knew my daughter’s eyes could be filled with such dark stars.”
The Demon King Oknodie, with her eyes filled like the Milky Way with tiny stars.
The stars inscribed in her eyes sealed functions surpassing the mortality realm, similar to that of a god’s domain, in the form of [Combat Power Suppressant].
Yet that wasn’t all.
In real-time, it was also given that enhanced avatars would receive a portion of the privileges conferred by the title of the God’s Apostle to share with the Demon King Oknodie.
But that wasn’t the end.
In her hand, a strange plant energy trembled, resembling the World Tree that the director had handled.
Upon closer inspection, one would recognize it.
That was the stem of a Mandragora.
Beneath the shadow, a sword-holding guard swordsman remained hidden.
The strength of the Demon King Oknodie was still substantial.
“I’m planning to release only a few because it’s too dazzling for today. It’s heavy, but you can accept it, right? After all, I’m your ‘Papa.’”
As the eyes of the Demon King Oknodie sparkled, the ultra-close combat between the two commenced.
