Chapter 1204 Jin vs Michael I
When Shar arrived, everyone, including Gaya, was shocked, but Michael remained calm, almost amused. Unlike the others, he had known Shar was following them ever since they arrived here. He had pretended ignorance to give Shar the illusion of an upper hand and the element of surprise.
As Shar materialized, she raised her staff, and a green mist shot from its tip.
"How is she using magic here?" Gaya growled, perplexed.
"That is not Celestial energy," Michael explained calmly. His eyes of darkness had already revealed the nature of the energy she wielded. It wasn't the Celestial energy, which was nullified in the pocket dimension. Instead, the staff emitted worship energy.
"Let Morbus's energy decimate you all," Shar declared, continuing to release the worship energy of Morbus stored in her staff.
"Who in the hell is worshipping the god of plagues?" Gaya continued to fire her bolts, her frustration growing.
"You have no idea how many worshippers Morbus has, dear," Shar chuckled darkly. The green mist began to affect everyone: the undead, the headless corpses, and the living adventurers.
Michael swiftly tapped his chest, and half of a skull mask covered his mouth and nose. Flicking his wrist, he produced a mask and tossed it to Gaya, who caught and donned it quickly.
With their masks on, Michael and Gaya were protected from the green mist, but the other adventurers weren't so fortunate. Those who stumbled into the area slowly turned into undead with glowing green eyes. Meanwhile, the corpses that Michael and Gaya had beheaded rose up, headless.
"Nice trick with the masks," Jin mused to himself, watching from afar. He was curious to see how Michael and Gaya would fare against Shar, Morbus's worshipper.
Jin had already noticed how the two of them had performed in the pond earlier and how they had managed to make money while defeating the doppelgangers. So now Jin wanted to see how they would face and survive Shar, the worshipper of Morbus.
"Don't resist, young ones. Embrace the essence of Morbus," Shar intoned as the undead she created encircled Michael and Gaya.
"What's your end game, Shar?" Michael asked, his tone probing.
"Power, my dear. Power is always the end game for all beings in this world. We all disguise our desires, but in the end, we all crave power," Shar responded.
"Can't argue with that," Gaya shrugged, accepting the harsh reality of their world.
"That mask won't save you for long, dear. If I don't kill you, Jin will," Shar hinted, glancing in the direction where Jin was hidden.
"You seem confident about killing us. I know you and Jin were eliminating adventurers, thinning out the competition for the dungeon's treasures…" Michael began, pausing thoughtfully.
"But you… your kills had a different motive, didn't they? They were ritualistic," Michael observed. Among the many bodies he and Gaya had found, some were slain with precision and efficiency, while others were messily and cruelly dispatched.
Gaya, though shocked that Michael hadn't shared his observations with her earlier, found amusement in his ability to dismantle Shar's element of surprise.
"You were an observant one, weren't you? If you join me and swear your faith to the great Morbus, we will have a place for you in our grand plan," Shar offered, hinting at more elaborate, grander schemes in the making.
"And what is that?" Michael inquired, his curiosity piqued.
In response, Shar simply chuckled. "Let's just say Morbus isn't the only god in our great plan."
This revelation slightly took Michael aback but confirmed his suspicions. "I need to have a word with him," he murmured to himself, contemplating a conversation with an unusual ally.
At that moment, nearly forty undead encircled Michael and Gaya. From afar, Jin watched the scene unfold, and Shar controlled the undead with her staff, channeling Morbus's worship energy. To Jin, it seemed like Michael and Gaya were at their wits' end, outmatched by the power of a god's worship energy.
However, Jin was unaware that he was observing not just any adventurers, but two gods, one of whom was the God of Darkness himself.
"Use that fancy flame of yours…" Jin mused quietly, recalling Michael's use of the dark flames. Although he recognized the flames' potency, Jin didn't realize they were Primordial Flames. He assumed Michael and Gaya were merely resourceful adventurers who found a way to overcome the energy-nullifying arrays. The possibility of them being gods didn't cross his mind. Instead, in his mind, the sighting of a god was an extraordinary rarity, almost an impossibility, so the idea of Michael being a god was far from his thoughts.
Michael, aware that Jin was observing him from a distance, couldn't help but feel amused. By letting Jin witness his prowess, he was effortlessly accumulating more badass points.
"Joining gods like Morbus always comes with a hefty price, old woman. Besides, I don't serve anyone," Michael stated calmly. He was mindful that any act of submission in this realm of gods would likely irk the system enough to deduct his hard-earned badass points. Unlike in the mortal realm, where he had some leeway, the system here was far more stringent.
"You will serve the great one, one way or another," Shar retorted, swinging her staff. As she did so, all fifty undead charged towards Michael with a speed that defied the sluggishness typically associated with the undead.
Gaya watched in surprise as some of the undead began conjuring spells they had used in life. Jin, still observing from his hidden vantage point, saw the undead swarm around the two, enveloped in the green mist that could transform anyone into an undead with just a whiff.
Michael, however, remained unphased. He cracked his neck, waiting for the undead to draw nearer. Gaya stood confidently beside him, showing no fear or concern in her eyes.
"You have no idea who you're messing with, old dusty fucking bones," Gaya taunted with a snicker.
"My my, what a foul mouth you have. I'll have to sew it shut after this, deary," Shar responded darkly.
But just as the undead closed in, only a few meters away from Michael, he calmly raised his hand. Instantly, a ring of flames erupted around him in a circle, creating a fiery barrier that separated them from the onslaught of the undead.
As the ring of flames crackled to life around Michael, the undead hoard created through Morbus's essence was swiftly disintegrated. The flames hissed and popped, their intense heat turning the undead into vapor in mere seconds. The sight was both awe-inspiring and terrifying, a testament to the immense power Michael wielded.
Shar watched in disbelief as her confidence shattered like fragile glass. In that moment, it dawned on her that she wasn't facing mere prodigies or resourceful adventurers. She was dealing with entities far beyond her comprehension. Jin, observing from his hidden location, shared her realization.
"No one can destroy puppets created by worship energy like that... unless they are... angels... of a powerful god," Jin muttered to himself. Even with this extraordinary display of power, his mind couldn't fathom the idea that he might be witnessing a god in action. To him, the most powerful beings he had ever encountered were angels, and he hastily concluded that Michael and Gaya must be angels in mortal guise.
"What the hell are you…" Shar stammered, her voice faltering for the first time since their encounter began. The usually calm Shar was visibly unnerved, her composure cracked by the display of power she had just witnessed. Meanwhile, Jin, still concealed in his vantage point, was caught off guard when a voice echoed in his head, chilling and unmistakable. "Kill those two and earn the right to become my angel." The voice was deep, commanding, and resonated with a power that Jin recognized all too well. It sounded exactly like Death, the God he worshipped.
Jin stood frozen for a moment, the weight of the command sinking in. The voice of his god, a rare occurrence, was not something he could easily dismiss or ignore. The proposition of becoming an angel, a being of immense power and status, was both a coveted honor and a daunting challenge.
The shock of hearing Death's voice directly, coupled with the gravity of the task set before him, left Jin wrestling with a mix of emotions. On the one hand, the opportunity to ascend to angelhood was the pinnacle of achievement for any worshipper.
On the other, the task of killing Michael and Gaya, who had just demonstrated power beyond his comprehension, seemed almost impossible.
The voice in Jin's head continued, its tone carrying the weight of authority and finality. "Morbus is my brother, just like Xyloth. As such, my protection extends to their worshippers, including Shar."
Jin's mind raced as he processed the information. The connections between the gods and their worshippers were intricate and often beyond the understanding of mortals. But the direct involvement of Death himself in this affair made it all the more significant and dangerous.
"Kill those two who threaten her life, and you shall earn the right to be my reaper," the voice of Death commanded. The title of 'reaper' held great significance in Jin's world - it was a title bestowed upon the most elite and powerful servants of Death, a position of honor and immense power.
"I will do as you wish, my lord," Jin said with a newfound determination and leaped down from the tree. Then, he began to dash toward Shar to save her and assassinate the two angels as he was ordered by Death…
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l