Chapter 159
Lee Shin, who found the cause of the vibration by channeling his mana, furrowed his eyebrows and hastily pulled out a contract.
"This is our contract, made with mana. There is no other way to take you out of here alive other than this, Mr. Sevrino. So… I hope you understand," Lee Shin said.
"I’ll take a look at it,” Sevrino replied.
"The others will arrive here soon. So you need to sign the contract before that," Lee Shin said.
Sevrino realized it was an urgent situation and did not waste time responding. Instead, he quickly glanced over the contract to examine its contents. After confirming the details, Sevrino nodded.
"I see that you’re very confident," Sevrino muttered.
Sevrino looked at Lee Shin with a complicated expression. It was a contract involving mana. If Lee Shin did not know the location of his daughter's dead body or if he attempted to forcibly bind him, Lee Shin would lose all his mana according to the contract’s conditions.
Since Sevrino was aware of the effectiveness of a contract involving mana, he had no choice but to nod in agreement.
"Well, there is one more thing to add," said Sevrino.
"What is it?" Lee Shin asked.
"Please bring my assistant as well," Sevrino replied.
As it was not a difficult request, Lee Shin promptly added the details regarding the assistant to the contract.
"I agree," said Sevrino.
"Me too... I agree to the contract," said Sarzago, the assistant.
All of a sudden, the bodies of Sevrino and Sarzago turned blue, and they got absorbed into the necklace and ring that Lee Shin took out from the Subspace Pocket.
"Is everything over?” Lee Shin asked Shakhan.
"Yes," Shakhan replied.
"Well then, it’s now your turn to help me,” said Shakhan looking at Lee Shin.
Shakhan looked up with a determined face. Lee Shin could sense a strong aura coming from above.
Babababam—!
In an instant, the ceiling collapsed, and two apostles emerged. One was a woman with long red hair in braids, and the other was a handsome man with blond hair. Besides, thin thread-like substances swirled around the woman's entire body.
"Well, well, who have we got here? Aren’t you the famous He Who Knows Death?” The woman with red hair gestured dramatically and spoke.
The man beside her observed Lee Shin and Shakhan carefully.
"Is Sayr really dead?" the blond man asked, looking at Sayr, now a corpse.
"I didn’t expect him to kill Sayr, but… I guess he’s more impressive than I thought," the woman replied.
While listening to their conversation, Lee Shin turned his head and looked at Shakhan.
"Shakhan, is the one who you were looking for here?" Lee Shin asked.
"No," Shakhan replied.
After hearing his response, Lee Shin gradually released the remaining mana from his body.
‘Hmm… their classes seem to be pretty high…’
Lee Shin’s current divinity class was 5. Since the increase in abilities due to the difference in divinity class would not occur, it meant that his opponents had a minimum divinity class of 5 or higher.
However, as Lee Shin now had perfect control over Transcendence, he was able to sense that the divinity class of the opponent was at least 10 or above. Although those two people seemed like nothing compared to Sayr, they were not easy opponents to deal with.
'As soon as I transcend to the third realm, I will attract the attention of the gods again. Besides, I can't go beyond the 50th floor yet.'
Now that Sevrino had been rescued, it was time for Lee Shin to fulfill his plan. In order to do that, Lee Shin had to stay in the fourth realm until the next Dimension Gate opened.
"Who are your gods?" Lee Shin asked straightforwardly, looking at the two.
Lee Shin was aware that apostles generally did not hide information about their gods unless absolutely necessary. Divinity class increased under the influence of others. Besides, it was the basic duty of the apostles to reveal their divinity class, unless they were placed in a situation that could threaten a reduction in their divinity class.
"I’m Melena. I am the apostle of the God of Offerings." The redhead woman spoke first. The blond man glared at Lee Shin and Shakhan, then continued.
"I’m Shane. The God I serve is the God of Blessings. I came to get you, who defied the scriptures," said Shane.
Shane stared at Lee Shin in the eye.
"He wants to see you," said Shane.
"If he wants to see me, then tell him to come,” Lee Shin replied.
"You arrogant fool...!" Shane glared at Lee Shin.
"Grooka! I am Shakhan, the apostle of the God of Death! You should deal with me first before you take Lee Shin!" Shakhan shouted, gathering his strength.
The next moment, his muscles swelled, and his eyes became bloodshot, looking fierce.
Woong— Baaang—!
Shakhan’s fist extended out and struck Shane, sending him flying and crashing into the wall, buried in fragments of stone.
Thud—
In an instant, Shane's neatly styled hair was disheveled and his clothes were torn. He frowned and stood up.
"Are you an apostle of the God of Death?" Shane asked, looking at Lee Shin.
"That's correct," Lee Shin replied.
"So, you are associated with the God of Death?" Shane asked.
Lee Shin dealt with the power of death, and he was assisted by an apostle of the God of Death. Anyone would assume that Lee Shin and the God of Death had a cooperative relationship.
'Although it seems weird to say no…’
Lee Shin did not answer his question, because Shakhan would deal with Shane, the apostle of the God of Blessings.
"Well, your opponents are determined. Will you be alright to deal with us? You must be tired from dealing with Sayr," said Melena, mocking Lee Shin.
Melena and Shane confidently appeared in front of Lee Shin for a reason. It was because they were certain that Lee Shin and Shakhan would be exhausted from their fight with Sayr.
However, when they directly confronted Lee Shin, Melena and Shane could not help but be surprised. That was because Lee Shin and Shakhan seemed much more unscathed than they had thought. They believed that Lee Shin and Shakhan were deliberately hiding their injuries.
"Are you the type who worries about others?" Lee Shin asked Melena.
"No, but you will soon become my offering, so I’ll have to take care of you, don't I?" Melena replied.
"If you want to give an offering so bad, why don’t you give yourself?” Lee Shin said.
Snap!
Lee Shin snapped his finger and looked at Sayr, who had fallen.
[Zombification]
The lifeless body of Sayr writhed and stood up. The arms and legs that were severed by Lee Shin attached back to his torso, and his dark gaze turned toward Melena.
"Ugh…?How annoying...!"
Sayr and Melena engaged in a fierce exchange of attacks.
'I have 5 minutes at most.’
Lee Shin could not make Sayr into his subordinate because he lacked the ability to make a Great Devil into his subordinate yet. In that case, he thought it would be best to use Sayr temporarily as a zombie to buy time and devise a strategy.
It was a bit wasteful to use the corpse of a Great Devil as a disposable pawn, but he could not risk losing the big picture for small gains.
'There are a few more apostles outside.'
Although those apostles were fighting against Sayr’s subordinates at the moment, it was only a matter of time before they would rush here. Before that happened, Lee Shin had to come up with a plan. He had only about five Transcendence points left, which was far from enough to deal with all the apostles outside.
If Lee Shin could abandon Shakhan here and flee, it would be easier to devise a plan.
'What should I do...?'
Lee Shin did not feel good about abandoning Shakhan. If he had no other choice, Lee Shin would have to abandon him, but at the moment, Shakhan had the upper hand in the battle with his opponent.
‘I’ll quickly deal with Melena, help Shakhan, and escape together.’
Regardless of the outcome, once the decision was made, Lee Shin had to move quickly.
[Dark Blitz Gun]
In an instant, black thunderbolts gathered on Lee Shin’s palm and raced through the air. Sayr, who had become a zombie under Lee Shin’s command, spread his wings and grabbed the woman.
Woong— Baaam—!
The Dark Blitz Gun shot through Melena and Sayr without hesitation.
Pizz—!
In an instant, she became disheveled. Frowning, she pulled out the whip at her waist.
"I’ll offer these wounds as a sacrifice!" Melena shouted.
At that moment, an unknown power enveloped her, erasing all the wounds that had covered her body.
"I must ascend to a higher place by offering you as a sacrifice," Melena said.
Having made up her mind, she pushed away the electrocuted Sayr and rushed toward Lee Shin.
‘Tsk, this is annoying.’
The concept of offering meant that everything could be sent off to the gods, including pain. Moreover, it seemed she had received a reward for that offering, as her momentum became even stronger.
Baam—!
The steel shield created in the air was cracked in an instant by Melena's whip. Seeing her, Sayr seemed like an easy target now.
‘I guess it’s still quite challenging to deal with the apostles without Transcendence…’?
Besides, if high-class apostles were to come, facing them without Transcendence was out of the question for Lee Shin.
[Divine Realm Breaking Force]
‘I’ll deal with them quickly and escape!’
Just as Lee Shin activated Transcendence to unleash his attack, someone much stronger than the two in front of him began to connect the space.
Woong— Woong—!
‘Who’s doing this?’
Even though their appearance could not be seen yet, the tremendous difference in class could be felt. At this level, they could even be considered a low-class god. The fact that such a being appeared here was beyond Lee Shin’s expectations.
‘Did something really happen to the Demon God?’
Lee Shin’s expression stiffened rapidly. The same went for Melena and Shane. Only Shakhan seemed fine, just glaring at Shane while catching his breath.
Woong—
The next moment, a portal opened, cutting through the air. A man with blue hair down to his shoulders walked out of the portal. His rough skin suggested he was of a completely unfamiliar kind.
"Hello, friend," said the man with blue hair.
The air around him was completely different from the previous two. Unlike the initial hostility of the two, his eyes contained a sense of friendliness.
"Who are you?” Lee Shin asked.
It was clear to Lee Shin that he was an apostle, because the power emanating from him was very similar to that of other apostles. However, he was of a distinctly different class.
"Well..." The man smiled and looked at Melena and Shane.
‘This power is…?’
Lee Shin could realize that the entire space was getting destroyed. To be more exact, the boundaries were contorting.
‘Shit!’
The connection between the world and this place was completely severed. Lee Shin urgently invoked Transcendence. He could sense that if trapped in this man’s power, he would never be able to escape. This guy was on a completely different level.
Only five Transcendence points remained. Therefore, Lee Shin planned on creating an opportunity by lowering the opponent's divinity class for two seconds and escaping.
[Divine Realm Breaking Force]
The transcendental class emanating from Lee Shin began to suppress the power that was forcing this space to be isolated from the world. Time flowed extremely slowly. One second felt like ten to Lee Shin.
"Hmm..." The man let out a small exclamation.
His face showed a hint of surprise, but he remained calm.
‘Darn it…’
The flow of power that seemed to isolate the four individuals in this spot from the world momentarily stopped. However, that was all. There was no opportunity for Lee Shin to break through.
Lee Shin extended his mana to see if there was a spot he could target, but he immediately realized that it was impossible with just simple mana.
Although Lee Shin had lowered the opponent’s divinity class by 10, the opponent showed only a slight surprise on his face and remained unfazed. This meant that the opponent's divinity class was far beyond 10 or that he possessed an extraordinary mental strength that would not waver even with a sudden decline in his divinity class.
It would be somewhat fortunate for Lee Shin if it was the latter; but regardless, the situation was not good.
‘Will there be a chance if I summon the World of Death?’
Lee Shin hesitated before attempting to summon the World of Death, because the opponent's movements started to speed up even in the Transcendence.
‘Man… he is adapting to Transcendence...!’
The man was not yet faster than Lee Shin. However, blue energy started to quickly gather above his hands. While Lee Shin was quickly activating his mana to counter the attack, his eyes went wide as he realized that the energy was moving in a different direction than expected.
"Keugh...!"
"Keaukkk...!"
Melena's neck was severed and her head fell. Shane’s body, too, was impaled, and his head dropped. Lee Shin and Shakhan could not understand what was happening to them.
"My name is Geraldine, the apostle serving the God of Destruction," the man with blue hair introduced himself.
"The God of... Destruction...?" Lee Shin stared at him, trying to ascertain the truth behind his words.
Lee Shin had first heard the name God of Destruction on the 17th floor. He was the God whom even the administrator feared. Lee Shin expected that this God would be the strongest among the forces hostile to Lee Shin.
The God of Destruction was a name he had never heard of in his previous life, and he had no idea how powerful this God was. However, now, Lee Shin could tell that the God of Destruction was at least on the level of a high-class God.
‘Does this God not care about the Demon God or has something gone terribly wrong that even the Demon God could not prevent the intervention of this God?’
The exact reason was still unknown, because, except for the God of Destruction, the other apostles were within Lee Shin’s expected level of ability. Except for Geraldine, none of the apostles of the high-class gods revealed themselves in front of Lee Shin yet.
Although Lee Shin was in the worst-case scenario, there was still a chance for him. In fact, Lee Shin thought he needed to know why Geraldine went through all this trouble to isolate this place from the world and kill the other apostles.
"What are you trying to do?" Lee Shin asked.
When Geraldine heard his voice, he stared at Lee Shin and smirked.
"You've grown well," said Geraldine.
Lee Shin looked confused, because it felt like the man was speaking in a tone that sounded like he had raised Lee Shin himself.
"What do you mean... ugh!" Lee Shin could not finish his sentence.
The isolated space began to revert to its original state. Through a small opening, a new dimension was connected.
- So was this the place where that arrogant person claimed to have broken my head?
A rough voice echoed from within. Geraldine's figure was gradually fading.
"Don't die, and come up. Make sure to bring everything you can," said Geraldine.
"What do you mean—" Lee Shin was confused.
"This is an escape route. Since I've separated the space, it'll be quite a struggle for the others to figure out where you've gone," said Geraldine.
With those words, Geraldine disappeared.
- Where are you, human! I'll capture you and turn you into my puppet.
A familiar voice came from beyond the portal. Looking at the portal that seemed like it could vanish any moment, Lee Shin and Shakhan crossed into it.
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