Chapter 65: The terror of a [Void] God...
Alze-beus decided to change his approach.
He flew into the air, stood near the still-dazed Arthur and said shamelessly, "I apologize. With that attack, I was just checking whether you were truly worthy of making a deal with me."
He was a Devil, after all; he ate shame for breakfast.
Arthur looked at him through a haze. For some reason, he was unable to think straight.
This confirmed it, [Zethe-thoth] had somehow managed to use a skill or some ability on him and that was why his mind was failing him.
Only a Void God would be able to escape the sharp senses of [The Sleepless Sword], especially when the Patron God was so suppressed by the laws of this world.
Arthur nodded slowly. Behind his neck, a tiny, transparent tentacle could be seen slithering downward as it moved stealthily toward his palm.
Alze-beus, ignoring the unfocused look on Arthur’s face, continued, "I can sense the divine blessings you hold. It must be a very powerful being who has progressed far down the path of godhood. My revered Patron God sends his regards to such an esteemed being."
Alze-beus didn’t fail to sweet-talk Arthur’s Patron God while simultaneously ensuring he didn’t demean his own Patron God’s prestige.
Arthur nodded again.
Yes, his Patron God was indeed an esteemed being. But suddenly, he became aware that not only were his physical senses dulling, but his very thoughts were becoming sluggish.
Almost like my mind is being invaded.
Shit... He finally realized what kind of attack he might be under.
And this was after he had a Legendary-grade artifact equipped to defend against any form of soul attack! Truly a god could never be underestimated.
He wanted to warn [The Sleepless Sword], but before he could do so, his thoughts drifted aimlessly in a different direction and he found himself continuing to listen to Alze-beus or at least, he tried to.
Alze-beus smiled. "How about we make a deal?"
Arthur immediately went on high alert or tried to, but his mind kept failing him, doing its own thing.
Unwillingly, Arthur nodded yet again.
Alze-beus beamed at this glad to meet a dumb human who was stupid enough to make a deal with a Devil; especially a Grand Duke like him.
"Human, how about you let me into your city? I am fully aware a Demigod cannot enter it. I am just asking for you to allow a weak incarnation inside. I promise it won’t be higher than Level 20."
Arthur’s sluggish mind processed this. He realized that while the Devil promised the incarnation wouldn’t be higher than Level 20, that didn’t mean its actual strength would be limited to that level.
"I only wish to use it to discipline the other rogue Devils so they don’t run amok in your city," Alze-beus lied smoothly.
Arthur understood instantly. Of course, they won’t run amok after you enter the city. You’ll just make them start doing coordinated attacks instead, making them far harder to deal with.
"I also promise not to touch anyone. How about it? Isn’t it a great deal? Let’s finalize it and we won’t have to fight anymore. Who knows, we might even work together in the future!"
Arthur scoffed inwardly. Of course, you don’t necessarily need to physically ’touch’ anyone to kill them or do something much worse. And yes, we might work together, after I become your mindless puppet, right?
Alze-beus held out one of his hands as a rune appeared on his palm, a sign of making a binding deal.
Arthur screamed internally, wanting to refuse, but suddenly he lost all control of his body. Against his will, he slowly lifted his hand to meet the Devil’s and finalize the pact.
....
[Zethe-thoth]’s POV
In a sealed cave, a writhing mass of black tentacles floated ominously in the air. Suddenly, rows of jagged mouths appeared across every single tentacle.
[Zethe-thoth] hissed, "wE nEveR lEt gOod fOod eScaPe..."
...
Back in the desert:
As both hands inched closer to sealing the deal, Arthur became desperate.
Seeing things progress in a catastrophically direction. Not knowing what else to do, Arthur activated the divine skill he had received with the blessing from his Patron God.
As if sensing the sudden spike in divine energy, the tiny, transparent tentacle leaped from Arthur’s hand straight onto the clueless Alze-beus.
The Devil quickly backed away in shock as he watched Arthur turn into a silver sword!
He was fuming when he realized the human was escaping.
The silver sword cut through everything in its path. When it reached the Desert City, it slashed straight through the defense arrays before they could even form to block it, and disappeared seamlessly into a dark alleyway.
....
In the Desert City:
Sara teleported to the breached wall instantly to see what had happened, but she failed to find anything, even after doing a full search with the arrays a couple of times.
Concerned, she reported the anomaly to "The Witch" and also informed Blade and the other city officials about it.
...
In the Classroom:
Night and the rest of the class saw a blinding flash of silver light streak past the window, disappearing in a fraction of a second.
It made them all wonder if it had really happened or if they were just seeing things.
Teacher Mike shouted from the front, "Ignore it and focus on the class! It’s probably just a light show happening outside."
Night’s lips twitched as he thought, At least put some effort into fooling us.
On another bench, Alex who was sneaking peeks at Lily while pretending to listen to the boring lecture, panicked the moment he saw the flash of silver light.
He worriedly thought,
Dad...
....
In an Alleyway:
Leaning his back against a brick wall, Arthur heard the voice of his Patron God echoing in his mind.
[The Sleepless Sword]:
["Child, this Void God is incredibly devious. I have never heard of a God like him in the cosmos. It managed to delude my senses just now, making me not notice anything wrong with you until the last second. However, now that I have seen its tricks, it will not be able to fool me again."]
Arthur gasped for breath. "Is it a Primordial God as well?"
[The Sleepless Sword]:
["Child, there are only 12 Gods who have managed to reach this realm in the cosmos and none of them are Void Gods. I can assure you of that."]
Arthur wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "I shall be careful from now on. Hopefully, I have nullified its attack with this escape."
[The Sleepless Sword]:
["Even if you have not, come to my Divine Realm as soon as you reach a safe location. I shall see for myself exactly what this entity is."]
Arthur heaved a massive sigh of relief. He had finally managed to make his Patron God agree to make a move in person.
....
Alze-beus’s POV
"Ahhahhhah!" Alze-beus screamed in pure rage out in the desert.
"I promise to eat you as well, along with that pesky brat! Just you wait, human!"
It was then that he heard a voice that scared the shit out of him.
[Zethe-thoth]: "heH... wEe thInK sO aLike. yOu wiLl maKe a gOod pAwn."
"Aaaaahhhhh!" This time, Alze-beus screamed not out of rage, but in agonizing pain as he saw his hands physically disappear, one by one. He felt the terrifying pain directly in his soul, as if a core part of his existence was being eaten, never to return.
"Esteemed God [Celesis], please save meeeeee... aaaaahhhh!" Alze-beus screamed.
[Zethe-thoth]: "hAhA... nO onE geTs tO pEak whiLe wE eAt."
"Noooo..." Alze-beus realized in terror that the connection was severed. He couldn’t sense his Patron God anymore.
[Zethe-thoth] mused thoughtfully, "sO thE owNer oF thIs tAstY diVine sOurcE iS [Celesis]? dO nOt worRy, wE shAll eAt thEm tOo sOon enOugh."
[Zethe-thoth] only stopped its feast when just two of the Demigod’s arms remained, giving Alze-beus a fleeting moment of twisted peace.
[Zethe-thoth]: "wE cAnNot eAt mOre siNce wE wiLl nEed thEm lAter. tWo haNds aRe enOugH. aNy moRe iS toO mUch, hEHe."
Alze-beus had a horrifying moment of realization when he heard this.
He quickly commanded all the extra mouths on his torso to merge and disappear, leaving only one functional mouth on his face. He refused to give this monster any more reasons to continue ’trimming’ him.
[Zethe-thoth]: "aAa, sO sMarT... wE wiLL mAke a gOOd teAm."
Alze-beus trembled violently as each distorted word left the unseen entity’s mouth.
[Zethe-thoth]: "wE are [Zethe-thoth] oF tHe [VOID]."
Alze-beus despaired. Of all the terrifying beings that existed, he just had to be captured by a Void God.
Void Beings were notorious entities who didn’t follow any set of logic and had the chaotic tendency to do anything at any given moment.
A Void God was infinitely worse, since there was zero chance of him ever being able to fight back against it...
That ******* human!
Alze-beus thought furiously.
This thing must have been targeting him, but I got in the way.
I never would have meddled with something like this, knowing what they are capable of. Especially not a Void God.
[Zethe-thoth]: "hEHe, sO sMarT. yOu cOnnecTed evErythiNg sO quicKly."
Alze-beus froze.
Noooo... it can read my thoughts! I am done for...
[Zethe-thoth]: "heeH. diNg, diNg, dInG. yoU aRe riGht aGain."
Alze-beus quickly understood his position and spoke up. "Esteemed God [Zethe-thoth], the one and only, the strongest God in existence! How may this lowly servant be of use to you?"
He didn’t even hesitate as he fell to his knees and prostrated.
Alze-beus abandoned his pride without a second of hesitation.
[Zethe-thoth]: "gOod fOod. wE hAve a lOt oF thiNgs tO dO, iN sO litTle tiMe, beFore tHe othErs sMeLl tHe tAstY fOods hEre."
Alze-beus’s remaining eye went wide. What? There are oth... th... OTHERS?!
[Zethe-thoth]: "yEs. bEfoRe tHey knOw iT, wE shAlL liCk thiS plAce clEan."
Alze-beus knew exactly what this being wanted: it wanted to consume and destroy his home.
He agreed silently, knowing he didn’t have any other choice left. If he showed any disapproval, this being would just force him to do it anyway as a mindless puppet.
It was better to do it under the illusion of his own ’choice.’ At least this way, he wouldn’t suffer as much.
[Zethe-thoth]: "yOu aRe gEtting tAstier bY thE seCond, wiTh tHat sMartneSs oF yOurs."
[Zethe-thoth] continued, "lEts sTart wiTh tHe humAn tHat jUst eScapeD."
Hearing this, Alze-beus’s mood instantly improved. "Yes, Lord!"
When he remembered the face of the damn human who had put him in this miserable situation, malevolent feelings rose in his heart.
