Chapter 1004: Self-Doubt
If this new death spirit king had time to acclimatize to his body, he would surely grow even stronger than the previous one. Nor would he be shaken by Zhang Lie's words, but the 'death spirit king', having just undergone a rebirth, was currently in an immature state.
Zhang Lie had to take advantage of this opportunity to kill him right here, or he would surely continue his plan of trying to devour the three thousand worlds given his belief that he was the death spirit king.
At that point, with the wills of the world perfectly melding into his wretched soul, along with the death spirit king's ambitions, he would surely become an existence to contend with.
Zhang Lie sucked in a deep breath. No matter what, he had to kill this 'death spirit king' in the cradle.
The 'death spirit king' cried out again, "I'm the death spirit king, regardless of what you claim! This will never change."
The soul of the 'death spirit king' quavered as Zhang Lie shook his head. "The death spirit king was a majestic existence. Although I only knew him for a short period of time, I have to admit that he's an opponent worthy of respect.
"I know you want to become such an existence too, but you aren't. The death spirit king certainly wouldn't insist that he was the death spirit king—he'd reply that his name didn't matter, just his strength."
Nightdemon shook his head. "From what I know of the death spirit king, that's not right. What he would really say is, 'The title of 'death spirit king' is no longer suitable for my rebirthed self. From today onwards, I am the death spirit god! Only the title of god suits a being like me!' "
The soul of the 'death spirit king' began shaking even more violently, and the world's energy it commanded began to flicker.
Zhang Lie spread his arms. "That's why I'm telling you that you're not the death spirit king, but rather a counterfeit wearing his body and face!"
Nightdemon shook his head. "The death spirit king I knew was far bolder and far more charismatic. You can't compare to him."
Zhang Lie and Nightdemon glanced at each other, each understanding what the other was doing.
The 'death spirit king' had just been rebirthed, and they couldn't let it establish its self-awareness. The first step against that was essentially to gaslight its very existence.
"No, I'm the death spirit king..." The 'death spirit king' clutched his head in pain. "I am, I am the death spirit king...!"
The 'death spirit king' seemed to be trying to convince himself of that fact.
"I possess the death spirit king's memories."
.
"Those memories are just remnants of his soul."
"My body is the death spirit king's."
"I've simply taken over his shell."
"I'm not the rebirthed death spirit king, but rather a shoddy imitation."
"If I'm not the death spirit king, what am I?"
The 'death spirit king' murmured to himself, trapped in a cycle of self-affirmation and self-denial. It seemed as though the 'death spirit king' was developing a split personality on the spot.
This was the first time Zhang Lie had seen something like this happening, and to a superior king no less. If he were able to record it and post it on the web, it would surely go viral.
"Who am I? What am I? If not the death spirit king, then..." The soul of the 'death spirit king' finally reached a critical threshold. The souls that had been chopped apart and then forcibly stuck together by Zhang Lie's [Blades, Extinguish] were unstable by nature, and Zhang Lie and Nightdemon had destabilized the amalgamation further with their words. The 'death spirit king' was beginning to disintegrate on a spiritual level.
"If I'm not the death spirit king, then none of this needs to exist."
The 'death spirit king' erupted with the world's energy. The multicolored energy burned like flames, as though the body of the 'death spirit king' was its furnace. Even Zhang Lie had to retreat in the face of those flames.
"He's going to self-destruct!" Zhang Lie called out, then glanced at the death spirit king's actions more carefully. "No, it's self-immolating!"
Nightdemon commented, "As expected of a being who inherited the death spirit king's personality, with ridiculous self-awareness and self-will despite our destabilizing influence."
Wilbow glanced at them curiously. "What's going on?"
Throughout the entire process, he had been stupefied by what Zhang Lie and Nightdemon were doing.
Wouldn't it be best to kill the death spirit king directly? He didn't know what they were trying to accomplish.
Nightdemon spread his arms. "The death spirit king's consciousness has been reborn. Upon realizing that it wasn't the original death spirit king, it's choosing to destroy its body before reforging it anew from its ashes and a large heaping of world's energy. This will be a true rebirth in body and soul."
Wilbow cocked his head. "Has he gone crazy?"
To think of trying such a feat on the battlefield—even if he were to succeed, he would have to face Zhang Lie, Nightdemon, and Wilbow in battle!
Could this newly forged body be so strong as to handle such a fight? Zhang Lie certainly wouldn't allow this to happen, and neither would they. They would have to kill the death spirit king before his body could fully form.
Nightdemon replied, "Either he has absolute confidence in what he's doing, or we've driven him crazy."
Wilbow shook his head. He didn't know what to think of the fact that Zhang Lie and Nightdemon had driven an existence on the level of a superior king crazy with just their words.
He asked what was on his mind. "Why not just kill him?"
Nightdemon sighed. "If only it were so easy."
The death spirit king's body contained great deals of the world's energy. If he were to self-destruct, none of them would be able to escape.
Furthermore, the reborn death spirit king wasn't weak at all. If they were to initiate a battle and allow it to familiarize itself with its body, it might very well kill them all instead.
Most importantly, the reborn death spirit king could choose to run away.
Nightdemon and Zhang Lie had deliberately provoked him with words in hopes that his mental state would crumble and collapse and they could minimize the fighting they had to do.
They were half-successful. The death spirit king's mental state had crumbled, but he hadn't died.
The multicolored flame continued to burn as the death spirit king's body turned to ash. The world of black rain, refined by the flame, morphed into the shell that would be the basis for the death spirit king's new body.
Deep within the multicolored flames, a crystal was slowly forming a core.
Zhang Lie grimaced. The reborn death spirit king, in this furnace-like state, couldn't be struck with his [Fourth Form: Warping Space and Time], and his other attacks would do essentially no damage.
In that case, he had only one final trick left to him: [Fifth Form: Obliterating the Stars]!
Zhang Lie raised Guicang high into the air.
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