Chapter 565: What was Nathan’s ID?

Chapter 565: What was Nathan’s ID?



Void Maelstrom

Neither the arrival of the Fifth Demon God nor Apollo seemed to affect Thor.

Or rather, they didn't even notice him.

Even after the butterfly appeared, it made no further moves, simply observing the unfolding situation in silence.

The sky darkened.

Maxen looked up at the dim heavens, sensing something stirring behind the veil of shadows. "Thor, maybe we should stop digging?"

He couldn't shake the hollow feeling in his chest, a vague unease, as if something important was missing.

Mike paused, scanning the surroundings. He didn't put down the shovel in his hand but instead let out a helpless chuckle.

"It's too late."

Maxen blinked, confused. "What do you mean, 'too late'?"

"The Fifth Demon God is here. Oh... and Apollo's here too."

Following Mike's gesture, Maxen finally noticed the distant figures.

"But the most important thing is..."

Mike pointed above the void, his smile tinged with resignation.

"It's here too."

Mike could feel it-the presence of the Supreme Demon God.

He knew it all too well.

That entity wanted to kill Mike. And it wanted to kill Apollo even more.

With such heavyweight contenders present, the next steps of this situation were no longer in Mike's hands.

If digging up the monument was forbidden, Apollo would have stopped him.

But Apollo hadn't done anything.

That meant he allowed it.

And permission meant it was possible.

Still, the deeper Mike dug, the stranger it felt.

Nathan... was unbelievably strong.

This seal, created centuries ago, still required Mike to expend significant effort to break it.

Just how powerful had Nathan been back then?

Mike even began to suspect that Nathan's talent wasn't just top-tier SS-grade but one of those near-SSS-grade abilities that fell just short of perfection.

After an entire day of work, Mike finally broke the seal and reached the bottom of the monument.

A sphere of black light emerged, and Mike easily absorbed it into himself.

As expected, the compatibility was incredibly high.

But instead of feeling joy, Mike froze, his mind blank.

Because...

At the bottom of the monument, he saw a familiar symbol.

The moment his eyes landed on it, Mike's thoughts came to a screeching halt.

How could this be?

Impossible!

Why... why was there an ugly heart here?

Why was the final mark on Nathan's seal... an ugly heart?

"What's wrong?"

Maxen stood at the edge of the pit, looking down at Thor, utterly confused.

"Nothing."

Mike looked up, forcing a grin to mask his true emotions.

He didn't know how to explain this to Maxen.

Or rather, Mike decided not to tell him at all.

Beneath his black hair, his eyes carried a faint sadness, the kind that couldn't be put into words.

Like a child who had been wronged but had no one to confide in, he could only bear it silently.

"Are you sure it's nothing?"

Maxen, ever the optimist, didn't notice anything unusual.

Mike denied it again. "It's nothing."

But Maxen noticed something alarming. "Wait... why are you crying?"

Thor... crying?

Was he about to die?!

Maxen panicked.

"Happy tears," Mike said, his tone light and joking. "I finally have 1.1 times your combat

power."

He was still spouting nonsense, pretending to be carefree.

Of course, he knew this wouldn't fool Maxen.

So Mike offered a more plausible explanation.

"It's just a side effect of overusing my talent."

This time, Maxen bought it.

Mike's talent was tied to his eyes, so it made sense for there to be side effects.

Taking a deep breath, Mike casually stored the monument in his inventory, making sure Maxen didn't see what was at the bottom.

Maxen: ???

He was stunned. His eyes widened as he craned his neck.

"Didn't you say it was mine?!"

How was this a fifty-fifty split?!

This was the most rebellion Maxen dared to show against Thor.

"Relax, I'm just holding onto it for you... I mean, it's heavy. If you carry it, it'll slow you down

when we need to run. What, you think I won't give it to you?"

Mike's tone was righteous and confident.

"Do you really think I'd stoop so low as to covet your stuff? If I wanted something, is there

anything I couldn't get?"

Maxen thought about it and realized Thor had a point.

Besides, it was just a monument. It wasn't worth falling out with Thor over it.

Nathan was coming back soon anyway. Whether there was one more monument or one less

didn't really matter.

Beneath his black hair, Mike's eyes dimmed. A bitter thought crossed his mind.

"I think I know what Shadow Nine lied to me about..."

If he could, Mike would rather not know.

He was smart, but in this case, he wished he could stay ignorant.

[This matter...]

The Eye of Truth clearly knew something.

But it didn't dare speak. On one hand, it involved the Supreme. On the other, revealing it

would only harm Mike, offering no benefit.

"It's okay. I don't blame you."

When Mike saw the ugly heart at the bottom of the monument, he understood everything.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

In his mind, countless fragmented details pieced themselves together, reconstructing the

sculpture.

"This is my fault."

Afterskin sighed again, his tone filled with regret.

"I've always had terrible luck."

"Don't talk nonsense..."

Shadow Nine, still slumped on Afterskin's back, whispered hoarsely.

"If it weren't for you back then, I'd have died here too..."

Some people only speak the truth when they're on the brink of death.

Just as despair began to set in, Afterskin's vision blurred. For a moment, he thought he was

hallucinating.

The shadow... was moving!

Afterskin lifted his head, squinting against the blinding sunlight.

What he saw would stay with him for the rest of his life.

A colossal demon god, bound in chains, was trudging forward.

Every step it took seemed to drain every ounce of its strength.

The chains were wrapped in black flames-essence.

And the other end of the chains was connected to the sun of the Supreme Abyssal.

What was it doing?!

That demon god was burning its own abyssal source, sacrificing everything, enduring the

agony of the sun's flames... all to move the sun just a little closer.

Realizing what was happening, Afterskin knew he had to act.

He looked at the direction of the shadow, took a deep breath, and muttered under his breath:

"Three, two, one... here we go!"

With every ounce of strength he had left, Afterskin hurled Shadow Nine forward.

The shadow was light.

And Shadow Nine, in his Blood Shadow form, was even lighter.

This was the final relay.

The sun moved. Shadow Nine flew.

And finally, Shadow Nine landed in the shadow.

The moment they touched, Shadow Nine vanished, completely merging with the shadow.

A streak of black drove out all traces of crimson.

From the shadow, a middle-aged man slowly rose.

Shadow Nine stood up.

Having reclaimed part of Nathan's talent, Shadow Nine closed his eyes and took a deep

breath, savoring the sensation of power returning to his body.

It had been so many years since he'd felt this strong.

"Only one use, huh..."

Shadow Nine murmured to himself.

"One... is enough."

"Fuck you! Stop acting cool and hurry up! I'm about to die here!" Calderon, half-buried in snow, cursed loudly, frantically signaling for help.

To buy Shadow Nine enough time, both he and Afterskin had pushed themselves to the brink

of death.

But they believed-no, they knew-that as long as Shadow Nine reclaimed Nathan's talent,

everything would be resolved.

Their faith in him was absolute, almost blind.

Because this was the strongest talent in human history.

Bar none.

Shadow Nine stood on the mountainside, his hand resting on the hilt of his short blade,

gazing down at the Supreme Abyssal.

In that moment, he seemed like a Supreme Being himself.

It felt like he had returned to that day.

To that battle.

Nathan's final words appeared before Shadow Nine's eyes:

"I will use my flesh and blood to guard this land..."

Two hundred years had passed.

Shadow Nine tilted his head slightly, looking toward the summit.

There, a man sat quietly.

The man's lips curled into a faint smile, almost serene.

He was smiling. Shadow Nine was smiling too.

But he didn't close his eyes.

Shadow Nine knew. Calderon knew. Every top-tier human powerhouse knew.

It was this man's death that had made reconciliation between humanity and the Supreme

Demon God impossible.

No surrender. No retreat.

A war to the death that had raged for centuries, until the very end of the world.

Even if it meant the destruction of everything, there would be no regrets.

A fire. A hatred.

It had burned in their chests for centuries, threatening to drive Shadow Nine mad.

Unyielding.

Blood.

Hatred.

"Die!"

Shadow Nine opened his eyes, as if transported back to that earth-shattering battle 297 years ago.

When the Archdemon forcibly opened the Supreme Abyssal, and Human King Nathan went to

face him.

After that battle, Nathan never returned.

Everyone knew Nathan had died.

But no one knew the price the Supreme Demon God had paid.

It had been forced into a 161-year slumber, unable to stop Ares' rise, unable to interfere in the

Abyss.

When the Supreme Abyssal reappeared, the world had already changed.

This was the 161 years Nathan had bought with his life.

Shadow Nine opened his mouth, his hoarse voice echoing across the Supreme Abyssal.

The shadow of that battle 297 years ago once again loomed over the Supreme Abyssal.

Countless demon creatures trembled, paralyzed by fear. They knelt. They prostrated themselves. They begged for mercy.

Too late!

Fear! Run! Scream! Crawl! Beg for death, but find no escape!

And then, Shadow Nine spoke softly:

"Tell me... do you have nightmares?"