Chapter 11

A magnificent temple built of sand would not be particularly surprising.

However, just before stepping into this ancient Egypt-style temple, all three of them felt a strong will shrouding the entire structure. It was as if a black sun had completely covered the sky here, plunging the whole world into boundless darkness.

Outside, the desert was still scorching, with the sun hanging high in the sky. Yet, at the entrance of the temple, they could feel this aura of darkness; it was truly hair-raising.

"Great Demon."

Elaine shuddered, her face turning pale. "As expected, it couldn't possibly end with just landing a finishing blow on Professor Van Straten. That Great Demon pulling the strings behind him has likely already descended into this [Heart Chamber]."

Monsters of the level of Celestial Immortals, Great Gods, and Ancient Great Demons cannot easily descend into the mortal world. Generally speaking, mortal experts only need to worry about enemies of the mortal level—however, the deep [Inner Realm] does not belong to the mortal world. If you, a mortal expert, enter a [Heart Chamber] and Zeus happens to descend into that same [Heart Chamber] and screws you over, there is nowhere for you to seek justice.

"If we could know the name of this Great Demon in advance, we could make some targeted preparations," she said with some worry.

When fighting against gods and evil spirits, knowing their names in advance significantly reduces the difficulty. Charging head-on against an Ancient Great Demon in another world without knowing its background is truly asking for death.

Qi Xing heard Elaine's words, and he couldn't help but sweat secretly. Because he did indeed know the name of the Great Demon before them—wasn't it Samael? But how was he supposed to explain to the nun why he knew?

But if he didn't say anything and played the riddle-maker, only for everyone to lose because of poor information sharing, that would be truly stupid. Qi Xing had seen such plots too many times in both his lifetimes, and he couldn't accept it happening to himself.

"Samael," he said. "That Great Demon appeared in the shallow layer and called itself Samael."

This terrifying name made the nun shiver and bite her lip. "Samael? Satan himself has appeared using his alias? I suppose the half-baked knowledge you have about Osiris was also instilled in you by Him?"

Qi Xing shrugged. "What's wrong with that? If she hadn't guided me, I wouldn't have been able to enter the deep layer at all."

Elaine sighed in despair. "Fine. Regardless of what the true identity of this Samael is, any Great Demon calling itself Samael cannot be underestimated."

"But even if it is a Demon King, as long as it is in the deep [Inner Realm], it must abide by the identity roles and rules. This deep [Inner Realm] is a symbol of the Underworld, and Mr. Qi, you are currently Osiris, the King of the Underworld. The possibility of expelling the demon is still quite high. May the Lord watch over us."

Let's hope so. Qi Xing nodded silently and said nothing more. The three of them walked into the temple together.

They saw a deep red throne. Beside the throne, they saw what looked like Professor Van Straten himself, half-kneeling and half-collapsed on the ground, turned into a statue of rock salt. The nun gasped softly.

Salt—a long, long time ago, there was a person who looked back at the city of sin and evil desire, which had been destroyed by divine wrath. Because of a momentary attachment to desire, they were turned into a pillar of salt.

Those who were wicked and deeply mired in evil desire in Sodom, which was burned by heavenly fire, would all turn into pillars of salt.

They all saw the Demon King sitting lightly on the deep red throne, with the black sun as a background, her body swaying back and forth, and a halo on her head. That ring of darkness was less like light and more like thorny brambles; it was magnificent and imposing, like a crown forged of iron.

Her appearance was still childish, but her attitude was grand. The throne was placed high up, allowing the petite Demon God to look down on them to her heart's content, sizing them up without reservation, her golden eyes flashing with an eerie light. Her cute body, as if carved by an ancient master, was wrapped in a magnificent dress, resembling a child deity.

This dreamlike scene was so captivating that even those who knew how dangerous and terrifying she was could not help but be mesmerized.

On Samael's side, however, she shifted her gaze from Qi Xing with a lack of interest toward the Magical Girl, then looked at the nun, Elaine, paused for a moment, and then tilted her head, moving her interested gaze back to Qi Xing.

Her gaze was incredibly brief, barely even a glance. But the places swept by her gaze instantly felt the great power and incredible weight that made the entire [Inner Realm]—that made this whole small world—submit, smashing down on their shoulders, silently pressing down on their necks, making them unable to stand.

Even with all their strength, they didn't budge. It was as if they were being pressed down from above by an invisible, terrifying giant hand; their bodies completely lost their freedom, and they fell to the ground in a sorry state. This weight was not physical but immovable; it came from the gaze cast upon them by an ancient and unspeakably powerful being. Every atom of their bodies was deeply buried under its great power, unable to move.

"Don't be so aggressive." Only Qi Xing, for some reason unaffected by the pressure, stepped forward, shielding the two girls behind him and blocking the Evil God's gaze. "They didn't provoke you."

"That's a funny thing to say; I didn't do anything to them." Samael smiled, as friendly and easygoing as if talking to a friend. "They only realized their own insignificance because they witnessed my glory. It's normal; I used to be afraid to look in the mirror because I was too dazzling."

Wow. For a moment, Qi Xing didn't even know how to respond to that.

"Then again, I haven't thanked you yet. You promised to help me get back what was stolen, and you really brought it back right away. Thank you—"

A small, ancient silver coin spun at her fingertips, making Samael seem to be in a very good mood. Qi Xing didn't recognize the silver coin, but it was easy to imagine that this must be the source of energy the professor used to create and maintain the [Inner Realm], some very powerful ancient artifact.

Although still pressed to the ground, Elaine, beside him, couldn't help but tremble when she saw the silver coin. Ancient Great Demon, silver coin artifact, two thousand years… Eek…

Qi Xing was not completely ignorant. He had already vaguely guessed some things. This Loli Evil God was probably truly not to be trifled with.

"I came to this [Heart Chamber] originally to completely deal with Professor Van Straten, but it looks like you've already taken care of him." Qi Xing glanced at the rock salt statue of the professor beside the throne and said, "Now the only problem is the two thousand or so tourists and crew members trapped in the [Inner Realm]. Since you said thank you for helping you get your things back, can you spare their lives?"

The actual controller of the [Inner Realm] had now become a Great Demon. If she didn't nod, the idea of safely rescuing over two thousand people from the [Inner Realm] was pure delusion; the possibility of just blowing up the core of the [Inner Realm] was actually higher.

Moreover, Qi Xing was not a madman who only craved the enjoyment of battle. The Loli Evil God before him looked too dangerous. He had no perverted interest in rushing up to abuse himself.

"Sure. Anyway, I don't like eating people." Samael's lips curled up slightly, and then she asked a question Qi Xing didn't expect. "But I just lost one of my subordinates in the human world. Although it was his own fault, a piece of trash that couldn't be molded, I am still one short. The loss caused by this piece of trash needs to be made up by a newcomer. So…"

She kicked the professor, who had turned into a salt statue, and then slowly reached out her hand, asking very friendly, "—Come be my subordinate?"

Before Qi Xing could say anything, he heard the two girls pressed to the ground gasp.

"As long as you are willing to serve me, I will send everyone on this cruise ship back to Tokyo safely, and I will heal all their mental and physical damage. If you are particularly concerned about purity, I can even reverse their individual time and reconstruct their matter, making them completely brand new."

"I'm not asking you to trade your soul; I just want you to do some things for me in the human world from now on. Hero, do we have a deal?"

Hero. In the context of this conversation and the conditions, it was a title full of sarcasm.

Qi Xing was speechless for a moment, then shook his head. "I refuse."

If someone took hostages to force Qi Xing to become a subordinate, he wouldn't just refuse to be loyal; he would definitely become a double agent, or at the very least, he would slack off significantly.

Qi Xing didn't think this Loli Evil God was stupid enough to not have thought of that.

If that was the case, was there another reason?

However, trying to think about the plans of gods and demons from a mortal's perspective was simply too difficult; after all, there were too many things he didn't know.

It would be better for Qi Xing to just decide to act according to his own heart.

"If I trade myself today to save two thousand lives, tomorrow you'll ask me to kill twenty thousand. I've seen this kind of plot too many times. People who make these kinds of deals almost always have to pay it back with interest in the end. I'm not doing it."

Qi Xing shook his head firmly.

"Oh my, is that so?"

However, Samael was not angry about this; on the contrary, like a lion seeing its prey resist, she only revealed a gentle and very interested smile, even propping herself up from her throne, her eyes sparkling.

"Since saving the lives before you is not your true desire, then what do you need to obtain to be willing to bow at my feet?"

After speaking, she waved her hand—in an instant, the surrounding temple and desert scenery completely changed!

This place suddenly became the highest point on earth, the summit of the world's highest peak.

The entire earth, all the nations under heaven, as well as all the glory and wealth in the world, all power, riches, women, and the authority to control all of humanity—all lay at Qi Xing's feet.

She had the power to turn a loser like Professor Vanstra into a hypnotist uncle who could do whatever he wanted.

He messed up, his mind collapsed, that was because his own aptitude was insufficient.

Qi Xing could certainly do better than him, a thousand times better.

He could possess everything others couldn't even dream of.

If he liked, he could rule the world, kill anyone, or fuck anyone; he could do whatever he liked.

He would no longer need to be bound by common sense and social order.

If he wished, he could even push all of humanity to develop in the same direction, strive toward the same goal, control and allocate all production and distribution, cleanse all sin, and become the ultimate Philosopher King.

"I don't like flowery words, so I'll be blunt."

Samael reached out her hand to him,

"Everything in this world is mine. As long as you acknowledge me as your god, I can give you all authority."

"Facing this scene, what is the first desire that wells up in your heart? State your wish, no need to be polite!"

The story of the devil and the hero has always started with this question.

015: Hmph, trying to tempt me?

Hmph, trying to tempt me?

I won't fall for her tricks.

A black-goth loli, cute bratty Loli Evil God; in the 2D world, this is nothing unusual.

A fair-skinned, beautiful, bold, avant-garde, gorgeous seductress is even less of a surprise.

"Come on, state your wish."

"Any wish will do?"

"Any wish is fine, you can have as many as you want—any wish. Resurrection of the dead? Reversing time? Love? All no problem."

"I don't want you to be a lackey, a servant, or a slave. I only want you to worship me as a god and bring my order and will to the mortal world. If I have any instructions for you, it is up to you, not me, to decide whether to do them."

But she was truly generous. Too generous.

So much so that for a moment, Qi Xing couldn't even refuse.

Her conditions were so generous that it even made Qi Xing feel it was absurd: "Let me ask, if I agree to your conditions, and then make a wish for you to love me until death, can you accept that?"

"I can accept that."

Samael giggled, seemingly finding this very amusing,

"But I will love you using my own standards of love. You cannot write a simple and perfect [Definition of Love] in human language to make a wish to me. Because any concept described by human language will definitely have loopholes."

This was true. If there wasn't a third-party definition to regulate what [Love] actually was, making a wish to Satan for love was just courting death; he would be played to the point of wishing for death in minutes.

"Even if I don't deliberately torment you, and love you, over time you might still doubt whether this [Love] is real."

Speaking of this, Samael kicked the professor's salt statue again, her voice full of laughter,

"This loser used my power to play with hypnosis, and in just four years, he started doubting himself, saying he wanted true love, and ended up having a mental breakdown. Ultimately, he couldn't even determine what true love was himself, yet he dared to ask for it. This was already a path to death."

Qi Xing couldn't refute this.

He was no greenhorn. Especially after fighting for ten years in this eroge-like world, Qi Xing was even more clear on this.

If he really relied on a supernatural wish to trade for love, in the end, he might have to waste another wish to undo it just to figure out whether it counted as love… and being able to solve it that way would probably be considered lucky.

"A person who thinks the importance of his own junk is greater than 2,000 human lives, while simultaneously claiming that the root of his evil is because he wants true love, and decides to hijack a cruise ship for a sacrifice to relieve the stress of sexual assault. His comedic talent is truly too strong, so much so that I think he would be good as a clown, but as my messenger in the mortal world, it's too embarrassing."

The Loli Evil God said this, grinning,

"I want a more qualified agent in the mortal world to take over his power now, so I chose you. You might think my conditions are too generous, but that is all."

"What is aptitude?" Qi Xing frowned, "Because I spent ten years cultivating a semi-immortal body, becoming [The World's Strongest Man]?"

"Not bothered by trouble, not impatient when blocked, never admitting defeat, and being faithful to your own goals. This personality is the aptitude."

Samael replied indifferently,

"It is easy to change rivers and mountains, but hard to change one's nature. For two thousand years, many people have obtained fragments of my power due to fortuitous encounters, becoming kings and tyrants for a time. But their characters could not match their great power, and they all ended up falling miserably. Character determines fate. Don't you want to test your own ability?"

Qi Xing was silent.

Damn.

This is bad. Her conditions are so tempting.

Although considering common sense, making a deal with the devil is courting death; although everyone says that making a deal with the devil will definitely get you scammed… but the conditions proposed by this Loli Evil God were so good that Qi Xing was truly tempted now, unable to refuse.

Because, in fact, there had always been a terrifying ambition gnawing at his heart.

After transmigrating, it took him about a year to accept reality and get used to this world that was like a mire of eroge. Afterward, Qi Xing threw himself into training crazily, studying hard, and in these nine years, hunted down every lecherous villain he encountered.

But in the haze, every time he looked back, Qi Xing couldn't help but feel that he was walking on a path with no end in sight, no boundaries.

This was not a rugged mountain road. Although a mountain road is steep and difficult to climb, at least it has twists and turns, making one feel spirited; this was also not a field path. Although a small path is narrow and difficult to walk, at least it has the fragrance of rice flowers, giving one a sense of relaxation while moving forward. This was a beach where every step was a pit, this was a mire where it was hard to move, this was a boundless wasteland.

Looking into the distance, there was no sign of human life. Looking back, even his own footprints on the beach were washed away by the sea, leaving only death-like silence.

What was all this hard work for?

Qi Xing had only one ambition, and that was to change this crazy world that had been pickled in eroge.

If Samael could really help him achieve his goal, then to him, was this girl a god, or was she Satan? He might lose his soul because of this, but what did that matter?

Otherwise, what else could he do? Kill everyone? Or start a revolution in this supernatural, perverted earth that was worse than the real 21st century? It was simply impossible.

This whole world was like an egg soaked in eroge, the yellow color seemed to be written into the underlying code. This was not a problem that could be solved by the methodology of another world.

What a difficult road, what an exhausting road! Without textbooks from predecessors, he could only grope forward in the darkness without light, believing that one day, there would be an open view ahead. But after walking for ten years, Qi Xing's eyes were still in darkness.