Chapter 19

It coiled within the [ Dream of All Living Beings ], spreading and twisting endlessly into a horrifying shape, resembling a crazed face and tentacles covered in mouths.

What the hell is that?

Even Qi Xing could see how terrifying that disgusting, filthy expanse of white was.

It was like a festering sore inside the [ Dream of All Living Beings ], a cancerous tumor nourished by the subconscious of all humanity.

" That is the projection of the indulgence, corruption, and depravity accumulated by the humans of this world over two thousand years. "

" It is an egg reflected in the Spirit Realm from the sensory pleasure desires of all humanity. "

Samael pursed her small lips,

" In the past, when I held control over the universe, I would reduce the total human population every so often to prevent the dreams and cravings of pleasure-seeking desires from piling up too much. "

" But I no longer have that power. "

" I don't know why, but in the last few decades, humanity's pursuit of luxury, indulgence, and hedonism has become far greater than in the past two thousand years. "

" I estimate that within a century, this egg will coalesce and hatch, bringing a new god to this world. "

" A new god hatched by all of humanity (Homo-Deus), a god of pleasure and indulgence addicted and starved for every imaginable sensory enjoyment. "

The Dark Lord sat on her black throne, looking up at the purulent white mass coalescing in the [ Dream of All Living Beings ], and laughed mockingly,

" A [ White King ]. "

The hungry, purulent white vortex lashed violently against the sea of the human soul.

The Eye of Excess stared longingly at the light of all human souls.

As the corruption spread, echoes of ecstasy rippled endlessly through this ocean.

All these reflections of intense desire began to merge, unknowingly, into an unimaginable, grotesque, and nauseating shadow.

Ugh.

Qi Xing was certain he had seen this kind of thing in other novels in his past life.

And he really didn't want to see this already troublesome eroge world explode with an even bigger, terrifying hole.

Was Samael exaggerating, deceiving Qi Xing into believing in a more troublesome and greater threat right before his eyes?

Qi Xing looked up again, staring once more at the white tumor nourishing and developing within the [ Dream of All Living Beings ].

He could feel it.

He could truly feel it.

Countless people were sinking deep into the whirlpool of depraved pleasure in their daily lives, chasing the madness of stimulation.

The world burned around them, but they didn't care about the future.

Satisfying the soul tormented by hunger had become everything to these people.

The emotions and desires projected by thousands, tens of thousands, and hundreds of millions of people soaked into this white pus, just like fungal spores spreading, growing, and nourishing between people, then infecting even more.

Just looking at that mass of white pus made Qi Xing feel a headache.

And this discomfort wasn't just psychological.

Honestly speaking, this didn't seem like a scam.

Things were getting really troublesome now.

" If you don't trust me, "

Keenly noticing Qi Xing's complex thoughts, Samael spoke kindly once more,

" As long as you have about fifteen silver coins, I can send you back to the [ Tree of Life ] and return you to the upper world. "

This proposal truly caught Qi Xing off guard, even startling him: " Huh?! "

" However, I cannot guarantee what kind of world I will send you to. "

" After all, there are very, very many different worlds on the Tree of Life. "

" I also don't know which world you specifically came from. "

Samael continued, lost in thought,

" Perhaps some world of sword and magic? Or a space fantasy sci-fi opera? A change of pace might actually be nice. "

" Forget it. " Qi Xing shook his head quickly, " Modern Earth is already enough for me to deal with. And even if I could go back smoothly, I wouldn't abandon my friends. "

Yeah, that's right.

Run away by myself, then abandon the friends I've met in this world inside this yellow cesspit?

That definitely won't do.

Regardless of whether the idiot creator god of this world is mentally challenged, at least the people in this world are good.

Qi Xing told himself this in his heart, and then he made a decision, a decision that might be a bit dangerous.

" Samael, I don't trust your proposal, and I cannot possibly trust your proposal. "

He turned back to Samael on the dark throne and then retorted calmly,

" Whether I believe you or not, or whether you truly realize your mistakes, at least looking at the current situation, it's hard for me to trust your intelligence. "

Perhaps Samael wasn't intentionally deceiving him now, perhaps she had truly realized what kind of mistakes she had made in the past — but may I ask, after hearing her story, would anyone still dare to trust her self-proclaimed, world-shaking wisdom?

At least Qi Xing wouldn't.

" The danger you mentioned about the world potentially collapsing is likely true. "

" Even without this risk, I do indeed want to change this world. "

" So, I can indeed go and collect silver coins. "

That said, he gazed coldly into Samael's golden eyes, not relaxing in the slightest.

It was like staring at a lioness, a giant beast bound by iron chains, yet still having the chance to lash out and hurt someone at any moment.

" But I won't collect silver coins for you. "

" Since Professor Vanstra gained the power of [ Domination ] after obtaining a silver coin, if I obtain enough silver coins, I should also be able to use them directly to change this world. "

This made Samael unable to help but smile, just like her identity as a devil: " You intend to cast me aside and just take my power fragments to use yourself? "

" I will study them first. "

" If necessary — I will use them. "

Qi Xing's face darkened, and he said decisively,

" It's not that I am collecting power fragments for you, but that you will help me find power fragments for me to use to change this world! "

" Do you understand what I mean, devil? "

This made the devil laugh in spite of herself.

But she only laughed softly for a moment before composing her expression and nodding obediently:

" Very well, [ Descender ] Qi Xing. I will follow your instructions, let you control the power of the silver coins yourself, and let this world go according to your wishes. "

There's nothing wrong with that.

Just as she had for the past two thousand years, letting everyone who found a silver coin use the power fragments as they pleased, becoming kings and tyrants for a time.

Many of them had held beautiful ideals and wishes.

In the end, the vast majority still met a miserable end, and incidentally made the world even worse.

( [ Outsider ] Qi Xing, how can you be any different? )

Samael chuckled secretly in her heart — hehehe — because she knew very well that human desires are endless, wisdom is so limited, and it is so easy to lift a rock only to drop it on one's own feet.

( When that time comes, when you are holding a pile of power for nothing, yet trapped in an inescapable, self-contradictory predicament, it will be my turn to negotiate, recover my divine power, and play with you in the palm of my hand. Hehehehe ha — — )

The Loli Evil God was very confident about this.

Because back when she fought Qi Xing, she had already secretly peeked and saw that this [ Outsider ]'s heart was not as completely upright and open as he claimed.

No human could possibly have that.

Samael had long seen that Qi Xing also had his hidden dark desires and fears buried deep within his heart.

A fear that made him afraid to fall in love, afraid to get married, and even completely afraid to be lustful, only daring to say everyone is a friend, and only making friends with experts, always putting himself at the forefront in battle, not pinning his hopes on anyone, and completely afraid to open his heart.

Therefore, she knew that as long as she let Qi Xing know that the thirty silver coins represented control over this entire universe — he would definitely take the bait.

( When one day arrives, when I let your fears finally sprout and bloom into desire, acting on my behalf with my power, and creating a new world upon the corpse of the old world, how interesting everything will become? )

At the thought of this, Samael felt overjoyed!

A king can choose the god they believe in, but a god also chooses the king they like.

Just as the goddess Isis could determine the ownership of the throne in the human world and the underworld, deciding that the true king was both her husband and the son she raised with her own hands.

" This is the first silver coin. "

" It is the very first of the thirty, and also the most excellent divine power in this world. "

So she obediently handed Professor Vanstra's silver coin to Qi Xing,

" That trash Professor Vanstra wasted it, using it only for hypnosis, but it actually represents the power of [ Domination ] — just as the sun dominates the sky. "

" Ra, Horus, Osiris, they are all sun gods. "

" Situated at the top, dominating everything, born to rule the world. "

" As long as you master the power of this silver coin, you can make heaven and earth shatter with a wave of your hand, becoming the [ Strongest Person in the World ]. "

" Hmm. "

Qi Xing frowned and took the first silver coin.

[part:gemini-3.0-flash]

First lightning magic, Master Leipu, and now Solar Divine Power… Damn it, just what kind of sun thing is he after? Qi Xing couldn't help but feel that this was a bad omen.

But regardless, he had already made his choice. He couldn't cower, and he couldn't regret it; he could only move forward and personally fulfill his great vow.

The overture had ended.

The theater curtains were drawing back.

The devil was snickering behind the scenes, wanting to pull the strings and decide the script herself.

However, since she was an idiot, no one really knew what the outcome would be.

As for what would happen next, one could only wait and see.

023: Starting From Where One Fell

A large cruise ship vanished in an explosion.

Over two thousand people were hypnotized, four hundred had their organs harvested, and at least a hundred died before they could be rescued.

The loss of property and life was beyond count.

If viewed as a lone-wolf terrorist attack, the damage caused by Professor Van Straaten using only his own power was simply mind-boggling.

And this was only because his head was filled with nothing but carnal desires; he hadn't even intended to cause destruction on purpose. The people and things lost were merely 'used up' as consumables by him, so it wasn't considered 'too serious'.

Fortunately, as Qi Xing had said before, this world's self-maintenance ability was actually surprisingly strong. Despite the cursing, even though Samael had only fabricated a universe, even if she was beaten down by the Yego God-Fist and locked in a dark room, this world could still exist autonomously and continue to develop and change on its own.

In this world where people were kidnapped, hypnotized, or attacked by alien monsters every few days—where on average, one person from every grade in every school would go missing or become a vegetable every year due to some lewd incident—the methods for handling such things were, of course, long established by convention.

To treat the victims and return them to a normal social life, the [Association] had to cooperate with various governments. First, they would administer sedatives to treat the bodies while they slept, then use parapsychological techniques to reset their personalities to their state from a few days prior.

Basically, as long as they weren't dead, hadn't suffered too much damage, and hadn't been trapped in the Inner Realm for too long, most people could still be saved and return to their original daily lives… basically.

The main group of two thousand people, those who weren't directly involved in the deep-level ritual, would basically not remember the suffering they had endured after treatment.

But those who directly participated in the ritual within the deep layers—especially those forty girls who had been hypnotized and abducted by the professor days ago to serve as components for Osiris's resurrection ritual—had been forcibly integrated too deeply into their Inner Realm roles. It was likely that not a single one of them had a chance of being saved.

As for Wen Lan, the Singaporean Magical Girl who went to arrest Professor Van Straaten five days ago only to be hypnotized herself… she died in the deep layers. When the Inner Realm collapsed, not even her body… not even a single personal effect could be left behind to be brought back to her family and friends.

“If you die in the Inner Realm, you can't even leave a corpse behind. No one will ever know what kind of end she met. Without companions, she would even be considered missing forever.”

To the nun, Artemina usually seemed a bit silly, as if there was nothing in her head—but only at this moment did she reveal a trace of desolate sorrow.

“This is the end for a Magical Girl. Even if we are forgotten, there's nothing that can be done about it.”

And so, Artemina left. She took her own report to announce this sad news to her companions in the [Magical Girl Mutual Aid Society].

As for Elaine, after finishing her communications with the Japanese government, she also returned to her hotel room. Sitting at the desk by the window, she silently wrote an email to the Vatican.

“In summary, the nature of the evil ritual Professor Van Straaten conducted on the cruise ship has been determined.”

“Having the two thousand-plus people on the entire ship hold a festival to celebrate the resurrection of Osiris was merely to fix the mythological nature of the Inner Realm in the corresponding direction; harvesting the organs of other men was also not the most essential component of the Osiris resurrection ritual.”

“The goal of his ritual was to play the role of Osiris himself, resurrecting from a mummy state to cure his erectile dysfunction. This process required an actress who could play the goddess Isis. In his eyes, actresses capable of playing the Goddess of Magic were Magical Girls, or at least young girls with magical aptitude.”

The keyboard clicked and clattered, but her heart was not as orderly as the sound. The report she wrote was actually a bit chaotic.

“The forty young girls hypnotized by Professor Van Straaten have been examined and found to possess at least a minimum level of magical talent.”

“As for why Professor Van Straaten lingered on the cruise ship for several days, repeating the process of dismembering innocent male victims and turning them into mummies in an attempt at resurrection dozens of times, it is currently impossible to determine. However, it is speculated that he might not have dared to use the Osiris resurrection ritual on himself the first time.”

Because he was afraid, the professor would first test whether the ritual could run correctly before actually dismembering himself into a mummy for the resurrection ritual.

This approach was logical. Normal.

But similarly, just as Samael had said, Professor Van Straaten was truly a cowardly piece of trash who couldn't be helped. If he had possessed greater determination and ambition to just go ahead and run the ritual on himself, he would have either lived or died. Either way, he wouldn't have dragged it out for days, only to be caught and beaten senseless on the ship by Qi Xing.

Everything wouldn't have turned out like this.

“It is still uncertain how Professor Van Straaten knew how to perform this type of ancient Egyptian resurrection ritual from the Book of the Dead system. However, considering his contract with the devil, it is also possible the devil simply imparted the knowledge to him, making it difficult to trace.”

Professor Van Straaten was technically a parapsychologist, and many parapsychologists dabble in occult research… but most of them delve into New Age mysticism, neo-paganism, or the science of psychic powers.

Ancient Egyptian magic from the Book of the Dead was far too archaic, dating back at least to the B.C. era. Very few parapsychologists would play around at that level, right?

She wrote and wrote, continuing to type the report. If she didn't finish it quickly and send it to the Rome headquarters, they might become increasingly anxious while waiting. And this was just a matter of writing a few lines; for Elaine, who was most skilled at administrative work, it should have been no effort at all… yet she was now typing sluggishly, failing to finish, and the sentences she wrote were a mess. This version of herself made Elaine bite her lip hard.

“At this point, what on earth am I doing?”

It was Qi Xing who had made her take the civilians and escape the cruise ship.

Others would also think there was nothing wrong with that. Heroes were supposed to step forward voluntarily and sacrifice themselves for others.

Even though this was clearly the case, and even though it wasn't the first time she had lost a colleague, Elaine felt a sudden, intense sense of exhaustion and resistance for no reason.

Last time, when she saw an exorcist nun like herself martyred, Elaine had only felt sad and a bit uncomfortable.

Why was her heart so restless and uneasy this time?

One could say this was Qi Xing's fault, or one could say it was thanks to him. It was probably because after being by his side for a few years and seeing Master Leipu pull off victories and return from the brink of death despite all his outrageous behavior.

So even now, having seen the cruise ship explode and having returned to Tokyo herself, while her mouth said she had already given up hope, she still involuntarily longed for Qi Xing to have survived, dreaming wishfully. This version of herself was truly pathetic and indecisive, filling her with self-loathing.

(Just finish the report quickly and write that Qi Xing went missing in action.)

Sometimes, Elaine even felt that she was a woman with a truly troublesome mindset.

However, just as her fingers tapped the keyboard to finish the report—she heard the electronic lock of the hotel room open, and the door handle was turned.

It wasn't time for room service. Aside from the staff and Elaine, only one person had the key card to this room. A pistol immediately dropped from Elaine's sleeve into her tight grip, but her heart was pounding wildly.

“Who is it?”