Chapter 296

Volume 8: People of Freedom and the Free World: 275: The First and Oldest Devil

Long ago, there was a man who loved humanity deeply.

This is not a metaphor, nor is it rhetoric; it is the most precise description of his long life.

Starting from the first century, when the son of the carpenter from Nazareth—[that man]—was still performing miracles in Galilee and urging people to repent, [this man] had already begun his journey.

He was like a tireless ghost, weaving through the torrents and fissures of history, walking on the dusty Roman roads, lurking in the shadows of dynasties where glory and decay coexisted.

He never begrudged his knowledge.

Sometimes, in a poor village in the countryside of the empire, he would stop and patiently teach a destitute youth with clear eyes but nothing to his name. He would impart transcendent magic, teach him martial arts and military strategy, watching as the youth climbed out of the mire step by step, growing and becoming stronger in this man-eating world.

When the youth finally hacked through thorns and brambles, beheaded the tyrant, and became a king or general revered by thousands, he would stand at the edge of the crowd, watching the glorious coronation, feeling a rapture like drinking sweet nectar.

Stories full of [Hope] could always soothe his heart.

Sometimes, he would walk into those magnificent palaces and foul-smelling military camps, teaching those arrogant nobles, greedy merchants, and even brutal slave owners and warlords.

Where these people used this power was not a reason for screening. Whether they would use stronger power to bring about more wars, whether they would use more exquisite techniques to create more efficient slaughter, to consolidate more cruel rule—that was all part of human nature.

The endings of those he taught and guided varied greatly.

Some achieved unprecedented success, realizing their lifelong ambitions. When they stood at the pinnacle of power cheering, with eyes flashing with ambition and satisfaction, that vibrant, lively, and beautiful hope made Simon Magus's heart surge. He cheered for the possibilities of humanity.

There were also some who hit their heads and bled against the walls of fate. Those once-arrogant heroes eventually suffered a crushing defeat, their grand ambitions turned to scorched earth, and they could only take their last breath in the mud, dying with eyes wide open in regret.

When they let out desperate wails, when the sound of broken dreams echoed through the sky… that misery, desolation, and the cruelty of the fickleness of fate,

Desperate stories also made Simon Magus's heart surge.

He loved [Humanity] deeply.

He loved their wisdom when building magnificent wonders, and sighed at their cruelty when slaughtering each other; he loved the radiance of them sacrificing for their own justice, flying even as they paid with their lives, and he also loved the way they struggled for survival and selfish desires.

Whether it was rejoicing only for hope, or leaping with joy only for despair, it was biased. Both sides were beautiful.

He loved those beauties. In his eyes, this was [Humanity].

Loving deeply, loving deeply, he loved humanity deeply, so contradictory, so chaotic, and yet so vivid.

—Therefore, that Jesus of Nazareth, who wanted to redeem all of humanity and guide the lost lambs, was naturally his enemy.

" [Descender] Jesus of Nazareth, this world does not need you and your [Goodness]. "

He once said this to [that man].

However, [that man] did not use the Jesus Fist to blast him to death. He was different from the [King of Hell] in appearance and was relatively tolerant of humans.

Jesus of Nazareth heard this and just smiled bitterly, answering: " Your idea is brave, I appreciate this courage. "

" But that doesn't change the fact that you're an idiot. "

Later, the two of them never met again.

Today, two thousand years later, after the gods, he finally had the honor to meet the devil.

Satan, who mocked the ugliness of human nature and pursued transcending human nature to create supermen, was also his enemy.

That [Venerable Leipu]—[Third Descender] Qi Xing—who wanted to forcibly draw a line between black and white in the world, wanted to create a "correct" new world, and wanted to screen out and eliminate "incorrect" humans.

Naturally, he was even more of an enemy he had to eradicate.

" This world needs neither gods nor devils. "

At this moment, facing Qi Xing and Sasa who had intruded into his world, [Simon Magus], who looked like a small civil servant, said calmly,

" In this world, there are beauties with natural grace who enjoy a superior life until they die, and there are also ugly children who are like defective products and achieve nothing their whole lives. "

" There are those who are born powerful but decline and die in failure, and there are those who come from poverty but walk to the pinnacle. "

" Jesus of Nazareth has been dead for two thousand years, and so are you. The people of this world do not need gods to judge good, nor do they need devils to mock evil; they can develop, grow, and thrive according to their own nature. "

" Humanity can develop and create paradise on its own. "

" Instead, it is you devil kings who are busy fighting for silver coins, fighting for control of the world, and destroying the originally beautiful world. "

" This world simply does not need you [Descenders]. "

Hmm.

That actually wasn't completely unreasonable. If he had heard this statement two years ago, Qi Xing might have really hesitated.

But now, hearing this from [Simon Magus], he just raised an eyebrow and asked: " Then if you collect thirty [silver coins], what do you plan to do? "

" First, I will restore the world destroyed by you, especially the moon you smashed. "

Simon Magus said as a matter of course,

" I will restore the world to before the Great Cataclysm, and then eliminate all the devil kings who will destroy the world and might destroy humanity, to prevent them from appearing again. "

" That sounds reasonable. " Qi Xing nodded, but still frowned, " In other words, you want to rewind the whole world back to 2025. "

" Yes. "

The omnipotent god who has collected thirty silver coins can certainly do such a thing. Sasa could also turn back time at will, but she was never willing to.

I'm afraid only the billions of souls who have been taken away by the [King of Hell] and brought to heaven can be unaffected by this kind of power—but that's okay, Simon Magus can use people without souls to fill those vacancies, and it basically won't be noticeable.

" Even without devil kings, this world won't lack people who do big things. If someone wants to blow up the whole world again with something like a Giant Spirit, you should stop them, right? "

" Yes. "

" If it's not magic, not using supernatural power, but someone wants to start a nuclear war to destroy all of humanity, or finally invents a super AI and the iron-hearted exterminator wants to destroy humanity, you should also step in to stop it, right? "

" Yes. "

Speaking of this, even Simon Magus himself frowned for a moment.

" Then how is this any different from replacing someone as a god and becoming a god yourself? " Qi Xing scratched his head, " If you want to be a god, just say so, don't make it so complicated, right? "

" This is not the same, [Descender]. I am just eliminating the dangers that threaten humanity as a whole. "

" It is the same, [Simon Magus], you and Samael are the same kind of person. "

Qi Xing looked at Sasa behind him,

" You just have a different set of standards than her on your lips. "

As a result, Sasa was unhappy when she heard this: " How are we the same kind of person? Don't talk nonsense, Qi Xing, I am much more brilliant than this idiot. "

Why do you say that?

" I set up the environment, stimulate humanity, and try to stimulate their greatest potential, in order to create more excellent people—to create supermen! To move forward more! "

" Of course, now I know I was wrong, but the point is, "

The devil who had turned over a new leaf (at least admitting mistakes verbally) looked at the small civil servant and sneered,

" [Simon Magus], what does the ideal world you want to create look like? Staying in 2025? "

" Of course not. "

Was the world of 2025 perfect?

Compared to the current cataclysmic Earth, it is of course much better. But to say it was very perfect, most people living in 2025, those who died on the battlefields in the north, the Middle East, or Africa, and even various people who died due to social factors—probably all have endless complaints.

" Or are you going to copy your 1950s golden age to the real Earth? "

The devil sneered, hiding behind Qi Xing to mock,

" The era Trump misses the most! MAGA! "

Although the oldest devil was mocked by her, he just frowned and said nothing.

The [Inner Realm] is the manifestation of thoughts, the [Inner Realm] cannot deceive people. Even if one says they believe in infinite development prospects, once they close their eyes and imagine a specific ideal form, it must eventually become a specific picture.

The prosperous age imagined by the ancients was just "it is a prosperous age if there are no starving people everywhere."

The utopia imagined by ancient Greek philosophers still had slaves and classes.

People in 1925 imagining a more advanced and developed society certainly couldn't imagine the appearance of 2025.

Human understanding of happiness is changing. The golden age Trump misses the most had the price of the vengeful souls of workers on the railways, the ubiquitous racism, and the unlimited oppression of various trusts. In the eyes of the next generation, it is worthless.

Marx also said that the value created by humans in one day after the Industrial Revolution is equal to two hundred years of the classical era—but isn't the destructive power the same? The destructive power of a war in ancient times is not as good as the explosion of a modern nuclear bomb. The end of humanity's rapid development is inevitably the destruction of the old world. A grain of sand in the new era will crush countless old people.

Sasa didn't care, she didn't care how many people would die. She is an evil god who pursues the birth of supermen—although this is not a good thing either.

So [Simon Magus], what is he?

" Why are you targeting him so much? "

Qi Xing was a bit puzzled and reached out to pat her little head.

" Because I hate and look down on this kind of person the most. "

Sasa sneered, looking around at this "golden age" world.

" After all, this imagination is just assuming that the limit of humanity ends here. "

" My brother can't be considered my enemy, he didn't even treat me as an enemy. "

Indeed, Satan is not worthy of being God's enemy. On the contrary, only humans are qualified to wrestle with gods.

So Sasa longs for the birth of supermen.

" No desire, no motivation, no future—this king of mediocre people is my enemy. "

The devil said proudly.

So Qi Xing knocked on her head and told her to shut up.

" What kind of fancy talk is that. "

Looking at [Simon Magus] again—hey, his cultivation is quite good, being sprayed by Sasa like this, at least he doesn't look angry.

" As expected of a devil, good at flowery language and spitting blood. "

He just shook his head and looked at Qi Xing,

" [Third Descender], what about you? In the world you want to create, if someone makes technology that could destroy all of humanity, won't you step in to stop it? "

Qi Xing shrugged: " Why stop it? "

…This finally stunned [Simon Magus]: " What? "

" I don't fully agree with Sasa, but I think the fact that an omnipotent god still needs to stop such things is indeed proof of your limitations. "

Speaking of this, Qi Xing laughed himself,

" If you really want to be impartial to good and evil, and really want to argue about freedom with me, you can't be unable to handle it when the villain is about to blow up the world. What kind of belief in humanity is that? "

" In the end, you actually still think humanity needs a god to bottom out. It's just that it's best if this god is yourself, and the name isn't God. "

" No more nonsense. " He looked down at his watch, " Although Sasa is unhappy, I don't deny your existence, [Simon Magus]. It's just that I must get your silver coin, just as you certainly want mine. You understand that, right? "

" Come and fight. If you win, you can keep your [Today] forever. "

" If I win—I won't kill you either. "

" I will let you see with your own eyes the future I, [Venerable Leipu], want to create. "

Volume 8: People of Freedom and the Free World: 276: The King of Fools

Simon Magus, the oldest devil, the oldest great mage.

With words to this point, there is no need to say more. Battle is inevitable.

Should it be said that he was influenced by his brother-in-law? Qi Xing didn't rush to attack, but stood lazily on that perfect asphalt road, letting the great mage make the first move.

This is by no means arrogance or carelessness, just a natural demeanor. Since he is a person who has defeated gods, he should naturally have the confidence to allow the challenger to strike first.

Simon Magus also understands this truth to some extent. The person in front of him is truly an absolute enemy he has never seen in his life. Not daring to have the slightest carelessness, the man who looked like a tired little civil servant pushed his glasses and immediately released his [silver coin].

The oldest devil, the oldest great mage, what is his core [silver coin]?

It did not surprise Qi Xing that the first thing that appeared above Simon Magus's head was the [Magician] exuding infinite mystery—it was a magician holding a scepter high, pointing to the sky with his right hand and the earth with his left hand, symbolizing the supreme law of "as above, so below." The scepter, the holy grail, the sword, and the coin, the four holy artifacts representing all things in the material universe, floated beside him, waiting for orders.

This is the silver coin corresponding to the [Dominator], the Major Arcana tarot card corresponding to the [World], this is the [Beginning].

However, this is not Simon Magus's only core silver coin.

Immediately afterward, five more silver coins emerged from the void, rotating around Simon Magus like satellites. Sasa saw at a glance that they were the four elemental silver coins representing earth, water, wind, and fire, and that most special, most famous one that everyone has heard of, representing the zero point—[The Fool].

What a [Fool].