âFor Melpomene it seems that even if sheâs definitely hit max level, she isnât able to evolve further. Could evolutions have some sort of cap? Could it be due to the cursed necklace or maybe even her original curse? It might even be that there exists a certain limiter in our genes which donât allow us to cross a certain threshold and challenge the Gods.â
It was an important fundamental question.
A Demi Human was at the end of the day a knock off of a real God. Such a half heartedness would never allow me to gain the power I required to challenge the High Gods.
Revenant sounded like one which involved an endless amount of grinding. If my goal was not one of vengeance against the gods, then perhaps it would have been a good choice.
All that remained was the Leader of the Fallen.
It was in fact the only viable option in my eyes. It was neither a race nor a profession and looking back through history there didnât exist any record of it. Of course I had a certain amount of doubt towards it, after all to date I had blindly jumped into two evolutions. The first was the Enchanter, which although it was an interesting path, in the end it was quite useless. The second was the Demi Lich. I was completely caught unaware with its powers. Although it was indeed a strong evolution, if one is unable to properly control his powers, then it would only lead to his downfall.
Looking back in the past at those occasions where I had blindly picked my evolutions, I realised that I had been quite lucky.
I was once again in that very same scenario, so it was time to gamble once more.
âYes, letâs do it.â
Recently my teenager spirit had begun to resurface.
âI guess that at worst Iâll be treated as a bigger pervert.â
I felt a rush as I finally decided on my evolution. Of course I did so knowing that I still had my Species Conversion ability as a trump card.
[Evolved into Leader of the Fallen]
[Levels removed]
[All skills have been lost]
[You have learned Destroyer of Creation Lv1 / Unlimited]
âShit! No well at least I still have my Creation Magic, losing that would have been devastating.â
Also those shameful titles have all disappeared and had merged into Corrupt Lv1
âSo what the hell just happened?â
I was unconsciously grabbing onto the bed mattress when it simply disintegrated into dust.
[Destroyer of Creation level 1 2]
âJust what is this destruction ability?â
I stared at the pile of dust which just seconds ago had been my bed mattress with a stupefied expression.
I then tried it out on some other items in the room before I became completely convinced.
âJohra it seems to be an ability which accelerates the decay of material by influencing time. I can detect a rapid decline in the emission of radioactivity in those materials.
âYes I was also thinking along those lines.
It was a strange ability which could accelerate the decay of any objects I touched. Although it sounded like it was a truly powerful weapon, I wondered if it was one which I could control.
âAlthough it is very strong, it is meaningless against the Gods since they are immortal.
I muttered to myself unhappily as I left the room and headed towards my underground lab.
We still had to continue Melpomene cycle of death and resurrection.
âMaster I heard that you finally evolved today right? Thatâs great news, but letâs continue!â
As soon as she said those words she instantly killed herself. We could only continue talking after sheâd resurrected.
âI evolved but it isnât anything special.â
This curse should be ending soon, so I asked her when she next revived.
âHow much is left?â
â9812 times. These days our efficiency has dropped so it should take around 15 more days.â
I saw Melpomene die as I whispered to myself.
âStill 15 more days of this.â
We went on through the night like a couple of machines, an endless cycle of death and revival. Due to my recent evolution my skills had disappeared which slowed down our progress considerably.
âLetâs stop here, Iâm tired.â
âI only died a few times today, at this speed Iâm not sure when we can finish, .â
Melpomene laughed weirdly, but her appearance had changed drastically compared to when we first started. She had deep dark circles around her eyes and her face was very pale.
Viezda would occasionally ask if I was overdoing it a little bit, but I couldnât now fix this misunderstanding. Once youâve started on a certain path with a lie, you had no choice but to see it through to the end.
Iâve already given up everything for this, crossing a line which human shouldnt ever cross. I was also feeling the burden no more than ever after my latest evolution, so I simply headed to our bedroom to crash.
âHuh, whatâs wrong Viezda?â
âWhyâs the bed gone Johra?â
I had completely forgotten about disintegrating the bed earlier today. Viezda was now lying down on a futon which had stretched out on the floor. Vez was probably learning form Lena along with the other three.
âSorry about that Viez, I had completely forgotten about it.â
âNo worries, sleeping on the ground like this isnât so bad, it brings back memories of the olden days. Well, I say olden days but it only really has been about two years. Come lie down, you look tired.â
âYea, Iâll just take a quick snooze.â
I ended up sleeping for quite some time. I used to have skills which helped restore my condition and lower fatigue, but this was no longer the case.
When I opened my eyes once more, I woke up to the sight of Viezdaâs charming sleeping face.
âThat was quite the nap.â
âYou slept for exactly 11 hours, 23 minutes and 17 seconds.â
Lenaâs timely report soon followed.
âUgh, and I still feel beat up.â
After some minor complaints, it was time for us to continue in the Killion dungeon.
âSo although I canât gain experience, at least it doesnât stop the other party members from receiving their share through the rings.â
âDid you evolve, Master?â
âYes.â
âWhat was the evolution? Is it some continuation of a Meta Human? I wonder If Iâll one day get there a well,âJillian continued.
âItâs nothing special, just the ability to crush stuff.â
I picked up a rock and gave them a demonstration.
âOh~ thatâs a pretty cool ability, Master!â
âYes, but itâs quite useless.â
âIsnât that ability strong though? Can you crush absolutely anything?â Jerna asked in admiration.
âIâm not sure, there doesnât seem to be a cap on the skill level so. maybe?â
I was still wondering if this effect would extend to Gods as well.
âI guess I might as well grind it just in case.â
Whenever there was some downtime I would pick stuff up and crush them. Be monster corpses or stones, anything did the trick.
[Acquired Title: Corrupter of Creation Lv1]
âCorrupter of Creation? I guess itâs pretty self explanatory.â
Since then I continued to raise the skill Destroyer of Creation until finally the last day of the Melpomene killing cycle arrived.
âJohra this should be the last time.â
âReally?
The moment Melpomene died for the 10,000th time, a deathly black fog began to form around her body.
I hadt cast out Resurrection Song as a reflex, which might have interrupted her current transformation.
âI hope all goes wellâ
The black fog and a certain golden light all began to circle her corpse. In the end the black fog began seeping into her body until there wasnât any left.
Hhhhhaa
She came back to life, but her eyes were a creepy pitch black.
âJohra, Iâve become a God.â
The necklace reappeared around her neck as she looked at me with those eyes devoid of any emotions.
âI can now see that you arenât a living creature, Johra.â
âMelpomene?â
âNo, you shouldnât call me by that name anymore.â
âWhat then?â
âMy name is Thanatos, the one which embodies the will of Death.â
âThanatos huh?â
âJohra there were some myths back on Earth in which Death was personified by a God. Itâs symbol was that it projected suicidal thoughts.â
Even without Lenaâs explanation I was able to guess this much. It was the birth of the God of Death Thanatos, after having experienced death 100,000 times.
I was no longer able to see Melpomeneâs, or rather Thanatosâ status page or skills. It was clear to me that sheâd become an existence which surpassed me.
âHm so what do you plan on doing now Melpo no, Thanatos?â
âI donât know, what ever you require of me, Master?â
âHuh? Master?â
âDo you still regard me as your owner? Is this some kind of joke?â
âNot at all, you will forever be my master.â
âEven though you are now a God?â
âDidnât you know? Among Gods it is even more important to stand by your word. I will forever be Johraâs slave, and this fact canât be changed unless you decide to throw me aside.â
âJackpot! I now have a God as a slave.â
âIs that so?â
âIf you think Iâm lying you need only ask me to do something to prove my loyalty.â
I gazed at Thanatos but couldnât help but think of Melpomene.
âNo, that wonât be necessary. Can you see now?â
âI donât think this is a humanâs sight, but I can see in my own way.â
âGreat!.â
âThen Iâll hand this over to you.â
Thanatos removed her necklace and handed it to me.
âFinally got it back, itâs certainly given me quite the trouble and could have caused my death.â
âIf I didnât have Masterâs help I would have suffered at the hands of the Godsâ curse for all eternity.â
âI guess thatâs true, but in the end you also underwent quite a traumatizing experience.â
âItâs fine, you can call upon me whenever youâd like, Iâm entirely yours to command.â
âUh thank you.â
âYou and I share a bond deeper than that of a Master and slave.â
âWhat?â
âYouâll know about it soon enough.â
âGo see sister for now. At the moment I canât appear in front of humans. Except for when Vez is around, Iâd negatively influence other creatures.â
âInfluence?â
âRight, such as giving them suicidal thoughts.â
What a terrifying ability.
âAlright, but what do I tell the others?â
âI think it would be best to say that the woman name Melpomene ran away.
âAre you okay with that?â
âIâve already disintegrated all which belonged Melpomene when I became a God.â
âWell.â
âI still have you. Which is the most important thing for me.â
I felt her burning desire behind those pitch black eyes..