It was a stage of Divine status that shouldnât exist. Stages of a Divine status were like levels, and the final stage that the gods could awaken was stage 5.
Normal gods possessed Divine status stage 3, and the highest was stage 4.
Amongst the countless gods, only the ones called high-rank gods reached stage 5. They were candidates to become the Great Zodiacs.
While stage 6 was powerful, it was an unnatural and uncontrollable level. It was commonly designated as the Demonification stage, which was impossible to control.
At this stage, character and control didnât matter. One moved on instinct like a monster, unable to differentiate between allies and enemies.
Confusion wanted to use this for his own end. Of course, he wasnât afraid of facing the stage 6 power. Why?
âI can avoid that power.â
His power was called Confusion for a reason. It could make peopleâs perception of him fall, allowing him to dodge attacks.
So Confusion laughed.
âKill them all. Kill all of humanity and Time!â
Both of their powers would become his! Naturally, Confusion didnât even need to worry about how to get rid of the out-of-control Lee Gun.
âOnce he entered stage 6, it was game over for him.â
If Lee Gun were left alone, he would lose to his own power. He would self-destruct.
âAt most, heâll be alive for four days.â
That was the final fate of a berserk god. There was a reason Confusion was so knowledgeable about this.
âMonarchs and Zodiacs resemble each other.â
The reason behind it was unknown. While monarchs and Zodiacs were mortal enemies, they were unusually similar at a basic level. It was as if they had originated from the same place.
âAnyway, once, a great monarch moved past stage 5 to reach stage 6. He died.â
No one knew this, but Confusion had witnessed the death by chance. Since he had no rational thoughts, Confusionâs power had worked well on him.
This was why Confusionâs head was full of thoughts of using his power against Lee Gun. That was what was supposed to happen.
âShit! Whatâs going on?â
Confusion stood on top of the bridge located in the Han River Park. He was observing the Lee Gun Tower when he realized something was terribly wrong.
âLee Gunâs hostility is directed toward me?â
Lee Gun should have no capacity for rational thought. One of Confusionâs subordinates was beside him, and he also felt the hostile energy. The subordinate furrowed his brows.
[Master, something is off. We might be in danger at this rateâŠ]
âNo. Weâll be fine.â
[Are you sure?]
Confusion used his ability more strongly as he smirked. âMy power will make sure his power avoids us.â
[ThenâŠ!]
âAlso, he cannot differentiate between friends and foes in his current state. Itâll be quicker for him to kill the disciples near him rather than to come after usââ
Boom!!
[Kuh-huhk!!]
ââŠ!!!â
The subordinateâs head exploded, and the blood drained out of Confusionâs face.
* * *
Around that time, within Lee Gunâs towerâŠ
Koo-goong!!
The enormous raging power made Chun Sungjae and the Archer disciples tremble. They couldnât even move their mouths. No, they couldnât even breathe.
Since the black magical energy surrounded Lee Gun, they couldnât see him clearly. However, it was clear that his appearance had changed from normal.
âHe doesnât look humanâŠ!â
The disciples, who were in hiding, shook in fear. This was the power of Death!
âCan it be stage 6?â
Chun Sungjae could feel Lee Gunâs anger. He trembled as he supported his sister. Chun Yooha was the Zodiac Saint of Death, so she was receiving the power of Death from Lee Gun.
âKoo-oohkâŠ!â
The power of Death had become excessively strong, and so, breathing had become hard for her. This was a domain that a human could never endure.
It was at this moment when Lee Gun discovered them.
ââŠ!!!â
Having stepped into stage 6 of Death, Lee Gun approached them.
Chun Sungjae, who was propping up his sister and mother, unconsciously trembled. The person before him was Lee Gun, but he was frightening. Moreover, Sungjae felt it on instinct.
âWeâll get slaughtered.â
The young man clenched his eyes shut when Lee Gun extended his hand toward them.
âSungjae.â
ââŠ!â
Lee Gunâs hand unexpectedly stroked Chun Sungjaeâs head. âI want you to stay here and take care of Miss Jiwoo.â
âU-Uncle?â
âIâll be back in no time.â After turning around, Lee Gun flicked his finger.
Lime, who had been stuck to the leg of the dining table, picked up on the cue. It swallowed the object that had fallen out of the present box. That object was none other than a decapitated head.
Lee Gunâs eyes flashed as he walked toward the door.
When Lee Gun exited the holy ground, Confusion shook all over.
âThat bastard Lee GunâŠ!!â
Lee Gunâs energy was on a different level compared to when he was inside the building. The energy surged into the sky. That wasnât all.
âThat bastard is coming here!â
The monarch was sure of it. This was supposed to be stage 6, where Lee Gun shouldnât be able to differentiate between friends and foes! Yet, Lee Gun was coming straight for him.
Confusion quickly got up from his seat.
At the same time, he remembered what Time had said before. It was a conversation from a very long time ago.
- What? The reason you stole the soul of the Serpent Bearer is to use the Cycle ability?
- Yes. Itâs an existence that always accompanies life and death. This is why both Life and Death have to be used at the same time to use the Cycle ability.
- What? One of the Serpent Bearerâs two abilities disappears eventually, yet youâre saying both Life and Death have to be used? Thatâs nonsenseâŠ
- Yes. The original owner transferred Life and Death respectively to the Constructs that he raised. Cycle was used through them.
- That meansâŠ!
- I have Life.
Time had returned to the past multiple times and acquired Yeonwooâs soul. Of course, both Yeonwoo and Junwoo were always at either stage 3 or stage 4. It wasnât to Timeâs liking, but what if that soul was compressed tens of thousands of times?
- If I combine all the souls weâve collected, weâll be able to generate a power on par with stage 5.
- !
This was why every time they went back in time, they had been tenacious in killing Yeonwoo.
Like the thirteenth original owner, they wanted to use each of the two powers, which had been separated.
The soul of Junwoo, who had been in charge of the Divine status of Death, had also been taken, but it didnât matter since Lee Gun had shown up. This round was different.
- Lee Gun will be able to grow Death into stage 5.
Time was able to use Cycle with the souls of Yeonwoo and Junwoo, but he had failed to achieve his goal.
So he had changed his plan. Time wanted Lee Gun to reach stage 5. He planned on stealing the Divine status once Lee Gun became the God of Death. Then, he would be able to use the true power of Cycle.
- However, stage 6 must never happen. Thatâll be too troublesome.
It was why Confusion had tried to make Lee Gun reach stage 6 despite ignoring the deal he made with Time. He wanted to foil Timeâs plan.
âShit! How is he able to keep his rational thoughts!!â
Confusion had no choice.
âI have to get out of here for now.â
Confusion thought about leaving the earth, butâŠ
âKuh-huhk!!!â
Just as Confusion was about to run away, he fell from the bridge. A black beam of light had traveled from afar and pierced through him. That wasnât all.
âAhhhhhk!!!â
The monarch screamed as he fell from the bridge. Black smoke surrounded his leg, and the leg instantly disappeared.
The pain was unimaginable. In the end, Confusion glared forward as he raised his head. Then he shook in fear.
âThat bastardâŠ!â
Lee Gun was coming from the inland. He was walking toward the monarch on top of the river. Moreover, Lee Gun possessed an inhuman chaotic energy!
Desperate, Confusion tried to run away, but it was useless.
âAhhhk!!â
Every time he tried to run away, the black energy took a body part. It took his remaining leg, fingers, then arms! It ate him away like mad.
âAhhhk!!â
This was why he slowly moved toward land. He called for his subordinates as he ran away, but that was useless.
Kwah-jeek!!!
When his subordinates were about to appear, the power of Death wiped them out. Death at stage 6 was beyond imagination.
âGive me the rest.â
ââŠ!â
When Confusion reached land, his heart almost stopped. A demonic god was standing above his fallen self. This beingâs form couldnât be seen clearly because of the black energy, but it wasnât the form of a human.
Lee Gun spoke. âYou have it, right? Taeksooâs body.â
The bloodied Confusion smirked.
âNow I know whyâŠ!!â
He now knew why Lee Gun was able to keep his rational thoughts after reaching stage 6 and how he was preventing himself from going berserk.
âYes. He thinks he can bring his friend back to life.â
Lee Gun was using his perseverance to keep himself in control. It was hanging on by a thread.
This impressed Confusion.
âScary bastard!â
He was suppressing stage 6 through sheer will.
Confusion laughed.
âItâs still like a glass house thatâs close to being broken. Itâs tenuous.â
It seemed all his focus was needed to control Death. Lee Gun wasnât able to make any large movements. Lee Gunâs eyes flashed. âGive it to me.â
âAlright. Iâll return it to you.â When Confusion made a gesture with his hand, a gate appeared in the sky, and a familiar body dropped out of it. It was a headless body of a human. However, the body was wearing Hugoâs clothes.
Lee Gun moved toward where the body had fallen. It seemed Lee Gun was still being patient. He planned on getting rid of Confusion after acquiring Hugoâs body. However, just as Lee Gun was about to take the bodyâŠ
âTry reviving this, idiot!â
Pahng!!!
â!â
Confusion destroyed Hugoâs body in front of Lee Gunâs eyes.
Lee Gun lost his tenuous hold on his anger.
Kwahng!
The power of Death, which he had been suppressing, spread in all directions. The indiscriminate power that destroyed life tried to cover the entire world.
Confusion burst out laughing. âYes! I never expected you to be able to control it to this extent. Did you think Iâll die by myself?! You have already reached stage 6 of Death, and Life is gone!â
Lee Gun glared at Confusion. The terrifying power of Death was about to run amok.
â!â
However, Lime suddenly jumped out of Lee Gunâs pocket. It grew its body and swallowed Lee Gun.
Lee Gun groaned after he was swallowed into a strange dimensional pocket. Something hard flew toward his head. It was Hugoâs head, which Lime had swallowed. Then he heard the notification, which he hadnât been able to hear until now.
[Clump of Creation Clay says to check the object properly.]
Lee Gun flinched when he touched Hugoâs head. When he used the Dismantle skill, something surprising happened.
Kwah-jeek!!
Hugoâs head turned into clay as it dispersed.
ââŠ!â
Someone had made a fake. It was good enough to fool Lee Gun.
Then, something unexpected appeared within the black space inside Limeâs body. It was Hugoâs intact body. Although its heart was pierced, the body was clean. That wasnât all.
As soon as Lee Gun looked at the real body, information popped up before him.
[Construct: Pushover]
[Location of Soul: Underworld]
[Can be revived with Life stage 5]
Lee Gun relaxed when he saw this, but he soon furrowed his brows. It mentioned Life?
Wasnât Life gone when Death reached stage 6?
âIt was said the other Divine status disappears once one reaches stage 5âŠâ
[Life has fainted because of Death upgrading to stage 6. It asks you to save it.]
[Life says it feels like itâll get swallowed up by Death at any moment.]
Lee Gun was surprised. It seemed Life was still around. He was wondering what had happened when he heard the notification.
[Stage 6 is an abnormal berserk state.]
[You havenât been assigned as a complete god. Your other Divine status hasnât disappeared.]
It was said that the other Divine status disappeared if one reached stage 5. But nothing was stated on what would happen if the Divine status reached stage 6. That didnât matter right now.
[Life is about to disappear soon.]
Lee Gunâs eyes dilated.
âI have to save it.â
At that moment, Confusion shook. He was outside of the slime.
âWhat the hellâŠ!â
The slime had suddenly swallowed Lee Gun, so Confusion tried to run away. However, the current situation was moving in an odd direction.
âDeath is being held back?!â
No, this felt different from the Divine status being held back. It was as if something new was being born.
A never-seen-before light emanated from within the slime.
Confusion finally realized something was really wrong and tried to leave.
Kwah-jeek!
â!!â
However, Lee Gunâs hand appeared out of the slimeâs mouth and grabbed Confusionâs head.
ââŠ!â
Then Lee Gun exited from the slime.
At that moment, Confusion instinctively knew he was dead. Confusionâs consciousness started to fade as the strange power surrounded him. The power felt similar to Timeâs, but this power was a stronger power that one couldnât go against.
[Death stage 6 is starting to fuse with Life stage 4.]
[The power of Cycle is being used.]
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