Chapter 553: Chapter 553

Vishnu thrashed about violently.

When his souls final moments were extinguished, his figure ballooned up into a giant, just like when he first appeared here.

However, a bigger body did not equate to a larger soul. He continued to thrash about in pain before collapsing powerlessly.

Huff, pant

Su-hyeun gripped his hand.

This was the power of Destruction, which was initially granted to s.h.i.+va alone.

As a power that could extinguish all things, it was categorized as the top G.o.dhood along with that of creation.

The Predation ability was indeed incredible. The power that devoured and turned another power into the wielders own somehow managed even to devour Destruction, too.

However, that didnt mean it became Su-hyeuns power instantly.

That freaking hurts.

An indescribable pain continued to shoot up from the hand that devoured the power of Destruction.

Burning ones hand in a blazing inferno might have felt like this. Even now, the power of Destruction remained within Su-hyeun.

He soon got used to the pain. His gaze then s.h.i.+fted over to Vishnus corpse.

In the end, thats how he died, Su-hyeun inwardly said.

The others probably saw Vishnus exterior continuously transforming, but Su-hyeuns eyes caught sight of a single humanoid thras.h.i.+ng about in pure agony.

That couldnt be helped, though.

Su-hyeun directly injected the power of Destruction into Vishnus soul using the Soul of the Dead. He didnt know what it felt like for a soul to get extinguished, but judging from Vishnus agony, it mustve been sheer h.e.l.l.

Hes dead, then.

If it were determined through what was visible, one would never be sure of what was happening to Vishnu. However, Su-hyeun was here as per the trial issued by the system, and that trials goal was to stop Vishnu.

He then heard the message declaring that the trial of the 220th floor had concluded just now.

In that case

After confirming Vishnus death, Su-hyeun turned his head, but right at that moment!

Stab!

Cough!

Accompanied by the sound of flesh being impaled, Zeus coughed out a mouthful of blood.

A pitch-black spear was jutting out from his chest after puncturing him from behind.

Dammit!

Witnessing that scene, Su-hyeun spat out a curse word, realizing that he was already too late.

A blurry black silhouette was standing behind Zeus.

He already made his move?

It was none other than s.h.i.+va. Unfortunately, he had acted sooner than antic.i.p.ated.

Su-hyeun did think that s.h.i.+va might make a move as soon as Vishnu was dead, but to think that he would turn on everyone this quickly.

Or maybe I was too slow?

He used the power of Destruction to erase Vishnus soul and waited to confirm the Primordial G.o.ds demise. On top of this, Su-hyeun also suffered from the impact of the Destructions powers, rendering him unable to focus, so it was unsurprising that he only detected s.h.i.+vas movements after that.

Plop!

Father! staggering about, Hercules called out to Zeus.

Zeuss heart mustve been pierced straight through because he powerlessly collapsed to the ground. His complexion went deathly pale as Sun Wukong and the Bull Demon King rushed to his side.

BOOM!

The half-broken Ruyi Jingu Bang slammed into the ground. Sun Wukongs golden irises glared at s.h.i.+va, who had dodged that attack just now, What do you think youre doing?!

Merely performing my role, thats all.

Your role?

Yes, and its destruction. Now that our common enemy is dead, we have become enemies once more.

Even so, you stab someone in the back just like that?!

Well, he was the most intact one among you. If I had my ways, I wouldve loved to kill you first, Great Sage Heavens Equal, but its not easy to do that, you see.

Hercules and the Bull Demon King were injured, and Zeus was inflicted with a grievous wound from this sneak attack.

Su-hyeun was also quite exhausted from his battle against Vishnu, which left Sun Wukong as the least worn-out combatant in the current situation.

But what can you even do by yourself? Su-hyeun asked while trying to clutch his hand, still aching like crazy.

Indeed, s.h.i.+va was alone in this place. Everyone else here was his enemies, plus there were tens of thousands of other combat-capable G.o.ds present on the moon, even if their ranks were on the lower side.

In other words, no matter how strong s.h.i.+va was, making a move in the current situation shouldve been an unwise choice even for him.

Im not alone.

Split, crack

Suddenly, doorways began opening up all around s.h.i.+va.

There were well more than one or two. All these doorways connected to another dimension, and they eerily resembled dungeons.

Kyaaaahk!

Step, stomp!

Grrrrrr

Gigantic monsters resembling wild beasts and humanoid creatures began pouring out from these doorways. Su-hyeun instantly understood that none of them were simple monsters despite their varied appearances.

Predators!

They were all completed Predators that had broken past the Prey stage by now.

Split, split

The number of the doorways continued to swell. Their numbers shot past several hundred in the blink of an eye, and the Predators emerging from them must have been well over 10,000.

But that wasnt all.

s.h.i.+va stood among the sea of Predators, his eyes locked squarely on Su-hyeun. Our agreement comes to an end here.

Su-hyeun s.h.i.+fted his gaze over to Earth.

Several bright-colored spots began manifesting on the planet. This phenomenon was happening all at once, making it near-impossible to count them all.

All of them were dungeons.

Right. We did make an agreement like this when we started, didnt we?

Before joining hands with s.h.i.+va to kill Vishnu, Su-hyeun put forward a single condition: to halt the generation of dungeons.

Since ancient times, dungeons were the cards s.h.i.+va had planned and prepared to usher in the universes destruction. They were being constantly manufactured according to s.h.i.+vas will.

Even so, s.h.i.+va agreed to Su-hyeuns condition without much hesitation.

Alright. Itll be pointless even for me if we fail to stop Vishnu. Everything would still be destroyed without me doing anything, after all.

He was rather pragmatic about it.

That was how Su-hyeun joined forces with s.h.i.+vaspecifically until they managed to kill Vishnu. Their cooperation had come to an end right then.

I wouldnt have minded a bit of a break after a big fight. How about it?

Dont try to get cute with me. The Great Sage who Pacifies Heaven, Hercules, and Zeus are exhausted right now. Its the same for you, too. If I dont seize this chance, I will not have any hopes of victory, s.h.i.+va replied without hesitating for a second.

Su-hyeuns side would have held the advantage if they were in a good physical state. For instance, the Bull Demon King was enough to fight against s.h.i.+va one on one, after all.

That was why s.h.i.+va bided his time for this moment.

He waited until everyone had become weaker. He waited until everyone had gathered in one spot to devour them all at once.

All of you will die here today.

I guess it cant be helped, then.

Su-hyeun still wanted to take a bit of a break, but since s.h.i.+va was so adamant like this, he had no other choice now.

Third Brother.

Mm?

Sun Wukong, seemingly only a moment away from charging at s.h.i.+va, turned his head to look at Su-hyeun.

Can you stop those things for a little while? Su-hyeun used his eyes to point at the doorways still increasing in number.

The Predators numbers had already gone past tens of thousands to reach several hundreds of thousands.

Their numbers should continue to shoot up. Since s.h.i.+va had been waiting for this one moment to end everything in one go, he must have made some extraordinary preparations.

What about you, though?

I shall deal with s.h.i.+va myself.

Will you be alright alone?

Youre better at me when it comes to the numbers game, and we have several injured here to worry about.

Im fine, the Bull Demon King interjected.

Indeed, his condition looked so much better than either Zeus or Hercules. He didnt wobble about while walking forward, and his complexion was noticeably healthier.

It isnt time yet for my little brothers to worry about me.

Will you be alright, First Brother?

Dont worry about me. This should be the final battle, so do what you need to do.

Su-hyeun nodded silently.

s.h.i.+va looked slightly stunned as if he didnt antic.i.p.ate the Bull Demon King to be fine like this. He made a fed-up face in the Yogoes direction. This guy just loves to act outside my calculations, doesnt he?

Dont freak out. After all, they arent the type to suddenly b.u.t.t in during someone elses fights.

Hmm, that makes sense. He has achieved his goal, anyway.

The Bull Demon King even chose to join this battle solely because s.h.i.+va made a deal with King Yama to revive Lang Mei. The Yogoe didnt care much about other matters besides killing Vishnu.

The Bull Demon King wasnt that interested in this universe. After all, he achieved his ascension by discarding his lingering attachment to the world of the living.

Even if this universe is destroyed, someone on the level of the Great Sage who Pacifies Heaven can hide within the Path to Reincarnation for a while. Once Brahma finishes creating the next universe, he can start a new life with Lang Mei.

You talk as if youve already won.

Isnt that obvious? s.h.i.+va stared at Su-hyeuns arm. Will you really be alright alone, I wonder?

Su-hyeuns arm was in a tattered state.

It was the price of absorbing the power of Destruction. Even now, this power was constantly eating away at his insides.

This power was not something anyone could control.

A power you cant absorb will only eat away at your body. Even if youre half of Brahma, Im still the only one allowed to wield this power.

Youre right. This power is alarming.

Su-hyeun got to see s.h.i.+vas powers while climbing the tower with him. As he had already fought against him before, he knew better than anyone else how dangerous s.h.i.+vas true power was.

That was why he remained hesitant right until the end. He was unsure if he could use this power. He also knew that this power could start eating away at him, harming him.

But to kill Vishnu, he had no choice in the matter.

s.h.i.+va suddenly spoke up, Let me ask you something first.

About what?

Why go this far? I mean, you could have lived on in the next universe by turning your back on this one, just like the Great Sage who Pacifies Heaven. You could even

I like this universe.

That question wasnt even worth pondering his answer for.

Su-hyeun continued while glancing at Earth, No, let me correct myself. I like that world. I enjoy living over there, you see.

That small world is important enough that youd choose the entire universes fate based on it?

It is, at least to me.

In a way, that answer couldve come across as a bit selfish. Unlike s.h.i.+va, who opted to sacrifice everything for a better universe, Su-hyeun chose to fight for the sake of one single planet that he enjoyed living in.

Of course, he was well aware of this, too.

How human-like reply that was.

I lived as a human, after all. And Ill continue to do so, too.

Are you saying you have rejected your role?

s.h.i.+va asked Su-hyeun to take over Vishnus role. To do so, Su-hyeun would have to climb to the position of an absolute being and rule over the order of things while discarding his emotions like a G.o.d.

But Su-hyeun had been living as a human until now, and he said that he would remain that way, too.

Unlike you or Brahma, I was never a.s.signed a fixed role. Im simply Kim Su-hyeun, and living that life will be enough for me.

If you dont take up that role and kill me now, the same thing will repeat itself billions of years from now.

If the universe fails to improve by then Then, you do what you want. It might be better to establish a brand-new universe by then. But

Shu-wuwu

The power of Destruction enveloped Su-hyeuns hand.

Now isnt the right time, at least.

So youve made up your mind, huh?

Su-hyeun would use the power of Destruction absorbed through Predation once more? That should accelerate the rate of his body breaking down, yet Su-hyeun still chose to go ahead, fully resolving himself.

That wasnt all.

Sha-aaaah

The Soul of the Dead spread all over the s.p.a.ce around Su-hyeun and s.h.i.+va, even though the duration of this ability shouldve ended.

Even so, he still activated it, meaning he was currently burning his soul to bring out the power of this ability.

Very well. I shall respect your decision.

Right in this moment

Su-hyeun and s.h.i.+va, possessing the same faces, stared at each other and made mirroring expressions for the first time.

Lets finish this brother.

[The final trial will now begin.]