The Return of the Legendary All-Master

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

The Ruler of Hedonism.

Jin.

A being born from the emotions of indulgence and pleasure.

Outwardly, he was smiling now, but inwardly, he was engulfed in deep confusion.

'What… what am I even supposed to call that?'

From Jin's perspective, no matter how he looked at him, the man before him was undeniably human.

A mere created being.

And yet, that mere creature had just pulled out a divine relic.

Which could only mean that he had seized it from a transcendent—another Jecheon—like himself.

'I can't let my guard down.'

That was why Jin had drawn his own divine relic from the start.

However, he never got the chance to use the candlestick.

"Jin."

The puppet controlled by the master he served was now standing before him.

"M-my Lord."

Jin hurriedly put away the candlestick and dropped to one knee in a respectful bow.

"Return now."

"Yes, understood."

The master's command was absolute.

Jin immediately withdrew.

After he departed, the woman, the one Jin had called "Master," turned her gaze toward the human standing before her.

"So, you must be the human chosen by Tenebris."

* * *

'She's disgustingly fast.'

Jeong-hoon maintained his poker face as he stared at the puppet before him.

<Psyche.>

Tenebris softly called her name.

For a moment, his expression showed a hint of something nostalgic—but the feeling quickly vanished, and his face returned to its usual blankness.

"Have you come to erase Tenebris?"

"And if I have?"

"Then I must kill you."

At Jeong-hoon's answer, Psyche let out a small, amused laugh.

"You don't actually think that's possible, do you?"

"Why not? You think I can't?"

"There's a saying in your world, isn't there? 'Ignorance is courage.'"

"……"

"Face reality. No matter how much you struggle, to us, it's nothing more than a child's little performance."

As she spoke, Psyche casually flicked her thumb and forefinger.

In that instant, death descended upon Jeong-hoon from above.

"Urgh!"

Jeong-hoon grimaced in pain as he clutched his left chest and fell to one knee.

[Activating 'Divine Healing.']

He quickly used Divine Healing, but the searing pain refused to fade.

'Damn it, why can't I stop my life force from draining?!'

Think.

I need to think of a way to break through this crisis.

"Does this still feel like a lie to you?"

Psyche walked over to Jeong-hoon and squatted down in front of him, locking eyes with him.

Then, wearing a gentle, benevolent smile, she softly patted Jeong-hoon's head.

"You're going to die soon."

"…Screw you."

"Sure. Since it's your last moment, I'll even forgive such crude remarks."

As if it didn't faze her in the slightest, Psyche happily watched Jeong-hoon inch closer to death.

"Urgh!"

The pain intensified.

At this rate, his life force would hit zero, and he would die.

[Upon death, the Great Rift that was erased will begin again.]

If that happened, Earth would be finished.

Even as blood streamed from his burst eye vessels, Jeong-hoon glared at Psyche and pulled out the Goblet of the Void.

[Death has been confirmed.]

[Divine relics cannot be used.]

Damn it.

So he couldn't even use his divine relics.

Now he understood why the Named ones so freely handed divine relics over to the transcendent Jecheon.

Even if someone used divine relics to rebel, they were confident they could crush them easily.

"Tenebris, you're watching this right now, aren't you?"

Psyche asked, her gaze fixed on Jeong-hoon.

<That cursed bastard…>

Tenebris was glaring at Psyche with murderous intent.

[Life force has fallen below 20%.]

[The seal on the Genesis Engine is being released.]

Just then, as Jeong-hoon's life force dropped to 20%, a new message appeared.

At the same time, the Genesis Engine, which he had never sensed before, began to stir near his heart.

'Ha, seriously. It was here all along.'

Even after becoming a half-god as the master of a dimension, he hadn't sensed anything unusual in his body.

Who would've thought that the power had been there all along, yet he couldn't feel it?

'I should be thankful for this.'

If it hadn't been for Psyche, he probably wouldn't have discovered it until much later.

Jeong-hoon activated the Genesis Engine and began to resist death.

[You are resisting death.]

[You are beginning to distort fate.]

As he twisted fate, the searing pain in his chest began to subside, allowing him to move again.

Jeong-hoon threw a punch aimed straight at Psyche's face.

It was a powerful punch combining the force of the Heavenly Demon and the Genesis Engine.

But Psyche effortlessly caught his wrist, as if his strength meant nothing.

"Did you think that would work?"

Psyche smiled sweetly.

In response, Jeong-hoon also lifted the corners of his mouth in a grin.

"You won't know until you try."

At that moment, the power of the Heavenly Demon and the Genesis Engine flowed from Jeong-hoon's fist into her wrist.

Psyche's pale, delicate skin darkened and then exploded.

The impact must have been significant, as Psyche winced and lost her grip.

Regaining his freedom, Jeong-hoon slammed his fist into her face.

"Urgh!"

Psyche groaned as she was knocked backward.

['Divine Healing' is activated.]

Jeong-hoon quickly used Divine Healing to restore his life force to 100%.

"How does it feel? Getting hit by a human?"

That wasn't Psyche's true body.

It was merely a puppet.

But allowing herself to be struck by a human must have been quite the blow to her pride.

"Hmm, now I understand why you were chosen."

"Let's cut the pointless chatter here, shall we?"

Why was that?

Jeong-hoon had the distinct feeling that she was testing him.

If her goal from the start had been to eliminate him and Tenebris, she would have killed him and dragged him straight to the Divine Realm.

But Psyche had only observed his reactions.

"I'll help you."

"…What?"

Her words completely caught Jeong-hoon off guard.

The sheer absurdity of it left him momentarily speechless, and in that moment, Psyche stood up and approached him.

"If you don't believe me, you can ask Tenebris."

Tenebris?

Jeong-hoon turned his gaze to Tenebris, who had been silently observing from the side.

<What utter nonsense. Trust the words of the woman who stabbed me in the back? Never trust her!>

Jeong-hoon let out a brief laugh at the sight of Tenebris fuming in rage.

'Yeah. I don't intend to trust her either.'

To Jeong-hoon, Psyche was not an ally.

She was an enemy.

An enemy that must be eliminated to perfectly complete the game.

"Tenebris says he wants to tear you to pieces—what should I do about that?"

When Jeong-hoon relayed Tenebris's response to Psyche, she simply nodded as if she had already expected it.

"Seems it's not time yet."

"Time?"

"Think carefully. Do you really believe I've been quietly watching all this time because I simply couldn't find Tenebris?"

"……"

When Jeong-hoon didn't answer, Tenebris scoffed.

<Psyche, don't run your mouth. You couldn't find me because you just aren't capable.>

"She's probably saying right now that I couldn't find her because I lack the ability, isn't she?"

Psyche wouldn't have been able to hear Tenebris's voice—but she guessed it with 100% accuracy.

In response, Tenebris fell completely silent.

"And you're probably so surprised right now that you can't say anything."

"…Yeah, you're right."

"Fufu, I'm not going to rush you to accept my help right away. It seems like Tenebris doesn't have all of his memories intact either…"

"Not intact?"

"I'll tell you more about that later. For now, I came to warn you that a disaster will soon descend upon Earth."

How long has it even been since the Great Rift was erased, and now another disaster is coming?

"What kind of disaster?"

"It's not something like the Great Rift. The ultimate target is you."

"You mean they're trying to force me to cross over to the Divine Realm."

"Yes. Earth's already in chaos from the current invasion, isn't it?"

"Don't tell me the invasion's going to escalate."

"You really are quick-witted."

So even stronger enemies would invade.

"And how exactly are you planning to help with that?"

It wasn't surprising—he had already anticipated this much.

What mattered now was how Psyche planned to help during this invasion.

<Hey, why are you even listening to her? She's the one who sealed me, you know? Even eating her alive wouldn't be enough!>

Tenebris was having a fit, but Jeong-hoon lightly ignored him and waited for Psyche's answer.

"A higher race will appear. And you must fight and defeat them to minimize dimensional damage."

"So how exactly are you going to help with that?"

"I'll divine your fate."

"Fate?"

"Yes. I'll predict the outcome of your battles against the higher race."

This was huge.

Even though the current invasion was ongoing, he hadn't seen a 100% success rate in his system.

Even after rapid leveling and monstrously boosting his stats.

But if a higher race invaded now, that 98% probability would certainly drop.

To raise that percentage even a little, he would need to carefully assemble a team of reliable humans to fight the higher race.

'If Psyche provides accurate information, I can pre-select the ones who will guarantee victory.'

The problem was whether she could be trusted.

"What do you want?"

Choosing to help Tenebris was no different from betraying the existing Named.

That meant there was something she wanted badly enough to betray them for.

Or, it could be a trap to lure him in.

Judging from Tenebris's reaction, the latter seemed more likely.

"If I tell you, will you accept the deal?"

"I'll think about it."

"Fufu, sorry, but I think you're the one who'll be needing this, not me."

"Not really."

Without hesitation, Jeong-hoon summoned Titan.

Along with it, he overlaid Form of the Void onto Titan and wrapped the Genesis Engine around it.

The Genesis Engine slightly changes form depending on its wielder, and since Jeong-hoon had borrowed Tenebris's Genesis Engine, he had no choice but to align it to the 'Crystal' setting.

However, the small portion of the Genesis Engine that Jeong-hoon had acquired as the Master of the Dimension—

This Genesis Engine was now fully attuned to Jeong-hoon's will, concentrated solely on 'destruction.'

'Even if I can't get to her real body, destroying the puppet is no problem.'

Psyche seemed to realize this as well and widened the distance between them.

"If you cut me down here, we won't be able to continue this conversation."

"Is that disappointing to you?"

"…What?"

"If you don't want that, just say so. No need to act all prideful."

At Jeong-hoon's words, a crack appeared on Psyche's face.

The smile she had worn from the very beginning completely vanished.

"Are you sure you won't regret this?"

"I won't."

As Jeong-hoon swung his sword, the Crescent Moon Slash that Escanon had once wielded unfolded.

Empowered by the Genesis Engine, the Crescent Moon Slash split into three arcs, trapping Psyche in their midst, and then merged into a single strike that engulfed her.

* * *

Snap.

The palm-sized puppet split in half and crumbled to pieces.

Psyche, who had been observing this, lightly tapped her finger on the table, falling deep into thought.

"Lady Psyche."

At the sound of someone calling her, Psyche lifted her head.

"What about the human?"

The one who had spoken was Jin, the transcendental being who governed the 72nd Demon Realm as well as the 71st to 75th Demon Realms.

At her instruction, he had remained on standby here, and the moment the puppet was destroyed, he immediately departed for the 72nd Demon Realm as if he had been waiting for this moment.

"He seems to have returned. No matter how much I search, I can't sense him."

Psyche nodded.

"Of course."

"Could he be hiding somewhere in the Demon Realm? Maybe he's targeting me…"

"That's why when I sent you, I attached two of my puppets to you, remember?"

As she said, two puppets, identical to Psyche, were positioned to Jin's left and right.

In case he might still be lurking, Psyche had secretly marked him with a death-bound fate during their encounter.

Thanks to that, she was able to foretell his movements and confirmed that the human had indeed withdrawn.

"…Understood. I'll see to it that the 72nd Demon Realm is restored quickly."

"There's no need for that."

Psyche flicked her finger.

At that moment, Jin let out a painful groan and collapsed.

"L-Lady Psyche…"

Jin's eyes trembled violently as he looked at her.

"You were destined to die there."

With a gentle smile, Psyche watched as Jin's neck twisted unnaturally.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]