It was a stage of godhood that absolutely could not exist.
The stages were a kind of level, and the highest stage a god could awaken to was the 5th stage.
And usually, the divine status of holy gods was at the 3rd stage, or at most the 4th.
For that reason, a god who reached the 5th stage was called a high-ranking holy god among the many holy gods, and a candidate for monarch.
But in comparison, the 6th stage was powerful, yet truly an abnormal rampage stage.
It was an utterly uncontrollable stage, commonly known as the stage of madness.
Personality? Control? Forget about it—it was a monster that moved on instinct, a stage where one couldn’t distinguish friend from foe.
Anyway, it was Eun who intended to exploit that.
Of course, Eun was never afraid, even when facing the power of the 6th stage.
Why?
‘I can evade that power.’
His own power wasn’t called ‘false recognition’ for nothing.
He could lower his opponents’ perception so that attacks would miss him.
That’s why Eun smiled.
‘Kill them. All of humanity and the monarch!’
And then, both their powers would be his!
Naturally, there was no need to worry about dealing with the rampaging Igeon.
‘The moment you enter the 6th stage, the game is already over.’
Even if left alone, Igeon would be unable to withstand his own power and self-destruct.
‘The most he can survive is four days.’
That was the end of a rampaging god.
Of course, the reason he knew this so well was one thing.
‘Monarchs and holy gods are alike.’
That’s right.
He didn’t know why, but the arch-enemy monarchs and holy gods were surprisingly the same at their core.
As if their origins or roots were identical.
‘Anyway, there was even one among the great monarchs who broke past the 5th stage, entered the 6th stage state, and died.’
No one else knew, but he himself had happened to witness that creature’s annihilation.
Since it was a state without reason, his own power worked well on it too.
That’s why Eun was filled with the thought of using Igeon to his advantage.
That’s certainly how it was.
‘Damn it, what’s going on?’
At this very moment.
Watching the Igeon Tower from the bridge in Hangang Park, Eun realized something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.
It couldn’t be helped.
‘Igeon’s hostility is coming this way?’
When he should be in a state without reason?
As if to confirm it.
Perhaps sensing that hostility, his subordinate who was with him frowned.
[Master. Something’s wrong with the situation. If this continues, it’s dangerous...]
“No, it’s fine.”
[What?]
Eun used his ability once more strongly and raised the corners of his mouth.
“I’ve already used my authority to make us perceived as out of harm’s way.”
[Then…!]
“And anyway, in that state, he can’t tell friend from foe. Rather than coming for us, it’d be faster for him to kill the holy city members beside him…”
But that’s when it happened.
Bam!!
[Gack!!]
“……!!!”
The head of the subordinate beside him burst apart.
The color drained from Eun’s face.
* * *
And at the same time.
Boom!!
Inside the Igeon Tower.
Cheon Seongjae and the holy city members of the Divine Archer Seat were trembling from the enormous energy surging wildly.
They couldn’t even gape their mouths. No, they couldn’t even breathe.
It was because, although they couldn’t see clearly due to being engulfed in black demonic energy, Igeon’s appearance was different from usual.
‘Already not in human form…!’
The hidden holy city members trembled in fear.
And this power was unmistakably the power of ‘death’!
‘Could it be the 6th stage?’
Cheon Seongjae, who could feel Igeon’s rage at a glance, shuddered as he supported his older sister.
Maybe because Cheon Yuha was a saint of death receiving the power of ‘death’.
“Hngh…!”
The excessively strengthened power of ‘death’ was causing her respiratory distress.
It was a realm that humans could never endure.
And did he discover them?
“……!!!”
Igeon, now changed to the 6th stage, approached them.
Cheon Seongjae, who was supporting his sister and mother, trembled involuntarily.
The opponent was certainly Igeon, but he was terrifyingly fearsome.
And he realized instinctively.
‘We’re going to be killed.’
When Igeon finally reached out his hand, Cheon Seongjae squeezed his eyes shut.
But that’s when it happened.
“Seongjae.”
“……!!”
Unexpectedly, Igeon’s hand was stroking Cheon Seongjae’s head.
“Look after Jiu well.”
“Uncle?”
“I’ll be right back.”
Turning around, Igeon flicked his fingers.
Then the slime clinging to the table leg, as if sensing something, grabbed an object from a gift box and swallowed it.
And it was none other than a human neck.
With a flash in his eyes, Igeon headed for the door.
And the moment Igeon stepped out of the sanctuary.
Eun trembled.
‘That bastard Igeon…!!’
An energy of a completely different dimension from when he was inside the building was soaring into the sky.
And that wasn’t all.
‘That son of a bitch, he’s coming this way!’
There was no doubt.
Even though the 6th stage was supposed to be unable to distinguish friend from foe and must kill people!
He was approaching, targeting only him!
So Eun hurriedly stood up.
At the same time, he recalled a conversation he’d had with the Monarch long ago.
It was a very long time ago.
-What? The reason you stole the souls of the serpent holy gods was because you were trying to use ‘life and death’?
-Yes. Life and death are beings that always exist together. Therefore, the authority of ‘life and death’ can only be used when ‘life’ and ‘death’ are used simultaneously.
-What? But the ‘life’ and ‘death’ of the Serpent Lord are authorities where one of the two disappears, aren’t they? Yet you can only use it by using them at the same time? What kind of absurd...
-That’s right. So the original owner granted each divine status to the subordinate gods he raised, and had them use ‘life and death’.
-…Then!
-‘Life’ and ‘death’ were given to me.
Eun went back to the past several times and obtained Yeonu’s soul.
Of course, the divine status of Yeonu or Junu was only at the 3rd-4th stage level, so it didn’t satisfy his covetousness—but what if it were souls accumulated tens of thousands of times over?
-If I combine all the souls I’ve collected so far, I should be able to produce power close to the 5th stage.
-!
That’s why he regressed that many times, killed Yeonu, and tenaciously found and killed him again.
In order to use the divided powers separately, just like the 13th original owner.
And though he had stolen the soul of Junu, who was in charge of the divine status of death, this iteration where Igeon appeared was different.
-Igeon can definitely grow to the 5th stage.
Eun had already become able to use ‘life and death’ with Yeonu and Junu’s souls, but had failed to achieve his goal.
So this time, he changed his plan: after awakening Igeon to the 5th stage as ‘death,’ he intended to steal that divine status.
Then he would be able to use the true power of ‘life and death.’
-But the 6th stage is absolutely not allowed. That’s troublesome.
Therefore, at this moment.
It was meant to turn the Monarch’s plans to foam as well, and ignoring the deal, to force him into the 6th stage.
That’s what he’d done.
But.
‘Damn it. How can he possess reason!!’
It was impossible.
‘First, get away from here.’
Eun decided to escape from Earth.
But that’s when it happened.
“Gack!!!”
As he tried to flee, he fell from the bridge.
A black beam of light had flown from a great distance and pierced him.
That wasn’t all.
“Aaaagh!!!”
Having fallen from the bridge, he screamed.
One of his legs, engulfed in black smoke, vanished in an instant.
The pain was beyond imagination.
In the end, Eun glared and raised his head.
And Eun trembled in fear.
‘That bastard…!’
Because, from the land side, Igeon was walking across the river.
Wreathed in an ominous energy that was not human!
At this, Eun urgently tried to flee, but it was useless.
“Aaargh!!”
Each time he tried to escape, the black energy took another leg, a finger, and an arm—
Devouring them madly.
“Aaargh!!”
So he crawled and squirmed toward the land as if escaping, summoned his subordinates, but it was useless.
Crunch!!!
The power of ‘death’ annihilated all the subordinates trying to materialize.
The 6th stage’s death was beyond imagination.
And at some moment.
“Hand it over. The rest.”
“……!!”
Eun, who had reached the land, nearly had a heart attack.
Above the fallen Eun stood the demon god.
Although his form couldn’t be seen properly due to the black energy, it surely wasn’t human shape.
And Igeon spoke.
“You little shit, you have it, don’t you? Taek-su’s body.”
At those words, the bloodied Eun raised the corners of his lips.
‘Now I understand…!!’
Why he retained reason despite entering the 6th stage.
And how he was enduring without going berserk.
‘Right. This bastard thinks he can bring his friend back to life.’
So he was undoubtedly controlling it with a single thread of patience.
At this, Eun honestly admired him.
‘Frightening bastard.’
To be controlling the 6th stage with that single determination.
But Eun smiled.
‘Even so, it’s a stage as precarious as glass about to shatter at any moment.’
Indeed, as if concentrating solely on controlling ‘death,’ Igeon’s movements weren’t large.
Then Igeon’s eyes flashed.
“Hand it over.”
“Fine. I’ll damn well give it back.”
When Eun gestured, a gate appeared in the sky and a familiar body materialized in the void.
It was a headless human body. But the clothes it wore were unmistakably Hugo’s clothes.
Igeon headed toward the falling body.
Even then, Igeon seemed to be holding back with difficulty.
First, secure Hugo’s body, then he planned to eliminate this bastard.
But that’s when it happened.
Just as Igeon was about to take that body.
“Try bringing him back if you can, you moron!”
Bang!!!
“!”
Eun erased Hugo’s body right before his eyes.
And at the same time, that moment came.
Perhaps unable to suppress the rage he’d barely been holding back.
Boom!
The power of ‘death’ that Igeon had been suppressing began to spread in all directions.
The power to indiscriminately kill life was about to cover the entire world.
Eun laughed loudly.
“Yes! Honestly, I didn’t know you’d control it to this extent, but do you think I’ll die alone?! Anyway, the moment this became the 6th stage, ‘life’ also disappeared!”
Igeon glared at Eun, his eyes wide with fury.
And just as that vicious power of death was about to rampage—
Shoop!
“!”
A slime popped out from Igeon’s pocket.
And suddenly, the slime expanded its body and swallowed Igeon.
At the same time, Igeon, swallowed into a strange subspace-like place, let out a groan.
Because something hard had flown and hit his head.
And it was none other than Hugo’s neck, which the slime had swallowed earlier.
Soon, a notification sound that hadn’t been heard until now rang out.
[‘Life’ tells you to check the item properly]
As Igeon touched Hugo’s head, he flinched.
And the moment he used his skill, an astonishing thing happened.
Crunch!!
Hugo’s neck turned into a lump of clay and crumbled.
“……!”
It was a fake created by someone.
It was so convincing that even Igeon was fooled.
At the same time, within the slime’s body, which looked like a black space, something strange appeared.
And it was none other than Hugo’s complete body.
Although there was a hole through the heart, it was clean.
That wasn’t all.
The moment he saw the real body, information came to mind.
[Subordinate god ‘Hugo’]
[Soul location: Underworld]
[Resurrection possible as a 5th stage]
And seeing that, Igeon felt relief, but then his brow furrowed.
Because how could it be ‘Hugo’?
At the point of becoming the 6th stage, hadn’t ‘life’ disappeared?
‘When one reaches the 5th stage, the other side disappears…’
But that’s when it happened.
[‘Life’ that had fainted at 6th stage says to save them]
[They say ‘Life’ is on the verge of being consumed by ‘death’ right now]
Igeon was shocked.
‘Life’ was not yet in a state of disappearance.
That’s when a notification sound came through as he wondered what was going on.
[The 6th stage is an abnormal state of rampage]
[It has not yet been designated as a complete god, so the other divine status has not disappeared]
Well, he’s said that upon reaching the 5th stage the other disappears, but he never mentioned the 6th stage.
Whatever, it didn’t matter.
[‘Life’ is about to disappear soon]
At that notification, Igeon’s eyes widened.
‘I must save them.’
And that moment was it.
Outside the slime, Eun couldn’t help but tremble.
‘What is that…!’
When the slime suddenly swallowed Igeon, Eun had been about to flee, but the situation was unfolding oddly.
“Death is being completely controlled?!”
No. The feeling was different from it being controlled.
Something new was forming.
A new light, unlike anything he had ever seen, was emanating from inside the slime.
In the end, sensing something had gone very wrong, just as Eun tried to leave—
Crunch!
“!!”
Igeon’s arm, extending from the slime’s mouth, grabbed Eun’s head.
“……!”
And the moment Igeon slipped out from inside the slime.
Eun instinctively felt his own death.
And as the bizarre power engulfed him, Eun’s consciousness hazed over.
It was similar to ‘life and death,’ but an irresistibly powerful force beyond it!
[The 6th stage and 4th stage begin to fuse]
[Using the power of ‘Life and Death’]
(Continued in the next episode)