Chapter 420

A massive black hand, large enough to grab dozens of people.

Seong Jihan had seen this before.

'Dongbang Sak tried to explode that when he was advancing the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams.'

That was in the game world. But now, it's real life.

Entering reality, is he directly intervening?

Even so.

"He dares to touch a Constellation candidate himself? the Martial God isn't afraid of penalties, it seems."

"Not at all. Until now, he couldn't move freely due to those penalties. But..."

Pythia's gaze shifted to Seong Jihan's right arm.

"The moment you grafted the Red Administrator's hand, the situation changed."

"This thing?"

"Yes, once he secures you and absorbs that arm, my lord can achieve his goal. Enduring some penalties is a small price for that."

Pythia sidestepped.

Allowing the menacing black hand to strike.

The power contained was significant.

[Damn... it's bad. Using Total Annihilation again requires some cooldown. Should've used it sparingly.]

The Red Hand seemed flustered, but Seong Jihan's expression remained calm.

"It's fine. I have another countermeasure."

Ssssss...

A Taiji symbol appeared behind him.

The energy of the void amplified in his fractured face.

Instantly, his left hand, covered in void energy, manifested a dark sword.

Seong Jihan placed it within the Taiji.

"...Are you seriously going to use the Taiji Sword? There's no time for that."

"My power has recently increased, you see."

Ssssss...

The fractures starting from his chin widened.

The intense void energy engulfed Seong Jihan's body.

Simultaneously, the dark sword Eclipse emerged from the Taiji.

Unlike its previous smaller size, the dark sword adopted its original longsword form.

"Wait... how did you do that already...?"

Even before the Martial God's hand could touch him, the second stage of the Taiji Sword was complete.

Pythia blinked in disbelief.

Such speed typically required practice similar to Dongbang Sak's level of expertise.

'He's just mimicking?'

Considering the rapid emergence of the taiji sword, Pythia thought so.

Yet.

The sword moved gracefully, slashing the Martial God's hand.

The overpowering dark hand.

Effortlessly split apart.

"...Did it seriously slice through?"

"It's just one hand, not the Martial God himself."

Shiiii...!

The sword's trajectory tore space.

Engulfing the Martial God's entire hand.

The hand crumbled, disappearing as soon as it was summoned.

-Came in grand, but got cut down in a minute, lol.

-The Martial God's name sounds scary, but he's nothing special?

-Couldn't we just follow the hand and take down the main body?

-Seeing how strong Seong Jihan has become, maybe...?

-He got the Administrator's hand; beating the Martial God should be easy, right?

As Seong Jihan effortlessly destroyed the Martial God's hand, human viewers thought the Martial God might not be as formidable.

Meanwhile.

-That red beam, was it Total Annihilation?

-Yeah, exactly. The main attack used by the Red Administrator.

-So, having the Administrator's hand means you can use Total Annihilation? It's incredibly valuable.

Alien viewers focused on the Total Annihilation Seong Jihan used.

The red beam, the Red Administrator's primary attack.

The overwhelming destructive power of Total Annihilation was synonymous with the Red Administrator.

Merely obtaining the hand and using it right away...

-Great constellations will likely target Earth even more after seeing this.

-Even so, Seong Jihan can't be beaten unless you're a great constellation.

-Right. Lesser constellations would be overwhelmed by Total Annihilation.

-That woman couldn't even resist properly, and she's level 8 sovereign constellation.

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-Instead of trying to possess the hand, it's better to locate the planet and sell the info to a great constellation... could earn a good amount GP.

Today's video indicated that great constellations would now covet the Administrator's hand even more.

The appearance of Total Annihilation made a significant impact.

'Hmm... didn't expect the Red eye laser to draw this much attention.'

Though Total Annihilation is powerful, it's inferior to the Taiji Sword.

To avoid great constellations invading Earth, he needed a way to control this.

Seong Jihan pondered while glancing at the chat from alien viewers, then shifted his focus.

There, Pythia stood, using the charred Gilgamesh as her shield.

"Who are you...? Why have you become so strong?"

"Who knows. But it seems, Tuseong is out of reach."

Pointing the sword at Pythia, Seong Jihan saw her frown.

"...If you can summon the Taiji Sword, couldn't you have just gone earlier?"

"I'd rather go on my own terms, not be dragged there."

"Meticulous, aren't you..."

"Only when I eliminate you too can it be called meticulous."

Whoosh!

Before finishing his sentence, Seong Jihan dashed towards Pythia.

Though Total Annihilation didn't finish her, the Taiji Sword should.

Yet.

"I'm not ready to die just yet."

Whoosh!

She jumped with Gilgamesh into the rift created by the Martial God's hand.

Ssssss...

The spatial crack closed instantly.

"If you really want to kill me, come here~"

Inside the rift, Pythia smirked and gestured to Seong Jihan.

Challenging him to follow her to kill her.

"Tsk."

Clicking his tongue, Seong Jihan threw the Taiji Sword at the rift.

But the crack vanished faster than the blade could reach.

-Eve slipped away... -_-

-Leaving her alive means endless trouble.

-But he couldn't just follow into that rift.

-But isn't Eve humanity's mother? Why is he so bent on killing her?

-She said she wasn't Eve herself, remember? lol

Seeing Pythia escape successfully, viewers regretted not being able to capture a troublesome opponent.

Seong Jihan frowned, staring at the spot where Pythia vanished.

'Was it the Divine eye? Her responses were quicker than normal opponents.'

Among the Martial God's four disciples, Dongbang Sak and Ashoka seemed to have their own agendas.

Gilgamesh, despite being unhelpful, harbored intense resentment towards the Martial God due to a fraudulent contract.

Only Pythia remained truly loyal to him.

Eliminating her was crucial this time, it's unfortunate.

"This ends today's broadcast."

Seong Jihan retracted his power and turned off BattleTube.

Traveling to the northern island of Australia felt somewhat lacking.

As he scanned the surroundings again.

The Red Hand made a suggestion.

[Main body, should we fully control this laboratory?]

"Is there anything valuable here?"

[Appears to be.]

"Well? Let's gather whatever we can."

Since Pythia escaped, might as well collect something.

With Seong Jihan's permission, the red eye began to glow.

* * *

On the Martial God's star, Tuseong.

"I apologize, my lord. I couldn't fulfill the command."

Pythia, who had fled in haste, knelt before the Martial God.

[Not at all. Seong Jihan's strength was beyond expectation. You carried out your mission well.]

"Thank you for your grace."

Though she failed to bring Seong Jihan to Tuseong.

Pythia did what she could.

Creating the rift to connect Tuseong and allowing the Martial God's hand to intervene.

The failure to drag Seong Jihan through was due to the Martial God's hand being overpowered by the Taiji Sword, not her fault.

Ssssss...

the Martial God regenerated his arm, destroyed on Earth.

He looked at Dongbang Sak, standing respectfully below the throne.

[Dongbang Sak, how could he wield the Taiji Sword so proficiently?]

"...I'm unsure. However, his sword seemed different from mine. Given it carries void energy, it seems he realized the Taiji sword differently."

[Find a way to neutralize it.]

"Understood."

As Dongbang Sak deeply bowed.

The Martial God's gaze shifted to Gilgamesh, lying sprawled by Pythia's side.

[How does it feel to realize you were merely bait, Gilgamesh?]

"You... you bastard... Do you mean to break our contract?!"

[Contract... Do you still not realize its futility?]

"Grr..."

Gnashing his teeth, Gilgamesh asked the Martial God.

"Then, the promise that I could see my descendants in the laboratory... was a lie, wasn't it?"

[Does it matter?]

"...It matters to me."

[The Red Hand spoke the truth.]

"No... impossible! You're lying, right?"

[Such trivial things are not worth lying about.]

"No... No..."

The Martial God's affirmation left Gilgamesh muttering in confusion.

'He was so keen on sowing seeds, and now he talks about wanting descendants?'

Seeing Gilgamesh, Pythia looked at him with disgust.

The Martial God gestured.

[Dongbang Sak, remove him.]

"Shall I kill him?"

[No. Let him live. He might be of use later.]

"Understood."

Swoosh.

At Dongbang Sak's single step, Gilgamesh floated in the air and was quickly led away.

Shocked by the news that he couldn't have descendants, Gilgamesh didn't resist and was taken away quietly.

The Martial God watched them leave briefly, then.

Flash...!

Dark energy surged from his face, activating the Divine eye.

[Pythia, activate your Divine eye as well. We need to foresee.]

"Understood."

Following the Martial God's command, Pythia activated the Divine eye on her forehead.

Bzzzzz...

The two eyes synchronized, generating a larger white sphere of light between them.

[Will Seong Jihan become a variable that hinders my grand plan?]

Flash! Flash!

As the Martial God spoke, the white sphere began to foresee.

Bzzzzz...

Numerous screens appeared and disappeared.

Observing alongside the Martial God, Pythia frowned gravely.

"...He certainly becomes a variable."

Seong Jihan, having grown enormously in strength after grafting the Administrator's hand and merging the void processor into his face.

The foresight measured his chance of victory at 5%.

An outsider might see this as merely 5%.

'...The lord doesn't tolerate even a 0.1% variable. He's never faced such a scenario before. But now, 5%... Seong Jihan has grown excessively.'

The result was shocking to Pythia.

[...Change the question.]

Ssssss...

The Martial God's eyes turned skyward.

Above Tuseong, countless relics sparkled like stars.

He pointed at them.

[Would using 30% of the relic's power eliminate the variable?]

Flash...

The white sphere dimmed slightly.

The frequency of screens diminished significantly.

Yet.

'Still some...'

Despite the artifacts, there were instances where Seong Jihan emerged victorious.

Seeing this, the Martial God's eyes glowed red.

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[50%...]

Even at 50%.

[70%...]

Even at 70%.

Faint as it was, the white sphere still glimmered.

Indicating a future where Seong Jihan could win.

the Martial God's voice deepened ominously.

[...What if all the power is used?]

Considering the ultimate scenario.

Flash...

The white sphere showed a single screen.

"This... still exists?!"

[......]

Trembling, Pythia stared at the revealed scene.

A scorched Tuseong with a colossal being standing alone.

Covered in red eyes, its form resembled the Blood Clan.

"L-Lord. But this doesn't seem like Seong Jihan..."

[...No, it's him. He has become the Red Administrator.]

A future where Seong Jihan triumphs and the Martial God falls.

It existed only when he transformed into the Red Administrator.

"Then... isn't this future impossible?"

Seeing this, Pythia brightened.

[No, it's inevitable.]

"...What?"

[The Administrator's hand is within him. He can burn humanity anytime.]

"But... He doesn't seem like someone who would incinerate humanity..."

Pythia hesitated.

the Martial God's red eyes glared down at her.

[Have you become foolish, hanging around Gilgamesh?]

"No, my lord...!"

[Who would forsake the path to become the Red Administrator?]

The Martial God was sure.

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[All he must do is burn one planet and incinerate humanity.]

Seong Jihan would choose the "easy path."