There was a freshly created volcano in the Valkut region.

Yesterday, this place was a grassy plain, but now there was a lonely mountain.

The sight of the volcanic terrain was eerie, like a haunted ground. The terrain of the volcano's surroundings still bore the fresh mark of a great battle that had just occurred but changes had already started taking shape. The rocks were reddish and some of them had red veins on them, becoming cultivation materials because of the mana around them. Strange sounds and spectral figures sometimes appeared. There was a tree that had resiliently endured the destruction that now possessed ghostly fire instead of leaves.

The top of the mountain was spewing green lava of extraordinary heat.

A hand emerged from the pool of melted rock and grabbed the ledge, a man climbing out. The lava didn't seem to bother him, nor did it dare to cling to his body.

He was none other than Georgi Zhirkov, the Grandmaster of the Dumuzin Cult.

He looked fresh and well-dressed. His hair was combed and his beard tidy. The garment on him wasn't damaged in the slightest. Looking at him now, no one would believe he had just fought a terrain-changing battle.

He turned to somewhere far and his figure disappeared, only the disturbed dust under his boots was proof that he was there.

Georgi arrived at a lakeside as if he appeared from thin air. His movement Arte was very fast; others less experienced would mistake it as teleportation.

Naturally, there was no sign of Viers and the girls.

Georgi placed his palm on the earth. A few seconds later, he had recovered the remains of his defeated split soul. He absorbed the clone’s experience and knew what it knew.

“Hmn…”

Facing the lake, he sighed. He was unable to sense where his quarry had gone. The trail had gone cold.

With Sallustia here, I don't want to do this but I have no choice now.

Georgi took out a thorny birdcage from his storage space and was about to activate the divine item to lock down the area.

“That is unnecessary.”

“Lord!”

A black fire enveloped his right eye. It looked dangerous but the fire wasn't burning him. To the presence of his God, Georgi knelt respectfully.

“They gave you the slip, it seems. Hehehe… The play ends here.”

“Please wait, Lord. I’ll not fail you and will certainly deliver this toy to you!”

To outsiders, Georgi would look like a kneeling madman talking to himself. His mannerism was no longer domineering and suave but like an employee in front of his boss after a work error.

"It's fine."

"But Lord-"

"Georgi," Dumuzin's tone grew more commanding. "It's. Fine."

"...Yes," the Grandmaster calmed himself. His God had given him an order.

"You have shown me satisfactory performance, considering you can only use a third of your power."

Every time Dumuzin spoke, the black fire flickered and swayed.

"It's all thanks to Sallustia… The timing of her arrival and the action she took was miraculously precise."

In her fight against Foulfae, Sallustia's opening move was Purge Evil Maxima. The Arte would only affect those the caster perceives as enemies. Although Sallustia didn't know Georgi was there, the Arte wounded him. It was because Sallustia and Georgi had fought in the past.

Georgi put up a strong front as if he was barely affected but the truth was he had been weakened significantly. In that state, he was forced to fight the revived Level 5 Clarissa. Naturally, the split soul he sent after Viers was also only able to show a third of its power.

Clarissa fought mightily but there was another reason she was able to best Georgi. Once again, it was because of Sallustia.

If he used any of the divine items in his arsenal, it would tip off Sallustia. And should the Popess realize he was here, she would surely intervene. She had many methods to do so, using Purge Evil one more time was enough.

Few people truly realized the vastness of power that Sallustia commanded.

The Swirling Chaos Georgi Zhirkov was one of them. The old monster concluded that his probability of success would plummet further if the Popess got involved so he didn't. Of course, Ciel and the others had shown far greater resistance and power than he expected and ultimately foiled his plan.

After he failed, Georgi no longer cared about keeping it a secret from Sallustia and prepared to fight her to the death if it meant sending the toy to Dumuzin. He was about to activate the divine item but this time, Dumuzin stopped him.

"It was no such thing. That mumbling bald lass in the Church meddled with the Convergence of Fates. She should be suffering from the consequences right now. Truly a busybody."

"...But Lord, by sending me, did you not do the same thing as the Interpreter?"

"You're mistaken, my young faithful. We are part of the Convergence. His Convergence. What he did in Luxore created a ripple in the flow and it became a whirlpool."

Georgi only had a pittance of understanding about the workings of Fate but if Dumuzin said so, then it must be.

“Thank you for the wisdom, great one. As you wish, I will not use your divine method. However, it is premature to conclude this venture as a failure, my lord.”

“Oh?”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“When a sign of misfortune appeared, I had already implemented insurance.”

Georgi’s face, which had a patch of burning black fire on his left eye, showed a confident smile.

***

"Your majesty, please run away!"

A soldier barged into the throne room without tending to his gaping wounds.

"Hrrgh... Where do these barbarians come from? What do they want?"

The king clenched the armrest of his throne. A jeweled crown was set upon his brows and a royal red mantle was on his shoulder.

One day, his city was attacked. The lightning-fast attack was not done by an army of Pathseekers. It was done by a small group of people. They swiftly destroyed the critical defensive infrastructures and important personnel. In the chaos, they infiltrated the palace.

The strength of the attackers begot disbelief. They were all strong but one person in particular, most likely the leader, was a cut above the rest.

"Dear..."

"Father..."

The king's beautiful wife and daughter couldn't hide their worries. From the palace windows, they could see fires had broken out in various parts of the city, sending plumes of smoke into the night sky.

"Don't worry you two. You'll be safe," The king assured his family. Instead of evacuating them, he sent his men to bring them to him so he could protect them personally.

"The prince? What about my son?"

The prince was also the supreme commander of the army. The prince had grown into a fine man, a wise and kind king in the making. He was also a genius Pathseeker. The king had suspected his son had surpassed him in strength for years. As a monarch, he couldn't ask for a better heir. As a father, he couldn't ask for a better son.

“The prince and his elites have already engaged the intruder. But he asked your majesty to evacuate just in case,” the soldier reported.

“Brother!”

The princess’ face lit up after hearing the mention of her elder brother. Her brother was very strong and very dependable. He surely could take care of this.

“Good, good… How fares the battle? If necessary, I will join-”

The large door of the throne room was kicked open. The enchanted gates were unable to withstand the blow and even the hinges were broken.

A man walked in. He was lean, tall, and handsome. His clothes were simple white robes with little accessories. The clothing he wore might be simple but the man was clearly anything but.

"The prince has been removed from the line of succession."

The intruder threw a severed head onto the throne room's floor, to the king and his family's horror.

"Brother! Noooo!" The princess was horrified.

The queen let out a surprised gasp before falling unconscious from the shock.

"Oh, and he's also a head shorter, in case you haven't noticed," the intruder said in a mocking tone.

"Damn you!!!"

The king attacked the intruder with all of his fury, unleashing the full might of his Level 5 peak cultivation. His dragon-shaped Palladion Icon appeared behind him.

A shockwave spread out as the king clashed with the intruder.

"Is that all?" The intruder held back his sword with his finger.

"I-Impossibile! Guppyaah!?"

The intruder kicked the king on the chin, sending him upward. The king's head was buried in the ceiling while the rest of his body hung like a fruit.

"How dare you do that to his majes-"

The soldier tried to attack the intruder but his head exploded without the intruder so much as looking at him.

"Your loyalty is wasted on him, brah... Oh, you must be the princess. And the unconscious buxom next to you is your mom?"

"S-stay away!" The princess trembled in fear.

The queen and the princess looked quite alike. They both had wavy blonde hair and fair skin. While the queen looked to be in her thirties, the princess looked like the teen version of her.

"Hahaha! Your scared face makes you even cuter."

They wore a coat over their nightgown because they were just sleeping before the sudden attack on the city. The princess and the queen got pulled by an invisible force and landed on the intruder's arm.

"U-unhand us, you ruffian!" The princes struggled and tried to hit the intruder. "Eh?"

"Hahaha! You're like a cute hamster. I sealed your Intio so you're no different than an ordinary person. No need to fret, it will be over soon."

"Noooo! Someone, heeelp!"

The princess kept struggling but the intruder resumed his laugh.

At this point, the king had dropped from the ceiling, looking haggard and bloodied. One attack and he was defeated. Their league was too different.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" The king asked the intruder while on the floor.

"Hmn... Wow. You really don't remember me, do ya? How about this face then."

The intruder swiped his hand in front of his face and it showed a different face.

"Y-y-you're! Viers!"

"Bingo. It's been a long time, hasn't it? but, to you, I'm something else. I am the punishment of God. If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you."

Viers blared his killing intent along with his Victa. The king, with the face of Georgi, trembled uncontrollably. The princess in Viers' arm could not withstand Viers' aura and passed out like her mother. Both women had tears on the edge of their eyes.

"You want revenge... So be it. I'll give you my life. If you want to torture me first then feel free, but release my wife and daughter. They are innocent," the king said.

"Ah, but here's the thing. A great man once said: The greatest joy for a man is to defeat his enemies, to drive them before him, to take from them all they possess, to see those they love in tears, to ride their horses, and to hold their wives and daughters in his arms... Great quote, hm?"

The king looked utterly and completely horrified by the words of Genghis Khan.

"Now that I have tried it, I have to say it's not too far from the truth. So, king. I'll take your everything cuz I'm strong now, okay? Good."

Viers didn't wait for him to reply.

"Don't worry about your wife and daughter. I'll take good care of them... So. This is the part where I put you in jail after crippling your cultivation. Then you can impotently watch from some hole I put you in for years and years. After you've tasted the blackest tar of despair, my revenge is complete."

Viers looked down on the king with a bone-chilling gaze of spite.

"I-"

Viers kicked the king's crowned head before he could finish speaking. The soccer ball kick sent the king's head flying out of the window, disappearing into the horizon.

"...But I'm a greater villain than your standard Bond villain. I'll just torture your soul instead. Deal?"

True to his style, the trash talk came after the finishing blow. Afterward, Viers sucked the king's soul out of his body and put him into his Soul Prison. For years he had been preparing a special place for him.

As Pinhead said: Your suffering will be legendary.

"You're not gonna take the crown?" Clarissa said. She came with Paina and Farley.

The three had long regained their bodies and were no longer tethered souls. They looked much more beautiful now, more mature. Viers had changed too. He was now more handsome and no longer had an ounce of unnecessary fat in his body.

"Meh, too gaudy for my taste. I'll make a better one."

"Lord Viers, the city is ours," Farley said. "Boram is cleaning up."

"Good job, Angels," Viers smiled.

"What now?" Paina asked.

"Now, I'm gonna bed you three in the most beautiful room in this palace. Ready yourselves, ladies. You won't get any sleep tonight."

The three turned bashful, fidgeting, but none refused.

"What about them?" Clarissa asked about the unconscious queen and princess in Viers' arms.

"They can join if they want to. Mwahahahahaha!"

Viers had a beautiful, beautiful night.