The Death Mage Who Doesn’t Want a Fourth Time

277 – Things are hard for former members of the Demon King’s army

The champion Zakkart reached out to the evil gods who had been treated poorly in the Demon King’s army. He told them that if they betrayed the Demon King Guduranis and joined his side, they would be accepted.

Many evil gods accepted that offer. As gods such as Merrebeveil, who was a powerful god among the tentacled gods, betrayed the Demon King, gods whom Zakkart had not reached out to followed suit as well.

The gods who had already left the Demon King’s army became known as gods of Vida’s faction. However, those who would go on to become the gods of the underground world of Gartland were still a part of the Demon King’s army at this time.

Zakkart had been unable to reach out to every single evil god. And even though he was a champion, he was unable to differentiate between evil gods who held reasonably high positions in the Demon King’s army and had inner doubts and thoughts of rebellion against Guduranis’s ways, and evil gods who did not.

The members of the Demon King’s army did not have friendly relationships with one another, so Merrebeveil and the others who betrayed Guduranis were also unable to invite the gods of Gartland to join them. The gods of Gartland were also unable to leave the Demon King’s army on their own to follow in the steps of the other traitors.

In their surprise and bewilderment at the betrayal of their allies, they missed their opportunity to do so, and before they knew it, the Demon King Guduranis had tightened his grip on the organization of his army. On top of that, they learned that the gods who would later become known as the gods of Alda’s forces were hostile towards Merrebeveil and the other former gods of the Demon King’s army.

Such information was clear, during a time when Guduranis was fiercely tightening his control over his army. Before they could gather the resolve needed to leave Guduranis’s army at the risk of having their souls destroyed if they were caught, they lost the will to do so.

And the war between the champions’ army and the Demon King’s army grew fiercer with the destruction of Zakkart and the other creation-oriented champions at the hands of the Demon King. The war included many battles that were fought mainly in the sea.

The subordinate gods of the Goddess of Water and Knowledge Peria, and the demigods who were well-adapted to being in the sea, fought against the aquatic evil gods lurking in the depths of the oceans that Bellwood and the others could not easily deal with.

Marius, the God of the South Sea, who had the appearance of a man with a burly figure, fought against Jafar, the Evil God of the Crimson Sea, who had the appearance of a twin-headed shark. At the exact same moment that Marius’s harpoon pierced Jafar’s heart, which was at the base of his necks, Jafar’s fangs tore a gaping wound in Marius’s torso. They struck each other down simultaneously. With such an outcome, both gods would lose their strength and be forced into a slumber lasting for tens of thousands of years.

That was when Jafar made a proposal to Marius. “If I hand all of myself to you, will you become one with me?”

The truth was that Jafar was one of the gods who had been thinking of leaving the Demon King’s army, and during the battle to the death against Marius, he had developed an abnormal fixation, a desire to become one with him, no matter what the cost.

Marius accepted Jafar’s proposal, took Jafar in, and became Marisjafar, the Righteous Evil God of the Crimson South Sea.

However, all that was achieved was the union of two gods who were both on the verge of death; the damage they had suffered was not fully repaired. And unlike Zantark, the War-god of Fire and Destruction, even though they had become joined of their own will, they needed time to completely fuse into one being. Thus, Marisjafar fell into a slumber for about a thousand years.

The battle continued even as Marisjafar slumbered, and in the end, Guduranis was defeated by the champion Bellwood.

The evil gods of the Demon King’s army who had been fortunate enough to survive spread across the world, in fear of Bellwood and his allies, who were hunting down the remnants of the Demon King’s army. Those who would later become the gods of Gartland also hid in the depths of Devil’s Nests and Dungeons, believing that surrendering at this point would lead to no outcome other than being sealed away.

However, they never expected that a battle between Vida and Alda would take place a century after the Demon King’s defeat, resulting in Vida being sealed away.

The world became peaceful after the Demon King was defeated… or at least, the large, imminent threat was gone. So why were the gods of this world fighting one another? The future gods of Gartland could not understand this. However, they understood that the victory of Alda’s forces was a fatal outcome for them.

If Vida had won, if they bowed their heads to her and surrendered, it might have been possible that they would be accepted among her allies. But Alda had turned against and sealed away Vida and the numerous evil gods who had betrayed the Demon King’s army, despite having fought by their side against the Demon King. There was no chance that he would accept the surrender of the remaining evil gods.

Alda’s servants would simply suspect that the surrender was some kind of trap, and attack.

The gods of Gartland did not choose to indulge in pleasures like the Evil God of Joyful Life Hihiryushukaka or the Evil God of Release Ravovifard. They searched for ways to survive as gods.

Marisjafar was greatly bewildered when he awoke from his slumber. But he quickly understood that Alda would treat him as a remnant of the Demon King’s army and not accept him as an ally. Thus, he made contact with a group of Merfolk who wandered the seas after failing to escape to the region within the Boundary Mountain Range, and chose to become their guardian deity.

Those Merfolk were Doraneza’s ancestors.

Meanwhile, those who would later become the gods of Gartland discovered hope. They had found clans of Vida’s races – Centaurs and Arachne – whose homelands had been attacked and were on the verge of destruction.

“If we save those clans of Vida’s races and protect them until Vida is resurrected, perhaps she will accept us for having done so?”

“We have no other choice. But what should we do? If we do nothing but just protect them, Alda’s minions will sniff us out soon enough.”

“We will create a new land for them, in a place where Alda will not find it. Bone Fangs and Lustful Skin, you protect them. Degenerate Flesh and I will create the new land.”

“Entrails, will the four of us be able to do such a thing?”

“It is not a matter of whether we can or cannot. We must.”

Rojefifi, the Evil God of Bone Fangs, and Vonenakalua, the Evil God of Lustful Skin, protected the members of Vida’s races that the four of them had found, while Povaz, the Evil God of Entrails, and Jeryubufan, the Evil God of Degenerate Flesh, searched for a new land for them to live in.

They set their sights on the Demon King’s Continent. Still uninhabited, it was nothing but a wasteland on which trees and grass had finally started to grow again, and Alda’s forces paid no attention to it other than the seal on Botin.

However, even though Vida’s races were sturdier than humans, they could not live on that land. And as there was nowhere to hide, if Alda’s forces were to observe the continent closely on a whim, they would be discovered.

There would be no meaning to that. Thus, Povaz set his sights beneath the ground. They would create a space for the races of Vida to live deep within the earth, and shelter them there.

“But would Vida’s races be able to endure a life underground? Would it not be particularly difficult for the Centaurs?” said Jeryubufan.

Povaz made a noise of reluctant agreement. “… As expected, this is more difficult than raising monsters. The best we can do is to create as large a space as possible.”

And so, Povaz and his companions created a large space under the ground. Rojefifi and Vonenakalua would take turns to help as well, and approximately ten thousand meters below the surface, they created a space that was less than a third of the size of the Demon King’s Continent, but more than large enough to live in.

The four gods, who were evil gods who ruled over the life attribute, then combined their power to create a sphere of light and heat to act as a sun, creating an environment that was no different to that of the surface.

Despite being underground, this place received the blessings of a sun, experienced rain, and had all kinds of environments – from forests and grasslands to deserts and snow-covered mountains. Food could be obtained from the Dungeons the gods created in the space, and an underground stream provided fresh water needed for everyday life. An underground lake was connected to the sea via a cave, allowing seawater in and enabling inhabitants to harvest salt and marine products from it.

They then built a ship made of bones, flesh, entrails, and skin, and transported the Arachne and Centaurs so they could live here.

The Arachne and Centaurs were thankful to Povaz and his companions, named this underground world ‘Gartland,’ created a Temple, and worshiped them as gods of Vida’s faction.

The four gods breathed a sigh of relief, believing that with this, Vida would surely accept them among her allies once she was resurrected. However, before long, several unexpected things occurred.

One of those was Zozaseiba, the Colossus of Demon Snow Mountains, making contact with them. He discovered Gartland’s existence by coincidence, and he wanted to shelter the Titans he was watching over in Gartland.

Zozaseiba was not a demigod belonging to Vida’s faction; he was a Colossus who had betrayed the other Colossi and submitted to the Demon King’s army. However, with the Demon King’s defeat, he had no place to go, and he had become the guardian deity of a clan of Titans he had discovered, who also had no place to go.

However, Zozaseiba was being driven into a corner by humans who worshiped Alda, and at this rate, he and the Titans he was protecting would be hunted down. Thus, he reached out to Povaz and the others and asked for their help.

But Povaz and his companions had to put much thought into whether to offer their aid or to forsake Zozaseiba and his Titans.

Even if they had once belonged on the same side, evil gods did not have good relations with one another. Competition over accomplishments to reach higher ranks turning into battles to the death were a regular occurrence.

Working together like Povaz and his companions was considered heresy in the Demon King’s army.

“What should we do? Zozaseiba is saying that he wasn’t thinking straight back then, that he has had a change of heart and regrets his actions. Do we believe him?” said Rojefifi.

“There is no reason to believe him, but there is no reason to doubt him, either. To begin with, we still do not understand the minds of the gods of this world,” said Jeryubufan.

“Indeed. I still can’t comprehend what Alda, Bellwood and the others are thinking… and I’m even sometimes confused by the prayers of our current believers,” said Vonenakalua.

“A difficult decision. How about we make a decision on whether we should save Zozaseiba and his Titans or abandon them, without thinking about whether or not Zozaseiba has had a change of heart?” said Povaz.

“No objections,” said the other three.

The four of them would not think about whether a Colossus who had betrayed his brethren and the world and submitted to the Demon King would truly have a change of heart. In human societies, a question such as this would be an important one, but it was not very important to Povaz and his companions.

After all, they had not had a change of heart themselves or awakened the sense of justice within them. They simply wanted to survive, and had done nothing more than make the decisions needed to accomplish that.

Of course, they did not dislike being worshiped, so they had a certain affection towards the races of Vida they were protecting, but that was a separate matter from the question of good and evil.

“It is possible that Alda and the others will learn of Gartland’s existence from Zozaseiba. Thus, we should take him in and cut him off from the outside,” said Rojefifi.

“If we save the Titans under his protection, would the Titans not worship us as well?” said Jeryubufan.

“The population of the humans, Dwarves, and Beast-kin that the Arachne brought with them has decreased recently. It’s a result of the mixing of blood, and a higher proportion of births being Arachne and Centaurs. It would be useful to accept the Titans in order to maintain the population of males,” said Vonenakalua.

“Most importantly, Titans are a race created by Vida. Leaving the matter of Zozaseiba aside, it would be inconvenient if our image in Vida’s eyes were to worsen as a result of us abandoning these Titans,” said Povaz.

In the end, they reached a unanimous decision to save them.

And so, Zozaseiba, the Colossus of Demon Snow Mountains, created an ark of ice to carry the Titans and the few Elves who lived with them, and the four gods guided them to Gartland.

The next unexpected occurrence happened several tens of thousands of years after that. A change occurred in the members of Vida’s races they were protecting.

The Arachne, who had the lower bodies of spiders, turned into Androscorpions, a race with tanned skin and the lower bodies of scorpions – perhaps as a result of living in the desert, and because they had initially lived under the protection of Rojefifi, the Evil God of Bone Fangs.

The Centaurs lived mostly in the plains, but they turned into Glaistigs, who had gray skin and the lower bodies of goats – perhaps as a result of gradually beginning to live higher and higher on Gartland’s walls, and because they had initially lived under the protection of Vonenakalua, the Evil God of Lustful Skin.

The Titans became a race known as Snow Ice Titans, with white skin, thick body hair, and an even larger body size than regular Titans. This was likely because Zozaseiba was their guardian deity, and they were living in the snowy mountains.

These transformations were a small matter to the guardian deities of Gartland. However, their biology was a problem.

“This is not good! At this rate, the members of Vida’s races in Gartland will experience declining birth rates in the future… they will perish due to a lack of males!”

Androscorpions had descended from Arachne and were a female-only race. And Glaistigs, unlike Centaurs, were a female-only race as well.

There were still men born among the Snow Ice Titans, but… there were not enough men born to provide enough seed for the reproduction of the other two races as well.

If the mixing of blood continued in this state, Gartland would become a world of only women, and its inhabitants would perish, unable to create descendants.

The gods of Gartland believed that it would be another several tens of thousands of years until Vida was resurrected; they needed to do something to ensure that the races of Vida in their care would not perish before then.

They would need to bring more people from the outside, or Vonenakalua would need to give her divine protection to the Snow Ice Titans to grant them great sexual stamina, or…

As the gods pondered what to do, Jeryubufan thought of an idea.

“Finding and bringing more people from the outside is dangerous, and if the mixing of blood continues, the same problem will arise in the future anyway. We can simply create the required number of men,” he said.

“I see. But are we capable of creating humans? We have only ever created monsters in the past,” said Povaz.

“We have the entrails, bone, flesh, and skin, so it will surely work out. I shall help as well,” said Zozaseiba.

Jeryubufan’s suggestion was accepted, and with Zozaseiba’s aid as well… the creation of Homunculi began.

At first, they were only able to create creatures that were more like demi-human monsters or human fetuses, but with trial and error, they became able to create Homunculi with appearances that were identical to humans.

As the gods had planned, the Homunculi were capable of mating with Vida’s races and acquiring Jobs. And perhaps because they were classified as monsters, they continued to be born to parents who were members of Vida’s races, so their numbers decreased only slightly over the generations.

Though this was unrelated to Gartland, the methods used to create Homunculi appeared to humans on the same wavelength as Povaz and his companions in the form of dreams and flashes of inspiration. They were recorded in literature written by alchemists of the Bahn Gaia continent, and subsequently branded as evil and forbidden techniques by Alda’s believers.

With this, Gartland could be maintained until Vida’s resurrection. Or so the gods thought, but the final change that struck them was that undergone by the Demon King’s Continent.

Due to Nineroad’s plan to concentrate miasma on the Demon King’s continent, the corruption of the continent accelerated and its effects reached beneath its surface as well, all the way to Gartland.

Unfamiliar monsters began appearing from Gartland’s ceiling and walls, the Dungeons that had been created for hunting and mineral resources became more dangerous, and Devil’s Nests formed spontaneously inside.

But before Povaz and his companions could do anything about it, the races of Vida that lived in Gartland adapted to their new, harsh environment.

The Glaistigs and Androscorpions climbed on the walls to defeat the monsters, the Snow Ice Titans conquered the Dungeons despite their increased danger, and the Homunculi helped by discovering and inventing all kinds of new magic.

Thus, the gods were able to concentrate on keeping an eye on the movements of Alda’s forces.

“Why have they gathered this abnormal amount of miasma on this continent? Botin and her subordinate gods, whom they consider their allies, are sealed away here, aren’t they?” said Rojefifi.

“Could it be that they mean to do something about us, and Gartland? The god who rules over the circle of transmigration of the humans… If I recall, he is called Rodcorte. He might have told Alda and the others about us!” said Zozaseiba.

“I don’t think so,” said Vonenakalua. “If that were the case, Bellwood himself would have come barging in by now.”

“It is likely that they have decided that gathering the miasma here will have no effect on the seals and on Botin and the others. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine that seals created by Guduranis would be affected by anything other than Guduranis’s will,” said Jeryubufan.

“If the seals were sturdy fortresses, gathering the miasma here is like splashing fertilizer on their walls. No matter how many weeds grow on them, they won’t sway the walls or the inside of the fortress,” said Povaz.

As former subordinates of the Demon King, they knew how powerful Guduranis’s seals were.

And in the end, they concluded that the God of Reincarnation Rodcorte, about whom they knew nothing, was not sharing information with Alda’s forces. If he was, Alda’s forces would have attacked Gartland immediately, as soon as the Dwarves and the other humans who lived with the Arachne were sheltered there.

Indeed, Rodcorte believed that destroying Vida’s races was a task to be carried out by Alda and the other gods of Lambda, and something that he should not interfere in. After the threat to him and his system, the Demon King, was sealed away, he had lost interest in the world of Lambda for tens of thousands of years.

Rodcorte would not regain an interest in Lambda again until a hundred thousand years after the Demon King was sealed away – just a little before he sent the group of reincarnated individuals that included Vandalieu to it.

“I see… but we cannot let our guard down. Since they have conveniently sent us this miasma, let us use it to create monsters to act as guards around the continent. As long as we do not make them too powerful, they should think that they were born from the miasma they sent here,” said Povaz.

“That is a good idea, Povaz,” said Rojefifi. “Also, let us place a barrier at the cave that acts as the entrance. Let us make it so that only people… the races created by Vida, can see it, and so that gods and demigods cannot.”

“Rojefifi, if we make it visible to Vida’s races, what will we do about the Vampires? If the ones that worship Hihiryushukaka were to learn of this place, no good will come of it,” said Vonenakalua.

“Let us make it visible to Vampires for now, Vonenakalua. Pure-breed Vampires are demigods anyhow, so they will not be able to see it. To begin with, I find it difficult to imagine that Vampires would be able to dive a thousand meters down into the ocean,” said Jeryubufan.

“Will Little Krakens be enough to act as guards? I could make them,” said Zozaseiba. “While I’m at it, I’ll make them able to fly.”

“Krakens can fly?” the other four gods asked in unison.

“You didn’t know? Squid can fly like flying fish,” Zozaseiba replied.

And so, monsters were created to act as guards of the continent, and a barrier was placed at the entrance of the cave. The Flying Kraken that Vandalieu and the others would encounter in the future were the descendants of some of the Little Flying Kraken created by Zozaseiba.

And so, Gartland’s development continued. In the years closer to present day, Marisjafar, and the Evil Poison Mushroom God Peryazeil, who was worshiped by a clan of Majin, entered Gartland as Zozaseiba had along with their Merfolk and Majin worshippers.

Thanks to the Merfolk, it became easier to cull the monsters emerging from the Devil’s Nest inside the underground lake, and those in Gartland acquired information regarding events on the Bahn Gaia Continent.

That did not include information regarding Vandalieu and the faction of Vida that resided within the Boundary Mountain Range, but it was enough to make the gods suspect that something big would happen within the next ten years.

And then, the demigods belonging to Alda’s faction suddenly gathered on the continent, and when the gods looked through the eyes of the Flying Kraken to see what was happening, they discovered Cuatro, the enormous flying ghost ship approaching the continent, as well as the powerful Undead aboard… and Vandalieu.

With their intuition telling them that Vandalieu was someone who could help them, they sent a Divine Message to Doraneza, instructing her to guide him to Gartland.

Having heard the story of the gods of Gartland, Vandalieu gave a serious nod. “I see. In other words, the barrier preventing me from seeing the cave was a security measure you took, and I just happened to not fit the criteria by which the barrier judges who is human and who isn’t, and it doesn’t necessarily mean I’m not human, right?”

“That’s the part you’re asking about first?!” Marisjafar exclaimed incredulously.

These gods were not of Vida’s faction; they were remnants of the Demon King’s army… or at least, Marisjafar had said so because Alda’s forces would consider them as such. Still, unlike him, even though it was with reluctance, Povaz, Vonenakalua, and the others had fought as a part of the Demon King’s army against the gods of this world and the champions. On top of that, Zozaseiba, the Demon Snow Colossus, was a traitor who had joined the Demon King’s army, and had without doubt brought about harm to the world of Lambda in the past.

They had steeled their resolve and laid everything about their pasts bare, despite believing that Vandalieu would have something to say about them. Nobody could blame them for being surprised at Vandalieu’s reaction.

However, Vandalieu had mistaken them for gods representing the gods of Vida’s faction.

“Even if you tell me all of this… Well, I won’t say that your past doesn’t matter as long as you’re a good person now, but a hundred thousand years is a really long time,” Vandalieu said.

Vandalieu possessed a soul created from the soul fragments of Zakkart and the other creation-oriented champions, and he was firmly within the realm of being a demigod. However, he defined himself as a human.

Even adding up the duration of his three lives together, Vandalieu had lived for less than a hundred years, and he had no memories from when he was Zakkart. The events of a hundred thousand years ago were a thing of a vastly distant past.

If it was a few hundred or a few thousand years ago, he might have been able to imagine the suffering of the people of the time, and felt animosity for these gods. But it wasn’t possible for the events of a hundred thousand years ago.

Most importantly, Vandalieu had not been harmed by these gods. Not him, nor his companions. Thus, there was no reason for him to resent them.

Vandalieu had the ability to send his soul to Divine Realms and directly exchange words with gods, but he was nothing more than a human.

Thus, he believed that their actions to protect members of Vida’s races for tens of thousands of years was much more important than their actions as members of the Demon King’s army a hundred thousand years ago.

That also applied to Zozaseiba as well as Peryazeil, the Evil Poison Mushroom God, who was worshiped by Dediria and her kind.

And thus, unlike the Colossus of Lightning Radatel, he felt no need to devour their souls.

“Well, I’m sure Vida and the others will have their own things they want to say to you, but… I think it will be fine, right? You might have to hear some extra from Talos and Deeana, though, Zozaseiba,” said Vandalieu.

The gods who had fought in the battle of a hundred thousand years ago might have other views. However, Vandalieu was optimistic and believed that they would accept the gods of Gartland as well.

In the past, Vida’s faction had accepted gods who previously belonged to the Demon King’s army. All of them, including Merrebeveil and Fidirg, had likely caused harm to the gods and humans of Lambda while they were in the Demon King’s army. Vida’s faction had been open-minded enough to accept them, so it was likely that this open-mindedness would extend to not only Povaz and the others, but even to Zozaseiba as well… though it was possible that Zozaseiba would take an iron fist from Talos and Deeana first to ‘set things right.’

Incidentally, Marisjafar would likely not be considered a remnant of the Demon King’s army in the first place. After all, his main personality was that of Marius, the God of the South Sea, and almost none of Jafar remained. The only thing that had changed about him after their union was his appearance and his nature as a god.

“Plus, Vida is being worshiped at this temple as well, isn’t she? She doesn’t know the details about Gartland, but she did notice that there are members of Vida’s races on the Demon King’s Continent,” said Vandalieu.

The gods nodded repeatedly in response… and though some gods had forms that made it difficult to tell, they did indeed seem to be nodding.

“Yes, it seems that the races of Vida built a statue of her because they originally worshiped her to begin with.”

“We tried calling out to her, but perhaps because of the Boundary Mountain Range’s barrier, or perhaps because of the critically severe corruption on the continent’s surface, we were unable to reach her.”

“I’m so relieved…”

“I thought we were going to be eaten like Radatel.”

The gods of Gartland showed visible relief at Vandalieu’s words. Just as Vandalieu began wondering why they had been so nervous –

“Great Vandalieu, perhaps these gods were so worried because you have devoured every single remnant of the Demon King’s army that you have come across, with the exception of the Raging Evil Dragon God Luvesfol, and this fact is apparent in the appearance of your soul,” said a voice from behind Vandalieu, offering an answer to this question.

“Gufadgarn?!” Marisjafar exclaimed in shock.

“When did you come here?! Have you been behind Vandalieu-dono the entire time?!” shouted Povaz.

Not paying much attention to their response, Vandalieu gave a nod of understanding. “I see.”

Now that it was pointed out to him, he became aware of it for the first time. He had devoured the soul of every remnant of the Demon King’s army, with the exception of Luvesfol… who had been turned into a Wyvern and was currently a party member of his pseudo-younger-sister Pauvina.

But that was because all of the remnants of the Demon King’s army Vandalieu had encountered so far were either enemies or those who would rather place their souls at risk to flee rather than join Vida’s faction.

In fact, he was beginning to wonder why he hadn’t devoured the soul of Luvesfol… considering that he had betrayed the gods a hundred thousand years ago and sealed away Fidirg, the Dragon God of Five Sins, who was an evil god belonging to Vida’s faction.

There were various reasons… When Vandalieu first met him, Luvesfol had holed himself up in his Divine Realm and refused to come out, and Vandalieu hadn’t possessed a way to enter Divine Realms he had not been summoned to.

“Well, I’m sure it was just fate,” said Vandalieu, summing up those reasons in a single short sentence.

And with that, he promised to facilitate and, if required, negotiate for the gods of Gartland to join Vida’s faction.

“I’ve been doing this kind of mediation quite often recently,” Vandalieu remarked.

“I believe that is because of your power, great Vandalieu,” said Gufadgarn.

In other words, it was probably because Vandalieu had become flexible and gained the mobility and fighting strength to reach an undiscovered land like Gartland.

Having finished his conversation with the gods of Gartland at the temple, Vandalieu entered the Job-changing room in Gartland’s town.

Gartland didn’t have any partially independent organizations like the Adventurers’ Guild, so those who hunted in Dungeons and Devil’s Nests were apparently simply referred to as ‘Hunters.’ At meetings with the town’s mayor and representatives from each race, Hunters would be evaluated on their skills and ranked from Class 1 to 5, and their Class would determine which Dungeons and Devil’s Nests they could enter.

However, Job-changing rooms were a necessity, so there was one in the town as well as in each race’s settlement.

Vandalieu had already informed Darcia and the others in the Demon Empire of Vidal and in Alcrem of the events on the Demon King’s Continent and in Gartland.

He could have returned to either and used a Job-changing room there, but he had decided to use the one in Gartland to commemorate his arrival.

“Well, Job-changing rooms are the same everywhere,” he said to himself as he touched the crystal ball.

《Jobs that can be selected: Dark King Mage, Fallen Warrior, Insect Ninja, Destruction Guider, Chaos Guider, Hollow King Mage, Eclipse Cursecaster, Demon Ruler, Creator, Pale Rider, Tartarus, Wild Spirit, Dark Battery Cannoneer, Magic Staff Creator, Soul Fighter, God Destroyer, Qliphoth, Dark Beast User, Spirit Therapist, Artisan: Transformation Equipment, Hollow Shadow Caster, Balor, Apollyon, Demigorgon, Great Demon King, Soul Devourer, God Devourer, Nergal, Ravana, Shaitan, Chi You, God Spirit Mage, Ouroboros, Rudra (NEW!), Blood Ruler (NEW!), Demon Electricity User (NEW)!》

“There are even more new ones,” Vandalieu murmured.

‘Rudra’… What was that? Vandalieu had heard it somewhere before. ‘Blood Ruler’ was likely a Job related to the ‘Blood Rule’ Skill that had awaked from ‘Bloodwork.’ As for ‘Demon Electricity user’… he didn’t know. It couldn’t possibly be because he had devoured Radatel’s soul.

Vandalieu decided to ask the gods of Earth about ‘Rudra’ at the next opportunity he got to visit Earth.

“Well then, I select ‘Destruction Guider,’” he said.

《You have changed Jobs to ‘Destruction Guider!’》

《The Levels of the ‘Self-Regeneration: Cannibalism,’ ‘Augmented Attribute Values: Cannibalism,’ ‘Strengthened Attribute Values when Enveloped in a Soul,’ ‘Transcend Limits: Fragments,’ and ‘Surpass Limits: Soul’ Skills have increased!》

《You have acquired the ‘Guidance: Destruction Path’ and ‘Destruction Path Enticement’ Skills!》

《‘Guidance: Destruction Path’ has combined with ‘Guidance: Dark Dream Demon Creation Path’ and become ‘Guidance: Dark Dream Demon Creation Destruction Path!’》

《‘Destruction Path Enticement’ has combined with ‘Dark Dream Demon Creation Path Enticement’ and become ‘Dark Dream Demon Creation Destruction Path Enticement!’》

Name: Vandalieu Zakkart
Race: Dhampir (Mother: Goddess)
Age: 11 years old
Title: Ghoul Emperor, Eclipse Emperor, Guardian of the Cultivation Villages, Holy Son of Vida, Scaled Emperor, Tentacle Emperor, Champion, Demon King, Oni Emperor, Trial Conqueror, Transgressor, Black Blood Emperor, Elder Dragon Emperor, Food Cart King, Genius Tamer, True Ruler of the Red-light District, Patron Saint of Transformation Equipment
Job: Destruction Guider
Level: 0
Job history: Death-Attribute Mage, Golem Transmuter, Undead Tamer, Soul Breaker, Venom Fist User, Insect User, Tree Caster, Demon Guider, Archenemy, Zombie Maker, Golem Creator, Corpse Demon Commander, Demon King User, Dark Guider, Labyrinth Creator, Creation Guider, Dark Healer, Disease Demon, Magic Cannoneer, Spirit Warrior, Bestower, Dream Guider, Demon King, Demiurge, Whip Tongue Calamity, Divine Enemy, Dead Spirit Mage, String User, Great Demon King, Vengeful Berserker
Attributes:
Vitality: 577,752 (Increased by 2,061!)
Mana: 8,940,478,230 (+8,046,430,407) (Increased by 808,900,411 in total!)
Strength: 59,631 (Increased by 749!)
Agility: 52,968 (Increased by 217!)
Stamina: 63,430 (Increased by 950!)
Intelligence: 68,171 (Increased by 678!)
Passive skills:
Monstrous Strength: Level 6
Super Rapid Regeneration: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
Dark King Magic: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)
Status Effect Immunity
Magic Resistance: Level 9
Dark Vision
Dark Dream Demon Creation Destruction Path Enticement: Level 9 (Combined with Destruction Path Enticement!)
Chant Revocation: Level 9
Guidance: Dark Dream Demon Creation Destruction Path: Level 9 (Combined with Guidance: Destruction Path!)
Constant Mana Recovery: Level 2
Super Strengthen Subordinates: Level 3
Deadly Venom Secretion (Claws, Fangs, Tongue): Level 4
Strengthened Agility: Level 9
Body Expansion (Tongue): Level 10
Augmented Attack Power while Unarmed: Small
Strengthened Body Part (Hair, Claws, Tongue, Fangs): Level 10
Demon Thread Refining: Level 1
Mana Enlargement: Level 9
Increased Mana Recovery Rate: Level 9
Strengthened Attack Power while activating a Magic Cannon: Very Large
Augmented Vitality: Level 2
Strengthened Attribute Values: Reigning: Level 6
Strengthened Attribute Values: worshiped: Level 3
Strengthened Attribute Values: Demon Empire of Vidal: Level 1
Self-Regeneration: Cannibalism: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
Augmented Attribute Values: Cannibalism: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
Strengthened Attribute Values when Enveloped in a Soul: Medium (LEVEL UP!)
Active skills:
Blood Rule: Level 1
Transcend Limits: Level 8
Golem Creation: Level 7
Hollow King Magic: Level 6
Precise Mana Control: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
Cooking: Level 8
Divine Alchemy: Level 1 (Awakened from Alchemy!)
Soul Destruction Fighting Technique: Level 5
Greater Multi-cast: Level 4
Surgery: Level 8
Embodiment: Level 4
Coordination: Level 10
Super High-speed Thought Processing: Level 6
Commanding: Level 10
Thread-reeling: Level 8
Throwing: Level 10
Scream: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)
God Spirit Magic: Level 2
Demon King Artillery Technique: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
Armor Technique: Level 10
Shield Technique: Level 10
Shadow Group Binding Technique: Level 7
Transcend Limits: Fragments: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!))
Spirit Therapy: Level 1
Whip Technique: Level 3
Spirit Form Transformation: Lightning
Staff Technique: Level 2
High-speed Flight: Level 1
Unique skills:
God Devourer: Level 8
Deformed Multiple Souls
Mental Encroachment: Level 9
Labyrinth Creation: Level 5
Great Demon King
Abyss: Level 10
Divine Enemy
Soul Devour: Level 9
Vida’s Divine Protection
Earth’s Gods’ Divine Protection
Group Thought Processing: Level 7
Zantark’s Divine Protection
Group Control: Level 7
Soul Form: Level 4
Demon King’s Demon Eyes
Origin’s Gods’ Divine Protection
Ricklent’s Divine Protection
Zuruwarn’s Divine Protection
Perfect Record Technique
Surpass Limits: Soul: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!)
Mutation Induction
Demon King’s Body
Demigod
Curses
Experience gained in previous life not carried over
Cannot learn existing jobs
Unable to gain experience independently

The upcoming battles were likely to be fierce ones, so Vandalieu picked the first ‘Guider’ Job on the list, as these Jobs seemed like they gave large increases to Attribute Values.

“I’ve already registered at the Adventurers’ Guild, so I don’t need to worry about my Status anymore. Still… the Skills whose Levels increased seem to be the ones that give me a hard time, like ‘Cannibalism’ and ‘Transcend Limits: Fragments.’”

The ‘Destruction Guider’ Job’s effects seemed to be as ominous as its title.

“Well, whatever,” Vandalieu told himself as he left the Job-changing room.

Title explanation:

Black Blood Emperor

The Title of an emperor with black blood. It provides bonuses to the creation of Blood Potions and to mutating or transforming living things with one’s blood.

Vandalieu is the only one in history to acquire this Title; it is a Title that is essentially for him alone.

Title explanation:

Elder Dragon Emperor

The title of an emperor of Elder Dragons. It is normally a Title that people give themselves, and acquiring it as a true Title that gods would refer to one by is impossible.

Even if it were possible, it would only be given to someone who was recognized and given the Title by a particularly powerful Elder Dragon.

Thus, this Title can be considered to be for Vandalieu alone, and it was granted to him by Tiamat.

Anyone who opposes one who holds this Title must be prepared to also oppose Tiamat and the Elder Dragons that serve her.

Job explanation:

Vengeful Berserker

A Job that can be acquired by someone who has acquired the ‘Scream’ Skill and has reached a certain Level with it. It provides a bonus to the ‘Scream’ Skill, and also makes it easier to acquire Skills such as ‘Singing.’ In Vandalieu’s case, his lack of singing talent is so great that it cannot be made up for even with such a bonus, but he has become more proficient in producing sound effects.

It provides bonuses to Strength and Stamina, as these are needed to project one’s voice, but little to Agility. As a standalone Job, it is quite a questionable choice.

The superior form of the Job, Rudra, exists, but this Job cannot be acquired without strength approaching the realm of demigods (upper-A-class adventurers or S-class adventurers in the case of humans).