After hearing about the tragic experiences of Shadow Three, Mike struggled to keep himself from bursting into laughter. To avoid any unpleasantness with his new ‘bodyguard’, Mike gestured politely, “Please head back to the Forest of Truth first.”
“I’ll return with Cedric. There’s something I need to discuss with Apollo,” Mike said earnestly.
“Understood.” Shadow Three nodded and then vanished into the abyss.
Mike turned to Shadow Four and nodded in acknowledgment, “I’ll need you to temporarily handle the day-to-day operations inside Guardian Shadow.”
Shadow Four didn’t object, “No worries, Shadow Nine doesn’t usually handle these things anyway. It’s mostly me and Shadow Five taking care of them.”
“Thanks a lot,” Mike appreciated.
“Fourth Bro, no need to be so formal,” Shadow Four replied.
With no further business, Shadow Four also took his leave.
Technically speaking, aside from Shadow Nine, Shadow Four was the strongest human in Guardian Shadow. Back when he was alive, he even had a fair chance of reaching the Ultimate Lord status.
Now, as a part of Guardian Shadow, surviving in this manner, reaching level 988 was nearly his limit!
Unless his damaged soul could be restored and reborn, Shadow Four had no chance of becoming an Ultimate Lord. This touched on the secrets of becoming a god. A being with a flawed soul daring to cross the threshold of a Quasi-God would face annihilation!
After Shadow Four’s departure, Mike’s expression turned cold. Clearly, his mood wasn’t as light as it appeared.
Shadow Nine had deceived Apollo and him. Shadow Nine had done all this to buy Apollo and Mike ten years.
This plan couldn’t be delayed any longer. If it were, Mike would reach level 500, and the Supreme Abyssal would commence normally, ruining Shadow Nine’s plans.
Mike’s feelings were complex. Logically, he should be grateful. The ten years Shadow Nine had secured for him were incredibly precious.
If used wisely, facing the Supreme Demon God, humanity might even turn defeat into victory! At the very least, not having to worry about the Supreme Demon God for ten years removed the biggest threat to a potential Supreme Being.
Shadow Nine hadn’t forgotten his duty and continued to protect humanity’s potential Supreme Being.
“Let’s head back,” Mike said coldly and turned to leave.
Cedric led the way, with Maxen accompanying Mike, all three walking in silence. Along the way, Maxen seemed eager yet hesitant to ask a question, fearing Mike might take advantage of him.
“Just ask,” Mike chuckled, “Between us, asking questions doesn’t cost a thing.”
Hearing this, Maxen was almost moved to tears. What a relief! Asking questions didn’t cost anything! He hurriedly asked, “What did the letter Shadow Nine left for you say?”
Mike shook his head, “I can’t answer that.”
Just as Maxen’s disappointment peaked, Mike added, “But I can let you read the letter yourself.”
“That would be great!”
“Need to pay extra though.”
Maxen: …
“Just kidding.” Before Maxen could even offer a price, Mike handed him the letter. “Remember to give it back after reading.”
Maxen watched Mike walk away, then looked at the ‘free’ letter in his hand. Was this really the Mike he knew? A perfect opportunity to make money, and he just let it slide? Was Shadow Nine’s departure such a blow to him?
Maxen opened the envelope and saw… a blank piece of paper. He silently folded the paper back into the envelope. By doing this, Shadow Nine had left Mike a significant amount of authority.
Whatever Mike wanted to do, he could simply claim it was arranged by Shadow Nine to easily convince others. Even though Shadow Nine had moved on to the Supreme Abyssal, his name still held considerable influence.
Maxen caught up with Mike, just in time to hear his conversation with Cedric. “Immortal Cedric, can’t you help me check on Shadow Three?”
“I can pay, whatever money Maxen has, I can give it to you!” Mike declared earnestly.
Hearing this, Cedric waved his hand dismissively, “The so-called ‘non-interference among Supreme Beings’ is actually nonsense. The real reason is, I’m too lazy to bother, so I pretend not to see.”
Mike: …
Brutal!
“Alright then,” Mike resignedly spread his hands, “At least point me in the right direction.” Cedric wasn’t interested in meddling in these minor skirmishes, but Mike really couldn’t rest easy about Shadow Three. Without checking, he felt uneasy.
After some thought, Cedric seriously suggested, “Generally, I buy some information at the Mystic Market.”
Mike: ???
Mystic Market, they offer that kind of service?
With Cedric’s guidance, Mike had a new lead to follow regarding Shadow Three.
“Thank you, just escort me back to the Tower of Truth.”
“Sure.”
As the sun set, the sun clung desperately to the horizon, casting its last rays across the land.
Outside the ninety-ninth floor of the Tower of Truth, a young man sitting on a ‘magic carpet’ watched the sunset. Half his face was shrouded in shadow, silent for a long time.
Inside the ninety-ninth floor, it was also silent.
As the sun finally disappeared from the land, a sigh echoed in Mike’s ears. “Sigh.”
Hearing Apollo’s sigh, Mike sat on Nightmare’s Breeze. After a while, he finally spoke, “Please, how strong is the Supreme Demon God really?”
Mike didn’t ask Shadow Nine why he wanted to go to the Supreme Abyssal. These questions,
once Mike was strong enough, he could find out the answers himself.
How strong was the final boss, the Supreme Demon God? Mike was more curious about this
question.
And the answer to this question, only three people in the world knew.
From the tower, Apollo’s voice came, “Level 2000.”
Mike: ???
Third Bro, did you get that wrong? Can we go over that again?
“Level 2000?” Mike frowned, puzzled.
He pressed on, “Does that mean a Supreme Being holding a Supreme Mark can break the level
1000 cap?”
“No,” Apollo thought for a moment, wanting to be precise, “At least Morpheus, Ares, and I
can’t.”
Mike could only console himself that the Supreme Demon God sealed by the Tower of Truth only had 50% of his source. That meant 50% of level 2000 was still level 1000!
Apollo’s next statement shattered Mike’s illusion, “The sealed Supreme Demon God still has
level 2000.”
Mike was close to having a breakdown. If 50% of the Supreme Demon God was level 2000, then a fully-powered Supreme Demon God would be level 4000? And yet, the level cap for human Supreme Beings was fixed at 1000, with no chance to grow stronger.
What to do now?
Mike was silent for five minutes. Then he spoke again, “So… does the Supreme Demon God have any weaknesses, or maybe he’s incredibly weak, unable to beat even a level 1000?”
Apollo always answered questions seriously. He replied, “No, he doesn’t.”
Mike’s verdict: Might as well not have answered.
Mike was going crazy. He wanted to shake Apollo by the shoulders and tell him, “Third Bro,
you could at least lie to me!”
The strength of the Supreme Demon God was beyond Mike’s imagination. Or perhaps, this was an impossible task from the start.
Mike, still not giving up, went straight to the point, “So how can we kill the Supreme Demon
God, or at least completely seal and suppress him?”
“It’s impossible to harm the Supreme Demon God. Sealing and suppressing, this tower is already the limit,” Apollo explained patiently, “Or rather, any effective attack on the Supreme Demon God affects his level.”
Mike understood! Others lose health when hit; the Supreme Demon God loses levels when hit!
There’s a chance!
Hope sparked in Mike’s eyes as he muttered to himself, “So, if the initial 50% of the Supreme Demon God was level 2000, after fighting with Big Bro and Second Bro, what level is he now?”
“Big Bro, Second Bro?” Apollo was confused.
When did Mike have other brothers? He wasn’t aware.
Mike cleared his throat, “Ahem, you heard wrong, I meant Morpheus and Ares, the two
Supreme Beings.”
Apollo was serious, “I didn’t hear wrong.”
Mike sincerely apologized, “Sorry, my mistake, I misspoke.”
Ignoring this minor hiccup, Apollo continued, “After fighting Morpheus, the Supreme Demon
God dropped from level 2000 to 1999.”
Mike: …
One Supreme Being took off one level from the boss. The boss has 2000 levels. Humanity needs 2000 Supreme Beings to kill the Supreme Demon God?!