“Five minutes later, Poseidon was having serious regrets. He stared at the mountain of paperwork and Thor’s ever-growing list of fees.
“Hold it!” Poseidon cried, stopping the madness. At this rate, he’d be working *for* Thor! *Who’s trying to be the demon god here?*
“Scrap all that. Give me a total price!”
“Fine.” Mike readily agreed. “How about the penalty clause? Cash, card, or Mystic Market credit?”
Poseidon: “.”
“Thor, I haven’t even *signed* anything!!”
Missing out on that sweet penalty fee irked Mike. But Poseidon was a God, and Mike had to maintain a semblance of professionalism.
“Alright, let’s recalculate…”
Finally, Mike presented a reasonable offer: “5 million Lord merits. Take it or leave it.”
“Deal.” Poseidon, fearing a price hike, agreed instantly. “My Mystic Market account’s a bit low. I’ll pay in Truth Gold Coins.”
Mike: ???
So many things wrong with that sentence! Poseidon, a God living the high life in the Temple of Truth, had a *Mystic Market account*? The Mystic Market’s reach extended to the Temple? Foreskin was a business genius.
As for Truth Gold Coins… with the “Broke” debuff, Mike couldn’t touch them!
“Deposit the coins, then transfer the merits. How about that?”
“I suppose…” Poseidon frowned. “The deposit fees are rather steep right now… Never mind, I’ll cover it.”
The Mystic Market, a human enterprise, prided itself on fairness. Even in the Temple of Truth, Foreskin maintained this principle. However, human fairness was… *more fair* for humans. Gods like Poseidon could buy items at fair prices, no funny business! But depositing Lord merits incurred hefty fees.
Normally, 5 million Lord merits would cost 100,000 in fees. But during a supreme power era, the Mystic Market doubled its fees as a “special promotion.” Mike’s simple suggestion had just netted the Mystic Market a cool 200,000 Lord merits!
Putting aside Poseidon’s fee woes, Mike continued, “I agree to the demon god thing, but you’ll have to convince the others yourself.”
Poseidon nodded. “Understood.” He’d done his homework. He’d already discreetly contacted a human Ultimate Lord, learning that Thor held the key. Only with Thor’s approval could his plan succeed. That’s why Poseidon was willing to negotiate.
“Good. One more thing.” Mike pointed at Poseidon’s massive form. “I need to kill you eight times. I’m not a fan of god-slaying. I have the utmost *respect* for Gods…”
Poseidon: ???
*Respect?*
*Seriously?*
Thor had personally offed more than one of Poseidon’s daughters! This was clearly another ploy for more money.
Poseidon was numb. “Fine, eight times. Name your price.” He added, “I swear, as a demon god, I won’t be hostile to humanity. I’ll even serve you.”
“Save the jokes for later.” Mike waved off the offer.
Gods in the Temple were bound by the rules of Truth. Demon gods in the Abyss were unbound, answerable to no one but Supreme Beings. And after the recent purge, the weakest demon god was level 999. Reaching 1000 meant even Supreme Beings would think twice! And a level 1000 demon god could ascend to the Heavenly Realm at any time, escaping this whole
mess.
The seventh and eighth demon gods couldn’t leave because their power-ups were gifts from the Supreme Demon God, who kept them on a tight leash.
Ares and Morpheus were out of commission, and Apollo wouldn’t interfere. The role of demon gods had changed.
The Ninth Demon God’s loyalty as a mole wasn’t to humanity, but to Shadow Nine. As long as Shadow Nine lived, the Ninth would play along.
As for Poseidon? His loyalty was dubious.
Seeing Thor’s skepticism, Poseidon conceded, “Name your price. But be reasonable. Funds are tight.” The more he dealt with Thor, the safer he felt. Thor was just greedy, not malicious. He wouldn’t dare make such demands of the previous three Supreme Beings.
“I have a question,” Mike said, surprisingly not asking for money. “You knew I was a
potential Supreme Being since I entered the Tower, right?”
Poseidon nodded. “You’re like a beacon to us Gods.” Even without seeing Thor’s true face, recognizing a potential Supreme Being was easy for a God.
Mike knew this was likely due to the Supreme Mark.
“Then I’m confused.” Mike frowned. “If you knew I was humanity’s potential Supreme Being, and that humanity had a Supreme Being watching over me, why antagonize me from the
start?”
His interactions with Poseidon had been far from pleasant.
But Poseidon wasn’t hot-headed. He was pragmatic. Why would he offend a potential
Supreme Being with a powerful backer?
Poseidon was taken aback. “You seriously don’t know?”
Mike shook his head. That’s why he was asking.
“Thor, your survival is either incredibly lucky or incredibly calculated…” Poseidon paused, his expression shifting. He glanced upwards. No one intervened, so he could speak. He had to
answer.
With unusual nervousness, Poseidon lowered his voice. “The forbidden one swore an oath on the source of Truth…”
*Supreme Demon God?*
Mike was stunned. *What’s he got to do with this?* Why an oath?
Poseidon swallowed hard, finishing the sentence, “He said, if humanity’s potential Supreme Being dies, he’ll never emerge.”
…
Anyone could make threats. But the weight of those threats depended on the speaker. Mike was in a tough spot. The being making this threat… was incredibly powerful.
The Supreme Demon God, the only known being above level 1000. Even at 50% power, he was a terrifying level 2000 force!
He’d crippled Morpheus and Ares, forced Shadow Nine and Calderon into a desperate gamble… His power was beyond comprehension. And his threats carried immense weight.
Mike, surprisingly calm, analyzed the situation. “This must be true. Poseidon wouldn’t risk
it…”
“This oath,” Mike asked casually, “wasn’t made recently, was it?”
“Indeed.” Poseidon confirmed Mike’s suspicion. “When your first Supreme Being emerged, the forbidden one awoke and made this promise. The oath echoed throughout the Temple, manifested by the rules of Truth. Every God knows of it.”
Poseidon realized he’d underestimated Thor. While seemingly weaker than the previous three potential Supreme Beings, Thor’s personality and methods made him a force to be reckoned with. Thor, Poseidon now believed, would be the Temple’s biggest headache, far more disruptive than the previous three.
Mike’s expression grew grim. “So, the Supreme Demon God meant that if Morpheus killed
Ares, he wouldn’t emerge?”
“Correct. The oath is eternally binding.”
Mike fell silent. Longer than usual. This wasn’t a casual oath in Shadow Nine’s name. This was
sworn on the source of Truth. The Supreme Demon God *had* to abide by it. And its eternal nature meant every generation of Supreme Beings faced a choice: who lives, who dies? Before Apollo ascended, killing him would have been trivial for Ares. A Supreme Being at their peak was truly invincible.
But Ares, a swordsman with a strong moral compass, would rather face the Supreme Demon God than harm a fellow human. The same logic applied to Apollo and Thor!
If Apollo didn’t want to fight the Supreme Demon God, he could simply kill Thor! The
Supreme Demon God would be bound by his oath, trapped in the Supreme Abyssal. Apollo could kill every potential Supreme Being, preventing the final confrontation forever.
A chill ran down Mike’s spine. He remembered Shadow Nine’s warning before leaving for the Abyss: *Don’t be alone with Apollo.*
Back then, Mike thought it was because Apollo’s presence was too overwhelming. Now, he realized the horrifying truth. Shadow Nine feared for his life! That’s why, upon returning, Shadow Nine was relieved to find Mike alive after meeting Apollo. He never mentioned it
again.
The chilling truth was a close call. Since Apollo hadn’t killed him then, he wouldn’t kill him now. Mike could almost understand Apollo’s reasoning: *boring!*
The Supreme Demon God’s oath was a truly insidious attack, preying on their conscience. But Morpheus, Ares, and Apollo weren’t ordinary beings. Such tactics were useless against them. Morpheus and Ares had already answered with their actions. And Mike’s continued survival was, in a way, Apollo’s answer.
But the truth weighed heavily on Mike. He was a potential Supreme Being, the *future* Supreme Being. One day, he would face the Supreme Demon God. When it was his turn to
choose, what would he do?
Right now, Mike could confidently say he wouldn’t harm the next potential Supreme Being. But what about a thousand years from now? Time changed people.
History was full of benevolent rulers who became tyrants in their twilight years. Would Thor, a thousand years from now, make the same choice as this young man today?
A simple flick of the wrist, killing the next potential Supreme Being, would buy humanity a
century of peace. He could even invent noble reasons and excuses to justify his actions. He wouldn’t even have to come up with them himself. Countless others would do it for him. After a long silence, Mike conjured a ball of water and splashed it on his face. “Haa…” He exhaled, as if releasing the darkness within him. His expression lightened.
Poseidon, seeing this, knew Thor had reached a conclusion. He was curious about the answer.
“Did you figure it out?”
“Not yet,” Mike admitted. “There’s no easy solution to this.”
Poseidon was even more confused. “Then why…”
Before he could finish, Thor rubbed his thumb and forefinger together. Questions cost extra.
Poseidon, obliging, waved his hand. A golden ocean surged towards Thor, billions of Truth Gold Coins materializing. The moment the golden tide touched Thor, it turned bronze, transforming the surrounding coins as well!
Thor watched in horror as the bronze spread, his eyes filled with despair!
100 million Truth Gold Coins, gone in under a minute!
Thor, enraged, roared, “Pigdon!”
“It’s Poseidon!” Poseidon roared back, equally furious. “I’ll pay you double!”