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Chapter 45 - Chapter 045

Chapter 72: The Danger of Directly Linking to the Cosmic Root

"Hm? What's this?"

A sudden change rippled across the battlefield.

Beneath the feet of the seventy-two demon gods, a magic circle emerged. At first glance, it resembled the one Solomon had just summoned—but upon closer inspection, subtle differences came into focus.

This circle was trying to drag the demons away… Could it be that Solomon had reached his limit?

"Another summoning."

Odin, seasoned in the arcane arts, immediately saw through it.

Someone else was attempting to summon the seventy-two demon gods, seeking to snatch them away.

Could it be Belial, Lord of Hell?

No… not him. It was someone from Heaven.

"Heh, things are getting interesting."

Zeus chuckled quietly.

Solomon had once been revered as the child of the divine—surely he would hold Heaven in deep respect. Yet now, in his gaze, there was no reverence. Only detachment.

Oh?

Solomon surged with power, overlaying another magic circle atop the existing one.

Was this a magical tug-of-war for control over the demon gods?

A mere human body could never withstand such overwhelming force.

What was Solomon hiding?

CRACK!

The two magic circles collided like panes of glass pressed together and shattered.

And the seventy-two demons remained on the arena floor.

So then… the master?

"Wait—!!"

Odin rose to his feet in shock.

"What's wrong, Master?"

"What happened?!"

His ravens lost balance on his shoulders, flapping wildly as they questioned him.

Something had shaken Odin to his core.

"That man… he's completely insane!"

Odin's voice was low, incredulous.

He had discerned the source of Solomon's seemingly limitless magic—it was limitless. Thanks to that one sip from the Well of Wisdom he'd traded an eye for, Odin grasped the horrifying truth in an instant.

Even without divine wisdom, one would eventually notice if they stared long enough:

Solomon's power came directly from the Root of All Creation—the primordial wellspring that fuels the universe.

Yes, many gods tap into this source, but only from the ambient energies leaked across time and space.

What Solomon had done was different. Unthinkable.

He had torn open a conduit inside his own body, directly linking himself to the origin itself.

No god dared attempt this.

It was madness.

🧠 Wisdom and Madness Collide

To illustrate, Odin offered a comparison.

Imagine a water tank. At its base is a faucet. The higher the water level, the greater the pressure when released.

If you expanded the tank, filled it to the brim, and kept the same faucet, the pressure would increase further.

Eventually, the faucet might rupture under the strain.

Like a dam bulging with pressure—one crack leads to another, until the whole thing bursts.

Solomon's body was that faucet. A fragile conduit channeling the raw power of the cosmos.

The more he used, the greater the risk of collapse. The Root's force would widen the wound, increasing the flow until he was consumed by it entirely.

Even if it didn't happen immediately, the threat loomed constantly.

Yes, he could use that power limitlessly for now. But he wasn't invincible.

The human vessel could only handle so much. The moment he tried to unleash the kind of energy needed to annihilate a supreme god—it would destroy him first.

Still… even a fraction of that output was enough to rival the mightiest of deities.

Odin felt a shiver run through him. He wasn't sure he could defeat Solomon now.

"This is—!!"

"Lord Zeus, have you figured it out too?"

Hermes furrowed his brow as he spoke. He'd noticed Odin's startled reaction and saw Zeus staring intently at Solomon as if deciphering a puzzle.

Eventually, Zeus stood up as well, astonished.

"Keep watching. You'll understand soon. This human… is beyond extraordinary. He has done what even gods fear to attempt."

With that, Zeus sat back down slowly, awe overtaking his expression.

This battle promised to be far more spectacular than the first.

On the opposing side stood Beelzebub, eerily calm amid the ring of demon gods. Clearly, he was concealing some kind of trump card.

"Well, then," Zeus said, his voice clear and resonant, reaching everyone present.

"What say you all now? Does Solomon still lack the qualifications to command the seventy-two demon gods?"

Those who had voiced doubts earlier now fumbled their words or fell completely silent.

"Then let the final battle between gods and man… resume."

As Zeus spoke, an unsettling laugh escaped his lips—one that sounded less divine and more like something dragged from the bowels of Hell.

With that, the divine energy enclosing the arena receded.

The demon gods encircling Beelzebub erupted in murderous intent. The air pulsed with their hunger. They didn't want a swift kill—they wanted him to suffer.

Bal stepped forward, claw aimed at Beelzebub's eyes.

But Beelzebub remained unflinching, and casually tapped his crystalline staff.

In an instant, Bal's claw twisted unnaturally. It was as if he'd struck an invisible wall. The recoil snapped his arm, sending him flying backward.

Even those who hadn't attacked were blown away by some unseen force.

"What… just happened?"

"All seventy-two demon gods were repelled?"

"How can seventy-two beings fail against one man?!"

The divine spectators couldn't help but jeer.

But the majority were baffled. What had Beelzebub done to repel such a force?

A closer look revealed cracks radiating from the ground around Beelzebub—each fissure aimed directly at one of the demon gods.

"Brunhild, what's going on? I couldn't sense any magic being cast."

"It's not magic," Brunhild replied darkly. "It's pure, physical vibration."

Beelzebub had manipulated the battlefield with raw kinetic force.

And now… he was ready to strike.

He soared toward Solomon in a blur so fast it resembled teleportation.

His hand formed a blade, slicing downward.

Solomon didn't move. It was as though he hadn't reacted at all.

The hand strike landed—with enough force to cleave stone like tofu.

Had it landed on a person, they would have been torn in two.

But…

"What?"

"That should have hit!"

"How did it miss? It's like the distance was wrong…"

Something was off.

Beelzebub's arm hadn't shortened. The visuals were perfectly normal. But the attack fell short, inexplicably.

He tried to retreat. He leapt back—

And landed in the same spot.

It was as if space itself had rejected his motion.

There had been no frame drop, no distortion—it all looked eerily natural.

As he knelt in confusion, Solomon raised his hand toward him.

BANG!

Beelzebub flew like a cannonball into the far wall of the arena.

A stunned silence fell over the crowd.

Beelzebub had attacked—but had been repelled instead, just like Bal.

"I see now," Beelzebub muttered, staggering to his feet.

"You've altered the spatial extensiveness."

He had finally understood Solomon's magic.

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