Chapter 81: "I… am Satan!"
Everyone was stunned. They all understood that Prajna wanted to kill Beelzebub—but seeing it unfold in such a savage manner still struck like lightning.
Prajna plunged his hand directly into Beelzebub's chest and tore out his heart—still pulsing, arteries dangling.
"Um… so what now? How does this god-versus-human finale even count anymore?"
"You idiot. Is this really the time to be fussing over rules?"
Some gods still worried about combat outcomes—only to be harshly scolded by their peers. At this point, they were no longer spectators… they were potential victims.
Beelzebub's fate, however, was seen as poetic justice. He'd meddled in resurrection, defying nature with monstrous experiments.
Now, he was the one being devoured.
"Oops. My bad—I promised you a merciful death. Guess I lied."
Prajna smiled wickedly, squeezing the still-beating heart.
There was no way he'd give Beelzebub an easy death.
Yes, Beelzebub had enabled Prajna's resurrection. But to dare command him, control him? That was unforgivable.
This wouldn't be a clean kill—it would be a slow, painful annihilation.
"But technically, I wasn't lying. You will die 'happily'… as long as I'm enjoying it."
He pressed a fingertip into the heart. Beelzebub convulsed violently—yet somehow held back any screams.
No matter. Prajna would make him scream soon enough.
Just as he prepared to inflict more agony—
"Heh… So it's finally ready to emerge? Then let's die together, you and I."
What?
Beelzebub's expression changed.
His once weary, surrendering gaze now burned with fierce hunger. But it wasn't desperation—it was craving. Craving for Prajna.
What was going on?
"Hmm? What is this?!"
From the heart in Prajna's grasp sprang dozens of thread-like roots, weaving up his arm with unnatural speed.
It was trying to devour him.
"Hahahaha! You think you can eat me? What do you think you—"
The words died in his throat. Prajna's expression froze.
He attempted to counter-devour—but found himself facing unimaginable resistance.
He panicked.
He tried exorcising the presence—but couldn't stop it.
Without hesitation, he severed his own arm, hoping to cut off the infection. For a moment, he nearly exhaled in relief—
But the heart surged again, vomiting out even more tendrils.
They wrapped around his entire body.
Prajna could feel it now—everything he was, all of him, was being consumed.
Chapter 82: Shadowed by Seventy-Two Demon Gods
What was happening?
The sudden shift confused everyone.
That Prajna would renege on a promise and slaughter Beelzebub wasn't surprising—he hardly seemed like a creature of honor.
No one pitied Beelzebub. They saw his downfall as well-earned.
But this reversal defied all expectations.
Instead of being tortured, Beelzebub's extracted heart had morphed. Its tendrils wrapped around Prajna's hand, then swiftly drove him to amputate it in terror.
Was Prajna actually afraid?
Apparently so. Severing his arm hadn't helped. The tendrils burst forth again, slithering over his body like super-length earthworms burrowing into flesh.
The sheer volume of wriggling limbs—burrowing, multiplying—was enough to fry the psyche.
This duel had morphed into a gallery of nightmare fuel.
"Get out! Get out of my body—get away from me!"
Prajna screamed, violently ripping at the tendrils.
But the faster he tore them, the faster they multiplied.
"You dare try and devour me?!"
Was Beelzebub turning the tables?
"His heart is too bizarre…"
"It's like… a separate organism entirely."
"Wait a second…"
Someone's eyes widened in realization.
"Could this be the Curse of Satan?"
Beelzebub had long been linked to such rumors—his cursed heart supposedly doomed all who came near.
"Lord Hades—what is Satan's Curse?"
Ares, the god of war, asked urgently.
Even Prajna, who had once brought the Underworld to its knees, now cowered before this heart?
"I don't know," Hades answered grimly.
But the signs were growing stronger.
Beelzebub… was no longer Beelzebub. His essence had changed—something primal and terrifying had taken root.
Could a shift in personality truly result in such monstrous power?
The secret lay in his heart.
It wasn't just alive—it might be something else entirely.
And it was overpowering Prajna.
So Beelzebub's wish—to complete the resurrection and control Prajna—was now beyond reach.
"Damn it, damn it—DAMN that filthy worm! If it weren't for the soul-bound ritual placed on me at the start, I would've crushed you!"
Prajna roared in fury.
Soul ritual?
Hades let out a bitter laugh.
Beelzebub's obsession… had ultimately served another master.
"Lord Hades…"
Ares was trembling now—not just from the terror unfolding in the arena, but from the raw fury radiating off Hades himself.
The god of death was enraged.
Then—his divine weapon appeared in his hand.
But he didn't strike. Not yet.
He wanted to see what Solomon would do.
If Solomon failed to contain the disaster, Hades would personally wipe the monster from existence.
"Bastard…"
Hades muttered, seeing a flicker in Beelzebub's eyes: rage… and despair.
Beelzebub's soul was still trapped inside—aware of the failure, struggling to reclaim control, and utterly helpless.
"You called me trash? Who do you think you're talking to?"
"Who else?! You twisted, manipulative worm—you cursed scum!"
Prajna screamed…
And then screamed louder.
His heart was being devoured.
"Then become part of me."
As Beelzebub uttered those cruel words, the tendrils engulfed Prajna entirely—his skin now completely obscured.
Before anyone could blink, the shape began to shrink. Compressed.
The tendrils slurped inward like ramen noodles, snapping back into the heart.
Prajna was gone. Utterly consumed.
The heart—twisted, monstrous—returned to Beelzebub's open chest cavity.
And sealed itself.
Thump. Thump.
Everyone heard it. The heartbeat.
It came from Beelzebub.
He was laughing. Quietly. But his body was changing.
The elegant man once known as Beelzebub now morphed into something brutal and volcanic—muscles sharp as granite.
On his head grew horns—more than just two. They multiplied and curved, branching like deer antlers.
Black wings exploded from his back.
Eighteen total.
Half were feathered. Half were leathery, bat-like.
A skeletal tail extended from his spine—razor-sharp along its edges.
This was a form no one had ever seen.
And it horrified everyone.
"I… am Satan."
He declared it.