Volume One: The Nature of the Devil Never Changes
Arc: The Great Guerrilla War
Scarlet King gazed calmly into the rotating pupils of the Wheel of Rebirth.
"We shall see…"
"We'll see who triumphs—and who ends the other."
"Either I die and am reborn once more, just to continue troubling you…"
"Or I gather every fragment of Ghairamengi darkness—"
"After defeating the golems who stand dangerously close to the level of a Great Emperor… stronger than any entity ranked within the Eleventh Tier of subordinate systems…"
"And then…"
"I destroy you."
Darkness gathered around him.
He did not dress—
He was woven.
The darkness coiled around his body like a living organism.
Black tendrils stitched fabric into existence piece by piece.
First, the coat.
Then the shirt.
Trousers.
Gloves.
Boots.
A military cap.
Finally, a black veil that concealed his entire head.
All of it black.
Dense.
Pulsing faintly.
Alive.
He sat down.
His gaze never left the Wheel.
But it spoke first.
"Oh… it seems you have obtained the left and right Minds of Ghairamengi darkness."
"Impressive progress."
"Let us see if you can gather the remaining fragments."
The eyes began to fade—
Like blank pages drifting through a windless void.
Tian Sha Gongzhu spoke, tension tightening her voice.
"So it's true?"
"You are an enemy of the Twenty-Two Grand Concepts?"
He smiled faintly and raised a finger.
"Yes."
"But I am not merely their enemy…"
"I am the greatest enemy of existence itself."
He continued in an even tone.
"The Classical Existential Dimensions."
"The Inverse Demonic Dimensions."
"The Heaven-Devouring Court under the Great Emperor Devourer of Heaven."
"Wu Kuang—one of the Four Enemies of Existence."
"And I stand among them."
"Alongside Wu Kuang."
He exhaled slowly.
"And the Chaos Clan considers me their enemy as well."
"Every faction has a reason to hate me."
His gaze lifted toward the green sky within the Pearl.
"The Chaos Clan seeks to destroy the Twenty-Two Dimensions…"
"And seize the fragments of Ghairamengi darkness from me."
"The Classical Dimensions despise me for the massacres…"
"And because I shattered a quarter of previous existential eras."
"They also despise me because the Twenty-Two Concepts despise me."
Tian Sha Gongzhu asked quietly, sweat forming along her brow:
"Am I your enemy as well?"
He shrugged indifferently.
"As long as our interests align, you are a temporary ally."
"When that alignment ends…"
"You become a temporary enemy."
His voice turned glacial.
"Do not imagine that because I stand against existence, they will unite."
"No."
"Everyone is an enemy to everyone else."
"There are no permanent allies."
"No permanent enemies."
"There are only… permanent interests."
His tone became analytical, almost detached.
"The Classical Dimensions oppose the Heaven-Devouring Court, the Inverse Dimensions, the Chaos Clan… and me."
"The Heaven-Devouring Court opposes the Classical, the Inverse, the Chaos Clan… and me."
"The Inverse Dimensions oppose the Classical, the Chaos Clan, the Court… and me."
"The Chaos Clan opposes the Classical, the Inverse, the Court… and me."
He paused.
"But they would discard every conflict…"
"If interest demanded it."
"Interest is the only law that never lies."
"Perhaps tomorrow, you may even see me and the Wheel of Rebirth standing as allies."
"For the sake of shared interest."
A faint, cold smile curved his lips.
"As happened during the Demon Extermination Decree."
"When all of existence united to kill the Rebirth Devil."
"That is to say—me."
His voice lowered.
"They abandoned their grudges."
"They united."
"Because interest commanded it."
He stated it clearly:
"Interest… is the law that never lies."
He lifted his head toward the emerald sky of the Pearl and spread his arms.
"Humans move toward eternal interest."
"No matter how they decorate it with words like friendship, love, closeness, or hatred…"
"In the end, those words are masks for interest."
"You love because your heart demands it."
"You befriend because solitude terrifies you."
"You hate because your interests are threatened."
"And all of them—without realizing it—swim in the sea of fate toward destruction."
He exhaled softly.
"Even one who dies for another does not act in purity."
"They act because their conscience cannot bear the weight of cowardice."
"That… is the truth of life."
Suddenly—
Tian Sha Gongzhu moved.
Her blood-forged blade rested against his throat.
"Then I should kill you."
"Before you betray me."
He leaned his cheek against his palm lazily.
"Kill me."
He smiled.
"I will be reborn shortly."
"But you…"
"You will remain trapped inside this Pearl until your death."
"While I remain free outside."
She hesitated.
The blade lingered at his throat.
Moments passed.
Then—
She lowered it.
A cold laugh escaped Scarlet King.
Not amusement.
Not joy.
Contempt.
He stood.
Turned.
Opened a spiraling spatial gate.
"I am leaving the Pearl."
"Are you coming?"
She replied, kneeling:
"I cannot."
"If I release my power outside, the poison will spread through my soul."
"I will remain here… until I recover."
He shrugged.
And stepped through.
Within the spatial corridor—
A violet-blue void stretched endlessly.
Stardust drifted.
Scattered stars shimmered.
He floated forward toward the exit.
Then—
He halted.
Straightened.
And was expelled from the corridor.
He emerged from the Pearl.
Landed softly on the ground.
Brushed dust from his coat.
And looked ahead.
Hybrid.
Shadow.
Playing chess.
His pupils widened in a terrifying manner.
"I ordered you to guard the Pearl."
"Not to play chess."
Shadow trembled.
The pieces scattered.
Both dropped to their knees, smashing their foreheads against the ground.
Hybrid spoke in a distorted voice:
"We apologize, Master… please do not punish us."
Scarlet King sighed.
"If you two did not still possess value…"
"I would have discarded you long ago."
He raised his hand.
"Return to my shadow."
They dissolved instantly.
He began walking slowly.
"I will hunt spirit beasts."
"Gather their cores."
"And search for treasures."