The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 289 Addiction
While Eric and the Old Demon King observed in their spirit forms, Simago stood nearby, even more engrossed in observing the experiment.

Eric's gaze lingered on his face for a moment before he asked the Demon King, "How much soul energy does such a small piece of soul crystal contain?"

“Not much, just a tiny bit,” the Demon King said, then shook his head. “However, this is relative to the endless soul energy within the Thorn Soul Crown. In reality, this amount of soul energy is enough to annihilate you and me.”

Eric was not surprised by the power of this energy, after all, he was present when Sinmagu instigated the Lutia incident.

He turned to look at the purple crystal mountain before him, "With so many soul crystals here, it's enough to destroy the entire continent, isn't it?"

The Demon King glanced at him and said, "You're still far from it."

“Toynbee said this crystal mountain originated from the Thorn Soul Crown.” Eric looked at the translucent purple crystal. “The Thorn Soul Crown is inside?”

The Demon King stared at the Crystal Mountain for a while. "In my time, the soul crystals formed from the energy overflowing from the Thorn Soul Crown were only the size of a fist. Over the years, they have grown to this size."

"Then the energy in the Soul Crown must have been completely drained away?" Eric asked.

The Demon King was silent for a moment before saying, "At the time, I concentrated the collected soul energy into my crown simply so that I could use it whenever I wanted. However, I overlooked the influence of the violent resentment within it on my will. When the soul energy collected in the crown reached a certain level, I could no longer wear the crown, and after that, I only used it as a container to store soul energy."

Eric waited for a while, but the Demon King didn't say anything more, and then he suddenly understood what he meant.

He didn't know either.

The crown was his, but he could no longer touch it, and he would never remember how much soul energy he had collected during the massacre.

"His Majesty says he wants to reclaim his power, surely he doesn't mean to move this Crystal Mountain?" Eric asked.

The Demon King didn't speak, but simply smiled.

At this moment, Simago, who had been observing the demon experimental subjects, suddenly took action.

He reached out and took the purple crystal from the demon woman's chest.

"what--"

The demon woman, who had remained silent until now, suddenly awoke the moment the purple crystal detached from her body. Her eyes widened in fury, and she let out a shriek at Xinmagu.

The purple crystal floated in his palm as Simagu watched it expressionlessly, while the demon woman let out a shrill scream, her voice hoarse and exhausted, before falling completely silent again.

"Dead?" Eric stared for a moment, then his tone became certain. "Dead."

The Demon King merely glanced at it, then looked away and turned his gaze back to Simagu.

He then used both hands to hold the purple crystal in the air, his gaze unwavering, as if he were peering through the crystal and carefully observing its interior.

"The violent resentment has been completely eradicated," the Demon King suddenly said.

Eric glanced at him, and Simmagu seemed to hear his voice. With a flick of his wrist, the purple crystal fell into his palm, then transformed into a wisp of purple smoke, which flew toward his body.

Just then, the Demon King raised his hand, and the wisp of purple smoke suddenly turned and flew into his soul.

Eric and Simmagu were both taken aback.

Eric was somewhat better off; he could see the process of the soul energy merging into the Demon King's body—nothing special, the soul energy flew over, and the Demon King absorbed it, as simple as taking a puff of a cigarette, and his expression was equally content.

But for Xinmagu, this was quite terrifying; from his perspective, the soul energy had vanished into thin air.

"Step back," the Demon King suddenly said, pulling Eric back a few steps.

The air around Simagu seemed to vibrate slightly the next second.

“A soul attack,” the Demon King explained to Eric. “In our current state, you and I have almost no defenses. If attacked, our souls will be damaged.”

He smiled calmly again, "However, the level he has mastered is far too superficial."

"High Priest, what's wrong?" Someone noticed Xinmagu's strange behavior and quickly came over to ask.

The Demon King said to Eric, "Let me show you what a slightly decent soul attack looks like."

After saying that, he raised his hand and pointed at the person who had just come over.

"Ah!" The man suddenly clutched his head, collapsed to the ground, and looked extremely pained.

Xinma Gu was startled again and quickly checked on his condition.

“I’ve seen this before,” Eric said.

The Demon King looked at him and, finding that he didn't seem to be lying, asked, "Where have you seen me before?"

“Just before I teleported here,” Eric said, “that man has been studying souls for many years. I personally witnessed him use a soul attack against the demons who were hunting us, and the effect was similar to this man’s. However, he should now be in the hands of the demons sent by Sinmag to capture him.”

If Rusdy hadn't died, he would have inevitably been sent here. It wouldn't have made much difference whether he fell into the hands of Simago or the old Demon King, but the Demon King didn't care much about humans, so the possibility of escaping from him seemed slightly greater.

The Demon King looked at him for a while, then said, "It seems that humans are becoming quite interesting."

As the two were talking, the man who had fallen had recovered considerably and was telling Simagu about his condition.

"I don't know... I suddenly felt a headache."

Judging from Simago's reaction, Eric guessed that he probably thought that his subconscious attack had gone out of control and hit him.

"Don't come near me unless I call you."

"I understand, High Priest..."

"Go and rest. Have Toynbee send over another test subject."

"Yes, High Priest."

Eric was taken aback. Toynbee was dead; it seemed this matter would soon be exposed.

The Demon King told him not to worry, as the experimental subjects that Simmagu needed would be delivered to his door.

Eric glanced at him. "He's experimenting on His Majesty's people."

The Demon King also looked at him, "Is this rarely seen among you humans?"

Eric didn't say anything more.

After the person left, Xinmagu slowly scanned his surroundings, seemingly still searching for the mysteriously vanished soul energy.

"Ignore him for now," the Demon King said, pointing to the other side. "I sense that there are also several almost pure soul crystals over there."

Eric followed him and indeed saw several soul crystals embedded in the container. Judging from their color, they were almost identical to the one that Sinmag had just been about to absorb. However, the Demon King said that there was still a trace of violent resentment inside that had not been completely cleared away.

"Does His Majesty intend to absorb this?" Eric asked.

The Demon King nodded and continued, "But we must first cleanse the violent resentment inside."

He reached out and covered the crystals, muttering something under his breath. Eric soon saw wisps of black smoke rising from the purple crystals, accompanied by a terrifying wail.

"Is this the final lament of the souls killed by His Majesty?"

"You can understand it that way."

"So the violent resentment in soul energy is actually the will of those dead souls?" Eric continued to ask.

The Demon King shook his head. "If it were just willpower, things would be much simpler. Willpower is easy to erase, but violent resentment is a pure evil thought. It is born from willpower, yet it can persist even after the willpower of the soul has been erased."

As they spoke, the black smoke formed from their violent resentment dissipated into nothingness with their final wails.

“His Majesty seems to have eliminated it quite easily,” Eric said.

“Because he has already done most of the work for me.” The Demon King pointed at Simagu on the other side, then shook his head. “His efficiency is really low.”

Eric said nothing, watching as the Demon King absorbed another crystal, his soul-like body becoming even more energetic.

Then, the Demon King suddenly asked, "Would you like to give it a try?"

Eric was stunned.

"This is pure soul energy, which can strengthen your soul and thus enhance your overall power." The Demon King looked at him. "I have already removed all the impurities from it."

“To be honest, I’m very tempted.” Eric stared at the soul crystals, took a breath, “but I’m more worried…”

Before he could finish speaking, the Demon King waved his hand, and the remaining crystals all turned into wisps of smoke and flew into his body. "Try it and you'll see."

Before Eric could react, he saw the soul energy fly into his soul body. In an instant, he felt more than a hundred times more energetic.

Even in his soul form, he could feel his overall strength increasing.

The experience of entering the soul state becomes even more intense at this moment, with every detail visible to the eye and every sound heard with exquisite detail.

"Can you resist this feeling?" the Demon King's voice rang out. "It's a kind of enhancement that you can perceive yourself. Your soul becomes stronger, your power increases accordingly, you can see more, and what you want to control... also increases."

Eric swallowed, and it took him a while to gradually adjust before he finally shook off the urge to become stronger. The Demon King expressed his feelings at that moment: "Becoming stronger is addictive."

Eric felt a chill run down his spine.

This demon king is like a drug dealer; he made him take a sip without saying a word, and after taking a sip, he actually thought what he said was absolutely right.

But even if such enhancement has no side effects—at least he hasn't felt any yet—he knows he can't get caught up in it: if he wants to continue receiving this enhancement, he has to submit to the Demon King.

“Your Majesty is right, becoming stronger is indeed addictive.” Eric clenched his fist, sensing his soul growing stronger. “But this power doesn’t come from my own efforts, and that makes me uneasy.”

The Demon King opened his mouth, "How pedantic..."

"To put it bluntly, it's because this power depends on His Majesty that I feel uneasy," Eric added.

The Demon King paused for a moment, then said, "This is truly heartbreaking."

Eric really didn't realize it.

“My life depends on you,” the Demon King said, looking at him. “Making you stronger is of great importance to me, and I think you understand why.”

Eric looked down at his soul form. "Will my lifespan be extended as a result?"

“Of course,” the Demon King quickly replied. “However, the enhancement of the soul has a very limited effect on increasing lifespan. Even after Slaughter absorbed so many souls, I only lived for about two hundred years when my second life ended.”

“I would appreciate Your Majesty’s generosity, but let’s leave it at that.” Eric found it difficult to ignore his inner thirst for power, so he had to firmly refuse at this moment.

The Demon King looked at him for a while, "You only need to absorb a little more soul power, and you will be able to enter the next stage."

Eric was taken aback. "What?"

"Your power as a warrior and a believer," the Demon King said.

Eric was startled again. He tried to open the attribute panel to take a look, but found it was locked. However, he understood the Demon King's meaning very clearly.

He was just a hair's breadth away from breaking through to the eighth rank... So this is what it means when the body is strengthened by absorbing soul power.

Since leaving the main battlefield in Lutia, he hasn't gained any experience, and his level has stagnated for a long time.

The simultaneous advancement of both professions to the eighth rank means that his strength will take a leap forward.

“I’ve stated my benefits, Your Majesty. What are your conditions?” Eric looked at the Demon King. “Should I remain here?”

"It seems you've never listened to what I said."

The Demon King shook his head. "I just want you to live, the longer the better. If there's any condition, this is mine: don't die within the next 150 years. I don't want to waste time prolonging my own life."

Eric frowned. "That's all?"

"If you are willing to stay, that would suit my taste even better," the Demon King said calmly.

“I won’t stay.” Eric quickly refused, but that was all he refused.

The Demon King understood his meaning, said nothing, and led him here to continue searching for a soul crystal that had been mostly cleansed of impurities.

A short while later, the Demon King found several crystals on the other side that had more impurities than the previous ones.

Not far away, there were several crystals with even more impurities.

Eric quickly realized, "Could this be something Simagu used for comparison? To see which method is more effective and efficient?"

The Demon King said that Simago had already touched the real threshold, and there was no need to keep what he had learned before.

He used his own methods to remove the violent resentment from these soul crystals. Puffs of black smoke rose up along with the wails of the dead. But perhaps because there were too many impurities, the Demon King, who had always seemed to be handling things with ease, showed signs of strain and even weakness in the process.

Eric suddenly realized that the old demon king in front of him was only in soul form, not in his complete form where soul and body were one.

Just how powerful is the Old Demon King?
"All right."

Having completely removed the violent resentment from the soul crystal, the Demon King waved his hand, and the crystal transformed into pure energy, flying into Eric's soul body.

Experiencing the same feeling again, Eric found that perhaps because he was somewhat prepared, the feeling was not as intense as before.

He didn't know if he should be thankful that the feeling wasn't too addictive.

The joy of a significant increase in his soul strength quickly overshadowed his other thoughts. Eric gazed at his almost tangible soul form, eager to return to his body and experience the true changes that came with the unity of body and soul.

The Demon King also gazed at his soul, observed for a while, and nodded, saying, "It's almost done."

After a pause, the Demon King met his gaze: "Don't disappoint me, Eric."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Eric replied without hesitation. He paused for a moment, and when he came to his senses, the Demon King had already looked away and walked back towards the crystal mountain in the middle.

Eric frowned, then looked down at the state of his soul, only to sense its immense power.

Arriving beside the Demon King, he was gazing at the enormous crystal before him.

“I’ve already seen the Thorn Soul Crown, Eric.”

Eric looked in the direction he was looking, but the purple crystal, though semi-transparent, didn't penetrate deep enough for him to see anything.

"Your Majesty has excellent eyesight."

“It’s not what you see, it’s what you feel,” the Demon King said, then looked at him, “You try it too.”

"How do we try it?" Eric countered.

"Feel it with your heart."

"..."

Eric could only pretend to stare at Crystal Mountain for a while, even using his nostrils as a guide, but he still couldn't feel anything.

The Demon King muttered something, raised his arm towards Crystal Mountain, held it up for a while, and then let it fall limply.

"No... removing those impurities just now has already consumed too much of my strength."

The Demon King sighed. "Let's go back, Eric. Have Sinmag prepare some more clean soul crystals for us, and we'll absorb them later."

Although Eric felt there was no need for him to come back, he couldn't bring himself to object since the Demon King had said so.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After taking a few steps, he turned around and looked at Simagu, who was standing on the other side.

“They will definitely notice that we have absorbed so many soul crystals at once, especially since Simmagu seemed to have already sensed the presence of His Majesty and me.”

The Demon King didn't care at all, and simply said, "So what?"

so what?

Xinmagu could not see them again.

So Eric said no more and left the underground with the Demon King, returning to the surface.

Just as they were about to stroll out of the demon camp, taking one step at a time, a demon villager walked in. Eric remembered her; she was one of the demon girls who had made up his and Natalia's beds and even planned to warm them for him the night before.

He quickly realized what was going on.

"Is this the experimental subject that Simagu wanted?"

The Demon King nodded.

When the demon girl walked up to them, she stopped and bowed to both the demon king and him.

“She can see us,” Eric whispered.

The Demon King simply responded and continued walking forward.

Eric followed, and when he turned back, the demon girl had already disappeared into the tent.

"Are you sympathizing with the demons, Eric?" the demon king, who was walking ahead, suddenly asked.

Eric paused for a moment. "I'm just sympathizing with the weak."

"Never let yourself become weak. The weak have no right to sympathize with others. This is a truth I understood eight hundred years ago," the Demon King continued.

“It seems His Majesty didn’t have a very smooth time when he was young,” Eric said, following him.

The Demon King turned to look at him, then looked ahead.

"As long as things are going smoothly in the moment, that's fine."

(End of this chapter)