Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

As the cold body gradually warms up, the newly activated neural circuits and the coordinated flesh and bones gradually integrate with the entire body.

As he familiarized himself with his body, the man glanced at the faintly shimmering marks on the surface of the snake molt, his thoughts drifting.

This reshaping is not a temporary alteration of the body's structure using magic, but a true complete transformation.

Even the mark that Ellie left on the snakeskin to protect him was completely discarded during this transformation.

Therefore, even if a former owner stands in front of you, it is difficult to guess his former identity.

The reason for severing ties so cleanly and thoroughly is simply because there was no other way.

That snake-like aspect is connected to many dark secrets, and if discovered, one will inevitably be put in the pot.

Hiding these past events is a way of protecting those close to you.

Of course, if Ellie saw him like this, she would be so ashamed and angry that she would immediately boil water and stew him to death.

This is why he dared not reshape a human body before leaving the underworld.

As the feeling of unfamiliarity with his body gradually subsided, the man changed into the clothes he had prepared in advance and took most of his treasures with him in a bundle.

If you really can't take it with you, you can only destroy it on the spot.

Before leaving, the man cut open his palm and dripped a few drops of blood onto the snake's molted skin, leaving his scent so that his owner wouldn't notice him in a short time.

The pervasive gray death aura seemed docile and harmonious upon contact with him, completely isolating him from the aura of the living beings on the ground.

When everything was ready, the man removed the concealment of the wedge-shaped rune, stepped out of the cave, and began walking towards the valley.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Seal of Divine Authority, the Mandate of Heaven for All Things! (Second Update)

The red light of the underworld shone brightly as usual, and teams of Garula spirits patrolled the different areas divided by the seven gates.

"call!"

As they reached a secluded valley, a mysterious breeze stirred, creating faint, wispy traces that rippled slightly as it passed by a group of Garura spirits.

At the rear of the column, three undead soldiers, armed with swords, shields, spears, and bows, paused briefly, gazing at the dense aura of death.

Their upper and lower jaws were slightly open, and red light flickered in the eye sockets inside their skulls. Their left hands subconsciously reached for their newly grown cervical vertebrae.

Just now, it seemed like something passed by?

However, even if one tries to think and recall, no impression can be pieced together from the empty skull.

But a shiver and a sense of disgust, stemming from instinct, arose spontaneously.

It was as if something had triggered their instinctive fear.

"Roar!"

Just as the three distracted Garula spirits were on the verge of falling behind due to confusion, the Netherworld Guardian, who was twice the size of them and wore skeletal armor, turned around.

It rubbed against the upper and lower jawbones, the fire of its soul pulsating violently, emitting a sharp and sinister tremor.

The three recruits who had stopped in place hurriedly came to their senses and, with their thigh bones bearing obvious signs of biting and breakage, hastily followed.

Let's leave aside what the previous misconception was for now.

If they continue to stand there in a daze, the leader might just break their bones and absorb their soul fire to fill the constant hunger that Garula spirits feel.

Of course, for them, the most delicious food is undoubtedly the exceptionally fresh scent of living beings.

What a coincidence to run into that familiar face I beat up before!

Deep within the valley, a human figure, wielding the power of beasts and merging with the atmosphere of the ecological environment, blends into the deathly mist and gazes back into the distance.

In an instant, the man calmed himself down, cut off the lingering reminiscence, decisively turned around, and continued to stir up the breeze as he swiftly moved through the rocky terrain.

Several hundred breaths later, the man broke through the gray mist barrier at the valley entrance and easily leaped into a secret realm.

Sitting alone on the blue stone, the holy prostitute Shamhat, who was doing her daily grooming, turned around after hearing the noise and looked the human who had intruded into Enkidu's cemetery up and down with amusement.

"You've arrived? Faster than I expected..."

The creature that can withstand the erosion of the dead fog and evade Garura's senses to arrive here, no matter how it changes its appearance, can only be that little thing.

Well, perhaps it's no longer appropriate to call it small now.

The prostitute Shamhat stroked her gleaming chin with her fingers, her eerie gaze lingering for a long time on a certain indescribable part between the man's legs.

That inexplicable anxiety seemed to easily pierce through the man's thin fabric, revealing something indescribable.

I've heard that snakes have two of those things, I wonder...

"Snapped!"

With a crisp sound, the man casually slapped away one of the ghostly prostitute's fair hands, his face dark.

"teacher!"

The man's lips twitched, and he forced out a dry reminder through his teeth, his gaze towards the woman filled with intense wariness.

Tsk, boring...

The old driver, having failed in her attempt, withdrew her hand in disappointment and, at the student's signal, stepped forward.

Then, the man picked up the birdcage-shaped metal woven object and swung it forward.

A clear, bell-like sound, seemingly from nowhere, rang out in all directions. The wedge-shaped runes engraved on it rippled with golden and blue light, drawing Shamhat, who was in his soul form, into them.

The Ghost Cage, a special container once used by Ereshkigal, the goddess of the underworld, to store ghosts.

This thing can both shield Garura spirits from their senses and prevent them from rioting when they smell the scent of living souls.

At the same time, it can ensure that the souls that enter it are not harmed in most situations and environments.

That's why the ancient serpent dared to bring Shamhat, in his soul form, onto its ship, preparing for a great escape from the underworld together.

Enveloped in a dense aura of gray death, the ancient serpent darted about rapidly. Due to its violent movements, a short while later, the teacher, Shamhat, complained from the cage.

"Hey! Little Samael, stop wandering around! I'm feeling a little dizzy..."

"Bear with it, time is running out. I must get out of the underworld before the last rays of the temple fade away."

"Otherwise, it'll be all over when Irene comes back!"

The ancient serpent parted its lips and hummed softly, its brows furrowed. Instead of slowing down, it launched a frenzied long-distance sprint.

The black, jagged rocks on both sides, the ghostly blue flames floating in the wilderness, and the Garula spirit brushing past were all rapidly receding.

However, in order to alleviate Shamhat's so-called dizziness, the man still separated a portion of the etheric factor, wrapped it around the cage, and intentionally or unintentionally brought up the topic.

"Teacher, how much do you know about this Destiny Tablet?"

Last night, in her final conversation with her owner, the goddess of the underworld was very secretive about this object.

"Oh? The Destiny Tablet? Heh, which one do you want to know about?"

Shamhat, inside the cage, twirled his green hair over his shoulder with interest using his right index finger, his tone carrying an ambiguous playfulness.

"Which one? There are many Destiny Tablets?"

The man's serpentine vertical pupils narrowed slightly, and his expression became somewhat solemn.

"Of course!"

“In Mesopotamia, humans were both tools and livestock used to serve the gods, but there was a separation between the two.”

“The communication between them often began with divine revelation, followed by priests and priestesses interpreting the divine will and inscribing the content to be announced on clay tablets.”

“These clay tablets, which listen to the voice of heaven and convey divine will, can be called the ‘Clay Tablets of Mandate of Heaven’.”

When it comes to professional knowledge, Shamhat twirls his hair and speaks eloquently.

Is divine will the same as destiny?

The man frowned slightly, gaining a new understanding of the oppressive relationship between humans and gods, but that wasn't what he wanted to know.

"anything else?"

"Oh, there's a second type: records left on clay tablets by people with precognitive abilities who inadvertently glimpse the future or feel inspired by the world."

Shamhat paused for a moment, then continued his explanation to the students.

This is undoubtedly the same as the tablet of destiny that King Gilgamesh left behind when he passed through Khuza in history.

However, the man was not satisfied; his gaze was intense, and his voice gradually deepened.

"Teacher, you know that's not what I'm asking..."

"What exactly is that most important tablet of destiny?"

"If you're still hiding something now, then I'll have to reconsider our cooperation."

Shamhat's faint smile vanished instantly, his eyes flickered, and he looked up at the dark dome of the underworld with a complex and wary expression.

"The seal of divine authority, the destiny of all things!"

"Legend has it that this object is inscribed with the beginning and end of everything in the Mesopotamian world. After creation, no power could surpass it!"

Suddenly, the man recalled Ellie's lessons, and a thunderbolt struck his mind.

"The tablet of destiny in the hands of Marduk, the King of Kings, which records the four eras of humankind!"

"Shut up!"

In an instant, Shamhat's face turned deathly pale. He cried out sharply, his eyes filled with intense terror and death. The murmur of the snake that revealed the answer seemed like a death warrant handed to him.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Samael the "Deceitful" (Third Update)

After a long while, the expected horror did not come. Shamhat, whose face was pale and whose soul fire flickered, finally breathed a long sigh of relief, and his face gradually regained some of its luster.

"You almost killed us! You idiot!"

The man stared at Shamhat's genuine fear and immediately lowered his head to admit his mistake, his eyes full of apology.

"Sorry, teacher."

The prostitute, whose anger had subsided somewhat, offered earnest and heartfelt advice.

"Luckily, we were still in the Underworld just now. It's a self-contained world that can shield us from the will and power of the gods. Otherwise, we would have been in big trouble!"

"We will soon be returning to the surface. If you want to live a long life, you must remember my advice."

"The true name of God should not be spoken lightly!"

"Especially when you're being hostile, or when it involves major secrets!"

"This is very likely to resonate with people. Once those high and mighty individuals notice a freak like you, they'll definitely stew you the moment they see you!"

The man nodded seriously. True names do indeed possess extraordinary power, especially in the Age of Gods.

My behavior just now was indeed somewhat reckless, and I must learn from this experience and be more careful with my words and actions in the future.

Once, although Ereshkigal was forced to become a pillar guarding the underworld, she was also given great authority.

Even Ishtar, the goddess of the heavens of equal rank, who broke in, was helplessly sealed of her powers and ultimately suffered a horrific ordeal.

Thanks to the protection of his owner and the fact that he rarely speaks as a snake, he was able to break the rules several times without being targeted by those mysterious beings.

The earth is now in complete chaos, unlike the self-contained underworld, which is not as well-secret.

In this era, God and man are parting ways, but have not yet completely severed their connection.

Who knows how much they actually care about the current Mesopotamian world?

Unfortunately, as far as he knew, most gods were sometimes petty.

From now on, Ereshkigal will no longer be able to use the powers of the Underworld to protect him.

However, looking back now, he unintentionally did something right.

Change your name to hide your true past!

Samael, a name he voluntarily adopted, was a form of deception that effectively protected his secrets and concealed his whereabouts.

They want to take action against this name, but unless it's linked to the snake molt, they probably won't be able to find out anything.

Just to be on the safe side, from the moment I stepped out of the cave, there was no longer any Lin Xian from the past; I only needed to remember my future title.

The ancient serpent whispered in its heart, burying that trace of the past deep within its soul.

(From this point on, the ancient serpent that transformed into a human was simply called Samael, which is easier for everyone to understand. Anyway, the character "弦" (xian) was only used to lure Tima and no longer needed.)