The Mage Who Devours Disasters - Chapter 107

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 107.
I wiped my chin.
‘The Secret Auction.’
The corners of my mouth twisted upward into a smile.
It was there that I had purchased three souls.
Grand Sage Plutonium.
Garcia’s Sword Saint.
And the Bow Ghost who shot down the sun.
Grand Sage Plutonium’s soul became bound to Heimdall’s divine essence, giving birth to the ‘Staff of the Grand Sage Carved from Divine Wood’.
I gave Garcia’s Sword Saint’s soul to Park Ji-hoon.
And I bestowed the Bow Ghost’s soul upon Seria.
The results were a resounding success.
They were the mightiest beings of the Destroyed World, and simultaneously embodiments of infinite ‘possibility’.
I had honed souls that The Deities had preserved like playthings into instruments of hope.
“Master.”
As I continued my contemplation, Seria approached me cautiously.
In her blue eyes, too, was reflected the indigo invitation card.
“Could it be… an invitation to the Secret Auction?”
“Yes. And this time, it even carries the epithet of being ‘unprecedented’.”
Seria’s complexion stiffened ever so slightly.
“…It will not be easy. Tremendous participants will be entering this Secret Auction.”
Her words were accurate.
The circumstances had changed.
Last time, it was merely a gathering of wealthy upper-tier Deities and those who collected souls as a hobby.
But now it is different.
‘The Twelve Chief Deities.’
Had not Hod, the Dark Deity, declared it at the Divine Banquet?
That all Twelve Chief Deities would participate in Earth’s games.
What would they need to craft perfect avatars on Earth?
Of course, noble ‘souls’ to fill the vessels.
There was no better material than the souls of the mightiest beings from the Destroyed World.
“Indeed, noble souls will be used. Everyone will rush forward with eyes ablaze.”
It mattered not if they already possessed avatars.
They could simply delete the avatars they disliked and craft new ones.
For to them, avatars were nothing more than ‘disposable’ amusements.
Moreover, not only would unprecedented souls appear, but unprecedented ‘treasures’ as well.
It meant the universe’s hidden secrets would be unveiled.
“If the Highest Realm’s Deities or the Twelve Chief Deities directly intervene, it could become a bloodbath.”
A precise assessment.
Nectar was in abundant supply.
Fragments of the shattered Golden Ratio lay stacked high in my inventory.
I could extract hundreds of millions of Nectar just by exchanging them.
But if my opponent was the Twelve Chief Deities, a war of capital would be like pouring water into a bottomless pit.
The total amount of Nectar they’d hoarded over countless eons was beyond estimation.
“Still.”
I chuckled softly.
“I can’t turn tail without even taking a look.”
I had to go.
I needed to see with my own eyes what monstrous souls would be put on the market.
What treasures would loosen the purse strings of the Twelve Chief Deities.
I would spy on them, and if the opportunity arose, I’d intercept everything.
And even if I couldn’t make a purchase myself, I could still gather clues, couldn’t I?
‘Before I go.’
I needed to consolidate my strength one more time.
‘First, I should check the rewards I obtained this time.’
Clearing the Heavenly Demon Cult Dungeon.
The ultimate spoils of war seized at the end of the battlefield.
The miracle wrought by the dice roll of 4,444 and ‘Beginner’s Luck’.
I reached into empty space and opened my inventory.
Whoooooosh!
Three dark metal objects rose into the air.
A helmet, gauntlets, and a single blade.
All forged from dark iron, with crimson patterns like blood vessels pulsing across their surfaces.
They resonated perfectly with the Heavenly Demon Armor and Heavenly Demon Boots already adorning my body.
“Gasp…!”
Seria, standing behind me, flinched and stumbled backward.
Her lips trembled.
“Master, what is that ominous demonic aura…?”
“The legacy of the Heavenly Demon.”
My eyes gleamed as I gazed at each piece of equipment floating in the air.
The Heavenly Demon Helmet, the Heavenly Demon Gauntlets, and the Heavenly Demon Blade.
Information windows cascaded down one after another.
Ding!
[Item: Heavenly Demon Helmet]
[Grade: Mythic]
[Durability: Infinite (Indestructible)]
[Basic Effect: All Stats +150]
[Special Effect (1): Demon’s Eye. Pierces through illusions and concealment.]
Pierces through illusions and concealment…
‘If I’d had this, I wouldn’t have suffered so much in the Demon Realm.’
I would have noticed from the very beginning that everything was an illusion.
An item that rendered the process of deduction entirely unnecessary.
This too was among the highest-tier options.
Next, I shifted my gaze to the gauntlets.
[Item: Heavenly Demon Gauntlets]
[Grade: Mythic]
[Durability: Infinite (Indestructible)]
[Basic Effect: All Stats +150]
[Special Effect (1): Rupture. Ignores 50% of the target’s physical defense on impact.]
[Special Effect (2): Shattering. Ignores 50% of the target’s magical defense on impact.]
‘Excellent.’
The Heavenly Demon armor possessed the effect of mitigating both physical and magical strikes by 50%.
Conversely, the gauntlets granted the effect of ignoring the opponent’s physical and magical defenses by 50%.
A combination that naturally elicited a cry of exultation.
Then, what of the final piece—the sword?
[Item: Heavenly Demon Sword]
[Grade: Mythic]
[Durability: Infinite (Indestructible)]
[Basic Effect: All Stats +150]
[Special Effect (1): Severance. There exists no barrier that the Heavenly Demon Sword cannot cut through.]
[Special Effect (2): Demonic Emission. Injects demonic energy upon impact that permanently reduces the target’s recovery rate.]
I nodded in approval.
There was nothing to fault.
Barrier. It meant I could sever anything that stood in my way.
Presumably, even barriers and seals would be included.
And what of the Demonic Emission?
It stated that it affected the target’s recovery rate.
Recovery came in many varieties.
Vitality, mana, divine power, and so forth.
Demonic Emission would permanently reduce the recovery rate of all of these.
‘A permanent debuff—how exquisite.’
Even before my regression, I had rarely encountered equipment that imposed permanent debuffs.
Truly befitting the name ‘Heavenly Demon.’
Moreover, the Heavenly Demon equipment inherently carried a basic ‘+150 to all stats.’
By equipping five pieces, I had acquired a total of 750 in all stats.
Since equipment stats applied without requiring me to ‘Descend’ through Rag, this was the most crucial factor for me.
In any case, there was a reason I examined each piece of equipment individually.
‘Super Luck.’
This authority seemed to follow the very trajectory of my destiny itself.
For instance, whenever I obtained rewards or claimed spoils of war.
It meant the probability of drawing something related to what I already possessed had skyrocketed exponentially.
But that wasn’t entirely cause for celebration.
Equipment doesn’t make you unconditionally stronger just because you pick it up and equip it.
There are items that share the same name yet offer me no benefit whatsoever.
Or cursed equipment that introduces fatal drawbacks.
Options could clash and cancel each other out, or duplicate effects might waste precious equipment slots.
‘I need to be thorough.’
At this Secret Auction, the Twelve Chief Deities and all manner of Highest Realm monsters were descending with ravenous intensity.
Amidst the deluge of listings and bids skyrocketing madly, I needed to have my current setup memorized perfectly to snatch only the pieces I truly needed.
‘Flawless.’
I ran my fingers along the flat of the Heavenly Demon Blade and nodded in satisfaction.
The Heavenly Demon set was so robust and devastating that it allowed no weakness.
Now I just needed to enter the Auction House and secure the essentials.
That was when I finished my equipment inspection.
Ding!
[Warning: The Asgard Investigation Unit requests entry to the 61st Floor.]
[Requester: Unit Commander Abdulla]
“…Abdulla.”
I narrowed my eyes.
This meticulous, suspicious bastard had come calling again.
He still suspected me.
‘The Mad Deity.’
A monster that had lost its reason and devoured its own divine kin.
He had pinned me as the culprit behind the recent string of lower-tier deity murders and was watching for any opportunity to tighten the noose around my neck.
‘What should I do?’
I could refuse.
I could invoke my status as an Apostle Deity of Heimdall and use the protection of a Highest Realm Deity as a shield, locking the door firmly shut.
No matter how much authority the Unit Commander wielded, he couldn’t force his way through.
But.
‘Evasion would only make things worse.’
Turning him away was tantamount to announcing to everyone that I had something to hide.
The more you avoid suspicion, the deeper it grows; the more you conceal evidence, the larger it becomes.
It was far cleaner to face him boldly and crush his doubts beneath my confidence.
“Let them in.”
I pressed the approval button floating in the empty space and gestured to Seria with my chin.
Seria approached my side with a stern expression, her bow held firmly in her grip.
Whoooosh!
The space near the entrance of the Golden Temple warped.
A portal opened, and dozens of Investigators clad in silver armor surged in with menacing force.
Leading them was the man at the forefront—Unit Commander Abdulla.
“Pardon the intrusion, Rag.”
Abdulla’s tone was respectful, yet his movements were decisive and unrestrained.
He swept his gaze sharply across the interior of the Divine Temple before striding forward until he stood before me.
“What brings you here? Armed forces marching into another’s territory?”
I reclined casually against the throne and posed the question with indifference, whereupon Abdulla cut straight to the heart of the matter.
“I hear you conquered a Large-Scale Dungeon near the Orga Kingdom. Is this true?”
Their intelligence networks move swiftly.
Or rather, they’ve woven their surveillance so densely that nothing escapes them.
These are not the sort to overlook my departure from the 61st Floor toward the Asgard Mainland.
“Indeed.”
I acknowledged it without hesitation.
Abdulla’s lips curved upward in the faintest smile.
It was the expression of one who had been waiting for precisely this answer.
“Then I must conduct a verification.”
“Verification?”
“The dungeon’s contamination level, to be precise.”
Abdulla continued, preparing to retrieve something from his robes.
“A dungeon’s core is the crystallized manifestation of the Destroyed World’s terrible resentment and demonic essence. Any Deity who destroys and absorbs such a core alone must undergo a ‘contamination check.'”
He fixed me with an unwavering stare.
“It is Asgard’s strict ‘custom’—a precaution to prevent the possibility of succumbing to the dungeon’s resentment and degenerating into a Mad Deity.”
Custom.
A convenient excuse.
In truth, they’ve come to scrutinize me openly, to peer into the depths of my soul and search for traces of corruption.
They are certain that, having been drenched in the vile demonic essence of the Heavenly Demon Cult Dungeon, I must bear the marks of madness.
“How dare you!”
In that instant, Seria, who stood behind me, cried out sharply.
She drew her bowstring taut and stepped forward.
“By what authority do you invoke custom to insult my Master? Do you understand what will happen when Lord Heimdall learns of this disrespect?”
She was not alone.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The Barbarian Four Brothers, who had been guarding the outer perimeter of the Divine Temple, approached swiftly and drove their great swords into the marble floor in unison, unleashing a ferocious killing intent.
“If you dare doubt our liege, you must first cross our blades!”
Turan’s eyes gleamed with bestial fury.
It seemed he would decapitate Abdulla and the Investigators without hesitation.
As their murderous aura crashed down, the Investigators flinched and reached for their weapons.
A suffocating tension bore down upon the 61st Floor.
The situation teetered on the brink of catastrophe.
A single spark would ignite a bloodbath in the heart of my territory.
Yet.
“Enough.”
I raised my hand lightly to restrain my followers.
“M-Master!”
“Stand down. That is my command.”
Seria bit her lip as if aggrieved, but at my resolute tone, she finally lowered her bowstring and set down her weapon.
The Barbarian Four Brothers ceased their bestial growls and silently withdrew behind me.
I chuckled inwardly.
Abdulla’s intentions were transparent.
Had I resisted and wielded force, he would have seized upon it as justification to brand me as the Mad Deity or arrest me under the pretense of refusing investigation.
‘This works better, actually.’
Abdulla was convinced that my soul had been corroded by the terrible demonic energy of the Heavenly Demon Cult Dungeon.
But he was wrong.
That vicious resentment had already resonated perfectly with me and been purified without a trace.
The Heavenly Demon’s hatred and murderous intent—I had inherited them entirely and forged them into the Heavenly Demon Sword Technique’s Thirteen Stars, an overwhelming path of combat.
Within me, there remained not a single impurity, not a shred of corrupted demonic energy.
This was the perfect opportunity to completely dispel his suspicions.
I rose halfway from the jade throne and gestured toward Abdulla with my chin.
“Very well.”
“…Pardon?”
“I’ll cooperate as you wish. What do you need me to do?”
Immediate compliance.
Abdulla’s eyes widened ever so slightly.
He had clearly expected fierce resistance and evasion, but my acceptance came far too easily—his bewilderment was unmistakable.
Confusion flickered across his face for a brief moment, but he soon returned to his characteristic cold composure.
“…Thank you for your cooperation.”
He carefully withdrew a white gemstone from his robes.
It was a palm-sized jewel, flawlessly transparent and gleaming with pristine whiteness.
“Please infuse divine power into this.”
Abdulla extended the gemstone and explained tersely.
“Should even the slightest trace of corrupted demonic energy or the resentment of the Mad Deity be mingled within your soul, this gemstone will immediately turn red or black.”
A remarkably intuitive and foolproof test.
Irrefutable evidence, in other words.
I descended slowly from the jade throne.
I gazed indifferently down at the white gemstone in Abdulla’s hand.
I extended my right hand and lightly placed my palm over the jewel.
“…”
“…”
The interior of the Divine Temple fell silent as if doused with cold water.
Dozens of Investigators held their breath, their eyes fixed upon my fingertips.
Seria and my followers watched intently as well, swallowing hard with tense expressions.
‘Yes, if that is what you desire, I shall pour it forth.’
I drew upon my divine power.
A deep, resonant hum filled the air.
The instant force erupted from my fingertips.
“…!”
Abdulla’s eyes widened as if they might split open.
His jaw hung slack.
A brilliant flash of white light blazed forth!
The white jewel had no time to turn red or black.
A ferocious radiance burst from within the jewel, instantly surpassing its critical threshold and consuming the entire 61st Floor Golden Temple in one catastrophic surge.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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