Chapter 1

It was a room where no light penetrated. The walls and ceiling were like obsidian, emitting no light at all. Even if there were a light source, it would be absorbed, and the room would not be illuminated. The room was filled with a sinister atmosphere that made one feel as if it would not allow any light to shine.

A black mist spread throughout the room, making the back of the room blurry and indistinct due to the mist.

It might be odd to call it a room. After all, it had a depth of about one kilometer. An endless expanse of pitch-black space stretched out, with only silence filling it.

The walls and ceiling had no decorations, and there was no furniture. If one listened carefully, faint, eerie voices could be heard from somewhere, moaning in pain, filled with hatred and resentment, like background noise.

Anyone would have judged this space to be evil. Even if it were an old building of historical value, everyone would have agreed to destroy it. Such was the nature of this room.

This room, which had not been visited by anyone for hundreds of years, had etched its history over the centuries.

But light appeared in this place, which had not been visited for hundreds of years. A magic circle, drawn in blue light, emerged on the floor, which was free of dust.

The magic circle shone brightly, and a figure appeared at its center. This figure, which had been indistinct until now, was wearing a robe and had its face completely covered by a hood.

Thus, the magic circle, having completed its task, lost its light and faded away.

The black mist that filled the room began to move as if it had a will of its own, trying to envelop the figure. The cursed mist, which would drain the life force of any fool who entered the room and turn them into a corpse, was a terrifying trap that could even dissolve bones.

The obsidian-like floor and ceiling, which were not actually obsidian, but rather made of human blood polished to a pitch-black finish, revealed the room's sinister true nature. A room made of the material of tens of thousands of dead bodies.

The death trap attacked the figure, trying to drain its life force. But something strange happened. As soon as the mist touched the figure, it was absorbed.

Despite this, the mist continued to attack the figure without hesitation. The vast mist, like a slime, wriggled and crept toward the figure with a sticky motion, eventually being absorbed and disappearing.

"This mist is treated as magic, huh? Sorry, but I absorb dark attributes."

The figure spoke, but there was no sincerity in the apology. Shrugging, it walked through the darkness as if it could see.

Reaching the center of the room, the figure extended its hand into the air. Strangely, a variety of swords, spears, jewels, and necklaces appeared in the air and scattered on the ground. These items, all emitting a divine light, possessed a strong power that could purify this sinister room.

"Oops, my bad."

The figure smiled wryly and arranged the scattered items in a circle. Despite the items being divine and sacred, it handled them carelessly, like toys. After completing the preparations, it extended its hand into the air again.

A pulsating heart appeared in its palm. The heart, which beat with a dark red color, exuded an eerie aura, like a crystallization of evil.

However, the figure paid no mind to this evil mass and placed it at the center of the circle.

Then, it extended its hand and, looking up, began to chant loudly.

"I will 'use' the heart of the god of destruction, 'yes,' 'yes,' 'yes.'"

After the mysterious incantation, the entire room glowed red, illuminating the surroundings. A sinister and ominous magic circle, resembling a pattern of bones, appeared, destroying the many divine artifacts.

The sacred spear broke, the divine sword rusted, the glowing jewel turned to stone, and the necklace that emitted a peaceful aura shattered.

Each time an item lost its power, the heart beat strongly, enhancing the dark aura it emitted. When all the items were destroyed, the ground shook, and the heart floated up. The floating heart transformed its pitch-black aura into bones, flesh, and skin.

Thus, it transformed into a giant, towering over the room. Wearing pitch-black armor and a magnificent toga, with four arms as thick as logs and bulging with muscles, it held swords and spears that exuded a terrifying evil aura.

The head, adorned with twisted ram-like horns, had hair made of snakes, and three elongated, golden, reptilian eyes. Mammoth-like tusks protruded from its mouth, and its breath was a miasma. Ten bat wings sprouted from its back, and its body was a ten-meter-tall behemoth.

The monster floating in the sky was evil, something that should not exist in this world.

The evil entity, moving its eyes, addressed the figure in a voice that sounded like glass being scratched, making one feel sick just by hearing it.

"Well, you have brought me back to life. I am the demon god 'Ashtart,' born to destroy this world. I will spread evil and bring a night of magic to all living things."

"Hehe, so, Mr. Ashtart, are you fully revived? Not incomplete, right?"

The figure, with its hands on its hips, asked without showing any respect to Ashtart. Ashtart's face twisted in displeasure at the figure's casual attitude but still answered, acknowledging that it had brought him back to life.

"Yes, I am fully revived. The 'Mana' and 'magic power' that fill this body are the same as they were in the past. I am fully revived thanks to your use of all the divine artifacts that sealed me. I commend you."

The weapons and accessories scattered around were the divine artifacts that had sealed Ashtart. It was a surprise to Ashtart, a demon god, that someone could gather all the artifacts and revive him in a complete state.

The last time he was unsealed, only half of the artifacts were gathered, and his power was incomplete, allowing him to destroy only half of the world. He was then resealed by the divine artifacts created by humans using the power of the gods.

But now, Ashtart's power was complete. With this, he could destroy the world and transform it into a realm of magic as he desired. The gods no longer existed in this land; only power floated in the air like the atmosphere.

Even if they tried to gather the power of the gods and seal him with the divine artifacts as before, it would be powerless against a fully revived Ashtart.

Ashtart, moved by the power that filled him, joyfully informed the small human.

The human nodded and smiled. Ashtart, nodding in return, asked what reward the human desired. Since the human had brought him back to full power, the reward should be significant.

"Go on, human. Speak your reward. Do you wish to become my servant? I will grant you the first position among my servants. Or do you desire the wisdom of magic? I will bestow upon you the profound knowledge of the abyss."

The human, to Ashtart's surprise, responded with unexpected words.

"In the novel, it was incomplete. The protagonist had a hidden divine artifact, making the revival incomplete. An incomplete revival means less than half the power."

"………"

It seemed the human was concerned about whether the revival was complete. That was correct. Without all the artifacts, Ashtart's power would be less than half. The number of artifacts gathered was important, but without all of them, his power would be less than half. To fully revive, all the artifacts were needed.

Ashtart was disappointed by the human's suspicious nature. Did the human not trust his words? But that was not the case.

"In the novel, the protagonist and the enemy side did not think the divine artifacts were weak. The enemy side, thinking they had gathered all the artifacts, and the protagonist, who was surprised, both were shocked when the incomplete Ashtart was defeated and resealed by a holy maiden, bringing peace to the world. It was a happy ending."

The human spoke about something incomprehensible.

"What are you saying?"

"In the game, there was a hidden route where the protagonist secretly stole a ring and fully revived Ashtart as a hidden boss. The rewards were good, and the special abilities you could get were amazing, like being able to use a third job."

The human continued speaking, ignoring Ashtart's puzzled expression. The words echoed through the room.

"But if you don't defeat him within ten minutes, the third job setting is removed. Well, you can just change jobs, but it's a hassle. As a grind element, it's usable but not really. It was a collector's reward."

The human summoned a watch in its hand and pressed a button. It was a stopwatch, which began to tick.

"So, goodbye, hidden boss. It was nice to meet you, thanks to the game's scenario. Haha."

Ashtart finally understood the human's intent.

"I don't understand, but I understand your insolent words. Die."

Pointing a finger, Ashtart showed the human his power. He realized the human intended to defeat him.

"Extreme Flame"

A flame like the sun shot from his finger, burning the air and distorting space as it attacked the human. Even a single spark would incinerate the human at several billion degrees, leaving no trace.

Or so it should have been.

"What?"

But the extreme flame was absorbed by the human upon contact, disappearing. The unbelievable sight made Ashtart doubt his eyes.

"Ah, I absorb fire attributes. Sorry."

"Then how about this?"

"Four Elements Extreme Wave"

From the four hands, a thunderous divine lightning, an absolute zero degree freeze, a storm of wind blades, and a tsunami of petrifying sand were released, heading toward the human.

But the result was shocking. All the magic was absorbed by the human upon contact, leaving no trace of its activation.

"Sorry. To clarify, I absorb all attributes except for the universal attribute."

"Such power is not human. Who are you?"

Ashtart finally realized the human was not human. He could sense the immense power and finally braced himself, asking with a stern face.

"My second job is 'God.' And my main job is—"

Removing the hood, the human smiled.

"The pay-to-play job, 'Elder God.' An ancient god."

The power of chaos centered on the Elder God, causing the floor to melt and the space to distort.

"…Elder God! You were supposed to have vanished to the far reaches of the universe!"

Feeling the unmistakable power of the Elder God, Ashtart trembled in fear.

"Yeah, it was expensive. So, I'll try to defeat you within ten minutes."

The Elder God, with a light tone, answered the shocked Ashtart and began the battle.

The third magic academy of the Japanese Magic Empire, renowned for its name, disappeared one midnight, covered in light amidst an earthquake.

Strangely, the security guards and those who stayed until night were outside the academy, with no casualties.

The academy, which had disappeared, left behind only a large hole about 100 meters deep.

The earthquake that occurred at the time of the disappearance continued for a long time, but it was thought to be a ritual magic rather than an earthquake. However, the investigation team could not determine the cause.

The earthquake lasted only seven minutes, and that was all that was known.