Chapter 1

Pain!

Unbearable, intense pain!

This was the first sensation Tang Qi felt upon regaining consciousness. The pain came in waves, like a tide, a kind of agony that no means could avoid, as if it was acting directly on his soul. The sources of the pain were his skull, his wrists, and his ankles.

As he instinctively screamed in pain, a series of old, hoarse voices, like the buzzing of flies, continuously drilled into his mind. It was a complicated, obscure language, but strangely, Tang Qi understood every word.

"Great Demon of Judgment, please hear the call of your humble servant, old Morgan. Grant this humble servant a young body, and for this, I am willing to offer a fresh, young soul as a sacrifice. Great Demon of Judgment, please partake of it with pleasure..."

Demon of Judgment? Who?

Is this a prank? Wasn't I drinking with my colleagues at the bar?

Was I kidnapped?

Wait a moment…

Am I being crucified?

When Tang Qi realized this, the pain seemed to lessen slightly, and he finally stopped screaming. With great effort, he opened his eyes. His vision, initially filled with shadows, gradually became clearer, and a terrifying, bizarre scene came into view.

Before him was a blurry, black shadow bubble, and from the boundary of the bubble, Tang Qi realized he was inside it. The source of this large black bubble was a massive, strange scale made of bronze, with a mottled appearance.

On each end of the bronze scale, there was a blurry light, and they seemed to be... human-shaped?

Yes, they were human-shaped.

Tang Qi's gaze penetrated the blurry light and saw their true forms.

On one end was a young boy in a coma, with a delicate appearance, pale face, and slender build, as if he was having a nightmare, his face filled with fear.

On the other end was an extremely old black man, with loose, dark skin. He was awake, kneeling on the bronze plate with his body hunched, his hands in a strange position, and muttering as if in prayer or supplication.

And he was praying in the direction of Tang Qi.

Yes, at him.

Despite the scale swaying and creaking, the old black man always faced Tang Qi when he prayed.

"Could it be that I am the Demon of Judgment?"

"Buzz"

When Tang Qi realized something and mustered the courage to look down, his already aching head exploded as if struck by a heavy hammer. Numerous images flooded his mind, and in his screams, he finally saw his true situation.

He was indeed crucified, on a very special cross.

In the middle of this large scale, wherever Tang Qi looked, there were blood-red skull patterns engraved, which seemed to be symbols or text, emitting a strange and terrifying aura.

When Tang Qi tried to twist his body to see more, the pain in his skull, wrists, and ankles intensified even more.

In another scream of pain, Tang Qi saw his body, also enveloped in a blurry light, hanging on the skull cross. Five sharp nails had pierced his skull, wrists, and ankles.

Tang Qi was terrified. How could he survive such injuries?

"No, no, I must be dead. I am in a soul state now."

"These two are also souls."

Tang Qi suddenly realized a terrifying fact, and his already frightened expression twisted even more. The old black man, who seemed to find this normal, prayed even more fervently.

At this moment, Tang Qi's gaze penetrated the black bubble and saw the outside: a spacious, luxurious study with large bookshelves, a desk made of some kind of red wood, a luxurious crystal chandelier, and various exquisite trinkets, all testifying to the owner's wealth and taste.

But now, the scene was marred by two "bodies" on the ground.

There was no blood, no signs of struggle or chaos, but two bodies lay side by side on the ground.

One was a young boy with black hair, delicate features, a pale face, and a slender build, dressed in a well-fitted, exotic style of clothing.

The other was an old black man with ordinary features and a sinister aura, dressed in what seemed to be a butler's uniform.

Around them, blood-red candles were burning, and white powder had been used to draw strange patterns. In the center, an ancient bronze scale was placed.

"What is this?"

"Breath, breath"

Stay calm, I must stay calm. Trying hard not to move, taking deep breaths, Tang Qi forced himself to calm down.

After a long while, he stammered, "So, I drank some alcohol, woke up as a devil, and my soul is hanging on a ridiculous cross, and I'm involved in a clearly evil ritual. The old black man, who looks like a butler, seems to be the one who initiated this ritual. He is praying to me, asking me to help him switch to a younger body, and he has even found the target?"

Combining the old black man's prayer and the scene before him, Tang Qi slowly deduced his true situation.

However, he still couldn't move, couldn't escape the five nails, and any movement would plunge him into endless pain.

Now, Tang Qi had two choices.

One was to agree to the old black man, help him switch bodies, and complete the evil ritual. At this moment, Tang Qi had a premonition that as soon as he opened his mouth, he could devour the soul of the young boy on the left side of the scale.

This was the process of completing the ritual. Once the soul on one end of the scale was gone, the other end would naturally sink, triggering a mechanism that would allow the old black man's soul to enter the young body, transforming him from an old black man into a young, handsome youth.

The second choice was to refuse the old black man. Tang Qi had no idea what the consequences of refusal would be. Being a devil was bad enough, but failing to even be a devil would be even worse.

"What should I choose?"

Tang Qi suppressed the pain, swallowing the non-existent saliva with great effort, and moved his gaze away from the "sacrifice."

He was now a hungry devil, craving souls. Tang Qi could feel himself becoming weaker rapidly. The five nails not only caused pain but also seemed to be draining his strength. If this continued, Tang Qi felt he would soon dissipate completely.

But if he agreed to the old black man, the best outcome for Tang Qi would be to continue as the so-called "Demon of Judgment," attached to the scale, waiting for the next customer.

Could he accept such a fate?

"No, I would rather dissipate completely than become such a lowly, despicable devil."

"There must be a way, there must be a way."

"I can think of something, I can think of something."

The strong desire to survive made Tang Qi's mind work harder than ever before. However, in his previous life, he was just an ordinary office worker, and he had only been a devil for a short time. How could he find a way out of this dead-end situation in such a short time?

And time was running out.

One second!

Two seconds!

Three seconds!

Tang Qi's twisted soul became increasingly faint. The old black man, who had been praying, looked up in surprise, seemingly puzzled why his ritual wasn't working. At this moment, Tang Qi saw clearly that the old black man was an evil being.

His old face was full of darkness and cruelty, and his blurry soul was filled with black threads, a murky and evil person.

However, what the old black man was didn't seem to matter anymore. Tang Qi's head became heavier and heavier, and he felt he was losing the strength to devour the sacrifice. Perhaps he would dissipate in the next second, or fall into a deep sleep.

In this final moment, Tang Qi had a bizarre thought. He wanted to see if his current posture was exactly like Jesus'.

When this thought came, Tang Qi's vision suddenly shifted, and he really saw his blurry soul, twisted and nailed to the cross, just like Jesus.

"Hmm?"

"What is this?"

Tang Qi suddenly froze, his eyes blank, as if he had seen something incredible.

Fortunately, he didn't stay in this state for long and quickly regained his senses.

He looked seriously at a strange interface that had appeared before him.

Name: Tang Qi.

Status: Weak.

Occupation: Demon of Judgment

[Information Fragment 1: As the Demon of Judgment, your duty is to collect the sacrifice and place the sacrificer's soul into the target body.]

[Information Fragment 2: Before you make the judgment, neither soul can leave. You can devour the sacrifice on the left, but you cannot harm the sacrificer on the right unless he acts first.]

[Information Fragment 3: As the Demon of Judgment, if you leave the soul-exchange scale, your soul will dissipate within three seconds.]

[Information Fragment 4: If you choose not to judge this time, the sacrifice will be automatically absorbed by the scale, and you will fall into a deep sleep.]

"What is this? My golden finger?"

In his previous life, as a seasoned web novel enthusiast, Tang Qi was well aware of the standard treatment after rebirth or transmigration, which often included some kind of "golden finger" or special ability.

Tang Qi thought he wouldn't have this benefit in his devil form, but it suddenly appeared now.

"There's a chance, the only chance."

Tang Qi's gaze was entirely focused on the second and third information fragments, ignoring everything else.

The excitement was like a warm current, making Tang Qi's increasingly faint soul suddenly become more solid. Using this restored strength, Tang Qi opened his mouth and uttered a hoarse, low voice that surprised even himself.

"Humble servant, your sacrifice... is not enough."

Tang Qi, now appearing like a true twisted devil, howled and roared.