Chapter 247

“That’s extremely disrespectful.” Ren’ai said this, but she didn’t seem angry. She just looked at him with a light laugh: “But you can tell me. How will you address me first?”

The atmosphere became awkward for a moment, and Ghost Duke sighed helplessly.

"What I mean is... I wanted to ask your name." Ghost Duke hesitated for a moment: "Calling you 'boss' or something... that's not the right way to address a girl."

The benevolent man paused for a moment, then shrugged.

"Give me a name," she said softly. "Aren't you a novelist? Giving me a name shouldn't be too difficult, right?"

"Why should I take it?" Ghost Duke hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say.

It's not that it's impossible; after all, I'm a novelist. Although I'm terrible at naming things, coming up with a name shouldn't be too difficult.

But he just didn't understand why he had to be the one to pick something up; after all, this kind of thing was quite special. How could someone just randomly order something like that?

“Because everyone just calls me the Benevolent One, and there’s no other name for me. To me, that’s a unique title in the whole world.” The Benevolent One hesitated for a moment and then said, “Only you don’t seem to like that title very much.”

"I really don't understand. This title sounds like calling someone a very, very old person."

"Haha, do you think being over a thousand years old isn't old?"

“But you look like a girl of about sixteen. What’s that saying again? As long as you look like a young girl, who cares about your actual age?” Ghost Duke hesitated for a moment and said, “Speaking of which, the imbalance in this world is too severe.”

"Huh?" The Benevolent One did not understand what Ghost Duke meant.

"Think about it," Ghost Duke said, waving his finger. "Some people in this world might not even live for a few years. But a considerable number of people can live to the end of time. That's really a strange thing. You know, according to a point I learned in my original world, the energy of the world is conserved. And immortality itself is something that represents enormous energy, right?"

"Using the knowledge I can understand, I know you're trying to say that your original world had reached a level of development I can't even imagine. But what you're saying seems like pure fantasy to me."

“What I mean is… well, never mind, it seems like even the laws of physics don’t apply here.” Ghost Duke sighed. “It’s really a headache. How am I supposed to reason with people in a world where even gravity is off?”

“You’ve gone off on a tangent. Our initial topic was how you addressed me.” The Benevolent One pointed to himself and smiled helplessly: “What do you want to call me?”

"Let me think about it." Ah Kui pinched his chin, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Chu? How about this character?"

"I have no problem, may I ask why?"

"At the beginning of life, people are inherently good..." This is a line from the Three Character Classic. Ghost Duke hesitated for a moment and said, "You mean benevolence, right? In my opinion, benevolence and kindness mean the same thing."

“That’s an interesting statement,” the benevolent one said after a moment’s hesitation, “but I don’t understand its meaning.”

"That is to say, when people come into this world without knowing anything, they are inherently good. This is the theory of human goodness, that everyone is born with virtue." Gui Jue was still barely passing his Chinese class at that time, so he could give a rough explanation: "The corresponding theory is the theory of human evil, which means that people are not perfect at birth and need to constantly learn to cultivate themselves and practice virtue."

"Then which one do you think is correct?" the benevolent one asked after a moment's hesitation.

"Me? I used to be a Christian, though I converted specifically to make visa applications easier. Later, I found that scripture quite interesting, so I developed some of my own insights." Ghost Duke thought for a moment and said, "But I'm not exactly a devout person."

"So what? But I have to say, there are many parts of this that I didn't understand." The Benevolent One sighed helplessly. This guy was really good at rambling on and on, and he had no idea what the guy was muttering about.

"I believe that people are not given a specific meaning. People simply come into this world." Ghost Duke said softly, "It's very simple. God created people and brought them into this world. Because they are blank slates, they will become bad people if they sense malice, and good people if they sense kindness."

"Then there's a misconception in your statement: were humans created by God in the very beginning good or bad?"

“You’ve missed the point. Actually, from the very beginning, the definition of good and bad has been a very strange thing.” Ghost Duke smiled helplessly: “If I were to define it, anything that is beneficial to the continuation of the race is just and correct. Or rather, anything that a cute and sensible girl says is just.”

“That’s a really negative definition,” the benevolent one muttered. “But then again, the fact that we can continue the human race is itself an incredibly great thing.”

"Actually, in most cases, I don't mind doing the former; I mostly use the latter as the standard." Ghost Duke hesitated for a moment and said, "Do you agree?"

“No problem.” The Benevolent One… or perhaps the First One? nodded.

"Chu?" Ghost Duke tried calling out, and the Benevolent One smiled at him.

"Um, it's still a bit weird." Ghost Duke pinched his chin and said hesitantly, "This word just feels awkward to pronounce."

“You can modify it,” the Benevolent One said softly, rising to say, “I have something else to attend to. I need to ask her if she’s interested in accepting this Demon God Seal… Hmm?”

She flinched and frowned in displeasure.

"What's wrong? Is my head going to be cut off because I offended you?" Ghost Duke could tell that the guy's expression wasn't good.

“No, a visitor has arrived,” she said softly, not someone who should be here right now.

"Do you need me to be funny?" Ghost Duke picked up the shotgun and said with a smile, "I'd like to see who else can come to the Central Church at a time like this."

......

It was an unimaginable scene: a man with one half bones and the other half a man was carrying a coffin, while the other hand was supporting a man whose body was in a terrible state.

That was Foy. Half of his body was injured by Ark with an unknown weapon, and now he could only temporarily fill in the gaps with bones so that he wouldn't be completely immobilized.

And the thing he was supporting was in an even worse state.

Both legs were severed, his stomach had been ripped open, his chest was empty, and even his neck had been cut in half, barely hanging on his body by skin.

One arm remained, but more than half of it was covered in black. The other side had been completely cut open, and black pustules were oozing from the wound.

But this guy is still alive. He is the Arbiter, and even though he has become so despicable, he is still alive.

His battle with Ark ended with Ark's escape, and the coffin that Foy carried was a weapon specifically for him. He was wary of the two cats and the coffin they guarded.

These chaotic things made Ark stop thinking. He figured it was better to leave than risk his life to deal with them at this point.

I'm only here to collect the Demon King's Seal anyway, so if I fail, it'll just be a wasted trip.

They have already paid a price; the capital of the Land of the Dead has been completely destroyed. Foy and the Judgement are both badly injured.

This was a very rare sight for the Central Church. The Demon King had come to the Central Church; it was truly uncommon for him not to cause trouble.

Ghost Duke hesitated as he looked over there during the conversation, then looked at the shotgun he was holding.

Every time he sees such a scene, he feels that this world is a bit of a joke.

I'm a novelist myself, how could something like this happen? Has the author of this book lost their mind?

This kind of plot point only needs a brief mention; there's no need to delve into it. Just focus the camera on the main characters. A supporting character's injury is just that—an injury.

My presence here would only cause more trouble; they have too many things to deal with. There's nothing I can do or influence.

Therefore, the novel's perspective is definitely not from the author's own point of view.

Ghost Lord thought this with absolute certainty, then turned and walked into the central church.

Speaking of which, today was a lucky day for me. I even bumped into a girl taking a shower and saw the Benevolent One in disguise.

They even changed how they addressed her.

This is truly a stroke of good luck with love!

That god who wanted to torment me has really miscalculated. I'm the kind of person who'll laugh when something good happens. Even if they take away what's important to me in the future, it doesn't matter! Because I'm a shameless person who only cares about the present.

I'm happy enough today, that's enough, I won't think about the future.

That's all you need to do.

Alone in the vast church, Ghost Duke felt strange and peculiar as he walked through the expansive space.

Perhaps it's because I'm a useless person that I have such thoughts.

If he had even a little bit of power to fight for his future against fate, he wouldn't be living such a lazy, aimless life. He longed to become powerful enough that everyone would have to watch him, but that was almost impossible.

Perhaps I should accept the suggestion and obtain the Demon God Seal? Maybe I really could become a Demon God after using the Demon God Seal. That would be so glorious, and all my previous resentment would vanish.

Thinking this, he suddenly stopped and looked at the girl leaning against the wall, looking out the window.

That was Deedley. Although the two knew each other, they always felt awkward when they met. They never said anything to each other.

Ghost Duke hesitated for a moment. The Benevolent One seemed to have said that he would come and discuss it with her when the time came.

So, before that happens, wouldn't it be helpful to talk to her a little?

He moved closer and stood behind Didley.

This girl only looks fierce; she's actually less than 1.7 meters tall. She's slightly taller than the average girl, but not by much, and even a little shorter than me, if you don't count her hips.

He's super cool! A cute girl with ram horns, a touch of demonic energy, a greatsword, and that look of utter disdain. He's the kind of guy who makes you want to clutch your chest and feel uneasy just looking at him.

This cool and cute girl is a treasure! Giving her the Demon God's Seal is definitely the best idea I can think of. She'll become even cooler!

"Long time no see!" Ghost Duke immediately realized something was off as soon as he said it. Actually, they had seen each other quite a few times, but they had never chatted together.

Diedley glanced at him, thought for a moment, nodded, and then continued looking outside.

Ghost Duke still left a fairly deep impression on her, but sorry, this wasn't the time for jokes. She didn't want to waste any more time talking to someone who was full of nonsense.

She wasn't in a good mood, and Ghost Duke's chat was really messing with her mindset. This guy was clearly so lowly he was practically crawling on the ground, but he gave off the feeling that he was a god. This useless guy always looked at everything from a god's-eye view. His evaluations were so fair yet so selfishly absurd that even she didn't know how to respond.

Turning her head to look outside is the best thing to do; she doesn't want to talk to someone with such a high vantage point. As the saying goes, "Those involved are often confused, while bystanders see clearly." That's utter nonsense. How could a bystander possibly know what the person involved is really seeing?

"Ahem, by the way, are you interested in becoming a Demon God?" Ghost Duke hesitated for a moment, seeing that this guy was ignoring him, and then asked, "There's an opportunity for you to obtain the Demon God Seal."

The air grew cold, and Deedri turned to look at him with the most disdainful gaze.

"What do you want to say?" she said softly, her voice tinged with anger.

This guy talks like it's child's play. Demon God Seal? Is that something you can just get whenever you want?

This wasn't what infuriated her, but rather that this guy seemed to genuinely possess the ability to casually conjure a demonic seal. However, he himself seemed unaware of what this meant in this world, hence his lack of any clear understanding.

The feeling of being looked down upon was even more pronounced, and it disgusted her. This guy seemed to be looking at her with pity, as if he were sympathizing with her.

"So handsome!" Ghost Duke glanced at her, smiled, and raised an arm, giving a thumbs up.

Then his arm was cut off—no, not cut off. She melted it off with her hand, which was imbued with fire element.

This is the most painful way to amputate an arm, but Ghost Duke simply switched arms and made a thumbs-up gesture.

"Super cool!" he said again, as his other arm was also torn off, not melted, but pulled and broken, severing all the bones and tendons inside.

Dedeline stared blankly at the guy's smiling face, who was still looking at her. He had lost both arms, but he was still smiling like an idiot.

"What are you trying to do?" Dedeline said softly, calming down and changing the way she looked at the madman.

This guy is a complete lunatic! It's so boring to argue with a lunatic.

"Ahem, it's nothing much. It's just that I traded two arms for the ability to speak to you in a friendly manner." Ghost Duke said with a smile, "This is much better than the Benevolent Ones. I was tortured and killed by that guy thousands of times before he treated me like a human being for this short period of time."

“I don’t understand.” She shook her head, looking at Ghost Duke with a bit of confusion: “I’m not smart, at least say something I can understand.”

Honestly, she was really exhausted.

Why should I be able to survive? Wouldn't it be better to die after avenging Spider-Man?

Things are too complicated right now, and everyone has their own ideas.

Her idea was the most naive and childish: she wanted to avenge the dead, nothing more, and no other reason.

But is there anything more important than this? The people she cares about are dead, dead because of these guys' selfishness!

But nobody took it seriously.

Dedeline turned around again and looked at the guy outside.

That guy must be the so-called Arbitrator; he even helped them hold off the Benevolent Ones for a moment.

It's the guy who killed Spider-Man. If I wanted revenge, all I had to do was kill him.

But that guy looks like he's in worse pain than dead. His whole body is torn to pieces like this.

Should I go out and finish him off? I don't know. I no longer have the weapon with the magic mark; I'm just an ordinary monster now.

"Ahem, considering you've already torn off two of my arms, why don't you listen to me for a moment?" Ghost Duke said. "I have an opportunity here that can give you the Demon God's Seal."

"explain."

"They need to entrust the Demon God Seal to someone, and the Benevolent Ones hope I will go. But you know me, I always mess up at crucial moments. Someone like me is simply incapable of shouldering such a responsibility." Ghost Duke chuckled awkwardly and said helplessly, "So I wanted to ask you to obtain the Demon God Seal."

"Why me?"

"The true form is merely a demon, and can be controlled."

That's not what you meant. State your own opinion.

"handsome."

Dedeline frowned; this guy really couldn't say anything serious for more than a couple of minutes.

But when she turned her head, she saw the guy with a serious expression on his face.

Ghost Duke was not lying; he genuinely thought that she would be very cool, extremely cool, if she could become a demon god.

If I were to make up the story, I would definitely write it like this: This guy obtained the Demon God's Seal and found himself on the same battlefield as Ark. Just like the two of them before, both drew their weapons, and the earth-shattering battle began.

Wow, that was an absolutely amazing scene!

Ghost Duke was thinking this when he saw her shake her head.

“I’m sorry, I’m not qualified,” Deedrey said, then turned and left.

......

In some corner of the world, Yak sat on a rock, gazing blankly at the sky.

So much time has passed, and the sky is still the same.

Perhaps it's like the world hasn't changed for a very, very long time.

He lay on the ground and sighed.

He is an Immaculate among saints, a demon among demons, and a merchant among humans.

Those are some really strange titles.

My comprehension is limited, after all, that's what things were like at the beginning.

Ark raised his hand and looked at the magic mark on it.

He pointed to the sky, and the already dim sky suddenly darkened.

The rain poured down from the sky; it was a terrifying, enormous rain.

Although he had long been able to predict the weather using his abilities as an Unsullied, he didn't actually need to. With this Demon God's Seal, he held decisive power over the vast majority of the world's environment.

In the past few days, he has obtained several more magic seals.

But this doesn't fundamentally change anything; he still has no way to deal with Benny. In Benny's eyes, he's probably just all flash and no substance.

So much useless stuff, but is there still any way to deal with that guy? He's the most troublesome one among the Saints. And he didn't show any mercy just because I'm Ark.

It's so heartbreaking; in the end, I'm all alone.

Yak hesitated for a moment, looked at the sky, and in an instant, the heavy rain stopped, and the sky became clear and blue.

Perhaps I was indeed being a bit too noisy.

He transformed back into a normal human being, looking at himself in an ice mirror.

Yes, it does look like a human.

He turned his head to look at the world and remained silent for a very long time.

The reason he is slow to understand is because he has existed for far too long.

As the earliest saint, he appeared in this world as a human being from the very beginning.

That was a paradise that existed only in records before the battle between the gods and demons.

My assigned duty is merely to observe; everyone can see me, and no one cares about or notices me.

Even when their existence was known when humans and monsters began their battle, it was only through various means that they deduced it.

Ark chose to sacrifice himself because, after he personally killed a Demon God, he began to doubt whether it was even necessary for this flawed place to continue existing.

He knew what paradise was; it was a place God used for pleasure, where nothing was not good. There was no place that was not virtuous. That was heaven.

I didn't understand what joy and happiness were at that time.

The reason is that he doesn't know what loss and sadness are.

He was unaware of sorrow in joy, but only in sorrow could he know joy. Only after everything was destroyed did Ark finally experience true joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.

But he was an innocent being; having experienced the simplest of feelings, he was no longer a monotonous, ghostly entity. Instead, he had his own physical form.

However, the power and mission entrusted by God do not include helping others.

So he could only watch the tragedy unfold from the sidelines.

Ark looked around and smiled helplessly.

That was only then; now I can't just watch him anymore.

How can we restart this world?

It's actually very simple. First, eliminate everything that's out of balance. The central church must be removed.

Then he could contain almost all the magic in the world.

Finally, after obtaining the special magic seal from the expandable safe zone, the safe zone's area was expanded to the entire world.

In that case, the remaining humans would become the inhabitants of Paradise.

It was a very simple and easy-to-understand matter, and Ark hadn't originally planned to go to such extremes. Until he saw the giant dragon standing on the ground in that city.

This strange feeling made one want to laugh helplessly, and then suddenly this strange thing appeared. The world, which had become quiet, became lively again.

He was now not far from that city, and he once again transformed himself into the merchant who used to travel in a carriage.

The plot was all planned out: his caravan encountered danger abroad and was wiped out. Now he needed to find a place to start over.

Just like when I first met Benny, I had nothing...

The End — Postscript

That concludes the story of this book.

It's clear to everyone that the story isn't over yet.

However, as the main body, the travelogue, and Yake's perspective, it ends here.

If the story continues, it will begin from the perspective of another protagonist. Whether there will be a sequel depends on whether anyone reads it.

But in any case, Ark's story ends here.