Chapter 204: Chapter 202: Rose: Trying to Run? Come On In!

"Nice body you’ve got there. It’s mine now."

This was the declaration Ethel made upon entering Hilia’s spiritual space.

He knew this girl, bound by a divine contract that was off the charts, must have been possessed by a counterfeit god at some point.

After numerous tests, he’d already confirmed: not one of the Twelve Main Gods, not the Divine King, and definitely not the Evil God he dreaded most.

None of them, plus she showed up as such a weakling, relying solely on the city’s array to fight him, never daring to face him head-on.

So what’s there to be afraid of?

Ethel figured even if things went south, he’d just bail—no big deal.

Then, right there in Hilia’s spiritual space, he saw Rose grinning at him.

The familiar figure instantly triggered a deep-rooted terror within him.

"R-Rose?!"

Ethel stared at Rose, shocked: "You’ve broken the seal?!"

Without hesitation, he turned to leave.

However, Rose’s spiritual power transformed into countless strands, instantly darting in front of Ethel, blocking off his escape.

Rose chuckled, "This ain’t the place for a fight. Hey, follow me inside."

With that, the strands of Rose’s spiritual power tightly twisted around Ethel, dragging him forward.

Rose snapped his fingers. A spinning black hole appeared behind him. He turned and stepped inside, with Ethel struggling desperately behind him.

"Rose, you damn demon!"

Ethel let out one last angry roar before being dragged into the black hole.

He appeared again, looking around at the pitch darkness.

"This is... the Endless Abyss?"

He paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Hahahahaha! So you haven’t broken the seal after all, hahahahaha!"

Rose’s smile vanished.

Boom!

He punched Ethel’s soul body, smashing his skull to bits.

After Ethel’s head reconstructed, Rose spoke calmly, "Nothing pisses me off more than someone barking in front of me."

Ethel’s newly formed face had lost the smile, slowly becoming grim.

"You... how the hell did you drag me into the Endless Abyss’s seal?"

Rose flashed a smile. "Isn’t this the seal you guys set up yourselves? Hard to get out, easy to get in. You put so much effort into preventing someone from breaking in from outside."

With that, he snapped his fingers. Countless rare materials converged from all directions, forming Ethel’s body right before his eyes.

"I’m not bullying you—used loads of god-tier materials to build this body for you. The moment I could observe the Starfall Continent, I made sure to prep these for you guys."

He slapped Ethel’s soul into the newly formed body, forcing him to merge with it.

"I can’t help you reassemble your divine format, but simulating one to provide matching power to your body—totally doable."

Rose patted Ethel’s shoulder, and Ethel’s aura instantly soared.

Then Rose took two steps back, striking a pose much like Wing Chun, beckoning him over with a curl of his finger.

"Come on, let’s fight. Relax, you’re still useful—I won’t kill you."

Ethel’s soul was fusing with the new body, his expression flickering between moods.

Rose’s whole charade was a humiliation.

Except, he couldn’t fight back.

What was supposed to be a cautious, trial possession—even expecting not to lose unless the Divine King himself showed up—turned out to be Rose.

The last person he’d ever expect.

If the seal were truly broken, as the one who set it, the Twelve Main Gods would sense it and act.

He thought Rose had somehow cleared the seal without triggering their sense, but somehow Rose managed to bypass the seal, invade someone else’s spiritual space.

A method no one would have imagined.

Ethel’s gaze slowly cleared. He said lightly, "Rose, I lost. Just kill me. No need for this humiliation. I won’t fight and disgrace myself."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Fiery temperament, huh."

A terrifying surge of divine power crashed down on Ethel. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Cold sweat broke out across Ethel’s face; his body wobbled, yet he still stared Rose dead in the eye, expression resolute: "It’s useless. Ever since God King Zeus stripped us of everything, I’ve gotten over it. Living up till now was just out of spite. But if you caught me... that’s fine too. You’re a demon, but you once brought prosperity to the world. Better to die at your hands than that bastard Zeus’s."

"Hm?"

Rose withdrew his divine power, sat where he stood. "Details. What did Zeus do, exactly?"

Ethel stared at Rose, speaking slowly: "You think I’d really tell you?"

Rose shrugged. "Whatever. Speak or don’t, your call. Just look at you, it’s like you’ve got some huge score to settle with Zeus. Tsk tsk. For a God King who got kicked out and then reclaimed the throne, you guys trust him less than you trust that demigod."

Ethel stayed silent. Then, slowly, he spoke: "He betrayed us. Era of Calamity. While all the gods slept, he started hunting the gods, claiming their divine formats.

"Said only by merging all godly power could he truly kill you. He lied to us. He stole divine formats all to try to become the one true god.

"By the end, we banded together for a final godly war against him, forcing him to sleep. We returned to slumber, but this time, we never let him know where our lands of sleep were.

"Before we slept, we shattered every deceased god’s divine format, scattered them across the world—so he’d lose hope of merging them. But he stayed greedy, kept secretly looking for the gods in hiding every way he could."

Rose suddenly got it: "So Zeus wants to purge the God Court. Good stuff."

"Good stuff? Hmph, when he shows up, breaks your seal and kills you, yeah, that’s real nice."

"Oh, I’d love to see it. If only he’d show."

Rose smiled.

He knew for sure that Ethel wouldn’t spill everything.

Maybe what he said was true, but definitely just a partial truth—the important stuff he’d never share.

Like, why did Zeus suddenly want to snatch divine formats. Merging formats isn’t some trivial thing.

Or, after they went to sleep, why did he secretly become a sect god, using a fake identity to absorb faith tainted by pollution.

The Star Spirit Tree could coalesce godly authority, but as it did, demonic qi would form. Demonic qi to gods is no better than shit, yet Ethel could hold his nose, swallow it down.

Maybe the other gods did the same.

There’s no way there’s no secrets here. Rose wasn’t buying it for a second.

Judging by Ethel’s attitude, the guy was never going to talk.

Rose didn’t mind.

Other people’s reasons for eating shit? Not his concern.

He cared about something else.

"Tell me: do you know where the other Main Gods, or the Divine King, are?"