The Beast of Mercy Disappears

"Ah... Solomon, I am dying. I, the great one, have relinquished all my omnipotence, and my immortality has vanished. My remaining lifespan is but a fleeting moment. I have gained the short lifespan of humans, and I have become like them. Yet, I increasingly understand the insignificance and fragility of humanity. Such insignificant creatures, such beings that exist in moments devoid of reason—what is it that you love? How can one love a world ruled by such ugly creatures?"

"Please tell me the answer to this question that I've never been able to understand!"

Goetia asked aloud, this being the last question of his life.

He didn't understand.

I can't understand it.

He could never understand why such creatures were always favored by the gods and anticipated by the Magic King. He also couldn't understand why the Almighty King would yearn for such worthless creatures. He couldn't understand why, if he loved such creatures, he wouldn't guide or save them, but instead watch them repeat the same mistakes time and time again, standing idly by.

I can't understand it.

They are even more unwilling to accept it.

But in the final moments, they both relinquished the power of the Almighty King, yet he lost to something so ridiculous. Therefore, Goetia wanted to touch it, to understand it...

He wanted to understand the humanity he was entrusted with the mission of protecting, and to understand the turbulent emotions surging within him.

I'm even more curious to know, what exactly is this so-called love?

"Solomon, please tell me."

Upon hearing Goetia's question, Rovey gently shook his head.

"Goetia, so-called love... I can't really explain this myself, but as I said before, to love humans, you have to understand them, to understand their weakness, strength, ugliness, and beauty. Only by getting to know them can you truly love them. What you see is only a part of the ugliness, but because of this you overlook the much more beauty, which is why all of this has happened."

Upon hearing this, Goetia paused, as if he understood something, or perhaps he began to reflect, and he murmured to himself.

"So that's how it is, so that's how it is... Did I overlook the beauty because I saw the ugliness? Was I caught in a bias? So that's how it is, so that's how it all is?"

As he spoke, he reached out his hand, reminiscing about his past.

In an instant, he suddenly understood why he could not love humans, Solomon so enamored with them.

He fell into paranoia, choosing to be aloof, while Solomon chose to reach out, to love, and to be loved.

He only understood all this at the very last moment, when he relinquished his Clairvoyance and regained his dissipating body. But this—

It was all too late.

Goetia laughed self-deprecatingly. After obtaining the result, he chose to close his eyes and prepare to face his end. Having lost his vessel, he had already burned to ashes in the battle just now.

"Well..."

Looking at his dejected expression, Rovey recalled the last words Dr. Roman had asked him to pass on to Goetia, and said, "The future holds infinite possibilities. There are countless parallel worlds within dimensional rifts. Perhaps in some unknown spacetime, there exists a world where you and Solomon can understand each other and truly love humanity."

"Really... is it possible?" Goetia asked, trembling.

Rovey nodded and answered affirmatively, "There definitely will be."

Staring blankly at the young man before her, Goetia couldn't help but shed tears.

"Solomon... Solomon... I'm sorry, but I really longed for that future you described..."

With difficulty, Goetia reached out her hand, tears streaming down her face, and grasped it at Rovey.

"But it's too late for me now..."

Rovey took his hand and pulled his almost spirit-like body back up.

"No, it's not too late. Isn't this kind of world right before our eyes?"

As he finished speaking, Goetia's body gradually solidified, and even the spiritual particles that had been dissipating were replenished at this moment.

"What is this?!"

Goetia stared in astonishment at the scene, then looked at Rovey in disbelief. It was then that he truly saw Rovey's face. His complexion was noticeably paler than before, and he seemed to collapse to the ground as if he could no longer hold on.

"What have you been saying? Take a good look. Haven't your injuries already healed?"

Rovey rested his chin on his hand and said to him.

"--?!"

This unexpected question made Goetia's eyes widen in surprise.

He stared blankly at his palm, and at the same time clearly felt that his previously withered body had indeed received a replenishment at this moment, and had truly stopped disappearing.

"What is this...?!"

He stared at Rovey in disbelief, but the latter still perked up and smiled as he raised his hand to him.

"Now, not only Solomon, but you are also free, Goetia."

Chapter 313 The Beast of Mercy Disappears

"Goetia, do you know?"

"What?"

"Although I firmly believe that a world where we can understand each other will eventually come, I prefer to cherish the present moment rather than wait aimlessly and hopelessly, or search desperately for hope."

Sitting on the ground, Rovey covered his mouth and spat out several mouthfuls of bright red blood. With a weak smile, he said to Goetia, "Well, so you'll have to find that hope yourself, Goetia. You're free now."

"Solomon! What... what have you done to me?"

Seeing that Rovey's aura had clearly weakened, and feeling the changes in her own body, Goetia looked down at her hands and spoke in disbelief.

"Your aura and my body both..."

He sensed that the magic and essence he had just consumed had been replenished, and even his body had become much more solid, to the point that it had stopped dissipating. However, the life force within Rovey, as well as the sacred power belonging to a saint, was constantly flowing away.

"You ask me what I did? Isn't it obvious, Goetia?"

Rovey, sitting on the ground, slightly raised his head and said to him with a smile in his eyes, "Of course, it's to restore your body, at a negligible price."

"--?!"

Although she had a vague premonition in her heart, Goetia still couldn't help but show a look of astonishment when she heard these words with her own ears.

He began to carefully examine his body. His original pure energy body had become stronger and more stable than before, and even the damage and injuries from the battle had completely disappeared at this moment.

This left Goetia feeling quite astonished.

That's amazing... How did they do that?

This is truly an unimaginable and amazing ability...

Moreover—when I was fighting him just now, I was completely focused, fighting with the mindset of risking my life to win. I didn't even notice my injuries healing or my energy replenishing. On the contrary, while Rovey was beating me up, he even had time to heal me...

This shows that if Rovey had been serious and fought with the intention of killing him, he wouldn't have been able to last this long at all.

He...

Did they never see me as an enemy, and from the very beginning were they thinking of helping me?

"Solomon, you...?!"

Realizing this possibility, Goetia stood up from the ground again. He was about to say something, but the next moment, his brows suddenly furrowed, and his eyes sharpened as he hurriedly looked at Rovey was sitting on the ground covering his mouth.

"Cough cough cough...!"

The person sitting on the ground suddenly vomited several more mouthfuls of blood.

"My King--!!"

Upon seeing this, Lev immediately pushed aside the newly resurrected Goetia, then hurriedly knelt before Rovey, bending down to inquire about his injuries, his eyes filled with worry.

"Goetia! How dare you harm the King!"

"You damned traitor!"

The other Demon God Pillars, seeing how obsequious this lackey was, weren't to be outdone and swarmed around, vying to heal Rovey's wounds. They didn't forget to pin the blame for harming the King on Goetia, unleashing a torrent of accusations that left Goetia feeling utterly humiliated. However, compared to these lackeys, Lev and Goetia, who were closest to Rovey, were the most aware of his condition. They didn't have time to argue with these guys; they quickly reached out and asked, "Your Majesty, are you alright? What is your aura like now...?"

"..."

Rovey kept his head down and didn't speak, only letting out a long sigh. Then he slowly raised his head, weakly glancing at the two of them, especially at Goetia, and gave them a reassuring smile.

He continued, "Goetia... the magic and life force within you are simply too powerful, and your potential is unfathomable. Restoring you has truly taken a toll on me; it almost drained my life force. But for me, these are insignificant, merely a fatal wound. Moreover, this is also a trial, testing whether I have the courage to abandon everything."

"If you're confused, don't make a choice, but clearly, I have nothing left to be confused about. Power is something borrowed anyway, and I don't mind giving it back. What's fake is fake, and as long as I am who I am, that's enough."

As he spoke, he raised his hand, watching the Command Spells on the back of his hand vanish at a visible speed. Then, Rovey examined his own body and, sure enough, the miracles belonging to the saint and the holy son were also beginning to fade away at this moment.

Because Goetia's power originates from Solomon's Human Order Correction Formula, he is a unique being who has brought together the essence of Christianity. His own status is so powerful that it is even higher than that of the angels in heaven. Therefore, the energy required to completely restore and replenish him is extremely high. It would be impossible for anyone else to do such a thing.

However, Goetia was very lucky. Rovey's own power also originated from the Christianity and was of a higher rank Goetia's, which is why he was able to help Lovi recover from the brink of dissipation after the power was depleted.

"..."

As he opened his palm and watched the marks disappear, Rovey suddenly felt much lighter in his head.

Even the Voice of Heaven that had been echoing in my mind finally disappeared.

The invisible, special force that had been binding his fate had vanished without a trace.

He knew this was proof that he had abandoned everything about Christianity and returned to his true self.

All Rovey wanted to say to that guy in the sky who kept giving him tasks, calling them trials, but who was unwilling to help him at all.

"I'm not playing along anymore, I'm free now."

From now on, all your trials, tests, and world crises will be irrelevant to you.

He didn't want to be a transcendent being, nor did Buddha possess the lofty aura and enlightenment of an enlightened being; he was content to simply be himself.

However, although Rovey really wanted to laugh, he knew he couldn't, as the Demon God Pillars were watching them.

Moreover, he has now completely settled the score. Although Goetia caused him a lot of trouble, Goetia also helped him a lot with the Ring of Solomon and the Demon God Pillars. Now, not only has he corrected Goetia's personality, but he has also helped him gain a new life and brought him into the allied camp.

Even if the Alien God from Part 2 and A-Team emerge, humanity will have its strongest pillar. Although the Beasts that appear later, like Sessyoin Kiara and Kama, are increasingly disappointing, Goetia's value has never diminished. Even if he can't defeat the Alien God, he will still be a pillar of strength. Think back to how long Gaia has wanted an Earth's Ultimate One) but has been unable to find a way and has repeatedly failed. Goetia is far more useful than an Earth's Ultimate One.

Noticing that Rovey's power had dissipated considerably, Goetia's expression was extremely complicated. He asked in bewilderment, "You knew all along that it would consume your life force and your power, so why did you still help me?"

"Because..."

Upon hearing this question, Rovey, who had paused slightly, shook his head and replied, "Saving people doesn't need a reason, Goetia."

"--?!"

"You just said that when you gained a life as brief and fleeting as a human's, you also gained human feelings and wanted to understand humans. So, in that moment when you made that decision, you were also human. Therefore, what I saved was not Evils of Humanity, but merely a human named Goetia."

Looking into his eyes, Rovey smiled and replied, "Moreover, the power of God is not something too important to me. Just as Solomon could give up the Ten Rings, I can naturally give up the power of a saint and the name of a saint."

"When I first obtained this power, I only thought about taking advantage of the god's power, impersonating the holy son, and using this power to satisfy my own selfish desires. But during this long journey, I have come to understand many things."

As he spoke, Rovey reached out his hands to grab at the dissipating light.

"Along this journey, I have helped many people, healed many with my own hands, and even walked through hell. Because of what I have seen, my mindset has changed. At the same time, I have also clearly understood that my abilities are limited, the world will not change because of me, and I am just a thief who stole the power of God, not a true god."

He smiled and said, "Now I understand a lot and have done a lot. To be honest, I'm a little tired right now. So I want to hand over the work to you, who has just gained some insights and is about to pursue them—let you walk the path that Solomon once walked, and follow the path in your heart."

"King..."

Upon hearing this, Goetia remained silent.

Lev was moved to tears.

"Waaah, what a great king... You are still so noble and powerful! But please rest assured, even if you are no longer King Solomon or a saint, I will follow you to the death."

"We, the Demon God Pillars, will follow you to the death!"

The Demon God Pillars behind them also knelt down at that moment, offering their loyalty.

Seeing this, Rovey smiled helplessly.

He was utterly speechless at these blind and stubborn Demon God Pillars.

Finally, he looked at Goetia in front of him and continued slowly, "Never doubt, never be sad. This is proof that we have escaped each other's fate. I believe that my choice today is correct. If you are still at a loss and feel confused about your future, I would like to ask you to do one last thing for me."

"Please speak."

Goetia lowered his head.

"Go protect humanity, and then--"

"We can't lose."

"I know you saw a future of emptiness for humanity with your Clairvoyance, and I also understand that this is not the end. There will definitely be even more powerful enemies and more terrifying threats in the future. I have only one request for you, and that is not to lose, Goetia."

Rovey looked up and pointed to the Greater Light Wheel above his head.

"Keep the remains, the Ten Commandments, the Temple of Time, and the power I gave you. Goetia, gather these powers to fight the coming enemy, and defeat them decisively! If you are defeated, everything we've done so far will have been meaningless... So, can you utterly crush any external enemies, or those within the planet who want to disrupt peace?!"

Finally Rovey stood up and looked at Goetia in front of him with utmost seriousness, asking her a question.

Goetia nodded solemnly, giving his own answer.