Follower Ritual

"Rumble~!"

Hermes' sea of souls churned, like a world-ending natural disaster, with terrifyingly hot flames burning.

His sea of consciousness vibrated ceaselessly.

"Crack crack crack~!"

A silver curtain protected his soul, standing firm amidst the fierce, raging fire.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~!"

Just then, Basim's soul seed, cast using all his soul power, even at the cost of soul overdraft, arrived.

The moment the soul power entered Hermes' sea of consciousness, it transformed into black miasma, rushing towards the silver curtain in the center of the sea of souls.

"Crack crack crack~!"

Unlike the energy barrier formed by a Soul Divine Artifact, or a Soul Sovereign Artifact, the silver curtain's defense was proactive and materialized.

If Hermes hadn't encountered this double soul attack, he wouldn't have known that 'Silver Moon' possessed such a capability.

In the sea of souls, the silver curtain actively vibrated, releasing countless silver particles like nanobots.

"Pfft pfft pfft pfft pfft~!"

Each vibration was accompanied by the death of countless black miasma, which directly turned into pure soul energy.

It merged into Hermes' sea of consciousness.

"Ahhh ahhh ahhh~!"

If it weren't for the fear of social death, Hermes would have truly wanted to roar out loud.

The increase in soul energy, was simply like a man's crucial moment, repeated and sustainable.

Neither harming his body nor his spirit, Hermes felt more and more energetic.

"As expected, the curtain formed by 'Silver Moon' truly did not disappoint me."

When Salif's flame-infused soul attack arrived, he had already anticipated this outcome.

But Hermes hadn't expected, that the soul control from the masked, black-robed figure could also be so easily resisted.

"Boom~!"

A flash of golden light instantly dazzled Basim's pitch-black eyes.

The Golden Fist Shadow, carrying an attack imbued with all of Hermes' profound understanding, struck.

It was powerful and unstoppable!

"Bang~!"

The black robe shattered, blood and gore splattered, and more than half of Basim's body was pulverized by this punch.

"Pfft pfft pfft!"

The force of this punch was too great!

It was aimed directly at the Godhead.

Basim's soul, hidden within the Godhead, instantly disintegrated. The Godhead turned into a speeding bullet, piercing through more than a dozen stone walls of Blocking Castle in succession.

It finally embedded itself into the stone wall.

"Hahaha!"

"You were ambushed by me, weren't you?!"

Having killed Basim with a single punch, Hermes laughed heartily. He showed no signs of being stiffened by the soul attack.

"Rumble~!"

The moment Basim died, the Blocking Castle, vast as a small city, shattered.

Sand and stones rained down, all converging in one direction.

"Gurgle gurgle~!"

A yellowish-brown bead rolled directly to Hermes' feet.

"What is this?"

"Where did Blocking Castle go?"

He put away the bead, along with Basim's corpse. Hermes would never miss an opportunity to loot a corpse.

That kind of joy, he had only experienced in his previous life when playing games and soloing dungeons.

After his rebirth, he had few such pleasant experiences.

"Rumble~!"

In the pitch-black, boundless underground, a terrifying pressure swept over Hermes, giving him no time to adapt.

"Where the hell is this?"

"This should be underground in the desert. I'll get you out."

Salif's voice suddenly rang out in the endless darkness.

"Bang~!"

Before Hermes could be surprised, Crimson, surging Divine Power enveloped him and thirty other surviving Demon Assessment candidates.

They shot up towards the desert surface at extreme speed. By now, Hermes had finally regained his sense of direction.

He extended his Spiritual Sense, wary of any dangers that might appear in the darkness.

In mid-air, a large Metal Life bearing the emblem of a Demon Castle hovered.

"They're here, they're here!"

The middle-aged man with white hair sat motionless as Brittany reported excitedly.

"Open the hatch and prepare to welcome the returning powerhouses!"

The middle-aged man with white hair smiled.

This Demon Assessment had taken an exceptionally long time, and he was getting a little impatient.

The boundless desert, the purple moon, and the sun alternated in the sky. Even though the desert scenery was nice, it became tiresome after looking at it for too long.

"What's going on? Why are only a few people returning?" The middle-aged man with white hair hadn't spoken, but Brittany was the first to lose her patience and ask.

Normally, The pass rate for the Demon Assessment was indeed tens out of a thousand, but dozens of people still survived.

Close to a hundred in total.

But now?

Not only had only 31 out of over a thousand candidates survived, but even the star-rated demons were all dead except for Salif.

"What did you encounter?"

Upon seeing Salif's bitter expression, the middle-aged man with white hair finally stirred. He pulled Salif over and asked.

"Zhelan Fort is strange. The person who called himself the guardian is also cultivating Death Law, and his strength is at least that of a Five-star Demon."

Salif only said this much.

He omitted the fact that his subordinates were killed because they naively trusted Saba, and that he himself had been soul-controlled.

"So, your Five-star Mission failed this time?"

The middle-aged man with white hair was not only the examiner for this Demon Assessment but also the reviewer for Five-star and Three-star Demon Missions.

"No, we succeeded!"

Salif hesitated to speak.

"Can I say it?" In the end, he could only transmit his voice to Hermes via Spiritual Sense and ask.

"Whatever, I don't care!"

Under the middle-aged man with white hair's greatly astonished gaze, Hermes waved his hand at Salif.

"That's right!"

Thinking that Hermes had the strength to kill a Five-star Demon, he naturally wouldn't fear exposing his abilities.

Then, A scene that would horrify the dozens of people inside the Metal Life occurred.

Including the thirty Demon Assessment candidates and several staff members.

And the middle-aged man with white hair.

"Thank you for saving my life, my lord. Salif is willing to swear allegiance unto death!"

Salif directly knelt on one knee before Hermes, drew his long saber, and held it out with both hands in front of Hermes.

"Ah?"

This time, Hermes was the one who was flustered.

In both his past and present lives, he had killed quite a few High Gods, but he had never had a follower.

"Ah?"

The middle-aged man with white hair was stunned.

"You, a dignified Five-star Demon, are actually willing to follow a God? What kind of joke is this?"

"Are you crazy?"

The middle-aged man with white hair, who was also a Five-star Demon, couldn't help but tug at Salif's armor.

"Huh?"

Brittany's beautiful small mouth opened into a circle.

"What am I seeing?"

"The Follower Ritual! I actually have the honor of witnessing a sacred Follower Ritual in my lifetime!"

Hell, as one of the planes created by the Four Supreme, While strength reigns supreme and conflict is constant, it is also a world that emphasizes ritual.

Because it has the foundation to perform sacred rituals—the Supreme God Oath.

The Follower Ritual is one of the highest-spec and most sacred rituals since the birth of Hell.

The follower requests the followed, and upon receiving permission, the follower makes the Supreme God Oath.

Thus, the ritual is complete!

This sacred relationship between follower and followed is protected by the Supreme God of Destiny.

With the Supreme God of Destiny present!

Who would dare break their oath?

Although such rituals have gradually faded from the historical stage, some still remember that this was a product of the era before the Sovereign Gods.

The strong banded together for warmth, unable to form contracts like magical beasts, so this method of interest-based alliances evolved to guarantee mutual benefits.

Following is not enslavement; it is often an investment in potential powerhouses.

Salif had a gut feeling that the God before him was a king worth following, though he couldn't explain why.

It was just a hunch.