~ Chapter 84: The Laws of Creation ~

[Illsyore’s point of view]

Opening my eyes, I saw the endless blue sky above me. Then I felt the dirt in my mouth and my whole body aching in pain. It was such a ‘lovely’ wake up call.

With a loud groan and some bones creaking, I managed to get back up on my feet.

This isn’t working... I thought as I felt the pain surging through my whole body.

Breathing hard, I decided to do that one thing I was supposed to do the very moment I woke up. I fueled my body with Magic Energy and activated my regeneration ability. In the blink of an eye, my pain subsided, and I could final breath normally.

“Mhm... Much better.” I said with a smile.

Before moving from my spot, I did a quick check to see if I wasn’t missing any limbs or had grown any extra ones while I was out cold. Besides the cracks in my crystals, which were recovering, and my aching muscles, there were no abnormalities.

With a sigh of relief and an uneasy step, I began to search for Zoreya in this wasteland created as a result of her confrontation with The Darkness. The best way to describe this place would be to think of a battlefield on which two godlike beings faced each other. Craters, ditches, upturned trees, lakes of molten lava, and scorched earth could be seen as far as the eyes could carry. And in one point, far from where I was, the remains of a once bustling city could be found. How many lives were taken by The Darkness in that brief moment, I had no idea, and I probably would never come to find out, but right now I had other priorities.

From my point of view, the time that passed between the moment when I last saw Zoreya and right now could be measured in weeks or months. Either way, it was very long, so some of the shock and panic I would normally be experiencing wasn’t there. As such, I could focus all of my senses into finding the dying crusader.

The first thing I did was to expand my Dungeon Territory to envelop an area around me with a radius of about 3 km, then I began to search for any life signs, but I ignored the bugs, small critters, and anything else that managed to survive and wasn’t bigger than a dog in size. Thanks to me merging with The Darkness, I came to realize that my Dungeon Territory could detect quite a number of life forms. Previously most of this data was skillfully ignored by the previous settings, leaving only the big monsters and sapient species.

I found the crusader laying in the ground at about 648 meters away from me. The moment I detected her, I rushed to her side as fast as I could, but I underestimated my leg strength and almost flew past her.

Luckily for me, I was a quick thinker, so I raised a stone wall in front of me...

Nobody said I had to be a brilliant thinker... I went splat into the wall and broke through it, but at the very least I brought myself to a stop. Then, at a much slower and careful pace, while spitting out pebbles, I approached the injured woman.

“Zoreya!” I called out to her as I knelt by her side.

Her armor was pierced, and blood was everywhere. Without a second thought, I tried to active my magic to heal her. Since she was inside my Dungeon Territory, I should have technically been able to knead the Magic Energy into her flesh and use it to restore her cells, but the moment I tried to do so, I got zapped.

“What the?!” I blinked surprised as I shook my hands.

It was just like being shocked by a loose electric wire, but how could something like that happen? Last I checked, she was a human, not an android or robot from an 80’s Sci-Fi movie.

Once more, I tried to knead the Magic Energy into her flesh, but I got shocked again.

“The hell?!” I cursed as I rubbed my fingers.

“Status Check!” I called out.

The Dungeon Territory’s most basic function was that of collecting information from everything and everyone located within it. The amount of data I received was simple, but enough to give me a good understanding of their strength, however, what I got from Zoreya was a bunch of nonsense.

[N$m#] : Yzaro[ Alt40’’;

[LAERvel]: 404; 404//404<404#404$404%^

[Shgiesp]: Apostle of Melkuth

[4p[34];d;weee

“What in the name of all that’s holy is this?!” I shouted at the window.

But it was clear now that something was interfering with my attempt at healing her. From what I could tell, it had to do with her god, Melkuth. Maybe some of that Divine Energy was interfering with my Magic Energy?

My [Bond of Trust II] also mentioned something along the lines of changing one type of energy into another in order to grant my wives and slave their boost in stats. Maybe Melkuth did something similar? Seeing how I am Dungeon, by definition his enemy, he has taken caution on not to anyone of my kind to knead or interfere in a magical way with his Apostles? I wondered as I tried to understand the reason why I wasn’t allowed to heal this woman.

“Damn it!” I cursed and clenched my fists.

I was angry that I couldn’t do anything. Removing the damaged armor was out of the question as well. Pieces of the metal were bent inwards and shards were probably embedded in her wound. There were also several pieces which were fused together, making it impossible to remove without ripping them apart or forcefully bending the metal.

She’s going to die like this... I thought as I looked at her face.

With her life fading away, the energy that kept her youth was also slowly dispersing, causing her to age... Now she looked like a 40 years old woman, but she was still beautiful in my eyes.

There’s only one way... If she can talk with them... then maybe... I thought and closed my eyes.

“Melkuth, God of War! I know you are there! Answer me!” I demanded and glared up at the sky.

There was no reply.

I clenched my fists.

“Answer me you over-worshipped bastard! Do you really want to see your Apostle die?! Do you want her to die in vain just because you don’t want me to heal her?! MELKUTH!” I shouted.

No reply.

“Very well...” I closed my eyes and tried to think.

What can I do? Maybe if I build him a temple? Maybe that building acts as a intermediary or something? I wondered and decided to give it a try.

Using my memories and those of the Dungeons as an example, I poured Magic Energy into a very rare and hard to get skill called [Ultimate Creation Kit]. Just like the name said, this thing couldn’t be upgraded, couldn’t be improved, leveled up, or anything, but it was ridiculously powerful if one had enough Magic Energy for it. As a side note, The Darkness kept it under lock and key and did his best to keep me away from it from the very moment I was born into this world.

You could add with it any number of Floors, Rooms, Corridors, Paths, Traps, Mechanics, you name it. As long as you KNEW EXACTLY what you wanted to build, you could do it. The cost was sky high when compared to building it step by step, but the results were instantaneous. It wouldn’t be wrong to claim this Skill as my very own Supreme Ranked one.

Thus, the first thing I decided to build with the [Ultimate Creation Kit] skill was the full sized temple of the God of War. It was a perfect and maybe even improved replica of an those spread around the continent at this moment. I even Enchanted the walls with so much Magic Energy that they could survive a full-on nuclear assault. If The Darkness attacked it with a beam of laser, this thing would still survive. There were even decorations inside and had everything it needed to welcome new believers.

Well, it was in the middle of a scorched battlefield, but that was a minor detail. As for the small mark I added at the bottom: ‘Made by the follower of the Holy God of Big Boobs!’. That was an easy to miss detail... probably.

“THERE! Now will you answer me?!” I shouted.

No reply.

“MELKUTH! Don’t ignore me, you parabolic mongoose!” I shouted.

No reply.

Maybe I need to fix the terrain or come up with better insults? I still have Magic Energy, and it’s regenerating at an amazing speed. So, should I also add a town too? Yes... that must be the fault! I thought, but I was seriously running out of time and ideas.

Even so, focusing over 9000 Magic Energy points into the [Ultimate Creation Kit] skill, I began to change the terrain, build houses, stores, and official buildings, each and every one of them completely furnished and ready to be used. I spared no detail, and for a moment there, I even thought I would run out of Magic Energy!

Well, if I were to have built those buildings one by one, it wouldn’t have been that much of a big deal, but I had to do it in one go because I was running out of time.

“[Ultimate Creation Kit]!” I shouted without bothering to use the Voice Command.

Those words could be redefined as I desired any way. The default version were the nonsense words everyone in this world used. What mattered was the actual process of kneading the Magic Energy into the form I wanted.

And just like that, an entire town capable of housing at least 1000 souls was raised in the middle of the freaking nowhere! Compliments of the one and only Godlike Dungeon Lord Illsyore!

“Huff! Huff! There!” I said as I tried to catch my breath.

Expelling so much Magic Energy nearly brought me on my knees and if it was the old me, I would have fainted. Since I had complete control, I knew how to overexert myself past the self-imposed automatic limits. The only catch was that I ended up loosing a lot of strength, speed, and focus power.

“MELKUTH! ANSWER ME, YOU MUSTARD! Huh? I mean bastard!” I was so annoyed I accidentally made a fool of myself.

Even so, if he didn’t do something about Zoreya’s divine attribute, she was as good as dead.

“MELKUTH! She’s dying! You know this! So do something! Let me heal her! Please...” I begged and lowered my head.

What else could I do? Yet even after all of this, I was still unable to make the God of War speak with me.

Does he think so little of us? Of Zoreya and her faith in him? Was she only a disposable pawn? I thought and clenched my fist.

It was possible.

To get rid of The Darkness or cure me of it... Zoreya’s sacrifice was probably seen as nothing more than an acceptable loss. After all, what was the life of one Apostle when they could stop a rampaging monster like The Darkness?

What he did to the city was nothing compared to he could have done if fully unleashed upon this world. From his memories, I understood that I was the main reason he couldn’t do it. No matter how much he blabbed on about destroying me and locking me up, the cold hard truth was that my soul never allowed him access to all of the unrestricted abilities of this body.

I could simply never agree to the ways he wanted to use them. The ultimate goal of The Darkness was none other than the complete and utter extermination of all organic sapient species on the Three Continents. After it completed this goal, it wanted to build a powerful dungeon capable of covering the entire planet.

Even if Zoreya’s true purpose in this life was that of only stopping me in any way or matter she could, I couldn’t agree to it. I was a selfish Dungeon Lord who didn’t want to let her go... Not after everything that happened. Not when I knew, deep down, there was still a chance to save her.

What am I doing wrong? I asked myself as I looked down at the ground. “What can I do to help her?” I asked out loud. I have so much power, yet again I can’t save someone I care about? I shook my head and punch the ground, cracking it.

“NO!” I shouted in anger.

Sometimes, the best way to catch someone’s attention isn’t to please them but to make them mad... or angry at something... but how? How can I make the God of War angry? How can someone annoy a god like him? I thought and as I looked up.

Before me, I saw the temple I built for him.

“That’s it...” I smirked.

Again, I thought up a ridiculous plan. It was my last bet, my last chance.

Glaring up at the sky, I shouted at the top of my lungs “MELKUTH! IF YOU DON’T ANSWER ME, I’M GOING TO...”

[Somewhere up in the sky]

“Are you sure you don’t want to take this call?” the perverted old man asked as he looked through the window that displayed the world of the mortals.

“NO!” I retorted.

As a God of War, I was in a very shameful position. Hugging my knees and grumbling in a corner in my own office, I was trying not to think of what happened in the aftermath against The Darkness, but at the same time, I was angry and upset by the fact that Zoreya wasn’t going to join me here in the heavens.

Despite what she said, the Apostle pact was clear in this matter. As long as she loved someone else besides me, she wasn’t allowed to join me... As such, my Divine Energy was slipping out of her body and letting her die like any other mortal out there.

It was pathetic, but even I couldn’t do anything about it.

Does this mean I lied to her? I wondered.

Even if I was a GOD, I wasn’t allowed by the OTHER Gods to go back on my own words of creation. The laws which both determined and offered an Apostle their power and authority came with very strict conditions. Obeying the said God was a given, but every one of us required certain things from that said Apostle. In my case, I wanted them to be Female and love only me.

In the case of Kleopatra, the Goddess of Love, she didn’t care about the gender of her Apostles, she only wished them to remain a virgin till the age of 25, be able to remain sane after a night of love with her and then find for themselves several other lovers, while still answering her call to her bed whenever she felt in the mood.

Sertan as the God of Harvest wanted his Apostles to love nature and agriculture to an almost abnormal level. His condition for one to remain an Apostle was that each year, they had to bring a bountiful harvest to a different field, with no two fields being the same for a period of 5 years. He didn’t stop them from having a family, but in case they did, his condition was that they would be very fertile... Those families of Apostles multiplied worse than Merions.

The Holy God of Big Boobs was an exception to all of us because he didn’t have even a temple, let alone an Apostle. His only legitimate follower so far was a Dungeon of all things. None of the other gods took him seriously, most of the times, especially the Goddess of the Hunt and the Goddess of the Anvil.

Even so, without a doubt, he was the MOST powerful out all of us.

As such, thanks to the conditions I placed on my Apostles, I ended up losing the best one I had. There was no way I could just calmly watch as she died and was taken away by the God of Death... I would rather eat my own sword and run naked in the middle of a battlefield than to seen that idiot’s big grin... Besides, how could I even look at Zoreya when she will be told by THAT God that she failed and was now dragged to the Underworld. It would be too painful... therefore, like a coward, I hid in a corner and cursed my own days.

“Illsyore is the one who’s calling you, you know?” the old senile pervert told me.

“Tell him he got the wrong God of War! Pretend I’m Ares or something!” I growled at him.

“Well... how am I supposed to do that?” he retorted.

I ignored him.

Illsyore would just give up once Zoreya died... That was going to be it. Just a bit longer and then I could grovel back to my chair and look for a new Apostle for the shield, or watch an alien rom-com on the Galactic Web to settle my nerves. The yourtzians had some rather good ones...

“Ah! He’s insulting you now.” said the senile old fool.

“Tell him to go jump off a bridge!” I retorted.

Now where was I? Ah yes, romantic comedy series... yes... perfect. I will watch a few. Yup, nothing bad will happen if the God of War goes missing for a few years. I have feelings too, you know! I cried in my mind.

“Erm, are you sure about this?” the idiotic god was being persistent.

“LEAVE ME BE! I JUST WANT SOMETHING TO CUDDLE AND CRY RIGHT NOW!” I shouted.

“He just built you temple...” he said.

“What sort of idiotic Dungeon would think something like that could appease me?” I scoffed.

“Well... don’t ask me, I’m usually happy with just sneaking a peak at the ladies bathhouse.” he grinned foolishly while imagining something perverted without a doubt.

“I don’t care...” I growled and looked away from him.

“Oh? He built you a town... I hope he’s not going to fill it with that new breed of boot-humping imps. Their numbers are growing at a frightening rate.” he told me.

True, those were a pest, but only summoners and Dungeons could call them out.

Then again, how did they multiply so fast in the first place? Didn’t Illsyore kill the only specimen? Is it some sort of new religion I have to watch out for in the future? I thought, but I quickly abandoned that dangerous train.

Whatever that dungeon was trying to do to appease me, it wouldn’t work! Even if he built me a thousand temple or made me the number one God among all, I still wouldn’t do it! I didn’t want to answer. I didn’t want to face Zoreya’s death...

“Hm. Are you really really sure about ignoring Illsy? He’s sort of... now he’s actually threatening to reduce ALL of your temples to a pile of ruble if you don’t reply. He does have that sort of power, you know?” the god told me.

“He what now?” I blinked surprised.

He’s kidding right? Doing something like that could bring a devastating blow to my believers! Why would he do that?! Just because I didn’t answer?! I panicked.

This was no joke, unlike the pervert over there, I couldn’t hold on to my position if all of sudden my temples were suddenly erased from the face of the planet!

[Illsyore’s point of view]

“Melkuth! For the last time! If you don’t answer me this instant, I’m going to obliterate ALL of your temples! And to make things clear, ONLY AND ONLY yours! The other ones, I’m going to clean and offer them praises! I’m going to make you into a forgotten god even if it takes an eternity to do it! I’ll erase you from their religious books! I’ll destroy your reputation! I’ll spread rumors the like that would make children cry and veteran adventurers cringe! I will make perverted and mentl torturing dungeons with your name on them and tell everyone that you ordered me to make them! I will make sure they will experience the most hateful of traps ever!” I shouted at the sky.

“WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU DO THAT?!” the god finally answered.

I smirked.

“Oh! So there you are! How are you doing? Nice weather up there, isn’t it?” I asked with a nonchalant smile.

“...” the god didn’t answer.

“I know you are there. No use hiding now!” I smirked.

A bolt of lightning shot right in front of me. In that place, a majestic-looking man made his appearance. Actually, scratch that, it was an armored fellow with black hair and black eyes kissing the ground.

“Are you alright?” I asked furrowing my brow.

“You’ll thank me later, Melkuth!” I heard the voice of another fellow, but this one seemed older and quite familiar too.

It can’t be... can it? I wondered.

“Ugh... that idiotic god...” Melkuth groaned as he pulled himself together and took a more dignified stance in front of me.

“Hello! You must be the God of War, nice to meet you, now do something about Zoreya! Chop chop!” I said and pointed at the dying woman next to me.

“Hmph!” he scoffed and looked at me as though he was looking at a bug.

I squinted my eyes at him.

“How many temples do you think I’ll pulverize if I drop nukes on them?” I asked.

“You wouldn’t.” he said.

“Oh, I would!” I nodded and smirked.

“Tch! I heard you have the heart of a human, so you wouldn’t senselessly kill millions!” he rebuked.

“I was indeed human, but now I am a Dungeon with the memories of a former human. As such, I’m not that affected by killing a few millions. You know, I’m not feeling all that bad about the city The Darkness destroyed. What’s a few more kills on the list?” I smirked.

It was a partial truth, but to be more precise, I understood that there was nothing else I could do at this point about this tragedy, so worrying senselessly about it or blaming myself wouldn’t have solved a thing. What I could do was make sure something like that never happened again, thus, yes... I was unable to drop nukes randomly like that. Then again, I would probably have a hard time making nukes in the first place. I knew this, but this god didn’t.

“Hmph! I won’t let you! Me and the other gods will...”

“You will what? Stop me? I am not The Darkness, you know? I won’t mindlessly destroy their temples... just yours. ONLY yours.” I smirked.

“You dare make such a dangerous threat to a God like me?” he questioned.

“Sure, why not?” I shrugged as if it was nothing. “But just to make things clear,” I lifted my right pointing finger up “I don’t hate you or antagonize you in any way in general, but right now, if you were on fire, and I had water. I would drink it.” I showed him a calm smile.

His eye twitched.

Oh! I’m getting to him! I smirked.

“Fine! Tell me what you want, Dungeon!” he said, finally caving in.

“I want you to let me heal Zoreya.” I declared.

“I can’t let you do that.” he shook is head.

“Why?!” I asked surprised.

“She’s still an Apostle until the last drop of my Divine Energy leaves her body, which will be in a minute or so. For a human, I have to say she’s quite the resilient one... Sigh, what a pity.” he shook his head.

“Don’t let it be! You are a god, aren’t you?! Just change the laws for that Apostles thingy! Make an exception! Anything!” I pointed a finger at him and demanded.

“I can’t! I’m not all powerful! That’s the job of another God!” he declared.

“Then aren’t you completely useless?! Melkuth, apologize immediately to that tree out there that’s producing oxygen so you can breathe!” I retorted.

“Watch your tongue, Dungeon! I’m still a powerful God of War! I can do... stuff.” he lowered his gaze “But not save my own Apostle from certain death...” he let out another sigh.

I can’t believe this... I thought.

I felt like ripping this planet apart!

What was with this situation?! This absurd thing in which a God couldn’t even do something like heal his own Apostle? Who made these laws? Why?

I felt like screaming and groaning and complaining, but none of that would have helped, so I took a deep breath and calmly asked him.

“Why?”

“When Gods make their Apostles, they use the Laws of Creation to do so. According to them, this relationship is a ‘give and take’ one. I offer her power, authority, and immortality. She offers me a perfect faith, love only for me, and complete obedience to my commands.” he then looked at me. “When an Apostle fails the implied conditions set by the Laws of Creation, her power is taken away, and she’ll be seen as a normal mortal again.”

“But she didn’t fail...” I tried to rebuke him.

“SHE DID, you idiot!” he glared at me.

“Huh? What?” I looked at him confused.

This was news to me, or it completely slipped my mind, one of the two.

“She didn’t listen to my command when I told her not to go after you and just kill you. She doesn’t love only me, she also loves you! And to make matters worse, you are a DUNGEON!” he pointed his finger at me while glaring furiously at me.

I gulped.

“Well... then...” I looked down at Zoreya.

I knew that last part... and I know I don’t want to let go of her either... I wonder if I can still save her if I do that one thing Nanya’s going to kill me for? Sigh, guess she’ll be the fourth? Will I be able to honestly reply to her love? No, this isn’t the time to ask myself such a silly question! I will do it! I nodded to myself and then looked straight into this guy’s eyes.

My mind was made up.

“What?” he asked surprised.

“Change the conditions.” I demanded.

“Like I said, I can’t! They are set in stone the very moment I made the FIRST Apostle!” he shouted in anger.

For a moment, I felt like the whole world trembled. This guy was starting to show a bit of his true power, and it was quite a lot. His fury was the real deal. There was no more place for jokes and insults in our conversation.

“I understand...” I nodded.

“Then leave me be... It’s not easy for me to lose an Apostle like her either...” he let out a sad sigh as he looked back at Zoreya.

Something twitched in me.

“I’m not giving her to you.” I declared.

“She was mine to begin with.” he glared at me.

“I don’t care. She loves me, and you only as a god! Get a clue! Those two are different!” I shouted at him.

“No! For me, they are the same!” he retorted.

“Are you an idiot?! Go ask the God of Love, and he will tell you!” I pointed at the sky.

“We have a Goddess here, not a God, and still... I am a God! Why should I listen to you, a Dungeon?!” he puffed his chest.

“Because I can destroy your temples and turn your religion into a bad joke?” I replied raising an eyebrow.

“You can’t.” he squinted his eyes at me.

“Try me.” I retorted.

“Ugh...” Zoreya let out a soft groan that caught our attention.

Spitting out blood, her breath trembled, and it was clear that even with her incredible endurance, she wouldn’t have a lot of time left to live.

“She’s dying, Melkuth... So please, stop being stubborn and help us.” I pleaded him.

“Like I said... It’s not that easy... The Laws of Creation are something the entire Pantheon of Gods agreed to. Denying or modifying them would be the same as questioning or doubting the very existence of all of us. I can’t do that. I don’t have that sort of power, not even your god does.” he groaned and shook his head.

It was clear that even he was annoyed by this situation. As for the said god, I had yet to meet him. Funny that I got to meet the God of War first before my own.

“Then... You said Apostles are bounded by conditions, right?” I asked.

“Yes.” he nodded.

“You can’t change those, right?”

“No.”

“Then... can you make something like a High Apostle and give them new conditions, while adding one that makes them, you know, level up from the condition of a normal Apostle?” I asked hoping there was still a slim chance to save her.

“Hm...” he rubbed his chin and looked as though he was seriously thinking about it.

“Well?” I asked.

“You know... it might work. It doesn’t go against the rules, but... ugh... I would have to give her more power and conditions... and...” he was rubbing his temples.

“How about this then?” I smirked and looked into his eyes.

“What?” he asked.

“The level up condition from the normal Apostle is as follows: Be able to Love your god, Melkuth, as a god, while still holding romantic love for another even if they are a Dungeon. However, that love must be true, and Melkuth will be the judge of that. As a High Apostle, they take up the role of your most trusted mortal and will do battle in your name. They will be granted the power you desire and allowed to have a family as long as said family supports them. At the same time, it will not be the fault of the High Apostle if their lover or family ever tried to go against them, but as long as the High Apostle is willing to do your bidding, they will maintain their status. What do you think?” I asked scratching the back of my head.

“Hm... That sounds good, although, I wouldn’t put some of those things like that. Hm, but the condition you mentioned... this would mean that you would become Zoreya’s family, but you don’t have a family name. Hm...” he rubbed his chin as he looked at me.

I felt a sudden chill run down my spine.

“What? Why do I have bad feeling about this?” I asked.

He smirked.

“What are you thinking?” I asked squinting my eyes at him.

“I will make Zoreya into my first ever High Apostle only and only IF you agree on the following condition.” he said.

“What condition?” I asked.

“You will make me your God as well, and in return I will grant you Zoreya as your wife, a family name, and the possibility of serving me!” he laughed.

“Skip the last part, and it’s a deal.” I nodded.

I will gain more than I would lose, and it really doesn’t matter what sort of family name I receive. I thought while examining both sides carefully.

I should have taught about that last part a bit more...

“Very well! Now, give me a moment, I must need to focus I...” he stuttered and looked at me. “You heard nothing.”

“Heard I nothing yes.” I nodded.

He squinted his eyes at me.

“Zoreya’s dying you know... for a while now. So, chop chop! Get going with the godly thingies and make her into a High Apostle.” I said shooing him off.

“The nerve of you. I am the God of War, you know?” he said.

“Like I care?! Zoreya’s more important!” I declared.

“Ugh... you...” he let out a sigh and gave up on the quarrel.

Yay! I won! I thought childishly.

Whatever Melkuth did, he did it fast. In the blink of an eye, Zoreya was covered in a bright, white light, and he looked like he was out of energy, gasping for air and sweating like crazy.

“Are you alright? What... what just happened?” I asked surprised.

“I did it... She’s... She’s the very first High Apostle of Melkuth, the God of War... and I’m seriously out of energy. But, before I go, I’ll tell you this. I accept you as Zoreya’s husband. IF you accept her without the beauty of her young version, you pass. If you don’t, it means you were just after her body. As such, Zoreya will die. At the same time, since you accepted the condition I asked of you, I will tell you your... huff... huff... your family name from henceforth!” he declared and then gasped for air.

So far I understood what he said, although, I couldn’t fully understand why he was so exhausted. Those Laws of Creation must have been pretty difficult to use all in all. Even so, I was about to be baptized by the God of War himself, so I stood straight in front of him and looked at him with a serious face.

“I, Melkuth, give you the name of Deus! From henceforth, you shall be known as Illsyore Deus, the Dungeon Lord who follows Melkuth, the God of War! And I, Melkuth, the God of War, recognize you and your family as my loyal worshipers and followers and grant you all the protection, blessings, and rights that come with it!” he declared as a white light enveloped me.

In a moment, I understood something in me changed. The family name offered by a god... was also a bit ironic.

[Family name received: Deus]

[Allegiance added: Melkuth the God of War]

“Deus, really? How many quarters of a second did it take you to think of that one?” I asked mockingly.

“Two and half, but shut up and be glad I didn’t name you something more ridiculous like... Boobylichious! I could have, but I also have to think about my High Apostle’s future. I can’t have her named something like that! And if I was really really aiming for something ridiculous, how about Puppy or Kitty? Illsyore Lil’Kitty sounds wonderful, don’t you think so?” he smirked.

This bastard... I was glaring at him.

“Anyway, I’ve done all I could! Now save my precious High Apostle and don’t make me regret doing all of this for you!” he pointed his finger at me.

I nodded and turned my gaze towards her.

Zoreya’s beautiful young figure turned into that of a wrinkled and crippled old lady. She was aged to a point I could barely recognize her, but she was still the woman who gave her all in order to save me.

“So this is how a century-old crusader looks like, heh?” I smiled and gently brushed her hair. “Zoreya?” I tried to wake her up.

“Let me do something about that...” the god said and touched her forehead.

“I thought you couldn’t interfere?” I asked raising an eyebrow.

“With Apostles, not that much... With her? I can do a lot more.” he smirked.

“If you do anything perverted.” I glared at him.

“Calm down, what do you take me for? A senile old fool?” he retorted.

“Ugh... Illsy?” she said and looked at me with barely any life force in her eyes.

The tone of her voice was that of an old lady. Her smile was weak and wrinkled from her passing age.

“I’m here...”

“So, you won... I’m happy.” she smiled.

Melkuth was still holding a finger on her forehead, but it didn’t seem like she was aware of his presence. Maybe that was the side effect of whatever he was doing? Or maybe it had something to do with my initial ability [Divine Perception], which allowed me to communicate and see Gods?

“Zoreya, I already received permission from your god, so I wanted to ask you something.” I showed her a smile.

“From Melkuth? What do you wish to ask of this old lady? I don’t have that much time left, I can feel it...” she looked up at the sky, although her gaze sort of went straight through Melkuth’s forehead.

“I wish to ask if this old lady wants to be this Dungeon’s wife. Will you marry me, Zoreya?” I asked her.

“What?” she looked a bit surprised, tears welling up in her eyes. “But... I’m old now... I don’t have much time left.” she said with trembling lips.

“What’s age to a beautiful soul like yours?” I asked as I leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.”

This blasted god just tried to stop me, didn’t he? I thought as I could clearly feel his other hand pulling me back by the hair.

He was one jealous god, but that still didn’t stop me.

“Illsy... if you are fine with me... and if even Melkuth said yes, then... I don’t mind being your wife, Illsy.” she cried.

[High Apostle of Melkuth Zoreya Alttoros is now your wife.]

“Relax, my love. I will save you...” I said and then placed my hand on her cheek. “Absorb without armor.” I said.

In that moment, she vanished, leaving only that damaged armor behind. I was going to collect that later, but for now, I had to go back to my Inner Mind and use my healing ability to its best in order to save her. It was going to be an easy feat for me now that there was no annoying Divine Energy blocking me.

“Was the name thing really necessary?” I asked.

“Yes... The Laws of Creation demanded at least this in order for you to be allowed to interfere with her body and heal or... ugh... impregnate her.” he said the last word as if it was poison for him.

“Oh, is that so? Good to know about that last part! I was thinking about twins!” I smirked. Sometimes it felt so good to hold a good knife in your hand and use its sharp blade dipped in salt to stir the wound of your enemy. “Anyway, I’ll be going now. Thank you, Melkuth! Despite all that I said, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me save Zoreya!” I declared and bowed at the waist in front of him.

“This... I didn’t expect. Sigh... Treat her well, Dungeon. I will be watching over you from now on.” he declared and then slowly vanished.

“I will.” I nodded.

It was time to return to my Inner Mind and save my fourth wife. Ah... Nanya was going to kill after this.

[Back in Melkuth’s office]

“See! That wasn’t so bad!” said the senile old pervert.

“Bad? It was horrible! No mortal had even dared speak so disrespectfully with me! He even dared to threaten me! Me, the God of War!” Melkuth shouted as he pointed at himself.

“Well, he’s a Dungeon and not a normal one either.” the senile fool shrugged indifferently.

“When I think about the fact that I just gave my top Apostle to him... I feel like crying with tears of blood!” he declared.

“You already are... Want a tissue?” he kindly offered him a box.

“Shut it...” the God of War grumbled as he wiped off his tears, turning the white tissue red.

“But, you are the first God ever to make a High Apostle! That certainly was a stroke of genius!” the old man nodded approvingly.

“I know, but... I feel like I forgot something.” he tilted his head to the left.

“Did you remember to offer Zoreya’s youth back?” he asked.

“Ah, blasted pigeons on a stick! I completely forgot about that detail!” the God of War face-palmed himself.

“Just... add the condition now.” the other god showed him a wry smile.

“I will... But she first needs to leave his Inner Mind. Ah~ What a blunder on my side...” the God of War sighed and looked back down at Illsyore’s body, which remained stuck in a kneeling position in front of the broken remains of Zoreya’s armor.