Divine Emperor of Death

The black scroll remanifested in Davis's hand as it disappeared from its initial location.

A pitch-black aura emerged from Fallen Heaven as Davis poured his soul essence, sacrificing a portion of his soul essence.

"Resistance is futile. You know you can't do anything to me."

The World Master paused raising her hand, but a few words left her mouth in an indifferent tone.

"You're right."

Davis answered in the same indifferent voice, "I can't kill you, but I know other ways that I can convince you to release us."

"If you knew, you would've already tried. It's useless. I don't want to overly hurt you so the Grimoire of Fate doesn't incur a dangerous backlash, so become vulnerable and let me separate your souls. Just let it go as you previously did, and I give you my word that I will safeguard your family."

 "Oh no…" Davis's expression was amused, "I didn't try to resist out of the respect I had and the debt I owe you. But you shouldn't have said something like killing us both. You should've killed me when I gave you the chance."

"It's clear she made her decision to die along with you. Her life is something I saved back then, and I'm free to end it. Besides, you know she will be reborn again, don't you? Her life is nothing but a series of never-ending suffering that even I cannot release her from."

"…!" Myria shook while holding Davis, causing his eyes to narrow.

"Even in your jurisdiction, she took so many rebirths to be able to reclaim her self via Ellia, and what makes you think she can easily do it ag-"

Davis's expression suddenly froze as he paused.

"I see. So that's what it was…" He looked as though he had realized something.

The World Master was still nonchalant, calmly blinking her eyes as she dropped her hand and took a seat again.

"Have you truly realized that it's futile?"

"No." Davis moved Myria behind him while still flashing Fallen Heaven at her, "If you don't let us go, I'll end the lives of all Candidates."

The World Master's eyes narrowed while Davis's lips curled ever so lightly.

"Whatever plan you have in mind for millions of years, I will— ruin it all."

His smile only grew wider, but the World Master continued to be nonchalantly seated.

"You won't. Three of your loved ones are still Candidates."

Davis's gaze flickered, his smile growing twisted.

"I'll kill them too. I'll kill everyone so that you can't take advantage of anyone in my family."

"Have you gone crazy…? You're bluffing…"

The World Master finally displayed some reaction as she stood up again, looking into the distance as though trying to confirm something.

"Perhaps I am. Perhaps I'm not. We would never know until you place your hands on me."

Davis uttered in a vicious tone.

On the other hand, the World Master's gaze flickered as she indeed found seamless karmic threads extending out from the Grimoire of Fate. They didn't stretch into the horizon but seeped through the void, and she found that they attached themselves to all the Candidates and even his own family.

Even the newborn wasn't spared.

It was like he just had to pull the trigger to kill them all, causing her to glare at his daring smile.

He… was… bluffing… she knew it for a fact based on his previous actions, but at this moment, she couldn't tell what he was truly thinking, causing her eyelids to quiver.

On the other hand, Davis's focus was stretched after sacrificing forty percent of his soul essence just like that. He could barely maintain his sanity, not knowing what he was even capable of, as he felt like he was cornered to the very end.

He knew the names of almost all the Candidates because this information was collected by Fairy Thunderblaze. He had got it from her to know which bastards would face against his beloved wives, so he planned to use it against them if there was any danger, but it was now used for something else that he had to target them in the process, causing him to feel it was extremely ironic.

He was indeed going to kill everyone in his family, and that pained his heart more than he wanted to feel, almost making him abandon his determination.

However, his plan didn't end there.

"Fallen Heaven… force-reincarnate everyone in my family after ending their lives… That's the only way they can survive this ordeal and not get taken advantage of…"

Davis's voice was hoarse with emotion, his eyes slowly turning red.

"You fool!" Fallen Heaven growled in a low voice as though it was afraid their conversation would be spied on, "The opponent is the World Master who could even see through your past. Do you think they could escape her eyes even if they reincarnated into their next lives?"

"Perhaps they could or not. Either way, I don't have a choice, and at least they can live a new life… severed from my accursed life…"

Davis's heart sank deeper, but he kept staring daggers at the World Master, his red eyes fueled with the power of Fallen heaven, reflecting her deep black eyes.

"Then…" The World Master raised her hand once again slowly, "… let us see who is faster. Grimoire of Fate, prepare to be extracted."

Davis's eyes turned bloodshot as he clenched his teeth, "I'm not done yet."

"I will be taking the life of Saintess Lunaria as well."

The World Master's hand came to a stop, her gaze flickering as she titled her head.

"Such an amusing thing to say at this point."

Davis heaved a breath as he heard her unperturbed words. He clenched his other fist and moved his lips.

"From her shape to mannerisms, although not a lot, almost everything about you matches with her. More than that, the gaze in your eyes is the same, gentle."

"Are you suggesting I masqueraded as Saintess Lunaria?"

The World Master's voice was unamused, as though she was disappointed, causing Davis to let out a vain chuckle.

"You could be Saintess Lunaria herself, but who knows? Saintess Lunaria did say that she met you, and I can't tell if she was lying, but if it was true, then I can understand a few points I missed before. She could even be your daughter since you seem so protective of her, guarding her from the Azure Dragon, who was crazy about her. Am I wrong?"

The World Master narrowed her eyes, "What makes you say that?"

"As the one who obtained the Grimoire of Fate, you could never give it away to someone else just because you didn't have compatibility with it. You obtained the Grimoire of Fate even before you met Myria, so you would have a plan that you initially set to do, which you explained just a while ago, having countless people test and explore the Grimoire of Fate's abilities. However, since everything you tried from behind the scenes failed, and Myria's reincarnations kept failing many times, you took it upon yourself to use the Grimoire of Fate, but because of karmic burden already plaguing you, you feared using it and created Lunaria for this very purpose."

"…" The World Master's eyes widened.

Seeing this scene, Davis took a deep breath, his voice somber.

"You took advantage of Myria's countless rebirths and studied her physique to fulfill your goals. You deciphered the secrets of her endlessly splitting souls to create a life that was highly compatible with the Grimoire of Fate, didn't you?"

Davis's brain churned, "In fact, there should be another existence born together with Lunaria who is proficient in Death Laws, no? Together, wouldn't they be the most compatible existence to control the Grimoire of Fate?"

"…"

"Aha~"

Looking at the World Master go silent, Davis laughed, "What are you going to do if you lose Saintess Lunaria? Start from the beginning again? Do you even have enough time left since you seem so hurried to kill me and take the Grimoire of Fate?"

He grinned as he asked with bloodshot eyes.

He was only probing at the beginning, but the changes in the World Master's reaction gradually made him go wild with his imagination. He wished his hypothesis was right so badly. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to fight back against the World Master.

"You got one thing wrong."

"…!"

Davis's heart sank as he saw the World Master drop her hand as she shook her head. She turned around, walking to the edge of the pagoda canopy, and looked into the distance. Her stare continued for a few seconds before her sonorous voice resounded again.

"I'm not kind as Lunaria."

"…"

Myria's gaze shook. Davis was… actually right?

She had been listening to them the whole time but didn't bother to retaliate as she knew it was futile, but now-

"That girl…" The World Master's voice contained a tremor, "... she threw away the Grimoire of Fate like it was no one's problem, which essentially ruined my chances to live. And, it is, as you said. The technique I studied from watching Myria failed. Lunaria's twin, who had an innate proficiency in using Death Laws, died upon creation, and with Lunaria abandoning the Grimoire of Fate later on, I had no choice but to depend on Myria again, waiting for her to come back to life while I plan my legacy to be inherited by the winner of the Candidacy."

The World Master's shoulders shook ever so lightly as though she felt a chill from the breeze. Raising her hand, she adjusted her silky black hair behind her ear and turned to look at them.

"After all, I don't have much time to live since I already got hit by a divine punishment and became crippled back then~"

"!!!"