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nWhile retreating, the two met up with Horell and Dalton, with Horell being somewhat afraid the latter.

n“Is something the problem?” Argentum could not help but ask, somewhat curious as to why Horell now acted around Dalton that way. In response to that, Dalton could only lightly smile. “Well, just when we thought we were safe from the demons after you two seemed to annihilate them all, a demon popped up from our backs out of nowhere. I guess he’s still reeling from the shock he felt from that.”

n“I see…” Although Argentum did find it somewhat odd that Dalton was the one who answered instead of Horell, he eventually threw it at the back of his head as it seemed that Horell would still get over it either way.

nWith that, the four of them made their way back to where Kurohana and Aurus was, with the latter two looking at them with satisfied smiles on their faces. In fact, Kurohana seemed to have a proud expression on her face, especially while looking at Herellia and Argentum.

n“So, how did we do, Kurohana? Did we accomplish the task Nix gave you?” Argentum asked, to which Kurohana let out a chuckle in response. “But of course. After all, I expected no less from you to do just that.”

n“However, not only did you two go ahead and accomplish the task with flying colors, you even went far beyond and caused mass chaos among the demons,” she added, showing how satisfied she was with what both Herellia and Argentum had done.

nHearing Kurohana’s words, Herellia could not help but become curious. “When you said we went far beyond, how further did we go? You did say we had to kill around a hundred Depraved Deity armies, right?”

nNodding, Kurohana replied, “Indeed. You two did kill around a hundred Depraved Deity armies…”

nIn response to those words, both Herellia and Argentum could not help but have the urge to say that if that was the case, then they’d just killed the exact number of armies needed for them to accomplish the task. But then, when she added one more word, the two of them looked at each other with great incredulity.

n“…each.” Kurohana finished her sentence, prompting the two to reassess the level of combat power they each held. As for Horell and Dalton, they could not help but look at each other before shaking their heads, thinking that there was no way the two of them would reach the same level of combat power as the two battle junkies in front of them.

nNevertheless, with the task accomplished, that meant that the six could return to Kurohana’s space and wait for another request from Nix to either annihilate more Depraved Deity armies or kill some specific figures on the opposite side.

nHowever, just as they were about to turn around and leave the premises to head back, a small screen appeared in front of Kurohana’s field of vision as the same beautiful woman in dark clothing had appeared on it once more, this time with a grin on her face. Compared to before, where her expression was slightly grim, it was a stark contrast. “Hey, Kurohana! Why didn’t you tell me you were hiding something like that around?!”

n“What am I hiding?” replied Kurohana, though a slight knowing smile had adorned her face at this point.

n“You know very well what I’m talking about. Don’t act dumb.” Seeing how her friend was acting, Nix could not help but let out a bit of laughter as she focused on the four behind Kurohana. “But seriously, where did you find the time to find more people to help you out?”

n“I didn’t.” Kurohana shook her head. “Instead, I helped them reached the levels they’re at right now.”

nThen, focusing on Argentum, she continued, “In fact, one of them even has a power that might turn the tides in our favor.”

nOf course, Nix didn’t know what Kurohana meant by that. But if her close friend was that confident in the powers the four behind her had, then she didn’t mind giving them the same level of trust as her friend did. “I don’t know what you mean by that, but I’ll assume that it means good things.”

n“In any case, are you guys willing to do a few more tasks?” she asked soon after. “Of course, since Kurohana said that she raised you all to your current levels, I’ll only give you tasks that require killing Depraved Deity armies for now. But as time passes, the difficulty will gradually ramp up.”

n“Naturally, you’ll be compensated for your efforts.” Wrapping her offer up, Nix asked them, “So, how about it? Is it fine with you four?”

nHearing Nix’s offer, Argentum and the others looked at each other for a bit as they engaged in a hushed conversation. Eventually, all of them looked back at the screen as Argentum went forward. With the other three nodding at him, he nodded back before looking at Nix. “We would be fine with that, but can we choose which tasks we can take?”

nIn response to those words, Nix could only smile.

n“With pleasure.”

n…

nAnd thus, after their first skirmish with the opposing side, Argentum and the others went ahead and did the same thing on the other sectors of the Celestial Plane, not holding back as they went far above and beyond the requirements of their tasks.

nBecause of this, those that came across them would call them something that eventually stuck and became what they were known for.

nThe Monstrous Quartet.

nAs for Kurohana, who usually tagged along with them on their tasks, even though she already had multiple titles and accolades under her belt, she was also given a new title related to that after most of them found out that she had birthed the Monstrous Quartet they knew.

nThe Founder.

nEventually, by the time two weeks had passed, their team had accomplished so many tasks that many of the other gods believed that any task thrown at them would not only be successful, but would even go a bit beyond that.

nUnder their belt, they had killed thousands of Depraved Deities, dozens of True Demon Gods, and even one Grand Demon God, the latter already being at the level of an Immortal Verdict wielder.

nAs to how a team of Lesser and Greater Gods had achieved what seemed to be the impossible, it was all thanks to Argentum’s Greater Law, allowing him to tap into a level of power far beyond his level.

nNevertheless, as they had already done so much for their side, even going so far as to reduce the burdens on their fast response teams, Nix had allowed their team to get their well-needed rest as the six of them leisurely made their way back to Kurohana’s space.

nHowever, by the time they’d arrived at the space, they quickly noticed that there was a person already within the space, prompting to be somewhat vigilant.

n“Who are you?” Kurohana took the initiative to ask, radiating a hint of her intent towards the person as she made it known that the space the person was in was her domain.

nIn response to the question, the person lightly smiled as his voice had a strange cadence to it. “Me? And here I thought you wouldn’t ask.”

nWhoosh!

nJust as the six thought nothing much was going to happen while they were taking a rest, the exact opposite instead happened, with the white space faintly turning black for a bit as a peculiar type of energy surrounded the space.

nSensing the energy that had enveloped the space, Kurohana quickly understood what was happening, looking at the person with a hint of fear as she had felt a familiar aura from the energy. “Are you… who I think you are?”

n“If you think you know who I am, then that’s most likely the case.” The person lightly smiled in response, though the smile only gave Kurohana more chills.

n“Who is this person, Kurohana?” Argentum could not help but ask, finding it somewhat difficult to talk under the effects of the peculiar energy.

n“If my guess is correct, then in front of us… is the Eternal Demon Sovereign,” Kurohana said in response, prompting everyone to go silent as the person in front of them let out a cackle. “Don’t call me by that, it sounds rude. Instead, call me by my name.”

n“Ylhazar.”

nWhen the man uttered his name, a soft rumbling noise resounded throughout the space, as if the space was rejecting the name itself. However, the man radiated a bit of the energy in his body in response, nullifying the rumbling until it returned to silence.

nSeeing as all of their attention were on him, Ylhazar decided to initiate the conversation. “Now, you might be wondering. Why is a being that’s on the same level as your Overseer here in a place where only Lesser and Greater Gods could be seen?”

n“Is it because you’re here to enact revenge on the demons we’ve killed?” Argentum asked. But surprisingly, in response to the question, Ylhazar shook his head. “Far from it.”

n“I have no reason to kill you for such a petty thing. After all, it’s the survival of the fittest in this place,” he said. “Instead, I’m here for you.”

nAs he said that, he pointed towards Argentum.

nAt that moment, everyone could not help but look at Argentum, wondering if he had done something. However, even Argentum was left bewildered by the sudden answer. Pointing at himself, he asked, “Me? Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”

n“Why would I mistaken someone else as the key?” Ylhazar said in response, which only confused everyone there in the space even further.

nSeeing their confused expressions, Ylhazar decided to explain. “Your little friend here contains a certain power that would allow our universe to meld with your universe, turning it into one large universe that could contend against the upper ranking universes.”

nJust as one of them was about to ask what he meant, he continued, “Of course, I’m certain you haven’t explored what’s beyond your universe. Well, let me tell you. Outside your universe, there exists a myriad number of universes, most of them ignorant to the fact that there are universes beyond theirs. However, some of them do know of this, allowing them to become the strongest universes in the multiverse we’re in.”

n“Their top powers are capable of wiping out our universes in one move. At the same time. Think about it. If we were to meld our universes together, the overall power of those at the Divinity level will greatly increase, allowing us to eventually be at the same level as them.”

n“Haven’t you ever wondered what exists beyond the universe you’re in? Well, if your friend here accepts his fate, I’ll make sure everyone here will find out,” he concluded.

nListening to Ylhazar’s words, all of them could not help but go silent, with one of them pondering over it for quite some time. After all, he was the only one among them that was needed by Ylhazar.

n“What do you mean by accepting my fate?” Argentum decided to ask.

n“Coming along with me and sacrificing your power to act as the bridge between our universes,” Ylhazar succinctly replied.

n“And if I say no…?”

n“Ohoho. You really think you have a choice here? Well, I’ll give you one. It’s either you come with me and accept your fate or witness the eventual destruction of your universe…”

n“Your call.”

n“…”

n“…”

nWith such an ultimatum like that, Argentum could not help but think about it for a bit. Then, when he thought he was finished thinking, he thought about it for a bit more. Eventually, he had come to a conclusion as he looked at the man that stood before him.

n“I have come to a decision.”

n“And what would that decision be?”

n“…** you.”

n“…”

n“…”

n“Then… so be it.”

n…

nEnd.

n——–

nAnd with that, I Reincarnated As A Stick has come to an end. I know there’s a lot left to be desired from this novel, but after thinking about it, it’s just better for me to move on.

nWithout a doubt, I’ve learned a lot from the novel as I wrote it. I’ve also learned a lot from the feedback you gave me. It’s what made me into what I am today.

nIn fact, I thank all of you for sticking around with this novel till the very end. However, it’s time for me to move on and branch out. I’ll come back and polish the beginning of the novel for the sole fact this is my first novel, as well as upload a few side stories in the future, exploring a couple what-if scenarios.

nBut for now, thank you and may we meet again.

n-Truedawn

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