Lord of Prayer

“That’s to be expected. The body of a Transcendent is stronger than an ordinary person’s, but I’m still going to die… As for backup and trump cards?”

Zhou Chen gave a strained smile. “I don’t have anything like that. I just wanted to live a little longer, that’s all.

You guessed right. The way they suddenly vanished is Spatial Magic, and it’s meant to guarantee our safety.

But you’ve already beaten me to this state. Even if I escaped, my injuries are incurable. So I gave up. I just want to live a little longer.”

Zhou Chen sighed. “In exchange, I can tell you some secrets of the Extraordinary World… Have a smoke?”

Satan hesitated for a moment before saying indifferently, “I don’t have any. But I’ll permit you to live a little longer.”

Having just gained Supernatural Power, it originally harbored ambitions of ruling the World. But too many Transcendent beings had appeared tonight, including some who had nearly killed it. This made it realize it wasn’t invincible—that there were likely quite a few people who could kill it.

Therefore, it was desperate to learn more about the realm of Supernatural Power and prepare for the future.

No matter what this person was planning, it couldn’t kill him just yet. It had to get enough information out of him first.

“Alright… Let’s start with the origin of Supernatural Power.”

Lying in the crater, Zhou Chen organized his thoughts and began his attempt to fool the creature and buy more time.

“In the Era of Chaos that followed the Big Bang, the Cosmic Emperor was born. After creating countless galaxies, He fell into hibernation. He slumbers in the unreachable ninth dimension, inhaling decaying radiation and exhaling the winds of life.

The surging winds of life swept across the entire Cosmos, bringing with them vibrant life, allowing it to evolve and flourish…

Later, a civilization called ’humanity’ was born on one of these planets. They evolved rapidly, mastering the mysterious and unpredictable Supernatural Power. With it, they ventured into the stars, establishing colonies within their galaxy and continuously expanding their territory.

In the fifteenth millennium, humanity began colonizing the Stars with sub-light speed spacecraft. During this time, they encountered the Blade Queen, the King of Ruin, and the Star Forger Dragon King…”

“Wait a minute.” Satan suddenly cut him off, snarling, “What’s all this about a Cosmic Emperor, galactic colonization, Blade Queen, and Star Forger Dragon King… Are you messing with me?”

“But this is our forgotten history.”

Zhou Chen replied in a matter-of-fact tone, his breathing even weaker now. “Be patient, I’ll explain it all. After humanity colonized the Stars, a cosmic storm in the twenty-fifth millennium cut off interstellar travel. The various galaxies lost contact with one another, and humanity entered a chaotic age of Darkness.

Later, a massive war broke out, and the human civilization on our planet was all but destroyed. The only thing left was a ruin in some corner of the world that recorded everything. Although the survivors gradually repopulated and grew, they forgot their former glory. Civilization regressed, and both technology and the Extraordinary plummeted.

Supernatural Power is an Ability humanity mastered during its glorious Gold Age, and it has been passed down through the generations. This Power has existed since ancient times. But as civilization regressed, so too did the Extraordinary. That’s why there aren’t many historical records of Supernatural Power. In recent years, however, as civilization has advanced, the Extraordinary has begun to reawaken. That’s why Supernatural Power is becoming more common.”

Satan listened, stunned. It mulled over the sheer volume of information. After discovering Supernatural Power, its worldview had been shaken once again.

’So the history of the Extraordinary was that ancient, and humanity had even ventured among the stars…’

“And what about the organization you belong to?” Satan asked.

“We come from the ’Judgement Court.’ We’re responsible for eliminating Demons, Alien Forms, heretics, and anything that endangers human civilization,” Zhou Chen answered with a straight face.

“The Judgement Court?” Satan said. “Tell me more.”

“The Judgement Court is led by twelve councilors. Every one of them is a powerful Superpower User, dozens of times stronger than us. One of the councilors even traveled to Mars by himself… he flew there under his own power…”

Satan was utterly shocked. ’Flying to Mars alone? Just how powerful would someone have to be?’

It couldn’t help but feel a flicker of fear. ’Maybe I should lie low for a while. After Akita Town is destroyed, the Judgement Court will definitely send even more powerful Superpower Users…’

“Below the twelve councilors are…”

Zhou Chen continued to stall for time.

The basement of Joey’s House.

CLANG!

The Forging Hammer fell with a heavy blow. After that, Renie didn’t raise it again. Instead, she stared at the sharp Weapon, her eyes blazing. After a long moment, she slowly closed them.

Immediately after, she coughed up a mouthful of blood. Her aura rapidly weakened, and her face turned pale as paper, completely devoid of color. She swayed, nearly falling, and had to brace herself against a table for a long while before regaining some strength.

She had broken out of her state of absolute focus. The days of Forging had consumed a massive amount of her life force, leaving her on the verge of collapse.

After pulling a vial of Alchemy Potion from a pouch at her waist and drinking it, some color finally returned to Renie’s face.

“Renie, this is bad! Mr. Smith and the others are in terrible danger!”

“Akita Town… All of Akita Town is on fire, and everyone’s acting like they’ve gone crazy…”

“We even saw a Demon just now…”

“Renie, Old Jack ran outside, too…”

The four children exclaimed all at once, frantic as ants on a hot skillet.

Renie frowned, picking out the most crucial piece of information from the clamor.

’The Demon has already made its move.’

She picked up the newly forged Weapon, drank another vial of Alchemy Potion to restore her Physical Strength, and walked out of the basement.

“You all wait here. I’m going to help.”

“…Then there are the Investigators, divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D. D-Level Investigators are the lowest rank, basically considered expendable…”

Before Zhou Chen could finish, a furious shout echoed from the distance:

“Demon, get away from him!”

Zhou Chen’s heart skipped a beat. ’Damn it,’ he thought, ’that’s Old Jack’s voice! What is he doing here?!’

’We stalled for so long just to keep Old Jack safe!’

“Hmm, another one in a Tinfoil Hat…” Satan mused. “Is he with the Judgement Court?”

“Smith? What happened to you? Don’t die! You can’t die!”

Old Jack yelled anxiously, seeing Zhou Chen’s wretched state from a distance.

“Stay back! Go, quick—”

Zhou Chen tried to tell Old Jack to run, but before he could finish his sentence, he felt a warm Power surge through his body.

In the blink of an eye, the grievous wounds on his body vanished.

Even his depleted Essence was fully restored.

’I didn’t make a wish… What’s going on?’ Zhou Chen was baffled for a second, then decisively warped to Old Jack’s side, grabbing him to flee.

’Whatever’s happening, I need to run first!’

Satan reacted instantly, appearing before Zhou Chen with speed rivaling a Flame Jump. A vicious claw swept out, tearing through the air.

A flash of flame erupted and the figures vanished. A moment later, the ball of flame was shredded by the claw’s slash.

Five sharp arcs from the claw attack shot forward, extending for dozens of meters. They carved deep gouges into the ground, neatly severing streetlights, utility poles, and trees.

Zhou Chen used successive Instant Teleportations to carry Old Jack away, only stopping once they were two kilometers distant.

Even teleporting at maximum speed, he was still grazed by the vicious claws. Two shocking gashes appeared across his newly-healed chest and abdomen, deep enough to reveal bone. Blood poured out, and even his intestines spilled from the wounds.

“Jack!”

Zhou Chen paid no mind to his own wounds, rushing to support the collapsing Old Jack.

Old Jack had two similar wounds that nearly bisected him.

An ordinary person could never withstand such injuries.

Excruciating pain wracked his every nerve. Yet for some reason, as the unbearable agony spread, it gradually faded into numbness. His consciousness seemed to drift away from his flesh, falling into an empty void.

Old Jack collapsed into Zhou Chen’s arms. He stared blankly at the gloomy sky and the chaotic firelight reflected in the dark clouds, his lips quivering as he whispered:

“Who… am I?”