Chapter 452: We Are Not Like You

The Demon pointed a finger up.

“Only a True God can do that. And that True God, we firmly believe, is the exact one who disappeared. We heavily believe that this specific person was the one who actually created this entire universe, but for some unknown reason was protecting this tiny planet alone. But of course, all of this is something we just could not safely confirm. All of these are highly educated speculations.”

Adrian nodded. “Then what is the point of me joining either of you?”

The Demon chuckled warmly.

“Well, that’s the kicker. We Angels and Demons… we cannot naturally accumulate Karma. Our physical bodies are basically just solidified, powerful souls. We are on a much higher scale when it comes to our raw mental powers, to the point where it extends over to our physical abilities. But you? You uniquely have a physical body and a soul entirely separately. We consider ourselves the perfect beings, but there must be a cosmic balance of the two. And all we possess is a spiritual body… we do not have a real physical body.”

Adrian nodded. Even though he didn’t completely understand the intricacies of what he meant, he could easily grasp the core idea.

“So you cannot passively accumulate Karma?”

“Yes,” the Demon nodded firmly. “We cannot accumulate Karma because Karma was strictly made for those who could actually reincarnate. For example, let’s say you do something bad right now. There is only a minor chance that you will magically have to pay for it in this specific life. Karma accumulates over multiple lives, and then only when the time comes will you directly experience certain things, both phenomenally good and horribly bad. I could explain it to you much easier with multiple detailed examples, but that would probably take up our entire day.”

He leaned forward, his eyes burning with intensity.

“But in simple terms, if I made everything perfectly simple and had to tell you this whole massive thing in one single line, then I would say: You are the one who can actually become a God.”

Adrian froze.

“To be perfectly specific,” the Demon continued smoothly, “you are the only one on this planet who can actively become the True God. And whosoever side you officially take… they will heavily gain the cosmic benefits of that.”

Adrian nodded slowly, processing the weight of it.

“You say that you can’t accumulate Karma, but what about the native Dragons?”

The Demon chuckled dismissively. “Dragons? Yes, of course. But they are mostly just physical constructs made of raw mana. They have natural souls, yes, but they physically cannot reincarnate. Their souls aren’t fully complete. The human race was specifically created by the True God to eventually ascend to Godhood. And the one specific person right now who holds the highest amount of Karma… specifically ‘Good Karma’, is you.”

The Demon leaned closer, lowering his voice conspiratorially.

“But do you want to know a highly guarded secret? Something that even the Angels do not know, but we Demons already figured out?”

Adrian nodded. “What is it?”

“It doesn’t actually matter what specific Karma you accumulate more of. Good or bad. It doesn’t matter,” the Demon whispered. “As long as one of them grows astronomically big enough, you will be able to forcibly ascend to Godhood. All you need along with that massive Karma is… can you guess what it is? You have already experienced it, and you have already technically used it.”

Adrian frowned deeply, his mind racing.

“Is that… Faith?”

“Ding, ding, ding!” the Demon grinned widely. “You got it exactly right.”

He leaned back lazily.

“But anyways, since you asked for my True Name earlier… well, the harsh truth is that I don’t really have a permanent name. We go by a completely different name every single time we take over a different human body. And in this specific life, everyone just calls me Chief. So you can also just call me Chief. I have really not bothered giving myself a new name.”

Adrian just looked at him with a slightly disgusted expression.

“What the fuck do you even mean ‘Chief’?” Adrian muttered. “But whatever.”

He shifted his weight.

“I have a different question. Why can’t you Angels and Demons control or mess around with the natural Dungeons?”

The Demon stared at Adrian for a few seconds and his playful demeanor instantly vanished.

“Dungeons,” the Demon breathed. He let out a soft, highly agitated sigh. “Those things… we cannot even enter them. Whenever we try to enter them, be it actively sending an Apostle or using our Avatars… we die.”

Seeing Adrian’s confused expression, the Chief clarified. “Whenever we completely take over a human’s body, we call it an Avatar. And before you judge us, here is the thing. We don’t just randomly pick someone and forcefully rip apart their souls to take over their bodies. We are not you.”

Adrian’s lips twitched violently.

He remembered what the system had just recently shown him. He couldn’t help but glance at the one small blue screen that was still floating in the air right in the corner of his vision.

[Soul Consumption Progress: 2%]

It meant that his soul was currently consuming the soul of the original Adrian Sterling.

Adrian pushed the thought away and focused entirely on the Chief.

“Here is what actually happens,” the Chief continued. “Some of the humans here experience a lot of hardships. They basically intentionally conduct a ritual and they pray directly for us, asking us to do something for them. For example, take revenge on their enemies or fulfill their wildest dream. In return for our services, they willingly offer their bodies. We help them achieve their dreams, and then we permanently take over their bodies. It is that wonderfully simple, really. Just a simple concept of give and take.”

Adrian nodded, not really paying it any mind. He didn’t really care what other people did with their bodies as long as it did not impact him or his family.