(2)

---step---step---step---step---step---

I continued to walk for a few minutes. There was no one near me. But, I was able to feel it. Cold eyes glared at me from a distance. There weren't any crooks or asymmetrons. They were just dwellers of zooviya who came to the side planet to gain ascension.

[Presently, the people who dwell on this side planet are experts that want to receive a re-evaluated rank and be announced as demigods to the entire zooviya from the dark crevasses who are disguising themselves as deities. This side-planet was once the castle ground of the late gods of this world. But now, it is just a training ground for mortal infinitos to receive a lifespan extension. I have to bring this world back to its former criterion... First, I have to deal with these bunch of fools.]

I turned towards my right and remained in the same spot. Still, there was no reaction from the other side. I had no choice but to make the first move.

[They refuse to fight me head-on and want to observe me from afar, huh? Fine, if you fools want to do it your way, then I will do it in my own way.

Authority to 'understand'...]

---whooosh---

I started to feel the atmosphere around me and began to understand the flow of aroma. I was also able to feel the aura and magic of the people who were spying on me. They were lurking behind the woods. They were using magic and weird techniques to make themselves invisible. But, I can still feel their presence and body structures. I understood their power levels by the amount of power they were containing and the refined nature in it.

[There are a total of eight infinitos behind those woods. All of them are in the darkened yellow flames stage.

In the absolute abyss, the level of infinitos is at the darkened crimson and darkened orange flames stage in the lower sub-realms; darkened yellow and darkened green flames stage in the medium sub-realms; and darkened blue, darkened indigo and then darkened violet flames stage in the higher sub-realms. The colour of their eyes is what represents their power level. If all these people had black and yellow eyes, then this world must be in a medium sub-realm.

Right now, I am in the darkened crimson flames stage. I might not be a match for those fools if I was an ordinary infinito. But, power is not about the stage.

Although my level is the lowest, it is the most refined. These darkened yellow flames stage experts do not have the dark energy as refined as mine. I can reign supreme over others with just a little amount of energy. I can also stand on equal footing to a mutant asymmetron with this level of mastery and refinery of power.]

"Stop the petty tricks, you fools. I know you all are lurking in these woods. It would be better if you show yourselves!", I said in order to bait them to my provocation.

---flash---flick---flip---

Three experts took the initiative to attack me. The first one was a close combatant with two double-sided blades in his hands. He had a ponytail and a Verdi beard. His speed was visible to my eyes.

The second person was a female elf. She must have been an elf before her soul ended up in the absolute abyss. She charged with a spear. Her hair colour was silver and the right ear was missing half of the muscle. The speed was combined with swiftness such that on the outside, it seemed like she appeared out of nowhere.

The third infinito was a young boy with a double-edged sword. He just jumped out of a portal in mid-air.

They were wearing white robes and yellow pants with brown coloured knee boots. I coursed my power throughout my veins and,

---dash---

moved behind them at a high speed, henceforth avoiding their attack.

"Huh? Where is he? He was here just a moment ago. How can an evil god who is at the darkened crimson flames stage avoid an attack from us experts who are two levels above him!", said the Verdi bearded man.

"Darkened crimson flames stage? Doesn't that mean he is from a lower dimension? There is no way he was a demon god!", said the female elf.

[These people refer to sub-realms as dimensions, huh? And what's with the demon god.]

"Sweyley, behind you!", the man shouted towards the female elf.

---jump---

All three of them jumped back from me and were in their battle stance. The 'understand' authority was still under usage. Soon, I saw something unexpected.

---beep(x3)---

Three beeps were heard from those infinitos. I saw translucent tabs opening in mid-air right on their faces.

[Wait, that's the system that was duplicated by the dark crevasses. It is meant to be only visible from one's own perspective. One can not see the system tab of the other. So, how am I able to see the system panels of these three?]

The system panel of the Verdi beardman displayed words and letters in reverse. That's when I understood everything. They were looking at their system panels. It is just that, the 'understand' authority increased my insight into the atmosphere, which in turn made the people's system tabs visible to my eyes.

[I already comprehended the linguistic knowledge of this world. I can understand what they are saying. And 'understand' is making me gain insight on the ongoing crisis.]

The system panels of the three people soon became completely visible to my eyes. The top part of the system panel displayed the words 'status bar'. Their name, age and innate traits as also stats that are strength, speed, intelligence and confidence were displayed in it. I didn't care much about the stats. I only read their names, years and innate traits. Although the display was facing towards the host, I was able to read them even in reverse.

[The Verdi beardman's name is Konan Shar, age is forty and innate trait is assassin.

The female elf's name is Sweyley Ron, age is twenty and innate trait is battle spear knight.

The kid's name is Arun Ardemon, age is seventeen and innate trait is magic swordmaster.

So, this kid must have slashed open a portal by imbuing mana into his sword.]

Konan spoke, "Who are you? And why is the system displaying an error when it comes to scanning you?"

I remained calm and maintained a firm pose. I just opened my eyes a little wider to scare them. The three infinitos clenched the hilts of their weapons. The young boy, Arun Ardemon spouted, "How can those black and crimson-red eyes be much scarier than ours?"

Konan and Sweyley sweated their foreheads. I smiled and said, "Konan Shar, Sweyley Ron and Arun Ardemon... You are not fit to call yourselves deities!!!"

---whoooosh---

My expression turned calm yet serious. To them, even though I seemed calm, my eyes let out a pressure that made the whole surrounding air dark and only my eyes which were omitting darkened crimson flames, seemed visible to them.

[After understanding the mechanism behind my power, I figured out how to let out my pressure. If I gain some more insight, I would be able to assimilate up to forty-five percent of my darkness. With that, I can fight more than twenty mutant asymmetrons. For now, I should gain some experience.]

The female elf writhed in fear and said, "Y-you, how did you know our na-names? Moreover, how did you know that we came here to b-become gods?"

---step---boooom---

The power that was coursing through my veins spread throughout my legs and muscles. I applied force onto my legs and took a step forward. The force led to a huge explosion. Blue trees, plants and bushes blew away and the whole vicinity turned into a crater with a few hundred-meter radii. The remaining five experts came into view. I and the eight experts were inside the crater.

[I controlled the impact of the explosion so that the three in front of me and the remaining five who were still hiding in the woods wouldn't get caught up in the explosion.]

Konan spoke, "How…? You made a huge explosion with just your foot? This planet is made up of strong minerals. Only gods and demigods can inflict a huge impact here. Even we ourselves can hardly make a crack in the ground!"

He then cried out, "But, how is it possible for an evil god who is not in his best shape to make such a huge mess without even a drop of sweat? Even your level is the weakest out of all!"

"Trying to become something you wish for, is good enough. But, trying to achieve such a feat without even having a minimum understanding would only make you fools. And unlike you fools who rely on the system all the time, I understood everything about power and grew stronger on my own!", I said.

Arun asked, "Does that mean you don't have a system panel inside your head?"

I exclaimed in response to his disbelief, "Yes!!!"

---gasp---

All three of them gasped at my response. I looked towards the remaining five experts. They weren't as powerful as the three who engaged towards me head-on. There was a female elf, a fairy and three humans.

[They must be these three people's lackeys or juniors in training. Not that I care.]

"????"

The system panel of the other female elf caught my attention. I didn't read her details but just saw the 'notification bar' below her 'status bar'.

|New emergency quest - Ascend to the heavens

Quest difficulty - Beyond the league

Quest objective - A powerful evil god has ascended to Zooviya's holy ground with the goal to destroy the world and rebuild his own kingdom. He was a Demon god who destroyed ten thousand worlds before his soul spawned in the absolute abyss. He is still weaker than his living self. Presently, he is in the darkened crimson flames stage, but his insight on power is beyond even us gods. Use this opportunity to defeat him while he is not in his best shape.

Quest completion - Power to ascend to the heavens

Quest failure - Destruction of Zooviya|

...

I read the complete notification, sighed and chuckled while being spellbound.

[So, they're using the dwellers as guinea pigs to find out the extent of my power, huh?

This side-planet is zooviya's holy ground. I am mentioned as a powerful evil god who still didn't regain his power. No wonder these people were calling me an evil god and a demon god.

I mean, I agree that I was a demon god in my previous life, but destroying ten thousand worlds is too much even for me. I only developed criteria for the demon race on earth and also other lower worlds. I only destroyed a hundred worlds who tried to make their own rules without knowing their place.]

"Sigh... Those dark crevasses came up with a pretty good plan. But involving innocent people is the biggest mistake they made in their lives. I will make them regret their decision!", I said while looking at the sky.

One of the human infinito from the other five experts said, "What is he saying? Dark Crevasses? Involving innocent people? Also, isn't it forbidden to look at the sky and curse someone? By now, he should have been struck by yellow lightning. So, why is there no response from the heavens?!"

---flick---

I stood beside him in split-seconds, placed my right arm around his shoulders and bent myself a bit forward to bring my right ear to his face. Everyone who witnessed it was caught off-guard. I let out my pressure and all the eight experts were unable to snap out of my darkness. I said, "Those gods whom you are talking about are just fakes!"

---thud---

All of a sudden, a yellow lightning struck me. The eight experts who were in the vicinity flew out of the crater and fell on trees and bushes due to the impact of the lightning. The whole place where I stood was filled with dust. The three powerful experts stood on a tree branch to see what happened to me.

---tap---tap---tap---

"!!!!"

The dust flew in the direction of the wind. I was tapping my shoulders, knees and all over my body to let out the dust on me. My hair was messed up. So, I just shook my head and it turned back to silky. The three infinitos who were watching became spellbound. I looked at them. The female elf exclaimed in shock,

"Th-this... is the power of a god... ?"