Sword God in a World of Magic

Shang remained silent for a while.

Abaddon also didn't say anything.

Nearly half a minute passed.

"Tell me," Shang said.

"I'm sorry, but I can't," Abaddon answered. "You need to understand that I can't put all my trust in you. Trusting someone like you would be just as stupid as trusting someone like me."

"Okay, what's your plan?" Shang asked.

"First, I use my influence to give you a chance to win at the grand tournament," Abaddon said. "Then, we are going to fight at the Mage Emperor tournament."

"I am going to lose in the battle and concede. Before any of the other Emperors can do anything, mother will hand you the Inheritor Sphere, and you will absorb it to reach the Ninth Realm immediately."

"The other Emperors will immediately attack. They don't care that you have won. They are going to try to kill you regardless."

"The Lightning Emperor, mother, and I are going to fight the other Mage Emperors."

"I am going to kill one and get my Mana. We will both reach the Ninth Realm and with the Lightning Emperor helping us, the Archivist won't get out."

"We kill the Mage Emperors and become Gods. Mother and the Lightning Emperor will survive, and I will destroy the world. Mother, you, and I will comprehend the level six Concept of Death. I resurrect the world to comprehend the level six Concept of Life."

"Then, we leave and search for a greater world."

"That's my plan."

Shang remained silent for a while.

"What about the Abominations?" Shang asked.

"I don't care," Abaddon said. "As long as you keep them at bay until I get a chance to resurrect the world, I don't care. You can go destroy it after that if you want. Who knows, maybe we can learn even more by witnessing that?"

Shang thought for a while about everything.

He had noticed several things during his talk with Abaddon.

Abaddon referred to his father with his name, but he referred to his mother as mother.

Abaddon knew that Shang was the Child of Calamity, but there was something even more surprising.

Abaddon had said that Shang would also comprehend the level six Concept of Death.

This meant that Abaddon knew that Shang had a Death Affinity.

It was almost like Abaddon knew all of Shang's secrets.

Sure enough, Abaddon was an extremely terrifying person.

Even more, Shang wasn't certain whether or not Abaddon was lying.

The plan sounded extremely beneficial for both of them, and it was very logical.

It wouldn't be stupid to believe Abaddon.

However, the best lies were those that gave a perfect explanation.

What if the Inheritor Sphere had been tampered with by the Empress of Death, and when Shang tried to absorb it, he died?

There were several points in the plan in which Shang could get betrayed.

But just following the plan would also result in the best-case scenario.

Abaddon was as far away from trustworthy as it got, but his plan was basically perfect.

Yet, Shang also knew that he didn't seem any more trustworthy than Abaddon.

Abaddon trusting Shang should be just as hard as Shang trusting Abaddon.

Which meant impossible.

It was obvious that neither of the two would trust the other, and both knew that.

Both of them could only trust the other when they were in an advantageous position that would give them the victory if the other decided to betray them.

Surprisingly enough, Abaddon gave most of the advantages to Shang in the plan.

'This probably means that he has several contingency plans that he hasn't told me. He probably has a way to deal with me any time I might decide to betray him.'

'He might not even need me to become a Mage Emperor. It's possible that he has a way to become a Mage Emperor immediately if he chooses to.'

'Why take the risk to allow me to become powerful enough to become a threat?'

The purple-haired girl just looked at Shang with a friendly smile.

Shang just focused on her.

And then, the Life Mana emanating from her body vanished.

Shang's heart nearly stopped.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

An apocalyptic explosion of pure Death Mana came out of the purple-haired girl, tearing her apart.

Shang was completely consumed by the explosion, and he felt the Death Mana penetrate his mind and attach to his soul.

Shang's mind wasn't even able to give the command to use his Domain of Entropy before the Death Mana started to consume his soul.

At this moment, Shang felt like beings from the afterlife were trying to pull him toward them.

It was like their claws buried themselves into Shang's body and mind as they kept screaming and pulling at him.

Shang was in immense pain, even for him.

Shang felt himself getting torn apart again and again.

He was vanishing.

His mind was weakening.

He couldn't feel his body anymore.

He was dying.

Meanwhile, in the outside world, the barrier of the Attack Flag exploded with Death Mana.

The Death Mana was so incredibly dense and powerful that not even the Attack Flag could contain it, and the Death Mana flooded into the surrounding 300,000 kilometers, killing everything it touched.

The Mage Kings laughed victoriously as the Lightning Emperor narrowed his eyes.

BANG!

Several huge lightning bolts attacked the Death Mana, but it was so powerful and dense that the Lightning Emperor actually needed nearly an entire second to get rid of it.

The Lightning Emperor's mind fell into a sea of fear and anxiety as he saw Shang's body lying on the ground.

The Death Mana had been so dense that only Abaddon or Kali could have done this!

Shang was powerful, but the Lightning Emperor doubted that he could resist such a powerful attack. On top of that, this kind of Death Mana was targeting the soul, and Shang's soul was his weakness.

The Lightning Emperor saw that Shang was still alive, but it was like his longevity had run out.

Shang was so close to dying!

The Lightning Emperor immediately took hold of him and brought him to his library as the enemy Mage Kings kept laughing.