Chapter 38: Ch 38: Death of Loki

As the alliance members of Sunny frantically marked their locations for the final time, one member sent Sunny a private message. Sunny opened it to find a desperate plea: "Boss, after the server merge, I found my wife and need to mark her location. Can you please help me?" Sunny, though preoccupied, immediately relayed the request to Zir, asking him to mark her position. He was currently consumed with planning his next moves, knowing that after today, the System would cease to exist. Suddenly, a mental message from Loki shot through the divine connection. "Master, I have found Aeron." Sunny gasped, a cold shiver running down his spine. The demigod was dangerously close to the portal to his world. If Loki hadn't been there, Aeron would have likely found and massacred every single human and elf from Veridia currently in the Realm of Advancement. Sunny knew the realm's sheer scale; it was large enough to contain the lifeforms of billions of gods, yet only a lucky few ever crossed paths. The proximity was a terrifying coincidence. However, Sunny did not panic. He calmly commanded Loki to divert Aeron's attention and lead him away from the camp of his lifeforms. Loki, ever the trickster, transformed from a small bird into his true form right before Aeron's eyes. Aeron, who had lived for millions of years, was no amateur; he was keenly aware of transformation magic. But before he could react, his surroundings changed entirely. He was no longer in the Realm of Advancement, but in a familiar land that felt as if he had always been there. This was a flawless illusion created by Loki: the perfect recreation of the elemental realm, where Aeron sat upon a throne, commanding his loyal followers. A moment later, Sunny received another mental message from Loki. "Master, the task is completed." Sunny was momentarily dumbfounded by the demigod's efficiency. He had expected Loki to be frantically fleeing a pursuing Aeron. He immediately asked Loki to clarify the situation. "He is in my illusion (genzutsu >.<)," Loki's voice echoed in Sunny's mind, "and he will not be able to come out until I personally dispel it. He will be completely distracted until then." Sunny was shocked. Loki had misunderstood his command for diversion, but in doing so, had delivered a far greater result. If Aeron could be contained, Sunny would not let the opportunity slip away. He decided to look through Loki's eyes and record a video of the captured demigod. The God Chat was currently in a frenzy, and Sunny knew they needed a scapegoat. Aeron was the perfect target. He quickly typed a message: "Dear Gods, as you all know there has been a massacre and plundering in the Realm of Advancement. I have caught the culprit. If you want to see the video, it is available in the trading space for 1 faith point." The chat erupted. Gods who had lost their lifeforms to Aeron immediately bought the video. Those who hadn't waited anxiously for news from those who had. Upon witnessing the video of the powerful demigod, Aeron, bound and blissfully unaware within Loki's illusion, two thoughts took hold of everyone's minds. The first was a burning desire for revenge on Aeron. The second was a dawning realization of the extent of God Cosmos's strength. They knew that they could also catch Aeron, but only outside the Realm of Advancement. Inside, their direct involvement was impossible, making a demigod's strength invaluable. Unbeknownst to Sunny and Loki, one other being was also a witness. A sneaky elf named Rina had been observing them from the shadows. She shuddered, her body trembling with a mixture of fear and awe. She immediately understood that if Aeron could be caught so easily, she was no match for this demigod. She reported everything to Kairos and awaited retreat order form Kairos, but it never came, instead she got a much more dangerous command from Kairos. The command was cold and devoid of feeling: "Try to sneak behind this demigod and assassinate him." Kairos's reasoning was simple. He knew the immense amount of faith required to create such a powerful illusion. He had also considered a ability of similar strength for Rina but had been reluctant to pay the exorbitant price. He assumed this new demigod could only possess one such high-caliber talent. It was a tragic miscalculation on Kairos's part, as he was not watching the God Chat and thus was unaware it was God Cosmos's Demigod. If he had known about this, his command would have been an immediate retreat. But it was too late. Rina could not disobey. Her ability, Master of Assassination, hid her presence perfectly as she waited for an opportune moment. She found Loki without his guard up and attacked, managing to pierce his heart in a single, fatal blow. She felt a surge of triumph as she watched Loki vomit blood and slump to the ground, his body going limp. She didn't let her guard down, stabbing him multiple times to ensure he was dead. As his pulse faded, she sent a message to Kairos. She then noticed that the illusion containing Aeron was still active. She assumed it was a form of magic that persisted for a set period, even if the caster died. Kairos commanded her to retreat and return to his God space. She turned and fled at top speed, fearful of the inevitable revenge from this demigod's creator. Meanwhile, Sunny was counting his newfound riches. He had made a fortune—nearly 700 million faith points from over 700 million transactions. This was possible because 1 faith point was a negligible sum for most gods, and the System's privacy features prevented anyone else from profiting from publishing such a video. If given more time this video can directly give Sunny more than 1 billion faith. Sunny was satisfied, thinking that this amount of faith could sustain him for a month or so, even without further trading. If he can make Aerion do one or two stunts or harm him, that video will even fetch more. But the humanity inside him stopped Sunny from doing so, he again tried to think of a way to trade even without system.