Chapter 434: Are You God?

“Close your eyes.”

Lin Jie's gentle voice echoed above Franca's head, and she promptly shut her eyes.

What sounded like the crashing of huge ocean waves reverberated all around. She, who had never heard the sound of waves, felt as if she had been placed in the midst of a swirling and turbulent ocean.

Joseph's eyes were wide open as he saw a summoned ocean with roiling waves that seemed capable of engulfing the entire Norzin.

"Ocean..." muttered the former Great Radiant Knight weakly.

Lin Jie remained unfazed as he looked at the sky-high waves indifferently. His dark eyes were like black holes that wouldn't even let light escape.

"Be careful, Boss Lin!" Joseph instinctively tried to get in front of Lin Jie when he saw the latter unmoving. It wasn't that he was worried Lin Jie would be powerless, but he simply wanted to protect and be utterly loyal to Lin Jie.

Lin Jie raised a hand to stop Joseph, then, without looking back, pointed behind him. Joseph nodded at once and quickly took a few steps forward to stand in front of Franca.

With the freshly crafted book in one hand, Lin Jie casually strolled toward the Path of the Flaming Sword's members.

Raphael had transformed into towering waves with an overwhelming aura, hundreds of meters high. The immense pressure from this towering wall of water made Joseph's eyes turn red, so much that burning flames could be seen within his pupils.

The giant waves completely blocked the other members of the Path of the Flaming Sword, and because the entire battle was transitioning within Zaphkiel's void domain, it had no effect on the outside world. As the master of all things within his domain, Zaphkiel snapped his fingers.

Snap~

Amid the roar of giant waves, the snap of fingers still produced a crisp sound, echoing throughout the void domain, and Lin Jie heard it clearly.

He stopped in his tracks and turned his attention to Zaphkiel.

Lin Jie's dark gaze locked onto Zaphkiel for a moment, causing him to tremble all over. Then the Void Intermediary saw Lin Jie smile at him.

Zaphkiel was capable of reshaping everything within his void world, and with the snap of his fingers, Raphael immediately felt an inexhaustible power coursing throughout his entire body.

"He's about to launch an attack!" 'Thought Observer' Metatron exclaimed fearfully.

Metratron didn't have great presence within the Path of the Flaming Sword, but he played a significant role. He hid outside the fringes of the world, and instead of his self-proclaimed title, 'Thought Observer,' it was more apt to call him a 'Listener.'

As long as one existed within the world, Metatron was able to see and hear everything done by that individual.

Lin Jie observed the members of the Path of the Flaming Sword and couldn't help but start thinking... 'Thousand-Souled Undead' Kamael was a melee assassin, 'Towering Tide' Raphael was a large-scale AOE mage, Zaphkiel was like a domain support, and Metatron was a scout.

"From a certain point of view, you guys are rather coordinated." Lin Jie cocked his head and chuckled.

"Stop you jabbering, you evil god." Zaphkiel couldn't conceal his fear because Lin Jie was within his own Void Kingdom. In theory, that would mean that he could easily be manipulated, but Lin Jie's power was too great, and Zaphkiel was even more aware of this fact than Metatron.

He intended to trump his fear with a roar, "The Void is my world, and I am the master of all things here!"

The smiling Lin Jie shook his head, then sighed before he, too, raised a hand and snapped his fingers like Zaphkiel had done.

Snap~

The clear crisp snap seemed to make everything pause for a second, but only just a second. And before anyone could even be surprised, the waves had completely engulfed Lin Jie. The merciless sea rarely appeared before humans, and Raphael was, without a doubt, the master of the sea.

The waves twisted and pounced like wild beasts, and ancient transcendent marine creatures that had long disappeared from the entire Azir continent emerged from the depths, tearing and chasing their prey.

Fitch, who was standing with the Path of the Flaming Sword, was included within Zaphkiel's void domain. While being undetected, he could see the entire battlefield at the same time.

Raphael... a remnant of the ancient sea elf world indeed... thought Fitch with a frown.

With victory in the grasp, Raphael emerged from the ocean, a gradually outlining figure of a burly man with curly hair and a curly beard. As he came up from the foaming white sea water, his lower half revealed what appeared like a shark's tail.

Raphael did not show any joy as he watched the many long-extinct transcendent sea creatures drag Lin Jie's already crushed body into the deep sea, tearing it apart in the dark depths, before he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Having experienced Kamael's death, Raphael didn't relax and he muttered, "Metatron, inform me of the bookstore owner's position, quick."

His voice was hoarse yet resounding, like a tsunami raging in the ocean.

However, there was no answer.

"Metatron!!" Raphael raised an eyebrow, sensing something amiss as he began looking for his comrade.

Although no one answered, Lin Jie's torn body slowly floated to the surface, piece by piece... And also, the book containing Kamael's souls floated up alongside his remains.

"At least he's dead..." Raphael finally felt a sense of relief. In the next moment, he appeared next to Lin Jie's remains, not to check on his body but to pick up the book. He held it to his chest and whispered, "Kamael, my friend. I'll resurrect you when I step on the path to godhood."

Having said that, he finally smiled with a sense of victory. "At least, I've avenged you."

Raphael sighed as he looked at his friend's remains and what was left of Lin Jie's body. It had been devoured so badly by fishes that only bits remained. Half the head was missing, the face eaten clean, intestines floated like seaweed as red blood gradually diluted into the deep blue ocean.

But, that wasn't Lin Jie's corpse. It was his.

That familiar appearance, that pale fish tail. It was all too familiar...

"It's me...?!" The book that contained his friend fell into the ocean with a splash as Raphael's eyes widened in disbelief.

——

"A real pity, sigh..." Lin Jie smiled.

The ocean cleared away as if it had never existed, leaving only some remnant pieces on the ground—what remained of Raphael.

"When...?" Michael stared at Raphael's body, as if a heavy lead ball were lodged in his throat. He struggled just to utter a mere few words, "When did Raphael...?"

"The dream… realm." Metatron's panicked voice from beyond the fringes of the world resounded in the ears of his comrades. "The dream realm... It's coming!"

Obvious terror laced Metatron's warning. Evidently, he had gone completely insane the moment he witnessed the coming of Lin Jie's dream realm.

"He's not just dragging Raphael into the dream realm, but it's the arrival of the entire dream realm disrupting all Laws and causing Raphael to be unable to distinguish between reality and dream.

"Did he kill himself?" Fitch stood proudly behind the other Path of the Flaming Sword's members, his voice quavering in admiration.

Michael couldn't believe it. The dream realm was what he had always been striving for, but it had been a world locked away by the Primordial Witches.

That was the path to becoming a god, which he had spent his whole life trying to pursue.

Could it be that the bookstore owner was the master of the dream realm... and the one true god written in the Bible that was found by Michael, which he based his entire goal on?

Was he god?