The villainous prince who bullied Feng Aotian was actually myself.

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Leon continued.

"can."

After searching through her storage items, Helena pulled out a crystal ball that was sparkling clear.

This is what fell out of Arthur's body after he died.

but……

Arthur and Hebrew both had their artifacts automatically detach from their bodies after death, but now Hebrew's artifact has merged into his own body. How can he remove it?

Does this mean I have to commit suicide?

Helena looked at Leon.

"You don't need to commit suicide. I think I know how to remove the artifact from your body. Just cooperate with me."

Leon met Helena's gaze and smiled.

Chapter Seventeen: The True Secret of the Empire's Three Heroes

After receiving Arthur's crystal ball, Leon quickly held it in his palm.

Soon, the scenery in front of him quickly faded away.

He felt his body become light and airy, as if he were falling rapidly.

All around was endless darkness, except for a single, egg-sized sphere of light at the very top, emitting a soft glow.

It was a familiar scene—the one where he activated the artifact within his body in the dungeon of Philippa's house last time.

"Brave warrior, I have heard your yearning."

A distant, ethereal sound came from the darkness.

Upon hearing this sound, Leon finally regained his balance, feeling himself stop falling endlessly.

"What heroes, what destiny, it's all a lie. In reality, we who were chosen by the artifact are nothing more than your sacrifices."

This time, Leon was not guided to answer by the solemn voice from the artifact, as he had done before.

"..."

Seemingly not expecting that Leon would suddenly break free from his mental trap, the other party fell silent.

"How should I address you, the unknown great ancient god?"

Leon continued.

"..."

There was still no response from the other party; it seemed to have crashed.

"If I'm not mistaken, you must also be a victim of divine retribution."

Leon added.

"And the so-called divine artifact is nothing more than your eyeballs. You have three eyeballs in total. As long as someone collects all three eyeballs, there is a very high probability that you will be revived in that person's body. Your means of resurrection are not limited to that bone sword made from your spine."

"Mortal, how did you know that?"

After a while, the voice from the darkness rang out again.

“When I last met the Goddess of Justice, she said that there was pollution in my body, and that the pollution even frightened the goddess. That’s when I started to have doubts.”

Leon continued, "I was thinking, I didn't do anything, how could I have been contaminated to this extent, a level of contamination that would even frighten a real god."

"After much thought, the only possibility is you, my great God of Divine Retribution! In the present world, the only one who can overpower all the gods is you, a monster from some unknown world and era."

Leon's speech quickened, his expression growing increasingly crazed. "You want to be resurrected? Inside me."

"Mortal, I advise you not to do this."

That hollow voice still echoed without any emotion.

"I do not want to be resurrected."

“I know you don’t want to be resurrected, otherwise you wouldn’t have spread the lie that a person can only possess one divine artifact. And the so-called divine artifact recognizing its master is just your opinion that the probability of these people killing to seize the artifact is not high. Unfortunately, you didn’t expect that I would become a variable.”

Leon said, “If I’m not mistaken, you have many divine aspects, each independent, but all sharing the power to destroy the world. The one I’m currently communicating with is a benevolent sage, while Hoyle I has a tyrant who enslaves the world.”

"Mortal, how can you be so sure you're not just being presumptuous? What if, after I'm resurrected, you discover I'm a demon addicted to killing?"

"No, you have existed in this world for tens of thousands of years. Your chances of reviving are much greater than those of that evil bone sword. You only need to induce the heroes you parasitize to kill each other and devour one another, but you did not."

Leon explained.

"interesting."

The hollow echo seemed to come alive with emotion in an instant.

"And in history, you must have been resurrected and helped humanity solve the crisis, otherwise history would not have passed down the story that heroes were chosen by the gods to save humanity from catastrophe."

Leon smiled and continued.

“I don’t understand God, nor do I comprehend what kind of being God is, but now that your tyrannical personality has been revived, the power of this world is simply insufficient to resist you. I have no choice but to take a gamble.”

Leon stared directly at the sphere of light and said resolutely, "Today, whether you like it or not, you must be revived!"

“Mortal, you’ve made a huge bet. If I hadn’t been kind to you, the world you live in would have perished immediately.”

"That's better than being enslaved by a tyrant. Between dying standing up and living on your knees, I think most people would rather die."

"You know it's the majority of people, but there are still a majority who are willing to live a life of mere survival. What gives you the right to make decisions for the masses?"

"Why?"

Leon laughed loudly, "Yes, I really can't make decisions for everyone, after all, I'm betting the lives of the whole world on this."

"But—I don't think I'm wrong. Destruction was bound to come sooner or later. I just brought this tragedy forward. What does it matter if I become a sinner in the eyes of the whole world? You don't understand humanity at all. Humans are rational, but they are also emotional. Now there is a glimmer of hope in front of me. If I give up, I will be cursed by those enslaved humans. So why don't I risk dragging everyone down with me and gambling with our lives this time?"

"Hahaha, this is so funny! So funny! Great! Hahahaha, this is great! So much fun, hahaha!"

That hollow voice began to laugh loudly and terrifyingly. The laughter was so penetrating that Leon felt like his whole body was about to explode.

Just as Leon was about to break down, the laughter finally stopped.

The source of the voice seemed to have calmed down, and after a long silence, it finally spoke.

"Come, human! You brought me back to life, and I will bring you back to reality—as a true emperor!!!"

The darkness seemed to be ignited in an instant.

Leon saw nothing but an explosive burst of golden light!

……

"Leon, what's wrong?"

Helena looked at Leon with concern. She sensed that something was wrong with Leon; he was radiating an indescribable, unfamiliar aura that made Helena feel cold and fearful.

Every time Helena saw Leon, she felt safe and warm, but now that familiar sense of security has completely disappeared, and Leon seems to have suddenly become a different person.

What exactly is going on?

Helena seemed a little lost.

"run!"

Suddenly, Bai Lishi's voice surged in his mind, her voice urgent, as if urging him on, yet also filled with fear.

Although she is not as powerful as before, Berish still possesses a godhood at the peak of the Glory level. Even she is afraid!

Can……

She didn't want to abandon Leon and run away.

Just as Helena was in a dilemma, Leon in front of her moved. His movements were so fast, as if he could teleport, that he appeared in front of Helena in an instant.

"You're not Leon, so who are you?"

Helena stared into Leon's eyes and questioned him.

Leon's azure eyes were now filled with golden light, as if they had no pupils, only the eye sockets burning with golden flames. And deep within those endless flames was a terrifying crimson.

Helena felt her mind go blank and her sanity plummet after just one glance at that crimson stain.

Then, she felt short of breath, her legs kicked wildly, and her hands reached for Leon's hands.

At this moment, Leon grabbed her by the throat with one hand and lifted her up high.

Author's note: I'm so touched that people are still reading this, so I've decided that no matter how many people read it, I'm going to finish this story. I originally planned to finish it in about 600,000 words, but I've been too busy with work and the number of subscribers is too low, so I haven't had the motivation to continue writing.

Chapter Eighteen: Leon's Inner Thoughts (Part 1)

Helena felt a little short of breath; the blood flowing calmly through her body seemed to be surging wildly inside her tubes, as if something inside her was about to be drawn out.

A moment later, she realized that her connection with the artifact Janna had disappeared. At that moment, Leon released her grip.

Helena collapsed to the ground. She wanted to say something immediately, but could only gag repeatedly due to the discomfort in her throat.

In Leon's hand, he now held a transparent white sphere of light. The light inside the sphere swirled like threads, and upon closer inspection, it truly resembled a network of crisscrossing capillaries.

After the ball of light spun around Leon, its halo gradually dimmed and finally adhered directly to Leon's hand, disappearing completely as if it had entered Leon's body from his palm.

The moment the sphere of light disappeared, Leon's aura grew colder and more oppressive, and Helena dared not breathe for a moment.

Along with the change in his aura, Leon's body also changed.

Fine white down began to grow on his skin, and his body swelled up in an instant, his muscles bulging so much that the buttons on his shirt popped off. His eyes were completely replaced by scarlet, looking terrifying, like the eyes of a vampire, but far surpassing those of a vampire.

What the hell is this?

Could this be something that has been sealed and guarded underground by generations of human kings?

Could it be that if the three magical artifacts of the hero are all gathered in one person, a certain demon god can be summoned?

A flood of guesses and doubts suddenly popped into Helena's mind, but she dared not utter a sound. She knew very well that the guy in front of her was not Leon at all, but a complete monster.

That Leon...

Will he come back?

The monster in front of her didn't even glance at Helena. It headed straight for the exit of the underground palace. Its body was still undergoing mutations and had long since lost its human form.

Long after the monster disappeared, Helena finally calmed the fear in her heart.

"What is that, senior?"

Helena asked.

“I don’t know. I can’t see through him at all. On the surface, he’s just a pool, but it’s bottomless, as if it leads to the ultimate end of the world.”

After a long silence, Bai Lishi finally answered.

"Then is he still Leon?"

Helena asked again, "It all happened so suddenly. Just a few minutes ago, she was deeply feeling Leon's love, but a few minutes later, Leon suddenly turned into a monster."

"Hard to say."

"But what is certain is that Leon is not dead, and this monster has not completely replaced Leon," Bai Lishi replied.

"Isn't this all because of those three divine artifacts?"

Helena asked again.

"Yes."

Bai Lishi answered.

"Will Leon be able to come back?"

This is what Helena is most worried about.

"It's hard to say. He might come back, but he might never. It depends on what the thing inside him really wants."

After thinking for a moment, Bai Lishi replied.

"What are the chances of him coming back?"

"I do not know."

"You do not know?"