The Parasite Queen stood in the ruins of her palace, gnashing her teeth. [Sung Shihyun...!]
She had known he was a traitor. She had known he was a man who sought power, hedonism, and glory. She had fulfilled his every desires...
And yet he repaid her like this?!
'No. Calm yourself.'
The Parasite Queen took a deep breath and focused.
It didn't make sense.
That unknown warrior with the black bunny mask had been powerful. TOO powerful.
Even though the Parasite Queen had tilted causality too far, it should not have been to the extent where the gods could send in a monster like that.
'So what changed?'
There was only one conclusion: a setup.
Sung Shihyun had admitted it himself.
While the Parasite Queen had been wracking her mind on how to deal with that anomaly, Sung Shihyun had worked in the background to eliminate her forces.
And now that she was in a clearer state of mind, she could confirm it.
All of them were gone. All of her Army Commanders save Sung Shihyun were absent. Their divinities were gone as well, either destroyed or consumed by some entity.
Meaning...
[I was played.]
The Parasite Queen stood there in a stunned realization.
[Sung Shihyun...!]
She thought that she had read him properly. She thought that she understood his desires, appealed to his baser instincts, made it impossible for him to side with humanity ever again.
And yet, this entire time, he had been a two-faced liar. A double agent. One who put on that lecherous and vain act just to deal a decisive blow to her.
[...Fine. Very well. I accept this temporary setback.]
It was unexpected. The gods played an unfathomable gamble by believing in Sung Shihyun, but it seemed to have worked.
But no more.
First, she would rebuild. The corrupted throne was shattered with that black bunny masked warrior's last attack, so she would need time to recover. She had also expended too much causality and her divinity out of fury, so she would need to, begrudgingly, lay low.
Second... her forces were indeed at a minimum. Although she had nests in wait along with some other forces, it would take time to replenish those as well.
Ideally, she would use those traitors to humanity to gain resources, the ones she had been seeding throughout the temples of the gods and across the kingdoms...
But after this betrayal, the Parasite Queen wanted certainty.
No, she would only trust her own forces.
[It matters not.]
Yes. It mattered not.
Unlike the gods, she had time. Since the Parasite Queen had devoured the Chief Deity, all she needed to do was wait. So long as she existed, Paradise was in her grasp. So-
"QUEENIE, YOU BITCH!"
A brash and furious voice.
The Parasite Queen looked up to see Sung Shihyun stomping towards her.
Did he get immediately betrayed by humanity after returning?
Seeing his soot-covered and sorry appearance, the Parasite Queen couldn't help but laugh. [Returning so soon?]
Sung Shihyun glared at the Parasite Queen and said, "You said I was the strongest! You said if I devoured the divinity and assimilated it, I could beat anyone! You said I could have any woman I wanted! So why the FUCK am I so weak?!"
...Did he lose his mind?
Sung Shihyun appeared delirious. As if he hadn't just betrayed her and ran off minutes ago.
But the Parasite Queen remained cautious. It could be a trick, a gambit to lower her guard for a decisive strike. So instead, she put on a cold expression. [You received what you asked for. If it is not to your liking, it is a problem with you, Traitor.]
Sung Shihyun bristled. "Traitor? TRAITOR?! You of all fucking people are calling ME a traitor?!"
The Parasite Queen let out a cold laugh. [Is that not what you are?]
"...Fine. FINE. You know what?" Sung Shihyun drew his blade, wreathed with a bloody crimson light. "If you want me to be a traitor so bad, I WILL be a traitor."
The Parasite Queen straightened, spreading her bone wings again. [So I was correct. You never intended to side with me from the beginning.]
A miscalculation. But one that could be resolved with ease.
Rousing her divinity, the Parasite Queen called forth her authority, gazing down at Sung Shihyun with cold eyes.
[Goddess of Parasitism - Infinite Buddha]
She had used it in part earlier.
But the Parasite Queen refused to take any more chances.
Sung Shihyun had dealt her a blow already, so to ensure he perished here and now-
[Hm?]
Wrong.
Something was terribly wrong.
Every instinct inside her screamed at her to wait. To pull back her divinity.
But it was too late.
Sung Shihyun laughed, madness clear in his eyes. "Fine. FINE." He grinned and pointed his sword right at the Parasite Queen. "I AM MY OWN LORD THROUGHOUT HEAVEN AND EARTH!"
-An impossibility.
Something that should not occur.
A slight misalignment of the cogs of destiny now swiftly spiraling out of her control.
The moment the Parasite Queen's attack reached Sung Shihyun, she realized it.
The anomaly she feared. The powers he showed and used to erase the divinity of Undying Diligence.
Seol Jihu's sword technique, the one that severed destiny itself...
Sung Shihyun grinned and said, "[All as One.]"
...Was based off Sung Shihyun's abilities.
That was the last thought that the Parasite Queen had before she was torn asunder, dissolved into pure energy.
===
Sung Shihyun took a deep breath, feeling the power welling into his body. "...Yes. That's better." He ran his hand through his black hair and laughed as his blade glowed with an ominous emerald light. "I said it again and again. I'm the original. ME. That bastard's just a copycat."
It took him a while. And he was sent packing, beaten up, and treated like a joke for months on end.
But Sung Shihyun had finally figured it out.
[I Am My Own Lord Throughout Heaven and Earth - All as One].
The unwavering conviction that he was the best. And because he was the best, all belonged to him.
Not the parasitization that stupid queen had. But instead, pure domination. The reign of a conquering king.
Sung Shihyun cracked his neck and then walked towards the center of the ruined imperial palace.
'Something' was down there. An entity of pure malice.
The moment it noticed Sung Shihyun approach, it reached out to try and devour him. Assimilate him and use his body as an avatar.
But.
"No. I'm not yours..."
Sung Shihyun swung his blade, forcibly binding that entity's power to himself before ending its life with another slash.
"...You are mine."
Silence.
Sung Shihyun calmly walked towards the shattered corrupted throne and sat down.
He could feel it now. Power, unfathomable power that surpassed those foolish seven gods.
But he could also feel it.
Right now, at this time... they didn't notice.
Was it because they were too busy looking at 'him?' The one who copied his every technique and stole his entire life career? Who overwrote his feats and stole his valor?
"It's fine."
Let him play. Let him think that the Parasite Queen was just waiting. Let him think that the game was won.
By the time Sung Shihyun moved, it would be too late for him to do anything about it.