The Bloodline System Chapter 1675: I Will Be Merciful

The ritual performed by Angy had accomplished more than a mere revival of Gustav... it had restored him to his absolute peak.

One hundred percent Outworldly power.

This was a level of strength so dominant, so crushing, and so primordial that entire galactic civilizations had been wiped from the annals of history just for daring to investigate it.

The mere fact of his presence began to mend the cosmos itself. Jagged dimensional cracks started to seal, failing stars regained their stability, and chaotic energies were forcibly realigned into a perfect symphony. His very existence served as a natural anchor for universal order.

With a gaze that remained calm and unblinking, Gustav shifted his attention toward the shuddering deities.

His voice did not vibrate through the air; instead, it resonated directly within the fabric of reality:

"I am fully aware of everything you orchestrated during my absence..."

"And there will be consequences."

A silence descended, more profound than the deepest vacuum of space.

It was a stillness so heavy it seemed as though the universe itself had forgotten the rhythm of breathing.

Abruptly—

"ENOUGH!"

The Overseer’s shout tore through the suffocating reverence like a sledgehammer shattering thin glass. His divine aura erupted into a blinding, spherical shell of gray energy. This cocoon surged outward, crashing over the kneeling deities like a tidal wave.

As the energy passed them, the crushing weight of Gustav’s presence was alleviated. It was only a minor relief, but it was sufficient for them to gasp for oxygen and break free from their forced state of prostration.

They rose unsteadily to their feet, breathing heavily as a sense of deep humiliation burned within their immortal eyes.

The Overseer glared at his subordinates with pure rage.

"You idiots! Do not collapse onto your knees so easily! You are well aware of what he is! You know exactly what his purpose was!"

His tone trembled, betraying a mixture of fury and terror.

The deities traded glances, their bodies still shaking.

The Overseer pressed on:

"He was engineered to surpass us."

"To be our sovereign."

"To act as our regulator."

"His very nature is designed to override our own!"

He jabbed a finger in Gustav's direction, but Gustav remained motionless, watching the scene unfold in silence.

"And now that he has returned in his full glory, he possesses powers that were once sealed—locked away from him—"

The faces of the gods turned pale.

They recognized the truth in his words.

When he possessed only 10% of his strength, Gustav had once annihilated a deity with nothing more than a casual movement.

Now, he stood before them at 100%.

The disparity in power was no longer just astronomical.

It was absolute.

Once freed from their reverent stupor, the fear of the deities began to transform into defiance—stoked by their own pride, their anger, and the Overseer’s manipulation.

When Gustav had first mentioned consequences, they had quaked in fear.

But now, their gazes sharpened.

Their hands balled into fists.

Their divine auras flared up in open rebellion.

Sensing their rekindled resolve, the Overseer pushed further:

"Have you already forgotten the punishments he inflicts? Do I need to refresh your memories?"

He pointed toward the Deity of Flames.

"You—who were once a divine blaze unrivaled across ten thousand star systems—he demoted you to a common fire, left to flicker on a desolate world like a tiny campfire about to be snuffed out by a breeze."

He turned his finger toward the Deity of Oceans.

"And you—he drained your divinity until you were nothing more than a pool of stagnant water in a forgotten wasteland."

One by one, he recounted their past failures.

Their moments of shame.

Their loss of status.

He reminded them of how Gustav had previously wiped away their sentience, shattered their consciousness, and scattered their very essence across the stars as a penalty.

These memories were more than just agonizing—they were a cosmic degradation.

The Overseer’s rhetoric successfully reignited their ancient hatred.

God after god ground their teeth, their eyes burning with light.

Nocturnis let out a snarl as shadows twisted around his form.

"There is no need for reminders, Overseer. Because of him, I was imprisoned within the Dark Dimension for a hundred thousand years—isolated, powerless, and blind."

A low, dark murmur rippled through the ranks.

It was a mixture of dread, bitterness, and rebellion.

They refused to return to those dark days.

They would not let it happen.

Not again.

Never again.

Gustav’s patience was vast, yet it was not without its limits.

His eyes, which shimmered with the swirling depths of cosmic law, moved over the assembled crowd.

"The warning I give is simple," he stated with composure. "Those who come forward now to voluntarily accept their judgment will be spared the most severe punishments."

A few of the deities recoiled slightly.

"I am capable of... mercy."

His voice softened, though only by a fraction.

"However, those who choose to resist..."

His gaze turned cold and hard.

"...will be forced to endure the full weight of their previous crimes."

A wave of tense reflection washed over the group.

Was it possible for him to be merciful?

Could he have changed during his absence?

Had the sacrifice made by Angy softened his heart?

These uncertainties flickered through their immortal consciousness.

Some showed a glimmer of hope.

Others remained skeptical.

Every single one of them was terrified.

But then—

"DO NOT LET HIM DECEIVE YOU!"

The Overseer bellowed once more, crushing their doubt.

"He speaks of mercy, yet he has never practiced it! Our only path forward is to fight. We must fight! We must destroy him once again!"

The eyes of the deities widened in shock.

Destroy him?

A second time?

Gustav released a slow, measured breath.

"My destruction is merely a temporary state," he replied coldly. "You have forgotten my nature."

"Regardless of what occurs, I will always find my way back."

The Overseer bared his teeth in a snarl.

"Then we will simply postpone your return for as long as possible. For thousands of years, if luck is on our side. And this time, when you fall—"

A vicious glint appeared in his eyes.

"—I will ensure your companions are slaughtered as well, so no ritual can ever bring you back prematurely."

Gustav’s eyes narrowed as a brief, heavy silence returned.

Then, his voice boomed with the authority of the primordial era:

"You forget who you are addressing, Overseer."

"I am—"

Before his sentence could conclude, a desperate deity materialized behind Gustav, launching a treacherous sneak attack.

A blade forged of condensed dark matter, capable of slicing through a small universe, swung toward Gustav’s back.

The onlookers gasped in unison.

But Gustav...

...simply exhaled.

It was a soft, effortless breath.

The strike, which possessed the power to wipe out entire galaxies, was instantly extinguished, vanishing like smoke caught in a gale.

The attacking deity froze in place.

Gustav merely closed his fist.

The deity’s form began to convulse, collapsing inward as if being crushed by an invisible force—

—atoms were smashed together—

—divine essence suffered an implosion—

—his sentience flickered out—

Until he dissolved completely, erased from existence with total indifference.

Silence reigned.

Shock followed.

Then terror.

Even the Overseer couldn't help but flinch.

He then pointed toward the fading particles of the annihilated deity and screamed:

"DO YOU SEE?! That is the end that awaits every one of us if we do not strike him down now!"

His voice cracked under the weight of his desperation.

The eyes of the deities burned with a horrific blend of fear and fury.

The stage was finally set.

Whether they were prepared for it or not...

A war was on the horizon.

A war against the Outworldly.