Hell’s Handbook

The black cloud was a very strange one. It sparkled sometimes and was misty sometimes. It kept twisting and changing, as though it were alive.

The Mad Hatter clasped his hands together and his incredible strength gushed out. It was like a pair of huge hands that pushed themselves into the black cloud and pulled hard to reveal a small gap.

“Now!” The Mad Hatter looked like he was having a hard time and barely managed to utter that one word.

Su Jin moved as quickly as lightning and dragged the Mad Hatter through the gap immediately after he gave the command.

The black sparkly mist was a very thin layer, so the whole place was as bright as day shortly after the two of them had dashed in. A little house and front yard that Su Jin would never forget stood right in front of them.

The Mad Hatter panted heavily and said, “I didn’t expect this space to be so unstable now. It didn’t take that much effort to get here the last time.”

Su Jin couldn’t be bothered to respond to the Mad Hatter’s complaints and just stared quietly at the little house where his journey alongside death all started.

Creak! One of the doors opened and a frail, old lady with only one eye walked out. She was a lot older and weaker than the last time Su Jin saw her. Just like what the Demon Lord said the last time, he didn’t have much time left.

“Welcome, welcome. I was afraid that this day might never come,” said the Demon Lord brightly. Anybody who saw her would think that she was just a genial old lady. No one would imagine that this old lady was actually a deity.

“As promised, I’ve come to take my heart back,” said Su Jin directly.

“Of course, of course. I’ve been taking very good care of it. After all, this is a precious thing that can save my life.” The Demon Lord gave him a mischievous smile.

Su Jin frowned and said, “You want me to get you out of here. It’s time you told me what needs to be done.”

“It’s very simple. I need a body. A powerful body that’s almost as strong as a god’s. Only such a body would be able to protect me as I leave this place,” said the Demon Lord.

Su Jin was taken aback. It was obvious that the Demon Lord was eyeing his body.

“I have to give up my body to get my heart back? That doesn’t sound like a fair deal,” said Su Jin.

The Demon Lord shook her head and said, “No, no, you’re mistaken. I’m not trying to take over your body. I just want to borrow it. You just need to temporarily give me control over your body and I’ll give it back to you once we’re out of here.”

Su Jin snorted. It was hard for him to believe a promise made by a character like the Demon Lord.

“Since you just need a body, why didn’t you ask the Mad Hatter for help? Why me?” asked Su Jin.

“Two gods cannot share one body. We’d explode like fireworks,” interjected the Mad Hatter.

“He’s right. We’re both real gods, so if I enter his body, we’d both be blasted to ashes. I need someone with a powerful enough body but isn’t an actual deity to help me.”

“You don’t have to worry! I’m very weak now, so even if I wanted to take your body away from you, I couldn’t. You, on the other hand, have reached such a high level of Psychokinetic Spirit Power. I should be worried that you’d take my godhood away,” said the Demon Lord with a sad smile. He used to be so powerful, yet he had to stoop to asking a human for help now.

Su Jin didn’t have much of a choice, actually. His heart was still with the Demon Lord. If they refused to trust each other, they would both end up dead.

“I can let you use my body, but…I hope you can agree to help me with something,” said Su Jin suddenly.

“Let me hear it first.” The Demon Lord was being cautious. If Su Jin wanted him to be his servant, then he’d rather die.

“I have a friend who’s stuck in a different world and the person who’s imprisoned her is very powerful. I hope that you can help me to rescue her once you’re safely out of here,” said Su Jin. This was a good chance to get real help and he didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

“Very powerful? How powerful?” asked the Demon Lord with disdain.

“He’s a top ranking owner right now and I also suspect that if he wanted to, he can become a new god anytime!” Shen Wu was very formidable indeed. What he did at Cloud Mountain proved that his powers were almost on par with a god.

But Su Jin’s words made both the Demon Lord and the Mad Hatter laugh. He could sense the contempt in their laughter, as if they were mocking him for his ignorance.

“You really don’t have sufficient reverence for the gods. What do you think a god is? When you were going through the Fairytales of Horror, you saw how crazy Prince Charming was, didn’t you?”

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“He had reached the level of a demigod but failed to make the next step and died a demigod. While it’s true that owners have a supernatural advantage, there is no shortcut to becoming a god. Or rather, it isn’t the time for a new god to appear yet,” said the Demon Lord very confidently.

Su Jin nodded slightly, then said, “He might not be a god now, but he definitely has the potential. He’d definitely have a place among the new gods of the future.”

The Mad Hatter whispered, “How does he compare to that Xu Ran?”

“About the same. But that man controls heat. I’ve seen him melt all the snow on a snow capped mountain and turn it into a giant ice cube in order to imprison a human being,” said Su Jin.

“He has a Spirit Power that can control a force of nature? That’s not easy to deal with, alright,” said the Demon Lord with a snort. “But as long as he hasn’t become a god, he’s no match for us.”

“What do you mean by ‘us’? This has nothing to do with me,” said the Mad Hatter lazily.

The Demon Lord threw him a glance, then said, “I’ve been stuck here all this time but I’ve gotten my fair share of the news too. This young man has done you a big favor and those old fogeys managed to break free thanks to him, yet you’re not willing to help him with this small favor? You gods always talk about morals and all that, but you’re actually all so ungrateful!”

The Mad Hatter couldn’t be bothered to talk to the Demon Lord. It had been difficult enough for him to work with the Demon Lord to get Su Jin to help the last time and there was no way he wanted to work with the Demon Lord again.

At the same time, the Demon Lord was right. He and the other gods owed Su Jin a huge favor and they ought to repay it no matter what Su Jin asked for.

“Forget it. It’s not possible to ask the other deities, because we’d be in trouble if the Handbook universe becomes chaotic, so Pinocchio and I will go with you,” said the Mad Hatter. Back when he planned the sabotage of the train carrying the deities, he had dragged Team Boning Knife into his plan which resulted in the death of Chu Yi. Also, he managed to get out of the Handbook’s control over him because of what Su Jin did in the Fairytales of Horror. He did owe Su Jin a big favor and it would only be right of him to repay it now.

Su Jin’s heart leaped for joy. He had three gods on his side, so even someone like Shen Wu would have trouble fighting them and his chances of rescuing Ye Yun would be much higher. Most importantly, he didn’t need anybody from Team Boning Knife to go with him, so he wouldn’t have to worry about them.

Now that the three of them had reached an agreement, Su Jin moved on, “What do I do now?”

“Very simple. Retract your psychokinesis, let go of your thoughts, hypnotize yourself, then I’ll take over from there,” said the Demon Lord calmly.

Su Jin was a little puzzled as to how to go about doing this, but he quickly figured it out. He used his psychokinetic powers frequently and was very familiar with hypnotism, but this was the first time he was doing it to himself. Also, doing this sort of thing was very dangerous. If the Demon Lord really coveted his body, he would be unable to fight back at all.

He proceeded to let go of his thoughts and pushed his psychokinesis out of his body, which was very much like pushing his very soul out. He cut off his connection to his body, which turned the body into an empty shell. Any ghost or spirit could now take control of it.

The Demon Lord gave a pleased nod and wiggled a finger at his body, making his body walk into the front yard. A beating heart suddenly appeared in her hand. There were special lines drawn all over that heart and Su Jin felt a personal connection with it.

He began to get worried. That was definitely his heart and it was clear that the Demon Lord had done something to it. But what had she done? Was this some scheme of sorts?

“Don’t worry! You have a very strong physical body but it’s still not as strong as a deity like myself. During this time, I’ve been refining your heart. With this new heart, it’s only a matter of time before your body becomes a god,” explained the Demon Lord. She knew what he was worried about.

She stretched her hand toward his chest and it went right through as though it wasn’t a real hand. She took a black, round stone out, which was the Demon Lord’s Eye that had been replacing his heart during this time.

“It’s time I got it back!” The Demon Lord stuffed the eye into her vacant socket and the stone immediately gleamed mysteriously.

She then stuffed Su Jin’s heart back into his chest very roughly, which made Su Jin feel uncomfortable as he watched the entire process. She had been so careful when taking her own eye out, but so callous with his heart.

Ba-thump! Ba-thump! His heart started beating inside the body again. His heart was healthy and strong, and it was possibly stronger than the rest of his body. This was now something that had been refined by the Demon Lord, so it was a treasure like the Demon Lord’s Bow.

The Demon Lord was very pleased with his body and walked toward it. It looked as though she was some ghost possessing his body as she walked into his body and disappeared.

A moment later, his body began to tremble violently. He looked like a balloon that was about to be inflated beyond its maximum size and was about to burst.

Su Jin started to worry, but thankfully, the trembling stopped after a few minutes. Steam rose from his body, as though it had gone through a terrible ordeal.

Two seconds later, his eyes flew open. His gaze was completely different now. If one described Su Jin’s gaze as a gentle and kind one before, it was now ambitious and domineering.

“Hmm, it’s still a little weak, but I’m already grateful that it didn’t just explode.” The Demon Lord gave a pleased nod. She stretched her limbs out and started cackling. “I haven’t had a real body in so long! I’m not sure if I’ll be willing to give it back to you!”