Just call me Thor

Chapter 587: Where had it all gone wrong?



Looking at the child placed in front of him, the Fifth Demon God found himself in a dilemma. He never expected Thor to pull something like this.

"Ugh, so annoying. Get lost! Shoo! Shoo!"

The Fifth Demon God sidestepped the child, his attention finally falling on the wooden cage. His expression grew serious.

"This thing looks... strange."

With his immense power and heightened perception-both of which had surged after entering this space-the Fifth Demon God immediately recognized the cage as the work of a true Supreme Being.

What he couldn't fathom was that this contraption had been conjured up by Thor's overactive imagination.

Frowning, the Fifth Demon God placed his hand on the cage.

His movements were swift and precise, pulling out two or three sticks at a time with almost no mistakes.

This time, it was Mike's turn to be dumbfounded.

The Fifth Demon God was this strong?!

Mike had spent hours dismantling just a third of the cage under Ares' guidance. He knew firsthand how tricky it was.

Yet here was the Fifth Demon God, dismantling it at a speed that rivaled Ares himself!

Of course, Ares had already dealt with the most challenging parts, so the Fifth Demon God's task was naturally easier.

Mike held his breath, watching the Fifth Demon God's every move, committing each step to memory.

The Fifth Demon God's approach was different from Ares'.

Ares had focused on precision, dismantling the cage in a way that maximized its structural weakening.

The Fifth Demon God, on the other hand, relied on [technique], using bizarre and unconventional methods to solve the puzzle.

Both approaches were enlightening for Mike.

But one question lingered in his mind:

Why was the Fifth Demon God doing this?

Noticing Mike's confusion, the Fifth Demon God sneered as he continued dismantling the cage.

"I'm getting rid of Afterskin."

Afterskin: ...

The Fifth Demon God found him so unlucky that he wanted to eject him from the space entirely.

Honestly, it sounded reasonable.

"Just now, I realized something," the Fifth Demon God said, his tone growing more animated.

Mike found it amusing that even a lunatic like him could have moments of clarity.

What if he really had figured something out?

The Fifth Demon God continued,

"You humans refuse to kill me. That means I'm useful to you. Killing me would do more harm than good. No matter how much I beg for death, I won't get it."

This was a truth the Fifth Demon God had always understood.

But being the madman he was, he had no other purpose in life besides pestering humanity to kill him.

"Now I've figured it out. If humans won't kill me, the Supreme Demon God will!"

The Fifth Demon God's excitement grew as he spoke.

"I'll help you humans grow stronger-so strong that the Supreme Demon God can't tolerate it anymore. That idiot will have no choice but to act, and when he does, I'll finally get my wish... I'll die!"

Everyone:...

What the hell was wrong with this demon god?

The Fifth Demon God, as if discovering a new continent, became increasingly enthusiastic. "Yes! I can even help you humans train potential Supreme Beings. Let's be honest, which of your current Supreme Beings is actually a good instructor?

"If I personally train your potential Supreme Beings, they'll become the strongest humanity has ever seen!"

He paused, glancing at Mike with disdain.

"But I don't want to teach you. You'd probably end up killing the Supreme Demon God, and then I'd never get to die."

Mike: ...

Well, this was awkward.

"Heh."

The Fifth Demon God chuckled, looking at Mike with a disturbingly friendly expression. "How about this? Forget becoming a Supreme Being. Why don't you join me and become a demon god instead? Wouldn't that be better?"

"If you keep spouting nonsense, I'm going to hit you!" Mike snapped, raising his weapon threateningly.

"Are you mad? Well, too bad, because I'm leaving now!"

With a final pull, the Fifth Demon God removed a critical stick, causing the entire cage to

collapse.

Afterskin was free.

Without hesitation, the Fifth Demon God grabbed Afterskin by the arm and hurled him at

Mike like a human projectile.

What a vicious weapon!

As Mike prepared to dodge, his vision suddenly went black.

He woke up.

"You're awake?"

The first thing Mike saw was Maxen's familiar, goofy face.

Except this time, Maxen looked much older. His beard had grown long, and his expression

carried a weariness that hadn't been there before.

Mike shook his head to clear it and asked, "How long was I out?"

"Not long," Maxen replied seriously.

"Just a hundred years."

Mike: ???

[He's lying. Use your brain.]

[It's only been a day.]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Realizing the truth, Mike was about to give Maxen a piece of his mind when he saw him hoist the golden tree onto his shoulder and stride out of the river of time, disappearing into the

distance.

Beside him, a familiar voice spoke up.

"Oh yes, that's my life-saving tree!"

Mike froze.

Turning his head, he saw a familiar face.

Afterskin smiled sheepishly, looking apologetic.

"I guess we're cellmates now."

"You... I really can't with you."

Mike sighed, staring at his new "cellmate."

Afterskin looked equally helpless.

It was only now that he realized what had happened.

After entering the river of time, he had followed the life-saving tree's aura, which had led

him here.

Logically, Afterskin should have appeared outside the sword prison.

But clearly, something had gone wrong.

Not only had he ended up inside the dream space, but he'd also been trapped in the wooden

cage.

Even after piecing everything together, there was nothing he could do about it.

Afterskin could only accept his fate.

Mike, however, wasn't one to sit idle.

Now trapped inside the sword prison, he began working on dismantling it.

The solution was clear in his mind.

His brain: I've got this.

His hands: No, you don't. When Mike tried to put theory into practice, he found the difficulty had increased tenfold.

At his current pace, it would take at least three to five days to escape.

Before long, Mike ran into trouble.

Staring at two sticks, he couldn't decide which one to remove.

"Afterskin, you pick one," he said.

Afterskin pointed to one stick, and Mike immediately chose the other.

Failure.

Mike had to start over.

When he encountered the same dilemma again, he decided to go with Afterskin's choice this

time.

Failure.

Mike: ...

This guy really was unlucky.

Sighing, Mike muttered, "I wonder how Apollo's doing right now."

Meanwhile, in Florida...

"Make way! Make way!"

A man in a hospital gown shouted as he walked down an empty street, carrying a massive

bundle on his back.

The bundle, wrapped in a tattered red cloth, contained various tools for performing

divinations.

Judging by the assortment of items he carried, he also seemed to moonlight as a pancake

vendor, a rat catcher, a plumber, and a postnatal pig care specialist.

In short, he looked like a lunatic.

Trailing behind him was a middle-aged man.

The lunatic turned and shouted, "Auntie, we made a lot of money today-at least 20 bucks!"

Apollo nodded, correcting him. "22.5 bucks."

After a full day of work, they had earned a grand total of $22.50.

Shadow Two was thrilled.

Behind them, a man pushing a cart struggled to keep up.

"Shadow Two, can we slow down a bit?" Joseph complained.

He had been wandering the streets when he stumbled upon Apollo and Shadow Two, quickly

joining their little "business venture."

Apollo's divination stall hadn't attracted much business.

The pancake stand next to it, however, was doing great-Shadow Two could eat ten pancakes

in one sitting.

So Shadow Two suggested they start selling pancakes themselves.

Joseph managed to scrounge up a cart and some flour, and soon they were in business.

As for the city defense department...

Shadow Two was confident they wouldn't be a problem.

The real issue was that Apollo insisted on selling $5 pancakes for exactly $5.

How were they supposed to make a profit?

Joseph came up with a brilliant idea: "Buy a pancake, get a free divination-$7 total!"

With this new strategy, business boomed, and profits followed.

Soon, Florida witnessed a bizarre sight:

A line of Lords, Chiefs, and Generals queuing up to buy pancakes.

Joseph handled the cooking, Shadow Two collected the money, and Apollo performed the

divinations.

It was a well-oiled operation.

Joseph never imagined that his side hustle as a barbecue chef would lead to a career in

pancake sales.

Shadow Two, meanwhile, was overwhelmed.

"Ten bucks, here's your change-thirteen bucks. Next!"

"....."

From morning till night, everyone was busy.

Yet when they tallied up the day's earnings, they found they had made only $22.50.

Joseph sighed.

Where had it all gone wrong?