I, the Geo Archon Morax with 2.1 Billion Mora, Have Joined a Chat Group [272]

— Demon Lord Girl Ariel? Huh??

— That cold and ruthless Demon Lord Ariel… turned out to be this kind of character?

“Is that… really Ariel?” Even Kumoko couldn’t help but ask, her voice uncertain.

“Hey now. I literally just announced my own name—why are you all still asking questions like you’re not sure?”

“Forget about that scrap heap Potimas for a sec. As for why I look like this, Wakaba Hiiro, shouldn’t you already know the reason?”

Kumoko scratched her head with a troubled look. “Should I know?”

“Her soul merged with yours,” Zhongli’s calm voice explained, cutting through the confusion.

“Oh, right.” The demon girl turned her head, smiling brightly. “The one you sent over has now fully fused with me. I’m both Demon Lord Ariel and a part of Wakaba Hiiro. Of course, the dominant consciousness is still Ariel—but even I’m not totally sure. My personality’s shifted a lot since the fusion.”

“Soul fusion?” Potimas Hyphenath, the elven patriarch, frowned. His metal body gave a slight creak as he spoke. “How did you achieve that?”

“Heh~! Elven Patriarch Potimas, are you actually speaking to me right now?”

A crushing wave of killing intent surged from Ariel, directed straight at him.

The ancient divine beast’s aura was enough to kill most dragons outright by sheer pressure alone.

But to Potimas, it was no more threatening than a breeze brushing past his face.

What truly caught his interest was the soul fusion Ariel had mentioned.

That was a technology he had long obsessed over—pursued endlessly yet never conquered.

In his calculations, if he could acquire this technique, then his ultimate goal—eternal life, free from death or decay—could finally become reality.

He had already achieved mechanical immortality in the flesh. But the soul… the soul still wore down with time, eroded bit by bit.

Just like this planet’s life force, drained and wrung dry, his own soul was nearing its limit.

If he could fuse himself with fresh, young souls… he could extend his spirit’s lifespan indefinitely.

“Tell me, Ariel. How exactly did you acquire this ability?”

Potimas Hyphenath’s voice dropped to a low rasp.

“Why should I? Why should I?”

Ariel sang the question back at him playfully, her grin unbothered.

Potimas’s brow furrowed deeper, his voice cracking with irritation. “You... are you really Ariel? Ugh… the anti-magic barrier’s blocking all identification—I can’t confirm if you’re the real thing or just another fake.”

“Of course I’m the real deal,” Ariel replied matter-of-factly. “And frankly, I don’t appreciate getting questioned by a cheap knockoff in a tin can.”

“Oof. That was harsh.” Potimas’s metal lips curled into a smile. “But my dear Ariel, if you’re willing to share your secret behind soul fusion… maybe I’ll let you call me ‘Father’ again. And I’ll even give you the love a true father should provide.”

“Just like I’m giving my new daughter Gül right now.”

“Gül?? Wait, you mean Ms. Gül?!” Kumoko’s pupils shrank. “You’ve got Gül-sensei?!”

“Hm?” Potimas’s expression turned amused at her reaction. “Ah, so you’re also a reincarnator from another world. How interesting. While others are still helpless infants, you’ve already grown this far. Looks like you reincarnated as one of Ariel’s kin directly? That’s quite the twist.”

“You seem to be connected to soul fusion too. Fascinating, truly fascinating.” Potimas’s lips curled further.

“I’ll remember this. When I—”

Before he could finish, Ariel took a step forward—then vanished, closing the distance with a single punch.

BOOM—!

A thunderous impact.

The arrogant Potimas’s mechanical head was shattered into pieces. His metal body collapsed to the ground, twitched twice, and fell still.

“Is he… dead?”

Kumoko hopped over in surprise, stopping in front of the ruined metal carcass.

“Nope,” Ariel pouted. “The one thing this bastard’s good at is running away. His current body? Just a remote puppet. He can shift his consciousness to another one anytime he wants. Doesn’t matter how many of these get destroyed.”

She had barely finished speaking when Zhongli, who had been silently observing from afar, stepped forward.

He looked down at the mechanical remains, narrowed his eyes, and then turned to Ariel.

“I’ll handle this,” he said calmly. “After all, it was part of our contract—to ensure the complete and final death of Potimas Hyphenath.”

“Huh? But that guy’s consciousness already slipped away,” Ariel raised an eyebrow.

“For beings like me and the Evil God D, souls and consciousness aren’t as abstract as you might think.”

As he spoke, Zhongli slowly crouched down, extended a single finger, and pressed it to the ruined machine’s body.

No visible change occurred.

Then—

A faint shimmer of rotting vitality rose from the wrecked machine.

“What is this…?!”

A voice echoed from within the destroyed frame—one both Ariel and Kumoko instantly recognized as Potimas Hyphenath.

Zhongli stood, looking away from the husk as he spoke, his voice calm and resolute.

“I have summoned the soul of Potimas Hyphenath back into this mechanical shell and sealed it inside—permanently.”

“He will never again transfer his soul elsewhere. Which means, from this moment on—his death is real. Irrevocable.”

“…Huh?”

Ariel blinked.

Then turned to look at Zhongli in disbelief. “You’re serious?”

Zhongli met her gaze with level eyes. “If the Evil God D can create a skill system that recycles souls over and over, then it should hardly surprise you that someone on her level can also bind one. For me, this is but a small feat.”

“Now then. You two have your business. I’ll attend to mine.”

As he spoke, Zhongli turned his gaze upward, through the ruined ceiling of the castle, into the sky.

And in his eyes—on the satellite orbiting the planet—stood a girl in a Japanese school uniform, her face expressionless, her gaze cold and unblinking.

“You’ve come… Upper Administrator D.”

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This is a fan translation of 我，21亿岩王帝君加入聊天群 by 大一统. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!