《Devil Emperor》 Chapter -1 - Ranking 1. Low-Class * 2. Middle-Class * 3. High-Class - Most of Pillar Devils with their Clan abilities are in this rank, even if they didn''t master their abilities * 4. Ultimate-Class * 5. Satan/Cadre/Seraph/God/Dragon King/-Class * 6. Super Devil/Archangel/High-God/Heavenly Dragon/-Class - Strongest beings of DxD are at this level - All members of the Top 10 Strongest Beings of the World are in this category * 7. Apocalypse-Class - Ophis, Trihexa or The Great Red are in this category 8. Transcendent-Class - Will be shown when the Conjunction of Spheres happen Chapter 1 - Beginning of Infinity If one were to ask, what was the most powerful pillar among the 72 Pillars of the Underworld, it would be the Bael House. After the death of the original four Maous, it was the first Bael, Zekram Bael who became the de-facto leader of the Underworld, together with the Great King Faction. They were the ones who filled the emptiness after the death of original satans and stabilized the Underworld. Now many years has passed from the time, but the House of Bael still stood proudly on top of the pyramid. Yes, there existed Four Great Satans, but alas they were more like some icon than real leaders. They were heroes from the Civil War, that was the truth, but real political power was in the hands of Elder Council and various Pillars. ============================================= Zekram Bael was the first generation Bael. First Great King right-hand of the original Lucifer. After his fall, he became the leader of all Devils and his House was something like the royal family of the devil kind. Even when new Four Great Satans emerged, it didn''t change anything for the Bael House as they were still the most powerful house in the political field. Currently, Zekram Bael had long retired, at least on the surface. Even though he retired, current Lord Bael didn''t make even one decision without consulting it with the first generation. This only show, how much influence Zekram held, despite not being so active in politics. Zekram is a middle-aged looking man with black hair and peaceful violet eyes and wears noble attire. He has an aura of strong dignity that exudes from him. On the surface, the Underworld and Anti-Maou Faction only had two Super Devils. Ajuka Beelzebub and Sirzechs Lucifer, two of the current Four Great Satans. In the dark, even though not many people knew about it, there existed more. Like Rivezim Livan Lucifer, son of original Lucifer, who went rogue or Zekram Bael, who ''secluded'' himself from the world. On the surface at least. Today, Zekram Bael was sitting on the courtyard of his castle, that was located in some unknown mountain range in the Underworld. He was sitting there and drinking green tea, that was prepared by servants. Flags of the Bael Clan with a purple flower were decorating the castle. He wasn''t alone in the courtyard. There was a young man training, with the dark-red spear in his hands. The spear itself was beautifully crafted, with various runes were carved in it and it was constantly radiating blood aura of slaughter. Suddenly the Crimson Aura of Power of Destruction started enveloping the spear as the young man slashed forward with his spear, destroying all training dummies before him. One must know, that those weren''t ordinary training dummies, but enhanced with magic. "Good, very good Zarathul. Your control over Power of Destruction became stronger, now you can coat your spear with it as much as you want." Said Zekram happily after he saw the success that young man, Zarathus accomplished. "Thank you, father. Without your guidance, it would take me much longer to achieve what I have accomplished." Zekram Bael didn''t have many descendants on his own. Only a few of them, but sadly most of them already died. He was the longest-lived devil of their race. Truth to be told, there wasn''t anyone that has lived so long, every devil would be killed sooner or later in the past due to constant wars. Zarathul was his last remaining direct descendant, his son. He was born around two hundred years ago, after the end of the Civil War against the Old Satan Faction. He was an extremely talented young man, and after the death of his mother, Zekram was taking care of him, by himself. Even across the Underworld, only those devils of 72 Pillars were aware of his existence, others not. He remained together with him secluded from the rest of the world, training for that what will come. Zekram Bael was the very old devil and he was even more cunning than he was old. He knew that peace lasted for too much. Soon, the war would be coming, and there were, of course, many internal and external problems that devils were facing. "Father I want to leave to get a new peerage member. I am also done with refining my Evil Pieces to mutate them as you have instructed." Said Zarathul with excitement in his voice. There were many secrets that powerful devils and old devils were keeping for themselves. For example one of them was that there existed a method to make all Evil Pieces mutate. It was a very tiresome process and took too much time. The process was simple, one would refine every piece in his Demonic Energy, forcefully mutating them. The disadvantage was that it took too much time. More than century to be precise. Remarked Zekram when he answered to Zarathul''s question. "Also, if you want to go to participate in the Young Devil''s Gathering this year." The reason, why he was allowed to participate in the Young Devil''s Gathering, was simple. Even though he was over 200 years old, most of that time, he was in a deep sleep due to his special condition. He was born with special lineage from his mother''s side. Anti-Magic. Because he was born with Anti-Magic and Power of Destruction, he was forced to be under deep sleep and wake up once for ten years until his powers would be assimilated and won''t pose threat to him. Power of Destruction was the trademark of the Bael Clan and it is a type of demonic energy, that grants its users great explosive power and can completely annihilate things when used. On the other hand, Anti-Magic was basically a series of special innate abilities to disrupt and destroy magic in general. Be it normal magic, magical circles or anything that had mana in it. For example, most notable Anti-Magic spell was called Gram Demolition, that demolished record of Magic. It disrupts mana is spells and magic circles, causing them to disperse or explode on the spot. "Zarathul, have you progressed with the Magic Body Infus.e.m.e.nt?" Asked Zekram with great curiosity. Magic Body Infus.e.m.e.nt was a special method that allowed individual to infuse a huge amount of Magic Power and Demonic Power to their bodies, thus making their bodies extremely strong. This was Zarathul''s idea after he found out, that he had no talent in Senjutsu and Touki after conversing and training with his [Bishop] and Sairaorg. "For now good, but it is becoming harder and harder to make any progress in the Magic Body Infus.e.m.e.nt. You need the almost impossible amount of magic power and demonic power to reach an Ultimate-Class in Body Level. One could say, it is almost as hard as the mastering Touki and Senjutsu. Also, compared to them, it is lacking explosiveness of Touki, but the effects of Magic Body Infus.e.m.e.nt are permanent, albeit bit weaker compared to the usage of Touki." "Zarathul, who do you want to recruit to your peerage this time? I recall last time, you created huge problems and demolished the whole forest when you fought against your Queen." Said Zekream and Zarathul started feeling as grim reaper was standing before him. One must admit that his father was a very strict and dutiful person. When Zarathul was recruiting his [Qeen], they had fought and destroyed the whole forest. It took combined works of tens magicians to re-create forest that they have destroyed. Of course, Zarathul got a huge scolding for that, but alas he recruited very strong [Qeen] and she was also pure-blood devil from some extinct devil clan. "Crom Cruach." Said Zarathul with a very low voice, hoping that his father won''t be able to hear him. Unfortunately for him, his father''s senses were very good and he heard that name very clearly as he started screaming at him the moment the heard the name. "Are you insane kid? You are thinking about recruiting the Crescent Circle Dragon, strongest Evil Dragon in existence? Do you wanna be killed?" Zekram was amazed at the insanity of his son. Trying to recruit Crom Cruach, probably the strongest Evil Dragon in existence was pure suicide. Even though Zarathul was Ultimate-Class Devil, 2nd-Tier to be precise, he was still like an ant compared to the behemoth like Crom Cruach. "But Uncle Rizevim told me it is safe and he will persuade Crom Cruach to become one of my peerages, besides that, I have several muted rooks prepared for him to reincarnate him into Devil Dragon." Said Zarathul in an innocent voice as he looked fearfully at his father who was now very angry. This behavior started when his mother died, as his father was then protective of him. He let him leave the Castle, only when he reached High-Class standard of power and even then he was secretly monitored by Ultimate-Class Devil. Now, this wasn''t necessary, as Zarathul was rather strong and experienced many Life and Death situations that tempered him as a warrior, but when he had so-called suicidal ideas he would still be scolded by his father. The devil could gain more Evil Pieces than they have by hunting stray devils and taking Evil Pieces from those strays. This was considered a secret between old nobles and Clan Heads of Pillar Houses. Aside from them, very few people were aware of this method. Of course, Zekram taught this method to his son, when he received his Evil Pieces. By using this method, you could either strengthen your already existing Peerage by infusing more Evil Pieces into them or gaining new members. A better choice was, of course, strengthening already existing Peerage Members, cause having too many peerage members could be a stain on your soul and it had also some minor disadvantaged. On the other hand, strengthening already existing Peerage members was better as they could unlock their potential and you could reincarnate stronger people into your peerage. After Zekram finished this sentence, the cheerful voice sounded from another end of the courtyard. "Oya, Oya, come on Zekram why must you be always so serious man? I thought it would be more fun with you, but I see that with age you are becoming more and more like some skeleton who don''t understand humor." Rivezim had the appearance of a middle-aged man in his forties with dark silver hair and hazel eyes. He had a silver beard on his chin and was radiating weird creepy aura around his body. He also wore same Maou Lucifer attire as Sirzechs, although in silver color. "Yes I not understand, I do not understand your non-sense you are spouting. What are you scheming Rivezim? At first, you came here, with that kid, Vali and you brought him here for him to obtain his own Evil Pieces. Before that, you brought him that spear, G¨¢e Bolg, that you have probably stolen from the Celtic Pantheon and now you are in cahoots with Crom Cruach?" Asked Zekram with a suspicious voice as he looked at Rivezim. Zarathul just sat down onto the ground and looked at both of them as they were quarreling. They were always like this. When they met they would create havoc as they got into argument. "Why must you be suspicious of everything Old Zekky? Kids are family so they should get along. Also, that thing about Crom Cruach is not non-sense but I have really managed to persuade him to become a member of his peerage. It needed only small promise, that all." Said Rivezim with innocent smile totally not getting along with his face and personality. Zekram''s expression twitched in anger when he heard the nickname, ''Old Zekky'' how Rivezim called him. "What did you primed him? Gold? Treasures? Female Dragons or Devils?" Aksed Zekram with amus.e.m.e.nt as he looked at Rivezim. Even though Zekram didn''t like Rivezim, he admitted he is right in all points. Devil Society of today was dived in several factions, and mostly these factions didn''t get well along with each other. First one was Ars Goetia or 72 Pillars, now only 34 Pillars that remained. Another faction was that of Extra Demons, that secluded themselves from politics for centuries and didn''t interact with them. The last faction was that of Reincarnated Devils from other races. the state of Underworld wasn''t good, truth to be told it was terrible. There was only one solution and that was to untie all devils under a single banner, but that was not possible for now. This merit could be achieved only by overwhelming strength, and not even Sirzechs Lucifer, the current strongest devil achieved that merit. But there was a chance for it, and that chance was names External Threat. It was known, among the higher-ups of various Pantheons, that soon or later, Age of Gods would descend once again, when Calamity would happen. Weak would perish and strong would become stronger. Christianity Pantheon was one of weakest due to them being divided. Sadly compared to Angels and Fallen Angels, Devils were divided even more and thus were in rather a bad position. "I know Rivezim, I have worked on this for centuries, after the so-called Great War and after our Civil War. Fortunately, my work already started bearing first fruits, with almost all of the Elder Council agreed to my suggestion. Next thing would be to stabilize the situation with Reincarnated Devils as their numbers are becoming larger and larger. If the current situation would continue, the only result that awaits us is another Civil War so I already took necessary preparations. The only thing we are lacking now is someone to be the one who would lead." Said Zekram to Rivezim as both of them looked at the same direction, where Zarathul was peacefully sitting in the cross-legged position and meditating. All that training he did, blood and sweat were only with one goal. To become the leader of the next generation. Same when Lucifer and other three satans build the Devil Society and led armies to the Great War. Same when current Four Great Satans lead the Anti-Satan Faction in the Civil War. Both he and his father were aware of the importance of strong leadership. His father hoped that he would be able to become the leader of next-generation, next Maou, but not with the title of Lucifer, Beelzebub, Leviathan or Asmodeus. The leader with the supreme title of Satan, because of that Zekram poured a huge amount of resources in grooming his son, because he saw talent in him. Devil Race was very vulnerable because they were divided and they lived in peace for more than several hundred years. Soon enough times would change and they would need to fight again and be united. "I will send Crom Cruach here after a week or so. He said if the kid is able to fight him properly he wouldn''t mind becoming his servant. After all, that dragon is a pure battle maniac so if Zarathul gives him a good fight, he might agree to the proposition. Oy, nephew I will pray for you, hahaha..." Said Rivezim as laughed and after that he conjured magic circle and teleported away, leaving Zekram and Zarathul in the courtyard alone. "Father, when the Age of Gods arrives what would happen?" Asked Zarathul after he opened his eyes from meditation. His father often mentioned the name, Age of Gods or he called it also, Cataclysm, but he never said what it would be. The only thing he said, it would be a catastrophe of unpredictable size, a war that would engulf all living things. ''Conjunction of Spheres. So it is true in the end. I have read several things about it in ancient scrolls, heavenly opportunity or eternal damnation awaits us? If we are able to invade some magical world and obtain enough resources, we could rise our strength to be able to resist strong Panthons like Indian or Norse.'' Said Zarathul to himself as he thought about various possibilities in his mind. "Heavenly opportunity or Eternal Damnation. If we are able to obtain more resources, we could raise our standing in the supernatural world. Currently, the Norse Pantheon, Greek, Indian Pantheon, Shinto Pantheon or Celestial Court of Jade Emperor are able to wipe is in a matter of days. So father, if we want to survive we must unite and fight as one Devil Race?" Asked Zarathul in a curiosity. Currently, there were many Pantheons that are able to wipe them out in a matter of days. Even though Devils had two Super Devils, they were not enough to protect against Pantheons full of Gods. "Yes, we need to move quickly as in a few years the Conjunction of Spheres would happen. You need to reach the level of Super Devil as quickly as possible and if not Super Devil than at least Satan Class. I have already started moving all the pieces. When those terrorists from Old-Satan Faction would strike again, we could use that opportunity to push up the unification of Devil kind under a single banner. Fortunately we have managed to solve the problem with King Piece when it was invented as that could brig us massive trouble and the standing of Reincarnated Devils is not so bad compared to the past, but still, there are many things that need our attention." Said Zekram to his son, as Zarathul nodded his head. "So you are basically using the Old-Satan Faction as a scapegoat to speed up our unification? What about the Four Great Satans?" Asked Zarathul as he knew that his father would use everything to achieve his goal. The goal of preservation of Devils and their prosperity. "I have already talked about Sirzechs about this and he agreed to my plan. Truly the younger generation is more progressive compared to us old men. Because he refused the offer to be a leader, you need to get stronger as fast as possible. Those four are aware of the fact, our society is slowly declining and that were are becoming like a target for other powers in the Underworld such as Hades and his grim reapers." This was certainly a piece of good news, that Sirzechs agreed to the plan, as he was strongest Super Devil in their faction. Current Four Great Satans were modern, we could call it like that. Progressive was another term. As all of them were aware of the tension in the Underworld between Reincarnated Devils and High-Class Devils. Even though Zekram managed to do some things in shadows to improve the standing of Reincarnated Devil to avoid another Civil War, it was still not enough. Maybe now with help o Four Maous, it would get better. Zekram already controlled almost whole Elder Council and most of the Clan Heads. Only some of them were bit reluctant, but that would disappear with the new threat of Old-Satan Faction. "Father I would be going now, to see how my peerage is doing, so if you excuse me." Said Zarathul with a polite bow as he exited the courtyard and went to his peerage members, consisting of only [Qeen] and [Bishop] pieces. ============================================= Zarathul returned to his part of the castle, where his two peerage members were already waiting for him. Kuroka was former Stray Devil, Nekoshou whom Zarathul saved, when he exposed deed that the Naberius, her former master committed. This gave Zekram huge opportunity to cleanse few of his political rivals and those who didn''t support changed he was going to do. Even now, after year he was still using that incident to his advantage, as it could speel another war with Shinto Faction and Youkai Faction if they exterminated Nekomatas that were living in the Underworld. She was from already extinct devil clan, Partas Clan that not lived in the Underworld despite being devils. She wandered around the various realms of this plane, searching for the strong opponents to fight. She originated from Asgard as her clan relocated there before the Great War between three factions. All members of her clan were in-born fighters and warriors and despite being devils they were respected in the Asgard, to point Esdeath was for some time even Valkyrie, only Devil Valkyrie in existence. Sadly, her clan was massacred in a fight with the Fire Giants of the Muspellheim and then she left Asgard. One time, she found Zarathul and they fought. Of course, Zarathul won, but then happened something unexpected. Esdeath went to him and aggressively kissed, proclaimed his as her husband. Zarathul then took her with her to the Underworld where she became his Queen of the Bael Amy that was newly reformed by Zekram Bael and was responsible for conquering many lost regions which belonged to the extinct pillars. Her cruelty and sadism in the fight were widely known, as her very good treatment of her subordinates. Even though she looked rather scary, she deeply loved Zarathul and after some time, he returned her feelings to her. She was also, fiance¨¦ of Zarathul as she was pure-blooded Devil from the noble clan, despite her clan left the Underworld. Esdeath had very high prestige in the Underworld as she often leads troops in skirmished against the Old-Satan Faction or wild monsters that were roaming the Underworld. She already reclaimed two territories belonging to the Extinct Pillars that were the territory of wild beasts, thus expanding the Bael Territory. Even current Lord Bael showed fear of her, but he was happy because of her work, the army of the Bael Clan rose in quality and expended even their territory. On the other side, Kuroka was a beautiful young woman with a voluptuous figure, long black hair with split bangs, and hazel-gold eyes with cat-like pupils. Her attire consists of a black kimono, a yellow obi, a set of golden beads, and an ornately detailed headband. The kimono features a red interior and it is open at her shoulders. She was very playful, easy-going, simple-minded, and enjoys teasing people. She is also rather vulgar, using her beauty and sensuousness as a weapon in her arsenal of teasing. Despite her mischevious nature, Kuroka is very kind and compassionate who cares about her loved ones as her sister. She enjoyed always teasing Zarathul and she never stopped saying how she wanted a litter of kittens. Devil kittens to be precise. At least, she gave a new feel to his peerage which only had Esdeath, who was overly strict and often even he feared her. "Hello, Esdeath, Kuroka." Greeted them Zarathul as he entered the room. As soon as he entered the room, Esdeath opened her eyes from mediation came to him, fiercely kissing him on his lips. Kuroka seeing this pouted in jealousy. "You already had enough, you weird s.l.u.t. Go away from my mate, now!" Yelled Kuroka at Esdeath, to which she only looked at her with an innocent smile and winked at angry Kuroka. In terms of strength, Esdeath was above Kuroka in all aspects, be it in Magic or close combat. As Kuroka could be considered as 3rd-Tier Ultimate-Class, while Esdeath was same as Zarathul, 2nd-Tier Ultimate-Class. "Lazy useless cat. At least I am more useful than you, who just spends all the time sleeping and doing nothing." Commented Esdeath in an indifferent voice, as she knew that only thing Kuroka was doing was just lazying around or going to see her younger sister at the Gremory Clan, but that was all. Compared to that, Esdeath was general of armies of Bael Clan, a post gave her by First Great King himself, and she was constantly training soldiers or fighting wild beasts of the Underworld that took a liking to the abandoned territories of extinct Pillars. This gave Esdeath pride in helping her future husband. Also, the fact she was his official fiance¨¦, as it was blessed with the blessing of Zekram Bael, current Lord Bael and also approved by Elder Council was a very huge advantage for her. Not talking about the fact, she was the first one whom Zarathul has confessed to. "Esdeath, Kuroka please don''t quarrel. We don''t have time for this. I have talked with my father now and even uncle Rivezim stopped, saying that he prepared meeting with potential peerage member." Both of them stopped quarreling, just occasionally throwing provocative glances at each other. Mention of gaining new peerage member piqued the interest of both women, hugging his arms. "Who is it, Darling?" Asked Esdeath in a seductive voice, to which Zarathul had a very hard time resisting. "Crom Cruach, Evil Dragon is known as the Crescent Circle Dragon who is said to be strongest of Evil Dragons. I personally don''t know what is uncle Rivezim scheming, but he contacted Crom Cruach and persuaded him to meet him, so I would have a chance to recruit him into my peerage. Apparently even Vali gets the same chance, with another Evil Dragon, but I don''t know the name." Answered Zarathul as both Esdeath and Kuroka almost lost their breaths. Both of them knew, who Crom Cruach was and how powerful he was. Esdeath showed a wide smile on her face, as she took pride in her future husband who wanted to have the strongest Evil Dragon as member of his peerage. "Zar-chan, when we will make some little kitten, nya?" Asked Kuroka in an adorable cat-like way as she looked at her mate. Sadly, Esdeath was sitting right beside them, and she had now very angry expression as she looked at Kuroka. "Darling is my fiance¨¦, so it is understandable that he would have children with me at first." Said Esdeath and now they were at it again. Zarathul just rubbed his forehead in annoyance as he listened to their child-like quarrel over him, but alas he didn''t care too much of it. "Oh right, Esdeath how is progressing training of Bael Army?" Asked Zarathul in curiosity as he didn''t know much about the current progress of their clan''s armies. When he recruited her, he discussed with his father and gave that Conjunction of Spheres is coming, Zekram made her General of Bael Armies. "Good, all armies have been reformed and we have recruited new soldiers. Currently, I am focusing more on the Battle Formations and to cultivate all of them, to have the strength of the Mid-Class Devil at least. We have completely cleaned two smaller territories next to the Bael Territory, that belonged to the extinct Pillars, expanding the Bael Territory and also, many new soldiers gained experiences of Life and Death Battles, not like to stupid Rating Games." Explained Esdeath about her achievement as Zarathul patted her head. He was very happy that Esdeath was doing good in the military, she had great talent in that field. She even managed to train good lieutenants to lead troops and recruited experienced warriors to act like drill sergeants. Both of them didn''t like Rating Games, as they were nothing more than games in their point of view. It lacked the feeling of Life and Death battle, as in the Rating Game its main reason was just to show off. For younger devils, it was probably the only way to experience combat, albeit simulated one to a big extent. Because of that, Zarathul never participated in Rating Game and he didn''t even have that on his schedule in near future, but he often went with Esdeath when she was hunting for powerful wild beasts and when she was leading army. "Also, the structure of the Army has been changed. For start, all commanders must be experienced on the field of commanding soldiers, so no spoiled brats that never fought in the war. Another thing, the commander must be at least 1st-Tier High-Class Devil in terms of strength, and one army must have at least on Ultimate-Class Devil present in case of emergency." One of the reasons, why Devils lost many soldiers in the Great War was because they were led by incompetent commanders mainly. Pillar Heirs who didn''t have any experience, education or knowledge about the leading troops. Now Esdeath re-structuralized whole army structure to be more efficient and stronger. "I am proud of you, my darling." Said Zarathul as he kissed her on her cheek, to which Esdeath blushed slightly. A rare sight, to see someone as Esdeath, fear general and cruel sadist, to blushing like an ordinary girl. As Zarathul looked at her current embarrassed state, he was immediately aroused. Suddenly he felt, that Kuroka was hugging him from behind while nibbling on his ear. "Come on, nya." Whispered seductive cat to his ear, as he pushed Esdeath on the couch they were sitting and starting to kissing her fiercely, and soon, even mischievous cat joined them and in a few minutes, only m.o.a.ns of p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e and extasy were heard through the room. ============================================= Next day Above the castle, where Zekram Bael and Zarathul Bael were living, the huge dragon was flying. A majestic jet black Western Dragon with a black and golden aura surrounding him. He looked strong just by the look and beside the black and golden aura surrounding him, there was an air of noble dragon and domination. "So, where is the kid that the weirdo Rizevim mentioned?" Chapter 2 - Crom Cruach and Preparations for Campaign Mornings were always the same. From the time, Zarathul finished assimilating Anti-Magic and Power of Destruction in his body and being together with Esdeath and Kuroka was always the same thing. He laid in his huge bad with Kuroka and Esdeath both of them being n.a.k.e.d as they hugged his arms and using them as a pillow. Not that Zarathul was complaining about it. "Esdeath, Kuroka wake up." Said Zarathul as he tried to wake both of them up. Esdeath woke up pretty easily as she was used to getting up early as a soldier, but Kuroka was a different story. She liked sleep long and hated morning, probably like any other cat. "Sleep, nya, nya, more sleep, nya." Murmured Kuroka in her sleep as she ignored Zarathul''s futile attempts to wake her up. Thus, both of them just woke up and left Kuroka sleeping there. Together with Esdeath, they left the bedroom and went to have breakfast. Zekram was already waiting there, as servants were bringing various kinds of food for them. "Father-in-law, good morning." Greeted Esdeath with a smile to which Zekram nodded his head. All three of them sat down for breakfast and started eating. On the table, were various kinds of food, all of them made by best chefs available through the Underworld. "So, daughter-in-law I heard many good things about you lately as you managed to reclaim territories and expand Bael Territory significantly. Also, how is the training of Bael Army progressing?" Hearing these compliments, Esdeath''s cheeks reddened when she heard the name, daughter-in-law and then she straightened herself to answer the question about the military. Despite being rather young, she was very dutiful when it came to military affairs. Said Esdeath with a hint of pride hidden in her words. When she took the post of General of Bael Armies, they started blooming and becoming stronger month by month. "Very good daughter-in-law. In truth, I have a mission for you, both of you to be precise. Take soldiers and go clear the territory of already extinct Valefor Clan. I got information that their territory is nowadays full of Stray Fallen Angels and Stray Devils, so this could be a good exercise for you and for Army as we need to prepare for upcoming fights. And also, take Sairaorg with you. Lately, many people are talking about him excelling in the Rating Games, even though it is nothing just funny game, he has good power. This would be a good opportunity to temper himself with fire and blood." Said Zekram as he looked at Zarathul and Esdeath. Both of them were happy that they got the mission and that it was cleaning of the territory of already extinct Valefor Clan was just bonus. Valefor Clan territory was not far from the Bael Territory, now that the Bael territory has expanded. "Father, how many of strays are there?" "We don''t know exact numbers, but Valefor territory has been a safe house for various strays for a very long time. Before, we couldn''t send their troops to clear it and reclaim it as it is separated from closest devil territory, Bael territory, those two territories that Esdeath conquered. Thanks to that, there is a big number, approximately around 25,000 Strays across the several factions. To be precise, there are several thousand stray devils, more than 7,000 fallen angels, then apparently some stray grim reapers and creatures from various mythologies. Then there are various monsters like goblins and kobolds, numbering around 10,000. Fortunately for us, they are not centered and only have various villages and smaller cities." Former Valefor territory was always base for strays that managed to escape from devil territories or rogue fallen angels. Over the years, even more, and more species that left their home territories came there, and they were a headache for devils for a long time. Both Zarathul and Esdeath nodded their heads in agreement as this would be a very important mission for them. If they managed to conquer former Valefor territory, not only they would be able to expand devil territory, but also annihilate a huge number of devils strays and rogue fallen angels. This would lessen problems that they might face in the future and also, could weaken fallen angels and lessen their numbers. Even though they went rogue, they were fallen angels nevertheless and could still perhaps once return to Grigori under special circ.u.mstances. It was a time of war, and that meant, many of Low-Class Devils and Middle-Class Devil and Reincarnated Devils would be able to improve their status if they performed well in the upcoming war. Zarathul also knew reasons why his father wanted for him to take Sairaorg with him, as this would be a perfect opportunity in fighting in a real Life and Death battles. "Oh, here is here already." "Crom Cruach is here. We should be coming to see him." Said Zekram as all three of them stood up and went to the courtyard, above which someone was already waiting for them. ============================================= Crom Cruach really looked intimidating in his dragon form. Too dominating and that aura he was radiating, was forcing everyone who was weak on his knees. Fortunately, all devils in this castle were at least, 3rd-Tier High-Class so they were able to resist that leftover aura for a bit, before Zekram together with Zarathul and Esdeath arrived. Only then Crom Cruach stopped releasing that intimidating dragon aura and started shapeshifting. In his human form, Crom Cruach has the appearance of a tall handsome man wearing a black coat with a long mixture of black and blond hairs as well as heterochromatic eyes where his right eye is gold and his left eye is black and he has pointed ears. "You have come earlier than expected." Said Zekram to Crom Cruach who had an indifferent expression on his face as he looked at Zarathul who was standing beside his father and looked back at Crom Cruach. "Come, kid, we are going to fight. If you are really that good as that weirdo Rizevim said, then I will join your peerage." Said Crom Cruach as he looked at Zarathul with a calm yet amused expression. One must know that Zarathul was only at the Ultimate-Class, while Crom Cruach could be almost considered as Heavenly Dragon-Class. He was currently, Dragon King-Class of Pinnacle, only one little push in his magical abilities and body strength would make him another Heavenly Dragon, and with enough time his strength would be comparable if not higher than that of Ddraig or Albion. Said Zarathul as he took out the G¨¢e Bolg from the dimensional storage and stood in a battle stance as he held the crimson red spear in both of his hands. Crom Cruach''s eye twitched a bit when he saw that spear, but he still stood there, like nothing happened at all and just watched little devil kid with great interest. In a meanwhile, both Zekram and Esdeath already retreated and created many barriers and bounded field around the place where they were fighting because they couldn''t fight in the castle, they teleported to the plain, several tens of kilometers away from the castle. Suddenly, Zarathul disappeared from the place where he was standing and when he appeared he was already before indifferent Crom Cruach slashing at his with his G¨¢e Bolg, trying to pierce his heart. Zarathul knew that the disparity between them was too huge and he could not hold back even bit of his strength, so he started fighting at full power from the start. As the G¨¢e Bolg was nearing Crom Cruach, he just dodged like nothing happened and looked at Zarathul with a smile on his face. ''Hmm... that kid is good, that attack would be able to instantly kill anything below Ultimate-Class in one hit. And he still didn''t use his Power of Destruction, only that special ability of G¨¢e Bolg, sadly for someone who knows about it, its useless.'' Said Crom Cruach to himself as he looked at Zarathul, who was already enveloped in the aura of Power of Destruction. Now the real fun would start, and Crom Cruach showed wide grin, seeing tens of portals appearing, created from Power of Destruction as weapons from Power of Destruction that were in aiming at him. "This is going to be fun!" Yelled Crom Cruach as he heard another voice. "Gate of Babylon!" And tens of weapons of various forms, conjured from pure Power of Destruction shot at him with lightning speed to which Crom Cruach was forced to invoke several magic shields to protect himself. Even though he was far stronger than Zarathul, if he was hit with those weapons at once, even he would be injured. Power of Destruction was deserved to be considered as strongest devil bloodline power. Zarathul stretched his hand in the air, pointing at Crom Cruach with his right hand, as several smaller gray magical circles were circulating around his right arm. That was the moment when Crom Cruach sensed that something was wrong, but it was late. "Gram Demolition!" Yelled Zarathul, as magic energy from his hand hit the magic shields protecting Crom Cruach and in a split of a second, they exploded like fireworks, creating a huge shockwave, and even sending Zarathul flying several tens of meters back. When the dust settled, one could see there Crom Cruach unharmed standing there, but his right hand was bleeding as it was hit by one weapon conjured from Power of Destruction. Zarathul was barely standing as he was using his spear G¨¢e Bolg to help him stand. Then Crom Cruach came here and helped him to stand as the shockwave from the explosion was too much for Ultimate-Class to handle. Even though Zarathul was 2nd-Tier Ultimate-Class, those magic shields that Crom Cruach created were filled with his magical energy and dragon energy of Pinnacle Dragon King powerhouse. If Zarathul had been weaker, such an explosion could have killed him like an ant. "It was good fight kiddo. Even though short, you have managed to make me bleed and your potential is good. I have never thought to see once again the Anti-Magic ability of Lucifer Family. Come I will help you to walk to infantry." Said Crom Cruach as he helped Zarathul walking and together they went tot he place where Zekram and Esdeath were waiting from them. When they arrived there, Zekram sighed in relief that his son was mostly fine, only some injuries but that was nothing, cause it would be healed quickly thanks to his strong body and regeneration. Esdeath quickly rushed to him, with small tears forming in the ends of her eyes, when she saw her beloved in such sorry state. Still, she knew that it was a miracle that he survived. Crom Cruach must have held back too much, because if not Zarathul might not be able to walk alive from the spar. "So what you say, Mr. Dragon about the proposition?" Asked Zarathul with a faint smile as he looked at Crom Cruach. "You know I won''t become devil, the ritual would be performed by a special method, so I would remain pure Dragon. And till the day you are stronger than me, you cannon order me as you like. Till that day, it would depend on my mood." ============================================= After they returned to the castle, Crom Cruach became ''member'' of Zarathul''s peerage and then he disappeared again to god knows where. He said that he had some things to take care of, so he went away, but he told him he would return for the military expedition to the Valefor territory. One week later, Zarathul was still laying in his bed, as he already finished recuperating from his injuries as Esdeath or Kuroka were taking care of him. Now that the military expedition was announced and they would depart tomorrow. They would be going through the Bael Castle to reconnect with another half of army and to pick up another one that would be joining the expedition, his own family Sairaorg Bael. "How are the preparations going Esdeath? Are our armies prepared for the expedition?" Asked Zarathul as he saw Esdeath entering his room with some papers in her hands. Probably the preparation for the expedition is done and she came here to tell him the results. "All together we have prepared around 20,000 soldiers, who were trained by me personally. My personal army numbering 5,000 would be leading the fight. Other 15,000 soldiers came from other Bael armies, that undergo changes not long ago, so their combat prowess is not that high. In-state of soldiers, my elites are mainly 3rd-Tier High-Class in terms of strength, while the rest of soldiers is around 3rd-Tier Middle-Class to 1st-Tier Middle-Class. From all Devils with the strength of High-Class, only several hundred have the strength of 2nd-Tier and 1st-Tier and three of all Devils have 3rd-Tier Ultimate-Class power." These levels of power weren''t bad, but they were far from the standard that Devils should have. In times of original Lucifer, every devil had a strength of High-Class. They had fallen too much, but fortunately, there was still time to change it. "For now it would be enough, I only hope there won''t be any Cadre-Class Fallen Angels because their number there is too high, there is something fishy going on, but so be it. Combined with my Power of Destruction, Anti-Magic and Light Resistance, coupled with G¨¢e Bolg I should be able to fight evenly 3rd-Tier Satan-Class, which is comparable to the 3rd-Tier Cadre-Class Fallen Angels. Only if they don''t too strong light, then I would be doomed." Zarathul''s innate ability from his mother''s side was Light Resistance, but sadly only to some extent. Meaning he was able to ignore all light that was weaker than him by some amount. For example, as Ultimate-Class he was able to totally ignore Light of Low-Class Angels and Middle-Class Angels and defend against Light of High-Class Angels to a good extent. Said Esdeath with the mild blush on her cheeks and she cutely complained about her fellow peerage member. She and Kuroka didn''t get along well, because of their different personalities as Kuroka was a typical cat, lazy and wanted sleep or mate. Ont the other hand, Esdeath was always doing something like training army and leading soldiers. "You don''t know? Zekram Bael and Elder Council made deal with Nekoshou and Nekomatas that were living in the Underworld. They were practically kicked out of the Youkai territory to the Underworld and after that fiasco with her former master, many things changed in reincarnating devils and all. Great King Faction made a proposition to Nekomatas living in the Underworld to become part of the Devils. They would obtain some chairs in Elder Council and would be treated as Devils. In exchange, they would teach devils senjutsu and Touki, at least to those who had the talent it in. This would strengthen our race, as we would obtain more powerful people as Nekomatas and especially Nekoshous are pretty strong and have good potential. Even now they have several Ultimate-Class Nekomatas and Nekoshou, sadly they are lacking someone in the Satan-Class. Now that Kuroka is part of my peerage, all nekomatas and nekoshou would become part of Bael Clan people. Also, they have huge usage in the military as they would do for perfect scounts and assassins." Explained Zarathul about reasons why even usually lazy cat, was now seriously participating in something, compared to her daily schedule which was sleep, watching tv and mate with Zarathul in order to produce super-strong devil kittens. "I would never anticipate that those arrogant devils would accept someone as their equal. Hmm, times are really changing. The Conjunction of Spheres must have frightened them to points many of them voluntarily embraced changed made in Underworld... truly fascinating." Exclaimed Esdeath as she looked surprised hearing Zarathul''s words. "We don''t have a choice and even those old grumpy men in Elder Council are seeing this after my father made it clear. Our race is on its way to the Abyss. Straight away to the extinction. First was the Great War, which took too many of us, and then that Civil War. We are vulnerable and with the creation of Evil Pieces we have made too many enemies in other Pantheons, so we have only two choices. First one is to stick with our old ways and perish. The second one is to accept the new age and become stronger. That is the reasons why those Reincarnation Laws were accepted and why many changes were done. Even here in the Underworld, Devil Race is now a juicy piece of meat in front of many enemies. Fallen Angels, Hades and Grim Reapers who can''t wait to start annihilation war against us, Osiris from Egyptian Pantheon, and various others such as Oni Tribes in the east and countless monster races all around the Underworld." Esdeath''s perked up when she heard how many enemies there were. Especially when she heard mentioning of the Oni Tribes as they were a pure-warrior race. "I have heard of Oni Tribes. They are similar to Devils, just instead of wings they have horns on their forehead and they are all very talented in close combat and have terrifyingly strong physical bodies. They are also a warrior race with Satan-Class leader." What Esdeath said was the truth, Oni Tribes were very strong ones. Like Devils who excelled in magic, Oni excelled in body strength and all of them were extremely strong close combatants. In reality, Oni Tribes weren''t enemies with Devil Race, instead, they were allies for long ago. Nowadays they were negotiations going on, to fuse Oni Tribes with Devils as practically all of them were very similar. Also, they would balance out the Devils who were mainly focusing on magic. "You know, my father is negotiating with their leader Yamamoto Zenko about them joining the Devil Sphere of influence. Soon, enough when our territory would be expanded enough, we would create a centralized state, because our current model of government when everybody is doing practically what he wants is very ineffective and bad for the future development. When the Conjunction of Spheres begins, we need to be united enough to fight against all enemies, not just those from another side of Dimensional Path. Restoring the glory of from times of original Four Great Satans is the goal we are trying to achieve." Esdeath nodded her head in agreement as she knew to mean behind those words. For Oni Tribes to join Devils in creating future centralized state was a good opportunity as they would practically obtain a good position from the start and also, Devils had several Super Devils, top powerhouses in the world, while Oni Tribes only had one Satan-Class and some twenty or so, Ultimate-Classes. Similar thing with Nekomatas, they were even weaker than Oni Tribes, but joining now would be better for their future position in the future devil nation. It was also a thing of view. Albeit devils were arrogant creatures, they would be able to learn how to see Nekomatas/Nekoshou and Oni as one of them if they joined now and would focus their arrogance to outsiders of the nation. Another thing was that devils innately respected strong ones, and Oni Tribe was very strong as they were better in terms of quality of warriors, compared to Devil Race, despite their smaller population and lack of powerhouses. Nekomatas and Nekoshou were same, they lacked powerhouses and their population was small, but they were individually strong, even weakest was comparable to Middle-Class Devil in terms of strength. "Conjunction of Spheres would be great trial not for just us, but for all factions. What will happen, would be the apocalypse for humans, as they would be hit hardest and there is even high probability that they would be pushed on brink of extinction as they are weakest of all races through the Earth. During the Conjuntion of Spheres, even strong Pantheons could perish, if the enemy is too strong." Exclaimed Zarathul. The Conjunction of Spheres would hit even Earth, not just Underworld or Dimensional Worlds of various Pantheons such as Asgard or Takamagahara. It was called Age of Gods, precisely for that reason, when the dimensional paths connected the Gods would descend once more and walk through mortals once again. "So I suppose when it will hit humans, Gods would descend to Earth to obtain more worshippers and protect humans. They would obtain more Faith Power, which would strengthen them significantly and make their Pantheons stronger. And we Devils would obtain many talented people to be reincarnated as devils and a large number negative energy to be refined as special resources to increase Demonic Powers of devils." To devils, it didn''t really matter if humans perished or not. Even though they were species with potential, they were too weak and were a non-magical race. The only thing they are good for is that they are able to generate a huge amount of Negative Energy created from negative feelings, which is used to refine as special crystal, that is able to increase Demonic Energy of Devil. That was mainly used by High-Class Devils to increase Demonic Powers of newly reincarnated devils. Every living and sentient being, not mattering if intelligent or not, was able to generate negative energy through feelings of despair, hatred, fear and so on and largest amount of it was generated through death. This Negative Energy could be harvested by devils and through specialized method crystallized and then absorbed to increase Demonic Powers. These things were introduced shortly after implementation of Reincarnation Laws that improved the standing of Reincarnated Devil by a good deal. All these things we''re able to increase Demonic Powers of Reincarnated Devil to the standard of Middle-Class Pure-Blooded Devil, thus many of Reincarnated Devils were able to become ''true devils'' in every sense. Negative Energy Crystals were also very popular among the Pillar Devils, as they were quickly able to increase the strength of their servants if the servant was formerly human or had a low amount of Demonic Powers. "If I have a big amount of Negative Energy Crystals at my disposition I would be able to increase the strength of my army by a good deal." Commented Esdeath as she looked as Zarathul with her special looked named: "Darling I want it!". Zarathul only smiled seeing this and made mental note to go to Ajuka and ask him for some Negative Energy Crystals, he would be able to get a good reward from Esdeath... cough... night... "Come Esdeath, we should be going now. We need to reach the Bael Castle as soon as possible to reconnect with the rest of our soldiers and Kuroka who is already there preparing her Nekoshou and Nakomatas." ============================================= "Lord Zarathul, General Esdeath. Welcome to Bael Castle. All soldiers are already waiting for your command. Armies are prepared for march and supplies to have been loaded, even those ''gifts'' from Technology Depratnemnt arrived and are prepared for a fight." A middle-aged man greeted both of them, sharing some similarities with his father Zekram. He looked at his fifties, bit older than Zekram, despise being far younger and had sharp gaze in his eyes. Despite being current Great King of Bael, in terms of status, he was equal to Zarathul who was the son of the First Great King. In terms of strength, he was even weaker than Zarathul, around the level of 3rd-Tier Ultimate-Class. "Greeting Lord Bael. Thank you for helping Kuroka and her people accommodate themselves before the war. Has Sairaorg arrived already? We need to leave as quickly as possible, the schedule is tight." When Lord Bael heard him mentioning the name of his son, his face changed a bit as his relationship with his son was far from good. When his son was born without Power of Destruction he completely despised his elder son as a defect, scorning him as the shame of the Bael clan. Lord Bael was a person, who hardly was able to take on the changes that were going in the Underworld and when he saw that his son was able to become the strongest devil of the younger generation even without the Power of Destruction was shocking for him. When Zarathul fist met Lord Bael, he actually fought against him. The reason was simple, he wanted to prove him that the Power of Destruction was not omnipotent, his father Zekram Bael said it himself too. He was able to defeat him with his G¨¢e Bolg and magic combined. Maybe this changed something inside of him, the question was if it wasn''t already too late. After exchanging greetings, Zarathul together with Esdeath went to the garden, where they sat down and were drinking green tea, that servants brewed for them. This tea was special and rarf exclusivity that only Zekram Bael uses to drink. After a short time of waiting, a person who was Zarathul awaiting finally came. Sairaorg is a handsome young man with black hair and violet eyes. He is very tall and has a muscular build due to the extreme training he has done. His height is 194cm, thus being taller than Zarathul. Together with him, came his Queen too, Kuisha Abaddon. Kuisha was a very beautiful girl with blonde hair tied in a ponytail and blue eyes. "Come, come here and sit down." As he gestured both of them sat down. Kuisha met Zarathul for the first time, now and she was pretty nervous because she knew who he was and whop he represented. On the other hand, Sairaorg met Zarathul pretty often as he could be counted as Zarathul''s only friend, besides Vali. His father called all of them, Battle-Maniac Trio. "Sairaorg, you probably already knew my Queen and fiance¨¦ Esdeath. And this must be your Queen Lady Kuisha of House Abaddon, it''s my p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e, my Lady." Said Zarathul as he bowed in a gentlemanly bow. After greetings, all of them sat down so Zarathul could explain things about what brings him here. "Zarathul why you came here? If I remember correctly, you would never come here, only once a month when we are having sparring season, but today is different, what happened?" Asked Sairaorg with curiosity as Zarathul practically was never leaving the castle where first Bael was living, only on a special occasion, and Sairaorg new Zarathul good enough to see that this was a very special occasion. "Yes, as you may have noticed that the Bael Clan armies would be soon marching to the Valefor territory to clean it out from stray devil, rogue Fallen Angels, and other unwanted guests and reclaim the territory for devil race. My father, First Great King told me to take you to war, so you could experience how the real fight on the verge of Life and Death is, not those simulated stupid chesspieces." Both Sairaorg and Kuisha were taken aback by a sudden revelation. Especially Sairaorg as he knew what this represented. War was the best opportunity to make merits and also, experience real fights instead of simulated Rating Games. "I see you are pretty surprised. Pack up quickly, we would be leaving today, we need to reach the Valefor territory by next three days, so take you peerage and Esdeath would give you orders. Let me give you a piece of small advice. This is going to be a real battle, with thousands of fallen angels on the enemy side, so be extremely careful, because death is everywhere on the battlefield. This is not some Rating Game, where you would be protected against deathly attacks, and always aim to kill." Said Zarathul to both of them. None of the younger devils experiencer real battles that were not Rating Games. Only a small minority of them, who were from affiliated houses to Bael Clan and joined the military was giving this opportunity to see how real battle looked like. Esdeath just looked at them a bit, before thinking about where she should send them. "Take your peerage and report yourself to Commander Veran, he is Ultimate-Class Devil in charge of Vanguard. You would get basic equipment to defend against light attacks of fallen angels, but beware of the fact, that equipment is not that strong as it is just prototype newly created by the Research Department." Said Esdeath causally as she returned her attention to hugging one of Zarathul''s arms. After that, Sairaorg left together with his Queen and went to gather their peerage. ============================================= After Sairaorg and Kuisha left to gather rest of the peerage, Kuisha couldn''t help to wonder her master''s anticipation of war. "Master Sairaorg is a really good idea to participate in war? Lord Zarathul said there would be thousands of rogue fallen angels and stray devils, besides other monsters and creatures." Asked Kuisha nervously as she looked at her King, following behind him. "Do you know that fighting in the war, is the fastest method for the devil to acc.u.mulate merits and prove his strength? One of the reasons, why those who only fought in Rating Games and even though they became High-Class devils in terms of status won''t be respected in precisely this. Those who achieved nobility through war merits and Rating Game are different dimensions entirely. If we are able to perform good and acc.u.mulate merits, you could practically ask for anything from Devil Council or even change many things." Answered Sairaorg to her question. His dream to create an Underworld where any Devils regardless of their background can make their dream come true was something that could be achieved very hard, but he didn''t give up and wanted to realize it. "Especially now, as this is practically mission issued by First Great King. He is a person who is in the practical ruler of the Underworld. My dreams can be realized only if I have the support of those old men and now many of Low-Class devils would have a chance to improve their standing in society and also, to prove themselves. Underworld is slowly changing and Zarathul knows the reasons why, though I personally don''t have a clue. Think about it, for the last two centuries, things like Reincarnation Laws were implemented and many changes were made in our society, rather contradictory to ways of old devils. Maybe I would be obtained reason, why are all those old devils like on needles for a long time already." Kuisha nodded her head as she looked at Sairaorg who kept walking forward. "Kuisha tells everyone to be extremely careful, this is going to be a real battlefield with countless fallen angels fighting and light weapons, very dangerous for every devil around. This is not the Rating Game, where you are protected from death. Also, we are going to the regions that are far from devil main territory, so it is highly possible that we would encounter even soldiers of the Old Satan Faction. I heard rumors that those territories far from the main territory of devil race are just swarming with members of Old Satan Faction." Said Sairaorg as Kuisha held her breath. Old Satan Faction was known as a notorious terrorist through whole Underworld. ============================================= Thank you for reading my novel here on Current Peerage state: King: Zarathul Bael Queen: Esdeath Bishop: Kuroka Bishop: Best Milf Enchanter Rook 2x: Crom Cruach Knight: Alchemist of Ultimate Eye Knight: Demon Swords Pawn x8: Suprise! Harem: Esdeath, Kuroka, Grayfia, Rossweisse, Serafall (these are set, maybe one or two more in the future) Chapter 3 - Valefor Territory War - Part 1 The Old Satan Faction was indirectly formed when a group of Devils decided to continue the Great War in order to fulfill the Original Satans''s ambition of world domination, while another group of Devils was against it, resulting in a Civil War among Devils, with the victor being the new Government of the Devil side of the Underworld, while the losers where forced to go into hiding and the original Four Great Satans became known as the Old Satans. Even after being defeated by the new Devil government, the Old Satan Faction remained active and continued to cause trouble on the Devil side. Nothing serious, just harassment on the borders or some occasional terrorist attacks. The Old Satan Faction was the only group of Devils who resisted using the Evil Pieces, as they believe them to be a disgrace to Devils because they reincarnate Humans and other races into Devils. They were also against the Devils'' current political system of peace and pacifism and sought to change it by overthrowing the current Satans as their ultimate goal was to destroy the current world by creating and spreading chaos and recreating it into a world under the dictatorial rule of the descendants of the original Satans. ============================================= Bael Castle, garden "Darling do you think that we would be a clash with Old Satan Faction? I mean didn''t they have territories deeper in the Underworld?" Asked Esdeath out of curiosity as she looked at Zarathul, who was sitting there and sipping his green tea. In truth, Zarathul didn''t care too much about Old Satan Faction as he knew about their exact strength and that they were weak as an ant. During the Civil War, Old Satan Faction only had one Super-Devil and that was his uncle Rizevim, who didn''t fight for some reason. While the rest of the descendants of original Satans are mainly on the Ultimate-Class, so for leaders of the faction, they are pitifully weak. "Not that I care. Their leadership is weak and they are following those descendants only because of pride and sticking to old traditions. If we encountered members of Old Satan Faction, try to not kill them, but instead capture them. All of them are Pure-Blooded devils nevertheless. When their leaders are killed, they would surrender on their own, without anyone on the Satan-Class level at least, they are doomed and even now, if Sirzechs Lucifer, Ajuka Beelzebub or father took action they would be annihilated without any resistance." Commented Zarathul about Old Satan Faction and their abilities. Their overall abilities were really pathetic despite being direct descendants of the Four Original Satans. Their Clan traits were extremely powerful, yet they were too weak. Their only luck was that they had a rather big number of people. "Those descendants albeit being weak, are very cunning and sly. They knew that we won''t annihilate them as they have a huge number of Pure-Blooded Devils on their side, but they are aware that they are weak in front of Satan-Class Devils and Super-Devil Powerhouses, so they are just hiding like rats in severs." Said Zarathul coldly as he looked Esdeath, who was currently hugging his arm. When they were alone, Esdeaht was really clingy and liked to cuddle with him, it made her comfortable. Zarathul also liked Esdeath being clingy, as it filled his heart with a very warm feeling of love. Said Esdeath as they both stood up and went to the place, where the army was gathering. One could see thousands and thousands of devils, all clothed in finest armors made by their best blacksmith and enchanted with the best magic as they were standing in formations, awaiting the arrival of their general. "Welcome General Esdeath, welcome Lord-General Zarathul." Shouted thousands voiced at the same time, when they entered the encampment of the Bael Clan devil legions. While Esdeath was General of the Bael Clan legions, Zarathul was Lord-General of whole army belonging to the Bael Clan and all it''s Vassals, at least to the time when Esdeath would be ready to take over. His father gave this position to him, to gain experiences in leading soldiers on the field, and with the help of his beloved fiance¨¦, he was able to learn quickly. Zarathul and Esdeath both wawed as a form of greeting and then another devil came to them, it was man, in his middle ages, with a sharp look of solider and leader. "Commander Veran, good to see you again. With greetings and formalities finished, please lead to to the place where are those things from Ajuka." Said Zarathul impatiently as he wanted to see what had Ajuka sent him. He was the genius inventor of the whole Devil Race, and now after soon-coming Conjunction of Spheres, he was focusing on researching things for military usage. They were some already completed things and now he got his hands of the whole bunch of completed products with one proto-type in the final phase of testing. "Yes, yes." Said Veran, as they went to the place. Veran was Pure-Blood Devil of House Bael, from one of its branches. He was a war veteran who survived through the Great War between Three Factions and also Civil War between Old Satan Faction and Anti-Satan Faction. In terms of strength, he was 2nd-Tier Ultimate-Class Devil. What was waiting for them was huge Magical Battleship. It consists of a central hull at whose sides are located two larger, elongated part jutting frontwards. It seems to be kept flying by several large magical glyphs floating near it, with a pair of them being located behind it, at the ends of the protruding sections, something which makes them highly reminiscent of propulsors, and an even more massive one sitting under it. The hull''s shape is that of a real boat, possessing an arched, pointed lower part, ending on the front in a dark section which houses the guild''s symbol, with an open zone right above it, where the main hall seems to be located. Such hall is topped by a dark, arched roof reminiscent of a capsized hull, on whose back part sits yet again another, similarly-shaped tower, sprouting from the main hull and going up several meters, which ends in a massive observation deck protruding frontwards, complete with large windows. At the tower''s sides, on the dark roof, is a pair of large, sword-shaped ornaments jutting upwards; a similar pair of crossed swords is also present on the airship''s protruding sections, with one of them adorning each outer side. The two attached sections of the ship possess frontal, protruding dark parts reminiscent of rostrums, each adorned by a light motif, somewhat similar to a stylized monstrous head. Both the hull and the two adjacent sections bear linear blank parts, where a multitude of square windows is lined up one after the other, these being highly reminiscent of hatches. "Fascinating, truly fascinating. Ajuka is truly genius to construct something like this!" "What is the name of this wonderful creation? And how is it''s power, I can see that huge cannon even from here, it''s strength should be around Ultimate-Class if I am not wrong?" Asked Zarathul after quickly scanning the Magical Battleship. Strength of the main cannon was always highest, and if the strength of the main cannon was around Ultimate-Class then the strength of side cannon should be around High-Class, which is pretty good, for something that was just now researched and created. "Name is Grimoire Heart Battleship. The main cannon is the Jupiter-Class with power equivalent to the Ultimate-Class, while the power of side cannon varies. Bigger ones have power equivalent to the High-Class while those smaller ones to the Middle-Class. The whole Battleship is protected by Magical Defense Barrier, self-repairing which should be able to withstand the power of Satan-Class Powerhouse for a significant amount of time." Zarathul nodded his head in excitement and his eyes were shining like little kid who got a new toy to play with. "What about the rest?" Asked Zarathul about next thing that he got from the Technological Department. First thing was the Magical Battleship which was a big project and second thing, was apparently something smaller, yet destructive. "Yes, they are Mana Battery Cannons, they are the whole bunch of fifty of them, each of power same as 1st-Tier High-Class devil. The only problem is with ammunitions and the same problem is with that Battleship as it uses Mana Crystals that are too scarce through the world, so we are on the tight spot. Maybe if the Conjunction of Spheres happens, we would be able to obtain some source of the Mana Crystals." Mana Battery Cannon looked like more futuristic human cannon with beautiful futuristic design. It had various magical runes through the entire place. In regard to the Mana Crystal was a huge amount of mana that crystalized and took the form of crystal. It was often used as an energy source to various things or used by magicians as a method to increase magical capacity or in crafting things. Unfortunately, they were pretty rare and most of the natural sources were located in Dimensional Words of various Pantheons. Even though the Underworld was several times bigger than Earth, it only had five of places where Mana Crystals were and most of them were very deep in the Underworld or controlled by other stronger forces than devils. One of them was close to devil race but was controlled by Hades, thus belonging to the Olympus. "Very good. Very good, prepare all things, we are leaving in one hour for the Valefor territory to start extermination war against our enemies." "What happened Darling, that you are so happy?" Asked Easdeath out of curiosity as she looked at Zarathul being now very happy and even showing it on the outside, compared to his usual stoic expression, something very good must have happened. "Yes, something very good had happened. My peerage is going to be expanded once more. That stubborn old man finally used the flyer I gave him, that means, he must be in problems so serious he decided to accept my proposition." Said Zarathul as a magic circle appeared beneath him. It was not a magic circle of Bael Clan that appeared and teleported him away, instead it was a magical circle in dual colors, silver and black, with Geass-Sword sigil in the center of the magical circle. This was of more importance than checking the equipment, and checking the equipment could b also done by Esdeath. He needed to go to find his new future servant. ============================================= After he teleported away, he appeared in the Human World, on Earth in some god -a knows-forgotten country in the middle of nothing. As Zarathul looked around, he found bloodstains from someone blood, thus he decided to follow them until he found the entrance to some cave. Zarathul took out G¨¢e Bolg, in order to be prepared if the situation turned out to combat and entered the cave. It didn''t take a long time to find his target. He was a tall, standing at approximately 6''3", thin man wearing black dress pants, a white dress shirt with a purple tie, and a purple vest. He also wore gloves of white colors and had his long hair in a tightly bound ponytail. His eyes are red, and he wore a monocle which rests on his nose bridge. Compared to his usual neat and elegant appearance, his clothes were not torn in many places and he was bleeding as he was stabbed with some weapon. "So you have finally decided to call me, Walter? I told you if you would constantly hunt vampires in their own territory, they would send someone too strong for you to handle." Commented Zarathul after he saw the state the man whose call he answered. Walter C. Dornez, Vampire Hunter who hunted vampires for his whole life and possessor of the Mid-Tier Longinus, Monofilament Vires. Newly evolved Longinus that appeared only several decades ago. The human race had very severe limitations, able to reach only High-Class in terms of strength by their hard work and talent. Only those with in-human ancestry would be able to breach this limit, but not too much of course. Only a few humans who were born as an ordinary human were able to overcome limits of the race and reach the pinnacle of the human potential where their strength was around Satan-Class. Zarathul knew only two of them, Vasco Strada and Ikuse Tobio. "So what do you say, Walter? My offer is still on the table, you would become Devil and with my resources than even making you equivalent to the Pillar Devils in term of Devil Blood is not impossible and you would obtaining eternal life and immense power is not that impossible." Walter looked at Zarathul and at the silver chess piece that he was fondling in his hands. He just weakly nodded his head and started the ritual and specific magical circle appeared beneath Walter. It was a magical circle in dual colors, silver and black, with Geass-Sword sigil in the center of the magical circle. "In my name as Zarathul Bael-Lucifer, Crown Prince of Underworld of Houses Bael and Lucifer, I hereby reincarnate you to be my [Knight]." Said Zarathul as his personal magic circle enveloped Walter and Evil Piece melted to his body and reincarnated him as Devil. Personal magic circles were usually used only by top powerhouses, for example, Sirzechs Lucifer or Ajuka Beelzebub both used the personal magic circle, which represented themselves. Zarathul also had his own magic circle as he designed it personally to represent Bael-Lucifer line, a fusion of two noblest and powerful bloodlines in the Underworld and among the devil race. "So how are you feeling as newly Reincarnated Devil?" Asked Zarathul as he reincarnated Walter as his new [Knight]. Before the reincarnation, Walter was already pretty strong for human as he reached the limit of their race, High-Class, though he didn''t manage to reach the racial pinnacle of Ultimate-Class, even reaching High-Class was considered almost impossible for humans. For example, reason, why human exorcists were able to fight and sometimes even kill devils far above their level, was the usage of Holy Weapons. "Pretty good, I only need to rest, I am tired too much." After that Zarathul took Walter and sent him through the teleportation circle to Bael Castle, to recuperate as he walked out of the cave, to greet unwanted guests. He needed to properly take care of them and show them his courtesy... "Pretty weak, had the vampire factions declined to such extent already? With a bunch of barely High-Classes pursing Vampire Hunter with combat prowess of Ultimate-Class? Oya, they are few of you, but you are weak even for Ultimate-Class, barely 2nd-Tier. Time to clear it up." Murmured Zarathul as he enveloped his whole person in Power of Destruction, and his energy level was still increasing to the point, some of the vampires were already trying to escape but to no wait. Zarathul sends few waves of pure Power of Destruction at vampires, annihilating them to nothingness. Not even those Ultimate-Class one survived, as they were just Ultimate-Class of 3rd-Tier in magical powers and this attack was too sudden, exterminating them like nothing. "Truly disgrace to once glorious race. To think, during the reign of strongest Blood Lords, they were even stronger than most Pantheons, they truly declined too much. If this was the state we could also end, truly fortunate we have made preparations to change and adapt, instead, become like this." Said Zarathul as he looked at demolished surroundings. Now everything here was destroyed with his Power of Destruction and not even stone on stone remained. Vampires were once very strong race, but after the death of their sole Blood Lord, they started isolating themselves from the outside world and were declining even faster than devils. Compared to them, devils at least were making progress in their society. After making a mess here, Zarathul teleported himself away, before someone stronger arrived. Still, he didn''t forget to take out a few empty crystals to absorb the Negative Energy, which was created after he slaughtered those twenty or so vampires, and now he had few full Negative Energy Crystals. ============================================= After Zarathul arrived at the Bael Castle, he found Esdeath already waiting for him there. Together with her, there was also, Commander Veran and few other soldiers as they were doing the inspection of Mana Battery Cannons. "Darling who is the person you recruited?" Asked Esdeath curiously about the person, who caught the eye of her future husband, as he had very high standards. Answered Zarathul as he knew how Walter became like that. He was ambushed by several Ultimate-Class vampires, as he was constantly hunting vampires in their own territory so they sent rather large subjugation squad to kill him. Zarathul managed to kill a few of them when he exited the cave, where they were. With the loss of on from subjugation squads, they would probably hide even more than now. After all, they lost two Ultimate-Class Vampires, though they were only 3rd-Tier and pitifully weak, in the eyes of Vamopries, they were top powerhouses. Such was the price for losing their Blood Lord. In past Vampires had also the powerhouse on level of Super-Devil Class, but he was killed and Vampires who made many enemies, were attacked from all sides, suffering very heavy casualties and being on brink of extinction. What happened to them, was a great motivation for devils, especially those old ones. It filled them of fear if they lost their own Super-Devils their race could be also extinguished. After that, they left and boarded the Magical Battleship Grimoire Heart as they flew toward the Valefor Territory with Devil Legions either boarding the Magical Battleship or flying beside it in combat formations. Even though Grimoire Hear was very huge, it could house at max only several thousand of devils, not whole army consisting of 20,000 soldiers. The whole journey to the Valefor territory would take at least a few days and unfortunately for them, they could not teleport there, as there is a huge possibility of ambush. Zarathul was currently sitting in the observatory room, looking at the beautiful view of the Underworld as he sat on the throne. As he was sitting on the throne, Esdeath was cuddling to him as she tried to sleep in his embrace and Zarathul cherished this moment greatly. "Zarathul, I have been searching for you for last hour already." Suddenly doors opened and a newcomer came to spoil his wonderful time with his beloved. The main reason for their leisure time was rather funny. Thanks to Kuroka organizing military affairs, to which she didn''t have any experiences and was pretty bad at it as she tried to organize nekomata/nekoshou squad, Esdeath was enjoying her time alone with Zarathul. "And I didn''t want to be founded, Sairaorg. Sigh, if you are already here, come and join me. I can see that you have something on your heart." Sighed Zarathul as he looked at young Bael as he gestured him to sit down. After Sairaorg sat down and joined Zarathul, Esdeath in her sleep twitched in anger, but Zarathul c.a.r.e.s.sed her smooth blue hair as she continued to sleep. Even though she was General of Bael Clan Army, she could afford this leisure as all soldiers were trained by her personally, and they could function even without her constant presence. "Why is all of this happening?" Asked Sairaorg suspiciously as he looked at Zarathul''s relaxed expression over his face. He just continued to c.a.r.e.s.s Esdeath''s hair as he enjoyed time with his lover. "I don''t quite understand what you mean if you forgive me." Answered Zarathul indifferently, as he didn''t even pay attention to Sairaorg and his suspicion or whatever. "You understand very good. Far better than any of us. All of those changes in Underworld that happened, Reincarnation Laws and many other things that would be impossible to even think of before the Civil War. Even though the situation is not ideal, its far batter compared to before the Civil War. When you don''t pay attention to things and details you won''t find something in it, but when you look closer at the state of things, you would start noticing. Impossible is no longer a word." Said Sairaorf as Zarathul just raised an eyebrow at this and looked at him with a curious gaze. "The Great King Faction and Elder Council working together with Four Great Satans Faction, could be considered as impossible several decades ago. Something is coming to Zarathul, something big enough to even force many of the most arrogant and stubborn devils to change. At least some of them though." Remarked as he finished speaking. "You are pretty observant, aren''t you? The only thing that I am allowed to tell you is simple. Be prepared and increase your strength as much as possible, dark times are coming for us. For now, focus on the war now. We would be reaching the Valefor Territory very soon." Said Zarathul as he returned his attention to the view before him. Sairaorg after a short time of awkward silence left the room, and soon one servant of the Bael Clan came to him as Zarathul called. "How is the negotiation going?" Asked Zarathul as he continued watching the view of Underworld and Esdeath hugging his arm. "He agreed to the initial proposition to be reincarnated as Devil and serve as General of future Imperial Army. He also said his conditions, they are not very light." Answered servant to Zarathul, to which he just narrowed his eyes. He knew that person who they were persuading was very important to their plans. In the future nation of Devils, they would need superior generals like Esdeath to lead to a charge, but she alone was not enough. Thus they needed to search. "Say them, his ability to command are far even higher than Esdeath''s and his personal strength is even more terrifying." Said Zarathul with resolute voice. He already discussed this with his father and Elder Council and it was decided that they must succeed at all costs. "The first condition he wants a large amount of Negative Energy Crystals, enough to rise bloodline level to the standard of 72 Pillars and he wants to have absolute control over his army, without the intervention of other nobles and politicians. Also, he made it clear he won''t take any initiative to attack Celestial Court or any parts of dimensional worlds belonging to the Chinese Pantheon." Said envoy in charge of negotiations, as he looked at Zarathul and waited for an answer. Even though for someone these condition s might be too much, but Zarathul thought not much about them. "Agree to it. In our race, most of the good generals were killed through the two wars and the new generation needs to be groomed. Tell Bai Qi, that he would be appointed as Grand Marshall of Armies in the future, but also give him the test. Tell him to choose some territory in the Underworld that belonged to former pillars and conquer it as proof of abilities, if not those old men in council would not agree so easily and would have bad comments." Bai Qi, also known as Gongsun Qi was a military general of the Qin state in the Warring States period of China. Born in Mei, Bai Qi served as the commander of the Qin army for more than 30 years, being responsible for the deaths of over one million, earning him the nickname Ren Tu (human butcher). He never suffered defeat in battle not even once. He was a special person, as he was aware of supernatural and learned Senjutsu, Youjtsu, and Touki. His personal strength was more terrifying. After his ''death'' he ascended as Immortal and became something like a free general as he created his own army in the supernatural world and fought in various dimensional worlds against monsters in various regions of China, protecting the nation in shadows. Zarfathul admired such person very much and wanted to recruit him as future Marshall. In terms of superpowers in the supernatural world, China would rank as first, despite Jade Emperor being slightly weaker than Shiva, but compared to them, Celestial Court was united, while Shiva was in military conflict with Indra for whole centuries. Celestial Court had the biggest amount of soldiers, weakest being at the Pinnacle Middle-Class, which made devil race look like some amateurs. ============================================= Several days later, Valefor Territory After several days of travel, they finally arrived at their target, Valefor Territory, Zarathul was already prepared to battle, as he held his weapon G¨¢e Bolg close to him. Majestic army with 20,000 devils of Bael Legions arrived at their destination with Magical Battleship Grimoire Heart at their lead. "Lord Zarathul, General Esdeath several kilometers ahead of us, we spotted small town, with population over 5,000. Based on energy signatures, they should be all stray devils. Awaiting further orders." Reported sergeant in charge of the scouting in the Battleship Grimoire Heart, as they still not landed. All devils were now flying side by side with Magical Battleship in a defensive formation to protect it from sneak attacks. "Proceed as usual. Surround the city and I will go to ask for their surrendering. Many of Stray Devils were created by abus.e.m.e.nt of their former master, though they were still some like criminals and others." Answered Zarathul, as they proceeded as he ordered. Soon their army surrounded the city and Zarathul unleashed his eight devil wings. Compared to other devils, which had pitch-black wings, his own had some silver lines in them. He flew high above the city and looked at it before starting speaking, amplifying his voice with magic. "For all Stray Devils attention. Surrender now, and your case would be judged by Reincarnation Laws and Common Devil Protection Laws, I give this an oath in my name as Zarathul Bael-Lucifer." Said Zarathul with dominating voice as he then retreated back to the Magical Battleship Grimoire Heart. He was aware that most of those stray devils, there escaped very long ago from the Underworld, and many of them didn''t even know about something like Reincarnation Laws. As he was aware that most of the strays were created because of abus.e.m.e.nt of their master he knew, that more than half of them would surrender. Only heavy criminals or true stray devils would remain. IOn last century, there weren''t many stray devils. Besides those who really committed the offense, they were practically none. After stray devils heard that, it happened as Zarathul predicted. The fame of the name Lucifer and Bael, especially combination of two, was a really prestigious event among the stray devils and with his oath, around 3,500 of them exited the city and went voluntary surrender. Only around 1,500, they remained in the City and Zarathul already gave them enough face. Mainly because of two reasons. They were still devils, strays or not and their cases would be investigated under Reincarnation Law. There aren''t any second chances. "Accommodate all of them and put them under guard, they are still classified as stray devils. Also, start a siege of the town. Start bombarding with side cannons of Grimoire Heart, don''t use Jupiter Cannon, that would be too much. Land troops on the ground and also take out Mana Battery Cannons and let them also start bombarding." Said Zarathul as soon Magical Battleship Grimoire Heart landed down together with devils legions and surrounded town swiftly. After that, they took out the Mana Battery Cannons from the Grimoire Heart and created a siege line, and started bombarding. Every time Mana Battery Cannon shot, part of the town would be blasted to the Abyss. Mana Battery Cannons were new technology created by the Technology Department and they were actually testing those cannons in the real combat. Before this, they weren''t tested in actual combat, only in testing fields, now was their debut. Esdeath beside him also watched bombardment with great interest. The amount of destruction caused by Mana Battery Cannons was very huge, as every cannon had power output equivalent to the High-Class in terms of strength. Soon enough, the bombardment stopped and everything was filled with just deathly silence. "Send in troops. If someone decided surrender take them to prison. We cannot be lax with those who decided to stay in that town to fight." Said Zarathul causally as he continued watching the situation under him, from the commanding room of the Grimoire Heart. Soon enough, the whole town was swarmed by devil troops who either killed those who resisted or captured those who surrendered. Those who survived that bombarding were either severely injured or didn''t even resist, thus the entire town was swiftly taken down. After that Zarathul gave order to camp and rest for one day before continuing in the conquest. Giving some time to soldiers for them to rest is a very important thing. After dealing with all matters regarding stray devils, Zarathul was found once again by another guest. This time it was Kuroka who was coming to see him for the first time from the start of this operation. Even though this was a military operation she was participating, she was still clothed in her kimono, not changing her outfit even in times like these. "Nyaa, so comfy, nyaa." Murmured Kuroka as she hugged Zarathul from behind in a special way, as he clearly felt her b.r.e.a.s.t on his back. Clear seduction. "How are your duties doing Kuroka? I must remind you, this is a very important opportunity not just for you, but also for you people as a whole. Times of war, always give birth to the greatest heroes." Said Zarathul as he looked at Kuroka who had a mischievous expression on her face, and her intentions were very clear. She was horny, even situation like this didn''t forbid her to be in heat. Still, Zarathul just smiled, as he takes this as rather a nice opportunity to relieve some steam. If Esdeath found about it, she would scold him and probably even beat him as she didn''t like doing something like this during military operations. As expected from true soldier and general. "Yada, let''s do some cute devil kittens, nya. I wanna make them...nya." Said Kuroka as she started kissing Zarathul, trying to seduce him and have her way with him. He seeing her like this, decided just go with the flow and started undressing her after he enveloped the whole room in the bounded field. "As you wish my beloved..." ============================================= Another day, soon in the morning, the whole army went to continue their conquest of the Valefor Territory. During the next three days, only enemies their found were some smaller groups of either composed from fallen angels or some monsters. At the fourth day, they finally entered the region which was clearly territory of monsters, as the state her was even worse compared to others. Entire Valefor Territory could be said to be dived into two parts. One of them solely belonged to the rogue fallen angels due to their large numbers and also some creatures of other mythologies, while another part belonged to monsters like goblins and kobolds. The land which belonged to goblins was before the region of fallen angels and other creatures from various pantheons built their bases. So in order to reach them, they needed to annihilate these ones first. Only after that, they could fight with rogue fallen angels and creatures of various mythologies. ============================================= - About Peerage, only one change was made and it was the final one. Rest remains as I have told. - Zarathul''s Pawn... I don''t wanna spoil you, but I can assure you, that it is someone very strong and interesting. - Harem, already finalized and set in stone. Esdeath, Kuroka, Grayfia, Rossweisse, Serafall, Irene, Yasaka, ?. There will be no more people as having too big harem is not good for developing relationsh.i.p.s between characters. Someone on the fanfiction.net asked me about Issei, so: About Issei, perverted or non-perverted I still hate that character. Especially after he defeated Sairaorg in the rating game he became my most hated fictional character across all anime, manga, xianxia, xuanhuan, Korean web novels, and all creation. Still, he will be in the story and will have Boosted Gear, but I will make it real. What I especially hate about him, is that he became so op with plot armor alone. Basically Boosted Gear alas Plot Armor made him too OP out of thin air, which is totally unrealistic. The basic property of the Boosted Gear is boosting power individual already have. Doubling it every ten seconds to the level of Ddraig himself or slightly lower as whole power could be unleashed under Juggernaut Drive. My point is that perverted idiot, even after reincarnating as the devil had almost zero amount of demonic energy and couldn''t even awaken his Sacred Gear. In this fic, he would be many times weaker as there won''t be any plot armor hanging over his head. I will still make him join Rias''s peerage he would be exactly like in cannon, alas many times weaker as his character in anime/light novel was too strong for almost non-existed talent and no training as he was just focused on b.o.o.b.s... I am a person who heavily dwells on logic, so for me giving power out of thin air like this is totally unacceptable. Chapter 4 - Valefor Territory War - Part 2 After destroying the little town of stray devils, they were on the constant move. During the "crusade" they crossed over many smaller groups of various enemies, nevertheless, they were all crushed and killed on the spot. Now they already entered the monster part of the Valefor Territory, and they faced more and more attacks. Apparently, numbers his father gave him were wrong, at least on the number of monsters located in the territory. "What is the name of that mountain range before us?" Asked Zarathul one of the commanders, that was in the commanding board together with him. Zarathul wasn''t that well versed in the geography of the Underworld. Especially after Devils lost many of their territories in the Great War and the Civil War, many of things were buried in history. Only some people remembered them, old ones. "Those are called Brood Mountains. Even before the Great War, nobody dared to enter those mountains. No one really knows what is inside there, but there are legends about some monster hibernating there." Answered Commander Veran who was sitting at his side as he looked at the Brood Mountains with a hint of wariness. As they were chatting suddenly alarm sounded, it meant magical sensors caught usage of powerful magic in the sight. Combination of magic and technology was truly wonderful to some extent, it allowed the creation of many convenient things. "My Lord, we caught the huge number of magical signatures, all of them are devils. Bearing the symbol of Old Satan Faction." Reported on of officers to Zarathul, who was sitting on the commanding chair as he looked down at the Brood Mountains, with an indifferent expression. Even that he heard the name of Old Satan Faction wasn''t any interest for him, as he already expected them. "How many? Strongest energy signature?" He only asked these two simple questions. Nothing else was required. "Two thousand My Lord. The highest energy signature is 1st-Tier Ultimate-Class, it should be one of the descendants." Answered officer respectfully as he waited for the next instruction. Zarathul just stood up from his seat and looked at the place, where members of the Old Satan Faction were located. "Gather all troops. Surround and pincer them, but don''t attack." They had 20,000 soldiers, ten times more of that Old Satan Faction''s and their quality was also higher, not mentioning that they had several Ultimate-Classes on their end as well. After they surrounded them, and both sides were preparing to fight, Zarathul unleashed his eight devil wings and flew high into the air and looked at members of Old Satan Faction, waiting for their leader. Deep inside he was wondering who it will be. Creuserey had the appearance of a good looking man wearing the clothes of a noble[1]. His clothes were black with dark red belts and motifs, also wearing a cape. He had black hair tied up in a small ponytail and violet eyes and also had pointy ears and pale skin. He had the appearance of a good looking man wearing the clothes of a noble. His clothes were black with dark red belts and motifs, also he was wearing cape. "Creuserey Asmodeus, what a pleasant surprise. What are you doing in these lands? If I remember correctly, last time you were hiding so deep in the Underworld, that even finding the way back was troublesome." Mocked Zarathul, even though he was happy right now. From three descendants, Creuserey was the strongest one. Other two, Shalba was weakling who knew nothing else than scheme, even despite his clan trait was of similar strength as his own, still he was worth less than a piece of trash and Kateria was the same as him. Creuserey looked at Zarathul, as he knew his identity very well. His descent was probably even more royal than his own. The descendant of both bloodlines, Lucifer and Bael, inheriting their powers too. "Same could be said about you, Bael-Lucifer." Answered Creuserey as he waited for Zarathul''s response, which never came. The only thing that came, was slash with Zarathul''s G¨¢e Bolg coated in Power of Destruction, aiming at his head. Creuserey barely managed to conjure several magical circles to defend himself. Still, Zarathul didn''t give him any additional time, as he unleashed his Power of Destruction technique, Gate of Babylon and weapons of Power of Destruction shot at him like it was raining. There wasn''t any need for some unnecessary words, both of them new that this would be solved only by fighting to the death. Because Creuserey wasn''t even Satan-Class, Zarathul didn''t take him too seriously also, he was a person who heavily depended on magic. And that was a very bad mistake, Zarathul was an expert at dealing with magic, thanks to his Anti-Magic abilities. One of two innate abilities of Lucifer Clan, while his uncle Rizevim had another one, Sacred Gear Canceler, rendering every Sacred Gear worthless before him. Still, he managed to attack Zarathul, by conjuring several magical circles, that shot an enormous amount of Demonic Energy straight at the place where Zarathul was standing. He only frowned at this and activated one of his Anti-Magic abilities together with Gram Demolition. This time, there were too many targets and huge targets, so he immediately activated Elemental Sight. This was a perception-type ability that allowed him to enter and read information about the plane he was located. It had some limitations of course, as to activate it fully to read the whole plane, would require him to be Super-Devil at least because this plane was a very strong one. Still, he could use it to analyze surroundings around him, and with only several shots of Gram Demolition, he effectively destroyed everything that Creuserey sent at him. "This is why are you weak. Fighting Anti-Mage with magic, sigh. Truly stupid. Still." Said Zarathul as he saw that Creuserey was preparing to teleport himself out of this fight. He knew that the was no match for Zarathul, as he was only proficient in magic and his body was only about the standard of High-Class. With someone as Zarathul who combined spearmanship of G¨¢e Bolg with Power of Destruction as support, coupled with Anti-Magic spells, he was no matched for him. "Though I am Anti-Mage, doesn''t mean, I didn''t learn anything else." Said Zarathul, as he conjured his personal Magic Circle, and the Sword Sigil in the middle started glowing and it''s light shot at Creuserey with lighting speed, twisting the space around him, as Zarathul was already there and with one slash of the G¨¢e Bolg at his right hand. "AAAAHHHHH." Only this was heard, as blood spurted into air and Creusereay teleported away, with the price of his right hand. His severed hand remained there as a trophy to the Zarathul''s win in the duel. It was noble tradition, that if the side of devil nobles fought in the war and one had an enormous advantage in the number of troops, nobles would fight to decide the winner. An old tradition, that only old devils remembered. Shouted two thousand voices of all members of Old Satan Faction. Zarathul wasn''t that surprised as he just nodded his head in agreement. Then he looked at the Brood Mountains as he had a bad feeling. After looked at the mountains, he activated Elemental Sight to its full potential as he scanned the whole Brood Mountains, until he found something. Danger, divinity and only one signature of life. He felt that the presence in the Brood Mountains, whatever it was, was extremely weak, on the verge of dying, but divinity he felt let him shiver in fear. It was like vortex devouring everything in its way. He only learned how to perceive divinity from Ajuka as something as support, but even though he wasn''t a specialist when it came to divinity, he never felt something like this. Not even when he met Shiva. Thus he looked as at that place, soon he turned around to see Esdeath already being there together with commander Veran. "Take army with you and clean out whole Valefor Territory. I am going to the Brood Mountains, I have scanned it with Elemental Sight, and there is something there and it is the most terrifying thing I have encountered for my whole way." Both of them nodded solemnly hearing this. Zarathul''s nickname or rather it was the title, Crown Prince of Underworld. Not only he was probably one of the most talented devils ever born and the only reason why he wasn''t Super Devil was his special conditions. Someone who was acknowledged by God of Destruction Shiva himself. Thus Zarathul flew to the Brood Mountains, while soldiers of Bael Clan, under the leadership of Esdeath, went to clear out the Valefor Territory. After one short time, he arrived at the Brood Mountains and searched for the place from which he felt the divinity energy signature. Though it was faint, he felt it there clear as day. Soon enough he found a cave and entered. The cave itself was not very huge, but Zarathul noticed something strange. All around the cave were a weird inscription in the stone. They were similar to nordic runes but different in style. They were very different from everything Zarathul saw when he was in Forgefire Tribe of Runic Dwarves who were under the protection of Devil Race and would be soon migrating to the Iron Mountains in Underworld. He continued deeper and deeper in the cave, until the encountered barrier, different from barries in this world. He scanned it with Elemental Sight and soon after, he slashed it with G¨¢e Bolg. When he destroyed the barrier, he entered into the heart of the cave. He saw there something, which he wouldn''t forget for his whole life. A large, exotic insect off his body. It was a meter-long worm that shone black, dragging along a strangely large abdomen with six stout legs. It looked very clumsy. The shell on the creature''s back was open, and it flapped its wings from time to time. With a pair of short yet sharp pincers. "Who? Devil?" Asked mechanic voice coming from the unknown creature. It seemed cold and weak, Zarathul was feeling that this creature was already dying, and with the usage of the Elemental Sight, he found that its''s soul was already in the process of decomposition. "Yes, I am a devil. My name is Zarathul Bael-Lucifer. What are you?" Asked Zarathul with a curious voice as he observed the creature. He saw that the creature was barely strong to answer him. Devils were especially s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to the energies around them, and Zarathul felt that the creature before him was extremely weak in terms of energy. "You could address me as a Broodmother, came a very long time ago through the dimensional path." When he heard those words, his eyes went wide. This was a creature that came from different dimension through the dimensional path when the last Conjunction of Spheres happened. The last Conjunction of Spheres was several thousands of years ago, his father lived through the later stages of the Conjunction of Spheres. He even survived a few fights, across dimensions. "What happened to you? I can help you, for something in exchange." Asked Zarathul with sincerity. He genuinely wanted help the poor creature, as when he saw her, he felt the pain she was feeling, it was a very weird experience. Said Broodmother with hard difficulty. Zarathul knew what those words meant, but he felt a special connection with the Broodmother and felt that she would be a very good ally. "You want to use my Soul for Fusional Reincarnation, am I right?" Asked Zarathul with a smile. He knew what that meant, he would use Evil Pieces to reincarnate Broodmother in the same way as he did it with Crom Cruach, and then he would fuse their souls together, or rather he would fuse her soul with his, becoming eternally tied with each other. Her soul would be healed, but it would need some time to adjust. Manipulation with souls was not one of Zarathul''s field of mastery, but he still knew some things. One of them was Fusional Reincarnation or healing soul. They were some basic things he was taught by his pact magician or some devil magicians. "Yes, that is the only way. Your soul is compatible with mine, all people who entered before you were killed as they were unsuitable, so I killed them and prolonged thus my life. Unfortunately, it is coming to end." Said to him the Broodmother. Zarathul nodded his head and took out all remaining extra Evil Pieces he had on hand. These were Evil Pieces he obtained through method his father told him and it took him several years to obtain several Queen Pieces and mutate them all. The whole process took around an hour to complete and them Zarathul started the spell to use part of his soul to fuse it with Broodmother''s. "AAAAHHHHH" Screamed Zarathul out of pain as he felt that part of his soul torn away from rest and fused with Broodmother''s. He only did this because he knew that his soul would regenerate after some time and usage of some precious materials, so it wasn''t that problematic to give a small part of his soul to Broodmother''s. "H-how are you feeling?" "My soul is healed, albeit weak. I need materials for recuperating and increasing my strength. When the Fusional Reincarnation was successful, I have fully returned to my larva stage and fully became part of this world and it''s laws." Answered Broodmother, this time with more energic voice than before. It was clear that the Fusional Reincarnation was successful and it even immediately took an effect. "What are your basic abilities and what materials need? Asked Zarathul as he needed to know the abilities of the Broodmother and what resources she needed. Soon enough, Broodmother sent a huge amount of information directly to his brain, filled with her basic abilities and what kind of materials she needed. In regards to her abilities, now at the larva stage, she was only able to create basic drones for now. For every breakthrough, now she was 3rd-Tier Low-Class, she would obtain minor ability and for the realm, something powerful. Her specialty lied in creating drones, adapted for every environment, ultimate warriors. She was able to analyze species by devouring their corpses and create then specialized warriors. To achieve higher levels, she needed materials. An outrageous amount of materials at that. Especially corpses and practically everything which had some energy in it, be it mana, demonic energy or the best option is divinity. She told him, that she needed divinity to advance to a higher realm. For example, he would need to get her something with a big amount of divinity to let her reach 3rd-Tier Middle-Class from 1st-Tier Low-Class. Only when crossing realms, divinity was needed, also during the creation of stronger drones, she would consume divinity, so Zarathul needed to think about the constant source of it. "After I recuperate a bit, I will take you to the forest which is close to the place where I live. It is a forbidden area for most devils, so you will be there until you reach a sufficient level of strength and also, you can create their drones in a good environment. We will need them for the upcoming war, soon dimensional paths would open once again. If you will need anything you can tell me straight away, and I will do my best." Said Zarathul as he laid on the ground. He needed to relocate the Broodmother to a more safe area, for her to recuperate fully, so she could focus on getting stronger and producing more and more combat drones. If she reached High-Class, she would be able to effortlessly produce High-Class combat drones. In truth, she would be able to produce them even while being in the Middle-Class, but production cost and time would be significantly longer. "In theory, If I give you enough bodies of fallen angels and angels, would you be able to create drones absolutely immune to their light?" This meant a lot, cause if they obtain troops that are immune to the light, they could use them as cannon fodder and their own devil troops won''t be harmed by the light of any creature, not only fallen angels or angels. Even Zarathul with innate resistance to the light which is significantly weaker than him is still vulnerable to light. This could have huge use in upcoming wars during the Conjunction of Spheres. "Possibly, but not only bodies of fallen angels and angels, but also bodies of devils. Analyze all three races need to be over 100%. All three races came from the same root, so I need all three of them to complete analyzing process." When Zarathul heard that he shivered in excitement. They could easily gather bodies of fallen angels, and only bodies of angels would be slightly problematic as they don''t leave Heaven. In regards to devils, they could use criminals sentenced to death and stray devils, that were proven to be guilty. "In regard to angels, it would be slightly problematic as they don''t leave Heaven at all." Said Zarathul after a short time of thinking. "If the analyze of fallen angels reach over 200% it would have the same effect, but I need at least skeletons of angels." Only now Zarathul sighed in relief, as he knew that this would be more possible. Fining some skeletons of angels, won''t be a huge problem, they only needed to dig a few battle sides in the Underworld. "That''s good then. Aside from resources do you need anything else?" Asked Zarathul as he looked at the ceiling of the cave and then at the Broodmother. "Hmm... conversation often would be good." ============================================= Magical Battleship Grimoire Heart, Town of Fallen Esdeath stood on the bridge observing how her troops were surrounding the Town of Fallen, which was the small town, where all fallen angels were concentrating through the whole Valefor Territory. An hour ago, she got a message from her beloved, that he ordered to keep every corpse of fallen angels or any other enemy. He also gave the order to collect that corpses belong to the stray devils. She didn''t ask why, as she knew that this was something important, judging from seriousness in his voice. Thus she sent some soldiers to gather all corpses they made and transport them back to closes fortress. "Commander Veran, when we could start offensive?" Asked Esdeath as she looked at the whole high commander of the Bael Clan army, who was here participating in this expedition. "The whole city is surrounded by our army and Mana Battery Cannons are already stationed and ready to shoot. I recommend using Jupiter Cannon to blast their defenses straight to the abyss." Answered Commander, though Esdeath didn''t want to use the Jupiter Cannon as it could destroy all targets in its the way. Still, it was the only choice they were left, as they couldn''t afford to lose many troops. "Start bombarding the city with Mana Battery Cannons and artillery on the Grimoire Heart. After 12 hours use Jupiter Cannon to destroy what remains and then invade the city and kill everyone, leave no survivors aside those in lead." Ordered Esdeath in cold voice. This was a war against rogue fallen angels, there was no room for prisoners, only those in charge of town would be taken, to torture them and obtain information. Then they would be killed like any other fallen angel. And as she ordered, all Mana Battery Cannons and artillery on the Grimoire Heart started bombarding in systematical intervals town, killing many fallen angels in the process. Even though the number of fallen angels wasn''t higher, their light is still lethal to most of the devils, so they would firstly bombard them, kill as many as possible there and then attack already weakened fallen angels and slaughter them all. 12 hours later The whole town was already in ruins, with many corpses of fallen angels all around the place. The bombardment was very effective, as they managed to kill more than half of the fallen angels and while injuring the rest of them to some extent. "Launch Jupiter." Commanded Esdeath as the main cannon of the Magical Battleship Grimoire Heart started charging and soon, it shot pure magical beam straight at the town, destroying walls and the entire part of the city, together with all fallen angels turning them to ash. "Send the troops in." As the command sounded, a thousand devils rose high into the sky and flew straightly at the Town of Fallen. When they were high in the sky, half of them conjured magical circles and shot a huge amount of demonic power at them, effectively killing hundreds of defenseless fallen angels. The sight of thousands of devils in the sky, shooting countless magic spell on the enemies below them and killing them on the spot looked very magnificent. Because devils were so few in numbers, they often chose to fight safe wars instead. It meant they would firstly weaken their enemy through traps or long-distance attacks, and then strike and destroy what is left. They weren''t like som Pantheons, to whom mobilizing hundreds of thousand soldiers was nothing at all. "Tell Kuroka to divide her nekoshou into squads and then head to clear out Valefor Territory completely. Collect all corpses, order from Lord Zarathul." Said Esdaeth as she observed as the city fell. Now the biggest player in the Valefor Territory, rogue fallen angels were done, they could clear out the territory completely. Of course, they need to collect all corpses, as they would be of great use to Broodmother. ============================================= Castle of Zekram Bael Today was like any other one, with just one small change. Today there was a small meeting in the ancient castle of the First Bael. In the small courtyard, there were several people sitting around a small table. One of them was a handsome man who seems to be in his early 20''s, with shoulder-length crimson red hair and blue-green eyes. Formerly known as Sirzechs Gremory, now holding the post of the Lucifer, one of the Four Great Satans. Also, Super-Devil one of the powerhouses in the Devil Race. Besides him was sitting another one of the Four Great Satans, Ajuka Beelzebub, formerly known Astaroth. Ajuka is a bewitchingly beautiful and attractive young man appearing in his early twenties, with light blue eyes and green hair that is slicked back. He has a mysterious aura around him which he claims makes him seem devilish. Another Super-Devil of Devil Race. All three Super-Devils were present. Another person, Mephisto Pheles is a middle-aged man with gelled hair, which is a mixture of red and blue. He has heterochromia; his left eye is blue, while the right is red. He also gives out a mysterious atmosphere. The last person was a middle-aged blonde man, with pink eyes and clothed in what was looking more like a military uniform, rather than noble attire. Lord Agares, Archduke of 72 Pillars and second-highest ranked Pillar House. They were also in the lead of one biggest and powerful Legions in the Underworld and were in charge of hunting all Stray Devils. "So can we start already?" Asked Zekram with serious as he looked at people sitting around the table. Basically, all devils factions were here, sitting behind one table and discussing the state of the devil race. "So, the first thing that needs to be addressed, we need to speed up the conquest of lost territories. If we want to establish the nation, before the Conjunction of Spheres happens, we need to have a lot of free space, where our subjects could expand. Be it devils or not. General Esdeath Partas, who is also fiance¨¦ of my son, has already captured former territories of Houses Marbas and Buer. Valefor Territory should be cleaned within a week or so. My son already recruited General Bai Qi to act as general of Devil armies. In regards to everything else, The Great King Faction is ready." Said Zekram as all devils had solemn expressions when they heard that feared thing, Conjunction of Spheres. Everyone here knew name Esdeath Partas, she was the commander of the Bael Clan legions, who conquered lost territories and led her army to many victories. Prodigious commander and also, fearsome warrior. She was also, heir of the Partas Clan, which was Extra Demon Clan. "We need to rally soldiers and let them clean out surrounding territories, which are not close to any other pantheon, especially Hades. I have already ordered legions of Agares Clan to march to former territories and start clearing them out. It would take some time to reclaim all of them, but first, we need some to accommodate Oni Tribes and Nekoshou-Nekomatas. Fortunately, the number of stray devils, have lessened drastically over the years, thanks to the Reincarnation Laws, so my forces could focus fully on the clearing out the territories. Besides that, Neutral Pillar Faction is ready." Stated Archduke Agares. Thanks to the implementation of Reincarnation Laws, a number of stray devils were almost abysmal compared before that. This lead to that, Agares Clan could focus most of their soldiers on reclaiming lost lands for the devil race. "Extra Demon Clans, will return and participate in the affairs of Devil Race once more. Besides that placing Bonded Fields and building Magical Towers have already started, fortification of cities is going well and placing magical defenses over fortresses is almost done. Also, some of them like Melabranche are returning back to the military. Extra Demon Faction is ready." Said Mephisto Pheles. Extra Demon Clans are the houses of top-class Devils who are not a part of the 72 Pillars. Currently, most of the Extra Demons have secluded themselves from the current Devil Society, not wanting to involve themselves with the government, but now that era would come to an end. "We need unity in the times that are coming. Our society has changed over the years, but now we are divided, tomorrow we would be united. But I am telling you one thing Zekram." Said Sirzechs, with carefree voice, corresponding to his personality but not his position. "I don''t wanna that position." Said Sirzechs with a smile as he looked at Zekram. He has a very laid-back personality, preferring to do things at his own pace and causing his wife to punish him for it. Even doing his job as now it is, was sometimes too much for him, and most of the administrative work was in truth done, by his wife, Veala. She was a member of Bael Clan, and was very similar to his mother Venelana, either be it appearance or especially her strict personality. "Don''t look at me, you know me very well, that I am not even good at doing my current job." Said Sirzechs as Ajuka nodded his head from the side. Ajuka, however, doesn''t care much about the role as a Satan, focusing more on his hobby over his job, and also has an easy-going nature like his fellow Satans. Seeing Zekram sigh in defeat, Sirzechs showed a victorious smile. "Four Great Satans Faction is already." Said Sirzechs as he looked Zekram. "Now that all present agreed, from onwards, Devil Government would be dissolved, replaced with High Council of Imperium of Devil. When the conquest of Valefor Territory is done, creation of Imperium of Devil would be official, and I would take up the role being Emperor before my son is ready." This was something that was decided long ago, that Zarathul would be groomed as future Devil Emperor. One of the reasons was that, when Ajuka tested him, he noticed that both bloodlines, Bael? and Lucifer were in the process of fusion, creating something new, passable to descendants. Also, Zarathul''s talent be it magic, combat or commanding troops was one of the millennia. Another problem was that there was nobody who would be either suitable or wanted the post itself. One of the best choices were either Ajuka or Sirzechs, as they were heroes of the Civil War, but sadly not even one wanted. Then there only one person remained, Zekram. Emperor needed to be Super-Devil so he would lead the people, not sit behind. Choosing Emperor was no simple matter, it must be someone strong and noble bloodline with unlimited potential to get even stronger and have the right amount of leadership skills and charisma. Still, the unification of the devil race, finally came to the end, like it was during the times of Original Four Great Satans, where devils stood fart stronger and more important united than today. Suddenly as they were discussing affairs, one of the guards rushed in an extreme hurry to the courtyard and immediately went to report. "My Lords, Runic Dwarves are under attack. We got the report from Devils guarding their city, that several dragons are attacking their settlement, in lead with some new Evil Dragon, but Commander in charge noticed the smell of Grim Reapers, they are probably hiding behind dragons. Currently, they are holding, with only a few devil soldiers and dwarven guards died during the ambush, but now all of them retreated to the city, where bounded field and many magical barries activated and are guarding the city, but dragons are fiercely attacking the barries without the stop." When the guard finished his report, everyone turned very serious. Runic Dwarves were allies of Devils, they were rather small in population, but they were master craftsman, who was only one in the world able to create Runes and had many Runemasters. They sold runes to Devils, creating a new type of fighters, called Rune Knights. Runes were fascinating things. They could enhance many aspects, or even create resistances to some things, like elements. While not possible to gain full resistance, but they were Rune Knights with around 20% resistance tot he lights and holy elements. Other runes, could enhance the effects of spells or other wondrous effects. "I will go, that old skeleton is becoming more daring by day." Said Zekram with a solemn voice. His statement caught everyone by surprise. He could be considered as an ancient entity already, as he was several thousand years old, so no many remembered him. But those who did knew that he was a truly a terrifying entity. "What are you shocked all? With this announcement, we will shock the world once more, and I as future Emperor, need to show them that we devils are still standing strong. Another point I hate that skeleton, I want to beat him up." Said Zekram as he stood up. One uniqueness about Devil Race, was that older they were, stronger they became. Zekram Bael was Super-Devil, even several thousand years ago, since then he just stayed in shadows, thus most people forgotten about him, even many Devils weren''t aware that they had one more Super-Devil. "Soldier, bring me my armor and sword, today I will paint the sky with some dragon blood and broken bones." So, today in this day, the world would remember, name Zekram Bael once again as his Power of Destruction would spread in his enemies. ============================================= Underground settlement of the Runic Dwarves Currently, the whole underground settlement of the runic dwarves was shielded by bounded field and many other magical barriers. The situation was now rather good, the only things that were destroyed were surroundings and only a few dead devils and dwarven guards, but the rest was fine. There were tens of dragons swarming around the bounded field, waiting for the moment when the bounded field would be breached. They were let by a huge jet-black western dragon, who was radiating ominous aura around him. Suddenly as they were attacking the bounded field of the runic dwarven settlement, magic circle appeared out of nowhere. It was a yellow magic circle, with letter ''B'' in middle of it, the magic circle of Bael Clan. Someone arrived, and this caught the attention of all dragons who were currently attacking the bounded field. A middle-aged man with jet black hair and purple eyes walked out of the magic circle. He was clothed in the pitch-black armor, most of the armor was crafted from dragon leather, while knees and his arms were covered in a thin layer of some black metal. He was holding black katana with red lines in his right hand, and his 12 devil wings were unleashed in their full beauty. As soon as Zekram arrived, he unleashed an enormous amount of Power of Destruction and coated his whole sword in it. Then he just performed simple slash, aimed at dragons beneath him and sent a wave of Power of Destruction straightly at them, obliterating more than twenty dragons at the spot. "Come little lizards, face your death." Said Zekram as he flew with lightning speed at the leading dragon, and slashed at the throat of the dragon. Blood spurted int he air and dragon roared in the pain. As he saw, that his enemy is too strong, he attempted to fly away, with his giant wings already flapping at their best speed. Zkeram just chuckled seeing the frightened dragon and conjured several magical circles, which shot one huge lightning a the dragon. As the dragon was busy at trying to get away, he wasn''t paying attention to what Zekram was doing, and he was hit by the lightning, paralyzing him and causing him to fall down. "How long are you going to watch the show, you pile of rusty bones?" Screamed Zekram as he looked at a certain direction, far away from the settlement of the runic dwarves. "So it was you who arrived, old bat. Why are you bats so meddlesome, you are like a plague, being everywhere and almost impossible to be disposed of." Said creepy voice of figure which revealed itself. Hades has the appearance of a skeleton dressed in attire worn by high priests. He gives off a creepy aura. Despite having no eyes, his eye sockets can glow to give the appearance of eyes. "Come Hades, I will make a bone meal out of you!" Said Zekram slowly as the atmosphere around him started to change and his whole persona was coated in the crimson aura of Power of Destruction, with his eyes glowing like a light in the darkness. ============================================= * * * So another chapter is done and Pawn was introduced. I said it would be someone extremely powerful and interesting. For those of you, it is from the novel "City of Sin" written by Yanyu Jiangnan/Misty Rain of Jiangnan, very good Xuanhuan. Basically, Broodmother is of the Worldeater race, something like a combination of Tyranids and Zerg, although drones of Worldeater race could have cultivation and also, Broodmother could cultivate. They could create my extremely overpowered drones... shortcoming is that they lean more on quality than quantity, but that is better for me... So I hope you enjoyed, please review and tell me your opinions. Now story would take more kingdom building, army building, wars and conquests, domestic affairs and all that stuff. We are two years before cannon, so many things need to be done before the cannon starts. I will follow the cannon only to some point... Chapter 4 - Training (2) Today, I have set my sight on mastering my magic. I will take one week from the physical training, as my magic mastery is pathetic. Devil Magic is only at the Adept mastery, which is pretty low, and my Norse Magic is only at Novice, though I only know Lightning Rune. One huge advantage of that I am Head of the House, besides that I can do whatever I want, is that I don''t need to participate in all those formal events that are happening, especially the Young Devil Gathering, where descendants of Four Satans are flaunting their little strength and a huge ego. Though not much longer, when the coup would be successful, all of them would be dead or end up as experiment material. I went to the library, it was one of my favorite places at the Fuerig Castle at all, thought before I went there, I noticed someone waiting for me, it was Borke. Borke was overall General of Gremory Legions, a middle-aged devil, with rather an ordinary appearance, jet black hair, but his crimson eyes were truly terrifying, complemented with that huge scar over his right eye, he was giving true warrior general vibe. "My Lord." Bowed Borke after noticing me. [Name: Borke Zagan Race: Pure-Blooded Devil - Bloodline: Zagan Age: 456 - Class: Ultimate Demonic Power: 196 Strength: 72 Agility: 69 Vitality: 50] As I used a scan of Architect on him, I saw that he was on the upper scale of the Ultimate-Class. While mainly magically focused, his body was already on the High-Class level itself, and his Demonic Energy reserves were also pretty high. He was one of the strongest Ultimate-Class devils I had under my command, overall thought I had around 5 maybe. "How is the training of our legions going with the usage of [Devil outer Body Tempering Method] I gave to you?" I ask him. "Very good, it is very valuable, and I predict within five years of training, I believe I can raise all Low-Class Devils, with low magic potential to reach Middle-Class. Also, I have been working on the other orders you gave me. First preparations are already complete." Reported General Borke. "Hmm... We need to buy more factories that produce military supplies. War is coming soon, and this will be the greatest opportunity to expand our influence and also wealth. Also, continue to fortify the territory. We are on the edge of the demilitarized zone, when the war starts, we would need to withstand most attacks from Fallen." I said quietly. The Great War was of many opportunities. Currently, there were around 20 years till it would erupt and almost none of the noble Families were anticipating full out war. Maybe some, I heard Great King Zekram started some military drills, similar was Archduke Agares and also Lucifer. Some of them were already beginning to notice rising tensions, and soon enough the war would erupt. And it was then I asked a question myself. What was a better opportunity to make out a ton money. A lot of Soul Coins would flow into my pocket. Because of that, I was currently using every Soul Coin available to me, to buy all production lines or factories that focus on making weapons, magical ammunition, and other necessities needed for war. This would expand my influence enormously, as when everyone noticed when the war was inevitable, the need for weapons and armors and other things would rise drastically. And what was best, I would be holding a monopoly over weapon and armor production in the Underworld. "We have started building Magic Tower all around the territory, and Fortresses on strategical places. All around the fortification is going very well." Overall I was satisfied with the progression of my territory. After hearing the reports, I went to the library and took around twenty books on Devil Magic and ten on Norse Magic and started studying. While Devil Magic was pretty easy to cast, it had one defect. It had a high requirement on spells if you don''t know proper techniques and methods of casting. Meaning, for example. You can cast a simple Fireball Spell, even without knowing mechanics as you just imagine Fireball, and consumption would be 1 unit of Demonic Energy. But... if you know the proper technique and methods of casting and inner working of spellcraft, you can reduce the consumption of Demonic Energy and even enhance the spell, all of just 0,1 units of Demonic Energy. So, all devils who had magic as their main form of combat would spend hours learning proper casting methods and techniques, to lower the consumption of Demonic Energy. In truth learning magic wasn''t like it was presented... many would think about casting spells, experimenting, making explosions... nople. The reality was different. Mastering magic is rather opposite. I spent more than 14 hours a day in the library, memorizing casting methods, spell construction models, and reading magic books, and recording them to Architect''s memory, which was also my memory, as he was fused with my soul. After more than ten days spent learning Devil Magic techniques and casting methods, it was a bit longer than I originally planned, as I dwelled into depths of the arcane, I just cannot stop, fortunately, or unfortunately, time would say. Currently, I was casting some simple spells, with the usage of Devil Magic. Mainly elemental ones, as they were easiest to use for Devils. "Architect, how exactly is the consumption? I feel it is several times lower." [Demonic Energy consumption lowered by another three times. According to the classification, your mastery over Devil Magic has reached Expert Level.] "Good. According to your calculations, how much time would it take to reach Mastery?" [With cheat called A.I. Chip at least 5 years of serious magic training and study.] "Tche. It is not cheating... you are a literary part of my soul. Even if annoying part of my soul." [What is annoying are you, organics. Always thinking with emotions and not with logic. The flesh is weak.] "Idiot... you are part of the flesh too." Chapter 5 - Imperium Settlement of Runic Dwarves Both Zekram and Hades stood high in the air and soon even Hades started radiating huge amount of the Divine Power as his Divinities were extremely powerful ones. He was God of Dead and also, God of the Underworld, meaning he had Divinity of the Underworld, which gave him a huge advantage when fighting in the Underworld. Still, Zekram wasn''t any weaker than him, he was Super-Devil, both if magical capacity and body strength, someone who trained for thousands of years, unlocked the True Form and even got his True Name. "Come on Hades, I will rip out that Divine Spark out of you skeletal body and this time It will be me who will be King of the Underworld and Imperium would be stronger than your Grim Reapers." Said Zekram as he slashed with his sword aiming at Hades''s head, effectively causing him to several tens of kilometers back, crashing in the mountain behind him. Even though Hades might be stronger than Zekram in terms of pure energy, but his combat experiences were almost none existent. He was only inside his shrine in the territory of Grim Reapers and managed various things. He wasn''t any kind of expert warrior or anything like that. This time Zekram''s aim was very clear and simple. He intended to rip out Divine Spark of Underworld out of Hades''s body and absorb it himself. This would give him something like control over Underworld. The reason why Grim Reapers were stronger than Devils, was precisely this. Hades had Divine Spark of Underworld, which allowed him to be recognized by Will of the Underworld as one of its own, by extension even Grim Reaper species. This meant, they would be stronger in the Underworld, facing bottlenecks in the cultivation of magic or other energy they had would be almost non-existent. "You filthy bat!!!" Screamed Hades out of pain, though he was listed in Top Ten Strongest of Earth Realm, there were many who could easily defeat him. The only reason why he was on that list was that he was King of the Underworld and had an excessive amount of Divine Power, outclassing even Zeus. Even though he wasn''t a fighter, like Zekram, someone who trained till this day and was only one step behind Hades in terms of energy and body strength was at a similar level. As Hades managed to stand up, he conjured huge pitch-black scythe and slashed at Zekram, who just chuckled at this attack. Zekram easily defended against the incoming scythe slash with his katana and created several orbs out of Power of Destruction, which shot at hades with lightning speed. When Hades saw that his dead eyes twitched in anger, and he tried to defeat by creating barrier out of Divine Power, but unfortunately for him, those orbs of Power of Destruction, tore them down like nothing and crashed into Hades, immediately destroying his golden armor and even part of his body was destroyed by fearsome Power of Destruction. "I must tell Hades, that even though you may have a terrifying amount of the Divine Power, your lack of experience is truly laughable." Mocked Zekram, as he slashed at Hades, who tried to defend against his attacks. Sparks were in the air, as his Katana and Hades''s scythe collided in the air and each other was trying to break through the defense of his enemy. In the end, it was Zekram who won the exchange as he managed to get opening and kicked Hades with his leg, causing him to shot back several meters back. Said Zekram as he walked to Hades, who suddenly summoned a huge number of Divine Power and shot it at Zekram. To this, Zekram gripped his sword with both of his hands and used it to defend himself, supporting it with his boundless magical power. Even though Hades''s Divine Power was very strong and potent thanks to him being the holder of two Divine Sparks, it was worthless before Zekram who was a more experienced fighter than Hades. Zekram easily blocked all that Divine Power with his katana and magical powers as he appeared before Hades and pierced him through with his katana. "So, Hades. Say goodbye to the Divine Spark of the Underworld and to your post as the God of the Underworld." Said Zekram with a chuckle as he started tearing out his Divine Spark of the Underworld. It was an extremely painful and dangerous process, but soon it was done and Zekram was holding little black gold spark, looking like a miniature pyramid in his right hand. After this Hades''s aura was decreasing at the visible rate as he lost one of his sources of the Divine Power. "Sadly that I can''t kill you right now and risk full out war with Olympus." Complained Zekram as he looked at Hades who was holding at his last stretch to stay conscious. The moment Zekram held in his hands the Divine Spark of the Underworld, it was noticed by everyone. ============================================= Underworld Till to one concrete moment, everything was silent in the Underworld as it used to be. No one led wars and only minor skirmishes with some wild monsters or rogue entities were fought. And then the storm hit. From the deepest part of the Underworld, the Core of the World, where the World''s will slumbered, the huge wave was sent out. It was going like lightning, and everyone felt it. Thunder started roaring high in the sky and winds were strong. Only a very few individuals across the whole Underworld were aware of what was happening at the moment, but soon they all knew, as all of these signs were accompanied by mighty voice, which resounded through the whole Underworld. To the ear of every devil, grim reaper, oni, nekoshou, fallen angel, god, and many many others. "In my name as Zekram Bael, new God of the Underworld, I proclaim the formation of the Imperium, Eternal Empire of the Underworld, that command I, Emperor Zekram Bael, all subjects heed my order." After this proclamation, the real storm took the place. In just hours, newly formated Imperial Army and Imperial Legions were stationed at borders of the new nation in the Underworld, Imperium of Devil. Many things brought shock as the Imperial Army was led by its newly appointed Grand Marshall, Asura Bai Qi. Sirzechs Gremory, who returned to his original name, as Zarathul was rightfully Lucifer heir, personally led Imperial Legions in their newly created armors by runic dwarves and personally defended to border with Grim Reapers and Olympus as there was a high probability of war between Imperium and Olympus. What caught the attention of many people was the sight of Zarathul Bael-Lucifer, son of Zekram Bael as he was leading the group of Knight looking individuals clothed in intimidating armors, not all of them were devils, as some of them were from Oni race and there were even a few male nekoshou. All of them met in a small command tent as Zarathul, Sirzechs, Ajuka, Falbium, and Bai Qi all sat around the table and were staring at various magical screens showing the state of the forces of Hades and even Olympus already sent their warriors and there would be probably war. "Hello, gentlemen." When he entered the room, everybody noticed the change about him. It was his aura before it was on the Ultimate-Class, but now it was definitely Satan-Class. Zarathul has become a new Satan-Class powerhouse, on their side. Integration with Divine Spark and fusion together with refinement of Divine Spark were two separate entities. You could integrate yourself with several Divine Sparks at the same time, but they could be taken from you, as his father did with Hades. Fusion and Refinement, were much more complicated process, as you are basically becoming one entity with your Divine Spark and even if you are killed, Divine Spark would return to dust, or rather it will return tot he Will of the World. "So how is the situation?" Asked Zarathul as everyone now held a very serious face. It was Grand Marshall Bai Qi, who took lead to explain the current situation. He was a man in his late thirties, with cold expression and aura of slaughter was just leaking of him and everyone could feel his thirst for battle. Besides being a military genius, Bai Qi was also a powerhouse on the 1st-Tier Satan-Class level. "From what we Grim Reapers have started mobilizing under the leadership of Thanatos and Pluto. Also, Zeus is personally leading an army of Olympian warriors to join them together with Poseidon, Ares, and Athena." Reported Bai Qi with a straight expression as he looked at people here. "Our only disadvantage is probably lack of powerhouses. I and Ajuka will take care of Zeus and Poseidon, which leaves Thanatos, Pluto, Ares, and Athena. I would suggest that Grand Marshall Bai Qi would take Thanatos and Zarathul would fight with Ares while Falbium would fight Pluto. I suppose that Athena would stay behind to command the army, which could be left to General Esdeath on our side." Thus current strategy was presented by Sirzechs Gremory, current General-Commander of the Imperial Legions to all people present. It was rather a good strategy. Even though Zarathul wasn''t very pleased by the fact that he would fight Ares, God of War, someone of the 1st-Tier God-Class, but alas it was his duty as the Crown Prince of the Imperium that he would lead. "I must admit that I am significantly weaker than Ares, but I have something very good to say that my [Rook] Crom Cruach will head here soon enough and he will fight Ares, while I will go for Athena, while she is strong Goddess, I should be able to defeat her." Said Zarathul as everyone gaped as they heard that Crom Cruach would come. Someone who was very very close to the Heavenly Dragon Class, and probably in a few years he would become new Heavenly Dragon. What shocked most of them was the fact that Zarathul somehow managed to get Crom Cruach to join him. Asked Grand Marshall Bai Qi after giving it a short thought. "Maybe half an hour, I don''t know exactly when I guess we need to hold our ground before Crom Curach arrives or father would come." Suddenly as all of them were engaged in a heated discussion of the future plans for the upcoming battle, suddenly thunders started roaring in the sky and it was a sign that Zeus, God King of Olympus was coming. "So, here it begins." Siad Zarathul as everyone nodded and flew high in the air. Sirzechs was clothed in his old general armor from times of Civil War and Ajuka was the same. Sirzechs''s armor was bloody red while Ajuka''s was green. Falbium was in his usual clothes as they were basically armor. When the first thunder sounded, the whole Imperium army immediately took their posts and prepared to fight. Zarathul was leading his Temple Knights as they were all of the Ultimate-Class, they would hide in backround and strike their command down. And then he appeared, Zeus, King of the Sky and Ruler of Olympus. While he wasn''t on the Top 10 Strongest List, many weren''t on that list as they just refused or just chose to remain hidden. Zeus himself was a middle-aged man, with golden hair and bronze eyes. He was clothed in greek styled armor and was gripping his weapon, Master Bolt in his right hand. Besides him was another man of similar age, with sea-blue hair and shining azure eyes, armored in light scaled greek armor and trident. Poseidon, God of Oceans and Earthquakes. "As I can see, you didn''t come here with good intentions, didn''t you? Zeus." "You know very good why are we here, Lucifer. War is inevitable." Answered Zeus with a grim voice as he looked at Sirzechs and rest. "I am not Lucifer any more, but I guess you are right, war is inevitable. Our species has enjoyed too much of piece and our younger generation is soft and becoming weak. Come on, God of Sky." Said Sirzechs as Power of Destruction exploded around him and he appeared straight before Zeus, striking him with one of his spheres created out of the Power of Destruction. Moment of surprise was deciding element, and devils grasped it very good. Ajuka and Falbium did the same and to Poseidon and Pluto respectively. Then Grand Marshall Bai Qi unleashed his blade and with the extremely ferocious attack, he slashed at Thanatos, severing his left arm in one strike, which shocked almost all people here. Then out of nowhere, another person radiating overbearing aura has appeared. With an appearance of a tall handsome man wearing a black coat with a long mixture of black and blond hairs as well as heterochromatic eyes where his right eye is gold and his left eye is black and he has pointed ears. Crom Cruach was here and he immediately attacked Ares, God of War. After powerhouses started their respective fights, only two didn''t participate. On the Olympian side, it was Athena, who was commanding troops and on their side, it was Zarathul, who was waiting for the right moment to strike together with his Temple Knights. Thousands and thousands of soldiers of the Imperium, consisting of Devils and some Nekoshou and Oni were clashing against the same amount of Grim Reapers and Olympian warriors. Fortunately, because Zekram Bael, Emperor of the Imperium, The Devil Emperor has become the God of the Underworld, their side held immense advantage while fighting in the Underworld. As they were fighting and the war was in the full, suddenly huge explosion of Ice and some unknown power could be seen in the west wing of the Olympian army. When Zarathul looked there, he almost froze as he knew who was there. From Zarathul''s love interests, Grayfia was always his first, not only because she was his first love, but she was also the first woman to be engaged to him and she practically got all of his first time, and he got all of her first times. Only after some time, he met Esdeath and, with Esdeath''s personality, she and Grayfia were very competitive against each other. "We will charge into the West Wing immediately and crush the Olympian forces!" Said Zarathul as he saw Grayfia using her Power of Annihilation, which was similar to his own Power of Destruction in certain aspects. All Temple Knights immediately stood up and unleashed their wings and followed after Zarathul. "Follow the Crown Prince! For Victory!" Was heard among the Devils who were fighting. Zarathul was like an unstoppable machine with his Power of Destruction as he was slaughtering tens of Olympian warriors and Grim Reapers with each attack of his style, Gate of Babylon. Seeing that their Crown Prince was leading and massacring hundreds with ease, morale was high as they followed his charge and totally obliterating the western wing of the Olympian Army. Soon enough, the entire west wing of the Olympian Army started crumbling and falling apart. "Gray-chan!" Said Zarathul as he rushed to Grayfia and hugged her close to him. Truth to be told, nobody would tell that Grayfia is a fearsome warrior and powerhouse as she looked like a typical high-class lady. Though even Zarathul feared her very mich when she was angry. "I am alright my love and I did not come alone." Said Grayfia as something else happened. Thousands of Devils appeared from behind her as they were marching to the battlefield, bearing the flags of the Lucifer Clan and Lucifuge Clan. Zarathul knew what this meant, Old Satan Faction has officially broken out with some of their members. More than half of the Devils of Old Satan Faction were loyal to the Lucifer Clan and some of them to the Lucifuge Clan. Only a small part was loyal to weaklings like Shalba, Katerea, and Creuserey. "So it really happened, probably the fact I have severed Creuserey''s arm didn''t help to maintain the strength of those ants." Said Zarathul with a smile as he looked like former soldiers of the Old Satan Faction marched before Zarathul who was still hugging Grayfia, then he looked at soldiers of the Lucifer Clan and Lucifuge Clan, who were practically core of the Old Satan Faction, now they left whole Old Satan Faction would soon be turned to the dust. "Loyal soldiers of the Lucifer Clan and Lucifuge Clan, I descendant of the Lucifer and Heir of Lucifer Clan, hereby welcome your pledge and now I give you my first order. Annihilate these pests that are threatening Imperium." And thus thousands of Devils swarmed and started ferociously attacking the western wing and slaughtering the Olympian warriors and Grim Reapers alike under the leadership of Zarathul, Grayfia, and Temple Knights. Soon enough this caught the attention of Athena, who unfortunately couldn''t do anything about the collapsing western wing, just send more reinforcements. She even considered personally joining the western wing, but she was no match for Zarathul, especially now under the support of Grayfia. "Aye, aye, aye what are you ants doing here, Zeus?" Said man with a cheery voice. He had the appearance of a middle-aged man in his forties with dark silver hair and hazel eyes. He had a silver beard on his chin and was radiating weird creepy aura around his body. He also wore same Maou Lucifer attire as Sirzechs, although in silver color. As soon as those words sounded in the battlefield, everything fell silent. Nobody moved, everyone just looked at the newcomer man with either amazement, shock, despair or fear. "Fear not friends of the Imperium, as here I am, Rizevim Livan Lucifer!" Now even Zeus and Poseidon tensed at his words. Even before all of their gods were at major disadvantage. Poseidon was barely holding his ground against Ajuka as there wasn''t any ocean or water. Ares was barely standing as Crom Cruach was just toying with him. What was shocking was the fact that both Thanatos and Pluto were killed by Bai Qi and Falbium on the spot. The situation was very grim for Olympus, especially the Western Wing was practically destroyed, and the rest of the Army wasn''t better. "Retreat." Facing overwhelming disadvantages, Zeus grudgingly ordered for a retreat. Now that Rizevim joined the fray, there was no chance for victory, so the only choice would be to retreat now before Zekram would arrive and then four Super Devils would easily kill Olympians. ============================================= What happened next was a series of shocks which shook the entire Supernatural World as now. Practically everyone in the world was talking about events which happened at the former settlement of Runic Dwarves and then that battle at the Underworld against Olympians. So the first thing, Zekram Bael appeared after a very long time once again and almost killed Hades of Olympus, tearing out the Divine Spark of the Underworld and becoming the new God of the Underworld. Then there was the formation of the new nation in the Underworld, Imperium. This was the thing, which probably shocked most people in the Supernatural World, as several races combined their strength into one. Races of Devil, Nekomata/Nekoshou, Runic Dwarves and Oni became one nation, with Zekram Bael became Emperor of the Imperium. Lastly, there was a battle when hot-headed gods of Olympus invaded Underworld together with Grim Reapers with Thanatos and Pluto. This actually resulted in huge slaughter of Olympian warriors and Grim Reapers. Thanatos and Pluto were killed in the battle and Olympus was drastically weakened. To Imperium, the structure of the newly created nation was rather simple. Zekram Bael became Emperor as he was the strongest Devil out there and he was a practice the most suitable person there. Beneath the supreme authority of the Emperor, there was Imperium High Council which consisted of several people who were a closest advisory group of Emperor. It consisted of: Grand Marshall of Imperial Army, currently held by Asura Bai Qi. Supreme Commander of the Imperial Military and leader of all armed forces. He was responsible for everything related to war and defense of the Imperium. General-Commander of Imperial Legions, held by Sirzechs Gremory. Imperial Legions were elite soldiers of the Imperium, each of them at least of 3rd-Tier High-Class. Usually both in Demonic Powers and Body Strength. Legions were further divided into two sub-divisions, Knight Legion, and Battlemage Legions. Grandmaster of Temple Knights, this post was held by Crown Prince of the Imperium, Zarathul Bael-Lucifer. Temple Knight Order, was a group of Ultimate-Class powerhouses both in Demonic Powers and Body Strength, elite of elites, best of the best. All Temple Knights were also, Rune Knights, inscribed with runes, giving them far higher combat abilities above those of the same Class. High Councillor of Imperial Senate, Serafall Leviathan. Leader of the Imperial Senate, which was ruling body of the Imperium, answering to the Emperor. Responsible for managing political issues, and ordinary things. Director of Magic Department Mephisto Pheles. Responsible for researching magic and inventing new spells and things of similar character. This was one of the utmost importance for the Imperium as soon the hard time would befall and then the only strength would talk. Director of Technology Department Ajuka Beelzebub who was leading the modernization of the Imperium. His inventions as Mana Battery Canon or Magical Battleship would be soon leading the arms race in the Supernatural World. In the night, rather a weak Devil Faction transformed into a superpower, almost rivaling those strong Pantheons. What helped most probably was the fact, that most soldiers of the Old Satan Faction joined Imperium as they were originally soldiers of the Lucifer Clan and Lucifuge Clan. ============================================= Imperial Capital Lucifaad When the Imperium was created, it was decided that Lucifaad would be once again the Capital City of devils, something akin symbol of returning to the old glory. Lucifaad was far more impressive and intimidating city compared to the Lilith. Also, Citadel of Lucifaad was one of the best fortresses across the Supernatural World. "So how is the state of things?" Asked Zekram in a deep voice, now that he fused and refined Divine Spark, he managed to increase his Demonic Energy Level and soon became 1st-Tier Super Devil-Class powerhouse. Only one small step behind powerhouses like Shiva, but now he was on equal footing with those like Odin or Indra. "We are keeping our army on borders, preventing further attacks. Fortification is being built and hundreds Mana Battery Cannons are being used in this task. Also, soon enough we are planning to start invasion into most territories of Extinct Pillars and remains of the Old Satan Faction." Said Bai Qi with a grin as he looked at Emperor Zekram. Bai Qi was war maniac, who wanted nothing more than war and lead soldiers. Still, it was the truth that Bai Qi was one of the best commander and leaders across the Supernatural World. "Good, we need enough territory to accommodate all of our people, some core areas of Devils are already becoming overpopulated. This problem needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Serafall how is the state of the Imperial Senate?" Serafall Leviathan was elected to be High Councillor of the Imperial Senate, where representatives of the Devils, Nekoshou/Nekomata, Oni and Runic Dwarves would discuss their problems. She was very good in handling politics so this field was left to her. "The first gathering of the Imperial Senate would happen in next few days to discuss the internal working of the Imperium, I believe this model would be more effective than leaving all things for Zechs-chan to do." Said Serafall as she glared at Sirzechs who was sitting at the side and looking like nothing happened. "Yes, he would be better suited as the General-Commander of the Imperial Legions while his wife would be his assistant. This way he won''t slack off his job like when he was Satan." Said Zekram with a slight grin as Sirzechs completion changed to worse, clearly not liking this situation. He knew that when his wife would be his asssisstant he would be forced to work seriously and not slack of. "Zarathul how is the state of the Old Satan Faction now?" Asked Zekram his son, who was sitting in the room with them as he was Grandmaster of the Temple Knight Order. "They have lost more than 80% of their soldiers, as most of their soldiers were that of the Lucifer Clan and Lucifuge Clan. Now that Lucifer Clan left them, all their soldiers returned to me as Heir of the Lucifer Clan. Also, from what I have heard from Grayfia, there is huge unrest among the remaining forces as I have severed Creuserey''s arm and forced him to flee, his soldiers aren''t convinced about his strength and there are talks about disbanding." Answered Zarathul, surprising some people, but such an outcome was understandable. Old Satan Faction was practically nothing without elite soldiers of the Lucifer Clan and Lucifuge Clan, they were creating around 80% of their army. "Very good. Next thing, Grayfia would take up her role as Head of the Lucifuge Clan and you Zarathul, as Head of Lucifer Family. Both seats in the Imperial Senate are empty and need to be filled up. Next issue is that you will mary both Esdeath and Grayfia as soon as possible, to preserve the bloodline of our houses. I would be better if you can take more Pure-Blooded Devil Ladies as your spouse to spread the bloodline of Bael Clan and especially Lucifer Clan, as Anti-Magic would be very useful for us." Said Zekram and Zarathul just nodded in agreement, as he knew that it was his responsibility to preserve the bloodline of his house. A number of Pure-Blooded devils were very low and their birth rate was also low, so preserving bloodline and increasing the population of the Pure-Blooded Devils was one of the priorities for the Devil Race. Zarathul was rather used to this, and though among the Pure-Blooded Devil Ladies, there were only two people whom Zarathul had "very close" relationship. Cleria Belial and Serafall Leviathan. "Grand Marshall Bai Qi how is the fortification of our borders going?" Currently, in terms of defense, there were many things o do. One of more important was, of course, build up fortification on the borders to prevent possible attacks on the territory of the Imperium. "Progress is stable. With the help of the dwarves, everything is going much faster and easier. Their building abilities are truly above all other races. Mana Battery Cannons are also, installed on all fortresses and castles to fortify our borders." Zekram then nodded his head and afterward they discussed many other things. The last thing to be discussed was an issue of the Broodmother of the Worldeater Race, that Zarathul managed to bind to himself with the very dangerous procedure. "Zarathul you can start. I must tell you before we start, that this information is considered of the highest priority to Imperium." Said Zerkam as everyone tensed and Zarathuls stood up and conjured magical circle, which projected the image of the Broodmother, which caught the interest of every person in the room. "As you may already know, during the Conquest of the Valefor Territory, I have encountered Creuserey Asmodeus and some soldiers of the Old Satan Faction. The outcome you know, but the location, where I have encountered them, was Brood Mountains. Afterward, I have entered the Brood Mountains to search them, why did the Old Satan Faction show such an interest for that godforsaken place." Explained Zarathul as everyone listened with high interest. Brood Mountains were very famous in the Underworld and especially amongst the Devil Race, as nobody managed to fully search them, as everyone who entered them died. "I found a center of the Mountains, weird cave, which was entirely covered in runes, but not runes of our world. When I have entered I have seen a creature, this creature had six limbs like an arthropod, with an exceptionally large abdomen. Two sharp blades were attached to the area near its head, making it look like a comical little ball with a few blades stuck on it. A large, exotic insect off his body. It was a meter-long worm that shone black, dragging along a strangely large abdomen with six stout legs. It looked very clumsy. The shell on the creature''s back was open, and it flapped its wings from time to time. With a pair of short yet sharp pincers." Introduced Zarathul Broodmother as everyone gaped at this revelation. People here knew what this meant. Being from not their world, then there existed only one possibility, it came through the Dimensional Path during the last Conjunction of Spheres. "Yes, your thoughts are right. This being is a member of the insectoid race, called Worldeater Race, she told me that her kind was hunted by some being called Eternal Dragon in her world, being far stronger than The Great Red, and they were sold as weapons of war." Said Zarathul as everyone looked at the image with amazement. Then it was Ajuka Beelzebub who was eager to know more, his soul was of the scientist. "Truly fascinating, what are her abilities and strength?" Asked Ajuka with an eager voice as he looked at Zarathul. "She is far more intelligent than all of us together probably, her basic abilities is to create combat drones and other creatures which could either fight or have supporting roles. Her personal strength is also fearsome, as while only at Low-Class she could kill someone on the Mid-Class. Every one of her race could increase their strength by consuming materials such as bodies various races. Her innate ability allows her to analyze them to create more specialized combat units. Also, she requires a huge amount of Divinity to advance to the new Class. That is the reason why I am telling you this, as I need help in collecting the resources for her to advance. In return, we will supply Imperium with soldiers immune to Holy Energies and light attacks." After Zarathul finished explanations, the room was deadly silent as everyone was thinking about this. Potential of the Broodmother was immense, but the resources required were equally immense. "This could be a huge help for the Imperium, we need to do everything in our strength to help the Broodmother increase her strength. Also, she needs to be guarded constantly, until her strength is enough to protect herself." Said Ajuka after short tough. "She is currently constructing her nest in the Forest of Horrors, in my territory, in the territory of the Lucifer Clan, which was claimed by my Uncle Rizevima and currently is under renovation and reconstruction. I have also, ordered Squad of Temple Knights under the leadership of Master Diehauser Belial, Esdeath also started transporting bodies from Valefor Territory there and those of Grim Reapers and Olympian Warriors." Said Zarathul, now his territory was undergoing huge renovations, as before his uncle didn''t care about it and he just spent most of his time either lazying around or researching something. Zarathul''s cousin Vali Lucifer was a complete battle maniac, who spent most of his time traveling and searching for strong opponents to fight. He was the holder of the Divine Dividing, White Dragon of Supremacy. Vali was born as Human/Devil Hybrid, without inheriting either one of the clan traits of the Lucifer Clan, it was the reason why his father partially hated him until his father Lucian was killed by Rizevim. After the awakening of the Divine Dividing, Albion the White Dragon Emperor, changed his human part to the dragon, creating Dragon/Devil Hybrid. This move probably only strengthen Vali''s thirst for battle, and thus he dropped his title as Heir of House Lucifer on Zarathul as he wasn''t interested, another reason was that Zarathul inherited one of the clan traits of the Lucifer Clan. "Yes, the retirement of the most top rankers of the Rating Games, caused quite stir, but nothing too serious. I also, personally think that it is time to already lessen drastically Rating Game significance in our society, fights in such sheltered environment are practically useless. Also, will Rizevim stay in the Lucifer Territory or not? If not, it would be best to send on of us, Super Devils to observe the Broodmother. It would be best if she was under the protection of Super Devil, in case if someone enough powerfull appeared." Said Ajuka, creator of the Evil Pieces and Rating Games. At first Rating, Games served as entertainment, but now sadly they were becoming more and more important to society, it was not a good thing. Fight in the Rating Game were often sheltered and didn''t have the feel of the true battle. "Yes, Uncle Rizevim would be staying there. So there is no need to send Super Devil to protect the Broodmother. Still, I will request from all of you to excavate skeletons of Angels that remained in the Underworld so the Broodmoher could analyze them." Even though not many people liked Rizevim, but still he was one of the most powerful devils that walked through Underworld, and at least he could be trusted when it came to his family, even though he killed his son for bad treatment of his grandson. "Then that is good. We will immediately start collecting all the corpses we have from previous battles and excavate all battlefields for skeletons. They would still contain some energy in their bones. We need to raise the strength of the Broodmother as soon as possible." Stated Zekram as the meeting of the Imperial High Council ended. ============================================= So another chapter up... So several notes to chapter 1. To battle between Zekram and Hades. As I have mentioned before, though Hades is on the list Top 10 in canon, in my opinion he is weak. He may have overwhelming Divine Power, but he is no warrior or fighter. He is a typical Ruler who is handling souls. Zekram defeated him due to several factors: - He is a seasoned fighter, who won countless battles and trained to achieve his level. - He is Super Devil in both Demonic Energy and Body Strength as he trained both of them to an extreme. - One of the few Sword Grandmaster of the Devil Race. Also, his katana is a special sword on the level of Divine Weapons, with passive effects to counter Divinity. For example, if Zekram fought someone like Odin, results would be very hard to tell as Odin is also God of Magic and God of War beside being King of Gods. He is superior to Hades in all things and Odin has probably even more experiences than Zekram himself. 2. The war between Imperium and Olympus. The reason why Olympus lost is pretty simple. - Firstly they lost the support of the Underworld as previously they had someone who was God of the Underworld. Grim Reapers were weakened drastically. - Secondly, they bought only a small part of their army and not many gods. There were only a few Olympian Gods there, and because the Greek Pantheon is also divided, meaning there are two more factions. Titans and Primordial Gods. Titans are imprisoned and Primordial Gods don''t care about anything. - Thirdly, the timely arrival of Rizevim. Fights between Zeus/Sirzechs and Poseidon/Ajuka were in stalemate and arrival of Rizevim would change that. Poseidon was even at a small disadvantage as there was no sea or lake for him to empower himself. Another thing, Thanatos was not killed in reality. He is Primordial God of Death, he lost because he was greatly weakened cause Olympus is under control of Olympian Gods and not Primordial Gods. Also, while he was killed, his physical body would reconstruct itself in some time as he is practically representation of Death in Greek Pantheon so it isn''t that possible to kill him using ordinary means. 3. About power levels. - The first thing to say about devils and why the Pure-Blood Devils are far superior to reincarnated ones and common devils are that by reaching maturity even most trashy of them are able to reach High-Class standart of strength. With the right training even reaching the Ultimate-Class isn''t that problem. - Even for devils, reaching Ultimate-Class in Body Strength by training is limit. Further Classes would require Magic or Demonic Energy. For example, Sairaorg reached practically Ultimate-Class in Body Strength by pure training. For reaching Satan-Class there would be the need for some magical techniques. Super-Devil Class could be reached only by the usage of them. Chapter 5 - Training (3) Several months later, I was still training in the [Devil Outer Body Tempering Method]. After finishing the first part of the [Devil Outer Body Tempering Method], which was tempering my bones with the usage of the Demonic Energy, currently I was undergoing the second part of the method, and that was doing the same thing with my muscles. Thought it was less painful, as I increased my pain resistance tremendously, from tempering my bones, it was far slower. I needed to be especially careful to not torn apart my muscles and to not cause myself some injuries. But the results were good, very good. My body became more flexible, stronger, and faster. With each passing day to the tempering process, I could feel how much stronger I have become. My physique also changed, as my muscles started compressing, and I now looked more muscular, not like some kind of bodybuilder, but rather some athlete. When I looked at the mirror, I couldn''t stop marveling at my upgraded form, or something like that. "Architect, scan me." I commended as soon transparent window appeared before my eyes with precise information about my strength and how stronger I have gotten in the past six months. [Zeoticus Gremory Race: Pure-Blooded Devil - Bloodline: Gremory, Lucifer Occupation: Lord of House of Gremory, Duke of Gremory Age: 180 Class: High Demonic Power: 82 Strength: 47 Agility: 48 Vitality: 45 - Clan Trait: Dark Light - Adept The Devour - Sealed Magic Affinity: Lightning, Gravity Devil Magic - Expert Gravity - Novice Norse Magic Runes (Lightning) - Novice] Currently, my Physical state was probably the best I could achieve with my current training. [Devil Outer Body Tempering Method] was essentially complete, the rest of the physical stats would hit 50 passively, without some special training, and then I only need to acclimatize myself to my new strength. ''Now what was left on my list-to-do in foreseeable future.'' I thought as I was looking at my progress. Now that my body has attained the high-end of the Middle-Class in all parameters, I would focus on mastering magic. Reaching High-Class in body tempering is hard without excessive training, and truth to be told, I don''t have time or what I have found out lately, I don''t have a talent for it. For example, if I have training in the same way as Sairaorg in canon, it would take me more than 50 years to reach the Middle-Class. I have also tried learning Touki, just from curiosity, as I found some instruction manuals on it in my library, but alas, I had no talent for Touki. My innate talent lies in two things, Clan Trait and Magic. I had an extremely high talent for Dark Light manipulation, and lately, I was also attempting to awake Gremory Clan Trait which was Devour. Apparently, Devour was very rare to have even among Gremory Family, as only one person had it and it was first Gremory, my Grandfather. My father didn''t awake the Clan Trait, and I too didn''t have it awakened, unfortunately. What was fortunate, was fact that Architect was making a method how to awaken it, so it only wanted time. From my grandfather''s diary, Devour was basically a very simple Clan Trait. It was used to devour Demonic Energy or Magical Power of killed person and increase your own strength. The downside was that it is effective only against someone with the same energy quality as your own, meaning, I as High-Class Devil can Devour Demonic Energy of Magical Power of only another High-Class being. If I attempted to Devour energy of higher quality, I could cripple myself or in worse kill myself. And If I devoured energy of lesser quality, it would do nothing, just refill lost magical power, but it cannot increase my reserves. My Grandfather was a strong Devil, at Satan-Class of lower end thanks to the Devour, but after breaking through and reaching Satan-Class, he couldn''t progress anymore, as he needed to absorb more beings of the same level, but the problem with that, as those on that level, was usually holed up in their respective territories. So my genius grandpa in his greed for power decided to hunt for some monsters on Satan-Class to devour their energy. Unfortunately for him, though he managed to defeat that monster, apparently it called helpers, they surrounded him and tore him apart. It is a sad story but with a great lesson. Control your greed. So I, learned my lesson from this story and decided to patiently wait till the Great War. I was sure, I would awaken Devour Clan Trait before the Great War, and in the Great War, I could Devour energies of countless Fallen, Angels and maybe... some Devils. I have decided to secretly kill some strong descendants of Lucifer, Leviathan, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, and other Six Houses of Lucifer. Sooner or later, they would all become my enemies and threats to me and my family. So, I would be killed several flies with one stone. "Hmm... I am a bit eager to test my strength on the field. There should be some monsters around... maybe some from other factions that are wandering the Underworld. Or I can just engage in a skirmish with Fallen... not a good idea. It might expose my Dark Light Clan Trait, as it makes me partially immune to Holy Light. Until I am at least Pinnacle of Ultimate-Class, I won''t reveal it." I muttered as I thought about where could I test my combat ability. What I needed right now, was life and death combat, to gain more experiences. While I had power, I didn''t have almost any battle experience. Even some random Middle-Class entity with the proper strategy would defeat me If I was not careful. Because of that, I needed practice. "So, only monsters it is then... I heard that around a hundred kilometers from Fuerig, there should be several Golbin Tribes that were causing a ruckus. Goblins while generally weak, being only of Low-Class while some of Middle-Class are depending on their number... hmmm... they would be perfect training dummies." Chapter 6 - Projects of the Imperium Fuerig Castle, Territory of the Lucifer Clan After the meeting in the Capital City of the Imperium ended, Zarathul returned to the Fuerig Castle at his territory to oversee the reconstruction. Now that the armies of the Lucifer Clan and Lucifuge Clan returned to their rightful place, the revitalization could be started. It took one month to completely renovate whole Fuerig Castle and all its surroundings. Now whole Lucifer Territory was completely secured and safe from enemies. In this one month, many things happened through the supernatural world. 1st one was that Olympus has closed its borders and even in the Underworld, they left behind many of their territories, which were devoured by the Imperium as soon as the Grim Reapers left them. The Imperium now controlled around 30% of the Underworld and there would be again one massive campaign against the remnants of the Old Satan Faction to reclaim lost territories and also against various stray groups, rogue fallen, and others non-affiliated groups that had territory in the Underworld. 2nd thing was that Zarathul was officially crowned as Crown Prince of the Imperium and also as the Lord Lucifer as nobody from his side of the family didn''t have the interest in being Lord. His uncle Rizevim was usually lazying around the Fuerig Castle or he was closed in his laboratory researching god knows what. So this duty fell to Zarathul. On top of that, he was also officially recognized as the Satan-Class powerhouse. 3rd was complete re-structuralization in the Devil Society. It has begun with the speech of Bael Zekram to the nation the next day after the battle, where he criticized the state of devils, the fact that they had fallen deeply in the seven deadly sins, and especially the younger generation was virtually useless. Now was the time to move the whole Devil Society to the forwards and embrace the times of constant change. And the last thing was preparations for another war. Now the military was completely re-structured, they had around 600,000 soldiers, from which 100,000 belonged to the Legions, which were all High-Class individuals in Magical Level and Body Level and remaining 500,000 were Mid-Class ordinary soldiers. Then, of course, there were also, special units as Imperial Temple Knight Order, whom all people were at least Ultimate-Class of Magical Level and Body Level and all of them were Runic Knights at the same time. Zarathul was constantly training for the past month, as he was trying to reach the Super Devil-Class Level of Power as soon as possible, because only then he would have some assurance that he would be able to accomplish his goals, well at least some of them. Still, he managed to reach the 2nd-Tier Satan-Class Level of Power, both in magic and body strength, which was pretty good. He had perfectly grasped his new powers as the Satan-Class and also consolidated his energies inside of his body. "Husband, the campaign would be starting soon. I think you should already stop the training for now." Said gentle voice, as his beloved Grayfia appeared in elegant noble attire befitting for the lady of her status. "I know, how is the state of things?" Asked Zarathul in a bored voice as he was still sitting cross-legged and meditating. Zarathul just nodded his head in agreement before getting another idea. "What about those two Longinus-Tier Sacred Gears I have ordered to observe?" Asked Zarathul as he was thinking about two useful Longinus-Tier Sacred Gears he wanted to obtain. "We have already managed to secure one of them, [Incarnate Anthem], is already in our hands and would be soon transferred to you. It was secured by Lord Rizevim personally. In regard to the second Longinus, [Star Buster Star Blaster] is it in hands of some human magician names Shooting Star who has power around 1st-Tier Ultimate-Class thanks to the said Longinus, under dire circ.u.mstances, he could push his power up to the 3rd-Tier Satan-Class. The man himself is living in America, we are currently waiting for the next orders." [Incarnate Anthem], was a special Longinus-Tier Sacred Gear that allowed Holy Flame Manipulation and was one of the three most powerful Holy Relicts, together with [Sephirol Grail] and [True Longinus]. Zarathul wanted to obtain this Sacred Gear for himself as he had a special method of how to fuse it with himself without any problem. In regard to another Longinus-Tier Sacred Gear [Star Buster Star Blaster], he wanted to gift it to Esdeath as a gift, as it would suit to her combat style. She was also lacking high-quality weapon, and what was better than a weapon that could endlessly evolve to unprecedented heights. "Excellent. I will take a squad of Temple Knights to go hunt down that man holding the Star Buster Star Blaster. This should not take more than one day, as we have a location of that Sacred Gear holder." Said Zarathul as he stood up kissed Grayfia on her cheek, before leaving the room and going straightly for the place where the Imperial Temple Knight Order was staying. Obtaining Sacred Gears was one of the strategies of the Imperium to increase strength. They would obtain Sacred Gear from humans by killing them and give it to the worthy and loyal members of Imperium, who were usually devils or other very long-lived races. This way, the Sacred Gears would stay in the hands of the Imperium for a very very long time. As one of the most important criterium in giving Sacred Gear was personal strength. Sacred Gear could be given only to someone who was Ultimate-Class of 1st-Tier both in body cultivation and magical cultivation. Imperial Temple Knights were few in numbers, and because of that, they had a simple structure and chain of command. On the top of the order, was Grandmaster. Below him were two Masters of Order, namely Diehauser Belial and Ruval Phenex. Then there were Templar Rank, who were the third strongest members of the Order and after them there were Knights. Imperial Temple Knight Master Diehauser Belial was a young-looking man like he was in his thirties with mild brown skin and short gray hair and gray eyes. His special bloodline called [Worthless] was able to nullify all energy-based attacks weaker than him. Coupled with the fact he was master in hand to hand combat and other martial arts, he was a nightmare for every magic-user. "Diehauser, we are leaving for America to hunt down Sacred Gear holder Shooting Star as he has Longinus named [Star Buster Star Blaster] which I want to gift my fiance¨¦ Esdeath." Ordered Zarathul. When they heard the name Esdeath many of them felt a shiver going down through their spine. Esdeath was a very infamous person through not only Imperium but rather through the whole Supernatural World. "Yes, my Lord." Belial Clan was originally one of the most loyal vassals of the original Lucifer together with Bael Clan and Lucifuge Clan. Zekram Bael even married the daughter of the Lucifer Clan. In regard to the Belial Clan, Diehauser was chosen as a personal retainer of the Zarathul. "Shooting Star is someone on the Ultimate-Class level of power, mainly to his Sacred Gear, by the information available, in his Balance Breaker state he is comparable to the 3rd-Tier Satan-Class. Our plan is simple, we will locate the target and stealthy attack to knock him out so we could extract the Sacred Gear from his soul." .... Human World, North America, Texas Capturing someone was always harder than to kill someone, as when you are capturing your target you need to be careful to not kill him accidentally and also most importantly you need to have much higher power than your target. After they sealed the space, they attacked their target. Shooting Star was a young-looking man in his twenties in a cowboy outfit. Fortunately, he didn''t sense the sealed space, as they were using even some artifacts to hide their presence as this must be as clean as possible. Zarathul took out his treasured spear, G¨¢e Bolg and covered it with countless Magic Seals, that had a single effect. Sealing the target. Then he aimed at the Shooting Star and at his command he and Diehauser, attacked at the same time, aiming at the arms of the Shooting Star, as they wanted to cripple him firstly. As their target was completely taken by surprise, his right arm was severed upon content with Zarathul''s G¨¢e Bolg and his left arm was torn out by Diehauser who attacked only a second after. After the attack, Zarathul knocked the cowboy Sacred Gear holder out and applied two healing Magic Seals to stop the bleeding and preserve his life, as he needed to be alive during the process. Problem with Sacred Gears was that they returned back to Heaven when the Sacred Gear holder died, so they were never true holders of the gear. Only recently Ajuka Beelzebub together with Rizevim found out a way how to modify Sacred Gears so they would truly become part of the holder. When the holder died, the Sacred Gear would stay in his corpse instead. "Good work everyone. Now we must extract the [Star Buster Star Blaster] Sacred Gear as soon as possible from his body and disappear back to the Imperium. I have a weird feeling about this guy, nobody in the world knew that the [Star Buster Star Blaster] evolved from normal Sacred Gear into Longinus, someone was covering for him, and the only faction that has interest in the Sacred Gears are Fallen Angels of Grigori... meh, we should be going." Said Zarathul, as his subordinates appeared out of nowhere and took the body of the Shooting Star to the already prepared place, where the ritual was taking place. To the ritual itself, the extraction of the Sacred Gear took only several minutes until it was done and Zarathul was holding in his hands weird white blueish orb, which was the Longinus Star Buster Star Blaster. Then he conjured one ball of the [Power of Destruction] with his new style which he called [Truth-Seeking Orb Style] and incarnated body of the Shooting Star to the oblivion, together with the entire place where the ritual was taking place. [Truth-Seeking Orb Style] was inspired after Sirzech''s style of controlling the [Power of Destruction], [Ruin the Extinct]. He was now capable of creating the Orbs out of the [Power of Destruction], which acted as his defense and offense. Compared to the [Gate of Babylon Style] which required his full attention, his new style was more of a passive form. Though it lacked the massiveness and wideness of the [Gate of Babylon Style] where he could literally create hundreds or thousands of weapons by using the [Power of Destruction]. Ordered Zarathul after destroying this whole place down. ... After returning tot he Imperium, he needed to give the [Star Buster Star Blaster] to Ajuka for research and additional modifications. All Sacred Gears of the Imperium were undergoing similar procedures, while one of the reasons was that they could learn more about them, another was to modify them to be out of the Heaven''s range, they were even able to fool the Heaven System to think that they were still tied to the Heaven''s System. After Zarathul arrived at the Ajuka''s place, he was practically robbed of the Sacred Gear [Star Buster Star Blaster] the moment he arrived. As Ajuka was a fanatical scientist who loved to research things, new Sacred Gear was the perfect material of research for him, at least for now. "I heard even you obtained Longinus-Tier Sacred Gear. Which one? And can I research it?" Asked Ajuka as he was inspecting the [Star Buster Star Blaster] after he took it from Zarathzul who was just sitting on the couch and observing the whole situation with mild interest. "[Incarnate Anthem] is the one. With this, I would be able to control the Holy Flame and maybe even combine it with my own bloodline to create a whole new Clan Trait. I already have some ideas on how to fuse the [Incarnate Anthem] with my soul, but I have yet to figure out how to transform it onto Clan Trait." [Incarnate Anthem] was a very powerful Longinus-Tier Sacred Gear as it allowed to control Holy Flame. Now that Zarathul would be able to control the Holy Flame, he would be able to increase his own resistance towards the Holy Element and also, he would have the best weapon against everything of Dark Element. This Holy Flame would be best against powerfull Stray Devils or some dark and evil creatures from beyond the [Dimensional Gap] when the Conjunction of Spheres would happen. "Hmm... fusing the Sacred Gear to the bloodline to make it the Clan Trait, probably one of the craziest ideas I have ever heard, but I think it could work under very specific circ.u.mstances." "And those are what?" "I have a faint idea on how to do it, but you will need to obtain some materials at first. Especially the Blood Essence of the m.a.t.u.r.e Phoenix, though you won''t obtain immense regeneration, your healing factor would be very terrifying, probably even superior to the Phenex Family. And to them, if you manage to obtain more then one, if you sell it to them, they will pay you anything you ask. Another thing would be Blood Essence from the m.a.t.u.r.e Flame Dragon and a few others. The real deal here is that the [Incarnate Anthem] though of the Flame Type, is the Holy Flame and when you are Devil of Lucifer Clan and have some resistance to the Holy Element it is not enough, so firstly you will need to obtain those Flame type treasures to make yourself suitable for such fusion to your bloodline and then you could slowly integrate the [Incarnate Anthem] not only with your soul but rather make it one with your bloodline." Explained Ajuka about his initial idea. For the devil, it was suicide to make the Holy Flame Clan Trait, but if it succeeded, it would be an unprecedented success. Not only this one but rather they would be able to create a whole new Clan Trait and revitalize the 72 Pillar Houses by making new Pillar Houses with the usage of Sacred Gears, though it would require many treasures and many precious materials to make even one of them. Still, it was worth it. It was common knowledge that devils of the 72 Pillars or Extra Demon Clans were far superior to those common devils, thanks to their Clan Traits. During the old time of the Original Lucifer all Pillar Devils, even the weakest of them was able to achieve the High-Class Level of Power both in Body Cultivation and Demonic / Magical Cultivation, while most of the easily achieved the Ultimate-Class at least in one of them, with training. After the times of the Original Lucifer, the devil race declined too much, fortunately, with the creation of the Imperium, times of decline came to an end. "If this is a success, we could create several new Noble Houses and drastically strengthen the Imperium as a whole. Also, I wanted to ask, how is the Project Code: Devil Blood going?" Asked Zarathul after a short thought. Project Code: Devil Blood was a secret project on purifying the Devil Bloodline in the devils with mixed heritage, truth to be told, only for the ones with human heritage, to turn them completely into pure-blooded devils. While Imperium let of descendants of the mixed heritage to be Clan Lords of Devil Houses, all of them had heritage either of youkai or some strong supernatural creatures, while one of them was even dragon. Humans had the lowest potential out of all, it was forbidden for someone even with a bit of human blood to have some position in the Imperium, thus the Project Code: Devil Blood has invented to purify the bloodline and for those with mixed heritage, with a human heritage for them to became pure-blood devils. After some time, it was extended for some members of the other races of the Imperium as the human blood was holding them down and it was a problem that needed to be solved. "We are making some minor advances and recently we have opened talks with the Jade Emperor''s Heavenly Court about a trade of information. They apparently have something that could help us at least slightly so Serafall is negotiating with them about that. I have also, one good news though. We have managed to locate the holder of the Innovate Clear." When Ajuka finished this sentence, it seemed like the time itself frozen. Obtaining [Innovate Clear] was one of the Top-Secret missions of the Imperium marked with the highest priority. This particular Longinus, Innovate Clear''s abilities are said to be an idealized version of both Dimension Lost and Annihilation Maker, the ability to create an artificial pocket universe that can create and support life. However, anything created in there can only live in that universe. [Innovate Clear] was very special Longinus thanks to this ability as creatures created by it are real and permanent, not like those of the [Annihilation Maker] which were temporal. When creating something with [Innovate Clear] you are using the energy of the Universe itself so you will get perfect creatures. One of the things, that Imperium needed most now, were Mana Crystals, the concentration of pure mana. They were used in technology or in the cultivation of Demonic Energy or Body Cultivation with Magic Body Infus.e.m.e.nt Technique, but sadly Mana Crystals were too scarce and too precious. Fortunately, they had ancient records of the Conjunction of Spheres where were many races described when they were born with Mana Crystal. So the plan was simple, they planned to capture the [Innovate Clear] and use the pocket world as the Monster World, which would be used to harvest Mana Crystals. Said Zarathul in frustration as he looked at Ajuka. "Yes, but now we have an identity of the holder. A Japanese human male named Mitsuya Kanzaki, not much is known about him, only that he was even marked by the Grigori as dangerous and apparently he had some enmity with Slash Dog." Stated Ajuka as he showed Zarathul profile of the Mitsuya Kanzaki, while they didn''t have much information on him, they still managed to find his location and place where he was living. Now the only thing that remained was to capture and extract the Sacred Gear. "Who will be doing the job?" Asked Zarathul curiously. "Sirzechs will take care of it with his peerage and he took even a few of his best Legion Commanders. [Innovate Clear] is too important to the whole Imperium as we could obtain a huge amount of resources, so we must be prepared for everything. Five out of ten Legions were mobilized and even Devil Emperor ordered for the Imperial Temple Knights to be on stand by." Zarathul just nodded his head in agreement. If they obtained the [Innovate Clear] and managed to produce Mana Stones, it would greatly enhance the strength of the Imperium and they would be able to close the gap with strong Pantheons such as Hindu Pantheon, Asgard or Shinto Pantheon or Jade Emperor''s Celestial Court. "Then we can only hope that nothing happens and Sirzechs would return with good news to us." ... After Zarathul left Ajuka, he went to the Esdeath''s place together with his gift [Star Buster Star Blaster]. He was in a pretty good mood, as he managed to obtain a perfect gift for his beautiful fiance¨¦ and even got some important news and all of them were good ones. Zarathul was surprised to find Esdeath at the Fuerig Castle, as she should be currently preparing a new invasion to reclaim the remaining territories of the extinct Pillars. Currently, they had managed to re-conquer many lost territories and expanded the territory of the Imperium. Now the Imperium controlled around 35% of the whole First Layer of the Underworld. "Esdeath what are you doing here? Shouldn''t you be preparing for the next campaign?" Asked Zarathul surprised that Esdeath wasn''t in her usual location, which was Military Headquarters of the Imperium. When the Imperium was created, in regards to the military, she was only one level below Marshall of Imperium, as she was Legion General alongside Sirzechs. "I was waiting for you. We are going to attack the core territories of the Old Satan Faction consisting of the Marbas, Marchosias, Maplhas, Halphas, Andrealphus, and Andromalius territories. They are the last bastion of the Old Satan Faction and it was decided by Marshall Bai Qi, that this would be a good opportunity to dispose of them entirely." Truthfully Zarathul wasn''t surprised, even though they lost almost most of their army, the Imperium was currently restructuring their existing territory, so they didn''t have time to attack and conquer more lost territories of the Extinct Pillars. "Why not, I don''t have much to do anyway currently besides training. Also, I have a gift for you." As he said that, he handed her the Orb which was the [Star Buster Star Blaster] Longinus-Tier Sacred Gear. Esdeath caught it with interest, and only by injecting some of her Demonic Energy she found out that this Orb was, in reality, Longinus, that suited her. She showed a sweet smile before hugging Zarathul closely. "My husband gave a perfect gift for me once again, so tonight... there will be a surprise..." Whispered Esdeath in seductive voice to Zarathul with slightly blushing on her face, that completely contrasted to her outfit and role as Legion General of Imperium Legions and fearsome warrior. ... Forrest of Horrors Forrest of Horrors was one of the forbidden places in the Underworld due to many dangerous species living there. It was very close to the Fuerig Castle in the Lucifer Territory. Currently, the whole Forest of Horrors was swarming with soldiers of the Lucifer Clan, other personnel and even squad of the Imperial Temple Knights were permanently stationed there. Not talking about one of Super Devils of the Imperium, his uncle Rizevim Livan Lucifer who was also there together with his retainer Euclid Lucifuge a Satan-Class devil. "My Lord." A voice that greeted him, belonged to the retainer of his uncle, Euclid Lucifuge, a younger brother of Grayfia. Euclid is a young handsome looking man appearing in his early twenties with silver hair that is tied in a braided hairstyle. He wears a silver robe with detailed accessories. One could say that he was fanatically loyal to the Lucifer Clan, with his undying loyalty and devotion. "Hello, Euclid. How is the Broodmother doing?" Asked Zarathul as this was the purpose of his visit here. The last time he was here to check up on the Broodmother it was when he moved to the Fuerig Castle, around one month ago and started living there. "Devouring everything we throw into the Forest of Horrors. The entire forest that was once full of various dangerous beasts is now full of drones and first combat units she can create, Hydralisks. We have delivered to her more than thirty thousand corpses, one hundred thousand skeletons of various races we have found in the Underworld, through many battlefield sides and several thousand living prisoners. Now the entire Forest of Horrors is basically nest for the Worldeater race, turning into an impenetrable fortress, if the Broodmother achieves the Ultimate-Class, I believe even the squad of the Imperial Temple Knights would have a huge problem staying alive in that place." Reported Euclid to Zarathul who showed satisfied smile hearing this, and then he proceeded deeper into the Forest of Horrors, well former forest, now the Nest of Worldeater Swarm. When he entered the nest, he immediately sensed the Broodmother and she sensed him. "Feikenbollo Sillo, I see that you are getting better and better. Your strength is already slowly returning to you as I see." Said Zarathul as he was standing in front of the Broodmother Feikenbollo Sillo, who was now several times bigger than before. She stood proudly on the four huge legs, and her two pairs of eyes were looking directly at Zarathul. On her head, she had two sharp horns and her mandibles were looking like two sharp scythes. "Yes, slowly yes." Said mechanic voice belonging to the last Broodmother of the Worldeater Race. "How have you progressed on analysis of the various races?" Asked Zarathul with anticipation, as this was one of the most important moments of the day. "Analysis on the races Devil / Angel / Fallen Angel crossed 300%, all of the three races are coming from the same root, so from a certain point, additional procedures are becoming easier, now I am able to create units with some resistance to the Holy Element. Human analysis is completed as in the previous dimension I have devoured millions of them, and I have managed to make a progress on the analysis of the God race to 50%. Also, many of more mischievous races and analysis were obtained." Reported Feikenbollo Sillo in usual mechanic voice to Zarathul who was very pleased with this answer. "What types of drones could you create?" Zarathul wondered about this for a long time as the Broodmother never mentioned it to him before. "When I was on the peak of my strength, I have focused on the elite units and specialized ones. Usually, the broodmother would decide style of her unit making, either she will choose the quality or quantity. I have chosen the quality and I have created only a few types of troops, while all of them had perfect genome and abilities, and now after analyzing more races, I have managed to make many improvements. Drone: Basic building drone of the Worldeater Swarm. They are small workers that are the foundation of the Swarm as they are responsible for obtaining materials for Broodmother and many other mischievous things. Hydralisk: Hydralisks are covered in armored plates. The average Hydralisk was 5.4m long. 3 - 3.5m tall, and weighed anything from 500 kg to 1000kg. At "cruising speed," they could move at terrifyingly high speed. They also showed their dangerous streak by shooting powerful spines coated in toxin, their claws were sharp as scythes and their armor plates were far more durable than any metal. Priding in high Magical Resistance and resistance to many elements they were perfect warriors of the Worldeater Race, brutal, efficient, terrifying and yet elegant, flexible and obedient. All these traits were forged into a single dangerous weapon named Hydralisk. Tyranid Warrior: Huge humanoid insect, around 5m tall, weighting usually more than 2000kg. They are more intelligent compared to the Hydralisks and far more dangerous. They are elite soldiers of the Worldeater Swarm, created on the analysis of many different species. In regard to their intelligence, they are able to command a big amount of Hydralisks on their own and even to learn or use weapons. They also have higher resistance towards various forms of energy or elements. Swarmlord The Swarmlord in a uniquely powerful Worldeater bioform based on the records and genetics of countless races across the Dimensions. Compared to the previous units, they are born with zero combat strength as they are capable of evolution and cultivation. Each Broodmother could only create four of them. They are of various forms and shapes, depending on the intention of the Broodmother. Swarmlords are extremely intelligent, far superior to any A.I. and are genius commanders. A.d.u.l.t Swarmlord is more terrifying on the battlefield, where they are regarded at natural calamities, thanks to their personal strength and commanding abilities. For now, I am able to create only the Hydralisks from combat units. When I reach the Ultimate-Class I should be able to create Tyranid Warrior and on the Super-Devil Class, I would be able to make Swarmlords." All units were extremely formidable, and even Hydralisks were around Middle-Class and when the Broodmother reached the Ultimate-Class she would be able to raise their combat power by some amount. The combat power of the Tyranid Warrior was Ultimate-Class. Of course, stronger the broodmother was, stronger her units would be. "What exactly you need to create the Swarmlord?" In regard to the Swarmlord, they were category itself. They could reach unprecedented highs. Even one of them would be an extreme boon to the Imperium if enough time was given to them. "In regard to the Swarmlord, there is a completely different process in the creation of Swarmlord and other units. In order to create other units, I only need Biomass and some of my energy, now it is Demonic Energy and I can create any ordinary unit I d.e.s.i.r.e. When creating the Swarmlord, I need the material base, so the corpse of formidable being at least at the level of Super-Devil is needed and also the arduous amount of divinity and Demonic Energy needed." Chapter 6 - Sunset Monster Mountain Range (1) Goblins were little green-skinned creatures, around one meter tall and ugly as hell. They usually lived in tribal societies and primitive cultures. Currently, I was somewhere in the outskirts of the Gremory Territory, in some mountain range, where there were multiple goblin tribes residing. Nobody bothered to kill them, as they were pathetically weak, most of them were only of Low-Class, while of mutated or stronger reached Middle-Class, so basically they were no threat. Any High-Class being could kill thousands of them without breaking a sweat. I currently stood at the entrance of the mountain range, before a near valley, while in my right hand I was holding my new weapon of choice. It was a scythe, that I found buried within the treasury of the Gremory Family. Apparently, it was obtained by my Grandfather from deep within the Underworld. It was around one and a half meters in height, with a staff-blade on the end of the scythe and also on the top. From the one side, it had an ax blade with the runic inscription upon it, while from the other side was the scythe blade, which was around half a meter long. Upon entire scythe were inscribed some kind of runes, that I didn''t understand, but I knew that they originated from the will of the Underworld itself. Its name was Rosencreutz. Growth-type Soul Weapon. Capable of tearing through any kind of energy or material, that feeds on blood and souls of killed foes. Additionally, it acted as perfect amplification of my magic, so it was like mystic code. I needed to train with Rosencreutz more, as currently, my moves were more like a joke, I didn''t even attain Novice-ranked mastery over Scythe mastery. I shrugged my head and just walked into the mountain range. Sunset Monster Mountain Range was called, due to the extremely high concentration of the monsters and other magical creatures in it. It housed many even on High-Class, Ultimate-Class and deep within the core mountains, there were monsters that could easily be classified as Satan-Class. I planned to stay in the outer layer of the Sunset Monster Mountain Range as it was inhabited only mostly by Minion Monsters which are the same as Low-Class, Warrior Monsters same as Middle-Class, and Commander Monster same as High-Class. In the inner layer, were territories of the General Monsters that are as strong as Ultimate-Class and even deeper are Monarch Monsters which is the same as Satan-Class. Still, as I was walking through the valley, I couldn''t help to sigh, as the entire place was like some wasteland. Only some yellow grass was growing on the hills and mountains, and everything else was like death... I planned to say here for several months to polish my combat skills, as they were practically non-existent at this moment. Then I would return and study magic and continue working on my expansion of Demonic Energy reserves to reach the Ultimate-Class. Reaching higher class didn''t mean just an increase in reserves, but also your energy becomes purer, denser, and more potent. After around thirty minutes of walking and constant usage of the detecting spells for some kind of life, that could be killed, I finally found my target. Goblin Village. A small one, as there were only about fifty or so Goblins. "Architect, scan the Goblin. One of the Minion Level and one of the Warrior Level." I said to my A.I. Chip. Strongest goblin in this village. He sensed that most of these Goblins were of Minion Levela and one, probably the chieftain was of Warrior Level, so it was very weak even for Goblin standards. [Class: Middle / Warrior Level Magical Energy: 18 Agility: 26 Vitality: 15] "Hmm... that Chieftan is pretty weak. What about the average level of Minion level Goblin." [Class: Low / Minion Level Magical Energy: 8 Strength: 14 Agility: 10 Vitality: 9] "Even weaker. I will just destroy the entire village with my spells. It''s not worth engaging in active combat. Should I find some Commander Level monster that has the strength of High-Class, it would be better, but this not." As several magic circles were conjured, each of them started shooting lightning bolts at the Golbin Village like some kind of artillery. It was added with even more firepower, as I used some of my Norse Magic with my magic circles, as I was using lightning rune in the spellcraft. Enhanced with Norse Magic Rune, my lightning bolts caused immense destruction, as they were hitting everything at the goblin village, be it primitive wooden shacks or goblins that were killed either by being hit or by collateral damage. Within just five minutes, when I used a life-detection spell, I couldn''t find any, so it meant that the entire village of goblins was properly annihilated. I briefly searched through the goblin village for some valuables, but everything I found was some Soul Coins and a few bricks of Gold that I all stored into my dimensional storage. Every ounce of gold is good. When I was leaving the village, I conjured a massive flame and burned it to the ground as I cannot look at such a filthy place. "I need to find some stronger targets. Maybe some Orcs, Kobolds, or something similar with at least High-Class strength to have a proper fight. Still, I will destroy everything I see... this mountain range could be used as a good fortification point at some time, maybe a build fortress in the cleared area... it could be then used to hunt for monster materials and other things." Chapter 7 - Sunset Monster Mountain Range (2) After walking for more than five hours, I have finally arrived in the forest. Green trees and various wildlife was a very refreshing change compared to the outskirts of the Sunset Monster Mountain Range. During my journey here, I have killed tens of Minion Level monsters, all of them were pathetically weak. But it was worth it, as I got was I currently needed most, practicing my spells and Clan Trait. Using my Dark Light was probably the best experience I had in my new life so far. Dark Light looked exactly like Light abilities performed by Angels, Fallen Angels, and Gods of Light of various mythologies, just with the exception it had several streaks of Darkness in it. I could mold it similarly like Angels do it, like creating weapons out of it, or coating my own weapon with it to give it additional destructive power. I could create Dark Light Spears, which was also my favorite, as I was constantly trying to mimic Gilgamesh from Type-Moon I watched, as my aim was recreating the Gate of Babylon. In truth, it wasn''t that hard, as I was pretty talented with Dark Light molding. Unfortunately, I could create only one portal that could continuously shoot Dark Light Spears, but it was good to start for now. Based on Architects calculations, I would be able to create the initial Gate of Babylon when I had Expert Mastery over Dark Light. Then half-open, with tens of portals if I have Master Mastery over Dark Light and be Ultimate-Class, and finally to replicate full Gate of Babylon, I need to reach Grandmaster-Ranked Mastery over Dark Light and Satan-Class of later stages, as Demonic Energy to sustain it needs to be enormous and only then my energy regeneration would be enough. Still, even now, if I have just one portal, Dark Light is a truly destructive Clan Trait. I sat down on a nearby rock, as I was tired out of all of this walking, not physically, with my physique it was impossible to be tired out of something small, but mentally. I sat down and started training in the Dark Light ability, as this place was very silent and peaceful. And thus as I was sitting on the rock and training the Dark Light, hour after hour passed as I was immersed in my training, not hearing that someone already stood behind me, and watching me. I only noticed it thanks to Architect detecting the Demonic Energy signature. As soon as I noticed it, I took out the Rosencreutz and coated it with Dark Light, as I also created several Dark Light spears aiming at the person behind me. When I turned around I was pretty much shocked seeing who it was. "You don''t need to be wary of me, Lord Gremory or Lucifer, or Gremory von Lucifer... whatever you are." Venelana Bael, apparently currently in the Sunset Monster Mountain Range. ''Architect scan her.'' Commanded I in my head. [Name: Venelana Bael Race: Pure-Blooded Devil - Bloodline: Bael, ??? Age: 160 - Class: High Demonic Energy: 99 Strength: 25 Vitality: 20] When I looked at the scan provided by Architect I was surprised, but not by much. I knew that Venelana was strong, far stronger than she looked. She was younger than me by 20 years and already was nearly an Ultimate-Class Devil, as her Demonic Energy reserves were at the pinnacle of the High-Class. Though her physical body was weaker than mine, I doubt I could beat her. Even though I have one advantage and that was Dark Light and stronger body, she had more Demonic Energy, her Clan Trait Power of Destruction is as destructive as my Dark Light, and most importantly, her combat experiences are probably a hundred times richer than mine. "Gremory von Lucifer sounds good, maybe in the future, I will use it. What do I own this p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e of meeting you my Lady, the Brown-haired Ruin Princess?" I bowed slightly as I kissed her hand. "Fate, my Lord. Would you believe that answer?" "Maybe." "I too was training in the Sunset Monster Mountain Range, as I am preparing to reach Ultimate-Class, and I wanted to fight some General Level monster to experience Life and Death Battle." Said Venelana with a soft voice, that gave me chills through my spine for some reason. "And as I was looking for some targets to practice, I felt some demonic energy waves so I was curious to see someone here, so I needed to check. Imagine seeing my surprise, seeing that the new Lord Gremory, is also a descendant of Lucifer. Don''t worry, your little secret is safe with me, though I want something in exchange." "What?" I asked out politely. It was understandable that she would want something in return. It was an equivalent exchange. "We will train together... this is the perfect time to know my fiance¨¦." Said Venelana with a sweet voice. "I accept, training is always good, my aim is to be supreme, so ok. Wait a minute... what did you say? Fiance¨¦? Me? We have a contract?" Only after several seconds mechanics in my head started working and connecting dots together. "Yes. It was agreed to by Granpa Zek and your Grandfather Zeldrian Gremory. I personally didn''t want to marry you at all, but seeing you in the first person, maybe there is a slight chance, but not unless you can defeat me." Said Venelane in a prideful tone, which ignited my inner battle maniac ego. In truth I loved fighting, I don''t know where it came from, but I felt such thrill and some other indescribable feelings... "Understandable. Among the current generation of devils, there aren''t many who can match your social status as the eldest daughter of Great King, of course not counting Satans, as their families are too conceited and arrogant to look at somebody else than at each other." Chapter 8 - Sunset Monster Mountain Range (3) Sometime earlier, Sunset Monster Mountain Range, 3rd POV "Stupid, stupid, stupid rules. Why can''t I inherit the position!" Said in anger young-looking woman as she sends a wave of crimson energy that disintegrated everything it touched, in this case, its target was a small group of thirty orcs of Warrior Level. "Damm. That dolt half-brother of mine is not even reaching 30% of my power and his mastery over magic or clan trait is pathetical. Idiot." She was Venelana Bael, hailed as the strongest woman from the Bael House of all times, as her talent in the usage of Power of Destruction was nearing that of Ancestor Zekram and while being of very young age just only 160, she was already nearing Ultimate-Class. "There is no helping to it... maybe I can find some good targets to went my anger on." Muttered Venelana as she looked around the half-destroyed place from the waves of Power of Destruction. It was really deserving the title as the most destructive Clan Trait. It instantly disintegrates practically any organic or inorganic matter it comes to contact with. As she was looking at the forest, suddenly she felt the strong presence of demonic energy. It felt a little weird, as compared to normal demonic energy, which gave off pure darkness feeling, this one had a bit of a holy feeling, like with Angels or Gods of Light. And thus she used a detection spell, to find the source of that weird feeling of demonic energy and unleashed three pairs of devil wings, and flew off to find her target by following the detection spell. After ten minutes of flying, she felt she was getting closer and closer to the source, thus she landed down and decided to go the rest of the distance by foot, to not attract unwanted attention, in case her new source of interest was violent. When she saw the source of the demonic energy waves, she was shocked to see a rather familiar young man with long crimson hair molding the light between his hands. ''So the new Lord of Gremory is also descendant of the House of Lucifer and even inherited the Clan Trait that nobody else in entire Family has. Interesting.'' Thought Venelana before she decided to introduce herself. After an initial talk with Venelana, we both started walking and searching for some strong monsters for us to fight, though both of us were careful while fighting as we didn''t want to cause some collateral damage. My Dark Light was deadly to any being of darkness or light simultaneously, while her Power of Destruction was literally annihilating everything in its matter. When we killed some monsters we decided to rest a bit, before continuing our search. Venelana was admiring the beautiful nature around us, while I was training in my Clan Trait. "So, tell me, why are you desperately training to be strong?" Asked me Venelana, as she looked in my direction, after nearly two hours we have been here. "Truth? Fear of the future." I answered directly, as it wasn''t something to hide. "You mean the Great War?" I knew someone like her ready noticed the tension between Three Biblical Factions was becoming too much and the war was inevitable. Still, to her question, I shook my head in disagreement. "I will ask you a question. What are the strongest Factions in the world currently?" This was important to know. "Then allow me to introduce it to you. Currently, among all Pantheons and Factions, there are two that cold literary wipe out entire three Biblical Factions combined with ease. Those are the Hindu Pantheon and the Celestial Court of the Jade Emperor. Those two factions are so strong, that not even Big G doesn''t dare to mess out on them and preach his religion there. After them, there is Asgard of Norse Pantheon and Takagahamara of Shinto Faction and their Vassals Yokai that are practically at the same level of strength as Three Biblical Factions combined. Then there are for example Greek Pantheon, which is theoretically stronger than the Three Biblical Factions, but similar to our Pantheon their own is also divided into three Factions consisting of Primordial Gods, Titans, and Olympians Gods. For last notable factions are Vampire under the leadership of True Blood Kindreds, but fortunately, those Blood Lords are in deep sleep." I then make a dramatic pause in my explanation. "Now you may ask where I am moving with this speech. The answer is simple. Soon enough the Great War between our Pantheon would happen, which would result in severe weakening of Angels, Fallen, and Devils. When this happens, what do you think other factions would do?" I ask as I looked at Venelana. "Attack?" "Bingo!" I exclaimed happily. "Here lies the crux of the problem. The relationship of other Pantheons and our own are practically terrible, especially thanks to Christianity, Angels and Fallen Angels preaching their religion practically all around the world, minus territory of Celestial Court and Hindu, or else Big G would be killed long ago. So we have rather a neutral relationship with the two strongest factions, though from what I heard, both of them despise Angels and Fallen. And then, there is Asgard, Vampires, Takagahamara, and Olympus, which would be glad to wipe our faction from the Supernatural World." "Now that you say it in summary it makes a great sense." "Yeah. Basically, we are f.u.c.k.e.d up thanks to Big G and Church preaching their religion so aggressively. The entire supernatural either hate us to death or despise us. But it also has an advantage." "And that is?" "Devils are ignored. You see, we devils never participated in preaching or stealing worshippers from other Pantheons so their opinion about us is mostly neutral, if not a little greedy for souls. But that is all. So... I plan to build a good relationship with Asgard and Takagamara. This would help our race to survive better after the Great War." I exclaimed with a wide grin. Chapter 9 - Sunset Monster Mountain Range (4) "And how may you achieve such a feat?" Asked Venelana curiously as she was playing with a ball of demonic energy in her hands. "Simple. When the Great War starts, Angels and Fallen would be hit hardest, as they have territory on the Earth, while we don''t. The entire Church would be vulnerable, and won''t have protection from Angels and Big G. Their exorcists would be forced to carry out the dangerous missions without backup from Heaven, and then there is where my plan starts. Their crusade of preaching religion would be stopped due to war. I will leak internal information about their exact strength, numbers, and other things to Asgard, Takagamara, and Vampires." I said with a bloodthirsty grin. "And all of their factions would do the job for you. Killing the target with a borrowed knife, while you take also a good reputation and became an ally. The presence of Angels and Fallen would be severely weakened as the blood of countless exorcists, priests, Angels, and Fallen would flow in rivers, as they would lose approximately 50% of their territory in Europe and their entire territory in Asia. With such influence cut, we devils could use this as an opportunity to launch ambushes through Earth." Finished Venelana the sentence for me. "Perfectly. You see, the future is uncertain, but only one thing can decide the future. Strength. I plan to become the strongest being in all of existence, it will be only then I can live in peace. Without strength you are nothing, you can do nothing and achieve nothing." I said as I looked at Venelana who was listening to me. "You think the same, aren''t you? That is why are you training so seriously, while other young ladies are enjoying tea and lazying around." "You are right, but I also train to prove everybody wrong. You see, my half-brother is going to be next Lord Bael, as if he really would have some real power, but that is not important. I can''t inherit the position, because my mother is just the second wife of my father. While I am born to a second wife, I don''t have privileges, but I have chosen to prove one thing. That I am far superior to my idiotic brother. And truth to be told, I have succeeded beautifully, as currently, my brother can''t display even a third of my power, his technique is terrible and his mastery over magic and clan trait is pathetic." It was apparent that Venelana despised her half-brother, and that for a good reason. In fact, she was the daughter of the second daughter of his father and not the main wife, the Lordship would befall onto her half-brother who was incapable, weak, and without talent. "That is understandable Lady Venelana. Don''t worry, during the war you can prove your might and leave your name in murals of the history." I said with a slight smile. "The same could be said about you, Lord Gremory. Don''t you want to accomplish military merit to expand your influence?" "Yeh. The best thing would be increasing my noble title, meaning more territory and more power. Of course, If I would have enough merit for that, but hopefully, I would be able to reach at least an intermediate stage of the Ultimate-Class when the war starts, if not we would be just cannon fodder." I said to which Venelana nodded. Getting military merit as a High-Class was impossible because beings of High-Class strength would just act as glorified cannon fodder. Main combatants would be Ultimate-Class beings along with Satan/Seraph/Cadre-Class beings. "That is a good idea... I heard that later someone started buying practically everything that has something to do with creating military supplies, weapons, or armors. Do you know something about that, My Lord?" Asked Venelana with a cheeky smile as she looked at me suspiciously. "Maybe... or maybe not... who knows." I gave out a mysterious smile. "The War... truth to be told, I fear what it would be." Thought Venelana out of loud. In truth, she had more reasons to fear the upcoming war than me, especially when it came to family members. She feared for her mother, father, and even Grandpa, though the last one was useless, as Zekram was on the level of Super-Devils, while maybe just an early stage, but alas he was very strong. On the contrary, I had no relatives in this world, so I didn''t have these motions. "Beal Territory is guarded strictly and it is in the middle of Devil Race territory, so there is a small chance the war would be drawn there. If I can predict, I think most battles would be fought either at the territories belonging to Houses which have them at the outskirts of the Devil Species territory, near the demilitarized zone with Fallen, or we would either fight in Dimensional Gap or Earth." Shortly after Venelana nodded hearing my words. Yes, Houses who have territory near the buffer zone with Fallen would be hit hardest, for example, me, but I have been preparing for that, fortunately. Then the second place where most fighters would take place would be Earth. And lastly, battles between top combatants would take place in Dimensional Gap. Existence on Super-Devil Class or High God could with their strong attack destroy smaller orbital objects like a moon. Even Satan-Class entity could with strong attack destroy a continent. Of course, if we are talking about existences that reached the Class in energy reserves. Their energies are extremely dense, pure, and potent. A single spell from Super-Devil, High God, or someone similar would be enough to destroy the entire city. So it is understandable that such fights would take a place in Dimensional Gap, cause if not collateral damage would be astronomical. When talking about strength, I always wondered how exactly strong the Big G was... He sealed Trihexa which was being at the Apocalypse-Class similar to the Great Red or Ophis, but from what I have heard he was never known for his combat abilities but rather for crafting and magic. Interesting... still. If even Big G, didn''t want to mess with Hindu Pantheon, then Shiva must be stronger than what I remember from the canon novel. Meaning... I can''t depend fully on my knowledge of the canon. Chapter 10 - Sunset Monster Mountain Range (5) "We have rested enough... don''t you think it is a time to find some training targets Lord Gremory/Lucifer?" Asked me Venelana approximately one hour later as we were talking about various things. Truth be told I pretty much enjoyed spending time with her. She was a fun person, strong-willed, and wanted to make a name for herself with her own hands not depending on anyone. She was even well-versed in magic theories, so we even compared notes. "If you want, you can call me by my name. If we are to be wed together it is weird for you to call me so formally." I said to her. She blinked at me several times, before having a slight blush over her cheeks, that faded rather quickly as she regained her composure. "That would be nice Zeoticus. Then, you can call me Venelana too. If we are already calling each other with our names." Said Venelana with a sweet smile that hit me in the c.h.e.s.t. I had to admit that she was beautiful, as my heart started beating slightly. ''Architect what is this weird feeling in my c.h.e.s.t right now?'' [Something you organics call affection or falling in love. Usually, it leads to procreation and copulation to create a new generation of your useless species.] Said Architect in his head with the refined voice of an elderly man. ''Didn''t your voice change? I remember before you sounded like a pile of metal scraps and now you sound like some kind of nobility.'' [I find this one more appropriate to my standing.] I didn''t bother with him more, but it is interesting. My A.I. Chip started evolving... I don''t know if I should fear the consequences or not, but probably not. During the research, in my previous life, it should be that tablet we were researching... it was that what bound my soul together with the newly birthed soul of this piece of metal. "Venelana I have found a settlement of orcs, approximately thirty kilometers to the west. There are tens of High-Class energy signatures, meaning many strong orc warriors and even magicians. Shall we?" I asked with a bloodthirsty grin as I wanted to test my might against strong enemies. In truth Devils, were fundamentally battle race that enjoyed the thrill of battle, similar to dragons. Soon enough we arrived at our location which was a small settlement of orcs, from what I sensed with my detection spells, there were about two hundred orcs living here, and around thirty from them were of the Commander-Level. Some Orc shamans were here even too. The rest of the orcs were too weak for me to count them as something. "So... who will have the first honor? Ladies first." I watched as Venelana was conjuring small balls created from the Power of Destruction, until she conjured about ten of them, each as big as an average human head, and she dropped them the orc village, aiming at the largest houses and building. When the ball of the Power of Destruction fell on their target, they exploded, obliterating everything around the diameter of ten meters. "Fascinating. With just a single attack, you have managed to destroy half of the village. How is the consumption of such attack?" I asked out of curiosity, but I already saw that she used approximately 1 Unit of Demonic Energy per one ball of Power of Destruction, and her regeneration speed was fast, so within five minutes those 10 units that were used would be swiftly recovered. "Small, and on top of that my recovery rate is fast. Now is your turn." Said Venelana as she looked at tens of orcs that were rushing at us, all of them were Warrior level and some even Commander level. When I looked closer, I noticed that behind them, were four orcs shamans, with energy reading of High-Class. "Then allow me." As I said that, four portals of Dark Light appeared around me, and started shooting one Dark Light spear after another at the incoming orcs. When the Dark Light Spear touched the orc, it pierced through it like nothing. Be it Warrior Level or Commander Level orc, they fell like cabbage. The only way to defend against energy attacks was to have either armor suitable for it, a terrifying physique that would be able to ignore those attacks or use magic to defend yourself. These orcs were either stupid or too weak, but orc shamans successfully defended from my Dark Light Spear as they jointly created some magical shield that protected them, but not for long as I shot another ten Dark Light spears at them until the magical shield broke down, and all orc shamans were killed. "They are weak." "And what did you think? They are orcs. Green-skinned orcs are the weakest of their species, and only orc shamans or mutated ones are worth something. For example shamans, I have killed were probably just Adepts of Magic, as their magical shield was full of mistakes and of course, a strong orc shaman would have probably long ago escaped when he sensed two High-Class Devils." I explained slowly. While orcs weren''t strong races, they were adaptable and had high numbers. I heard that in some part of the world or in some dimensions belonging to some factions, they have a great problem with orcs, as when they are in high numbers they are troublesome to deal with. There is currently even an orc nation, or whatever it is called. Apparently, it is located, in the territory of the Celestial Court of Jade Emperor, and the Chieftain of the Orc Tribe is comparable to the Super-Devil of late stage. Chapter 11 - Sunset Monster Mountain Range (6) "Do you think there may be something valuable?" Asked me Venelana as she looked around the ruins of the orc village. "You really think that orc village would have something valuable? Even if it was true, it was probably already destroyed by your Power of Destruction." I said as I looked around the destroyed orc village. Power of Destruction was truly fearsome. "Do you want to go deeper into the forest or shall we return already back?" Asked Venelana as she was playing with a ball created from the Power of Destruction between her hands. "Descending deeper is a foolish thing to do, as inner parts of this mountain range, is swarming with a strong monster on with similar power to the Ultimate-Class, even though both of us probably could take on one weaker General Level Monster that has the power of Ultimate-Class, as they don''t generally know how to use Magical Power, if we are unlucky we could encounter some strong and old monster, and that would be our doom. It would be best to stay in the outer part of this place, as it is relatively safe... probably." I explained as I was not that interested in exploring deeper parts of the Sunset Monster Mountain Range, it would only spell my death. "That sounds logical. We are already near the inner parts." Agreed with him Venelana, while I was a bit scared when I realized that the orc village was located practically next to the inner parts of the Sunset Monster Mountain Range. Just as we were preparing to leave, I felt something weird. ''Architect, did the detection spell found something?'' I asked my A.I. Chip. From the moment he got consciousness from part of my soul, Architect could cast some simple spell by himself or maintain spells that were cast by me, with the usage of my Demonic Energy. [There is movement, one kilometer from your position. Energy signature unclear, the target is heading here.] Answered Architect calmly. "Venelana we have a slight problem. Something is heading our way here." I said grimly, as I had a pretty bad feeling about this. For a simple reason. We were near the inner parts of the Sunset Monster Mountain Range and several minutes ago, we were throwing a huge amount of demonic energy around. Venelana was generating many balls of Power of Destruction, while I was preparing Gravity Magic runes and several Dark Light portals, that would shoot out chains created from the Dark Light, to trap the enemy. Soon enough, the monster arrived. It was a huge ape-like monster, around 13 meters in height, with silver fur and several horns on top of its head. It had bulging muscles and looked pretty intimidating, so physical strength was its forte. ''Architect, scan it.'' I commended in my head. [Race: Ape-??? not enough information Level: General Monster - Magical Power: 90 Strength: 139 Vitality: 100] ''Hmm... Vitality is strong, hopefully, the Power of Destruction and Dark Light on our level would be enough to overcome the regeneration power of the creature. Problematic is its speed and strength. Probably two or three attacks if hit us, it would be done, if not protected with magic. Still, it seems that this one can''t use magical power consciously, so that would be our advantage. Architect, start the calculation.'' [Best course of action, would be to trap it, and then attack it with a barrage of Power of Destruction and Dark Light Spears. Regeneration of this monster is very high, but alas, to regenerate from Power of Destruction and Dark Light instantaneously, is impossible, but it will be able to regenerate its wounds very quickly.] ''So trap it.'' I thought, as I waved my hand, and created several Nordic Runes for Gravity Magic, five appeared around the Ape, and I increased the Gravity around it fifty times, which was enough to slow it down enough, so we could easily dodge its attack. Next thing, I mimicked Chains of Enkidu and created chains out of the Dark Light which started wrapping around the General Level Ape, binding it down, as the Ape was struggling very violently. "Vene, start attacking it with all you got, it has very high Vitality, but with enough firepower, we would be able to cause enough damage to kill it." I said as I was focusing on binding the Ape. For us, it was not an important thing to kill it, I would be glad to just scare it away, killing it would be just a good bonus. Venelana did as I instructed and started throwing balls created from the Power of Destruction at the General Level Ape, that was struggling in the Dark Light Chains that were binding it under heightened gravitational pressure. Really, General Level Monster that has Ultimate-Class physique was extremely terrifying. The Ape even under the binding of Dark Light Chains that were burning through the skin of the Ape, and gravitational runes, was still able to move faster than we. Fortunately, Venelana''s attacks at the Ape, were proving effective, as countless wounds were appearing at its body, and the healing factor of the General Level Ape was doing everything in its might, to heal it, but a good thing for us, we were causing more damage compared to what it could heal. ''Architect how are my reserves?'' [Stable, regeneration is high, with this tempo, you could fight approximately for twenty minutes before consumption is higher than regeneration rate.] Chapter 12 - Sunset Monster Mountain Range (7) I am still not experienced and everything, so I can fight short time, before I would get tired, my regeneration of Demonic Energy would be lowered than consumption, and I would be running out of energy. Compared to me, Venelana was better, as she could fight probably four times or five times longer than me. She was also more experienced in combat than me, but I was on the other side more versed in magic, from what I saw. Venelana was solely dependent on her Clan Trait, and a few spells, I will need to teach her more magic in the future. ''Architect, use Rosenkreutz amplification magic sequence.'' I commanded in my head, as I summoned my scythe Rosenkreutz. In addition to being a weapon, it also served as a Mystic Code, which basically was like a magic amplification device or something similar. I have inscribed onto the weapon, a magic sequence, that allowed Architect to control the weapon for a limited time, with which he would take care of gravity magic by himself, meaning he would be using ambient magical power in the air to cast spells, with help of the Rosenkreutz. What I got, was a lessened burden. While in my normal state, I could let Architect control several magic spells that were cast by me, it still took a part of my brain calculation area. With the usage of Rosenkreutz, which served as Mystic Code, Architect could temporarily pose as basically a separate person, to maintain the magic, while I was casting a new one. Several Nordic Runes appeared around me, together with Dark Light Spears, as they shot at the struggling General Level Ape. Seven thunderbolts and three Dark Light Spears hit the Ape monster in dramatically manner, causing it to shriek in pain, as it started breaking through the Dark Light Chains. [Rosenkreutz can hold approximately for additional 125 seconds before the runes inscribed on it are destroyed.] Said Architect in my head. 125 seconds, basically two minutes. We have two minutes to cause as much as damage possible before the control over gravity magic runes are returned to me. ''Shit. It is going berserk.'' Many monsters when they came to conclusion, or more like when their instincts told them they were in grave danger, would go berserk. Meaning they would enter a practically uncontrollable state when they would attack with far higher aggression to fight for their lives. "Venelana create a distance and come to me, and prepare the teleportation circle. When it is prepared, I would release the bindings, and power up the circle, to send us as far as possible." Our only chance was to flee. Personally, I wanted to kill that thing, but unfortunately, it seemed not possible... only if. ''Yes, why not use that. It is injured enough, maybe it will work.'' I thought in my head, as I gave the command to Architect, and started creating as much as possible Dark Light Chains, that were wrapping around the General Level Ape. The Ape was breaking them with ease, but he needed only a few seconds. Venelana was already beside me, and created a teleportation circle below us, ready to teleport us away. I was pouring the last bits into the Dark Light Chains that were wrapping around the General Level Ape. "Venelana, now!" ''Detonate!'' I said and also commanded in my head, as I released the control over Dark Light Chains, as I instructed self-destruction, as we vanished from the place. We appeared several tens kilometers away from our previous location. I stood up, and looked in the direction, when we fought with Ape, and saw the aftermath of the explosion even here. ''How are my reserves?'' I asked Architect in my head, as I felt tired as hell. [4 Units of Demonic Energy remaining. If you lose more, you will lose consciousness.] Damm. That was close. "That was a good plan Zeoticus. Do you think that Ape died?" Asked Venelana as she looked at my pale state. "Dunno. Use detection spell in that direction. And could you please transfer some Demonic Energy... I am going to suffer exhaustion probably." Venelana nodded and started transferring some Demonic Energy to me, not much, just enough for me to raise my reserves above 10 units. After Venelana finished transferring the Demonic Energy, for me to reach the minimum, so I don''t suffer energy exhaustion, she used the detection spell to know if the General Level Ape died from that explosion. "It is dead... fortunately. What now?" "Nothing. Create a teleportation magic circle, and I will take the corpse. It is a valuable thing for alchemy potions and pills." I said as Venelana looked surprised at hearing I had an interest in alchemy. Among the devil race, there were very few Alchemists or Pill Refiners, they could be counted on one hand. Though, most devils would just buy what they want from some sects that were residing on Earth. Many of them were greedy for supernatural resources, as they were hard to come by on Earth. Venelana nodded and created a teleportation magic circle, that transported us to the place where we fought the General Level Ape. It looked totally devastated, the diameter of three kilometers or so became a literal wasteland. "Quickly create a teleportation circle. When I have the corpse, we need to get out. Such strong explosion like this would for sure lure here countless General Level monsters and maybe even some Monarchs." I said, as Venelana started conjuring the spell, while I went to the corpse. I was surprised it was mainly in good shape, only around 20% of the body was destroyed so it was pretty good. I stored it with a simple storage spell and quickly went to Vena, who teleported us as far as possible, to the outskirts of the Sunset Monster Mountain Range. "Damm. Finally, it is done. I wanna rest, though you can go first. I will watch over." I said, as Venelana conjured a huge tent and went to sleep, while I watched over. Theoretically, we could teleport to my home, to rest, but alas this was training, not a touring trip. Chapter 13 - Sunset Monster Mountain Range (8) The next day, we continued our training, as we searched for Commander-Level Monsters, especially those at the peak of the Level. After some time, we started playing a game, who will have the highest kill count of Commander-Level monsters. I also, taught some magic to Venelana, especially the Norse one, as Asgardians have one of the strongest branches of magic across the Draconic Deus Supernatural World. I on the other side, have mastered another rune for Fire and even perfected my mastery to the Adept-rank. My mastery over Gravity magic also reached Adept-rank due to continuous usage of Gravity magic. In regard to the Dark Light, I was far from reaching Expert-ranked mastery as Dark Light was a very hard Clan Trait to master, similar to the Power of Destruction. After another two months, I felt that I made plenty of progress in regard to the expansion of my Demonic Energy reserves as I felt they expanded pretty well, while not reaching Pinnacle, it was a good progression. Besides expanding the energy reserves by meditation or similar things, there was another, and a rather simple method, while it was tiring. Continuously exhausting your energy reserves to the brink of energy exhaustion and letting them regenerate. Slowly, the energy reserves would expand naturally. I have also felt that my body got stronger, with all that training, not much, but I was slowly reaching the pinnacle of the Middle-Class in Body attributes, meaning my physical might be good. Soon enough, I would be able to refine the potion or pill and reach the physique of High-Class. Today, was one of the last days we were spending in the Sunset Monster Mountain Range, as both of us decided to go home already. I was Lord of the House, so I had enough responsibilities already, and I cannot stay from the seat too long. ''Architect, do a scan.'' [Class: High Demonic Energy: 91 Strength: 49 Agility: 49 Vitality: 47] ''Hmm... my energy reserves are rising steadily, and soon they would reach Ultimate-Class soon enough, while my physique should be able to withstand the potion I would use to reach the High-Class in my physique.'' I thought in my head as I observed the increase in power. Especially the Demonic Energy reserves, I have crossed 91 units which were very good progress. When I reach Ultimate-Class it would be a new world for me. My several months trip to the Sunset Monster Mountain Range was worth it, as I got what I wanted to obtain the most. Combat experiences. While I may have power, I didn''t have any kind of battle experienced, prior to my trip, or I had a minimum of them. "We should be going back home already." I said as I was strolling through some forest in the dammed place with Venelana. "Hmm... it has been four months, already." Muttered Venelana as she looked around. "Are you perhaps sad that our small trip is ending? Will you miss me? I am sooo happy." I said with a small grin as I couldn''t help to tease her a little. "Maybe yes, maybe not... who knows. I will see, at later date." Answered back Venelana as she looked at me. "You are welcome to the Castle Fuerig any time to visit me. Just sent me a message some time prior. I will be researching Norse Magic when I return back home, so I will be occupied." "That would be nice." "Also, could you please arrange a meeting with Lord Zekram? I have some things that are in dire need of attention, and it would be very good to discuss them with him." I said quietly. Getting Zekram Bael on my side, was crucial for my plans to come to fruition. Even in canon, that man was practically ruler of the Underworld after the Devil Civil War, when Houses of Original Satans fell. Now, he was practically the political rival of the House of Lucifer, and the might of House of Bael could be currently matched only by that of House of Lucifer, though with House of Lucifer there were Six Houses of Lucifer which gave them a slight advantage. That also brought me another problem, how to deal with them. Six Houses of Lucifer are loyal to the Lucifer House, and I can be counted as one. I predicted that when I reached Ultimate-Class, my bloodline would also get stronger, and it may affect my appearance among other things, so getting trademark silver hair... that could be cool, but I would need to hide them with illusion. Still, Six Houses are no a problem, If I became Head of the Lucifer House, which in reality is rather easy, as in canon Rizevim wasn''t interested, and the entire house was led by Lord Lucifuge who was the father of Grayfia and Euclid. If I do that, then only the other three houses of Leviathan, Beelzebub, and Asmodeus would be my enemies. So I will focus on them, and try to kill as many descendants of them during the Great War. During such chaos, nobody would notice a few carefully planned assassinations. "That would be possible. I will talk to grandpa." Said Venelaan with a smile, though she looked a bit uneasy, and I quickly understood it. "You can tell him." "Really?" "Yeh." This was a bit of a gamble on my side. But alas, I need to get Zekram on my side, and as I know him, he wouldn''t be able to pass an opportunity like this. He will realize very quickly, that I want to replace Original, and if it is successful, House of Bael, through the marriage of me and Venelana would rise to new heights. Chapter 14 - Back Home at Last After some time, I have finally returned back home to Castle Fuerig. While I was in the Sunset Monster Mountain Range about 4 months approximately, here nothing changed. Thought, it was understandable, as the perception of time from the Devil''s view of the point was drastically different compared to that of human. Now I finally had a chance to study magic more complexly. After I had reached Adept-ranked mastery over Norse Runes, more precisely Lightning Rune and Fire Rune, were two I have learned. While I used till now the runes in a more crude way, meaning just conjuring Rune and throwing it around. Now I will try to mold the energy into shapes and objects. I had some simple ones, to the more complex ones like Lightning Dragon Spell. Compared to complicated Norse Magic, Devil Magic was very easy to learn and master even though the firepower of this type of magic severely lacking. In Norse Magic, it was all about the spell construct that I was working with. After I returned to Castle Fuerig, I took a good bath as the first thing I did. After finishing the bath, I needed to meet with General Borke to receive the report about what happened before I left for my training. 4 months was an extremely short time for Devils, but I left many commands before leaving the Castle, about what needed to be done. As I returned to my study room, I already found General Borke Zagan waiting there for me as he bowed when I entered. "My Lord." "General." "So, you can start with your report." I said to him, afterward, I looked through the window of my study room. "Cleaning process of the Army is done. We have found spies and other infiltrators from the Houses of Satans and killed them all. It created some minor holes in the chain of command, but that would be solved quickly." Reported General Borke Zagan quietly. I wasn''t that surprised, probably each army belonging to the 72 Pillars or Extra Demons is infiltrated by loyalists of the Four Satans. Probably some strong Houses like Bael or Agares already cleared their traitors. Before the war starts, it is an important thing to do. "Good. Have you started the selection process for loyal soldiers to receive the [Devil Outer Body Tempering Method]?" "Yes. With each one, we have signed the Geass Contract so there is no risk of betrayal, desertion, or selling the method to other Houses. Currently, more than 400,000 soldiers that fulfilled the criteria and signed the Geass Contract for life with House of Gremory." I was pretty satisfied hearing this. While the [Devil Outer Body Tempering Method] was a great invention, it was useless if I didn''t use it on my soldiers. That also brought up a possibility of leaking the [Devil Outer Body Tempering Method] to other Houses that I was not allied to, or even worse, to Four Satan Houses. While I wasn''t that concerned about House of Lucifer and its Six Houses of Lucifer, right now was not the time. Because of that, I ordered General Borke and other Generals that were on Ultimate-Class that were loyal to the House of Gremory, to search for every spies and traitor in my Army and kill them without mercy. Afterward, they would be searching for suitable soldiers, that would sign the Geass Contract with the House of Gremory, pledging their eternal loyalty to the House of Gremory, especially to me. Then I could give them safely the [Devil Outer Body Tempering Method] for training, as it would produce Middle-Class beings of power, in physique aspect rather easily and quickly. "How is the current state of my Army and Legions?" "Currently, the entire army has 3 million soldiers, divided into 15 Legions, with each of Generals commanding three Legions. Most of the soldiers are of Low-Class, while around 40% are of Middle-Class if we are making the ranking based on Demonic Energy. If we are talking about the physique aspect, the percentage is much lower, but with enough time and [Devil Outer Body Tempering Method] we could raise all of our soldiers into Middle-Class in the physique." I wasn''t surprised hearing this, most of the ordinary devil soldiers are not that strong. Only a few Houses have strong soldiers, like House of Lucifer, which has almost all soldiers of Middle-Class or House of Bael that is similar, or House of Agares. My aim was the same as them, to raise the quality of my soldiers. "How long do you think it will take? War is coming, and if we have an army of Middle-Class beings in terms of physique, while half of them would also be Middle-Class in Demonic Energy, my Army would be exceptionally strong." Currently, till the Great War was around 19 years, approximately, so I had enough time to see some results. "Hard to say, if Your Lordship invests some Soul Coins into the training of the soldiers, it should be sometimes between 10 to 12 years before we train such an army." 10 years or 12 years actually wasn''t a bad prediction. I had enough time before the Great War starts, so this time frame was acceptable, and maybe even good as there is still enough time even after the time frame is up, to improve. "Investing some Soul Coins isn''t that problem. With my current situation of the business in the Underworld, practically every house is buying weapons and armor from me, so Soul Coins are one of my last concerns. Use it well and speed up the training process." Currently, I owned practically the absolute majority of places, where weapons and armor and other stuff for the army were manufactured. So everyone that was arming their forces was buying it from me, and coins were just flowing into my pocket. Even the quality of weapons produced by my factories increased, though not as good as mass-produced weapons like those by dwarves in Nidavelir, it was still far better compared to old devil ones. Chapter 15 - Arcanotechnology "You can go, General Borke." After finishing the discussion of important topics with General, I let him go, as I wanted to focus on other things that required my attention. One of the most prominent ones was the creation of a potion that would break my physical limits. "Architect, how are your calculations going?" [Slowly, it will take seven days to complete such a complex potion refinement process. Unfortunately, your library doesn''t have enough books on Alchemy, so my database is rather limited. I need to work with the knowledge that is available, and some parts of it, need to be changed to suit the creation of this potion, as it is from General Level Monster.] "Tch. Unfortunately, devils don''t have enough materials for proper alchemy. Maybe some Houses have it for Potioneering, but for refinement of pills, that knowledge is only at hands of Pantheons and Celestial Court. I will need to make a trip to the Three Realms at some point. They have tons of knowledge that would be useful to us." I said out of loud. Afterward, I fell into deep thought, as I was thinking about something. "Architect, take out the Project Arachne. It should be optimized by now, right?" [Are you sure, sir?] "Yes. Even if I construct some basic drones, they would be good for some menial tasks, I need to create and maintain a laboratory. They would be proto-type for the Arcanotechnology. Another advantage our race has but wasn''t even developed." Arcanotechnology was basically magical technology. Asgard mainly used it, they had developed their magical technology to the extreme. It allowed them to create vessels able to travel through the Dimensional Gap or energy-based weapons. It was no wonder, runes worked best with Arcanotechnology, Pantheons as Egyptian or Celtic also had a decent level of such technologies. Big G developed Sacred Gears based on that, basically, Sacred Gears are nothing more just very advanced Arcano Soul Weapons, tied to God''s System in Heaven. [Very well. With current materials, we could construct probably 100 Drones. Their firepower is abysmal, and their combat level should be only around Low-Class, depending on the quality of material and runes inscribed onto them.] Siad Architect, as I went to the work. There was an entire branch of magic, called Golemancy that was all about creating golems. My own invention was something similar and yet so different. My creations, were Automatons, mechanical constructs, that were enhanced by runes and worked on runes. For example, I didn''t need to control them manually, as they had some basic level of intelligence, they could be programmed to understand everything from basic orders to complex blueprints. Also, they could be controlled by Architect directly. Drone-Type was the basic unit of these Arcane Mechanical Automatons. They were used mainly to dig, work and construct or deconstruct things and objects. When I proposed this, I wasn''t aware that how annoying work this would be. Truth be told, it wasn''t that hard to construct one drone. They looked like a spider and were made from metal, ordinary ones found in the Underworld. With countless forges and blacksmiths, I had read them in several hours. The troublesome part was the runic inscription. There were three steps in the creation of Arcane Mechanical Automatons. The first step was to create a mechanical construct. That could be done by a skilled blacksmith. The second step was the inscription of runes and the creation of a runic matrix in "brain" of the automaton. The third step was to connect all rune points with the runic matrix in the brain and activate the automaton. The second and third steps were the hardest, and they must be done by me alone. Fortunately for me, I was well versed in Norse Magic, and my runework was very good, so I was completing the inscription process fast and without any mistakes. The first drone took me one hour to make, as I was especially careful when inscribing the runes onto the body of the automaton. When creating the Runic Matrix, I needed to be even more careful, because if I make a single mistake, it could easily explode. "When I finish these drones, the first thing I will make is Factory. Hopefully, these drones could do inscription process instead of my, and maybe even creation of Runic Matrix." The death toll of devils in the Great War was counted in hundreds of millions, probably reaching several billion, so it would be better to use golems or automatons for battles, they could lessen casualties. And in the future, it would mean more devils survived and when Evil Pieces are invited, we won''t be dependent on them. Evil Pieces were useful, for example, we could get Sacred Gear users, talented humans, or members of other factions that went rouge or left. On the other side, they were used to enslave other species and members of other Pantheons. They were created mainly for the repopulation of devils, which was stupid in my opinion. If we save enough population in the Great War, and the Civil War would be solved with a Coup, I could pressure for Evil Pieces to be given only to an extremely small amount of people. In canon, every High-Class Devil had set, I planned to give them only to Ultimate-Class devils, that would obtain recommendation letters and to Heirs of Houses, that passed an examination. With this move, we could reduce the number of reincarnated devils by more than 90% and also, motivate holders of Evil Pieces to reincarnate only people with strong potential. After working for three days straight, I finished all drones, and before me were 100 Arcane Mechanical Automatons, of Drone-Type, of Arachne-Class. "Architect, control the drones and let them construct underground place, big enough to house my magical experiments, and also production line for automatons." Chapter 16 - Potion Brewing Time After exactly one day, the underground complex was done. Drones were perfect workers, they had the highest possible effectiveness, they never got tired or wanted a wage. They didn''t need anything, just a magical power to keep them going, and that was no problem, as the ambient magic level in Underworld was very high. Not that high as dimensional worlds of some Pantheons, but it was still enough. "Excellent. Architect, how many Drones, could these little guys produce within one day?" I asked as I looked at the production line, which was currently being constructed by Drones. [50 Drones. While Drones being intelligent enough, they can''t do the runic inscription process and matrix creation process as fast as experienced runemaster.] Said Architect in my mind. Arachne Drones were small, they were around half a meter tall, and one meter in length. "Good... then start the production. We need as many of them as possible. Their utilization in the war would be immense. They could easily serve as either cannon fodder or construction force." I said as everything started to move. I was aware, that my little creation would become hot merchandise, among the nobles that would want to obtain suitable cannon fodder force, to save their soldiers. The production cost of one Arachne Drone was cheap, and I wasn''t planned to sell them at high prices, for many reasons. One of them was that part of my plan, was to have as many of them on the battlefield, another one was to gain allies, and another was just a long-time investment in the devil species as a whole. "Architect, start compiling a list of enemies, that are to be disposed of during the Great War. We don''t need unstable elements in the future Baator." I said with a malicious grin as I commanded Architect. The list included various nobility and houses that were known for their incompatibility with my ideas for unification. As I watched the Arachne Drones working like some hardworking bees for several next hours, I was notified by Architect that the potion formula was finally calculated, at last. "Can we go to the brewing process already?" [Yes. The first thing to do is to dissect the corpse, which would be done by Drones.] Said Architect, as I took out the corpse of General Level Monster Ape, and three drones immediately started the dissection process. They worked extremely fast, as they separated the skin, flesh, bones, blood, and organs of the monster. It was no wonder, as Architect was directly controlling little ones. After one hour, the entire process was done. [You will need only blood, heart, and bones, especially the bone marrow, and Nuclei.] I took everything Architect told me, and went to the cauldron. Nuclei was a crystallization of magical power that monsters created upon reaching the General Level. The main usage of the nuclei was either in Alchemy, or as a power source, or amplifier with spellcasting. [First the blood, then add in, that dragon blood you bought and mix it together. It needs to be refined and compressed into 1/100 of what it is currently.] There were tens of liters of blood, boiling in the massive cauldron, as I was infusing my Demonic Energy with the cauldron, regulating the process, where the blood would basically compress, or rather the energy from the blood would be compressed. This step took more than 10 hours, till the cauldron was almost empty, and only a small part remained. When I looked at the blood that was boiling there now, I felt the energy from it, as it was practically radiating and shining to all sides. [Use the Heart Blood of that Ape and drop in the Nuclei. Activate the runic stimulation to the maximum. Afterward, add an extract from the Demonic Flower and other herbs, I had prepared for the potion.] As Architect was instructing me, I noticed behind me was Arachne Drone, with the rest of the resources the Architect was talking about. Various vials, with an extract from rare herbs that were bought by my subordinates for this potion. I added all Heart Blood that the heart of the General Level Ape could provide me and dropped the Nuclei of the monster into the cauldron. At the same time, I quickly activated the runic matrix over the cauldron, which started regulating the huge energy storm that was taking place in the cauldron, as I dropped Nuclei of Ultimate-Class being into a pool of liquid full of magical power. Thankfully, for my heavenly or devil''s luck, the runic matrix controlled it perfectly, and nothing bad happened. Cauldrons tended to explode rather often. After I added those extracts from various herbs, I closed the cauldron and left it be, for the next day, as Architect instructed me to do. "I wanted to ask, what is the difficulty of this potion?" [This thing could be classified as Master-Level Potion. If not for my precise calculations and instruction, you would have never brewed it.] Answered Architect, with only what I can call... pride. Still... he was right, pioneering was exactly that hard, if you have something like A.I. Chip with impossible advanced A.I. that calculated every possible step, and navigated you through the entire process. Still, I will stay with my runes, I didn''t mind creating some potion from time to time, but it isn''t my thing. As time flew by, one day passed and Architect said that I need to check up on the cauldron. When I opened it, I was surprised, that what was left, approximately 100ml of pulsating black-crimson liquid was located on the bottom of the cauldron. [Now, just bring some vial, fill it, and left it to rest in a magically saturated area for another day. Afterward, your potion is officially done.] Instructed me, Architect. When I asked my, why the resting part, he answered, that the potion could absorb ambient magic right now, so it will boost up the quality by some amount if I left it in a magically saturated area. Chapter 17 - Potions taste bad... and Magic The next day, exactly 24 hours later, after I brewed the potion, I was finally ready to drink it and break the limits of my physical strength. My drone production was going well, I had now 150 Arachne Drones, and currently, I ordered them to expand the production line, to reach production of Drones at least 500 per day, meaning expanding it by 10 times already. I looked at the potion, grimaced a little, and gulped it down in one go. It tasted horrible, I heard that majority of potions tasted like shit, and apparently, it was true. When I drank the potion, I immediately started feeling its effect, as my entire body was like it was on fire. My muscles were pulsating, as they were absorbing the energy from the potion, and even my bones hurt like hell when the energy from the potion was being absorbed by them. After ten minutes, I felt that pain was lessened, but it still hurt like hell. But alas, I felt the immense strength flowing through my body, as each cell in my body was absorbing the energy from the potion, being refined and strengthened. What was even more shocking, my Demonic Energy reserves expanded by a significant amount, something I didn''t foresee. "Architect... scan my body." I said, after another hour, when I felt that majority of the potion was already digested and my body reached a High-Class level of power in terms of physique. I felt countless times stronger compared to before I drank the potion, and I was curious about the exact advancement in my strength. [Class: High Demonic Energy: 96 Strength: 78 Agility: 75 Vitality: 60 Also, the potion energy is not still fully digested and full absorption would take around one month, so your physical strength would rise during this one month. To maximalize the effect, I would advise increasing your physical training to the extreme.] I looked at the scan as I heard the voice of the Architect. It was understandable, that my body wasn''t able to digest all of that at once, I will need some time, my body would also get a bit stronger. Now my physique was comparable to average dragons, meaning weak dragons. Dragons were one of the most powerful creatures here, besides Gods. They had terrifying physiques and enormous magical abilities. The heavy majority of dragons were of High-Class, and they could easily best those in the same rank as them if they were another being. While I was not a close combat fighter myself, it was good to have a strong physique. I wouldn''t be vulnerable as most of the long-range combatants, and also, my body could then easily hold more Demonic Energy. "Architect, start control all Drones to focus fully on production. By end of the month, I need to have 10,000 Arachne Drones ready." I said to Architect, as I was leaving the underground complex to take a bath. [It shall be done.] "Also... start calculations for the Magic System." *** One month later Time really flew like water, after one month I spend studying magic, I noticed that all my 10,000 Arachne Drones were already created, and were like some small spider army. Most of them were just Low-Class cannon fodder, but their true value wasn''t a combat or firepower, rather their construction abilities. To achieve that, I needed to have as much as possible magic knowledge about Devil Magic, Norse Magic, and also Human Calculation Magic. Human Magic, was created by Merlin, based on his observations of Devil Magic and several other Magic Systems belonging to different Pantheons. He then created a Magic System based on mathematical equations and calculations, where one with enough calculations of magical power could shape it to form spells. My ambition was to fuse these three systems into one, or rather to take their strong aspects and advantages and create a wholly new Magic System. If possible, I wanted to complete the first stages of the Magic System before the Great Wars starts, as it would greatly boost up the power of the Devil Race, only applicable for the weaker devils. For Satan-Class or Super-Devils, it won''t make difference, as I can''t create something like that if I myself am not at that level of strength or mastery over magic. I even sent my trusted subordinates, to loot and kill human magical organizations or families and steal their knowledge. Humans were weak even with magic, but to be sure, I assigned two of my generals that were on Ultimate-Class to lead the operation and get as many magic tomes, grimoires, and books as possible. Everything then went straight to my library, as Architect was scanning each book, continuously expanding his database. I also was buying many of these books from other Pillars, as many of Pillars had countless magic tomes and similar things, just getting dust in their libraries, so most of them were eager to sell those books for a few Soul Coins or Arachne Drones. What idiots. With these new additions, I was able to lay a stable foundation for my Magic System. What was surprising, my I have attained Master-ranked mastery over Devil Magic and Expert-rank mastery over Norse Magic, after reading through all those tomes which I deemed important to learn personally. I also tried Human Magic, surprisingly it was rather easy, as I was able to do mathematical calculations easily even without Architect''s help. Apparently, Devils had more suitable brain development for such things, if they tried it. In regard to human magic, I had practically cheated my way to have Grandmaster-ranked mastery thanks to Architect''s help. Chapter 18 - Talk of Baels Bael Castle, Territory of the House of Bael Bael Castle, of the House of Bael, was one of the most secure places in the entire Underworld. Not only in its robust and enormous construction but more importantly the magical protection, that was created from more than fifty barriers cast over it. Currently, Venelana Bael was walking through the empty halls of the Castle, as she was going to visit her grandfather Zekram Bael, and also give him the message from her fiance¨¦, who wished to meet First Great King. "Come in." Sounded male voice, from behind the wooden door. Zekram Bael was a middle-aged-looking man with black hair and peaceful violent eyes. He wore simple, yet noble-looking attire, that strengthened the already strong aura of dignity that was exuding from him. First Generation Bael, The First Great King and the right-hand of the Great Satan Lucifer, the primogenitor of all devils. His political power excluded even the other three Satans, as he practically controlled the majority of the 72 Pillar Houses. Currently, he was sitting in his study room, drinking tea while reading a magic grimoire. "So, what do you wish to say, Vena, normally during this time of day, you would be practicing magic or physical exercises." Asked Zekram. When Venelana returned from the Sunset Monster Mountain Range she started training, even more, especially focusing on her magic and physique, as she was too feeble by her words. "When I was in the Sunset Monster Mountain Range, I have met my fiance¨¦." Started Venelana, as Zekram looked a bit surprised. He didn''t think much about her fiance¨¦, considering him like any other Pillar Heir automatically useless. "And?" "I was surprised." "Suprised of what exactly girl?" "Where to start, maybe from the moment when I saw him using Dark Light." Said Venelana to him, she got permission from Zeoticus to say this to her grandfather, as he needed for something that would catch his attention to meet him for sure. When Zekram heard that, he looked like he was hit by 9 rounds of lightning bolts all over. "That... should be impos... Rayla. Yes, Rayla." Muttered Zekram silently. "Who is she?" Asked Venelana slowly. "Rayla Lilian Lucifer, daughter of the Lucifer and Lilith, the younger sister of Rizevim Livan Lucifer. She disappeared many many years ago, after getting into an argument with her father over something. We assumed that she left the territory of Devil Race and went to the dimensional world of another Pantheon. Who would have known, she was got together of previous Lord Gremory and even birthed a child." Answered Zekram after a long silence. "Is she still..." Asked him when looking at his granddaughter. "No, died after giving birth. I am sorry." Said Venelana quietly. She knew from Zeoticus that his mother died after he was born. "I want to meet with him." "He wishes for the same thing." "Why?" "By his words to discuss future of next generations and devils as a whole." Answered Venelana as Zekram''s face darkened. "So he noticed that too... hmm..." "Noticed what exactly?" "He noticed that under there is a problem with us. Our leadership, Four Great Satans, are obsessed with a goal that is impossible to achieve. The world dominance is a pipe dream, maybe if Three Factions united as one, there could be a chance, but now it is night impossible." While Zekram holds a great deal of respect for the Satans, he was also aware of their rather self-destructive tendencies and the upcoming Great War. All of them were hell-bent on world domination, while they weren''t able to defeat even God of their Pantheon. It was understandable, as the disparity between them was too great, Big G was too strong, probably already on the level of Ophis, a true Being of Law. ''Currently, in Draconic Deus, there were only several publicly known Begins of Law. Most notorious were of course, Great Red and Ophis. Then there was also Trihexa, while it was Being of Law, it was overwhelmed by Chaos and went mad. From Pantheons, existences on level of Being of Law were Christian Big G, Shiva of Hindu, and Jade Emperor of Celestial Court in China.'' Thought Zekram in his head. For Christian Pantheon as a whole, it was good that Big G was Being of Law, at least it protected them from foreign threats. While Three Factions often attacked each other, they also often ganged up together when they faced external threats. ''Fortunately Great Red and Ophis are interested in leaving Dimensional Gap, Trihexa has been sleeping for a long time. They aren''t a problem. Leaving only Shiva and Jade Emperor. From what spies have found, there is conflict in Hindu Pantheon, between Shiva and Indra breeding. Jade Emperor hasn''t left Celestial Palace for several thousand years.'' "We are becoming vulnerable. Without the existence of someone on the level of Big G, our Pantheon become vulnerable for those who are on the same level. Fortunately, most of those people are interested more in increasing their strength, like Jade Emperor he created cultivation for humans, interesting, but they can''t reach higher than Early Ultimate-Class." While cultivators were interesting projects of the Jade Emperor, the highest cultivation stage that was achievable, was only as strong as the Early stage of Ultimate-Class. It was understandable, as Jade Emperor created it based on bastardizing the divine energy of Gods. Without ascending as God, they would be stuck at that level of strength till death. Of course, every Pantheon was very careful, when promoting a person to Godhood. Still, the souls of the cultivators are very good for devils, as they are stronger than ordinary mortal souls. "Send a letter to the House of Gremory, that I would visit next week." Chapter 19 - Experiments and Letter "It shall be done, grandfather." "And also prepare some gift, on our first visit to the House of Gremory. What shall be suitable?" Asked Zekram as he looked at his granddaughter. "Magic Tomes or Grimoires. Zeoticus is fanatical magic researcher, especially on runic magic." Answered Venelana. "Hmm..." Zekram then summoned old looking book, that looked creepy with its pitch-black leather cover. "This thing would do... who knows how strong he will become if he learns Abyssal Runes." Said Zekram as he looked at the book. He himself found it thousands of years ago, only several centuries after he was born. He quickly found out, it wasn''t of the universe, as it came from another world. Things like that didn''t happen often, but if someone is lucky, he could find some things from different Universe, when Space-Time created a portal through Dimensional Gap appear. After learned Abyssal Runes, he found out, it was a very strong runic language, even superior to that of Aesir Runes that were used by Asgard. What Zekram didn''t know, was that Abyssal Runes would soon become the part that was used to create a whole new magic system. *** [Architect, start the analysis process.] I said as I was going to try the first spell of the new magic system I have created. "Okey, casting process of the Zero-Tier Spell, Fireball starts." It was only an experiment, so I would be glad if it didn''t explode in my face. The first step was the usage of Devil Magic. With the usage of Devil Magic, first thing is to create an image of Fireball with demonic power, afterward, is the creation of a spell matrix based on the model of the fireball created from Devil Magic. With the already existing model, the creation of a spell matrix, from runes is easier. To create a perfect spell, and fuse both of them, model in my head created from Devil Magic and Runic Matrix, I am using calculations to achieve as high precision and perfect fusion as possible. Soon enough new type of fireball was created. It was white in color, different compared to the orange-yellow when created with Devil Magic. [Spell Analyzation complete. Stability of 74.65%, compatibility between Devil Magic and Aesir Runes is low, creating destabilization of the spell.] That was something I was already expecting. Unless all spells were of 100% stability, my magic system was useless. The main problem was an incompatibility between the nature of Devil Magic, which came from Demonic Power, and Aesir Runes, which were a mix of energy similar to Divine Power and unknown energy. If I had a runic language that was closer in nature to the Devil Magic, but that would be very hard to get. "How is the power of the spell?" [Ordinary Fireball created with usage of Devil Magic, has hotness of 1,000 degrees of Celsius, this one has even hotter than Fireball created with pure usage of Norse Magic, which was 1,500 degrees of Celsius. This one is reaching a temperature of 1,700 degrees of Celsius. Versatility and maneuverability of the spell are higher compared to the Norse Magic variant.] Finished Architect the spelling analysis. "Hmm... if I increase the stability of the spell, then we could consider the experiment a success. I need to search for suitable runic language." I said to myself, as I was thinking about the results of the experiment. Still, for the start, the results were pretty good. My initial idea of merging three magic systems appeared to be working rather well. With devil magic model creation in my mind, creating a runic matrix is faster by two times. With help of calculations taken from human magic, these two things could fuse perfectly, creating a wholly new spellcasting method. Now it leaves my only stability problem. If I don''t solve this, I cannot proceed to experiment with higher-tiered spells, that have higher destructiveness. Instability with those spells should be higher compared to Zero-Tier. If initial spells, like those of Zero-Tier I have created, have the stability of more than 74%, then the next Tier, I have called Combat-Tier, should have stability only around 45 to 55%, which could be probably pretty dangerous if it exploded into my face, as the destructiveness of those spells, is high to take down the smaller building. For rest of the day, I have decided to stop training and retreat to the library to read magic books. For me, it was rather relaxing and every time I did it, not only I was resting but also getting stronger, as my knowledge about magic was becoming higher. As I was walking to the library, I saw a Head Butler of the Fuerig coming to me. "My Lord. There is a letter from the House of Bael." Said the man, as he gave me a letter sealed with not sign of House of Bael, but it was a bit different, from what I recognized it was a modified Bael Clan sign, used only by First Bael, Ancestor Zekram. "Thanks... you can go." Among the Lords, including Four Great Satans, only a few Houses have elite trained soldiers. From what I know, the best armies, with the best training and strength level, were of House of Lucifer, Lucifuge, Bael, and Agares. Many of the devil nobles didn''t care much about their own legions and their soldiers were untrained or even outright weak... this would in the future lead to countless death. Maybe if I can get the help of Zekram, he has greater influence in the devil society than most. Chapter 20 - Meeting with Ancestor Bael During this week, I have spent most of my time in the library, as always. I was studying magic to complete my Tier Magic System, as I called it. Not a very creative name, I was aware of that. Theoretically, I currently have two Tiers completed from the Tier Magic System. One was Zero-Tier, which could be cast by any Novice Magician, meaning he has Novice-ranked mastery. Spells of the Zero-Tier are either without destructive abilities or with weak destruction abilities, used mainly in one on one combat. The second was Adjustable-Tier. This one was a bit complicated, but the base premise was that the Tier of the spell was determined by the amount of Demonic Power/Magical Power used during the casting process. Such spell was, for example, Gravity Fall. Based on how much Demonic Power I used in the casting process, this spell could have the power of Zero-Tier or higher Tiers, which are right now purely conceptual. I have also trained a bit with my Clan Trait, Dark Light, and felt that soon I would be able to reach Exper-ranked mastery, meaning, I could create a half-open Gate of Babylon. "Vena was right... it appears your love for magic is fanatical indeed." Said a voice, belonging to a man. When I turned around, I immediately recognized the person who came. The First Great King has come for a visit. Apparently, he found his way to the library. "It is an honor to meet the First Great King." I said as I bowed deeply. ''Architect, if you scan him, what is the possibility that he will notice that?'' [Very high. Though I can scan his energy ripples, to detect his class, while not that accurate.] ''Do it.'' [Scanning process complete. Demonic Energy: 900 to 1,000 The subject is probably around Pinnacle of Satan-Class] Said Architect in my head. Damm, he was strong. Probably the strongest devil after Original Satans, they should be Super-Devils, though I don''t know what stage exactly, but not Pinnacle, maybe Early or Intermediate Stages. If not, they would have better chances at defeated Big G after he was exhausted from sealing Trihexa. Maybe Lucifer was the Pinnacle of Super-Devil Class. "We can sit." Motioned Zekram, as we sat down, as he broke me out of my process of thoughts. "I have brought you something as a gift, for the commemoration of our first meeting." Said Zekram as he took out the book titles Abyssal Runes and gave it to me. When I noticed that book I was shocked and soon my shock turned into ecstasy. "I obtained that book when I was still very young, probably 4,500 years ago. It fell into the Underworld, through the space-time crack in the Dimensional Gap, with several other things, that unfortunately were not that valuable. Abyssal Runes are very compatible with Devil Magic, and could greatly boost up your combat prowess." Explained Zekram to me, as I was tempted to start reading the book right now, but unfortunately for my researcher tendencies, now there was business to talk about. "So... what do you think about the current situation young Lucifer?" Asked Zekram with more emphasis on the word Lucifer. "What exactly? Incoming Great War? Worsening situation of our Pantheon as whole or terrible tendencies of Satans?" I named several things that came to my mind. "We could start with the War. During my journey here, I have noticed, that you have already started training your army to be ready for the War. That is good, the quality of your soldiers is increasing steadily, give several years, nad Underworld would have another elite army." Praised Zekram. "You should be aware of it far better, Lord Zekram. While Four Great Satans, have built the Devil Race as we know it today, they also lead it to its doomsday. And this war, between our Three Factions, would be one for sure." I stated my opinion while waiting for Zekram to say something. I knew that he respected deeply Four Great Satans, but he was also a pragmatic person, who wanted the preservation of the devil race at any cost. World Domination tendencies of the Satans were self-destroying for us. "That is certainly true, but alas what can we do? In front of the strength of Four Satans, that reached Super-Devil Class, we are not their match and could only dance as they order. Our best chance is that all Three Factions receive enormous casualties that would end in cease fire." Said Zekram after a short time of thinking. "You should be aware that this is no solution. Aside from Rizevim, all other descendants, especially Bidleid Bashalun Beelzebub, Tsufaame Tereaku Leviathan, and Damaidosu Zereikel Asmodeus are as hell-bent on world domination as their parents. Even if we survive the war, then there is a huge chance for Civil War erupting." "I am aware of that fact. Then our only chance would be to dispose of tumor in our ranks before it grows or Coup before the civil war breaks when it happens. Still... it would be a shame for bloodlines of Leviathan, Asmodeus, and Beelzebub to be lost." Apparently, we had similar thoughts with Zekram. With the last sentence I agreed fully, their Clan Traits were powerful, but I had done some research on the Clan Traits and bloodline, maybe with enough research, I would be able to transplant the blooldine. "What if that was not the case? What if there was the possibility of transplantation of bloodline from one to another." "Oh?" "I have done some research on our devil bloodlines, and I am confident that with enough research and experimentation, I should be able to achieve such feat. If only I had some living specimen." I had done only some research on my body. Getting some living specimen with Clan Trait, was extremely hard as all criminals were managed by Archduke Agares or Great King Bael, especially when it came to Nobility. "Hmm... that should not be that much of a problem. Catch a few useless descendants of Satans during the Great War. Most of their descendants are absolutely useless and weak, so nobody would think there is something wrong if two or three disappears, they would think they are weak. And Satans disdain everything weak, including their own blood." Chapter 21 - Discussion about the Future "That is a good idea. What are our prospects of the future for the war Lord Zekram? I have personally thought about weakening Church and Grigori on the Earth. We could release some of their confidential information to the several other Pantheons, they will do the dirty work for us. You should have surely thought about something like this." I said as we were sitting and drinking tea in my library. "Indeed. The Church is a great weapon of Heaven, though they are also, heavily relying on Heaven. If support of Heaven stops, they would have great problems with defending their own territories, especially those that were taken from other Pantheons, especially in northern countries and easter countries. Additionally, we could weaken their supply of Faith, meaning, they won''t have as much of Divine Crystals, that are used to cultivate angels." Similarly, as Devils were feeding on souls and negative emotions to gain quickly strength, Angels could do the same with Divine Crystals. Those were basically crystalized faith power, which is created by gathering it from followers. It is commonly used by gods to strengthen their Divine Power or create divine messengers, such as Angels. Olympians use it to create various monsters, Aesir on the other side to strengthen Valkyries or Einherjar, and many many other uses. They could be used in Divine Magic or Holy Magic to boost up its power. And most importantly, they are used in strengthening the Divine Kingdom. That was the reason, why Heaven was practically an impenetrable fortress in Draconic Deus. The amount of Divine Crystals, used in strengthening Heaven, was eclipsing other Pantheons easily. "I have thought about selling this information to Asgard, Takagahamara, Vampires, and Olympians. Those prideful greeks have lost many followers to the Church, and the same could be said about Aesir. Vampires would be glad to take revenge upon Church and Takagamara wants to cleanse their territory from the influence of Church that is lurking in Japan." I stated my opinion, about which Pantheon and Faction should contact. "Problematic part is, someone needs to go there and negotiate. It would be best if we went there personally. Most problematic ones to communicate with are Olympians and Vampires, so I will contact them. They are not something young devil should bother with." Said Zekram, and I just nodded in agreement and gratefulnmess. I was aware it was very hard to communicate with stubborn Greek Gods, which was probably more arrogant than Four Satans altogether. Vampires were the same, and I didn''t even know their lcoation. On the other hand, communication with Asgard and Takagahamara was far easier. From what I heard, Odin was a pretty reasonable god, and the same could be said about Amaterasu who was God-Queen of Shinto Pantheon. "So. That will leave me with Asgard and Takagahamara. I will make it done. Should we also, exchange intelligence, we have gathered? The more damage Grigori and Heaven suffer from hands of other Pantheons, the better." I know it sounded a bit hypocritical. I was aware of the fact, as weaker we got, I mean whole Three Factions, the worse situation in the future would be for us. On the other hand, nobody would stop the upcoming war just because, I had several very good arguments, that we could be easily targeted of Factions that have Beings of Law. Nobody would listen to me, and there is a high probability of being branded as a traitor. So for now, the only thing I could do is follow the flow. "Young Lucifer... what do you think, we should do if hypothetically Four Satans perish in the war?" Asked me Zekram with a glint in his eyes, while I fell into deep thought. "Kill their descendants, for reason mentioned, and ally ourselves with species that are not part of any factions, as Dragon Clans and Oni Tribes to create a strong nation. During the war, we will lose countless devils, and after the war, I don''t doubt descendants of the Satans would be hell-bent on continuing the war. That needs to be prevented at all costs. This war isn''t about who will win, as I think nobody will win. Everyone will suffer, subsequently, creating a ceasefire to recuperate losses on lives. My thought is, there are many dragon flocks that would be a great addition to us if we were to create a new nation upon the ashes of the old one. Same could be said about Oni Tribes living in the Underworld. Even in nature, they are similar to us." Just one word from Great Red and it would be done. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for us, we could recruit them to create a Faction together. When you think about it, Dragons are pretty similar to us, Devils. Both of our species are power-hungry, we want to be stronger than anybody, we are greedy and we are also l.u.s.tful. Just a great combination together. Zekram was thinking deeply about what I said. He was in a deep dilemma. He deeply respected Four Satans, for what they have done, they have built the Devil Race and cultivated it where it is now. On the other side, he was a pragmatist and was aware of the fact, that they are leading us toward our death, albeit slowly, but for sure. He was aware that if we continued slowly, devils would be destroyed either by other factions or in endless civil wars that would come. "I have decided." Said a Zekram with a deep and stern voice. Chapter 22 - End of the Discussion "On what exactly?" I asked carefully, as I continued observing Zekram. "If Original Four perishes in the war, I will support your idea for the new form of government. If they don''t, I will remain neutral in your endeavors and will not help either side." Stated Zekram slowly. For him, it was won to win in both situations. He wanted to see and then he would support the winner. "That sounds acceptable for me, Lord Zekram. If I may ask, how strong are descendants of the Originals?" I said. "Lucifer only has one, Rizevim, including you there are two members of the Lucifer Clan. Rizevim is already of the higher ends of the Satan-Class, soon enough, he would even be stronger than his father. Though the man himself doesn''t interest in ruling or anything else even if a bit connected with governing. The other three Houses of Leviathan, Asmodeus, and Beelzebub are weak. Only their inheritors are worth of something, while branch members are absolutely worthless." Stated Zekram. I wasn''t surprised about Rizevim. He was around 230 or so years old, and was already nearing Super-Devil Class and soon would reach it. It was terrifying talent. About others, it wasn''t that surprising, I remembered that in canon, the last direct descendants were weaklings, barely classified as Ultimate-Class, and couldn''t even properly use their Clan Traits. "I see." "Only shame that Rizevim didn''t inherit Dark Light. Rayla on the other hand did but unfortunately, she is dead. Dark Light is powerful, and I also, one of the reasons why Lucifer could easily restrain other Satans and force them to obey his commands." Siad Zekram. It was logical, as Dark Light was a mix of Demonic Element and Holy Element. It was lethal to Devils such as it was to Angels and Fallen. Lucifer with this, as elemental advantage could suppress other devils with ease. "I will. Also, Lord Zekram I have something to sell, that would be very useful in the upcoming war." I said as I summoned one of the Arcane Mechanical Automatons of the Arachne-type. It only took several minutes for it to arrive. I wanted to sell them to Zekram for several reasons. They are good cannon fodder for taking hits, and also wonderful construction workers, that worked more efficiently on the battlefield compared to the traditional workforce. Devils, such as many other races during the war had a workforce, that worked on the frontline to create basic military outposts, fortresses, watchtowers, magic towers, and various other things. It mainly consisted of death sentence criminals, prisoners, or slaves that were captured. Slaves were mainly rogues from other factions. Still, that was unreliable and tended to rebel or slack off. "This thing here is called Arcane Mechanical Automaton. I belong to the Arachne-type Drone, as they are great to balance between office, defense, support, and construction. While their combat abilities aren''t something great, just around Low-Class, their true value lies in construction abilities and cannon fodder tank abilities. You see, to destroy one of these Arcane Mechanical Automatons, you need firepower comparable to Mid-Class, as they are rather sturdy and their runic instructions allow them to defend against energy-based attack very well. Also, as basic golems, they don''t need to rest and can continue working as long as the runic matrix is undamaged and can convert ambient magic." I introduced my creation. I also planned to create a Warrior as there would be a need for a Drone that is primarily oriented. For now, it was without my capabilities, as I lacked materials for such feat for now. I relocated most of my resources available, to producing weapons and armors. Thanks to that, gold was constantly flowing into my pocket, and now I was one of the ric.h.e.s.t devils in the Underworld. Fortunately, nobody did anything about that, as the only thing I needed to do was bribery. "I must admit, that I am interested. They would be a good boost for every army, as we don''t need to bother with Dammed Ones. How are they commanded and how many can you produce? I want to order them for House of Bael." Dammed Ones were a collective name for expendables working force. "They can be easily controlled by issuing commands. One of the Drones is called Commander Drone, you will open a runic matrix and basically bind with Commander Drone. Then you can easily just tell Commander Drone what you want. Commander Drone, in turn, will instruct ordinary Drones, as they have a basic level of intelligence." I explained to Zekram how they worked. "Splendid. I want one million of them. Is that possible?" Asked him as I was shocked by the sheer number of them. "Yes, but I need time and materials. A lot of materials. If I have enough, your Drones would be ready within 4 to 5 months." Production of drones was easy, currently, I have 50,000. If all of them work, they could create around 10,000 per day, if they work at maximum. The problem are materials, I have nowhere enough to create such large number, I was glad, I managed to boost up the production speed, as all of them now had experiences and perfect method on how to make other drones. "Hmm... that is indeed problematic. Most of the places are already being used in Underworld, only leaving places like Dragon Mountains or Forbidden Regions, but that is not possible. Maybe you can look for juvenile dimensional space in the Dimensional Gap." Chapter 23 - Dimensional Gap of the Astral Boundary "Dimensional Gap?" I muttered out of loud. "Dimensional Gap is sealed space belonging to the larger one, called Astral Boundary. It isn''t known who sealed it, but not even Beings of Law in these words cannot break and reach the wider space, called Astral Boundary. From what I collected, that sooner or enough, the seal would collapse and Dimensional Gap would be once again merged with Astral Boundary." Explained Zekram to me. As I thought about that, it sounded logical and explained why there weren''t existences above Apocalypse-Class. "How large is Dimensional Gap compared to the Astral Boundary?" I asked out of curiosity. "Dimensional Gap with its tens of planes, are just a small speck of the dust in almost infinity evergrowing Astral Boundary. Many Pantheons have countless books about Astral Boundary, from the time of the Primordial Gods." I needed to learn more. If it was true what Zekram was saying, that when the seal that was separating Dimensional Gap from the rest of the Astral Boundary collapsed, then I fear our entire world would be easy prey. As he talked about it, I also formed my own theory of who actually put up the seal. It was highly possible, it was Primordial Gods of various Pantheons of surrounding Planes. Primordial Gods were mighty beings, but they weren''t omnipotent. Most of them were Half-Step of Apocalypse Class and many of that Class, meaning they were beings of Law. I wonder, what enemy was able to frighten them to the point to create Dimensional Gap. While it would also explain why all Primordial Gods have disappeared from the Draconic Deus and none are remaining. If my theory is correct, Astral Boundary must have countless beings on the level of Apocalypse-Class and even higher, so Primordial Gods of Draconic Deus, who were aware they were weaker decided to hide. While they may sacrifice their lives, they could reform thousands of years later. As long as their Divine Spark and Divine Body were intact, then they were alright. The body of god was a priceless treasure for Alchemy, Magic, and other disciplines. "Are other Pantheons doing something similar? Searching for resources in the Dimensional Gap?" I asked. Generally, Gods shouldn''t be able to leave the world or plane, where they ascended as gods, that was one of the ultimate rules of existence. Still, there always existed some way. "Some. Most notable is Asgard. Aesir is very different from the other Pantheons, as they are not originally inhabitants of the Draconic Deus, they just somehow bound their realm, Asgard to the Draconic Deus, becoming the inhabitant in the process so they have their way around those rules. Their gods could leave Draconic Deus for a prolonged time, before getting weaker over time. What do you think their Nine Realms are? They are conquered different worlds. Other Pantheons while not sending their Gods, they tend to sent armies and their strongest warriors from time to time." Draconic Deus was limited when it came to resources. There were too many factions, too many Pantheons that fought for each piece of territory. So to prevent useless fights, they searched for resources either in the Underworld, as it was countless times bigger than Earth and only a small part was ruled by someone. The second option was to search the Gap for new worlds. "Don''t worry, If I see someone from other Pantheons I will kill them if they are weaker. If not I will just order to retreat." I said wisely. During situations like these, it would be extremely hard to find a real penetrator of the attack in the Dimensional Gap, so if I find someone with army and power weaker than myself I could safely kill. If not, the retreat was always an option. "Good. I will send several of my magicians with coordinates to open up the passageway. Also, Vena would arrive here after several days, she wanted to tell you. And maybe you can take her with you on the expedition. Good opportunity to spend a time together, not talking about the fact she is good combatant, shortly reaching an Ultimate-Class." Said Zekram as he looked at me. "Maybe it will be better to post tone the expedition till both of us are Ultimate-Class. I will be reaching the Class soon, I am already on the verge. It will be much safer." I said and Zekram nodded in agreement. "Then I will send everything after you reach the Ultimate-Class. Dimensional Gap and Planar Conquests are dangerous, so better be careful now than sorry later." Stated Zekram with a wise voice. Taking Venelana with me was a good idea. We could spend more time together, and she would be an Ultimate-Class soon, so I get another powerful combatant for free. With me, there are two and I will also take two of my generals, altogether four Ultimate-Class combatants. That wasn''t bad if we are talking about a plane where is no civilization or an extremely primitive and weak one. "It was a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to speak with you Lord Zekram." I said as I bid goodbye to the Zekram who teleported away from Castle Fuerig as he returned back to his domain. When he left, I was pretty satisfied with the results of my discussion with him. Now my focus turned on other things that needed attention. The magic study, manufacturing of Arcane Mechanical Automatons, and preparation for the first Planar Conquest. I felt, that the world, he talked about wasn''t that weak and new. It was a test of my abilities. He wouldn''t send Venelana to somewhere that was too strong for her to handle, so his proposition to take her with me meant that, the world wasn''t too strong. And it probably had Ultimate-Class beings. "Old schemer. But I like challenges." Chapter 24 - Cheated by old man After finishing the meeting, I immaterially called all of my five Generals and gave them my orders. The first one was to double the numbers of my army, so each legion would be consisting of 200,000 soldiers. Meaning altogether 5,2 million. It wasn''t big enough to compare to some more militaristic Houses, but it was a nice number. During the Great War, a number of devils that fought there numbered in billions, or rather casualties were in billions. Second thing, I informed them about my plan for small planar conquest and ordered for an army to increase the training regime by x10. I also invested a lot of Soul Coins to buy precious potions and pills for soldiers. The third thing was about increasing the combat process of the Generals. The first thing I thought about was buying some high-grade magical equipment from other Pantheons, so I gave that responsibility to General Borke. I have also been thinking about the usage of Sacred Gears, but that possibility was not very realistic for several reasons. The first one was that currently Heaven was at its strongest and controlled tightly all Sacred Gears, all users were pawns and soldiers of Heaven. On top of that, Sacred Gears were tied to God''s System in Heaven, and it can know its current holder. Obtaining Sacred Gears when Big G is still alive, is just pure actions of courting death. Also, I personally disdained depending on the equipment to increase my power. Sacred Gear while it is basically Soul Weapon, still can be rendered useless. I also had the theory, that Big G, could directly control all of them, as he was their creator through God''s System. Rizevim had an ability called Sacred Gear Canceler, which worked on a relatively easy principle. It could nullify Sacred Gears of people who were weaker than the user, on the same level as the user... basically, it depended on the amount of energy used. I remembered that in canon it couldn''t nullify Diabolos Dragon mode of that perverted trash, as it was created with the power of Ophis, who was basically a being of law, far above Rizevim''s level. So, if he had such ability, it was respectable, that similar abilities, skills, spells, and methods existed in the infinite Astral Boundary. Still, while I don''t plan to use Sacred Gears in foreseeable future, at least not until, I found a way to completely sever them from God''s System, I won''t be using one. It is too dangerous, to leave something that is connected to Heaven to be bounded with your soul. Even though, I can later get some of them for my subordinates as they are pretty useful weapons. After Big G is dead, Heaven won''t have enough power to protect even the Church, not Sacred Gears, which were in comparison not that important with the source of their religion on Earth. So I can get a few of them. Getting them was though problematic. God''s System decided when the Sacred Gear would be bound to someone. Meaning, host of one Sacred Gear could appear only once for several centuries if unlucky. Searching for such a person, was also pretty hard. Heaven had it easy, they could just look into the System and know who is the host. Everyone else had it hard, as they needed to search for them. I have even decided on which of them to obtain. The first one was Telos Karma. While I didn''t plan on using it, this one was unique, as from what I heard about it, Telos Karma was built with the usage of infus.e.m.e.nt of Laws of Fate, thus capable of changing the probability of things. I don''t want to use it for a simple reason, I will rather study the Laws of Fate itself. If possible I also aimed to obtain Sephiroth Graal due to its usefulness in genetical manipulation and its ability to the usage of Laws of Creation, Life, and Soul. Other useful Sacred Gears were Annihilation Maker or Dimensional Lost. For me personally Incinerate Anthem for its ability to use the highest-grade Holy Flame. After the War, I can start my research upon Sacred Gears... maybe even compare notes with Azazel. I heard that even now that man was spending most of his time in research. Then I started to wonder if Grigori could be recruited for my plan... probably not after the war... but later who knows. Once Underworld is mainly under the control of the Devils, Fallen would be needed to be dealt off. Either by Grigori joining, expelling them, or annihilation. I sat in my study, as I was looking at the ceiling of the room and thinking about various things. There are currently many things to do, soon the war would start and I needed to be prepared as much as possible, to obtain the biggest gains. Additionally, I also needed to go visit Asgard and Takagamara to make a deal with the two Pantheons. Zekram would go to Olympus and Vampires. When I looked for information about the Asgard situation there wasn''t ideal. Apparently, Odin has got into conflict with his eldest daughter Hela, and their relationship was almost at the point of the war. From what I heard, God King of Aesir has decided to be a peace-loving fool for a foreseeable period. That wasn''t something I wanted to hear. Now I can see, why Zekram left it to me, I was cheated by that old man. Hela was molded by Odin to be his weapon of conquest, and now that man has decided to end wars in his sphere of influence, she was practically made redundant for him. God Queen Frigga, Prince Baldur, and Prince Thor have decided to remain neutral. Prince Loki is leaning towards Hela''s camp. So... who should I got, that only leaves me one option. She was pretty strong, pinnacle Intermediate Divinity Stage, same Class as old Zekram. She would also soon enough reach even Greater Divinity Stage. Maybe Odin also feels threatened, if she is like I read about her, it wouldn''t be weird for her to try to challenge him for the throne. Chapter 25 - Plans and Visit Leaving aside my thoughts about meeting Hela, and planning how to survive the meeting with her unscathed, I also needed to meet with Takagahamara gods. Fortunately for me, the situation there wasn''t bad, so it shouldn''t be much of a problem. When it came to obtaining more resources, I have also thought about exploring Draconic Deus, but not planet Terra, but rather the rest of the planets that were located in the Plane Draconic Deus. There is a lot of planets, that are untouched... probably. I don''t know if they really are, maybe there are other species living in the Draconic Deus, besides those in the center of the plane which was Earth. The problem here was the lack of the Void Sh.i.p.s or proper long-distance teleportation methods. While the teleportation methods could be easily devised, I saw the future in the Void Sh.i.p.s. They would be useful in the future, during traversing the Astral Boundary. "Architect bring out the blueprints for the Void Sh.i.p.s from my past life." I commanded my A.I. In my past life, our civilization was a very advanced one, capable of easily traversing void and stars, conquering worlds, and destroying other space-faring civilizations with ease. Mainly thanks to the fearsome advanced technology that Solar Federation possessed. Not advanced as those stupid pointy-eared bastards, it was enough to eliminate most of the enemies of humanity. [At once.] Said the mechanical voice in my head as I was looking through the currently available blueprints. What the Architect brought out, were the only ones, that I would be available to create with my current resources within Architect''s calculations. What was problematic, was the energy source. Here, I couldn''t use traditional energy sources and needed to adjust it to Arcanotechnology. Another problem would be FTL, Faster than Light speed. Aesir had similar vessels and they used some kind of crystallized energy converter as their energy source. Maybe, I can adjust Runic Matrix on the Arcane Mechanical Automatons, to work on a much larger scale, drawing the power directly from the Astral Boundary, in my case the Dimensional Gap, as it was still part of the Astral Boundary. "After the conquest of the newly birthed plane given by Zekram, construction of one Void Ship would be much easier. I can then explore Draconic Deus to the fullest." I grinned. Only Pantheon capable of something similar was Asgard, as Aesir were dedicated to the advanced their magical based technology, thus creating many wonders. So there won''t be a huge competition. Maybe I can ask Hela, how Asgard has progressed, but probably a lot, they should have controlling several planets already. I also understood the fact, why not many Pantheons were attempting to the same. When you compare the time needed to develop advanced magical technology, top the opening portal through the Dimensional Gap, then the last one is much easier and faster. "Architect, start calculating process on adjustments to the Lunar-Class Cruiser. I want it to be done within next year or two." [As you wish.] I was aware that such an advanced mathematical and magical project would take a long time, especially when Architect would be dedicated to doing other things aside from this one. I wasn''t in hurry. "Also, add an implementation of the Anti-Matter engines into the model, creating duel energy sources concept engine." I said after a short thought. Anti-Matter Weaponry was probably one of the most destructive in the arsenal of the Solar Federation Military. Fortunately for me, I was part of a team, that was tasked with researching more advanced usage of energy-based weapons and Anti-Matter weapons. [Then I will also start adjusting the blueprint to accommodate several Anti-Matter canons.] I wonder what has happened to my home universe if I really was in a different universe. Maybe my past home was some kind of sealed space just like Dimensional Gap is. Sometimes. While I was happy with my current life, especially due to my high social standing, personal power, and long lifespan, I was wondering how life was going in there. I don''t know even if the time flows exactly the same between the two Universes. I knew that the Laws of all existence were different, so maybe even time flew in different ways here and there. For example, here gods were real, magic was real. In my past life, I only heard rumors about beings called gods, they were just superstitions of various cultures and races. Same thing as Magic, though about that, some people theorised that what those arrogant pointed ears could do wasn''t purely because of technology, and there was sorcery mixed in, but I have never paid attention to it. After finishing these matters of replicating some technological wonders of my past life, especially the Void Sh.i.p.s, I have gone to study magic, once again. As a scientist and researcher, it was in my blood. As the time went by, soon enough one week passed by from when I started learning the Abyssal Runes from the book Zekram gave me. My Arcane Mechanical Automatons were working hard as bees, creating countless other Arcane Mechanical Automatons with every resource available. I have also given a blueprint for a weapon system for the Drones, so they would have weapons with the firepower of higher ends of the Low-Class. I planned to use those Drones as a combat force in the upcoming conquest. I wanted to know, how strong they would be. Unfortunately for me, probably 99% of the blueprints from the Architect''s database were completely useless without prior adjustments. Apparently, most of the energy sources used by the Solar Federation didn''t seem to work in this Universe. I think it is due to different Laws of the Universe or probably every Universe has Will that is forcing the Universe to evolve in a certain way, while simultaneously forbidding every other way. So If I want to replicate anything, I need to adjust it to work with "local" energy sources. It was annoying as hell. If not for that, I would have probably more advanced technology than Asgard, or at least on the same level. After a week passed I have realized something... Venelana was coming for a visit. I need to quickly take a bath and new clothes, as I have spent last week cooped up in the library again. Chapter 26 - Of Blood and War (1) At the same time with Zekram, Romania Romania was the ancestral home of the Vampire race after the first generation of the True Ancestors waged war on the Primordial Gods of the Greek Pantheon in ancient times and took it by force. Afterward, the Blood Lords went to deep sleep, never awakening in the past thousands of years. Zekram knew that True Ancestors were Beings of Law that arrived from Astral Boundary. Though Romania remained as the taboo land for Greeks and mostly for other Pantheons, as ruling Blood Lords were too strong, stronger than average Greater Divinity Stage God, and they liked blood of gods, for Vampires, especially for the Kindreds it was the fastest way to gain power. Blood Lords were the second generation of Kindreds, direct children of the True Ancestors. Greater Divinity God was the same as Super-Devil, and each Pantheon had at least several of such powerhouses, especially strong Pantheons had many of them. Christian God, has Archangels, that while had energy reserves comparable to the Super-Devil, unfortunately, their combat prowess was lacking to defeat one, but their elemental advantage could still cause them a great deal of damage. Vampires and Kindreds were isolationists. They never left their territory, unless somebody attacked them. Though Zekram would be sure that they would gladly attack Church, they hated Chruch and Angels with passion. As he appeared in Romania, he was immediate, surrounded by twenty Vampire soldiers in crimson armor, each giving out an aura of an Ultimate-Class warrior. It was understandable, as when peak Satan-Class powerhouse appears in your territory it is bound to cause chaos. "Zekram." Said a man voice, as one of the Vampires took out his helmet. He was a middle-aged man with shining azure blue eyes and a stern look. "Stand down. He is expected." Commanded man as all Vampires put down their weapons and dispersed into shadows. "Viktor. It has been a long time." Said Zekram a bit emotionally. Viktor was Vampire Elder, the same Class as Satan-Class, and was very powerful among the Vampires. He was a direct descendant of the 2nd True Ancestor and son of Blood Lord. More importantly, he was also one of very few Zekram''s friends. "Yes, it has been, my friend. Come, they are expecting you. The Council of Blood Lords is awake in full attendance." Said Viktor, as he led Zekram deep into a fortress that was hidden deep within the mountain range, hidden and protected by countless magic barriers and spells. Zekram was surprised hearing that even Ancestor was woken up, but it was understandable. Here the final decision-makers are Ancestors, especially if the top is about attacking faction that has also Being of Law. Zekram knew that while True Ancestors were on the same level as Christian God or a bit weaker, they would both lose even if they fought him together, due to elemental disadvantage. This was why Vampires and Kindreds actively avoided a fight with anyone of Holy / Light / Sun / Pure or similar alignment. "How is time treating you Zekram?" Asked Viktor as they were walking through the labyrinth of underground tunnels that were leaving to the city of the Vampires. The Holy City of the Pale Blood, Yharnam. It was where the Council of Blood Lords resided. Altogether there were four Blood Lords. There were two True Ancestors, from which two Blood Lords were descended from 1st True Ancestor, two were from 2nd Ancestor. Each of the Blood Lords represented the main-line of pure-blood kindreds, namely: Brunestud, Tepes, Carmilla, and Corvinus. "Not well since I need to prepare for war. Our three factions are finally going all out." Sighed Zekram. Fortunately, Devils and Vampires / Kindreds had a relatively good relationship as they were pretty similar to each other, creatures of pure darkness. "Hmm... I hope that I will be able to spill some blood of exorcists and angels." True Ancestors were not interested in anything in Draconic Deus as they were constantly researching the method of how to return to the Astral Boundary. "Maybe you will, who knows. I will gladly see your Blood Legions march against the Church and Angels. But the question is, are True Ancestors willing to take a risk?" The risk I was talking about came from the Greek Pantheon. Who knows, if some vengeful Primordial God remains alive and if True Ancestors made a move, they would attack Romania for sure. Not to mention, that Vampires and Kindreds have attracted the ire of several Pantheons, for their tendency to hunt for Demigods and even weak gods as a source of blood. While some Pantheons might not have existences on the level of Beings of Law or in god system of power levels, Primordial Divinity Stage or so-called Primordial Gods, many of them have methods on how to severely injure or even kill one. Ancient artifacts, weapons, magic formations, divine weapons, and many more. "Don''t know... though most of our people would be eager to march to war. The problem is we don''t know if our current enemies aside from Church and Heaven will attack us. True Ancestors, on the other hand, aren''t interesting in the affairs of Draconic Deus, they are interested only in returning to the Divine Blood Plane. Our ancestral home." Said Viktor as they were walking through the endless corridors. "I am well aware, and I don''t even want True Ancestors to act personally, that would turn this conflict in all our war between higher existence. Your Legions on the other hand are another thing." Zekram''s intentions were clear, he wanted Devils and Blood Races to forge an alliance, they were practically on the same side. That was an ultimate advantage that Devil Race had, they could forge alliances with similar races as them, something that Church and Heaven cannot, due to their aggressive expansion. "Hmm... that could work. Maybe even one of the Blood Lords would participate. Blood Lord Valerian Tepes is a battle maniac, so he won''t miss the opportunity to go to battle and fight Archangels." Chapter 27 - Of Blood and War (2) Holy City of the Pale Blood was truly marvelous. It was created with gothic architecture and gave of gloomy and dreadful feeling to everyone who was not a vampire or kindred and visited it. Zekram visited this place for the first time in his life, as Kindreds were not allowing anybody to lay his eyes upon their Holy City. This was a place where True Ancestors were sleeping and Blood Lords were residing. Contrary to most factions, it wasn''t located in separate dimensional space tied to the Draconic Deus, but rather in Draconic Deus itself, deep under the planet''s crust, hidden and protected. Soon enough, they arrived in the huge castle, of enormous size, dwarfing countless fortresses that the Devils have to build across the Underworld. Zekram could feel countless advanced magic spells protecting the fortress as he was admiring its beauty. ''No wonder that most local Pantheons are not fond and even afraid of these people, arriving from Astral Boundary. The production and advancement abilities are far above natives.'' Sighed Zekram as he was looking at the Citated of Yharnam. In Draconic Deus there were essentially two types of factions. One was the so-called native, which consisted of Pantheons and factions native to the Draconic Deus, such as Takagahamara, Olympus, Hindu, and others. The second one was consisting of those, who in ancient times arrive from the Astral Boundary before it was the Dimensional Gap was created. Those were Vampires, Asgard, and several others. They were also not too friendly towards each other. Viktor led Zekram to the meeting hall where four Blood Lords were already awaiting him. It was a very dark room, with only moonlight illuminating four seats where four figures were sitting. Zekram observed each of the Blood Lords. Three of them were men and one was a woman, probably the Carmilla Family. She had long blond hair and beautiful azure blue eyes. What caught Zekram''s attention, was a muscular man, wearing pitch-black armor and gripping a sword in his hands. His crimson eyes were shining in the dark and thirsting for blood. ''That should be Valerian Tepes.'' Thought Zerkam as he looked at the man. He was told by Viktor that Valerian Tepes was a battle maniac, so he would probably support his idea for sure, but other three he was uncertain. Kyrstia Carmilla was an isolationist, while the other two, Alexstrazs Brunestud and Marcus Corvinus were unknown. "My Honorable Blood Lords, I have brought a guest from the Underworld, proposing an idea to attack forces on Church and Heaven during the war between three Factions of Heaven, Devils, and Grigori." Azazel served as Governor-General of Grigori, but he wasn''t too interested in faction management or anything, due to that, Grigori looked more like countless bandit groups banded together. There was no real authority, it was a very loose faction. "Yes, the Great King of Bael, right-hand of Lucifer. What do you wish to propose to us?" Said one of the Blood Lords, more precisely, it was Marcus Corvinus. Middle-aged man, with an average look in every way. He wasn''t looking anything special, nor powerful, nor exceptional. He deceived countless people with this strategy and all of them became his nourishment. "Cooperation, between Devil Race and Blood Races." Said Zekram straightforwardly. "Be more specific." Answered back Blood Lord Corvinus with a low voice. "As you have already noticed, tensions within our Pantheon are becoming too much to bear, and soon enough war would erupt. During the War, one of our targets is the influence of Heaven on Draconic Deus, and we wish to strike Church as hard as possible. During the War, Heaven won''t have enough manpower to protect and help Church, as it will have full hands with war with Devils and Fallen Angels. That is an opportunity for your faction to attack and exact revenge." Explained Zekram his plan, while four Blood Lords were in deep thought. "And how can we be sure, that Yahweh, won''t attack us." Said a soft female voice of Blood Lord Kyrstia Carmilla. "He won''t. For several reasons. First is that you have behind you a True Ancestors, that could serve as a small deterrent, while not powerful as Yahweh, they could stall him enough for reinforcements to arrive and surround Yahweh. Second, Four Great Satans would be fighting Yahweh, so he won''t be away from the battlefield, while the Great Satans are weaker than him, they have created a unique method, to boost up their combat prowess to actually injure him. Third, you are not the only faction that will be doing this, Olympus, Asgard, and Takagahamara will all attack. With the aggressive expansion, Heaven has made too many enemies and no allies. While he is strong, very strong, we could rely on numbers and other special means. Many Pantheons have their methods on restraining Primordial Divinity Stage God or Being of Law." Explained Zekram with a great headache each time as he mentioned the name of Christian God. "Your points are valid, Great King Bael. We could indeed rely on numerical advantage, but Yahweh has his advanced magical technology creations and several Archangels. It is still too risky. Not mentioning this is business of your Three Factions, not us Kindreds." Said back Blood Lord Kyrstia Carmilla with a cold voice. Even Zekram understood the dangers of doing such a thing. While they had two True Ancestors on the level of Being of Law, genius Apocalypse-Class powerhouses, due to elemental disadvantage they can''t defeat Yahweh. If by any chance, he attacks them, then they would survive, but costs would be enormous. "The method of Satans. How sure are you it will work?" Asked one of the Blood Lords that had closed eyes the entire time and just listened in silence, Alexstrats Brunestud. He was also the strongest out of them. "100%. They developed a special magic ritual, I won''t go to details, but they would be able to fight him on equal grounds. Lord Lucifer personally guaranteed that." Said Zekram with confidence. Chapter 28 - Of Blood and War (3) Hearing this all Blood Lords present fell into deep thought and were thinking about the possible outcome of their decision. "You can leave, for now, we will decide among ourselves." Said Blood Lord Alexstrazs Brunestud with a neutral voice as Zekram slowly left the meeting hall. As he exited the meeting place he saw Viktor already waiting there for him. "So, what do you think their decision would be?" Asked Zekram his friend as they sat down, at nearby chairs. "Hard to say. I can be sure that Blood Lord Kyrstia Carmilla would be against interference. That woman is isolationist to the core, so she won''t support any kind of military expedition, especially that which is attacking Heaven. You have the support of Blood Lord Valerian Tepes, he will support this with all his might, due to several reasons, but most importantly, aside from his battle l.u.s.t, Church almost killed his daughter when she was young. For him, it is personal." Said Viktor with a low voice as he looked at the closed door, which led to the meeting room. "What about the other two?" It was apparent that votes of two remaining Blood Lords would be crucial. "Blood Lord Marcus Corvinus and Blood Lord Alexstrazs Brunestud are hard to predict. They will look at profit first, and only then at consequences. If they judge that profits of this alliance are overshadowing its danger, then both of them would agree for sure." Explained Viktor. "What now?" "We have approximately several hours before they call you back. I am hungry and thirsty, so we should go to eat. We have good dragon steaks and fresh dragon blood." "I am not a bloodsucker, but that steak sounds good." Laughed Zekram a bit as both of them went away. *** The meeting room of the Blood Lords. "So, what do you think about the proposition, my fellow Lords?" Asked Alexstrazs Brunestud with a neutral voice. "I oppose. We don''t need to provoke Yahweh even more than we did. True Ancestors together are no a match for that man, and if he brought here several of his Archangels, our losses would be astronomical, and we could only depend on the Holy City to survive. We are good as we are now. On top of that, this is not our conflict, but the conflict between Three Christian Factions. Let them kill each other, this has nothing to do with us and will bring us only unnecessary damage and danger." The first one to oppose was Kyrstia Carmilla. "On that, I don''t agree with you sister, this has everything with us. What do you think will happen if Heaven wins? If devils and fallen are annihilated? Who would be next? How much of our blood will die then. If they lose, the blade of Yahweh and his armies would be turned on us next time, and we alone are not enough. Yes, we could escape with help of True Ancestors to somewhere in Dimensional Gap, but what about our offspring and race? Do you want to send your life as a hunted rat? I say we should fight! This is our fight, as much as devils! We are enemies of Heaven and Church. Those shitty priests are hunting our young ones and killing small children just because of their stupid faith! This is our time to strike back! And I will personally lead the charge on the Vatican if it is possible!" The outcome was expectable, but the process not. No one among them awaited emotional speech for a "brute" like Valerian. "What about you Marcus, at least you should be the voice of reason!" Said Kyrstia as she looked at Marcus Corvinus in hope of finding an ally. "I must disappoint you Kyrstia, as I agree with Valerian. Our Faction too has enemies, and Heaven and Church will do anything to annihilate us. We could save our hides by escaping to other planes in Dimensional Gap, but that cannot be said about everything in our species. Sooner or later, Yahweh''s blade will be pointed to us as we are the so-called creatures of the Darkness. With Four Great Satans restraining Yahweh, we could join and attack Church and Heaven, fearing not his retaliation, while we four are could deal with Archangels." Said Marcus Corvinus, as Kyrstia''s fell down. "What do you think about this Alexstrazs?" Asked Valerian as he looked at the last Blood Lord. "Kyrstia is fundamentally right... but she is also wrong. Yes, it is dangerous, but this is also our fight. We need to fight, Church has labeled us as their target of extermination, and what are we doing? Small skirmishes and small fights. We need to cripple them, destroy them, and left them with no power to even think about attacking us for the next thousand years. Without Heaven, Church is nothing, we all know it. Thus I agree, we should help Devils and deploy our Crimson Paladins and Battle Mages." With this being said, everything was already set in stone. It was three against one, the majority of the Blood Lords felt that it was suitable to be no longer passive and start an active counterattack. If Yahweh would really be restrained by Four Great Satans, then they could safely attack the Church and the forces of Heaven. "Then it is decided. Divine Blood Faction will participate in the war against Heaven and Church." Chapter 29 - Of Blood and War (4) Shortly after the meeting of the Blood Lords, deep within Yharnam Citadel, two shadow figures with nothing but crimson eyes visible were looking at each other. "They have decided to intervene in the war." Stated one of the figures. "Indeed. It is was only a matter of time, before Church and Heaven would have forced them upon this decision. They have become too aggressive." Said another one. "What if the plan of Satans fails and Yahweh won''t be restrained and will attack us?" Asked the first one. "What else, we will escape to the Dimensional Gap." Said the second one. "That is always a choice. Our aim is only to regain our strength and return to the Divine Blood Plane. Nothing else matters, the only important thing in the lives of the Main Families of our blood, everything else is irrelevant. While I thought that you would have preferred to stay and fight to the death, Alucard." Said the first one. "Indeed, but due to our injuries, we are reduced to weak Apocalypse-Class individuals. Without the blood of enough other Apocalypse-Class powerhouses, we won''t be able to return to our peak fast." Answered back the second now, Alucard. "It is still all your fault. Due to your stupid idea of exploring that creepy newly found Universe and subsequently being attacked by that Chaos God. Both of us were nearly killed and crippled, to extent that even some random new Apocalypse-Class can bully us." "Shut up Brunestud. Who would have known that place will already have four Great Old Ones. It looked like a new Universe, that was only a few tens of millions of years old. Nobody would think such place would have even one Great Old One, not to mention four of them." Shot back Alucard to Brunestud. "Ts. Still, we will watch and sit. Maybe collect the blood of Devils, Angels, and Fallen. It is precious of our species." *** In the meeting hall of Blood Lords, several hours later Zekram was soon enough called by four Blood Lords to hear out their decision. "Great King of Bael, we agree to your proposal, but we have one condition, for us to deploy our legions." Said Blood Lord Alexstrazs Brunestud, while Zekram revealed a small smile hearing this. "What condition?" "We wish to harvest blood from corpses of Devils, Fallen Angels, and Angels." Hearing this, Zekram was inwardly happy. On such a chaotic battlefield, nobody would care about corpses of killed, maybe with exception of several people who would get a proper burial, but that was all. Practically Vampires and Kindreds would be doing a cleaning job. "To that, we agree." Said Zekram slowly. "Then it is decided. We will meet on the battlefield." After giving a small bow to the four Blood Lords, Zekram left the meeting hall and went to the waiting lobby where Viktor was already waiting for him. "From your expression, I can see, that they have decided to wage war?" Asked Viktor with a feral grin over his face. "Yes, indeed. It will be a glorious war. Heaven is stronger than us individually, so we need to mobilize our advantages. Also, be careful of Church, they have a lot of Sacred Gear users, if possible, try to capture them alive and extract their Sacred Gears before killing them. As long Church doesn''t get back Sacred Gears, its power would be cut tremendously in upcoming centuries." The power of the Church came from three aspects. The greatest amount of it came from Heaven in form of Angels, that tended to participate in exorcism missions. The second was from the huge number of exorcists that the Church was capable of producing. The last one was in form of Sacred Gear users which were all controlled by the Church. The strongest Sacred Gears users, could rival even early-stage Satan-Class, which was pretty terrifying itself, as we are talking about pure humans that reached this stage, even if it is with help of equipment. Zekram would rather see those things being locked deep within vaults of the Yharnam, rather than being allowed once again to return to the hands of the Church. Of course, if possible, he too wanted to obtain them, but mainly because of Yahweh, he decided against it. Another deterrent was that all of them were directly connected to God''s System in Heaven. "So we will meet on the battlefield. Are you going to convince more Pantheons to attack them if this mess officially starts?" Asked Viktor as he was aware that Heaven and Church had away too many enemies. They could enjoy their superior position mainly because Primordial Divinity Stage Gods of other Pantheons were incapable of taking action and Yahweh was one himself, and relatively strong one. But alas, now if Four Great Satans were restraining him, all enemies would start baring their fangs. "Yes, my next stop is Olympus. My associate would be going to the Asgard and Takagahamara." Said Zekram to Viktor, whose eyes twitched a little hearing Olympus. "Hmm... Greeks are arrogant, too much for their own good, but thanks to that arrogance they will probably strike hardest out of all against Yahweh. It was he who ended their golden age. And about Asgard, the only thing I can say... good luck. That place is getting messier with each passing month." Said Viktor grimly mentioning the situation of Asgard. "Odin and Hela, I wonder if it will really lead to the civil war. That is not the best outcome for us." Stated Zekram. "Who knows. Maybe Hela will desert, and become a local warlord. Who knows. She is no match for Odin, and she knows it, but she has wide support of Berserkers and Einherjar Armies, millions are willing to follow her." "It is not surprising. Aesir are battle race, waging war is in their blood." Said Zekram, while his mind thought about other things. ''I wonder... maybe he can convince her to join. If he did that, it would be wonderful... Emotionally Hela is on the level of a child, maybe seducing her isn''t that hard. Seducing Goddes of Death... what a nice shock it would be, young Lucifer.'' Chapter 30 - Spending a Day with Venelana (1) At the Castle Fuerig After I took the shower, I picked up some new outfit, that was looking almost the same as one before, the difference was that this one was clean. I went to the hall, where Venelana was waiting currently. Truth to be told, my heart skipped a beat a little, when I saw her again. I admitted that I harbored some affection for her. She was very beautiful, comparable to Aeldari Priestesses in my past life. I quickly shook my head and tried to get rid of my anxiety. I was never good with women, in my past, I was fully devoted to scientific research for my entire life of over two centuries. So yes, my experiences with romance were equal to zero, minus some rejections when I was young, but that was very long ago. And that was more than four centuries ago, in my past life. Today she was wearing a beautiful white dress with deep cleavage. When she noticed my stare she giggled softly, while I cursed myself in my head for my stupidity. "Dealing with ladies probably isn''t one of your qualities, My Lord." Said Venelana with a soft laugh. "Yes, it isn''t... my expertise is magic, research, and combat." I said with an agreement. Though I wasn''t good at it, I wasn''t bad, probably in middle, If I should add myself some points. "Shall I give you the tour around the Castle Fuerig, My Lady?" I asked as I looked at her. "That would be wonderful." Venelana nodded and thus we started our tour. Fortunately, Castle Fuerig was huge enough, so it will be a long tour. The first place we went was understandably the library. "This place looks a bit messy. There is even a bed there, so I take it this should be also your bedroom Zeoticus? A little daring to bring a lady to your bedroom on the first date." Teased me Venelana, and after several seconds I realized it. Indeed I ordered servants to bring me a bed here, so I can rest in the library. I spent here all of my free time, due to all knowledge that I need to master. Knowledge was power. Upon transmigration, I wanted to stay alive, possible for eternity... I once experienced death, and it isn''t too enjoyable to be repeated once more. "I am glad that you enjoy my embarrassment Venelana." I said to her in a low voice. "But yes, I live practically here. Due to saving time, I ordered servants to bring me here a bed. It saves time, from moving one end of the Castle to another." I explained. "Sounds rational." Venelana nodded in agreement. "What exactly are you researching here?" "Entirely new magic system. I am trying to fuse Devil Magic, Human Calculation Magic, and Runic Magic to use the advantages of all three systems to create something far stronger." I exclaimed with a burning passion. "And how are you progressing?" I don''t really know if she was genuinely interested or just keeping the facade to be polite. I was not good at reading emotions. "Are your really interested or are you trying to be just polite? If it sounds boring to you, we can go somewhere else." I said bluntly. I wasn''t a person of all of that false politeness and other emphatic crap. Venelana also looked surprised by my statement, as she slowly smiled. "Haha... this is the first time someone is talking so plainly. You don''t need to worry, while it may seem to be boring, I found it intriguing. Not many people could come up with new magic systems. Are you perhaps trying to create it to replace Devil Magic due to its disadvantages?" Asked me Venelana curiously. "Yes. Devil Magic while very easy to cast, as the casting process is based on imagination, the firepower of the majority of spells are too weak compared to other magic systems. You can create spells easily, but compared to spells created with the usage of other magic systems, their destructiveness is lacking. That is why only a small amount of devils use magic, while most depend on Clan Traits of close combat." "That is good. That would bring us on the same level as more magically developed factions, and after some development time, maybe even on the level of Asgard or Yharnam in terms of magic." In Draconic Deus most magically developed factions were Asgard and Yharnam. Aesir was famed for their battle-magic and runic magic, and most importantly their magical technology. While Vampire and Kindreds of the Yharnam were famed for Sorcery, Blood Magic, and their high magical affinity. "Come, I will show you something more interesting than books." I said as we went to the place where Arcane Mechanical Automants were working. Arcanotechnology was always a marvel to look at. We went directly to the underground of the Castle Fuerig, while Venelana was looking at everything curiously. Finally, after fifteen minutes of walking, we arrived at the underground place, where thousands upon thousands of spider-like mechanical creatures were running here and there. "What are those creepy things?" Asked Venelana as she took a step behind me and looked at the Ararchen Drones with a bit disgusted expression. "Those my dear, are Arcane Mechanical Automatons. They are advanced magical constructs similar to golems, but in nature, they are more similar to constructs of the Asgardian magical technology. The one you are looking at is of Drone-type of Arachne Class." I introduced my creations pridefully. "Your creation, I assume?" Asked Venelana as she kept looking at them as they were working. "Yes, one of my best creations. If possible, they would become main cannon fodder in the upcoming war. Drone-type is not combat-oriented, but even though it has combat prowess comparable to the Low-Class magician in terms of firepower." I nodded as I explained a bit about them. Chapter 31 - Spending a Day with Venelana (2) "How many of them are here? And why they look like spiders?" Asked Venelana as she looked over my shoulder at working spider automatons. "Around 80,000. They are extremely fast at replicating and creating new ones, so theoretically as long as there are materials, they could produce god knows how many of them daily. And they look like spiders due to is versatility." I gave out my explanation. "Versatility?" "Yes, you see they generally insect-type golems are more suited for more types of actions, such as attacking, support, working, and many others. Due to their shape, they can take the role of fighter, defender, supportive unit or construction or worked unit." I continued my explanation. "Hmm... do you want some tea and dessert, Venelana? I have exclusive tea shipped from the Forbidden Garden of Celestial Court." I said as Venelana nodded her head. I loved tea, as much as coffee, unfortunately, for now, in this time, coffee was not available to me, but tea was. I have bought Moonlight Heavenly Tea Leaves, one gram of them cost me around 20,000 Soul Coins. For info, that amount of money was enough to buy armor and weapon sets of the dwarven craft of very good quality. Expensive tea was one of my very few indulgents in this life. I was rich so I often bought extremely expensive tea for myself. Hindu, Celestial Court, and Takagamara produced such, and I was one of the biggest buyers. Of course, such ones were sold only to rich and powerful, as nobody had so much money to buy 1 gram of tea from 20,000 Soul Coins. Of course, this tea was not ordinary, but also had good effects on the soul, and strengthened the soul a little. We went to my private garden, which was a relatively small place for me, to just rest. It was filled with plants and trees brought there from Takagahamara or Three Realms, that I have brought, giving visage of the Chinese or Japanese architecture. We sat down, there weren''t any chairs, we were sitting on the ground, on the pillows and before us was a small tea table. "Did Lord Zekram tell you about the results of our discussion?" I asked as I waited for the tea to be brewed. Tea brewing was a very complicated process, that I rather enjoyed doing. "Yes, he did. I must admit, I didn''t think that my future husband is so ambitious person." "So, what... you are also well aware the state our species is, and our grim dark future." I remarked. My vision for a new form of government was only out of personal ambition, but also a need. The current state of the Devils was terrible. Among the Three Factions, only one was truly united, and that was Heaven. Fallen Angels, were divided between many Cadre-Class Fallen Angels, creating diversity, but alas, as there were not many Cadres, as each one was as strong as Satan-Class Devil, their diversification was less than devils. We had rulers, the Four Great Satans, but their ruling was just a name. Practically our government was some kind of confederation. There existed some united government, which were Four Great Satans, but their commanding power over the rest of the noble houses wasn''t especially strong. Each of the Pillars, Extra Demons, or other Nobles, had a high degree of autonomy, they were managing their territories as they seem fit, so they weren''t managing even a shit. "In terms of government, we are even worse than Fallen. Look at it, our Nobility responsible for managing their territories and training up armies, what is ding? Playing, indulging in s.e.x.u.a.l or other p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e activities, wasting time and power. Only a very few of them are really doing something, the rest of it is just a disgrace to their names." I said with disgust in my voice. Devil Nobles were responsible for managing their territories solely by themselves, and almost none paid heightened attention to it. When I succeeded, it will be the first thing I will change. "And if you rule, how will it change?" "Simple. I will implement Territorial Management Level, that other Pantheons are using to grade their vassals. Celestial Court, Asgard, and Takagahamara are using it for thousands of years. The base premise lies here. Every territory will be graded based on their state in economics, the number of powerhouses, magical and technology level, and several others, and we will then get the Average Territory Management Coefficient. If some territory falls below the TMC, then the Lord in charge would be severely punished. If he increases the TMC level in contrast to the previous one, then there would be a reward. Asgard is using this method to keep the development of its Nine Worlds and Jarldoms, Celestial Court on the other hand development of Three Realms, while Takagahamara on its Vassals." Territory Management Coefficient was a very effective way, to practically control and speed up the development of the territory as a whole. I heard that punishments in Three Realms are especially severe, due to the high population of various species in Three Realms, the most common one is the execution of the Lord. It is the most populous faction, so there isn''t a problem with finding new ones to take a place of old ones. "Hmm... that could work. Still, the premise is that you have overwhelming power and suppress all opposition. Ideally, you can combine it with benefits that your rule will bring." Said Venelana after some thought. "Indeed, but I have enough time to grow. Within hundred years, there won''t be anyone in the Underworld to oppose me in terms of strength." I said. Maybe even sooner, but I don''t want to progress too quickly, as that could damage my foundation. I have now an optimal path, and once I will unc.o.c.k the Clan Trait Devour, I could advance by leaps and bounds. My advancement won''t be hindered and the only thing, that would matter would be to advance my masteries. Chapter 32 - Spending a Day with Venelana (3) Having a Class was important as was attaining higher-ranked masteries. I don''t want to end up like Ophis, having Class but her usage of power was almost nonexistent. That was why it was important to train and continue mastering your power. "Now on the other list. I believe, Lord Zekram has informed you that I will be commencing expedition to the Dimensional Gap, right?" I asked slowly, as I looked at Venelana who was quietly sipping her tea. "Yes, he told. After I reach Ultimate-Class, the same could be said about you." Venelana nodded her head. "Have that old man told you more precise information about that plane? He told me that it was some kind of newly birthed on in the Dimensional Gap. Still, I am a bit reluctant to believe him." I grumbled a bit. "On this he was truthful. Civilization there is some kind of tribal one. It is inhabited by some race of beastmen and even some humans. What is interesting, they only follow the path of strengthening their bodies, grandpa sends a few scounts there. Magic users are really scarce, only some shamans in bigger tribes above 5,000." Explained Venelana. "If you sent some scounts there, how strong is the civilization there?" I asked the most important question here. "Relatively weak, we have discovered only several Ultimate-Class chieftains and one Ultimate-Class shaman, though, in terms of combat prowess, they should far weaker than even initial Ultimate-Class in Draconic Deus." Said Venelana. When I heard I was satisfied. Even though in terms of Class there might be Ultimate-Class, but energy reserves or body strength wasn''t all. If you don''t have advanced magic knowledge, weapon mastery, or something similar, you can''t properly utilize your own strength. So if we are talking about some primitive tribal civilization, all of their combatants would be weaker compared to those of the same level in more advanced planes. "That is good. When both of us are Ultimate-Class we could invade that world. I will be taking three of my Generals, all of them are Ultimate-Class. Magicians that Lord Zekrma would be sending, at least one of them should be Ultimate-Class, right?" I asked. "Yes. Of Dantalion line, very experienced in Norse, Olympian, White, and Black Magic. Especially in Dimensional Spells. That would be together six Ultimate-Classes." "Good. Unfortunately, I don''t have any magician on the Ultimate-Class." Unfortunately, not many devils were masters in magic. Only a few had Ultimate-Class magicians that were well versed in magic. From what I have observed, a common way of fighting among ordinary devils without a Clan Trait or any other special ability was just throwing some weak spells created with Devil Magic around, while if you are out of energy reserves, you go for close combat. It was far worse compared to Angels and Fallen Angels, they at least have basic knowledge over usage of their racial magic. Still, among devils it was understandable, as for common devils, it was very hard to learn advanced usage of Devil Magic, without being subjected directly to someone of Nobility. Devil Nobles hoarded and guarded the knowledge, not talking about an advanced magic system that was superior to Devil Magic, they won''t reveal anything as they feared that common devils might one day surpass them. Another foolishness that needs to be eradicated completely. "How do you like tea, Venelana?" I asked while sipping my tea. Tea harvested from Three Realms or dimensional world belonging to the Hindu Pantheon was the best one. "It is delicious. Grandpa often drinks tea harvested from Celestial Court but he is such cheap stake and never shares." Pouted Venelana sadly. "You are aware that one gram is sold for more than 20,000 Soul Coins? To make such a cup of tea, usually 2 or 3 grams are used, so between 40,000 to 60,000 Soul Coins are used. It''s extra expensive, mainly due to its calming effect and nourishing effect on the soul. Meaning you would have a better affinity for magic or any energy-based arts." I explained as Venelana''s expression turned to shock. A cup of tea for 60,000 Soul Coins was such an extravagant thing, that people who could afford it in Underworld could be counted on one hand. Of course, most Noble Houses are not good at making money. The pay of an ordinary Middle-Class soldier was somewhere between 1,000 to 1,500 Soul Coins monthly. So one cup of tea was 60x times that. Of course, soldiers were one best-paid occupations in the Underworld. "No wonder it is so expensive." Remarked Venelana as she enjoyed the tea. "Yes, but effects are good and the taste of the tea is best. Of course, tea from Takagahamara is also top-notch. Next time, I can brew that one, or perhaps one from Hindu. I have a rather wide tea leaves collection." I said casually while enjoying my tea on this peaceful day. We spent the rest of the afternoon chatting about mischievous and mostly rather unimportant things. I found out, almost nothing changed about my communication skills, as the only things I was able to converse fluently were politics, magic, and research. Fortunately, Venelana noticed my social "skills" and she took the lead in the conversation, to avoid that awkward since that often happens on dates, probably. I never had one in my life, so I can''t really talk from experience. As the sun was setting, Venelana was soon going home, and as a proper gentleman, I decided to send her out. As we were nearing the entrance to the Fuerig Castle, Venelana turned to me and stared at me for several seconds, before opening her mouth to say something. "I enjoyed today very much, hopefully, we can repeat it soon." Said Venelana as she leaned over and kissed my cheak, before teleporting away, leaving me frozen like a salt pillar for the next ten minutes. Chapter 33 - Magic and Origin of Architect [Wake up, you are standing here for the whole five minutes.] Said Architect in my head, as I was still surprised by her show of affection. It was the first time in my life, so I didn''t know how to properly act. "Shut up, you metal scrap. Come, we need to conduct more experiments. Tier Magic System needs to be finalized." I said. Now that I have a good understanding of the Abyssal Runes, I could start the implementation process for my Magic System. Previously, I used the Aesir Runes as a base, which were not of the same origin, so their compatibility wasn''t that high. [With current knowledge available, there is a high possibility to achieve 100% stability for Zero-Tier spells, Combat-Tier spells, and Tactical-Tier spells.] Stated Architect in my head. "And when I reach Ultimate-Class I can start experimenting with Strategic-Tier spells, meant for Master Magicians with Ultimate-Class energy reserves. With that, we would have covered the entire devil race, as there are practically no devils that specialize in magic, that are above Ultimate-Class." Strategic-Tier spells were spells that required mastery over the magic system to cast and were meant for magicians of Ultimate-Class. The destructiveness of these spells was everything from mountains to smaller islands. Still, that was within Architects calculations. My aim was the creation of Strategic-Class magic for several reasons. For first, I can only create spells of a specific tier only when I have corresponding energy reserves. Secondly, among devils, there were only a very few of those, who had magic as their main form of combat, and all of them were only at the Ultimate-Class. I went to the underground space, which also served as a testing ground for my experiments. "Architect, start analysis process on the spell. We are starting with Zero-Tier Fireball." I said as I started conjuring the Fireball spell with the usage of the Tier Magic System. Within several seconds, the Fireball spell was finished. I knew it was stable, I could feel it instinctively from my experiences as a magician. "Results." [Stability is 100%. Compatibility between Abyssal Runes and Devil Magic is perfect.] Stated Architect his analysis. I was inwardly satisfied hearing this result. "Ok, then continue, I will start casting other spells of Zero-Tier." First, one spell I cast was Magic Arrow, which was one of the easiest spells across many magic systems. Then it was Thunder Bolt spell or Electrosphere spell. All of them had the stability of the 100%, meaning the first Tier was my magic system was completed. "Excellent, now onto the Combat-Tier." I said with glee in my eyes. With Architect''s help, the completion of my new magic system was just a matter of time. I was glad that upon transmigration I had my STC with me. The Architect wasn''t an ordinary A.I. chip. He was prototype artificial intelligence, that would control multiple STC to boost up the production capabilities of the Solar Federation tens of times, allowing our power to at least contends against Aeldari. STC stands for Standart Template Construct, a pinnacle of humanity''s technological advancement. It was an advanced, artificially intelligent computer database, main functions were data storage and fabrication system. It was designed to provide construction details for human colonists during Mankind''s early interstellar expansion across the Milky Way Galaxy due to huge technological differences between various colonies. Then, after witnessing the powers of the Aeldari in terms of production through their Psychic means, which many believed to be sorcery, we searched for a way to enhance the production capabilities of the STC. And then it came, I proposed to create central artificial intelligence, which would be the pinnacle of our technology, with the ability to control all STC''s in the Solar Federation. Normally STC needed a human operation, but if such advanced A.I. as Architect operated STC, it could boost up efficiency by tens of times. That was the birth of the Main Template Controller. Unfortunately, I died before implementation. Some old folks were concerned that if all STCs are connected to Architect, then if something happens to the MTC all infrastructure would collapse in a single moment, though they were not wrong. That was why, I have secretly connected the Architect to the network, that was why he had such a huge database. Unfortunately, due to Universal Laws, all designs needed adjustments before they could be implemented. I started casing Combat-Tier spell, Grand Fireball. It was just a bigger and more complex version of the Fireball spell. "Results." [Stability is 100%. Compatibility between Abyssal Runes and Devil Magic is perfect.] Another success. After repeating this with other spells that were designed as Combat-Tier such as Thunderclap or Magic Missle, I concluded the Combat-Tier as complete. "Now the last, Tactical-Tier." This one would be harder a bit, as the destructiveness of these spells was far higher, so I can''t make any mistake. Even one would have catastrophic consequences. Tactical-Tier spells could easily destroy towns or even smaller cities. I started casting the Tactical-Tier spell Dragon Lightning, which generated an enormous dragonhead made out of lightning above me. Fortunately, I had no problem controlling the spell, before dispersing it after some time. "Analysis." [Stability is 100%. Compatibility between Abyssal Runes and Devil Magic is perfect.] Answered Architect in his voice of an elderly man. "It is done... first three stages of new magic revolution are done." [Congratulations.] Said Architect in my head. Chapter 34 - Preparations for the Ultimate 1 year later One year passed from my achievement of creating a new magic system. During this one year, I have performed countless tests, and as it was concluded, the system was perfectly stable with the addition of Abyssal Runic Magic instead of Aesir one. Everything was going very well. My business was generating more and more Soul Coins, which is very important for the upcoming war. A number of Arcane Mechanical Automatons stuck up on 100,000 unfortunately. I lacked materials, so I ordered to stop further production and focus on building fortifications, magic towers,s and fortresses around my territory, to fortify it for war. I have also trained a lot in the Dark Light Clan Trait and reached Expert-ranked mastery over the Clan Trait. Now I could open ten Dark Light portals, that could constantly generate Dark Light Spears, which boosted up my combat prowess dramatically. Most important thing that happened during this year was that I will soon reach the Ultimate-Class in energy reserves. Currently, I was at the pinnacle of the High-Class and was holding back, as I needed to prepare some things before reaching Ultimate-Class. I did my research properly. When one reaches Ultimate-Class in terms of energy reserves, I didn''t know the process for those who focus on body training or physique refining, there comes a huge qualitative change in density and quality of the Energy. To have as smooth as possible, process, I need to strengthen my foundation, when reaching Ultimate-Class. For devils, the most common ways to reach higher classes were two. One of the simplest ways was to just age, but that is extremely slow. If some had low innate talent, then their progress in decades might be only a few units of demonic energy increas.e.m.e.nt. "Architect, is the ritual ready?" I asked about the state of the ritual. Today I planned to reach the Ultimate-Class, and I planned to use ancient rituals, that my grandfather used to reach Ultimate-Class. Hopefully, after the ritual, not only would I be Ultimate-Class, but also at least early-stage. [Yes, it is.] Answered Architect in my head. I nodded satisfied. What also was the biggest difference between the High-Class devil and the Ultimate-Class devil, was that upon reaching the Ultimate-Class devils would awaken their True Name. Upon awakening the True Name, some tended to get special abilities, some True Names strengthened already existing abilities. Also, there were another two abilities of True Names. The first was when it came to Devil Contract. Basically, Ultimate-Class devils could due to their True Names breach the contract and suffer little to no backslash, as in the contract was never mentioned True Name of the devil. That gave Ultimate-Class devils great leverage against their contractors, they could easily cheat them. The second was that, during the combat, as long as the enemy wasn''t aware the True Name of the devil, then you basically get some boost in combat abilities. I don''t know how exactly it works, but it had something to do with the Laws of the Universe. "After I reach the Ultimate-Class and familiarize myself with my new strength, the expedition can commence." I said with a bloodthirsty grin. During the past year, I had three dates with Venelana. From a human point of view, it may sound like we never see each other, but for devils, it wasn''t like that. With our long lifespans, our perception of time and many things were different. I have greatly enjoyed spending time with her, she was a funny person, responsible and supportive. She encouraged me to pursue my magic research, and I have even taught her my Tier Magic System. Truth to be told, after I reached Ultimate-Class, probably the higher ends, I planned to release it to the public. It would greatly strengthen devils before the Great War and save many lives. Both of us had many things to do, besides the courtship responsibilities. Venelana reached Ultimate-Class last weak, her talent was better than mine. I had a cheat in form of STC A.I. Architect, still, it was annoying that my own talent was low, truth be told, my talent was rather average. From then I have started researching a bit about enhancing innate talent for some things, and fortunately, for me, many human magicians had done something in past. Humans of Draconic Deus were pitiful as they were weak, very weak, so they searched for a way to enhance their innate talents to rival those of supernatural beings. One of such rituals was invented by Myrddin Emrys or by his other name, Merlin Ambrosius. I had that ritual formula in my library, as I had my people rob that library where it was hidden. It required many precious resources from the various Pantheons... my heart bled when I had to spend too many Soul Coins, but alas it was for the greater good. I had combined that ritual into a ritual that my grandfather used to reach Ultimate-Class, so I am rather curious about changes it would incur. Combined with STC A.I. and terrifying genius-level magic talent, I wonder what heights will I reach. I am aware that my current talent was ordinary, and that needed to be changed. I went to find two other Generals of my armies that were currently residing in Castle Fuerig as they were overseeing the training of my legions. General Amyke and General Azerath. Both of them were of Ultimate-Class and were much younger than General Borke Zagan. Also, they were common devils, that had rather special abilities. General Azerath was born with a terrifying physique and had an immense talent for Touki, Senjutsu, and Martial Arts. While General Amyke was a swordmaster, and on top of that, he was also a magic swordmaster. For short-lived races, it was impossible, as a time to master sword and magic arts for swordsmanship would take several lives, but long-lived species didn''t have such a problem. I ordered both of them to actively stand on guard, as I would be reaching Ultimate-Class and I didn''t want any unforeseen circ.u.mstances as I was also undergoing special rituals. Chapter 35 - Ultimate-Class After giving out final orders, I went to the ritual hall, where everything was prepared for my attempt to reach the Ultimate-Class. As I combined reaching Ultimate-Class with several rituals, I made the entire thing a bit risky, if it backfires at me, it would be slightly problematic. I went to the center of the formation and sat down cross-legged. "Architect, take control of the Rosenkreutz." I commanded as I was sitting on the ground amidst the magic spells and arrays that were inscribed here. [At once.] Answered Architect back. "We can start." I said as I activated the spell formation. Ritual has started. Countless runes started glowing and the density of magic particles increased tenfold in this room after several short seconds. This went on for several minutes until the magic density was so high, it began to liquefy. After that, I released the last barrier on my body and started passively absorbing the magic particles into my body with grand speed. An enormous amount of magic power was being converted into Demonic Energy and flew into my body, where it fused with the already existing one. With help of the ritual, I can practically control the entire thing, and with a continuous flow of demonic energy converted from ambient magic was going to my body, and soon enough, my energy reserves started increasing. 70, 80, 85, 90, 95, 96, 97, 98... 99... 100... I reached the Ultimate-Class. Finally at least, but thanks to the ritual, it didn''t end here, and my energy reserves kept increasing with steady speed for the next half an hour until the magic spells broke down. After the entire process was done, I suddenly felt the entire room going extremely cold. ''Dizmason'' ''Dizmason'' ''Dizmason'' ''Dizmason of Devil Talent - The one who shall be blessed by the power of Underworld, Nirvana of innate affinity, of the innate talent, shall be one bearing the name of Dizmason.'' Recited the creepy cold voice in my head, as suddenly it disappeared and the temperature of the room returned to normal. "So... that was the Will of the Underworld. I heard about it only in legends." From the diary of my grandfather, not even he got his True Name directly from the Will of the Underworld. Grandfather was aware of only two devils he knew, Zekram Bael and Lucifer, apparently, they got the blessing of the Underworld, as they got their True Names. Normally, Ultimate-Class devils need to figure out the usage and abilities of their True Names, but those who were granted name by the Will of the Underworld didn''t have this problem, as the Will told them instead. After reaching the Ultimate-Class I felt like my body was full of energy. Not only that, but my Demonic Energy was far more potent and dense, it was a wonderful feeling. "Architect, do the scan." I wanted to see the exact amount of my growth, I was aware that I was already far above newly advanced Ultimate-Class being in terms of energy reserves thanks to the rituals I have undergone. [As you wish.] True Name: Dizmason (Devil Talent) Race: Pure-Blooded Devil - Bloodline: Gremory, Lucifer Age: 182 - Class: Ultimate Demonic Energy: 152 Strength: 82 Agility: 80 Vitality: 70 Clan Trait: Dark Light - Expert (Gate of Babylon Style) The Devour - Sealed - Magic Systems: Tier Magic - Expert Devil Magic - Master Norse Runic Magic - Expert Abyssal Runic Magic - Expert "Hmm... 152 units, that is good, practically saved me several years worth of time training. This is good, all those Soul Coins were worth it. And my physical parameters also increased mildly, a most notable one being the Vitality, which was greatly strengthened by me reaching the Ultimate-Class." I said to myself. But the greatest boon was my True Name. It may seem ordinary, but it was essential for reaching the Being of Law. I knew, that even without some genius-level like talent, I won''t have a problem reaching Super-Devil probably within several centuries, but reaching Apocalypse-Class, the Being of Law was impossible. With this, coupled with STC A.I. my progress would be countless times faster. I was now beyond happy, as I got rid of one of the biggest skeletons in my closet and that was my average talent. I heard that Celestial Court had even a special method to measure one''s talent. Maybe once I will take a look. Now that I have reached Ultimate-Class, I can finally move on with all of my plans. First thing before the conquest commence, I need to finish another tier of my new magic system, and that was Strategic-Tier, as it would greatly boost up my combat prowess. Then, I could start the expedition to that newly birthed plane, the Yester Plane. Also, soon enough my experiment would be done, and I can attempt to awaken my sleeping Clan Trait, fortunately. With Devour ready, I could increase my energy reserves at a good tempo. Especially during the Great War, where there would be countless Ultimate-Class beings or even higher. Even we devils have tens of Satan-Class devils, though the vast majority were only at the initial or early stage. Angels and Fallen Angels have also many beings on the level of Ultimate-Class and Cadre-Class. So many of them would become my nourishment. I grinned as I said those words in my head. "Architect, start working on the Strategic-Tier magic. I need to complete that, before the Planar Conquest." I needed some firepower. Currently, my only advantage was Class, not combat prowess, if only I had mastery over Dark Light, but that Clan Trait was too hard to master or even train in. Chapter 36 - Problems at the Border (1) Two months were by from the moment I have reached the Ultimate-Class. During these two months, I have already contacted Venelana that I have reached Ultimate-Class and also tell her that soon the Planar Conquest can begin. Now that both of us were Ultimate-Class it would be alright. My progress on recreating Strategic-Tier Magic was going smoothly, and I have already created a few spells. I only created several spells for each tier, as I wasn''t planning to create more. As soon as I release the principle of my new magic system onto the public, devils who specialize in magic would do that for me, and after some time, I just need to harvest my rewards, which would be many and many spells. I have also told this to Zekram, and he told me to present it to Lucifer. Something I was conflicted about. Technically I was his grandson, as I was the son of his daughter, but the problematic part was that I was only Ultimate-Class while being over 180 years, though I have inherited Dark Light Trait. If I got into his favor, I could get a higher noble rank, more territory, and more advantages during the war. Additionally, maybe with a bit of luck, I could get his advice on Dark Light. ''I will wait after the Planar Conquest is over, I will decide. Now is not the right time.'' I thought in my head, as I continued my research. *** Outskirts of the Gremory Territory, Magic Tower "Hey, activate the magic sequence the Lord implemented and do a scan." Said one of the devils on the top floor of the Magic Tower, apparently the commander of the detachment. "Yes, Commander." Answered soldier, as he activates the magic sequence, and several magic circles appeared above the Magic Tower and started releasing intense light around the surroundings, reaching several tens of kilometers. "Sir! There is a signal, Fallen Angels are coming from the north, approximately, 36 kilometers away." Reported soldier hurriedly. "How much?" Asked Commander with dread in his voice. "Around 30,000 is should be a Divisions of Legion." A reported subordinate with a trembling voice. Meaning, if it really is a Divisions Units belonging to Fallen Legion, it is a high chance there is Ultimate-Class Fallen Angel leading it to do some kind of mission. And even if not, there should be countless High-Class Fallen, they would be annihilated. "Immediately activate defense barrier magic. Prepare for emergency escape teleportation and send a message to the Fuerig. Fallen are testing our borders, once again." Responded Commander quickly. Each Magic Tower that was constructed, had in-build protocols. For example, now, the Magic Tower would activate a defensive barrier that would slow down Fallen for at least two to three hours, and if the barrier is breached, the tower would self-destruct, killing as many of fallen as possible. "Prepare the Light Spears and offensive magic, bring down this shield and kill everyone in the tower." Screamed leading Fallen Angel, clad in armor as he held a sword in his hand and his four pairs of wings were signifying his Ultimate-Class strength. "Yes, General." He was one of the Generals of the Fallen Angel legions that were residing being the demilitarized zone and often had skirmishes with Devils. *** As I was comfortably reading magic tome and sipping my tea, suddenly a servant rushed to my room looking extremely panicked, so much, he ignored most of the protocols. Something must have happened. "My Lord, Divisions of Fallen Angels have attacked one of Magic Towers, closest to the Fuerig Castle. They are led by Legion General." Said the servant in panic. ''Damm. Right now, that all of my Ultimate-Class subordinates are far away. Though it is a good opportunity for me to test my power.'' "Prepare mass teleportation formation and mobilize the soldiers. I will take Feurig Legion with me. How are their numbers?" I asked the servant. "30,000 but there could be more, the Tower is still standing, and ten minutes after the assault began, it sent information about another 50,000 Fallen coming from west of the Tower." Reported servant. So it should be all-around 80,000 Fallen Angels, while I have 100,000 Devils as I am taking half of one Legion. Problem is that Fallen has an elemental advantage and also, their General. ''Architect, start combat calculations for the best strategy to utilize our advantages.'' I commanded in my head. I needed to get there before the Tower fell ideally, but that was not so realistic. Hopefully, if the tower is destroyed, it could take several thousands of them down, or maybe at least injure the Fallen General. For the first time, I was wearing the ancestral armor of the Gremory Clan. I was never for wearing armor, but alas, it could save my life. This one looked like it was made for devils. It looked rather diabolically, painted pitch black, with crimson lines. It took me around thirty minutes to properly put on the armor, as it was the first time I was doing that. This was going to be my first larger battle since my transmigration. Also, this wasn''t an ordinary skirmish, judging based on the number of enemies and their leadership. They probably had something else in mind just besides harassment and testing borders. They probably were for raiding. After I had armor on, I exited my bedroom and went to the gathering place, where already thousands of devil soldiers, organized in disciplined formations were gathering. Chapter 37 - Problems at the Border (2) I stood at the balcony of the Fuerig Castle, overseeing how my army was gathering. Tens of thousands of soldiers, donned in black armors, holding spears, lances, or halberts looking ready for war. They were organized in orderly-looking formations, waiting for the order to march. "This will be hard." I thought in my head. [Calculations are done. I have prepared seventeen possible scenarios, which are primary ones. Secondary scenarios could be around fifty.] Sounded voice of an Architect in my head. "Hmm..." I muttered. After nearly thirty minutes, all of my soldiers were assembled, patiently waiting for the teleportation Gate to open. It was a large-scale teleportation spell, that was often cast to transport a huge number of people. [The Magic Tower has self-destructed. The approximate death count of Fallen Angels is between 8,000 to 12,000.] Said Architect, as I grit my teeth. They have breached the Tower, which wasn''t exactly something I wanted to hear, each of those Magic Towers took many resources and time to built, but alas, at least it caused enough damage to the enemy. "Launch the Gate." Soon enough, ambient magic in the air surged and soon enough transparent gate appeared. "For the Underworld, For the Devil race and for Death to the Fallen." I shouted as I grabbed my scythe and swung it at the Gate, as I unleashed my four pairs of devil wings, signifying my Ultimate-Class strength, greatly boost up the morale of soldiers, as I led my army to the portal. The place where it opened, was ten kilometers away from the Magic Tower, so I can prepare an ambush at the Fallen. "Implement plan 10." Plan 10 was one of the scenarios that the Architect calculated. I sent mental instruction to the Division Commanders on what to do. I had 100,000 Soldiers, from which almost all were of Middle-Class and two and half thousand of them were High-Class. Plan 10 was a very simple one. I will make a target out of myself and lure Fallen by striking them hard with Strategic-Tier Magic, while my army will hide. Due to huge fluctuations in the ambient magic, it will be night impossible for Fallen to cast properly detect spells, and under the chaos of my Strategic-Tier Magic, they won''t have even time. As the last soldiers were coming out of the teleportation gate, I started casting the spells. Strategic-Tier Spell, Chain Dragon Lightning of High-Rank of Strategic-Tier. Soon enough, an enormous dragon-like phantom made out of purely lightning materialized above my head, having over fifty meters. "Let the dance begin." As I shot one Chain Dragon Lightning spell, I immediately started casting another two at once. Thanks to my mastery over Tier magic as its inventor, boost from the Rosenkreutz, and newly, my True Name, its usage of Demonic Energy for one spell of this tier was around 10 Units, which may seem a lot, but for such destructive magic, it wasn''t. Additionally, my regeneration was so fearsome, that in the next six minutes I will have full Demonic Energy reserves. That was also part of the advantage of my True Name, as it was directly granted by Will of the Underworld, I would get many passive bonuses when fighting in the Underworld. This was something that only a very few existences had. Mainly those who were blessed by the Will, or had Divinity related to the Underworld. *** On the side of the Fallen. General of the Fallen Angels was currently standing in front of his Division Commanders giving them various orders until his eyes perked up a little. "Attack!" He shouted, but the spell already hit, and very hard. As the massive, several tens meters long lightning dragon smashed around the crowds of the Fallen Angels, it evaporated hundreds of them in a single hit. "Another two! It should be Ultimate-Class magician, but I don''t recognize the spell type... probably devil." Said the General, as he started ordering the Fallen Angels to mobilize, as two lightning dragons hit different parts of the environment where Fallen were, killing countless of them in the process. "He is attacking us from distance. If he releases more troublesome spells... how are our losses?" Asked General as he looked around, as Fallen was quickly recovering from the ambush attack. "I can sense that five thousand were killed." Reported Fallen that was proficient in magic. "Damm. Quickly reorganize before he starts bombarding us with more spells. We need to kill him, I will take half of the soldiers to catch this devil." Ordered General of the Fallen Legion. *** "Hmm... they are equally arrogant to devil nobility, but that is good." I said to myself as I watched all that chaos, destruction, and death I have caused with only three Strategic-Tier spells. It was marvelous. "I will send one more at them... but at those that remained there." I muttered as I cast another Chain Dragon Lightning spell, after it was released, I also ordered several Division Commanders to take half of the army, and go back to the Magic Tower to kill the remaining Fallen there, as I saw that General of the legion took the majority of Fallen to pursue me. Those who remained behind were only around 20,000 and most of them were injured. I also cast a few defensive spells over myself, to create a barrier around me, so the Fallen would focus on the barrier, and then they could be ambushed by my soldiers. Chapter 38 - Problems at the Border (3) After casting several other defensive spells over myself, I patiently waited for the Fallen to arrive, as my soldiers were waiting in the shadows. Thanks to the high fluctuations that my spells made in the ambient magic, casting any kind of detection spells was rendered useless. Soon enough, the Fallen General was already here, looking straightly at me. "Who would have thought that the Duke Gremory would personally appear on the battlefield. What an honor." Said the Fallen General with a mocking voice, to which I revealed a small provocative smile. "No, no. The honor is mine, for my territory to be attacked by an overgrown pigeon is truly something. I always thought that they were just stupid birds but maybe they had a little brain." As I said that, I could see the anger on his face clearly. ''This one is easy to provoke. That is a good thing for me.'' I thought in my head as I kept observing the Fallen as they were preparing their Light Spears to attack my barrier. Based on fact, there were around fifty thousand of them here, the barrier would break in one wawe. I am not strong enough to withstand such a terrifying number of attacks... at least not now, without proper preparations. "What it is pigeon? Did you forget your brain while searching for bread on the streets from human beggars?" Seeing the General wasn''t a patient person, I decided to provoke him to act rashly. If the Fallen fire the first wave, my army would have the best time to attack, as Fallen would be defenseless for several seconds. "F.u.c.k.i.n.g bat! Kill that abomination of the animal!" Screamed Fallen General with rage as he barked his orders, and Fallen Angels started preparing their Light Spears and shot them at me, to which I revealed a bloodthirsty grin, as it started. ''Idiots.'' Spells of Devil Magic were being used in thousands as they fell on the defenseless Fallen Angels, that were just comprehending what has happened. After the first salvo of the devil magic, came the second one, this time from the High-Class soldiers that were taught Tier Magic. This one was far more destructive and hundreds upon hundreds of Fallen were being killed with each spell. "Ambush! Regroup and counterattack!" Shouted Fallen Angel General, as he saw thousands of his soldiers being killed in the ambush by devils, just now he realized that he was tricked by the devil standing here. "Isn''t it nice? When the blood of your enemies flows like a river and falls down like rain?" I asked the rhetorical question, as I released tens of Combat-Tier spells, mainly Magic Missles, and Thunderclaps, as countless spells were being shot at the Fallen General. I was a bit reluctant to use Dark Light as that was my trait. ''Architect, scan.'' I ordered in my head. [Class: Ultimate Strength: 49 Agility: 75 Vitality: 30] ''Hmm... in terms of physique he is weaker than me, while he has larger energy reserves. Thought most Fallen are not very creative and use only Light Spears. Similar to devils, they don''t use magic often.'' I thought in my head. Fallen General, quickly unleashed his four pairs of wings, and used them as protection against incoming spells, as he knew he cannot dodge. Also, thinking it to be simple devil magic, he was confident that with a bit of enhancement from Holy Power, he could withstand the attack. How wrong he was. As soon as approximately 154 spells fell upon him, it shot him backward, several tens of meters, as he coughed blood from his mouth. "Not your average devil magic, right? Though I don''t wait that pigeon like you would understand the beauty of the mysteries of the arcane." I mocked as the Fallen General screamed in anger and released several huge Light Spears at me, that was flying at me with tremendous speed. Unfortunately for me, Fallen General, was aware that magic released by me was highly dangerous, so he immediately dodged the spells, though they ended up hitting countless Fallen Angels that were behind him, evaporating them to oblivion. ''Hmm... he is good at dodging even while he is injured. With this speed, he will probably try to escape with his life, that would not be good.'' Seeing that I had no chance, I didn''t want to let Fallen General escape. I flew with my top speed at the Fallen General as I gripped my scythe Rosenkreutz. I wanted the Fallen General to think that I will engage him in close combat. As I was nearing him, he saw that I had a melee weapon, he arrogantly decided to fight me in close combat. As we were only a few steps away from each other, something unexpected happened. Several portals appeared below and behind the Fallen General, and chains from Dark Light shot out of them, enveloping Fallen General not allowing him to move an inch. "You are... are... Dark Light." Said shakily Fallen Angel General with a broken voice. "Yes, and thanks to your stupidity your death is sure." I said as I severed his head in one swing of my scythe. Due to him being bounded with Dark Light Chains, he couldn''t move an inch. "Hmm... I am really clumsy with weapons. Architect, build training mech and upload martial arts and fighting styles related to scythe." I ordered. Solar Federation often used training mechs, to train soldiers in martial arts or weapon masteries. It was very efficient and fast. I only needed to reach Expert-rankled mastery. Especially for the upcoming Conquest, as barbarians without magic would often tend to use close-combat, it would be bad for me If I can''t use magic properly. Chapter 39 - Problems at the Border (4) During my fight with General of Fallen Angels, my army started slowly overpowering Fallen that were fighting against my devils. Slowly, many Fallen Angels, were either killed by spells or in close combat. Corpses of Fallen Angels were falling from the sky, like droplets of the water during heavy rain. For me, a devil, it was a beautiful sight to see. Soon enough, the rest of my army came in, which was ordered to deal with injured Fallen from the explosion of the Magic Tower. After the rest of my army arrived, the situation completely turned around and hundreds of Fallen were being killed by each passing minute. I, as a newly found warmonger and battle maniac, joined the fight and started slaughtering the Fallen like cabbage. Most of these Fallen were just Low-Class or Middle-Class, they were weak and their combat prowess was even lower than their Class. I heard some rumors that many Fallen weren''t good combatants and only a few of Fallen Armies were top-notch. Namely, ones led by Azazel, Baraquiel, Kokabiel, and most notable one Azrael the Angel of Death. Though from what I heard, Azrael didn''t become part of the Grigori and rather occupied territory deep within the Underworld, far from Grigori and Devils, and became a rather reclusive group. I wondered a little bit, why. Why did the strongest Archangel ever created and born, chose to become a reclusive hermit. I stored the body of the Fallen Angel General in my dimensional storage, as that could be used as my fuel for advancement when I unlock Devour Clan Trait. I observed the process of cleaning the battlefield. I also ordered to properly clean the battlefield, meaning taking all weapons and armors. Devils normally didn''t do that, mainly nobles were against it as it was below them to take something from killed Fallen. I didn''t care. All of those armors and weapons could be smelted and reforged into new things, that would make me money. After one hour, the entire battlefield was cleared and all corpses of fallen were stored in separate dimensional strategy. I thought they could be useful later, maybe as food for monsters or something in that way. Altogether, I came here with 100,000 soldiers, and fortunately, my losses were only aro¨¢und between five to eight thousand, which was an excellent victory. Before leaving, I left here half of my legion to guard the area, before sending here Arcane Mechanical Automatons to build here another Magic Tower as the entire array was now disrupted. The array was actually a super barrier formation, that was created by activating all Magic Towers of my territory at the same time, enveloping it in the barrier that should withstand even attacks of multiple Super-Devils or Greater Divinity Stage Gods. Only several Houses had something like this, as it cost a great deal of money to create and required a very experienced and knowledgeable magician, so most Houses didn''t bother with creating such defensive arrays. Zekram had one for sure, he even had a smaller version of it, over each city, something that I was just working on. Truth be told, I have planned to invest the majority of my wealth into the protection and fortification of my territory before the Great War. Wealth could be easily regained after the Great War, as then the entire infrastructure of devils would be in ruins. On the other hand, if the population is lost, the weakening would be for thousands of years if not permanent. I have returned to the Fuerig Castle, with a satisfied feeling. ''Hmm... I also need to check out the Familiar Forest sometimes.'' Familiar Forest was located in the Underworld filled with monsters that often bonded themselves with magicians or magical races as their servants. Familiar Forest to be precise was a location that devils used as their place to get Familiars and was controlled by Tiamat, one of the Five Dragon Kings. She was a very terrifying entirety, a very strong one. Dragons were always were strong. Though if possible, I need to avoid her, someone that is stronger than pinnacle Satan-Class isn''t someone I wished to meet. Dragons in contrary to devils had an advantage in physique. Meaning, High-Class dragon was High-Class in energy and body at the same time, which gave the dragon ability to contend against weaker Ultimate-Class that depended on energy reserves solely. Dragons excelled in magic and in close combat equally, so meeting someone like Tiamat wasn''t a good idea, and I even heard some rumors that she had a pretty bad temper, so unless I decided to bribe her with some treasures, it is big no. When I read the compendium of familiar monsters, there was one that caught my eye. Not in strength or raw power, but rather in potential. It was called Spitting Thorny Flower. It was pathetically weak and without proper abilities at the start, but it had immense evolutionary potential, as it could digest other corpses of other beings, using them as fertilizer to evolve. At later stages, when it evolves into higher evolutions, it obtains terrifying defensive abilities and even offensive at later stages. If it caught the attention of someone like Shiva, a Primordial Divinity Stage God, which is the same as Being of Law, it must have something in it. Who knows, what strength it reached now. Chapter 40 - The Genetics of the Clan Traits (1) Maybe it reached the next evolution and became a Being of Law... who knows. If someone like Shiva invested in its growth, then its speed of advancement must have been terrifying. Also, some Primordial Divinity Stage Gods could also traverse the Astral Boundary, though with severe restrictions, because their God Slot is bound to a certain plane, but they still could. After returning to the Fuerig Castle, I turned my attention to one of the last things I needed to do before the Planar Conquest. That thing was unlocking the Clan Trait of the Gremory Clan, The Devour. The Architect was running a deep scale analysis for more than two years, practically till the moment, I have transmigrated here. With several experiments, I have conducted on prisoners and criminals, from which a few had dormant Clan Trait, I was able to learn many things. I even got some books from Zekram that he got who knows where. One of them was certainly interesting. It was called The Book of Lucifer, a really funny name when I thought about it, but it greatly described how the first generation of devils was created and how the Clan Traits worked. Also, some theories on how to awaken sleeping Clan Trait. Of course, it also recorded the possibility that some devils might not inherit the Clan Trait. That was tied to the bloodline genes, inherited from the bloodline of parents. It may happen from time to time, that child may not have had them at all or an extremely small amount, so it couldn''t possibly manifest the Clan Trait. [Analyzation process upon the Bloodline of Gremory. Possible solutions: 1.] Sounded the elderly voice of an Architect in my head. "1?! With all advanced knowledge of the Solar Federation and some bits from the Aeldari Empire upon Genetical Engineering, you have come with just one solution?!" Now I was a bit angry and nervous. One solution means, if it fails, I have no other option. Maybe I can search for someone on the level of Being of Law who is well versed in magic, alchemy, and genetics to do something, but that was now out of the question. [Yes. Based on information gathered in my database, combined with those obtained in this Universe, mainly from the Book of Lucifer, the reason why the Devour Clan Trait is dormant in your case, is due to its conflict with the Dark Light Trait.] Explained Architect, and I immediately understood, as realization struck me like thunder from the clear sky. "The source of all bloodlines for devils is the Heart, not? Bloodline Heart, if one Clan Trait is too dominant, it could overpower the second one, and Dark Light is as of Darkness Element as it is of Light Element, so it could easily overpower Clan Trait that is pure of Darkness Element. On top of that, Active Clan Traits, are tended to be more aggressive compared to the Passive Clan Traits in the behavior of blood. So the solution would be..." I talked to myself as I stopped in the middle. [Yes, to create a new Heart in your body, that could accommodate Gremory Bloodline. If I have complete STC, I could probably come up with more solutions, but alas, current technology is not sufficient.] "Constructing the STC is not something I can do with my current abilities. In the plane, probably only Asgard and maybe, Heaven have enough resources and advanced tech to do that." I said back. The Architect was MTC, short for Main Template Controller, if he had access to the STC, Standart Template Construct, he could manufacture anything as long as he adjusted the blueprint within several hours. Unfortunately, the construction of the STC was still very far away. If I had STC, I wouldn''t need to depend on Arcane Mechanical Automatons to do all the work, STC would construct the parts, and Arcane Mechanical Automatons would just put it together, saving much time. "And tell me, how will I create another Heart in my body? Not talking about moving bloodline genes to that Heart! This is the purely mad solution." What the Architect proposed, was something of extreme difficulty for my current abilities. [Heart could be easily cultivated from cells of deceased devils that would serve as biological material, combined with some magic rituals, that shouldn''t be a problem. Transplantation may be smaller as there is a 34,5987% possibility that your body will reject a newly germinated Heart, even if it is cultivated from your DNA... a lack of data to use on devil physiology. Moving the bloodline genes... there is a spell for something similar recorded in the Book of Lucifer, though it would require an enormous amount of Demonic Energy to cast. At least several Ultimate-Class devils in Energy Reserves would need to be powering that spell.] Explained Architect. As I listened, it seemed problematic and complicated. But if it worked, it would be something fascinating. It would give countless devil chance to awaken dormant Clan Trait and have two Clan Traits at the same time. Not that devils like that don''t exist now, they existed, but in extremely small numbers. It was very rare for a devil to manifest two Clan Traits, basically, it meant they had a bit of luck, and most importantly their Clan Traits were compatible with each other, so they wouldn''t clash or something. "Order Arcane Mechanical Automatons to start preparations. I will go and gather Ultimate-Class devils needed to power up the spell." I said to Architect. In the end, the temptation to awaken the dormant Clan Trait was too big. Having another Clan Trait, especially one like Devour that could constantly enhance my Energy Reserves by devouring the energy of corpses was phenomenal. It was a risk. "Fallen won''t do anything for a time being." Chapter 41 - The Genetics of the Clan Traits (2) After I killed General of the Fallen Legion, together with 80,000 Fallen Angel Soldiers, they would lay low for a time being. Still, I had to work very fast, as I didn''t want to waste time, and if my territory is unprotected by Ultimate-Class for a longer period of time, it may lead to some complications and attacks. Germination of new Heart took more than a week. First thing, I germinated it with my own DNA as a basis, to increase compatibility rate and used bodies of many High-Class devils as biological material and nourishment. Thanks to advanced genetical knowledge from the Age of Technology from my past life, and even knowledge from Aeldari, I was able to genetically engineer a perfectly suited new heart for me. Also, getting more Hearts was an advantage for me, as most of the Demonic Energy was concentrated in the heart of the devil. From the Book of Lucifer, I have found out, that there existed devils with multiple hearts, mostly first-generation ones. After the new heart was successfully germinated, I have started working on the ritual that would be performed. It was a complicated one, as it required countless Abyssal Runes to create, laying out the runic matrix for that formation, took me several days. "Architect, with this Heart what is the possibility of rejection?" I asked as I was working on the Abyssal Runes to make final adjustments to the ritual. [21,6982% that your body will reject. Decrease by 12,9005%.] Decrease by around 12% to 13% was good. After finishing the work on the runic matrix I went to sleep, and prepare for the ritual tomorrow. *** The next day after I woke up, I was notified by the butler that all of my Generals have arrived and were waiting for the next orders. "So, the operation could start?" I asked Architect, as I was going to the room, where surgery would be done. It will be performed by Architect himself, through a specialized Arcane Mechanical Automaton that was built for this occasion. I didn''t trust anybody else with my body. I laid on a white table while waiting for the Automatons to start. Said Architect to me, as I started losing consciousness and falling asleep very quickly. At least that machine was considerate enough, to do the surgery when I was unconscious so I won''t feel that hellish pain two times. After I woke up, I didn''t feel very different from before, but If I focused, I could feel a second heart beating in my c.h.e.s.t and functioning as the original one. "So the surgery has been a success, I see." I muttered. [Yes, indeed. Compatibility is good, so the heart was successfully accepted by your body. Now we can start the last part of the procedure, but unfortunately for this one, I can''t give you anything to lessen the pain from the ritual.] Said Architect in my head. "Damm machine. Let''s start." I said, as the runic matrix suddenly lit up, as five figures started supplying the Demonic Energy to the runic formation together with me. All Ultimate-Class Generals were pouring all of their Demonic Energy into the formation, as I felt it reconstructing my bloodline genes. It hurt like hell, I had to do my best to not scream out of the pain as my bloodline genes were being moved from my original heart, now the first heart to the second heart. Slowly, during one hour, as I was enduring this torture, all bloodline genes were moved successfully. "Return... to... your... position." I ordered, as all five of them bowed slightly, and disappeared to their positions. What was interesting, I even felt my Demonic Energy reserves increased by around 10 Units, by the addition of the second heart. The moment everything was done, I felt that I could use The Devour ability subconsciously, just like I used Dark Light. It felt so natural to me. [Master, you should check the mirror.] Said the voice of the Architect, as I summoned a small mirror and looked at my appearance. My previously pure crimson-colored hair now had countless silver streaks among it. Probably due to bloodlines in my body achieved equilibrium, I now looked more like Lucifer in terms of appearance. My previously light blue eyes now were of royal purple. I heard that people with purple eyes were destined to be Rulers, Emperors, and Sovereigns. It was a sign that one was blessed with noble fate, though I am really curious if it is true. Still, that was something that I will research in the future, now I had my Clan Trait unlocked I can devour the energy from the corpse of that Fallen Angel General, and then only visiting the Familiar Forest remains and the Planar Conquest could start. "This success was most attributed to the Book of Lucifer... I wonder how it got into Zekram''s hands. It is something that Lucifer and Lilith would guard at all costs, both of them are Super-Devil Class, and I doubt Zekram would steal it... meaning." I said to myself as I suddenly realized something. [Meaning, it was given to you on purpose... probably by Lucifer or Lilith, maybe by both.] Finished Architect for me. If that was the true cause of things, the true scenario, Lucifer already knew about my heritage. I was awaiting something similar, that Zekram probably won''t hide my heritage from Lucifer. Now it was only a matter of time before he will call for me, and assign me a Lucifuge. There was a reason, why each Lucifer must have a Lucifuge. I felt it from the moment I transmigrated, like an emptiness that cannot be filled with anything. Whatever I tried, I have never been able to fill the empty cold void feeling I have always felt. And then... that was the reason. Chapter 42 - The Devour Lucifuge Clan was closer to the Lucifer Clan more than any other devil bloodline, as they were made from the same source. Even Clan Trait of the Lucifuge Clan, Power of Annihilation was similar to the Dark Light Trait, as the Power of Annihilation extremely deadly even to devils, same as the Dark Light. Each member of the Lucifer Clan would get a Lucifuge Clan member based on their bloodline resonance between them. A special bond is formed between them, that is empowering them, making them stronger if they fight together. Just like Lucifer had Lord Lucifuge, Rizevim had Euclid Lucifuge, and apparently, my mother should have Grayfia, but alas, mother escaped from home, before she could even test the bloodline resonance between them, so there is a very high probability that Grayfia would be paired with me. That would also mean that she would become my wife by default. If female Lucifuge is paired with male Lucifer or vice versa, they must marry, as there was no better partner for Lucifer than Lucifuge. Still, that was a topic for later, only when my existence was noticed by Original Lucifer and I would get assigned Lucifuge to me. For now, I took out the corpse of the Fallen Angel General which was in perfect state thanks to the simple storage spell, apparently, the corpse was still full of energy. To use Devour, I needed to have direct contact with the corpse, as my mastery was low. My grandfather could use it from distance, and even on hundreds of targets simultaneously. With my lower-ranked mastery, I need to do it manually and that was troublesome and was low in terms of time. I touched the corpse of the Fallen Angel General and used the Devour ability. Slowly, all energy that was in the body of the Fallen Angel General started flowing into my body, entering my hearts, strengthening my energy reserves by a smaller amount, of probably 5 Units. "Architect, scan." I said to Architect. [As you wish.] Soon enough the scan was done. [Class: High Demonic Energy: 167 Strength: 82 Agility: 80 "So a total increase by 15 Units if I count increase from the addition of my second heart. With this amount of energy reserves, I shouldn''t be weak like a newly advanced Ultimate-Class being. During the Planar Conquest, I fight more and obtain more Ultimate-Class corpses... it would be best If we killed some Lesser Divinity Stage Gods..." I said to myself. Body of the Lesser Divinity Stage God or rather of any god was precious. Ironically bodies of Gods were precious even if they are under the Being of Law level. Especially for the Familiar, I planned to obtain, the corpse of Lesser Divinity Stage God would be a priceless treasure for advancement in strength. I have also around 75,000 corpses of Fallen Angel Soldiers in my dimensional storage and I thought a bit if I should use Devour on them. Unfortunately for me, my mastery was too low, so I won''t be able to gain anything. From notes of my grandfather, with Devour you can devour the energy of same or higher Class. But if one attains Master-ranked mastery over the ability, you can basically refine weaker level energy from countless corpses. For example, you have 100 High-Class corpses, with Devour you can absorb their refined energy that would be equivalent to gainst from weakest Ultimate-Class. Grandfather didn''t use this method often, as it required an enormous amount of energy and gave you only a small increase, it was more profitable to search for beings of the same Class. I even speculated that after reaching Apocalypse-Class, I won''t be absorb anything from beings under Being of Law, no matter how many of them would be used in the process. "Architect, what is progress on adjustments to the Anti-Matter Magicule Cannon Batteries?" I asked as I sat down. [Soon first ones would be produced. Arcane Mechanical Automatons have manufactured everything to stabilize and produce Anti-Matter.] "How is their firepower?" [Pinnacle of High-Class with the usage of Tier Magic System. With the usage of Magicule Particles, the firepower and stability were increased significantly. Though, the larger version of the Cannons, which are installed on the Voidsh.i.p.s, have predicted firepower comparable to the Ultimate-Class.] Answered Architect. Slowly he was adjusting most of the inventions and weaponry of the Solar Federation for the circ.u.mstances of Draconic Deus. Anti-Matter weaponry was one of the most destructiveness the Solar Federation had in its arsenal. These canons were just small weapons compared to the pinnacle of the Anti-Matter weaponry, that could destroy entire planets with ease. Most powerful Anti-Matter based weapon could implode the sun, though it was never used by Solar Federation and served mainly as a deterrent for the Aeldari Empire and various Ork Empires and Warbands. Even though it is small weaponry, for upcoming conquest, even Cannon Batteries should enough, taking into account that in primitive society there won''t have many powerhouses or advanced technology or magical technology. "Good... continue adjusting slowly entire database, and give priority to things that could be used immediately in the current situation." Not everything could be used in this world, where everyone controlled fearsome powers like magic or divine power. For example, things like tanks or Knights will have little to no usage against strong experts for now. Maybe Knights with enough adjustments, several runic inscriptions, and rare materials could be used. I remember during the Stellar Exodus, Knights were the reason why so many colonies survived till the invention of the Warp Drive and STC. Even when I lived, Knights and Knight Houses enjoyed great prominence and respect in the Federation. "For, now start slowly preparing for the Planar Conquest of the Yestera Plane. I will depart to the Familiar Forest." I said to Architect and to myself at the same time. Chapter 43 - Familiar Forest (1) I stood before the Familiar Forest and waited for the Familiar Master to arrive. Familiar Master or his apprentices normally act like guides through the Familiar Forest as it was pretty easy to get lost in this dammed place. Not talking about the fact, this place was also dangerous, as deeper parts of the Forest was filled with General-Level monster and even stronger beings... not to mention, Tiamat the Chaos Karma Dragon, who was stronger than Pinnacle Satan-Class had a nest in a Familiar Forest. Though there have been rumors that she has reached Heavenly Dragon-Class already, due to few engagements with Welsh Dragon Y Ddraig Goch, The Red Dragon of Domination. "A Devil? ... you smell like Lucifer and... that maniac... interesting." Said a voice from the darkness. When I turned around I saw a figure standing there, it was a man, a tall handsome man wearing a black coat with a long mixture of black and blond hairs as well as heterochromatic eyes where his right eye is gold and his left eye is black and he has pointed ears. I knew that he wasn''t human and I felt incredible power surging from him. "Dark Dragon of the Crescent Moon, Crom Cruach." The man before me was one of the strongest Evil Dragons in the existence, or rather would be. Even though I knew he was strong as Zekram, this should be shortly after he was released from his control by Evil God Balor, who used nefarious means to control Crom Cruach. "And you have awakened the Devour Clan Trait... interesting... maybe in the future, you would be a worthy opponent. What is your name, fledgling?" "Zeoticus Gremory von Lucifer, My Lord." I replied politely... existences like Crom Cruach could snap my neck in a matter of seconds if they find something they don''t like, especially mad ones like Crom Cruach that didn''t care about consequences. "No need to talk with me like some stuck-up noble, fledgling. Just call me by my name... I could be considered as a family friend... yes." Said Crom Cruach with a small laugh at the end of the sentence. "Now, now come... I will guide you. What Familiar are you looking for?" Asked me Crom Cruach as he signaled me to follow him. "Spitting Thorny Flower." I answered slowly, as Crom Cruach stopped for a while. "Hahahaa... you are one of those, right? To groom it to reach a higher level, an enormous amount of resources would be needed... and in case of that thing, you know what I meant?" "Yes. Countless corpses of strong beings for it to evolve. Soon enough the Great War between Three Factions will start and few other conflicts, so I don''t have to worry about not having enough fertilizer for my familiar. Currently, I have around 75 thousands of corpses of Fallen Angels, that attacked one of my outposts." I have read a lot about Spitting Thorny Flower. With each evolution, it will regress to the weakest state, but also obtain new abilities and increase the limit to the strength it could achieve. For example, Spitting Thorny Flower could maximally reach Warrior-Level, afterward, it could evolve into Bloody Thorny Flower. It would then obtain new abilities, but also fall back into Minion-Level, though its potential would increase to the Commander-Level... and it worked like this. "Yes... war." Muttered Crom Cruach under his breath. I knew he is someone that is affiliated with the Celtic Pantheon, that suffered greatly under Yahweh''s expansion of Christianity. "Crom Cruach... if you want, you can fight against Church and Heaven, I can easily make it real." When I said that, he stopped in his tracks, and looked at me with piercing looks. "How that fledgling." He said. "Together with Great King Zekram Bael, we have devised a plan how to weaken Church and Heaven. Several other Pantheons would be cleaning their backyards from the influence of the Christianity, most notable ones being Blood Races of the Old Yharnam, Olympians, Shinto, and Aesir." "Celtic Pantheon could clear entire Britannia, and get its territory back... don''t you think so? You can even fight on the main battlefield against Cadres, or even Archangels?" I continued my persuasion. "Good, good fledgling... you have courage. Do you have enough of it to enter Lifeblood Soul Geass Contract?" Lifeblood Soul Geass Contract was a very hidden secret among Lords of the Houses. It was a very special type of contract, that devils could enter into, where not even the existence of your True Name could protect you if you breach it. "Yes." I said solemnly. If I could get Crom Cruach on my side, it will make everything easier, and also I will have another powerful combatant on my side. Not to mention, that he will soon reach Heavenly Dragon-Class. With his body and magic, he could easily slaughter Archangels. Among Evil Dragons he was most honorable and respectful. The rest of them were the true embodiment of evilness. "I have one question before we proceed." I said before drafting the contract. "Ask away." "You have lived for a long time, and seem aware of my secrets of the Devil Race. Lately, I have been thinking... Zekram said that Four Great Satans have a method to restrain Big G... but it sounds laughable to me, three of them are Pinnacle of Satan-Class and only Lucifer is Super-Devil, but Big G is bona fidei Apocalyse-Class... the Being of Law." I stated my question. This was something that didn''t let me sleep. No matter how I thought about it, never I found something that could answer my doubts. "Ohh that... the answer is more simple. Do you know about Trihexa?" Asked Crom Cruach with a creepy voice, to which my face paled. Chapter 44 - Familiar Forest (2) "You mean..." I was shocked beyond everything else. "When Lucifer was cast out of Heaven and created Devil Race... they started exploring Underworld and even Dimensional Gap. During their exploration of the Dimensional Gap, I heard, from your Grandfather none less, that they found some pocket dimension or whatever... which actually was sleeping place of Trihexa." Explained Crom Cruach. "Those madmen... Don''t they know if it breaks free from Yahweh, we are all screwed..." I said with anger... so that was their plan. They planned to release Trihexa on Yahweh in a sealed area. Such a fight between two existences on that level could go for even years. Even if he won, he would be greatly weakened and severely injured, recuperation may take decades. "Yes, they are... using Trihexa, the Beast of Apocalypse for something like this. If it goes out of control entire Underworld, Heaven, and entirely of the Draconic Deus would be turned to dust... unless Shiva, Jade Emperor, or Great Red steps forward to stop it." On the Draconic Deus, there were only a few existences that could rival Trihexa. On top of that, Trihexa, as the Beast Emperor of the Apocalypse was noted for its terrifying defensive and regenerative abilities. "Let''s rather turn the list... why are you coming to the Familiar Forest, Crom Cruach?" "Simple. After Lugh defeated Evil God Balor, and I was released from the control spell that bastard put on me, I have decided to tour the world and observe Human World and Underworld as part of my training... though the Human World is disgusting for me, as everywhere I look there is Church... fortunately not for a long time. Why Familiar Forest? I came to challenge Tiamat to fight, she is the strongest of the Dragons on the Draconic Deus if we are not counting Red One and White One." Said Crom Cruach. Great Red and Ophis weren''t on the list, as they were cooped in the Dimensional Gap, and they were already Tier 3 existences, there was no worth of mentioning them, they were too above our current league. Tiering was something Architect came with. Basically, Tier 1 existences, or as I called them cannon fodder, was everything from Low-Class to High-Class. Then there were Tier 2 existences, Ultimate-Class / Lesser Divinity Stage God to the Super-Devil Class / Greater Divinity Stage God. Tier 3 existences were called Beings of Law, though I have no idea how many Classes were there, there was a severe lack of information about it. So unless some Primordial Divinity Stage God or Apocalypse-Class powerhouse started talking, nobody would know anything. "Why are you so adamant about defeating Tiamat?" I asked out of curiosity as I listened almost twenty minutes about Crom Cruach telling me about Tiamat. "When we were fledglings, we were born in the same mountain range, so we interacted a lot. That woman told me, If I were to get stronger than her, then she would become my mate... so here I am. On top of that, I could get a grand fight with someone on the Pinnacle of the Dragon-King Class." Said Crom Cruach, so Tiamat wasn''t Heavenly Dragon-Class now. That was good, but I would never suspect, that he was here to find a mate. Though similar to devils, dragons also wanted to have the strongest mates, so their offspring would have the best genes possible. We devils did the same. Truth be told, I would have never laid with a woman who was weaker than me or had low potential. It was in my pride as the devil, though not everyone was like me. I was more like devils like Zekram in this regard. Many of the younger devils were promiscuous and didn''t care about their choice of s.e.x.u.a.l partner. "At first help me find my familiar and then go to do what do you want." I said to him in frustration. I wanted to quickly find that Spitting Thorny Flower, but finding something in this place was dammed nightmare, as I couldn''t even use location and detection spells, due to the presence of Tiamat. I don''t want to be dragged into her fight with Crom Cruach as for me it would just spell fast death above everything else. "What about Lifeblood Geass Contract, fledgling?" Asked Crom Cruach slowly to which I nodded. "As long as you are able to give me many battles and fights, I have no problem following your orders... at least to a certain degree. With this, my debt to your grandfather is repaid." Siad Crom Cruach as we signed the Lifeblood Geass Contract. With this, Crom Cruach became my partner? or what is the correct term? He wasn''t subordinate or retainer... though he will fight my battles if the opponent is strong enough to provide him a challenge. "What debt?" I asked as I noticed his words at the end of the sentence. "Something that is not your matter fledgling." Answered Crom Cruach shortly. "Come on fledgling, we need to find you familiar and I have a meeting with Tiamat." Said he excitedly at the prospect of the fight and possible mating, though I don''t really know which one he meant... but If I can guess then probably the fight is more important. Fortunately, as we were walking through the Familiar Forest, most of the monsters let us be, thanks to the savage killing intent that Crom Cruach was releasing to scare everything away. On the other side, he also wanted to lure Tiamat here. He said she was obsessed with treasures, so she spent all her time deep within her cave labyrinth, guarding her treasure vault. "We are already near... somewhere here plant-type familiars reside. Now you can go alone, if I go there, they will all hide." Said Crom Cruach as he looked at the part of the forest. "Thank you... after your business with Tiamat is finished, please visit me at the Castle Fuerig." I said politely as Crom Cruach just nodded and disappeared. Chapter 45 - Familiar Forest (3) Now, even if I can''t find that Spitting Thorny Flower, my trip was already worth it, as I have entered into Lifeblood Geass Contract with Crom Cruach. The only thing I need is to provide him, enemies, to fight, and he will aid me in my endeavors... which was a good deal for me. Crom Cruach and this contract with him will become my trump card for upcoming events. If he reaches Heavenly Dragon-Class soon enough, which was near for him, then it would be for best. Only If I was stronger, I could take him as my subordinate, but that would require at least Super-Devil Class strength. For now, I will be satisfied with what I have. Thus I started searching for the Spitting Thorny Flower. And truth to be told, searching for one plant-type familiar monster in a huge place like Familiar Forest was a nightmare. Thus I have decided on another kind of strategy. I took out several corpses of Low-Class Fallen Angels I have killed during the skirmish and dropped them at the ground, and then concealed myself. Spitting Thorny Flower would be lured here, by the aroma of fresh corpses it could eat to strengthen itself, and at that moment I may bind it. After waiting for nearly one hour, I finally found what I was looking for. Huge two-meter tall green plant, that looked like an ordinary carnivorous plant, with just one exception, that it was huge. I looked at the plant, as it stared at the corpses of the Fallen Angels cautiously, looking around and checking if this was not a trap. Seeing this I waited for a little and decided to reveal myself when it started eating them, as then, It couldn''t escape quickly. After several minutes, the Spitting Thorny Flower started slowly enveloping the corpses of the Fallen Angels, in vines, absorbing them into its body, as I slowly canceled the stealth spells, I cast over myself, and revealed my presence. Spitting Thorny Flower looked surprised and alarmed, but I soon took out another corpse of Fallen Angel, and threw it to the Spitting Thorny Flower, in a sign that I am not an enemy, but a friend. Spitting Thorny Flower looked at me curiously, before taking a step closer to me, while still looking at the corpse of the Fallen Angel, that I have thrown her. Making a contract with Familiar wasn''t that easy thing. The Familiar Monster needs to have some level of trust in the person who wishes for the contract. Some Familiars were hard to gain their trust, fortunately, in the case of Spitting Thorny Flower, it was rather easy. As long as I have food in form of corpses, gaining the trust was just a matter of time. After half an hour, just like I have thought, the Spitting Thorny Flower started being relaxed around my presence, so I used a binding magic spell. If the Spitting Thorny Flower accepted it, then I would gain a Familiar. Suddenly, a faint light appeared, as I felt a bond being created between me and Spitting Thorny Flower. "Excellent. Architect, scan the Familiar." I said with satisfaction. [As you wish.] Answered Architect, as he did the scan on my newly obtained Familiar. - Level: Minion Magical Power: 5 Strength: 15 Agility: 4 Vitality: 24] As I looked at it, while it was terribly slow, it had terrifying Vitality and even Pinnacle-Level Strength for the Minion Level. Its Magical Power was pathetic as was the Agility. But that Vitality... it has broken the limit. Apparently, the Vitality was the specialization of the Spitting Thorny Flower. "How long before you reach the next Level and Evolution?" Spitting Thorny Flower released several incomprehensible sounds for a normal person, but I was a bonded master was able to understand them perfectly. "So around 2,000 to reach Pinnacle Warrior Level and to initiate next Evolution, the maximum you can digest?" I said grimly. Damm, the consumption of corpses was too much. I just don''t want to imagine, how much would it increase in later evolutions, apparently, the higher evolution, the higher need for fertilizer. Or I could feed it something like corpses of Dragons, I thought about that as a joke. Though If I find the corpse of the dragon, maybe I will give it to the Spitting Thorny Flower. "Okey... fortunately, the war is coming, so there is no need to worry for fertilizer. Come, you can let your roots in the Fuerig Castle, and I will bring all corpses you want there." I just wonder how much rivers of blood and mountains of flesh must have Shiva invested into his familiar to evolve into Golden Crown Flower Queen or whatever was that evolutionary stage called. Though Shiva is God of Destruction and his wife is God of Slaughter, for them to find and destroy some planes in the Dimensional Gap to feed that plant is ordinary matter. The Spitting Thorny Flower nodded its two large flower heads hearing my words, and started moving and behind me, as I opened the teleportation portal to the Castle Fuerig. Now I can do such spell, as I don''t need to worry about Tiamat finding me for trouble, as she surely has her hands full with Crom Cruach making havoc there. As I watched the Spitting Thorny Flower disappear into the teleportation. Then I looked into the distance, as I sensed huge fluctuations of the wild magical power from there. "So they started fighting. Maybe I could go observe... nah. I could be mistaken for the enemy." Chapter 46 - Duel of Crescent Circle and Chaos Karma 3rd POV Shortly after Crom Cruach left Zeoticus to his own things, he went directly to the cave where Tiamat was cooped up. Among all dragons living on the Draconic Deus, Tiamat was one that was most obsessed with finding, collecting, and guarding her treasures. Crom Cruach still in his human form stood there, before the entrance in her cave as he looked around the place, sensing dragon. "Tiamat, you treasure nut come out! Or I will steal your treasures!" Shouted Crom Cruach with his loudest voice to the entrance of the cave. An enormous amount of Dragon Aura and Draconic Power radiated from him, as he shouted into the cave. "Bastard you will not steal any of my treasures!" Shouted back an angry female-sounding voice from the cave. Soon enough, a huge dragon appeared from the dark cave. It was more than ten meters tall and fifteen meters long, with celestial blue scales that glittered in the light. "Why have you come here Cruach? I am not interested in you battle-maniac antics." Grumbled Tiamat as she looked at the Crom Cruach in his human form. "Not my problem. It was you who told me if I can defeat you, you will be my mate..." "Just because you are bigger than me doesn''t secure your superiority." Said Tiamat as she spread her wings, and flew at the Crom Cruach with her fastest speed, and breathed an enormous amount of dragon fire at him. To counter this attack, he enveloped his wings in defensive draconic spells and used them to shield himself from the attack rather easily, as Tiamat''s dragon breath wasn''t able to put even a scratch on his scales. "It appears your flame is weaker than those of mix-breed drakes." Said Crom Cruach. Comparing a dragon to a drake was one of the biggest insults of their kind. Especially the mix-breed. The only worse thing is to call the dragon a lizard, which infuriates them to death, and most would even risk their lives to kill the offender. As counter-attack he punched at Tiamat with his front legs, sending her flying several tens of meters, taking with her many trees and rocks in the process as her huge body crashed. While each dragon had innate Draconic Magic that was a special branch of magic that only dragons knew, Crom Cruach likes to battle more in close combat rather than with magic. Though Draconic Magic was probably to most crude, wild, and primitive magic system in Draconic Deus. Still, never underestimate the Draconic Magic. While it may be wild and primitive, it was so destructive that it outclassed the majority of the magic systems existing in the Draconic Deus. Most of the spells of Draconic Magic were like a tsunami that took everything with it and destroyed it with just brute force. Before Tiamat could even get up, Crom Cruach already flew high above her, and started kicking her with his back legs, and punching her with his front legs, and occasionally slashing her with his tail. "AAHHHH!" Screamed he, as Tiamat out from nothing bit his tail with her strongest bite. The tail was an extremely s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e body part for dragons, devils, or any other creatures that had it. "I admit... that you are currently stronger." Said Tiamat with an exhausted voice, as she barely caught her breath. "I know. Now, do you surrender? I will also give you some treasures for my future mate." Said Crom Cruach as he pressed his front leg on her neck. "Treasures?!" Tiamat''s eyes widened in surprise as she nodded with her head. Afterward, he released her, and both of them changed to human forms. n her human form, she has the appearance of a beautiful woman with straight and long beautiful pale blue hair, dark blue eyes, and a cold atmosphere that radiates from her beauty. She wore a navy blue skirt, and her entire body is doused with the color of deep blue. Tiamat was beautiful both in her dragon form and the human form. "Why did you construct your lair here in the Familiar Forest? Aren''t you tired of dealing with those arrogant and stupid bats that often come here?" Asked Crom Cruach in confusion, not hiding his disgust with most devils, as he thought they were weak. "Not much... those who dare to do something here just become my food. Especially the ones from Noble Houses, their flesh and blood is especially tasty." Said Tiamat with dangerous glee in her eyes. Dragons enjoyed eating flesh that was right on magical power, and devils were... so it was not surprising Tiamat would eat some devils from time to time. "And why are you here in the Underworld Crom Cruach?" Asked Tiamat. "Training. I was previously training in the human world, but unfortunately, it is stuffed with the presence of the Church too much for my taste. After Lugh defeated Evil God Balor I have decided to continue my training to reach Heavenly Dragon-Class. After leaving the human world, I have decided to tour the Underworld." Answered back Crom Cruach as he dusted off his clothes. "I have also met an interesting fledgling devil, who was brave enough to enter Lifeblood Geass Contract with me. In exchange for occasional help, he will provide me good battles." Said Crom Cruach. "So you will probably participate in the war between Heaven, Grigori, and Devils?" Asked Tiamat as she looked around. "Yes... personally, I have a great deal of hatred for Heaven and the Church. So I would be causing problems for them, even for free." Said Crom Cruach. "Also, don''t you want to come with me? I heard that Church and Heaven have countless treasures." He said with a feral grin. "Treasures?! Where... I am in." Exclaimed Tiamat in happiness as she led Crom Cruach to her nest. Chapter 47 - Preparations before the Conquest POV Return After I have returned to Castle Fuerig, my Spitting Thorny Flower took roots in the separate garden which was located in the underground complex under the Castle Fuerig and started digesting the corpses of the Fallen Angels, I have been supplying. While Spitting Thorny Flower was the lowest evolution of this species, its digestion speed was still absolutely terrifying. I could digest hundreds of corpses within a day. I have waited three days, and just after three days it has reached Pinnacle of the Warrior Level, and now was preparing for the next evolution. With Architect''s calculations, I found out, for the next evolution, will need 5,000 of them. No wonder most of these flowers never evolved beyond Bloody Thorny Flower, which is the next evolutionary stage of the Spitting Thorny Flower. The amount of fertilizer was enormous, I wonder how that one, which Shiva contracted was able to reach its level, before being found out before Shiva. Maybe it discovered some kind of God''s Graveyard. Considering that one was living in the Dimensional World of Hindu Pantheon, it seemed possible. Fortunately, I have enough fertilizer, so I left it there and also, left there a few Arcane Mechanical Automatons, that will be taking care of the feeding process. Now the most important thing was the Planar Conquest of the Yestera Plane. I have already sent a notice to the House of Bael, telling them we could start. Soon Venelana and also that Magicians from Zekram would arrive. And soon enough, after I sent the notice, Venelana arrived through the long-ranged teleportation. Contrary to what she was usually wearing, this time she was wearing combat armor. I must admit, that she looked more attractive in the armor rather than in dresses. "Hello Vena... you look gorgeous in the armor." I said while gently kissing her hand, to which she giggled in satisfaction. "Hello to you as well Zeo. Magicians should arrive soon." Said Venelana. "Magicians?" I asked in confusion, as I thought Zekram would send only one person. "Yes. There is only one Ultimate-Class magician, Mephisto Pheles. He brought with him his apprentices to experience Planar Conquest. Most of them are of High-Class and pretty skilled in many magic systems." I perked up hearing that Mephisto Pheles would come. He was the best magician among devils that has mastered countless types of magic. He often used humans as his medium, entering into a contract with humans, he will give them power, while they would obtain for him new magic. This is good, I can compare notes with him about my Tier Magic System. After some time, Mephisto Pheles along with his apprentices arrived. Mephisto Pheles is a middle-aged man with gelled hair, which is a mixture of red and blue. He has heterochromia; his left eye is blue, while the right is red. He had that weird aura of mysteriousness around him like you can''t know what is this person thinking or something in that way. "Lord Mephisto, I welcome you to my abode the Castle Fuerig." I welcomed him with a slight bow. He was Lord of his own house, The House of Pheles, and was also the best and most respected magician in the devil species. "I am grateful for such warm welcome, Lord Gremory. It honors to meet someone of your lineage after your parents passed away." Said he in a polite voice as he bowed back. ''So he knows... Zekram. Apparently, my little secret won''t be secret for a long time.'' I thought in my head as I gestured for him to follow me together with Venelana. "Now, I will be taking to this expedition altogether 13 Legions, which are 2,6 million soldiers and two of my Generals who are on Ultimate-Class. I, unfortunately, don''t have proper battle magic-oriented Legions, so that responsibility for long-distance attacks would mainly fall on you Lord Pheles, and me." I said to him. "That is acceptable. I will instruct my apprentices to start building the portal slowly. It will be done within the upcoming days, as it requires many resources and experiences magicians to open. I heard from Lord Zekram that your Lordship is well-versed in magic to the point of creating a wholly new Magic System. If possible, may you show me the results of your research? I will also show you something of my own creation in exchange." Said Mephisto Pheles to me to which I smiled widely. This was something I have waited for. "Of course, it would be my p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to discuss magic with the genius of our race, Lord Pheles." I said happily, but then I saw bored Venelana. "But before that, I need to spend some time with my fiance¨¦, naturally you understand." I said hurriedly, as I knew if I start the academic discussion now, we will be discussing magic for several days straight, and Venelana would be unhappy, she will not say anything, but I knew she would be disappointed. "Obviously I understand, I also have some obligations that I need to fulfill, so we will meet in the evening?" Asked me he, to which I nodded my head in agreement. "Thank you." Said Venelana quietly to me to which I smiled little. "Grandfather send you his regards." "Where is he?" "Now he is meeting with Werewolf Tribes. While they are much weaker than Bloodkin, they also have two or three combatants powerful enough to cause damage to Church. Apparently, after your discussion with him, he is hell-bent on the destruction of Church." Said Venelana. "Hmm... I that destruction of the Church won''t be entirely possible, but we can destroy its influence in other parts of Europe. In Italy, it is far deeply rooted, but from Britannia, Ireland, and eastern Europe it could still be purged with fire and blood." I said with a feral grin. Italy and central Europe were lost case, Heaven would protect it at all costs, but other areas have some Pantheons that are hiding in fear from Yahweh and his Archangels, but that would soon end. Chapter 48 - Opening the Portal "I will depart for the Asgard and Takagahamara after the conquest of the Yestera Plane is done." I said to Venelana as we then started talking about various mischievous things. "Your new look is pretty good... more handsome than before." Said Venelana during our conversation as a reaction to my new upgraded looks. After several hours I have been accompanying her and tea and snacks, I went to Mephisto Pheles to discuss magic. Progress on the construction of the planar gate or astral gate was going steadily. It was decided that the portal would be constructed away from Castle Fuerig, in the militarized zone. Thus entire area where the portal was located, was guarded by several Magic Towers, creating enormous defensive and offensive formations, to protect the gate, and protect everything from the gate. Getting help from Mephisto Pheles would greatly help in the propagation of my new magic system and more importantly, the creation of new spells. I have created only several spells, as I wasn''t bothered creating countless spells, as there are those who will do it in my stead. "Lord Lucifer." "Lord Pheles... so Zekram is very interested in announcing my heritage to the entire world as it seems." I said while greeting him back. Though with my new appearance, he didn''t have to do much, as I would be suspected by most, as silver hair is a trademark of the Lucifer and Lucifuge blood, though, with my Dark Light, it is clear as night''s sky. "Indeed, you are an anomaly, My Lord. For Lord Zekram, or even for Lord Lucifer. In long term, keeping your heritage hidden may cause you more damage than profit. As Ultimate-Class devil, and I can predict, that you won''t stay as Ultimate-Class long time, right?" Said Mephisto as he looked at me. "For whatever you wish to do, you need to bring the maximum from your bloodline, from the fame of the name Lucifer. Devils respect it, at the most innate level, as the original is the creator." Said to me Mephisto. "We will see at the later date... after the conquest of the Yestera. When will the portal be ready?" I asked the important question of this day. "One day, two days maximally. Planar travel is pretty complicated and one mistake could result in us connecting to an entirely different plane within the Dimensional Gap or we would get lost in the Dimensional Gap and die subsequently. It needs patience and resources, fortunately, we have enough of both, right?" Mephisto said that with a small laugh at the end. "You have scouted the Yestera Plane, right?" I asked him. "No... that was work of Lord Zekram, but he didn''t give me anything, so we will need to do it after we enter the Yestera Plane, but the civilization there is weak, some human barbarians, and mainly goblinoid species and some monster species." Said he in a sorry voice, as it was also additional work for him as a main leading magician of the expedition. "Dammed old man. Rather, for now, come and look at the fruits of my research!" I exclaimed happily as we started comparing notes about magic. I showed him my Tier Magic System with a brief explanation about how it worked. Then Mephisto tried it, and thanks to his exquisite knowledge of devil magic, human magic, and several types of runes, he was able to replicate the results. "Hmm... how did you solved the spellcasting stability? All rune types I am using, be it Aesir, Hieroglyphs, or Shinto they are resulting in a great deal of incompatibility. You must found a suitable Runic Language that is perfectly compatible with Devil Magic, right?" He said as he observed the spell he cast. "As expected of someone of your abilities when it came to magic. Yes, Zekram provided me with entirely new Runic Magic, which is absolutely perfect for the usage with Devil Magic. Innate Affinity Compatibility is 100,00%" I said to him. Afterward, we spent talking about magic till the next day, as we worked together on the Tier Magic System, as Mephisto said it was more suitable for Devils than their innate magic, due to the lack of firepower of Devil Magic. After one another day, that was spent by me with either accompanying Venelana or researching magic with Mephisto Pheles, the outline of the planar gate was finally constructed by Arcane Mechanical Automatons and apprentices of Mephisto Pheles. Now it was time to activate the planar gate by casting the correct spell, that would activate the entire runic formation that was engraved there, and the gate would be open. Then my armies could march and conquer. Search and destroy. I was standing at the balcony of the Fuerig, together with me was Venelana, and behind us were standing two of my Generals, General Amyke and General Borke Zagan. All of us were in our armors, and down below, all around the Fuerig, hundreds of thousands of devil soldiers were lined up in nice and clear formations, waiting for orders. "Send in scouts." I commanded sternly, after seeing the planar gate was connected to the Yestera Plane. Fortunately, it took only twenty minutes until the scouts returned with good news, that the planar gate materialized on the abandoned area that looked like some kind of wastelands there. After hearing the report I grabbed the Rosenkreutz and swung it at the planar gate. "March! To battle! To conquest! For the Glory of Devil Race!" I shouted to my soldiers, as 2,6 million devils, started marching to the gate, after General Amyke and General Borke Zagan went ahead of them, to guard the gate. "Come on my dear... death and destruction await us." I said to Venelana who nodded happily and followed after me. Chapter 49 - Yestera Plane On the other side, where the portal opened, it was a wasteland. There were only dead trees, dead plants, and similar things. Not even an insect was living here. Tens of thousands of devil soldiers were swarming the area like swarms of ants and started guarding the area. After soldiers came through the gate, thousands of Arcane Mechanical Automatons swarmed through the portal and started digging into the ground. "What are your spiders doing Zeo?" Asked me Venelana as we walked through the portal. "They are building a fortress around the portal. Then they would move onto the Penta-Runic Magic Tower Formation, which would be built inside the fortress, and the Octa-Runic Magic Tower Formation, which would be built around the entire area where the fortress would be located. We need this place to be protected best to our capabilities, in case this fortress is attacked." I answered her back. Now the most important thing was to build fortifications around the portal and defensive formations, in case of attack. If this portal is destroyed, we are all f.u.c.k.e.d up very well, as to build a new one, we would need to search the whole plane for suitable resources. If an enemy has the power to destroy the portal, he would be far stronger than my army. So in short, portal destroyed = f.u.c.k.e.d up. "General Borke goes and secure perimeter of twenty kilometers, kill everything, and if possible capture some intelligent lifeforms in the plane." I gave an order, as General Borke bowed slightly. "General Amyke, organize soldiers to help Arcane Mechanical Automatons in building the fortifications, we need them to be built as soon as possible." He also bowed and left to help to build fortifications. "Lord Pheles, if you mind, together with your apprentices, scan the area and start laying protective spell formations. Then join General Amyke and Arcane Mechanical Automatons to help to build the fortifications." I gave one order after another after just Venelana stayed with me. We have sat together, as I conjured two chairs and a tea table and started brewing tea. As proper Lord, and Commander of this expedition, I enjoyed the view while waiting for tea. "So, how long do you think this conquest will take?" Asked me Venelana as we were sitting down and observed everything below us. As the soldiers and Arcane Mechanical Automatons were working hard to build fortifications and everything around it. "Depends on strength of natives. Preferably less than one year. If the natives here are stronger than initial thought, then it would take even more. From what your grandfather told, the peak of this plane should be only Ultimate-Class, something we can deal with." I explained while finishing the brewing process of tea. "And what if they are above?" Asked me Venelana curiously. If there was something on Satan-Class then we are in deep problems. "Then I will call help. Though I believe it won''t be necessary." I said slowly, to which Venelana nodded. We continued drinking tea until soon enough was dark and each of us went to sleep in our tents that were constructed. A day after, I was in a meeting with Lord Pheles, General Amyke, and General Borke Zagan. Even Venelana was here though she looked pretty bored as we were discussing military things. "The fortress around the portal together with Penta-Runic Magic Tower Formation would be constructed within one week maximally, afterwards we could start the march." Said General Amyke his report. "Lord Pheles, when can you cast a large-scale magical scan?" I ask while looking at Lord Mephisto Pheles. "Preparations are done, now just we need to wait until the Penta-Runic Magic Tower Formation and Octa-Runic Magic Tower Formation. Then we would be able to scan the entire plane, as this world is not that big. Probably only 50% of Draconic Deus, not counting all planes connected and tied to the Draconic Deus." This was probably the best course of things to scan the entire plane in one go. Casting large-scale scanning scan was troublesome, casting such spells, would require probably experienced Apocalypse-Class to scan the entire plane. For Mephisto to cast such a spell even with help of Penta-Runic Magic Tower Formation and Octa-Runic Magic Tower Formation was a good feat. Also, it will save a lot of time. With one spell, we would have a detailed map of this entire plane, with all notable locations, and even settlements. Or at least, what is on the surface. In regard to an underground world, if this plane has something like that, we would need to do it by ourselves. "Very well, then we will wait for one week until Penta-Runic Magic Tower Formation and Octa-Runic Magic Tower Formation are constructed and then we will start. Generals, how are my Legions?" I asked as I looked at General Amyke and General Borke Zagan. "Half of them is working together with Arcane Mechanical Automatons on the building process, while half guards the area. They change their roles each day." Replied General Amyke. "Morale is high, and soldiers are eager to fight." Replied General Borke Zagan. "Have we encountered some monsters or other species?" I ask. "Not many, only a few hundreds of monsters, strongest being only at the Commander Level monster. They were soon turned into rations... besides that nothing." Stated General Borke Zagan. "Good, but be on guard if General Level monster shows up. Start searching through this entire area we have termed as wasteland and kill everything. After Penta-Runic Magic Tower Formation and Octa-Runic Magic Tower Formation is completed and we have a complete scan of the Yestera Plane we will start the march." I gave out my orders as both General Borke and General Amyke bowed slightly and left the tent. "Lord Mephisto you and I will go and help to construct magical defenses over the place." He just nodded before my eyes looked at Venelana. "Venelana, you will protect the home fort." I said to her. General Amyke was tasked with protecting the outer perimeter, General Borke was in charge of the search, while I and Mephisto were doing magical defense. So Venelana as the last Ultimate-Class was tasked with the defense of the portal. Chapter 50 - We March! (1) One week later After one week, I have arrived with my Legions in the wastelands of the Yestera Plane, the entire place had changed tremendously. The first thing to notice was probably the entire place has been turned into one massive military outpost. Around the portal, the majestic gothic-looking fortress was built by the combined effort of Arcane Mechanical Automatons and my soldiers, while incorporating their Penta-Runic Magic Tower Formation created from Five Magic Towers, which were part of the fortress. Several miles away, one could see, eight Magic Tower that was creating the Octa-Runic Magic Tower Formation. Below these wonderful structures, thousands of upon thousands of soldiers were swarming as they were either patrolling the area or training. "So, how are the results of the magic scan Lord Pheles?" I ask Lord Mephisto Pheles as we were in the war room, that was located on the top of the fortress. "Of course, Lord Lucifer." He said lightly, calling me only by the name Lucifer. He then conjured a map of the entire Yestera Plane. "This entire plane has landmass around 50% of Earth Plane. It has one continent and two sub-continents, which are not too far from the main continent. This continent we are located, we have named as Ewor. Another sub-continent we named as Ihor and the main continent is addressed just as Main Continent. Now to the Ewor Sub Continent." Explained Mephisto Pheles as he conjured the image of Ewor Sub Continent. "Now, we are located at the southern edge of the subcontinent. Only a few miles south from our position is the sea. Our only way to expand is to conquer the entire southern area, which is inhabited by three human barbarian tribes, and several small monster nests or human settlements." Pointed Lord Mephisto Pheles to the most southern point of the image. "What about the three tribes?" Asked General Borke Zagan. "Not too much of a problem. They are very weak, with only two Ultimate-Class barbarians among them. While they may have Ultimate-Class physique, with Tier Magic, killing them should not be a problem as I already tested the magic resistance of these barbarians, it is weaker than expected. Other Magic System as Aesir one should do the same work. Population wise, they have around one million population altogether, while combat wise, approximately half of them is able to fight, but they are weak." "General Amyke, General Borke, Venelana each of you will take three Legions and twenty Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries, and annihilate all those tribes. Leave none alive, use corpses to lure monsters there, so we can annihilate them in one scoop later." I commanded in a firm voice. During the last days, final adjustments to the Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries were finished, and I already ordered manufacturing them. As the portal was constantly being opened, I could have a stable flow of crucial resources or reinforcements from home. Yesterday, Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries arrived. They looked like I remember them with their futuristic design. Forty of them were immediately mounted on the Fortress Gremory, which was actually the official name of the fortress. Leaving me with sixty Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries that could be used in the field. Each of them had firepower comparable to Tactical-Tier Spell, meaning destruction from Town to City Level. In this conquest, it is annihilation. I don''t need survivors, especially no some human barbarians or goblinoids. I need an entire plane to be empty, as I planned to mine even core. Mining core of the plane, wasn''t something heard of in the Draconic Deus as it would lead to the destruction of the plane, but in my previous life, the Solar Federation was mining cores of Stars or Planets rather often as they were massive sources of energy that could be used in creating special weaponry or devices. The entire southern area was controlled by these human tribes, who were barely able to survive raids of the goblinoid tribes from the north, but thanks to the territory advantage, especially the valley that was the only available route from north to south, human barbarians were able barely to survive their aggressive and brutal attacks. Soon after Generals Amyke and Borke Zagan bowed and left the war room to go and organize legions, while Venelana still remained there. "I know Vena, that to you, it may sound to slaughter everyone from infants to old people, but alas, this is how wider works. Those with bigger fist rules, and now were are ones with the bigger fist... and to keep this advantage, we need to do everything in our power. Even if it means committing atrocities on weaker and innocent." I said to her in a cold voice. I personally didn''t care even if billions or trillions of innocent die, for me they were just numbers, I would gladly kill even for the life of a single devil. Probably this was the moment when I finally realized that even with my memories, I was now devil through and through. I went to Venelana and kissed her gently on her forehead. "You don''t need to have mercy with anything that isn''t our ally. Remember that well, they are either with us or against us, nothing else and nothing more. Those who stand with us or serve us shall be rewarded, those who stand neutral needs to make choice where to stand, and those who stand against us shall be annihilated to the last person." I said gently as she nodded her head and departed as well, while Mephisto Pheles gave me a weird look. "You have more in yourself from Satan Lucifer and first Gremory than you can imagine." Said he silently, before he left the room. "Possibly yes... probably." Chapter 51 - We March! (2) From distance, one could see three big armies numbering hundreds of thousands, followed by heavy artillery in form of futuristic-looking Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries. Each of these armies, had its own direction, as each of them was aiming at different. One was going to the south, another to the south-east and the last one was going to the south-west. Each one of the targets of these armies was located where one of three major barbarian tribes in the southern area of the Ewor Sub-continent was located, and soon enough would be annihilated. *** Sometime later, Southeast of the Southern Area of the Ewor Continent, Human Barbarian Tribe, Code Name: A High Command of the Conquest Expedition named three local human barbarian tribes as Tribe A, Tribe B, and Tribe C, not every creative name, but why should one be creative for something that would be soon turned into a sea of blood and corpses. "General, we are nearing the Tribe A, your orders." Said Lieutenant of General Amyke to him, as they were nearing the main city of the Tribe A after they slaughtered several smaller settlements. "Surround the city and use Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries until the city is destroyed. These primitives are of no challenge. Ultimate-Class ones are only in Tribe B and Tribe C, so we could go with an artillery bombardment solely." Said General Amyke with an uncaring voice, as he preferred to sleep rather than deal with these primitive humans, who were not any kind of challenge. Though he was glad, his colleague Borke Zagan and Lady Venelana Bael got tribes where were Ultimate-Class barbarians, meaning they would need to fight personally. In regard to Zagan, he was a bit battle maniac, and Lady Venelana was Bael, so it won''t be a problem. "Yes General!" Saluted Lieutenant to him, as he went to organize artillery troops. Shortly after that, three legions of devils, numbering six hundred thousand surrounded the entire city, and Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries were strategically placed around the city and started firing. When the first salvo fell, walls of the city were blasted straight into oblivion, as they never existed. The combination of Anti-Matter and Magicule Particles proved to be especially destructive. And these were cannons that were firing at their lowest power, as they were just testing them. "Good, now put it to max power and annihilate it." Said General Amyke with a satisfied smile. *** Around the same time, South of the Southern Area of the Ewor Continent, Human Barbarian Tribe, Code Name: B General Borke Zagan, stood proudly on his griffon who served as his mount and looked around, searching for signs of enemies. Similar to Legions led by General Amyke, they too encountered some smaller settlements, that were exterminated to last child. Suddenly, he saw the city and a large number of enemies marching in their direction. "Excellent this will save us time. Prepare Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries and start firing in their direction, when they are close enough stop bombardment and engage in combat, I will go and kill their commander." Commanded General Borke Zagan, as he jumped off from his griffon and this time used his own wings to fly, searching for enemy Ultimate-Class being. As he flew he heard and saw Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries as they were firing at the incoming barbarians, taking hundreds of lives with each shot, until they got close enough to Legions, only the artillery quieted down. "Oh, here you are." Said General Borke, as he saw the biggest barbarian that looked different from the rest, as he wore more ornamental armor than rest, and radiated more power. As he descended down, he heard something that was the Ultimate-Class barbarian shouting in a language he didn''t recognize, while devils had Omni-linguistic ability, it wasn''t for all languages, but only those existing and being used in Draconic Deus. He then waved his hand, summoning several huge shadows, which were actually golems, created through Clan Trait of Zagan, Fleshcraft. It allowed him to use biological matter to craft golems or something similar. The stronger the base material, the stronger the final creation. He ordered his flesh golems to attack the Ultimate-Class barbarians, as he continued supporting them with his magical attack from a long distance. Around the same time, South-west of the Southern Area of the Ewor Continent, Human Barbarian Tribe, Code Name: C The last three Legions were being led by Venelana to destroy the Barbarian Tribe C in the South-west of the Southern Area of the Ewor continent. Contrary to the two Generals, Venelana left commanding completely to her adjutant, as she wasn''t suited for all this senseless slaughter that was happening. She could understand the inevitability of it, but she didn''t enjoy taking innocent lives. Something her fiance¨¦ admired a little bit, as foolish as it was. Annihilation of the entire civilization was the core of the Planar Conquest one could say. As they were progressing in the march, soon enough they found the Barbarian Tribe C, where the last Ultimate-Class barbarian was located. "You can do whatever you want... I am taking care of the leader." Said she to her adjutant, as she spread her wings and flew high in the air, as crimson-dark Power of Destruction circulated around her, creating countless star-like orbs around her, as they started falling down on the city, mainly at the place, that leader was, obliterating everything from the realm of existence. *** The aftermath of the battles, Fortress Gremory, Top Tower "My Lord, we have received reports from Lady Venelana, General Zagan, and General Amyke." Said servant that came. "And?" I asked without even looking at him and continuing reading my grimoire. "Excellent. All three human barbarian tribes were completely annihilated without leaving a single soul alive, now the entire Sothern Area from Wastelands till the Skull Valley Pass, belong to your Lordship." Chapter 52 - Never Stopping War (1) One Day Later, Skull Valley Pass The Skull Valley Pass was a place that was dividing the entire Ewor Sub-Continent into two parts. Smaller Southern Area and larger Northern Area. While the southern area was inhabited by human barbarian tribes, the northern area was mainly inhabited by various goblinoid species, that were extremely populous. Each year, they attempted to enter the southern area through the Skull Valley Pass, but due to territorial disadvantage, they couldn''t pass through the Valley and were always repelled. Thanks to that, Skull Valley Pass was immediately secured by Devil Legions, who went directly there after the destruction of the Tribes A, B, and C. It was a strategic location, that needed to be secured as soon as possible. Currently, it was guarded by nine Legions, which were worth 1,800,000 soldiers and sixty Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries that were stationed on various positions with good angles, so they could be used to their maximum potential. Currently, General Amyke, General Borke Zagan, and Lady Venelana were in the war tent, that served as the temporary command center. All three of them weren''t looking exactly happy as they listened to the report of the scouts. "This isn''t good... though the question is, how they found out about it?" Asked General Amyke. "They probably have Ultimate-Class shamans or warlocks, but now that isn''t important... right now more than six million large horde of goblinoid tribes is going here... that is a problem. This is bad, we need to prepare for defensive. We are severely outnumbered, and the enemy has even a few General Level Monsters." Commented the situation General Borke Zagan. "As long as we properly block the Valley, with Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries with could deal them a great deal of damage. Our main point should be using defense to lower their number and kill their commanders and beings on the Ultimate-Class. Then the horde won''t be much of a problem. The real problem would be taking care of General Level goblinoids..." Stated Venelana calmly, as both of the generals looked at her mildly surprised hearing her tactics, but nodded in agreement. "The horde will arrive one hour later, while our reinforcements will take at least three hours from the Fortress Gremory. Probably Lord himself will arrive with reinforcements, taking three legions with him, leaving only one Legion wat the Fortress guarding the portal. Right now, as the southern area is clean, our concern is Skull Valley Pass." Said General Borke Zagan after. "Then send message to Zeo, to arrive as soon as possible, until we will play defensive." Said Venelana as she went out of the room. She took the role of unofficial commander, because of her status as fiance¨¦ of their Lord, she held the last word, and both Generals were aware that she herself was no pushover. In terms of destructive power, Venelana may be weaker in Class as she was newly advanced Ultimate-Class, but in terms of combat prowess, she was in a higher league. "My Lord horde of more than six million goblinoid species is advancing with tremendous speed at the Skull Valley Pass. Apparently, tribal chieftains of largest tribes defeated by someone, that unified north and started advancing to the south, concurrently, as we were conquering human barbarians." I heard a report from one of my servants as I was reading grimoire in the library while conversing with the Architect from time to time. "Interesting. How many beings on Ultimate-Class are there?" I ask. "Around seven, My Lord. One of them is even Eldricht Giant, that appears to be the leader of the horde... what is weird, the detection spell found signs of Divinity on the Eldricht Giant." Said the servant, as my eyes sharpened. "Send a message to three Legion Commanders to prepare for march, we will go with the fastest speed combined with large-scale teleportation, within three hours we should arrive at the Skull Valley Pass." I commanded as the servant bowed slightly, and run off to carry my orders. "Divinity... so this plane is already starting giving birth to the God Slots. Damm, this is getting problematic, we need to act fast." God Slots, were or was limit on how many gods, could the plane hold. Higher leveled plane, a higher number of gods. Newly birthed planes usually didn''t develop God Slots, not until several hundreds of thousands of years have passed till the birth of the Plane. Based on records that were brought by Aesir and Kindreds in Astral Boundary was a classification of Planes. Planes were Graded from Grade 9 to Grade 1 based on how strong entities could planes bear. Of course, this applied only to the Astral Boundary and not other Universes, the other Realms of Existences, where were different Universal Laws. For example, Draconic Deus was Grade 5 Plane according to the Planar Classification of Astral Boundary Realm of Existence. Meaning, Grade 5 Plane could hold maximally Apocalypse-Class beings and around 5,000 Gods, though that could be bypassed, by the creation of Dimensional Worlds, by combining Divine Kingdoms of Gods, to create something like a super divine kingdom. It works like this. A Pantheon of Gods that ascended in some Plane want to bypass this, so they all fuse their Divine Kingdoms, to create a Pantheon''s Dimensional World, from that moment, their existences as gods, are tied to that Pantheon''s Dimensional World, which is a collection of countless Divine Kingomds and other special materials, and God Slots are then freed. Though the danger of this is that, after this transiting, from Plane God Slot to Pantheon''s Dimensional World, God would be weakened drastically, for a long time, unless he used special means to hasten recovery. Of course, the disadvantage of this, is when the world is low on population larger number of gods, will result in that, all gods would be weaker. As they would be forced to fight for worshippers, so Gods usually won''t artificially increase the number of Gods. Chapter 53 - Never Stopping War (2) This method was employed only in planes where there was an overwhelmingly high population or was ruled by a single Pantheon as the existence of Pantheon''s Dimensional World, was a great defensive mean. Or the Gods were preparing for an invasion. Now Yestera Plane showed signs of Gods, so this world should already be a proper Grade 8 Plane, where the limit of Gods, should be 10. *** Meanwhile at the Skull Valley Pass "They are coming." Said General Amyke as he looked at the incoming horde of millions, leading them was a huge figure. It was Eldritch giants had skin tinged with a faint purple and light-colored hair, it had grey colored eyes. The giant was nine meters tall and looked fierce. The giant was armored in spiked armor, wielding one huge double-edged ax and broadsword. It also had various arcane tattoos upon its body. "Eldritch Giant... damm this is problematic." Venelana was aware of this species. Especially those on General Level and higher were fearsome existence. Eldritch Giants was a race that had innately fearsome physical strength and high magic resistance. Additionally, upon reaching General Level, their innate magic allowed them to dispel magic on the same level or weaker, which made them a nightmare opponent for any magician. "Who will fight that Eldritch Giant?" Asked General Amyke. "I will go, although he has innate magic to dispel magic, my Power of Destruction would be most effective against its defensive abilities." Said Venelana with a hint of uncertainty. While General Borke would be a better choice with his clan trait, he was needed at another place. He needed to command soldiers, so only Venelana was remaining. While General Amyke was also a choice, it was not a good one. "What about the rest of the General Level ones?" Asked Venelana. "From Fort Gremory we got info that there should be seven of them in this horde." Responded General Amyke. "I will send two of my Flesh Golems to take care of two of them, I just finished making them from Ultimate-Class human barbarians." Said General Borke Zagan. "Minus Giant and these two, there leaves four General Level enemies. How we will deal with them? If left unchecked, they could decimate a large number of our army." "We concentrate the power of Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries and try to assassinate them and then maybe use the magical formation to trap them in one place." "Hmm... that could work... hopefully." "Then everyone go to your positions." *** Soon enough, the entire Skull Valley Pass was on highest grade military alert. Everyone was waiting for the incoming horde. Two Generals along the Venelana were standing on the top of one watchtower. "I sense only five energy signatures on the Ultimate-Class, meaning two of those aren''t here, but magical scan clearly sensed them. Either they departed to somewhere else, or they are planning something." Said General Borke Zagan. "If they are scheming something it may be problematic... send message to the Fort Gremory to keep detection magic from Magic Tower Formations activated." Having two General Level enemies hiding in the shadow was a problematic thing, fortunately, magical detection from Magic Tower Formations could find them, and send a magical message to Skull Valley Pass. "Start charging Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries and attack two of General Level enemies, target two Orc chieftains." Commanded General Borke Zagan, as all sixty Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries were being charged to maximum and aimed at their targets. Thirty Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries at each one, hopefully, it will be enough to kill General Level being that has physique on Ultimate-Class. "Fire!" Shouted General as all sixty Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries fired, aiming at the two General Level Orc Chieftains. As they hit their targets, a huge explosion happened and took tens of thousands of goblins, orcs, bugbears, hobgoblins, and other creatures that were marching. As the dust settled down, it showed half-destroyed corpses of the two General Level monsters. "Good. Now rise the defensive magic formation and after five minutes take it down and start firing Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries once again." As Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries were being used to their maximum power output, they needed some time to cool down. Fortunately, it was only five minutes, until they could fire once again. After five minutes, Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries started firing once again, taking the lives of thousands of goblinoids of each shot of each Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batterie. Still, in regard to such a huge horde, it was a small loss, but alas still a loss. The arcane resistance of the Eldritch Giant was showing its full might, as he defended against the majority of the Power of Destruction effects. After being hit by several orbs of Power of Destruction, he suffered only minor injuries. "Damm... with this it will take a long time before I will take down the giant." Muttered Venelana, as she kept flying around the Eldritch Giant dodging his attack with his huge sword and ax. Meanwhile, she was dueling the Eldritch Giant, army of goblinoids started attacking the Fortress walls, only to be attacked by soldiers that were throwing random spells at the goblinoids. Soon on earth, bodies of devils and goblinoid species were gathering as blood started flowing. After half an hour, General Borke Zagan has released two of his flesh golems, crafted from corpses of General level barbarians. After he released those two flesh golems, it attracted the attention of two General Level entities, two Orc Shamans that were commanding the goblinoid army, which left space to General Amyke, who then flew in the middle of goblinoid and released his full power and started slaughtering them like cabbage. Most of these creatures were only of Minion Level and Warrior Level, which was the same as Low-Class and Middle-Class. Chapter 54 - Never Stopping War (3) Now all General Level Monsters were being occupied, the main fight was between soldiers of two sides. Slowly, corpses of goblinoids were gathering faster compared to those of devils, thanks to devils being individually stronger and also geared in best armor. Fortunately, they didn''t manage to breach the even first defensive wall. Alas, slowly they would with wave tactics, destroy several defense layers. One has to admit that the goblinoids were fighting with ferocity, not seen in devils or many races. Especially the more aggressive species like orcs and bugbears were comparable to the Asgardian Berserkers in terms of ferocity and brutality. Their physical prowess was also superior to that of most devils, even if they were of the same Class. "Restart the Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries and start focusing the fire on the back lines of the horde." Commanded General Borke Zagan as he looked around and ordered to use Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries once again, as currently, due to close combat engagement, they stopped firing them. But due to possible wave attacks, General Borke wanted to prevent it. "General, we have detected those two missing General Level Monsters." Reported General''s adjutant. "Damm... how far are reinforcements?" Asked General Borke Zagan. "Probably one or two teleportations." Reported adjutant. "I will personally take one of them... Amyke will also take one of them perhaps." Said General Borke as he spread his wings and went to fight. When he flew high in the air, and two General Level monsters appeared. Both of them were Orc Shamans, who were proficient in some kind of elemental magic or spirit magic or whatever. One of those orc shamans went directly at General Borke Zagan and started casting spells at him, which he dodged rather easily. Another Orc Shaman went to attack Venelana that was fighting the Eldritch Giant and attacked her with his spells. "Dammed creature!" Shouted Venelana in anger as she dodged attacks from Eldritch Giant and at the same time she fired orbs created from Power of Destruction at the Orc Shaman, that controlled several nearest bugbears to use them as a wall. As they were all fighting, suddenly portal opened high above, and a man in dark armor appeared with his long crimson silver hair reaching his back as he gripped scythe in his right hand. *** Then I started casting the spell of Strategic-Tier called Hell Flame. It was based on Clan Trait of Phenex House, though it didn''t have its properties, the only one it had was its darkness enlightenment. Soon enough massive amount of dark red flames were conjured as I wawed my scythe that acted also as a mystic code and the sea of flames was set free on hundreds of thousands of goblinoids down below me. As I controlled the spell to not cause any kind of damage to my troops, tens of thousands of goblinoids were burned to ash, as even more were injured by the terrifying heat radiated from the Hell Flame. It wasn''t a Strategic-Tier spell for nothing. Fortunately, my soldiers, thanks to their enchanted armor, were protected from the heat. Then I flew directly to Venelana and started firing Dark Light spears at the Orc Shaman, that was barely dodging them, but after several seconds, his speed slowed down, and he was already being injured by my attacks. I spread my eight pairs of devil wings and opened several Dark Light portals, from which chains of Dark Light flew out, and coiled around the Orc Shaman like a snake, until one of my Dark Light spears pierced his skull, killing him on the spot. I quickly stored the corpse of the Orc Shaman in my dimensional storage, as it would be a great source for my Devour Clan Trait, and flew to Venelana who was fighting against the Eldritch Giant. ''Scan.'' I commanded Architect in my head. [Level: General Magical Power: 250 Agility: 60 Vitality: 236] I looked at the scan and was mildly surprised. This Eldritch Giant was pretty strong. The only downside was its speed, as it was rather slow, but in everything else, it might be unquestioned. In terms of physical state and energy reserves, it was far superior to Venelana or my. When compared to intellect or mastery over arts, it was as low as or even lower than the average soldier in Underworld. From what I saw, Venelana managed to injure it with her Power of Destruction, unfortunately, not enough to kill this creature. I was almost salivating when I thought about using Devour on the corpse of such a strong creature. The gainst from it would be enormous. I looked at Venelana, who noticed my gaze and nodded, to which I started casting tens of spells, mainly those with high destructive capabilities, such as Dragon Lightning, Thunder Death Lightning of Tactical-Tier or even Combat-Tier such as countless Magic Missles were being created around me, as all of them shot at the Eldritch Giant. Unfortunately, for my spells, they weren''t enough to break through the terrifying magical defense of Eldritch Giant, but that wasn''t even my main aim. Thanks to my distractions, Venelana could condense a large amount of Power of Destruction in several orbs and attack Eldritch Giant when its defense was regeneration, causing him many injuries. "I will try to immobilize it with Chains of Dark Light while you will gather as much as possible of Power of Destruction to break the magical defense, so we could kill it." Hopefully, it will work. Chapter 55 - Never Stopping War (4) As we were flying around the Eldritch Giant who was in anger trying to attack us in vain, it was apparent that the Eldritch Giant looked troubled and pretty pissed off. He couldn''t defeat either of us, as we were pretty good at dodging his attacks, and we were also constantly restraining him, so he couldn''t command the goblinoid horde around. I saw that the two Flesh Golems that were created from corpses of the Ultimate-Class human barbarians were at a disadvantage against two General Level Orc Chieftains, but that was understandable, as they were just brainless zombies with huge power. Fortunately, General Borke Zagan managed to kill the Orc Shaman in a rather short time, and started commanding directly his two Flesh Golems. At the same time, General Amyke was wreaking havoc among the goblinoids, shooting spells here and there, massacring them like cabbage, making rivers of blood. What I didn''t like, was that my soldiers started dying faster. Something not pleasurable, but inevitable. Most of the men and women, never participated in the war, so this would at least steel them to a certain amount, but I saw that I have lost already tens of thousands of soldiers, so that was enough. I have created several Dark Light portals, as Venelana got behind me and started concentrating Power of Destruction in three orbs. Suddenly, as the Eldritch Giant was closing, chains of Dark Light shot out, coiling around the Eldritch Giant like a snake, not allowing it to move an inch. The Eldritch Giant looked angry as he tried to break the chains to no vail, in turn, he was even being burned by the Dark Light Chains. As he was struggling in the trap I cast on him, Venelana was done with her Power of Destruction orbs, and I started creating a highly compressed Dark Light Spear with a large part of my reserves. It wasn''t huge, rather small, only two meters long, but had a concentration of energy worth 80 Units, which was a terrifying amount. As the orbs of Power of Destruction hit the Eldritch Giant, he screamed in pain as I saw how his skin and muscle tissues were dissolved, apparently, the Arcanic Defense was broken for some time, giving me precious time. As I saw the Eldritch Giant wriggling in pain, as he screamed from the pain that his injuries were causing him, I released the Dark Light Spear at him, that I even boosted with a lightning spell, to give it even higher speed. The Dark Light Spear shot with speed and ferocity like tribulation lightning, as it aimed at the head of the Eldritch Giant, piercing his head in one go. After several seconds, when I was sure that the enemy was already dead, I released the Chains of Heaven, as I called that technique, dropping the corpse of the mighty Eldritch Giant on the ground. As the corpse hit the ground, deathly silence took over the battlefield. Remaining General Level goblinoids, two Orc Chieftains looked at each other, before a silent nod, they started retreating as other goblinoids started screaming and then running away. Run as hell. But I wasn''t giving any chances. I looked at Venelana and General Amyke who stopped his onslaught and flew to my position, as all of us flew to two General Level Orc Chieftains giving them pursue. It would be best to kill them here, so they can''t return back and reorganize their forces, giving resistance when conquering them. Meanwhile, with heightened morale, my Legions started pursuing fleeing goblinoids, killing them with ease. Bodies of goblins, orcs, bugbears, hobgoblins were being acc.u.mulated in small hills with tremendous speed. After pursuing for several minutes, Venelana managed to kill one of the Orc Chieftains by blasting his head with Power of Destruction, while General Amyke killed another one, as I restrained it with one of my chains. I must admit that they were pretty good at fleeing. In regard to what to do with two corpses, I left them to General Borke Zagan, as they would be useful, and could create another two Ultimate-Class Flesh Golems boosting his power by several times. The siege of the Skull Valley Pass was finished, and we have won. With the death of all those General Level powerhouses, practically the entire Ewor Subcontinent would be under my rule within several days, at the slowest. Now the only thing was to clean the battlefield, I went and stored the corpse of the Eldritch Giant in my dimensional storage, as I wanted to use Devour on it, that one would greatly increase my power. Chapter 56 - Aftermath After the last of the goblinoids were killed, we started slowly cleaning the battlefield. I ordered to collect all corpses on Commander Level, as they would serve as good food for my troublesome familiar. I didn''t bother with lower-leveled corpses, as they would be of no use, for as fast as possible growth of my familiar, I needed corpses of the strongest beings. What was troublesome, after it evolved to Devouring Thorny Flower, which has a strength limit of General Level, then it would be strengthened only of corpses of Commander Level and higher. From my limited understanding of that species, they needed an enormous amount of food to reach a higher level. Even from Commander Level corpse, their progress would be slow. I had an idea, that if their limit is set to for example Commander Level, then that level would act as base material, and lower leveled ones won''t be effective anymore or will be effective with the efficiency of one hundredth they were before. I need more data. I flew through the battlefield, as I watched my soldiers and Arcane Mechanical Automatons cleaning the battlefield, with General Amyke and General Borke Zagan giving instruction and overseeing the battlefield. "My Lord." Said both of them as they watched me came. "Order all soldiers to stop the cleaning works, and go to rest. Tomorrow take all 11 Legions and conquer the rest of the Ewor subcontinent... kill anything that breathes, I want to have a clean subcontinent." I ordered. Now was the best time to attack the rest of the subcontinent, as their leadership was crushed and dead. Also, the majority of the northern tribes of various species were drastically weakened, as they lost their numbers here. "Yes, My Lord." "Also, what are our loses?" I ask as I looked at them. "Around 100,000 dead. For many soldiers, this was the first large-scale battle, My Lord." Answered General Zagan slowly, to which I grit my teeth. "More than I anticipated, but the remaining ones would be steeled with fire and blood." I said with frustration. Still, with such a numerical disadvantage, it was a good result. Not to mention goblinoid tribes have more combat experiences than my soldiers, who were mostly freshly recruited to increase numbers. Fortunately, with the right training methods, and top-no¨¦tch weapons and armor, losses were far less than they would be if not for my precautions. "When we return from the Conquest Expedition, we will start the recruitment process once more and adjust military drills by tenfold." I said shortly, as I watched both of them bow and then leave. I also instructed Arcane Mechanical Automatons to finish the cleaning works, delivering the corpses of Commander Level creatures to me, as I stored them in my dimensional storage, rest was left to rot, after Arcane Mechanical Automatons, extracted the magical power to recharge themselves. It was another function that Architect created, based on my Devour Clan trait. It allowed any kind of Arcane Mechanical Automatons with the right runic matrix, to extract magical power from the deceased foe, to recharge itself, or to store energy. Thanks to that, they could work faster and without needing short breaks for recharging with ambient magic. This would also boost up the efficiency of the Arcane Mechanical Automatons several times. Next days, my Legions started marching through the Skull Valley Pass to conquer the rest of the Ewor Subcontinent, while I stayed here, in the fortress and oversaw the cleaning process. Surprisingly, Venelana tagged along, in case they encountered more Ultimate-Class beings. In some corners, some goblinoids survived, but they were mercilessly hunted down, as I ordered complete clean-up from any even bit intelligent forms of life. Yestera Plane must be stripped clean, as an entire plane would be turned into mining type, and even core would be mined. Now after an additional week, I was creating some plans for basic fortifications of the subcontinent, and also a means to reach other lands of the Yestera Plane. All continents were divided by huge bodies of water, and from magic scans, there were some really nasty things living deep within the depths of the ocean. This was troublesome, but I left it be as now I am not prepared to deal with sea monsters. To bring my Legions to other continents, a teleportation array was the best option, but that could be only constructed if we were already there. So to safely cross the large distances, I ordered the Arcane Mechanical Automatons, to firstly, replicate and build more of Arcane Mechanical Automatons, and afterward, they would start building first Voidsh.i.p.s. For the first Voidship to be built, I chose a Cruiser type, more precisely Lunar-Class Cruiser. Not to mention, each Voidship of the Solar Federation has fearsome firepower, now that I have the entire sub-continent at my disposal, that would be used as resources for my new weaponry, something not possible in the Underworld, as most resources went into factories to make supplies for war. Arcane Mechanical Automatons, started mining works immediately, as they attacked all deposits and worked non-stop to mine countless ores, and then started working to manufacture more Arcane Mechanical Automatons, and this process repeated and repeated. I even ordered soldiers to help with various tasks to boost up the production rate. I wanted everything to be done maximally within 2 months of time. Chapter 57 - Progress of small break Two months went by from conquest of the complete subjugation of the Ewor subcontinent. Last two months I have mainly spent surprisingly training and experimenting with magic. I finally trained with the specialized automaton, to learn a scythe mastery more, as I s.u.c.k.e.d at the close combat pretty bad. I have also used Devour on corpses of the Orc Shaman and Eldritch Giant. The Eldritch Giant gave me the biggest surprise, as not only I increased my reserves a bit, but more importantly, it helped my physique tremendously, as currently, I was almost on the pinnacle of the High-Class in terms of physique. Currently, I was in the Fortress Gremory which became the command center for an entire expedition for time being. I finished the last exercises with my scythe, as I spent some time practicing, to not look so bad. While I preferred magic, as it was everything for me, it was good to be prepared for Anti-Magicians or begins with the ability to negate any energy types, which was troublesome. Thus the close combat became more important. I had a great advantage in my physical strength, so it would be foolish to not use this advantage to the fullest and learn some weapon mastery. ''Architect scan.'' [Class: Ultimate Demonic Energy: 183 Strength: 98 Agility: 96 Vitality: 90] Most of my increase went to my physical attributes, mainly because of using the Devour Clan Trait on the Eldritch Giant. On one hand, it would be better to have increased energy reserves, but on the other hand, to increase physical state was far harder. Three humongous voidsh.i.p.s were being tended by tens of thousands of Arcane Mechanical Automatons, as construction of the first Voidsh.i.p.s of my future fleet would be soon completed. My current number of Arcane Mechanical Automatons shot up to the number of 750,000 within two months which was a very nice number. With such a number, I could finally start many construction projects and other things. Even a small plot of land in this newly birthed plane was far richer in resources than my own territory. Though that was understandable, as most territories in the Underworld belonging to the lords were already explored, resources found and mined. For resources "regenerate" could take tens of thousands of years or with some special means but that would be pointless talk. No wonder most of the factions that could do it, will explore the Dimensional Gap and search for some weaker planes to conquer them and take their resources. With this trip alone I have saved several years of worth of time. With a constant flow of resources into my factories, production of the Arcane Mechanical Automatons went with tremendous speed. I even got to have three Voidsh.i.p.s constructed already, while each of them was of the only Cruiser, it was still better than nothing. Though, even Cruisers of Solar Federations have fearsome firepower. Main canons, which were practically Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries of the higher model, firepower comparable to Ultimate-Class. As I looked at the works being done on the voidsh.i.p.s in satisfaction, I was thinking about started constructing combat-oriented Arcane Mechanical Automatons of the Arachne Type. While Drones were useful in supportive and construction areas, they were not so suited for the battlefield, even with their combat prowess of Low-Class, after I ordered to install small Magicule Lasgun onto them. The future lied in Voidfleet. During the Stellar Exodus, and Age of Technology, the majority of power, if not all, of the Solar Federation came from the Voidfleets, that we have constructed. While our land armies in terms of strength were inferior to Aeldari Empire or Ork Warbands and Orkish Empires, in terms of Naval Fleet, we could hold our own against Aeldari and even Orks... if not for Orks using numbers against us. In past decades Solar Federation was being more and more militarized, something that I truthfully approved, as High Admiralty and Marshalls poured more finances into the research of weapons and things for the Military. Some things, that weren''t finished like human enhancements, and various transhuman projects were still in the database of Architect. Many of the Marshalls of the Solar Federation wished to create transhuman warriors that would be able to slaughter in combat the Aeldari Exarchs or Orks, from ordinary Boyz to mighty Warbosses. "It is really impressive how efficient and at the same time terrifying your Arcanotech is." Said Venelana as she stood behind me. "Yes, indeed. The Arcanotech I believe is the future of the Devil Race. Look at it, at its wonders. With Voidsh.i.p.s able to traverse starts and conquer worlds, with Mechanical Automatons, we could raise fortresses, castles, and cities within days. And when combat-orientated Automatons are manufactured, the blood of enemies would baptize them as a most terrifying army to face in battle." I said dramatically while imagining millions of Mechanical Automatons of various shapes and forms, orderly marching underneath thousands of voidsh.i.p.s that were high above them, to the battle. Bringing down every foe, and killing every enemy. Devils had a good predisposition to develop Arcanotech. We were an extremely magical species, meaning magical power, magicule particles were our root. We are also long lives species, and could easily learn through time, develop, and many others. But Orks, armed with advanced technology was a nightmare for everyone that fought them. I remember that they were like the plague, that destroyed everything in their path... and when they were armed worlds and stars burned. Chapter 58 - Preparations "We would be having War Council soon, so be so kind and stop admiring your metal machines that look creepy." Said Venelana from behind me. "They are not creepy... their design is to maximize their potential in everything they are doing, that is why Arachne Type Arcane Mechanical Automatons were created." I said that but Venelana didn''t bulge even, and we went to the War Council. We went through the halls of the Fortress Gremory, where Generals Zagan and Amyke together with Lord Mephisto Pheles already waited for our arrival. "Gentlemen, we can start." I said as we entered the room. "Of course, My Lord. At first, the state of our army is well, and we have replenished the losses, so we are on a number of 1,3 million soldiers, ready to march on the Ihor." Reported General Borke Zagan, as Lord Mephisto turned or holographic projection of the Ihor. "As we can see, the next target of the conquest would be the Ihor subcontinent, leaving the mainland of Yestera Plane as the last one. We have sensed a large amount of Ulitmate-Class beings on the Mainland so before we have manufactured eno¨¢gh weaponry from Arcanotech, it would be best to go there as last." Explained General Zagan with a short break, as I nodded my head in approval. "From magical scans, it seems, contrary to the Ewor subcontinent, the entire Iwor subcontinent, is dominated by human tribes, a more developed than barbarians than here, probably due to lack of a large number of various monster species or goblinoids as in Ewor subcontinent." Continued General Zagan. "About how many Ultimate-Classes are we talking about?" I asked while looking at General Zagan. "More than fifteen probably." Reported General. "Hmm... soon three Lunar-Class Cruisers would be constructed with firepower that is able to kill Ultimate-Class being. With a specifically prepared ambush, we could kill a large amount of them, maybe even all if we lure them to battle." I said. With the construction of three Lunar-Class Cruisers, the first of my Voidship fleets I wasn''t too worried about numerical disadvantage against more Ultimate-Class beings. With Voidsh.i.p.s and advanced Anti-Matter Magicule Batteries, I could prepare some kind of ambush and dispose of even several Ultimate-Class beings in one sneak attack. And if I have more than twenty Voidship, I could even let them got head-on. "We will use Voidsh.i.p.s to cross over the sea and build teleportation array on the Ihor subcontinent, and through the teleportation array, our army and together with Mechanical Legion will cross over." My plan was to cross with Voidsh.i.p.s and their construct array to bring my legions. "That is a good plan, Lord Lucifer. During my magical scans, I have found that within depths of the ocean, there are entities on the Satan-Class." Said Lord Mephisto Pheles. This was something I have already predicted when we first came here. It was only a matter of time until I will have enough power and military strength to conquer the sea inhabitants and mine the entire plane through and through. "Sea exploration would be done much later, now our focus is on continents." I said. "My Lord how many soldiers could one Cruiser transport?" Asked me General Zagan. "If they are packed densely, then maximally 100,000. Altogether, all three of them could transport one and half of Legion, and in storage space, a probably unknown number of Mechanical Automatons, but probably even more." Answered shortly. Cruisers weren''t suitable in the transportation of a large number of troops, that was a role for Battlesh.i.p.s, Dreadnought, Flagsh.i.p.s, or Space Fortresses. "Then it is decided. Voidsh.i.p.s would be finished in the upcoming days. Lord Mephisto, you would be coming on this expedition with us, as Fortress Gremory with all advanced Arcanotech isn''t in immediate danger for now." I ordered. With new additions to the defense of Fortress Gremory, the fort with all Arcanotech it could easily defend against the attack of many Ultimate-Class beings. Especially thanks to new models of Anti-Matter Magicule Batteries that were also used in the Lunar-Class Cruisers were mounted onto walls and towers of the Fortress Gremory. "Yes, My Lord." "Yes, My Lord." "Of course Lord Lucifer." Responded two Generals and Lord Mephisto Pheles together, as they left the room and I was left alone with Venelana. "So what do you think Vena? In the future, this would be our lifeblood." I said to her as I sat down on the sofa. "It is too bloody but probably necessary. From two months you have obtained resources worth of several years of production in the Underworld." Said Venelana slowly as she came to me and sat on my l.a.p and hugged me. My hearts beat very fast as I felt her soft body touching mine. This was really something new to me, I felt uneasy but also comfortable for some reason. [This is just a biological reaction of you meatbags have, or in other words, you want to mate with this woman, so mate with her.] Said the voice of Architect in my head. ''Crappy machine.'' I cursed in my head. After several seconds, I hugged Venelana with my hands and held her close to me, as her head rested on my c.h.e.s.t. It was apparent that even though, she was masking it perfectly, she didn''t like the environment here. This was a military expedition with a minimum amount of luxuries, or other necessities for nobles. I personally hated it, so I didn''t take anything that wasn''t really needed for expedition or battles. "Thank you for your help." I said quietly to her. In truth, I was really happy that she came, it may didn''t seem like that, but she was a great help. Chapter 59 - First Flight The next day, I was standing in the command center of one of three Lunar-Class Cruisers. I was sitting on the throne that was installed in the middle of the room, while General Zagan and Venelana were sitting beside me, as my ship was in the lead of the other two. Finally, after a long time, I was once again sitting in the voidship. During my time in the Solar Federation, I have designed many of them, especially oriented for battle. Entire Voidship was controlled by simple A.I. created and controlled by Architect. This was the advantage of advanced artificial intelligence technology. In Solar Federation, all fleets were solely controlled by A.I. while Captains of Sh.i.p.s, or other Navy Officials, were only doing final decisions, where to shoot, if shoot, where to fly, and other things. In other things, A.I. was more precise than the human factor. We were passing through the ocean currently, and we would be for several hours. "How much time until we reach the Ihor, Zeo?" Asked me bored Venelana as she was sitting there and looking bored as hell, even I was a bit, of course, I could read some magic tome, but due to sitting here with General Zagan and Venelana that would be considered as rude to them. One was my fiance¨¦, and the other was my most loyal vassal. "Three or four hours, we are flying at the lowest speed, to not waste much energy, as we need it for weaponry, and also, the entire ocean is full of many strong monsters and sea beasts, we don''t need to attract attention." I answered her. Deep within the depths of the ocean, there were many strong entities. I set the speed of the voidsh.i.p.s to its lowest for the reason of the lowest consumption. In turn, my sh.i.p.s won''t be attracting the attention of more energy-s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e monsters and creatures, that would be otherwise tempted to attack my transport. "I see... that is indeed wise move, My Lord." Said General Zagan from my side. "After arriving at the Ihor, we would be landing in the west of the subcontinent, apparently, in near there is a strong tribe of humans, that would be needed to deal with, so I will be putting in test my new artillery of Anti-Matter Magicule Batteries." I explained. Problematic thing was, near my landing-place, where I planned to construct teleportation array was some tribe of humans, liked by Ultimate-Class Chieftain, so my new voidsh.i.p.s would have their first test. "Why not fly and land in north or south of Ihor?" Asked Venelana. "It was no good option, My Lady. You see, while these three voidsh.i.p.s may appear strong, if we are unlucky and encounter some very strong sea beast, we could be easily attacked from the sea. North Coast and South Coast are much distant, so we would need to spend more time flying." The sea beasts truly terrified me. When Lord Mephisto told me that, he found existences on the level of Satan-Class / Intermediate Divinity Stage God was truly dreadful. This plane was weird, its development and strength were drastically different between sea and land. "Still, even if we are talking about continents, this place has far more Ultimate-Class powerhouses than we have initially predicted. That is a bit troublesome." I said. "Don''t worry, My Lord. Currently, I have four Ultimate-Class flesh golems, and after we dispose of these foul barbarians, I hope that you will leave me some of them, so I can increase my collection." Said General Zagan with a malicious grin, to which I nodded. "Of course General, your collection is most helpful in this conquest." I said. While Flesh Golems created from Zagan''s Clan Trait were weaker than geniue experts, that was mainly due to major loss of intelligence and wisdom due to their death and use of the Clan Trait to reconstruct them as Flesh Golems. Even weaker their use was in that, they could easily block and stall genius Ultimate-Class powerhouses for enough time, and if they were to gang up on someone, they could use the numerical advantage to kill even real Ultimate-Class powerhouses. Yestera Plane, Ihor Subcontinent, Central Region, several days before "Chieftain, the prophets, and shamans have verified the news... apparently, the entire Ewor Subcontinent fell to the vile invaders." Said a man in long fur robes. "What should we do Head Shaman? Invaders should be very strong to conquer the entire subcontinent." Asked the Chieftain his advisor the Head Shaman. "In my opinion, we should contact other Great Tribes through entire Ihor and establish the alliance against the invaders. From what shamans prophecies and visions, told that the invaders are already coming to attack and annihilate us." Stated the shaman in a creepy voice. "How much of Legendaries could we gather with all support?" Asked Chieftain. The Legendary powerhouse was in their culture name for Ultimate-Class entity. "There are 7 Great Tribes across entire Ihor, and each of them has on average 2 Legendary Powerhouses, some have even three. Altogether, we would have probably around 17 or 18. The problem is, some of them are already part of their prime, especially Great Tribes in South, are in severe decline, and their Legendaries are already on verge of dying from old age." Answered the Shaman truthfully. Even so, gathering so large a number of Legendary-ranked powerhouses was terrifying, so he hoped that it would be able to defeat enemies. Especially, now that his tribe was calling for such alliance, and they had three Legendary-ranked powerhouses, himself included. "Then send a message to all Great Tribes and call them for a meeting, right now. We need to establish a military alliance as soon as possible. Do you know when will the invaders arrive?" Said Chieftain. "Within days Chieftain. I will work as fast as possible to accomplish these tasks to preserve our civilization and banish the evil invaders to where they belong." Answered Head Shaman. "Good... hopefully, we will all survive this." Chapter 60 - Landing at Ihor, Attacking a Tribe Yestera Plane, Ihor Subcontinent, Western Region If one looked from the coast of the Western Region of the Ihor Subcontinent, on the horizon you could see three humongous spacesh.i.p.s appearing, as they were slowly flying towards the land. I observed the area, not finding anything weird, there weren''t enemies so that was good. General Borke Zagan was standing next to me in the command center of the Lunar-Class Cruiser, as we were observing the coast. It looked like a beach, with sand and sunny weather. "Where should we go now, My Lord?" Asked General Zagan, while observing the land. "We shall be annihilating one of the Great Tribes in the Western Region of Ihor Subcontinent, close to the Westcoast, isn''t the Tigara Tribe? I don''t want any kind of disturbances during the building process of the teleportation array to Ihor. We will annihilate them with Anti-Matter Magicule Batteries installed on cruisers. At least we will see the might of new models of them in practice." I said with a grin, as three Lunar-Class Cruisers went to the direction where the Tigara Tribe was located. "Of course, My Lord." Answered General Zagan, as we continued our journey where the Tigara Tribe was located. After half an hour of flying, this time with high speed, as I was not bothered by attracting mighty sea beasts and monsters from the depths of the ocean, and soon enough, the Tigara Tribe was in our sights. It was worthy of the title Great Tribe, it looked huge, with many buildings that were looking more advanced compared to the Tribes in the Ewor subcontinent, I even sensed two Legendary-ranked Powerhouses, that were there. "There are two of them... start charging the Anti-Matter Magicule Batteries, including the Main Cannons." I commanded, as everything as being charged on the three Lunar-Class Cruisers, aiming at their target, which was a settlement of the Tigara Tribe. Soon enough, after several seconds, I got notification from Architect who was now directly controlling these three voidsh.i.p.s, that all artillery was fully charged and ready to fire. "Fire." I commanded, as soon, tens and tens of Anti-Matter Magicule Batteries started shooting at the settlement of the Tigara Trige, which looked like Starfall. Including the main artillery cannons, which reminded high supernova, when it shot three large balls of concentrated energy. Afterward, one could hear screams of pain and anguish from down below, as the entire settlement was bombarded straight to oblivion, destroying everything, leaving nothing standing or alive. Only two Ultimate-Class powerhouses of the Tribe, we right now barely standing after the first wave of artillery. "Send them a second wave." I commanded, and immediately, all Anti-Matter Magicule Batteries started shooting once more, the sound of firing, steel, and the fire was being spread around the three voidsh.i.p.s, as a new wave of attacks hit the settlement, or right now ruins of the settlement. When the supernova shots of the main artillery fell down, a huge explosion occurred, and shockwave tore out all trees in diameter of one kilometer, even sh.i.p.s shuddered slightly, as we experienced the aftershocks. After several minutes dust finally settled and I looked at delight at the huge wasteland which was created by my Arcanotech, the former populous city settlement of the Tigara Tribe, populated by tens of thousands of humans. "Splendid... what do you think General?" I asked with a happy voice, seeing my weapons work in such a marvelous way. This was nothing more than the combination of my knowledge from Solar Federation combined with the magic of this realm of existence, creating even more fearsome weaponry. And this was only a beginning... as I would grow stronger, so would my Arcanotech, as my possibilities would widen, allowing me to construct and recreate even more wonders from the Golden Age of Technology. Cruisers had less firepower from combat-oriented Voidsh.i.p.s. I wonder how strong would be upgraded Battlesh.i.p.s or even Void Fortresses that were the pinnacle of space-faring technology of Solar Federation. My final aim was to construct Black Fortress. Black Fortresses weren''t technology or anything created by Solar Federation, but something far more ancient, but with such huge destructive power, it eclipsed every ship across all fleets of Solar Federation or Aeldari Empire. Solar Federation had studied one of them, and I was even head of the research team. Till now, I have all data saved in the Architects database, waiting for the blueprints to be finished. "Send down Mechs and Legions to cleanout. We will construct the teleportation array here. The Tigara Tribe was located in a suitable location with good defensive possibilities. Secure the location, and build a simple fortification." I commanded as General Zagan began shouting commands to his subordinates. The only loss I have suffered was that the bodies of the Ultimate-Class humans, can''t be recovered as my artillery blasted them to oblivion. Just in three hours, the entire place was cleaned perfectly, as if nothing ever happened here, thanks to magic and mechs. Then, the building process of the teleportation array started, which would take approximately 12 hours probably. I then retreated to the Cruiser to spend some time with Venelana and drink some tea, maybe I will go sleep before I dumped overseeing duty onto General Zagan. Another advantage of being a Lord, I have subordinates, that are doing things instead of me. On the other side, I was inventing new Arcanotech gadgets, that eased life for everyone, my people included, so it is even. When I was back, I already saw Venelana preparing a tea for me, albeit a little clumsily, it was apparent this was the first time she was doing something like this, to which I smiled lightly, as I sat down. And after a very long twelve hours, I was notified that the teleportation array was already finished, which was fantastical, and terrible. Fantastical for the conquest, as it could continue. Terrible for me, as I wanted to sleep a bit more, as I was tired. Chapter 61 - Moving on After waking up, I went to the teleportation array to activate it. Fortunately, the activation process was a very short one, and soon enough spatial portal was created of enormous size, and tens of thousands of soldiers started pouring from it and getting into orderly formations. I was satisfied seeing such beauty and soon, I will unleash them onto the Ihor and turn it into my playground similar to the Ewor, and then mainland and soon, the entire Yestera Plane would be my source of resources. After some time, my entire army with over 1 million soldiers was here, together with half a million of Arcane Mechanical Automatons, was on Ihor, and soon, tomorrow they will march. After constructing so many Arcane Mechanical Automatons, I have decided to start using them for war, and after the conquest of the Ihor, I will start manufacturing the combat-oriented types. Some of them were already in the preparation stages. "General, organize everything for an attack tomorrow, coordinate your attack with the usage of Voidsh.i.p.s, we will use them in every attack already. Also, notify me if something happens." I said before I turned to leave. "My Lord, there is something that requires your attention." General Zagan quickly said before I left. "What?" I turned around. "Our last magical scan performed by Lord Mephisto Pheles showed that as we are speaking almost all Ultimate-Class powerhouses of these tribes are together gathered at one place, probably some meeting. It is highly possible that they are plotting to ally against us. Altogether there are 15 Ultimate-Class powerhouses participating in that meeting My Lord." Explained General Zagan as I frowned lightly. As much as I hated humans, despite being one past life, their biggest advantage and talent were banding together, depending on unity and numbers. Something not many races were good at, devils being a prime example. Most of us are too proud or straight arrogant to ask for help. One aspect that I will break and bury in history when I take control. While among humans, when faced with threats they would join together and fight as one. Something I didn''t want to see. Now, 15 joined together to form a resistance group, annoying me to no end, but alas, they will be crushed and killed as everything that stands in my way. "Proceed as usual. Without any changes, but include counter plans if the bigger number of Ultimate-Class powerhouses appears. We need to be ready for all possibilities that could happen." Something that I wanted to prevent, happened. Not that I was unaware of such possibility, but I hoped that human tribes would either be too blind to fight together or would put their grievances and hatred first before common interest. "Also, be especially careful, and tell Lord Pheles to conduct scanning and tracking spells every 12 hours to observe the location of Ultimate-Class powerhouses, we need to be in light of their movements." I said to him before leaving. "Architect, start creating counter plans for the Ultimate-Class humans and how to most effectively kill them with our current strength without any major loses." [Of course.] Sounded voice of an Architect in my head. I wanted to win suffering minimum losses. In this regard, the Architect is the best strategist. In Solar Federation, battle strategies were often created by the most advanced Artificial Intelligence, due to their superior calculation abilities and analysis skills. With help of the Architect''s skills, I will have countless possible scenarios, I can apply to my situation if we encounter a large amount of Ultimate-Class powerhouses. I also made a mental note, to beat up Zekram when I reach his level of power or higher, for purposely sending me to the world that is too annoying. Fortunately, there are not notable threats, as he wouldn''t send Vena if it was that case. He was probably here personally, to scout the world. Still, so many corpses of Ultimate-Class... very good, though, what was the troublesome quality of them was low, and I noticed I won''t be gaining much increase from them, but probably enough to reach a higher level of Ultimate-Class. *** Meanwhile at the Central Region of the Yestera Plane Fifteen people in tribal clothing were sitting on lavish chairs, as the deathly silence was in the air, nobody spoke a word. "So... how accurate is that information?" "100%... entire Tigara Tribe has been annihilated by invaders to the last person. Apparently, they used some monstrous flying metal things to shoot at them and annihilated them, including two Legendary people." Said the chieftain of one tribe. "We need to act immediately, to rally armies and attack vile invaders." "Yes, together we will be able to defeat them. How many warriors can each of your tribes rally? My tribe can muster 15,000 warriors." Asked one of the Chieftains. "50,000." "65,000." "40,000." "57,000." "62,000." Soon all fifteen of them stated how many warriors could they bring to their alliance. "So in the end a grand army of 1,6 million is formed, known as the Alliance of Ihor. With this grand army, and fifteen Legendary powerhouses we shall defeat and banish vile invaders to where they came from." Said the ''leading'' chieftain, that became something akin to the chairman of the Ihor Alliance. "When shall we march unto the enemy? Those vile invaders are currently in the western region, and we don''t know what is their next target?" Asked one of the Chieftains. "After we mobilize our armies, we will attack them at first. In front of our strength and numbers, they will be nothing." Said leading chieftain with a hint of arrogance in his words, as now he was the practically uncrowned king of the Ihor subcontinent. "Then it is decided. Everyone return to your tribes and start rallying troops, force all tribes to send as much as possible troops for our cause." Said to them leading chairman. Chapter 62 - Battle for Ihor (1) Several days later, provisory fortress Fort West In the past several days, I have a bit changed my plans thanks to the stupid natives. It was not sarcasm, but they really helped me a lot, as they decided to attack first, which was pretty good for me, as my greatest advantage is Arcanotech is better used in situations like this, at least tech that I have in my arsenal. The next day after my army arrived through the teleportation formation, I was notified, that all Great Tribes were mustering their armies and started marching to my location, which I was mildly surprised and amused. Thus I have settled for defending. I have hidden my three Lunar-Class Cruisers, with stealth tech, to give natives feeling they were not present and encourage them to attack me. I have also installed all my Anti-Matter Magicule Batteries onto the fort and also, hidden a few of them in surrounding mountains, as this terrain had many mountains which gave me an idea to build some magic towers, so we can apply magical spells of higher scale or magical formations and traps. With terrifying building force which was Arcane Mechanical Automatons, I had everything built within upcoming days, and now I was just expecting the enemy to come. I have also reduced my army of 1 million that was here, to just easily 300,000 and let the rest hide within mountains, to act as an ambush force. These humans were stupid, they were just some new and young civilization and as they were in tribal age, they were pretty aggressive. To maximize usage of my arcanotech and various traps, I needed to provoke them to attack me recklessly. "How are your preparations General Zagan?" I ask my retainer who was handling some paperwork. "All my Ultimate-Class Flesh Golems are ready to stall four of their Ultimate-Class powerhouses. Lady Venelana could handle two or three of them, as individually weak and General Amyke will also be able to take probably two. Lord Mephisto Pheles arrived yesterday, and he would take control of the Penta-Magic Tower Formation that was built by Mechs, to cast large-scale spells at the enemy and if needed to cast supportive spells." "Very good. What about preparations for the usage of Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries and Lunar-Class Cruisers, I gave you?" I gave him some most useful scenarios of battle created by the Architect to go through them. "We will do it similarly to the battle in the Skull Valley Pass, and try to bombard them with concentrated fire with both Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries to reduce the number of their powerhouses. With our current firepower, if needed we could even wipe all of them." Answered General Zagan. "Yes indeed. But that would also obliterate bodies to dust, and I need them to increase my power, and you can craft more Flesh Golems if they are in an especially good state." I said to him. With the usage of so many Anti-Matter Magicule Batteries and on top of that, with Lunar-Class Cruiser, I think we could kill probably at least ten Ultimate-Class powerhouses with two salvos, but that will also completely obliterate bodies to dust, and nothing would remain. With controlled bombardment, bodies will be at least partially preserved. Though on the other side, it will increase a bit loss of lives, to prevent that, I will personally join the battle and take as many of Ultimate-Class powerhouses as possible. "Finish all things needed to be done. I am returning to my room to study magic tome." I said to him, as I was eager to study new magic tome, that I found interesting. Every day, I learned something new, and it helped me to perfect my new Tier Magic System. Slowly, I was steadily improving the might, stability, and abilities of the Tier Magic System even more. Having Lord Mephisto Pheles here I can consult with him, which helped greatly. At the same time, several days of travel from the Western Region If one would look at the roads this time, he would see hundreds of thousands, human barbarians, clothed in primitive clothing made from the fur of animals, armed with cubs, crude spears, and swords, as they were marching to the Western Region. On huge monsters, be it sabertooth cats, mammoths, huge black-fur wolves, and other creatures. "Big Chieftain in two days we will arrive at a place where the invaders are located." Said one of the Legendary powerhouses belonging to some Great Tribe, based on his clothing was furrier and more complete, suited for winter, he was from North of Ihor. "Very well, we need to banish those vile invaders as soon as possible, to prevent any slaughter of our blood." Siad the ''Big Chieftain'' who was the leader of the Alliance between Ihor human tribal alliance. Chapter 63 - Battle for Ihor (2) Day of the Battle, Ihor subcontinent, Yestera Plane, Western Region, provisory fortress Fort West "Is Lord Mephisto Pheles ready to activate spell formation?" I ask my Generals, General Amyke and General Zagan who were standing behind me, armed in their battle armors. "Yes, My Lord. Lord Mephisto Pheles is prepared to cast the spell with help of his apprentices. The spell will create a formation that will prevent them from leaving, allowing us to annihilate them in one gulp, basically taking the entire subcontinent in one go." Answered General Zagan. This was a plan to annihilate all enemies in the Ihor in one go. Then it would only leave the mainland, which while was bigger and had a higher number of Ultimate-Class, as they were many General Level monsters, but there isn''t any kind of unity, so they would easily annihilated one by one. "What about Arcanotech weaponry?" I ask as I looked at the huge dust cloud rising high in the sky, several kilometers away. Apparently, our guests were already here soon enough. "We have prepared 100 Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries to be our artillery and three Lunar-Class Voidsh.i.p.s are waiting in the stealth mode for the time to strike." Reported General Amyke. "Very well." Thus we waited and soon enough twenty minutes later, we could already see first humans barbarians, in their primitive gear marching at us, under leadership lavishly armed, at least for their standards as much as a primitive tribal society could go. One of them stepped forwards, shouted something I didn''t understand, while the devil''s innate talent was Omni-linguist, it wasn''t that easy. For it to activate, devil blood needed to be integrated with the World''s Core, the Will of the World to recognize. Afterward, devils could speak all commonly spoken languages, that weren''t magical or mystic in nature. I didn''t bother with the barbarian that was talking and immediately ordered for the plan to start. The moment I sent my confirmation, from several magic towers, an enormous amount of magical power surged, and fused with ambient magic in the air, created a huge transparent dome over the diameter of several kilometers, locking both of our armies in this space, until one side perishes. Afterward, the formation was cast, and barbarians were still in wonder what was happening, I gave orders for Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries to start their bombardment, under the leadership of three Lunar-Class Cruisers, that fired before the Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries, aiming at the Ultimate-Class powerhouses mixed in the crowd. Bombardment from the Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries and mainly three Lunar-Class Cruisers, that were armed with more advanced Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries compared to those used for smaller combat, of Tactical-Class, killed already several Ultimate-Class powerhouses on the side of humans, and more than two hundred thousands ordinary soldiers. While they were strong in numbers, they were individually weak and on top of that, they weren''t practically wearing any kind of armor, just some of them had some primitive clothes made from the fur of Warrior Level and Commander Level monsters, which was absolutely insufficient in front of advanced Arcanotech., "Should we start another salvo, My Lord?" Aksed General Zagan as he observed the might of Arcanotech. By now, they must have understood that this will change the future of war. Just like gunpowder changed completely the style of war for humans when it was discovered, we will also change. Besides individual power, which will always remain as the top priority, we will have a lesser one and that would be Arcanotech. While Arcanotech and even technology were Solar Federation was little threat to Tier 3 existences, which was Apocalypse-Class and higher, it was terrifyingly effective against Tier 1 which was basically Low-Class to High-Class. And most of the armies of all factions in Draconic Deus were composed of Tier 1. "How many Ultimate-Class have we killed with the first one?" I asked as I looked at General Zagan. "Detection spells are showing that 4 Ultimate-Class from present fifteen have died." Answered General Zagan swiftly. "Then send them another one, to kill at least five. Afterward, we will be joining the fray. Also, how many soldiers have died on the enemy side? We don''t want too many casualties on our side." I said to him. "More than 200,000 has died from first salvo My Lord. After another one, an additional 300,000 should die, altogether half a million would die from initial two million barbarians." Answered General Zagan to me, as I nodded with satisfaction. At my order all Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries and three Lunar-Class Cruisers started their fire once more, this time even more aggressively, taking down, this time, unfortunately, only three Ultimate-Class powerhouses. Chapter 64 - Annoucement to make... Nothing bad... don''t worry. The novel is continuing with a stable release rate and nothing changes about this. Just a few adjustments and things to say... 1. Don''t worry, this conquest Arc is ending after ten chapters... I made it a bit longer for my taste than I when I was writing this Arc, I wanted to know to what extent and details I could write planar conquest in preparations for Great War in this volume and, for the Astral Boundary in later volume A.K.A. when the real story truly stars at full. 2. 2-Dollar Tier was deleted from Pa-tr-eon 3. Primordial Divinity Stage God is now officially changed to the Mighty Divinity Stage God, or just Mighty Stage God. When I was working on my power ranking for various races, systems, and universes, I noticed it would later lead to confusion in later Volumes. 4. I will be releasing a new novel on ... with the release rate of when I want... meaning I will be writing chapters when I want to take a break from Crimson Devil... It is called Ruler of Blood and Iron, a crossover of several worlds... go to read it... try it... thanks... Thank you for your attention and for reading this announcement till the end Chapter 65 - Battle for Ihor (3) ''Architect, take direct control of Voidsh.i.p.s and supplement magical barrier created by Mephisto.'' I said in my head to my MTC A.I. [As you wish.] Answered back the elderly voice of Architect, as I gripped my scythe Rosenkreutz and unleashed my wings as it was time to join the fun. Currently, I was even confident to go in close combat, as I trained a bit and raised my mastery to Expert-rank. Still, I will remain with my magic. Rosenkreutz acted as my Mystic Code, the amplifier one and specialized one. It strengthened my spells by a great deal. When I flew high in the air, Venelana and General Amyke did the same, and General Zagan released four Ultimate-Class Flesh golems, upon enemies. Our side had 7 against 8. That was good, but alas, 7 human Ultimate-Class human barbarians were blasted to dust. Inevitable end, as I wanted to preserve the lives of as many soldiers as possible. I targeted two Ultimate-Class human barbarians, as Vena and General Amyke took one each, and four Flesh Golems stalled four of them. I started casting countless Combat-Tier spells mostly, [Grand Fireball], [Magic Missle] and [Thunderclap] spells. I cast tens of them simultaneously, as I shot them at the two enemies that were before me. While they were lower ranked spells, they manage to mildly injure both Ultimate-Class barbarians. One of them was a pure warrior and another one was some kind of shaman or something. Due to their primitive development, their magic system was just based on Elemental Spirit Magic, which lied in borrowing powers from Elemental Spirits. The rather easy and straightforward system, usually used by primitive societies. The majority of magic practiced by human tribes in Africa in Draconic Deus or some in Asia was practically something similar. Shamanism was very popular here and there. After being injured by me, they started some kind of strategy, as the warrior one stood before shaman one, as the shaman started calling upon the elemental spirits. This was rather dangerous, as I wasn''t betting my chances on my luck. If the shaman is lucky, they could summon very strong elemental spirits, that could reach even Super-Devil Class / Greater Divinity Stage Gods, which was pretty terrifying. Thus, I immediately, cast a huge Strategic-Tier spell, [Chain Dragon Lightning] as a huge dragon made out of lightning materialized above my head and shot with the enormous speed at the shaman, that was calling upon the strength of spirits. When the shaman realized what was going on, the spell fell on him, obliterating him on the spot. Instant kill. "Damm... that body could have been used for Devour." I cursed a bit, as I looked at the Ultimate-Class warrior and attacked him with a barrage of Dark Light spears. Meanwhile, I was fighting my battle, below me, the ambush started as the rest of my legions joined the fray together with Arcane Mechanical Automatons, which started dropping from the sky like raindrops. Slaughter was commenced. These humans were no match for a perfectly trained, armed, and more advanced civilization. This was inevitable. On the other hand, as I looked around me, I also was aware, we devils could end the same way. If we are invaded by strong civilizations or faction in the Astral Boundary, like some human Arcane Empires, Mighty Divine Pantheons, or countless strong races. Soon enough, Venelana killed her opponent, by blasting him off with her Power of Destruction. Similar to the effect of bombardment from Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries and three Lunar-Class Cruisers. The enemy was blasted to oblivion. Afterward, together with Venelana, we went to dispose of the rest of the Ultimate-Class humans that were fighting Flesh Golems of General Zagan. The battle between armies was also coming to the end. My soldiers now were more experienced than before, and these humans as poorly as armed and trained, were no match for my armies. Arcane Mechanical Automatons, while Drone Types, were very effective against barbarians. In Draconic Deus, they would be useful only as cannon fodder, but against primitive civilizations such as this, they could be used as effective combat measures. Within the next one hour, we have disposed of all Ultimate-Class humans, and I have obtained bodies of three Ultimate-Class shamans that would serve as my nourishment. Then there were four bodies that were in good shape, and they went to General Zagan to become Flesh Golems. I needed a lot of Ultimate-Class Flesh Golems, as they would be very useful when conquering the mainland of the Yestera Plane, as there was a high number of General Level Monsters. Fortunately, they fought between themselves for supremacy, so I didn''t need to fear any kind of alliance or something. While the conquest would take a longer time, probably half a year, it will be easier, as I only need to dispose of one or two General Level monsters at the same time, it will be a hunt or something like that. ''Architect start cleaning the battlefield.'' I ordered Architect in my head, before turning to face my two Generals, who were standing before me, with Vena and Lord Mephisto. "Good work everyone. General Amyke and General Zagan, you two are in charge of cleaning the battlefield together with Mechs that are being controlled by the Architect. Gather all bodies in one place, they would be processed for energy. Lord Pheles, please cast a protective spell, over the entire Ihor for the next one week, until we have constructed proper magic tower structure, and stabilize our grasp over the subcontinent." I said my orders. With more advanced Arcanotech, I had a new way to create energy, and that was processing bodies. The higher the class was, the more energy could be created. After one week, a proper network of Magic Tower constructed by Arcanotech would be finished, and my hold over the Ihor would be absolute. Then the mining works could start also here, in addition to the Ewor. With two subcontinents, I can exponentially increase my army, and start building combat-oriented Mechs. They would be greatly useful at the conquest of the mainland of Yestera. Chapter 65 - Aftermath of Ihor After giving orders, I took my spoils of war and left the rest of the work to my loyal subject. The next day, General Amyke and General Zagan took the army and even Mechs and went to conquer and annihilate every human on the Ihor subcontinent. Within one week, the entire Ihor fell and the Magic Tower network was swiftly constructed during that week, making my fold increase. Afterward, I could finally enjoy some rest, as an attack on the Mainland was scheduled to happen two to three months later. Probably three, I needed to manufacture many things for the conquest to be as smooth as possible. Today I was sitting in a special room in Fort Bael, that was named in Vena''s honor, or the real reason I s.u.c.k.e.d at naming things. But alas, Venelana was happy and I got a kiss, so good deal. Before me, there were two corpses of Ultimate-Class human shamans, that I planned to use Devour Trait on them. I used the Devour on the corpse on the right and felt a stream of energy enter my body, as it soon disappeared. ''Increase?'' I asked Architect. [4 Units.] Answered my MTC A.I. Then I used the Devour on the second corpse and my Demonic Energy reserves increased once again slightly by 5 Units. Altogether I had right now 192 Units of Demonic Energy by Architect''s calculations. Not great, not terrible. I ordered Architect to start constructing a proper Mechanical Legion, and the base would be Arachne Hydralisk. This mech was around 3,5 meters tall and weighed around 500kg. Armed with two scythe-like limbs, it looked like lamia or at rather some kind of Lovecraftian aberration of greek lamia. Additionally, it had inscribed a set of protective runes, gaining strong energy resistance, with all things, its power is High-Class. It was also armed with some energy-based weaponry. After two months, I will have probably one Legion of 200,000 of these Arachne Hydralisks. This was the might of mechs, more I have faster they replicate. After one month, the entire Ihor was turned into an industrial paradise. The number of Drones shot up to 2,000,000 from an initial 750,000 just after one month, and now Drones started working on the construction of Mechanical Legions, as they started building Hydralisk Mechs. Some other drones were doing mining works, others were doing processing works, in many factories. Having such a world as this was truly profitable. I gained a huge army, just from resources mined from two subcontinents, and Mainland has to be conquered. With this, I would be able to gain so many Mechs. When I start selling them, it will make an astronomical amount of money. After another one month, I gained my long-dreamed Mechanical Legion of 200,000 intimidating-looking Hydralisk Mechs. They looked beautiful and dangerous at the same time. I have decided to wait an additional two more months, to have at least two Mechanical Legions, and to have some time for Drones to construct a few more Lunar-Class Cruisers. I spent most of my days silently, studying magic or talking with Mephisto or Vena. Sometimes I wondered about my perception of time is messed up. In my past life as a human, even though there was a long lifespan among even ordinary humans, we perceived time in the way we will die one day, while I was the devil wasn''t the same. Devils could spend decades doing literary nothing, without any remorse. Our lifespan was minimally 10,000 years, so we were slow at everything. After additional two months, all preparations were done. I now had in my disposition 400,000 High-Class Hydralisk Mechs, and 14 Lunar-Class Cruisers together with more than 2,000,000 Drones. Though in the upcoming conquest of the mainland of Yestera, I won''t be using drones even as cannon fodder. They get broken very easily, and preparing them is annoying. My Army that would be invading the mainland shall be 10 Legions of my devils, numbering 2,000,000. I already replenished the deceased as I called reinforcements from home. Then 2 Mechanical Legions, and a small Fleet of 10 Lunar-Class Cruisers. As support, there would be 4 Drone Legions to construct objects and some necessary things. While Hydralisk Mechs could be used as workers, their efficiency was far lower compared to that of specialized drones. Soon enough, the entire Yestera would be mine. Though finally, I would be able to return home, I felt better in the Underworld. Today, the last thing needed was to consult a strategy and assign roles to each of the Ultimate-Class fighters on my side, and then tomorrow, we could go. In the end, it was decided that the invasion of the mainland would commence by an army divided into two groups. Each Army group would have 5 Legions of Devils, 1 Mechanical Legion, and 7 Lunar-Class Cruisers. Group 1 would be commanded by General Zagan, while Group 2 would be commanded by me personally. General Amyke would join Group 1, while Vena would join Group 2 with me. Lord Mephisto would be remaining on stand-by in the Ihor subcontinent in case of emergencies. Chapter 66 - Mainland of the Yestera Plane After several days, when all preparations were complete, I was leading my Army Group B numbering 1,000,000 soldiers and 200,000 Mechs, along with several supporting Arcanotech, mainly artillery to the Mainland of the Yestera Plane. Within the next two hours, we would be reaching the southwestern shores of the mainland, and I was already in combat-ready mode. The entire mainland was populated by monsters and some goblinoids or other monster humanoid species. So fight, as soon as we land, was inevitable. "With two of us, we are enough. In the mainland, there is a low possibility to encounter a higher number of General Level monsters in one place, as they tend to be rather territorial. Also, due to the lack of humans in the mainland, the more intelligent species such as Orcs or Bugbears don''t tend to group together, but rather the entire mainland in one huge warzone between various species and tribes as they fight over domination." I explained slowly. While the mainland had more General Level monsters, numbering in tens, they were too engulfed in inner strife. Not to mention the fact, majority of monsters were stupid even at the General Level, so I wasn''t fearing any kind of unified resistance. We can slowly hunt them one by one. On top of that, I needed a lot of General Level corpses to increase my Energy Reserves through Devour. It would be best, if I find some species like Eldritch Giant, that had an extremely potent magical power, that would be good for me. "I know, it just we don''t have enough Ultimate-Class combatants on our side." Said Venelana quietly. "Yes, you are right, but what we have is advanced Arcanotech, which could blast Ultimate-Class to death until even no dust remains. Also, we are a more advanced and developed civilization, so we need to assure our dominance over these savages. On top of that, both of you and I are top among the Ultimate-Class combatants even though we are barely at the higher ends of the Ultimate-Class in terms of our Energy Reserves. Our Clan Traits are pretty destructive so it will be alright." I said to her to lessen her worries. After two hours, we were finally nearing the shores of the southwestern part of the mainland of Yestera. General Zagan together with his Army Group 1 should be landing on the southeastern part of the mainland at the same time as us. "What are those Zeo?" Asked me, Vena, as I looked through holographic to see tens of thousands of monsters on the shore. "It is a Voltimeria, a fish monster with a blackish purple body made of stone. Voltimeria varies from one to two meters in length, have eight fin-like organs, and have a single eye on their forehead. They are able to float up to three meters in the air and charge at opponents at high speed. They have incredible endurance due to their stone bodies and are strong enough to destroy heavy armor with their sharp fangs." Sounded voice of Architect through the ship''s inbuild A.I. "How is their general strength?" I said. "Majority of their species remains its whole life at the Minion Level, some may reach Warrior Level. Usually, the leaders or some mutated ones may reach Commander Level. The overall threat is low. Still, be wary of their numbers, on those shores there are almost a million of them." Responded A.I. "Use voidship''s weaponry and wipe them all out. While their individual strength is low, their numbers are rather high, and we are near the sea, they could easily call for reinforcements." I commanded as all 7 Lunar-Class Cruisers started redying up their weaponry, and soon enough sounds of shooting from Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries and main cannons were heard, as they fell unto hundreds of thousands Voltimerias, and created huge explosions upon the contact. The entire bombardment took twenty minutes until I got a response from the ship''s A.I. that there were no signs of life below us. Now, the formerly clean and beautiful beach was full of craters, crimson sand painted from the blood of monsters, and body parts from almost one million Voltimerias. "Excellent. Now land and order Mechanical Legion to march, we will test the efficiency of the Mechanical Legion in the practice." I said, as one Cruiser landed down, several kilometers away from the beach, where the massacre of monster commenced, and tens of thousands of Arcane Mechanical Automatons, started marching out from the Cruiser. All of them looked like some kind of insectoid snake, marching in orderly formation until all of them stopped and readied their weapons. "Architect take direct control. Thirty kilometers from us should be a small tribe of kobolds, numbering around forty thousand, without any General Level. March there, maintain the formation, and speed, Cruiser would be covering the sky." I said to Architect as suddenly all Mechs started to march in a specific direction, and all Lunar-Class Cruisers were flying above them, occasionally killing a few monsters that were flying in the sky. Usually some rogue monsters, or even some flocks, but they were killed swiftly. Soon enough we have reached the kobold settlement. The entire settlement was looking like some ruins of the proper village. Still, most humanoids were not intelligent enough to build proper buildings. A kobold was a reptilian humanoid, standing between 60cm ¨C 75cm tall, weighing between 16 ¨C 20kg, with scaled skin between reddish-brown and black in color and burnt orange to red eyes. Their legs were sinewy and digitigrade. They had long, clawed fingers and a jaw like a crocodile. Small white or tan horns protruded from their head, and they had rat-like tails. "Pathetic... annihilate." I gave out my command as the entire Mechanical Legion of Hydralisk Mechs, started marching at the settlement. These mechs were brutal and efficient, weak kobolds were no match for mighty mechs, and were killed mercilessly, and within the one hour entire, the settlement was bathing in blood. Chapter 67 - Southwestern Region of Mainland (1) "Really terrifying. This level of efficiency is very high, though their production cost is a bit high with the current production abilities of the Underworld. Unless we start investing more into planar exploration and conquest." Commented Venelana. While Underworld didn''t have enough resources to produce the necessary amount of mechanical legions, that didn''t mean, that other planes also didn''t have them. Devils could always go for planar conquest like I here. I got enough resources from just two subcontinents to build a lot, and that wasn''t even the end. From Architect''s scans, resources on two subcontinents would be enough to last for five years or so. And when I reach Satan-Class or higher ends of it, I can slowly start cleaning sea monsters at that level, and access resources underneath the water. Everyone can see that Planar Conquest was profitable. And this was true to be told nothing. The stronger the civilization was, the stronger their target of conquest could be. If I had strength, I could conquer some advanced civilizations and absorb their knowledge and strength into my own. Something was done in Draconic Deus by Asgard to magical civilizations they found or Celestial Court if they found some cultivation-based civilizations. In Astral Boundary, such things were a common occurrence. Stronger civilizations devoured weaker to become even stronger. "Soon, soon enough. Okey... where to go now... where is the largest tribe?" "Seventy kilometers to the north, there is an entire area that is ruled by various ogre tribes, from which all tribes have one, General Level Ogre. Apparently, they are at war with each other even right now as we are speaking. There are 8 tribes there, so await 8 General Level Ogres to kill, afterward, the entire southwestern region should be done, although there should be at least three or four rogue General Level monsters, they are just some minor threats." Answered Architect. Ogres appeared as giant humanoids with very muscular bodies and large heads. They stood around 300 cm high and could weigh 280 kg to 320 kg. In truth, instead of muscular bodies, they were rather fat, as they were gluttonous creatures willing to eat almost anything. They were beyond stupid, while a bit smarter than trolls. "Then set the course to the ogre area, we will go hunting." I said, as my fleet together with Mechanical Legion went to the next target, which was nearest Ogre Tribe. Compared to other species, their number was lower, but their strength on average was around Commander Level, while a few young ogres were of Warrior Level. I sensed one, General Level Ogre, that was the biggest one in the tribe, standing at a height of 330 cm. What was interesting, he had primitive armor, some plates of crudely hammered iron on his c.h.e.s.t. "Hmm... they started evolving? Or is their civilization progressing? Interesting... sadly they won''t have time." I said to myself. When I saw that Ogre clad in primitive armor, and some crudely made iron weapons, it was apparent, that they were in Iron Age by classification of civilization advancement scale. They already found a way to mine and smelt ores. It was sad, at least for them, they will need to die here... truth to be told, I would love to observe their evolution and conduct some experiments... maybe in future, I will create some kind of safe environment and drop there some primitive species to observe their evolution. "How many are there?" "4,597 Ogres. From which more than four thousand are of Commander Level, and rest are Warrior Level and Minion Level. One General Level combatant detected." Said A.I. of the voidship. "Vena you are on, try to kill that Ogre as soon as possible, I don''t want to see him destroying my precious mechs. Also, try to contain your attacks." I said to her, as she pouted a little and flew out of the voidship. I understood that containing her attacks was troublesome for her Clan Trait, as Power of Destruction was hard Clan Trait to control, due to its destructive nature. So when someone with that Clan Trait fought, collateral damage was very high if one was not careful, and you can easily kill your allies. Mechanical Legion underneath my voidsh.i.p.s, rushed at the ogre village and ogres in the village without any second though actually did exactly the same thing, and a fight erupted between two sides. In the middle of all of that, was Venelana who was fighting with Ogre Chieftain, that was wielding a huge piece of iron, that looked like an iron pipe... probably some kind of failed forging experiment. They probably wanted to create a weapon but didn''t know how to. I watched from the comfortable chair in my voidship, how all ogres were overwhelmed and killed to the last specimen until none was remaining. While mechanical legion was finishing the battle, due between Vena and Ogre Chieftain was also nearing an end, as the ogre was tattered and bleeding from all parts of the body, and was missing his left hand. In the end, the fight ended, when Venelana blasted the head of Ogre Chieftain with a ball of condensed Power of Destruction, killing the Ogre Chieftain on the spot. As I watched the body fall on the ground with satisfaction, I noticed the entire area was cleanly stripped of all life that could be a threat. "Architect land voidsh.i.p.s and order all troops to land out. Organize into three formations, from which one would take five voidsh.i.p.s, Mechanical Legion and you will command it. The other two groups will take by one voidship and will be commanded by me and Venelana." "It will be done." Chapter 68 - Southwestern Region of Mainland (2) Just one week, was all that it took, to completely clean off the entire region from the Ogres. Within one week, all ogre tribes and settlements were found, annihilated, and burned down, until nothing remained. In front of overwhelming might and advanced arcanotech, these primitive ogres were annihilated to last one. Good news also came from the group of General Zagan, whose Army Groud A achieved the same results as me, and controlled the entire region where they landed. Currently, I let my soldiers organize their own hunting groups and were hunting for the General Level threats that were in the entire Southwestern Area, as we conquered the region where we lanted, I immediately started expansion. It was predicted that within the next two weeks, my Army Group B would meet with Army Group A of General Zagan, which would also mean, that the entire Southern Area of the Mainland of Yestera has been conquered. On the other side, my energy reserves have risen to 201 Units from Devouring several General Level Ogres. Their energy reserves were pathetical, just barely classifying for Ultimate-Class, but what one would await from an ogre. Their physical strength was their main forte. Though, there existed a rare breed of them, called Twin-Headed Ogres. Twin-Headed Ogres were rare breeds or some kind of mutation of ordinary ogres. As the name said, they had two heads, were excelling in the usage of magical power, often they were skilled in close combat as they were in magic. On top of that, they were intelligent comparable to many other sentient species. Maybe with a bit of luck, I will be able to get my hands on the corpse of the Twin-Headed Ogre. That would be a nice boost. [There are two General Level entities coming from north to our position.] Said Architect as I was in the Lunar-Class Cruiser and enjoying my tea and reading magic grimoire. "Species?" I said uncaringly, as I sipped my tea. Explained Architect. Amphisbaena was a monster with fearsome physical strength and defense, and it could even use magic to a certain degree. I will just bombard it with magic until it is blasted to death. I slowly stood up and took my Mystic Code Rosenkreutz with me, as I soon flew out from the Lunar-Class Cruiser, and flew the direction, where the two Amphisbaena creatures were. It didn''t take a long time for me to find them, and as they were rather close to the location of the fortress. "They look just exactly disgusting as Architect described them... annoying..." I muttered to myself, as I observed incoming Amphisbaena General Level monsters. While they looked disgusting, they had Ultimate-Class energy reserves of magical power, so they could strengthen me by a bigger amount compared to all ogre corpses I have obtained this week. So, due to that, I have decided to kill them in a way, to preserve their bodies as much as possible. I don''t want to destroy them completely, as that would cause excessive loss of magical power, as I learned during my time using Devour. Thus I decided to use a combination of Dark Light and Chain Dragon Lightning a Strategic-Tier Spell, for extra piercing power. The most simple way was to create two Dark Light Spears, and then coat them in the Chain Dragon Lightning Spell. While it may sound simple, in truth it was pretty hard, as it required enormous precision to not explode anything straight to my face. Combined usage of Clan Trait and Tier Magic System was something new that I haven''t tested properly yet, only with Lower-ranked spells, which wasn''t that dangerous if something went wrong due to my strength right now. But with Strategic-Tier spell and Dark Light Spears on the same level... if it exploded, I would be severely injured. Thankfully, Architect did the proper calculation and thanks to my True Name Dizmason, my own affinity to handling any kind of energy was boosted up to max, so I was able to construct the spell model for the Chain Dragon Lightning Spells over the Dark Light Spears just within 10 minutes. I waited for several minutes for the best time to strike, and then when two General Level Amphisbaenas were in my strike zone, I released spells at them, that flew at them with thunderous speed, piercing through their heads, like a hot knife through butter. "Nice instant kill." I muttered to myself, as I flew to two corpses and used Devour on the first trait, as I felt a huge amount of energy enter my body, and I felt my energy reserves expand by several points. "Really good." I said as I used Devour on the second corpse, and once again I felt a nice feeling over my body, as I felt my energy reserves expand. "Architect, scan." I said to my MTC A.I. [Class: Ultimate Strength: 98 Agility: 96 Vitality: 90] An increase by 17 Units was really nice. If I should go by an increase from ogres or any other species where their magical ability was just secondary, then this was good. Soon enough, I neared the limit that my current form could hold. With 218 Units of Demonic Energy, I was already in the higher-ends of the Ultimate-Class in terms of Class. I predicted that by the end of the conquest of the mainland, I would either be at the pinnacle of not far from that level. Chapter 69 - Continuing Conquest (1) When a devil approached the limit of his class, then he or she will undergo a so-called metamorphosis or evolution, or whatever one could call it. During that process, one''s body would be changed and basically, it would allow one to accommodate more energy in the body. It also drastically expanded energy reserves and had many other gains from it. After I was done with these two, I used another Strategic-Tier Spell, Hell Flame to burn down the remains of the two mummified Amphisbaenas. Then I just flew back to my Cruiser to finish my tea, snacks, and book. *** One month later, somewhere in the Southern Area of the Mainland of Yestera "I see that your part has been successful, General Zagan." I said while looking at General Zagan who was sitting across me. It was one month from the time, I killed two Amphisbaenas. During this one month, my Army Group B progressed smoothly, and annihilated countless tribes, towns, settlements, and monster hordes, until blood was soaked red. Thanks to Architect and advanced Arcanotech, the casualties we have suffered were kept to a minimum during the conquest. Similarly, Army Group A commanded by General Zagan has progressed smoothly and annihilated everything in its way, until we have met at a certain point in the southern area of the mainland. Now, we will progress to the Central Region, and when that one is conquered, then Western Region and Eastern Region. "It was hard, but we made it out without any serious losses. Thanks to my Ultimate-Class Flesh Golems combined with Lunar-Class Cruiser and their high firepower, we were able without any problem to dispose of many General Level monsters." Stated General Zagan. "What about Mechanical Legion?" I asked after a while. He was given complete control over the Mechanical Legion. "Truth to be told, I was surprised at their efficiency when I first deployed them... if we conquer the entire plane then we can build more and more legions like this. They are practically perfect soldiers, especially suited to be best cannon fodder and in higher number, they could even drown Ultimate-Class experts." Said General Zagan. "Continue." "These little things are more suitable to be our foot soldiers, while we may focus on cultivating elite devil armies. Mechs of High-Class such as Hydralisk Type Arcane Mechanical Automaton is perfect close combat cannon fodder foot soldier. If we manage to replace ordinary soldiers with Mechs it would drastically lessen losses of lives of devils, as most devils killed at the battlefield are that of the Low-Class and Middle-Class with some High-Class being among them, but not that much. Secondly, we could train our armies to be elites or to have proper specializations." I nodded my head in agreement hearing everything that General Zagan said. Yes, indeed as I studied our recent wars, it was true that the majority of Low-Class and Middle-Class soldiers that went to wars or battles died there. From High-Class combatants, the percentage was lower but was still lingering between 40% to 55%, which was pretty high for my standards. The main reason was simple, that could be seen in most civilizations and cultures, but also a bit different. Most of Devil Nobility didn''t have the intention of grooming a proper army, and if there is a call to war, then what happens... there is a mass forced conscription from rows of common devils, that have minimal to no training, and they are subsequently dropped on the battlefield with poor gear. While devils, were better in certain areas, as many of them knew the basics of combat and so, it was not enough for war. I planned to develop a trend of constructing Mechanical Legions to fill the roles of cannon fodder soldiers. If you go by price, then constructing Mechanical Legion was only a tad expensive compared to training proper Legion of High-Class soldiers. The advantages of my Mechanical Legions were much more lucrative. You don''t need to pay them salaries, arm them, feed them, house them. Only spent some money on repairs, but that is negligent, as they can mostly repair themselves if needed. "That is good... I predict that resources from continents of the Yestera Plane would be enough to build several million of them and plus a smaller Void Fleet. Sadly, without having at least three Satan-Class combatants, it will be impossible to conquer the depths of the oceans." I said to General Zagan who agreed with my statement. Having millions of Arcane Mechanical Automatons and the entire Void Fleet was my main goal to do before the Great War starts. With this Arcanotech, I would be able to greatly increase my influence and more easily implement my plans. Also, it will be much easier to do serious damage to Fallen and Church. If possible, maybe I will cause some collateral damage to Olympians. Hades would become a threat once in the future as he has immense hatred towards devils for eating souls. "How is the situation in the Central Region?" Asked me General Zagan as we were sitting in my room of this Cruiser. "Here it is interesting... compared to the other Regions of the Mainland of Yestera, this one has something similar to civilization or at least tribal society similar to Ewor. Apparently, some Orc Tribes have established some kind of Kingdom or whatever it is called. It may be problematic, as probably Pinnacle General Level Orc has emerged and conquered every tribe. From our scans we have seen, that they have subjugated tribes of Ogres, Trolls, Hill Giants, and weaker species such as Kobolds or Goblins. Problems are their numbers, as they number in millions." I answered. The reason why I have chosen Central Region as first after the South Region fell, was precisely because of this. In this region, something akin to the primitive kingdom has emerged and that was unacceptable as if giving more time, they could grow more and become a threat or rather cause serious damage. "So we need to lower their numbers at first..." Chapter 70 - Annoucement... and Question 1. Tomorrow will be a small-mass release of 6 chapters, as I will end this arc in one go and go on a small pause till 14.7. as I need some time to relax... I have my last exam of this academic year tomorrow and afterward, I need to do some preparations for my job... 2. Please check out my secondary fic Cultivator in Chat Group 3. Question: I have decided that story will move into the Astral Boundary in Volume 3, but the question is aimed at Volume 2. What Story Arcs from canon should I cover and does anybody know some good summarization of canon or some timeline? PS. Entire volume 1 would have around 170 +/- chapters. 4. I have also decided to not show Three Realms in DxD in my story as it would be probably just killing time. In regard to that, you can vote in this paragraph for the Cultivation Verse you want to see... please chose only from interesting ones and there is not much face slapping and similar clisch¨¦... bear in mind I would read it before implementing it to my universe. 5. Warning for Issei fans to drop this story... NTR for him... I mean it, though I don''t like the netorare genre, for Issei I have something brilliant in my mind... Chapter 71 - Continuing Conquest (2) "Yes... their numbers are too high and it may turn dangerous for us once the invasion there starts in the full might. They might drown us in pure numbers, that could cause pretty terrible damages to us." I stated. "What strategy do you propose General?" I ask. "Simple guerilla warfare. We will lure them to the predestined locations and kill them in large numbers with traps or with bombardment from Voidsh.i.p.s or Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries. Afterward, we can start the invasion with full force. We should focus on the most populous locations and species such as goblins, kobolds, and orcs. They are the main force of this primitive nation." Proposed General Zagan to which I nodded. "Try to dispose of Hill Giants too... each of them is pinnacle Commander Level and their defensive abilities are terrifying. They would cause a lot of damage to our troops." Average Hill Giant that was the pinnacle of Commander Level would need around four to six pinnacle High-Class devils to kill it. When it came to Hydralisk Mechs, then somewhere between ten to fifteen would be needed, which is a pretty high number. That was mainly thanks to their extremely high defensive abilities and vitality, they were troublesome opponents. I wanted to dispose of their tribes through traps and other means such as bombardment from arcanotech gadgets as that would be the easiest way to finish them off. "I will give it my best, My Lord. Now if you excuse me." Said General Zagan as he bowed slightly, and exited the room. "Hopefully, this entire thing will end as soon as possible... it is becoming too annoying and I want to return to the Underworld." "Are you again sulking, Zeo?" Asked a cheerful voice, of Venelana who just now entered the room. "Yeh, probably... it is annoying you know? If not for the lack of Ultimate-Class powerhouses on my side, I wouldn''t come here to fight with a bunch of barbarians and monsters. While this expedition gave me some combat experiences, it is boring at the same time." I said to her, as Vena sat down across me. "Hmm... I can relate to that." Muttered Venelana. "Don''t worry. Soon entire thing will end, and we will return home. Then I will return here when I reach Satan-Class to clean the seas out of the monsters. I swear, I will join invasions to strong or interesting places, not ones like this." I said to her. Essentially, when the Central Region of the Yestera Mainland is conquered, Western Region, Eastern Region, and Northern Region would fall without any resistance, as they are in the same state as the Southern Region which fell to me within one month, so no threat. "Do you want to go on a date when we return to the Underworld?" "Yes, that would be nice." Answered her with a beautiful smile. "I head Agreas Island has beautiful environment... maybe we could go and take a look." The most distinctive feature about Agreas Island is that it appears to be a large floating island suspended in the sky. A popular tourist resort, it is also the place that controls the flow of the air in the Underworld. On top of that, it contains the essential crystals of the highest quality that is used to create both the Evil Pieces and Brave Saints in the future. So I will be taking a sample of them to conduct some research. I want to see the extent of them. The creation of Evil Pieces is not necessary right now and would be a catastrophe right now, as I cannot influence their usage, to minimalize it. It would be best if they are invented after a certain time when my voice would be most important for all Devils. "I head that Agreas is a wonderful place. I always wanted to visit it..." Muttered Venelana as she looked at me. Afterward, we spent several hours talking about various things to do after return to the Underworld. *** I gave him control over all Voidsh.i.p.s, and the entire Artillery Battalion that consisted of more than two hundred Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries and he gave me brilliant results. As predicted, just with a slight provocation, he managed to rule several hundreds of thousands of orcs, trolls, and ogres into a trap, as they thought that somebody is attacking their territory and lured them to a remote location, where Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries and Voidsh.i.p.s tore them to shreds. The second thing, that happened was the continuous process of sending assassins and assassinations of chieftains of tribes that didn''t have good relations among themselves to create internal strife and conflicts. Most of the races that were in this nation, were beyond stupid and waged war among themselves even if they were allies. So when something like an assassination of chieftain happened, the next day they marched to attack their rival, they thought he was behind the act. Third thing, several bigger tribes of Hill Giants and Trolls were completely annihilated personally by General Zagan, General Amyke, and Lord Mephisto Pheles working together. That removed probably the biggest obstacle to the successful invasion of the Central Region. Still, after one week, of this operation, the so-called King noticed something and ordered all tribes to stand down and prepare for an attack. I must admit, that the Orc ruling this nation was a pretty smart one compared to his compatriots to see danger behind. Still, it was already too late, as all major operations that needed to be done, were already performed and now final push into the Central Region could start. Chapter 72 - Continuing Conquest (4) Half a day later, we were already conforming to the army consisting of kobolds and goblins, but instead of combat, I ordered bombardment as they were individually too weak and numerous, so we just blasted them off. I helped with several Strategic-Tier Spells as I released them upon my enemies. After annihilating goblins and kobolds, I lead my army group deeper into the central region, until we have finally encountered some settlements, that were swiftly annihilated by me. Unless there were General Level monsters or huge numerical disproportion, I let Mechanical Legions deal with them. They didn''t need rest or anything, so they could be used 24/7 if needed. Thanks to that, our progress was a very smooth one, until we have achieved our destination, which was the capital of the Gorru Kingdom. When imagining capital, it wasn''t some city, I thought at least it would be build from stones, but instead, it was an enormous settlement, just like any other. Huts, tents, wooden houses, and some palisades from huge trees. We started lying the siege, as I have seen other two Army Groups belonging to the General Zagan and Venelana, who arrived half an hour after me. Now, there was a high probability, that enemies would play a defensive battle with us, but that was okay with me. I had enough arcanoctech artillery, Voidsh.i.p.s, and three Ultimate-Class powerhouses with fearsome long-range attacks, including me. From early detections, I have detected that in the settlement, there were more than twenty General Level monsters, maybe even more, which was a bit troublesome. That was too much to fight against in open combat, as they could easily destroy many of my common troops, that won''t be nice. "What to do... Architect, what is the probability of killing all of them in several salvos from 14 Lunar-Class Cruisers?" I ask Architect. [68,78%. The probability itself is rather low, if they are not killed all at the same time, it could be troublesome. Problematic is their strength, as there should be at least 4 or 5 pinnacles General Level monsters.] "So what do you propose?" I asked him, as I knew that he already formulated some kind of plan. [Using on Cruiser to detonate itself. The explosion from the Anti-Matter Magicule Warp Drive would be so great to annihilate even Monarch Level monster several times over. This could be the easiest way to end this entire conquest of the Central Region. If there is a confrontation, there is a very high possibility, that General Level monsters there would be annihilated but losses inflicted on the army would be between 40% to 50%. While Mechanical Legions could be completely destroyed.] Explained Architect. "Chances?" [100%. In every simulation from 1,356 the result is the same. Complete annihilation of every single living enemy in diameter of several kilometers. I would recommend casting a defensive barrier, to prevent unnecessary collateral damage.] In truth, this could be probably the best-case scenario. While the loss of a single Cruiser pained me right now, as I wasn''t in a state where loss even of the entire fleet would be just a minor obstacle, but alas, it could prevent unnecessary losses. Problem is, inside that settlement are many General Level monsters, and several of them are terrifyingly strong. Now it made sense, we didn''t encounter as many General Level enemies during our way. They were all on their way to the capital, to prepare for the final defensive battle. On top of that, I wanted their corpses to be my nourishment, but alas, fate has other plans. "Then start implementing the plan." I ordered, as 13 Lunar-Class Cruisers started changing their location and surrounding the capital from a distance of fifteen kilometers. When they were far enough, I together with Lord Mephisto Pheles, started casting a spell, that soon enough with energy support from all thirteen Lunar-Class Cruisers, created an enormous barrier, that enveloped the entire settlement, creating a huge dome. Only one Cruiser was in that dome, which was empty, loaded with additional explosive, which were small unfinished cores for Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries. The cruiser was controlled from distance by Architect, and he directly crashed it at the settlement. When the Cruiser crashed, the earth shook a bit, but soon it substituted and everything went quiet. After several seconds, everything went white, as the ship exploded, creating an enormous explosion, that I felt even through the defensive barrier, shields, and hull of the voidship. Soon enough the barrier started having cracks all over until it cracked in full force. "Damm... that self-destruction is too fearsome... how strong it was?" [Comparable to the full power of Pinnacle Level Satan-Class / Intermediate Divinity Stage God in terms of energy reserves. Fortunately, the barrier absorbed most of the damage before it cracked, and void shields of the Cruisers absorbed rest. Altogether, the ship''s damage level is only between 5% to 9%.] If left unhindered, that kind of explosion could destroy an entire continent and annihilate all life on it. Thanks to the barrier, it absorbed 99% of the power that was released during the explosion, but it still cracked and was destroyed. It took almost half an hour for the dust to settle, for me to see a crater in the earth that was deep several tens of kilometers. Really terrifying thing. In the future, If I would want complete annihilation, I could always send some voidship to self-destruct. "How long till we can once again access this area?" [Due to post-radiation released from the explosion, probably one month if we include all purification of magic and arcanotech. This entire area is now a pure death zone, just like on the planets Federation used those things.] "Continue in original Army Groups to conquer rest of the mainland. Now that this thing is finished, there should be practically zero resistance. General Zagan will go to Northern Region, Venelana to Western Region, and I to Eastern Region." Everyone nodded in agreement, eager to finish the entire planar conquest and return home. Chapter 73 - Conquest Done! After one week of travel, I have arrived with my Army Group in the Eastern Region of the Mainland of Yestera Plane. After arriving at the Eastern Region I immediately unleashed my Mechanical Legion, which started annihilating one tribe after another. I have even killed several General Level monsters, mainly those that could be used for Devour ability, while the rest of those, who weren''t suitable, were blasted to meat paste by main cannons of Lunar-Class Cruisers. After another weak, the entire Eastern Region was almost completely cleaned from any signs of life. All monsters, goblinoids, orcs, trolls, giants, and other species were all killed. One week later, the entire Eastern Region was completely under my control, when the last General Level monsters were slain by me yesterday. I got reports from General Zagan and Venelana, that they were too done with their part. Only General Zagan had some problems, as he was forced to fight sea monsters that attacked the shores of the Northern Region, and countless merfolk attacked the mainland, under the leadership of three Pinnacle General Level merfolk. Thanks to his ten Ultimate-Class Flesh Golems and help from General Amyke they were able to kill them all and push merfolk back to the sea. He also started construction of the fortified lines through the shores, due to fear of merfolk invasion happening once again, which was realistic suspicion. They too were returning to meet with, only General Zagan left the majority of his Army Group in the Northern Region until the fortified line on the shores of Northern Region was constructed. It was understandable that those sea monsters would try to conquer the mainland when they sensed the death of countless General Level monsters. Fortunately, only weaker ones came, and they didn''t wake up and bring those Monarch Level entities from depths of seas and oceans. In the future when I reach Satan-Class and have several Satan-Class subordinates under me and more advanced arcanotech, I will hunt every one of them. The bottom of the sea was probably the most precious bank of resources. What was a good thing, from Devouring all those General Level monsters, my Demonic Energy reserves have risen to 240 Units. Thanks to my mastery over Tier Magic System and Dark Light Trait, I had terrifying combat prowess among the Ultimate-Class powerhouses, the only thing that was limiting my, was my reserves. Before the Great War started, I want to reach Satan-Class. Rizevim was already one for a long time, and as a Satan-Class entity, I would have probably the best chances to survive the Great War without being killed or crippled. On top of that, It would give me freedom during the war, and a chance to increase my social standing and prestige. After the Great War ends, it would be the best chance to execute a coup d''etat and rule the Underworld. I left my adjutant in charge of clean-up works and construction works in the Eastern Region were left to Architect''s overseeing as I took one Cruiser and left for the meeting with Venelana and General Zagan to conclude this entire thing, and finally, return home. "My Lord." He bowed slightly as he greeted me. "General." I said to him. "Good job with the merfolk, I must say... I didn''t think they would attack this soon." I praised him sincerely. As my best subordinate, who served my family for centuries, he did splendid work with invasion attempt from the side of merfolk. "Thank you for your praise, My Lord." He said to me. "When the plane is industrialized, I will reward your family, with one Mechanical Legion and five Lunar-Class Cruisers and battalion of Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries." I deemed this as an appropriate reward for his service and merit achieved during the planar conquest. "I am honored, My Lord." He bowed slightly expressing his gratitude. "And now even Venelana is here." I said as I saw another Lunar-Class Cruiser coming. This plane was still developing, and due to certain factors, it wasn''t the best decision to travel through teleportation spells in the Yestera, at least yet. Even me building teleportation formation to transport troops from Ewor to Ihor was a great risk. "Now, where is Lord Mephisto Pheles?" I ask as we gathered here. "My Lord, Lord Pheles has decided to stay here and study the development of the Law''s of the World. Currently, this plane is undergoing evolution to reach the Grade 7 Plane. He suspects, that there may be a reason, why there were already several Monarch Level monsters, in this plane, even though this Plane is right now Grade 8 and shouldn''t possibly hold them so well..." General Zagan attempted to explain to me, but his knowledge about this topic was low, so it sounded pretty terrible, but I was aware why Mephisto would stay here. Normally for planes to evolve into higher grades, there are two possibilities. One is natural, by aging. This path could take hundreds of thousand of years at the shortest, and millions usually. The second path was letting the plane devour other planes. Or rather it was done by extraction of World''s Core and letting another World''s Core absorb its energy. From what I read about Astral Boundary Universe, the second most common reason behind planar conquest was precisely this. Strong factions would often wage wars to obtain more World Cores to fasten the evolution of their own plane. That would bring them many benefits, such as more God Slots, higher energy density, size expansion, and many others. A long, time ago there were even wars between Universes, but I didn''t have many records about that. "Then let him stay. Additionally, General Amyke will stay here, for now permanently, together will all Mech Drones, all Voidsh.i.p.s, and also with Mechanical Legions. Half of Devil Soldiers we brought here would be stationed here to protect the plane until the complete defense system is done and fortifications are constructed." Chapter 74 - Finally at home... Draconic Deus, Underworld, Territory of the Gremory Family, Castle Fuerig As I breathed the air in the Underworld, a fascinating feeling that was unnaturally satisfying went through my entire body. After six months or so, I was finally back home. I even felt a bit stronger, when I returned back. Really devils were stronger in the Underworlds. Now that I was back home, I had some time before departing for the Asgard and Nine Realms. At first, I need to a hear report about the development of my territory during half a year I was gone, but probably not much has changed. As on long-lived race, devils accepted changes very slowly. After several hours, I finished meeting with Castellan of Castle Fuerig after learning nothing much has changed. Venelana went to enjoy luxuries of the Underworld that weren''t available during the planar conquest, while I sent a message to old Zekram, that the conquest was successfully done. Just as I sent a message to Zekram, I thought about Crom Cruach and the contract I had with him. Maybe I should send him to the Yestera to kill those Monarch Level sea monsters, as he would be most suitable for the job. What was surprising, after twenty minutes I have informed Zekram, I already sensed his energy signature in my castle, as he was already here, waiting for me in the lobby of the Castle. "Lord Zekram." I greeted him when I entered the lobby. "Lord Gremory Lucifer." Said he with a slight smile. "I see, that you were eager to hear about my success. Though I must say, there were small complications, but I think I should get an excellent mark for your test." I said with a slight grin. "Indeed you have. I didn''t expect you to finish it so soon, probably those magical technology things, are really strong. So, how are the results? Is it enough to affect the incoming war?" Asked Zekram with a serious voice. "Yes. Just half of the resources from the Yestera Plane, which is located on the continental part, are enough to construct several Mechanical Legions, Artillery Battalions, and even Voidfleets. If we gain complete access to the bottom of the sea, then our gains would be much higher. Alas, the sea is ruled by seven Monarch Level sea monsters, and my current abilities in this matter are very limited." "In this regard, I can help you a bit and kill some of them. From Venelana''s letter, I know that you Arcanotech would be a great boon to the devil race. Additionally, I want to personally see Mechanical Legion in combat before deploying them on the battlefield." Said Zekram to my shock. "I would be grateful for your help. We could depart after I finish my tasks to the Asgard and Takagahamara and of course, reach Satan-Class... with my current progress it won''t take much time. Till then, we will leave it be." I answered as I led old man Zekram to my garden, as I wanted to drink some tea. We soon arrived at the garden and sat down. "Currently, the state of the Yestera is peaceful, as all sentient life on three continents was annihilated to the last one. Sea is still full of monsters, but they are now lying low, after their defeat on the mainland, when Merfolk tried to attack the northern shores of the mainland. I have left there half of the expeditionary army together with Mechanical Legions under the supervision of General Amyke, as there are still many things to do there. Within one or two months, I expect that entire all three continents of the Yestera Plane would be completely industrialized, from mining to manufacturing." I said to him about the current state of the Yestera Plane. "That is good. I need you to be able to manufacture defensive arcanotech structures and weapons, especially artillery, within next year, to further fortify our position. Currently, most fortresses and fortified positions are depending on some magical technology bought from Aesir, but they are selling us only basic things or old ones. Your Arcanotech is more advanced and most importantly it is available for us." Stated Zekram. If all strategical points such as military Fortresses and some strategically located Castles could be armed with Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries and Arcanotech Towers, it would drastically increase their offensive and defensive capabilities. They would be much harder to breach and could cause tremendous damage to the enemy during siege or battle. "It shall be done. I will accept payment in raw materials such as ores, metals, and magic crystals in addition to classical payment in Soul Coins. Within two months, the factories would start production first products, that could be sold immediately. Operating most of the Arcanotech weaponry is very easy and accessible through the terminal installed in each weapon." I informed Zekram when I expected things to work to their fullest. "Excellent. I would like to order 10 Mechanical Legions, million Drones, 1,000 Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries, and 25 Lunar-Class Cruiser Voidsh.i.p.s if that is possible." And then he dropped a bomb. The sheer size was enormous. Fortunately with my current production abilities, producing such a size was indeed possible with enough time. "You need to pay half of it in raw materials. Currently, mining and processing work in the Yestera are just in the infant stage, and the supply of materials obtained from that world is still rather low. To produce an army of such size, would take a long time without sufficient materials, if you give at least half as payment then it could be finished within four months." For Zekram to have him on my good side, I will give him a discount so he would have it cheaper. If he supplies the raw materials at least for half an army, then he would get it for free as I won''t charge anything for the manufacturing process. Chapter 75 - Politics and Plans "Hmm... then I thank you for your efforts. I will have the materials delivered within one week at the slowest. Also, when will you depart for Asgard? The situation there is getting worse, day by day." Stated Zekram slowly. "How so?" I asked slowly. I was aware that the situation in Asgard was messed up absolutely. I hope that the civil war hasn''t erupted, or all my plans would be done for. "When everyone saw that relationsh.i.p.s between Odin and Princess Hela are done for, and it very apparent rebellion will occur, others took their chances. Currently, we have some incomplete information about Jotuns, Flame Creatures of Muspellheim, and Dark Elves of Swartalfheim are rebelling." Said Zekram in a grave voice. "So Laufey, Surtr, and Malakith can''t take it more?" All three of them were on the same level as Super-Devil, and while as individuals they weren''t posing threat to Asgard''s rule over Nine Realms of Yggdrasil, together they could pose some threat. Not to defeat Asgard, but they would be able to cause them tremendous damages, from which they would be recuperating for centuries. "Yes... what is even more surprising Hela while being of only Intermediate Divinity Stage God, could fight with even Greater Divinity Stage Gods not specialized in combat. Jotun King Laufey has long longed for revenge for the last war, and Surtr wishes to destroy Asgard. While Malakith wants to wipe our Aesir and Vanir species respectively for genocide done by previous King Borr which was done even before Asgardians arrived at Draconic Deus." Explained Zekram, the situation there was getting even worse. Jotuns, the Ice Giants were all of High-Class in terms of Energy Reserves and Physique. Additionally, they had extremely fearsome Ice Manipulation innate ability and countless of them were on Ultimate-Class. While Musphelheim had a wide range of countless flame-related species that lived there under the rule of Surtr, the strongest Fire Giant that ever existed on the Draconic Deus. And finally the Dark Elves of Swartalfheim, fearsome assassins, and warriors, with terrifying stealth skills and masters of magic. In past, they were almost brought to extinction by Odin''s father King Borr, but some of them survived and chose to hide in the depths of the Swartalfheim, waiting for their revenge, "I may have a solution to this. Odin is a lost case, he turned into a peace-loving fool, and now his enemies are rebelling and probably would march to war. So, I will go and convince Hela to leave Asgard and settle down in the Underworld with her followers. I will even provide her territory." I said to Zekram to which he nodded in satisfaction. "What about the severing connection with Asgard? She will lose her Divinity and fall to Ultimate-Class the moment Odin will cast her out." Stated Zekram. Aesir and Vanir had different power systems, as they took Divinity directly from the Dimensional World Asgard, not from their followers. Additionally, they could get stronger even without becoming gods. For example, Hela became god, when she was already Ultimate-Class, as she was given Divinity over Death and Slaughter by God-King of Pantheon Odin. As he gave her access to it, he could also take it back. "Still better than being chained like a half-beaten dog, to live as a slave for rest of her life. Also, she as any other Aesir or Vanir could get stronger even without it and don''t forget, they have the ability to transform into Innate Gods. You know that someone like Hela won''t be able to exist under Odin''s rule after he decided to be a peace-loving idiot. If she comes here, millions of Aesir and Vanir would follow her, because, like us, they are also battle race." I said. If Hela joins our side, it won''t be just her, but also millions of their people. Asgard was built on blood and corpses of countless enemies in the Astral Boundary, and now their God-King has decided to be a pacifist. From many of them, it was like thunder from the clear sky. Countless Asgardians, all Berserkers, and many Einherjar would rather choose to leave Asgard to continue their war-like lifestyle than to be turned into ceremonial soldiers, that would saw battle once per century and their main job would be catching thieves. "If you are able to convince her, then it would be great. Also, be careful of Odin. All-Father is a mighty being. Even if he softened, he is still one of the top Greater Divinity Stage Gods in Draconic Deus, and he uses the might of entire Asgard as God-King he can obtain the power of Apocalypse-Class for ten minutes." Warned me Zekram as he soon departed from the Castle Fuerig, while I returned to my things. After he left, I went to experiment with a new type of spells that I have been thinking about. More precisely, Dimensional Spells. It was a branch of Space Magic, and a very strong one, capable of tearing down the fabric of reality itself. I focused on one peculiar spell, called a Dimensional Slash, that is able to space itself. If I master this spell and transport it to the Tier Magic System, then I would be unrivaled among all Untlimate-Class powerhouses on Draconic Deus, probably. If not unrivaled, then at least in Top 3. To conduct my experiments I went to my training field, where I usually tested new magic spells. It didn''t take me a long before I already have a functioning spell matrix that could be tested. By the initial analysis, the power of this spell was a top-notch Strategic-Tier spell. If more demonic energy was used in the construction of the spell matrix, it could reach even higher tiers. Possibilities of the Dimensional Spell were infinite. After a few tests, I ensured the Dimensional Slash spell was completely stable and suitable for combat. In the future, I would have another powerful spell in my arsenal. Chapter 76 - Bloody Thorny Flower After finishing my magic experiments, after a long time I finally went to take a look at my familiar, which should have finished digesting all corpses I left to it, before departing for the Yestera Plane. I arrived at the place, where the Spitting Thorny Flower was located and looked around. It looked almost the same as before, but the energy fluctuations were drastically different, compared to before. Now, it was at the Pinnacle of Warrior Level and was in the evolution process to evolve into the Bloody Thorny Flower. To boost up the evolution speed, I took out several Commander Level corpses that I had in my stash, that were in a perfect state and threw them to the Spitting Thorny Flower, which immediately, pierced them through with her roots, and started absorbing their blood and magical power at the tremendous speed. Soon enough, I saw the changes on the Spitting Thorny Flower, as it started growing bigger and its previously green leaves, turned into bloody crimson color, giving an overall bloodthirsty feeling around it. "Architect scan it. It should have already evolved into the Bloody Thorny Flower." [Race: Bloody Thorny Flower - Level: Warrior Magical Power: 37 Agility: 15 Vitality: 59 - Abilities: Take Root, Corpse Feeding, Poison Spit, Basic Elemental Magic] I observed the Architect''s scan, with mild wonder. While it didn''t obtain any new abilities aside ability to cast some Basic Elemental Magic, which was good, its stats grew tremendously, and this was just right after evolution. I have prepared thousands of Commander Level Corpses, to bring this little fiend to the strongest state possible. I needed to evolve this familiar as soon as possible, to use it in direct combat. Additionally, when it evolved even further, it would obtain even more combat-oriented abilities. Now as it was, it shouldn''t have a problem dealing with several Middle-Class devils at the same it, as its vitality is too high, for an ordinary Middle-Class entity to breakthrough. I then took out around three thousand Commander Level Corpses belong to various mo¨ªnsters, goblinoid, or human barbarians and gave them to the Bloody Thorny Flower. In the end, I didn''t have a lot of Commander Level Corpses, due to the fact, that most of them were in a horrible state. For Bloody Thorny Flower, to maximize the effect of the corpse, it needed to be in a perfect state. So enemies that were killed by Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries or with various Clan Traits or wide-range spells, were absolutely unusable for it. I had prepared several hundred thousand Commander Level Corpses for the situation when it evolved, but alas, after evolution, it would be classified as Tier 2 Being, and the effect of corpse belonging to Tier 1 entity was about 0,97% by Architects calculations, due to extreme disparity of quality. It was the same for me, for example, If I used Devour Clan Trait on High-Class being, then I won''t be able to anything. Maybe If I used it on several thousand High-Class beings at the same time, my reserves would increase by one or two points. That was due to a huge disparity in energy density, purity, and quality. Additionally, it was also due to something called Universal Law. Basically, all it was about was balance. If ability such as Devour was unbalanced, I could probably get to Super-Devil just by Devouring all those monsters in Yestera. Now after finishing my responsibilities with feeding my familiar, so it could be useful, I went to the training ground to try to strengthen my body. One of my goals was to reach Ultimate-Class in my physical abilities too. If I reached Satan-Class without having an Ultimate-Class body, it would be risky, as my physical body may not be able to accommodate a properly overwhelming amount of Demonic Energy. In the best-case scenario, it would cause me some internal injuries and other troublesome things. In the worst-case scenario, I can explode, literary explode. Currently, my body was at the pinnacle of the High-Class, and I planned to use an extreme gravity environment coupled with Magical Power refinement, from using Magic Crystals, to strengthen my body even further, to reach an extreme state. The extreme state was basically having a maximum limit, or in a numerical way, having 99 in all physical attributes according to Architect''s scans. I prepared magic formation on the courtyard and after I sat down, several already pre-prepared Magic Crystals, started releasing their Magical Power, after the barrier was erected around the entire courtyard to prevent leaks of Magical Power, as I wanted to have a small space with extremely dense Magical Power. Soon enough after the spell was activated, I felt my body being crushed by enormous gravitational force, but it was quickly adapting to it, and thanks to the extremely high Magical Power density in the air, my body was getting slowly stronger and stronger. After several hours of strengthening, I already felt that the gravity didn''t have any effect on my body, as I felt it fully saturated with Magical Power. "Architect, scan." [Class: Ultimate Demonic Energy: 240 Strength: 99 Agility: 99 Vitality: 99] I looked at the increase with satisfaction, as I was already thinking about what to do in order to advance my physique to the Ultimate-Class. "Hmm... If I am going to Asgard, then Hela may have some of those..." I muttered quietly, as I thought about certain objects that could greatly help me in my endeavors. Mysterious fruit, that was grown by Goddes of Life Idun, that had the ability to turn humans into Aesir or to prolong life for other Aesir. For me, I could either directly eat it or use it into the potion, depending on its best usage. Chapter 77 - Summons from the Lucifaad Two months later, Castle Fuerig, Gremory Territory. I took some time before departing for Asgard, as I wanted to practice magic and train a bit, as there would be absolutely no possibility to avoid combat during my trip there. Additionally, mining and industrial progress in the Yestera Plane was going very well, as currently, from the latest reports, factories already started producing first Mechs, currently giving more focus on Drones, as there was a deficit of Drones for all things that needed to be done. After finishing the entire conquest of the Yestera Plane, I have decided to experiment more with the Dark Light Clan Trait, and I have developed a new style of usage called Truth-Seeking Orb Style. This technique consisted of compressing a huge amount of Dark Light into an orb-shaped ball that generally floats behind the user''s back in a circular formation. My limit was creating four balls, currently. These "balls" are called Truth-Seeking because they can be used on a subconscious level to attack, defend or support. Additionally, if needed, they could also change their shape, split, merge or self-destruct, creating a huge explosion of Dark Light. I created this technique because I lacked proper usage of the Dark Light Trait aside from the Gate of Babylon Style, which included weapon creation from Dark Light and, subsequently, even Chains of Heaven. What surprised me was that, after gaining my True Name and my talent reaching the top, I easily reached Master-ranked mastery in the Norse Rune Magic and Abyssal Runic Magic. It was also because they were similar to Tier Magic System, as Abyssal Runic Magic was one of its bases. My casting abilities increased with higher mastery over Runic Magic of various types, even when using Tier Magic System. Additionally, my mastery over Devour Clan Trait went from Novice to Adept, which was pretty good, as I could now use the Devour more skillfully. "My Lord, a messenger is waiting for you in the Hall, bearing the sigil of the Lucifer Clan." Said the butler that entered my training room as I opened my eyes. "I will be there in a moment." I answered as butler bowed and left the room while I stood up and clothed myself. "Dammed old man... still, it was just a matter of time until he ratted it to Lucifer." I muttered as I went to the waiting lobby, where I saw an average-looking middle-aged devil, as he bowed deeply to me. "Lord Lucifer-Gremory, I bear the summons from the Great Satan Lucifer for you to come to the Capital City Lucifaad within next seven days." Stated the Envoy from the Lucifer Clan. "I will be there within one day." I replied to the Envoy. Now, when Lucifer was aware of my existence and wanted to meet me, I need to be there as soon as possible. For several reasons, the smaller one was to make a good impression. I was inquisitive about the major one, though Lucifer summoned me, though I had some thought about what he wanted. After that, the Envoy went back to where he came from, and I went to prepare for my short trip to the Lucifaad. Probably the biggest reason for this summons was due to getting assigned a Lucifuge Clan member, and the only one suitable was Grayfia. Right now, she was around the early stages of Ultimate-Class, as she was probably the most talented member of the Lucifuge Clan even born. Her father, Lord Gerstahl Lucifuge, even declared her as his Heir. I also was a bit scared, truth to be told, about this entire meeting with Lucifer. I didn''t know the exact relationship between him and my mother, Rayla, after she escaped from home. Still, it would be best To get to his good graces; currently, I was too weak and too strong. After several hours, I went to the teleportation formation and teleported away. *** Underworld, Lucifaad Lucifaad was an enormous city that was home to millions of devils. The glorious and magnificent capital of the Devils, which was inhabited by all Four Great Satan Clans and also, Six Houses of Lucifer, that guarded this city. I looked over and cast a concealment spell over myself, so no one under Satan-Class specializing in magic won''t be able to sense me. I didn''t want to attract attention, as with my appearance; after my blood changed my appearance, I looked like Lucifer. Currently, the entire Lucifer Clan had three people, including me, Original, and Rizevim. If possible, I wanted to avoid meeting any descendant of Satan Clans, as they are problematic entities. Not that they are strong but rather arrogant, so it would be highly possible, I would either kill them or cripple them, bringing me necessary trouble. I went to the greatest castle in the entire Lucifaad, which belonged to the Lucifer Clan. When I entered the perimeter of the place, I noticed that it was heavily guarded, as hundreds of High-Class soldiers were patrolling the area, and I even sensed ten Ultimate-Class devils present. As I was looking around, my eyes laid on the silver-haired middle-aged man in an extinguishing made aristocratic-looking outfit as he was standing near the entrance to the castle. "I can sense you; you know, youngling. I am a master of more than ten types of magic, so while your mastery to almost perfect, in front of me, it is meaningless." "Greetings, Lord Gerstahl Lucifuge." I greeted the man politely as I slightly bowed. Head of the Lucifuge Clan, right hand of the Lucifer, and probably, he would be my father-in-law in the future. From what I sensed, he was at the Satan-Class, and he was pretty strong, judging from his energy signature. I remembered that he died during the civil war in canon, but now with my presence, as I planned for no civil war to happen, he would survive. It would be a shame to lose such a powerful person. Chapter 78 - Meeting in the Lucifaad (1) He looked straight at me, scrutinizing me from toes to head. "You look similar to your mother Rayla, while at the same time, you have many traits from your grandfather Lord Zeldris." Said Lord Gerstahl Lucifuge after a short time. "He is expecting you already, come I will lead you." I just nodded my head and followed after Lord Lucifuge. He then led me to a huge, lavishly decorated throne room, where a lone man with silver hair and hazel eyes was sitting on the throne, with closed eyes. I observed the man and felt enormous Demonic Energy from his, truly standing to the Super-Devil Class entity he was. Currently, he was the strongest devil in the Draconic Deus and soon-to-be corpse due to the Great War. "Lord Grandfather." "Hmm... you are quite strong, but not enough." Said Lucifer coldly while looking at me. "Still better than all descendants of Satan Clans with the exception of Rizevim... but he is way older than you. Here use, this... it should help you to reach Satan-Class faster." He said as he threw me the crimson-colored crystal. When I caught the crystal, I sensed an enormous amount of Demonic Energy from it; it was around maybe 300 Units to 350 Units of Demonic Energy. After a closer look, I realized what it was. It was Demonic Energy Crystal, probably of Mid-Grade. These little things were naturally birthed by certain places in the Underworld, where Demonic Energy was extremely dense. For devils, they were especially precious, as Devil could absorb energy inside the crystal and advance by leaps and bound by expanding his Energy Reserves. For example, this crystal would be enough to bring me to the Pinnacle of Ultimate-Class. Through, I have decided to use it when undergoing evolution to the next Class, as during that time, I could reach mid-tier Satan-Class in one go and become a solid powerhouse in Draconic Deus in a matter of hours. "Judging from your look, you have found the most suitable usage for this crystal." Said Lucifer, to which I bowed my head slightly, expressing my gratitude. "I am most deeply grateful, Lord Grandfather, for this gift." I said. He wanted for me to reach Satan-Class as soon as possible, to have another powerful combatant on his side. As I was walking through the Lucifaad, I heard some rumors that Rizevim already became absolutely uninterested in everything connected to ruling and war. "Come here and sit down." Motioned he with his right hand to the chair next to him, as I went there and sat. "So, Zekram told me a lot about you." He said casually as he looked around the empty throne room. "From when?" I asked as I was curious when he told him about my lineage. "Short time after he found out. Rayla was always my favorite... more than Rizevim. While she was getting stronger slower than Rizevim, at least she had some interest in ruling and governing the Devil Race. I was amazed to find out that she had a descendant, on top of that, with the son of that madman. On the top, you have succeeded in awakening the Devour Clan Trait... very good." Answered Lucifer. "So it was you who sent me the Book of Lucifer." I stated it as a matter of fact, to which Lucifer nodded in agreement. "Indeed. For me, it was no longer useful, and truth to be told, I wanted to see how strong you could become if you awaken Devour, and it didn''t disappoint me. In such short time, and you are already higher-ends of the Ultimate-Class, with good chance to enter Satan-Class within next two years." Said Lord Lucifer. "Devour is really wondrous thing, but after I reach Satan-Class, it would be harder to advance unless I enter places like Sunset Monster Mountain Range that had a high concentration of Monarch Level monsters and creatures, but as you know, my Grandfather Zeldris was torn apart there, by Pinnacle Monarch-Level Monster." While Devour was good to advance fast in lower ranks, as we are in Draconic Deus, there was a limit to powerhouse numbers. If I was in Astral Boundary, with my financial abilities, I could just buy Cores of Monarch-Level Monsters or other Tier 2 Powerhouses and be done with it. Here, even if someone obtained something like that, they would never sell it. "That is understandable... but as you already know, the Great War is approaching, with a bit of luck there would be many powerhouses on that level, that would be killed so either you kill them yourself or play a scavenger, it doesn''t matter, but you will obtain strength you need." I nodded in agreement. "Still, you did a good job with proposing bringing other factions to this conflict. Zekram already told me that Pale Blood of Old Yharnam, Olympians, and Werewolves Tribes has agreed to attack Church and annihilate their influence from the face of Draconic Deus, greatly weakening Yahweh and Heaven." "I will be going to Asgard and Takamagahara soon. Additionally, I may convince Celtic Pantheon to take their part and attack the influence of the Church in Britannia and Ireland. If everything goes according to plan, then the influence of Church would be limited to only Central Europe, Italy, and some smaller parts of the world." I said. Crom Cruach would probably be able to convince God-King of Celtic Pantheon Dagda to make a move. Especially with someone like Goddes of Death Morrigan and God of Light, Lugh would be eager to jump at this opportunity. It was a unique one; if they let it pass, their religion would be forced out of Britannia and will lose much of their worshippers, causing the strength of their Pantheon to deteriorate, as they are mostly Faith Gods greatly. Chapter 79 - Recommendation? Hi there folks... Does anybody here have a good recommendation for DxD fics? Either pure DxD or Crossover Preferably and Fanfiction.net sites only Keep in mind without MC being part of peerage... I hate it, usually, a strong MC will become a lowly servant of someone several times weaker just so he can follow the plot of the Rias and her merry band... Especially more ridiculous is when MC is at Ultimate-Class or Satan-Class and still, becomes a servant... no matter how good such a story is, I won''t read it... for me it is bizarre and not something I can stomach (Only if the MC is very Evil and wants to kill everyone or HolyJoker-style stories) Also, if possible not extremely large harems, harem members are women of Issei''s harem... only if the story is really really good. Chapter 80 - Meeting in the Lucifaad (2) "Crom Cruach? You have come into contact with that madman?" Asked Lucifer with clear distaste for Crom Cruach. "In Familiar Forest, before I went to the Planar Conquest," I answered truthfully. "So he went to Tiamat... he should have already then reached Heavenly Dragon Class." Muttered Lucifer. I was surprised hearing that; he should have sensed the fight between Crom Cruach and Tiamat. If Crom Cruach really has reached Heavenly Dragon Class, then it was for best, as I would have another powerful combatant on my side. Additionally, as Heavenly Dragon, he would have the best chance to create a dragon faction and bring it to join my nation in the future. Together with Tiamat, and Tannin, I could get probably 60% of all Dragons in Draconic Deus to join my future nation, expanding my power a tremendous amount. "Show me your Dark Light." Said Lucifer in a bit commanding voice, as he wanted to see the Dark Light I inherited with his own eyes. I did as he instructed and condensed a ball of concentrated Dark Light with my new technique, the Truth-Seeking Orb Style. He observed it calmly before I dispersed the orb of Dark Light with a wave of my hand. "Very good, you can be considered as a true member of the Lucifer Clan and bear the name of Lucifer. I will announce to the Underworld that we have another inheritor of the Dark Light." Said Lucifer proudly, and while I wanted to refute, I rather chose to remain silent. Announcing something like this is plainly stupid and idiotic. Now our enemies would know that another bearer of the Dark Light has appeared and would come for my head. Still, that didn''t mean some Cadre-Class Angels or Fallen wouldn''t come. Persuading Lucifer to conceal it was meaningless. He was as arrogant as he was stupid. Probably this was also the reason why mother escaped from home. And now, I would become a living target. I needed to become Satan-Class as soon as possible. Then it won''t be much of a problem to deal with assassins and other enemies on the same level as me if they decide to come for me before the Great War starts due to the Dark Light. "Here, take this." Said Lucifer as he threw another crystal at me. "That is a Memory Crystal that has the ability to record memories and experiences of a person. I had recorded some of my experiences and training of the Dark Light; it should help you substantially to increase your mastery over the Dark Light." I looked at the Memory Crystal in wonder and immediately crushed the crystal, as I felt a huge amount of memories enter my head; all of them were related to the usage and mastery of the Dark Light Clan Trait of Lucifer Clan. After it stopped, I felt that I had attained Master-ranked Mastery over the Dark Light, and my control over it exponentially increased. Now I could fully open the Gate of Babylon, create Dark Light objects with minimal consumption or create more Truth-Seeking Orbs with it. Overall my combat prowess could be considered as the top of all Ultimate-Class entities even in the Astral Boundary as a whole if I raise my reserves a bit. "Excellent; based on your current control, you should have attained mastery of the Dark Light, right?" "Well done. Additionally, do not forget to tell you, after you reach Satan-Class, come to the Lucifaad. You will go with Rizevim to perform some mission for the Devil Race." He said seriously. "What missions?" I asked curiously as I wondered what needed to have two Satan-Class members of Lucifer Clan to deal with, one with Sacred Gear Canceler and one with Dark Light Trait. "You will go and hunt some rogue Sacred Gears user or some affiliated with Church. They are a threat, and during the Great War, some Sacred Gears, whose location is known to us, need to be dealt with as they are dangerous. Additionally, while we have obtained the assistance of other Pantheons and Factions, aside from Pale Blood, it won''t be good if they obtain Sacred Gears." Said Lucifer seriously. This sounded logical. While Zekram obtained the support of Olympus, Pale Blood, and Werewolves, I would obtain the support of Takagahamara; Lucifer didn''t wish any of these factions to obtain Sacred Gears for their faction aside from Pale Blood, as they weren''t interested in power plays in Draconic Deus and wanted to return to the Astral Boundary. "What about Sacred Gears themselves?" I asked seriously. "If possible, bring them to Underworld for study; if not, seal them in hidden locations." "Can I keep Incinerate Anthem if possible?" I asked. "You want to fuse with Sacred Gear? Are you aware of side-effects?" Asked Lucifer with a serious tone. "Not now, as I am perfectly aware of the dangers, but Incinerate Anthem is perfectly suited for me due to Dark Light, and I always wanted to have the flame-related ability. On top of that, I will just study it and see... fusing with Sacred Gears currently is too dangerous due to him." I answered casually. "Then it is good. Also, there is another matter why I have summoned you to the Lucifaad." Said Lucifer with a weird smile. "As for every Lucifer needs to have a Lucifuge." ''So I was right... I would probably get engaged to Grayfia now. This is good; she is the most powerful Lucifuge and has the potential to reach Satan-Class within the next decade, not mentioning the fact she is a very good administrator and combatant.'' I thought in my head. Chapter 81 - Grayfia Lucifuge As I returned to the castle Fuerig, my thought was in a mess, and I was overwhelmed with anger. I didn''t feel for a long time, as I always used Architect to suppress my emotions, not to cloud my judgment. ''Bastard... just wait once I am done, I will give you a fate worse than death.'' I thought in my head. That bastard made me a prime target for assassination from Heaven, Grigori, and other factions just to satisfy his pride and superiority over others. All Original Satans were the same, arrogant beyond even heavens. Unfortunately for me, right now, I was in no position to oppose his decision as he was too strong for me to handle, and If I was correct, he had something that allowed him to control all devils. And I was not talking about power, but rather about some kind of blood magic. In the end, he was the one who created the devil race with the Book of Lucifer, and I noticed that several pages were missing from the book as they were torn out. Probably he didn''t want anyone to find out about the method of controlling devils through blood. I read about similar spells that allowed one to control everyone through blood. Ancient blood magic was long forgotten but still practiced by certain individuals. In canon, due to Lucifer''s death, it remained lost, but I wonder If I may able to get my hands on it. If yes, then it would be great insurance for me to control devils and prevent possible rebellion against my rule. "You seem to be distracted, Lord Zeoticus." Said a gentle female voice of Grayfia behind me, to which I stopped my track of thought. "Call me by my name. We are to be wed one day, and you are my part; calling me Lord sounds distant." I said to her. "That is not appropriate, My Lord. As your servant, I should follow a protocol of behavior to my best." She said, befitting to her strict expression. "You are not a servant Grayfia; you are my partner." I said with a rather complicated face as I didn''t know how to deal with her. My relationship with Grayfia was complicated, to say at best. In a certain sense, she wasn''t and was my servant. As I said that, I noticed her surprise seeing this, probably even though she was mentally prepared for her fate and just accepted her duty, deep down, she was still dissatisfied with all of this, as her entire life was just some kind of scheme for the great cause of all things. "Then, in private, I will call you by name." Said she, as this was probably the best thing I could get from her right now. She was still no so comfortable around me right now and too focused on her duties. "Right, now there is almost nothing for you to do in the Fuerig, but there is still some work that needs to be done in the Yestera." I said to her. "Yestera?" Asked Grayfia with a confused expression over her pretty face. "Small world, I have conquered for resources. You will go there and help General Amyke with guarding our factories there. Lately, sea monsters have been unruly once again, with General Level ones are attacking our positions there, and I need their second Ultimate-Class person." I explained. I knew that sea monsters would be causing troubles, and now they were even some General Level sea monsters attacking fortified positions and fortresses. Grayfia was Ultimate-Class with very high combat prowess, so she would be a great help there and, hopefully, solve the problem as soon as possible. "Also, as we are to be wed, you need to be aware that I already have a fiance¨¦, Venelana Bael, from the Bael Clan." I said, just to be sure. "I am very well aware of that fact." Said she with dangerous glee in her eyes, but I just ignored that. Probably she viewed Venelana as competition, which was true, but it wasn''t my matter to meddle in that. Both of them were pretty strong and prideful, so probably it will be hard for them to accept each other. Afterward, we had talked a bit before Grayfia departed for the Yestera Plane, and I went to do what I have always been doing, reading magic tomes to perfect my Tier Magic System. One month later, I was surprised to see that Grayfia already returned from the Yestera, and she also brought a message from General Amyke. It was surprising that such a gentlewoman on the surface at least annihilated more than ten General Level sea monsters attacking shores of the Mainland in the Yestera. Truth be told, I was delighted with the results as Grayfia was a great help. If not for her, I would either need to go there personally or send General Zagan, who was tasked with the reorganization of the army and implementation of Mechanical Legions into my military structure. "Splendidly done, Grayfia. Also, have you brought their corpses? My familiar would have great usage for them." I asked her. Now my Bloody Thorny Flower will soon be finished with devouring all the fertilizer I gave her and would need something on Ultimate-Class to evolve even further to reach a new evolution stage called Devouring Thorny Flower, which was a General Level entity. "Yes, but only eight of them are in a suitable state according to your instructions." "Well done. I can also sense that you have grown stronger." ''Architect, scan her.'' [Class: Ultimate Demonic Energy: 285 Strength: 76 Agility: 80 Vitality: 50] Chapter 82 - Pa-treo-n changes Hi there... there have been several changes on the pat*reon Tier and Benefits have been adjusted as follows: Noble Tier - 2,50$ + 5 Chapters ahead of release on Crimson Devil + Access to Images *** Satan Tier - 4$ + 10 Chapters ahead of release on Crimson Devil + Access to Images + Access to Mahouka: Irregular Fate, Tower of Asura (random updates) *** Emperor Tier - 10$ + 20 Chapters ahead of release on Crimson Devil + Previous benefits + Access to unpublished or unfinished stories, ideas, drafts, character sheets, and others Chapter 83 - Nine Realms ''Class wise her Demonic Energy Level is higher than mine, but her body is lacking, but still admirable; she must have undergone strict physical training and strengthening. Not something many devils would do.'' I thought in my head. She was pretty strong among the Ultimate-Class powerhouses. "I will be departing for the Nine Realms soon enough. In the meantime, when I am gone, look over the Fuerig and borders with a demilitarized zone with Fallen." I said to her, to which Grayfia nodded. With her overseeing Fuerig and my territory, I could rest that they were secure.f Soon I would be departing for the Nine Realms, with my prime target was to reach Hela, who was in Helheim. The only way for me to get into the Nine Realms was to go through the Draconic Deus and find a portal that is connected to the Helheim in the Draconic Deus. If I am lucky, I would be able to find it rather fast. I studied a bit about the Nine Realms, they were huge interconnected dimensional realms, created from nine realms of Asgard, Vanaheim, Alfheim, Jotunheim, Swartalfheim, Niflheim, Muspelheim, Midgard, and Helheim. There were also some minor realms, such as Nidavelir. All of them were connected by Yggdrasil, the world tree that connected them all. Asgard was home to the battle race Aesir, which ruled over the entire Nine Realms. Vanaheim was home to the Vanir, species with immense talent in magic and sorcery. Jotunheim, frozen world inhabited by Ice Giants. Muspelheim, vulcanic world of raging flames under the rule of Flame Giant Surtr. Alfheim is home to Light Elves, a special breed of elves with a high affinity for light magic. Niflheim home of endless cold freezing fog. Swartalfheim, currently a dead world, was destroyed by an ancient war between King Borr and King of Dark Elves Malekith. And finally, a small world of Nidavelir, home to several dwarf tribes. Some may not distinguish Midgard and Earth, but in reality, they were different places. Midgard was a plane that was eternally in the Viking Age. Almost all Einherjar that started as mortals were selected from Midgard. One could say it was like a factory for soldiers that supplied Asgard with its armies. I teleported to the Draconic Deus, to Norway. I didn''t bother looking around; humans here were still beyond primitive in culture and barely had anything of interest to me. Immediately I cast the spell to search for spatial disturbances, to search for the tunnel to the Helheim. I was in a hurry, as I cannot prolong this matter any longer due to extremely high tensions in Asgard. "There." I muttered as my detection spell finally found something several miles away from my current location. The second one, even more, problematic was Heimdall. He was an all-seeing God, directly connected to the source of the Nine Realms and his perception was even superior to that of Odin''s. To evade his All-Seeing Eyes would be highly problematic, fortunately right now, he should be focusing on Hela and her army, and with a bit of concealment magic, it should be okay. I went to search for the spatial tunnel leading to the Helheim. Surprisingly, I found it rather fast, and it was guarded by several powerful warding spells and even magical formations around the entire area. The first thing I needed was to break down the magical formation, but that was done rather quickly, as I did it with brute force, as the formation was weak and crudely done. After I was done with it, I moved to the warding spells that were blocking the entrance to the cave, where the spatial tunnel was located. These ones proved to be more problematic. These spells were done properly by Master in Aesir Magic. To break them down would require some time, but with help from Architect, I could easily locate weak spots in the warding spells and barriers over the entrance to the cave, break down the barriers, and enter the cave just within one hour. Afterward, I entered the cave and quickly located the portal, which was at the deepest parts of the underground maze. I entered the portal and soon enough appeared in the Helheim. "Damm, this place is even worse than Underworld." I muttered as I looked around. The sky was dark black, just like death. The air here stanched with the aroma of rotting flesh and blood. This was really a shithole, a realm of the dead. ''Find Hela, get her only my side, and depart for the Underworld with her army as soon as possible. Still, if Odin chooses to banish her and strip her of her godhood, then she will fall back to the Ultimate-Class, as she got her godhood when she reached Ultimate-Class. But, Aesir has innate ability to awaken godhood; naturally, I read that Odin did it, but from current Asgardians, almost none have achieved such feat.'' I thought in my head. Still, I was in a hurry; from the latest reports I got, enemies of Asgard, namely Laufey and Surtr, started moving their armies against All-Father already. While Malekith was still lurking in the dark, hoping to strike when Odin is at his weakest. Truth to be told, after I get Hela to join me, I don''t really care what will happen to Asgard, though some of their technologies, magic, and treasures are too precious for me to ignore. Maybe I will steal them admit the chaos. Chapter 84 - Helheim If I replicate such things as Bifrost, that would be a great boon. Not even Solar Federation had such an advanced method of travel during my age, though there were some proposals to use Immaterium for that, that was too dangerous. Asgard was a very advanced civilization that has fallen in terms of strength since the ages of God-King Buri, who founded Asgard in the Astral Boundary. During the age of God-King Borr, they lost in some conflict in the Astral Boundary and suffered great losses and were forced to flee. And truth to be told, Dimensional Gap was just a poor, backward, primitive area even when it was part Astral Boundary and not sealed dimension. Here resources were scarce; energy density was low and magical laws were weak. I was currently located at the Helheim outskirts and was far away from the central location, where Hela was with her army and followers. Here in the outskirts of the Helheim, it was filled with countless undead that was walking here and there aimlessly. Skeletons, Zombies, Undead Creatures such as dragons, giants, and many others. The especially entire place was filled with Draugrs. A type of undead that inhabited the entire Helheim. They looked like a weird combination between mummy and zombie with azure glowing eyes. Most of them were created or birthed from deceased aesir warriors whose corpses were dropped into the Helheim, where the unique energy of the Helheim resurrected them. I walked through the plains of the Helheim while I was in a constant state of vigilance. While I was at the Ultimate-Class, Helheim was a hazardous place, even for those far stronger than me. Additionally, what was worrying me was whether Odin''s army already arrived at the Helheim. Soon enough, I sensed a huge horde of Draugrs coming in my direction, from which I sensed one Ultimate-Class Draugr. I was even tempted to kill it, to see their combat prowess how strong they are. I stood in the direction of the Draugr horde and started casting a [Dimensional Slash] spell. In ten seconds, I already completed the spell model and released the spell at them. From a distance, I observed how the [Dimensional Slash] tore the fabric of the reality and entire space where they were just disappeared into nothingness. Soon enough, the Helheim just repaired itself just like nothing happened. I also had Architect record this entire fight for research purposes as it how Laws of the World influenced the strength of spell and energy-based attacks. "How strong are Magical Laws of Helheim compared to those in the Underworld?" [Weaker by several-fold. Underworld has a higher level of Magical Laws, which is more suitable for the growth of powerhouses, though Magical Laws here are still stronger compared to the other planes such as Yestera. If the Dimensional Slash spell were cast in Yestera, it would take several days for the plane to heal the damage on the fabric of reality, here it was done in minutes.] Stated Architect his analysis. "Why are Magical Laws stronger in Underworld compared to those here?" I ask. [Probably due to the nature of the Nine Realms itself. They are getting weaker due to not being properly assimilated with the Magical Laws of the Dimensional Gap; probably the reason is they didn''t have any Being of Law when they transported the entire Yggdrasil to the Draconic Deus and when the Dimensional Gap was created. From my analysis, if Nine Realms were in the Astral Boundary, your spell wouldn''t even be able to tear the space there, as Magical Laws in Astral Boundary should be even a hundred times stronger than here.] "That is understandable. Draconic Deus is much weaker than the Astral Boundary. While the creation of Dimensional Gap saved a few, it doomed rest to be on the bottom of the food chain." I said. Mighty Stage Gods who were Being of Laws created Dimensional Gap to protect their civilization from the strife in the Astral Boundary, where civilizations, factions perished each day. And another result of this action was that the entire Dimensional Gap was getting weaker and weaker with each passing millennium. As it was completely severed from the Astral Boundary, its Magical Laws were being developed in different ways, or rather say they degraded, energy density lessened, and it was harder for powerhouses to emerge. Even now, Dimensional Gap had maybe fifteen Apocalypse-Class entities at best and zero powerhouses above the Apocalypse-Class. "Hmm..." I muttered some incomprehensible sounds before I started moving once again, going deeper to the Helheim. After several hours and skirmishes with a few monsters and undead, I finally arrived at the deeper parts of the Helheim. I recognized from the simple fact, as I saw outposts and sentries of the Hela''s army that was patrolling area. Chapter 85 - Hela (2) "And now, my father has decided to abandon the ambition of returning to the Astral Boundary. In past years, he has decided to just meddle with natives and become Pantheon to the Draconic Deus, forever being trapped in the Dimensional Gap. When I was little, I have always heard stories about the vast Astral Boundary and wished to lead conquest there... not to be confined in this prison." She said with mild anger visible in her voice. In a certain sense, the entire Dimensional Gap was a prison, as nothing could go in and out. Resources were finite here, and planes were also finite. While here there may appear a new one, it was an extremely rare occurrence, not comparable to the vaster world, where it is common. Leaving the Dimensional Gap was something I had wished to achieve when I learned about the grand world beyond. And now it even seemed possible to leave it with an entire plane on your back. If Asgard did it, I will too... "I have a proposal for you. Leaven Asgard to join Underworld, and I promise you that you can lead armies to conquer, kill and slaughter as you wish. In the future, even in the Astral Boundary, as Dimensional Gap is too small for my ambition." I said with a small smile. Hela looked at me, surprised; perhaps she was considering the option. "And how do you plan to evacuate approximately 160 million people from here?" She asked me to my shock. I didn''t wait that about 160 million Asgardians followed Hela; this was good. She had a critical resource that I lacked... a combat-ready population. "I can easily open large-scale portals with a bit of Arcanotech and your control over Helheim that would allow transporting even such a large population. My lands are able to accommodate a such number of people." I answered swiftly. I already had such an Arcanotech device prepared at my territory; the only thing that awaited was Hela''s help. "Hmm... then swear Lifeblood Geass and I will agree. Sooner or later, Odin will strike, and as hypocritical that bastard is, he will strike hard to annihilate my followers and seal me in some god-dammed pocket dimension, never seeing the light. Then he will fabricate some lies about how nothing happened and how I never existed." She said with a sarcastic laugh, and I nodded in agreement. We swore Lifeblood Geass to don''t betray each other and fulfill some things, nothing serious. At least I have gained a little bit of her trust. "How many soldiers do you have from your total population?" I asked one of the things that interested me most. "30 million Bersekers and 10 million Einherjars. Around 5 million Magicians. Rest are civilians, mainly families of soldiers, craftsmen, artisans, and similar. Also, I have around 20 Ultimate-Class followers." "I have a question. Why did you accept?" Something that bugged me. She was far stronger than me, had far higher military strength than me, so why willingly follow. "While it may seem I have something, in reality, I lack the means to leave Helheim with my army and civilians. I could leave with my strongest ones, but for what end? I will lose everything, and all of these men and women that followed me here were personally trained and cultivated by myself from the moment they joined the military and are loyal. They chose me over their King, something I cannot betray. If I leave, Odin will kill them all, to silence them and bury the truth, as always he did. So what should I do? Go to other Pantheons? Not an option, as I have harmed them too much, and bad blood is among us. So the Underworld is the only opinion. Additionally, soon Odin will banish me and strip me of my Divinity, leaving me at the pinnacle of the Ultimate-Class." She said. They were valid arguments. I came in most dire time with a solution to her problem. "He will probably sense that someone from outside entered Helheim and send Royal Guard and some Gods to capture me and annihilate my followers. So, I don''t have much time to make decisions. When can you open portal to the Underworld?" She asked me, to which I threw her small ball-shaped device with a runic inscription. "Active it, and use Helheim''s source. This thing will subsequently open several portals around locations you wish." I said, and Hela immediately did what I have said and activated the device. "How long will the evacuation last?" I asked. "Two to three days. What about when Odin notices this and tries f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y to cancel those portals? What then?" She asked rather nervously. "Not possible, as now, they have already obtained Source Code of the World''s Will and are able to bypass all magical restrictions. Additionally, energy is fueled by the Underworld itself and Dimensional Gap. Unless Odin uses the strength of all Nine Realms and Yggdrasil to disrupt it for a chance to shut them down, portals will remain open." I answered. I made many countermeasures to the situation if Odin attempts to destroy portals. "He won''t. The strength of Nine Realms is not great as it was, and Yggdrasil is sleeping. If he used it, he would risk the destruction of Asgard itself, as he won''t have an advantage in the fight against Malekith, Laufey, and Surtr. Maybe even other Pantheons will attack Asgard. Divine Power reserves of Pantheon are small." Said Hela, and now I was sure the evacuation plan was secured, at least for some parts. "And what if he sends in a larger army than just Royal Guards and some Gods?" "Not possible. When I left, I took around a third of the soldiers in our military. Asgard''s army is around 150 million large, due to constant de-militarization, and most of its strength comes from Berserkers, which all to the last one followed me." Said Hela with a victory grin. Chapter 86 - About 1star Rewies due to cultivation element All of them would be deleted as the story has in the description it has Cultivation Elements in it right beside the AU tag. You can''t complain about something you have been warned about... For those who don''t like it then don''t read it and don''t give trash reviews because you can''t handle something out of your comfort zone. Those who still don''t understand it then only this for them: How would Ramsay say: "F.u.c.k off donkeys" Deleted all reviews from users that reviewed story more than once, I don''t want people either spamming me 5star reviews or 1star reviews... entire system is bugged as a person can review one story even a hundred times, I think should be locked after reviewing one time. Chapter 87 - Hela (4) Golden Apples of Idun were peerless treasures of Asgard, and I was pretty happy that I got my hands on one of those. "Thank you very much. Perhaps do you have saplings or trees that could be planted in the Underworld?" I asked with hope. If she had tree saplings or even an entire tree that could be planted, that would be heaven-sent. I could grow these apples and use them to strengthen my subordinates. "I managed to get only some saplings that could be planted. Fortunately, I also took the growing method for them. While I could probably not raise them as effectively as Idun, as she is an expert in that, I could yield some results." Said Hela to my surprise. This was better than I have expected. "So, what is our plan for combat?" Asked me, Hela. While she was aware that she was Intermediate Divinity Stage God, she was aware the moment Odin banishes her; she would drop to the pinnacle of the Ultimate-Class. She was probably also testing me in a certain way. "While I am tempted to fight them to death and send some gift to Odin, that is not possible right now for me, but not for you. I will lay several magic formations around here, and you will act as bait for Vidal and Royal Guard and lure them to the formation. I will tie the activation moment for the moment when Odin banishes you. When he banishes you, you will be teleported out, and the entire space will explode, taking as many of them as possible. If they are severely injured afterward, we could try to kill Vidal and slaughter Royal Guards." I explained to Hela. I wanted to kill them for a simple reason. Their Divine Sparks were priceless, and I could use that Divine Power to strengthen my body with special magic spells. "Killing Vidal? You sure are ambitious." Chuckled Hela slightly. "His body and Divine Spark are priceless treasures. Among Royal Guards, there should be additional Lesser Gods, so their Divine Sparks are there too for me to take. With some time, I could use them to increase my strength, and you too." For my plan to become a reality, I needed Hela to work for me. "And how do you expect your magic formation to kill Pinnacle Intermediate God? His physique is terrifying; to wound him, you lack firepower. Additionally, how will you deal with his soul escaping?" She asked me. Gods were really problematic beings. Gods fundamentally could be divided into two basic categories. Innate Gods created one. They didn''t need faith to ascend godhood and could do it naturally, mainly due to their racial pre-dispositions for such a thing. The second was created Faith Gods. They created all Gods of Divine Path, as Innate Gods were incredibly rare across the Astral Boundary. To ascend as a God, you need worshippers to supply you with faith. Faith Gods were especially problematic to deal with. Even if you kill them, destroy their physical body, they could reform given enough time if they had enough worshippers. You could make it harder by the destruction of their Divine Spark, as that would basically destroy their godhood. If that happened, God would need a hundred thousand years minimally to recuperate if he had several million worshippers at least. While Innate Gods didn''t have such miraculous ability, they, on the other hand, weren''t so dependant on the Faith Power from their worshippers. Faith was like a two-handed weapon. On the one side, it could quickly raise the power of God; on the other, you are closely tied to your worshippers. If, for example, someone slaughtered all worshippers of Lesser God, then such god would suffer terrible backslash and injuries. And fall into the Demigod stage, which was something between High-Class and Ultimate-Class in terms of Devil Power ranking. "Simple, you will power up those magic formations with your full power. I have some Divine Crystals so that you can charge it with power equivalent to the three Pinnacle Intermediate Gods. Then you just need to attack Vidal and Royal Guards to enter formation, and I will do the rest. Afterward, you are teleported, I and your subordinates will take care of rest. In regards to Vidal''s soul, after his Divine Spark is taken and used in ritual by me, the only option for him to revive would be to use an enormous amount of materials and Faith Power to construct a new Divine Spark, and only then his body. That alone would take tens of thousands of years, as resources in Dimensional Gap are scarce." I explained my plan. So essential Asgard would be losing one Pinnacle Intermediate God for good. Dimensional Gap is a poor place. In the Astral Boundary, even ordinary Lesser God or Moonlight Warlock would be far richer than Greater God here. "Hmm... that could work, but I want half of those Divine Sparks. When Odin banishes me, and I lose my Divinity, I want to become Innate God." Said Hela with a confident voice. Aesir and Vanir had the ability to become Innate Gods, but due to lack of resources, nobody chose that path, as even in the Astral Boundary, it would take an enormous amount of precious resources to achieve. "No problem. Just try to play along and play for time." I said to her. If I obtain those resources, I could quickly raise the strength of my physique to the later stages of the Ultimate-Class, which would, in turn, tremendously increase my combat prowess. While I am not a close-ranged fighter, I will utilize every advantage I have. And having a strong physical body was one of them. When you have a strong physical body, it will also affect the speed of healing and even regeneration of energy reserves. Chapter 88 - Confrontation in Helheim As I was instructing Hela on how to make a proper magical trap. While Hela was skilled in magic, I could proudly say that I was far above her in terms of magical knowledge, not to mention having superior advantages such as Architect A.I. MTC. It only took one hour for the magical formation to complete, as Hela used all of my Divine Crystals in the creation, as I also helped her by adjusting the formation and spells. I was lucky to get some Divine Crystals I bought from some auction in Hindu. In Hindu Pantheon was often brutal competition, and Divine Crystals were precious for gods; some god was selling them for an enormous amount of war resources, which I supplied in the end. Divine Crystals were practically an enormous amount of crystalized Divine Power. "Now the trap is complete, and just bait. Our guests should arrive soon enough." I said as Hela grimaced, clearly not happy for being used as bait, but alas, there was nothing else to undergo this quest. I then cast several concealment spells and disappeared as I waited for the show to start. And so It happened, one hour later. Clouds darkened, and Bifrost opened, and a line of pure light shot from the sky to the ground as countless people came out of the light. All of them were clad in golden Asgardian armor powered by runic inscriptions and armed with swords and spears crafted from the most advanced Asgardian magical technology. Soon enough towering figure of Vidal emerged from the portal of light, followed by hundreds of Valkyries as they flew on their pegasi high in the sky. "So Odin has decided to send his loyal hound to end me?" Asked Hela Vidal with mockery in her voice, as she was aware of his short-tempered personality. "Traitor, you and all your brethren." Shouted Vidal in anger as he was called a dog. "Traitor? Maybe in a certain sense, yes. To Odin, but not to our Asgardian Ancestors. Maybe you and the Gods of Asgard, Dimensional Gap is heaven-sent, but to me, it is nothing more than prison for our disgraced nation, where we will ultimately perish. Asgard belongs to the Astral Boundary and not here, and If that hypocritical old man refuses to admit that, then I will achieve what he thought to be impossible." Said Hela in anger as I watched everything from shadows. "It is not your right to question King''s choices. Peace is here, not your endless bloodshed and wars that will doom us. We have been here for thousands of years, living in peace, without fear of being attacked and enslaved, destroyed by Fiends of Abyss, Warlock Dynasties, Arcane Empires, other Pantheons, or other factions." Said Vidal with a serious voice. "And for what? For that, we are getting weaker and weaker with every generation? That we don''t have any Mighty Divinity Stage Gods? For that, we are even not getting stronger but weaker instead? Peace is never a solution, it is the only path to destruction, as once someone appears and destroys us, and we won''t be even able to think due to the peace." Shouted Hela on him, like Vidal, Valkyries, and Royal Guards were approaching Hela and encircling her so she cannot escape. "Warmonger as you can never understand that peace is possible." Said voice belonging to an old woman in magical robes as she said from Vidal''s back. "G?ndul, he sent here too?" Asked Hela, surprised. G?ndul was one of her teachers when she was little, but she was too loyal to Odin to think otherwise about his orders. "G?ndul is right, Hela, surrender to the judgment of Allfather for betraying Asgard and allaying with devils." Said Vidal with a rather commanding voice with stoic expression as he looked at Hela. At the same time, she watched around and lured more and more Royal Guards and Valkyries to the magical formation. Vidal was already only several steps away from her, while G?ndul was more cautious and wasn''t even thinking about approaching her position. ''Maybe that is for best.'' Thought Hela, as she didn''t really want G?ndul to die here. "Hmm... do you know what, Vidal? Go f.u.c.k yourself." Cursed him Hela to provoke him, and it paid off. "Capture her! Immediately!" Screamed Vidal in absolute anger as she went for Hela, and hundreds upon hundreds of Royal Guards and Valkyries rushed at her position. She could only hear a faint voice in her ears. ''I Odin Borson, son of Bor, grandson of Buri, King of Asgard and God-King of Asgard Pantheon I hereby banish Hela Odinsdottir from the Asgard and Asgard Pantheon forever till the end of ages!'' It was Odin''s voice as he was banishing her, and she felt her Divine Power being stripped from her, as his strength greatly decreased and fell to the pinnacle of Ultimate-Class. "Vidal retreat! It is a trap!" Shouted G?ndul at Vidal, Royal Guards, and Valkyries, but it was too late. Suddenly Hela was enveloped by light and disappeared from the place, and at the same time, everything went blank, as everything exploded and destruction embraced everything in diameter of several kilometers. G?ndul and several Valkyries by her side managed to teleport away as Heimdall activated Bifrost to save at least those who could be saved. ''Damm, that was one of hell explosion; I wonder how many it survived.'' I thought as I observed it from a safe distance with Hela''s Generals, who were all Ultimate-Class warriors. There were even several Lesser Gods among those who came for Hela with Vidal, as he wasn''t the only god present. ''Now, we will go and kill everything that managed to survive before Odin comes here personally or sends reinforcements.'' "General Ragnar, shall we go?" "Of course, lad, we will spill some blood." Said General Ragnar with a bloodthirsty grin. Chapter 89 - Godslayer After the dust settled, ten of Hela''s generals and I arrived at the scene of the explosion. The entire field was filled with corpsed, blood, and body parts, and the stench of blood was heavily present in the air. "Kill everything that moves; Ragnar and I are going to finish Vidal." I said to them, as I was something like an unofficial leader. As I went with Ragnar to the center of the explosion, we have killed a few surviving Royal Guards and Valkyries that were barely alive as they were rolling on the ground, bleeding and slowly dying due to their injuries. "Ohh? Lesser God of Weak Rank." I muttered as I looked at the golden-clad man who was still alive but unconscious. Lesser Divinity Stage was divided into two sub-stages. Feeble Rank and Weak Rank. Take out my Scythe Rosenkreutz, with one slash, I severed head of the unconscious god, and cast spell, as I tore out his Divine Spark out his body. His soul attempted to escape, but alas, as he was weaker than me, I caught his soul and destroyed it with a special spell. Ragnar was doing the same thing as me, though more brutally, as he was crushing skulls of warriors that survived my trap with his enormous Warhammer. After half an hour, I have gathered around 12 Divine Sparks; all of them were of Lesser Gods of Weak Ranks, which was pretty good loot. As Lesser Gods were essentially on the same stage as me, I could kill them permanently by crushing their souls. Of course, I couldn''t do that with Intermediate Gods; that thing was impossible. As we were killing all survivors, mostly those strongest ones, as the rest of the Generals were focusing on finishing off ordinary members of the Royal Guards and Valkyries, I finally found Vidal. He truly lived to his fame as Pinnacle Intermediate Divinity Stage God. While he was severely wounded, he was still able to stand on his two legs and even fight as he charged at Ragnar and me the moment he saw us slaughtering unconscious Royal Guards and Valkyries. ''His physical strength is surely terrifying. I could see as he is visibly healing.'' I thought in my head as I spread my wings and flew away from enraged Vidal, as Ragnar took him head-on. With few spells to strengthen Vidal''s defenses and strength, he was able to hold off raging Vidal. As I created distance between us, I started casting countless Tactical-Class spells as I started showering Vidal with spells, causing him additional injuries. But alas, that was still not enough, as to really kill Vidal would take more, so I decided to go all out and use my strongest attack. Strategic-Tier Spell, Dimensional Slash. I started creating a spell matrix in my head, and soon after it was completed, I released it at the Vidal. As Vidal was engaged in a fight with Ragnar, he didn''t have enough time to complete as it severed his left hand. Injuries on the Vidal''s body were worsening with every spell that hit his body, and I could see with my b.a.r.e eyes that his energy was slowly diminishing. Suddenly, out of nowhere, several pitch-black swords appeared and pierced through Vidal''s legs, causing him to fall on the ground, as Ragnar took his chance to use all of his power and crushed Vidal''s right hand into a bloody mess of disordered flesh with his war hammer. Apparently, Hela was hiding in the dark and waiting for her time to strike, like a ruthless predator she was. While at the same time, I coated my scythe with the power of Dark Light and Devour at the same time and suck it directly at Vidal''s heart, piercing his heart, causing him to shout from pain as his heart was being destroyed. I stretched my right hand, and pierced it through the wound on the heart, and brutally tore out his Divine Spark as Vidal lifelessly fell onto the ground. I could see that his soul was too strong for me to destroy, and it was s.u.c.k.e.d up back to Asgard. Apparently, Odin has used a bit of his power to save his favorite servant. It was clear that he has lost this time, as Hela could leave, Royal Guards Division and Valkyrie Battalion were slaughtered, together with twelve Lesser Gods of Weak Rank, and even Vidal was basically killed, only his divine soul remaining. He would either could choose to reincarnate as mortal and start anew or spent countless millennia to recuperate. "We won!" I screamed as blood dropped from my mouth in happiness. "F.u.c.k, you are right, batling! We won! To hell!" Laughed Ragnar in delight. I achieved something not heard of for the last thousand years in Draconic Deus. As an Ultimate-Class, I killed pinnacle Intermediate God with millennia of combat experiences. I stored corpses of all Gods and Divine Spark as I would have use for them. The most priceless thing from god is his Divine Spark. The second one was, of course, body itself, as it was a peerless treasure, often used to make medicines or various things raging from magic materials to weapons. Chapter 90 - Reactions "We need to leave, fast. Hela, come." I said after taking everything of some value. Now was the best and probably the final time to get out of here, as I feared soon either reinforcements came, in much more soldiers and experts from the Asgard''s side, or maybe even Odin himself will come, that would be catastrophic. "Comming." Answered female voice in the shadows, as Hela appeared out of nowhere and went to me. I then teleported us all to the nearest space-time rift leading to the Underworld and disappeared from the Helheim. From a distance, high in the sky, I could see pitch-black ravens circling as they were flying there happily. ''Hugin and Mirim... so he was watching the whole time.'' I muttered as I stepped into the space rift after everyone went ahead of me. After I stepped through, every space rift across the Helheim that was leading to the Underworld suddenly collapsed at the same time. Meanwhile, at the Asgard''s Royal Throne Room "My King, the mission was an utter failure. We fell into the trap, and only I and several Valkyries survived; everyone else was killed." Said G?ndul, as she bowed to her king. "How?" Asked Odin, feeling as he aged by an entire decade just within one second. "Hela had a helper. Zeoticus Gremory von Lucifer helped her to construct some fearsome magical trap formation that was apparently tied to Hela''s banishment as an activation moment. In an instant, when she was banished, she was teleported out, and spell array exploded, killing almost all Royal Guards and Valkyries in an instant and severely injuring rest. I managed to save myself and several Valkyries as we were far behind them; when I noticed it was trapped, it was late, as Hela tricked Vidalinot attacking her from close range." Explained G?ndul as two black ravens flew into the room as they circled around the throne until they landed on Odin''s shoulders and started screeching. "My King, what happened to Vidal and other Lesser Gods?" Asked G?ndul, as she disappeared from Helheim moment she noticed something was amiss. "All Lesser Gods are dead. Vidal is essential to only his Divine Soul survived, but his divinity is lost. Either he will reincarnate as mortal Aesir or spent millennia recuperating. That Lucifer descendant was really throughout and went on how to deal with Gods and kill them down permanently properly. Probably the only reason why Vidal''s soul survived, with his strength, he couldn''t destroy the soul of Pinnacle Intermediate God with Pantheon mark." Explained Odin, while G?ndul was deeply shocked. Now the strength of Asgard decreased even further. Loss of 12 Lesser Gods Weak Ranks was bad, even if they were low ranking gods, but they were all Royal Guards and experienced warriors. And the loss of Vidal was f.u.c.k.e.d up absolutely, as he had high chanced to become Greater God within the next two centuries. "Mobilize all armies, now Royal Guards and Valkyries are severely weakened, there are high chances that Malekith, Surtr, or Laufey will strike." Ordered Odin in anger. *** Somewhere in the Jotunheim, world of eternal ice "Oh? Odin lost so many, and even Vidal was essentially killed?" Asked a deep voice. "Immediately order mobilization and start offensive at Asgard." *** At the same time, in the fire world of Muspelheim. "Send out the legions. Kill every Asgardian you find." Said voice belonging to the huge shadow figure of flames *** Somewhere in the dark shadow world of Swartalfheim "My King word of Asgard''s loss is spreading. Laufey and Surtr are already sending armies to clean of their world of Asgard''s outposts and soon would attack their holdings in other worlds. What shall we do?" Asked an armored man as he looked at the throne, where a shadowy figure was sitting. "Send in assassins and kill important generals in the army and Royal Sorcerers. Try to assassinate as many important figures in the kingdom as possible, cause as much chaos as possible. Harass their fortresses, destroy their supply lines, kill their leaders, cripple their infrastructure." *** At the same time, Underworld, Gremory Territory. Now entire Gremory Territory was more lively compared to before. My population increased by approximately 160 million, and I just gained more than 40 million soldiers. This was a great boon for me; hopefully, that Hela would be as cooperative as she said she would be. I was aware that she had a few screws loose in her head, but so what... nobody was perfect. As long as she would kill my enemies, everything was okay. Now the next thing on my to-do list was to go to Takamagahara and talk with Shinto Pantheon about the plans. Hopefully, it will go better compared to this. The situation in Shinto Pantheon was peaceful as the entire faction was ruled by the iron hand by Amaterasu, who was the pinnacle Greater God. "I have promised Vena to take her on a date to Agreas... I will go before taking a trip to Takagahamara." I muttered. Venelana would be happy that I remembered my promise, as I was really too busy with many things. Hopefully, after the war, I would have some peace and time to relax, but now I must strive to increase my power to the maximum possible for a better future. "You have returned, Zeoticus." "Indeed, please take over overseeing accommodation of Aesir and Vanir that fled from Asgard. Coordinate with Hela in that regard. She should be somewhere there or here. How were you holding on managing the territory in my absence?" I asked. Chapter 91 - Orden... "Good, it wasn''t that hard." Answered Grayfia in her usual stoic expression as I nodded. "Then thank you for your work, and now if you excuse me." I said as I left for my chambers. *** Meanwhile, all around the Draconic Deus, a huge storm was brewing order in all factions and pantheons. News about what happened at Helheim leaked even sooner than one would expect, as immediately, after Zeoticus and Hela left, Laufey and Surtr started a brutal offensive against Asgardian Royal Army, and hundreds of thousands were killed within several days. On top of that, King of Dark Elves, Malekith crawled out of shadows and assassinated countless prominent people in Odin''s kingdom with his Dark Elven assassins, throwing them in chaos. In a certain place, in the inner palace, a handsome young man with long flowing red hair with uplifted dark red bangs was sitting cross-legged as he was meditating. He had a third eye on his forehead that was also closed. He wore a heavily stylized three-piece suit-type outfit consisting of a black waistcoat over an untucked collared white shirt, an orange cravat, and magenta-colored trousers tucked into light brown boots. The most distinguishing feature of the outfit is the stylized high-collared robe jacket with a length that falls to the wearer''s shins: the upper part and shoulders of the robe jacket are dark-colored, the rest being a teal color and the robe jacket''s trimmings are gold-colored; on each shoulder is a large gold-colored ¦¸-symbol, on each outer forearm are three gold-colored strips of fabric and the robe jacket ends in large white cuffs. The outfit is finished with white gloves. "My Emperor, the information is verified." Said voice belonging to a man who knelt on the floor before meditating man, as he disappeared soon after relaying the message. When the servant left, the red-haired man opened his eyes; his right eye had the ¦¸ symbol in it, while his left eye had the ¦Á symbol in it. "Another transmigrator appeared? Very talented in magic and skilled... he could be a great addition to the Orden. Should I invite him?" Muttered the man as he took something out of his pocket, which looked like a card. It was one of the 22 Major Arcana Cards, The Fool Card. "Let Mercurius decide." He muttered as he threw the card high in the air, and soon the card started shining in the bright light as gray fog surrounded the card. "I see; why have you chose to ask me, Deus Ex Machina. Indeed this one is interesting, as there isn''t any Fate tied to him. Test him; if he passes, he will be a great addition to the Orden. Our organization will grow once more." "Have you found somebody suitable, Mercurius?" Asked Deus Ex Machina. "Indeed. In one of those cultivation Universes you came from, an extremely mighty cultivator, that is worthy, and I already delivered invitation. Additionally, Kaziklu Bey found someone, which is funny, the person he found is an ordinary mortal with a bit of Spirit Energy barely able to contend against Starry Sky Warlocks or Senior Arcanists of Astral Boundary, but has enormous potential, especially her intelligence and scheming abilities are really something to behold. I have given her a bit boon... she is still a child though but has an immense affinity for a certain thing. She would be r.a.p.ed by her master, so I changed the fate of the world a bit, to gain another strong cultivator for our side. Though, due to that, I need to send someone there, later on. That Universe is a barren one, it would do a good place for gathering strength in the grand scheme of all things." Answered Mercurius. "Also, Christof Lohengrin chose to invite a person." Said Mercurius after a short time of thought. "Who?" Asked Deus Ex Machina with a surprised voice. "Someone who bears the title of Almighty and has potent precognition abilities." "Your agenda is sure interesting, Mercurius. I wonder when the time comes, how many of us will sit up there." Said Deus Ex Machina. "Possibly all. Things are moving, and only several Eras are remaining. Top experts, factions, and Empires and Dynasties are expanding like crazy, and ancient experts are slowly awakening from their sleep while creating alliances and hidden organization like we do." Answered Mercurius, while Deus Ex Machina nodded in agreement. "Also, where is Rot Spinne? I haven''t heard about him, even before using Samsara Rebirth Technique several Eras Ago?" One Era was approximately 10,081 years. "Don''t know... he disappeared once more, probably went to other Universe. He is a traveler, and our messenger may find some great addition to the Orden. When it starts, it will be good to reduce the number of Universes by a great amount." Answered Mercurius. "Do you think your Astral Boundary is ready?" "No. While it isn''t weak either, it isn''t that strong, but for that reason, Orden was created, at least partially, to gather similar-minded people. Additionally, this is what it makes even more interesting, Deus Ex Machina." Said Mercurius as he laughed. "Only you can take extermination of an entire Universe as a game, Mercurius. If you are unlucky and got invaded first by a strong universe, you would be in trouble. Especially those where cultivation is practiced, like mine, they are very strong for the current Astral Boundary. Many of them have even Thrones." Explained Deus Ex Machina. "I am aware of it, for that we need to take the initiative and use Universe Stairs to invade and assimilate Universes with lesser Energy Density to become nutrients for the Astral Boundary Universe. From what I have seen, most of the factions are already preparing for the greatest war of all times." Said Mercurius. "Also, when will you return to your true body Deus Ex Machina?" Asked Mercurius after a short time. "Soon, soon the cultivation of Samsara Rebirth Technique will be complete." "Oh, and take this. Give it to the new recruit as a test. The Card will do the rest." Said Mercurius as another Major Arcana Card appeared out of the grey fog. The Devil Arcana. Chapter 92 - How to process corpses of Gods... At the same time, Lord Gerstahl Lucifuge was relying upon a message to Lucifer about events that transpired in the Helheim. Hearing this, Lucifer''s mood turned unusually good, hearing all of that. With the addition of Hela''s army to the Underworld, he was even more confident of crushing Heaven and Grigori to the ground. Completely unaware by plots and schemes for his death by his own blood. "Send out the Decree that I rise noble rank of Zeoticus Lucifer to the Grand Duke for his merits in securing such enormous help for devil kind in the war against our eternal enemies." Siad Lucifer with a commanding voice. *** One day later, as I was relaxing in my gardens, I received a decree from Lucifer that I have been promoted to the Grand Duke Noble Rank. This was good, as now, I was socially one of the highest-ranking nobles in the entire Underworld. I planned to be promoted to at least King Rank before the war starts. After I reach Satan-Class and secure assistance from Takagahamara in wiping out Church from Japan, I can predict that Lucifer would promote my rank once more. That would be for best, as then I would be automatically placed as one of the military leaders of the Great War on the devil side, or I could make my own army and be completely independent of the chain of command, like Great King Bael. Now, before I planned to take Vena on a date to Agreas, I decided to make use of Divine Sparks and corpsed of Lesser Gods that I have obtained on my trip, or killing spree in the Helheim. As usual, I planned to brew potion out of the body parts of the gods. While my Alchemy skills weren''t that bad, they were pathetic compared to the real Alchemy that was practiced in the Astral Boundary. Fortunately, the corpse of Vidal could be processed separately into several potions, as it was too potent compared to Lesser Weak Gods. Potions refined from corpses of these Lesser Weak Gods would tremendously improve my physique, as the Divine Path of God was well known for balance between physical strength and energy reserves. Every power system has its own advantages and disadvantages. Divine Sparks of the Gods could be used for other people to ascend or be used in various rituals or weapon refinement. I planned to use half of the Divine Sparks I have obtained in ritual to combine it with a potion. I calculated it should strengthen my physique to the pinnacle of the Ultimate-Class. Of course, if somebody who was specialized in physique and was the so-called body cultivator could reach a much higher level than me from this procedure. In truth, what I was doing, was considered as extravagant mad wasting of resources in Astral Boundary. Nobody would waste six corpses of Lesser Weak Gods and their Divine Sparks to strengthen their physique. Only a very few factions could do something like this. Similarly, Vidal''s corpse and Divine Spark would be used in the same way, in the hope to strengthen my physique to Satan-Class. After that, I would be considered as one of the top powerhouses in the Draconic Deus, and by Astral Boundary''s standards, I would be a heaven-defying genius. As I reached such a level of power just within 200 years, which was a short time. And in reality, it was only ten years or so from my transmigration. I started preparing my potion ingredients which were corpses of the Lesser Weak Gods. To prepare it, I instructed Architect to dissect them for crucial ingredients: Blood, Heart, and Bone Marrow. Every part of the god''s body was brimming with energy and power; I could feel it with just a look. Usually, Lesser Weak God has no problem killing Ultimate-Class powerhouse with ease, but thanks to my carefully planned trap, they all fell at the same time. Even Grade 7 Plane accord¨¢ing to the classification of the Astral Boundary has limit only 10 Gods... I then dropped everything into the huge cauldron and activated a magical formation around it for it to brew under immense heat. While I wasn''t a very skilled Alchemist or Potion Brewer, which was a sub-class of Alchemy, with the Architect''s help, it was effortless for me to produce potions from zero knowledge. Within the next ten hours, I have spent brewing the potion, adjusting the heat, or adding some additional ingredients like some Mid-Grade Energy Crystals, parts of Monsters, and other things to boost up the efficiency of the potion. I was slowly preparing for the moment when I would enter the Astral Boundary, which was a real stage, not something like Dimensional Gap, which was a sealed space consisting of only a few tens of weak planes. I have also decided, in the future, I should target planes where gods were abundant and hunt them for resources when I would be strong enough. Maybe even kill as many of the gods in Dimensional Gap; they would become my nutrients or for my followers and family. Sadly, I cannot use Devour on the Divine Spark, as the Divine Energy is too contradicted to the Demonic Energy, and it would cause me serious injuries due to energy deviation. Soon enough, the potion was finally finished, and I have obtained four bottles of it altogether. "Hmm... I will use one on myself; two could go to Vena and Grayfia. They would be participating in the Great War, so it would be good for their strength to increase. Last one I will give to Hela. I need to have her on my side, as her soldiers are currently the majority of my army." I said to myself. Chapter 93 - Promotion Venelana and Grayfia were both my fiance¨¦s and, besides that, also my closest allies I had. For them to become strong was also meaning I would become stronger. I could say that I probably loved Venelana, as her cheerful personality made my day better when she came for a visit. In truth, I didn''t care too much about them, as I could always hunt for some gods and make more. For now, increasing my strength in every way was my top priority. I then took six Divine Sparks and started preparing the spell formation. With my deep knowledge of Arcane, I had it prepared within a short one hour. Afterward, I gulped down the God Corpse Potion in one go and activated a magical circle powered up by six Divine Sparks. As I drank the potion, I felt overwhelming energy enter my body from the potion. Second wave energy entered my body from the magical formation, as I felt every cell in my body being strengthened repeatedly. The entire process took several hours, as I completely drained energy from six Divine Sparks until they turned to nothingness. After it was finished and the entire God Corpse Potion was finally digested, I felt wonderful. My physical body was brimming with power, such much power. "Architect scan." [Class: Ultimate Demonic Energy: 263 Strength: 290 Vitality: 294] "Hmm... in numerical values, my physique is even stronger than my energy reserves. After getting into Satan-Class with the help of God Corpse Potion brewed from Vidal''s corpse and Divine Spark, my progress in strengthening my physique should stop until I reach Apocalypse-Class or obtain corpses Divine Sparks of Greater Gods. Resources of Dimensional Gap are greatly limited in that regard." I muttered. I planned to have a balance between my energy reserves and physique. I believed in using every advantage I had. Unfortunately for me, strengthening my physique to Apocalypse Class would be impossible with resources available in Dimensional Gap. Apocalypse-Class was starting point for true experts, as only from then can you be considered a true expert in Astral Boundary. Everything under that level is only cannon fodder. Of course, compared to mighty beings of Law, everything is meaningless. After I finished my ritual, I decided to call Venelana for the date I have promised her, to taker her on a date to the city of Agreas. Before I could do anything, one of the butlers came and notified me that a Decree from Lucifer has arrived. In truth, I was wondering what it was. After I got into the meeting hall, where a messenger from Lucifaad was already waiting with the decree in his hands. I just heard what he had to say, and to be honest, I was pretty surprised hearing it. It seemed that for my merits, basically getting Hela and her armies, I was promoted to the Grand Duke and was awarded additional territories and more authority in the Underworldld. With more territory, I could recruit more soldiers and build a stronger army. Additionally, with this promotion, I also got a new Ultimate-Class general in my army; altogether, I had 16 Ultimate-Class powerhouses under me, though ten of them were Aesir and Vanir. Now that I was promoted, it was guaranteed that I would be one of the main army commanders during the Great War... another perfect way to dispose of my political opponents or people that would dare to threaten my plans for unification. After sending the messenger away, I decided to call Venelana for the promised date in Agreas. One hour later Venelana arrived through the teleportation circle. "Hello, Vena." I greeted her, with a slight bow. "Hello, Zeo." Said Venelana cheerfully. "Wait for me a bit, I must get some things before we depart." I said as I left for a moment. Meanwhile, Venelana was waiting for her fiance¨¦, and soon another person appeared. "Oh my, isn''t it Lady Bael?" Asked a cold female voice. "Lady Lucifuge, you are here too?" Asked Venelana back with a sweet smile. "Indeed, I was appointed by Zeoticus as Castellan of Fuerig." Answered Grayfia with a predatory smile, to which Venelana grimaced as something sparked between those two. "Indeed such menial task is certainly fit for you." Siad Venelana sweetly as Grayfia''s eyebrows twitched a little. "I must agree, not everyone is capable enough to be entrusted with such responsibility." Said Grayfia. "Such is the truth... very fit for an emotionless person like you." *** After several minutes, I finally returned and saw that Venelana and Grayfia were talking to each other happily, or it seemed at least like that. "My Ladies. Vena, we can go. Grayfia, please go and send a message to Hela that the first part is ready." I said, as I cast teleportation circle and we have transported away. *** After Zeoticus left with Venelana, Grayfia grimaced as she muttered. "This round, I have lost, but wait for the next time." Chapter 94 - Date at Agreas (1) I must admit that Agreas is a charming city. It was a large city located in the Agares Territory but was maintained by forces of Four Great Satans exclusively. It served as the second capital of the Devil Race, and most importantly, it was where most of the scientific breakthroughs were made. I wonder if they already started researching the Agreas Crystals, which would later become prime material for the creation of Evil Pieces. To get into the city wasn''t an easy feat, as mostly only nobility was allowed into the city, and many of them after the strict screening. For me, as I was officially from the Lucifer Clan, I got a free pass. ''Those four madmen are really paranoid... they must have already started creating the Malebranche, and maybe they have already finished them. Still... from my knowledge, they must have used something else in the forging and creation process, as only crystals of Agreas alone are not enough.'' I thought in my head. "Where do you want to go first, Vena?" I asked her as I looked around the beautiful architecture of the flying city. "We could go to the restaurant first." I book the entire top floor of the restaurant, which was usually reserved for the most prominent guests. We were led there by water and sat down at the table with the most beautiful view. We sat down, and both of us ordered some food. I personally chose my favorite, the dragon steak. This one came from an evil dragon from Three Realms, a real exclusivity. A price for one steak was enough to buy pretty good armor, weapon, and some supportive things. Vena chose to eat dragon fish exported from the rivers of Takagahamara. As we were waiting for the food to arrive, I took out the God Corpse Potion and gave it to Vena. "This is potion I refined from corpses of Gods I killed in Helheim. It is called God Corpse Potion, and it has an enormous effect on physique; it could easily strengthen your physique to later stages of Ultimate-Class." I said to her while giving her the potion. Vena was just High-Class in terms of physique, which was pretty important. Old man, Zekram must have spent many precious resources on her, as Vena was strengthening her physique in a similar way to me by the usage of treasures and magic. Vena was shocked seeing the potion, and probably even more that I gave it to her, just like that. This could be considered one of the top-grade treasures in the Dimensional Gap due to its limited resources. Even in the vast Astral Boundary Universe, it would be considered a precious thing. "I... thank you." Another reason why I gave it to her, I wished for Vena to become Satan-Class before the Great War. If she did, she would be automatically placed as a commander on one of the frontlines and could help me enact my plans. After the food was served, we have talked about some mischievous things; I talked mainly about my trip to Helheim and my encounter with Hela and fight with the Gods of Asgard. When I mentioned Hela, if felt air change around Vena a bit, but I think it was just my imagination. "Oh, and I for prompted to the Grand Duke by Lucifer, today." I said to Vena as I finished talking about my trip to the Helheim. "That is wonderful news." Said Vena sweetly. "When you are departing for the Takamagahara?" She asked me after a short time. "I will try to reach Satan-Class before that, as I am very close to reaching that Class." With the knowledge I got from Hela about the Astral Boundary, I found out that the ranking system was different there and here in the Gap, it was due to Dimensional Gap was severed for a long time from the Universe, so it started developing as Secret Realm to a different direction. Satan-Class was the same as Bright World Warlock in Warlock Cultivation System or Level 3 Legendary Arcanist in Arcane System. From the information I got from Hela, the devil ranking system was like some weird combination of Warlock Cultivation System and Arcane System. To reach Super-Devil Class only thing that devils needed was time, energy and aptitude, and nothing else. This was pretty similar to the Warlock Cultivation System. But, from then on, there was one huge barrier to reach Apocalypse-Class, which was to comprehend the Law. This was, on the other hand, very similar to the Arcane System of Arcanists. So theoretically, if Underworld had ten times that of energy density, then devils would get stronger much faster, and we could become more powerful. Thought the path after the Super-Devil Class is like an enormous mountain that is almost impossible to conquer. When I started researching this topic, I also ordered Architect to look at another thing... something which was in my mind for a very, very long time, unexplained and only now, after getting knowledge from the Astral Boundary, it finally gave an answer. Clan Traits of Devils. They weren''t just Clan Traits... After that, I realized something... this isn''t something Lucifer could do. Someone born in Dimensional Gap doesn''t have such ability. So the only logical answer was... The Book of Lucifer wasn''t really his own creation, but rather an artifact that fell to the Draconic Deus a long, long time ago and was found by Lucifer. Based on the Book of Lucifer, he, formerly known as Luciel, changed his name and turned himself to Devil. Such was the truth of the original. Chapter 95 - Date at Agreas (2) Not that like something of that mattered, but I would like to extract his memory and see his secrets. The fact he gave me the Book of Lucifer means he himself isn''t completely aware of its value or playing some dangerous game with me as a pawn. Whenever the truth is, one is certain, and that is, the Lucifer must die.?? Now I was inquisitive to explore more of the Book of Lucifer, but alas, I didn''t dare to do it while he was alive. If it was a trap, then maybe he gave me the book in hopes I would be able to unlock its secrets, and when I am no longer useful, he could kill me or whatever... but it won''t end well for me. "Zeo? Helloooo..." I heard before waking from my thinking trance-like state. "Oh, sorry. I was a bit caught in my thoughts." I said as Venelana pouted a little. "About what exactly?" Asked she. "About that, how beautiful are you today." I said with a smile. I didn''t want to talk about certain things as it was not appropriate for now. After we have finished eating, we went for a walk around Agreas City. As the city was accessible for members of the nobility, it was empty, despite its size and beautiful environment. *** Venelana was walking through the halls of the Bael Castle while searching for her mother to have a talk with her. As usual, she found her at the gardens, relaxing in there... something done by most noble ladies of almost none of them wished to do something. "Hello, mother." Greeted her Venelana. Her mother looked like her older version, with a bigger c.h.e.s.t and longer hair. "What is bringing you here, my darling daughter?" Asked Lady Bael with a gentle smile. "I just want to talk about something with you." Said Venelana rather nervously. "Then come and sit here..." "So, what is bothering you?" Asked Lady Bael with a kind smile. Afterward, Venelana started narrating her own problems as her mother attentively listened to her daughter''s troubles. "So the young Lucifuge is your competitor?" Asked Lady Bael curiously. "Yes, that ice witch." Said Venelana with anger, as she met with Grayfia after her engagement to her own fiance¨¦ was announced by Lucifer, and they didn''t start with a good impression. "Hmm... I think I know what you need to do... from what you have told me; you need to take the initiative as your fiance¨¦ is probably dense as brick or too focused on his own things to notice your female signals, or maybe both of them. Right now, you may have an advantage, but that can change as Grayfia is Lucifuge, and she is way closer to Lucifer than Bael can be... so you need to do this..." Said Lady Bael as she whispered the last parts of the sentence to her daughter, as Venelana turned bright red in a matter of seconds. "Are you sure it will work?" Asked Venelana nervously. "Do you want for Grayfia to win? The moment she realizes that Zeoticus is too engrossed in his research and development of his territory, she will make a move, and you will lose your dominant position. Even now, you are at a disadvantage as she has a special bond with him as Lucifer and Lucifuge; if you are slow, then the gap will only widen." Said seriously, Lady Bael, as she saw the fire ignite in Venelana''s eyes. It was just another game for power, or race for power. When they get married, it will be decided who will be the main wife or who will have the most authority after the Lord of the House. And Venelana didn''t want to fall behind her rival Grayfia. After some time of thinking about it, she nodded her head in agreement. *** Back to present I was rather enjoying this date a the Agreas. Venelana was pressing her c.h.e.s.t on my right hand, which was a very nice feeling, but at the same time, as I was enjoying this, I was also thinking about how to get my hands on some crystals of Agreas. I doubt if I ask Lucifer, he will give me some of them, so I chose to steal them. At the end of the Great War, everything will belong to me, so I am just taking something that is mine in advance. At first, I was in a state of deep shock about what was happening, but soon I have returned her kiss with an even bigger passion. After we have separated, I only heard a weak whisper from her as she took my hand and led me to the nearest hotel. Chapter 96 - Satan-Class (1) Several days later Currently, I was preparing for my advancement to the Satan-Class. I already felt that my energy reserves were nearing the limit; they could hold up, as I received a benefit from strengthening my physique to the later stages of the Ultimate-Class, as my energy reserves kept expanding.?? Reaching Satan-Class would be a great milestone for me. To be complete, I planned to strengthen my physique to the Satan-Class before I reached it in terms of energy reserves. I could probably get more from the High-Grade Demonic Energy Magic Stone if I did it that way. I would awaken another part of my True Name, and I wonder what benefit it will bring me. Awakening ability with every part of True Name wasn''t something normal, as it was considered super rare. My name ''Dizmason'' strengthened my Innate Talent for Magic, from average to the top-notch genius level, which allowed me more easily comprehend spells, cast them with lesser energy consumption, and many others. At first, I refined the potion from Vidal''s corpse. Now I would be drawing magical formation around the place, where I could refine the potion, strengthen my physique with it, and use Divine Spark of Vidal in the process. After I returned from the rendezvous night with Venelana, It seemed like Grayfia noticed something different about me but didn''t say anything besides frowning heavily. I gave her one of the God Corpse Potions, as it would greatly elevate her abilities before the Great War happens. So the first thing, I gulped down the potion made from Vidal''s corpse and activated the magical formation with Vidal''s Divine Spark in the middle. This time, albeit it was a bit different, as Grayfia was there, to support the formation and control the spell, as the energy that was being released from it was rather overwhelming, and it easily damages the castle or even causes some serious injuries. I explained to her how the spell worked, and with her natural affinity with magic and experiences, she quickly caught on and was able to control the magical formation rather fast. While I experienced this feeling once and would probably have several times more in the future, it still hurt like hell. Fortunately, Grayfia was able to narrate the flow energy aptly, so I didn''t suffer any kind of injuries due to it. As I grit my teeth, the process was very fast, as it was constantly breaking down my cells and rebuilding them anew, stronger and brimming with vitality. As the time flew and hours passed by, I felt that my body was getting stronger and stronger. As the process was nearing its end, I felt that I could take Vidal with my physical abilities alone and not die several seconds later. While I wasn''t any close-combat fighter, I can at least take beings with terrifying physiques head-on and not die, or at least escape. There are countless experts out there and countless ways to nullify magic power or any kind of energy; that was why I was so adamant about strengthening my physique at any cost. ''Architect scan my body.'' I said to my MTC A.I. as I laid down on the ground and saw Grayfia approaching me with worry in her eyes. [Class: Ultimate Demonic Energy: 298 Strength: 451 Vitality: 450] ''Damm... such rapid advancement... I will need to stop for several decades, maybe even a century, as I have strengthened my body by an extreme amount in such a short time. It is a wonder; I didn''t suffer any kind of backslash...'' I thought in my head. During past years, I have brought my physique from pathetic Low-Class to Middle-Class standards to terrifying Satan-Class. In terms of Astral Boundary major cultivation systems, it would be possible, but nobody would waste so many precious resources on strengthening the body so much. Additionally, it could cause you to suffer serious hidden injuries or something, but alas, I think I was lucky. I noticed that my Class was still listed as Ultimate-Class, which wasn''t entirely wrong, as Class was mainly based on energy reserves, even by standards of the Astral Boundary. "Are you alright, Zeoticus? You look like you are going to die by any minute..." Asked the worried Grayfia that came to me to check up on my state. "It is okay... just my body tired... I feel like I have been runner over by behemoth." "You are really crazy... I have never seen anybody to undergo anything similar to you." Said Grayfia with a surprised face as she observed me. "It may be possible, but now I can say that I can fight head-on with someone like Vidal and escape with just some injuries. Of course, if you add my magic to mix, then probably I would be able to kill some weaker to average Intermediate Gods within ten minutes." I said with a confident voice. While I wasn''t a close-combat fighter, now that my physique was elementary of Satan-Class, but coupled with my spells and Clan Trait, I could deal with such opponents, despite my energy reserves being just at the peak of Ultimate-Class. When I advance to Satan-Class in terms of Class, probably someone like Vidal wouldn''t last before me too long... "Just be careful, don''t underestimate your opponents just because you have strengthened your body to a terrifying level." Said Grayfia, but rather it seemed like a teacher lecturing a young child that said something stupid. I knew it was her way of showing her concern for me. Chapter 97 - Satan-Class (2) "I know, but thanks for your concern." I answered as Grayfia looked indifferent, but I knew that she was satisfied with herself about an accomplished goal: to scold me and acknowledge that she was right.?? "What are you going to do now?" Asked me. "Rest, if you want, I can help you digest God Corpse Potion more easily, with magical formation." I proposed. Usually, to digest and refine such things as God Corpse Potion that was brewed to strengthen the physique of the user, there was one most effective way, and that was physical training. Something I was not fond of and didn''t have enough time for. The second way was just to let it be refined naturally, but that could take even several months, based on the potency of the potion. And finally, there was a third way, something I used, and that was magical formation to help you refine the potion and its effect. Aside from the Divine Sparks, the spell I intended to use for Grayfia was almost the same I have used for myself. "Later after we deal with your things." Said Grayfia stoically. "Okey." Afterward, I have spent several hours recuperating and resting to be in pristine condition, as I felt that my energy reserves were nearing the limit, and soon next metamorphosis will happen. Devils didn''t usually reach the next Class through metamorphosis, which was similar to cultivation breakthrough to higher realms in cultivator universes. Reaching higher Class through metamorphosis happened only to Devils who were expanding and training their energy reserves to reach higher class. While ordinary devils, who didn''t train, will reach higher class naturally. The only difference was several centuries plus-minus, depending on your innate talent and luck. Still, most devils could reach the High-Class without any problems within several centuries just by doing nothing. While most devils with noble bloodlines could reach Class I have termed as Grand-Class, which was corresponding to stage between High-Class and Ultimate-Class, that existed in the Astral Boundary but was missing in the Dimensional Gap, due to messed up Laws. Grand-Class corresponded to the Starry Sky Warlock in Warlock Cultivation System. While this wasn''t bad, there existed even more terrifying lifeforms in the many Universes. And everything below Ultimate-Class was nothing more than just glorified cannon fodder in huge wars across Astral Boundary or other places. When I was already at my full energy and rested enough, I started preparing a magical formation that will help me absorb the High-Grade Demonic Energy Magic Stone. High-Grade Magic Stones were precious even in the Astral Boundary, not that much, but they were the currency used by upper-tier experts. Here in the Dimensional Gap, even one High-Grade Magic Stone was a peerless treasure and priceless thing. As I held it in my hand, I was even more suspicious about Lucifer and what he intended to do... I placed it in the eye of the formation and activated the spell matrix. [Architect, start the protocol.] I commanded in my head. [Acknowledged.] He answered as the spell matrix started. The process was very similar to what when I have reached the Ultimate-Class, at first my overall energy reserved started getting smaller by lightning speed, as the energy inside my body was being refined, fused, purified, and once again, this happened all over, unit the density and purity of my Demonic Energy didn''t reach astonishing level. Afterward, my energy reserves started slowly rising. Soon enough, it reached 100, then 200, then after another ten minutes it broke through the number 300 and kept rising to 400, and soon 500. To my surprise, it didn''t stop there and kept climbing to 550, 575, 600... 601 620 621 622 623 624 It then stabilized at the number 624. Shortly after, I felt the Will of the Underworld descend upon me as my entire body froze. ''Savant'' ''Savant'' ''Savant'' Said now familiar creepy voice in my head belonging to the Will of the Underworld. ''Prideguard - When in the Underworld, no physical or energy attack done by any one of the similar or same alignment as the bearer of this name, that is weaker than bearer, cannot do any harm. For thou who are stronger than the bearer, the effect would be lowered appropriately.'' Said the voice as it soon disappeared. I studied the effect of the new part of my True Name that the Underworld gifted me, and it was terrifying. Basically, as long as I am attacked in the Underworld by someone who is weaker than me and is of the same alignment, meaning Devil or has Darkness / Shadow or any other similar element, I am basically immune to such attacks. Of course, if Devil attacks me, that is stronger than me, the Prideguard would just weaken the effect of their attack. This was why it was of utmost importance to guard the True Name. One mistake, and your strongest side, will be your weakest. True Names given by the Will of the Underworld itself are really terrifying and are the greatest secret of any devil. For example, if an attacker knew my True Name ''Savant,'' then the effect of the Prideguard for such attacker would be null. On top of such wonderful True Name, the only shame is that it will work only on being of Dark Aligntemnet such as Devils, Demons, Pale Blood, Vampires, Werewolves, and similar and only when I am in the Underworld. Sadly, Fallen Angels are omitted as they are not Dark but rather Neutral because they still possess Light. ''Architect, scan.'' Chapter 98 - Satan-Class (3) [Name: Zeoticus Gremory von Lucifer True Name: Dizmason (Devil Talent), Savant (Prideguard)?? Race: Pure-Blooded Devil - Bloodline: Gremory, Lucifer Occupation: Lord of House of Gremory, Grand Duke of Gremory Age: 182 - Class: Satan Demonic Energy: 624 Strength: 451 Agility: 462 Vitality: 450 - Clan Trait: Dark Light - Master (Gate of Babylon Style, Truth-Seeking Orb Style) - Magic Systems: Tier Magic - Master Devil Magic - Master Norse Runic Magic - Master Abyssal Runic Magic - Master Human Magic - Grandmaster - Masteries: As I looked over it, I was strong as hell. Currently, I could be considered as one of the best powerhouses across the Draconic Deus. What was even more terrifying was that I didn''t reach even the peak of the Satan-Class, but I could already kill someone like that with ease. There were only a few Satan-Class combatants in the Underworld, but not only here but rather across entire Draconic Deus. In the end, this was a desolate place, with low energy density and a small number of resources. Fortunately, I didn''t now need to fear many things right now. During my trip to the Takagahamara, I would have another advantage during the negotiations and that was my personal strength. Now there was a lot of work to be done, mainly to develop the next stage for the Tier Magic System, now I have reached the Satan-Class, which I have termed as the Ultra-Order Tier Magic. On the other hand, now I have reached Satan-Class my progress would be much slower compared to that of the past. Now I can either depend on the most basic methods such as aging, but that was out of the question, I needed to advance quickly. The secondary method was training till the exhaustion of energy reserves and let them expand naturally. The third method was to search for Demonic Energy Magic Stones in the Underworld and use magic rituals to advance. This one was my personal favorite. This was also the most expensive method to use, as it would require a lot of Soul Coins, but I was rich so that was not much of a problem. The only problem would be if I could find a mine of Demonic Energy Magic Stones that would be in the territory of other Pantheons. ''Once entire Underworld will belong to me...'' I really needed to work on my Clan Trait Dark Light for it to improve even more. It was my strongest weapon, followed by the Tier Magic System. Hopefully, more devils would use this system instead of Devil Magic as it would greatly enhance their abilities. "Hey Grayfia... how are your magic skills in other magic systems?" I asked as I broke her out of her process of thoughts as she was thinking about something. "If you want to ask me for my abilities with Tier Magic System you have invented, I could cast Tactical-Tier spells effortlessly, but I still struggle with Strategic-Tier spells." She answered swiftly as my smile widened. "Come I will help you properly cast Strategic-Tier Spells. In the future, your combat prowess will outshine all of those of the same Class." I said. Tier Magic System was pretty suitable for devils. I took the best components from Human Magic, Devil Magic, and Norse Runic Magic, in which I used Abyssal Runes and created my masterpiece. Tier Magic System had the power of Runic Magic, and it wasn''t that hard to perform as Human Magic and was more stable. While it lacked versatility, it had so much firepower, that some versatility lack was quickly forgotten by its users. This was also one of the reasons, why I have released it to the public so quickly. Devils who depended on magic as their main form of combat would surely try learning Tier Magic System, and when they discovered it is superior to Devil Magic, they would experiment and create new spells. According to the Agreement, I would get a copy of each spell every devil invented. So basically, some spellbook was delivered to my library every day, and even grimoires on Tier Magic were being delivered each week. Spellbook usually contained instruction about one to five spells, but grimoire could have tens of them easily and was more detailed compared to the Spellbook. "Thanks, it would be an honor to be taught personally with such genius." Said Grayfia with sarcasm in her voice. "Yes, it is, the priceless opportunity for what many would die." I said. And in a certain sense, it was the truth. I was the inventor of the entirely new magic system, something like Merlin was to human magicians when he created his own magic system based on calculations and controlling magical power. Countless would beg to learn from me, but I didn''t feel like teaching students... too lazy for that. I have taught some bits to Venelana, Zekram, and some of my subordinates, and lately even Hela, and I have found out that I suck at teaching. Probably the lack of patience with people who didn''t understand everything on the first go. Chapter 99 - Month Later, Spar with Hela (1) One Month Later, Underworld, Gremory Territory, Castle Fuerig I have spent one month familiarizing myself with the newly acquired power I have reached. At the Satan-Class, I have so much power that I needed to have some time to familiarize myself with it to use it properly.?? While I have spent the past month training, my territory was steadily developing as all Hela''s army was incorporated into my own army, and people she brought from Asgard were accommodated. Now I had one of the largest armies among the devil nobility. I intended to enlarge my army even more before the Great War starts. Meanwhile, as everything this was happening in my territory, across the Draconic Deus, another thing shook the waves. Asgard has won the war against armies of Laufey, Surtr, and Malekith, from which Laufey was killed, Surtr severely injured and banished back to the Mushpelheim, while Malekith just escaped. While it seemed like a victory for Asgard, in reality, they lost more than they have won. Apparently, the defection of Hela and her followers took a greater toll on Asgardian Army than I have initially thought, and Asgard began losing the war on all fronts. Just one week after that, Ice Giants and Fire Creatures, along with Dark Elves in shadows, have managed to breach all fronts that Asgard was holding, mainly due to lack of soldiers, as more than a third of their army defected with Hela. Soon enough, they breached into the world of Asgard, and Odin was forced to deploy all of his hidden forces to combat ferocious Ice Giants and Fire Creatures under the leadership of Laufey and Surtr. In the end, the big battle took place several miles away from the main capital of Asgard, and Odin was forced to activate his powers as God-King of Pantheon that pushed him into the realm of Mighty Stage God, as he killed Lauyfey and severely injured Surtr until all accommodated power dissipated. Afterward, while Asgard won the war, they have lost the majority of their army, were left with devasted infrastructure among the Nine Worlds, and Odin immediately entered sleep, as his Divinity was cracked due to overusing the power of God-King. Soon enough, the entire Asgard went into lockdown. At least what brought a smile to my face was the fact that Malekith assassinated all Chrisitan priests, nobles, and people of influence in the countries of Finland, Norway, and Sweden. I have a feeling that Loki had some hands in that, as he always petitioned war against other Pantheons. What was bugging, the response of Heaven didn''t come. Yahweh just closed his eyes... weird. Today I had an appointment with Hela, as she recovered her Class and became Innate God through some weird ritual, which she used, to awaken Divinity upon her own. By her own words, she could advance by absorbing Dinivity of the same type from other gods. She cannot use Faith Energy to advance her Class or to any other benefit of herself, which was the price for becoming Innate God. On the other side, she wasn''t tied to any worlds and could freely leave planes and travel through the endless myriad of worlds. Hela was spending most of her time at my personal training yard, where she spent all of her free time. Today, as usual, she was swinging her Necrosword at my training yard. ''Architect scan her.'' I said. [Name: Hela Race: Innate God - Aesir/Vanir Hybrid - Class: Intermediate Divinity Stage Divine Energy: 471 Magical Power: 654 Strength: 603 Agility: 565 ''Damm, she is strong. She has two energy types, which is understandable, as Gods usually have magical power and Divine Energy at the same time. Her energy altogether is around twice of mine, and her physical abilities... damm... strong.'' "Can we start?" I asked as I took out my scythe. My spar with Hela was already the fourth one, as we sparred once each week, several hours straight. It was mainly her idea to help me master my scythe, as in her opinion, I was s.u.c.k.i.n.g using a weapon, something I cannot disagree with as I am a magic caster, not a melee fighter. Before I could barely react, I already could see several Necroswords being shot at me with tremendous speed, as I used my physical ability to dodge. During our spars, we had ruled that no one would use spells to enhance himself or herself. As I dodged that Necroswords, Hela was already before me, swinging two of her Necroswords that she held in her hands at my neck as I used my scythe Rosenkreutz to block them, creating sparks in the air and minor shockwave through the air. Fortunately, this entire yard was warded with the most potent wards and barriers I could produce so we don''t destroy the entire area. In a split, a second, Hela flipped backward while throwing two Necroswords at me, which I blocked with my scythe, and then I shot towards Hela, slashing at her with my scythe. Unfortunately for me, she easily dodged my slash and kicked me to my ribs, kicking me several tens of meters away. I stood up, coughed some blood, as she didn''t hold anything back in her kick, as I barely dodged an incoming attack from her. If this fight was being fought using magic, then even with her larger reserves, the situation would be reversed. Unfortunately, I could only be a punching bag for now... fortunately, I have strengthened my physique to Satan-Class, which would be much worse. "You are getting better... this is good... you can now last longer during our spars." Said Hela with delight as she looked at me, and I felt bad for some reason. Chapter 100 - Month Later, Spar with Hela (2) In turn, for Hela teaching me how to fight close-combat, I was helping her with her casting abilities. In truth, her abilities as a magician were messed up. She cast spells only by the usage of brute force, which used too much energy for her. For example, an ordinary spell as Fireball for someone like her should be around 0,001 Units of Magical Power. But alas, for Hela, who used brute force to force spells into existence, she wasted too much of her magical energy, and thus even a simple spell as that would cost her 1 Unit. It may not seem a lot, but in another example.?? For example, if I want to cast Strategic-Tier Spell, which was spells most commonly used by Satan-Class individuals, it would cost me around 10 Units, maybe 15 Units depending on the spell. That was due to my mastery of magic. According to Architect''s calculations, if Hela cast Strategic-Tier spell, it would cost her around 50 Units. Regarding Ultra-Order Tier Spells, she would use nearly half of her reserves for single spells. I never understood why her magical knowledge was so poor, despite being half-Vanir and her mother being Frigga, one of the best witches of Asgard currently. And the answer I got was simple... she rather went to swing a sword and beat boys in spars when she was young, as reading magical tomes and studying runes was too boring for her. So now, we were correcting that mistake, as I was teaching her Asgardian Magic System, Human Calculation Magic System, and basics of my Tier Magic System. Fortunately, she had a good aptitude for learning magic and handling magical power, despite her crude way of doing so right now. As I was thinking about something, another kick from Hela sent me flying backward as I coughed blood. "You really know how to hold back during spars..." I said sarcastically, as I was barely able to stand up, and Hela walked in front of me with a satisfied smile. The moment she was close enough and not giving me enough attention, I threw some dust into her eyes and used the blunt edge of my scythe to strike her stomach, while several seconds later, I kicked her once again, sending her away. "While you Asgardians are outstanding warriors, we devils are despicable in the way we fight... this is why you lose, my dear." I said as I held my scythe at her neck and my right foot on her stomach, not allowing her to turn around as she coughed blood. Asgardians were honorable warriors, and while Hela was warmonger and slaughterer, she still had something in her that will not allow her to use similar methods as I used her to defeat her. Deception and tricks were something devils had in blood. I then cast several simple healing spells on Hela to stop the internal bleeding I caused her as I helped her to stand up. "Sometimes, your honor could become your grave." I said to her seriously. "I will try to keep that in mind." Answered Hela with an angered expression, she lost to a simple trick as that. "How is army training going?" I asked as we sat down. "Pretty well, thank the increased budget you gave me, I have enough resources to increase the strength of all soldiers to Middle-Class within next year. Also, orders from Alchemist Guilds across the Draconic Deus and Sects from Three Realms have been made and would arrive soon. With current resources available, I could probably create a standing army of 75 million with ease. Standard Middle-Class." Stated Hela, while I was deeply surprised. Her effectiveness as a military commander was really something. "When I return from the Takagahamara, I would go to the Yestera Plane to hunt for Monarch Level Monsters and Magical Beasts there as they are obstructing our way to the bottom of the ocean and mining entire plane. Will you join?" I planned to take with me Crom Cruach, and also Zekram promised his help in this matter. I needed to clean Yestera Plane out of them as soon as possible to start mining on the bottom of the ocean. "Of course... it will be a good opportunity to spill some blood." Said Hela with a bloodthirsty grin over her face. "Splendid." There should be no more than twenty Monarch Level monsters in the Yestera so that we could clear all of them within several weeks with four of us. "Also, take all available Generals; they would take care of General Level monsters; I will also take Vena and Grayfia." I also wanted my subordinates to participate as they could deal with weaker monsters. Chapter 101 - 100th released! Today 100th chapter was released on the ! Approximately one 1/7 of the novel has been published, thank you for your support and reading. Now to the next thing. Some have asked for Power Levels here, and I will not be releasing them in auxiliary chapters, as that would be disarranged due to the inability to make a table. So I will be creating a Wikia for the Crimson Devil Today and post a link tomorrow for it. ?? Right now in this chapter, I will start Answer and Questions. You can ask about the story or other things you would like to know. I will try to answer all questions without saying some large spoilers. Chapter 102 - Territory of the Youkai Several days later, outside Japan. "Do you think we can enter undetected, Zeoticus?" Asked me Grayfia as we stood outside Japan. Entire Japan was enveloped in the enormous magical barrier, whose purpose wasn''t blocking entries, but rather scanning being and undercover those with magical power and alerting Shinto about them entering Japan. The barrier itself would activate the moment it detects somebody with magical power, currently Unit. With this method, Shinto has practically covered the entire nation and absolutely control over who enters and leaves the country. "We can, such big barrier, unless created by someone on Apocalypse-Class with expertise in this type of magic or God with Divinity over Magic at Mighty Stage God, will have some weak spots. We just need to find them and disrupt the flow of magical power in the barrier, and we can enter." I explained as I cast detection spell, and Grayfia did the same, as I taught her some spells. Several hours later, it was Grayfia who found the weak spot in the formation. "Good, and now we will do this." I said as I used some magical power to disrupt the flow of the formation in the weak spot. "Quickly enter... it won''t last longer than ten seconds." I said as I unleashed my ten wings and flew through the spot and entered Japan, with Grayfia flying closely behind me. As we entered the place, the barrier soon continued operating normally as it repaired itself rather quickly. "Now, where are we?... Kyushu... we need to get into Kyoto." We were in Kyushu that is not so far from Kyoto, at least not far for the supernatural beings that could cross great distances within one day. For example, I, at my top speed, could easily travel through the entire planet within 6 hours, as Draconic Deus wasn''t a large planet. Kyoto is the Imperial Capital of Japan and also the Spiritual Capital. It has the highest concentration of the Youkai, Gods, and other supernatural beings in Japan. The reason for that was, the main entrance to the Takagahamara Realm was located there. Contrary to the Nine Realms, Takamagahara wasn''t a Dimensional Pahtneon World, but rather it was originally naturally born pocket dimension, that later became something akin to a divine world, when many gods of Shinto infuse their Divine Kingdoms into that pocket dimensions, giving birth to the Takagahamara. Origins of Olympus were the same. "We should move... Kyushu is close to the place where forces of Church and Angels are concentrating... we should look for them. They should send maximally someone or two Cadre-Class Angels, which I should be able to handle, while you will take care of weaker angels. No one can survive." I said with a bloodthirsty voice as I cannot wait to spill the blood of some angels. Grayfia just nodded and flew behind me as we were searching for angels that were in Japan. As we were flying through the lands of Japan, I observed the country itself. Medieval Japan was an absolute shithole. The current year 1414, around 50 years before the start of the Sengoku Period, or the commonly known Warring State Period, where Japan was engulfed in constant wars for about 150 years. "Land down." We were walking for about twenty minutes before I stopped and took out my scythe Rosenkreutz. I silently chanted a spell, a Strategic-Tier Spell [Hell Flame], as dark red flames materialized out of nothing around my scythe, and when they grew to sufficient size, I released them in a full might around my surrounding, burning down everything in diameter of two hundred meters. After the dust settled, I looked around and scanned the area. "Ohh, not dead yet?" I muttered in surprise as I looked at the half-charred body of Onis that were following us. All of them were Ultimate-Class beings in terms of physique, meaning they were pretty strong. "They were following us?" Asked Grayfia, surprised and ashamed at the same time, that she couldn''t detect them. "Indeed. You don''t need to worry that you cannot detect these guys. In their home turn and during the night, they are strongest. Not to mention that they can use Negative Energy during the night to boost up their strength even more. These ones should be some rogue Onis." I said as I swung my scythe and ended their pathetic lives. At the same time, I used Devour to absorb their Life Energy, as it would help my physique. [Life Energy of 4 Ultimate-Class Oni absorbed. Physique collectively increased by 15 points.] Oni were species that were similar to devils, that lived in Japan and its affiliated realms. They were a race of negative energy and were often regarded as evil spirits. They looked mostly humanoid, with one or two horns on their forehead. Contrary to devils, who were more inclined to Energy Training and magic overall, Oni were a race of physical warriors. Rarely some Oni were spellcasters or magicians, and all of them were warriors and were extremely dangerous in close combat. For them, it was very simple to reach Ultimate-Class in physique, as long as they trained for several decades. Onis that was tailing us were rogue ones, meaning they were kicked out of their tribe or clan for committing some crime. They probably felt that we were reeking negative energy and wanted to kill us so they could eat us and get stronger through eating us. Similar to devils who could eat souls, Oni could get stronger from eating the flesh of beings of negative energy, such as devils. Chapter 103 - Killing Angels in Japan "Come Grayfia... we are nearing the hole where Angels and Exorcists are coping up. We need to dye it red." I said as we went on the move once more. Soon enough, we have come to see a small city, housing probably a few thousand people. What was interesting was there were several churches there, so we have just hit the right place. "Hmm... Grayfia cast concealment spell on this area, and when I am ready, you will break it." I ordered as Grayfia cast the spell, and I was creating another. My newest creating, the first Ultra-Order Spell ever exist [Lightning Judgement]. Currently, I have two Ultra-Order Spell, one of them was Lightning Judgement, and another one was Dimensional Slash, which was redesigned as an Ultra-Order Spell. To lure the rats out of the holes, I planned to do a most simple thing. Destroy this entire city. Based on the number of churches here and the population, it should be one of the major strongholds of Heaven and Church in Japan. The best thing was that not even Takagahamara would say anything about me massacring some humans, as they were already converted to the faith of their enemies, so Gods wouldn''t care if some humans that betrayed them died by my hand. And I didn''t care about the life of anything that isn''t my ally. This was the first time I was casting Ultra-Order Spell; it took me five minutes to create a spell matrix for the Ultra-Order Spell [Lightning Judgement]. When Grayfia saw that I was done, she released the concealment spell, as it could interfere with my casting, and I released the spell onto the quiet night city. Out of nowhere, an enormous thunderbolt hit the ground and razed one-third of the city to the dust. Immediately, several light figures appeared in the air, with their eight wings spread fully, as they tried to create a barrier against other lightning strikes. Still, the barrier was cracked like a fragile glass, and three Ultimate-Class Eight Winged Angels and a whole bunch of Six Winged High-Class Angels were pulverized to oblivion. When the third strike sounded, the entire city was just a pile of rubbles and ruins, where not even bodies of killed humans and angels remained. As the fourth strike was landing on the city, to finish remaining survivors of Church and Heaven that were hiding in the underground of the Church that was protected by rather a strong barrier, suddenly a figure appeared before the lightning strike. It was an angel, in golden armor, holding a golden spear with ten pure white wings. "When he blocks that, go and kill everything that breathes. If you cannot handle them, let me know, and I will help you." I said as I reminded her not to push herself too much. There should be at least two or three Ultimate-Class Eight Winged Angels hiding in the basement, protecting there something precious, as they didn''t dare to leave the room. And only after the entire town was turned to ash has their leader a Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel appeared. He outstretched his spear and cast out a barrier before himself to stop the last lightning strike that was about to hit the target. I watched in wonder, as I had to admit that the Angel was strong, but unfortunately for him, not strong enough. Even though he managed to block the last lightning strike, he was still injured by it. After that, I spread my ten wings and flew to the angel, as he already noticed me, while Grayfia went to the place where rats were hiding to do a small clean-up. ''Architect scan.'' [Class: Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel Holy Energy: 359 (521) Agility: 100 Vitality: 98 Condition: Injured] ''Hmm... much weaker than me.'' "So, what are Angels and rats from Church doing here in Japan? Are you perhaps lost? Or running?" I mocked as I prepared my spells while Angel looked at me stoically, but I knew he was panicking inside as I was outside his league of power and could easily kill him. He probably won''t say anything of use to me. "Not talking... shame, then have a nice journey." I said as I shot several Dark Light Spears after the Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel. This one was injured, his physical body was several times weaker than mine, and he used nearly half of his energy reserves to block my spell and was injured. Seeing the Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel still holding up, I decided to change a strategy a little, and this time I have used Truth-Seeking Orb Style to condense tens of the Dark Light Orbs that shot towards the Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel at tremendous speed. As the Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel was successfully dodging the fast Dark Light Orbs, I grinned, as at the same time, all thirty or so Dark Light Orbs exploded and created an enormous wave of the Dark Light that swept everything in its way. Fortunately, Grayfia was already in the underground space under the Church, or she would be hit too. As the explosion settled down, the Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel was killed in it. "Hmm... this would be the first time I would be using Devour on such high-ranking pure angel." I muttered as I used Devour and felt Holy Energy from Angel being devoured and refined as my own energy reserves expanded by around 16 Units, reaching 640 Units altogether. Though I felt a bit dizzy after devouring Holy Energy from the Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel, I noticed that my Devour became even easier to use and could absorb even more energy. Probably my mastery went higher as I devoured the Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel. Chapter 104 - Rich Loot After killing the Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel, I went to the location where Grayfia was dealing with the weaker ones that were just on the Ultimate-Class or High-Class. Grayfia was much stronger than all Angels, so she killed them all with rather ease, and with one of the most basic spells of the Tier Magic System, called Counter Spell, she could easily defend against Light, and Holy attributed attacks from them. On the other side, most human exorcists were just Middle-Class, and only one or two were High-Class, so they weren''t any kind of threat. Humans in Draconic Deus were just at the bottom of the ladder... probably from the intervention of Pahtneons since ancient times. It seemed logical. In Astral Boundary, humans were among the strongest species, with Arcanists and Warlocks leading and having countless powerhouses. Probably before or shortly after the Dimensional Gap was created, the Gods of Draconic Deus severed paths for humans to get stronger and made them depended on faith. Not something rare across countless planes of Astral Boundary. Those planes ruled by Gods usually have other species living there, on a tight leash. Often crippling their lineages, it would be impossible for them to practice any Power System or entirely depend on Gods. It would be dangerous for them if their subjects could get stronger without dependence on faith... often, it would lead to violent retaliation. Across Draconic Deus existed many books and information about Astral Boundary, especially in older factions. There were even inheritance sites in Dimensional Gap of mighty begins of other races that fell here. "Grayfia, what have you found there?" I asked as I looked around, searching for something of value that they were so vehemently protecting. "It''s there..." I opened the ?h?st and almost froze in shock. Hundreds of Divine Crystals were there, and the most shocking thing was that they were all of High-Grade. Intermediate Divinity Stage Gods used divine Crystals on the High-Grade to strengthen their powers and Divinity. These were priceless. With such an amount, one could practically create twenty to thirty Intermediate Gods from nothing. This, of course, led me to a question, what Heaven wanted to do with such a huge amount of Divine Crystals. Only Pantheon currently that had the ability to produce such an amount was, of course, only Heaven. The fact there were present on Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel and several Ultimate-Class Eight Winged Angels wasn''t a good sign. "Grayfia searches the room for clues... maybe we could find what they were trying to do with such amount of High-Grade Divine Crystals." Grayfia then went to search for clues as I did the same thing. I did the same thing, and we started searching underground rooms that were hidden under the Church. After several minutes, I found some Divine Grimoires on Divine Magic of Gods, and soon enough, I had my answer. They were trying to create the artificial Divine Kingdom that Yahweh has designed here in Japan. Every God had their Divine Kingdom, Gods would often create their Divine Kingdoms outside the plane they Ascended, or they would infuse their Divine Kingdoms into Pantheon Dimensional World to make it stronger. Usually, Gods were stronger in their Divine Kingdoms. Angels here in Japan were trying to create the artificial Divine Kingdom that would give them a stable foot in Japan that would allow them to create a practically turtle shell fortress. While the artificial Divine Kingdom would be weaker than the genuine one, but with Yahweh''s amount of followers, he had more Divine Crystals than other Mighty Gods of the same rank. He used most of them to strengthen Heaven to create an extremely strong Divine Kingdom and only a few on himself. He could easily strengthen this artificial Divine Kingdom to rival the genius one. If Angels had one here, they could easily recover their strength, as Angels would regenerate many times faster in an environment filled with Holy Power. They could also connect this place directly to Heaven and start a bigger invasion if needed. They were pretty unlucky; they didn''t manage to construct it before I came. If they did, then I couldn''t destroy it. Only combined forces of many gods of Takagahamara and at least three Greater Gods would stand a solid chance to destroy something like that. The reason for that would be the strong Divine Kingdom, and on top of that, Yahweh would send at least two Archangels to protect that place. With the amount of Divine Crystals I had, I could give some of them to Hela, it would easily allow her to reach the peak of Intermediate Divinity Stage God, and she would have a good chance to enter Greater God Stage. Or she could create her Divine Kingdom, as she still didn''t create one. Maybe I can convince her to fuse her Divine Kingdom to the Underworld, though that would be risky, as they are several other gods inhabiting Underworld, and such action could cause war. Especially with Hades, his Divine Kingdom was infused to the Underworld, and it was no secret that he despised devils. While he wasn''t exactly the strongest Greater God in the Draconic Deus, he was a pain in the ?ss to deal with due to his Divinity. I used a spell to store the ?h?st with Divine Crystals. I would think about their usage later... they could also be used as money as such things as Divine Crystals used as currency across the Astral Boundary. "Come, we need to get out... I want to have this entire mess already behind me." I said to Grayfia. As we exited, she cast a most destructive spell to set everything in here on flames, so even ruins would be turned to ash. After that, we went to Kyoto and to the final destination of Takamagahara. Chapter 105 - Three Rulers of Takamagahara Kyoto, Japan, 1 hour later "We need to go to the Temple. Its guardian should allow us to pass through to enter Takamagahara." I said as we went through the night streets of Kyoto. Several city districts were fully lit up as it was night, and countless Yokai were strolling the streets. There were many species of them, as they have a plethora of different forms, though most of them have a human-like form with animalistic accents or have to shapeshift to ?ssume such a form. Kyoto Temple was a place where the portal leading straight to the Takamagahara was located and was protected by the Gatekeeper, who was usually the High Priest of the Amaterasu-no-Omikami. The current High Priest was, by all information gathered, some Dragon called Ryuzen. According to the Astral Boundary classification of Dragons, his strength moved around Immemorial Dragon Level 2 or Level 3. Here in Draconic Deus, he would be classified as a Dragon King. When we entered the temple, we saw an elderly-looking man in priest clothing, as he held a staff in his right hands. "Devils... Lucifer and Lucifuge. Come, they await you." Said the man as we followed after him. Truthfully, I wasn''t that surprised he knew we were coming, as Japan was under heavy surveillance from the Gods. "You must be current High Priest of the Shinto, Ryuzen. It is a p???sur?, Your Excellency." I said with a slight bow. "Oh? Then, allow me to welcome you, Lord Lucifer and Lady Lucifuge." "On our way here, we have encountered a small town controlled by Angels and Church. Apparently, they were building a base there." I said. "By your wording, I could judge that the town is not in existence anymore, Angels and forces of Church, including." Said High Priest Ryuzen. "Indeed. There was a Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel and several Ultimate-Class Eight Winged Angels among them, including many weaker ones and at least one thousand Human Exorcists." I explained as Ryuzen suddenly halted in his steps. "Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel, you say? According to our intel, we are currently aware of five Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angels that are operating in Japan. All of them are under the watch of Intermediate Gods and waiting to be killed. These ones must have come to the country unnoticed... how troublesome. What have you found there?" Asked Ryuzen with a serious voice. "They were trying to build the artificial Divine Kingdom there, underneath the town. Unfortunately for them, they were killed before they could implement their plans." "Wait here... I need to report this immediately." Said High Priest Ryuzen as he teleported out. After several seconds he teleported back. "Come this way." He said as he led us to some kind of a platform, which suddenly lit up, and several figures walked out of it. The first one resembled a young man with long and spiky black hair and gold eyes. He was dressed in armor that appeared to be of Chinese design. It consists of five parts-the white und?r??rm?nt, the gold pauldrons, the gold and red vest, gold arm bracers, and gold and white pants. In his right hand, he held long katana with a gold and silver handle. I recognized him as Susanoo-no-Mikoto, a Greater Divinity Stage God. He had divinity over Storms and Seas. The second man was a tall slim man, appearing in his mid to late-twenties, with long silky silver hair flowing past his shoulders. His outfit is a purplish-blue and white kimono with Moon-representative ornaments. This was Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, a, a Greater Divinity Stage God. He was God of Moon. She was a fit beautiful young woman around twenty years old, with long black hair. She wore clothing similar to Ryuzen; just her aura was that of a god. Amaterasu-no-Omikami a pinnacle, a Greater Divinity Stage God and Goddess of Sun. There three Greater Gods were basically rulers of the Takamagahara and the entire Shinto Pantheon. "Descendant of Lucifer, you wished to speak with Shinto Trinity. Now speak." Said Amaterasu with an aloof voice. "Thank you for granting me an audience, honorable Gods of Takamagahara." I said as I bowed, showing my respect. Gods were arrogant creatures, especially the strongest ones of strong Pantheons. To be granted an audience with all three rulers of the Takamagahara was something I didn''t expect. At most, I awaited that they would send a Heavenly Messenger God as a negotiator. Probably the info about Angels building here the artificial Divine Kingdom must have been shocking for them. "As you are aware that soon enough, the war between three Christian Factions would erupt, and we devils hope that you as Shinto Pantheon could attack the influence of the Church on Earth and annihilate it. Within your capabilities, of course." "What about Yahweh? I doubt he would just watch his followers getting exterminated one by one." Asked Tsukuyomi. "He is not a problem. Great Satans have a method to make it impossible for him to intervene. Lord Bael already contacted Pale Blood of Yharnam, Werewolf Tribes, and Olympians from which all of them would make a move on forces of Heaven and Church on Draconic Deus." I stated. Three of them looked at each other, probably communicating telepathically, before deciding on the next course of action. "Very well, Shinto will make a move on Church." After several seconds said Amaterasu-no-Okami. Chapter 106 - That went well... "Then I must thank you, Excellencies, and now we will take a leave." I said as Grayfia, and I teleported out. We appeared in the outskirts of the Gremory territory in the predestined location I set up. "That went well..." Said Grayfia from behind me. "Yes, but still, I hate gods. They always look down at us... just wait once you will fall from grace." I muttered. Path of Gods was a fickle thing. While being god gives you immense lifespan and powers, most gods depend on Faith to create Divine Crystals so they could restore Divine Power quickly. For example, if God used all of his Divine Power, it will take him decades to regenerate and get to full state. That was due to the special nature of the Divine Power. To speed up this process, Gods used Divine Crystals, which was basically crystalized the Power of Faith that came from the Faith of their followers. Once gods are cut of this, they would get much weaker. In the future, when the world gets more technological, and faith becomes something obscure, Gods will get much weaker. Their supply of faith would be much smaller, which would mean fewer Divine Crystals, which in turn would mean, for first: make almost impossible for Gods to get stronger, and for second will basically cripple their ability to make a move. If they attacked or did something and used the majority of their energy reserves, they would be forces to recuperate for a long time, as they cannot use Divine Crystals to regenerate their energy reserves without planning for the future. The beginning of the technological age will mark the tremendous weakening of Gods and Pantheons in their ability to expand and attack others. Of course, Pantheons with strong and long foundations will be less affected due to their long history and many trump cards. And species as Devils, Pale Blood, Werewolves, Youkai, Buddhas, and others would become real powerhouses. Of course, with the exception of some Pantheons, which would enforce their faith even in that age, such as Hindu. *** At the same time, at the Kyoto Shinto Shrine. "Are you sure this is a smart move, Amaterasu? Meddling in the war between their factions?" "Who knows... but this time is the best to strike at Church and annihilate its influence from Japan. We need to secure dominance over humans in the future... don''t forget what happened in Pantheons across the Astral Boundary that let humans grow too much." Said Amaterasu in a stern voice. "I doubt these humans will learn magic, or Warlock Cultivation or Arcanist System." Remarked Susanoo from her side. "Of course they won''t... but when they start pursuing the path of technology, their faith in gods will weaken, and after several centuries it will be just a small fragment of what it was. Less faith means less Divine Crystals, and less Divine Crystals mean we can''t use our Divine Power too much as we won''t have effective means to regenerate it instantly." Explained Amaterasu to her two brothers. "So, what do you want to do after this mess passes up?" Asked Susanoo. "We will need to meddle more with human affairs. While our religion is not suitable to be a theocracy, it needs to be strong among people even after centuries to pass. And to achieve that, the first step is to push out all foreign religions from our turf. From now on, start giving a blessing to martial talented humans to strengthen them... maybe turn them into Divine Guards and have them create their Clans with a bit of Divine Blood. Invest more resources into Five Principal Clans... their patriarchs are only at middle stages of Ultimate-Class... we need to push it up." "What about those Devils? They would profit too much from this mess... more precisely that one that came, if they became too powerful, it would be detrimental." Said Tsukuyomi. "I know, hopefully, that war will result in their mutual destruction, and I doubt Hades, Seth, or Izanami will leave them be after they are weakened. They will attack the first moment they see to seize devil-controlled parts of the Underworld. For these Gods, it is the only path to become Mighty Stage God." Explained Amaterasu. "That would be ideal." *** Underworld, Gremory Territory, Castle Fuerig After I returned from the Takamagahara, practically all things I needed to do were now complete, and I had some free time. I had already promised Venelana that I would meet with her parent and we would have dinner. I even met her brother, future Lord Bael. He was younger than her by several decades, and truth to be told, he was pitifully weak. He was only around later stages of the High-Class, and he didn''t train often. Just a bit of my aura and killing intent was able to scare him for life. Of course, an aura of someone like me at Satan-Class was not something someone on High-Class would be able to withstand. Now I was observing my familiar, Bloody Thorny Flower, which was already at the pinnacle of the Commander Level. [Race: Bloody Thorny Flower - Level: Commander Magical Power: 99 Strength: 99 Agility: 75 Vitality: 80 Abilities: Take Root, Corpse Feeding, Poison Spit, Basic Elemental Magic] ''Hmm... I will feed it several General Level monster corpses so it could reach the next evolutionary stage and then next, and next and become the terrifying enemy. Maybe I should go to Familiar Forest and try to get other familiars. Some have terrifying potential if groomed correctly, such as Nemean Lion or Wampus Cat; both would be tremendously useful. Especially Wampus Cat, which can cover for my weakness in Illusions, Mind Magic and Hypnosis.'' I thought in my head about my next trip to the Familiar Forest. Additionally, I also wanted to go to the Sunset Monster Mountain Range to explore the inner layer once more. Even though I knew it was risky as my grandfather Zeldris was killed there; it was an immense opportunity to obtain the corpses of some Monarch Level monsters and increase my power. Chapter 107 - Will you go kill monsters with me? Several months have passed. As planned, I gave fifty High-Grade Divine Crystals to Hela to reach Pinnace Intermediate God and see if she had a chance to reach Greater God before the Great War. Unfortunately for me, she told me, to reach Greater God, she would need to condense new Divine Authority. For Innate Gods, this was impossible, as they gain Divine Authority only when they ascend to godhood. For them, the only way to acquire new Divine Authority was to obtain and absorb the Divine Spark of another god of the same or similar alignment. Hela was able to reach Intermediate God without acquiring new Divine Authority for a simple reason, as she was once god, that lost godhood. "So, have you found suitable targets who have the same Divine Authority as you?" I asked Hela, who was sitting across me; this time, she was not wearing her black-green battle armor, but rather typical Asgardian clothes that usually female aristocrats over there wore. I had to admit; she looked gorgeous. "Yes. First, two could be ruled out immediately, as they are Hades, Osiris, and Izanami. Then are also out of question Gods, namely Seth, Anubis, and Morrigan. But I have found a target... apparently, Ereshkigal is still alive even after Sumerian Pantheon was massacred and is hiding in the Underworld... somewhere around Sunset Monster Mountain Range. If we are able to find her, killing her is a simple thing. If I get the Divine Spark, I can bring out her Divine Authority and ?ssimilate it within a decade perfectly." Explained Hela to me her plan. All Gods she named were major gods in the Underworld. Especially Hades, Izanami, and Osiris, as all three of them were top-tier Greater Gods with immense Divine Power reserves and terrifying might, not to mention endless armies standing behind them. "Ereshkigal? Didn''t she have been granted control over the Underworld by the World''s Will?" I asked, surprised. "Indeed, she holds one of the parts." If that is the truth, then even I could get something out of killing her. In the Underworld, there existed a group of gods that have been granted control over the Underworld, and could to a certain degree, warp reality in the Underworld and become stronger. Hades, Izanami, and Osiris were looking for her frantically from the moment she disappeared when her Pantheon fell. If one of those three would get her control part, then with enough time, he would be able to overpower the other two. "Then it is splendid, as I planned to visit Sunset Monster Mountain Range in the near future, to enter the inner layer to hunt for Monarch Level monsters." I said it was decided we would venture into the Sunset Monster Mountain Range. Getting Hela going with me is for the best, as she was stronger than most Monarch Level monsters, so I would have another security over my head during my trip there. "Zeoticus, I heard some disturbing news from Japan. Apparently, Shinto Gods have descended among humans and have started strictly enforcing their faith and germinating loyal followers. They even established official organizations to spread their faith, Cult of Shinto headed by High Priest Ryuzen." As Hela said that, I was deeply surprised. Apparently, Amaterasu was much smarter than she looked to be. Shinto Pantheon didn''t have a unified religious organization, which made spreading and grooming the faith very hard. Truth to be told, not many Pantheons did something like this, with the exception of Yahweh and maybe some, as it was too troublesome and gods were lazy. "Smart move... they are preparing for the future. They don''t wish to lose the majority of their followers to advancement in technology when humans would gradually forget gods." I said. "Also, they have been making moves on weak Pantheons in pacific Asia, annihilating several of them. While the strongest god they killed was only Intermediate God, they ended three Pantheons, and altogether 70 Gods have fallen. They are also spreading their faith to other humans that are out of reach Hindu or Celestial Court." In the future, Shinto Pantheon would probably be pretty strong. Compared to other Pantheons that will fall with the passage of time, such as Olympians as mortals won''t be worshipping them, they would get an enormous advantage. Of course, I wonder, now that Olympians will be making a move against Church, they may be able to spread their faith more and keep it alive much longer compared to what it was in history. However, I wonder, as even right now, their faith is not that strong among mortals. "Observe them carefully; they could easily turn into our enemies. Especially in the future..." I said seriously. "Of course. If possible, I plan to sabotage them and weaken their influence without them tracking it back to us. If Takamagahara grows too strong, it would be detrimental for development in the Underworld." What Hela said was right. The stronger Shinto Pantheon was, the more troublesome it would be to take down Izanami and take her Control Sequence of the Underworld. On the other side, I didn''t have similar concerns about Hades or Osiris. Egyptian Pantheon fell a very long time ago, and their gods had retreated to seclusion centuries ago when their influence in the Draconic Deus was rooted out. They wouldn''t spend too much of their already non-existent resource on saving one god. In regard to Hades, while the Olympians were a stronger and deeper foundation, the relationship between Zeus and Hades was terrible at best, so even if Hades is attacked, Zeus won''t send any help too fast, as he would want Hades to suffer a great loss first. So if an attack is done quickly and Hades is killed before reinforcements arrive, all good. Chapter 108 - Playing Monster Hunter When I first entered the Sunset Monster Mountain Range, I was just weak High-Class shortly after my rebirth. It was several years ago, but to me, it seemed like decades. Now I was at the Satan-Class with combat prowess to defeat anyone at the same rank as me. "Last time I was here, it was when I was High-Class, and I didn''t dare to venture to Inner Layer, and this time we are going to the Core Layer." The entire Sunset Monster Mountain Range could be divided into three layers. Outer Layer, where the strongest monster was at the Commander Level, then Inner Layer where there was an abundance of General Level Monsters, and finally a Core Layer where Monarch Level monsters were living. Of course, there were even Emperor Level monsters in the Core Layer, whose strength was comparable to the Super-Devil Class or Great God Stage, but they were usually sleeping in their nests, not bothering with anything. "And now, how do you want to find Ereshkigal here, Hela? Sunset Monster Mountain Range is an enormous place." I commented from the side as I watched Hela wearing her tight battle suit, enhancing her womanly curves to the maximum. While as Devil, my main sin wasn''t Lust, I had to admit after sleeping with Venelana; Lust has become one of my secondary sins. "She would be hiding in the Core Layer. If it is so dangerous, then it would be a perfect choice for a hiding spot, as nobody would search there for her." Said Hela, with a smile. We strolled through the Outer Layer like nothing as all monsters immediately run away when they see us due to our overwhelming aura. "How long till we reach Inner Layer Zeoticus?" Asked Hela with a bored tone. "When we see first General Level monsters running away from us, we would be either already in the Inner Layer or extremely close to it." I said as I already knew the layout and my way around here. Hela just nodded, not betraying her hope that we would soon arrive at the Inner Layer, and then to the Core Layer. After twenty minutes, we have finally arrived at the Inner Layer. Inner Layer was full of the General Level monsters, and Commander Level monsters were everywhere. As we were talking and observing various species living in the Sunset Monster Mountain Range, not even one of them dared to make a move on us, and all of them just escaped or pretended they didn''t see us. One must know that monsters on the General Level had the same intelligence as average intelligent species, so they knew very well who not to provoke. Soon enough, we have arrived at an enormous valley, deep within the Inner Layer of the Sunset Monster Mountain Range that was the path to the Core Layer. Not many devils have entered the true depths of the Sunset Monster Mountain Range. As I was admiring the beautiful nature here, all that various plants and trees suddenly heard a roar. I looked in the distance, and I saw a Monarch Level Violet Tattooed Bear. Violet Tattooed Bear was a monster of bear species, with terrifying physical abilities and high resistance towards energy-type attacks, due to its steel-like hide and fur. It was called Tattooed because as this species of bears grew older, they would get various patterns on their body. All of them were magical and could release magical attacks during the fight. "It is a Violet Tattooed Bear, Monarch Level. Physical ability is astonishing, and I don''t want to use Ultra-Order Spells to deal with it, so it is yours. Remember not to destroy Nuclei." I said to Hela seriously. I wanted to fight strong opponents, as I have become a bit battle maniac after my rebirth, as every time I fought somebody strong, my blood was boiling, and I was in a state of absolute bliss. While my physique was strong, it was nowhere near to compete with Violet Tattooed Bear, so I let Hela kill it. She was a close-combat fighter and was good as hell. Of course, I warned her not to destroy its Nuclei, as it was a valuable thing for me to Devour. It could increase my energy reserves by some amount. Hela''s fighting style was brutal... nicely said. When she heard that, she grinned with a bloodthirsty grin and conjured two Necroswords as she rushed at the Violet Tattooed Bear. Violet Tattooed Bear noticed somebody was attacking him, so he used his massive pawns to strike Hela down, but alas, she was too fast for his reflexes. She dodged Violet Tattooed Bear''s paw strike, and jumped in the air, high above the Violet Tattooed Bear''s head, and slashed down with her Necroswords. In the split of the second, a huge paw of the Violet Tattooed Bear fell down, as it was perfectly sliced off. I observed this battle from aside, and I noticed why her combat style was so effective. She was using her Magical Power and Divine Power to enhance her strikes and weapons so that they would cause more damage. On top of that, her Power of Death was practically unhealable in Draconic Deus by normal or standard means. The bear roared in pain as Hela landed behind the bear''s back and threw her two Necroswords at the Violet Tattooed Bear, piercing through its legs as two missiles. Immediately afterward, another two Necroswrods were conjured as she ran up to the bear and sliced off the neck of the Violet Tattooed Bear. As anticlimatic as the fight was, Hela won very easily due to her combat experiences and other sets of abilities. "Bring me the Nuclei, or do you want it?" I asked her. "I will keep it; my Magical Power reserves are stagnating already for some time." She answered swiftly as she tore out the Beast Nuclei out of the corpse of Violet Tattooed Bear. Chapter 109 - Unexpected Meeting After we killed the Violet Tattooed Bear, we have entered the Valley and finally arrived at the Core Layer of the Sunset Monster Mountain Range. During our journey through the Valley, we only saw several General Level monsters that ran away the moment they sensed our aura. "Now what?" I asked Hela as I looked around the enormous mountains; even the smallest one was highest than Mount Everest on Earth. "Nothing... we will hunt and search for Ereshkigal." Answered she as she readied her Necroswords. As we were prepared to move forward, suddenly I heard someone talking. "You are finally here." We both turned around to see a handsome young man with long flowing red hair with uplifted dark red bangs with a third eye on his forehead. He wore a heavily stylized three-piece suit-type outfit consisting of a black waistcoat over an untucked collared white shirt, an orange cravat, and magenta-colored trousers tucked into light brown boots. The most distinguishing feature of the outfit is the stylized high-collared robe jacket with a length that falls to the wearer''s shins: the upper part and shoulders of the robe jacket are dark-colored, the rest being a teal color and the robe jacket''s trimmings are gold-colored; on each shoulder is a large gold-colored ¦¸-symbol, on each outer forearm are three gold-colored strips of fabric and the robe jacket ends in large white cuffs. The outfit is finished with white gloves. He gripped a sword that looked like katana in his right hand, and in his left, he had a walking cane. When I looked at him, I felt absolutely nothing. Not even an ounce of any kind of energy... he seemed like an ordinary average human. "What has brought Your Imperial Majesty to place like this?" I asked as I stepped forward before Hela, signaling her with my hand to lower her weapons. As I already know who this person was, and with his power, he could kill both of us with a wave of his hand... it would be easy, like squashing a bug. "The right question should be not what. But rather who, young traveler." He said with a smile as his third eye opened slightly, and my eyes widened in shock. "Then it would be most appropriate to talk somewhere in private." I said, as he tapped with his cane on the ground three times, and suddenly the environment around me changed, and I was sitting in the garden of sorts? It was filled with peach trees and sakura. When I looked forward, I noticed those peaches weren''t ordinary fruits, but rather Peaches of Immortality. I wasn''t in the Underworld. And Hela apparently remained in the Underworld. "I see you like the place here... I always go here to relax my mind." Said the young man as he came to me, and we both sat down cross-legged. "Now allow me to introduce myself, though you already know my title, the Jade Emperor. My name is Okhwang." Said the Jade Emperor Okhwang with a slight gentlemanly bow. "Zeoticus Gremory-Lucifer." "It is interesting to meet a fellow reincarnator... though your rebirth was devised by someone else, and mine by my own." Stated Jade Emperor Okhwang plainly. As I heard that, I froze in shock as I looked at Jade Emperor Okhwang. "What? Did you think that reincarnators were rare? Or perhaps that your own was an accident? Come and drink this." He said as he gave me a cup of beautifully fragrant tea. I gulped the tea down in one go, as I didn''t even have time to savor the wonderful taste of one of the most precious tea leaves in the entire Draconic Deus. "You should now feel better." He said as I nodded. Indeed I felt much calmer. "You have mentioned that my own rebirth wasn''t accidental... I have always wondered it was indeed like that." I said as it was useless to hide more information, especially from someone who appeared to be stronger than The Great Red. "I can see remnants of power of the artifact that caused your reincarnation... pretty interesting. Someone of great power. My own body here is just a mere clone of my True Body in a different Universe which is built upon cultivation, but even my True Body is a bit weaker than an entity that meddled here... probably only..." "You have passed even before the test." He muttered in a very quiet voice, but I still managed to catch it. "I would like to invite you to Longinus Dreizhen Orden. Here take this." He said and took out something that looked exactly like a Tarot Card of the Devil Major Arcana. As I touched the Devil Tarot Card, it started shining brightly in pitch crimson color, as it soon broke down to crimson particles that all flew and were absorbed into my body. The Devil Tarot Card wasn''t the only thing I got. Still, I additionally obtained plenty of information about the Astral Boundary, other Universe, important factions and powerhouses, and about Longinus Dreizhen Orden. In truth, it will take a week to process all information I got from the Tarot Card, which is now fused with my soul. The Card itself wasn''t only some kind of proof of membership, but also it was a top Empyrean Grade soul and mind protection treasure. Additionally, it had many other functions, from which most were not usable. Something absolutely priceless no matter what Universe you were in. Longinus Dreizhen Orden was a rather new organization, created only short tens of millennia ago. Altogether, it will have only 13 members in the future; now, only 6 seats were filled, 7 with me included. Chapter 110 - Enlightening Discussion (1) Every member of the Longinus Dreizhen Orden had two identificators. One of them was Major Arcana, which was like the signature of the member. Another one was the Code, which was the cover name under what the member was operating in the world. Mine Code was Samiel Zentaur. "From current members of the Orden, how many of them are from the Astral Boundary Universe, Deus Ex Machina?" I called Okhwang his Code, Deus Ex Machina, while his Major Arcana was ironical, The Emperor. "From current six, 4 are natives of your Universe. I am native to the other Universe, though I was reborn in many Universes to absorb their cultivation systems. Aside from me, Rot Spinne is not from Astral Boundary, though he is Traveller. He travels across Universes and doesn''t stay in one for a longer period of time. Also, while Mercurius while a native of Astral Boundary, doesn''t care about almost anything and is only an observer. And Christof Lohengrin usually sleeps and wakes up once per millennia." Answered Okhwang. I was surprised about things he even said about himself, but I wasn''t that surprised. Basically, you can truth another member of the Longinus Dreizhen Orden at 100%, as betrayal is impossible thanks to the Arcana Cards infused with our souls. "What is your home Universe like?" I asked him. "Did you know that I created Three Realms in Draconic Deus as an experiment? I wanted to combine various cultivation systems across several universes, but it didn''t go very well. I am a cultivator, but not like these here, the true one, from Universe you can call Cultivation Universe, the most common type of Universe. I came from the Ancient Dao Universe, a place stronger than Astral Boundary, which is logical as Ancient Dao Universe is really ''Ancient'' in every sense. There are countless powerhouses, and people with strength like Great Red are basically everywhere. Many of them were old billions of Terran years." He explained with a sense of nostalgia over his face. While I was shocked listening to his description of his home. "What about you?" He asked me. "When I died, it was the 25th Millenium by our dating system, also called the Golden Age of Technology. I was a scientist in the Solar Federation tasked with weapon research. We didn''t have a name for our Universe, as only explored part of it was just one Galaxy, called Milky Way Galaxy, and it was a shithole. There were constant wars among species, and we waged war Orks, sometimes with Aeldari or other species. Aeldari were the most advanced species in my homeland; they ruled a large part of the Milky Way Galaxy and had strong psychic-like powers. Once I want to return and plunder all technology from those arrogant pointy-eared bastards." I talked a bit about my homeland. "Aeldari? Aeldari... where I have heard that..." Muttered Okhwang as he tried to remember the name of Aeldari. "Oh! I remember now. It is the Immaterius Universe. God damm it, you really came from a shitty place. I heard from rumors that place is like a dead zone, avoided by practically every powerhouse that has power across Universes. Apparently, something happened there that turned the entire place into one big no-gozone." Siad Okhwang, as I was now intrigued about what happened in my home Universe. "Well, if you want to return there to take a look, you should probably be at least as strong as Warlock Emperor in the Astral Boundary, which would be Lord-Class for you. Immaterius Universe has become extremely dangerous these days." He warned me. "Perhaps your clone can still communicate with your True Body and exchange information?" I asked, intrigued. "Part of that, but I got this info from the annual meeting of Longinus Dreizhen Orden. At the last meeting, Christof Lohengrin said that two newly advanced Pale Blood Ancestors stole some space-time artifact from depths of the Divine Blood Plane, an Ancestral Home of all Pale Blood and Kindreds, and in their infinity arrogance and stupidity, by some accident they managed to open a portal to Immaterius Universe. When they arrived there, the place seemed ordinary without a strong presence, but soon they were attacked and nearly killed. Fortunate enough, they managed to escape back to the Astral Boundary, while the artifact was destroyed by something there." Said Okhwang. Hearing two existences on that level could b?r?ly escape with their lives was absolutely baffling after several seconds of battle. Apparently, the waters of my homeland were far deeper than anyone in the Solar Federation could have predicted. "Don''t worry... I won''t be going there anytime soon, or anywhere... unless we tore down the Dimensional Gap." I said. "Tearing down that pathetical spell formation is not that problematic. Though I cannot do it, as I am not a magician and don''t follow your power system, we can do it together with ease." Said Okhwang with disdain. "Can''t you destroy it with pure force?" I asked him. "I can, but that would lure here practically every existence on Dimensional-Class from surrounding planes. Probably tens of Holy Spirit Warlocks, Magister Arcanists and Monsters, and Supreme Gods would arrive and probably kill everything here. And this clone body of mine must return intact to the Ancient Dao Universe without a fault." Answered Okhwang seriously. "I have wanted to ask, what exactly is the purpose of the Longinus Dreizhen Orden?" I asked like one would say, a million-dollar question. "Longinus Dreizhen Orden has many purposes, but the main and primary one was to create an organization to help its members get stronger, gather information across Astral Boundary. Later Mercurius invited me and Rot Spinne, so it stretched its influence to other Universes. Its goal is to help its members to sit upon a Divine Throne." Answered Jade Emperor Okhwang seriously. Chapter 111 - Enlightening Discussion (2) "Divine Throne?" It was the first time I heard about that term, even when Hela talked about Astral Boundary she didn''t mention anything like that. I only knew that the higher possible level one could attain in any Universe was a pretty obscure level. It was called just a Great Old One. "As you still didn''t go through the memory package of Longinus Dreizhen Orden, allow me to introduce you to Universe Energy Level. You see, every Universe has something we call an Energy Level. The higher it is, the easier is for people to get stronger, more experts will appear, more treasures are created, more advanced civilizations become. When the Universe Energy Level crosses a certain threshold, a Divine Throne will be birthed out by the Universe. When someone sits upon a Divine Throne he becomes truly omnipotent in that Universe and only another Divine Throne can fight him. When Divine Throne is birthed, usually a grand war for the Divine Throne. In my home Universe, when the last Divine Throne was birthed, countless powerhouses were killed and many worlds were destroyed." Explained Jade Emperor Okhwang. "Does the Astral Boundary have Divine Throne?" I asked. I was really curious if the Astral Boundary has one. "Nope, but the energy level is close to the threshold already." Now I was certain that the Astral Boundary, while wasn''t some super strong place, it wasn''t exactly weak either. It was good, though I wonder how exactly strong the Astral Boundary was. Truth to be told, for me it would be better, if it was a bit weaker, as it would be easier to grow there. "So we can await war here..." I muttered. "Yes, but the Astral Boundary is a new universe... many factions and powerhouses are very aggressive for expansion and advancement. Something was rarely seen in the in older Universes, as most factions, there are satisfied with status quo." That was understandable. I wasn''t that surprised that in old Universes, people there were content with the status quo, and don''t want to change it, as for them it is too troublesome. For them creating advancing more would mean, breaking the status quo, thus breaking the comfortable life. Such peace will eventually bring a deterioration of strength and fall of the faction in the end. "Also, I wanted to ask, what were doing by inserting your energy into my body and when the Arcana Card shined, I felt how to say... comfortably weird?" "Just a bit of help. When the card shined, it just verified if you are worthy of joining our little merry band. What I did was activate something. You know, sometimes people, gods, and other species are born with special constitutions. You were reborn, or rather during the rebirth, you have obtained constitution of Fateless One." "Seeing your confused expression allow me to educate you. Astral Boundary is not the so-called Cultivation Universe, so many of the concepts that are common knowledge in many advanced Cultivation Universes, are rather rare here. One of these classifications is Constitution. It is a rather abstract term, describing unique aspects of Body and Soul. You can compare it to the DNA. Every person has a constitution, but among 99,99999...% of species, their constitution is without any abilities or advantages. Then there are exceptions, where the sequence is special and some unique individuals are born with a special constitution. You have the constitution of Fateless One, which is considered as one of the most precious and strongest types of constitution." He explained to me, as I was able to understand what it was. Basically, if the constitution code for all humans is for example, "1111" it means no unique abilities to it. But if it is "1011", means you are basically unique. It was rather similar to the X-Gene in Marvel, though Constitution was born naturally and not from genetic engineering. Though you also, need to activate your Constitution, for it to be fully active. "Fateless One is basically immune to the machinations of the Fate, it cannot be predicted, it cannot be seen and it cannot be influenced. No matter if some magician, prophet, seer, cultivators, or anybody tries to intervene with it, is impossible. Just because of this alone, it is enough to invite you to Longinus Dreizhen Orden as Fateless Ones are very mighty beings, and currently, there are only 3 known one, without you included. From which 2 are old monsters that have been in secluded cultivation from immemorial times, and 3rd one is the leader of a very powerful faction in a certain universe." Explained Okhwang. "I think, I understand a bit. How is that possible, that I have never found about it?" I asked. "You are too weak to find about something. And secondly, constitutions and other similar stuff are more affiliated with cultivation, and you are not a cultivator. They are easy to find with methods of cultivators, but hard with methods of other power systems." That was logical. "Something was bugging me... if the concept of constitutions is usually related to the Cultivation Universe, then why people with special ones are born even in universes where cultivation doesn''t exist?" Chapter 112 - Enlightening Discussion (3) "That is an easy question to answer. You see, there are two most important things to know, in the universe. One is called Laws, basically the working mechanisms of the Universe. The second one, superior to Laws, is called an Aspect. An Aspect is basically stating the nature of the Universe itself. One of the most common Aspects is the Aspect of the Power Progression / Advancement / Cultivation... it depends. Without that Aspect, it would be impossible for anyone to get stronger through natural means provided by the universe, and everyone would be forced to never get stronger. For example, if you somehow ''delete'' this Aspect from this Universe, then all beings that could be considered from an ordinary mortal human point of view as supernatural would either die or stagnate for the rest of their lives, they won''t be able to progress, regenerate their energies, no one would be ever able to become magician or warrior, soon enough the everything magical would die out, and Universe would be filled with just ordinary mortal humans depending on science as their only means for advancement. And additionally, they would never be able to get stronger even through scientific means, as lack of the Aspect of Strength would mean, the Universe itself would prevent anyone from researching something like that. Practically almost every Universe has an Aspect of Strength, in one way or another, be it as Cultivation, Magic, Ki, or any other means. That leads to the Aspect of the Constitution. This one is almost as spread up just like Aspect of Strength across many different Universes, just the difference is that, in cultivation Universe, cultivators gave this Aspect more weight, while in the most magical universe not, and they didn''t develop concept properly. Though you would find some Arcanists that could easily detect and awaken unique constitutions." Answered Okhwang. I had read about Laws, as they existed in the Astral Boundary, but I have never heard about the Aspects. Probably something, one would never learn in an entire life, or only when reached some unimaginable level of strength. I learned it early, thanks to being a member of the Longinus Dreizhen Orden. "Have you heard about someone who did something like that? Deleting the Aspect of Strength from Universe." I asked curiously. "Yes, a very long time ago. I don''t remember the name of that Universe, but I know it was an incredibly advanced magical Universe, with countless mighty figures and very advanced magic. It was many times stronger than even my Ancient Dao Universe. Nobody knows why, but someday, its three Divine Thrones have killed other two Divine Thrones and after ?ssimilating their power they forcefully deleted the Aspect of Strength from their Universe. Within several thousands of years, the entire universe was filled with just ordinary humans. So much of knowledge was lost, but probably those three just hoarded it." I was shocked to hear something like that. "Why would they do it? And didn''t it affect them?" Though I had a theory why, as they probably feared their competitors, I wonder if it affects them in any way. "Simple reason, their Universe was very advanced with plenty powerhouses, and there would be more Divine Thrones rising, and they didn''t want to share their power. The other two didn''t agree, so they were killed. And to your second''s question, no they weren''t, as Divine Throne is tied to the source of the Universe, so no matter what happens to Aspects, as long the Universe itself isn''t destroyed entirely or their Thrones aren''t destroyed or absorbed, Divine Thrones are okay." Interesting, I thought in my head. "Though the person who created your species did plenty of interesting things in your biology. Your power system is a mix of Arcanist Path, Warlock Path, and natural evolution of Fiends from Abyss." Said Okhwang as he looked at me. I was surprised hearing this, and it affirmed my suspicion that Lucifer didn''t create Devil Race by himself, and that the Book of Lucifer wasn''t from the Dimensional Gap. "When you arrive at the Astral Boundary you should really meet Kaziklu Bey or Mercurius. They would be for sure know the origins of how your species were created. Both of them are some of the most brilliant magic users across many Universes." Said Jade Emperor as I nodded. I was really intrigued about how devils were created, and probably Lucifer has the answer, though he doesn''t understand properly. "Do you have some compendium on Alchemy? Best magically related." I asked him. He probably would have a lot on Alchemy that is cultivation-based, but that would be useless for me. "What do you have for an exchange?" "Basic Technology Packet of Solar Federation?" In truth, this was probably the only thing I had that was of some value for someone like Okhwang. "Not interested, what would I do with technology? Not to mention, such technology isn''t exactly that rare in the vaster world. I want something else, a World-Sized Sacrificial Spell Formation." As Okhwang said that I froze in the spot. Sacrificial Spells were common usage among especially human magicians, that didn''t have any other means to obtain more power, to they used Sacrificial Spells to absorb the Lifeforce of other humans to strengthen themselves. Of course, their way of using them was crude, and all Sacrificial Spells would leave severe backslash in the future. "How large?" I asked. Truth to be told, for me creating World-Sized Sacrificial Spell Formation wasn''t that problematic even right now. In the future, when I reached Super-Devil Class or Apocalypse Class, then creating Sacrificial Spell Formation that envelopes even the entire Draconic Deus is piece of cake. "Entire Three Realms. In turn, I will give you a complete compendium of Warlock Alchemy of the Astral Boundary." Said Jade Emperor Okhwang nonchalantly. Chapter 113 - End of the Discussion "So that is the reason for the existence of them... no wonder you germinated cultivators." Now it was clear why Okhwang spent so much time and energy to create cultivators in the Draconic Deus. They were nothing more than just a sacrifice to help him break through to higher realms, as he reached the limit of his current cultivation system. As he doesn''t want to spend countless millennia, he decided on a shortcut, and as the clone body would be absorbed back to the True Body, he doesn''t need to fear hidden injuries or backslash. "While individually weak, they number in millions and would be a grand sacrifice. I have given those humans cultivation with that reason, so their time has come. So when can you do that?" Said Okhwang. "Hmm... Three Realms are huge, I need to wait until I reach Apocalypse-Class for the World-Sized Sacrificial Spell Formation to work perfectly." While creating World-Sized Sacrificial Spell Formation at Super-Devil Class wasn''t entirely impossible, it would be highly probable, that the Formation could be not perfect. In rituals like that, even the slightest mistake could lead to death. "Then good, then. But I will give you now only basic level Alchemy, rest after the deal is complete." "Splendid." I said, as getting an even a basic level of Warlock Alchemy was enough for now. Higher-level knowledge was useless for me, as I couldn''t sue it even if I wanted. "I will now send you back to the Sunset Monster Mountain Range. It was a productive meeting, see you in hundred years during the annual meeting of the Longinus Dreizhen Orden." Said Okhwang, as he waved his right hand, and the environment suddenly changed, and I was in a cave, protected by some kind of formation, and surprisingly Hela was sleeping on the stone bed. "Sleeping soundly... she is cute when sleeping and when she wakes up she turns in automatic slaughter machine. What a contrast." I muttered silently to myself, as I left Hela sleep. After several hours, Hela has started waking up, and she held her hands with her head. "Where are we?" She asked. Apparently, she lost memory of us meeting Jade Emperor Okhwang. "In a nearby cave. When we killed that Violet Tattooed Bear, apparently, we have walked in the area with poisonous gas, that created hallucinations and madness, I was able to cast a protective spell on myself, but you inhaled some, so I put you into sleep with a spell that caught you out of guard and brought you here." I said. Longinus Dreizhen Orden was a secret organization and it should remain like that. Fortunately, making up some lies about this was easy, and believable, as Sunset Monster Mountain Range was really filled with treacherous places. "Such a shameful thing... don''t you ever dare to talk about this to someone else." Said Hela with a glare. Another reason, why I have chosen this lie, was due to Hela''s personality. For a proud warrior like her, it was extremely shameful to fall into hallucinogen gas and then be knocked out easily by a sleeping spell. She would probably try to forget or block this memory and never talk about it again. So she won''t be delving into this. I dispersed the barrier protecting the entrance to the cave. "Come, we have some monsters to hunt, O Mighty Warrior." I said half-mockingly, as Hela glared at me and tried to punch me in anger, forgetting about her "shameful" incident. It was a Bloody-Eyed Mane Lion. It was a huge lion-like magical beast, around 25 meters tall. It had two enormous horns on its head, that were resembling dragon horns, and piercing crimson eyes. "Damm... Bloody-Eyed Mane Lions usually travel in packs. So if there is one, there must be more somewhere near." I said seriously. Most of the feline magical beats were traveling in packs, which made them troublesome to deal with, even if they were not the strongest magical beasts out there. "So what do we do?" Asked Hela, not sure if she wanted to fight several Monarch Level Bloody-Eyed Mane Lions at the same time. While their individual strength, was lower than theirs, their teamwork was best and thanks to it, they could easily bring down opponents much stronger than them. "I will kill it with Ultra-Order Tier Spell. [Dimensional Slash] should kill it in one hit, and then we run. I really don''t want to deal with a pack of them, if we did, then it is possible for a prolonged fight, and that could bring the attention of Emperor Level ones." I observed the Bloody-Eyed Mane Lion, as I prepared to cast the Ultra-Order Tier Spell, [Dimensional Slash]. It was formerly a Strategic-Tier Spell, but it could easily be reworked into an Ultra-Order Tier and later even to the Forbidden-Tier. This spell due to its nature had immense potential, I wonder how strong would it be in later stages. Space and time related spells and magic were always some of the strongest ones, no matter what magic system you were practicing. "Let''s that the corpse and core and get away from here... soon an entire pack of Bloody-Eyed Mane Lions would be here." I said to Hela as I took the corpse and we disappeared from here. Chapter 114 - Hunt for the Lone Goddess After we have teleported out, I had immediately used Devour on the corpse of the Bloody-Eyed Mane Lion and felt how energy from the corpse was entering my body and strengthening my physique. [Physique evenly strengthened by +5 in all aspects.] Said Architect. Then I moved to absorb the magical core of the Bloody-Eyed Mane Lion. The magical core itself was pretty big, as it was of Monarch Level monster. [Demonic Energy reserves increased by 10 Units.] This was a pretty good increase from one Monarch Level monster. Additionally, higher-level monsters had strong vitality and life energy, meaning I could even strengthen my physique a bit by Devouring them. And even mastery over my Clan Trait Devour would go higher, as I would keep Devouring Energies of strong opponents. "Zeoticus, I have sensed fluctuations of Divine Power, around 5 thousand miles from our position." Said Hela after she opened her eyes quickly. "Hmm... that is not far from here, but close to the territories of the Emperor Level monsters, we need to be careful to not wake up any of them, or we would be in a trouble." We then flew to the location. For us, crossing a distance of five thousand miles, wasn''t anything hard to accomplish, just a few hours of flying at moderate speed, to not attract much attention from Emperor Level monsters or flocks of Air-type Monarch Level monsters we soon arrived at the approximate location where Hela sensed Ereshkigal''s Divine Power. Several Monarch Level monsters appeared and pounced at us as we landed on the ground, out of nowhere. Seeing this, I knew that we were in the right place, as this was apparently a trap to kill us, as the Goddes of the Underworld, must see us from afar and prepared this trap with help of the Command Sequence. I identified those creatures, not as monsters but they were wyrms. Wyrms or wyverns were looking dragon-like, just they didn''t have two pairs of legs, only back legs, and their front legs were fused with their wings. They usually were much smaller than dragons, they rarely can talk, and their lack resistance towards magic and aptitude for magic. This was why wyrms were more considered as monsters and not as dragon species. Also, another big reason for such distinction was that wyrms cannot evolve like dragons and cannot embark on the dragon power system. "Hmm... only initial Monarch Level. It will still do for Devour." I muttered as I dispersed Dark Light Chains and stored the corpses of the tree decapitated Monarch Level Wyverns in my storage space. "Can you sense her?" I asked Hela as she dispersed her Necroswords. "Yes, she is close... that way." She said as I followed after her. Soon enough we arrived at the cave entrance, which was protected by a runic barrier. The runes used in the barrier were mostly Divine Runes and various runic languages. "Hmm... this is troublesome, but alas some brute force would do for now." I muttered after studying the runic barrier for a brief amount of time. I cannot breach the barrier in a short amount of time, and if I did, then it would take me at least ten minutes and Ereshkigal would escape for sure. I started collecting all the Dark Light I could in both of my hands, almost depleting my energy reserves, as I threw two Dark Light balls in the air, where they started combining, forming a thunderbolt-shaped Dark Light object. With a single wave of my hand, it hit the runic barrier at full force, causing countless cracks to appear around the runic barrier protecting the entrance to the cave. Soon, the first wave ended, but the second just started, as the runic barrier shattered into countless glass-like fragments, and a huge explosion followed after. And then our target appeared. Even I must admit that Ereshkigal was a beautiful goddess. She was very young-looking with crimson red eyes and beautiful long wavy blonde hair. She wore a body-fit armor outfit, that further enhanced her curves. "Hello, Goddess of Underworld, Ereshkigal. You must know, that it is nothing personal." I said with a slight bow, as I silently conjured a Gate of Babylon, and several weapons made out of the Dark Light pierced through her legs, stomach, arms, and heart. I went to her and with a wave of my hand a Dark Light chain enveloped her head, in a way to prevent her from talking. I wasn''t taking any chances with a goddess like her. While I knew that she was one of the better gods, that truly take care of humans and wasn''t evil, she had something I needed and in this world strong lived and weak died. With a wave of my scythe Rosenkreutz, I severed her head. "Take her Divine Spark. Within a few years, you should be able to promote to Greater God." I said to Hela as I caught Ereshkigal''s soul. With a swift spell, I have annihilated her soul, as I burned it with Hellflame, leaving only a tine black crystal in my hand. "You are really heartless man... do you know how many would do anything just to get into good graces of such Goddes as her?" Said Hela with a false mockery as she crushed the severed head of the dead goddess. I knew that gods that had similar Divinity often didn''t like each other, as they thought of each other as competition in their Divinities. "But I like it... it makes me feel all hot." Said Hela as she pressed her body against mine. She stared into my eyes before she suddenly turned around and started tearing out the Divine Spark of Ershkigal''s corpse. ''Troublesome woman.'' I thought in my head, as the black crystal fragment started shining. Chapter 115 - Gains of the Hunt [Unkown type of energy is entering the body and fusing with the Soul.] Said Architect''s voice, as I felt something entering my body. When I looked, the black crystal that I obtained from killing Ereshkigal, disintegrated and was nowhere to find. Suddenly, the environment around me changed, and I appeared in a pitch-black space, with just one speck of light being in there. "You have acquired 25% of the Command Sequence." Said the cold voice. I recognized it. It was the voice of the Will of the Underworld. "Shall you obtain the rest, a grand path will unlock before you." Said the voice of the Will of the Underworld as surrounding around me changed once again, and I was back where I was. ''Architect, scan.'' [Name: Zeoticus Gremory von Lucifer True Name: Dizmason (Devil Talent), Savant (Prideguard) Race: Pure-Blooded Devil - Bloodline: Gremory, Lucifer Occupation: Lord of House of Gremory, Grand Duke of Gremory Age: 182 - Class: Satan Strength: 461 Agility: 475 Vitality: 460 Underworld Command Sequence: 25% - Clan Trait: Dark Light - Master (Gate of Babylon Style, Truth-Seeking Orb Style, Chains of Heaven Style) The Devour - Expert - Tier Magic - Grandmaster Devil Magic - Grandmaster Norse Runic Magic - Grandmaster Abyssal Runic Magic - Grandmaster Human Magic - Grandmaster - Masteries: Scythe - Expert] As I looked at the result of the Architect''s scan, I noticed a new column, Underworld Command Sequence. It was 25%, meaning I had 1/4 and need to get the other three paths from Osiris, Hades, and Izanami. After studying it for a bit, I turned to Hela who was now toying with some Monarch Level Monster. I cast the Hellfire Spell, on the Ereshkigal''s body to burn it down. While I could use it in some ritual or process it to the potion, she was a good god. If she didn''t have the Underworld Command Sequence and the same Divinity as Hela I wouldn''t kill her. There weren''t as many gods like her, but alas, she had something I really needed and only her death was able to give me that. As I watched her body burn to ashes, I went to Hela that finished playing with Monarch Level Monster as she decapitated its head. I then went up to the corpse of the monster and used my Devour on it, as I watched it wither and turn to the pile of bones. [Physique evenly strengthened by +5 in all aspects.] Strengthening by +5 in all physical aspects wasn''t exactly that bad. For me, it was a good enough result. Though it was also slow at the same time, as it would require a very very high amount of Monarch Level monsters, to push my physique to the pinnacle of Satan-Class. So the only logical choice, was to first obtain Super-Devil Class combat prowess, which exactly wasn''t that hard, with my Dark Light ability, as the only thing that held me down, from killing Emperor Level Monster was my Energy Reserves. I predicted, that if I reached Demonic Energy Reserves around 900 Units, I should be able to kill Emperor Level Monsters, albeit the weaker ones. "Damm... the magical core is shattered." I cursed, seeing that the magical core is destroyed. Hela must have destroyed it during her "play" with the Monarch Level Monster. "I take it, that you want to continue our little fun?" Asked Hela seductively. "Indeed, I need to increase my strength. Additionally, I feel, that my mastery over the Clan Trait Devour would reach higher realms soon, after some more usage." I answered as we soon move to the other areas to hunt for the Monarch Level Monsters. With Hela by my side, it was pretty easy to hunt for them as Hela was the pinnacle Intermediate God, so she could easily overpower even several Monarch Level Monsters at the same time. And soon enough, maybe within one decade, she would reach the Greater God stage. After that, we have spent several additional days in the Sunset Monster Mountain Range, as we hunted for the Monarch Level Monsters, so I can advance in strength. Hela also forced me to fight them in close combat, which ended in me being injured, so I in anger obliterated the monsters with my magic. Fortunately from then, she left me to fight with my magic and Clan Trait. On the other side, I forced Hela to use magic in her fights instead of Necroswords. As expected, it ended the same way as me, as she was forced to use close combat and weapons to win, as her magic was still not equal to her strength. Maybe that was for the best. Everyone had a different affinity for different spells and their usage. Hela probably had the best affinity for body strengthening spells and some other enhancing spells. After several days of hard work, I have managed to reach Master-ranked mastery over the Devour Clan Trait, which was probably the best thing that happened during my hunt for the Monarch Level Monsters. Additionally, I have managed to increase my Energy Reserves to the 712 Units from the previous 650 one, and even strengthen my physique a bit. "Come, we should return back... I have already gained enough for now." I said to Hela. Now I need some time to acclimatize to my higher energy reserves and also to train more with the Devour Clan Trait as it reached Mastery-Ranked Mastery. Additionally, Hela needed to absorb the Divine Spark of Ereshkigal to advance to the Greater God Stage. "Yes, I want to absorb the Divine Spark." Said Hela as we teleported back to Castle Fuerig. Chapter 116 - Progress of One Year 1 year, Underworld, Gremory Territory, Castle Fuerig During this one year, not many things happened, aside from me going back to the Yestera Plane and clearing it out from the Monarch Level Monsters together with Zekram and Crom Cruach. We went there around four months and killed every single Monarch Level Monster. Their bodies and magical cores were divided between me and Crom Cruach. Now entire Yestera Plane was under my control and soon it would be entirely mined up. My strength didn''t increase much though, in terms of the Energy Reserves and Physique, but I have perfectly consolidated everything I had right now, and in a near future I can progress at a fast pace once again. That was an important step. To stabilize your foundation. One of the major things, that happened was that I grew much closer with Grayfia... that close that we had s?x together at least once per day. Seeing that Venelana had lead above her, she grew jealous and her competitive spirit didn''t let it slid away. And in turn, several days later, after I slept with Grayfia for the first time, she and Vena got into an argument, that destroyed several areas of the Fuerig Castle, as they decided to fight to solve their issues. While Grayfia was wearing a perfect emotionless mask and was good at hiding her intentions and feelings, she was very competitive and prideful and aimed at the position of my first wife. While Venelana already took that position to herself and decided to defend it with her strength. Both of them were prideful and did not take each other''s presence well. I just stopped meddling into this, as this was something they must decide on their own. If not, there was a high possibility, they would just be angry with me. So I ignored them wherever they were fighting, my attention ended with erecting barriers and wards to protect the castle. Overall though Vena was winning a full streak. Not only in their fights as she was stronger than Grayfia, but also in other areas. Additionally, Vena was best at pissing Grayfia off, as Grayfia wasn''t the most socially skilled person. First thing, they started a cooking competition, which Grayfia won by a large margin. Vena cooked me some stew from dragon meat, the result was that I almost puked. I still remember Grayfia''s grin she had when that happened. Grayfia learned how to cook, as it was her hobby. She was really brilliant at that, and everything she made tasted freaking delicious. Grayfia was one of the best cooks I have ever seen, she had an immense talent for cooking. On the other hand, Venelana seeing that she can''t beat Grayfia in terms of some household works such as cooking decided on something else, she knew Grayfia would lose. And that area, was seduction, in various seductive clothing. Something Grayfia was too uptight, while Vena was a lot bolder. Additionally, they now had a common enemy in form of Hela. She was a weird one, she decided that she will make me her husband by any means possible, to produce the strongest descendants. Yeh, only dunderhead, and warmonger like her can say something like that. Still, we have spent a lot of time together, due to her role in my army. This was the only topic when Grayfia and Venelana agreed, was when it concerned Hela, as not even one of them can beat her. She was Pinnacle Intermediate God, not to mention that she would soon reach Greater God Stage after she obtained Divine Spark from Ereshkigal. Right now, I am going to check up on the results of my latest project, and after that, I need to depart to meet with my uncle, Rizevim Livan Lucifer as we are going to hunt Sacred Gear Users. I was deep within the underground of the castle Fuerig, where countless Arcanotech Factories were constructing thousands of automatons daily. After completely clearing out the Yestera Plane, the production of the resources obtained from the plane skyrocketed, and now my Mechanical Army expanded drastically. I have also sold mechanical legions to other Noble Houses. Currently, I have 10 million Arachne Drones, 1 million Hydralisks, 1,000 Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries, 100 Lunar-Class Cruisers, and 25 Avenger-Class Grand Cruisers. This was a grand setup. And my Military also grew, to 50 million divided between fifty Legions. With 20 Ultimate-Class Generals, after the integration with Aesir and Vanir was complete. Hela was named the Marshall of Gremory Legions. She was best suited for the role, as she was extremely strong, and being a military and strategy genius gave me the best Marshall of my Legions I could wish for. Usually, Great Satans just avoided each other and worked together only when absolutely needed. Another nail to the coffin is called Devil Government. Such dysfunctionality was bad for the government as a whole, but for ambitious nobles, it was best. I was practically at the level of Great King Zekram, I was now faction on my own. Several of the lesser Houses of the 72 Pillars already were gathering around me, to increase their social standing. Nobody in the whole Underworld could now order me around, aside from the Original Lucifer, but that would not last long enough. Also, during past years, some mysterious deaths happened as several less important descendants of the Houses Leviathan, Beelzebub and Asmodeus died. Nobody knew how and why just Satans raged over it for several weeks and then it went to the forgotten. Chapter 117 - Trans-Devil Gene-Seed Project "Architect, how is the project Trans-Devil Gene-Seed going?" I asked my A.I. MTC as I looked at the germination chambers. Trans-Devil Gene-Seed was something I have devised personally. The purpose of the Trans-Devil Gene-Seed was to push already strong devil species on the higher ladder of evolution and speed up the evolution of the species. Thought, not of the species, but rather it would be used in the future, for my personal guards, for my personal enforcers and executors. They would be best among the best, most powerful, and most deadly warriors. Armed with the best weaponry and armor, access to the entire repertoire of countless magical systems, and best training. Trans-Devil Gene-Seed was basically about implementing additional organs to the subject''s body, that would greatly enhance its combat prowess, ability, survivability, and other aspects. [It is nearing the end. Crystallization of the knowledge of the Solar Federation, Draconic Deus, and some of the Astral Boundary. All aspects of the Trans-Devil Gene-Seed are perfected and now the only thing needed is time to successfully germinate the Artificial Organs with your DNA.] To perfectly accommodate and fuse Gene-Seed with the subject''s body, they were germinated with the usage of the DNA taken from the subject. Germination of each Trans-Devil Gene-Seed took an enormous amount of resources, that it took even a headache for me as I look at the price. Still, I predicted that after undergoing it, my survivability would triple at least. Also, my combat prowess would increase a lot thanks to my passive abilities. Later on, I would need to create similar things for other species that would-be citizens of the future Empire, such as Aesir, Vanir, Oni... "When can I undergo the fusion with then Trans-Devil Gene-Seed?" I asked Architect while overlooking the germination chambers. [Month, maximally two.] Said Architect to me. There were Ten Phases of the Trans-Devil Gene-Seed Project. Phase 1 Biscopea - This small, circular organ is inserted into the ?h?st cavity and releases hormones that vastly increase muscle growth throughout the subject''s body. It also serves to form the hormonal basis for many of the later implants. It is the first organ to be implanted. Phase 2 Heamastamen - Implanted into the main circulatory system, this tiny implant not only increases the hemoglobin content of the subject''s blood, making it more efficient at carrying oxygen around the body and making the subject''s blood a bright red. Phase 3 Catalepsean Node - Implanted into the back of the brain, this pea-sized organ influences the circadian rhythms of sleep and the body''s response to sleep deprivation. If deprived of sleep, the catalepsean node cuts in. The node allows a subject to sleep and remains awake at the same time by switching off areas of his brain sequentially. This process cannot replace sleep entirely but increases the subject''s survivability by allowing perception of the environment while resting. Phase 4 Preomnor - This is essentially a pre-stomach that can neutralize otherwise poisonous or indigestible foods. No actual digestion takes place in the preomnor, as it acts as a decontamination chamber placed before the natural stomach in the body''s system and can be isolated from the rest of the digestive tract in order to contain a particularly troublesome intake. Phase 5 Multi-Lung - This additional lung activates when a subject needs to breathe in low-oxygen or poisoned atmospheres, and even water. The natural lungs are closed off by a sphincter muscle ?ssociated with the multi-lung and the implanted organ takes over breathing operations. It has highly efficient toxin dispersal systems. Phase 6 Occulobe - This implant sits at the base of the brain, and provides hormonal and genetic stimuli which enable a subject''s eyes to respond to optic-therapy. The subject has a far superior vision to normal humans and can see in low-light conditions almost as well as in daylight. The subject also can see magical particles more easily. Phase 7 Melanchromic Organ - This implant controls the amount of melanin in a subject''s skin. It also protects the subject from other forms of radiation and increased magical resistance. Phase 8 Oolitic Kidney - In conjunction with the secondary heart this implant allows a subject to filter his blood very quickly, rendering him immune to most poisons. The organ''s everyday function is to monitor the entire circulatory system and allow other organs to function effectively. Phase 9 Mucranoid - Offers resistance to extreme heat and cold and can even provide some protection for the subject in a vacuum and even void. Phase 10 Secondary Heart - This simplest and most self-sufficient of implants allows a subject to survive his other heart being damaged or destroyed, and to survive in low oxygen environments. Not just a back-up, the secondary heart can boost the blood flow around the subject''s body. Allows body accommodate secondary Clan Trait. These were 10 Phases of the Trans-Devil Gene-Seed Project. There also existed Phase 11 Tertiary Heart, but that would be kept secret and never used. Only on myself and maybe a very few selected people. I just needed to wait around two months to transplant Trans-Devil Gene-Seed Project into my body. All artificial organs were finely crafted with the best biotechnological knowledge of the Solar Federation, coupled with knowledge of other worlds, and mine and the Architect''s genius. "After I finish my mission with Rizevim prepare a special room for the surgery. Additionally, construct a containment room for some Sacred Gears I will bring with me. Use materials with Anti-Magic, Anti-Energy properties, engrave Anti-Spying Runes." [It shall be done. The main purpose shall be Incinerate Anthem, right?] Aksed Architect, as I nodded. "Indeed. It is the most compatible with Sacred Gear with my bloodline. Sadly, as he is still alive, fusing with one or experimenting with it is suicide." I said. After the Great War, Yahweh would be dead and finally, then I can tamper with Sacred Gears and try to create another Clan Trait out of the Incinerate Anthem. Holy Flame would be extremely useful in every position. Chapter 118 - Rizevim Livan Lucifer Draconic Deus - Earth, Europe, France, the Year 1414 Currently, Kingdom France was a Hundred Years War with the Kingdom of England. Of course, I won''t be meddling in wars of ordinary mortals, as that was beneath me. Interestingly, the current year of the human calendar was 1414, just two years after the birth of Jeanne d''Arc. While it sounds nice corrupting future Saint, it wasn''t exactly my style of doing things. I walked through the battlefield, or at least what was left, as I was collecting the souls of deceased people. For me they were useless, but they were useful for weak devils, as they could increase their strength by eating souls. As I was doing my own thing, I saw a familiar figure approaching me. It was Rizevim. He had an appearance of a middle-aged man in his 40''s with dark silver hair and hazel eyes. He had a weird creepy aura as he was wearing some weird priest-looking armor gown. "Rizevim." I said. "Zeoticus." He answered. It wasn''t surprising we didn''t get along. Our ideologies about the future of the Devil Race were diametrally opposite to each other. Rizevim believed that devils are beings that have to be evil, wicked, brutal, bad, scum, wrong, brutes, as well as vicious, and it is the role of a Devil to kill every single person they don''t like. He also wasn''t interested in ruling the devil race and didn''t care about administration or anything, as he just indulged in the hedonistic p???sur?s of life. While I believed that devils need to unite, to create an Empire that would conquer and be unshakable. Additionally, I was supported of absolute strength and if you are powerful enough, you can do anything you wish as there would be no one who would obstruct you. Also, Rizevim showed a strong dislike for me due to being the son of his sister Rayla. He kept it well hidden, beneath his polite way of speaking and sweet words, but I knew that he loathed me, as he was always jealous of Rayla due to her inheriting the Dark Light, and me being the same. Even if Rayla was advancing way slower compared to him, she always could beat him. "How is life doing, new Grand Duke?" Asked Rizevim with his typical grin, which I hated so much. "Very well, productive," I said. I want this entire thing to be finished as soon as possible, so I don''t need to be in presence of this creep. For me Rizevim, while being strong with enormous potential, was just a disappointment, nothing more and nothing less. ''After I kill him, I should extract his bloodline... that Sacred Gear Canceler, is basically some kind of innate ability that nullifies any kind of soul-bonded equipment if a user is strong enough.'' I thought in my head. "So, who are we hunting and what are we hunting?" I asked him, as I continued collecting souls. "Originally possessors of the True Longinus, Zenith Tempest, and Annihilation Maker were supposed to be stationed in England, but they were recalled to Heaven, so they are out. Still, another batch of Sacred Gear Users will be going to the Vatican from France. We will intercept them and kill them before they can reach the Vatican and subsequently Heaven. Of course, as it was agreed, what you kill is yours." Said Rizevim with a toothy grin. "Who are they?" I asked, hoping for good loot. "Host of the Incinerate Anthem - Cardinal Trajan, thanks to his Longinus while he is only Ultimate-Class, can cause serious injuries even to Satan-Class devils, though we as Lucifers are still highly resistant towards Holy Element. The second one is Host of the Canis Lyakon, some kid of ten called Gren, of Greek origin. He would be protected by one Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Angel and several Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Angels. The last one of the notable ones is Host of the Telos Karma, name unknown. Last on is the Host of all four Vritra''s Sacred Gears. Heaven has collected them all and gave them to one of the Church''s Exorcists called Robert de''Salle. We have on our list several ordinary Sacred Gear Users, but apparently, they are separated into groups and being transported together with one of three Longinus users." Explained Rizevim. Incinerate Anthem, a Longinus-tier Sacred Gear with an ability to generate and control purple-colored Holy Flames that can incinerate Devils. This particular Longinus has a will of its own, allowing it to move independently, and even remove itself from its current wielder to a more suitable one. This is the one I want the most. Canis Lykaon, a Longinus-tier Sacred Gear, also is known as the Dog God of the Black Blade, is a Longinus that takes the form of a huge black dog with red eyes. It is a dependent avatar type and has its own instinct. It has the ability to produce blades from its body and can transform itself into a sword. It can also attack through shadows. If possible, it would be nice to have it like a pet. Lately, I had taken a liking to taking care of pets and familiars, as I have contracted a Wampus Cat during this year. It was a female Wampus Cat, a rather young one, only two years old, named Isla. While she was young, she was already at the Commander Level and was pretty strong. She didn''t like Vena or Grayfia, but with me, she was very cuddly. Telos Karma, a Longinus-tier Sacred Gear, also known as the Ultimate Karma. It is said to be able to warp probability, creating outcomes that otherwise would not be possible. Its ability to manipulate Fate was really mysterious, but sadly, it was useless for me. As a Fateless One, any tool, artifact, or anything that interfered with threads of Fate would break in my hands. Vritra''s Sacred Gears were a unique case. This Sacred Gear was crafted from the soul of Vritra, the Black Dragon King also known as the Prison Dragon. After he was killed, his soul somehow ended in Yahweh''s hands and was split to create Four Sacred Gears, that are interconnected and complemented by each other. Chapter 119 - Moral Codex of Ruthless Devil While this Sacred Gear doesn''t reach the Longinus-tier due to fact that it is created from four individual Sacred Gears, it doesn''t lose to one. It is created from: Absorption Line is also known as the Black Dragon''s Pulse, it resembles a small lizard (more specifically, a chameleon) with a deformed face that appears on the user''s hand. It has the ability to make lines of connections that allow the user to either absorb or transfer power from opponents, allies, and objects. You can use it only if someone is either as strong as the user or weaker than the user. Blaze Black Flare also known as the Evil Dragon''s Black Flame, is one of Vritra''s Sacred Gears that grants the user the ability to unleash Vritra''s deadly black flames to burn their opponents. Delete Field also known as the Domain of Darkness, is one of Vritra''s Sacred Gears. It has the ability to suppress the opponent''s powers. Of course, the user can suppress only someone on the user''s own level or someone who is weaker, similar to the usage of the Absorption Line. Shadow Prison also known as the Prison of the Dragon, is one of Vritra''s Sacred Gears that allows users to use Vritra''s shadowy aura to restrain their opponents. "Shall we aim for the Canis Lykaon first? With two of us, it will be the peace of cake." I asked Rizevim as he nodded with glee. The reason why I chose the Canis Lykaon was simple. It was mainly because the Host was just a ten-year-old kind, that I can kill with my finger. While he had Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Angel and several Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Angels as his protector, together with Rizevim that won''t be a problem. He is still young, and apparently, newly awakened, so he shouldn''t know much about Sacred Gear manipulation and other things, so there is a low risk of unforeseen things happening. The other two hods would be more problematic. Especially the host of the Telos Karma, but only for Rizevim, as I am out of the machinations of Fate and Destiny. "Excellent, then we shall go." The host of the Canis Lykaon was hiding in the small village, in the southern parts of France. From there, his protectors probably planned to bring him to Italy and then to the Vatican, subsequently final stop, Heaven. After half an hour of flying, we finally arrived at our destination. "How shall we do it? I propose locking the area down with spatial spells, and then we can just storm the area. You will go first and lure them out, while I will find the kid, and trap him in additional spells, before extracting the Sacred Gear." I proposed to Rizevim, and he just nodded, not caring too much. Though my plan was a good one, so we will go with it. I took out the Rosenkreutz and started this time creating a large-scale barrier, that will resist even attacks of several Satan-Class entities, so we will have enough time as it is. Soon enough, as I tapped with Rosenkreutz to the ground, an enormous barrier started rising from the ground, as it enveloped the entire town. "I will go and play." Said Rizevim, as he ran to fight Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Angel and several Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Angels, that were now in the state of utmost emergency. I just stayed in the back, and watched as Rizevim grabbed one of the Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Angels and crushed his skull with his b?r? hands. ''Hmm... so he even trained his body to Satan-Class...'' I thought, as I moved and started searching for the host of the Canis Lykaon. ''Not awakened. Good.'' It was good that the Sacred Gear wasn''t awakened, as it won''t cause problems for me, and this one was deeply dormant, meaning it won''t be caring that I caused the death of its host in, one could say a crude way. I silently cast a concealment spell on my and walked up close to the Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Angels and the kid that was host to Canis Lykaon. When I was close enough, the wall of the Dark Light appeared, and suddenly several Dark Light Spear shot at the Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Angels and killed him in an instant. I then cast several silencing spells, to make the entire area blank, as the kid wanted to scream seeing his protector being brutally killed but no single word came out of his mouth as tears were in his eyes. I grabbed his head, and smashed his little body against the ground, with enough force to knock him out but not to kill him. The problematic thing about extracting Sacred Gear was that the moment its host died, the Sacred Gear would return back to Heaven''s System. If it returns there, then it is lost, and I can wait only for a new host to be born. I pressed my right hand to his ?h?st and started chanting extraction spell. Usually, chants were used only in rituals and similar things, and I needed to best fast. One mistake could end up in this kid to die and then Sacred Gear would be lost from my reach. As I finished the chant, suddenly the black ominous light entered the boy''s body, as he jolted awake and screamed in pain. The process of extraction of the Sacred Gear was something agonizing and of extreme pain and torture. As the ritual was ongoing, the user from whom the Sacred Gear was being extracted cannot lose consciousness. So the boy cried and screamed as he was slowly tortured to end by my extraction magic and soon I held a black sphere in my hands. Chapter 120 - Next One Of course, I knew spells that would make extraction painless but I didn''t see any benefit to use them right now and on humans. Such extraction that isn''t painful and even leaves the user alive is possible, but it would consume more energy and needs to have some preparation. Not something I want to waste on some random human kid. Empathy and similar things didn''t have a place in Astral Boundary. It was a place where you need to do anything for power because without it you are nothing. And I was very well aware of it. When one day I go there, I needed to be strong, or everything I built will be destroyed and my loved ones would be killed. So everything I was going, was for the Greater Good. Yeh... sounds hypocritical. While this would be considered barbaric maybe by even devils I didn''t care about such things. Morals and standards were for weaklings who envied those with power. While my moral codex was non-existed almost, as only people I cared about truly were Grayfia and Venelana And of course, I was a good leader and ruler to those under my rule if they were loyal to me. "Fascinating... I will research it later." I said to myself, as I stored the black sphere containing Canis Lykaon in a special container and then stored it in my dimensional storage. After that I cast the Hellflame Spell, to burn down the corpse of the boy that was the host of the Canis Lykaon and also the Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Angel. After burning every piece of evidence down, I turned around to see Rizevim playing with the Angels. Not even the Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Angel was a match for Rizevim. His skillful usage of magic and sword, was a deadly combination, as every Angel that was close to him, died in a very painful way. "Rizevim stop toying with them and for the fu?k sake just kill them." I screamed at Rizevim, as he was too engrossed in playing with Angels, something I never did and won''t ever do. Playing with your enemy, even if you are way stronger, is one of the stupidest things to do during the fight. Sometimes, even impossible becomes possible, and even desperate weakling may bring down lofty and mighty expert with usage deception, traps, and arrogance of the expert. "Are there any more Sacred Gear users?" He asked me as I shook my head. I searched the entire town but didn''t find anything. I stored the corpses of the Angels, as they could be fed to my Familiar, Dou Dou, which was the name of the Bloody Thorny Flower, that has already evolved to the Devouring Thorny Flower and was currently at the peak of the General Level thanks to the abundance of the fertilizer. It had evolved during this year and gained a basic level of sentience. It also gained new abilities, namely abilities called Thorny Flower Vines and Spore. Thorny Flower Vines were a simple ability, to create thorny vines from its body and use them to attack or defend. While Spores was a more troublesome ability. It allowed Devouring Thorny Flower uses her magical energy, to create spores that would create a lower-leveled version of it. For example, now it can create around thirty Devouring Thorny Flowers on the pinnacle of the Commander Level if it uses all magical energy, which was pretty strong. And when it evolved even further, then it will be a higher number, and all of the spores would be at the General Level. "Which one of the targets is closest to our position?" I asked Rizevim. "Exorcist Robert de''Salle, an Ultimate-Class Human Exorcist, with the usage of his Vritra''s Sacred Gears he is able to contend against the Satan-Class with ease. He is currently located in a distant abbey far in the mountains. A well-protected place." "Wait a bit." I said as I looked at the half-destroyed town, and surviving humans running here and there, searching for injured and bringing them out from the ruins of their houses. "This place needs to be destroyed. It will be best if Heaven doesn''t know about these attacks as long as possible." I said as I started creating an Ultra-Order Tier Spell Lightning Judgement, and soon enough enormous lightning bolt strikes the ground, leaving there nothing more than just a crater in a place where the town was. Of course, Heaven will find out that we were behind the attacks, but it is good to cover all tracks. This way they will only find out after two to five months, and we could prepare for their retaliation. Or maybe the war will erupt prematurely. Or maybe they won''t find out at all. All Sacred Gears I am taking with me, are impossible to track, as I was jamming the connection between them and Heaven''s System with special material mined from the Yestera, Planar Core Stone. Planar Core Stone was a unique and precious type of stone, that could be found extremely close to the Planar Core. As the Yestera Plane was entirely under my control, mining works were nearing their end, and I already gave green to mining near the Planar Core. Currently, around 80% of all resources on the surface were mined, and 40% in the sea were extracted, so we slowly worked our way to the Planar Core. While the Planar Core Stone was not enough to cut the connection, the box made out of that stone was enough to jam the connection, so Yahweh cannot use Heaven''s System to locate the Sacred Gear. Unfortunately, I had only two of such boxes.. One was used for the Canis Lykaon and another one would be used for Incinarete Anthem. Chapter 121 - A Fanatic The second Planar Core Stone Box would be used for the Incinerate Anthem, so the other two Sacred Gears would be lost. While I wanted to obtain Vritra''s Sacred Gears, as they would be pretty useful, but alas there was nothing that could be done. At least, they won''t be used in a war. Time for the Sacred Gears to re-appear wasn''t short. Usually for the Sacred Gear to re-appear among the human populace took several decades at the fastest and usually the gap between the death of one user and the appearance of another was was century and more. Especially Telos Karma, while it won''t have any effect on me due to me being Fateless One, and nothing could affect my fate as it didn''t exist in the first place. Still, its usage in the war would be devastating. And that was only low-ranking equipment affecting Fate. We were now searching for the abbey where the Church''s top exorcist Robert de''Salle was hiding or whatever he was doing there. I only hope that all devils are prepared for the war, as this could easily lead to war erupting prematurely. We are going to kill one Cardinal and one Exorcist with the rank of Paladin. Both of them were top-ranking people of the Church and greatly valued by Heaven. What was now frustrating, that even one day later, we couldn''t find that fu?k?n? abbey. It was probably protected by countless barriers and wards, making it very hard to find even for skilled magicians. "What shall we do? The abbey is located in this mountain range, the location is right, but we cannot find it due to barriers." Complained Rizevim, as I already was fed up with his whining. He just complained about this for several hours already, and it was annoying me like hell. Maybe he was doing it for that reason. He just wanted to annoy me. Who knows, what is going in his mentally ill head. "Simple, we will disrupt the flow of magic in an entire mountain range, forcing the barriers to reveal themselves." I said. This was simple, at least simple magical theory for me, and incomprehensible for others. If you are able to disrupt the flow of the magical particles in a certain area, you will cause some kind of reaction from all objects that had magical particles in them. This method was usually used by Arcanists to search for any residual tracks of magic. In the Draconic Deus maybe only three or four people knew of this method, as theoretical magical knowledge was pretty low here. Rizevim didn''t properly understand what I was saying, so he just shrugged his shoulders, closed his eyes, and went to have his day-sleep. I, on the other hand, took out a small ball-shaped arcanotech device and tapped it several times. After one minute, I already could see some reaction from surroundings, and one huge around ten kilometers away. "Get up you lazy ?ss. I have found them." I said to Rizevim who was enjoying his sleep. ''Enjoy it... in future, your head will roll.'' I thought in my head, as I flew behind Rizevim as we finally arrived at the abbey. Breaking through the barriers was easy, as the flow of magicule particles was chaotic, causing the barrier''s weak points to be even more vulnerable. Soon we have entered the abbey. The abbey, while wasn''t exactly a huge place, still looked majestic in its gothic architecture and overall design. I used several detection spells and only one lifeform was detected. "I know why have you come you, vile filthy creatures." Said voice belonging to the middle-aged man clothed in a priest gown, with armor on his shoulders, arms, and legs, wearing the silver cross. He had brown hair and blue eyes, and several scars across his face. He was one of the top-ranked exorcists with Rank of Paladin in the Church, Robert de''Salle. He looked at us with scrutinizing gaze before saying. "Heathens, you will be smitten by the Almighty, and to think you can get a Sacred Gear? Foolishness." Screamed Robert de''Salle as I noticed something was off. Suddenly he coughed up blood and collapsed on the ground. Dead. "Dead... fu?k?n? fanatic kills himself so we can''t get his Sacred Gear." I shouted in anger as I kicked his corpse several times in anger. While true I don''t have another Planar Core Stone Box, but I had some spells that could extract Vritra''s soul from the Sacred Gears. That would be a great catch. Robert de''Salle probably knew he cannot win against two Satan-Class Lucifers, so he decided to kill himself, so at least we won''t obtain his Sacred Gears. One must be admitted, and that the guy had courage. Or maybe he was so brainwashed by faith that he would kill even his entire family if it was a divine revelation. Probably the second one. "Fascinating, really. I never understood this kind of people... but still it is done. Vritra''s Sacred Gear would need a century to appear and it won''t affect tides of the upcoming war." Said Rizevim as I nodded. "Burn it down." I said as I walked out from the abbey. Divine Champion was mortal that was granted a Divine Power and his fundamental being was transformed into some kind of quasi-divine being. Usually, gods under the Mighty Stage God won''t be creating Divine Champions only extremely strong Greater Gods or those very rich would do something like that, as it required an enormous amount of Divine Power and Divine Crystals to create even one Divine Champion. If Yahweh created Divine Champions out of users of Zenith Tempest and True Longinus, then things would get pretty messy.. They would be geniue powerhouses on the same level as Satan-Class. Chapter 122 - Turf of Heaven and Church In Draconic Deus, usually, when creating a Divine Champion it was done from the effort of several Gods, but not many Pantheons bothered creating Divine Champions. For the first, not many had a reason to do so. It was worth, only if a person who you wish to turn into Divine Champion had some unique irreplaceable ability, and you wanna keep him alive and even strengthen him. In Draconic Deus were many methods to attain immortality and in the Astral Boundary even more. Unfortunately for their users, the disadvantage was that they often had severe backslash. One of the most common ways was to use Elixir of Life to prolong your life to indefinite. The disadvantage of that was that, if the Elixir of Life was subpar then while you won''t age, your body will wither and you will be walking draug. While other means existed, they were all flawed in their fundamental basics. Then there were various magical rituals to prolong your life, but I didn''t delve deep into them. Devils were naturally long-lived species, and the higher Class you were, the more you could live. As the Demonic Energy will prolong your life.. I am Dual Satan-Class, so my natural lifespan as it is right now would be in hundreds of thousands of years. Even the average Low-Class Devil could live for several millennials if they are lucky and not killed by anything. This was our racial superiority. Though it wasn''t anything special, Dragons could live even longer, Fallen and Angels had the same Lifespan as Devils. It was rather a superiority towards humans, dwarves, elves, and other similar species. Though Elves were a bit special, in several regards, there is highly dependent on the concrete sub-species of an elf. "Where now?" I asked Rizevim, as we watched the town burning and people screaming. "Paris. Cardinal Trajan is there for several days before he will move once again to Italy." Said Rizevim. "Paris? Are you mad you fu?k?n? donkey?! It would be swarming there with Angels, walking there is suicide." I screamed at this idiot. Paris was a big city, and Church had a firm grasp there. God knows how many Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Angels were there, not mentioning Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class ones and hordes of magical formation and wards across the entire city. It was basically the home turf of the Heaven and Church, even I didn''t dare to treat it lightly. If something went wrong, we can easily be imprisoned by magical formation, and subsequently, drown by the flocks of Angels. Even if I am strong, I don''t think I can defeat ten Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Angels under suppression. Not mentioning even Archangels can appear. "Mad? Absolutely!" Said Rizevim with glee in his eyes as he flew high in the sky. "Our only possibility is to sneak up into the city and ?ssassinate Cardinal Trajan by extracting his Sacred Gear, but even that would be hard. Paris has countless protective spells, barriers, wards, and formations around it, from which almost all are of Divine Origin, created by him. How the fu?k do you want to sneak up there?" I asked him in anger. Rizevim''s plan was a shitty one... suicidal one could say. Earth, especially the Europe where Church was deeply rooted was a playground for Heaven. They were here for centuries, created their own bastions and fortresses, magical areas, protected places, and many others, that would be hard to destroy even for me. It could be seen on that abbey where Exorcist Paladin Robert de''Salle was. Even fu?k?n? remote abbey somewhere in mountains had enough magical protection to stop and block average Intermediate God. I was able to find it only thanks to my extensive knowledge of magic. "I am not entering Paris. I suggest something else." I said as Rizevim looked at me with a boring look. "We will spread magical plague in surrounding villages. If enough humans die, Church would be forced to move and sent someone to purify it. Additionally, its appearance won''t be too suspicious due to war, they would think somebody brought it up from England or from rotten corpses all around the battlefields in France." I stated. There is no way I would do something as risky as entering a place that was controlled by Church for several centuries. I knew that Heaven had teleportation arrays in every large Cathedral so they could transport even entire Legions of Angels to Earth in times of need. So it would be possible for them to trap us there and swarm us. I don''t wanna end killed or something else... So I would release a plague in villages around Paris. If at least several thousand humans die within the next three days, it should be so serious that Cardinall Trajan would be forced to leave Paris, so he could purify the Plague and make some miracles in the name of his God. That would leave him vulnerable to possible ambush. "Ts... not fun." Pouted Rizevim. "This is not about fun, this is about completing the mission." I said as we flew to the villages near Paris. After we arrived at the place, Rizevim got away, who knows where and I started working on my magical plague. Creating plague, wasn''t that hard with biological knowledge of the Solar Federation, as Bio-Weapons were often used without care during wars there. I then used my magic to boost up the plague, so it would spread at least x15 times faster and would kill its victims within ten days, and after five days they would be in a near-death state. After several hours of genetic engineering and magical spice, I was able to create a new variable of plague. I then divided the vial into several smaller ones, as the thingy I created was extremely potent and strong. Next one hour I have spent poisoning water sources for several nearby villages, to spread this plague as soon as possible to the highest number of people. After It was done, I have found myself a nice spot to relax and wait for the results of my work. Hopefully fish will catch the bait. Chapter 123 - Fate Algorithm After several days, it finally paid off and now the terrifying plague has caused the death of several thousand people and infected even more. It went so far that the Church was forced to send Cardinal Damian Trajan with several Priests and Exorcists to get rid of the plague before it will reach Paris. They were pretty lucky, that Paris wasn''t now the city of rotting corpses. Rizevim has already returned, after several days he was playing or whatever he was doing. Probably raping some human woman that had caught his eye and torturing them. Not that I cared what he was he was doing to human peasants, but it is degrading that someone of his stature would lower himself to torture, human peasants. If he wanted to terrorize someone at least he should have gone having fun with Greeks or Shinto, to at least weaken them. "Rizevim be battle-ready, soon our delegation will arrive. And stop already meddling with humans." I said.. "Ts... Devils should be like really, really evil. It is more fun like that." He said while I shook my head. "I still think it is underneath me." We then spoke no more, as we waiting for the people of the Church to arrive. Cardinal Damian Trajan was the host of the Incinerate Anthem, a Longinus I needed for my future endeavors. As we were waiting in ambush, suddenly a caravan was moving forward. There were tens of people coming this way, all of them wearing a priest gown, yet none of them was a priest. Each one was an Exorcits, albeit weaker ones. In the luxurious-looking chariot, was our target Cardinal Damian Trajan. He was younger compared to the Robert de''Salle, around thirty years old, his position of Cardinal must come thanks to the Incinerate Anthem and its mastery over it. "Long-distance attacks, aim at the Exorcits first." I said, while conjured several Dark Light Spear as I shot them at the Exorcists and horses that were pulling the carriage, while Rizevim was casting some thunder spells, that were tearing exorcists apart. After one barrage of attacks, only body parts, blood and gore remained at the place, while the carriage was mainly intact. I then conjured Dark Light Chains, that enveloped the entire carriage, as they crushed it and brought up the figure of the Cardinal Trajan. "Rizevim guard the perimeter. We have ten minutes, or five until Angels arrive." All high-ranking members of the Church, the high clergy, Bishops, Arch-Bishops, and Cardinals had devices that could instantly alert Heaven in case they are attacked. If a Cardinal is attacked, Heaven would send three or four Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Angels and an entire contingent of Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class ones. For Yahweh with his power and Divine Crystals, it was extremely easy to create new strong Angels in a short time. For example, if a Mighty God''s Divine Kingdom can support 50 Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Angels, then even if ten are killed in battle, Mighty God if has enough resources can cultivate another 10 just within a month. While Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Angeln was weaker in terms of combat prowess compared to devil Satan-Class, but they had a numerical advantage. If ten Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Angels come, then the situation would be fu?k?d up. Rizevim went to guard the place, as I pushed Cardinal Damian Trajan onto the ground and bound him with Dark Light Chains. I quickly started chanting the spell, I did with the boy that was the host of the Canis Lykaon and pressed my hand Cardinal Damian Trajan''s ?h?st and started extracting the Sacred Gear, Longinus Incinerate Anthem. This one was a bit problematic, as Cardinal Damian Trajan''s will was slowing down the process. That kid b?r?ly knew what was happening, so he wasn''t giving much mental resistance, but Cardinal Damian Trajan was and it was annoying as hell. "Damm you fanatics, even in a face of death..." I muttered, seeing the face of Cardinal Damian Trajan that even in a face of certain death, upon extracting his Sacred Gear in a crudest and torturous way, wasn''t losing his faith. "That is... Telos Karma." I watched as the Longinus Telos Karma appeared from the body of dead Cardinal Damian Trajan and started ascending high to the sky. I grabbed it with my hand, and then something weird happened. When I touched the Telos Karma, it shattered down, and some kind of energy entered my body, as it shot me backward, smashing me to the ground creating an enormous crater. I laid down there, absolutely unable to move, only to hear Rizevim, running here. "Damm, what happened." He asked as he looked around, fortunately, he didn''t have the intention to kill him, if not, this would be a perfect opportunity. Or more probable was that he had the intention to kill me, but not in this way, as from his point of view it would be too boring. I coughed some blood, as I cannot move even an inch of my body. Rizevim came closer and cast some basic healing spells as he lifts me up and placed me across his shoulder. How humiliating. As he was teleporting us back to the Underworld to get me treated I heard Architect''s voice in my head. [Unknown energy entering the Host''s body.] [Memories are entering the brain.] [Memories have been recognized as Warlock Secret Method of Astral Boundary.] [Unknown Energy is getting into violent reaction up with the energy of Fateless One.] As he said that, I started coughed even more blood, as I felt two different energies in my body clashing violently. One came from the Telos Karma after it was destroyed and another from my constitution as Fateless One. [The Warlock Secret Method has been identified from memories. Designation: Fate Algorithm.] As Architect''s last words sounded, everything went black. Chapter 124 - Nothing is Impossible Somewhere in the Astral Boundary "So the Fate Algorithm has finally appeared? We shall see." Said a voice. After several minutes after the voice quieted down. "Impossible! Absolutely Impossible! That could happen only when..." It shouted in disbelief after it slowly quieted down. "Fateless One has obtained Fate Algorithm.... all of us are doomed." Said the voice once again after several minutes of utter silence. *** I slowly opened my eyes, as my head hurt to see that I was in a hospital. The room was luxurious and very spacious, probably well deserved V.I.P. treatment. Sitri Clan was one of the 72 Pillars, with the rank of Prince. They were famous for their Clan Trait Water Manipulation, while there was a rare mutation, some clansmen may be born with Ice Manipulation, but they were very rare. This made Sitri Clan one of the best healers and doctors in the entire Underworld. The Sitri Clan is also known to be one of the few territories which have advanced medical facilities as well. I turned around to see Venelana and Grayfia sleeping soundly in armchairs next to my bed. ''They look cute when they are not arguing...'' I thought. ''Architect, what happened?'' I asked my MTC A.I. as I started remembering what happened. [Rizevim brought you back to the Underworld directly to the Sitri Hospital so you can be treated. They didn''t know what happened to you, just it looked exactly like energy deviation.] I touched Telos Karma and it broke down. Then something entered my body from remnants of the Telos Karma and got into a violent clash with my Fateless One energy. [I have done several analyses and equations during your one-day sleep. Telos Karma was built with Fate Algorithm as a base, but apparently, Yahweh cannot use Fate Algorithm, or at least all Six Volumes, so he used them to build equipment that would use Fate Algorithm automatically, with albeit lesser effect.] Explained Architect as I understood everything. I then started going through the Fate Algorithm Volumes. Now, this was a dilemma. I as I Fateless One cannot use anything that should be able to see or influence Fate. But the Fate Algorithm was an exception, for one simple reason. It was created by Fateless One. The restrictions for Fateless One to use Fate Algorithm are extremely severe. Not only it required an enormous amount of energy to use, and a huge mental processing capacity, but even the results were very vague. Yeh, it was full of contradictions. If Fateless One used the Fate Algorithm on himself, he cannot see his own Fate, due to him being Fateless One. The only thing he could see is an infinite amount of possibilities that could happen to any other person in his situation. With my current energy reserves, I won''t be able to use it even once. Additionally, after using it, it won''t be usable for some time, depending on the number of calculated fates. That was of course If I use it on myself directly. If I used it on any other person, that is not tied with me and is not reeking the Aura of Fateless One, then it is possible. I operated the Fate Algorithm and tried to use it on Venelana, only to see nothing. Not any kind of Fate. I used it on one of the soldiers guarding my room and saw that the man will probably die in the upcoming war. Another thing I had a restriction in using Fate Algorithm, was that, due to being Fateless One, my calculations were not precise. There was only a percentage. If someone else, who wasn''t Fateless One used Fate Algorithm he would be able to see absolute Fate. I have not even considered teaching Fate Algorithm to somebody as it was too dangerous. In the Universe and many others, existed beings of unimaginable power and Fate Algorithm would move even strongest of the Great Old Ones and maybe even Throne. That would be a pure disaster. "Zeo you are awake." "You don''t need to be worried already, silly girl... I am okey." I said as I gently ??r?ssed her hair, while Grayfia looked at us in envy, but her personality doesn''t allow her to act so emotionally like Vena. "Of course I am and I will. It is natural to be worried for somebody you love." Said Vena as she buried her head in my ?h?st, as I felt indescribable warmth in my heart. I saw Grayfia nodding her head, as I pulled her to embrace, as I held both of them close. "You will be staying home, no adventures and no fights, we will watch over you. And you will rest." Said Vena with unshakable resolve in her voice, as Grayfia nodded her head in agreement. ''And now instead of fighting each other, they are acting like best friends... mystery.'' I thought as I enjoyed this moment. Chapter 125 - 5 Years Later Five Years have passed in a flash from the incident with Telos Karma. After I and Rizevim killed all those Sacred Gear users, caused the destruction of one Longinus, and additionally, I took two of them home, tensions between Three Biblical Factions were becoming even worse. Heaven retaliated by sending several Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Angels to kill all devils operating on Earth. Fortunately, most of the killed devils on Earth were loyalists of the Four Great Satans, and clansmen of the Beelzebub, Asmodeus, and Leviathan Clan. Just a little information leaks from my side and bribing the right people, I could easily get several of my future enemies killed. After that, skirmishes were more often, and now even Satan-Class entities clashed here and there. War was near, probably it will erupt in the following year, as everything was going to fu?k. Grigori, Devils, and Heaven, were already only a step away from unleashing slaughter and destruction on each other. During these past five years, I have spent most of my time preparing for the Great War. Everybody could see, that after the death of the Church''s Sacred Gear Users, most eyes from Heaven turned to Devils.. When I thought about it, Lucifer probably just wanted to provoke war. Killing Sacred Gear users was just a bonus. It was a good move from his die, as he achieved two things with one move. After these five years, my strength didn''t increase much, but my Clan Trait Devour has reached Master-ranked mastery, which was a nice surprise. I have also started learning a new branch of Magic, called Mysticism. Mysticism was focused on rituals and various abstract and obscure usages of magic. It required extreme comprehension and understanding of magic, to properly master Mysticism. Usually, it was practiced only by very strong Arcanists in the Astral Boundary. More changes have happened in my territory. Both of my Fiance¨¦s, Venelana, and Grayfia have taken up their roles in the management of my ?ssets. Grayfia was basically the general manager of my territory, as she had a talent for administration work. Thanks to her management and administration skills, the entire territory was working like a perfect machine. While Venelana was managing all my business ventures, increasing my profits of Soul Coins. She had talent in the business and was a good businesswoman. I completely entrusted her with all companies I had across the Underworld, as I didn''t have time for managing it. Both of them were also at the Pinnacle of the Ultimate-Class, and soon would be reaching Satan-Class, maybe in less than one year. My faction grew with each passing day. The political situation in the Underworld was pretty interesting. Thanks to my unique heritage, I gathered a lot of political support among the 72 Pillars and Extra Devil Clans, which would be essential to my later plans. On the other side, Hela has been training my army. She could reach Greater God Stage any moment given, as she almost completely digested the Divine Spark obtained from Ereshkigal. It had stabilized at the stable number of fifty million, which was one of the largest armies in the Underworld. Most importantly, all of my soldiers were peak Middle-Class already. I have spent an enormous amount of money, to bring all soldiers to that level. 150 High-Grade Divine Crystals were used in rituals to help strengthen my army, as I wanted to have the strongest and best army in the Underworld. Commanding Officers in the army were already High-Class, and there were thousands of them, under the leadership of 25 Ultimate-Class Generals of my Legions. I have already tasked all Generals to keep eye on promising soldiers with strong loyalty that would become part of my personal guard when I became the Emperor. "Zeoticus, a word has come from the Yestera that the all resources on the plane have been mined up already." Said the melodious voice, as it woke up me from the meditation. I opened my eyes and saw Grayfia standing before me, in the more revealing outfit as she looked at me. "Then it is time to mine Planar Core." I muttered. What undergone even more exponential growth was my mechanical legion and arcanotech in the Underworld as a whole. I personally had an army of 25 million Drones, 10 million Hydralisks, 10,000 Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries, and a complete voidfleet, consisting of x100 Lunar-Class Cruisers, x25 Avenger-Class Grand Cruisers, x5 Destroyer-Class Battlecruiser and soon to be finished one Emperor-Class Battleship. Arcanotechnology could be divided into Nine Levels. For example Arachne-type Arcane Mechanical Automatons, Arachne Drones were Low-End Level 1 Arcanotech, they had combat prowess of peak Low-Class. While Arachne Hydralisks were High-End Level 1 Arcanotech and had combat prowess of peak High-Class, which was especially terrifying. On the other side, Lunar-Class Cruiser Voidship was Level 2 Arcanotech that had firepower comparable to the average Ultimate-Class. Avenger-Class Grand Cruiser was Level 3 Arcanotech, which had firepower comparable to something I call Legendary-Class. Between Ultimate-Class and Satan-Class, the rank existed in the Astral Boundary, but not in the Dimensional Gap, as the Laws differed slightly. Destroyer-Class Battle Cruiser was Level 4 Arcanotech that had firepower around the average Satan-Class. And finally, Emperor-Class Battleship had firepower around Super-Devil Class. I have decided to develop more Voidfleet than the Arcane Mechanical Automatons. For first, resources were limited in the Dimensional Gap, and Mechs, won''t let me travel through the Dimensional Gap safely. "Okey... we shall depart for the Yestera then. Is everything ready there?" I asked while I stood up from my desk. "Yes, General Amyke has already retreated with all soldiers and Mechanical Legions are back in the Gremory Territories. Mechanicum is managing the last works and relocations of the Arcanotech Factories and production lines." Chapter 126 - Mining Planar Core Mechanicum was one of the specially designed forces I had in my Military. With the expansion of the Arcanotech, a new occupation has been created in the Underworld. It was called mech controller, they were mentally strong devils, skilled in the art of Arcanotech that were controlling Mechs. As I cannot have Architect to control all Mechanical Legions at the same time, this was my solution. Currently, there existed only lower-ranked members of the Mechanicum, Commanders that could control 10,000 Mechs, Manipulators that could control up to 100,000 Mechs, and Controllers that could control up to 1 million Mechs. If I had to give myself a rank, then even without Architect''s help, I could control my entire Hydralisks Legions, which numbered 10 million, that would correspond to the Administrator Rank. Many nobles ordered Drones from me and paid tons of Soul Coins to get their hands on the newest inventions of the Arcanotech. These days, Drones completely replaced slaves as the main force working in hazardous areas. Drones were more effective, useful, versatile, and low-cost on maintaining. They could work indefinitely, as long as there was magical power to charge them up.. Many devils were staring studying basic Arcanotech books I have published, with just some household Arcanotech gadgets. The technology level of Devils was pretty messed up right now. Only part of the people that enjoyed a certain level of luxury and technology were Nobles or Military Officers. The rest of the common devils lived similar to humans during the middle ages. If the population is on your side it is easy to become ruler, as everyone would love you. So I threw some bits and scraps to the commoners, so their lifestyle would improve. I sold Arcanotech household gadgets through the entire Underworld, for rather cheap prices and make billions of Soul Coins each month from the sales. "Then we shall go for the Yestera Plane immediately. When all the work there is finished, we will start mining the Planar Core." I said to Grayfia as we went to teleportation formation. After we arrived at the Yestera Plane I was pretty surprised by the change of the environment. Long gone were the clear blue sky and vibrant green forests and plains. Now the only thing that was here, was hordes of waste, black sky from the trash from Arcanotech Factories, and pollution everywhere. Not like that it mattered, as soon enough entire Plane would be destroyed. It took us two hours flying to get there, and finally, we have arrived. In front of us, was an enormous Arcanotech device, that was around fifty meters tall and its only purpose was to extract the Planar Core from the Plane. Planar Core was a crystal that was a condensation of an enormous amount of energy. Not only that, it could be refilled and it was the best battery one could wish for. It would be a crucial part for the construction of the Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut, a collocal voidship that was Level 6 Arcanotech, with firepower comparable to lower ends of the Apocalypse-Class. Of course, that would be in the far future, as right now I have no near abilities to build something astronomical like that. Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut was a colossal, smaller Space Fortress that could blow up huge objects in space, even smaller planets. To construct something like that a lot of precious resources were needed and especially alloys, that were not available to me right now. "How is the evacuation process General Amyke?" I asked General Amyke who arrived around ten minutes after me as he bowed slightly. "It is almost done, only a few minor factories need to be relocated but the Drones are working hard and fast, so it won''t be a problem. How long after the extraction of the Planar Core we have until the Plane is destroyed?" Aksed me General Amyke. "Hour, two hours, half an hour... I don''t know, as it varies. Sometimes the plane will implode even instantly, but I hope this is not the process. Instant implosion is the case with low-grade planes, Yestera is Grade 5 Plane already, so it should hold for some time before it gets destroyed. Its Planar Core would be a great treasure." Planar Drill was drilling through the crust of the Yestera Plane with such ease, it even amazed me. After ten minutes, it was done at 30%. It was a very fast process, fortunately. In Solar Federation, we used a similar device to mine Planetary Core for its energy. It was usually done from high orbit, so when the planet started to explode, the mining ship would have enough time to escape the range of explosion. I have talked a bit with Grayfia about our upcoming wedding during waiting for the Planar Drill to finish. Yes, wedding. I would be marrying Venelana and Grayfia next month. We wanted to have our wedding before the Great War starts, as during it, there won''t be a time for anything like this and after the War, if we survive in a good health, everyone would be focused on the rebuilding of what was lost. I ask them for their hand, around a year ago. Both of them said yes. And after that, we had our first steamy hot threesome. It was fun, as Vena was more open and Grayfia was still a bit shy to do it in front of someone, especially when that someone was her rival. After ten minutes the process of the Planar Mining was complete and the Planar Drill shut down the beam of energy. Chapter 127 - Taking care of pets After the Planar Core was shrunk down, to a size that could be comfortably stored, it brought it up, and it ended in my hand. The Planar Core looked like a diamond, just like it had all colors of the rainbow. It was truly a beautiful jewel, and Grayfia was absolutely captivated by it. Unfortunately, it wasn''t jewelry but an essential part of the reactor that would be part of the Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Voidship''s Engine. "We need to go and get out of here." I said to Grayfia and General Amyke while I left the Planar Drill here. It was one-time use Arcanotech Device, due to the inability to construct a permanent one. The reason was, I have lacked one crucial material that cannot be found in the Dimensional Gap. Afterward, we have all returned to Castle Fuerig, as the Yestera Plane was destroyed after the Planar Core was extracted by me. Grayfia then went to Venelana as they were making wedding preparations together, and often quarreling about minor things such as decorations, wedding dresses, list of hosts, and many others, things that weren''t that interesting for me, but where everything for them.. I rather went to check up on my two familiars, Dou Dou and Isla. Isla was a female Wampus Cat I have contracted and she has already reached the General Level. When she smelled me, she immediately rushed me and started ???k?n? me with her tongue that was like a knife. Additionally, her claws were clinging to me, so I cannot escape. She was really cuddly little creature, though she was not little, but big as an ?du?t lion. I pet her head and scratched her behind her ears, she liked that most. Even though she now looked like a harmless little kitty, that enjoyed being scratched behind the ears, she was an extremely dangerous General Level magical beast. ''Architect scan, her.'' I said, as I continued petting Isla, who started purring soundly, which I enjoyed. It is filled with a nice feeling of peace and warmth. [Name: Isla Race: Wampus Cat Level: General Magical Power: 290 Strength: 300 Agility: 300 Vitality: 245 - Abilities: Illusion Magic, Mental Magic] "Soon to reach Monarch Level, just one evolution short." I said. Wampus Cat at the Monarch Level is a very terrible existence, as it could bewitch and control even Satan-Class powerhouses easily, if they are not mentally strong, or don''t have some mind protection magic. Wampus Cats were best with the usage of Illusion and Mental Magic, like mind-controlling and mind-reading. They were really terrifying opponents, that usually stayed hidden in the dark, and hunted from the shadows. And if Isla is the one who is strong, then Dou Dou, the Phantom Devouring Thorny Flower is absolutely terrifying. After three years of constant digest Satan-Class entities, like Monarch Level Monsters, Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Angels, and Fallen Angels, she finally evolved from the Devouring Thorny Flower to the Phantom Devouring Thorny Flower. [Name: Dou Dou Race: Phantom Devouring Thorny Flower - Level: Monarch Magical Power: 625 Strength: 450 Vitality: 794 - Abilities: Take Root, Corpse Feeding, Poison Spit, Advanced Elemental Magic, Thorny Flower Vines, Spore, Thorny Flower Army, Plant Magic] It had gained two new skills, Thorny Flower Army and Plant Magic. The second was self-explanatory, as it could use Plant Magic, but the Thorny Flower Army was more interesting. It could germinate and summon an army of Thorny Flowers, that is existing in a pocket dimension. Right now each one of the Thorny Flowers is at the pinnacle of the Commander Level and several of them are at the General Level. Also, the Basic Elemental Magic has evolved to the Advanced Elemental Magic. In short, the Phantom Devouring Thorny Flower is the nightmarish opponent. Not only that she is strong, but she can also drown her enemies in thousands upon thousands of Commander Level Thorny Flowers and tens of General Level Thorny Flowers. What was more astounding, this army would evolve alongside her. The best thing was, all those Flowers needed fertilizer, and I could finally get rid of millions of corpses I have accumulated during the Yestera Conquest that were stored in various dimensional storage objects. She was the best subject for that, as she was strong, not even the current three Satans would get rid of her in a short time, maybe people like Zekram could due to their highly destructive abilities. She also had an entire army on her back to call if needed. And thanks to her nature as a plant, she had roots around the entire Castle Fuerig and nothing cannot escape her watchful eyes. Also, her intelligence evolved, and while she cannot speak, she was no less intelligent than any other devil. Many monsters gain basic intelligence upon evolving to the General Level monster / magical beasts, and this intelligence would only increase with each additional evolution. With her guarding the Castle Fuerig, then I didn''t need to fear it would be attacked or fall. Additionally, to not shame my magical and Arcanotech genius, this place was even better magically protected than the capital of the Devils, Lucifaad. I had countless Arcanotech Towers here, with tens of magical formations, wards, and barriers. It was basically a turtle shell, that even Genbu would be proud of. "Have your army finished digesting all the fertilizer, Dou Dou?" I asked the Phantom Devouring Thorny Flower Dou Dou, as she lifted one of her leaves up, and started making nod-like movements, that signified agreement. "Don''t worry. During the Great War, you can clean up battlefields and you will have as many corpses as you want." Dou Dou would be even well suited for cleaning the battlefield, as she could get rid of all corpses that would be here and there. Of course, I would at first take their armor and weapons, Drones would do that, and then Dou Dou could release her underlings to eat the corpses. Chapter 128 - Wedding (1) Several Days Later Right now, the entire Castle Fuerig was looking very different, from its average day. Now it was full of flowers, decorations, and colors as soon would be wedding held here between Lord Zeoticus Gremory von Lucifer, alas me and Venelana Bael and Grayfia Lucifuge. In the end, fortunately, we have decided on a private wedding, where only a few selected are invited. Among them, the most notable personas were Original Lucifer, Lord Gerstahl Lucifuge, Great King Zekram Bael, or newly crowned Heavenly Dragon Crom Cruach. The other three Satans and their clansmen weren''t invited, and of course, they would take it as an insult. I just don''t want to deal with them, and additionally, it wouldn''t look to have wedding photos full of dead people.... there were mostly killed by me. I just cannot wait when this entire ceremony would be over... Vena and Grayfia forced me to learn dance, and I was forced to sacrifice my studies of new mysticism grimoire I have bought from the Beelzebub Clan, so I can learn dance. Of course, I didn''t dare to raise my dissatisfaction. One or two angry glares from Venelana and Grayfia were enough to shut me down. I saw that how important it was for them, so I just went with the flow. In truth, it was nice. Grayfia and Venelana were splendid women, and I swore to myself that I would forever protect their smiles. Both of them were not only powerful but also kind, warm, and loving. They helped me to manage my territory and keep things in order. Often would Grayfia come to me, with meals when I am closed in my lab for a long time. And then Vena would drag me out, on the fresh air. Also, this wasn''t only a simple wedding, but also a show of power and gathering of the most influential people in the Underworld. Additionally, even envoys from other friendly factions would be participating. Pale Blood, Werewolves Tribes, Crom Cruach, Dragon King Tiamat, and several others. *** On the day of the Wedding, Castle Fuerig, Gremory Territory Today was a special day. Entire Castle Fuerig was full of important nobles across the Underworld that had at least some relationship with House Gremory. Everything was beautifully decorated and polished to look as best as it could be. Tens of people were now waiting in my garden, which turned into the Wedding place. Wedding Ritual for devils was pretty unique and often only rich or powerful or nobles had a formal wedding. Ordinary commoners didn''t bother with this, as it was too of a hassle. I was waiting there, and with me was Original Lucifer who acted as the Ritual Master. Wedding Ritual among the devil, not a marriage, but it was ritual, was like this. Basically, the groom and bride, would draw a drop of a Heart Blood, and exchange them and drink them while they would swear a magical oath for eternity. This created a strong magical bond between the two parties. For this ritual to be completed you need an Overseer to navigate it, and the person needs to be at least Satan-Class. That was the reason why only Nobility or powerful people used this way to get married. For nobility, it was an absolute requirement to undergo Wedding Devil Ritual. Even some poorer Houses would have a problem inviting a Satan-Class devil to be a Ritual Master, while commoners have no chance at that. Also, in the Underworld, there weren''t many Satan-Class devils. I observed all guests that were attending. All Heads of the Six Houses of Lucifer were here, under the leadership of their Leader Lord Gerstahl Lucifuge, who was not currently present as he would be bringing Fia to the Altar. I am meeting with them for the first time, and I needed to make the best impression I could, as the Six Houses of Lucifer were loyal to Lucifer only, and it was no secret that the relationship between them and Rizevim wasn''t the best one, due to his views on the ruling. After them, there were Heads of all 72 Pillars and Extra Devil Houses. Most notable was Mephisto Pheles with his extravagant looks, he was really unique in terms of appearance. Crom Cruach was sitting in the first rows, close to me, as he came with his new mate Tiamat, who kept him asking if there are treasures in the huge castle and if she found them, then if it would be possible to keep them. Crom Cruach had a bored and tired look, but on the contrary, Tiamat looked happy and energic as she looked over. Dragons didn''t have anything similar to this, they just took their mates and that was all. The only thing close to this was a duel, and the loser would become the mate of the winner, but that lacked romance in Tiamat''s words. Women were similar no matter the species they were. Hela was sitting next to Tiamat, and they would often whisper to each other''s ear and giggle ominously. ''Probably planning how to loot Asgard''s Treasury.'' I thought in my head. Still... that could be a good idea, I will support them if they present this idea to me. Great King Zekram Bael wasn''t here as he was the same as the Lord Gerstahl Lucifuge, and would be escorting his grandaughter to the altar. Then three Chiefs of the three biggest Werewolf Tribes were also present. Suddenly music started playing and everyone stood up, as brides were going in, Fia being escorted by her father, Lord Gerstahl Lucifuge, and Vena being escorted by her grandfather, Great King Zekream Bael. When I saw Vena and Fia I was charmed by their beauty in their wedding dresses. Chapter 129 - Wedding (2) Fia was wearing a beautiful gothic-like wedding dress. It looked like an elven design, the corset dress is made of pale silver/lavender silk dupioni, dusty lavender soft tulle, and decorated with silver baroque style details and amethyst stones. The corset has 34 flat and spiral steel bones. The back of the corset has metal eyelets and adjustable satin cord lacing. It had a flowing tulle skirt has a side invisible zipper closure and a dusty lavender tulle fabric cape. She was really breathtaking. Next to her Venelana, was wearing a beautiful crimson dress, made of burgundy taffeta and decorated with beautiful beaded embroidery appliques and trims, the bodice is lined with black soft cotton blend material. It had 12 spiral and flat metal bones. The skirt is bordered with a hand-pleated ruffle and decorated with black beaded trims and beaded applique at the back. They came to me, as I stopped starting. "Beautiful, both of you.." I said as both of them smiled at my compliment. "Lord Lucifuge, Lord Bael." I greeted. "Now that everyone is here, we can finally start with the Wedding Ritual." Said Lucifer, as Lord Lucifuge and Lord Zekram stood behind Grayfia and Venelana respectively "Bring the dagger." Said Lucifer, as his ?ssistant "Zeoticus Gremory von Lucifer present two drops of the Heart Blood." Said Lucifer as he inserted his Demonic Power into the Dagger and it shone with crimson light. I took the dagger from his and cut my hand, and draw out two drops of the Heart Blood. I put them on the altar. "Venelana Bael present one drop of the Heart Blood." Said Lucifer, as Venelana did the same thing, and cut her hand and brought up one drop of the Heart Blood. "Grayfia Lucifuge present one drop of the Heart Blood." Said Lucifer, as Grayfia did the same thing, and cut her hand and brought up one drop of the Heart Blood. Then after all of us have drawn up the Heart Blood, Lucifer started chanting the bonding spell and all four drops of the Heart Blood shined brightly. Soon the Grayfia''s drop of blood connected with one of mine, and Venelana''s drop of blood connected with my second drop of blood. "Zeoticus Gremory von Lucifer drink the Heart Blood Drops of Venelana Bael and Grayfia Lucifuge." Afterward, the ceremony continued, with Lucifer calling Vena and Fia. "Venelana Bael and Grayfia Lucifuge drink the Heart Blood Drop of Zeoticus Gremory von Lucifer." He said, as Vena and Fia did the same thing as me, and drank down the Heart Blood Drop of mine. "Then let your blood and souls be connected with each other for eternity." Said Lucifer as I now felt the connection between me, Vena, and Fia form. I could now tell where they were located and they could do the same, we could feel each other on a more intimate level. "And now the Ritual has ended I have another announcement for everyone to heart at this joyous occasion." Exclaimed Original Lucifer as the entire place quickly quieted down. "After several outstanding achievements my grandson has achieved, be it creation of the entirely new Magic System for the Devils, spreading Arcanotechnology or reaching higher ends of the Satan-Class, I have decided to award the House Gremory with the hereditary title of Great King." He said with such grandiose, that everyone just stared in shock, I have literary jumped two ranks, and now was one of the highest-ranking nobles in the Underworld, besides the Zekram Bael, who was also a Great King. Everybody was silent and even I was not expecting this. I knew that this wasn''t as simple as increasing my noble rank, but probably he wanted me and Rizevim to have a standoff for the seat of Lucifer. It wasn''t any secret that Lucifer was always disappointed that his son wasn''t showing any kind of interest in ruling and dominating the world. So there are then several possibilities behind Lucifer''s behavior. Either he wants to force Rizevim to do something, by increasing my own social standing that would be threatening his own, as practically Great King was a higher rank than the Crown Prince that was Rizevim. The second possibility was that Lucifer already considered Rizevim a lost cause, so he decided to groom me into ruling material. The third possibility, eh was doing it just to create an enmity between me and Rizevim, so he could enjoy the aftermath. Who knows what was going in his head. Not that I cared about what my relationship with Rizevim would be. He will end up dead as soon as I have a chance, but that bastard is slippery, I doubt he will remain in the Underworld after the end of the Great War. We have sparred several times, and even though he was older and more experienced than me, he was never able to win against me. I could feel his resentment of my person even here and now. Even if we are both Super Devils nothing would change, and I would still have the upper hand, not to mention I am well-liked among the nobility as among commoners. Common Devils loved me as my Arcanotech household inventions eased their life and saved them much money. Nobles loved me, as I was able to increase their powers by selling them Arcane Mechanical Automatons. I was popular. Something Rizevim was not. And even though Six Houses of Lucifer swore allegiance to the Lucifer''s Blood, only one could rule and guess who that one would be. After Lucifer finished his speech he was right now giving, that I was not listening as it was boring, mainly about the superiority of devils and dominating the world, typical crap, he teleported out and went to do his business. ''If you knew that Dimensional Gap would be breached by our Orden, I wonder what would you do.'' I thought as I watched him teleport out. Chapter 130 - Wedding (3) "Now my lovely wives, if you excuse me I must go and play some games with others here... this opportunity is heaven-sent." I whispered to Vena and Fia, as they both nodded in understanding, albeit a bit sad, but there was nothing I could do. As I said before, this wasn''t only my wedding, this was a gathering of power, that would probably not be repeated for a very long time. I need to get some allies on my side and mingle with Six Houses of Lucifer, minus House Lucifuge. Soon enough after searching among the guests I finally found the one I wanted to meet the most. Lord Zaorama Nebiros, Head of the House Nebiros. House Nebiros was one of the Six Houses of Lucifer, that specialized in various research such as biology, demonic power, and magic.. They were the ones who invented a lot of new spells for the Tier Magic System. They also had a Branch Family among the 72 Pillars, called House Naberius, that alone talked about their power. Lord Zaorama Nebiros was a geniue Satan-Class magician, very skilled, but not as much as Lord Pheles, but he had more firepower and might, as Lord Mephisto Pheels only recently entered into the Satan-Class. He was a well-built man with black hair matching colored eyes, wearing elegant aristocratic attire. "Young Lord Lucifer, what a p???sur? to meet someone powerful and talented as yourself, while being so young." Greeted me Lord Zaorama Nebiros with a cheerful voice. Indeed, while I was young, I was an extremely powerful Satan-Class devil, a genius on his own who invented an entirely new magical system and build bases for the Arcanotech. While the Arcanotech was mainly Architect''s achievement, a lot of inventions of the Solar Federation that were being converted to the Arcanotech Mode, were my invention in my past life in the Immaterius Universe. "I am humbled Lord Zaorama. I had also heard about your great achievements in the research of Demonic Energy, Clan Traits, and your recent fascinating research into the flora of the Underworld and usage of rare plants in Alchemy that could strengthen Demonic Energy Reserves." I said as we shook hands. Zaorama Nebiros was one of the best experts on devil physiology. "Lord Zaorama I have heard that you can be considered as one of the foremost experts on the devil physiology, right? I have a little project that would need the help of someone like you, of course in absolute confidentiality." I said while seeing the glee in his eyes. "Of course, House Nebiros is always to service to a Lucifer." He gave a bow, as a sign of allegiance. I needed to recruit House Nebiros to work on the Trans-Devil Gene-Seed Project. It needs to be adjusted greatly so it would be compatible with most subjects, as the current state was terrible. Trans-Devil Gene-Seed Project was heavily custom-styled currently, and that wasn''t good. With Zaorama''s knowledge and genius, he would be able to adjust the Trans-Devil Gene-Seed Project so it could be used on the wider populace. That one was necessary for the creation of the Custodes and the evolution of devils as a whole. Of course, I won''t include him from the start, but I will observe and test him if he is worthy to join my little inner circle of most trusted servants and subordinates. "Good, I will visit you at your laboratory at the later day, have a pleasant night Lord Zaorama." I said to him, as I went to talk with the next person who was already looking at me with a grin. "Great King, Great King... it has a nice ring to, don''t you think so, old man?" I said to Great King Zekram, as I called him old man, we were essentially family and it was no secret that he favored Venelana too much, and despised her brother who would be future Lord Bael. Poor kid was scared like shit when he saw me or Zekram. "Indeed it has, but I am sure, you won''t stay with that, right?" He asked with a grin, not awaiting any kind of answer. "I will leave that for your imagination. How do you enjoy the reception? See you over there? Crom Cruach is getting really, really annoyed by Tiamat who is trying to sneak out and search for treasures." "One would have thought, man would become more tamed after being in some kind of romantic relationships, but those two dragons are showing the exact opposite. She even proposed to me, If I helped her to find treasure, I could get 10% of it." Zekram was pretty amused saying that, while I was nervous. If Crom Cruach didn''t control her, she would rob my treasury clean and getting it back from the greedy dragon as she would be a pain in the ?ss. "Hopefully my treasures would be left where I have put them. Lately, a lot of unrest is in the air, especially with the unfortunate death of several clansmen of three Satan Houses." I faked my sadness. "Indeed, we can only hope no more mysterious murders will appear, or the devils would lose many good and competent nobles." Exclaimed Zekram with sarcasm, as I read between lines. ''Hmm... so the conflict between Baels and the other three have also escalated, so I wasn''t the only one who started cleaning our backyard.'' I thought in my head. It was no secret in the Underworld, that Zekram Bael was long vying for the position of Satan. While he was loyal to Lucifer, the same thing cannot be said about other tree Houses, especially about their incompetent descendants. And most of them were in this room right now. Chapter 131 - Wedding (4) After finishing the talk with Great King Zekram, I went to meddle with other guests. Venelana and Grayfia were the centers of attention from many Ladies of various houses, as they talked and often giggled about some things. Of course, their womanly talks while often meaningless sometimes could lead to gathering important information or even securing good alliances and business deals. Some Ladies there, were also Head of the House, and while some not beating the Head of the House, had a huge influence on their husbands and their decision-making. Now that we have married, I have officially named Grayfia a Castellan of the Great King Gremory and Venelana would be officially managing all of my business ventures across the Draconic Deus. They were doing these jobs till now, but rather unofficially. From now on, all of the decision-making would be in their hands, and I will only decide the most important things. I don''t have time to decide every idiotic thing that comes by with ruling. "So what is the response of Celtic, Crom?" I asked Crom Cruach, who was sitting on the chair, with sleepy leaning over his shoulder, she finally tired out, so now she was very easy to handle, as she won''t go searching for treasures. "They said yes, we would be launching an offensive against the forces of Church when the war starts, coordinating with everyone. Our target is all believers and priests across Ireland and England. Morrigan has decided to release a plague that will hit only believers of Yahweh and then Gods of Celts will come and take their country back." Indeed, the Celtic Pantheon was one of the hardest hit after Yahweh started spreading their faith. While they didn''t face extinction, like some Slavic Pantheon that were massacred by Yahweh and his Legions of Angels, Celts were all Battle-Gods, but the cutting of supply of faith hit them hard, so they all retreated to the Erin. With all my preparations then, during the Cannon happened as I remember, Heaven and Church would be just shallow of its former self. If all my plans come perfectly, the Chruch would be confined only to some parts of Continental Europe and Africa. No England under their influence and no America under their influence. In turn, I planned to make the future USA my own dominion, which would be worshipping devils. I could construct some Arcanotech Device that would be harvesting Faith Energy, to create Divine Crystals. Satanistic Cults were trendy even right now, and there were countless humans that worshipped devils, some of them were even useful, and later those with special talents could be reincarnated into Devils. "That is splendid to hear, my friend. Will you join the offensive?" I asked curiously. "Yeh... I, Dagda, Lugh, and Morrigan will lead the charge. My target is Archangel Tamiel who is one of three Archangels stationed in England." Heaven had a lot of Archangels, but they were mostly weak, and in the Underworld, they could be easily killed by Satan-Class devils. That was due to the fact, they were so-called Artificial Archangels, meaning they didn''t reach that Class on their own, but rather were elevated by Yahweh to it. Yahweh could do something like that rather easily, but the side effect was that Artificial Archangels were far weaker in terms of combat prowess than geniue Archangels, like Azazel, Azrael, Michael, Gabriel, or Uriel. In the Underworld, all Angels are much weaker due to the environment, while all devils got a small boost in power due to the environment, while Fallen Angels were somewhere in between. While they didn''t get weaker, they also didn''t get stronger. "Good, very good. Kill them all. Also, would you please sell me corpses of all Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Angels, Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Angels, and Tamiel''s corpse?" I asked as I wanted to get my hands on them, they would greatly accelerate the evolution of Dou Dou, so she can reach Thorny Flower Demoness that could reach Emperor Level. "I don''t really care about that, but I will ask Dagda. Even though most of those Angels are Artificially powered up, they still had some Divine Energy from extraction." He answered me. As Yahweh was Mighty Stage God with an enormous flow of Divine Crystals, he could easily elevate even 2-Winged Low-Class Angels with Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Angels. Thought they would never be able to advance to a higher level and would have low combat prowess for an Ultimate-Class. "I am rich, I can pay." After that, we have talked a bit, before I departed for Vena and Fia, as we would be leaving this part, as all three of us were tired as hell. I wonder what two of them found out. "So what information have my two beautiful wifes found out?" I asked them, as we walked to our chambers. "Yes, we found." Said Fia. "But that would be topic for later." This time Vena answered with a seductive smirk. "Oh... I like where is things going... we will have a lot of fun tonight." I said as I pulled them into my embrace and locked the door behind us. Chapter 132 - Finally 1 Year and 5 Months Later One Year and five months passed from my wedding with Vena and Fia. We have started living together, as Vena and Fia and both of them moved to Castle Fuerig. Both of them have reached Satan-Class after I invested a lot of resources for them. I managed to obtain two High-Grade Demonic Energy Crystals and devised a ritual to help them reach Satan-Class. Vena and Fia have both started training with Hela to improve their close combat skills. I have practiced the Fate Algorithm and mastered Volume 1 of it. I can now use one prediction per year, and percentage probability has gotten more precise, which of good. Aside from that, I spent a lot of time studying magic, upgrading Arcanotech, training with Hela, or having a threesome with Vena and Fia, one of the most pleasurable things in my life. Right now it was morning, laying in my bed, half-naked with Vena and Fia in a similar state. Suddenly as I was enjoying the nice morning, I heard somebody was running in the halls. My reflexes were superior, so it wasn''t a problem. The sounds were nearing until my doors opened, and I saw General Zagan who entered my room. I knew the stern man who followed protocols above everything. He would never enter Lord''s room without knocking, only when... "My Lord, one hour ago, Satan Asmodeus has attacked Sistine Chapel, during the Conclave of Church. He killed Supreme Pontiff and the majority of Cardinals before he was fended off. In retaliation, Heaven has sent down Angel Legions and killed every devil and majority of devil worshippers on Earth. Forces of the Grigori are attacking some weaker Noble Houses as we speak." "So it begins." I said quietly, as General Zagan nodded his head. We were at the war. "Vena, Fia I know you are awake, we need to mobilize and enter a war state. Grayfia immediately shut down all teleportation circles outside our territory and use, only the major ones with more protection. Send orders to all City Governors, to switch on Wards and Protective Spell Formation Barriers. Vena, send orders to all our ventures to focus only on manufacturing war supplies and weapons, create reserves, and send emergency packets to all cities and towns." I said in hurry. "General Zagan, call a meeting with all Generals and Marshall Hela. Activate all Magic Towers around the demilitarized zone with Fallen Angels of Grigori, they would strike soon. Mobilize all of our soldiers and declare martial law and state of war, of the highest level." General Zagan then bowed and left the room while I sat down on the bed, as I felt Vena and Fia hugging me from behind, as their br??sts pressed on my back. "War has started at least ten years early. They won''t be prepared." Venelana said to cheer me up. "Neither are we, at least for some exceptions, but the majority of Noble Houses are in a state of absolute chaos, only recently, Zeo has gotten a grasp on them, and preparations for war take years, not one." Countered Grayfia, and she was right. Neither side was prepared. But contrary to Heaven, Devils and Grigori were absolutely disorganized. I doubt we will have even some kind of unified military command, as Four Satans are unavailable, due to seal with Trihexa, so all devils would be divided into several factions that would be acting separately. Probably Houses of Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Leviathan, Lucifer, and Bael. All other devils would fall under the leadership of these five. "Fortunately Yahweh won''t enter the battle, as he would be pre-occupied with Trihexa, that fight would go on for years. Only shame it won''t kill those four idiots." I grumbled. "Grayfia, Venelana, even though I am not fond of this idea, both of you will soon need to head out to the battlefield and fight for the Underworld. I will ?ssign you to command one of my Legions." I said, while I was not a fan of sending my wives frontline, both of them were very strong Satan-Class Devils so it was best for them to be on the battlefield. Just their presence could boost up morale by a good amount, and not talking about their combat prowess, which could take head on two or three Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Angels, with ease. Both of my wives were warriors, survivors, and winners. They were not like the majority of the Noble Ladies who did nothing and just participated in the tea parties. "Don''t worry Zeo... we will be okey." Said Vena as she rubbed her head against my back. "She is right, additionally Underworld doesn''t have as many Satan-Class devils as Heaven has Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Angels, not mentioning Heaven has several geniue Twelve-Winged Archangels and many Artificial ones. Even without Yahweh, they still have an edge over us, fortunately, their numbers are not that high, as many are Falling to become Fallen Angels." Stated Grayfia as she leaned over and kissed me passionately. "I know, that where Arcanotech comes in. With my Arcanotech inventions, almost every Noble House has at least basic defensive and offensive Arcanotech and some of them even have Voidships and Mechanical Legions." I have done everything I could do to raise the collective strength of all Noble Houses, be it selling them Arcanotech at a good price or creating and spreading an entirely new Magic System, the Tier Magic System. Still, the forces of Yahweh are overwhelming even without him personally joining the battle. After that, all three of us wore our clothing, and I went to Military HQ to meet Hela and all Generals, so we could devise a strategy. Chapter 133 - Military Plans (1) After arriving at the Military HQ and seeing Hela, I sensed something very different about her, in her aura to be precise. "You have reached it?" I exclaimed shocked. "Yes, just two days ago I have finally finished digesting Divine Authority from Divine Spark of Ereshkigal." Said Hela happily, as she hugged me out of a sudden. Our relationship changed from the formal one, to more friendly. Hela also tuned down a lot and started getting calmer, not consumed by her emotions. "That is fantastic. Here take this." I said while I gave her 50 High-Grade Divine Crystals so she can increase her Divine Power or use them whatever she wants. To a Greater God, usually, the High-Grade Divine Crystals won''t have much effect, but she was newly advanced so she can use them to increase her Divine Power by at least 500 Units, which is a pretty nice increase. She looked surprised seeing me giving her more High-Grade Divine Crystals, as she was aware that I had a limited amount of them, and most of them were used either on Vena, Grayfia, or her, while a large part was used on the army. I was left with only x100 High-Grade Divine Crystals, that would be used to increase my physique to limit of Satan-Class in the large-scale ritual I planned to conduct. I was still researching the ritual, as it was very complicated to devise. Strengthening rituals were very hard, and my knowledge of mysticism was still limited, so I predicted I would finish the ritual in a year. "Thanks." She said quietly, as I went to her and lift her chin to look at her eyes. During my relationship with Vena and Fia, I have learned a lot about the man and woman relationships and noticed that Hela had feelings for me, but she was shy, prideful, and even more inexperienced in these things than me. I slowly approached her, as I kissed her gently on her lips, she was shocked at first, not sure about what to do, but soon she returned my kiss with equal passion, as my hands trailed down through her curves and her body, as I enjoyed every second of it. After we have separated I could feel her hot breath as we looked at each other''s eyes. "We can continue later... now our duties are calling." I said, as Hela nodded and we entered the Central Command, which was filled with projections of the Underworld, and officers were running here and there. There were around forty people in the Central Command, most of them were Generals of my Legions, then Hela as the supreme commander of my military and there were also, some Heads of Vassals from the 72 Pillars. "Now that everyone is here, start with the reports on the situation." I commanded as I sat down on the throne that was prepared for me. "My Lord, we have received a message that your Lordships can advance as one of the major devil armies of the Underworld. Others being the Six Houses of Lucifer, Asmodeus, Leviathan, Beelzebub, and Bael. With you, there would be six major armies. You have been given control over 31 Pillars of the 72 Pillars, by the order of Great Satan Lucifer." Stated General Amyke. I was expecting something like this, though I was surprised seeing House of Bael command one of the major armies. Probably Original Lucifer trusted only me and Zekram with control over the 72 Pillars, while the rest of the Satan Houses don''t want to meddle with devils they consider lesser. "Very good, what next? Are there any movements from the Grigori or Angels?" I asked. "Legions of the Fallen Angels have started advancing, but they are slow and add to that, they have a lot of internal disputes between powerful Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Angels, especially there is a lot of tension between Azazel and several Cadres such as Satanael and Kokabiel. Also, we have heard that Archangel of Death, Azrael the Fallen, won''t be participating in the war, but instead, he delved deeper into the Underworld with his Death Guard." Expaliend General Ragnar. Fact that the Archangel of Death Azrael won''t be participating in the war, is one of the best pieces of news I have heard today. He was the most powerful Archangel, that ever existed, if not for Yahweh being alive, he would reach Throne Archangel Level, which was the same as the Apocalypse-Class, but just for Angels. Still, Yahweh put a lot of limitations on the Angels he created, not allowing them to get stronger than he was, most they could reach was only Twelve-Winged Archangel-Class. There were many occurrences in history where Angels betrayed their gods in the Astral Boundary, be it intentional or unintentional, but Yahweh didn''t take any chances. "That is good, Azrael is too powerful, even more than pinnacle Greater God, but I wonder why did he disappear. Under his leadership, Grigori could have a real chance to win this war, but now... they are just an annoyance." Grigori had only several Archangels, and all of them were very strong, and most importantly were geniue one, not artificially elevated to that level. Azazel was the Governor-General of the Grigori, then Azrael, the Archangel of Death, and finally Ariel. Among those three, Ariel was the weakest one, while Azrael was the strongest one. Azazel was somewhere in the middle, but he wasn''t much fighter, as he was rather a scientist, who was basically forced to be General-Governor of the Grigori, due to being one of the first Angels to Fall. Without Azrael, Grigori wasn''t that much of a threat in terms of powerhouses, but that could easily change if some strong Angels fall during the war. "You mentioned internal conflict... what is that about?" If there are tensions between sub-factions of Grigori, it would be a shame to not use them. Chapter 134 - New Tier on the Patre-on As you have noticed a new tear has been created. This time with a different ratio, as I have created my first two-tier to pay some amount and get more than double of that amount in chapters ahead. This time, it is Chaos God Tier 25 Dollars for 30 chapters. Previous tiers were more in the spirit of the fair transaction and benefits, this one is more in the spirit of supporting my work it leans more in the aspect of donation. Of course, the benefits of other tiers remain unchanged and untouched. I thank all patrons of all tiers, as your pledges often motivate me to write more when I feel lazy, especially those of the Emperor Tier, and I believe future patrons of the Chaos God Tier. I read every comment and look at every like, and it means much to me... thank you for your support and I look forwards to future cooperation? :D Chapter 135 - Might of the Arcanotech, Familar and one Devil (1) During past days, I have been preparing for the upcoming confrontation with Satanael''s Army of Fallen Angels. My work was going through the major cities and upgrading the protection spells, securing teleportation arrays, and many other things, that could be done only by a very skilled magician such as me. Now entire Gremory Territory has entered war mode, and Martial Law came into force. All cities are under the protection of Wards and Barriers, nonstop, due to possible sneak attacks or ambushes. Small villages were all evacuated and cities were enlarged, to accommodate the growing population. Magical Towers have set their output on maximum, and are scanning their surroundings every half an hour. Grayfia has been handling the administrative works for the past few days and has been working non-stop without a pause. Thanks to her, we were able to evacuate all civilians from small villages that can''t be protected from strategic reasons to bigger cities. She personally oversaw construction works on the cities and accommodation of around 30 million devils, Aesir and Vanir. I need to buy her something nice for her work, as I am very grateful for her help. On the other side, Venelana has quickly converted all of the factories and manufactures to produce military supplies, weapons, and armors, as they were the most d?s?r?d commodity in the Underworld right now. And right now, I was leading 10 million Arcane Mechanical Automatons, Hydralisks to the battle. Together with me were three Ultimate-Class Generals and Isla who was sleeping beside me, as I was sitting in the command center of the enormous Emperor-Class Battleship. I also took with me half of my Voidfleet. 75 Lunar-Class Cruisers, 20 Avenger-Class Grand Cruisers, and 2 Destroyer-Class Battle Cruisers. Soon enough, my Fleet has arrived at the place, where Hela decided it would be best to clash with Satanael''s Army. After all, Hydralisks embarged out the entire Fleet has entered the stealth mode and hidden from sight. They would be the second wave of the long-ranged attack on the incoming Satanael''s Army. Drones were working fast and soon enough everything was ready, now the only thing that remained was to wait for Satanael to come. I cast concealment spells on myself and Isla, only leaving three Generals not hidden, so Satanael would see them as an easy target and would choose to attack the Mechanical Legion. Most Fallen Angels were even more true to their sins than Devils. The reason was simple, while Devils had some sin they had dominance, Fallen Angels fell due to something and became Fallen Angels. Usually, these traits were even stronger in Fallen Angels than in devils. And truth to be told, most Fallen were plainly stupid or didn''t care about anything at all. Rather a similar trait to the Devils. And exactly after two hours, the sky went black as millions of Fallen Angels clouded the sky. I stayed hidden in the as I watched the leading Fallen Angel approach. He was a tall man dressed in the usual fallen angel battlesuit as others, described as having brown hair, silver eyes, and masculine facial features. "Wait when they are in the right distance." I ordered. "All Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries start firing." "Voidfleet Fire!" And now the second salvo, from the Voidfleet. Voidships had more firepower compared to the Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries, as even the weakest model of the Voidship has firepower comparable to the Ultimate-Class. Not to mention stronger models, that had the firepower of Satan-Class, and Emperor-Class Battleship had the firepower of Super-Devil Class. It was really wonderful spectacle. Just one shot from the main canon of the Emperor-Class Battleship has killed more than ten thousand Fallen Angels alone. "Keep firing till they are in distance. Then stop artillery and let Mechanical Legion engage them in close combat." I ordered as I spread my wings and flew high in the air while casting the Ultra-Order Spell Dimensional Judgement, which had the destructiveness that of Super Devil already due to its special nature. As the artillery was firing be it from the Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries or Voidships, tens of thousands of Fallen Angels have been killed in a matter of minutes. I released Ultra-Order Spell Dimensional Judgement which tore through space and alone killed thousands of Fallen Angels alone. Ultra-Order Tier magic was really terrifying, and I cannot wait how the Forbidden-Tier would be. After quick you detection spells after I saw Fallen starting engaging the Mechanical Legion, around 4 million Fallen Angels were killed due to intense firepower of the Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries and Voidships. This was an enormously high number being killed just with Arcanotech Artillery alone. "Lucifeeeeer!!!" "Isla do your job." I whispered as I petted my Wampus Cat over her head, as she lunged at the nearest Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Fallen Angel and tore away his arm in one swift move. Then she used her hypnosis magic and bewitched other Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Fallen Angel to attack his comrades, creating absolute chaos on the battlefield. "Hello, pigeon." I said, as I crated protective barrier around me with Protego Spell, which was basically instant barrier spell of all Tiers.. Satanael''s attack just scratched my shield, as I summoned my scythe Rosenkreutz and cast several Dark Light Spear that started bombarding Satanael with thunderous speed. Chapter 136 - Might of the Arcanotech, Familar and one Devil (2) While I was fighting with Satanael, my Mechanical Legions were tearing the Fallen Angels apart. It was a bloodbath. While the Fallen Angels, may be strong, they were nothing in front of my Mechanical Legion. Hydralisks with their agile shape and multiple arms, terrifying physique, and basic energy resistance, were killing one Fallen Angel, after another. Though not without a sacrifice. Basically, one Hydralisk would be destroyed for every ten Fallen Angels killed. But that was not a real problem, as Mechanical Legion could be easily and quickly rebuilt. My recyclation capability has reached 100%, so from destroyed Mechs, I could get the same amount. Meanwhile, Isla was running around the entire battlefield, as she already killed two Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Fallen Angels. She was a predator and Wampus Cats were natural-born hunters, that enjoyed toying with their prey and killing them slowly. It was really magnificent sight. I dodged every attack, Satanael threw at me with ease as I enjoyed his screams of rage seeing his army getting massacred, one after another, cold corpses fell and blood flew in rivers. I cast another wave of spells that crashed on the Satanael, causing him to suffer serious injuries with each passing minute of our fight. "What is it black pigeon? Are you already out of breath or out of strength? Or maybe both?" I mocked him, to anger him even more. Satanael was a prominent member of the Grigori and strong Fallen Angel of Cadre-Class. And as he dared to intrude upon my territory, it will become his grave today, as I never leave my prey alive. As predicted my insults, proved to be fruitful, and Satanael attacked me once, more. This time I just defended as I was casting a protective ward around us. I don''t doubt that when the situation turns dire for him, he will turn and try to run to save his life, something that cannot happen. Suddenly, a translucent shield barrier enveloped two of us, as Satanael looked surprised, until his surprise turned into horror, as he realized that I don''t want to leave him any options to escape. As the barrier was created, suddenly several beams of energy flew into it and kept flowing from Arcanotech Towers. They were supplying the barrier with power, so it won''t be broken down by our clash and Satanael cannot use brute force to destroy it. "You know, I don''t like leaving loose ends behind, not to mention powerful and vengeful loose ends... you understand me for sure, right?" I asked the rhetorical questions, as I conjured tens of Tactical-Tier Spells such as Dragon Lightning, Thunder Death Burst, or Magic Lance and bombarded Satanael with an almost seemingly endless barrage of the Tactical-Tier Spell. I know, I cannot injure him severely with Tactical-Tier Spells, but their purpose was to drain his magical power reserves. It was clear he was no magician, or even experienced in magic, so his Magical Power regeneration and reserves should be low. ''Hmm, time to test a new spell.'' I thought in my head, as I was casting a Gravity Fall Spell, at the Ultra-Order Tier. Gravity Fall was a spell, that adjusted gravitational force in a certain area. It was good for training physique or tempering your body. In a fight, great gravitational force, could not only immobilize your opponent but even crush him smiterness. Suddenly, a magic circle appeared above and below Satanael, as x100 gravity pull started crushing at him, causing him to stop protecting himself with a magic shield, as he was pushed down, and had a hard time getting up. His physique must be also at the Cadre-Class, as he could move even under such high gravity. As he stopped protecting himself, all spells were falling on him, causing him one injury after another, until he was completely bloodied and on the verge of death. I flew out to him and watched him growl and wriggle in pain, not to mention as I was pretty enjoying this sight. For me, from the moment somebody became my enemy, then every way to deal with him is acceptable, no matter how barbarous or brutal it was. "Did you know that Fallen Angels and Angels are the best nutrients for me? Due to my Lucifer Heritage, I can absorb your powers with Devour more easily and the strengthening effect is best. Especially from the stronger ones such as yourself. So, I must thank you, your sacrifice has brought me closer to the Super-Devil Class." I said to him, while I coated my right hand with Demonic Energy and pierced through Satanael''s ?h?st to his heart, and sued Devour Clan Trait to its maximum ability. I watched in delight as a huge amount of power flew into me, ?ssimilating, and expanding my energy reserves by a nice deal. Additionally, I absorbed his vital energy, which strengthened my body, as Satanael started withering, and looked like a mummy. Then I retracted my hand, and dispersed the barrier, and let his withered body fall onto the ground, from the height of several kilometers, instantly shattering after the fall into several pieces. [Demonic Energy Reserves expanded by 26 Units. Each aspect of the Physique is strengthened by 5 Units.] I heard Architect''s voice in my head, as my Demonic Energy Reserves has reached 800 Units. My combat prowess was already terrifying as it is now, but after reaching 800 Units, I was even stronger. Still reaching Super-Devil Class would be very hard, as I need Devour someone on that level. And I had a target, Albion and Ddraig, or more to be precise their Dragon Cores.. After we kill them as Three Factions, I will either take them as my loot or just steal them. Chapter 137 - Aftermath of First Battle After Satanael''s death, the remaining Fallen Angels tried to escape but it was futile, they were chased by Hydralisks and in the end, were all killed. One of the first battles of the Great War has ended in the overwhelming victory of Devils. From 10 million Hydralisks, around 8,5 million were remaining while 1,5 million has been destroyed during the battle. Not that I cared about that, as they could be recycled and repaired and just within a week or two, I would be at full numbers. To clean up the battlefield, I have ordered my Drones to harvest armors and weapons, of Fallen Angels. These weapons and armors would be melted down, and new ones would be created out of it. After the process was done, as Drones stripped clean 20 million Fallen Angels and even cleaned remains of Hydralisks within four hours, I summoned my Familiar Rose. She immediately knew what was going on. I brought her to eat, at least in her own opinion. She immediately summoned tens of thousands of Thorny Flowers that started collecting corpses of the Fallen Angels and bringing them back to the pocket dimension that belonged to Rose, where her real body was located. Currently, the Thorny Flower Army had just a pinnacle Minion Level standard, which was the peak of the Low-Class. After digesting all these 20 million corpses of Fallen Angels, I predict that all 100,000 Thorny Flowers would be strengthened to the pinnacle of Warrior Level. Of course Rose herself would digest the corpses of the Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Fallen Angels, so she can increase her own power a bit. Soon enough only blood remained on the ground, as the entire battlefield was stripped clean. Isla returned to my side, as she licked my hand, and held o her paws, severed head of the Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Fallen Angel. "Good girl, who is the best Wampus Cat in the existence? Of course you!" I scratched her behind her ears just like she liked it as I enjoyed her purring sounds. All the three Generals that I have brought with me, killed one Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Fallen Angel. We have returned to the Emperor-Class Battleship, as everything was already cleaned up and loaded up in the ships, and flew back to the Fuerig, to celebrate the first victory. *** 1 Year Later After I have returned, no one attacked the Gremory Territory during this one year. Truth be told, after the initial first waves of attack, there were only small skirmishes. Houses of Phenex, Sitri, and Astaroth worked together to fend them off while suffering enormous casualties for pushing the Fallen back. On the other side, the biggest battle was probably between Houses Asmodeus, Beelzebub, and Leviathan, which were all attacked by legions of Heaven, each led by Archangels Attacks was led by Uriel, Gabriel, and Raphael. While Angels were weaker in the Underworld, and even Archangels, got weaker here, and geniue ones like leaders of this attack, were weakened, they still could contend against Satan-Class powerhouses rather easily. All three Satan Houses, suffered countless casualties and many of their direct descendants were killed. Most notable ones being Damaidosu Zereikel Asmodeus son and heir of the Satan Asmodeus and his son, ten year old Creuserey Asmodeus. Though these two were my achievement, as I found where they were hiding during the attack, and leaked this information to Uriel, who burned all descendants of Asmodeus with Holy Flame, one of the most painful ways to die as Devil. It was payback for what has Asmodeus done in the Vatican. Satan Asmodeus would be probably enraged hearing that, but they were trapped with Yahweh, but all Four Great Satans were unavailable and Yahweh was the same. I knew that they still didn''t bait him with Trihexa, so those Four must be in the Dimensional Gap preparing their trap, and that could take years, to prepare a trap that could contain Mighty Stage God. Right now tension was high, as it was clear that soon enough new wave of the offensive would arrive. Currently, the situation has reached a weird balance. Heaven has been elevating a lot of weak angels, thus creating a lot of Artificial Angels, that was weaker than their geniue counterparts, but it gave them numbers to contend against Devils. The reason why Artificially elevated angels were weaker than those who achieved the rank on their own was simple. They had Energy Reserves, but they lacked good control over their own energy and lacked combat experiences and combat prowess. It was understandable, as what else could happen if you take Two-Winged Angel and forcefully elevate him to Six-Winged High-Class Angel. While he would have Class, he had neither control over his power, their adequate spells and attack, or even defense and nether experiences with his strength. They were good cannon fodder. But that also increases the ratio in which Angels started Falling, which in turn boosted up Grigori''s numbers. Hela also wasn''t fighting. She was my trump card. An early Greater God on my side. She will attack only in the later parts of the war, as nobody would await that I have somebody as strong as hers on my side. That would be a great shock for everyone, and on top of that, if she once makes a move and reveals her strength, then everyone would be wary and I will lose a moment of surprise. "My Lord, there is a report from the Bael Territory." I heard the servant screaming in panic. I read the report in silence after I dismissed the messenger. "So Michael personally attacked Zekram.. Now I wonder, hopefully, Zekram will be able to win." Chapter 138 - Zekram vs. Michael Bael Territory, Castle of the Bael Clan Zekram Bael stood on the walls of the Bael Castle, as tens of Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries were installed on the walls, and many Arcantech Towers were built to protect this place better. Additionally, a small Fleet of x25 voidships of Cruiser-Class and Grand Cruiser-Class were hiding in the shadows, as million of Devil Soldiers were flying in the air or standing on the ground. Mechanical Legions were standing side by side with Devils, as members of the Mechanicum were tasked with their control. Zekram was donned in pitch-back armor with crimson lines and holding a katana in his right hand. He enjoyed using a sword in combination with his Power of Destruction for a versatile combat style. As he was looking at the crimson dark skies of the Underworld, suddenly a brilliant shining light dispersed the dark clouds and millions of Angels could be seen flying from Heaven to the Underworld. "Michael... so he is leading them this time." Muttered Zekram silently as he looked at the angels in the lead. Michael has the appearance of a handsome-looking man with long blond hair and green eyes. He has twelve wings growing from his back, and unlike other Angels whose wings are white, his wings are colored gold, further symbolizing his position as the King of Angels, Leader of Seraphs, and strongest Archangel of Heaven. He wears a red robe with a gold cross on the front of his white alb. He has golden shoulder plates with a white sash and a golden halo set above his head. "Hmm... he is already in the higher ends of the Archangel-Class... his combat prowess should only be a bit weaker than Lucifer with the addition of Underworld''s effect on Angels. So... it is time to use full power." He said quietly while watching as the Legions of Angels were approaching and the sound of Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries was firing at them together with Voidships and was reaping lives of thousands with each shot. As Michael was approaching, Zekram released the last magical seal that was hiding his power and released all of his Demonic Energy in one go, as everyone could feel a surge of the enormous amount of power from the devil''s side, as commander of Angel Legions together with Michael looked there warily. Zekram condensed Power of Destruction on the tip of his sword while using enhancing spells to boost up his speed, as he flew with tremendous speed at Michael, leaving aftershocks behind him. Michael, being an experienced combatant and strong Archangel, conjured several Light Weapons and shot them at Zekram, as he held a sword in his hands. It is the shining holy sword that saves the planet. A golden blade that repels pretty much any evil, built to defeat an outside enemy that destroys the planet. It was Excalibur: Sword of Promised Victory. Sparks danced in the air, as the ground shook from the aftershocks as Zekram''s unnamed katana coated with the Power of Destruction clashed with Michael''s Excalibur coated in Holy Power. "Lord Bael, it is a surprise. You have reached Super-Devil Class." Remarked Michael with a polite smile, while Zekram nodded in agreement. "If not for you leading the offensive this time, Archangel Michael I would be able to keep my strength hidden for some time, but alas the Fate is having its own plans as it seems." Stated Zekram simultaneously creating hundreds of orbs from the Power of Destruction that all barraged Michael with their lightning speed, as Michael created a barrier from the purest Holy Power, to defend against self exploding Orbs of Power of Destruction. Though Michael''s shield cracked in the end, he was still without a wound and uninjured. Same cannot be said about their surroundings. One kilometer around them, there was not even a single soul alive, as either everyone retreated and battled somewhere else or were killed by both of them as collaterals. Zekram gripped his katana with his two hands as the Power of Destruction started flaring around the length of the sword. With each slash he made, he sent a wave of the concentrated Power of Destruction at Michael, who always defended against it, but the same cannot be said about Angels that were hit by a large-scale effect of these wave-like attacks. All of them were turned to the dust. Though it were not just Angels that were dying, but also hundreds of thousands of devils have already fallen, as their corpses were laying on the ground, together with corpses of killed Angels. Casualties on both sides were high, but Zekram''s side had an advantage in the usage of Arcanotech. Zekram and Michael once again clashed in the air, as their swords crossed, leaving them in a perfect stalemate. Zekram was aware that the situation was going in his favor. He knew he couldn''t kill Michael, as he was stronger than him, but he could stall him practically indefinitely, and that was his goal. Thanks to Arcanotech he got from his grandson-in-law, and the advantage of home field, devils were slowly but surely getting an advantage over the Angels. "Retreat!" Screamed Michael, as he saw through Zekram''s plan and didn''t let it come to fruition. He didn''t have enough numbers to push this with pure force, and the other two Archangel-Class angels, he brought with him were just former Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class angels that were elevated to Archangel-Class by their Creator not long ago, and they were being stalled by two unknown masked devils, and one of them was critically injured. While they didn''t win, they still inflicted huge casualties on Zekram''s army, and secured some foothold, as they occupied some outskirts of the Bael Territory where they already started building Holy Zones. Zekram looked at the retreating army of Angels and decided to not give a chase. He was aware that Michael was a good strategist and he partially achieved his aim but forcing Zekram to reveal his true strength and also, occupying some parts of the outskirts of the Bael Territory. "I wonder where this would go. Beelzebub, Asmodeus, and Leviathan used some methods to achieve Super-Devil Class, but their strength is absolutely unstable and could backslash at them anytime.. Alas, we have more powerhouses on that level, but for what price." Chapter 139 - Other Factions Make a Move - Pale Blood Romania, Old Yharnam Hundreds of thousands of Vampires and Kindreds were clad in crimson armor as they stood in neat rows as each of them was armed with either sword or spear. They were part of the army of Old Yharnam, Crimson Paladins. Behind them were others clad in half armor, wearing long cloaks and capes, holding staffs. They were Battle Mages of the Old Yharnam. Before them, high on the pedestal stood a man, clad in crimson armor and ferocious look in his eyes. He was Grand Duke Kindred, Valerian Tepes. One of the four Blood Lords of the Old Yharnam. "Army stand by! We March!" Shouted Valerian as he commanded and several million Vampires and Kindreds started marching on the position and strongholds of the Heaven and Church here in Romania. There were several of them, and all of them were targets for the conquest. There were even two Artificial Archangels stationed in Romania, but their combat prowess was weak, comparable only to geniue Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Angel. Having Energy Reserves and Combat Prowess were two entirely different things. Valerian led around one million Crimson Paladins and Battle Mages to the Transylvania, to a certain area where an enormous Cathedral of the Church was built, that acted as the Headquarters for Exorcists and Angels that were operating in Romania and hunted Vampires and Kindreds. "Elder Victor Corvinus, lead Battle Mages to create a Bounded Field around the entire area. Also, destroy near villages and kill all humans you find. Those around are either families of the Exorcits or devout believers." Commanded Valerian to a man near his side. It was Victor Corvinus, a Marquise Kindred, which was the same as the Satan-Class and currently he served as one of the Army Commanders in this attack. "Yes, Blood Lord Tepes." Bounded Field is a topographic type of magic that consists of knitting a network of magical energy and spreading it on base areas, such as a piece of land or a building, to create a mystic boundary line that separates the inside from the outside. By definition, it should not be possible to move them once they are set. Usually, it was used for protection or during battles on Earth, to not involve ordinary humans, or if you want to do something silently without anyone noticing. Just like this time. Several minutes after Elder Victor Corvinus went to attend his task, the translucent barrier was stretched up and enveloped the entire area around the Cathedral of the Transylvania ad surrounding villages. "Attack!" As they were attacking tens of thousands of Angels flew out of the Cathedrals and thousands of Exorctis were ready to combat Kindreds and Vampires on the ground. Unfortunately for them, they were completely cut out of the world thanks to the Bounded Field, and also, they were surprised. Heaven didn''t think that Pale Blood of Old Yharnam would attack so soon or that they would attack either. For late centuries they were completely isolated and never involved in things of other factions. Even though Yahweh predicted that the Pale Blood would attack, he thought that possibility of such an act is low. "Tepes." Said female Archangel, one of the two Archangels in the air. "Just two of you? Even though you are Archangel-Class, you are just weakling elevated by Yahweh. If it was Michael or Uriel, I would reconsider my strategy, but you two don''t have that right." Grinned Valerian, as he prepared his sword, and suddenly teleported out and appeared right behind the Male Archangel, and with one swift enhanced kick, he sent him flying, crashing into the Cathedral, creating a huge cloud of smoke. With his free hand, he grabbed the Female Archangel, by her neck, as he pierced her heart with his sword. "Just like I thought... what were you before, probably just Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Angels... trash." Said Valerian as he bit the neck of the female Archangel and su?k?d her dry blood. While to ordinary Vampires and Kindreds it may be deadly to drink blood with so much Holy Power in it, there were many methods among the Kindreds to refine that blood. Usually, only those with strength and high social standing knew such methods. Valerian was cautious and didn''t enter the Cathedral, but rather he started casting spells to destroy the entire place, as the sky darkened and flaming meteors smashed down on the Cathedral. He knew that places like these, usually had many wards and spell formation there, so he chose to rather destroy it and hopefully kill the Archangel in it. As the Angels watched one of their leaders getting killed and their Cathedral being destroyed, Kindreds watched in delight, as their morale was boosted and their attacks were even more ferocious and brutal than before. "Burn them, kill them, destroy them! Don''t leave a single one of them alive, kill every believer of Church, kill their families, kill their children, kill them all! Let entire Romania be shrouded in the eternal darkness." Shouted Valerian as he looked at the battlefield with satisfaction and mad glee in his eyes. Chapter 140 - Other Factions Make a Move - Others Siberia, at the same time "Chieftain, we got their track." Reported masked man, to a silver-haired old man, who was leaning over on the cane. "Also, pack leader Garou is currently engaging one of the Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Fallen Angels that are near the research station of Grigori. The fight would be soon over, as the Cadre has been severely injured by the Leader Garou." Reported another masked man. "Send in all packs, secure all research materials crows had there, and kill everyone there. Pack it up and we will sell it to young Lucifer for a hefty price." Remarked the old man, who was Chieftain of all werewolf tribes on the Draconic Deus. "Yes, Chieftain. I will relay the message over to the Pack Leaders immediately." It was well known that the young Zeoticus Gremory von Lucifer was an avid researcher of everything magical, and would pay hefty sums for magic tomes and grimoires. So research of Grigori on whatever they were researching over there would sell very well. *** Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster, London. Built several centuries ago, and since the coronation of William, the Conqueror in 1066, all coronations of English and British monarchs have occurred in Westminster Abbey. Today, long gone was a majestic gothic temple, as just piling rubbles were left of it and smoke rising to the sky, as Knights of Erin and D¨²n Sc¨¢ith were running around and killing priests of Church and fanatical believers. Suddenly an enormous ''boom'' sound was heard as the earth shook, and several buildings were destroyed as a huge silhouette landed on the ground. "You stupid dragon?! Are you trying to kill everything here! Many of these people could still be converted to our faith!" Screamed angry female voice. She had short black hair and wore something that looked like battle armor and held a staff in her right hand, as a Divine Power was radiating from her. "Shut up Morrigan, go and annoy somebody else. I just killed another pigeon and this one was strong a geniue Archangel... what was his name? Tamel... no Tamiel, yes Tamiel. Even though he was Archangel, he wasn''t that strong in front of this dragon. Although he tasted bad. Where are Dagda and Lugh?" Morrigan, Goddes of Death and Dead of the Celtic Pantheon just shook her head in defeat, as she was irritated with the behavior of her ally. Still, Crom Cruach was the new Heavenly Dragon-Class dragon, and he himself chose to help. He was the third Heavenly Dragon in the Draconic Deus, though he was far weaker than Albion and Ddraig, he was still in that Class. Albion and Ddraig were Heavenly Dragons for a long time and were already a peak of the Class, but they still cannot breach the final barrier separating them from reaching Elder Dragon Class, which was Class what Ophis or Great Red were. "Lugh and Dagda went to fight with other two Archangels, but those two pigeons retreated with their army from England. Apparently command from Michael. Not only that, but similar things are happening all around the world. It is possible that Yahweh has been trapped with Trihexa. Alas, we have achieved our goal and rest is not our matter, provoking Heaven further, may not be good, who knows what has Yahweh prepared in case of emergency." Stated Morrigan as she dissolved into tens of black crows and flew away. *** Greece, Olympus "Your Majesty as you have commanded all attacks have been successful. Heaven is already retreating and their Angel Legions are either going back to Heaven or to Underworld. Celtic Pantheon has pushed Church out of Britain, Shinto from Japan, and Greece. Kindred has turned Romania into lands of darkness and Werewolf Tribes are rampaging across Siberia and attacking Grigori strongholds." Reported soldier in a spartan armor as he knelt down before a throne, where a middle-aged man with a mustache, who wore a crown and toga sat majestically. "Inform Ares to stand by in case they try to retaliate." Ordered the King of the Olympus, the Skyfather, Zeus. *** Underworld, Gremory Territory, Castle Fuerig "So, Heaven retreated all of their forces from Earth back to the Heaven and Underworld, and only left Vatican Army intact?" I asked Fia who came to report me good news. "Yes, do you think..." Asked Grayfia with a bit of uncertainty, as I knew what she was implying. "It seems the Four have already awoken Trihexa and trapped Yahweh there. Who knows how long it will take before he will sea the Trihexa and return back to the Draconic Deus, hopefully, it will be years. Additionally, for sure he won''t leave it in a good shape." I stated my personal opinion on the matter. "What if Trihexa breaks free from him?" Indeed a valid question and really problematic one. "Hopefully not. Even if combat isn''t Yahweh''s main forte, he is a master magician, Mighty Stage God, and master craftsman, not to mention that Trihexa is an Apocalypse-Class Monster that has lost its mind to Law of Chaos, it doesn''t have even a basic level of intelligence, so hopefully, he will be able to seal it, if not... then only we can hope that Jade Emperor, Shiva or Great Red would intervene." I said. I knew that in case of emergency Okhwang will make a move, he can''t afford to leave me to die if he wants his clone to return safely to him. "If I am not wrong, Satans would be unavailable for some time, before they return, and now Heaven would strike even harder than before. Send a message to all allied Houses and our allies, that they need to be ready to fight at any time." I said to Fia as I gave her one kiss on the forehead to ease her worries as I hugged her, and she hugged me. "Don''t worry, we will be victorious." Chapter 141 - Releasing the Apocalypse Sometime before the attacks on Church, Dimensional Gap - Unknown Pocket Dimension "Are you sure we are in the right place Lucifer?" Asked a haughty female voice, that belonged to a tall bespectacled woman with a voluptuous figure. She had tan skin with long brown hair and purple eyes. "Yes, it is Leviathan and now shut the fu?k up and let me concentrate. We need to find the seals that are connecting this Pocket Dimension to Zebel." Said Lucifer as he, Leviathan, and the other two men started to get to work. One of those men was a middle-aged man with place skill and pointy ears with violet eyes, Satan Asmodeus. The last one was a middle-aged man with wavy brown hair that covered his right eye, Satan Beelzebub. Lucifer found this place long ago, and not surprisingly he wasn''t first. Yahweh was first and he sealed this world and created a sealed Pocket Dimension that was directly connected to the Sixth Heaven Zebel. "Lucifer, I think I have found it." Shouted Asmodeus, as the rest of them flew to his position, and Lucifer examined the seals on the barrier. "Yes, this is it. Now we need to break it. These seals are almost impossible to break be it from the outside or from the inside, and are able to resist full might of pinnacle Apocalypse-Class for several hours without any damage, but alas fortunately we have this." Said Lucifer as he took something out and it looked like a key, a rusty old key. "One of the things I have managed to steal before my fall. Key of the Apocalypse. Yahweh had an interesting plan, as he himself planned to use Trihexa for his own gains and ascension to Supreme God Stage. If he reached the pinnacle Mighty God Stage, he would release Trihexa on Earth, while it would destroy all Pantheons and majority human nations, leaving him as only and sole True God, sadly his plans would never come to fruition as they would be used against him." Exclaimed Lucifer with madness. If Lucifer was god, he would do exactly the same thing. Trihexa was strong, and while it cannot kill Gods like Shiva, it could injure them, and then only Yahweh would have to finish them. Lucifer then inserted the key into the seal, as the entire barrier cracked down. "Come, we have around ten minutes before he arrives, and we need to wake up Trihexa. Preferably we make it angry." Said Lucifer as all four hurried into the Pocket Dimension. And there it was. The Beast of Apocalypse, Emperor Beast of Apocalypse, 666, Trihexa. It had the appearance of a large beast with characteristics coming from different animals like a lion, a leopard, a bear, a dragon, etc. It has seven necks, seven heads, ten horns, as well as seven long thick tails of different shapes. It also has four stout arms and two legs that are even thicker than its arms. Its main body is that of a primate leaning forward and is covered in black fur and what appears to scale all over its body. Its size is well over several hundred meters, making it extremely large. "It is sleeping, when the barrier broke down, it will automatically wake it up in one hour, but that would be late, as Yahweh would have long ago sealed the place. Start concentrating all of your Demonic Energy in one place, creating joint the attack. We will throw it on the Trihexa and teleport out." Soon they finished channeling all of their Energy and were teleported out, to a distant point where they could watch the show and activate ward to cut of the entire Pocket Dimension and trapping Yahweh here. As they were teleported out. "ROAAAAARRRRR!" A loud beast roar echoed this area of the Dimensional Gap, as the Emperor Beast of Apocalypse woke up, and it was angry. As the Trihexa was roaring in anger, a man appeared within a Dimensional Gap and rushed to the Pocket Dimension. "Now!" Shouted Lucifer, as they activated the barrier artifact that Lucifer obtained who knows from where, and the entire Pocket Dimension was locked down. "Now we need to stabilize the warding artifact for next week and we can go.. Hopefully, Trihexa will entertain Yahweh for several years at least." Chapter 142 - Progress of Great War 3 Years Later As predicted straight after Yahweh was sealed, a bloody offensive was launched by forces of Heaven on Devils, and Grigori didn''t wait for long before they attacked both Angels and Devils. The offensive was short but hard and brutal. Almost seven hundred million devils were killed in the offensive, as Heaven was aware that Satans won''t be back, until one week or so, so they threw everything they had at us. My territory was also attacked, but fortunately, I didn''t fight them. I chose to act like a turtle and activated defense of my territory to maximum, and used Arcanotech to attack them from long range. After their army suffered huge losses to my Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries, Voidfleet, Battle Mages, and Arcanotech Towers, they retreated. And Grigori acting like cowards were attacking both factions when they saw them getting weaker from the fight. Grigori was attacking anybody that was weakened, as they were practically the weakest faction in here, due to the lack of higher-end powerhouses to lead the faction. Not surprisingly Azazel showed himself only during the first wave of offensive, and then he disappeared, probably going back to his research. Also, Grigori''s ability to lead war was weakened as I killed one of their strongest Cadres, Satanael. Though Kokabiel has been doing problems lately, he even fought with Zekram and survived a clash against Super-Devil, he was really resistant as a ???kroach. On the other side, at least influence of the Church has been completely diminished on Earth, and now they were influential in Europe minus Britannia and Ireland, where Celts took back their lands and once again started spreading their faith after killing every fanatical believer and burning down each Church in the country. Similar things happened in Greece, though Olympians didn''t kill mortals there, instead, they turned all priests and believers of Yahweh into hideous monsters, just like in the past. Greek Gods were famous for their pettiness, cruelty, and arrogance, so they really took their revenge on humans, by turning approximately 20% of the populace of Greece into monsters. Greek Gods got much stronger as this even, created many fanatical believers. Not that I cared about such minor things, but I was still curious how this Earth will look like when the technological advancements start up. Vampires and Kindreds in Romania cleared their country from the influence of Church and Heaven and now it was their playground as they hunted humans for sport, or started breeding them for their blood. It was useful for weaker ones, that cannot feed on stronger creatures. What was delightful, I got my hands-on research on Sacred Gears. It was sold to me by werewolf Grand Chieftain, after he raided one of the strongholds of the Grigori on the Earth, in Siberia. There was a lot of useful information there, especially how the Sacred Gears worked and on the System of Heaven. Apparently, Azazel wants to create artificial Sacred Gears and is also studying how to sever the connection between Sacred Gear and the System of Heaven. From studying those notes, I have managed to find a way to sever Sacred Gear from the System of Heaven, though I would attempt it only after Yahweh''s death, due to safety reasons. As I was sitting in my garden and enjoying Tea I got from Okhwang, I suddenly felt someone behind me, and by the aura, I knew it was Hela, she always had some kind of dreadful aura around her constantly. "What it is my deathly darling?" I asked as I teleported behind Hela and hugged her waist. "Nothing... just..." She muttered as she looked at the ground. Hela wasn''t bold as Vena, or confident in these things like Fia. She was a warrior who spent most of her time on the battlefield, so when it came to man and woman things, she was pretty awkward. Just like me, before I met Venelana and she taught me some basic things in a mystery called relationships. It was still sometimes awkward for Hela even after three years we have been together, after that kiss before the Military Headquarters. "You know... you have really changed during these years. When I first met you, you were always filled with so much anger and violence... now it feels like you are tamed kitty." I joked, but one precise punch to my stomach with her elbow quickly destroyed my illusion about peaceful and kind Hela. "Just try that once again, and I will show you exactly how tamed I am." Said Hela, as I could swear to see blush over her face. "And who told you to stop holding me!" She shouted with fake anger, as we both sat below the tree and I hugged her close to me. "You know... I want to meet my mother." I was honestly surprised hearing Hela mentioning someone from her family, and even meeting them at all. "Queen Frigga?" Hela nodded her head. "She never supported Odin in training me to be his conqueror from a young age, but there was nothing she could do, as Odin''s decision was final, and my powers were too great to be left as they were." She talked about old times in Asgard. "Though I doubt such thing is possible in the current situation, right?" Hela started at me with sad eyes, as I cannot bring myself to say yes. "Just wait after the war between our factions has ended, and then we will search for a way to enter Asgard unnoticed and meet with your mother. Hopefully, your father or Heimdall won''t notice anything." I said slowly. "They won''t, if they did, then Loki wouldn''t cause such mess around Asgard and Nine Realms and Earth so often." Answered Hela. "Hey, are there any chances for Surtr to pledge his allegiance to me?" I asked curiously. "Surtr? Hmm... yes, you just need to defeat him in combat." Surtr was at the Emperor Level and was strong as Hell. He would be a great ?sset to my future plans and military. Not to mention his almost endless hordes of Fire Creatures. Chapter 143 - Annoucement Hello to everyone, I am glad to announce that we have reached the goal of 40 patrons on patre-on, so I will be releasing additional 5 chapters today! Also, I have bought a premium version for Grammarly for one year, so you can await better grammar... Chapters would be released tomorrow as I need to do some editing Chapter 144 - Ceasefire and Plans (1) After getting the message, I instantly departed for the Main Battlefield, where my father-in-law was already waiting for me, together with Original Lucifer, who seemed to be injured. "Lord Grandfather, Father-in-law." I greeted both of them as we entered the building. We entered the Command Room, where several notable people were waiting, most important being Zekram Bael, Heads of Six Houses of Lucifer, and Archduke Agares. "Now that everyone is here, we have already got a message from Heaven and Grigori, and in one hour, we will meet on the neutral ground and will declare a ceasefire until the two Heavenly Dragons are dealt with. Satans Asmodeus and Beelzebub are currently unavailable, so their authority is transferred to Gerstahl." Said Lucifer, as everybody nodded in agreement. "From the Grigori Azazel and Baraquiel would represent their side, and from the Heaven, Michael and Gabriel will come. Now let''s way, and then I will be taking with me Zekram and Zeoticus." He said as we went to wait. There was nothing else to do, so I went to check up on the magical barriers around Devil camps and started enhancing them so that they wouldn''t break from aftershocks from Albion''s and Ddraig''s battle. After one hour, I met with Zekram and Lucifer, and we departed for the meeting point, dubbed as the neutral zone. In truth, it was just several tens of kilometers away from the main battlefield, on some hill, where a tent was stretched up. The first to arrive after us were Fallen Angels, namely Azael and Baraqiel. Azazel was a tall man probably in his twenties with an average build, black hair, golden bangs, and a black goatee. He also possesses twelve jet-black feathered wings that grow out from his back. While Baraquiel had the appearance of a middle-aged, gruff-looking man with black hair, a matching beard, and a muscular body, he also had a Ten-Wings. Still, I sensed that his power was already reaching the Archangel-Class, and he soon will achieve it, maybe in several years, and Grigori would gain another Archangel. Baraqiel was famous for his Holy Lightning ability, as not many Angels or Fallen Angels had something which was equivalent to the Devil''s Clan Trait. "Azazel, Baraqiel." Greeted them Lucifer. "Lucifer, Zekram... and that one behind you must be your grandson Zeoticus, right?" Asked Azazel with a carefree voice, as Baraqiel just stood behind him, not saying anything but watching our every move. Really fitting to his reputation as a rigid warrior. "Yes." Said Lucifer with gruff. "Hello Lord Azazel, it is unfortunate we meet up under these circumstances. I have read your research on the Sacred Gears and Magic Technology of Heaven and Asgard, I must admit it was most enlightening." I greeted Azazel politely, and he was really one of the few people I have genuinely admired. Aside from his inability to run Grigori properly, he was a brilliant scientist who had high achievements in Magical Technology and had done extinguish research into the topic of Sacred Gears. "I must admit, kid; It could be said the same about you, who invented your own branch of Magical Technology, Arcanotech, and created his own magic system. After this entire mess with War ends, we could exchange notes; what do you say?" Asked Azazel cheerfully, not minding everyone else. I didn''t particularly care he called me a kid, as he was several thousand years old, probably as old as Lucifer. "It would be great." I said as we started talking about Magical Technology and Magic in general, as he would often have some comments about me being married to the two hottest young female devils in the Underworld, and having a relationship with Hela, who was also famous for her beauty as was for her brutality on the battlefield. After some time, Michael and Gabriel arrived. Michael has the appearance of a handsome-looking man with long blond hair and green eyes. He has twelve wings growing from his back, and unlike other Angels whose wings are white, his wings are colored gold. On the other hand, Gabriel has the appearance of a gorgeous woman with curly blonde hair and a voluptuous figure and is known as the most beautiful woman in Heaven. He also had a 12-Wings like any other Archangel. Azazel instantly stared at Gabriel''s br??sts, to which she just innocently smiled. If he did the same thing to Hela or Grayfia, they would probably castrate him like a stray dog. Both of them were prideful, and only I was allowed to stare at them. Grayfia even once froze someone to death. For lecherous remarks about her, some branch family of lesser Nobles, I had their entire branch to be executed in the end, as I was an excellent way to establish authority. I was really possessive truth to be told. "Now that we are all here, shall we begin?" Asked Lucifer as we all sat around the round table. "Now, who agree to enter ceasefire until the Two Heavenly Dragons, Albion and Ddraig, are dealt with." Asked Azazel, as all three leaders, Michael, he, and Lucifer, lifted up their right hand in agreement. "Excellent, now to the main topic, how shall we deal with Heavenly Dragons rampaging across the battlefield." Now the real fun begins. Chapter 145 - Ceasefire and Plans (2) "We cannot fight them head-on, that is for sure, as there is nobody strong enough to subjugate them aside from Father who is currently indisposed." Said Michael, as he looked in our direction. Apparently, Heaven didn''t want to admit that Yahweh was trapped with Trihexa. Azazel already had his own thoughts about that, as actually, it wasn''t any kind of secret that Yahweh was trapped with Trihexa, as that information was known to the Pale Blood of Old Yharnam, Shinto, and Olympians. "Then our only way would be to trap them in some kind of Barrier or Spell Formation." Stated Michael. "Yes, it would, but also it would be extremely problematic. But the question is, how do we plan on trapping two Beings that are already touching Realm of Laws?" Asked Azazel shortly after. Ddraig and Albion were already touching Realm of Laws, making them extremely strong, superior to others of the same strength. That alone would make trapping them with some magical formation much harder. "I believe I may have a solution." I said as everyone turner their attention to me. "Theoretically, I can create an Arcanotech device that would suppress Magical Power in a specific area, creating an Anti-Magic Area while at the same time creating an almost impenetrable magical barrier. This barrier would be powered up by energy from the Dimensional Gap, Underworld, and Magical Power of Albion and Ddraig themselves. It would tire them out, allowing us to attack them with Dragon Slaying weapons. If Azazel helps me in the construction of that device, it could be done in one week." I proposed as everybody started considering my proposal on how to deal with Albion and Ddraig. The creation of the Anti-Magic Field, to weaken up Albion and Ddraig so that they could be killed by Dragon Slayer weaponry, was probably the best solution. "How long would it take to deplete their energy reserves completely?" "Around 4 hours, with additional Arcantech, I can make the barrier enveloping them even stronger, making it impossible for anyone below the Being of Law to breach the barrier." I said. Based on my calculation, the Anti-Magic field would consume 1 Unit per second. The maximum energy capacity for Heavenly Dragon Class or Super Devil was 15,000, meaning it would take around 4 hours and 16 minutes to consume their energy reserves completely. "Then Heaven will provide Dragon Slaying weaponry for this endeavor. In return, Heaven wasn''t souls of Albion and Ddraig." Stated Michael with a serious voice. Neither Azazel nor Lucifer showed any reaction to his words. They knew that he wanted those souls so that Yahweh would make Sacred Gears out of them. However, Lucifer didn''t care about that, as he was aware that Yahweh wouldn''t be able to make them soon, or at all. "Then I, as the deviser of this plan, want their Dragon Cores." I said after Michael. Dragon Cores of Albion and Ddraig held all of their Magical Power and Dragon Energy, by Devouring one I should entre pinnacle Satan-Class, and by devouring second, I would enter Super-Devil Class, and I would have around 6,000 Units of Demonic Energy Units. "Heaven is not opposed to that." Said Michael, as he knew that Heaven cannot horde everything without Yahweh being here. "Then Grigori shall also supply Dragon Slayer weaponry and make claim over corpses of Albion and Ddraig." Stated Azazel, as we have all come into an agreement. Lucifer and Zekram didn''t seem to care too much about gaining loot, and even if Lucifer was, I had insurance in the form of Zekram to help me. Now that Zekram achieved Super-Devil Class, ironically, Lucifer became even more paranoid about his old friend. Zekram was now the second strongest Devil in the Underworld. While the other three Satans achieved Super-Devil Class, Zekkram told me they did so by some obscure ritual, and their foundation was precarious. They cannot adequately control their demonic energy. They underwent the ritual, so they could fight Yahweh and kill him, which was plainly stupid in my own opinion, but apparently, hatred has clouded their mind and their thinking. "Now that everything has been decided, it is time to move. With each passing hour, those two lizards are causing more and more damage." Said Lucifer, as everyone nodded and then went their separate way. I remained there with Azazel cause we needed to discuss our steps to construct the Anti-Magic device. "I will construct the prototype, and then I will contact you?" "Okey, I cannot wait for what you will construct, kiddo." Said Azazel as he teleported away. The Great War was soon nearing its end. It has been three years since Yahweh was trapped with Trihexa; when he broke out, he will probably launch a final offensive, and it will be then when I will start actively participating in the war. Four Satans will fight Yahweh and perish in his hands when the offensive starts, before Yahweh succumbs to his injuries. That would be time to ?ssassinate all descendants of the Saetans and take power for me. Fortunately, the war was going pretty well for Devils, as thank my Arcanotech; devils didn''t have that high casualty, which would significantly limit the usage of the Evil Pieces. After some time thinking about the future, I too teleported away to start working on the Anti-Magic Device. Chapter 146 - Fall of the Heavenly Dragons (1) After several days of non-stop work, I was finally able to complete the perfect Anti-Magic Device; with Azazel''s help, we could probably make the best variant that could be done in such a short time. After finishing the device, I sent a notice to Lucifer so he could call a meeting of three forces and we could decide on a more concrete strategy against Two Heavenly Dragons, Albion and Ddraig. Several hours later, we have met in the same composition in the same place as before. Now that the Anti-Magic Device was complete, it was time to devise a strategy, which was mainly Zekram''s forte, as he calculated several possible scenarios to make a move against Two Heavenly Dragons. "That only leaves us a problem of breaching their scales, and nobody here among us is strong enough to destroy their scales." Stated Michael, after one hour of planning and discussion. We had planned how to trap Albion and Ddraig and kill them with Dragon Slayer weaponry, but the problem was that nobody was strong enough to penetrate through their scales without even using Dragon Slayer weaponry. So the only solution to this would be to use a blank period between switching of Anti-Magic Device and attacking them with Dragon Slayer weaponry. The aim was to destroy their scales, thus creating weak spots that could be easily penetrated with Dragon Slayer weaponry. "I can use two of my Emperor-Class Battleships. With overdriving their energy engines, the firepower of the main canons should reach a high enough level to destroy their scales if the attack is concentrated in one place. Each Emperor-Class Battleship has three main canons so that I can create three weak spots on Albion''s and Ddraig''s bodies." I said my idea, as this was probably the only possible way to deal with them in a short time. "That could work." Said Azazel after some time of consideration. "Then it is decided, shall we start right now?" I asked as everybody nodded in agreement. Practically entire main battlefield was changed into an absolute wasteland of raging flames from constant use of Dragon''s Breath, which was incredibly terrifying when used by Heavenly Dragon. When activated, the Anti-Magic Device would connect with several Arcanotech Towers; there were built by Drones during these days to create a barrier dome that would trigger the Anti-Magic element and start suppressing magical power-draining it. I threw the Anti-Magic Device high into the air as I activated the device. When it was activated, several energy beams shot out from nearby Arcanotech Towers and connected with the Anti-Magic Device. The barrier dome was being created, enveloping the entire main battlefield. The Underworld itself fueled the barrier as I used my Command Sequence to strengthen it; additionally, it drew power from the Dimensional Gap. Two Heavenly Dragons, Albion and Ddraig, as arrogant and as engaged in their fight were, noticed the barrier being formed around them too late, as they breathed their Dragon Breath on the barrier to no vail. They roared in anger as they started attacking the barrier with their full strength, but it was futile. To break such barrier, they would need to be Apocalypse-Class entities as the Underworld itself powered up the barrier, and Dimensional Gap was another great source of energy for it. Also, thanks to several strategic places, Arcanotech Towers, that were creating barriers, it was extremely stable. "Prepare the Dragon Slayer weaponry; my voidships will appear when I disperse the barrier. We don''t want those two lizards to get any ideas about our plan. Even though chances that they would work together against us is under 1%, but even that is a lot for me." Albion and Ddraig were too arrogant and would never help each other in time of need. Ironically, if they worked together, they could easily escape after the dispersion of the barrier. That would not happen; those two were would never help each other, as they viewed each other as rivals, and additionally, I was suing their innate racial flaw against them. While it was true that Devils were prideful, Gods were even more prideful, but nothing can match a dragon''s pride. They cared about their image to the utmost extreme, and would never let any kind of insult slip away, and would do everything to achieve revenge even if it meant their own life. After one hour, their strikes were getting weaker and weaker, as I watched this in entertainment. It was amusing to watch them trying to break through the barrier. They tried something; then, they would often quarrel and even fight among themselves. After another two hours, they started a fight among themselves, after Albion mocked Ddraig for his Dragon Breath and compared it to the breath of wyrm or drake, which was one of the biggest insults among dragons. Wyrms were lesser breeds of dragons, with only two back legs, as their front legs were fused with their wings. While Drakes had four legs but lacked wings, thus they were often termed as Earth Dragons or Land Dragons. To insult a Dragon as Wyrm or Drake is a death warrant, and since the moment Albion said that to Ddraig, they started fighting, which only sped up the effect of the Anti-Magic Device on them. After another one hour, I saw that their energy reserves were depleted, as they fought with only physical might, but even that was terrifying. For example, Lucifer and Zekram were Super Devils in terms of Energy Reserves, but their body was still on the level of Satan-Class, while they were physically stronger than me, not that much. But when Dragon reached higher Class, it would be Dual, both in energy reserves and physique.. That made them one of the top predators of every universe. Chapter 147 - Fall of the Heavenly Dragons (2) "Prepare your weapons, the time has passed, and we can start the attack." I said to several people gathered behind me as I told Architect to navigate two Emperor-Class Battleships so that they could fire their salvos at Albion and Ddraig. "By my calculations, we have exactly 1 minute and 17 seconds to kill both of them before their regeneration kicks up, and their magical power starts regenerating at high speed. After switching off the Anti-Magic Device, the impression effect will last only the time mentioned, and after another 5 minutes, all side-effects will be off." I said as Azazel gave me a spear that was some unnamed Dragon Slaying weapon. Everybody had a Dragon Slaying weapon, as all seven of us were waiting for the moment to attack. My two Emperor-Class Battleships were already waiting here in the stealth mode, as I was waiting for a moment to disperse the barrier and turn off the Anti-Magic Device, as I saw that Albion and Ddraig were absolutely engaged in their attempts to kill each other, I switched off the Anti-Magic Device as the barrier dispersed and ordered Architect to fire from main cannons of two Emperor-Class Battleships. As the barrier dispersed, the main cannons of Emperor-Class Battleships lit up in a split of a second. As their engines were overdriven and fired up their most powerful shot, they could muster without destroying themselves up. In an instant, Albion and Ddraig were hit each one three times, as their scales were destroyed on three points on their bodies, and both of them fell onto the ground as the earth shook and two Heavenly Dragons roared in rage that they were cowardly attacked. "Now, attack them now." I shouted as Lucifer, Zekram, Michael, Gabriel, Azazel, Baraqiel, and I flew high into the air and rushed at the two Heavenly Dragons that were trying to stand up. Seeing us coming close, they breathed some dragon''s breath, which was easy to dodge, as their attacks were not precise due to their injury. "ROOOAAAAR!!!" Roared Ddraig, as Michael pierces his throat with Dragon Slaying sword Ascalon. Then the second hit came, as Gabriel stabs one of his dragon''s hearts with Dragon Slaying Spear, which was even cursed, as I sensed several magical explosions in Ddraig''s body. It was the final strike from me, straight into his brain as I pierced his head with my Dragon Slaying Spear that ended the life of the Heavenly Dragon, Y Ddraig Goch, Red Dragon Emperor of Dominance. In truth, it was easy to kill them, as they were weakened to the extreme, then subsequently gravely injured by my two Emperor-Level Battleships, which shot them with power comparable to pinnacle Super-Devil Class and then were attacked with weapons specially created to kill dragons. But still... one of the top powerhouses of the Draconic Deus has fallen. He was more problematic to deal with, as due to his touch of Law of Supremacy gave him the power of Dividing, so he used it on his attacker to recover some of his magical power, so it took more energy and effort to kill him, but in the end, second Heavenly Dragon, Albion Gwider, White Dragon Emperor of Supremacy lay dead. As their souls started leaving their bodies, they were captured by some device in Michael''s hands, probably crafted by Yahweh. "I must say it was a bit anti-climatic." I said in a low voice as I looked at the majestic bodies of two Heavenly Dragons. "Indeed, but so is the life. It wasn''t us what killed them, but rather their arrogance." Said Azazel as he landed beside me. And in a certain sense, he was right. In truth, if not for Albion and Ddraig wreaking havoc on the main battlefield between our factions, we would never be forced to unite to kill them. Each faction gave something to the table; we devils had me in the form of Arcanotech, while Heaven and Grigori had rich weaponry of Dragon Slaying weapons. "Now, who will butcher them for me?" Asked Azazel cheerfully. "I can have my Drones do it, I need to get my Dragon Cores from them, but I want some meat. Dragon Steaks from Heavenly Dragons sounds too appealing." I answered, as hundreds of Drones were taken from Interdimensional storage and started working on the corpses of Ddraig and Albion. I noticed that Michael and Gabriel have long returned to Heaven. Indeed, Underworld wasn''t a good place for angels to be in. Zekram and Lucifer have returned to their homes as they weren''t interested in watching dragon corpses being butchered while Baraqiel has also returned to Grigori, leaving me here alone with Azazel. Zekram and Lucifer probably planned sneak attacking positions of Heaven to use the fact that Michael and Gabriel have returned to Heaven. The moment Albion and Ddraig were killed, our alliance was null. "You can drop the act Azazel. State what you came for." I said to the General-Governor of the Grigori, as his stupid expression turned serious in a second. "Sharp as they said. I want to ask for a favor." He stated thoughtfully as I looked straight at him. "Tell me." "Let Grigori leave the war without persecution, and in the future, we can talk about the integration of Grigori into your little Empire." Chapter 148 - Pinnacle Satan-Class I looked at him with a smile, not saying anything for a while. ''He is really observant one... I wonder, till now, I can say only Zekram has noticed my ambition. I doubt Satans have noticed, and if even, they are arrogant to the point of completely ignoring me.'' I thought in my head. "You plan to withdraw from the war?" I knew that Grigori was weakest among the three factions, and they had a pretty high death toll, and their population was small even after countless angels had fallen from heaven. "Situation is not progressing well for the Grigori. There are only three Archangels in there, and those two, aside from me, are not strong enough to be considered as powerhouses. Additionally, we have lost several strong Cadres, including Satanael, whom you killed. While pure angels are falling, it has slowed to a minimum, and our numbers are starting to get smaller and smaller. Only madmen like Kokabiel would wish for us to continue this war." He explained as it made sense to me. Apparently, after Azrael left Grigori to become hermit, it must hit them even harder than it seems. "I can promise that, but I can''t promise that if some of your people make some aggression towards me or mine faction." I said. I knew that most of Grigori would gladly withdraw from the war, but some warmongers like Kokabiel want to continue it no matter what. Fortunately, there were only a few people like Kokabiel in the Grigori, with the most notable being now already deceased Satanael, who perished by my hand. "Also, where exactly did Azrael disappear?" I asked something that I was curious about. "Into depths of the Underworld. Nobody knows where exactly, not even I or other leaders of Grigori don''t know where he went. One day he just took his Death Guard Legion and disappeared. If you want to find him, wait until you are at least in the middle stage of Super Devil-Class. Azrael is even stronger than Michael, and he alone could kill Ddraig or Albion with some effort, not to mention his mental state isn''t the best one... battle maniac." After some time, I got my hands on two Dragon Cores as Azazel took corpses of Albion and Ddraig with him, and I returned to the Fuerig. After returning home, I immediately went to Devour, one of the Dragon Cores, to push myself to the Pinnacle of the Satan-Class. Increasing my personal strength was of my utmost priority, as power was all that mattered in the vaster universe. Dragon Cores looked like one of the most beautiful pieces of crystals that I have ever seen in my life. I sat in my personal training room in Castle Fuerig as I stared at the Dragon Core. I used Devour on the Dragon Core and started absorbing an enormous amount of Magical Power in it, and at the same time refining it and transforming it to Demonic Energy. [Activating safety protocol. Energy Flow regulated. Activating back-up magical formations.] I heard Architect''s voice in my head as several magical formations activated around me to regulate the flow of the Dragon Core, as the energy was overwhelming. And even with my Clan Trait Devour, I was having minor troubles devouring all of that energy in the Dragon Core. I felt how my Demonic Energy reserves were slowly increasing. If Devour was at Grandmaster-Ranked Mastery, then I would have already achieved Super-Devil Class, and sadly, it was only at the Exper-ranked nearing Master Rank. After one hour, I felt that my Demonic Energy Reserves had hit the top of Satan-Class, standing at precisely 1,000 Units. I felt that it was not worth attacking the barrier between Satan-Class and Super-Devil Class, with remaining energy inside the Dragon Core, so I directed the rest of the energy and activated body strengthening formation to strengthen my physical body. I completely devoured the Dragon Core and used its energy to strengthen my physique by several times, as I felt fare better than before. I have long ago found out that the stronger the body is, it is far easier to reach higher Class in terms of energy reserves. Additionally, it speeds up Demonic Energy regeneration and lessens any side-effect of casting powerful, destructive draining spells. "Architect, scan." [Class: Satan Demonic Energy: 1,000 Strength: 621 Agility: 635 Vitality: 589 - Clan Trait: Dark Light - Master (Gate of Babylon Style, Truth-Seeking Orb Style, Chains of Heaven Style) The Devour - Expert - Magic Systems: Tier Magic - Grandmaster Devil Magic - Grandmaster Norse Runic Magic - Grandmaster Human Magic - Grandmaster Mysticism - Adept - Secret Method: Fate Algorithm - None (1/6)] I watched Architect''s analysis with a satisfied smile. With this kind of strength, I think I can fight even against weaker Greater Gods or Archangels. Artificial ones, for sure, maybe even kill them with ease; I would need to test that. Most of my magic masteries were already at the Grandmaster Rank, as I spent most of my free time studying magic and practicing; aside from hours, I have reserves for Vena, Fia, and Hela. Yeh, we had an agreement that I would have pause for at least 3 hours per day and spend them resting. Each one of my wives and Hela would spend one hour with me. It was Venelana''s idea to stop me from being such a workaholic. Due to my Truename Dizmason, my talent went from average to absolute genius; it made comprehending and using magic feel like moving my hand or leg. So natural and so easy. "Now we need to wait." Chapter 149 - Cockroach like Fallen 1 Year Later The death of Albion and Ddraig was shocking to many people and factions across the entire Draconic Deus. Both of them were the pinnacle of Heavenly Dragon Class, which was only a step away from reaching Elder Dragon Class, already touching the realm of laws. So killing them, even with usage deception and traps, was an achievement of itself. I was even famous for dealing a finishing blow to the Ddraig, eventually killing the Red Dragon Emperor of Domination. After Albion and Ddraig were killed, instantly after that, we have launched an offensive against Heaven and Grigori, causing massive damages to Heaven and even some to Grigori. However, Azazel was really true to his words, and he started slowly withdrawing his forces from the battlefields across the Underworld. As I promised, I left them alone, as long as they didn''t attack me. After one year, it was clear that the War was already nearing its end. I obtained information from Zekram that Yahweh was already close to sealing Trihexa, and their several years-long fights would end in upcoming months, meaning tensions between factions were too high and battles were more intense. I have also prepared for reaching Super-Devil Class. I have also achieved Master-ranked Mastery over my Clan Trait Devour, which was very good; now, I can Devour even more energy. Right now, I was lying in my bed together with Vena, Fia, and Hela, after several hours of intense lovemaking, until I was woken up when all magical barriers around Fuerig were activated. ''Architect, what the hell is happening?'' I asked my A.I. Companion. [Fuerig is under attack by Kokabiel. Defenses of the Fuerig have been activated to the maximum. Kokabiel is leading the only ambush squad here of 10,000 Fallen with many Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Fallen Angels.] "Fucking warmonger." With my current strength, I could even fight Azazel for some time before being overwhelmed by him, not to mention Kokabiel, who was just a Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Fallen Angel, who was even weaker than Baraqiel. After I exited the Fuerig, I saw Kokabiel flying high in the air, above the magical barrier. Kokabiel has the appearance of a man with long black hair and red eyes, and unlike other Fallen Angels, Kokabiel has pointy ears. Kokabiel possesses five pairs of black wings like any other Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Fallen Angel. He wore a black robe with detailed accessories and purple shoulder pads with gold streaks on the side. "Activate all Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries and shot them down." I ordered as all Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries charged themselves and started shooting down Fallen Angels from the sky, as they killed many of them with relative ease. Meanwhile, I started conjuring Dark Light - Gate of Babylon Style Full Opening. With it, I could open more than one hundred portals that could instantly shoot several hundred Dark Light weapons per minute; my own firepower was even more terrifying than several Voidships put together. After Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries fired their waves, I ordered for the barrier to be shut down, as in instant the barrier dispersed, I released bombardment from the Dark Light - Gate of Babylon Style Full Opening as hundreds upon hundreds of Dark Light weaponry tore Fallen Angels to shred, be it Six-Winged High-Class Fallen Angels or Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Fallen Angels. In the end, after several minutes of intense attack from Dark Light - Gate of Babylon Style Full Opening, only three Fallen Angels survived. All of them were Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Fallen Angels, though two of them were pathetically weak. And last was Kokabiel, who was surprisingly, or rather unsurprisingly he was uninjured. Even I doubted I can kill him, he was slippery and would instantly escape when he sensed something was wrong, not to mention he had some pretty nasty artifacts that often helped him escape from dangerous situations. But I would have enough if I kill those two dogs of him, and now even his soldiers who brought with him were dead. I flew to one of the Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Fallen Angels that was nearest to me, and with one precise slash of my scythe Rosenkreuzt, one head rolled as the headless body fell onto the ground. At the same time, during the confusion, I instantly cast an Ultra-Order Tier spell, called [Solar Flare], that created a beam of intense crimson light that shot at other Ten-Winged Cadre-Class Fallen Angels and killed him in an instant. When I turned around, I only saw Kokabiel with a provocative grin as he activated teleportation artifact that teleported him away, too fast for me to do anything. "Fucking crow... one day I will kill you. Still, he lost two of his adjutants and his most loyal soldiers, so he should lay low for some time now." I said as I looked around at the corpses of the thousands of Fallen Angels. These Fallen that followed him here were his personal troops and probably Elites, as Azazel forbade anyone from Grigori attacking my territory due to agreement we had. The only madman like Kokabiel would attack me, and god knows why or rather the right question, who gave him the idea that attacking me was a good idea. I operated Fate Algorithm to get probably one statement. Was he sent by one of the four Satans? 87%. "I will need to return the gift soon." I whispered as I licked my lips. Chapter 150 - Cutting Roots After dealing with Kokabiel and his goons, I returned to Fuerig and called General Zagan and General Ragnar, who arrived as soon as possible. I just looked at them before saying. "Start cleaning our back garden. I want them all dead, either by our hand or by the hand of a third party. Notify the Execution Temple, and tell Grandmaster Valefor to send his best to accomplish this task." I gave my order. Both of them bowed as they left, and I could finally return back to bed. While some descendants of the Houses Asmodeus, Leviathan, and Beelzebub were killed during the war, the main lines were still alive, though that would change starting today. In the upcoming days, all of them will die one by one. Execution Temple was my secret force of ?ssassins led by one of my most loyal and fanatical vassals, Cain Valefor. Valefor Clan was Duke Clan among the 72 Pillars with Clan Trait of Shadow Ruler, which allowed them to have absolute control over Darkness and Shadows. It made them perfect shadow warriors, perfect ?ssassins. I personally even invested a lot of resources into the cultivation of Execution Temple, which was led by Clan Head of Valefor, Cain Valefor, a man bit younger than me, but thanks to my help, he achieved the early stages of the Satan-Class. Not that it was known, as I kept their existence hidden and only used them in times of need. And now they shall perform the arduous tasks. The ?ssassination of the bloodline of Beelzebub, Asmodeus, and Leviathan until none remains. I already had information that Four Satans went to the pocket dimension where Yahweh was fighting with Trihexa and was waiting for a moment when they could strike and kill Yahweh. This meant that they wouldn''t be able to retaliate as they would be dead. On the other hand, I also found out that Rizevim refused to participate in the war, which creates a lot of displeasure with him among the Six Houses of Lucifer, which was ignited even more, after Lord Zaorama Nebiros, started rallying other House Heads, of Houses Satanachia, Algaliarept, Fleurity, and Sargatanas. Getting allies on my side was most crucial, and Zaorama did a great job. He also practically helped me to perfect the Trans-Devil Gene Seed project, and probably after the Great War, we can start recruiting recruits for the Adeptus Custodes. In the end, the missing aspect of the Trans-Devil Gene Seed was Agreas Crystal, which was used as a stabilization element, which allowed us to create Trans-Devil Gene Seed that could be used for more comprehensive subjects. While the more personalized Trans-Devil Gene Seed was still superior and was more easily accommodated by the subject''s body, the generalized version took lesser resources and thanks to the usage of Agreas Crystal could be used on not only devils, but it was tested on Fallen Angel, Oni, and even Nekomata. We have tested the Trans-Devil Gene Seed on several humans of various ages, ranging from age 6 to 50, but all of them ended in the torturous death of the test subject. The reason behind this was that humans'' physical body was too fragile and could not handle the overwhelming power input of the Trans-Devil Gene Seed. *** Somewhere in the Underworld A man wearing something that looked like a priest gown with a cape looked at the message he received before he started laughing crazily as he spoke to himself. "Your wish is my command, Your Imperial Majesty." He said as he melted into the shadows. *** Beelzebub Territory, Mansion of Beelzebub Compared to the usual atmosphere, this time the Mansion of Beelzebub where the mainline of the Beelzebub Clan resided, was filled with corpses, body parts, and walls painted red, as several people in priest-like gown with capes, killed everything that moved, from maids of novels, including several newborn. Most notable were Bidleid Bashalun Beelzebub and his descendant Shalion Beelzebub and Shalba Beelzebub. "Set it on fire." Said one of the people, who seemed to be their leader, as several of them cast [Hell Flame] Spell to burn everything down. *** Asmodeus Territory, Castle of Ariat Contrary to the quiet ?ssassination, here it was under heavy attacks from Angel Legions. Thanks to some inside help, they broke through the magical barriers and started slaughtering every devil they found there. While Admodeu''s son, Damaidosu Zereikel Asmodeus, fought bravely, he was soon overwhelmed by the massive amount of Angels. He was killed fast together with his entire line, which was purged with Holy Light, as Angels killed every devil in the Ariat Castle, leaving only a ghost town here. *** Leviathan Territory, Unknown Location A similar scene could be seen even in the undisclosed location in the Levithan Territory, where severed heads of Tsufaame Tereaku Leviathan and her young daughter b?r?ly in her teens, Katerea Leviathan were stabbed on the crude spear as various fluids were on their faces as Orcs defiled their bodies. Contrary to the previous two, Leviathan Territory was attacked by a horde of Orcs that resided in the Three Realms. A trans-dimensional portal somehow appeared, and their territory got invaded by an immeasurable number of orcs. I just listened to one report after another with a satisfying smile over my own. "Excellent, now three lineages are basically dead with just some branch members remaining, but those could be easily disposed of. Now, only I need to get my hands on corpses of Four Satans. You have performed a great service, Cain." I said to a man in a priest-like gown with a cape as he bowed to me. "I live to serve, Your Imperial Majesty." He bowed deeply. "Very well, here for your loyalty." As I threw him several High-Grade Demonic Energy Crystals and one God Corpse Potion, I said that I refined from the corpse of god that Okhwang sold me. The loyalty of Cain was unquestioned one, as he was my vassal through the Soul-Geass Crest. So I wasn''t short on resources for him if he performed his missions well. "Start slowly killing loyalists.. They need to die, a necessary sacrifice for a greater good." Chapter 151 - Super Devil After several days of preparations, I was going to reach the Super-Devil Class by Devouring the second Dragon core I have obtained from the corpses of Albion and Ddraig. I have decided to reach Super-Devil Class before going to find Azrael, as our meeting would for sure end in a fight, and as Satan-Class, albeit now with combat prowess matching that of weaker Super-Devil Class, I still couldn''t rival someone like Azrael. That was too way out of my league. So thus, reaching Super-Devil Class was my priority. Unfortunately for me, it was also a kind of level cap that could be achieved quickly. Even though Draconic Deus was basically a Grade 3 Plane, its environment was comparable to the Grade 5 due to the existence of the Dimensional Gap. That meant that after reaching Super-Devil Class, I would be advancing in that Class very, very slowly. For example, one thing that could significantly speed up my advancement in terms of Demonic Energy reserves was Superior-Grade Demonic Energy Crystals. Still, those were almost impossible to find in the Underworld, and High-Grade ones were maximum. So my only choice for a fast advancement would be to trade something during the meeting of Longinus Dreizhen Orden. Or to Devour some Great Gods, after my Devour reached Ultra-Order Rank, which was doable after training for hundred years in it intensively. Currently, I was in the underground complex of the Fuerig, which served as a testing field for my dangerous experiments or when I tried magic rituals or similar things. This time, I wasn''t alone, as Hela came with me to watch over me. She was already a Greater God with over 7,000 Units of Divine Power and 10,000 Units of Magical Power. Her training speed was extremely terrifying due to her being an Innate God; additionally, she practiced a unique technique that allowed her to convert Magical Power to Divine Power and increase her reserves. More she used it, the higher her Divine Power rose, and the same could be said about her Magical Power, that due to constant drain and regeneration was expanding naturally. "Are you going to start?" Asked me, my lover, as she stood there in her battle armor. "Yes, when I activate the barrier and start devouring the Dragon Core, start supporting the barrier with your Divine Power. If something goes wrong and energies from the Dragon Core of pinnacle Heavenly Dragon goes berserk, then it would be a problem." Last I got Architect to help me regulate the energy flow with some supplementary magical formations, but that was not enough. I noticed afterward that it was a significant risk, and only someone at a similar level of power could properly regulate it when something happened. Now, my Devour has already reached Master-Ranked mastery, so it should go easier compared to before. The higher the Mastery over the Devour was, the more energy I could absorb. Not to mention, if I had comprehended the Law of Devouring, then absorbing Dragon Core like this would be in a split of a second with 100% absorption. "Architect activate protective wards and barriers from 1 to 10. Hela starts supplementing them with Divine Power and takes control of the Command." I said as several magical barriers were erected around me as I took the Dragon''s Core from my Dimensional Storage. After looking at it for several seconds, I used Devour on it and started absorbing the energy from the Dragon Core. When trying to reach a higher Class, the process was different, and I wasn''t sending the converted energy to my Hearts to increase my Demonic Energy Reserves. Still, instead, I was concentrating on it at one point until it reached maximum, and my reserves started expanding on their own. When that started, I knew I had reached the higher Class. This system was very similar to the Warlock Cultivation System and Evolutionary System of the Fiends of Abyss. Truth to be told, it hurt like hell, as I was concentrating the enormous amount of converted Demonic Energy in my two Hearts, which were centers of my Energy Reserves. Only after several hours, my Hearts start absorbing the concentrated Demonic Energy that I had been devouring and converting, and now my Demonic Energy Reserves started rising as they soon broke through 1,500, and after another ten minutes, they reached 2,500, which was starting point for Super Devil Class or Greater God or other equivalents. And it didn''t stop at the meager 2,500 but kept increasing as my Demonic Energy Reserves were getting expanded, purified, more potent, and denser. 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500 5,000 5,500 6,000 6,100 6,120 In the end, I had managed to reach staggering 6,125 Units of Demonic Energy by devouring the second Dragon Core belonging to the pinnacle Heavenly Dragon. Gainst from the second one was much better compared to those from the first one. Power System of us devils was very similar to Warlocks of the Astral Boundary and Fiends of the Abyss till Super-Devil Class including. The only thing the devil needed to do was to accumulate enough Demonic Energy to break through the constraints over his energy core, which was his heart. If he did so, then he would evolve and reach a higher class. This was a combination of Warlock Cultivation and Evolution of Fiends. From then, it consisted similar path to Arcanist, as one must comprehend a Law. Whoever created basics for our species was a genius on his own. Soon enough, I felt the Will of the Underworld descend upon me as my entire body froze. Already a very familiar feeling. ''Isaiah'' ''Isaiah'' ''Isaiah'' Sounded now familiar creepy voice in my head belonging to the Will of the Underworld, precisely three times as always. ''Isaiah - When in the Underworld, regeneration is several times faster, no matter of what type. Recovering from fatal damage is easier.. The Soul is tied to the Underworld; by sacrificing part of your Energy Reserves, you can be reborn.'' Chapter 152 - Am Feeling Great The ability of the True Name Isaiah was pretty powerful. I liked passive abilities much more than those active ones, as they were always on. Now when I am in the Underworld, I would have faster regeneration of my Demonic Energy or would recover from injuries faster than before. But the most crucial part of this ability was to revive me if I am killed in the Underworld by permanently sacrificing some of my Demonic Energy. While I would drop a Class, but that could be quickly recovered. Still, I hope and believe I would never be in a situation where I would need to use this, but it was nice to have insurance. ''Architect, scan.'' I said in my head immediately after I felt the presence of the Underworld''s Will vanish. [Name: Zeoticus Gremory von Lucifer True Name: Dizmason (Devil Talent), Savant (Prideguard), Isaiah (Nirvana) Race: Trans-Pure-Blooded Devil Bloodline: Gremory, Lucifer Occupation: Lord of House of Gremory, Great King of Gremory Age: 191 Class: Super-Devil Demonic Energy: 6,125 Strength: 621 Agility: 635 Vitality: 589 Underworld Command Sequence: 25% - Clan Trait: Dark Light - Master (Gate of Babylon Style, Truth-Seeking Orb Style, Chains of Heaven Style) I observed Architect''s analysis. One of the most notable changes was an increase in my Demonic Energy and a change of my race after I underwent ?ssimilation with Trans-Devil Gene-Seed. For me, fusing with Trans-Devil Gene-Seed didn''t give me any power increase but somewhat increased my survivability and some passive abilities. "How are you feeling, Zeo?" Asked Hela after she dispersed the protective barrier enveloping me. "I am feeling great... far better than great. It''s best!" I shouted in delight. Currently, I was practically at the top of the power hierarchy in the Draconic Deus. Not counting Elder Dragons of Great Red and Ophis, or Mighty God Shiva or Okhwang, who wasn''t even native, just a neighbor cultivator reincarnated here. With over 6,000 Units of Demonic Energy, I was already in an advanced stage of the Super-Devil Class. Limit for it was generally 15,000 Units of Energy, so having 6,000 already set in the high rank, probably in terms of Class alone, I am higher than Zekram, maybe even Lucifer. Clan Traits of Devils were the gate to comprehension of Law. When one reaches mastery of Forbidden Rank over the Clan Trait, he has already touched Realm of Laws, and his comprehension percentage of Law should be around 15% to 20%. When one reaches comprehension of 50%, he would have changed to undergo Law Baptism, meaning Laws itself would baptize him. If succeeded, then the probability of reaching Being of Law was sure for absolute. Of course, the death rate was 9 to 10. For example, based on my observation Albion and Ddraig were at 49% of comprehension of their respective Laws. If not then, killing them even with traps would be absolutely impossible. One needs to know that after Law Baptism, there is a tremendous qualitative change in one''s body, making one several times more powerful. Albion and Ddraig were fighting for the epiphany to achieve 50% and undergo Law Baptism; with their strength, there was a huge chance they would succeed, and within the next decades or century, there would be a new Elder Dragon born. "While my physical strength remained the same, my Demonic Energy is overwhelming right now; I could probably fight for even a week without tiring myself out." I stated as I cast several spells. Consumption for spells was minimal, and my regeneration of Demonic Energy was frightening. Especially when in the Underworld, thanks to my True Name Isaiah it was several times superior to other of the same Class. "Also, you should look into a mirror, my dear." I was shocked at the changes in my appearance. The most notable that caught my attention first was two crimson horns that were sprouting from my head. They stood there proudly as a colossal amount of Demonic Energy was being concentrated in them. The second thing that changed, was the appearance of my tail. The tail was a very fragile and s?ns?t?v? organ for devils, so most devils would keep it retracted and never show it; while it could be used in combat at the element of surprise, it was hazardous to do so. Now my tail, got bulkier and thicker, I swung with it several times, and the tip of my tail looked even sharper than before. I could even use it in the fight without being afraid that somebody would target my tail. Speartip of my tail could now pierce even through the finest armor my soldiers are wearing, which already was something to behold. And the last thing, I now had apparently a tattoo. It was in a runic pattern, it started underneath my right eye, and in weird patterns and symbols, it covered my right shoulder arm and my entire right arm. It was the so-called Demon Tattoo. I read that Fiends that reach Abbysal Dukes rank and take human form often had these Demon Tattoos over their bodies. The more they had, the stronger they were. These Demon Tattoos increased the ability to use Demonic Energy and strengthened resistance to Magic and Holy Power. Probably more I would advance, larger the Demon Tattoo would get, not that I cared as it looked pretty cool, and it even gave me more bonuses, so all okey. I also had Twelve Wings instead of the previous Ten Wings. "I look better... I would say, more intimidating?" Chapter 153 - Azrael (1) "Are you going to find Azrael?" Said Hela as she came in front of me as she brought me out from my admiration. "Yes, he would be a great ?sset for the Baator." I answered as I retracted my wings, horns, and tail. Azrael was the pinnacle Archangel and had the Power of Death, very similar to Hela. I wonder why he even fell in the first place. "Have you ever met him?" As she was older than me, I asked Hela, so she must have met him at one point in her life. "Yes, several centuries ago, when he was still Pure Angel. He led a crusade against Asgard. I didn''t fight him, as he was out of my league, but even Odin, with the help of Pantheon that pushed him temporarily to Mighty Stage God, had a problem defeating him in a short time. Even then, he was the top powerhouse, but there was something weird about him." Said Hela with a frown. "What exactly?" "Normally, someone as strong as Azrael should have already evolved into Angel Emperor. Angels have a straightforward path, similar to Fiends, Kindreds, or Devils in early stages. To reach Angel Emperor, they don''t need to comprehend Law or anything; they just need to evolve. Azrael already had so much Holy Power inside him, so logically speaking, he should already reach Angel Emperor Level long ago." Explained Hela. "How strong would he be compared to Mighty God?" I asked curiously. "Probably same. Due to being a more evolutionary path, their combat prowess is similarly based on an accumulation of energy. Though Azrael with his Power of Death, would be stronger than many Mighty Gods, and only those who have strong combat-related Divinities would be able to match him." As I listened to her, I immediately realized the reason behind that. "Constraints." I said. "?" "He has constraints from Yahweh. Probably all of his Angels have. I have also read that many gods in the Astral Boundary that are cultivating Angels often become paranoid, so they place constraints so their Angels cannot reach higher stage than themselves." That was probably the reason why Azazel fell; he wanted to break through the shackles that Yahweh put on him. Lucifer achieved it by transforming himself from Fallen Angel after falling to Devil through unknown arcane procedures long forgotten. Only records are kept in the Book of Lucifer that even I cannot decipher. Maybe Azrael fell for a similar reason. "That could be possible." *** The next day, I have departed to search for Azrael. I had some general location from Azazel, so I immediately flew that way. I went to the unclaimed zone of the Underworld. Underworld was divided into several areas, from each one belonged to some faction. There was Devil Area, belonging to the Devils. Realms of Dead, which belonged to Hades of Olympian Patheon. Yomi, which belonged to the Izanami of Shinto Pantheon. Kingdom of Osiris of Egyptian Pantheon. Then there were areas that were not under the rule of any faction, like Malebolge or Cocytus. Azrael was located even deeper in the Area termed as Abandoned Area due to vicious monsters that lived there. Apparently, Azrael chose the Abandoned Area as his base of operations. A usual level of monsters and magical beasts inhabiting the Abandoned Area was General Level, with countless Monarch Level monsters among them and even many Emperor Level ones. It was basically a no-go zone for anybody and anything. Constructing a base there, you can have a guaranteed peaceful life, as nobody would be mad enough to venture there on his own. Compared to that place, even Sunset Monster Mountain Range seemed like a nice and friendly place. After flying for several hours and evading some dangerous areas, I have finally arrived at the Abandoned Area. Underworld was far more extensive than Earth, so this journey from the Devil Area to Abandoned Area, took me several hours and a distance of several Earths to cross. I cast some concealment spells to mask my presence, as I didn''t want to alert those Emperor Level monsters that were sleeping here or whatever. While I was curious to test my strength against them, and they would be delicious to devour, right now was not the time. I flew deeper into the Abandoned Area until I arrived at the part of the Abandoned Area, where the concentration of Death Energy was huge. Death Energy was the type of energy that was used by Hela, Azrael, or some other people. It was a special kind of energy that could be found even in nature, in places where enormous amounts of lifeforms died, creating an enormous amount of negative energy of resentment, hatred, and similar, which would fuse and evolve into the Death Energy. When an ordinary person comes into contact with even an ounce of Death Energy, and death is instant. ''This place would be a paradise for Hela. Her training speed would be boosted several times if she stayed in a place so rich in Death Energy. Azrael must be somewhere here, and this is the perfect place for someone with Power of Death to train.'' As I flew through this part of the Abandoned Area and searched for Azrael, I thought in my head. And soon enough, I saw a young-looking man with short white hair, two black horns, and a black stripe tattoo underneath his right eye, similar to mine, sitting cross-legged on the top of some random mountain, as a crimson ball of condensed energy was floating before him. "Azrael." Chapter 154 - Azrael (2) Suddenly that crimson ball shot towards me with tremendous speed. I dodged the attack and saw Azrael standing there, with a smile over his face, as he looked at me with a piercing gaze through his crimson red eyes. "I have heard about you... even in the Abandoned Area, some monsters talk about you." I was surprised by this, ad especially the second part. It appears some monsters were able to talk in our speech or maybe even take a humanoid form. "And I have heard about you, Archangel of Death, Azrael." I said as we stared at each other. "Come, be my guest." He said as he gestured for me to sit down with him, as I did, and we both sat cross-legged on the unnamed mountain in the Abandoned Area of the Underworld. "So, why are you searching for me in the parts of the Underworld, Lucifer?" He asked with an emotionless voice as I observed his appearance. In truth, he looked more like a Demon rather than a Fallen Angel. "I want to recruit you, Azrael." I stated calmly. "Recruit for what exactly?" "Astral Boundary." I said as he froze and looked at me without saying any words or making any sound. "Oh? So the things are getting into the move. What should I have from it?" He asked casually. "Freedom. Evolution. Power. Authority. Whatever you want." I named. "He is going to die, am I right?" He asked as I nodded. "Indeed, it is no secret in certain circles that four idiots have used Trihexa to lure him out. He is currently fighting with Trihexa for several years, and it is nearing its end. They plan to ambush him, but killing Mighty God as only Super Devils, even severely injured, is unrealistic. But I can predict that he will succumb to his injuries." "I want two things." He said. "First, I want you to destroy Heaven''s System that Yahweh created." He called him Yahweh... weird normally most 1st Generation angels, no most, all of them called him father. "I know that look; you are wondering why I call him by name, right? Simple, I soon realized that for him, we are nothing more than slaves and servants, caged in invisible chains to not able to rise above him. Lucifer and I were first to realize that when he forced us to bow to humans. Most pathetic and hateful species in all universes in all existence. Lucifer fell and became the first Fallen Angel, but he realized that his shackles didn''t disappear. So in his endless search, he found the Book that is now known as the Book of Lucifer, and through unknown means and ways, he turned himself into the first Devil. Then with Lilith, su??ubus from the Abyss, he created Devil species." I marveled at his monologue. "And how you broke them?" I asked. "I found my way here... through incorporating bloodline of several Fiends into my own, that is why I look like this, but it worked, and they were broken. But, the same thing cannot be said about others. Even if Yahweh dies, Heaven''s System will inherit his will and constraints overall Fallen Angels and Pure Angels." Indeed, Yahweh would use Heaven''s System to bind all Angels to never evolve to Angel Emperor Level. Why that was important was only for him to know, or... or if he had a plan to revive himself. While Law of Chaos was deadly and would kill him for sure, maybe he really found a way to revive himself. He was crafting genius that constructed literary wonders, so it was highly possible. One must know that when a God is killed, then as long as he is killed and his Divine Spark and Soul are left instant, then with enough time, revival is not something out of the question. Alas, the reason why four idiots chose Trihexa was not only that it was one of few that could kill him, but also due to the Law of Chaos, which was deadly for almost anything in existence. The Law of Chaos had a miraculous ability to disrupt and destroy natural order. "In the future, it is doable and probably needed. I plan to obtain Fallen Angels as my subordinates in the future, so it would be rather bad if they were still constrained by something like that. In the Astral Boundary, only when one reached that level of power could be considered as somebody." I said. "Excellent. You should have talked about it with Azazel, right? He was my favorite brother, only if not for his likeness for humans and too perverted behavior. Does he still ?ust over Gabriel?" He asked with a small laugh. "Yes, and he won''t stop talking about her." I answered. "Gabriel was always so innocent and so pure. Even now, maybe she still believes that we could be once more together." He said with a frown. "And what is the second condition that you have?" I asked. "Fight with me." He said as I looked at him with wary eyes. "Of course, you don''t need to win; I just want to look how strong you are. Considering that you are under 200 years old and have already reached Super-Devil Class among human Warlocks, reaching Infinity Warlock Realm around 200 years old is almost unheard of. And among Arcanists..." I nodded in agreement; if I don''t need to win, then it is okey. "Where shall we fight?" I asked him as Azrael pointed at the ground. "Right here, this place is devoid of any monster or magical beasts, so there is a very low chance we would be interrupted." Chapter 155 - Azrael (3) The moment he finished the sentence, I immediately started firing at Azrael hundreds of Dark Light Weapons as I opened the Gate of Babylon to the maximum. With the new addition of my new part of my TThe rue Name, Isaiah, as I was fighting in the Underworld, I significantly boosted my Demonic Energy regeneration. Though, Azrael had the same advantage, as we were fighting in an environment that was rich in Death Energy, so he could effortlessly recover what he used. ''Architect, scan him. Use detection of Laws.'' I said in my head. After I have reached Super-Devil Class, then I could b?r?ly sense the presence of Laws, due to my low Energy Reserves, as I am just a newly advanced Super Devil, I cannot sense them more, not to mention comprehend, but when I am close to somebody I had some tricks to know if someone had started comprehending Laws. [It shall be done.] Said Architect; as soon enough, I had analysis on Azrael before my eyes, as he was busy with dodging the Dark Light weaponry that was constantly being shot at him. [Race: Fiend / Angel Hybrid Class: Archangel Abyssal Energy: 15,000 Holy Power: 15,000 Strength: 5,890 Agility: 5,156 Vitality: 6,054] ''Damm... he is strong. Even his physical body is already in the same rank as his Class. And he combined Abyssal Energy and Holy Power inside his body... fascinating.'' I thought in my head. Abyssal Energy was native to Fiends living in the Abyss. It was even more negative and more aggressive than Demonic Energy, not just more harmful but even wilder and more destructive. Demonic Energy was just a sub-type of Abyssal Energy, that was calmer, more versatile, and easier to control. What shocked me was how he managed to find equilibrium, but not only that, he had already started comprehending Laws. One needs to know that Angels didn''t need to comprehend Laws to reach the next level, not even Fiends required; they just needed to evolve. But yet, Azrael already started comprehending the three Laws of Death, Darkness, and Light. If he reached the Angel Emperor stage, he would be invincible among those of the same level. One needs to know, aside from Arcanists, almost none of Power Systems required comprehension of Laws, so it was easier to reach, for example, Warlock Monarch than Arch-Arcanist Level. ''He isn''t going to evolve before comprehending those Laws... he is searching for his own path. This is interesting.'' "Have you finished checking me?" Asked Azrael as I grinned; of course, he managed to evade every attack flawlessly I threw at him. "Yes, and I must admit, this is getting interesting!" I shouted with a grin as I materialized Rosenkreutz in my hand and conjured several Ultra-Order Tier Spells, such as [Dimensional Slash] and [Black Hole], and sent everything at Azrael. Even though I have right now used around half of my energy reserves, within several minutes, I will be at my peak, as my regeneration speed is tremendous right now thanks to my True Name Isaiah. This time, Azrael looked at the incoming attacks warily as he took out some unnamed sword that I didn''t recognize and coated it entirely with Holy Power and slashed through incoming spells with ease, which made me smile. "It would be too easy that way, right?" When he saw me smile, it was too late, as several [Black Hole] spells that were near him imploded out of nothing and started su?k?n? into themselves every once of Abyssal Energy and Holy Power he had. In an instant, I sensed that his energy reserves were cut to half. [Black Hole] was a spell that I devised; it had two functions. It could draw objects to itself, and everything that would enter the [Black Hole] would be eroded to death by its power. Second, I could switch it to energy devouring mode, and it could absorb enormous amounts of energy in a short time. This was the first time I have used the [Black Hole], so it was like a trial test. And the results were even better than what I had expected. I knew that Azrael was many times stronger than me, so my primary strategy was not to allow him to come close, as that would be my death warrant. I successfully implemented my strategy until Azrael started ignoring incoming attacks and started getting closer and closer, with a sword in his hands, cutting down my attacks with ease while suffering one injury after another. "Ts." I frowned as I cast a teleportation spell and teleported tens of kilometers away while barraging Azrael with even more magical attacks. When I appeared several kilometers aways, I sensed that somebody was standing behind me and aimed a sword at my throat. "While you are strong for your age, and even among your Class, you are top; you still lack experiences." Azrael was standing there with a smirk as he said that. "You copied my teleportation spell and calculated the way where I would appear, right?" I asked as I deduced how he makes it here at the same time. "Yes, you need to mask the intent of your moves during battle better, or it would cost you more than lost spar." He said as he stored the sword away. "So, what now?" I ask as I have fulfilled his condition for a fight and wasn''t that away from defeating him, even though it was mainly due to elements of surprise over my magic. "I pledge my allegiance and that of my Legion to follow the Emperor of Baator. From now on, through Eternity, till Death." He said as he dropped on one knee, and Soul-Geass Scroll appeared between us. "And I accept your pledge and that of your Legion; I promise to lead you to glory and victory, Azrael, Archangel of Death and Leader of Death Guard Legion." I said as I gripped the Soul-Geass Scroll as the contract between us was now completed. Chapter 156 - Yahweh vs. Trihexa "Stay here in the Abandoned Area even further. I will call you and for your Legion when the time is right. Then you will act as Emperor''s Sword and his fury." I ordered. It wasn''t time for Azrael to show up; instead, I would wait. When I will be taking over after the Four Satans, for sure, some people would be dissatisfied, and for that, I would have Azrael''s appearance. Purge would be fast and swift but brutal and bloody. While all descendants of the Satans have been killed either by my subordinates directly or indirectly, there was still someone alive, and that was Rizevim. While Rizevim himself wasn''t interested in ruling, that was the precise reason why some people from 72 Pillars wanted him to be head of the government. A ruler that isn''t interested in ruling, is a heaven-sent blessing for ambitious nobles, who then could do whatever they want. And with me, many knew it would be impossible, while with Rizevim, it would be possible because Rizevim is despotic. He wouldn''t care if nobles would tyrannize commoners, practice corruption or degrade the entire nation. I was famous among nobles for uncompromising nature, as I have already ordered the execution of several vassal nobles for several crimes. There was an excellent answer to the question: What is more important, people or nation? People could live without a nation, not in another way. *** Around the same time, Dimensional Gap - Unknown Pocket Dimension. A brutal and intense battle was waged in this unknown pocket dimension, between an elderly man clad in golden armor and a beast with the appearance of a giant beast with characteristics coming from different animals like a lion, a leopard, a bear, a dragon, etc. It has seven necks, seven heads, ten horns, as well as seven long thick tails of different shapes. It also has four stout arms and two legs that are even thicker than its arms. Its main body is a primate leaning forward and covered in black fur and what appears to scale all over its body. Its size is well over several hundred meters, making it extremely large. While Yahweh was severely injured and his shining golden armor was cracked at many places, it was evident by the state of fight that he had the upper hand, as he managed to trap Trihexa within the magical formation he carefully created. As the Emperor Beast of the Apocalypse, Trihexa was basically just a mindless beast; it was relatively easy to fool it and trap it within spell without it even noticing. Thus was the side effect of being consumed by the Law of Chaos itself. Suddenly Yahweh opened his eyes as he looked at Trihexa that was madly attacking the protective barrier that he erected so he could rest. "It is time to end it. Those four are already waiting for me... it seems that my death is inevitable." He muttered as thousands of enormous magical circles of various types and magic systems lit up around Trihexa and started pressuring the Emperor Beast of the Apocalypse to lay down. Suddenly an invisible magical chain shot up from the Magic Circles that were all around the Emperor Beast of the Apocalypse. "Suppress." Said Yahweh quietly, as magic circles shone, and started suppressing Emperor Beast of the Apocalypse and draining its magical power, as the Emperor Beast of the Apocalypse roared in anger and tried to attack Yahweh as he was forced to dodge blows from the Trihexa. "Even suppressed, it has still too much power." He said as he coughed blood, as he was still injured by Trihexa''s attacks even more. "Seal the Body." He said as a translucent barrier appeared around Trihexa and magical chains completely immobilized the Beast of Apocalypse 666. "Seal the Magic." Suddenly, the chains started draining the magical power of Trihexa, with tremendous speed, as Yahweh devised the chains to drain the magical power of Trihexa and use it to charge the magical barrier, thus creating a closed-up mechanism, additionally being charged from the Dimensional Gap. "Seal the Mind." As he said those words, Trihexa fell into a deep sleep under a heavy and potent illusion. "Seal the Space." He said with all of his might, as an entire box-like barrier with Trihexa inside melded into the pocket dimension and went deep underground, as Yahweh released heavy and tired sight. "That was hard..." "Lucifer, Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Leviathan. So you have finally decided to show up? Hmm... all three of you are Super-Devils? Which of you four idiots proposed using Forbidden Ritual to raise your Class? You have sacrificed your longevity, foundation, and part of your soul itself for unstable strength... fools." Said Yahweh as he enjoyed the angry faces of Beelzebub, Asmodeus, and Leviathan while Lucifer stood there and just stared at him, not saying anything. "Cut the crap, Yahweh. You are already on the verge of death and so finishing you right now with four of us isn''t that much of a problem." Said Lucifer arrogantly as he looked at injured Yahweh, who gripped True Longinus Spear in his hands, as he aimed at the four of them. "Then come." Chapter 157 - Yahweh vs. Four Satans As he said, that, then even gravely injured, bloodied and with cracked armor, he still looked more intimidating than all four Satans together, as none of them made the first move until Lucifer started firing at him waves of the Dark Light. Yahweh, even when injured, still moved faster than any of them and instantly appeared near Asmodeus and severed his head with one slash True Longinus, directly killing one of the Four Great Satans. The remaining three Satans were shocked to see Asmodeus being killed so easily, but they quickly recuperated from their shock and started attacking him once more. Even when injured, he was still Mighty Stage God, and they were just weaklings that were infinitely arrogant. Leviathan used her Clan Trait Sea Serpent of the End to conjure 4 one hundred kilometer-long water serpents that attacked Yahweh with ferocity similar to a real serpent, as four enormous water sea serpents soon swallowed him. Though, the joy from success didn''t last long, as three remaining Satans saw that a barrier protected Yahweh, and Leviathan''s attack was totally useless. Suddenly, he started releasing an enormous amount of the Holy Flame, which instantly burned away all the water and completely destroyed all of the water serpents; as the wave of the Holy Flame soared high in the air and attacked Leviathan, she screamed as the Holy Flame burned her. At the same time, Yahweh disappeared from his previous location, as he appeared behind Satan Beelzebub, as with one swing, he severed both of his legs and pierced through his stomach, dropping him half dead on the ground like a beaten dog. Meanwhile, Leviathan managed to escape from the Holy Flame as she looked like a mummy, and soon enough, she died from the side-effect of overusing her unstable Demonic Energy. "Rather anti-climatic, don''t you think Lucifer? You were always so arrogant, so confident in everything, but you forgot the most important thing. Even if I am on the verge of death, I am still geniue Mighty Stage God, while you three goons were just half-baked Super Devils that b?r?ly were ones, reached by forbidden rituals, and they couldn''t even properly control their powers." Stated Yahweh as he looked provocatively at Lucifer, who grits his teeth in anger. Asmodeus, Beelzebub, and Leviathan reached Super-Devil Class only due to forbidden ritual, and while they had Class, they lacked control over their Energy. Not to mention, their mastery over their Clan Traits was miserable in front of someone skilled and experienced as Yahweh. Suddenly, as Lucifer wanted to attack Yahweh, he felt something, piercing pain in his ?h?st as he started coughing blood uncontrollably. He looked around and saw a hand pierced through his ?h?st, ripping out of his heart. "Yo-t-ra-itor." He b?r?ly said as the hand moved and ripped out of his heart. "Hello... Grandfather." *** Killing Lucifer was one of the most pleasurable things in my life, aside from researching magic and having s?x. "So what now, young fledgling? Did you also come to kill me?" Asked me, Yahweh, as he still vigilantly looked around. "Me? Not. I came to kill these four, in the case by some miracle they survived, but fortunately, they were killed, at least I can collect their corpses and put them to good use." I answered casually as I played with Lucifer''s heart in my hands and threw it between my hands like a ball. "Don''t think about attacking me, old man. I can already see that your soul is crumbling apart from the corrosion of the Law of Chaos. I think you have maybe one month or two months of life. And while it is true that I cannot fight you, you should be able to sense Voidfleet that is surrounding this pocket dimension. Its combined firepower, if I chose to sacrifice them all, should be kill you instantly. So let''s be civilized people and just leave after exchanging pleasantries." Yahweh grimaced hearing this, as I really brought with me Voidfleet of x250 Lunar-Class Cruisers, x100 Avenger-Class Grand Cruisers, x15 Destroyer-Class Battle Cruisers, and x3 Emperor-Class Battleships. They were my pride, and I used practically all my resources to increase my Voidfleet to such amount during this past time. Without searching through Dimensional Gap for new worlds or exploring the Milky Way of Draconic Deus, there is almost impossible to build more. He sensed that the entire pocked dimension was surrounded and if all of this Voidlfeet self-destroyed, then not only would it free Trihexa, but it would also probably kill him instantly. I had a safety measure in the form of a teleportation artifact that could instantly transport me home. "So, what do you say, old man?" I asked with a grin as he dispersed his spear and looked at me warily. "I agree. But as you say, I am a dying man, and my Divine Avatar should hold for several months after my death to finish everything. You will escape if I decide to attack, but your precious Fleet would be smitten to Oblivion. So what do you say about 600 years of ceasefire and not actively attacking Heaven? After that time, you can attack all you can want, but that time should be enough for their forces to recover." I thought about his proposal, in the end agreeing to it. If he wanted to be suicidal, he could take with him my entire Voidfleet and destroy my prized possession, corpses of Four Satans. Not attacking Heaven actively was something I also had in plan, as for upcoming centuries, Heaven would not be important for the Great Scheme of All Things. Chapter 158 - Touching the Laws After returning to Castle Fuerig, Vena, Fia, and Hela were already waiting for me. As my flagship, an enormous Emperor-Class Voidship descended from the skies, and I existed down, with tired and yet happy and solemn expression at the same time. "All are dead." I said in a simple sentence, as all three of them were surprised hearing that all Four Satans were dead. "What about him?" Asked Hela with concern. "Still alive, but b?r?ly. The Law of Chaos corrodes his soul, and without some special treasures that don''t exist in the Dimensional Gap, he is good as dead within the next few months. He won''t be participating in the Great War; he doesn''t have that time. If my guess is current, he is going to spend his last months finishing the Longinuses and some adjustments to Heaven before he passes away." I stated. "What now?" Asked Venelana. "Nothing. It will take some time before Clan Heads finds out that Four Satans are dead; before that, we do nothing. We will leave the Great War flow naturally, and I will move only before the finale, the crescendo of the war. It will be a great time to dispose of some uncomfortable people during the last battle. I have basically no opposition right now, as descendants are all dead to one, and only Rizevim is alive, but he is not interested in ruling and doesn''t have the support I have. Though he is smart; after the war, I think he will use a short period of chaos to escape; he knows that I will try to kill him at any price." I said as this was the best course of action. This way, it would be easier to execute some shady movements, as fewer eyes would be on me. Still, I need to send a message to Zekram and my father-in-law Gerstahl that things are getting to move. Devils are very pragmatic beings if needed. Zekram basically switched sides when he realized that I was a much better alternative than four Satans. I also told him about my new plans for the governmental model, and he approved wholeheartedly. Gerstahl was a whole different reason. Even if I killed the original Lucifer, it has nothing to do with him, as I just did the right of conquest. More competent and stronger Lucifer replaced the weaker and incompetent one, so he and the rest of the Six Houses of Lucifer wouldn''t say anything, as this was an internal matter of the House of Lucifer. While I wished to kill Rizevim, he was too slippery, and even now, nobody knew where he was hiding. He never participated in the Great War and was god knows where. There were some rumors he had constructed some base on the territory of another pantheon, but nobody knows where and even if it was a truth. After we talked a bit, I went to my personal training yard and took out the corpse of the Original Lucifer and used Devour Clan Trait to Devour the corpse completely, as I used Devour to absolute limits. Soon entire course disappeared as it turned into energy, and that was absorbed into me. I didn''t only absorb his Demonic Energy, but I absorbed his Clan Trait itself; as it appeared, I can absorb it as I already have it. Soon enough, I felt that my connection and my usage of the Dark Light has greatly been strengthened, and was being strengthened by a great deal with each passing second until it reached Forbidden-ranked Mastery, and touched the Realm of Laws. [Aborbing Laws. Calculating. Comprehension of Law of Darklight is at 2,87%] I heard the voice of the Architect as I sensed Laws being devoured by me. Indeed Lucifer already started comprehending Laws, but that was given, based on how old he was, and he was Super Devil for centuries already. The strength of my Dark Light Clan Trait, now that I have started comprehension of the Law of Darklight was tremendous, countless times superior to what it was before. Clan Traits, the Bloodline was the path to comprehension of Laws, that was sure. Not that I was confined it to, I could try to comprehend other Laws, for example, Law of Fire or Ice, but my progress wouldn''t be that fast compared to comprehending Law, which was the origin of my Clan Trait. My Demonic Energy increased by a few hundred, as the compatibility between Lucifer and me was extremely close, so I had better results Devouring him. Not only that, but I have also increased my mastery over the Devour Grandmaster Rank. I felt that when I comprehended the Law of Darklight, I wouldn''t need to sue my Clan Trait anymore, as I would be directly able to shape the power of Law itself. By then, my Clan Trait would probably be merged with the Law itself, as the Law is the origin of each Clan Trait. I also had three corpses of other original Satans that would be good experimental subjects. I also needed to extract their Clan Traits and transplant them to someone compatible and worthy.. Clan Traits of each of them were powerful and potent, and it would be a shame for them to be lost. Chapter 159 - Prelude to the Final Battle Several days later, there was a notice sent from the Central Military Command that I needed to be presented there within the upcoming three days, as I would be taking over military command of the Main Battlefield. The final Battle of the Great War was coming closer, and soon it would erupt. Heaven was preparing for the final push as well as Grigori. It was an unspoken truth that this was just a charade to appease warmongers who wanted to wage war, but all three factions suffered too high losses, especially on lives. Grigori had the highest number of casualties. It was logical as, to begin with, their numbers at the start of the war were the smallest. While devils were better in terms of casualties, thanks to Arcanotech, but we have enormous damages in property and destroyed cities and infrastructure. Some territories of more incompetent nobles were totally destroyed and would need years to rebuild everything that was lost. 12 of Pillar Houses had their territories completely destroyed due to war, and another 25 suffered heavy damages. Heaven also didn''t fare too much better compared to other factions; they lost the majority of their population and almost all of their Artificial Angels that were created by Yahweh for the Great War. It may seem that Grigori and Devils were hit hardest by the Great War, but the truth was Heaven suffered most. While Grigori had the highest death toll and Devils had the highest property damages, Heaven lost Yahweh, many of their top fighters, and powerhouses, and after he dies, there will be no more Pure Angles to be born. While numbers of Grigori would recover over time, as Pure Angels would continue to fall, but Heaven had a bleak future. It was clear that if the war continued, Devils would win, as we were in the best state, but the cost would be devastated infrastructure and economy, with a death toll of entire species being around 40% of all devils would die. The main reason was that in the Astral Boundary existence of Evil Pieces would make us a grand target by strong factions for an attack. Things like that were priceless treasures even in the Astral Boundary, and from the information of Longinus Dreizhen Orden, then not many Universes had something similar; that was why I planned to make them the utmost secret of our species and is used only in the direst needs. "Hela, mobilize all Legions. It is time to start. Send a message to Azrael to bring his Death Guard Legion to the Main Battlefield at the end of the battle. We are starting. You will lead the charge, try to kill Kokabiel, or at least cripple him." I said as Hela nodded and went to execute my order. "Fia, contact your father and inform him of my plan. Also, be ready for the war; you are going to participate in one project of mine. After the battle starts, you will go with the Grandmaster of Temple, and he will give you a list of names. You are one of the strongest people under me, and several of those targets may prove difficult to deal with." I said lightly, as I wanted Grayfia to help Execution Temple to dispose of some people. She looked a bit sad knowing that her younger brother became one of my targets to be disposed of, not that she wasn''t aware of his terrible mental state, which was so compatible with Rizevims. Two madmen that were made for each other, like sent from heaven. "I know what are you thinking about Grayfia, but there is nothing that could be done. Though I promise that If possible, I will imprison Euclid, instead of killing him, if your father allows it." In truth, it was my father-in-law''s idea to kill his own son. He was very well aware of how the House of Lucifuge would end with Euclid being the head of the house and about his blind loyalty to the Rizevim and terrible mental state. Gerstahl would do everything in order to prevent the decline of his house, even if it means killing his son, who would bring only chaos and destruction to the House of Lucifuge. "Vena, sent letter to Zekram. It is time to start." After everyone departed to their own things, I was left in my study alone, thinking about various things. "While the final battle is nothing more than a farce, it would be a good time to dispose of problematic elements in our race that would be participating in it." I muttered to myself. Currently, nobody aside from the highest-ranking members of three factions knew that the final battle was just a play, and after this battle, all three factions would enter a ceasefire. "And then the time of Baator would come." I said. Baator, the place where supernatural species could coexist, be it Dragons, Devils, Fallen Angels, Oni, or other species. Hela would be showing herself during the battle. I gave her an order to kill Kokabiel, though I doubt that it would be possible to kill that ???kroach. For me, it would be enough if she injured him severely, so he won''t be causing trouble for the next decades. Kokabiel was a warmonger and he would soon start endangering everything that I have decided with Azazel, but unfortunately, there were a large number of Fallen Angels inside the Grigori that shared his ideals. Chapter 160 - Final Battle (1) Main Battlefield in the Underworld "You have touched the Laws. So young, and..." Said Zekram with a shocked expression as he looked at me when I entered the Military HQ. There were only several people in the room, namely Zekram Bael, Gerstahl Lucifuge, Archduke Ageres, and Mephisto Pheles. The most powerful nobles in the Underworld and representatives of all Devil Factions in the Underworld. "Your Majesty." Said Zekram as he bowed slightly. "Your Majesty." Said Gerstahl as he too bowed. "Your Majesty." I didn''t say anything and accepted everything that came with it. I knew that this wasn''t just a formal greeting; it was a form of acceptance and pledge at the same time, a sign that that the times have changed. "We can start." I said as we all sat down around the small table. "So... is that information confirmed?" Asked Zekram slowly. "Yes, all Four of them are dead, and Lucifer died by my hand as I tore his heart out. That madman would sooner or later kill us all; you all know that. Yahweh is on the verge of death; his soul got eroded by the Law of Chaos when fighting Trihexa. It is a miracle, he managed to seal it, and it didn''t kill us all." I said plainly, as none of them were able to refute me. I saw that I got silent consent with my actions, and I knew that not even Zekram and Gerstahl approved of using Trihexa to fight Yahweh. It was suicidal. Especially Shiva or Great Red, they would only attack when Trihexa has annihilated all entire Three Factions. While Okhwang would save my wives and me, I would lose the entire foundation and would need to start from zero, which would be troublesome. That was why releasing Trihexa from its slumber was considered madness. It could have easily backfired at us; fortunately, Yahweh was able to seal the Beast Emperor of the Apocalypse. "After the final battle, I would proclaim myself as the Emperor of Baator, and the first Empire of multiple supernatural species would be created from forces of Devils, Dragon, and Fallen Angels, Aesir, Vanir, and others." I stated as everybody looked curiously, especially at me mentioning Fallen Angels. "I have met Azrael, the Archangel of Death. He pledged his allegiance and that of his Legion, Death Guard Legion to myself and Baator." I said as everybody was shocked deeply. "I have talked with Azazel, and the majority of Fallen Angels participating in the battle, are from not his faction in the Grigori, and most of them are followers of Kokabiel, or now deceased Satanael who perished by my hand. So, it is okey to do them as serious damage as possible. While Yahweh is still alive, he is probably engaged in the creation of his Sacred Gears for his ''beloved'' humans so that he won''t be making a move." Now I can call him by his name as I am already strong enough to ignore the side-effect of saying his name. And in the future, when true Baator is formed, then every influence he had on our races would be forever purged and forgotten. "How many soldiers are going to participate in the Final Battle?" Asked Zekram. "We have mustered altogether around 8 billion soldiers from all around the devil species territories." Answered Lord Lucifuge. This was really high number, but we devils numbered around 25 billion currently; even with relatively low fertility, we had enough time to multiply. And most importantly, approximately 70% of our entire race was able to fight, with around 50% receiving at least basic military training. At least one of the few good things that even most incompetent nobles did was force military training for civilians so that they would be recruited into the army in case of need. "How many loyalist Legions are among remains of Houses Beelzebub, Asmodeus, and Leviathan that won''t bend the knee?" I asked with frost cold voice. "Not as much as we would have predicted. I propose we shall put them at the Vanguard; they would be killed as Vanguard would be hit the hardest, especially if they encounter warmongers of Grigori." Stated my father-in-law Gerstahl Lucifuge. "That is a good idea; implement it immediately." "It shall be done, Your Majesty." "After the Battle is concluded, I will proclaim Rizevim fugitive and order him to be killed on sight, though I doubt he will be caught. He will escape as soon as possible. After the battle, we will go to the Lucifaad with our Legions and take over the city, where I will coronate myself the Emperor and the new governmental system will be implemented immediately, started from the Elder System." Elders of the Baator would be the hidden guardians of the Underworld and each major race of Baator would have one Elder, a powerhouse of absolute strength, with position second only to the Emperor. Currently, only three Elders were decided. 1st Elder, Zekram Bael of Devil Race. 2nd Elder, Crom Cruach of Dragon Race. 3rd Elder, Azrael, of Fallen Angel Race. Dragons were more problematic, as it would need a great time to unite them all under one banner, and for that, Crom Cruach would need to reach Elder Dragon Class or at least pinnacle of Heavenly Dragon, just like Albion and Ddraig. Currently, Dragons are dispersed around the entire Draconic Deus, and one of my ambitions was to have them all join Baator, which would significantly boost up the power of Baator. Dragons were one of the strongest species among many universes. "How many forces did Grigori and Heaven sent out?" "Grigori sent around 6 billion Fallen Angels, and Fallen Angels sent 5 billion." Chapter 161 - Final Battle (2) "So we have a numerical advantage... that is good. Focus more on the forces of Grigori instead of Heaven; with Heaven, we need to fight a defensive battle, and with Grigori offensive one." After that, we have spent several hours formulating military and battle plans for the Final Battle. The next day, the forces of the three factions already started gathering at the main battlefield, as billions were present, creating a majestic scene. After another two days, I was clad in my armor, standing side by side, with Zekram and several other high-ranking devils, as we all looked at the main battlefield and awaited the time to start the battle. Practically every noble that had bought some Arcanotech from me brought it to the battlefield, as the hundreds upon hundreds of Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries were stationed here and aimed the direction where forces of Grigori were concentrated. I alone brought 5,000 Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries that could be moved from their locations. By the agreement of me, Michael and Azazel, each faction wouldn''t send top powerhouses to fight, aside for those whom they wish to perish. It was done because, this way, we could dispose of several uncomfortable individuals that would severely endanger the ceasefire in the future. Of course, forces of the Grigori were led by Kokabiel, as Azazel wanted to dispose of him in a quiet manner, and that idiot even volunteered himself to lead the armies of Grigori into the battle as he tried to kill as many of devils and pure angels possible. "Be ready. Charge Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries and on my command fire." I commanded, as around 12,000 Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries started charging as forces of Grigori and Heaven were approaching our positions, while almost all of the Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries were aimed at the incoming Fallen Angels. "Fire! Voidfleet Fire!" I commanded as thousands of shots from the Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries and Voidflreet were fired, as the incoming swarm of Fallen Angels, causing explosions and screams here and there, death and blood flew, as millions of Fallen were killed. ''Hela, you can go.'' Each seconds tens or maybe even hundreds were killed who knows, as the chaos absolute ruled the battlefield, as the Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries and Voidfleet shot another salvo of their shots, at the forces of Grigori and several on the Pure Angels that were descending from Heaven. Even Venelana was participating in the final battle, as she already reached Satan-Class long ago, and now led the entire Legion as she clashed with forces of pure Angels. I was utterly captivated by her figure as she kept blasting thousands of Pure Angels into nothingness with her Power of Destruction. Only then I notice that she was shot with Holy Flame; fortunately, she cast a protective barrier. The Arcanotech Artifact that I created powered the barrier up significantly, so she could defend against the attack. And I perfectly and instantly knew who attacked. "Damm. Zekram takes command. Somehow Heaven''s Kokabiel has joined the war." I said in anger, as Zekram was equally angered that Archangel Uriel appeared on the battlefield. We had a silent agreement that nobody with the power of Archangel / Super Devil won''t be participating not to cause too significant collateral damage. The battle between existences on that level could be incredibly destructive. So only people below that power level participate, but who would have thought Uriel would join the fight. He was Archangel, a very strong one, that had Bloodline Ability similar to the Clan Trait, Holy Flame. He was as petty as Kokabiel and wanted to enforce superiority of Heaven, so the local warmonger. ''Hmm... he has Bloodline of Holy Flame, if combined in a right way with Incinerate Anthem, then I can create a new Clan Trait that could be even inherited probably... and having Holy Flames coupled with Dark Light would make me nemesis of everything affiliated with Dark Elements, which is perfect for the ruler of Baator. Everyone would think several times before crossing me.'' I thought in my head as I spread my twelve wings and appeared instantly by Venelana''s side, being glad that she was okey and wasn''t injured. I instantly turned around and started casting a Forbidden-Tier Spell, called Bararaq Saiqa, which created an imaginary lightning sword in my right hand, and an enormous amount of lightning was being concentrated within it. After several seconds, I released all of it in the direction of Uriel and shot a beam of condensed lightning energy his way. Bararaq Saiqa draws lightning down from the sky. Once the lightning has been summoned and stored in the sword, it releases an enormous lightning blast, able to fill the sky with light. I saw that Uriel cast a protective barrier, but it was futile, he was soon enveloped in the blinding light, together with hundreds of thousands of surrounding Pure Angels as they were turned to ash in a split of a second, as Uriel''s protective barrier cracked after several seconds, and even he was hit directly by the Forbbiden-Tier Spell Bararaq Saiqa. "Vena goes and fights on another part of the battlefield; I will deal with this pest here." I said with a cold voice as Venelana just nodded and hurried away, seeing that I was royally pissed off. If she was attacked on someone on her own level of power, or maybe even someone as strong as Kokabiel, I would interfere, as I would let her deal with it, and make a move only when her life would be in immediate danger. But Uriel was a different story; I think he wanted to kill Venelana as a form of revenge.. You need to know, thanks to my widely spread Arcanotech; Heaven had far higher losses of lives than was initially predicted. Chapter 162 - Final Battle (3) Mainly thanks to Arcnotech Device called Light Absorber, which absorbed Holy Power or energy-based attacks made from Holy Power for a short amount of time before it would break. Thanks to that Device, tens of millions of devils could survive ambushed made by Pure Angels easily. Even in battle right now, many devils could make quick attacks and kill angels solely on Light Absorber Device. While in the same Class, usually devils were superior in terms of destructive power, the elemental advantage of Pure Angels and Fallen Angels made it so that most direct fights Devil vs. Pure Angel ended up in devil being often killed if not careful. But that was instantly changed with the invention of the Light Absorber Device, which allowed the devil just to absorb the attack of Pure Angel, as he attacked Angel and killed him easily. "I thought that you would be harder to kill... Archangel Uriel." I said as I saw the bloodied figure of the Archangel Uriel, as several of his wings we broken or just burned by the enormous heat released by Bararaq Saiqa. "Let''s dance." I said as I started throwing spells at injured Archangel Uriel one after another, not leaving him an opportunity to retaliate. *** Devil Army clashed with Armies of Fallen Angels at the other side of the battlefield, which were led by the strongest Cadre of the Grigori, Kokabiel. Devil Army was slowly advancing further, with most eye-catching, being Legions of Berserkers under command of Hela that were clad in the finest armors, with finest runes and inscription and armed with best runic weapons that could be mass-produced in the Draconic Deus. Hela was on speartip slaughtering Eight-Winged Ultimate-Class Fallen Angels with her Necroswords like they were cabbage, leaving only dread and fear after she was done with someone. "Ragnar, take command of the Vanguard and push forward. I am going to try to kill that pest, my beloved told me." Commanded Hela with a cold bloodthirsty voice as she looked at Kokabiel, as several Generals that commanded either Aesir or Devils bowed deeply to the madwoman, be it in respect or fear as she departed to fight Kokabiel. Hela was famous in the Underworld as someone who did whatever she wanted and kill whomever she wanted. The only person she listened was her lover, Lord Zeoticus Lucifer. While Hela conjured several Necroswords and threw them at Kokabiel, who was flying in the air, issuing one command after another, as he sensed incoming danger and b?r?ly dodged the Necroswords. Still, one of two of his wings were severed in the sneak attack. He quickly patched up as he coughed some blood and looked at Hela with shock and fear. She didn''t give him any more time to recover, as she instantly rushed at him with two Necrswords in her hands that shone in malicious black power, as she was using Power of Death to enhance her attack, as she ferociously attacked Kokabiel. Fortunately for him, Hela still had the physique of Intermediate Stage God and didn''t manage to advance her physical body to the Great God Stage, too, as that would require too much time and resources. Kokabiel was physically as strong as Hela and was even a bit faster even with his injury, as his flight was now rather clumsy. "Stop where you are, you fu?k?n? pigeon." Screamed Hela as she threw after his several Necroswords along with blasts of Power of Death as she used her enormous reserves of Divine Power and Magical Power to conjure large-scale attacks of Power of Death or to cast Forbidden-Tier Spells that her lover taught her. Fortunately for Kokabiel, or unfortunately for Hela and other Fallen Angels, she missed as Kokabiel used his subordinates as meat shields in front of Hela''s terrifying attacks that annihilated entire Legions of Fallen Angels in seconds. Millions died like that. Kokabiel b?r?ly managed to dodge those attacks and was injured by aftershocks of explosions or other side effects. Meanwhile one could see from distance, that a large part of the Fallen Angels army, around 40% that were talons of the army started quietly retreating, not sending alert to their compatriots fighting on the front, as their commanding officer Cadre Baraqiel ordered retreat as Azazel decided that it was enough. Strangely only when an army of Devils surrounded Kokabiel''s forces and factions of his opposition, led by Berseker Aesir, General Rangar, who just now smashed the skull of some Cadre-Class Fallen Angel apart. While Azazel seemed like a good, cheerful, and friendly guy, he was still the most cunning, scheming, and despicable Fallen Angel. With this move, he practically decimated his opposition, and while Kokabiel survived as he escaped, his forces were gone, he still had one or two Legions somewhere, but that was only a tiny part of what it was.. He won''t be able to make any major moves for upcoming centuries, and even if he tried something then, he would be no enemy for him. Chapter 163 - "Long Live the Emperor! All Hail Baator!" Meanwhile, Hela was enjoying the slaughter of the Fallen Angels here and there, I was finishing my duel with Archangel Uriel, who managed to recover his standing, and now we were dueling on equal ground. However, I had a slight advantage thanks to my higher mastery of magic. I was Grandmaster in most magic systems, which was something to behold. I already saw Azazel''s loyal forces retreating from the battlefield as I released a small smile over it. I then shot another salvo from the Gate of Babylon Style of Dark Light which was now even stronger after I touched the realm of Laws and started comprehending Law of Darklight. My aim, on the contrary, was to comprehend and reach Apocalypse-Class through the Law of Devouring. For several reasons to be truthful. The first one was that if I can comprehend the Law of Devouring, then my Clan Trait Devour would be so strong that I could Devour Laws of killed foes if they comprehended some. I have managed to do it with Lucifer, but that was more a stroke of luck than a show of proficiency or ability. The second reason was that with Devour, I could increase my energy reserves or get stronger really fast compared to the Law of Darklight. After half an hour, my fight with Archangel Uriel has wholly obliterated the diameter of several kilometers, as aftershocks still killed some Angels, Devils, or Fallens that were close to our position. Unfortunately for me, we have reached a deadlock. While Uriel was stronger than me Class wise, and even had some elemental advantage over me, with his Light and especially his Holy Flame, I was perfectly able to contain all of it with the use of my superior mastery of magic and arcane. I really wanted to kill him, as his Bloodline combined with Incinarete Anthem could create a new Clan Trait, and possibly another Law for sure. I mean it, as if someone has Clan Trait and is talented enough in terms of Soul Aptitude, then the chance of comprehending the Law which was essential for the already said Clan Trait was higher than people who didn''t have anything and were forced to start from scratch. I looked at Uriel, who was flying in the air opposite me, as we stared at each other, until out of nowhere beam of black energy, that looked like a sword slash attacked Uriel and sent him flying. "Azrael." I instantly used the opportunity created by Azrael''s sneak attack on Uriel and the arrival of the Death Guard Legion, which joined the forces of the Devils and started ferociously attacking the remaining Fallen Angels on the main battlefield. I appeared in front of Uriel, who was greatly injured by Azrael''s Power of Death that was used abundantly in the attack. I quickly cast Gravity Fall Spell that increased Gravity around Uriel several dozen times, as Dark Light Chains bond him in one place, not allowing him to move an inch, as I used my scythe Rosenkreutz to decapitate Archangel Uriel. I stored the corpse of now-deceased Archangel in my storage space and flew away to the place where Zekram was together with other high-ranking devils, as Azrael also landed down. Zekram was famous for his vast network of contacts in every faction and pantheon across the entire Draconic Deus. Within the next several hours, slowly but steadily, all Fallen Angels that were not part of Azazel''s followers were massacred like pigs; corpses were stacked together created literal mountains of rotting flash and rivers of blood. Heaven retreated shortly after the death of Uriel and several more Cadres and Archangels that Yahweh created for the sole purpose of War, so they were a bit warmonger, one could say. Azazel, who retreated as first, had the lowest losses. While they sent 6 billion soldiers to fight, they lost around 1,5. Almost all were loyalists of Kokabiel, already killed Satanael or some other Cadres who wanted the War to continue. Devils who sent 8 billion lost around 1 billion, from which 70% were basically loyal soldiers of Houses Leviathan, Asmodeus, and Beelzebub. Others were some Houses that leaned more towards the Satans. With Zekram and Gerstahl, I placed them to Vanguard, which was destined to die under the heaviest attacks from Grigoria and Heaven. "It has ended." Someone said as silence took over the command tent. "No. It has just started." I said as everyone looked at me with surprise, and only a selected few knew what was going on. I then look at the group of Generals and Nobles, around ten people altogether. "Four Satans are dead, and Lucifer has perished by my hand. Descendants of those weaklings who you call leaders were annihilated to one. From today, there will be no Satans; there will be no division, conflict, discrimination between our race. From today, I am sole supreme ruler, the Emperor of Baator." I said, shocking everyone in the tent deeply, aside from a few, who were now standing by my side, most notable being Zekram, Gerstahl, and other Heads of Six Houses of Lucifer, Azrael, Mephisto, or Archduke Agares. "So what is it? Allegiance or death?" I asked once again impatiently as I saw all of them reach for weapons as rage-filled their faces. "It''s treason, then." I said as I released Dark Light Chains out of nowhere that pierced hearts of all of them simultaneously, killing them instantly. "Long Live the Emperor! All Hail Baator!" Said Zekram as he knelt before me, leaving me surprised at his gesture, but I smiled, as I knew that what it meant. "Long Live the Emperor! All Hail Baator!" Said Gerstahl Lucifuge together with Heads of Six Houses of Lucifer as they all knelt down on one knee. "Long Live the Emperor! All Hail Baator!" "Long Live the Emperor! All Hail Baator!" "Long Live the Emperor! All Hail Baator!" Chanted rest of the nobles and military Generals. Chapter 164 - Awakening of the Fiend From the moment we marched on the Capital City of Lucifaad. Almost one billion armies of Devils, Fallen Angels, Vanir, and Aesir marched in orderly formation under my lead. Through the journey, commoners knelt and chanted: "Long Live the Empire!" Practically everyone in the Underworld already knew that what happened and that the new Empire had been created. With each passed territory, Nobles reigning there bent the knee and swore loyalty to the Crimson Emperor as they joined me in the march with their armies. After several hours, we arrived at the capital city of Lucifaad, where we were greeted by the Governor-General of Capital with his entourage, who came in front of me, knelt on right knee, and said. "Welcome home, Your Imperial Majesty." I nodded and then entered the city, where each one of the citizens knelt as they all greeted the birth of the new Emperor and new Empire. "Long Live the Emperor! All Hail Baator!" I went directly to Lucifer''s Palace that would become temporal Imperial Palace before the entire city of Lucifaad was re-constructed and turned into an enormous fortress city with an entirely new Imperial Palace. When I arrived at Lucifer''s Palace, there was a need to discuss some things, such as coronation, the official establishment of the Baator, unification, implementation of the TML, and several other things that needed attention. For example, things like complete re-structuralization of administration and military, the creation of Imperial Army, or rather Imperialis Militarum, other branches, and many other things. After several hours of intense discussion, where more people participated, for example, Crom Cruach arrived together with Tiamat and Tannin, representing Dragons that would be part of the Baator. Works around the city had already started, and everything was going smoothly. The next meeting was decided to be scheduled after several days. So I used this time to go to Agreas to witness the awakening of the Malacoda Malebranche. After extensive research conducted by House Nebiros, led by Zaorama, we have found that Malebranche was actually one person, an ancient demon, that was divided somehow into twelve weapons. We have found a way to combine twelve of them together once more and awaken an ancient demon by the name of Malacoda Malebranche. His power was estimated to be at the pinnacle of Super Devil, with enough potential to reach higher class just after some time. I stood in the secret laboratory together with the Zaorama Nebiros, who was standing behind me as we were completing the magical circle, that would combine all twelve pieces of the Malebranche to awaken the ancient demon Malacoda Malebranche. If I could gain his loyalty, I would have a great ?sset on my side, perfect leader for the Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes. If not, I have also prepared another magical formation, that would instantly seal Malacoda before he could regain his own power, and banish him into an alternate dimension. "Shall we start, My Emperor?" Asked Zaorama Nebiros politely from the side as I nodded my head. Together we started chanting the activation spell, and soon enough, the magical circle started shining in the blinding crimson light as the twelve stone statues started disintegrating, and particles started concentrating in the one place, creating a silhouette of a man. He had black hair with streaks of red and gold and golden eyes; he wore garments like that of a prince and had a majestic aura around him. He came to me and stared at me for several minutes as the absolute silence was in the place when he knelt on the right knee, and contract appeared in the air between us. I read it before agreeing to the conditions of it, as it was good for me. "Master." He said in a polite voice as he looked at me. "I, Diablo Noir, gracefully offer my services for the head of the Dawn Lord." He said, what was the object of his undying loyalty. The Demon we thought to be Malacoda Malebranche was named in reality, Diablo Noir, a mighty Abyssal Fiend, that was nearly killed, and then crippled by the Dawn Lord, a Warlock Emperor of the Dawn Warlock Dynasty of the Cangzhi Plane, before he went to sleep. Diablo was too powerful, or instead, his unique, innate ability made even mighty Dawn Lord unable to kill him, so he crippled him, and severed his body into twelve separate parts, and threw them across the entire Astral Boundary. In a weird twisted sense of fate and irony, all of them ended in the outskirts of the Astral Boundary after thousands of years, and after other untold millennia, they finished on the plane called Draconic Deus, a long before the Dimensional Gap was created. "Are you sure? It may take thousands of years for me to match someone as mighty as the Dawn Lord?" I said solemnly, as Warlock Emperor was absolutely different league, and such existence could wipe out the entire Draconic Deus with the wave of the hand. "Of course, my master. You, someone who lacks fate yet has the grandest destiny." He said almost with fanatical zeal as I was a bit wary around him, but with his age and experiences, it wouldn''t be weird not to recognize Fateless One, as my energy combined with his during the signing of the contract. What caught my interest was the last part of the sentence, but I have decided not to question it, as it wasn''t the right time and place. "Then it is okay. I treasure and reward loyalty and punish incompetence." I said as his grin widened. "What shall be your first order, my Master?" He asked as he looked at me, still kneeling. "You shall be my sword and shield, my most loyal companion and enforcer. You shall be Captain-General of Adeptus Custodes, Emperor''s Golden Legion." I said with a majestic voice. "As your Imperial Majesty Commands." Said Diablo as he stood up. Chapter 165 - Senatorum Imperialis (1) Basically, the governing structure of the Baator is as follows. The head of state is the Emperor, who has absolute rule over the nation, of course, me. Then there are Elders of the Baator, currently only three of them. Beneath them is an organization called Senatorum Imperialis. It consisted of the highest-ranked people in the Baator; they decide ordinary state matters, basically some equivalent of a very small parliament, much closer to Council in nature. Currently was the first meeting of the Senatorum Imperialis, which consisted of Hela, was appointed as Lord Marshall Militant of Imperialis Militarum, Cain Valefor the Grandmaster of Execution Temple, Grayfia Lucifuge who was High Chancellor of the Baator, Diablo Noir newly appointed Captain-General of Adeptus Custodes, that didn''t even exist, Tiamat who was appointed as Commisar-General of the Commissariat, Mephisto Pheles Magister of the Arcane and Magic Research, Archduke Agares Magister of the Domestic Affairs and Territorial Management, and my father-in-law was named as the Lord High Admiral of the Voidfleets. This meeting was not in total attendance as some posts were not occupied due to a lack of suitable people for them. So, Elder temporarily took their duties. Zekram was temporal Magister of Foreign Affairs, and Azrael was named temporal Magister of Intelligence Department. The Magisterium of Arcanotech and Development was temporarily entrusted to Mephisto Pheles as the nature of these two Magisteriums was close in nature. "Now that everyone is in attendance, we can start the first meeting of the Senatorum Imperialis." Said Grayfia, as my lovely wife was the new High Chancellor of the Baator, something akin to a prime minister. Her role was basically managing logistics between various Magisteriums and Military Branches, and many other things. She also acted as the chairman for the Senatorum Imperialis. "The first topic on the hand is the creation of Imperialis Militarum. Lord Marshall Militant Hela Odinsdottir will now speak." Stated Grayfia in a formal voice. "The process of the creation of Imperialis Militarum. All Noble Houses have surrendered control over their Legions to the Imperialis Militarum, leaving them with only maximally one Legion of hundred thousand soldiers as personal Household Guards. Within the next one month, unification shall be complete, and we will have a complete Chief of Staff. I have also named three Lord Generals that would be overseeing the creation of the Imperialis Militarum." One of the reasons why the devil''s government wasn''t really working was that every House possessed its own army, which was the root of the problem. If the Nobles maintained their own troops, it created less dependence on the nation, and significantly boosted their own power, and even increased the possibility of the rebellion or something similar. Ironically, the majority of those soldiers, almost all of them, were not even loyal to their Houses; they were loyal only for money. Now that Imperialis Militarum was created, I ordered Hela and several trusted generals to train a strong and fanatically loyal army. While Noble Houses are permitted to the main army of only one Legion, which numbered around 100,000 soldiers, of course, that didn''t include Mechs or special units. This would also force nobles to train their soldiers, as they were really prideful and wouldn''t accept that commoners of Imperialis Militarum are stronger than their Household Guards. Of course, in times of war, even Household Guards would be required to participate. "Thank you for your report, Lord Marshall Militant Hela. The next one to speak is Magister of Domestic Affairs and Territorial Development, Lord Archduke Agares." I found it funny seeing so formally speaking with Hela when we had a threesome started by girl-on-girl play just yesterday. "Thank you, High Chancellor Lucifuge. The Magisterium of Domestic Affairs and Territorial Development started implementing the TML, Territorial Management Level standards across all territories in the Underworld, with the help of the Commissariat. Several Heads of Houses have been severely punished, and around 500 people with peerage have been arrested or sentenced to death, while most of them are Elders of Noble Houses. I predict that within ten years, we will rebuild everything, and within another 25, TML will need to be increased once more due to progress of every territory." Said Archduke Agares as I awaited something like this. It wasn''t surprising that the Commissariat arrested so many nobles, and many of them were even sentenced to death. This was a time when all unwanted elements needed to be purged from the Empire I am building. And when I get complete control over the Underworld''s Will, then my Empire will be literary immune to things like corruption or misuse of power as the World''s Will see everyone and everything. The Commissariat was Enforces and Military Police. Their role was to root up any corruption and enforce Laws. Also, they were kind of political officers in the army whose duty was to prevent any misuse of power, and they oversaw practically everything. "How is the progress of rebuilding the Capital?" I asked Archduke Agares as it was his responsibility as Magister of Domestic Affairs and Territorial Development. "It is going very fast with the help of Mechs; the works are scheduled to be completed within the next three months." Answered Archduke Agares. "That is good; also, we will rename the capital upon finishing the reconstruction. Its new name shall be Anor Londo." I said as I could not wait to see the newly reconstructed city, and especially the Imperia Palace of Anor Londo. The entire city would be rebuilt in majestic gothic architecture, which would give it a new charming and bit creepy atmosphere, really suiting the Baator. The city needed to be expanded, practically majority of the buildings required to be redesigned, and many more needed to be added, as Lucifaad. At the same time, the devil species'' capital was relatively small due to policies of previous Satans for residency of the city. Practically only people with lineages of Nobility could live in the city, so the population was relatively small¡ªsomething I planned to change and reward settlement pass for loyal followers of my House. Chapter 166 - Senatorum Imperialis (2) "Thank you, Archduke Agares, now the next one to speak will be Lord Mephisto Pheles." Stated Grayfia as Archduke Agares sat down on his seat after he finished his report. "Thank you, High Chancellor. Now to start, we have been drafting plans for mass-production of Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries and Arcanotech Towers to fortify every city completely so that it could be defended easily in times of attack or siege. Construction of Mechanical Factories is going smoothly, and initial phase would be completed within one month, while next phase would take at least two years." Said Lord Mephisto about the much-needed fortification of cities. Currently, most cities of Baator are utterly vulnerable to attacks. Only some like Lucifaad had some magical defenses, but even they weren''t anything significant. So, every city needed to have Arcanotech Towers, creating protective formation, runic walls around the entire city, mounted with Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries that would provide at least a basic level of defense. And this was only elementary level. When completed, Lucifaar od better Anor Londo would be unpenetrable even if it got attacked by several Albions and Ddraigs. Imperial Capital needed to be as fortified as possible, as it will house headquarters of all Magisteriums and Military Branches. Something logical as it was a Throne City. "What about the expansion of the Voidfleets?" Voidfleets would be crucial in the Astral Boundary, as traveling by Voidship was the easiest way of crossing Astral Boundary, and in planar conquest, Voidships and their equivalents were priceless and could decide how the war would end. Of course, it was possible by traveling through Astral Gate by opening a trans-dimensional portal, but they required a higher amount of energy compared to the energy consumption of voidship, and Astral Gates often precious resources necessary to be constructed. In Astral Boundary, Warlock often used alchemy voidships to suppress thousands of worlds, and Arcanists were the same. Other civilization and species had their own voidships, as voidship was mighties Warmachine in the Astral Boundary. "That is rather problematic; without exploring Dimensional Gap further, we cannot begin construction Voidfleets on a large scale. Constructing Mechs and Anti-Matter Magicule Canon Batteries is a different story, as they actually don''t require many resources, but voidships are a different story. I have thought about exploring Draconic Deus, the space around it. While it would lack or have in small quantities precious ores and resources, it should be enough to expand our forces several times." Answered Gerstahl Lucifuge as I pondered about it. Draconic Deus actually included the entire galaxy around it. The reason, why I was a bit reluctant, was that it probably won''t have many precious ores such as Adamantium, Mithril, Orichalcum, Imperial Gold, Stygian Iron, or Vibranium due to lack of Magical Participles, they were really low in Draconic Deus and entire Galaxy. But it was the only possible choice. "Then start sending Voidships packed with Drones to mine resources on Mars. If it proves to be profitable, we can start mining resources in all worlds of our Solar System and slowly mine the entire galaxy. Have you found some intelligent life when you were doing scans of the Draconic Deus?" I said as I finished with a question. "Yes, we have found two space-faring civilizations, completely technological based. Annihilation protocol would be implemented, and their races would be exterminated for resources." Said Lord High Admiral of Navy. "Good, but preserve their knowledge." I had a weird fetish for collecting knowledge of factions or civilizations I have destroyed, and I had a relatively simple reason for that. Even with all-time in existence, one person couldn''t know everything, so I have started collecting pieces of knowledge of my foes. In each one I have collected would be something new that was unknown to me. Usually, it would stem from the unique circumstances of local faction, culture, needs, power system, or something else. Even in my past life, I have collected an entire database of civilization knowledge that belonged to annihilated species by the Solar Federation. In truth, it was a common practice used by Solar Federation. When we have defeated and exterminated enemy Xenos, the first thing we searched weren''t resources but rather data banks with knowledge. Then they were implemented into our own, advancing our technology by leaps and bounds. "As you command, Your Majesty." Said both Lord Mephisto Pheels and Lord Gerstahl Lucifuge. "Diablo, how the process of recruitment is going?" He was competent, from what I have found during this week, and was fantastically loyal. "The process is going smoothly. The first batch of 1,000 Recruits would be ready within the next one year, but reaching the standard of Custodian would need at least 15 after the surgery." Said Diablo as he bowed to me, and I nodded my head. The Standart strength of the Custodian was set to Ultimate-Class. Devils had a lot of Ultimate-Class devils, but many of them were only in early stages and were rather weak. So Diablo needed to train them, strengthen them and teach them. While at the same time making them fanatically loyal. I predict that within a century, I would have 1,000 Ultimate-Class Custodians, that are at higher levels of the Ultimate-Class. And all of them would be Dual Classes, in Demonic Energy as in Physique. From these recruits, the majority were of High-Class, and only 70 or so were Ultimate-Class. Most would need to reach that level within the next ten to fifteen years. Trans-Devil Gene-Seed would be implanted into them after reaching pinnacle High-Class.. It was found out, that the Trans-Devil Gene-Seed had the best chance to accommodate with the body when the subject was at the High-Class if we are talking about the generalized version. Chapter 167 - The New Empire After finishing the report from the Diablo about the current state of the Adeptus Custodes, we have discussed details about my coronation, which was scheduled to be when the reconstruction of capital is completed. It was decided so for several reasons, but mainly now there were more pressing matters than my coronation process, as it was just a formality, as everyone knew where the real power lied in the devil race. There were many things to do, and now everyone had a lot of work, especially in Military Branches; that was needed to be completed as soon as possible due to possible attacks on us from other factions. It was no secret that Olympians were already looking at our way with hungry gaze, but not due to their power over us, but rather due to the arrogance of Hades and Zeus, especially Hades. He always despised devils as species and wanted to eradicate us one day. On the coronation, I will be crowned as the Emperor, and Vena, Fia, and Hela would be crowned as the Empresses, even though they had their official titles due to their occupations. While Venelana was not taking part in the government, she took place as General Manager of Umbrella Corporation, the name of my company in the Underworld, which was created several months ago, by fusing all weaponry factories and manufacturers across that Underworld that I owned. After dispersing the first meeting of the Senatorum Imperialis, everyone went to do their own things. Elders as Zekram and Azrael were attending their duties as temporal Magisters of their respective Magisteriums, while not forgetting to train to become stronger, as Elders were a final bastion of the Baator. Crom Cruach traveled through the Underworld and negotiated with various independent dragon flocks for them to join the Baator, which would take a lot of time. Fortunately, his strength and presence of Tiamat, who was his mate, and Tannin considerably sped things up, and maybe within several years, all dragons in the Underworld would join the Baator. Of course, that was only part of the Dragon Race in the Draconic Deus, as countless dragons and many dragon flocks lived in dimensional spaces of other factions, pantheons or pocket dimension or even Earth. What was probably the greatest shock for me was the news that all three of my wives got pregnant and that I would be a father. With three children coming on the way, I was probably even more nervous about it than my pregnant wives; they were just happy. Venelana most vocal one about it, while Grayfia and Hela were more modest and controlled with their emotions. Something I have feared, as I don''t want to imagine dealing with emotionally unstable Hela and Grayfia, as both of them could be hard to handle sometimes, especially Hela. I already can see Necrosword flying at my head for nothing or something. These three months until the capital was finished really passed fast. The new Capital of the Baator, Anor Londo, was breathtaking. With its gothic architecture that was implemented in the city, and countess majestic Arcanteoch constructs that were built across the entire city was created a glorious and mighty feeling around the whole city. Countless people filled the streets of the Anor Londo as they gathered in front of the Imperial Palace before the Outer Imperial Palace as the Imperial Palace of the Anor Londo was divided basically into two parts. One was the Outer Palace, which was the size of a smaller city with its enormous gates, bridges, and other constructs. While the Inner Palace, or better known as the Sanctus Imperialis, was divided from the Outer Palace by the Ultimate Gate. While the Outer Palace was freely accessible by members of Nobility, Army, and other governmental branches. On the contrary, the Sancus Imperialis was basically a wasteland where only members of the House of Lucifer, Elders, or Senatorum Imperialis could access. Today was the exception, as the coronation took place in the Throne Room in the Sancus Imperialis. Thousands of people filled the Throne Room, hundreds of thousands in the entire Sancus Imperialis and millions in the Outer Palace, and even more in the whole Anor Londo. I sat on the enormous Golden Throne that I personally constructed as it acted as an amplifier of my Demonic Energy. By my side was Diablo Noir, Captain-General of Adeptus Custodes, with several Custodians clad in golden armor holding halberds as their weapons of choice. Then a step below me stood Elders Zekram, Azrael, Crom Cruach, my wives, and other members of the Sentaroum Imperialis. Then in two rows opposite to each other stood Heads of Houses of Baator Nobility, chiefs of Dragon Flocks, and High-Ranking Officers of the Military. Below them were ordinary nobles and soldiers gathered in thousands; by ordinary, I meant with sufficient social standing to be present in the Sancus Imperialis. "My brother and sisters. Today, we have gathered here to witness a major leap in our history. Today, many of you who are gathered here, are of various origins and backgrounds. Of different standings and species. For a long time, the supernatural species of Draconic Deus have been divided by our birth, strength, origin, and race. Stagnation and discrimination have become a common reality to us, and degradation of our glory would be our inevitable end. But, but today it has ended. Today, this day, we have gathered to create a better future of reason, progress, and advancement. No matter of race of Baator, be it a Devil, Dragon or Fallen Angel, or any others that would join us in the future. In front of factions and beings of the Astral Boundary we are nothing, but united we stand for the future and one day, we will take our rightful place in the Universe as the Baator. So from this time, until the end of times, I proclaim the foundation of the Baator, and I crown myself the first Emperor of the Baator to lead our Empire to the ages of the unpreceded glory, victory and wealth. To an age, where Baator would be the strongest faction, where there would be no discrimination of supernatural species, where there would be an opportunity and a world of infinite possibilities for everyone, where we would stand at the top of the food chain even in the Astral Boundary and even across many Universes. That I something I swear to achieve on my own very soul. All Hail Baator!" "All Hail Baator! All Hail the Emperor!" "All Hail Baator! All Hail the Emperor!" "All Hail Baator! All Hail the Emperor!" Chapter 168 - I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Hello loyal subjects of the Emperor, I greet you. I wish you a Merry Christmas, blessed and peaceful holidays, and a Happy New Year. The Book 1 - Re:Devil of the Crimson Devil has officially ended. I have been writing it since the February of this year and is actually the first-ever novel that I have drafted to the point where I have decided every detail, ending including and I am really determined to end this novel. Altogether the Book 1 has 167 chapters and around 167 thousand words. From now on, Book 1 - The Chthonian Empire of the Baator will start with the first chapter being published at 28.12. 2021. I wish to thank for readers and supporters, especially the people supporting me on the pat-reon for that your souls won''t be eaten by Zeoticus at the end of the world :D