The first Demon Monarch kept his head down and his thoughts to himself. The other eleven were looking at him. They always looked at him when something had gone wrong, because he had a history of challenging the Emperor. Although he never succeeded, he was quite persistent. This time though, he wanted them to know, very clearly, that he had done nothing. Since the last Divine War ended a hundred thousand years ago, he hadn't gathered the courage to challenge the Emperor.
The Demon Emperor's dark purple eyes swept the room, looking at the countless figures kneeling in front of him. Apart from the twelve Monarchs, all the others were High God Tier Demons. The weaker demonic Gods weren't even qualified to approach the Emperor's Temple.
"The plan to occupy Arboriel has failed." He said at last, his voice flat with the particular coldness of someone managing their anger rather than expressing it, "A Demon Lord entered Arboriel and took the Eye of the Abyss."
The eleven Demon Monarchs who had been silently blaming the first one exhaled very carefully.
The First Demon Monarch pressed his forehead to the floor, "Command me, Your Majesty. Give me his Divine Name and I'll personally hunt him."
The Demon Emperor said, "His Divine Name is something you will need to find yourself."
The first Demon Monarch's head came up fractionally before he caught himself. In all history, the Demon Emperor had never 'not known' the identity of someone who'd crossed him. The room absorbed this information in silence.
"Your subordinate shall obey." The first Demon Monarch said, and put his head back down.
The Demon Emperor let that settle, then moved on with the ease of someone filing a grudge rather than abandoning it, "This is a small matter. The Divine War is what matters. The Throneveil Shrine is about to reappear on the Endless Continent, and this time, I intend to claim the God King's Throne for myself." He rose from the throne, "All forces of the Burning Legion are to station at the Devil's Moon and wait. The moment the Endless Continent's wall weakens, we attack."
The Devil's Moon, known as the Blood Moon by the creatures of the Endless Continent, was a base of the Dimensional Demons with countless Demon Nests present on it.
The Demon Emperor said, "Every creature on the Endless Continent, mortal and God alike, is to be exterminated."
The twelve Demon Monarchs and the other Demonic High Gods kept their heads down to the floor and did not speak.
…
Location: Fourth layer of Arboriel's Underground.
Christina came to say goodbye to Haru before she left. She told him that when the Divine War began, she intended to bring the Gods under her command and fight under the Great Aetherium's banner against the Burning Legion.
Although there was no binding covenant, no formal oath, it was enough for Haru to accept them. Then she rose into the air and took her subordinates with her.
Then, Haru held the Eye of the Abyss and absorbed it within his forehead. It settled into his godhead and went to work immediately, cultivating the origin of the Abyss Law he'd absorbed. He could feel it, a steady low pressure, like a second heartbeat.
The logic was straightforward: if that law ever reached God Monarch Tier, Haru himself would become a pseudo God Monarch. Whether there was a path from there to the true God Monarch Tier, he didn't know yet.
Celestia didn't know either, and she'd existed longer than most Gods dared to imagine. In the entire history of the 'Illusory Universe', only the God of Creation had achieved it. That path wasn't documented because no one else had walked it. Still, Haru decided to tackle one problem at a time.
"It's a pity." Svetlana said, watching him, "If the Eye were an offensive artifact at this level, Your Majesty would be able to suppress the top three Demon Monarchs right now single-handedly."
"I wouldn't have obtained it if it were an offensive artifact." Haru said, "The demons brought it here specifically to devour Laws. Any other type of Artifact wouldn't have been left here."
Svetlana considered this and nodded, "True."
The top three Demon Monarchs of the Abyss were peak Supreme Gods, the most dangerous individual combatants the demon race fielded below the Emperor himself. The remaining nine ranged from late-stage to intermediate-stage. These twelve, each commanding a fraction of the Burning Legion. The shape of what was coming was not difficult to read.
"It'll find its purpose." Haru said, "An artifact that can devour and assimilate planets' laws doesn't stay decorative forever."
Svetlana's eyes narrowed, "Your Majesty isn't planning to use it to grab other planets' Laws, right?"
"Why would I waste it on that?" Haru said, "I don't need more planets' laws. I have one."
She looked at him. He looked back and knew the exact moment when she arrived at the correct answer.
"The Abyss!" She exclaimed.
"If the Burning Legion can be annihilated in this Divine War, the Abyss' Laws will be at their weakest." Haru said, "That's when we infiltrate, use the Eye, and I become the new Lord of the Abyss."
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