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*****
As one descends further into the Underworld, the dimensions constrict. Consequently, when George unleashed the full breadth of his Abyssal aura, it was more than enough to blanket the entire fifth floor.
At this very moment, every demon residing on the fifth level was prostrate upon the ground. They trembled violently, as if worshipping a supreme deity, not daring to make even the slightest movement.
Crack!
On the seventh floor, Lucifer's fearsome gravity magic caused the entire floor to sink an entire level in an instant.
"Just who is this guy?!"
To reduce top-tier mid-rank demons to such a pathetic, cowering state—this could no longer be explained away as simple fear magic. There had to be some unknown power at play that they couldn't comprehend.
"What do you two think?" Lucifer turned his gaze toward the two highest-ranking demons whose power was second only to his own.
"We can't let this continue. This individual is clearly unnatural," Beelzebub, the Spatial Demon, suggested. "The safest course of action is to concentrate all our forces here. We wait for him to arrive, and then we strike together to eliminate him!"
Megicula, the Curse Demon, stroked her long hair, offering a different perspective: "He might not even be human. It's impossible for a human to possess such power. Since he hasn't actively tried to harm any demons yet, why don't we just pretend we don't see him? Our plan is nearing completion anyway. Once it's done, we can enter the human world regardless. Why take unnecessary risks now?"
Hearing the words of his two subordinates, Lucifer knit his brows and fell into deep thought. After a few moments, he reached a decision.
"Order all high-rank demons from the sixth floor to assemble here immediately!"
Indeed, he ultimately chose to follow Beelzebub's advice. It wasn't that he thought Megicula was wrong; rationally speaking, her proposal was undoubtedly more secure. However, the current situation could no longer be measured by logic alone.
As the ruler of the Underworld and the strongest demon, if he allowed a human to wander through his domain with such blatant disregard, where would his majesty as the Demon King remain? If the other demons began to view their King as weak, it wouldn't be long before they entertained thoughts of usurpation.
Megicula's suggestion might have even been a subtle test of his resolve. Once their plan succeeded, they wouldn't just be ruling this dull Underworld, but the vibrant and rich human world. If he wasn't strong enough, Beelzebub and Megicula wouldn't hesitate to join forces to kill him, devour his power, and crown a new Demon King.
"Huh, nobody's home?"
Upon reaching the sixth floor, George found it completely devoid of demons. A flicker of surprise crossed his face, though he quickly surmised what had happened. He didn't mind, however, as the outcome remained the same.
Even if the sixth-floor demons had moved to the seventh, or if every demon in the Underworld suddenly transformed into a highest-ranking demon, the result would be identical. This was the absolute suppression of Status.
When the gap in Status is too vast, numbers lose all meaning. The strength of a highest-ranking demon was, at most, at the Father level, and the Three Pillars were at the peak of that level. George's Status, meanwhile, was at the Multiversal level. Even as a minor clone, his inherent essence remained unchanged.
After a quick tour of the sixth floor, George stepped unhesitatingly into the seventh.
The seventh floor sat at the very bottom of the Underworld, the narrowest point of the "hourglass." Because the space was so confined, George immediately saw the dense crowd of demons radiating immense magical power. Even the weakest among them possessed strength rivaling that of the Word Soul Demon.
"Human..."
Lucifer did not attack immediately upon George's appearance. He intended to probe the intruder, hoping to uncover his true identity to better tailor his subsequent assault.
But the moment he opened his mouth, he felt that horrific Abyssal aura. Born of pure instinct, a shiver from the depths of his soul froze his body in place. No matter how hard he struggled or how much mana he surged, his body refused to obey. He stood there like a paralyzed quail, petrified by fear.
With a monumental effort, he managed to shift his gaze to the side. He saw that Beelzebub and Megicula were in the same state—pinned to the spot, trembling uncontrollably. As for the high-rank demons, while they didn't collapse entirely like the mid-rank ones, they were all forced onto their knees.
And the human? He didn't even spare them a glance. It was as if they were insignificant ants on the ground, utterly unworthy of his attention.
After taking a lap around the floor, the human departed the seventh level. Only then did they return to normal, though their bodies were now drenched in cold sweat.
"Terrifying... too terrifying. How can such a frightening being exist in this world?"
Having experienced it firsthand, they no longer believed it was some trick of fear magic. The opponent was a being whose power far exceeded their own—someone who could wipe them all out with ease.
Perhaps... perhaps he really was a God.
"Lucifer, what do we do now?" Beelzebub and Megicula looked at Lucifer with lingering dread. They were shaken to the core, their spirits utterly broken.
Lucifer took a deep breath. "Stay exactly as you are. Don't move. We wait for that being to leave. Whatever you do, do not provoke him."
He no longer harbored even a shred of thought regarding confronting George. He only hoped the man would finish his tour, find the Underworld boring, and leave. Majesty, dignity, face—none of it mattered anymore.
Beelzebub and Megicula nodded like chickens pecking at grain. They were in total agreement with Lucifer's decision.
Meanwhile, George, having thoroughly researched the Underworld, returned to the seal on the first floor.
In truth, while he could use his Authority to suppress Lucifer and the others, he didn't actually have the means to kill them. His current internal mana was too low to breach their natural defenses. Previously, the Time Demon had only died because Yami delivered the finishing blow.
He could have used Devour Magic to rapidly absorb mana and level up, but that would be too conspicuous. It would likely draw the attention of this world's Creator.
However, that wasn't the main reason. Having studied the Underworld, he could now perfectly replicate this world. Even if he were discovered and erased, it wouldn't matter. He chose not to clear out the demons because he felt their continued existence wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
For one, they served as a trial for the Black Bulls; Asta and Liebe deserved the chance to kill Lucifer themselves to avenge their mother. Secondly, he believed humanity needed a common enemy.
As Bolivar Trask—the man who invented the Sentinels in the Mutant Universe—once said: humans are a race that loves internal strife. Without a common crisis to face, they will fight each other endlessly.
The humans of this world were no different. Were it not for the threat of demons, the four kingdoms, the Witches' Forest, and the Seabed Temple would never have stood so united. Even if George significantly boosted the Clover Kingdom's power and allowed them to conquer the others, peace wouldn't last once he left.
It is an eternal truth: empires long united must divide, and those long divided must unite. A unified Clover Kingdom would eventually splinter into new nations due to internal friction, and the cycle of conflict would begin anew. Even if George replaced the Creator and took this world under his wing, nothing would change. In the worlds he created himself, as long as there were intelligent beings with emotions and desires, there would be war. He couldn't—and felt no need to—forcibly control the minds of all life to ensure peace.
The solution, therefore, was to provide them with a common foe. That would naturally keep them united. This world happened to have demons who were perpetually eager to invade and rule. That made things simple.
"I do need to make one adjustment, though," George muttered. He reached out and tapped the sealing magic circle, modifying its structure.
He didn't erase the seal entirely, as that would allow demons to pour into the human world from anywhere. Instead, he fixed the exit point. He designated that they could only enter through the specific portal the Dark Triad and Lucifer were setting up in the Spade Kingdom.
In other words, demons could enter the human world in the future, but their point of entry was fixed. The Human Alliance would have to work together to guard this specific location. If they failed, the demons would descend, and every nation would suffer.
With his work finished, George vanished from the Underworld and returned to the military camp in Hage Village.
Once they sensed George had left the Underworld, Lucifer and the other demons breathed a massive sigh of relief. Then, as if sensing something else, their faces twisted into expressions of wild ecstasy.
"The Tree of Qliphoth... it's extending!"
They discovered that the seal on the Underworld had weakened significantly for some unknown reason. When they attempted to manifest the branches of the Tree of Qliphoth, the vines easily bypassed the seal and stretched into the human world.
This meant they no longer needed to wait for their human puppets to finish the ritual magic. They didn't need to capture Yami and Vangeance to act as the core of the array. Although the branches could only grow in a fixed direction toward the Spade Kingdom, it didn't matter. As long as they could enter the human world, they had won.
They knew the strength of humans well. A single high-rank Word Soul Demon could toy with humanity. The strongest human mages were only roughly equal to a high-rank demon; they were no match for an army led by the three of them.
"Summon all demons!" Lucifer commanded. "We set out immediately!"
All demons from the seven levels began to mass at the first floor.
"All mages, hear my command! All units, advance!"
Simultaneously, at the border of Hage Village, Julius—acting as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces—issued the order to attack.
The Human Alliance was composed of six factions: the Clover Kingdom, the Elves, the Heart Kingdom, the Witches' Forest, the Seabed Temple, and the Diamond Kingdom.
Following the previous incidents, the Elves were firmly aligned with Clover and willing to follow Julius's lead. The Queen of the Heart Kingdom couldn't leave her territory, so several Spirit Guardians led their contingent. Furthermore, after Queen Lolopechka was cursed by Megicula during her battle with Vanica Zogratis, she had only a year to live—until George teleported there and broke the curse. Consequently, the Heart Kingdom's mages were more than happy to follow Julius.
Vanessa Enoteca of the Black Bulls was the daughter of the Witch Queen. She had fled the forest to escape the fate her mother had chosen for her. However, when she went to negotiate on behalf of Clover, she defeated the Witch Queen using the overwhelming power of Dragon Slayer Magic, leading to a reconciliation between mother and daughter. Thus, the army of witches now followed Vanessa's lead, and by extension, Julius's.
The Seabed Temple had always been somewhat subordinate to the Clover Kingdom, so their participation was a given.
Finally, there was the Diamond Kingdom. While they agreed to join forces against the Spade Kingdom to stop the demon invasion, they weren't originally willing to let Clover take the lead. They wanted to command the alliance themselves, knowing that whoever led the victory would reap the greatest rewards afterward. However, after the Diamond Kingdom's strongest mages—the Eight Shining Generals—were defeated by Yami alone, their ambitions evaporated.
Thus, Julius Novachrono remained the Supreme Commander. He had offered the position to the First Wizard King, Lumiere Silvamillion Clover, but Lumiere declined, citing his lack of familiarity with the modern mages of the various nations.
At Julius's command, a dense cloud of mages took to the sky. Most rode magic brooms, but many utilized specialized flight tools: magic carpets, flying cars, and enchanted ships. The more powerful mages used elemental constructs to create flying steeds or, like Lumiere, simply transformed into a beam of light to soar through the air.
The army crossed the border without any resistance from the frontier guards and headed straight for the capital of the Spade Kingdom. The high-ranking nobles of the Spade Kingdom in charge of the border had been secretly persuaded by Yuno—the Prince of the Spade Kingdom—to stand down and wait for the tides to turn.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Inside the Spade Kingdom royal palace, the Dark Triad was discussing the construction of the ritual magic circle with their Dark Disciples. A soldier suddenly burst into the hall, panic-stricken.
"A massive number of unknown mages have appeared over the capital! They are heading straight for the palace!"
"Heh, interesting. We haven't even gone looking for them, and they come here to deliver themselves to death."
The leader of the Dark Triad—the man sitting upon the throne, Dante Zogratis—waved his hand to activate a magical mirror. As he watched the images of the mages swarming over the capital, a look of disdain crossed his face.
He recognized them immediately. He guessed their plan had been discovered, and the three kingdoms had joined forces with other powers to stop them. Yet, he wasn't worried in the slightest.
The only reason they hadn't attacked the other three kingdoms yet wasn't due to a lack of power; they were simply busy preparing the ritual for the descent of the demons. If they truly wanted to, the three siblings could wipe out the three kingdoms by themselves without needing a single subordinate.
(End of Chapter)