— — — — — —
"What the hell is going on?"
Inside one of the corridors of the castle, Erebus led a squad of Greek monsters while brushing dust off himself from the recent explosion, utterly bewildered. "I literally just started the operation!"
He had a sinking feeling someone had dumped a massive blame pile onto his head.
The worst part was that he had no clue who had done it.
He'd only infiltrated the castle a short while ago!
And what was with Ajuka? Why was he outright calling him an assassin? Who exactly had he supposedly assassinated?!
Damn it, how had the devils discovered the plan, and what kind of crime had they pinned on him? Which part of the operation had gone wrong?
Just as Erebus was spiraling into frustration, nearby devil guards finally spotted him.
"Enemy sighted!"
The shout, amplified by magic, echoed through the corridor.
Erebus instantly panicked, "Forget stealth. Emergency retreat! NOW!"
At his command, the shadow creatures under his direct control scattered in every direction and fled.
Erebus himself spun around, preparing to manipulate the surrounding darkness and jump through the castle's shadows to escape.
As for the other monsters fleeing moments ago, they were simply decoys to cover his retreat.
Only Erebus himself knew that.
But just as his ankles began sinking into the shadows, purple magic circles suddenly lit up around him.
Spell formations transformed into chains, locking down the fleeing shadow monsters amid shrill screams. The same chains wrapped around Erebus's legs as well.
"Ajuka's magic?!"
Erebus's face changed dramatically. He looked skyward and immediately saw Ajuka hovering in the air with wings spread behind him.
One devil guard after another flew into the sky, surrounding Erebus from every direction. Among them were many famous members of Ajuka's and Sirzechs's peerages.
Immense demonic power filled the air, pressing down heavily enough to make breathing difficult.
Cold sweat slid down Erebus's forehead.
"..."
High above, Ajuka wore a grave expression as he spoke in a sorrowful voice. "Just moments ago, the upper council members attending the assembly were attacked."
"Of the 127 great devil councilors present, 102 died on the spot. The remaining 25 suffered severe injuries. Beyond that, even my comrade and close friend, Sirzechs, was gravely wounded."
Sirzechs had underestimated the destructive power of Ophis's attack and lost nearly half his hair.
Technically, that counted as serious injury.
At least as far as his hair was concerned.
Still, that didn't stop Ajuka from looking deeply grieved... A powerful Satan possessing excellent acting skills was practically common sense.
Ajuka choked back emotion before pointing directly at Erebus, "The attacker responsible for all this, one of the Greek Primordial Five Gods, Erebus. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"…"
Erebus stared at Ajuka with a twisted expression, trapped in the miserable state of desperately wanting to curse someone out but being unable to because of his status.
I attacked the Devil Council?
Killed 102 people in one shot? Seriously injured another 25? Even heavily wounded Sirzechs?
Am I really that amazing?!
If I could do all that, why the hell would I bother sneaking around?!
At least make your frame-up believable!
"Looks like you have nothing to say."
Ajuka's expression slowly turned cold, killing intent leaking into his voice.
"No, I actually do have som—"
Before Erebus could finish, Ajuka raised his hand and shouted, "All devils, hear my command!"
"Yes, sir!"
The surrounding devils roared in unison.
"Activate all Destruction formations!"
The instant the order was given, purple light erupted from the armor of every devil guard.
These were strategic armaments created by Ajuka after analyzing and reproducing Sirzechs's Power of Destruction. Secret weapons possessed only by the royal guards of Ajuka and Sirzechs within the Beelzebub Castle.
Their magical power linked together into a massive chain, completely sealing off every route of escape.
"Damn it!"
Erebus understood immediately.
This situation was already beyond peaceful resolution.
No, more accurately, Ajuka had never intended to let him explain himself in the first place.
Who leaked the information? Who set me up?!
Rage flashing across his face, Erebus swallowed a black gemstone.
It was the control device Gaia had given him for controlling Typhon, the King of Demonic Beasts.
After swallowing the gem, he roared, "Typhon!"
A massive shadow instantly spread beneath his feet.
Then a gigantic figure clawed its way out from the darkness, raising an enormous fist and smashing it toward the devils in the sky.
Ajuka's eyes narrowed immediately.
He had recognized the monstrous form of Typhon.
Yet even facing that colossal fist, powerful enough to shake the atmosphere itself, he didn't retreat.
Instead, he sneered.
The next instant, a small hand blocked Typhon's giant fist head-on.
BOOM!
The surrounding atmosphere exploded outward from the collision. Invisible shockwaves scattered the devil guards everywhere, barely allowing them to maintain formation.
Above the battlefield, the purple clouds of the Underworld split apart, leaving behind a massive circular hole so enormous it covered the entire two-thousand-square-kilometer devil capital.
"How is this possible?! Typhon was stopped?!"
Standing beneath Typhon, Erebus stared in horror.
Then his pupils shrank.
He finally saw the tiny figure blocking Typhon's attack.
"That power… Impossible… Infinite Dragon God…"
Ophis held back Typhon's attack with one hand, expressionless as she looked at the gigantic serpent-haired monster before her.
"It's Typhon…"
A faint trace of memory appeared in her eyes.
She vaguely remembered this monster as one of the challengers who had once tried to fight her in the past.
"…"
Typhon, the King of Monsters, breathed heavily, white vapor blasting from his nostrils. Veins bulged across his face and right arm as he desperately poured more strength into his punch.
But Ophis, whose body wasn't even one percent of his size, simply said calmly, "Kneel."
The next moment, the king of monsters crashed to the ground. Not just falling, but collapsing onto his knees so violently his forehead exploded against the earth.
Only faint breathing remained.
Ophis lightly shook her hand afterward and slowly descended to the ground, staring blankly at Erebus.
"Ophis… why..."
Erebus clenched his teeth so hard blood seeped from his gums.
"Why are you helping the devils…?"
"Why?" Ophis tilted her head before answering flatly, "Because Ryo ordered me to."
"An order?" Erebus froze.
Then realization struck him, and his face turned pale.
"You lost?"
The first intelligence he had received claimed Ryo defeated Ophis, but he never believed it. Especially after later reports claimed Ophis had only been captured because of mysterious injuries.
That information had made him completely dismiss the original report.
But now, the truth he ignored had become the blade at his throat.
"Mm." Ophis nodded before raising a finger toward him. "Are you kneeling on your own, or do you want me to make you kneel?"
Erebus struggled internally for barely one second before immediately dropping to his knees.
Typhon, one of the world's top ten strongest beings, had been instantly crushed. There was no way he could resist Ophis.
Laying low for now wasn't shameful.
Still, one question burned in his mind.
"If you're here… then where's Nyx?"
"Don't know." Ophis shook her head expressionlessly, then seemed to remember something. "Yesterday I saw her on Ryo's bed. Don't know where she is now."
"Oh right. She kept calling your name. Don't know why, though."
Erebus froze.
Then his face twisted savagely as he roared in fury, "NYYYYYX!!!"
"You're too loud."
Ophis casually pointed downward.
Erebus was instantly slammed headfirst into the ground like a nail.
...
..
"NYX!!!"
Hearing the furious roar in the distance, Ryo sat atop the throne in the ruined council chamber, resting his cheek against one hand.
"He's pretty damn loud." As he spoke, he ignored the shattered hall drenched in blood and looked toward Sirzechs, who was currently trimming his own ruined hair with scissors.
"Have the angels moved yet?"
"We just got word. Michael and Gabriel already led their forces out. They should be surrounding those old fossils by now." Sirzechs answered while continuing to cut his hair.
"Good." Ryo nodded before saying calmly, "Once the operation ends, release the announcement. Due to the shameless sneak attack by the Greek pantheon, the Three Factions are officially declaring full-scale war on Greece effective immediately."
Hearing that, Sirzechs set down the scissors, struck his fist against his chest, and bowed respectfully.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
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