Even among the Demon God Pillars, factions exist. However, these are not conflicts of opinion regarding the current plan.
The focus lies in what comes after the Incineration of the Bible: whether to remain in this world or aim to return to their original one.
In human terms, it's akin to choosing different paths for the future. They understand they will eventually part ways, and there is no dissatisfaction with this. It was clear from the start. Future conflicts may arise, but they are within acceptable bounds. Once the falsification of the Bible is complete, the seventy-two pillars will once again renounce being Goetia.
Leading the proactive stay faction is Haagenti, whose reason is, "I'm done with pancakes." Apparently, there's some trauma involved. While rare, Demon God Pillars who find no meaning in returning to their original world belong to this group.
Leading the passive stay faction is Crocell. The resistance from the Heroic Spirits in the Temple of Time enraged him while also making him abandon the concept of Heroic Spirits entirely. This world lacks a Throne of Heroes or a proper Human Order, perhaps because it has not fully severed ties with the Age of Gods. Demon God Pillars who find value worth protecting in this world belong to this group.
Leading the passive return faction is Flauros, driven by curiosity about whether the human who secured the final victory, the Last Master, survived and returned. Or perhaps he wishes to offer flowers to someone. Demon God Pillars in this group are similarly curious about the outcome of the Human History that escaped incineration.
Leading the proactive return faction is Baal. Their reasons vary, but their shared passion is an unyielding desire to return to their original world, no matter the cost. Short of betraying the Demon God Pillars, they would endure any humiliation.
Yet, there are exceptions to everything—a shared sentiment that transcends factions.
"I thank all my brethren for approving my request, understanding the need to revise the plan and shift our approach."
Zekram Bael.
The first of the Seventy-Two Pillars in this world, the founder of the Great King Bael family. In other words, the first Great King. The de facto leader of the Great King faction, a major Devil power, his political influence arguably surpasses even the Satans. Alive since the dawn of Devilkind, his ambition remains unbridled. If the four Satans are the public face of Devilkind, Zekram Bael is its hidden force. Even now, the head of the Great King family seeks his counsel. It's no exaggeration to say Devilkind moves by his will.
And yet, his mansion was under attack.
"Guh… gah…"
"How ugly, Zekram Bael."
The assailant stands before Zekram. A towering mass of flesh, grotesque yet capable of speech—an astonishing sight. This monstrous entity appeared suddenly, ravaged Zekram's mansion, and drove its master to the brink of death.
Zekram was now the sole survivor in the mansion. The fate of the other residents and servants need not be stated.
"Who… sent you? It can't be Sirzechs or Ajuka… They should understand the consequences of killing me. Could it be Sairaorg? What even are you? I've never seen your kind before. How did you infiltrate the Underworld?"
"No. I came here driven by personal emotions."
There was no obligation to answer, no meaning in responding. Yet, he couldn't help but reply. He couldn't allow this fool to die ignorant of the reason for his rage. So, he revealed only his purpose, the source of his killing intent.
"There is someone I must kill. But I cannot kill them now. So, I will kill you instead."
Hearing this, the first Great King let out a bitter laugh. The reason was absurdly simple, yet incomprehensible, laced with self-mockery for meeting his end over something so ridiculous.
"What's that…? Just taking out your frustration on me?!"
"I know!!"
The mass of flesh—Demon God Baal—unleashed his emotions upon Great King Bael, pouring out a story unknown to him. It wasn't an explanation so much as a venting of raw feelings. Naturally, for there was no point in explaining something incomprehensible or justifying it.
In Demon God Baal's mind, that moment resurfaced. The moment King Solomon returned his ring to the heavens, Goetia was distorted, and the Temple of Time collapsed.
"Back then, I chose to flee. But a mere moment's hesitation stopped my escape! Humiliation, insult, disgrace, and fury—three thousand years of directing such emotions at an ordinary, mediocre human, and the conflict of enduring that! The result was collapse through self-contradiction!"
It was like a single raindrop in a torrential storm capable of sinking the earth. That fleeting hesitation killed Demon God Baal.
"But I regret it! I could have endured! I'm certain of it now! Yet even this regret is mere decoration!"
Recalling that moment, only one emotion surged within him.
"…Hatred. Hatred, hatred, hatredhatredhatredhatredhatredhatredhatredhatredhatredhatredhatredhatredhatredhatredhatred! I feel nothing but hatred!"
A hatred that could shatter a planet. Yet, it wasn't directed at the Bael before him. The Demon God Pillars had no attention to spare for such a Devil.
"You! It's you I hate, Ritsuka Fujimaru!"
Naturally, Zekram Bael didn't know that name. From Demon God Baal's words, he understood it was a human, but nothing more. Zekram Bael had little regard for humans—they were merely objects to corrupt, livestock to devour, or resources to reincarnate.
"I will return to that planet, that era, that place, no matter what! After saving this planet! And even if it takes thousands of years, I will kill you!"
The Last Master of Humanity. A being once dismissed as insignificant. He acknowledges it now: that trivial existence destroyed their perfect plan. That human must be killed—even if it means annihilation again.
"And you appeared before me, Zekram Bael, as I made that resolve! When I learned of you, I felt humiliation beyond measure!"
He shouted the name, but his focus wasn't on him. The emotions Demon God Baal directed at Great King Bael had already run their course. He felt nothing for Zekram himself—only a desire to negate the events his existence caused.
"If you had ambition surpassing a Satan, I could accept it! If you had hatred to devour God, I could empathize! If you sought to preserve Devilkind as a species, we'd merely be enemies! But you chose to perpetuate this meaningless, worthless, pathetic ecosystem!"
He could have understood if it made Bael a singular Devil. He could have sympathized if it was vengeance for the fallen first Satans or their followers. If it was about preserving Devilkind, they'd simply be adversaries. But the first Great King's desire was to perpetuate an aristocratic society of "Devils" for eternity.
Never taking center stage, ruling Devilkind from the safety of the shadows. Placing the Great King first, treating Satan as mere symbols, and looking down on mid- and low-class Devils as mere servants.
"Why do you use that name in this planet, this era, this place?!"
If their names weren't the same, he would have simply dismissed him as a distasteful creature.
The fact that this being shared the name "Baal" was a humiliation. The indifference to King Solomon's tragedy, the collapse of their grand undertaking—these fueled Demon God Baal's rage to an equal degree.
"If that were all, I'd simply ensure you didn't escape when we destroy this Underworld. Erasing you entirely from this planet would suffice. There's no need to kill you now. But the confirmation of that mud puppet's existence changed everything!"
Kingu, the successor to Enkidu. That name, that body, that history shouldn't exist in Human History. The revival of such a being implies other visitors from their world may exist. Considering their own revival, even those who were annihilated could be here. Naturally, those they know well might be among them.
"Yes, the possibility—the dreadful possibility that the accursed King Solomon, and the ever-hated Ritsuka Fujimaru, could come to this world!"
King Solomon, the King of Magecraft. Ritsuka Fujimaru, the Last Master of Humanity. To the seventy-two pillars, these two are special in many ways. Without anger toward Solomon, their story wouldn't have begun, and because of Fujimaru, their plan failed.
"I felt terror—at the thought of those two seeing you, this 'Baal.' And above all, the fear that I—that we—would be compared to the likes of you! Even the other seventy-two pillars would be compared to you all!"
King Solomon would be tolerable. He was a king who ignored human tragedy, a king without emotion. They deemed him incompetent, but he was born a king. But imagining how the Last Master of Humanity might feel is terrifying.
"Mockery would be fine. Contempt, I could accept. Indifference, I'd simply pile on more hatred. We are the defeated, obligated to accept such emotions. But if, by some chance, by one in a billion, they pitied us—what would I, what would we do?!"
My fate. My nemesis. The origin of the plan's distortion. The one I swear to kill, whose hatred I cannot quell.
To be pitied by such a foe, to be disappointed by them, to be shown "pity."
No, given their nature, the risk is low. Such a reality is unlikely. Such fears are probably baseless. Such a future is probably impossible.
But Baal cannot ignore even that slight possibility. Because it was a mere moment's hesitation that killed him. Having experienced the danger of a fleeting possibility, he stands here now, driven by this killing intent.
"Why did I hesitate to flee? Three thousand years of enduring humiliation? Compared to this moment, what a worthwhile disgrace that would have been! I could ally with Heroic Spirits, disguise myself as human, cling to discarded junk! Even if it means perishing, I'll challenge you! I won't destroy the world to kill you, Ritsuka Fujimaru—I'll destroy the world just to kill you!"
Only then does Baal's focus turn to the aged Devil before him. No, even still, his focus remains inward, not on him.
"But it won't begin! As long as you exist, my hatred, my vengeance, those three thousand years for it, won't begin! All my killing intent hinges on one thing: killing you before those two learn of it…!"
The origin of my fury, Solomon. The end of my hatred, Ritsuka Fujimaru.
If you're alive, I'll come to kill you—so please, don't come to this world.
"For the sake of my three thousand years filled with hardship, perish…!"
On this day, the retired founders of the Seventy-Two Pillars across the Underworld were attacked. The assailants were grotesque pillars of flesh. Recognizing a connection to recent events, the three great factions began preparing a treaty to counter this unknown entity.
However, this response provoked Kokabiel, a Fallen Angel leader with supremacist ideals. It was only natural that he led his followers to commit the heinous act of stealing Excalibur.
The truth they desperately hid was on the verge of being revealed.
"Warning from Naberius. An intruder in the Temple of Time."
"I am Ophis."
"Explanation from Flauros. One of the strongest beings in this world. Its power is deemed infinite, far surpassing the second-ranked. A dragon, serpent, Ouroboros crowned with chaos, infinity, and void. Exists in the same dimension as the Command Center, designated a first-class alert target. 'Infinite Dragon God' Ophis."
"You… you? Strong. Help me defeat Great Red."
"Supplement from Forneus. An exceptional entity in this world, described as fantastical, surpassing even Ophis. If Ophis is first, it is zero. The red dragon recorded in the Book of Revelation, the de facto ruler of the Dimensional Gap. Exists in the same dimension as the Command Center, designated a first-class alert target. 'True Red Dragon God Emperor' Great Red. While the Beast of the Apocalypse is mentioned, its existence is unproven, and its absence is also unconfirmed."
"I want to defeat Great Red to gain silence."
"Proposal from Barbatos. There's no benefit in accepting this request. We should expel this dragon from the Temple of Time immediately."
"Opposition from Halphas. Though this dragon's abilities are high, its mentality is likely immature. Refusing its request may lead to resistance. A battle between the Command Center and this dragon could destroy the Temple of Time, severely disrupting the plan. Combat here should be avoided."
"Rejection from Amon. Why must we compromise?"
"Proposal from Sabnock. Why not consider cooperation? Though unlikely, it offers the advantage of eliminating Great Red before it becomes an obstacle."
"Counterargument from Andromalius. Great Red's existence stabilizes the current Dimensional Gap. Defeating it would affect all worlds, inevitably collapsing the Human World, Underworld, and Heaven, rendering our plan irreparably broken. Accepting this dragon's request equates to abandoning the plan."
"Defeat Great Red."
"…"
"...…"
"...…"
"..."
"Contact from Baal. I've returned. I'll begin my report… I'd like to begin, but first, explain the situation. What happened?"
"Response from Haagenti. We're in trouble!"
***
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