Chapter 229: Demon King (1)
It wasn’t bad since I had powerful enemies.
I turned my head and looked around.
Most of my main subordinates were here.
Oswen, Chrisley, Tashmal, Roy, Rose and Yihi.
Shock, worry, and astonishment could all be seen.
But the one emotion they had in common was relief.
"How long has it been?”
"To be precise. 139 days, Master.”
Yihi said.
“Ha!”
I laughed bitterly.
139 days. That was almost half the time limit given for the Hell Monarch’s invasion. It wouldn’t be surprising if there were sudden changes during this time.
I didn’t know what had happened. I expressed my curiosity.
"I don’t see Maxium. Is he still trying to occupy Upa’s dungeons?”
Maxium.
A knight who thought of me as the Hell Monarch and swore allegiance. He moved according to my orders.
If everyone had gathered then he should be here as well. But I didn’t see him anywhere.
The area became filled with static. None of them could open their mouths.
“Master...Maxium is dead. That bad Pandemonium.”
Yihi was forced to speak. I frowned.
The last I remembered, Pandemonium was on the defensive.
He couldn’t afford to send out separate troops.
I gave Maxium a massive army and he sliced the enemy like a fish in water. In order to get rid of Maxium, the army also needed to be removed.
Then how did Pandemonium remove Maxium?
It was impossible in terms of common sense. My expression hardened.
"Tell me about the last 139 days.”
In the early days, nothing big happened. I was absent, but it was difficult to reverse the situation.
Pandemonium weakened and Chrisley continued winning. Maxium also took half of Upa’s dungeons. I could see how much was gained by looking at the residual stats.
Ariel also did her best to keep Pandemonium in check. She quickly called her forces and also succeeded in restoring the silver knights. If this continued then it was obvious that Pandemonium would be ruined. There were only a few steps left until he had to officially confront Ariel Diablo.
So all of Pandemonium’s limbs were cut off. He had only one dungeon remaining.
"All Yihi knows is that Pandemonium pretended to retreat. Chrisley will tell you the rest, Master.”
I turned my eyes towards Chrisley. Chrisley spoke with a grim expression.
“...My Dungeon Master. Pandemonium planned something separate. He took Hash. I should have been more careful, but I was drunk on the successive victories.”
"Pandemonium did something to Hash?”
It was strange. Hash had the highest rank among the angels on Earth, but there was no reason to kidnap him. Even if Hash was kidnapped, the angels wouldn’t help Pandemonium. In that respect, the angels were like swords that Pandemonium didn’t understand.
Chrisley continued like she knew my question.
“Pandemonium...he used Hash as a sacrifice in front of his dungeon. Along with the cherub blood, he also obtained the blood of a thrones angel from somewhere. When we attacked his dungeon, he opened the door in front of us.”
The thrones angel Opinion. I knew the name. Apart from Hash, he was the next highest ranking and led the angels at Greenwich Observatory. He offered the blood of both of them as sacrifices. It was clear that something unusual had happened.
"What did Pandemonium open?”
"The summons. Celestial Door...opened.”
Chrisley closed her eyes like she was recalling that time. She shuddered like she was sick. Tashmal, Oswen and the others also formed fists.
At that time, Tashmal interrupted. Her black wings flapped strongly as she spoke.
"The seraphim Camael descended. Along with his 1.14 million subordinates...I saw that Camael-nim would descend, but I never imagined it would be at the hand of a demon.”
Tashmal’s voice was filled with rage. A summoning by a demon wasn’t permitted. She had fallen but was still influenced by her previous angel state.
A seraphim was an angel at the very top of the hierarchy. Except for the Celestial King, a seraphim was the strongest angel in Heaven.
"I don’t think that Camael would help just because Pandemonium summoned him. Self-destruction?”
"He was driven to the edge. He has a nasty temper and can’t stand anyone else taking his position.”
Tashmal’s words were correct. Pandemonium was greedy. He wasn’t completely different from Upa in this regard. He absolutely hated anyone being above him. His ruin was guaranteed if he opened the Celestial Door.
Pandemonium learnt demonic magic. He even knew ancient magic. He was well aware of what would happen if he opened the Celestial Door. It was strange that...Camael.
"What is the damage? Tell me the situation.”
I turned back to Chrisley.
Chrisley spoke in a calm manner.
"Maxium returned to the earth and the army he commanded was destroyed. After Camael was summoned, 70% of the army I led also returned to the ground.”
I frowned.
I was fortunate that not all of them had disappeared. I hadn’t expected it. It was proof of Camael’s power.
I remained silent and Chrisley continued.
"Fortunately, Pandemonium was killed by Camael. In addition, Camael is annihilating all living things around him in the name of cleansing the world. I collected all the creatures in Korea to resist but I don’t know when Camael will hit.”
It meant that I was on the defensive.
This had all happened in 139 days. Laughter emerged.
"And..."
"And? Is there something else to report?”
I wasn’t surprised to hear that there was something else.
My gaze pierced through her and Chrisley opened her mouth.
“My Dungeon Master. Grand Duke Ariel Diablo is waiting.”
Ariel Diablo.
She was a grand duke who built up her strength in North America.
In my previous life, she had survived until the end and became the final winner.
It was surprising that she came to where I was alone.
It seemed like she was near the dungeon and had been waiting for me to appear for two weeks. It seemed like she had something to share with me.
She didn’t even have a creature with her.
She risked coming to see me for a reason.
"It has been a long time, Randalph Brigsiel.”
Ariel was outside the dungeon. She was staying at the humans’ old outpost while waiting for me.
I quietly stared at Ariel. She had become stronger in the past 139 days. It seemed like she had used this momentum to cross the ‘wall.’ She entered a state of transcendence.
Even the broken horns on her forehead were restored. Rather, they had grown larger than before. The horns were a symbol of her strength.
I erased any expression from my face and asked.
"What did you come here for? You must be bored to be playing around like this.”
"Huhu, I’m not a lazy demon.”
Ariel slowly gazed at me. I took an estimation of her. Her words seemed to be loaded with meaning.
It was the skill Power of Words. Those who were lower than her would be affected when she spoke. Her words just needed intent behind them. But it had no effect on me.
"You have crossed the wall. Yet even though you are transcendent, I can’t see any end. You are truly a monster.”
Ariel was shocked. She had become able to measure my capabilities after becoming transcendent. Now that I had absorbed Gustarte, it was impossible for her to figure out anything about me.
"Are you busy?”
"I thought it was time for a chat or two between us. Oh, I’ll tell you why I came. You might have guessed. Camael...it is to discuss measures against the person who came through the Celestial Door.”
"The situation doesn’t look good.”
"I won’t hide. What about you? Camael destroys humans as well as demons. He is truly running wild. This is all due to Pandemonium’s summoning. We have to work together if we want to keep Camael in check.”
Joining forces?
It was an astonishing remark from Ariel.
She was the direct descendant of a demon king. She had a demon king’s blood. If the grand dukes weren’t antagonistic to each other in the Demon World then she would have risen to the seat of the demon king.
So she didn’t know how to compromise. I never thought she would ask for an alliance with me. I had suffered many difficulties in my previous life due to her.
As far as I knew, she never extended a hand to anyone first.
Yet now she was requesting an alliance with me. She came directly to South Korea!
It was amazing.
It was a reasonable choice to remove the enemy first. I had been hoping for a confrontation with her under normal circumstances.
However...there was no room for that. It wasn’t at the end even if Camael was removed. The dark spirits and Death Bringer still remained.
I organized my thoughts.
“Ariel Diablo. You and I have to clear up this fight.”
"A competition to decide the demon king?”
"What good would it do to drag it on?”
I said indifferently and Ariel soon smiled.
She had the same idea as me. The last one to remain would use everything available to defeat Camael.
“Okay.”
"You decide the timing. Although I would prefer if it is in the near future.”
Both of us weren’t in the best condition. I needed my physical state to recover a little bit more.
The confrontation between Ariel Diablo and I would be watched by all our subordinates. That way, things could be finished without any discord.
I turned around. Ariel also disappeared from the outpost.