Touring
The waves from the ascension of numerous demigods soon died down. While most of them had failed, the one who had succeeded managed to spread his name across multiple worlds.
Even the most ignorant and ill-informed of people who stayed in labs all day long or liches deep in sleep heard of the God of Massacre, the Ruler of Devils. The golden light glimmering from the divine kingdom that spanned the first three levels of Baator was enough proof of Leylin’s unmeasurable strength.
The Nine Hells had, because of Leylin’s arrival, undergone a massive change. Souls that fell to Baator now moved along the Styx to reach the Fourth Hell Phlegethos, governed by Samuel. Only his own worshippers would enter his divine kingdom.
In other words, Leylin had used the souls of his own followers to replace the primordial contract that governed the harvest of fallen souls. With this foundation overturned, Asmodeus could no longer control the first three levels of Baator.
However, Leylin still had very few worshippers when compared to the number of souls that used to fall to the three Hells. Even with the faith of the natives, these numbers did not measure up to the original harvest of the first three Hells.
However, Leylin did not mind at all. His divine kingdom needed to be reorganised, and having too many devils was nothing good. Asmodeus might have dreamed all his life of becoming the lord of all devils, but that was not what he was pursuing. Few of his worshippers in the prime material plane wished to become lemures…
The burning Iron City at the core of Dis was long gone, in its place a region with birdsong and fragrant flowers that looked like utopia. A holy mountain made of white jade towered into the clouds, with a huge shrine atop it.
Countless petitioners piously prayed and thanked their god for the favour, and golden power of faith illuminated the skies.
“My Lord!” Tiff entered the shrine quickly, bowing to Leylin who was on his throne, “The flame devil army and other devils have been reorganised. Of them, a total of…” Tiff reported the number of devils willing to serve Leylin. Leylin lifted his brows, making an inference based on the information in an instant.
The first three levels of Baator were now entirely Leylin’s territory. Those who did not submit would either be expelled or killed, becoming fertiliser for his divine kingdom. Those able to live up to this point were naturally all his followers.
Of course, it was hilarious to expect faith from devils.
“Mm, you did well! Leylin nodded, acknowledging Tiff for his work. “Bringing the church to Baator was just a plan of convenience. Be prepared. We can’t give up the intelligence network we’ve established on the prime material plane either…”
All gods treated the prime material plane as the biggest cake, as it was their main source of faith. While Leylin had moved Debanks Island and the native empire to the divine kingdom to be used as his own territory, the faith in the prime material plane could not be abandoned.
He was now a true god! He had nothing to fear when up against the other gods’ churches, and could grant his priests spells up to rank 8! This was the largest difference between a true god and a false god. This was the best time to spread faith.
“Understood! Your will is our command!” Tiff respectfully accepted Leylin’s order.
“Mm. Also, I’ll personally bring you to spread faith and describe my divine kingdom…” With a thought, the space transformed and he and Tiff arrived high in the skies. In the divine kingdom, Leylin was everything! Nothing could halt his will.
Describing the divine kingdom of a true god was an important mission for Tiff, the pope, who had entered the divine kingdom before.
“In general… all living beings wish for something better. Even gods cannot stop their desires…” Leylin spoke.
Tiff looked around. The treacherous environment of Dis had turned to grasslands, with bright green shrubs everywhere giving it some vitality. Avernus and Minauros were undergoing the same changes, the soil becoming more fertile as regions of danger were wiped out.
In terms of the image, this was like turning hell into the mortal world, and perhaps someday, transforming it into heaven.
“Those who have faith in me wish to reach heaven after death and get a better life, which is why they’re willing to give me faith. This is a contract between them and the gods. Even greater gods can’t stop this…” Leylin waved his hand, and several scenes appeared.
A few native petitioners were diligently farming some fertile land. Since it hadn’t been a long time from Leylin’s ascension, he had few dead followers. Dis could contain all of them, and there was a lot of space for more.
Leylin had partitioned out large areas for agriculture, and with just some work from the followers, heavy rice plants and fruit trees grew from the soil. Numerous petitioners prayed towards the holy mountain with their eyes brimming with tears, thanking Leylin for this miracle.
“This…” Tiff stared at Leylin in amazement.
“A petitioner doesn’t just pray all day long. This will only cause them to become rigid and rot away, or perhaps perish…” Leylin laughed, eyes glimmering with wisdom, “I’ve given them the opportunity to work, so that they understand the concept of obtaining things after putting in effort for it… Of course, this is my kingdom and I control the soil. They can put in less than a tenth of the effort and obtain tenfold or even hundredfold what they would have before… Even the laziest person can live comfortably…”
Tiff listened closely. When it came to the construction of a divine kingdom, it included Leylin’s understanding of the path of faith. As a pope, he needed to be on the same page as his god!
“Also… the feeling of superiority comes from comparison. In order for followers to understand how difficult it is to lead better lives, I’ve provided this…”
Leylin brought Tiff along and moved away. This time, they were at the boundaries of the divine kingdom, where some of the treacherous characteristics of hell remained.
Many lemures, soul shells, imps, and even chained evils, bone devils and other higher devils had chains around their feet as they moaned and shrieked. They were like slaves as they transported blazing rocks, constructing a fort and a better landscape.
“These are the devils who went against me. I’ve especially kept a few of them here…” At this moment, an impr cried out and fell down after being burned. The supervising devil hunter moved forward expressionlessly, lashing out with a whip filled with holy power.
*Pak!* The cleansing force from the whip was a punishment even more terrifying than barbs and poisonous hooks. Blood and flesh flew everywhere from the imp who had been hit, and it began to cry out. This caused the surrounding devils to tremble in fear.
“These devil slaves are in charge of the basic infrastructure in the divine kingdom. They don’t have much power… Every time a new follower’s soul comes to the divine kingdom, you can bring them here to take a look…” A barely detectable smile appeared at the corner of Leylin’s lips.
In the divine kingdoms of other gods, all worshippers were treated equally, gaining eternal life. They did nothing, not living up to their true potential.
However, things were different here. With these lower devil slaves as a comparison, the followers would realise that the place they were living in was indeed heaven, which would give them motivation and increase the power of faith. That would be a huge profit for Leylin.
When it came to the suppression of these beings, Leylin and Tiff were expressionless, as if they had seen nothing. They were all unwavering people, and had seen more than their fair share of these happenings. As long as it was useful to them, they would never withdraw.
“I’ve prepared two choices for the new followers’ souls.” Leylin brought Tiff back to the shrine atop the holy mountain, beginning to state his plans.
“The common idea is to to live in the divine kingdom as a petitioner, becoming immortal as I am… On the other hand, they can turn into devils if they wish to, entering the army. Then they’ll follow the laws of Baator. This is very simple.”
“Also… I wish to for the original devils to be dealt with this way…” With a wave of his hands, Azlok, who had been a pit fiend, appeared, causing Tiff to exclaim.
He had obviously seen this devil commander before, but there was now a huge change to his form. He now had a translucent body that was glimmering with gold rays, causing Tiff to feel like he was approachable. He knew that the essence of this devil had undergone a change.
“Master…” Azlok’s eyes were full of fervour as he devoutly bowed to Leylin.
“Discovered anything yet?” Leylin glanced at Tiff.
“This is… a holy spirit!” Tiff muttered.
“Mm! I’ve altered the form of the devil legions such that they have the characteristics of petitioners. From hereon out, they shall be the guards of my divine kingdom… If followers wish to turn, they will also achieve this form…”
There was no point in keeping the devils of the past. However, if he turned them into petitioners, that could increase the might of Leylin’s subordinates by a large extent, while providing him with some faith.
Leylin, who had three forms as an archdevil, true god, and Magus of laws, could make use of his own knowledge and the help from the A.I. Chip to transform devils into devil petitioners. This way, he could adequately make use of his resources. There was also no issue of estrangement between the two groups now.
“Hence… after coming to the divine kingdom, followers will still be in the form of petitioners. These devils are a personification of strength, akin to the emissaries of heaven…” Tiff’s eyes brightened as he quickly thought up a line.
“Mm! Let’s do as you deem fit…” Leylin waved his hand and let Tiff be on his way.