Chapter 170: Heavenly Conquest - 1

Heavenly Conquest - 1

[Baal (Fate)]

[Satan]

[Magic - 48,019]

[Wrath, Predation, Greed, Jealousy]

I let out a sigh while looking at the unassuming status window. The name Satan had taken the spot where my race and level should be, and my skills such as Domination, Reaper, and Magic had disappeared. Of course, the levels vanished at well. My magic also grew seven times over, which was a staggering amount. It made sense, of course. All of it. For someone who only grew stronger by killing creatures that were more powerful than me, I needed none of that. All I needed was to continue to evolve as I devoured the strong, and I had no intention of stopping with the moon.

"Wow, it looks like it worked." The sky underground was already changing, perhaps because I had reclaimed the title of the demon king. The remnant of Heaven that gathered to become that black moon was now gone.

'With this, that will be swept away by the Great Fusion and disappear in vain.' What I had done was something similar to what Lucifer aimed for, although the comparison annoyed me. It was just a natural outcome of reaching the level of a king and taking control of the world. It was possible because the title the demons bestowed wasn't a light one, but rather it was one that the world itself recognized. It was an odd, mystical feeling as the tower and the entire world of the underground resonated with me. I could feel all areas that resided down here, now bowing to my control. I could feel the places that were still hiding from me, evening finding the villages of the dwarves that were still underground.

The uncontrolled flow of mana filling the underground cleared up, and all areas that were sealed off until now were incorporated into my realm. I glanced down over my realm, even more, complete than it had been before the Great Fusion.

[You will regret it.]

I heard a faint voice, that of a young woman's. It was much different than the man's voice that the black moon spoke in, but I knew instinctively it was connected to Heaven.

"You guys will be the one to regret it." I replied sarcastically. The underground's connection to Heaven was shattering, so I wouldn't be able to hear them anymore. With no small amount of gratitude for that fact, I slowly descended to the ground. The Tower of Destiny stood dignified above all else as I descended. For the first time, I grasped how far up I had truly gone.

"It's a miracle I was on time." With a bitter smile, I reached the castle's spire roughly around the second floor of the tower where all the demons were gathered, including Lilith and the exhausted figure of Mireina.

"Wow..." Gazing up at me, Mireina let out a small gasp. I was openly in the form of a devil, and I reached up to touch the horns on my forehead. All gathered around me were filled with tension and excitement as they waited for me to speak.

"Although everyone already knows..." Mireina's shield was no longer being maintained. I wasn't sure if it was because the magic was released naturally after they reached their limits, or if it was canceled because they could sense it was no longer needed, but I supposed that didn't matter. What did it prove that it wasn't being maintained anymore?

"Rejoice. The underground is now completely free from the effects of the Great Fusion." There was silence for a truly short moment before the demons cheered loudly. I raised my hands awkwardly above my head in front of them all.

"...We did it!"

"We did it!"

"Satan!"

"The underground is returning back to its original shape! It's all under Fate's control now!"

"I can't feel Heaven anymore!"

"The black moon is gone!" The cheers of the demons contained their hopes held over the years, born from their desperate battle against Heaven's machinations.

"Ooh, Fate did well!"

[...It was so beautiful.]

"Katsuragi, shut up. Captain succeeded in defending the underground. Don't you understand that much since we were together from the beginning?"

[Lee Chan-yu, you're quick to understand."

"From the beginning...have we really been together that long?"

[Not you.]

"No, not that..." My eyes caught my sister as she muttered calmly. The demons were smiling wide enough to split, but in her face, I could feel the years I knew nothing about—the traces of a long time that I couldn't hide from her. I would have to explain someday, but now wasn't the time. We still had work to do, and I had no intention of confusing her further. Before I could think about it any longer, a woman I couldn't ignore grabbed onto me.

"Fate."

"You can call me Satan now."

"I hate that name because it has no feeling." Lilith cut down my proud words as she held onto me. She was covered in a sheen of sweet-smelling sweat, having worked quite hard supporting Mireina's shield.

"Thank you, Fate. You kept your promise."

"No, not yet."

"But the underground is out of Heaven's grasp. She tilted her head in my arms. Before I could respond, Amimon stepped up from nearby, staring at us.

"It's impossible to escape from Heaven. At best, we've just prevented them from directly interfering with us."

"More or less, yeah."

"How is that different?" Some of the surrounding demons had a similar expression of confusion.

"It's like we've moved from being subordinate to an equal relationship." Belphegor handily offered an easy to understand explanation. With that, it sounded as if the air was being torn apart with the sound of ripping paper. Slowly, a woman appeared through a hole torn into the fabric of the world. She wore glowing blue armor that hid her entire body, and she had a beautiful face that shone brilliantly. Several white feathered wings protruded through the back of her armor. An ominous red flag was held in her hand.

[I am Gabriel. I have arrived to convey the will of Heaven.]

The woman threw the flag in her hand straight at me. Catching it, I could see the number thirteen written on it. There was no way I couldn't know what it meant.

"You're going to attack in thirteen days?"

[O' arrogant traitor who has violated the strong will of Heaven, lower your head lest we cut it off along with your soul.]

I crushed the flag in my hand. It contained heavenly power and tried to reject me, but it was possible to erase it without a trace. It was funny to see Gabriel's face openly twitching at sight. A deep laugh left me.

"It must've been hard for you to get out. Have you brought an offering with you?"

[...In order to fulfill the will of the heavens, I had to take only a little mana from other creatures.]

"Hah." She regarded me grimly as I laughed, but she showed no hostility. She seemed to be faithful to her role as a messenger, but it disgusted me to see her pretend to be so noble.

[After thirteen days, Heaven shall open up the underground and punish it. It is too late. We shall erase everything and return to the other world...I shall leave now that you understand.]

The moment Gabriel turned her back to me, I moved lightly. The hole in the air disappeared as if it was washed away. She attempted to bore another hole through the world, but it closed automatically.

[What does this mean?]

She responded firmly, a long golden wand now in her hand. She was aware that I blocked her exit.

"The war started long ago. Do you really think I would let you tell me that and then just go back?"

[I am the only angel who is down here right now. Do you know what that means? It means that all of the divine powers are focused on me right now. Satan, do you wish to end your existence so easily?]

"If concentrating their power was so easy, they wouldn't have to wait thirteen days, right?" I smiled. Who was she trying to deceive?

[You silly, vulgar...!]

Lilith and the others popped up around me, ready to back me up.

Only

"This one's mine."

"Fate, I want to evolve too. Can I eat that? Yeah?" As Lilith and Gremory bickered, I picked up Annihilation. From the moment I defeated Lucifer, it began to resonate fiercely with me. Now that I had reached the title of Satan, I could feel it had reached a completely different realm.

"No, that's my meal."

[To treat the will of Heaven as food is unacceptable! I shall punish you myself!]

Gabriel charged straight towards me, but I used my magic to slow her down to the speed of a turtle. I gazed upward and decided to call out to the demon who had been with me all along.

"Halpas, the crow that beckons death. Now is the time to stand by my side once more." The loyal subordinate who built this castle. The demon who defended his strong will and became a sword. A dazzling light filled the castle in response to my call.

[Huh?!]

I rushed in a straight line towards Gabriel, who was trying to resist my magic. Even faster than she could open her eyes, Annihilation descended upon her.