A demon Duke is not a new term in the abyss. There can only be one demon lord but there can be others who have reached that power by relying on other options apart from the energy wwell.The subordinates of demon kings are demon dukes. They evolve to that rank from being demon nobles.
The demon noble rank is the last rank a demon can evolve to on its own. They usually need the assistance of the energy well of an abyssal plane or the power of a demon king to reach the next level. They become demon dukes if they are assisted by a demon king instead of demon lords that use the energy well.
Aeternus can perform this assistance because he has something that demons kings should have, an infinite supply of energy at the half-divine rank. Even if he has chaos energy at the divine rank, Infernox will still be unable to evolve to the half-divine rank. Upgrading to half-divine and above requires the use of divinity. It is a must.
Infernox hasn't reached the demon lord's level but he has come very close to it. His state of existence which is at 12 is much higher Han that of demon nobles at 8 and much closer to the demon lord's state of existence which is 17. Infernox might be newly evolved, yet some demon nobles can't beat him with the full power of Accumulation because their boosts only peak at the state of existence of 12.
A state of existence of 12 and stats ranging from 46-54 make Infernox' power rating between 552-648. It is a huge improvement from the 294-360 power rating of demon nobles.
Aeternus said to him, "Infernox the demon Duke, welcome to the house of chaos. You have earned your entry through blood and sweat. In my book, that is excellence."
Then he said to the frozen high-rank demons, "It is your turn to pursue excellence. Show me the greatness that is buried within you. Exert your full potential or you will die."
He spread his hands and hundreds of white chaos balls fled into the air then they dispersed into fireflies that fell all over the high-rank demons. The fireflies fell all over the fortress to touch every demon in it even the ones that didn't come to the arena and were only lurking about in the fortress. As long as they are within the 1km radius of Infernox' domain, they were touched by the fireflies.
"Release them and let us watch the show." He said to Infernox.
"Yes, my lord." He replied.
He retracted his aura. Then he flew to Aeternus. His flapping wings spread the aura of heat around him to the surroundings so he doesn't need much effort to fly. The air beneath his wings expands as it heats up. A single push creates more upthrust for him than it would for Xander.
He stretched his hands to Aeternus who leaped into his large hands. Then he flew into the air and stayed there to survey the high-rank demons. The high-rank demons watched 1000 mid-rank demons earlier as they slaughtered themselves. It is the turn of the high-rank demons to slaughter themselves.
He told Infernox. "Control the area, I don't want that nosy demon lord from interfering."
Infernox spread his mind to shield the fortress from the sight of the demon lord. He couldn't do it expertly as Aeternus does it by taking control of the momentum around but he did it. He used brute strength to make the momentum of the area resonate with him by injecting them with his aura. He couldn't control the momentum but his tampering prevents the demon lord from controlling it either. It is crude but it covers a larger area than Aeternus's control.
The demons on the ground gained the ability to move and the first thing they did was shout at him.
The ones that came for the selection were startled and didn't know what exactly they were supposed to do. They had seen the show so they knew that they ought to fight and get more fireflies but were they supposed to start a gigantic free for all rights now? This isn't the selection method they were expecting.
So they asked him, "Lord Khaos, what do we do now?"
The ones that came just to spectate shouted pleadings to him. "Please let us go, lord Khaos."
They suspect what he wants from them but it isn't what they came for. They only wanted to watch a show not star in one, especially since it is such a dangerous show with over 90% Casualty rate.
The subordinates of demon nobles and various geniuses tried another method to dissuade him.
"Lord Khao, please you can't do this. You will make the entire domain of demon nobles your enemies. Your actions will start a war. You already have made enemies of the demon lord. It isn't wise to create more enemies. Friends are a better alternative."
The ones that were paranoid that something bad would happen are the most composed. After all, they are right about being suspicious. Something bad actually happened. They are the silent group. They are shaking because of their shock but also considering how to get out of this situation. They may be shocked but they are the easiest to accept that they might die here today. After all, they have been prepared for this eventuality right from the beginning.
Aeternus considered them and listened to them. They are all feeling various emotions, some are afraid and others are furious, but they didn't dare revolt. They have experienced being frozen like sitting demonic ducks so they know that using force or acting out won't work. He didn't say anything for a while. He was waiting for something. They took his silence as him considering their pleas so it emboldened them to make their case more.
He finally spoke when he sensed the fireflies become active within them.
He said to them. "Those fireflies are molded to be parasites, not symbiotes. Their purpose is to push their host to evolution or to death if the host resists evolution. A mid-rank demon is easily infected. They can't resist the parasites so they are whipped into a frenzy to fulfill the purpose of the parasites. If for some reason, the mid-rank demons can't evolve, they will die and their bodies will be deconstructed into chaos energy."
The mid-rank demons in the fortress were all killed by the demon lord's scream earlier. They couldn't resist and didn't get the luxury of falling to insanity. Their blackout isn't the defense mechanism of a mind against something dangerous. Their minds shut down completely, that's why the frenzy of the fireflies couldn't affect them. So they died as the parasites destroyed their body or maybe they were dead already when that scream made them brain-dead.
He continued his motivational speech. "If the mid-rank demon evolves, then the parasites would have fused closely into their existence. The high-rank demons they become will have no choice but to try and accomplish the next aim of the parasites which is to combine into what I call a chaos spark and then evolve. But the parasites will behave differently in natural high-rank demons."
The high-rank demons could already feel something wrong with them. They are weakening and a quick check of their stats showed an ailment in their status. It is a strange thing for demons to get sick because they don't.
But while it is strange, the source of the sickness isn't unknown since it started soon after Aeternus sprinkled them with something. They don't need to be geniuses to figure out that their sickness is related to what Aeternus sprinkled on them earlier.
He continued informing them. "A high-rank demon has a strong resistance and won't be affected by the manipulations of the parasites. They have free will and won't be whipped into a crazed frenzy for evolution. But that won't stop the parasites. They have to fulfill their purpose. Since they can't get other parasites from an external source, then they will try to multiply. It is just that their multiplication needs energy and where do you think that energy is going to come from?"
His question made them realize what is going on with their sickness. They are weakening gradually and it might lead to their deaths.
He continued talking casually as if he is talking about something trivial and not their lives.
"The energy will surely come from you but there's a priority. The parasites will first go after your Accumulation, then your sin energy, your mana, stamina, and finally your life. That's why it is affecting you differently. I have bad and good news for you. The good news is that those with Accumulation will get to live a long time until their store of empowerment is fully siphoned. The bad news is that the parasites will never have enough energy because they are sending some my way. They will continue to siphon as much as you have, until you die."