Chapter 667: There Is No Rest For The Wicked.
Diablo, at this very moment, was feeling disbelief. In his long existence, he had never seen so much bullshit.
The Four Horsemen lost the fight pretty severely.
Pestilence, Death, and Famine dying and being absorbed by Victor, just like Victor's weird weapon absorbed their weapons.
War became a Demon God.
And Victor defeated him in a clash of Powers that left irreversible damage in Hell, even now that crater, the clouds of Miasma, and red Lightning were still present in Hell.
A feat of strength that not even Diablo, Lilith, or Lucifer could boast of.
Yes, they were powerful and could easily destroy several areas of Hell, but... They couldn't cause irreparable damage to Hell.
No matter the attack or how many Demons fought, Hell would never be harmed permanently.
That was what all the Demons believed... Until now.
Even Diablo himself couldn't help but be shocked.
Hell's was just that strong. After all, Hell's very existence was sustained by the Negative counterpart of Earth's World Tree, a Primordial Entity, The Judges of the Abyss.
After a long silence, Diablo spoke.
"…Baal."
"Yes, My King?"
"How long has it been since a Demon God was born?"
"This has never happened since Lilith, My King."
"... Right..."
Since the Age of Genesis, no Demon God had been created. Not even Lucifer or Diablo had achieved this feat, which War achieved when fighting Alucard.
Baal looked at his King neutrally; he didn't blame Diablo's lack of reaction because he reacted the same way when he heard what had happened.
He felt incredulous. Even though he had predicted this would happen and told The Four Horsemen to be wary, he had never anticipated their fight would go like this. He had never expected Alucard to be so strong.
'While everyone thought they knew of Alucard's Power, he surprised everyone once again.' People seriously underestimate Victor's potential.
With the recent fight, it was hard even to tell what level he was at. In fact, the very act of designating a level for an irregular Being like him seemed wrong since he was constantly breaking common sense.
"... Where is War's body?"
"In the area of Hell where sinners burn with Hellfire itself eternally… The former home of War."
"Did you recover the body?"
"It's impossible."
"…Impossible?" Diablo looked at Baal.
The Rank 1 Demon didn't say that he couldn't or that he was in the process of doing so, instead that it was 'impossible', something that shouldn't happen in the Hell they came to exist in. After all, they were the Highest Authority there.
"Yes, that particular part of Hell is completely closed off. Nobody can get in, and I can't get in touch with the Demons in that Hell."
A silence fell around, and a few seconds later, the silence was broken when Diablo's tail twitched, an unconscious gesture Diablo made when he understood something.
Something Baal learned after watching his King for a long time.
"Hell is protecting his body." That was Diablo's conclusion.
It wasn't like that hadn't happened in the past. For example, when Lilith was severely damaged in a fight with one of the Archangels, The First Hell hid Lilith.
"… Is Hell sentient?"
"That would not be the correct word... But yes, every Hell and every Heavenly Plane has its 'Will'." Diablo turned his face and started walking.
"The same way a God-King has complete control over the dimension he rules over… Hell has something like that."
"The 'Ruler' is the True King of Hell, The One Who Judges Sinners."
"…." Baal nodded. He knew that… However, it wasn't until a few seconds later that Baal understood the implications of those words.
"Is my King not the Ruler of Hell?"
"Since Lucifer left, there has never been a Ruler."
"The two of us were doing the work passively, and it was only possible thanks to The Key To Hell that was in our possession, an item that, like the Helm of Hades, is a connection point for the Ruler of our Hell. "
"Even when I defeated Lilith and united the Keys into one, I didn't fully become the Ruler."
'I didn't want to be limited to just Hell; my goals were much bigger.'
"And so that The Judges of The Abyss would not interfere, I temporarily transformed Lilith into the 'Ruler' so that the Souls would not be lost."
'Although, she's not a Ruler. She didn't go through the Trial. She's just a cog in the system, so the judges ignore what I do.'
"To be on the safe side, I also made a deal with the Judges. I handed them billions of Souls that would give me the equivalent of 5 years of time."
"Of course, I didn't forget to ask a favor, either. And because of that favor, the time from 5 years was shortened to 1 year. Were it not for this favor, I would have much more time before The Judges of The Abyss would interfere."
What Diablo was doing, collecting innocent Souls, and using them as fuel for his Demons, was obviously against the Balance these powerful people were so interested in keeping.
But thanks to War's agreements and payment, he could postpone the interference of these Beings for a long time because if not for this agreement…
Limbo would be knocking on Diablo's door in search of the Demon's Soul.
As long as Diablo didn't overdo it and let some Souls go naturally, the Judges of The Abyss would uphold their agreement and prevent Limbo from acting.
The Judges had such authority, considering that the Souls and Hells were areas strictly supervised by The Judges of The Abyss.
'I see... That explains a lot.' Baal thought, and in the next second, distrust was born in his heart.
'Why is he telling me this?' He knew his King, the Demon did nothing useless; what was the game here?
"I take it we don't have much time?" Baal continued with the same neutral face.
"Yes. My plans had to be readjusted."
"Hades foresaw no harm, but Persephone has assumed the Title of Ruler of Greek Hell and is currently restoring The Underworld. So, effectively speaking, I lost influence in the Greek Pantheon."
"The same applies to the Norse Pantheon, Hela. That fool, she destroyed the Bifrost."
"..."
Baal's face twitched a little. But, to the Demon's credit, he reacted very well; destroying a Conceptual Artifact was ridiculous, and he couldn't even think how that was possible.
"The Bifrost was destroyed…?"
"Yes. The Gods don't know who was responsible, but I know that Hela did it using one of Odin's most feared Dragons."
"Níðhöggr, The Dragon That Gnaws At The Roots of Yggdrasil. Only an Elder Beast of The End could do something like that."
Baal gulped. The Ragnarok prophecy was famous, and everyone knew the main players.
Thor, Fenrir, Odin, Jörmungandr, and the Dragon who waits patiently gnawing at the deepest roots of The World Tree, Níðhöggr.
All of them are the main actors in Ragnarok.
Níðhöggr is an Ancient Dragon, A Beast of The Apocalypse who makes Fenrir look like a child in comparison.
"... How... How is this possible? As an Ancient Dragon, he is immeasurable. Odin and the Norse Gods would know if it were him."
"For a Beast like him. He doesn't need to be present to destroy something. Just his intent is enough."
"... That is ridiculous... Just how was Hela able to do this?"
"She is the Daughter of Loki. She is headstrong, and even if she is hated in the Norse Pantheon due to her very nature, she will still protect her Pantheon even if it means isolating the entire Pantheon for hundreds of years."
"Something Loki knows all too well, and despite not looking like it, this God is very loyal to his house."
"It's not hard to imagine Loki and Hela teaming up to do that."
"With the Bifrost closed, the only alternative to entering the Nordic Pantheon is through the branches of the World Tree, and that can't be done because it will alert the World Tree itself, and its ego will kick everyone out... Only that damn Rat there might be a way to infiltrate Asgard, but it won't help the Demons." Diablo continued until he entered a room where Lilith was standing quite robotically.
A giant panel floating in the air could be seen inside that room.
"Ratatosk, it's greedy. Maybe it can be negotiated with?" Baal has spoken.
Ratatosk was the only known Being who could climb the Nine Realms of the Norse Pantheon and the only Being who could visit the other Pantheons. He knew the hidden paths of the World Tree that connected all Pantheons.
"Unlikely, in the past, he stopped walking the paths that led to other Pantheons. He learned his lesson when the Greeks and the Egyptians exploited him."
"That Rat became very wary of outsiders."
'... Ratatosk is a squirrel...' Baal thought neutrally but didn't say it aloud.
"We don't have the Greek Pantheon due to Hades' unpredictability. Due to Hela's reckless attitude, we don't have the Nordic Pantheon."
"The Shinto Pantheon is already dealing with the threats of its own Hell. Amaterasu has once again proven why she is a God-King on par with Ra regarding Ranking as a Sun Goddess."
"The Hindu Pantheon, needless to say, with Shiva present in that place, he would not let Indra's incompetence affect his Pantheon too much, and the situation will be resolved eventually."
"Fortunately, in the meantime, Yama got Hell on our side."
"Of our allies, only the Ancient Chinese Pantheon, which is with the empty Rule, Enma, the Buddhist Hell King, and Yama, the Hindu Hell King, are on our side."
"Tsk … At this point, the Greeks, the Norsemen, and that bastard from Egypt should be our ally…." Diablo's eyes glinted crimson red.
"But no... He had to pick up a childish fight with his brother and was subdued afterward."
His entire meticulous plan was being destroyed due to stubborn Beings.
"And to make matters worse, there is an annoying insect in my Hell that, thanks to a failed plan, has entered my house and is causing chaos."
"..." Baal would like to say that no one predicted that Victor was a Mortal who could survive in Hell, an extremely toxic place for the living, but he was silent.
Diablo was at an impasse.
He couldn't go back to Hell because if he did, the Angels would notice, and they would attack with everything making his whole plan involving Miguel and Gabriel go up in the air.
He couldn't ask for help because his allies were dealing with their own internal problems, only Yama was free, but that idiot was somewhere in South Africa causing trouble. In recent reports, he saw that the Progenitor of Vampires, Vlad, was going there.
Enma might be the only one who could help him, but he was now restructuring his Hell, so he'd hardly respond.
After a long silence, Diablo, who was thinking about his next move, spoke.
"Call all the Deadly Sins back."
"I want them to leave their current jobs and come back to support me."
"Yes, My King."
"… What about Alucard …? What do we do?" he asked cautiously.
"Alucard defeated a Demon God. Even if it was just recently born, War wasn't exactly weak. Only Wrath, Pride, Agares, or you could fight War equally, and that number dropped to just you and Agares when he became a Demon God."
"...Which means Alucard is as strong as I am or might be superior due to his qualities as a Progenitor."
"Correct."
"..." Baal was not upset by this fact but was impressed. As a Rank 1 Demon, it was insane to think of someone so young who was as strong as him, even surpassing him.
'I wonder how he'll fare fighting my True Form…' Baal thought with an inward smile but quickly shook his head.
As a Demon, it was an inherent desire to seek conflict and struggle; for a moment, he almost lost control of it.
"Alucard has become an existence that only my Elites or I personally can handle."
"I will not make the same mistake of underestimating him again." Diablo decided to make plans, always thinking about Alucard's future potential.
"Are we going to let him run wild in Hell?" Baal asked in the same neutral tone:
"How about sending the Dragon?"
"That would just be sending food to Alucard," Diablo spoke.
"… So we ignore him."
"Yes… For now."
"The Beings that are in Hell right now are all weak. Even if they join the weak, he still has a weak army. I can deal with him later when I return after achieving my plans."
"The Plane of Earth is much more important."
"… My King, have you forgotten what happened to Vine and Vepar?"
"I haven't forgotten, I've taken into consideration the possibility of him strengthening the Demons as well, but it still won't be enough to deal with me."
"All the strongest Demons in Hell are with me on Earth, while only the remnants are in Hell."
For a moment, Diablo even considered attacking Beings related to Victor, but the moment that thought popped into his head, he denied it.
There were many demerits, especially now that Vlad was not on his leash and that various Divine Energies had been reported in Nightingale through the spies of his new group of allies.
Not to mention Scathach, the Strongest Female Vampire everyone knew, had a Master-Student relationship with Alucard.
He would only harm himself if he struck the wrong way now that his forces were scattered and the Angels were patiently waiting for him to make a mistake.
Diablo's eyes gleamed.
'That's it... The Elder Gods... They are the Beings that have the most grudge against Vampires... If I manage to bring an Elder God to the table, it will be possible to create a collar for Alucard.'
He didn't even consider talking to the Elder Gods to help him on Earth. The reason for this was simple: these Beings only cared about their invaders, namely the Vampires.
"Contact our mutual friend, tell them I want to do business with them."
"My King... About this group, I think you'd better talk to them personally."
"..." Diablo opened his mouth to speak but quickly closed his mouth and considered Baal's advice, and he realized that the Demon was right.
"Very well, I will contact them."
"Are we going to help Yama regarding Vlad? It is obvious that a fight will ensue when the two meet."
"Yama has his Generals with him. Even Vlad couldn't handle that new General casually." Diablo spoke as he thought of the Demon that was once Merlin. Dealing with Mages of Merlin's and Evie's caliber was extremely troublesome.
You'll never know if you fell into a trap or not. It wasn't ridiculous to think that the most experienced Mages were invincible in their own territory.
"Yes, My King."
"Before you go, talk to Asmodeus. It's time for the Ancient Spirit to leave the laboratory."
"…Will production of Cursed Bullets stop?"
"The number we have is enough for the Highest Order Angels."
"Yes, My King. I will pass on your orders."
Diablo didn't say anything as he looked at the floating screen that soon began to show images of Alucard and his fight.
Baal exited and left the Demon King alone.
Alucard's fight with War. He wanted to understand everything about this impediment.
The Demon King didn't even consider paying attention to the silent 'doll' watching the entire conversation with dead eyes.
He didn't even notice the twinkle in Lilith's eyes that appeared for a few seconds when she watched Alucard and War fight.
...
On a dark night, a tall Vampire with blond hair and blood-red eyes looked out over a city full of Demons, wearing a white tuxedo.
"Yama is kidding too much." The man spoke in disdain.
A portal appeared behind the man.
"Alexios, good news?"
"Yes, I located the group of Vampires."
"Good. I will deal with Yama now." Vlad's body was covered in darkness with shades of red, and soon he disappeared:
"As long as you act as my messenger, I will return soon."
"Yes, My King."
.....
Edited By: DaV0 2138, IsUnavailable
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