The Holy Chronicles of Baator

[Trafford]

I have arrived to welcome Azazel, as he had grown to become my friend during the past centuries as we conducted many experiments together, as he was a fellow researcher and scientist like me.

Contrary to me, who experienced significant appearance changes due to several evolutions and advancements, Azazel still remained the same as I had first seen him.

Today he wore a V-neck maroon long-coat with a wide, open high collar that opens up at the hem. The long coat also featured two black belts around the waist and four black bands on each arm, two of the bands at the wrist and the other two near the elbow. He wore grey slacks and brown shoes.

"Azazel, my friend, welcome."

I welcomed him happily; fortunately, my wives were not present as they collectively "disliked" the man. Fia had a general disdain for perverts. Bibi Dong tried to kill him once because he stared at her with a perverted gaze. Hela thought he should be castrated, and it would solve all problems. While Vena was more subtle and didn't openly threaten the man, she didn't like him around as he would always stare at her bust.

I knew that Azazel probably hardly could control his Vice, which was similar to the Sin of the Devil, and his Vice was lust; in the end, it was the reason why he fell from Heaven and became one of the first Fallen Angels after Azrael.

Behind Azazel were two of his trusted aides, namely Penemue and Shemhazai.

"Lady Penemue, Cadre Shemhazai."

I greeted both of them, as they bowed in return.

"Your Imperial Majesty."

Both of them greeted me politely.

Shemhazai has the appearance of a handsome man in his twenties, with silver-white hair and purple eyes. His outfit consists of a purple beret hat, a purple trench coat over a black vest, white pants, and black boots.

Meanwhile, Penemue had long purple hair and a rather larger breast with the figure of a seductress. She wore similar clothes to Shemhazai.

"Come; others will arrive soon."

I signaled them to follow after me.

After that, we arrived at the meeting room, where Zekram and Azrael were already waiting, and I started talking with Azazel about new topics of research in the field of Arcanotech and Sacred Gears.

During the centuries, Azazel made astounding progress in his research of Sacred Gears, and one could say he laid down a path for Alchemists and Artificers of the Empire to start refining Soul-Bound Growth Type Artifacts on their own.

This time, I have brought together with me my familiar Heishen, the Dark Devilgod Tiger. He has already reached the Emperor Level and was a terrifyingly strong magical beast, though I still viewed him instead as a cuddly furball.

I loved cats and cat-related species; they were my first choices for Familiar, and after them were wolves and other unique creatures.

After some more time, the final participants of this meeting arrived, representatives of Heaven, Michael, and Gabriel.

Ironically, this is the first time I am meeting Gabriel or seeing her, as I have never seen her during the Great War, and she rarely left Heaven.

I must admit that she was indeed beautiful.

Gabriel has the appearance of a gorgeous woman with curly blonde hair and a voluptuous figure, truly deserving her title as the most beautiful woman in Heaven.

"Welcome, Lord of the Heaven Seraph Michael and Lady Gabriel."

I greeted them politely, and both of them bowed to me slightly.

"We greet his Imperial Majesty of the Chthonian Empire."

They said.

"Now that everyone is gathered here, we can start out a discussion."

I said as we all sat down around the round table. I sat together at one side with Zekram and Azrael, Michael and Gabriel sat behind the other part of the table, and finally, Azazel with Penemue and Shemhazai sat behind another.

"We have gathered here to discuss the future of our factions. Now, Azazel will start."

I said as I wasn't really a fan of useless talks, and I liked saving time.

"From onwards, the Grigori disbands and will be merged into the Chthonian Empire of the Baator."

The moment he saw that I could feel the Will of the Baator stirring in excitement, as now, all living creatures of the Baator were under my control. Meanwhile, Michael and Gabriel, while they were surprised at this development, it wasn't that shocking.

In regards to Grigori, it was only a matter of time until they would be either destroyed by a stronger faction, internal conflict or absorbed into the Empire.

"Now this is solved, Michael; what do you say about our proposition?"

I asked as this was the last thing to be discussed.

Aside from bolstering the power of my wife's faction in the Douluo Universe, there was another reason why I was giving the Angels of Heaven a way out.

After I had ascended to the Being of Law, I could see lines of Karma, and I could sense that If I slaughtered Angels, I would get something bad from the Universal Will or, like cultivators would say, Heaven.

This was the problem.

The Universal Will recognized us, Devils, Fallen, and Angels, as part of the same source, which made it impossible for one of the three to slaughter or annihilate the other two without any side effects, which means that the Universe will punish the one who did it.

While I could suffer more minor punishment thanks to my Fateless One physique, which could affect even Karma to a certain degree, the same cannot be said about my Empire. Probably great misfortune would befall onto the Chthonian Empire.

Okhwang taught me method how to read Luck of my Empire.

While an abstract term, Luck was something that every faction had, but only a few knew how to utilize it properly.

The higher the Luck of the faction was, the more the faction would be favored by the Heavens themselves, or that Okhwang said to me. It meant that factions with a really high amount of Luck could survive any tribulation, and they would find a way to survive in almost every situation.

 

[Trafford]

As the Astral Boundary wasn't a cultivation universe, only a minimal amount of people knew how to use it, as the Concept of Luck wasn't really known, similar to how Astral Boundary lacked in terms of unique Physiques and their usage overall.

I learned Okhwang how to manipulate the Luck of my faction to my benefit, and even though it was arduous, it was totally worth it.

Sometimes, I have wondered how narrow-minded most civilizations were; they stuck to their own power system or cultivation system, not bothering to take the better things from other civilizations or universes.

Even in the same Universes, higher-ranking civilizations that occupied stronger planes looked down on the weaker ones, even if they had something worthwhile.

After I discovered this fact, this weakness only solidified my aim to create an ultimate civilization. Even here, in the Galaxies belonging to the Draconic Deus, Empire obtained some useful things from the lesser civilizations.

"So, Michael, have you come to a decision?"

I again asked the Leader of Heaven as I had started growing impatient.

"Yes, we have. Angels of Heaven will migrate to the new place, but only under the condition that you can lift the reproduction restriction and advancement restriction from Heaven's System."

Said Michael.

"There is no need, and it won't work that way. When Yahweh created you, Heaven's System didn't have anything with the restriction placed on you, it only controlled them, but those restrictions are placed on you genetically, so even if Heaven's System is destroyed, it will change nothing. After you migrate to the Douluo Universe and receive the baptism of the Universe, everything would be solved instantly, as you would convert to a new power system, and your reproduction problem would also be solved."

I explained to him.

Yahweh's restriction on the Pure Angels was really something to marvel at.

I managed to create something that would destroy them only after I reached Apocalypse-Class. Only then could I create genetic serum coupled with a special ritual that lifted the restrictions from the Fallen Angels under my command.

On the contrary, Pure Angels that would be migrating to the Douluo Universe had it more manageable.

The moment they entered the Douluo Universe, they would receive something like an invitation from Asura, which in turn would create baptism for all of them granted directly by the Universe itself, which would cause their rebirth.

Their Class would be transformed into the Spirit Cultivation, their restrictions would be lifted, and all of their defects like fertility problems would be solved.

"Then we agree. Though, what will happen with Heaven itself?"

He said.

"Heaven would be devoured by Baator. It is the magnificent Divine Kingdom, stronger than any Pantheon Dimensional World any other; it would speed up the development of the Baator."

I stated my plans for Heaven, and while Michael didn't look really surprised, Gabriel looked sad that their home would be absorbed into the Baator. Alas, there is nothing they could do about it.

"When can you start moving out of Heaven?"

I asked Michael.

"Give us a few months."

He answered as I nodded in agreement.

Everything at the side of Bibi Dong was ready, as they had completely taken control over a fifth of the Douluo Continent and the entire Sun-Moon Continent was long ago under their control. Angels could settle down a the Sun-Moon Continent and regain their strength there; it was a good place for development.

Contrary to the Douluo Continent, the Sun-Moon Continent was less populated and had many places where Angels could settle down before Bibi Dong ascended as a new Asura God and took all Angels into the Divine Realm.

"Excellent. Now that everything is solved, everyone could go their way."

I said, as everyone nodded, some happily, some more reluctantly.

Soon after everyone went their way and I was left in the room alone as I was pondering about some things.

"Soon, we would be entering the great game. I wonder, will we survive. Indeed we are strong, but the factions of the Astral Boundary are much time stronger, with many more powerhouses, deeper foundation, and countless artifacts at their disposal."

I said to myself silently.

"Hmm... I need to reach Dimensional-Class as soon as possible. Refining Three Realms for Okhwang would be the perfect opportunity for me to increase my comprehension of the Laws of Slaughter and Destruction; I could greatly benefit from it. If I devour residual energy, then even my Demonic Energy Reserves would be increased exponentially."

My comprehension of the Law of Darklight was increasing day by day and soon would hit 100%. Then I only needed to finish comprehension of one or two other Laws and raise their mastery over them to Adept Rank, so I could safely advance into the Dimensional-Class.

I also needed to make myself a new weapon, as my Scythe was not that suitable for me. Okhwang told me that Cultivators in some cultivation systems could create Natal Weapons, and to my surprise, Weissman had done the same thing and created a similar method for Arcanists.

Unfortunately for me, I didn't have the proper materials for it, but I have already decided to make myself a Bladestaff, as I was more of a long-range combatant but also needed something that would help me in a close-combat while not sacrificing the ability to boost up magic and energy manipulation altogether.

 

[Trafford]

After I left Kuoh Town, I went to Romania, to Yharnam.

Blood Kin Races were someone who I intended to absorb into the Chthonian Empire a long time ago, even more than Fallen Angels.

On top of their military strength, they had two beings on the same level as me, even though they were currently injured. Two Grand Prince Kindreds, Alucard and Brunestud, and were not ordinary ones, but they apparently comprehended some Laws, so their combat prowess was very high; unfortunately for them, they were wanted fugitives in their home, so they could not return back to the Divine Blood Plane under any circumstances.

I appeared at the outskirts of the Yharnam, the Holy City of the Pale Blood.

Soon after, I teleported here; both Brunestud and Alucard teleported here as well.

"Gentlemen."

I greeted them politely.

"Emperor."

Both of them said. As I was observing them, I could see they had recuperated by a great deal, they probably were able to get their hands on some corpses of killed Titans and Gods from Olympus, so it was no wonder they were regaining their strength at a fast tempo.

"Now, you know why I have come. Did you agree? And before you say anything, I bring you a message from one of your True Ancestors Cadis Etrama di Raizel, that you the kill-order on you has been taken down, but you are forever banished from the realms of influence of the Divine Blood Plane, such is the decree of the Primogenitor."

I asked them a simple question.

It was all about joining the Empire.

As I passed them a message from Christof Lohengrin, both of them were expressionless, but I could see some signs of relief and sadness from them. In the end, while they won't be chased down and killed, they could never return home, which also wasn't that good for them.

"Did we have another choice?"

Asked Brunestud, more to himself rather than to me.

Indeed, they didn't have a lot of choices; after the Dimensional Gap is destroyed, then they, with their injured forms, could only flee and leave everything behind, maybe save some of their closest kin, but that is all.

"Then, I can interpret it as you are agreeing?"

I asked as both of them nodded.

"Great, then sign this."

I exclaimed happily as I passed them two Blood and Soul Void-Geasses.

After they read it, they both signed the Blood and Soul Void-Geasses.

"After you join the Empire, every one of your subjects, or rather now my subjects, is required to sign one of those. It is to prevent any kind of betrayal, corruption, or anything that might harm the interests of the Chthonian Empire."

With the invention of the Blood and Soul Void-Geass, the crime rate was lessened by nearly 80%, as they were more effective than the common type of Geass that I have been using for my Empire before. Though there were still people who could find loopholes, those were for more minor offenses, and for that, the Commissariat was always ready.

The goal of the Blood and Soul Void-Geass wasn't to aim for criminals but to prevent people from betraying Empire, causing havoc, misusing their position to oppress others, or similar things that would damage the stability of our nation.

"I believe you can transport the city on your own, right?"

I asked them as they nodded in agreement.

Yharnam was a special city as they could teleport it and change its location if needed be, and I have already prepared a place for it in the Empire.

"What about our soldiers?"

Asked Alucard as we walked through the streets of the Holy City of Pale Blood.

"They would be merged together and create another army of one million, where you will nominate someone to take as Lord General of that army; of course, that person needs to be competent and pass several levels of reviews in terms of his adequateness."

I stated as the Empire was strictly ruled by two things: power and merits.

"Then I think it should be Valerian; he is most suited for that role."

Said Alucard as he shamelessly nominated his descendant to the role. He was his favorite one as he came from his only wife, Seras Victoria.

"Hmm... he would need to go and get schooling from Lord General Behemoth to quell his personality a bit. He did a splendid job with his son Jabberwock and my son Sigmar."

Indeed it had done wonders.

I knew that Valerian Tepes was a strategic genius and fearsome fighter, but he had the same problems as Sigmar, or rather the same personality, and he could not properly rein himself in.

"How long would it take for you to recuperate from your injuries completely?"

I asked as I looked at Brunestud and Alucard. I needed them in their top shape for things that will come, not with their combat prowess at third or even weaker than that.

"It depends; we need as much blood of strong beings to regenerate faster."

Answered Brunestud.

"I will send what we have in our treasury, and soon Empire would launch an attack on Olympus, so you can join the fray and grab yourself some gods to suck dry."

I said.

While Takamagahara would be destroyed by something that could be called a planet-destroying bomb, I have planned to lay a siege on Olympus.

There were several reasons for that.

First is that since Shinto started meddling and cultivating their forces, their wealth and treasures were lesser than even Olympians who hoarded everything inside Mount Olympus.

The second reason was that Takamagahara had more Mighty Stage Gods. In contrast, the Greek Faction as a whole had only one, and that was Ouranos.

In the end, it was not worth attacking Takamagahara and instead destroying it entirely. Additionally, I have a feeling that Amaterasu would be prepared for such an attack.

Meanwhile, the Olympians were weaker and weakened significantly after the Titans once again, and they had plenty of Treasures as they hoarded everything. So that made them my prime target.

 

[Trafford]

Several days later, after the meeting, the supernatural world was in a state of deep uneasiness. Soon news of Grigori merging into the Chthonian Empire and Angels of Heaven accepting peace with the Empire were known across the entire supernatural world.

Of course, both Grigori and Heaven were weak compared to other factions; they could still be used to deal some damage to the Empire.

Now, one became one of it while the other had shut down entirely and recalled all of its forces. I went to Heaven and destroyed Heaven's System and lifted up the restrictions done on Angels through Heaven's System.

I didn't expect that Yahweh would also use it to plant some restrictions on them.

The one that felt the greatest pressure was currently the Church. After Heaven shut itself and Heaven's Systems were basically destroyed, they have lost all communication with Heaven. After all pure Angels returned, they lost the military support. They were left only with a few humans on the Ultimate-Class and Sacred Gear users.

In the end, I predicted that soon, they would be destroyed, as their rate of danger fell to Zero, meaning there was a high probability that some Nobles of the Empire would attack the Church on their own to quell their grudges.

Even if Eques Ranked House attacked, it could deal Church a tremendous amount of damage, and if some Viceroy Houses joined the fray, it would be entirely annihilated within a span of weeks. For Eques-Ranked House meant that the Head of the House was Ultimate-Class, and there were several other Ultimate-Class powerhouses in the House except for him, same for Viceroy, just with Legendary-Class and so on.

Of course, in the future, requirements would be adjusted as the strength of the Empire is growing day by day, but so is the personal power of the Nobles, as they are dedicated to training and getting stronger due to the nature of the Empire.

***

3rd POV

Kyoto, Japan, Earth

Rias arrived at Kyoto together with Akeno and Shirone and headed to meet Lady Yasaka, the Youkai leader and apparently the mother of her elder brother's child, which would make Yasaka her sister-in-law.

After she exited the train, she noticed that Lady Yasaka was already waiting there for them.

In her human form, she appears as a young woman with a voluptuous figure and very long blonde hair with matching eyes. She is a woman with delicate facial features, and her eyebrows are cut very short and round, a symbol of nobility. Her hair is usually tied in a loose ponytail, reaching all the way down to her legs that end in a spiral, with tight bandages to keep it in place. She wore a traditional shrine maiden attire, and over that, she wore a white coat held closed by a red ribbon and a golden crown.

"Princess Rias, I welcome you to Kyoto."

Greeted her Yasaka as she bowed lightly to Rias.

"I thank you for your personal welcome, Lady Yasaka."

Rias bowed back to her as she thanked her.

Yasaka was, in the end, the leader of a faction, even though it was rather an insignificant faction compared to the Empire, but her personal strength was way above Rias, not to mention she might have had a child with her elder brother Sigmar.

"What is bringing you here, Princess Rias?"

Asked Lady Yasaka as she looked at Rias.

"My father sent me here with a proposal for the Youkai Species Lady Yasaka."

Said Rias as she looked at Yasaka, who instantly became much more serious.

"Of course, Your Highness, please follow me."

Yasaka signaled Rias to follow after her to the reverse side of Kyoto. As the major hub of the Youkai, Kyoto also had a reverse side, which was inhabited by Youkai creatures only; of course, people of other supernatural races were present, but in lower numbers than Youkai.

Soon, Yasaka led them to her house, which was an enormous Japanese-styled mansion guarded by fox youkai and Karasu Tengu.

After they arrived at Yasaka's residence, they noticed a young girl running to her. She had the appearance of an elementary school student. She had golden blonde hair tied in a ponytail and matching eyes. She also has nine golden foxtails and matching ears.

She wore the traditional Miko outfit and tall geta with white tabi. The sleeves of her haori feature a giant red star-shaped pentagram, surrounded by five smaller pentagrams in between the points.

"Kunou, you are here."

Said Yasaka affectionately, as Rias felt that the jade her father gave her started stirring violently when Kunou approached it.

'So she is indeed elder brother's daughter... this will either make things easier or more difficult to deal with.'

Thought Rias as she observed Yasaka chastising Kunou for running into the house and behaving inappropriately for a young lady in her position.

"This is my daughter, Kunou. Kunou say hello to Princess Rias Lucifer-Gremory of the Chthonian Empire of Baator."

Introduced Yasaka Rias to her daughter Kunou.

"Greetings, Princess Rias."

Said Kunou cutely as she made an elegant bow.

"Greetings, Young Lady of the West Youkai Faction."

Rias returned the greeting with a similar bow.

"Kunou and go and play while I will talk with Princess Rias."

Said Yasaka as Kunou ran off to play, while Rias and Yasaka went to a place where they could talk freely.

 

[Trafford]

After Yasaka sent her daughter to play, Rias and Yasaka went to a more private place where they could talk freely.

"Actually, my father sent me here for two things, one of them is more formal, and another is more personal. For the first, I will start with the formality. The Emperor of the Chthonian Empire is proposing for the West Youkai Faction to be merged into the Chthonian Empire of the Baator. Of course, all Youkai will get the same benefits as any other citizens after signing Blood and Soul Void-Geass."

Said Rias seriously, as Yasaka's gaze hardened.

"As you surely know, Your Highness, West Youkai Faction is a vassal to the Shinto Pantheon, similar to the East Youkai Faction. I doubt that this is an appropriate proposal."

Said Yasak slowly as Rias looked indifferent to this statement.

"Indeed it is... for now."

Said Rias quietly, as Yasaka's ears perked up hearing this.

"What do yo-"

Suddenly she stopped in the middle of her question as she stood up and looked in the direction where the entrance to the Takamagahara was located.

***

Several minutes earlier, Takamagahara.

"So, why have you called us here, sister?"

Asked Susanoo as he looked at his sister Amaterasu.

"I want to know, why have you been helping enemies of the Empire to murder the daughter of the Emperor and another one of the important noble heirs, brother?"

Amaterasu asked as Susanoo shrugged.

"They are dangerous, and god knows what they are doing in the Dimensional Gap; you have heard the rumors that the Empire wishes to tear it down, so they could access the Astral Boundary."

Answered Susanoo, as he was always the most warmongering among the three of them, but even Amaterasu could see some sense in his words.

Even she has heard disturbing rumors around that the Empire, Celestial Court, and Shiva's Faction of Hindus had some kind of silent agreement that they would destroy the Dimensional Gap. Other facts didn't help that, primarily in past centuries, the Empire aggressively conquered and exterminated countless civilizations out there for resources.

"Even if you are right, if they find out about your involvement, it would cause war, a war we are not ready to wage. We have only one sleeping Mighty Stage God. In contrast, Empire has several Apocalypse-Class beings; we can only stay defensive in the potential conflict and hope our Pantheon World is strong enough to cause Empire such losses that they would drop the siege and retreat. If not..."

Suddenly Amaterasu sensed something weird in the Takamagahara.

"What it is, sister?"

Asked her, her other sibling Tsukuyomi.

"The Pantheon World is sealed."

She said with a pale face, as suddenly a teleportation circle activated, bearing the sigil of the Chthonian Empire, and a huge arcanotech device appeared from it with the shape of an egg, as it gleamed in the red light.

In a split of a second, the red light enveloped the entire Takamagahara, and the explosion devoured everything; not even dust remained.

***

Meanwhile, outside the Takamagahara, several people wearing military uniforms of the Imperialis Militarum were standing and watching the spectacle.

"I must say, you did a marvelous job developing this Magister Beelzebub."

Praised elderly Lord General Behemoth as he gripped his walking cane. Behind him were several Generals and even some Lord Generals of the Imperialis Militarum. Even Lord Marshall Militant Empress Hela was present, together with members of other branches, especially Navis Imperialis, including Lord High Admiral.

Everyone came to observe the destruction of the Takamagahara, or more precisely, to see the first generation of weapons of mass destruction developed by Magisterium of Arcanotech.

DMM Bomb or Dark Matter Magicule Bomb was the first type of mass destruction weapon that was able to destroy entire worlds easily; its explosion is comparable to the attack of weaker Holy Spirit Warlocks or Dimensional-Class powerhouse.

"The results were acceptable; within the next one thousand years, we went to develop weapons that could injure Warlock Emperors and similar powerhouses, which itself is a rather ambitious goal within a such short time."

One thousand years may sound incredibly long, but in reality, it wasn't. During countless years of experimentation and research, it was found out that the natural lifespan of a devil is around 10,000 Years, and with each Class, it would increase by a few centuries. However, in the higher Class, it will be increased by a few thousand years if calculated correctly, then the lifespan of a devil before reaching Apocalypse-Class should be around a hundred thousand years.

Tier 11 powerhouses and similar already stood on the pinnacle of any Universes, if you don't count those entities above.

***

"So it already happened?"

Questioned Rias as she looked at Yasaka.

"How?"

Asked Yasaka with a shaky voice.

"Several centuries ago, father managed to get into the Takamagahara, as he was on an audience with Shinto Gods. During his short stay there, he placed there a seal with a special arcanotech artifact, crafted with advanced arcanotech and strong magic. Now, it has just activated and transported a weapon into Takamagahara, which instantly exploded, thus destroying the entire Dimensional Pantheon World."

Explained Rias as Yasaka realized that the entire Shinto Pantheon was no more as Takamagahara was destroyed and all of its gods were killed in that massive explosion.

"In that case, I agree."

Responded Yasaka as she realized that her faction had lost its biggest backer.

"Splendid, my brother will be happy to meet his partner and daughter."

Clapped Rias happily while Yasaka paled considerably.

 

[Trafford]

"How did you find out?"

Questioned Yasaka as she looked at the Princess of the Chthonian Empire of the Baator, only subsequently to realize how stupid a question it was.

"Actually, my father felt that someone was born to his line when little Kunou was born. But, something was wrong with her bloodline, so he didn't pay a lot of attention to it, and only recently did he give me something to test the bloodline resonance. Though I would like to ask, how and why? Now that you have accepted the offer, you need to know that this matter needs to be resolved immediately."

Explained Rias, as Yasaka took a deep breath before she started explaining.

"I met your brother several years ago when he went to challenge Greater Gods of Shinto to fight him; I led him to Takamagahara; after that, he stayed here and searched for some opponents to fight, among hidden Youkai Hermits, and in the end, he was pestering me to fight him. I don't even know how it happened, but after some time, I fell in love with him. After one night, I found out that I was pregnant, but deep inside, even though I love Sigmar till now, I realized that he was not suitable to be a father. I didn't want my daughter to have a father who would be obsessed with battles and fighting, thus neglecting her or even endangering her. I wanted a father for her who would care for and spend time with his daughter. So I didn't tell him anything and let him leave."

Explained Yasaka sadly, and to some extent, Rias could relate to her. She knew very well that Sigmar was the last person that should be taking care of a small child.

"If Aunt Hela founds about it... this would get messy, though not for you, for Sigmar... she will beat him to a pulp."

Hela wanted a grandchild, as she was jealous that Venelana got a grandchild before her; in the end, all of her father's wives were still competing against each other. Grayfia and Bibi Dong knew they had lost this contest, as Hilda was too occupied with her career and Renxue was too young and too focused on the development of the Spirit Hall.

But Hela didn't like losing at all.

"I think that you should at first talk with Aunt Hela and only then to talk with Sigmar. Aunt Hela will surely straighten him out for you, and then you can shape my brother to proper husband material."

Stated Rias with a mischievous smile.

As Rias and Yasaka talked to each other, suddenly they felt a disturbance in the magicules in the area.

"Attack."

Stated Rias, as Yasaka instantly active defense around her palace.

"How many are there?"

Asked Rias while Yasaka was currently scouting the area.

"Hundreds, all humans. Wizards of OZ, Magicians of Nilrem, Utsuemi Agency, and lastly Hero Faction."

Stated Yasaka as she sighed in relief because none of the enemies was stronger than Ultimate-Class. She herself was at the pinnacle of the Satan-Class, Rias was the peak of the Ultimate-Class, and she had several Youkai at the Ultimate-Class and even some on the initial Satan-Class.

"So they have attacked here... though do you know why have they attacked you, Lady Yasaka?"

Asked Rias, while Yasaka shook her head in denial.

"In the end, it doesn't matter, as you are already a member of the Empire."

Stated Rias as she tapped on something on her Holo-Brain and sent a message that they were under attack.

She then looked through the window to see the leaders of the attacker.

"Cao Cao and Georg... of course, it would be those two."

Muttered Rias as she observed the Leader of the Hero Faction and the Vice-Leader of the Hero Faction.

Cao Cao was a handsome young man with short black hair and blue eyes. He wears a combination of a Japanese school uniform (more specifically, the gakuran worn by Japanese schoolboys in the fall) and ancient Chinese attire.

Georg was a young man with black hair and spectacles; he wore a mage-style robe with a feathered cape over his uniform.

Youkai Soldiers were already armed and took a defensive position against their invaders, while Yasaka and Rias remained inside the palace behind the barrier together with Youkai Soldiers.

"How long before your reinforcements arrive?"

Asked Yasaka as she was reluctant to let her soldiers die in vain, so she ordered them to play it with defensive battle, where they had an advantage.

Traveling between Draconic Deus and Baator was hard; when Baator recovered to a Grade 3 Plane, the Laws have returned, and apparently, it was close to evolution once more, so opening a portal to another Plane became a hard thing to do, contrary to what it was in the past, where free teleportation was possible.

"Soon, they were on standby already, returning from their mission; they should be here any minute."

Answered Rias, as she observed the barrier around them blocking all the magical attacks from the Hero Faction, Nilrem, Wizards of Oz, and Utsuemi Agency, but soon the barrier started showing cracks, as it wasn't that advanced compared to advanced magic that Chthonian Empire possessed.

Several minutes later, enormous portals appeared all around the place, and men and women in pristine white runic armor, armed with swords, started marching out of them in neatly ordered formations.

"Sardaukar!"

Shouted one with more decorated armor, who was their commander, and by his order, all of them stopped and readied their swords.

"We are the Blades of the Emperor! Those who stand against us fall!"

He shouted once more as all of them got into combat positions and looked at the human enemies.

"Attack! Leave none alive!"

He commanded as hundreds of Sardaukar rushed at the human magicians, heroes, and other individuals that were associated with them.

 

[Trafford]

In their panic, magicians of Nilrem and Wizards of Oz started barraging Sardaukar with their magic spell, only for their shields, and Runic Armors shrugged them off like nothing.

Soon enough, it was too late for the Wizards of OZ, Magicians of Nilrem, and others of the Utsuemi Agency, as the Sardaukar started engaging them in close combat. Every time Sardaukar slashed their sword, one life was taken, as their enemies were slaughtered like cattle waiting to be butchered one by one.

"Those are?"

Asked Yasaka, with a shaky voice, she watched white-armored knights slaughtering their enemies like nothing while spells of their enemies bounced on against them, not leaving even a single injury.

"Those are the Sardaukar Forces, one of the three elite forces of the Chthonian Empire, together with the Khaos Brigade and Burning Legion. They are led by their commander, Arthur Pendragon, who is currently engaging the leader of the Hero Faction Cao Cao in single combat."

Explained Rias as she watched Arthur Pendragon, who had already reached Legendary-Class wielding reforged Holy Sword Excalibur pushing Cao Cao back with each sword strike. As Dragonoids, which was more like humanoid dragon, Pendragons enjoyed great physical strength and a high aptitude for magic; additionally, they were able to cast innate dragon magic.

Meanwhile, Sardauakar Commander was battling Cao Cao; Sardaukars slaughtered magicians and wizards alike. Their spells were utterly ineffective on the Sardaukar. They just cut down everything in their path, leaving countless corpses behind them.

Only members of the Hero Faction were able to stand against them and even kill several Sardaukar soldiers before being overwhelmed by the number and strategy employed by the Sardaukar against them.

Sardaukar was ordered to capture them alive so the Empire could extract their Sacred Gear in case they refused to submit.

Executioners of the Execution Temple already captured several members of the Hero Faction. Hero Faction had the plan to send several of its members through another path and encircle Yasaka.

The person they sent was the possessor of the Longinus Sacred Gear Annihilation Maker, Leonardo, and several other members who were there mainly for his protection. Unfortunately for them, they were not a match for an ambush of the Executioners, who quickly defeated them and captured them.

Rias stood there with Yasaka as they observed how the Sardaukar were subduing one member of the Hero Faction after another, and after Heracles fell to several Sardaukar that decapitated his limbs, their entire little invasion has been brought to an end, as everyone knew that they had been defeated.

Arthur has knocked out Cao Cao, who, with his Balance Breaker, managed to give even Arthur some wounds, as Cao Cao was very strong in that form, reaching the combat prowess of the weaker Satan-Class.

Still, in the end, it was not enough.

After that, other members of the Hero Faction that stood up were only Jeanne and Georg, who surrendered after the others were defeated, and Siegfried was killed by Arthur when he interrupted a fight between him and Cao Cao.

Georg was a pragmatist who joined Cao Cao only because he promised him Arcane Knowledge after all supernatural factions were destroyed. Meanwhile, Jeanne was a former Exorcist of the Church who went rogue due to the practices of the organization itself.

"It is done... that took longer than I predicted."

Muttered Rias as she observed Sardaukars cleaning the battlefield and killing injured members of Nilrem, Wizards of Oz, and Usuemi Agency.

***

At the same time, the outskirts of Kyoto

MC POV

"Come on, Hela, what is taking you so long."

I said to my wife as we were going to visit Yasaka. The second I felt the resonance from the jade I had given to Rias, Hela instantly wanted to take a look at her granddaughter, and at the same time, she wanted to beat her son.

Unfortunately for her, and fortunately for Sigmar, he was somewhere in the Draconic Deus in some galaxy, subduing another space-faring civilization that was a bit more developed as they have developed in a psionic way. Their civilization had even people comparable to Ultimate-Class, and their strongest psionic was around peak Satan-Class.

So Sigmar was sent to deal with them; their civilization controlled an entire galaxy that was rich in some crucial ores and precious materials that were very important for Arcanotech development and advanced weaponry.

Empire was waging wars for resources in the Draconic Deus galaxies to obtain as many resources as possible, to improve our capabilities.

I have arrived with Hela at Yasaka's place, and for some time, we have observed Sardaukar slaughtering magicians and wizards and other pests that were gathered here.

"It seems we have obtained a few Sacred Gears with this."

I muttered as I observed knocked-out members of the Hero Faction.

"What will you do with them, dear?"

Asked me, Hela.

"As always, they would be broken down and researched. They are defective in the end, though the True Longinus is unique, so I will task Azazel and Ajuka together with Grandmasters of Ironforge to reforge it and give it to Vali. He lacks a weapon that could grow alongside him, and he has talent with a spear."

I have answered and said my plans for the Sacred Gears.

In my eyes, they were nothing more than a bunch of defective products that made their users heavily dependent on them. But researching them greatly benefited the Empire, as we have developed Runic Armors and other weapons based on them.

For example, PSG, the Personal Shield Generators, were developed mainly from data obtained from researching the Sacred Gears.

 

[Trafford]

Soon, we arrived with Hela at Yasaka's Palace, where Rias and Yasaka were already waiting for us; probably, Rias thought I would come, so she went to wait for me there.

"Your Imperial Majesties."

Bowed Yasaka as she welcomed Hela and me.

"You don't need to bow; we are basically family."

I said as Yasaka had a weird expression on her face, but in the end, we all entered inside her palace, where we sat around a tea table as I started brewing tea for us.

"Rias escaped captives back to the Execution Temple and interrogated them. If some of them decide to surrender, then give them Blood and Soul Void-Geass; if not, then send them for forceful extraction of the Sacred Gears. However, you know whom you need to kill from them. Also, notify all Imperials operating on Earth to retreat back to the Baator."

I have ordered.

It was already time.

I have already got information about where Rizevim was hiding and will deal with him, and soon the End Protocol will destroy all enemies that would be able to endanger the process of tearing down the Dimensional Gap.

"Please, here is the tea."

I presented tea to Yasaka and Hela while also pouring a cup for myself.

"It tastes great."

Complimented Yasaka my tea.

"Now, why are we here. First thing, Yasaka, your faction has one week for evacuation to leave for the Empire. Soldiers of the Imperialis Militarum, Commissariat and civil officials of the Magisterium of Domestic Affairs and Territorial Development will coordinate and help with everything."

I have said, as Yasaka nodded, as they were now citizens of the Empire and needed to relocate to the Empire as soon as possible.

"Now, the second thing. The situation between you and our son Sigmar."

I have said, as Yasaka became serious one more and Hela had a sour expression on her face. Yasaka started explaining her story to both of us as I listened with an indifferent expression. Still, Hela looked like she would explode at any second.

Contrary to Hela, Sigmar had a problem controlling his bloodlust. Even though his time with Lord General Behemoth benefited him greatly, many of his unsavory personality traits still remained. Because of that, Yasaka was very reluctant to let him raise their daughter Kunou.

Hela made a remarkable journey from the time I met her, and she could perfectly reign in her battle lust and bloodthirsty nature if needed, as she had learned it over time. After she gave birth to Sigmar, I was genuinely surprised by how gently she could be.

"Don't worry, my daughter-in-law; after we arrive back home and that unfilial son returns, you will see how I will deal with him."

Said Hela as she consoled Yasaka, who was on the verge of tears because it must have been hard on her.

"How do you want to introduce Kunou to all of this?"

I asked as I was a bit worried about my granddaughter. She was younger than Abrasax, so I didn't want to make this situation difficult for her or to cause her some kind of trauma.

"Slowly... after mother-in-law talks with Sigmar, I will talk with him about all of this so she can have some time to adjust herself to the situation."

Said Yasaka as I nodded in agreement.

"I will send a contingent of the Custodians to serve as your permanent protectors as you are hereby members of the Imperial House with your daughter."

After we talked more with Yasaka, I decided to return to the Baator, as I had a mission to complete, which was to hunt for my uncle Rizevim Livan Lucifer after his location was found. Hela remained behind to spend some time with her daughter-in-law and observe her granddaughter.

Yasaka didn't want to introduce them right now, but Hela insisted that she wanted to meet her, so in the end, Yasaka gave up and let Hela meet Kunou.

***

Baator, Chthonian Empire, Imperial Capital of Anor Londo

After I returned back home, the first thing I needed to deal with was Vali, who was trying to force himself to participate in the mission of killing Rizevim, though I was greatly reluctant to let him in.

The simple reason for that.

Trihexa.

Rizevim was probably trying to release Trihexa, which was problematic by itself, and truth to be told, I didn't want for my adoptive son to be caught in my with Trihexa where even pinnacle Super Devil Class powerhouses may perish like flies.

I was taking only Diablo and Sirzechs with me, as they were strong enough, as Sirtzechs has undergone Law Baptism with Law of Destruction, and he would soon reach Apocalypse-Class. Law Comprehension was an arduous path, and if not for Zekram becoming Apocalypse-Class by comprehending Law of Destruction, Sirzechs and Vena would have a much harder time comprehending Laws.

Comprehending Laws without outside help was a hassle and took too much time; if one was lucky, if unlucky, then one may spend comprehending Laws for centuries and even millennia and comprehend nothing.

"You have reached Super Devil Class... hmm... if you can dispose of one of my stronger attacks, you may participate in the mission."

I said as I threw at him Forbidden-Tier Spell that would be able to kill weaker Mighty Stage God with ease. It was a lightning spell, Bararaq Saiqa.

To my shock, Vali at first divided the Spell's power and then used the energy to reflect the Spell, successfully blocking one of my stronger attacks, which was an outstanding achievement on its own.

"Hmm... you may go, but you will listen to everything Diablo says, okey?"

I said as Vali nodded in agreement.

I then left and went to meet with Diablo to discuss our strategy for capturing Rizevim. While that guy was weaker than us considerably, he was slippery as a snake, even more than Kokabiel. So it was good to be prepared appropriately.

 

[Trafford]

Devils were species created for war.

The Great Old One designed our Power System to have the strongest attributes of the Arcane Path, Warlock Path, and Evolutionary Path. As long as there were sufficient resources, it was easy for devils to advance almost effortlessly to Tier 8, aka Super Devil.

After that, it was all about comprehending Laws, and that was where many were stuck and could not move on. While our power system gave us overwhelming combat prowess at the Apocalypse-Class and higher compared, for example, with Warlocks or Fiends, but reaching it was extremely hard.

Sirzechs was stuck for centuries at the Super Devil Class and was very slowly comprehending the Law of Destruction; his average rate of comprehension was 1% per 3 to 4 years, but even that could be considered as very fast, and he also got pointers from Zekram who long ago became Being of Law when he comprehended Law of Destruction.

My own comprehension of the Law of Destruction has already reached 65%, Darklight was at 60%, and Slaughter was at 22%. In contrast, my Mastery over the Law of Devour has reached Perfect from Advanced not long ago, meaning that I could Devour Laws more effortlessly.

Now I was meeting with Sirzechs and Diablo to decide the next course of action.

"My Lord, we have located Rizevim hiding in the same pocket dimension where the Trihexa is sealed; by our observations, he has been hiding there for entire years. It is highly possible he has managed somehow unseal it and will use it against us."

Reported Diablo as I nodded indifferently, while Sirzechs looked stressed.

Indeed, Trihexa was a very powerful Apocalypse-Class Monster. As the Baator recovered, there were a few Tier 9 Monsters that popped out, precisely two. Still, neither of them was strong enough to threaten the Empire. Additionally, Crom Cruach hunted one of them down so he could eat it with his family.

Apparently, it was mainly for his hatchlings.

"Trihexa will not be a problem; even if it was at full force, I would be able to subdue it, not to mention now, after it was sealed for several centuries, it will not have even a fraction of its power. Rizevim probably has broken some seal on it, so it could partially recuperate, but maximally it would be at 40% of its peak, and even that is an overestimation."

I stated, as killing Trihexa, even if it was at its peak, won't be that hard for current me.

In truth, I wonder how many gains I will obtain from killing that creature. From what I have observed during its fight with Yahweh, Trihexa had a comprehension of several Laws. Still, due to the Law of Chaos that messed with its mind, it couldn't control them properly. Also, it made it impossible for it to advance into Dimensional Level Monster.

I wanted to obtain a crystal that contained its comprehension of the Law of Destruction to reach a 100% comprehension rate. With the Law of Slaughter that I will finish comprehending when I will help refine the Three Realms for Okhwang and Dark Light, I would be lacking only one Law to comprehend to ascend as Dimensional-Class and pursue the path before me.

I could trade the Crystal of Law of Chaos within Orden for something of equal value to either Mercurius or Khaziklu Bey. Both of them would surely be interested in such an object, as the Law of Chaos is one of the Universe's Fundamental Laws.

"Also, we will take with us several legions of Mechs and the 5th Fleet. Trihexa has a troublesome ability to spawn something akin to spores like Dou Dou, so they will be dealt with by Mechs and Fleet. The corpse of the Trihexa will be used to feed my familiars and as Dou Dou's fertilizer."

Currently, Empire has five fleets. Each Fleet consisted of 1,000 Lunar-Class Cruisers, 500 Avenger-Class Grand Cruisers, x100 Destroyer-Class Battle Cruisers, x10 Emperor-Class Battleships, and one Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship, which acted as commanding post for the Fleet. Thanks to our plunder, we were already constructing the 6th Fleet, and even one Phalanx-Class Space Fortress was in construction, though it lacked a power source for now.

I then telepathically called my familiars.

Each of them was at the pinnacle of Tier 8 and could already participate in the more high-leveled fight.

Jin and Heishen were even bigger than before, looking like ferocious predators, but they were nice little goofballs that liked to play with me. While Isla's size didn't change a lot, but she was more graceful, and her illusions and mind-controlling abilities were an absolute pain in the ass.

It was predicted she could easily mind-control weak-willed Warlock Monarchs, and her Illusions could fool anybody below Tier 11 Powerhouse, meaning they were pretty powerful.

Isla jumped in my lap as I scratched her behind her ears, exactly like she liked it, while Heishen attempted to approach Isla, only to get hissed on by her. While Jin just laid next to my chair and barked happily.

I let out a small chuckle as I observed their interactions, especially when looking at Isla and Heishen. Both of them were felines, and apparently, Heishen wanted to mate with Isla, to leave behind a strong progeny.

I wonder how strong it would be descendant between Wampus Cat and Dark Devilgod Tiger.

 

[Trafford]

Now that my familiars were as strong as they were, they could be deployed in real-time combat situations. In truth, once they have reached Tier 9, I plan to search for a sealed plane, which is similar to the civilization level as Earth right now, and unleash one of my familiars and army of monsters there.

Mainly for shits and giggles.

"How many people has Rizvem left?"

After the Empire had started hunting for Rizevim and his pawns, there were not many left; even his most loyal dog, Euclid Luficuge, was caught by Vali and beheaded.

"Probably zero; with loss of Nilrem, Oz, and Utsusemi Agency, Rizevim is left with only Qlippoth, which should be consisting of one or two Evil Dragons that somehow survived; till this day and weren't killed by Empire or other factions."

Answered Diablo as I nodded in satisfaction.

"Vali and Sirzechs will deal with Evil Dragons together with Heishen. Diablo, you will deal with Rizevim with Isla, she will be able to see through any illusions or traps that Rizevim has prepared, and Jin will search the entire base for anything that we could have missed. I will go and kill Trihexa."

I ordered as everyone nodded as the plan was created for the mission. After adjusting small details, I teleported all of us to the location where the Trihexa should be sealed and where Rizevim was hiding.

I still wondered how he managed to find this place and break through the seals. Realistically speaking, there were only two possibilities. One of them was that he had some kind of special artifact that allowed him to break through any magical seals and wards. Second, he got help from someone who could, and only one person, or rather two, came to my mind.

Melvazoa and Resetoras.

Those two pests are always creating obstacles for my Empire and me, but in the end, it doesn't matter, and soon they would burn.

As we have teleported here, I looked at Sirzechs, Vali, and Diablo, who were standing behind me together with my three familiars, Jin, Heishen, and Isla.

"So he still retained some of his pawns..."

I muttered as I scanned the entire area and found around several hundred magicians and one very strong magical presence of Ultimate-Class.

Hexennacht.

They were a collection of Stray Magicians; who were expelled by the Magicians Council and various other Magician organizations. Created by one of the former leaders of the Wizards of Oz, Walburga.

Along with Hexennacht, there were also two Evil Dragons, Apophis and Azi Dahaka, both of them had reached Heavenly Dragon Level and were nearing the pinnacle, though, from the energy waves they were releasing, I could see that their Class was pretty unstable and reached by force.

Rizevim probably used some kind of ritual to use the energy released by Trihexa to elevate two Evil Dragons to Heavenly Dragon Class.

"Vali, you and Jin will deal with Magicians of Hexennacht... leaven none alive. Sirzechs kill those two lizards. Diablo with me."

I gave orders as both Vali and Sirzechs nodded and went to do their own things. Jin went together with Vali, while Heishen targeted with Sirzechs and Isla went with Diablo and me.

Soon enough, we have arrived at exactly the same place where Yahweh has fought against the Trihexa and sealed it, only to find Rizevim here and waiting for us, apparently.

"Rizevim."

I said emotionlessly.

"Zeoticus."

He looked at me with a mischievous grin.

"You were waiting."

I stated the oblivious truth.

"Indeed I was, and so were my friends here."

At that moment, he said that I had felt two auras. One of them was pretty familiar as it belonged to the Trihexa, and I was surprised that it had already recovered to its peak, but the other one was unknown.

It was as strong as Trihexa, and it belonged to a God. It was a similar aura to that of Regalzeva, and the only choice was.

"Melvazoa."

Trihexa looked precisely the same as I remembered. However, it lacked the mindless look in its eyes, as it was controlled by something, and as I looked at the Melvazoa, I noticed something. He stood there next to the Trihexa without any Trihexa attacking him.

Melvazoa looked very similar to Regalzeva, only that shade of his metal was different, and he was much stronger than his younger brother.

It was being controlled, and it was a very high form of Spiritual Control that should be impossible by the standards of the Draconic Deus.

"So you have joined hands with Resetoras, Melvazoa?"

I have asked a rhetorical question.

"Indeed we have; you and your Empire have caused us a lot of damaged during the centuries."

What answered me was a blinding figure of light that shined as it descended down from the sky. It released no weaker aura than Melvazoa.

'All of them are in the one place... this is so exciting.'

I thought in my mind. Melvazoa and Resetoras were pinnacle Mighty Stage Gods, while Trihexa had combat prowess at a very high level, even for the Apocalypse Level Monsters.

"You see, in my entire life, I have never had to fight at my full with only a single exception."

I said as I unleashed my proper form, as twelve enormous wings sprouted from my back, together with two sharp thick tails, and two pairs of Horns appeared on my head, as my aura became even more heave and filled with slaughter and killing intent, so much that Rizevim in the background had problems standing, and activated some magic item to teleport out.

The moment he teleported out, Diablo went and pursued him.

Even though all three of them were extremely strong, I could fight them and kill them. I have long suppressed my battle lust, but now I could fight to my heart's content.

 

[Trafford]

The moment Diablo left, Malvezoa, Resetoras, and Trihexa, under the control of the Resetoras, instantly attacked me with energy attacks. I just grinned at that as I used Law of Devour to completely absorb their attacks, while at the same time, I used Rosenkreutz, my Mystic Code, to cast hundreds of Forbidden-Tier Spells; all of them were Bararaq Saiqa as I powered them up with energy devoured from attacks of Malvezoa, Resetoras, and Trihexa and released them onto them.

When they saw what happened, Resetoras swiftly used Trihexa as a meat shield to block all incoming damage, as hundreds of Forbidden-Tiers Spells fell onto the massive body of Trihexa as it roared in pain.

I could see that it was injured from these attacks, as every single one of them contained power above the pinnacle Super Devil, and in their number, they could easily injure Apocalypse-Class beings. If not for Trihexa's terrifying defenses and vitality, it would have killed it.

It seems that they have severely underestimated my control over the Law of Devour, or rather they probably never thought that I had ascended as the Apocalypse-Class through the Law of Devour.

Their information from Rizevim probably hinted that I have become Apocalypse-CLass through the Law of Darklight.

If that was the truth, then it was good for me, as they were not aware of my capabilities and my true strength.

Ironically the moment I injured Trihexa, I noticed that Resetoras lost control over it as it rushed madly at me without caring about anything; as Melvazoa and Resetoras attempted to encircle me and trap me together with Trihexa while they would probably finish me after I was tired out from the fight with that monster.

So whatever, while Resetoras and Melvazoa joined hands, they were not accustomed to working together, and everyone was doing their own thing, as they refused to cooperate properly. They let me fight with Trihexa as both of them were attacking me from a long distance, but unfortunately for them, it was useless, as I managed to dodge all of their attacks or devoured them while fighting Trihexa.

The fight went on for one hour as the cycle repeated itself. Until Trihexa became enraged by the fact, it couldn't hit shit and started gathering an enormous amount of energy powered up by the Law of Chaos.

I grinned at that as I prepared my Mystic Code Rosenkreutz as I cast a protective ward around us, while at the same time, I started using Law of Devour with my right hand to catch the massive energy attack that Trihexa threw at me and held all of that energy, in my hand as I used the Law of Devour to absorb it entirely and create small-sized orb condensed from the energy, as I threw it at Resetoras.

Resetoras quickly stretched up several protective barriers around him. Still, unfortunately, the Darklight orb that was created from the condensed power of Trihexa coupled with my own power proved to be too much for him, as his barriers were shattered like glass. He was hit by the orb, sending him flying until I lost him from my view.

Meanwhile, Melvazoa went into hiding and waited for me to fight with Trihexa to end, as he noticed that energy attacks were infective on me; due to the Law of Devour, I was able to dispose of them. Not only that, but I have also managed to increase my Demonic Energy Reserves by more than 100 Units and strengthen my physique tremendously.

It took me relatively a short time until I have figured out and thoroughly analyzed the combat style of Melvazoa and Resetoras. Truth to be told, it was utterly bariatric, and they just used their brute power to overpower anything.

Though that was understandable because both of them were a pinnacle Mighty Stage God, who never fought anyone on their own level, aside from each other. A heavy majority of their attacks were energy-based, which made them heavily ineffective against someone like me, who could use the Law of Devour just to absorb or redirect them.

That was the overpowering ability of the Law of Devour. As long as my opponent is in the same realm as me, and his energy has the same or lower quality, I can basically Devour them effortlessly. For example, If I faced an attack from Holy Spirit Warlock or Dimensional-Class Powerhouse, then it would be futile, as I would be overwhelmed by the enormous energy.

I gripped my scythe Rosenkreutz and teleported next to the Trihexa, boosting up the sharpness of my Scythe with Law of Darklight, Destruction, and Slaughter; I slashed at one of the legs of the Beast of Apocalypse, severing it in one precise slash.

Not taking any pauses, I flipped backward and slashed at its second back leg, severing it too, as the Trihexa roared in pain, while it fell onto the ground, unable to stand up, as it lost two of its back legs.

While I was still an arcanist at heart, I have learned a lot from Hela during my long life, as she was adamant about teaching me how to fight with weapons, and she was a genuine weapon master. She was able to handle practically any kind of weapon at Master-ranked Mastery very least. And if I did good, I would get a reward from her at night... so it was totally worth it.

At the same time, as Trihexa fell onto the ground, I conjured hundreds of Dark Light weaponry and started bombarding Trihexa with them. Each one of them had enough power to kill a weaker Super Devil Class individual in a single hit, and they were in hundreds, barraging Trihexa's heads from taking any action against me, as I teleported to its front legs while severing the right front leg.

Subsequently, I severed its left front leg.

After Trihexa was down, I conjured countless Dark Light Chains to completely bind it down as I flew and landed on its stomach.

 

[Trafford]

After it was bonded entirely down and two idiots outside couldn't do shit about that, I have slashed at its chest, creating a vast wound there as I looked at the cores. Trihexa had several cores, which represented all Laws it comprehended, though it couldn't correctly use them.

I saw there Law of Chaos, of course, but then also the Law of Destruction, Darkness, Poison, and some others, that were probably obtained through the Law of Choas, as it has absorbed Beings of Law and assimilated its Laws.

Of course, it also had the Master Core, which was the one with if Lifeforce and all Magical Power; all monsters formed cores at a certain level. Some sooner, and some later at their path.

I stretched out my right hand and used the Law of Devour onto the Master Core and started devouring all of the Lifeforce and Magical Power in it at a tremendous speed as I increased the power of the wards that were protecting me.

Melvazoa and Resetoras instantly noticed what I was doing as every passing second, Trihexa was growing weaker and weaker, and I was growing, on the other hand, stronger and stronger. My physique was slowly rising to the peak of the Apocalypse-Class, together with my Demonic Energy reserves.

[Demonic Energy Reserves have crossed 800 Units.]

[Demonic Energy Reserves have crossed 850 Units.]

[Demonic Energy Reserves have crossed 900 Units.]

[Demonic Energy Reserves have crossed 950 Units.]

[Demonic Energy Reserves have crossed 979 Units.]

I heard the voice of the Architect in my head.

I grinned devilishly as I felt a new power flowing through my body. In energy-wise, I was already at the peak of the Tier 9, and not only that, all of my physique attributes have crossed over 800.

I noticed that my wards were already showing some cracks, as Trihexa died when I had completely devoured the Master Core. After that, I turned my attention to Crystal, which contained the Law of Destruction, and used Devour to absorb it completely.

[Comprehension of Law of Destruction has reached 100%.]

After I heard that, I turned my attention to Resetoras and Melvazoa, which managed to destroy protective wards, but it was too late. I have already got what I wanted, and even if these two were Supreme Gods, it wouldn't change the outcome that they would die here.

I lacked a completely offensive-based Law that would boost up my offensive powers to a wholly new level, and now after comprehending the Law of Destruction, I finally had something that I desperately wanted.

Comprehending the Law of Destruction basically boosted the destructiveness of all my attacks to a whole new level of destruction, and on top of that, I could use the Law of Destruction to strengthen up the destructive aspect of any attack.

For example, right now, I have conjured several Dark Light Orbs and infused the Law of Destruction with them, and shot them at Melvazoa and Resetoras. When the Orbs came into contact with Melvazoa and Resetoras, they instantly destroyed their protective barriers and hit both of them at full power, sending them flying several hundreds of meters.

When they were flying, I instantly used this gap to use my favorite technique, The Gate of Babylon - Full Opening. This time though, it was even more dangerous, as each weapon made out of Dark Light was not boosted up by bits of Law of Darklight but also infused with the full power of Law of Destruction, making those weapons even more deadly than they were.

In a split of a second, hundreds upon hundreds of Dark Light weaponry were being shot each second at Melvazoa and Resetoras, that were recovering from being hit by Dark Light Orbs, as they were severely injured by that attacks; as I now realized how destructive the Law of Destruction was... somewhat ironic.

In front of such a barrage of Dark Light weapons from The Gate of Babylon - Full Opening, they could only defend against a furious and aggressive offensive, but to no wail, as with each passing attack, both of them were getting more and more injured, especially Resetoras.

Melvazoa, on the other hand, was depleting more Divine Power than Resetoras, as he was a mechanical lifeform at the base, and as the attacks were destroying his body with relative ease because it was not made from metal that would be able to withstand full power of Apocalypse-Class being, he needed to burn more Divine Power to hold his body in one piece.

Soon as I saw both of them struggling, I steadily increased the output and started releasing Forbidden-Tier Spell one after another. My Demonic Energy Regeneration was tremendously fast, so I barely noticed that I had lost some energy.

Truth to be told unless I directly used Laws to make attacks, energy exposure was minimal. I could use Law of Destruction to make waves of pure Law of Destruction that looked very similar to Clan Trait Power of Destruction but was more destructive and intense. Such kind attacks would really put a strain on my Demonic Energy Reserves, but if I just infused my Clan Traits or Magic with Laws, the cost was negligible.

After several minutes, I saw Resetoras bleeding heavily, with countless severe wounds, as he took some kind of Talisman and teleporter away, leaving his "ally" alone with me. I didn't bother to do anything about fleeing Resetoras.

I knew that he would be recuperating decades with his injuries, and I planned to send Hela and Zekram and Architect to dispose of ExE Planet for all after Architect assimilated Melvazoa and reached Pinnacle Mighty Stage Innate God.

 

[Trafford]

Contrary to what many thought, my fights were not long either; they were flashy. I usually ended them as soon as possible. Even before every battle, I calculated every possibility the fight could go and end, so I always opted for the fasted way to end the battle.

My own calculation abilities were inferior only to Architect in the entire Chthonian Empire and were even superior to Runic Quantum Computers. So, coupled with some usage of the Fate Algorithm, which I already learned to use, so it didn't cause a backslash as I am the Fateless One, I knew the end of most of my battles with 90% certainty.

After Resetoras fled, I have been felt here with only Melvazoa, that has his body destroyed from the large part and was holding it together only by burning his Divine Power.

I conjured a wave of Law of Destruction and slashed at him, destroying his body and carefully controlling the Law of Destruction to leave out his Divine Spark undamaged and also preserve his Mechanical Core, which contained some important things for Architect. After it was done, I collected those two things and stored them inside my Dimensional storage.

After I stored the corpse of Trihexa in my Dimensional Storage, I scanned the entire area for anything of some value, but I didn't find anything of value. After some time, Diablo returned, with unconscious Rizevim, as I ordered for him to be captured alive, and after that, Sirzechs and Vali returned.

"Everything is done?"

I asked as all of them nodded in agreement, meaning there was no single soul alive in this entire place after they were done with it. My familiars were especially helpful, as they were able to sniff out all the hiding places of those rats, meaning nobody got to escape.

Afterward, we all teleported back to the Empire.

***

After returning home, I ordered Diablo to deliver Rizevim to the special holding cells beneath the Imperial Palace, where I would experiment on him and his bloodline ability Sacred Gear Canceller.

If I am not wrong, I could hopefully activate such ability in myself after some research. This ability was strong, as it could cancel the connection between a user and probably any kind of Soul-Bound Equipment.

After it was researched, I could kill Rizevim; he still had his uses until then. Right now, Empire has withdrawn all forces from Earth, and all of them returned back to the Baator in preparations for the final step.

Now, I wanted to relax, and I sensed that all of my wives were at the Imperial Palace aside from Bibi Dong, who was in the Shao Universe. I went to our private garden, where Vena took care of her plants and flowers of various exotic species, and it was also a place where Dou Dou was sleeping most of the time and protecting the entire Imperial Capital.

When I entered the garden, I saw Fia, Vena, and Hela sitting around the smell tea table and having a tea party.

When they saw me enter the garden, Vena instantly stood up and hung around my neck like a koala. Vena was always most affectionate and didn't hide her feelings or affections, contrary to Grayfia and Hela, who were more modest in this regard.

Especially Fia, as she thought such behavior was inappropriate anywhere besides the closed door.

"Hela, prepare an invasion force. Melvazoa has been killed by me, and Resetoras suffered severe injuries; it is time to invade the ExE world. Annihilate both species to the last person, leave none alive."

I said to my wife, who nodded with murderous glee in her eyes, as she was eager for the battle of extermination. As I thought, even though Hela changed a lot, her bloodthirsty nature never disappeared, but that was something I was rather thankful for because it was a very arousing part of her personality that attracted me a lot.

People who would profit from me killing Trihexa the most were my wives cause I have seen that Trihexa had also comprehended the Law of Ice, which I planned to give to Grayfia, while it also had several others, which I planned to distribute among my family later. At first, I will let Venelana choose among them, so she can advance to Apocalypse-Class sooner, or if she chose to ascend through the Law of Destruction, she would have comprehended two Laws the moment she became Apocalypse-Class.

I sat down with my wives as we drank tea that Fia brewed. It was one of my personal stash, exported from Okhwang's Ancient Dao Universe, so it was very delicious and nutritious for the soul.

"The tea is splendid; I think that our Fia will soon reach my level in the art of tea brewing."

I praised the tea, as I really liked it a lot.

 

[Trafford]

I enjoyed time with my wives as we drank time and talked about miscellaneous things. After some time, I realized that it was time to meet with Okhwang and decided that it was time for me to set up refining formation across the Three Realms.

I finishing the tea and having some pleasures of the flesh; I send a message to Okhwang to meet me at a designed place.

***

"So it is finally a time..."

Muttered Okhwang as he saw me arriving at the place where we decided to meet.

"Indeed, now I could set up the refining formation across entire Three Realms so you can refine them entirely and break through the next realm of your cultivation. How many Avatar Bodies are you going to absorb to break through to the Autarch Realm?"

I asked.

Autarch Realm was one of the highest cultivation realms in the Okhwang's Ancient Dao Universe and was similar to Exarch of the Astral Boundary.

"Around ten... our Clan is planning a huge expedition to the Infinite Abyss Universe to hunt for resources, and together with us, the Demon Sealer Sect will participate. I will personally participate, so what to say? Do you want to buy some Bloodline Samples from me then?"

He asked as I nodded.

Bloodlines of powerful fiends would be good for me, as they could evolve my lineage to an even higher level.

Okhwang's Jade Clan was the most powerful force in their Universe, as it had two Divine Thrones, and both of them were of higher Ranks. Divine Throne Powerhouses can advance by absorbing the newly birthed Divine Throne.

Not only that they had a whole bunch of Tier 13 experts and some of them were as strong as the Divine Throne ones.

Those two of the Jade Clan who were Divine Thrones were Okhwang's grandfather and the second one was the founder of the Jade Clan.

"Come, we should start laying down the formation."

I said as we flew to the Three Realms.

"How many living beings are there?"

I asked as I observed the Three Realms, which compromised from the Immortal Realm, Nether Realm, and Heavenly Realm.

"Trillions... possibly more. I have cultivated them for countless millennia in the hope of this, and almost all of them all cultivators, and countless of them are of a higher level. Unfortunately, the system I have designed is flawed and allows one to cultivate only to the same level as Ultimate-Class. On the contrary, the Gods that were born here or ascended are plenty, and there are even several Mighty Stage Gods."

Stated Okhwang as he looked at the Three Realms.

"Where should we start?"

He asked me as I scanned the entirety of the Three Realms with my Magic and Laws.

"We need to lay eyes of the formation at places where is the highest concentration of energy here. Dragon Veins and other natural places. Immortal Realm is exactly in the middle between Heavenly Realm and Nether Realm, so it would be the pillar of the refining formation."

Now, as an Apocalypse-Class being, it was very easy for me to create such a large-scale refining formation and activate it.

We have flown with Okhwang across the entire Immortal Realm, searching for all places with a high concentration of energy, and lying there are the so-called eyes of formation, which, when activated, would interconnect with each other, creating super formation.

After several hours of flying and creating formation, the entire Immortal Realm was done.

Finally, now only Nether Realm and Celestial Realm remained.

"Also, do you have any kind of Artefact that would filter bad Karma from this?"

I have asked.

"Yes, several of them."

I raised an eyebrow upon hearing that.

"Give me one."

I said as he shrugged and, to my surprise, threw me some kind of crystal ball, which was Karma Refining Artefact.

In regard to Karma, Cultivators had more developed this concept and were more understanding of it than we in the Astral Boundary. On the other hand, Karma was hard to attach to Beings of Law, but I have always preferred to rather be safe than sorry.

After resting for some time, we went to the Nether Realm and repeated the process. Search for places with high energy density, lay the refining formation, and repeat until all of the Nether Realm was covered by the refining formation.

The Celestial Realm was the last one.

It took more than one whole day to go through all Three Realms and lay the refinement formation. Ironically, the Celestial Realm took the least time to go through and lay down the formation.

"When do you wish to start? When I activate this, Realms themselves would be refined; if my guess is correct, it should be enough to not only advance by one realm but two realms at the same time."

I said as, at the same time, I marveled at how genius I was for designing such a powerful formation. I really outdid myself because I want to use this to comprehend the Law of Slaughter and use the residual Law Energy released by this ritual to use it to comprehend the Law of Dark Light.

Then I would be only a small step away from reaching Dimensional-Class.

"I will go and take some things... wait for me for one day."

I waited and, in the meanwhile, observed what Okhwang was doing, as I was scanning the entirety of the Three Realms in real-time with a bit of help from my refining formation, as it had many uses in the hands of a very skilled magic user.

Okhwang was basically "robbing" libraries of all factions and storing them in a space ring.

 

[Trafford]

After some time, he returned after robbing practically every piece of knowledge he was able to get his hands on, meaning everything in the Three Realms. After he returned, he threw me that ring, where he stored everything that civilizations of the Three Realms in Draconic Deus created.

"After you copy that, bring the ring back."

He said as I nodded

"When you reach your breakthrough, hide in the Dimensional Gap; it should be able to accommodate you even with your strength. I will contact you when to break down the Dimensional Gap."

I said as he nodded.

When Okhwang reaches his new cultivation realm, he won't be able to remain in the Draconic Deus and would need to inhabit the Dimensional Gap. Additonioaly, with his strength after the breakthrough, he would be able to tear down the entire Dimensional Gap easily on his own.

Though before that, I needed to make some preparations for moving the entire Plane to another part of the Astral Boundary.

"I can start my breakthrough; you can start the ritual."

Said Okwhang as we both teleported to the Dimensional Gap, and Okwhang sat cross-legged and started his cultivation season, while at the same time, I activated the refinement ritual.

I used my Mystic Code Rosenkreutz to control the formation as all of the Three Realms trembled. The earth shook, the sky broke, and space itself was being broken every second, as the cores of the Three Realms were being drained of their energy. All of that energy was being transferred to Okhwang, who was using it at his advancement.

After several minutes, all of the living beings started being affected by the refining formation, as it started draining their energy at tremendous speed, and when their energy was completely drained, their lifeforce was being drained instead.

With each passing minute, millions of beings across the entire Three Realms died, and this number was exponentially increasing as the massive slaughter was unleashed by the formation, which was now working at 100%.

[Comprehension of Law of Slaughter is increasing.]

[Comprehension of Law of Darklight is increasing.]

[Demonic Energy Reserves are increasing.]

[Physique is being refined by energy released from the ritual, the Physique is being strengthened continuously.]

I smiled, hearing Architect's voice in my head as I continued controlling the refining formation, as I moved an enormous amount of energy to Okhwang, who was absorbing it at tremendous speed, and I sensed that he would be soon breaking through to the next level of his cultivation system.

After ten minutes, Okhwang started breaking through, and I could feel enormous pressure from him as he successfully broke through to the next cultivation realm.

The second he succeeded, his absorption speed of the energy from the refining formation surged to new heights, and I started boosting up the performance of the refining formation as the Three Realms started crumbling away slowly.

Right now, it was already half an hour from the moment I had activated the refinement formation, and all living begins in the Three Realms were already long dead, refined by Okhwang to boost up his cultivation.

Soon, his strength started rising as the Three Realms were being absorbed, and their cores were already being refined.

After ten minutes, the process of the refinement of the Three Realms stopped, as planar cores were devoid of energy, space started cracking, and an enormous black hole was being created in the place where Three Realms were formerly stationed and connected to the Draconic Deus.

Soon Okhwang slowly opened his eyes as he and I observed how the black hole absorbed remains of the Three Realms, floating crystals, parts of the landscapes, and shards of the Three Realms, which were far bigger than the entire planet Earth.

After several seconds, we both heard an enormous explosion; the Black Hole collapsed, and the explosion destroyed everything.

Even the entire Draconic Deus started trembling violently, as I could see people on Earth screaming that the end of times was beginning; some living species across the galaxies of Draconic Deus were shouting and panicking; Evies and Etoulde felt the explosion and looked with fear in this direction.

[Comprehension of Law of Slaughter is increasing.]

[Comprehension of Law of Slaughter has reached 100%]

[Comprehension of Law of Darklight has reached 97,89%]

[Demonic Energy Reserves have reached the limit.]

[Physique has been increased significantly from the residual energy.]

'Architect calculate my stats.'

[It shall be done.... calculation done.]

[Name: Zeoticus Gremory-Lucifer

True Name: Dizmason (Devil Talent), Sythis (Mental Protection), Savant (Prideguard), Isaiah (Nirvana), Archeron (Full Counter)

Race: Trans-Devil-Fiend (Pure-Blood)

Bloodline: Devil (Gremory, Lucifer), Golden-Horned Fiend

Age: 784

-

Class: Apocalypse-Class

Lifeform Level: 2 - Tier 1

Soul Aptitude: Level 9 - Superior

Laws: Devour (100%), Darklight (97,89%%), Slaughter (100%), Destruction (100%), Lightning (19%)

Demonic Energy: 1,000

Strength: 979

Agility: 988

Vitality: 1,000

Baator Command Sequence: 100%

-

Law Control:

Devour - Advanced

Slaughter - Basic

Destruction - Basic

-

Clan Trait:

Dark Light - Forbidden

The Devour - Law

Holy Flame - Forbidden

-

Magic Systems:

Tier Magic - Forbidden

Devil Magic - Forbidden

Norse Runic Magic - Forbidden

Abyssal Runic Magic - Forbidden

Human Magic - Forbidden

Mysticism - Master

-

Secret Method: Fate Algorithm - (4/6)

-

Masteries:

Scythe - Grandmaster

Dagger - Master

Hand-to-Hand - Master

Bladestaff - Expert]

 

[Trafford]

Right now, I was standing at the limit of the Apocalypse-Class. For me, the only way to get stronger was to comprehend more Laws and increase my control over them and then subsequently ascend to the Dimensional-Class.

In Dimensional-Class, one would be searching for his own path, and when one realized his own path, the task was to fuse the Laws comprehended and create the path itself. Of course, this process of fusion was extraordinarily arduous and took centuries upon centuries.

I hoped that I would reach the Lord-Class within the next 2,000 to 2,500 years. That would be the optimal thing for me. Fortunately, thanks to my Law of Devour, I could quickly reach the pinnacle of the Dimensional-Class in Energy terms and physique after devouring some strong enemies or precious treasures and consuming a ton of resources.

In truth, I could advance to the Dimensional-Class even right now if I wanted, but that would be detrimental to my future advancements. Right now, Baator was still recovering and was only a Grade 3 Plane, which would mean it wouldn't be able to hold me unless I sealed my power.

With its natural recovery abilities, I could predict that Baator would evolve into a Secondary Grade 2 Plane within the next 100,000 years, which was a brief time considering we are talking about planar evolution. Still, alas, I didn't have that much time.

Thus, I planned to use the moment when the Dimensional Gap is torn down to further push the evolution of the Baator.

By my estimates, the energy released by tearing down the Dimensional Gap would cause practically every planet located within the Dimensional Gap to explode to smithereens, which in turn, I planned to use for my benefit.

When the Dimensional Gap is torn down, it will release an enormous wave of energy. If it came in contact with the planar core, it would overrun the planar core, causing it to explode.

This is true for every plane under Grade 2.

I have ordered the newly founded Magisterium of Outer Plane Development which I entrusted to Sigmar, as he was suitable for that role, and he could hone the administrative skills he learned in the Army to go through every plane across the Dimensional Gap or at least those which weren't destroyed by Evie and Etouldes, and after mining all of their resources, to plant there specific Arcanotech Device along with Magical Formation.

With these additions, when the planar core would be overruled with massive energy levels, Arcanotech Device would activate the Magic Formation, drain the entire plane dry, and transfer all of that power to Baator to further the Planar Evolution.

By Architect's calculation, what we have prepared should be barely enough to evolve it to a Secondary Grade 2 Plane, which would easily hold Dimensional-Class existences and similar, though Energy Density would be comparable to even Grade 1 Planes.

Even now, when it was still Grade 3 Plane, Magicule Particle Density was comparable to some Grade 2 Planes, while Draconic Deus, which housed Earth and other galaxies, had Energy Density not even at the level of some Grade 7 Planes.

Right now, I have significantly benefited from this entire ordeal; not only I have increased my strength several times over, but I have also gained knowledge of all factions across the Three Realms that Okhwang germinated over tens of thousands of years.

While many of that would be unusable, it would still serve as a source of inspiration and could be adjusted to the needs of the Chthonian Empire.

"Have you finished your breakthrough?"

I questioned Okhwang as he nodded in agreement.

"While I wasn't able to break through one more realm, I have still had power comparable to pinnacle Holy Spirit Warlock."

Said Okhwang with a grin.

When Warlocks reached Holy Spirit Warlock rank, the gap in the same rank compared to Arcanists was cut down significantly. Many Great Holies had higher combat prowess than Magister Arcanists due to the fact that upon reaching Holy Spirit Warlock realm, Warlocks condensed something akin to a pseudo-immortal body, which made them extremely hard to kill.

Many used this to their advance to execute forbidden methods with highly destructive powers, rivaling Magister Arcanists, who had comprehended multiple Laws. Of course, in front of Being of Laws with highly destructive Laws like the Law of Destruction, they could just obliterate them from existence.

Repeatedly using these forbidden methods usually results in severe backslashes and sometimes even such that their "immortal" bodies could handle it.

"I will need a few more months to install World Engine to the Planar Core of Baator that I got from Khaziklu Bey. After that, when I gather last allies and those who will depart with the Empire, I will send you a message, and you can tear down the Dimensional Gap."

World Engine was something that Weismann crafted for me, and it was a particular type of tech that allowed someone to move an entire plane to anywhere in the Universe.

Really marvelous thing.

Unfortunately, it was a one-time use.

But that was enough to relocate the Baator.

While the Dimensional Gap was located in a good location, unfortunately, the moment it was torn down, it would attract the attention of Warlock Emperor level Powerhouses and other equivalents, which was a death warrant for current me and my Empire.

Fortunately, Mercurius found a suitable part of the Astral Boundary, which was without the presence of any heaven-defying powerhouse or faction, where we could safely develop. Just basically a desolate wasteland with a lot of primitive civilizations and space for us to conquer.

 

[Trafford]

Baator, Imperial Capital of Anor Londo - Imperial Palace, Several months later.

As expected, the destruction of the Three Realms created havoc across all factions residing in the Draconic Deus minus, of course, Empire and Shiva's Faction.

After some time, I gave out Law Crystals to my wives.

Venelana and Grayfia advanced to the Apocalypse-Class as well. And after absorbing the Law Crystals, the Empire now had 7 entities of that level altogether.

From my children, Sirzechs would be the first to reach the Apocalypse-Class. After he had undergone Law Baptism, while his progression slowed down considerably, I could see that he was increasing his comprehension of the Law of Destruction by 1% per 10 years.

This was a swift advancement, truth to be told.

Right now, the final preparations for the invasion of the ExE Plane are finished, and I have decided to participate myself.

ExE, with the current strength of the Empire, is no longer a threat, as the majority of their strongest Mighty Stage Gods were killed, Resetoras is seriously injured, and even someone with the power of pinnacle Super Devil can kill him, and their factions are weakened.

It was time to begin the harvest.

The First Fleet to Third Fleet, each consisting of 1,000 Lunar-Class Cruisers, 500 Avenger-Class Grand Cruisers, 100 Destroyer-Class Battle Cruisers, 10 Emperor-Class Battleships, and 1 Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship would be departing for the ExE Plane.

Of course, together with the majestic Fleet was carrying the 1st Army to the 4th Army, altogether 4 Million soldiers, together with Khaos Brigade and Sardaukar Forces. Additionally, 5 Apocalypse-Class beings participated in this invasion, me, my wives Hela, Fia, Vena, and Architect and Crom Cruach.

Lord Admiral Orlock was placed in charge of the three fleets. At the same time, Hela would command the Four Armies of the Imperilis Militarum.

"The Ships are ready to enter the Dimensional Gap. Approximate time of arrival at the ExE Plane is estimated to be 17 Hours and 45 Minutes, Your Imperial Majesty."

Lord Admiral Orlock told me while I was sitting on my throne in the Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship.

"Depart."

I ordered as Lord Admiral Orlock bowed to me, as he went to carry out my order, as thousands of Voidships flew to the enormous portal that opened above the skies of the Baator and entered the Dimensional Gap.

***

Several hours later, Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship, Command Center.

"Zeo, Zeo."

I heard someone calling my name in a soft voice as I opened my eyes.

"I have fallen asleep?"

I have asked more myself as this was rare for someone like me to fall asleep.

"Nn."

Nodded Vena that I had indeed fallen asleep.

"We would be soon reaching ExE Plane, and our sensors have caught a defensive network of Evies. Also, there are some Etoulde mixed in; apparently, after killing most of their powerhouses, these two races started protecting their plane together."

I stood up from my throne to inspect the information that our scanners found out, and indeed the ExE Plane was very well fortified. It was the same grade as the Draconic Deus, a Grade 3 Plane, but the living conditions were that of the geniue Grade 3 Plane.

"Vena, call Lord Admiral Orlock."

I said to Vena as I observed the technological marvel of the Evie species. Really, the technological level of the civilization created solely from the evolved Artificial intelligence has reached really terrifying heights.

Their level was really similar to the Solar Federation, though they had far superior technology in terms of offensive and destructive weaponry from what I could see. Fortunately, Chthonian Empire had even more superior technology due to centuries of tedious research of countless departments and Magisteriums.

"Your Imperial Majesty."

Greeted me Lord Admiral Orlock, as he entered the command center, as I signaled him to come to me, as we have observed hundreds upon hundreds of Voidships flying through the Dimensional Gap.

"How is the trip?"

I asked, as the Void Fleet rarely made such long trips in such high numbers through the Dimensional Gap, mainly due to the fact that Ophis or Great Red tended to ambush our ships, and we cannot have someone on their level each time as an escort.

"Good, without those annoying lizards, we can sail without any problems."

Stated Lord Admiral Orlock as I nodded; hearing his words, I knew that he was a man of a few words.

"It appears that those pests have fortified their plane."

I said as I admired my beautiful Void Fleet.

"It won't be a problem, Your Imperial Majesty. All of our ships are armed with advanced stealth systems, so we will hide outside the range of their scans and use Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship to destroy the Pillars of the fortification line. In contrast, Battleships and the rest of the fleet would destroy the rest of the fortification line the second after the Pillar is down. With this method, we can dispose of their strongest defense before they can even react. Even if they have stationed someone to guard the fortification line, onboard, we have five Apocalypse-Class entities; one could go down and lure them away."

Explained Lord Admiral Orlock his plan while I nodded in satisfaction.

"Very well, carry out."

I ordered as Lord Admiral Orlock went to carry out what he said before.

"Architect, what are your chances of evolution if you absorb every Evie on the Plane?"

I asked after a while.

[97,89%. And there is an additional 37,98% chance of me entering the Supreme Stage Innate God within the next five hundred years.]

"Good."

 

[Trafford]

Outside of the ExE Plane

On the command center of the Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship

"Lord Admiral, the enemy didn't station any powerhouses to guard the fortification line of their plane."

Reported one of the technicians, who was responsible for scanning the area to Admiral Orlock, as the old Admiral's lips curled into a smile.

"Prepare all weapons. Entire Voidfleet shall attack pre-destined points in the fortification line."

Commanded Lord Admiral Orlock as I sat on my throne and observed everything. Hela was already with her soldiers, awaiting deployment, while Vena and Fia departed to some other places, where they would attack when we landed down.

After several minutes of coordination and preparation, everything was prepared, as Lord Admiral Orlock gave a final command, and several thousand Voidships of various Classes fired all at the same time at their already pre-designed targets.

From the command center of the Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship, which had specially crafted and magically enhanced Sky Glass windows, I could see enormous explosions happen all around the ExE Plane as the fortification line was destroyed in a direct hit.

Not only that but also countless space cracks appeared around the ExE Plane.

While the ExE Plane was Grade 3 Plane, which could hold Apocalypse-Class entities and similar, the combined firepower was already on the level of the DImensional-Class, especially just the Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship had the firepower of peak Apocalypse-Class.

It was so powerful that it distorted a space a bit, but such damage wasn't actually that much, as just within several hours, it would be repaired.

But... it was enough, as space cracks greatly lessened the effort that was required for us to enter the Plane.

Usually, getting hands-on with the Planar Command Sequence was night impossible, and I was able to do it, by just a fluke, that some gods of the Underworld had infused it within their Divine Sparks. Usually, such a situation was impossible, and I knew that even Warlock Eternal which ruled Grade 1 Canghzi Plane didn't hold 100% of the Planar Command Sequence.

On the contrary, Weismann had it.

From what I have observed, Melvazoa, when I killed him, didn't have his part of the Command Sequence with him, so there were either several possibilities. First was that, like Hades, he never fused with it personally but rather infused it with some kind of Divine Artifact. The second one, he left it back at the ExE before he departed to ambush me.

So, theoretically, there is a high possibility that Resetoras obtained his part of the Planar Command Sequence.

He can enforce many things when one has more than 50% of the Planar Command Sequence.

For example, typically, entering a Plane isn't especially hard; you don't get repelled or anything, just a bit suppressed, but that could be adjusted by spending a long time within the Plane, but that only applies to the situation when one is entering Plane of higher grade, from Plane of lower grade.

With enough high Planar Command Sequence, one could enforce the rule to a plane, so people entering it would be repelled, cannot enter if they are not strong enough, and other things.

Of course, such things would be useless against us in this situation as ExE Plane is just a Grade 3 Plane and it is not strong enough to repel us, because if I combine my power with my wives and Crom Cruach and Architect, we can use effortless force our way to enter, even if the Plane itself is forbidding us to enter.

"Move forward."

Said Lord Admiral Orlock, as Void Fleets moved forward and slowly entered the inner perimeters of the ExE Plane, as I left the Adjudicator-Class Juggernaut Capital Ship, and Crom Cruach, Architect, Hela, Venelana, and Grayfia appeared in the Dimensional Gap, and entered the ExE Plane to force our way for the Voidfleet to safely land.

We could suffer enormous casualties if we were attacked when entering the ExE Plane by someone strong.

When we entered the ExE Plane, I felt refreshed, as this was really a strong plane with very high energy density, even compared to other Grade 3 Planes.

'After everything is done, the planar core would be used as material to advance Baator.'

I have thought in my head.

Contrary to the general plan, ExE Planar Core would be better used separately to prevent excessive loss of energy.

"Hela, you remain here and coordinate the landing. Vena and Fia will go and deal with the incoming powerhouses that are coming our way. Crom Cruach and Architect, you go and deal with Evies. I will go and kill Resetoras and other remaining Etouldes that are still alive."

I have said, as everyone went to carry out my orders as I departed to the place where I sensed Resetoras.

My power was already on the border of the Dimensional-Class, so I could go unhindered across the entire ExE Plane, and on top of that, they were already greatly weakened.

 

[Trafford]

Soon enough, I arrived at the capital city of the Etoulde Species. It was enormous, a far more extensive than the Imperial Capital of Anor Londo, filled with Churches and Temples dedicated to their gods.

Interestingly, the majority of the inhabitants were weak and were not even of the Etoulde species; those were only a few thousand of them. The majority were foreign species that were actually slave worshippers from races and civilizations conquered or destroyed by Spirit Gods Etoulde.

Altogether, this city has a population of more than one billion, generating an enormous amount of Faith for the Spirit Gods of Etolde that was worshipped by them.

I was currently hidden by several stealth spells, so Resetoras or other Mighty Stage Gods couldn't find me as I observed the capital city of the Etoulde civilization.

Aside from Resetoras, I have sensed other two Mighty Stage Gods who were present at the moment. Still, they were several times weaker compared to even injured Resestoras, so they must be some new advanced ones.

I started gathering pure energies of the Law of Destruction and Law of Slaughter as I condensed them into a single orb. At the same time, I observed the capital city of the Etoulde species.

After the Orb was big enough, I threw it onto the city and watched the destruction unleashed. The moment the Orb from the condensed energies of Law of Destruction and Law of Slaughter fell down, an enormous explosion took place that devastated everything in its path,

Instantly, dozen of Greater Gods under the leadership of two Mighty Stage Gods appeared and tried to stop the explosion wave that was spreading across the entire city with unstoppable speed; as hundreds of millions died with each passing second, they erected a barrier, only for it to be shattered in a first impact, obliterating all Greater Gods to dust, not even their Divine Sparks remaining, as they were thoroughly annihilated.

Fortunately for two Mighty Stage Gods, they realized the situation when the barrier shattered and tried to flee, only for me to strike them down with several Dark Light weapons created from the Law of Darklight, imbued with Law of Slaughter for better offensive capabilities.

I then swung my scythe, beheading two Mighty Stage Gods in one hit, as they were already on the verge of death from being hit by my Dark Light weapons. I stored two corpses in my dimensional storage as I looked at the Palace, which belonged to Resetoras, as it was the only building that remained standing.

***

Meanwhile, with Architect and Crom Cruach.

Crom Cruach changed to his enormous dragon form, as in that form his combat prowess was highest, and flew side by side with Architect to the mechanical capital of the Evie race.

Contrary to the Etoulde species, Evies were a race of machines that exterminated all life, so they only had one city, and the rest were only some outúpsts, military bases, and fortresses around their territory.

With Melvazoa killed, and their other strongest Mighty Stage Gods being killed as well, they had only four Mighty Stage Gods remaining, and they were of the weaker bunch.

As they passed through their outposts, Architect absorbed every single Evie they had found or encountered, further boosting up his own evolution. Evies were like nutrients for him, as they were all the same type of mechanical lifeform, though Architect was far more evolved, especially after he absorbed the remains of Melvazoa and his Divine Spark.

"Architect, where are strong enemies?"

Asked Crom Cruach, he watched as Architect absorbed thousands of Evies into his body while his power increased slightly.

"Soon, they are in the capital of their race, while one of them is currently in the process of being killed by Lady Venelana."

Answered Architect as he looked at the battle-hungry dragon.

After that, they flew to the capital of the Evie race, where they were stopped by four Mighty Stage Gods that flew high in the air; as Crom Cruach grinned at this sight.

"These four are mine to play with... I will save bodies and Divine Sparks and Mechanical Cores, though."

Said Crom Cruach as Architect merely nodded as he departed to the capital city of the Evie species. At the same time, Crom Cruach roared was enormous dragon roar, paralyzing those four Mighty Stage Gods.

He then rushed to the nearest Mighty Stage God Evie and swung his tail at him with full force, shooting the Mighty Stage God down from the sky as a shock wave was created from the impact. After one of the Evies was shot down from the sky, the other three broke free from the paralysis inflicted upon them by the Dragon Roar and went to attack Crom Cruach with their strongest attacks.

Unfortunately for them, the dragon hide of the Elder Dragon wasn't something that bunch of newly advanced Mighty Stage Gods without the support of their Divine Kingdoms could break. Especially Elder Dragon with a powerful and exceptional bloodline.

All of the energy-based attacks of their weapons just shrugged off from his scales, not leaving even traces of some kind of injury.

Crom Cruach then opened his enormous mouth and breathed a huge wave of dragon breath. The wave of flame was around several kilometers in height and width, completely enveloping three Mighty Stage Gods completely.

The heat was so intense that without the support of an enormous amount of Divine Power, their body parts started melting slowly, as their bodies were made of metal, but it was not so strong to resist the full might of Elder Dragon's dragon breath.

 

[Trafford]

In the end, the entire invasion of the ExE Plane wasn't really without any hindrance, and after killing their top powerhouses, my armies carried out the merciless slaughter of what remained of Evies, Etoulde, and other enslaved races that were under their rule.

I got a message from Architect that he was done with the assimilation of all Evies, and he would be reaching Mighty Stage God within the next year or so. Additionally, he even managed to evolve to an even higher form of mechanical lifeform.

Meanwhile, Hela was overseeing the ongoing extermination of all lifeforms and collecting their corpses, as even corpses of weak Etoulde could be put to good use.

Vena was right now in the process of distributing mechs to mine resources across the entire ExE Plane as I ordered for it to be completely devoid of any resources within one year, an almost impossible-seeming task, but after millions of worker-type mechs were dispatched from the Empire together with hundreds of thousands of Imperial Citizens that would be helping mechs it could be done done.

After I had returned to the capital ship, I sat upon my throne and thought about some things.

Right now, after comprehending several Laws, I could clearly see how our Universe worked and that Weismann was right in certain things that he said to me; no wonder he wished to leave for a pure Magic-type Universe.

While Arcanists functioned a bit similar to cultivators, they fundamentally could not advance without sufficient knowledge of their magic. Otherwise, they would suffer injuries if their magic went out of control.

I took a look at the Umbara Soul Flower before I ate it and felt a miraculous effect in my soul, as I felt an indescribable feeling when my Soul Apritutde was increased to Level 10 - Inferior.

When I opened my eyes, I felt like a totally new world was opened to my eyes, as all Laws became more transparent than before.

It was a really wonderful feeling.

After that, I started comprehending the Law of Darklight, which had current comprehension of 97,89% and soon was moving up, just several seconds after I started comprehending the Law of Darklight.

98%

99%

99,99%

And that was where I stopped.

I knew that I would automatically reach the Dimensional-Class when the comprehension rate reached 100% because I was already at my limit. Arch-Arcanists reached Magister rank when they comprehended 3 Laws. The fact that I was able to comprehend 4 simultaneously while being Apocalypse-Class showed that I had broken the limit.

Right now, there was nothing for me to do at the ExE Plane aside from creating Spell Formation to refine Planar Core and transfer all that refined energy to our own Planar Core of the Baator, but that could be done at a later due, as right now the Plane was just conquered. Now excavation and mining works were just started, and it would take a year before I could refine the Plane, so I departed back to the Baator.

***

After returning to the Baator, I went to my workshop, as I went to work on something that I had long forgotten, the Tier Magic System. Initially, after reaching Apocalypse-Class, I thought that it was there where the Tier Magic System would end, in Law Manipulation, and a new Tier was impossible to achieve.

And yet, I was wrong.

Only after several decades of studying the Laws and how they warped reality when used I have finally found a proper path for my Tier Magic System.

My initial thought was that, after reaching Apocalypse-Class and mastering the Tier Magic to become Forbidden Magician, one could directly use the Laws to Power Up original Tier Spells to adjust their destructive prowess.

I have simply termed it as the Law Tier Magician, and now I have finally finished final preparations to create a whole new world for the Tier Magic users after reaching Forbidden Rank.

The real problem with my previous "solution" was that, even if someone used their Laws, the spell itself would still be, for example, Strategic-Tier if it was original. The root of the Spell Model wasn't changed, merely enhanced.

This, in turn, often caused significant instability, which in turn made the entire process of using "Law Magic" extremely dangerous for the caster.

Now, I have come to a solution.

Spell Model, created purely from the elements of the comprehended Laws and perfected with an essence of the Universe that each Being of Law can harness to a certain degree.

I immediately activated protective wards that could withstand the destructive power of peak Dimensional-Class. My workshop had the second strongest defense in the entire Imperial Palace, with the first being The Vault.

And I then started constructing the Spell Model and creating the Magic Sequence.

At the base, I used my Law of Darklight and Law of Destruction, as I carved every piece of the runic matrix with exact precision and supplemented with the origin of the Baator and Astral Boundary Universe for greater stability of the spell itself until the Runic Matrix was finished, and the spell was ready to be cast.

I didn't realize it, but it took me more than ten minutes to create it, which was a very long time.

Then I cast the spell, as the environment was brightened, and descending start fell onto the target, as the entire sealed area shook violently, but nothing was damaged outside of the sealed area.

On the contrary, the sealed area was turned to rubble, and extreme heat saturated the air.

"Initial Dimensional-Class... Architect record this spell, termed: Starfall. The first spell of the Starlight-Tier."

I said excitedly.

 

[Trafford]

One Year Later

As expected, one year later, all resources of the ExE Plane were mined, and its planar core was extracted, refined, and all of that energy was transferred back to the Baator to strengthen its Planar Core.

As I predicted, the extraction was successful, but I needed to send even more people to help in the mining and harvesting works.

Currently, all forces belonging or affiliated with the Chthonian Empire have long ago retreated back to the Baator, as the preparations for the process of tearing down the Dimensional Gap were done. Soon Okhwang would tear down the Dimensional Gap. I would activate the World Engine to move the entire Baator to a different location of the Astral Boundary to prevent invasion after the Dimensional Gap is torn down.

At the same time, as the Dimensional Gap is being torn down, I would use that moment to reach Dimensional-Class as I have already comprehended enough Laws, and my control over them reached an adequate level after training.

After my Soul Aptitude reached Level 10, control over the Laws became much easier.

"My Emperor, everything is prepared."

Said Diablo from behind me as I observed Imperial Capital Anor Londo.

"Sever remaining Dimensional Pathways, and activate Planar Refinement Formation and prepare to activate the World Engine."

I ordered as Diablo nodded his head and disappeared. There were only a few Dimensional Pathways that acted as the only way to go from or out of the Baator, as most of such paths were destroyed by us a long time ago.

The reason for destroying the remaining ones was not only for Baator to remain safe during the process but also to prevent attacks from factions of Draconic Deus. There was a high chance that they would try to attack us the moment this entire process started. Still, without Dimensional Pathway, they cannot enter the Baator.

Additionally, with my authority over the Command Sequence, it was a basically unreachable place for anyone under the Dimensional-Class.

At the same time, I opened a portal to the Dimensional Gap, where several people were already waiting for me.

Most notable was, of course, Okhwang, together with Crom Cruach and Architect.

"Has Ophis and Great Red been dealt with?"

I asked as all of them nodded.

"As per your order, both Ophis and Great Red have been subjugated and are currently unconscious, safely sleeping in my palace."

Said Crom Cruach.

"Excellent, then you can return back to the Baator while I remain here with Architect to control the Planar Refinement Formation."

He then just left to join Zekram and Azrael in overseeing the activation of the World Engine that would move entre plane. In my predictions, this place would be swarmed with countless entities on the 9th and 10th Tier within one hour since the Dimensional Gap's destruction.

Okhwang took out his sword, the Blade of Tatgatha, and took a battle stance.

"Can I start?"

Asked Okhwang as I nodded, and he started releasing his power at full, as the space started cracking around him, and the entire Dimensional Gap started shaking.

Suddenly, he slashed through the Dimensional Gap; as it started cracking, like a broken mirror, millions of space fragments started falling down, as the Dimensional Gap was half-destroyed by one of Okhwang's stronger attacks.

But he didn't end it here and attacked once again with even bigger force, as the space cracked, and several planes in our immediate surroundings were instantly destroyed by the huge force.

Instantly, we were enveloped by blinding light, and everything went silent; an absolute silence enshrouded the area as Architect and I were controlling the Planar Refinement Formation to refine destroyed Planes and re-direct their energy towards the Baator.

In a moment, everything broke down, and countless stars shone brightly in the dark space as I felt heavy Laws befall on me like I was undergoing some kind of baptism, and I felt that several things have changed in my entire being as I felt that my entire existence was right now being adjusted to that of the Astral Boundary Universe after the Dimensional Gap was destroyed.

"Astral Boundary... it is beautiful."

I muttered as I observed countless stars in the dark sky, from which each one representing a plane.

In a split of a second, a ferocious energy wave was going through the entire area where the Dimensional Gap existed once, and it invaded every plane, overwhelmed the Planar Core with enormous energy levels, and caused it to self-destruct.

At the same time this process was going on, I, together with Architect, were controlling the Planar Refinement Formation, which was going on at 110%, because tens of planes were being refined at the same time when the energy wave released from the destruction of the Dimensional Gap hit them.

I could feel that this process was really helping, and Baator was getting an overwhelming amount of energy with each passing second, speeding up its natural process of evolution to a Secondary Grade 2 Plane, which would be able to hold existence on the level of Dimensional-Class and similar.

 

[Trafford]

Meanwhile, the energy wave was nearing Draconic Deus, which was noticed by factions on it. All of them started panicking like hell; most of them, if not all, have realized that this was done by the destruction of the Dimensional Gap through a collusion of the Jade Emperor and Chthonian Emperor.

When all Pantheons woke their slumbering Mighty Stage Gods from their sleep, they consulted about what to do. Some wanted to attack Empire, but that was futile because they soon realized that the Dimensional Pathways were destroyed. Constructing new ones would take weeks, if not months.

And Energy Wave would hit the Draconic Deus within one hour.

Shiva and his pantheon have left through a specially constructed Dimensional Gate to another Plane that they have bought from the Empire.

Basically, what remained in Draconic Deus were either enemies of the Empire or neutrals. Humans were not included, as they were not important in the greater scheme of things for the Empire.

I could see that Odin had woken from his Odin Sleep, activated the YGGDRASIL's travel function, and teleported the entire Nine Realms out of the area before it was hit by the energy wave.

Hela specifically asked me not to seal the space around the Draconic Deus. I knew such an outcome would arise from the situation. Mainly due to her mother Frigga; even though Hela often put on a rough front, I knew that she wanted to visit her, but...

[Comprehension of Law of Darklight has reached 100%]

I heard the voice of the Architect, or rather his sub-A.I. consciousness, and I knew that I was reaching the next level.

Unlike Warlocks, who were basically magical cultivators and didn't require to comprehend Laws to advance, Devils were required to do so.

Comprehension of Laws didn't just increase someone's combat prowess and personal power but also reforged your entire being basically; it was like becoming a higher existence.

Such was the profoundness of the law comprehension.

My entire body was being reforged, as I felt my physical strength being tremendously strengthened, to the point of reaching a standard of the average physical strength of Holy Spirit Warlocks. This was another advantage of Law Comprehension, as people who comprehended Laws usually had strong physical bodies.

[Host has reached Dimensional-Class.]

[Lifeform Level has increased.]

'Architect scan.'

[Name: Zeoticus Gremory-Lucifer

True Name: Dizmason (Devil Talent), Sythis (Mental Protection), Savant (Prideguard), Isaiah (Nirvana), Archeron (Full Counter)

Race: Trans-Devil-Fiend (Pure-Blood)

Bloodline: Gremory, Lucifer, Golden-Horned Fiend

Age: 784

-

Class: Dimensional-Class

Lifeform Level: 2 - Tier 2

Soul Aptitude: Level 10 - Inferior

Laws: Devour (100%), Darklight (100%), Slaughter (100%), Destruction (100%), Lightning (21%)

Demonic Energy: 3,059

Strength: 2,545

Agility: 2,577

Vitality: 2,512

Baator Command Sequence: 100%

-

Law Control:

Devour - Advanced

Slaughter - Advanced

Destruction - Advanced

Darklight - Basic

-

Clan Trait:

Dark Light - Law

The Devour - Law

Holy Flame - Forbidden

-

Magic Systems:

Tier Magic - Starlight

Devil Magic - Forbidden

Norse Runic Magic - Forbidden

Abyssal Runic Magic - Forbidden

Human Magic - Forbidden

Mysticism - Master

-

Secret Method: Fate Algorithm - (4/6)

-

Masteries:

Scythe - Grandmaster

Dagger - Master

Hand-to-Hand - Master

Bladestaff - Expert]

I observed a numerical increase in my stats, as I felt many times stronger. Only my Law of Lightning was stuck at the 21% of comprehension rate, but fortunately, it didn't hinder my ascension to Dimensional-Class.

Still, there was a moment when I realized my upcoming problem.

While I have seen glimpses of my path, I have realized that I have comprehended laws would be a nightmare to fuse together. Usually, the most potent Laws, or rather when Laws were of the higher grade, were harder to fuse.

I still hadn't received my True Name, as that would be only received when I entered Baator.

Now that I have reached Dimensional-Class, my control practically over everything, be it Demonic Energy or Laws, increased tremendously, and pressure on Architect and me, controlling Planar Refinement Formation decreased significantly.

Right now, the majority of the Planes across an area of the former Dimensional Gap were already destroyed by an enormous energy wave that was generated through the destruction of the Dimensional Gap.

Soon, Draconic Deus, as it started collapsing down, was utterly destroyed within several minutes. My Planar Refinement Formation refined its energy and sent it towards the Baator, which started evolving into the Secondary Grade 2 Plane.

After Draconis Deus collapsed, the energy wave continued forward, greatly weakened as it soon dispersed after traversing some long distance.

"It is done."

I have muttered as Baator has evolved into the Secondary Grade 2 Plane, and I would need to re-structuralize it.

"Are you going to leave?"

I asked as Okhwang nodded and took out a special talisman that was from his home Universe.

"Indeed, I have already sensed some Greal Holies and several entities on the same level are heading this way as we speak."

Stated Jade Emperor, as I turned serious because I too sensed them coming now that I had achieved Dimensional-Class.

"Then it would be appropriate to part our ways."

I said, as Okhwang nodded and his body dispersed into countless particles and vanished from here, while Architect returned to the Baator and instantly activated World Engine, which started activating.

"A new era is coming."

I said as I looked at the Astral Boundary.

After several seconds I entered Baator.

Several minutes later, space shook as the entire Plane had been torn out, leaving behind only a massive space crack.

 

[Trafford]

Canghzi Plane

Canghzi Plane was one of the few Grade 1 Planes that could hold Eternal ranked powerhouses. Thus, Warlocks controlled the entire Plane as one of the strongest occupations across the whole Astral Boundary.

If the Grade 9 Plane was as big as the average planet, then Grade 8 Plane was x10 that of the Grade 9. Grade 7 Plane was x was x10 that of the Grade 8. Grade 6 was x10 that of Grade 7. Grade 5 Plane was x10 that of the Grade 6. Grade 4 Plane was x10 that of the Grade 5 Plane. Grade 3 Plane was x50 that of the Grade 4. Secondary Grade 2 Plane was x100 that of the Grade 3. Primary Grade 2 Plane was x150 that of the Secondary Grade 2 Plane. And finally, Grade 1 Plane was x250 that of the Grade of the Primary Grad 2 Plane.

The entire Canghzi Plane had only two Continents, but they were even bigger than the Primary Grade 2 Plane, several times at that. These two Continents, called the Eastern Continent and Western Continent, often termed Eastern World and Western World, ruled entire collections of Sub-Continents, Island, Arpichelagos, and other minor landmasses in their sphere of influence.

These two different "worlds" had different cultures, traditions and even great disparity in strength, as 7 out of the 8 Warlock Emperors originated from the Eastern Warlock World, while only one, Daw Emperor, originated from the Western Warlock world.

Smaller landmasses, like Sub-Continents, Island and so on, always followed the culture of their main Continent so for example, Sub-Continents attached to the Eastern World would follow their culture and everything. Same about those attached to the Western World.

Right now, the entire Eastern World was ruled by the Great Cloud Dynasty, and Western World was divided between three Dynasties, namely Brest Dynasty, Bajur Dynasty, and Kadred Dynasty. These Dynasties often changed one from another every few thousand years, and if someone was unlucky, then even a few centuries.

Like now, when previous Rulers of the Great Cloud Dynasty were overthrown by the Bai Family around five hundred years ago.

***

Kadred Dynasty

Orion Kadred was one of the many many children of the Emperor of the Kadred Dynasty that ruled over the third of the Western Warlock World. Emperors of each Dynasties have tens if not hundreds of children, with countless women.

Though Orion Kadred was only a Starry Sky Warlock, despite his age, he showed that his talent was low.

Currently, he was lurking through his manor in the Capital of the Kadred Dynasty before entering a small room and activating a protective formation that separated this room from the rest of the world.

After that, he took out a small device, which activated the moment he took it out.

"So?"

Asked an ominous voice from the device as Orion Kadred shuddered in fear.

"All materials are prepared to build a small gate in that place called Thurandot Subcontinent. I have verified that there is the really extensive underground world, which would be appropriate for a base, and the level of native Warlocks is low; the strongest is only Great Warlock Realm."

Reported Orion hurriedly, not wanting to displease the entity he was talking with.

"Very well. After the first ones come to the Canghzi Plane, you will receive your payment. Immediately depart for the Cangzhi Plane and construct the gate."

Ordered the voice after the device turned off automatically, and Orion Kadred sighed in relief.

He was not talented, and his strength was pitiful for someone of his age.

So, in his endless pursuit of power, he did one of the things that were considered the greatest taboo on the Canghzi Plane.

Deal with outsiders for power.

Even though it was taboo, countless warlocks signed contracts with Demons of the Infinite Abyss Blood Races of the Divine Blood Plane for power and let them rampage across the Canghzi Plane to plunder its resources.

He made a deal with Devils from the Plane called Baator.

It was a new Plane discovered around one thousand years ago by previous rulers of the Great Cloud Dynasty.

Initially, it seemed like a very weak Secondary Grade 2 Plane after some explorers entered the Baator.

In their greed, the Great Cloud Dynasty ruling family, Yan Clan, decided to conquer the Plane as fast as possible to prevent any other competitor from obtaining its resources, and assembled the majority of their army, numbering almost 7 million warlocks, all of the Great Warlock standards, coupled with countless Starry Sky Warlocks, Moonlight Warlocks, Glorious Sun Warlocks under the leadership of more than 200 Bright World Warlocks, and 20 Infinity Warlocks, entered the Plane known as Baator.

Leading them was the Emperor of the Great Cloud Dynasty, Yan Hai.

After they entered the Baator, while it was suspicious for them, that they didn't encounter any natives, and only after traversing several hundreds of kilometers did it happen.

Suddenly, in a split of a second, the entire space was sealed, and all forces of the Great Cloud Dynasty were attacked by countless Devils of various Classes, far outclassing those of the same rank, even if not counting superior Runic Battle Armors and Weapons of denizens of the Baator.

Commanding this army were 5 people on the level of Supreme Infinity Warlock with more than 50 Devils and other beings on the level of Infinity Warlock. On top of that, all under the watchful eye, of several beings on the level of Warlock Monarch.

One could deduce it was an absolute slaughter that none survived. After this, the Great Cloud Dynasty's power was weakened severely, and after several centuries, the power of the Yan Family was so weak that their subordinates betrayed them, and Bai Family became a new ruler of the Great Cloud Dynasty.

Only some recording artifacts were purposely left intact, so they could be used and found as evidence.

So, slowly but steadily, Baator became one of the most dangerous planes in the current Astral Boundary.

There were even rumors that it was guarded by powerful beings not inferior to the legendary Great Holies of the Warlocks.

 

[Trafford]

Even despite that, no Devil of Baator has ever set foot on the lands of the Canghzi Plane. While the common Warlock populace was highly ignorant of the true reason, deep-rooted factions with thousands of years of history were aware that it was due to the existence of the so-called Core World, which housed Warlock Monarchs, Holy Spirit Warlocks, and slumbering Great Holies and Warlock Emperors.

But that didn't mean that the Chthonian Empire that ruled the entirety of the Baator didn't have an influence over the Canghzi's Plane surface world. Countless warlocks every day used various obscure rituals to make a deal with them, as Canghzi Plane was a very lucrative place for denizens of the Baator.

Chaos times were coming, strife in the Universe was becoming more intense than ever, and there were rumors of the Warlock Dynasties awakening in upcoming centuries, so everyone was even more agitated.

And right now, Orion Kadred was given a task by his "master" to open a portal for them to enter the Canghzi Plane.

What Baatorians were mainly interested in were: Magic Stones, various treasures, and knowledge of the Warlock Civilization.

Right now, he took two of his loyal guard, who was Glorious Sun Warlock and departed for the Turandot Subcontinent.

Turandot Subcontinent was weak even by comparison with other Subcontinents, as the strongest powerhouse was only that of the Great Warlock Realm, which was pitifully weak.

But, it had a very extensive Underground World, which was inhabited by Hellions, and that was his target, where he would construct the Astral Gate to Baator. Then his job would be done, and he would get Soul Baptism Pill.

***

Turandot Subcontinent

After several days, Orion Kadred arrived at the outskirts of the Turandot Subcontinent together with his Glorious Sun Warlock.

After they arrived, Orion ordered his guard to gather information about the current state of the Turandot Subcontinent.

The entire Turandot Subcontinent was controlled by six warlock groups, namely, Warlock College Antalya, White Elephant Ivory, Eyes of Justice, Rose Garden, Savage Claws, and Black Dragon Tower. Under each of these factions were multiple nations and smaller attached warlock organizations.

All of them had several Great Warlocks, so they were weak and were of no threat.

The only problem was that each of them was backed by force in the main continent, but judging by the strength of these organizations and the Subcontinent as a whole, it was apparent that the power of their backers was low, and they were just some third-tier factions, with strongest probably being Glorious Sun or possible Bright World.

"My Prince, the closest entrance to the Underground World, is nearby, in a place called Western Thunder Cloud Mountains."

Reported Orion Kadred's guard, who returned from gathering information, as both of them flew to the place, the guard mentioned.

Western Thunder Cloud Mountains were located in the Satsuma Marquisdom in the Black Dragon Empire which was backed by the Black Dragon Tower.

According to legend, during the period of the Third Warlock Dynasty, the Transcendent Dynasty, some fiendgods escaped from the human Warlocks and established the rebel headquarters known as the underworld with the help of a peerless secret treasure.

Throughout the entire main world, many places with insufficient stability were affected by the fights of countless experts and were broken off, forming subcontinents. Turandot Subcontinent was one of them. There was also an underworld in Turandot Subcontinent.

Soon enough, Orion Kadred and his guard Alan arrived at the Western Thunder Cloud Mountains. There was an entrance to the underground world in a small remote valley.

The first layer of the underworld is more than a dozen kilometers away from the edge of the enormous crevice that leads toward the surface world. The majestic fortress Demonic Snake Fortress was built there. If compared to fortresses in the underground world of the main continent, it was trash, but by standards of this precise Subcontinent, it was really something.

This place was operated directly by the Black Dragon Empire's military and held the so-called dark races at stand-by.

This entire Demonic Snake Fortress was inhabited by tens of thousands of soldiers of the Black Dragon Empire and countless Warlocks of the Black Dragon Tower.

"Lay the formation, lock the entrance."

Ordered Orion Kadred.

While Orion was weak in terms of cultivation and his talent was low, he had wits and knowledge, and he knew why he chose the Turandot Subcontinent.

Not only this Subcontinent was weak, but its Underground world was too weak compared to other subcontinents, not to mention the main continents.

In his extensive study and coupled with the information he got from the Baator, he was able to deduct that the underground world of the Turandot Subcontinent had only five layers and on the fifth were sealed three or four Holy Spirit Warlock ranked Hellions according to legends, which made this underground world prime target for Baator to make their headquarters.

Right now, the Core World of the Canghzi Plane is still separated from the surface world, and it will be several centuries so.

This meant that the strong powerhouses of the Human Warlocks were the Infinity Warlocks. But there were some sleeping Warlock Monarchs and Holy Spirit Warlocks that chose to slumber in the surface world in case an invasion occurred, so they could swiftly defend and notify the Core World, which would then send their powerhouses to intercept it.

After the entrance to the underground world was sealed, Orion Kadred and his guard Alan attacked the Demonic Snake Fortress and put everyone in deep magical slumber.

After that, they started constructing the Astral Gate as per the order of the person of the Chthonian Empire of the Baator.

Constructing such a small Astral Gate took several hours, and after it was finished, Orion took out several Magic Stones, and the Astral Gate activated and connected to the plane of Baator.

Outside it, a man with long crimson hair with black streaks clad in Runic Battle Armor exited as he radiated power far eclipsing out even the strongest Infinity Warlocks he came into contact with.

 

[Trafford]

Abrasax Leviathan-Lucifer, son of the Emperor of the Chthonian Empire of the Baator, current Crown Prince, and also someone who inherited 4 Clan Traits. Descendant of the Imperial House Lucifer and Chthonian High Lord House Leviathan.

While he was already 2,500 years, he was still stuck at the Super Devil Law Baptism, but his combat prowess was far outclassing many Warlock Monarchs of the Warlock world due to his terrifying high combat prowess.

"This is the second time that I have entered Grade 1 Plane, though this Subcontinent's magicule density is too poor."

Complained Abrasax as several Custodians emerged from the Astral Gate, all on the Super Devil Level. All of them were on either Satan-Class or Super Devil Class, and several of them were already on the Apocalypse-Class. During 2,500 years, Custodians underwent the most tremendous change among all Military Forces of the Chthonian Empire.

From the Baator, Abrasax brought him ten Custodians on Super Devil Level and fifty on the Satan-Class. This power was enough to conquer half of the surface world of the Cangzhi Plane, but that would be a foolish thing to do.

As a direct descendant of the Imperial House and line of the Ancestor Zeoticus Gremory-Lucifer, he had access to very sensitive information. He knew that Canghzi Plane was dangerous as fuck. The Core World of the Canghzi Plane was extremely dangerous for the current strength of the Chthonian Empire.

So, basically, without at least one Tier 11 Powerhouse, it was too dangerous to make big moves in the Canghzi Plane, which had currently 6 Warlock Emperors in it, as Golem Emperor was deceased. Dawn Lord, who was Emperor of the Dawn Dynasty, was also killed, but he had God Avatar. Hence, he basically switched to God Path, which caused the remaining Warlock Imperial Courts to have a great deal of hatred for anyone associated with the Dawn Dynasty.

Soon more people emerged from the Astral Gate; many were members of the Execution Temple and Mechanicum, while some were members of the Magisteriums. Their task was to create a permanent foothold in the Canghzi Plane.

Even though it was dangerous, Abrasax was aware that many of the higher-ups of the Empire were convinced that since the Core World is still sealed, and unless they made something stupid and didn't alert those strong Great Holies, their presence would be overlooked, and they could siphon resources from the Canghzi Plane to the Baator.

Why Baator's foundation couldn't be compared to that of Warlock Imperial Courts, but it had grown too fast within just 2,500 years, mainly due to them siphoning resources from various planes, especially those lower ranked and other Universes.

Devils of Baator were extremely cunning; they purposely avoided all Primary Grade 2 Planes and specifically targeted weaker planes, maximally those where there were only strongest beings comparable to Mighty Stage God or Warlock Monarchs.

Planes like Feisuo Plane, even though they had only a few Mighty Stage Gods, were left out because there should be many of such gods sleeping; if not, they would have been conquered by Arcanists or Warlocks long ago for resources.

But thanks to that, the power of Baator slowly grew, as compared to Warlocks, Arcanists, and Devils didn't require such a high amount of cultivation resources, which made their needs much smaller. For example, suppose you calculate the number of resources to reach Infinity Warlock Realm. In that case, five to seven devils could reach Super Devil Class with the same amount.

They cultivated countless powerhouses on the level of Super Devil, many on the level of Apocalypse-Class, and several Dimensional-Class powerhouses.

And now, it was time to target the first league. Primary Grade 2 Planes and Canghzi Plane as it was single not unified Grade 1 Plane among discovered Grade 1 Planes.

Abrasax took out a small red pill from his spatial storage and threw it to Orion Kadred.

"Here is your payment."

The Soul Baptism Pill allowed one to increase Soul Aptitude to a higher level without any kind of side effects. It was very effective and appropriate as payment for allowing Baator to the Canghzi Plane.

While to Warlocks, it seemed like a peerless treasure, to Chthonian Empire, it wasn't, mainly due to their trade with the Celestial Court of the Ancient Dao Universe.

"Immediately seal all entrances to the Underground World with our most powerful sealing wards and add protective Arcanotech."

Abrasax ordered for the magicians of the group and some members of the Mechanicum.

"Custodians will go and subjugate all native races. Those who will join give them Blood and Soul Void-Geass. Those who do not exterminate to the last one. Hellions are to be put down at sight."

Ordered Abrasax as everyone went to carry out their orders.

Hellions were experiments that were created during the time of the Taboo Dynasty by the research of the Taboo Emperor in collaboration with several Arcanists that studied this topic. They were creatures created for a single purpose, and that was destruction.

After some time, they created even Holy Spirit Warlock ranked Hellions and even three Hellions on the level of Great Holy.

"Secure the entire layer, and continue until the third layer. The fourth one... leave it be for now."

 

[Trafford]

Baator, 9th Layer of Nessus, Holy Imperial Capital of Anor Londo, Imperial Palace - Sanctus Imperialis

Time flew really fast.

I still remember times from several thousand years ago when Baator was still a fledgling faction located in the Dimensional Gap.

Now it has grown into a powerful faction that lurked in the shadows and preyed on countless planes as its armies plundered its resources and foundation to strengthen ourselves, and lately, it was strong enough that we have started infiltrating Primary Grade 2 Planes and even had constructed small foothold on the Canghzi Plane.

After moving Baator to another location, I used my authority over the plane to divide it into layers in a similar style as Infinite Abyss Universe was stylized.

Basically, Baator had Nine Layers that were each interconnected to each other, and by my usage of my Command Sequence, I have made it that way; it was impossible to enter the Baator. There existed only one entrance to the plane, which was located on the first Layer of Avernus.

This rule cannot be broken even by Tier 12 Powerhouses, and only Tier 13 Entities, as they were called, could force their way into the Baator. Still, as long Baator got stronger, even they would need to slaughter their way through Nine Layers to reach the final bastion.

Additionally, each Layer had its own ruler that I appointed through a Primordial Contract. These rulers could even use the power of the entire layer to help them fight and boost their combat prowess, and while the boost wasn't exactly significant right now, as all Layers were rather weak, aside from the last one, in the future, even Dimensional-Class devil would have the power to fight equally Warlock Emperor with a boost from the Layer.

1st Layer Avernus, ruled by joint control of the Military Forces. This Layer had the size of an average Grade 9 Plane and was just one huge military fortress, with countless defensive wards, spell formation, Arcnoatech Tower, Fortresses, and other things to make it absolutely impenetrable. With my genius, it would require minimally pinnacle Tier 11, meaning Warlock Emperor or someone similar with overwhelming strength to force their way, due to all things that I have put there.

Its defenses were also improved and created in collaboration with Dresden Arcanum Empire, which was officially an ally to the Chthonian Empire.

2nd Layer Dis, ruled by Chthonian High Lord House of Noir with its current Lord Diablo Noir, former captain-general of Custodians, after he retired and appointed Sairaorg Bael as his successor. The Main Capital of Dis was Tempest, and it had the size of a Grade 8 Plane.

3rd Layer Minauros, ruled by Chthonian High Lord House of Beelzebub with its current ruler Magister Ajuka Beelzebub. Minauros was also the place where most breakthroughs in the research of Arcanotech were made, and it had countless Arcanotech Facilities and Factories. And it had the size of a Grade 8 Plane.

4th Layer Phlegethos, ruled by Chthonian Elector Lord House Cruach with Capital Drachain. It was a place mainly inhabited by Dragons, as many dragons lived in the Phlegethos due to it being the Layer under the rule of Elder Crom Cruach. Also had the size of a Grade 8 Plane.

5th Layer Stygia, ruled by Chthonian Elector Lord House Grigori, which was the surname of Elder Azrael. Its capital was the city of Arthia and had the size of a Grade 8 Plane. 5th Layer of the Baator had the largest number of the Fallen Angels across all layers as it was created by the newly founded House Grigori.

6th Layer Malbolge, ruled by Chthonian Elector Lord House Bael with its ruler being Elder Zekram Bael. Its capital was called Caladan, and contrary to the Power of Destruction of the Bael Clan, this city was a beautiful place, probably the most beautiful city in the entire Empire, as it combined humble architecture with beautiful nature.

7th Layer Maldomini, ruled by Chthonian Elector Lord Houses of Brunestud and Tepes, home to the all Vampires, Kindreds, and Pale Blood of the Chthonian Empire of the Baator. Its capital was, of course, Yharnam.

8th Layer Cania, ruled by Chthonian Elector Lord Asura, but due to the fact that Asura still officially didn't join the Chthonian Empire as one of the Elders, the place was temporarily managed by the Imperial House from the capital of Cania, Insomnia.

And finally, the 9th Layer Nessus, which was ruled by the Imperial House of Lucifer and by me directly, with its capital of the Holy City of Anor Londo. Nessus had the size of a proper Secondary Grade 2 Plane, so it was the biggest Layer of them all.

Among all Layer Rulers, only Ajuka wasn't someone of Tier 10, as all of the others reached that level of power in their respective power systems. But Ajuka was very close to that level, and his power and techniques were enough to deal with many Holy Spirit Warlocks effortlessly.

After two thousand years of ruling, I have passed the crown of the Emperor to Sirzechs. As expected, Vali refused outright as the only other person who could become an Emperor. Thus Sirzechs became an Emperor of the Chthonian Empire. I retreated to the depths of the Sanctus Imperialis to quietly train, comprehend Laws or study Magic Rules.

 

[Trafford]

I observed the Holy Imperial Capital of Anor Londo from the balcony of the Imperial Palace. The city didn't really change from the time when it was founded, as it still had its nice gothic feel even with all of the Arcanotech devices and buildings.

"Has it succeeded?"

I asked as I sensed Sirzechs enter the balcony.

He was already a mighty Apocalypse-Class powerhouse that was able to contend against ordinary Holy Spirit Warlocks.

Apocalypse-Class Devil that has comprehended one Law could easily match even pinnacle Warlock Monarch if they have high control over their Law. If Apocalypse-Class had comprehended several Laws, they could contest against Holy Spirit Warlocks.

Meanwhile, Dimensional-Class could match Great Step Holy Spirit Warlocks due to the multiple Laws they have comprehended. Of course, there were other factors, such as control and mastery over the comprehended Laws, and Laws itself that were comprehended because some of them were more powerful than others.

Sirzechs was still an Apocalpyse-Class, due to his relatively slow progress, as he had multiple Clan Traits, meaning he had a predisposition for several Laws that hindered his progress. Still, on the other side, his combat prowess was terrifying.

For example, Vena has reached Dimensional-Class, some time ago, but in terms of pure combat prowess and efficiency, she could suppress Sirzechs only because she could tire him out.

"Yes, they have successfully entered Canghzi Plane, evaded all detection treasures, and established a foothold in one desolate Subcontinent in their underground world. Abrasax told me that he would soon reach Apocalypse-Class, and then he would advance further in the underground world and control it entirely. Currently, he has detected there several Warlock Monarch Hellions that would be dealt with instantly after he reached Apocalypse-Class, and the only thing that would be remaining then would be several Holy Spirit Warlock-ranked Hellions that are sealed on the fifth underground layer of the Turandot's Subcontinent's underground world. Fortunately, they show no signs of awakening. Still, even if they awakened, their power would be greatly weakened. After some time, Abrasax would deal with them after Vali and his Brigade arrive there."

Reported Sirzechs as I nodded at the progress of my grandson.

"Good... for now, the most important is to establish a safe foothold in the Canghzi Plane. We have enough time. For now, we will turn our main focus on the Secondary Grade 2 Planes, so we can plunder them. Canghzi Plane is well guarded, but as long as we establish there a foothold and steady network, we can slowly spread our influence among human Warlocks and get a countless stream of resources."

I stated, as for now, our focus was shifting on the Secondary Grade 2 Planes that were ruled by Gods, who were tricky enemies to deal with. Gods could easily suppress those of the same realm or even higher with the support of their Divine Kingdom.

Before Chthonian Empire could deal with powerful Gods, we purposely avoided all of these planes where were strong gods. All Secondary Grade 2 Planes had several Supreme Stage Gods slumbering in them, based on information that I have obtained from Kaziklu Bey.

Now, Empire has grown in terms of strength, be it a number of powerhouses and or Arcanotech Level, our army got stronger, and our Mechanical Legions were unparalleled across the wide Universe.

"Will you take care of this personally, father?"

Asked Sirzechs, as he stood beside me, and I felt something rubbing on my leg, and when I looked, it was my familiar Isla, who had already long ago reached Apocalypse-Class.

"Yes, I have reached a limit and haven't fought a serious fight for centuries. I want to see how my Decomposition Magic Rule would fare against the Divine Kingdoms of the Supreme Gods. Feisuo Plane is one of the weaker of all hundreds or so Grade 2 Planes, and among Primary Ones, it is at the bottom of the ladder, as it has only several Mighty Stage Gods, and neither of them is very strong. On top of that, current in the entire Plane, we have confirmed that only several Mighty Stage Gods are awake currently. Hence, it means we will have an easier time making moves."

I stated as Sirzechs nodded at my statement.

The first target in the great game was carefully chosen to be a Feisuo Plane.

Even though Feisuo Plane was a Primary Grade 2 Plane, it was weak. Even though not many Primary Grade 2 Planes had existences on the level of Warlock Emperor, there existed a few, and those planes which lacked one had at least one or two Great Step Holy Spirit Warlock ranked Powerhouse. Though they were in a deep slumber, several of the Primary Grade 2 Planes that Gods ruled even had Myriad God Emperors in them.

I have personally planned to make a move and conquer the entire Feisuo Plane; even though it was weak, it should have enough underlying power to deter forces like Warlock Imperial Courts, which, even though it had declined, had tens of Holy Spirit Warlocks each.

So, even though Feisuo Plane was weak compared to other Primary Grade 2 Planes, its hidden power should not be underestimated. That was why I decided to head there and control the situation personally.

In regard to Gods, Baator only had a few of them because I significantly restricted the number of people who would be assigned God Slots here. The reason for that?

I obtained a method that allowed me to use and refine Faith to create a Godhood, but not as gods of the Astral Boundary. Still, this method was obtained from a different Universe; I brought it from Rot Spinne, who, on the other hand, got it who knows where.

 

[Trafford]

The reasons why I have decided on this step were numerous, and one of the main ones was to obtain even greater strength than before. For thousands of years, citizens who worshiped me as "God" were more and more, especially among the commoners, creating an enormous amount of the Faith Power that went towards me every passing second.

I had also reached the limit of what I could do with the Faith Power with my own methods, and I couldn't suppress the rising religion of my persona; and soon, after several centuries had passed, I had to invest a lot to suppress me forcefully becoming God in the Baator.

In the end, I asked members of the Longinus Dreizhen Orden for help, and Rot Spinne presented me with a method to create a Godhood from another Universe. This type of Godhood was far superior to the Gods of the Astral Boundary.

Gods of that universe were divided into Demigod, Lesser God, Common God, and Paramount God. Demigods were equivalent to pinnacle Super Devils, Lesser Gods to Apocalypse-Class, Common God to Dimensional-Class, and Paramount God to Lord-Class.

Gods that practiced this kind of Godhood Path would be considered as equals to the Beings of Law.

Their division was based on the strength of their Godhood, which was rated through the Godhood Index.

The advantage of this method was that people didn't need to depend on their worshippers to advance and supply the Power of Faith and could advance by themselves. Secondly, using the Power of Faith to refine Godhood in this method didn't have any side effects. Even if one's worshippers were killed to the last one, it wouldn't affect God in any way, contrary to Gods of the Astral Boundary, who will slowly wither.

While through the usage of these methods, Gods lacked the Divine Kingdom, they made it up with their terrifyingly strong bodies and energy resistances to any kind of energy. Additionally, the Godhead condensed acted as some kind of energy factory that was able to create an almost endless stream of energy.

After I have created a Godhead through this method, I have instantly ascended as Lesser God with Godhood of Father of All Devils. After additional thousand years and some centuries, I have increased my Godhood Index to almost the limit of Common God.

Right now, my physical strength was comparable to the pinnacle of Great Step Holy Spirit Warlock and soon would reach Quasi-Empyrean, meaning my body strength would be comparable to almost Empyrean Treasure.

Additionally, I have obtained a ton of abilities, like I can create Blessings and become entirely immune to Holy and Light Elements. Also, my energy regeneration capabilities shot to the limit, and even if I constantly used Magic Rules to fight, I would hardly find any difference, as my Godhead supplemented me with an enormous amount of Demonic Energy every second.

Coupled with my previous abilities, I was walking an energy generation factory. On top of my terrifying physical body, there were only a few Tier 10 existences that could compete with me aside from those at the Half-Step to the next realm.

In the entire Baator, people who had condensed Godhood and were worshiped as gods in the Baator could be counted on the one hand. I have also inspired myself by Time Emperor, who forged peerless Empyrean Grade Treasure, God Slaying Spear, who killed anyone who tried to become God in the Canghzi Plane and crafted one too, though its grade was only Holy Grade, but it was enough to kill anyone who will try to ascend without my permission.

Currently, the only widely worshipped Gods, aside from me there, were only Hela and Sigmar, who practiced this method and transformed their Divinities into this type of Godhood, and after that, their strength grew exponentially.

Of course, a few people were allowed to become Gods, but they were few, and each of them reached at least Lesser God.

And there was another reason why I forbade anyone to ascend as God in Baator through the method of the Astral Boundary.

As I held the Command Sequence of the Baator, I was the ultimate ruler of the plane, but it didn't mean I could be everywhere and forbid anyone ascending as God through and occupy God Slot, which would require permanent attention from me, and that was not realistic.

What I aimed for was to fuse all God Slots, present, and future, into me, becoming the sole God of Baator. This, coupled with an entire control over the Command Sequence, would make me almost unkillable because as long as Baator existed, I would exist. Even if I am killed, I would be reborn without losing my strength and progress, and due to my True Name Isaiah, I would be reborn instantly, as this would greatly boost my rebirth abilities.

If this succeeded, only Tier 13 Beings and higher would have the ability to kill me, or rather for the better word, erase me from existence, as in a certain sense, I would be unkillable. Not only this, but if I ascend as God of Baator, I could name Apostles that would share this ability of mine, meaning my closest family would enjoy this form of "Immortality".

Of course, this wasn't finite; I could still be sealed somewhere or killed through special methods. The biggest downside of this method was if Baator was ever destroyed, while I wouldn't die from it, I would be injured so severely that recuperation would be night impossible.

Still, the probability of the Secondary Grade 2 Plane being destroyed is very, very low, so I opted for this method.

For centuries, I have been slowly adjusting Baator and refining the Plane's Will.

Even at the 100%, Command Sequence didn't mean absolute control, as strong or unique planes still had consciousness of their own and could resist the control to a certain degree.

This plan could be executed when Baator became Grade 1 Plane; only then I would be able to infuse all God Slots into my body and evolve to an even higher form of being.

 

[Trafford]

After Sirzechs left the place, I was left alone on the balcony as I observed the Imperial City.

I could feel people praying to me all the time, and not only in the Baator but also in the other planes, which were either conquered by Baator and the local population or in Canghzi Plane or other places.

I felt an endless stream of the Power of Faith flowing to me.

'Architect do a deep scan.'

I stated in my mind.

[Name: Zeoticus Gremory-Lucifer

True Name: Dizmason (Devil Talent), Sythis (Mental Protection), Savant (Prideguard), Isaiah (Nirvana), Archeron (Full Counter), Zerius (Prime Evil)

Race: God Devil (Trans-Devil-Fiend / God)

Bloodline: Gremory, Lucifer, Golden-Horned Fiend

Age: 2,800+ Years

-

Class: Dimensional-Class / Common God

Lifeform Level: 2 - Tier 2

Soul Aptitude: Level 10 - Inferior

Laws: Devour (100%), Darklight (100%), Slaughter (100%), Destruction (100%), Lightning (100%) , Space (41%)

Magic Rules: Starfall, Decomposition

Godhood: Father of All Devils

Concept: Void (3%)

Demonic-God Force: 7,451

Godhood Index: 92 Million

Body: Peak Great Step Holy Spirit Warlock

Baator Command Sequence: 100%

-

Law Control:

Devour - Advanced

Slaughter - Perfect

Destruction - Perfect

Darklight - Advanced

Lightning - Advanced

-

Clan Trait:

Dark Light - Law

The Devour - Law

Holy Flame - Law

-

Magic Systems:

Tier Magic - Starlight

Devil Magic - Forbidden

Norse Runic Magic - Forbidden

Abyssal Runic Magic - Forbidden

Human Magic - Forbidden

Mysticism - Grandmaster

-

Secret Method: Fate Algorithm - (6/6)

-

Masteries:

Scythe - Grandmaster

Dagger - Master

Hand-to-Hand - Master

Bladestaff - Grandmaster]

I have progressed tremendously during these 2,500 years.

Not only have I reached the Dimensional-Class limits, but my body strength was also even higher. I have completely comprehended the Law of Lightning and increased my control over it to Advanced.

Most importantly, I have created two Magic Rules, Starfall and Decomposition.

Magic Rule was something that only the most skilled and knowledgeable practitioner of magic could use and handle. Construction of just one required a profound understanding of not only magic but also Laws that were used in the creation of the Magic Rule.

Starfall Magic Rule evolved and perfected the form of the first Starlight-Tier Spell I have made. It had extreme destructive capabilities, with my current strength; if I used Starfall Magic Rule, I could easily obliterate anyone under Quasi-Empyrean.

Meanwhile, Decomposition Magic Rule was even something more special and terrifying. Usage of the Decomposition made one the best Anti-Mage, as Decomposition allowed one to disrupt any kind of magic, spell, and even the majority of the energy-based techniques and attacks.

It took me more than 900 years of study to construct the Decomposition Magic Rule and additional 300 years to master its usage in combat and perfect it to a usable state.

The essential progress I have made was not the creation of these two Magic Rules but rather a grasp of the Concept of Void.

Void was what houses all Universes, Realms, Worlds, and other spaces. The majority of people who chose to roam the Void for opportunities were on the level of the Great Old One and Divine Thrones. Even Eternal-ranked Powerhopuses were only at the bottom of the ladder in the Void.

To clarify something, Great Old One wasn't any kind of power level of cultivation realm, but rather a collective term for people who achieved a certain level of strength; some of them may be even stronger than the average Divine Throne; of course, those were very rare.

To be considered a powerhouse even in the Void, one needed to be a Paragon. And to become Paragon, one must become grasp a Concept, truly become a conceptual entity, and absorb the Essence of a Void.

Each Paragon was a unique conceptual entity that anyone else could not replicate. For example, suppose someone has the Concept of Fire. In that case, no other person can have that concept because the Conceptual Entity of Fire was already born.

I obtained 2% of the Concept of Void from Devouring Ophis thousands of years ago. After 2,500 years, I have increased it only by 1%. The difficulty was on a totally different level; the reason for that was simple.

Usually, people who could grasp Concepts are either at the Great Old One or Divine Throne. But, just these 3% increased my combat prowess tremendously, even more than my comprehension of several Laws.

Through ascending as God, I have also evolved as God Devil. One of the gains of the Evolution was that my Demonic Energy has mutated and evolved into a higher form of energy, which I termed as Demonic-God Force, as a commemoration of my Demonic Godhood.

As a higher form of energy, it was superior to old Demonic Energy, as 1 Unit of Demonic-God Force was equivalent to tens of that of Demonic Energy. It essentially caused me to fuse two paths, creating an absolutely unique Path for myself.

With the number of worshippers, I would have reached Myriad God Emperor Stage long ago if I had followed God's Path of the Astral Boundary. My actual method required a tremendous amount of the Power of Faith to increase the Godhood Index Rating; by my calculations, the amount of Power of Faith I was receiving far eclipsed several Myriad God Emperors together.

On the other hand, the power I obtained from the increasement of my Godhood Index Rating far eclipsed any progress Gods of the Astral Boundary could make.

And finally, my newest part of the True Name Zerius came with an ability called Prime Evil. It allowed me to store negative energy created from sinning; basically, everyone who did anything related to the Seven Deadly Sins would have created something I called the Energy of Sin, I automatically absorbed that, and I could burn this energy reserved in exchange to obtain an explosive increase in power.

Suppose I went all out, including the usage of Prime Evil. In that case, I could theoretically newly advanced Warlock Emperor or some trash Arcane Lords with unstable and weak paths. However, I have never tested it, as I had never encountered such an entity, as I was careful to lay low for now.

Cunnigness was in the nature of devils, so before I reached half-step I, not Lord-Class, I planned to avoid attacking or fighting entities on Tier 11, especially Warlocks; they had great problems containing their arrogance, something that probably came with every cultivator.

 

[Trafford]

3rd POV

Sirzechs was Emperor of the Chthonian Empire of the Baator for several centuries after his father passed him the crown.

There were only two candidates for the position of Emperor, the second one aside from Vali, who was too much of a battle maniac to hold any kind of administrative post. Sigmar was never even considered for the position, and he was even vocal about that he didn't want to be an Emperor.

Sigmar was a typical warmonger who would unleash countless wars and create an immeasurable number of conflicts for the Empire, something that the Empire didn't really need. It always chooses its foes carefully.

Today, as always, Sirzechs has been dealing with foreign relationships for many decades. Today he was meeting with the Ambassador of the Dresden Arcanum Empire.

Dresden Arcanum Empire was currently one of the strongest factions in the Astral Boundary. There were very few factions that could match them in terms of power. Dresden Arcanum Empire was under the protection of Exarch and had 4 Arcane Lords and tens of Magister Arcanists.

While in terms of numbers, they were inferior, but individual combat prowess, they were superior, as the path of the Arfcanists was very similar to that of Devils, as they focused on comprehension of Laws, and many of them even had their own Magic Rules.

Sirzechs was stuck at the Apocalypse-Class for a long time due to numerous Clan Traits and numerous Laws he was comprehending. Still, his combat prowess was comparable to an even weaker Dimensional-Class powerhouse if he went all out.

Today he was meeting with the representative of the Dresden Arcanum Empire, who was from the Yatogami Clan, one of the most prestigious Clans, due to the fact that the Clan Founder was the closest confidant of the Ancestor of the Dresden Arcanum Empire.

Chthonian Empire had very few allies in the Astral Boundary. Of course, they could be counted on one hand, and the closest ally was Dresden Arcanum Empire mainly because they were similar in Power System and mindset.

Of course, the close relationship between the two Ancestors of both Empire was one of the deciding factors.

"Your Imperial Majesty."

Bowed the Ambassador of the Dresden Arcanum Empire to the current Emperor of the Chthonian Empire. Even though Chthonian Empire was a young faction compared to truly ancient behemoths, like Warlocks Imperial Courts, Dresden Arcanum Empire, or other even older factions, their progress was absolutely terrifying.

Just within 3,000 years or so of their existence, they have managed to produce several powerhouses on the level of pinnacle Great Holy Step Warlocks. Several of them were so troublesome to fight that even their strongest Magister Arcanists would reconsider their chances thrice, especially against the Elders of the Baator and Layer Rulers.

Sirzechs nodded in acknowledgment as he wore his regal outfit and had the Imperial Crown crafted from the Longinus Alphecca Tyrant upon his head, consisting of a circlet of gold and jewels fitted around a central silver band.

"Ambassador Yatogami, what brings you here?"

Asked Sirzechs with a slight smile over his face.

"Your Imperial Majesty, I bring a message from our Emperor that Dresden Arcanum Empire is interested in making a move against Dawn Imperial Court, or at least at what has remained from it."

The enmity between Warlocks and Arcanists was an irreconcilable one, and if Arcanists were enemies of Warlocks, then it was natural that Devils would become one too.

Among all Warlock Dynasties, Dawn Dynasty was hit hardest and was practically destroyed, and what has remained has retreated to seek shelter under the clone of the Dawn Emperor. Dawn Lord was the only one who created an avatar that became god in the Dawn Plane, Primary Grade 2 Plane.

His aim was to become Myriad God Emperor in that Plane and then evolve the Plane into a Grade 1 Plane, theoretically allowing him to create a new cultivation level for Gods. Unfortunately for the Dawn Lord, and fortunately for others, he didn't succeed even till this day, as other Warlock Imperial Courts were crafty enough to sabotage the growth in the population of the Dawn Plane.

"Of course, the Chthonian Empire would do everything in our effort to bring down the Dawn Lord."

Answered Sirzechs swiftly, as he was aware that Dawn Lord and his goons were targets of the Chthonian Empire, mainly because Dawn Lord sealed Captain-General. For Arcanists and Baatorians would be incredibly beneficial for them, as it would significantly weaken Warlock as a whole.

And due to terrible relationships between other Warlock Emperors and Dawn Lord, it would be harder for them to help them to survive. And all that possible loot they could obtain from plundering treasuries of one of Warlock Dynasties.

"How would we be dividing the loot obtained from it?"

Asked Sirzechs.

"The treasury would be divided 50/50; aside from that, what everyone kills it is his."

Replied Ambassador Yatogami, as Sirzechs nodded in agreement, as that was acceptable for him.

"How is the strength of the Dawn Lord?"

Questioned Sirzechs.

"From what we have found, he countless Warlocks serving him. Many of them are Warlock Monarchs and several Holy Spirit Warlocks. There should be at least 3 Great Step Holy Spirit Warlocks. Among gods, Dawn Plane should have even more than Warlocks, but we don't have concrete numbers, as it is hard to infiltrate the Dawn Plane properly."

Replied Ambassador Yatogami.

Sirzechs nodded in agreement, as infiltrating such Planes as Dawn Plane was extremely hard. Dawn Lord did a great job by combining methods of gods and warlocks.

That Plane was under the constant watch of several Supreme Stage Gods and Great Step Holy Spirit Warlocks and had several surveillance treasures monitoring it all the time.

"Then we should attack associate planes under the control or influence of the Dawn Lord and his forces first."

Stated Sirzechs as Ambassador Yatogami agreed with him.

Gods such as the God of Dawn had their claws in many planes.