车生活

Perhaps it flows quickly, perhaps slowly, with no certainty. Even with the birth of ‘order within Chaos,’ it could only slow this fluctuation and ‘anchor’ it, rather than completely erase it.

Thus, thousands of years have passed since the great serpent that encircled the courtyard began its slumber, and its ‘spirit’ walked the world in human form.

There are no living creatures in the courtyard because its master forbids it; no being worthy of entry exists here, making this the only realm within the Nine Hells devoid of demons.

In the sky of this realm, islands float above. Most are vacant, preserved in their primordial state. Only the one in the center has a modestly styled cottage that seems out of place with a title as grand as ‘the center of a realm.’

Here, Laine’s avatar leans back in his chair, his eyes piercing through the veil of the realm, observing the ever more vibrant Demon Gods in the outer world.

The Mother of Demons has yet to emerge because the existence of the Nine Hells has diverted some of the nourishment meant for her. But the Chaos of the Abyss paid no mind to this, having already set Its creations on their destined paths.

Therefore, what could be guessed as the ‘belly’ began to swell, with a portion of power flowing into it. Of course, Laine really couldn’t recognize Moya’s bodily structure; he only speculated that it was the Mother of Demons’ belly based on the bulge.

That is, if Moya indeed used her belly to gestate her offspring.

“How many Demon Gods of the first descent will there be, like the Titans, twelve?”

The voice came from beside him. Unnoticed, Asmodeus had joined him at the stone table of the cottage.

The barrier of the realm couldn’t shield him either; as he gazed upon his future nemesis, the Lord of the Nine Hells calmly inquired.

Instinct told him that the moment Moya awoke would signal the birth of the first Abyssal Demon Lords.

“No, there will likely be only six.”

“The present world is unified, so having twelve is justifiable. But Tartarus is merely the heart of the world beyond; six is more fitting for Its stature. In fact, I am still doubtful that, aside from Moya, a former Titan, the Demon Gods she births will retain the essence of immortality.”

“Of course, all of this is speculation; having more might not be a bad thing. After all, there is only so much power; It can create six mighty original Demon Gods, but hardly twelve. Forcing the issue could weaken Itself.”

He took a sip from his cup. Laine wasn’t surprised by Asmodeus’s arrival; he had been aware. Just as he couldn’t enter the other six realms without the others’ consent, they couldn’t freely come and go from his realm either.

The greatest link between them was that the foundation of the Nine Hells was still united. Just as the present world would collapse if it did, the realms beyond would follow. There could be degrees of strength, but one could not exist without the other.

Of course, Laine didn’t think it would come to that. Even though he would be constrained by Tartarus’s will in combating the Abyss, the newly reborn Asmodeus was more cautious and wise than before. Perhaps for some, the position of Divine King was indeed a shackle.

“Six… let’s hope Crius completes his transformation before they are born.”

“When the time comes, I will honor our agreement and grant him the first layer of Hell. With the advantage of terrain, facing six Demon Gods restrained by the realm’s power, he should be able to do it—”

As he spoke, even Asmodeus sounded dubious.

After all, the transformed Titan deities are no longer what they once were; Crius’s godhood of ‘Meteorology’ bestowed by the present world is nearly useless here and even hampers his transformation into a demon. Thus, after some negotiation, the God of Meteorology, with no other recourse in the Abyss, renounced his divine status.

Indeed, given a choice, Crius would prefer an unfeeling will of the present world to a thinking Lord of the Nine Hells. So even with nowhere to turn, he made Asmodeus promise enough to reassure him.

Thereafter, a consensus was reached between the three. Using the Well of Reincarnation, Laine washed away Crius’s worldly aspects, allowing him to shed his godhood and, like Mnemosyne, Moya’s previous incarnation, use millions of years in distorted time to complete his transformation.

The Lord of the Nine Hells, in turn, granted him rebirth and, in the name of master of the realm, swore an oath to the Styx River. Provided Crius swore eternal allegiance to him, Asmodeus would never disregard his interests and would grant him dominion over the first layer of Hell.

As for the stripped godhood of ‘Meteorology,’ seventy percent of the Source Power, once transformed, was infused into the first layer of Hell, elevating this realm to a status second only to the ninth layer.

The remaining thirty percent was taken as a transaction fee, which was the cause of the Lord of the Nine Hells’ suspicion.

In such a case, the reborn Crius would only have the strength of a level 15 deity. Even if bolstered by the power of the hellish realm, whether he could withstand six alone remained to be seen.”

“There won’t be any problems. It won’t be long before my third layer of Hell also welcomes a lord.”

“Together, the two of them are enough to withstand the opposing side. Besides, those gods born of Tartarus… I can hardly imagine they would always remain united.”