Devil's Rise

This Void Queen had to be some kind of exotic race if she was already a Viscount while being a child. I wondered if she came from that chaotic area in the void that Zat told me to never go to. No wonder Zat left this random sack in my ring. It was so I could collect her. I"ll ask him about it when I get back to Satyr Castle.

I spent the next two years on a strict schedule, in the morning I would exterminate savage beasts that lived within the Pterodactyl"s territory to fill up my u003cHollow Domainu003e. In the afternoon I would study the 108 runes of d.a.m.nation, and in the evening I would practice my alchemy and blacksmithing.

Eventually, I broke through to Devil Viscount Smith and reforged Freedom u0026 Destiny. I decided to wait on reforging Judgment, I wanted to seduce a prideful soul to reside in this weapon. Only then could it compete with my Curse Bound weapons.

I found a few new miners to extract the mine for me, so my resources piled up like a mountain. It was easy to find capable helpers while in the Viscount realm. Sadly, my devilry didn"t move a single inch within these two years. From studying the 108 paths of d.a.m.nation, I knew that my devilry would not move forward if I didn"t beguile souls.

I was in no need to rush increasing my power now, though. Learning the 108 paths of d.a.m.nation was difficult. The better I understood them, the more capable I would be in leading souls to d.a.m.nation.

The Void Queen eventually learned to behave herself, so I let her out of the sack. I placed a u003cSoul Brandu003e on her to ensure she remained obedient but didn"t use it. Torturing a child would be barbaric. A devil has morals, torturing toddlers wasn"t in my forte. Although I did torture Chubs after he had offended me, he rightfully deserved punishment.

She was but an immature child, not knowing much about the world. When she was born she was already a Viscount. She transformed from her small dark blue bug state into that of a fat little child with insectoid features. She had two antennas upon her head and dark blue wings along her back. I named her Arania the Bug.

It took a long time for her to understand she was not a powerful Void Queen, but a bug. She would go on tantrums immediately when I called her a bug, proclaiming herself as a powerful Void Queen, but would get over it when I gave her crispy fried beast meat. This young lord was no longer a vegan. Now that I could slaughter the savage beasts in droves, my diet had changed.

The Pterodactyl never got involved in my matters, no matter how many of the Savage Beasts I slew. It probably had to do with the Satyr"s shameless actions when he put me on full display for the entire world to see. It was similar to the old one"s mark on Chubs but at a much higher level. Although the Savage Beasts had reverence for me, they wouldn"t just stick their necks out and wait to be slaughtered.

I wasn"t willing to test my luck with the ceremony"s effect. If it didn"t work outside the Pterodactyl"s territory I would be walking into death without a burial ground.

I had gone through many battles with the Viscount savage beasts in my garden. Slaughtering many, but even being defeated by some. Not every Viscount soul I added to my u003cHollow Domainu003e would add its own domain to my power. After calculating the number I had killed, I reckoned it was only about ten percent of them. It was much easier to get the Viscount domain of a creature I had absorbed Baron souls of.

But not many of the savage beasts were in great numbers as the t.i.tan.o.boas that had lived in the Serpent Cedar tree. Speaking of the tree, I eventually replanted it near my cave. It had wilted after sitting in the purple-gold ring for a few months. The area around the cave was mine anyway, I would just have to dig it back up when I left.

Right now I had only gained u003cSh.e.l.led Domainu003e and u003cLacerating Domainu003e. The savage beasts didn"t practice Dao, or at least not Dao in the sense I understood it. Their domains just enhanced the abilities they already had. u003cSh.e.l.led Domainu003e came from an Ankylosaurus I had bested. It granted great defense.

Luckily, I understood how gaining domains worked before attempting to kill the Ankylosaurus. He was more of a turtle than Chubs, requiring a lot of effort for me to slay. These beasts focused on defense, which was important for keeping my little life. It was the first domain I specifically hunted for.

u003cLacerating Domainu003e just came by chance when I killed a Viscount raptor-like savage beast and added his soul to my domain. Although I had killed a few raptors, it was not enough to warrant me gaining the domain. It was a brilliant surprise.

I had collected 23 Viscount savage beasts to fill my u003cHollow Domainu003e. It was now truly terrifying. My u003cHollow Aurau003e was no longer a wet noodle either, it elicited the savagery of the beasts I had slain.

I attempted to form an u003cInferno Domainu003e but encountered many difficulties. I didn"t understand the underlying principles of what formed a domain, so I was lost when trying to create my own. u003cHollow Domainu003e was an innate skill attached to my true form. Using it was like breathing. But when I tried to condense a domain with my Fire Dao comprehension, I encountered many problems.

I managed to form an u003cInferno Aurau003e but it was far from a domain. I gave up my hope of having another domain after failing to form an u003cInferno Domainu003e. Fire Dao was my second best Dao at the moment next to my Soul Dao, so if I couldn"t form a domain with that, then I doubted I could form it with other Daos.

I looked over my collection of resources in my purple-gold ring and was ecstatic. So many resources plundered from the Savage Land. And I even had an astonis.h.i.+ng collection of pills and weapons that I had made in my spare time. When this young lord goes back to the Hudson Estate [Libra] will move forward in leaps and bounds with this stuff.

As much as I enjoyed staying in the Savage Land, it was now time for me to say goodbye. The shameless Satyr said I had to leave my garden, so had no choice. I threw my bug and my turtle in my beast sack, dug up my Serpent Cedar tree, pulled out my Aphalla, and ported back to Satyr Castle.

"Hey mon, it"s time you pay up!" I heard a voice say from my Aphalla as soon as I made it back to Satyr Castle.

AN: This chapter marks the end of Volume 2. To all the fans that have stuck with me so long, I"d like to thank you. It"s been a pleasure writing for you guys so far.