Chapter 654: Submission or death?
Capital of the 44th Demon Rank pillar, Shax.
A 10-meter-tall demon with a face of a horse, the eyes of an owl, two hind legs of a horse, the wings of an owl, and the torso of a muscular man with four arms was staring at the edge of his territory in utter terror.
There, a man with long black hair and violet eyes stood, wearing full black armor, carrying a Katana with a blade too large to be called a Katana in his left hand.
With every step he took towards the city, Shax"s terror increased. It was like a G.o.dd.a.m.n horror movie.
The man wasn"t doing anything. He was just walking towards the city with a casual smile as if he were on vacation.
"My Lord, H-He is here." A lesser Demon spoke.
"You think I"m f.u.c.king blind!? I know he"s here!" The Demon roared.
"What did the Demon King say!? He must already know about the invader."
"His messenger relayed that he asked the Sin of Pride to come to our aid, but he would take a long time because he is currently in the h.e.l.l of the Egyptian Pantheon taking care of some matters."
"f.u.c.k, we don"t have time! Where are the other elites? The Hors.e.m.e.n? Or the other Deadly Sins!?"
"…I can"t say."
"Tsk, I bet Sloth isn"t doing anything like usual! She didn"t even contribute to the war! She might as well help! Her Power would be useful in stopping this monster!"
"...." The Lesser Demon chose to remain silent; he didn"t want to receive Shax"s wrath.
Suddenly a tremendous pressure fell upon the entire capital.
And that pressure made all the Demons" fur and hair stand on end and caused them all to turn to face the man instantly.
And everyone could see that he was already in front of the gate.
"He"s already here-."
"Demons, I only have two things to say. Only two things to say." Victor held up his two fingers and made the number two sign with his hand, his voice echoing throughout the territory.
The Demons looked at his gauntleted fingers that mimicked sharp claws.
Victor"s s.a.d.i.s.tic smile grew:
"Kneel in submission, or die."
"You have five seconds."
"Five."
"Four."
When the countdown started, the entire territory panicked.
Demons started running around, and yelling at each other, trying to come to a decision.
Those were the most hot-blooded demons who couldn"t decide for themselves.
Those wiser Demons quickly knelt on the ground in submission.
"Three."
When the count reached three, Shax awoke from his stupor and commanded:
"Prepare for battle-." He tried to order, but Victor"s oppressive voice sounded again.
"Two."
At this number, more than 60% of Shax"s territory was on its knees.
Even the subordinate Shax was previously talking to.
Demons were cunning; they needed that to survive, and as they say, people talk. It was the same for Demons, especially regarding an incident with a "neighboring" territory. The news that all the legions of Vine had died echoed across the Demon World.
This spread of information was because of Victor"s effect and because of the Pillar Demons themselves, who commented on it. Those comments pa.s.sed to their trusted servants, and from the trusted servants pa.s.sed to another servant, and so on.
Soon everyone knew that there was an invader in the Demon World.
Demons were gossiping creatures and not very trustworthy.
"One."
"b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" Shax could only scream in frustration.
"Zero." Victor pulled Junketsu from its sheath and disappeared, leaving behind a trail of Lightning.
From the perspective of those kneeling Demons, they merely saw streaks of Lightning flas.h.i.+ng across Shax"s territory. Three seconds later, Victor was back in his prior position with Junketsu sheathed again.
And the next moment, blood spatter exploded all over the territory.
That sight made all the Demons nearly p.i.s.s themselves in sheer terror.
"What did he do!?"
Was the question on everyone"s mind.
Shax"s servant just looked at his former Master, who had turned to minced meat on the ground, and his heart was consumed with fear.
"... Is it that easy...? Is it that easy to kill a Demon Pillar like that? Those same Pillars that are considered the strongest by all Demons?" He felt his worldview shatter seeing his former Master"s death.
But that death also lit a flame of ambition in him.
"I need to get stronger."
All Demons, male or female, who saw this sight shared the same burning desire.
"Arise."
Victor"s order spread throughout the territory again, an order that no one dared to refuse.
"Follow me." Victor turned and started walking again.
"!!!" The Demons awoke from their stupor and quickly ran toward Victor. Some flew, some jumped, but without exception, everyone was walking behind Victor.
"From now on, you are my legion of Demons, and you obey only me."
"Yes!"
And that was how Victor gained 60,000 Demons under his command, a number that promised to grow as he traversed through this world.
And it was also this incident that placed Victor among one of the fastest Beings in the world. He"d managed to kill over 40 thousand Demons and a Demonic Duke in 3 seconds, exhibiting a speed the likes of which were only ever displayed by Messenger G.o.ds like Hermes.
And Mortals like Annasthas.h.i.+a Fulger, The Leader of Clan Fulger,
Dubbed the fastest woman alive.
On that day, the ma.s.ses bestowed a new t.i.tle upon Victor:
The Fastest Man Alive, a direct compet.i.tor to Annasthas.h.i.+a Fulger.
Some expected that at some point in the future, there would be a duel between the two to decide who was the fastest Being alive. They believed it would be an interesting fight.
Little did they know that Annasthas.h.i.+a Fulger and Victor Alucard were having a different kind of "fight" in bed every night, one that he always won.
Therefore, such a future where the two fought seriously against each other was highly unlikely because, unlike Scathach, Natas.h.i.+a just wanted to love and be loved by Victor. She didn"t feel the need to compete to decide who was stronger or, in this case, faster.
...
"… That recording was from 15 days ago in the Demon World."
"..." Diablo looked at Baal with a neutral gaze, but it was clear to Baal that his King was irritated if his glittering eyes were any indication of his mood.
Baal could understand Diablo"s irritation. Dealing with matters in the Demon World while in the Mortal World was problematic because Time pa.s.sed differently. Consequently, there were problems in communication. The same could be said for contacting Diablo"s "Elites", the Deadly Sins, who were currently spread across other h.e.l.ls and Pantheons.
"How much have his Legions grown?"
"I don"t know about his Legions; he doesn"t seem to care. He"s just moving from territory to territory of Demonic Pillars and repeating what he"s been doing."
"Of the Ranks 40 to 44 of the Demonic Pillars, only number 42, Vepar, sided with Alucard. The rest were all killed, and a percentage of their remaining Demonic forces taken."
"The latest number of Demons under Alucard"s command is around 500,000, with the margin of error being substantial due to the difference in Time. Therefore, this number could be much higher than expected."
"..." Literal veins began appearing on Diablo"s head, bulging out exaggeratedly.
"We cannot forget Vine, the former 45th Rank Pillar. She is currently engaging Ranks 46 to 60."
"Although we don"t have information about her yet, she doesn"t seem to have made any progress on Alucard"s order."
"… How can you not know anything about her? She"s just an insignificant Pillar. It shouldn"t be a problem for you."
"True, but… I can"t find her."
"…Elaborate."
"No matter how of h.e.l.l I scour, I can"t place her. It"s like she"s been hidden from my senses; this has been occurring ever since her "evolution"."
Of the Rank 1"s Authorities, knowing the location of all the Pillars was a privilege of the "King" of the Pillars. Because of this ability, Baal learned of Sitri"s invasion of his domain in the past.
An ability only Diablo and Baal know the existence of.
A hush fell over the place. The Demon King was obviously thinking about his next course of action.
"It was for a situation like this that I closed off h.e.l.l. I couldn"t risk my influence diminished by foreign Beings." Diablo was aware of the plan of Niklaus, James, and Fanir concerning Alucard.
But he didn"t say anything about it because even he had underestimated Victor"s ability. He didn"t expect a Mortal being capable of surviving the Miasma of h.e.l.l.
"All my Elites from rank 1 to 20 are currently in the Mortal World, the Deadly Sins are scattered around doing their quests, and the Hors.e.m.e.n are..." Diablo"s eyes gleamed.
"Baal."
"Yes, My King?"
"How long will it take Pride to return to h.e.l.l and sort this out?"
"… 2 days in the Mortal World, 30 to 60 days in the Demon World, depending on Alucard"s current location."
"...."
"That"s too long; I"m sending War and Death."
"My King… is that wise? The war with the Angels could break out at any moment, and we will need them for when the time comes."
"Not to mention that Alucard isn"t exactly weak... He"s gotten a lot stronger since the time he"d come to rescue the Heirs of the Factions."
A feat that Baal was shocked at. How could a person become so strong all of a sudden? How was that fair? How many people took years to get stronger, and yet Alucard achieved such growth in a short amount of time?!
And it wasn"t an ordinary power boost.
Before, he couldn"t fight with Agares, but with his previous display of speed and the fight with Vine,
Baal was sure that the man would no longer flee from Agares as before.
"Because of that, I am sending Death and War."
"Both brothers can handle this snag."
"… My King, out of all due respect, I beg you to send all four Hors.e.m.e.n."
"... Oh?"
"Alucard, as you yourself described him, is a "Hero". He grows stronger with each adversity he encounters. Sending War and Death alone will be difficult for Alucard to fight, but I"m 90% sure he will be able to defeat them or even run away if things go awry."
"The speed he can currently achieve is extremely troublesome to deal with."
"A combination of Famine and Death will be essential to sealing his speed,"
"While War and Pestilence will be the vanguard that keeps him busy."
"War is an extremely lethal warrior, Alucard will not be able to ignore him and look out for others, and as we know, the brothers work very well together."
"With this formation, it is guaranteed that Alucard will die or, at the very least, be extremely harmed."
"But there is a problem with this option."
"If a possible battle between the Angles occurs, My King will be without his best warriors, and our allies are busy with their respective Mythologies. The only one around to help is King Yama, but as he himself said, he is on "vacation". Therefore, you will likely need to sacrifice something for him to help you."
That was a possibility that Diablo thought as well when he"d heard what Baal said.
"…With the four brothers, what do you predict the outcome to be?"
"I would say it"s a 30% chance of losing."
"For the brothers?"
"Wrong, My King. For Alucard."
"...." Diablo opened his Demonic eyes a little.
"Do you hold him in such high regard?"
"My King, name one Being that has managed to jump from the level of a Newborn Vampire to being able to fight against Elder Vampires and even completely decimate Demon Dukes like it was the easiest thing in the world in a timeframe of just five years."
"...."
"We all underestimate Alucard"s potential. I"ve never seen a Vampire with such a wide array of Powers and such dedication to getting stronger. His thought process is abnormal. He never seems to be satisfied with his current strength. What those with a common mindset would be satisfied with, Alucard never is. He continuously strives to get even stronger."
"It"s like he has a goal to get stronger constantly, and he"s pus.h.i.+ng his limits every chance he gets."
That was Baal"s psychological a.s.sessment of Victor. The Rank 1 Demon couldn"t understand why Alucard was so focused on getting stronger. It was not like he was at war or had lost someone important and was out for revenge.
The motivation behind Victor"s obsession with getting stronger was a very foreign concept to Baal now.
"I repeat your words from before. Alucard is a "Hero". He will get stronger the more difficulties he goes through, and h.e.l.l... Is a place full of "difficulties"."
"We need to deal with him now, or this thorn will cease being a small problem and will eventually transition into a much bigger one."
"..." Diablo was silent for a few seconds, until he spoke.
"Very well. Send the four brothers and contact Rank 61, Zagan. I want him to help too. He is currently in h.e.l.l, correct?"
"..." Baal"s face distorted for a few seconds when he heard Zagan"s name, but soon returned to normal. The reason for this was that even Baal didn"t like to interact with that troublesome Demon. He was a Joker in all situations.
"Yes, he"s there."
"Good."
"I want this quest complete and Alucard dead. In the meantime, I"ll take care of the glorified pigeons."
"… Has our spy infiltrated them yet?"
"He didn"t make it. The Inquisition has gotten pretty strict, but... One of my informants found out what Gabriel"s next mission was."
"And that is...?"
"An opportunity. One I intend to exploit."
"Go do your job."
"Yes, My King."
When Baal left, Diablo felt a gaze on his body. He turned his face and saw Lilith staring at him with lifeless eyes, but he could clearly feel the hatred contained in that dull gaze.
"...Troublesome woman. You should just give up and become my puppet." Diablo thought in disdain.
The will of the Mother of Demons was strong. She was resisting what had been done to her whenever she could.
"Tsk, if she were a complete puppet, I could have sent Lilith to deal with Alucard. No matter Alucard"s strength, he still can"t handle someone of G.o.d-King level like Lilith."
"Asmodeus, are the preparations ready?"
A darkened spirit appeared in front of Diablo and spoke in a distorted voice containing several voices within:
"Yes, My King. I"m currently in the lab. The research results involving our "guest"s" gift are available for you to claim at your leisure."
"I will go now."
.....