I had finished gathering all the information needed, but the results were surprising.
I knew some things would go south, but I did not really expect it to be on this scale.
And, just somehow, I was transferred to a time period way ahead of schedule.
「That is not true. Your space-time transferr was with no time lag whatsoever.
The temporal and spatial coordinates were calculated with extreme precision, accounting for every intricate detail, and ensuring that the desired location was reached.
There were definitely no errors in the process.」
Does that mean I slept (was comatosed) for over half a millennium!?
「Yes.」
How is that possible!?!
「Time is non-existent in that instance; space has ceased to expand, and there is no exact time to record any occuring event.
In the first place, no type of event is expected to occur, eliminating the concept of duration.
Besides, nothing can occur in a spaceless world; leading to the deduction that time doesn't flow.
If time does not flow there, it means there is no time difference between the two realms.」
Oh, I see. So, even if I slept for eternity, I wouldn't know because of the non-existence of time.
That's insane.
Do you think the time leap would've been different if time flowed there?
「Yes.」
Naruhoodo… This is definitely a new discovery. I guess it's all in Reina-san's hand, right?
「Yes. Leave it to me.」
Good, good. I can do with this. Now, I could deal with the problematic situation.
I met up with Treyni, who seemed completely drained.
It must have been due to my absence.
I owe her an apology. She had tried her best.
With how hard she worked, I made her get a little break whilst I dealt with the rest.
My divine protection was established once more, and my authority flowed throughout the forest naturally.
Yes—They recognized it; the silver primordial had returned from the abyss, ready to cause chaos once more.
Kalisha: 「What's with the chuunibyou syndrome now?」
Oh? Are you finally speaking?
Kalisha: 「....」
*Sigh* Why are the women around me so difficult to cope with?
I made sure to unleash a bit of my haki, ensuring that it spread through the majority of the forest, whilst ensuring that it didn't escape or even reach the boundaries of it.
I had no need for attention at the moment.
In fact, I would rather hide in the shadows and strike Feldway back at an unexpected point in time.
This may as well bring me out in a positive light.
I had some people to attend to in the underworld, so I headed there.
With my ability to influence time and space to this extent, there was no issue with teleporting there directly.
I did so, making sure that my presence was well hidden.
I always had a knack for keeping secrets, so it was only normal for me to do so.
Usually, the place would be brimming with lots of demons, especially the demons from my lineage, but it seems the population had somewhat reduced.
I did care for them deeply, and unlike the rest, I viewed them as family.
They weren't just disposable pawns in my eyes, so it hurt to see others treating them as gum under the shoe.
I am a vengeful soul, so I can assure you that this deed would be repaid a hundred times over.
I flew all the way to my territory, and as expected, it was in ruins.
The damn bastard did not only kill millions of my demons, but he also went ahead to destroy my base.
If only that castle in heaven wasn't Veldanava's…
From my point of view, it seemed as if Feldway was angry at Veldanava.
Yes, he felt abandoned and rejected through and through in the otherworld, so it seemed only normal.
But he totally misunderstood it. It wasn't that Veldanava abandoned him; rather, he had his own duties to fulfill.
He can't just restrain his freedom for the likes of us.
He was a God in the truest sense of the word. He surely knows why he did so.
Besides, it reached me that Feldway was a spoilt brat.
Among the Primordial Nine Angels, Feldway was favored by Veldanava more than anyone.
He trusted Feldway the most, and he was useful to him the most.
That's why he was entrusted with the important task of monitoring Ivarage.
More than anything, Feldway's true body was proof of that.
In contrast to Veldanava, who had long, jet-black hair that held the glow of the stars like
the world itself, Feldway had long silver hair that represented the shining light of those same glowing stars.
Veldanava himself had created a body that resembled his own and given it to Feldway.
It was hard to believe that he would still voice his dissatisfaction despite receiving such special treatment.
At the very least, he should have consulted with Zalario and the others, who were in the
same position, and if he thought he'd been abandoned by Veldanava, then what about his treatment of Zalario and the rest?
Feldway is too selfish
Even I can't sympathize with him when he's using others as he pleases.
Well, I will still find solace in crushing their forte when the time is due, so there's no need to pout over spilled milk.
I had every intention of rebuilding this palace, or is it a temple?
Whatever it is, all I know is that I'm rebuilding it.
I arrived at my base, only to be met with a nice surprise.
They had already begun to rebuild the whole palace again.
They weren't progressing much, but seeing the effort they put in was enough to make all my anger towards the enemy disappear temporarily.
They had just ignited my heart with love.
At that moment, I proceeded to let off my magic signature.
I released my haki to get their attention, and that alone made all heads snap towards my direction.
Sariel: 「Hehe. I'm back!!」
「N-No way… Isn't that Sariel-sama?」
「Wait, wait, wait, you can't be serious. Our Lord is here!!」
「Yeah!! He could do us a bonus and kick that Birdway's ass! Wait, was it Birdway or Bigway? Meh, whatever.」
「Oi, oi! Get your eyes clean, fool! That's our lord you're talking about! Show some respect, asshole!!」
「Is it just me, or does he look hotter than a millennium ago?」
「Yeah, you're right! He's back bigger and hotter! That's our lord. Yes—Yes!」
「Definitely a smash!!」
These guys… they're talking about me…
I thought they would at least make a cool scene by getting in line, kneeling posture—and all.
I guess they're sorta hyperactive or something, but at least make my return epic damn it!
Sariel: 「Hey, hey, do you guys need to be taught everything?」
I pointed my index finger to the ground in front of me repeatedly.
Sariel: 「You know what to do, right?」
And to my shock, they seemed genuinely confused. Now I feel embarrassed.
Sariel: 「You know what, forget it. Just know that I'm back. Your long-awaited master has returned to you. I will ensure that your revenge will be enacted.」
As I said this, they all got excited. I could already tell that they had been holding the malice in their hearts.
Normally, I would try to quench the malice with sweet words, but here I am, igniting the seed of war.
It didn't matter. Feldway had gone too far with this, and I am willing to elongate his suffering as much.
With all the screaming of the demons, most of the demon generals came to fund out the cause for it, so we inevitably met.
Ramiel: 「Eh? Sariel-sama?」
Reika: 「No way, it's actually him.」
Such remarks were thrown around casually, and then the problem child came in.
Haruka: 「Sariel-samaaaa!!!」
Sariel: 「Gugh!!」
I was tackled to the ground in a tight embrace.
It was an impressive feat to tackle me so easily, considering my power.
She really was a problem to deal with.
As I raised my head to look at her face, she was actually crying?
Haruka: 「Sariel-sama's so mean!! You left me all alone. I had to face those scary monsters alone! Can you believe it!? I was this close to dying!」
She used her fingers to make a gesture of how thin her chances of survival were.
I actually had a little sympathy for her, but that tiny feeling would soon be crashed to several unrecoverable pieces. Very soon…
Sariel: 「Haha. No way, really?」
Haruka: 「Umu, umu!」
She nodded vigorously. I apologized for my absence and consoled her by patting her head affectionately.
It seemed that was what she aimed for as she had this silly, giddy smile plastered on her face.
Haruka: 「Can you believe those assholes!? They're all mouths and no brains!!
They all ditched me like I was some already-used tissue paper during the time of the attack!
I was left to battle for my life, engaging in a death match with the Emperor himself.
I nearly died! After that day, they bullied me every single day! Because you were not around, they had the power to gang up on me!」
Sariel: 「Wow, really?」
Haruka: 「Yosh! And that stupid Arion! Stupid, stupid, stupid!! He beat me up every single day just because he couldn't handle a little joke.
He spanked my ass when I was trying to pick up a stone on the ground, and if that's not enough, he cut me into a hundred pieces just because I did him a favor and took out some trash.」
Sariel: 「Hmm, now I feel bad for leaving you alone. Don't worry, I'm gonna spend a few years here before returning to the central world, okay?」
She nodded cutely to my statement with a brat-like giggle. I was kinda spoiling her a lot, but I don't really mind as long as she kept me out of trouble.
By this time, all the demon generals had appeared before me.
They all had a stupefied look of shock on their faces. It was almost scary.
Sariel: 「Hm? What is it?」
Where they shocked because of my presence or… Oh-Oh.
Arion: 「Lies, I say!! LIES!!! Sariel-sama, please don't pay mind to this degenerate. Every single thing she said was a lie.」
Great. Now I'm going to get caught up in the trouble.
Arion: 「Sir, she didn't even participate in the fight! She was kept in the temple to send out the demons in preparation for the fight!
The worst part of it is that she slept off on duty!! Who sleeps during a fight!?! The demons had to do everything on their own without us even knowing about shit.」
W-Wah!?! That's the pinnacle of recklessness!! She's like me!!
Xavier: 「He speaks the truth, Sariel-sama.
I found her playing that shogi game you introduced us to with a lesser demon, and when she lost the game, she burnt the whole board and demon into crisps.」
Sariel: 「WHAT!?! I WENT THROUGH HELL TO CREATE THAT MASTERPIECE!!!」
I turned to look at her with an enraged expression.
The anger I had for Feldway had just multiplied, and I was more than happy to vent on someone for a while.
Haruka: 「Hey, hey, hey, don't twist it now! Lying bastards go to heaven!」
Wait, am I a lying bastard?
Haruka: 「I did nothing of the sort! Surely Sariel-sama believes me compared to your half-assed excuse for calling yourselves demons, right?」
The argument went on like that. I honestly have no time for these types of things.
I'd handle them later.
Sariel: 「So, your master came back from work very tired, and what you can do best is to add more layers of depression to his stress? It seems I haven't raised you guys well…」
To this, they all remained silent with heads low.
Sariel: 「*Sigh* Forget what I said. I'm just gonna rest for a while.
I don't want any noice or argument. Do I make myself clear?」
They responded with silent nods. I was satisfied with this alone.
Sariel: 「Good. See ya all.」
Saying that, I left them alone.
I had finished gathering all the information needed, so now, it was time to relax and analyze and assess.
I headed for the bed in one of the small buildings spared from the destruction.
At least this facility was spared.
I laid down to rest on the bed and began to think about the events that had occurred.
It was already known that Feldway attacked my base, but there was another individual responsible for it, too.
According to the reports, he looked exactly like Rudra.
I didn't think Rudra would mindlessly attack me, so I can only take a wild guess.
Either it's an impersonator trying to guide me to eliminate Rudra by doing this, or it's an imposter taking control of Rudra's body.
I'd like to think of it as the second guess.
I mean, I don't see Feldway working with an imposter unless he simply did it because they were powerful enough.
But that's not like him. He'd rather work in solitude than work with someone who doesn't share the same ideal as him.
That's my read on him.
Even so, it would be foolish to completely put that possibility as an impossibility, so it's still within the consideration factor.
As for the central world, it seems some change has occurred in the demon lord faction.
There have been new individuals enlisted, and it was surprising to see Dino as a demon lord.
Well, since I never really paid attention to Guy's affairs, I did not realize that he had been a demon lord for some time.
Even Dagruel was part of the demon lord council.
It seems like Guy has begun to take in powerful individuals to get stronger.
I realized that he only focused on gathering those with ultimate skills.
It was a repetitive pattern that was realized after some time of investigation.
Even if they wielded no ultimate skill, they would, at least, possess the potential to awaken one.
Most of them were also awakened individuals.
I kinda made a theory as to why he went through with this.
His ultimate skill had the supreme ability to replicate skills.
I don't know the specifics, but it was capable of replicating skills he had analyzed.
Guy was also a genius when it came to analyzing the inner workings of one's skill.
He could deduce accurately the ability of an individual's skill by a mere glance.
This was why he was among the strongest.
He had worked his way to the top and was ready to do what it takes to remain there.
Seeing as he had the ability to replicate unique and ultimate skills alike, he might be aiming to get stronger by replicating most of the skills he deemed useful to him.
If I wanted to constantly play "transcendentally strong," I would do the same, too.
Well, all I can say is "Goodluck on that."
I didn't really mind as long as he minded his business.
If we were to ever fight, I would need to know a lot about him (his abilities).
If I were to take a wild guess on the skills he had successfully replicated, one would undoubtedly be Velzard's ultimate skill 『Patience King: Gabriel』.
That must be correct no matter how you look at it.
I would also include Rudra's 『Justice King: Michael』, but that's not really likely.
Rudra barely used his skills in their battle, so it was far from possible.
He may have been able to successfully replicate one of my skills, but that, too, is highly unlikely.
I don't think my tyrant would allow for such nonsense to pass by without judgment.
「It feels me with pride to see that you know me well.」
Right?
Moving on, he may have also been able to replicate Dino's ultimate ability... no, not possible.
The lazy bum would never take a fight seriously, and if it was one he couldn't win, he would withdraw quicker than the start of the battle.
Let's forget that matter. There are others I haven't mentioned, but that would happen on a later date.
For now, I'll focus on myself.
Guy had evolved into a higher level of power by collecting souls.
Now that the number of souls stored in my dimension had reached the million mark, I'm left wondering if my own spiritual constitution would evolve to become stronger.
Normally, I would only need thousands to meet the requirements, but with millions, it may take longer to fully adapt to the enormous evolution.
「Yes, that assumption is correct.
Due to the amount of souls and energies you'll deal with, it would take longer than usual.
Not to mention the fact that your soul would need to adapt to the evolved demon factor.
That alone would take years to accomplish. Being impatient would only spell your doom.」
I see, that means if I were to begin this evolution, I would be inactive for some good period of time.
「Yes.」
Since I'm in my domain and have relatively nothing to do, what do you say about beginning the evolution now?
「Is that okay? As I said, it would take years, approximately two years.」
Hmm, sure it is. There's no way I'm doing this evolution in the cardinal world.
「I see. Then, I shall begin the process immediately. Once I release the soul dimension's lock, all the souls would flow to your body. Please be careful.」
Alright. That's the plan.
Saying that, I got ready for whatever crazy that was coming.
I made sure to alert my subordinates ahead of time in the case where they see me in a comatosed state.
—And as expected, the weight was much.
As she released the souls, an influx of various energies assaulted (filled) my body.
There was no pain felt whatsoever, but the wave of drowsiness hit me like a storm.
The process began as soon as that happened.
Earlier, I had asked Reina-san to reestablish the soul corridir I had with the remaining demons under me in the underworld.
So, like the last time, gifts were going to be shared.
Although the form in which it would be given was unknown, as long as it was given, I cared less.
Then, the thought crossed my mind.
If the usual announcements were made, it would no longer be a secret, would it.
All the sneaky stuff would be exposed, and my plans would be all for naught.
But then, the "Jesus" of my life spoke up.
「It is possible to alter the laws using primitive magic. That way, you would be the only one to receive the information. Should that be implemented?」
Ahh~, truly, I had a blessing in my life.
「..... Should it be implemented?」
Sheesh. What's with the sudden coldness?
「...... Should it be imple–」
YES—YES!!
Saying that, I felt a huge chunk of my energy being used as sacrifice or whatever.
It seems that to alter pre-existing laws through magic required a lot of energy for compensation.
I didn't mind as long as the desired result was achieved.
I had remained for long enough, and my consciousness began to thin out.
I figured that collecting souls would drastically increase one's power.
My soul dimension also increased my power in accordance with the number of souls stored.
Hence, these two factors worked in sync to boost my abilities.
So, if all were used in this evolution, would my power drop to the level of a genuine Demon God?
The answer is a flat yes and a wobbly no.
My power would be elevated to new heights through evolution, but the factor responsible for the abnormal increase in power would remain no more.
So, it all depended on the results and gifts given through this evolution.
As my consciousness was on the brink of blacking out, I made a single selfish demand.
"Reina-san, please ensure my safety at all costs."
Saying that, my consciousness blacked out.
Deep within my subconsciousness, reports were delivered.
VOTW: 「Conditions have been met. The individual Sariel shall begin their evolution into a Devil Lord.
Upon its completion, gifts will be bestowed upon the demons under their genealogy.」
From there, a huge change began.
VOTW: 「Report. The Harvest Festival has begun. Your bodily structure will be reconstructed in order to evolve you into a new species.
Confirmed. Super-evolution from type "demon peer" to type "Devil Lord"… successful. All bodily attributes have been greatly enhanced.
The material and spiritual bodies are now freely transformable.」
Hmm, good, good. Now, I won't need to waste a lot of energy to transform my material body.
Let's see what happens next.
VOTW: 「Intrinsic skills 『Soul Resonance』, 『Existence Erasure』, 『Attribute Neutralization』, 『Soul Lord's Haki』acquired. Evolution is now
complete.」
Hm? This is completely different from the skills I expected.
VOTW: 「Reacquiring resistances…successful. Evolution is now
complete.」
Well, that was eventful. I didn't expect the new skills, but I can't wait to see what they do.
Just then, it was decided that I wouldn't remain stubborn.
I fully gave in to the relentless drowsiness knocking at my subconsciousness, then, in the truest sense of the word, I lost consciousness.
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Word Count: 「3560」.