Chapter 204: Reinvasion (1)
Chapter 204: Reinvasion (1)
The power struggle that had been brewing among Asmodeus’s demons was settled much faster than expected.
Sitri had held an absolute position as the undisputed boss among Asmodeus’s followers, and the high-ranking demons beneath her had never dared to show their ambition because of her presence. On the surface, it had seemed as though all the executives possessed roughly equal levels of power and influence.
However, now that Sitri—the one who had acted as their limiter—was gone, the demons who had been biding their time began to show their true colors. They fought one another with cold-blooded cruelty to eliminate their rivals.
In the midst of this strife, some demons attempted to bring in outside factions serving other Evil Gods to gain an advantage. This, however, proved to be a fatal misstep. The demons who had been watching from the sidelines felt a strong sense of repulsion toward those who sought external help, and Deborah was the first to capitalize on this sentiment.
Deborah was well-known to everyone as Sitri’s loyal subordinate. While Sitri was present, Deborah had never shown a hint of ambition, acting as if she were nothing more than a faithful servant. She had executed every mission Sitri gave her to perfection, and Sitri, in turn, had trusted her abilities and relied on her heavily.
Even so, Sitri had never shown favoritism. She was meticulous in distributing rewards based on merit and treated everyone fairly as long as they were capable. Because of this, the executives under Sitri had remained on relatively equal footing.
But once the situation changed and everyone began fighting for their own ambitions, Deborah’s superior capabilities truly began to shine. She rallied the demons she had previously befriended and those who already followed her. Then, she systematically targeted and eliminated the factions she deemed weak, absorbing their forces one by one.
It was because of Deborah’s rapid movements that her rivals had tried to seek help from outside forces, but as mentioned, it backfired. The unaligned demons of Asmodeus felt a deep aversion to such moves. Sensing this immediately, Deborah denounced those rivals, declaring that their problems should be solved among Asmodeus’s own kind. This stance won her widespread support.
Riding this momentum, Deborah suppressed all remaining competitors and rose to the position of leader, commanding the demons of Asmodeus. The leaders of the factions serving each Evil God were collectively granted the title of Duke, and Deborah finally attained the rank she had always dreamed of.
It would be a lie to say the demons serving other Evil Gods weren't envious, but they didn't find the outcome particularly objectionable. After all, now was not the time for internal squabbles that would only weaken them. They all shared a common goal: to escape Nippur, the place where they were currently trapped, and reach Earth.
Despite several recent failures, they felt they were making progress. They had steadily weakened the Dimensional Barrier, managed to send demons to Earth once, and had already established Demonic Humans there. After a brief period of inactivity following Sitri’s disappearance, the demons were once again moving to invade Earth.
A high-level meeting was convened, bringing together the executives and leaders of the various demon factions. It was Deborah’s first official appearance as the new leader of Asmodeus’s demons.
With her dark green hair tied up in intricate braids, Deborah was a Succubus, much like Sitri. She, too, placed great importance on honing her martial arts and increasing her power. However, she was willing to use any means necessary to grow stronger and climb the ranks. Unlike Sitri, who had the pride of a warrior and focused on martial discipline, Deborah was a creature who wouldn't hesitate to perform any dirty or despicable deed.
Furthermore, she handled matters with cold efficiency. In a way, she was the most "exemplary" of demons—one who lived and breathed the logic of the survival of the fittest.
Deborah knew better than anyone that she was still inferior to Sitri. That was the very reason she had held her breath and hidden her ambition while serving under her. She knew others would compare her to Sitri and look down on her. Even by her own standards, Sitri was an undeniably exceptional demon.
That was why she envied Sitri and harbored a deep-seated inferiority complex. On the outside, she was the perfect subordinate who followed Sitri’s orders to the letter, but her heart was a different story. She had worked tirelessly just to prove she was better than Sitri, yet no matter how hard she tried, she knew she couldn't surpass her. A sense of psychological defeat had taken deep root within her, and she cursed the reality of being unable to overcome Sitri’s shadow.
After years of this, when Sitri recently pushed for the plan to go to Earth through a rift in the Dimensional Barrier, Deborah had offered only a formal, token objection.
‘Please, just die.’
Everyone knew that a rift in an unstable Dimensional Barrier carried immense risk. Sitri knew it too, but when she insisted on seeing it through, Deborah secretly prayed for her misfortune.
‘If only you disappear, then I…!’
Her expression had remained unchanged, and she had perfectly suppressed her aura, so no one noticed her true intentions. However, she had not volunteered to go to Earth with Sitri. The demons who were willing to take risks to rise higher and those who truly followed Sitri entered the Dungeon with her, while Deborah simply watched.
And when the signal from the Dungeon Sitri had boarded vanished and contact was lost—just as she had hoped—Deborah screamed with joy inside. The greatest obstacle blocking her path was gone. Moreover, the fact that Sitri had vanished due to her own "stupid," self-destructive choice gave Deborah a small, intoxicating sense of victory.
Deborah glanced sideways at Herod, the Duke who ruled over the demons of Mammon. He was a demon with a slim build, wearing a golden coat. His appearance was remarkably similar to a human’s. Catching her gaze, he smirked.
Before attending today’s meeting, Deborah had contacted him immediately after consolidating her power and cleaning up the internal affairs of Asmodeus’s demons. She did this because Herod’s own position was currently precarious. His recent plan to create an Ego Artifact and use it to produce Demonic Humans on Earth—aiming to sow discord and weaken humanity—had ended in a major failure.
While his standing within Mammon’s faction was still fine, he had lost face in the competition against other demon factions. He had invested significant resources into the invasion of London, only to be repelled with nothing to show for it. Had he at least saved many of the Demonic Humans, it might have been different, but the Demonic Humans in the European region had suffered near-total annihilation, making further operations there impossible. At the very least, such plans would be a pipe dream for the foreseeable future.
Deborah felt that as a rising power following in Sitri’s footsteps, she would have to bow too low to the other established Demon Dukes. Therefore, the wounded Herod was, in her mind, the perfect partner.
Herod had been quite impressed by Deborah’s initiative when she first reached out. She had contacted him the moment she seized power, proposing that they cooperate to strengthen each other’s positions. Herod had no reason to refuse, so he accepted immediately, and the two formed a secret alliance behind the scenes.
Herod, who had been sitting in silence, now requested the floor.
“I have prepared a new plan. I developed it alongside the new Duke Deborah, and it is quite promising.”
“You’ve already prepared something after the last failure?”
“Aren’t you rushing things a bit too much?”
The reactions were predictably cold. It was a natural response, considering he had suffered a major defeat not long ago. Despite this, Herod remained composed. He interlaced his fingers and leaned forward, explaining the plan he and Deborah had devised with an air of confidence.
“Don’t trust me; trust Duke Deborah. She provided excellent inspiration. Once you hear it, you’ll change your minds.”
Given Herod’s confident demeanor, the other demons decided to listen.
“The gist of it is… the demons of Mammon and the demons of Asmodeus joining forces to carry out the operation together.”
Some of the demons, who had been lounging dismissively, straightened their posture as Herod spoke. They began to realize that it was actually a very solid plan.
“What do you think?” Herod asked, looking around at everyone with confidence after finishing his explanation.
“It’s a good plan. It seems worth a try.”
“I apologize for doubting you. This looks promising.”
As positive reactions poured in, Herod and Deborah looked at each other, silently celebrating their success.