The Seventh Research - Inflection Point of Fate (4)
The devils of Gehenna and the demons of the Abyss hated each other as much as they hated angels. Their aesthetics of Evil differed so sharply that they had waged wars of slaughter across eternity.
Yet as the Sun God’s faith grew powerful, the Devil King and the Mother of Demons forged a truce. They set aside their philosophical differences over Evil and agreed to focus on drowning the world in darkness.
This pact was known as the Unholy Alliance.
A clear omen that the end of the world drew near.
Unholy Alliance
Experience +10
Lore Point +1
90/100 until Level 31
Lore Points: 22
“So you intend to shatter the Unholy Alliance.”
“You see clearly.”
“That was a treaty my father spent a thousand years preparing. He had to persuade the Mother of Demons—who delights in breaking oaths—to accept it.”
Demons were creatures of pure impulse; the very concept of an alliance was foreign to them. They chased nothing but immediate pleasure.
That was why the devils had yielded so much ground.
Only then could the demons be appeased.
And yet.
To break a truce achieved with such difficulty… on a whim?
“This is betrayal of the entire devil race.”
“It is.”
“It goes beyond betraying even your father.”
Lucifeles gazed down at the Abyss with somber eyes. The summoning of powerful warrior-type demons to the material plane had left its defenses dangerously thin.
“We devils accumulate power by committing evil according to law and logic. Conversely, we lose that power every time we break an oath.”
Lucifeles’ own name was recorded on the treaty of the Unholy Alliance. Invading the Abyss would therefore strip him of his strength.
“Moreover—”
“You mean to save your mother?”
“…”
“If you intend to rescue her, you must abandon everything your father gave you.”
Authority.
Power.
Even your ambitions.
“Choose.”
“…”
“The choice you make now cannot be undone.”
“…”
“Remember that debt and privilege are inherited together. There is no path that lets you enjoy your father’s power while saving your mother.”
Lucifeles bit his lip and looked back. Gehenna’s field army stood ready, awaiting only his command. If such a host descended upon the surface, even the Empire would not last three days.
“…”
Besides, among the seven hells, Gehenna was the strongest and wealthiest domain. His half-siblings’ envy had not been misplaced.
“If I seize my father’s throne—”
“Every desire and wish you carry was planted by the Hell King.”
He already knew it.
He had simply looked away.
“You can never defeat the Hell King by following the ways of Hell. The time has come to accept that truth.”
There was no time left.
Decide.
“…”
The great demon born human lowered his gaze to his reflection in the ashen river. There stood a fully armed Archduke of Hell—terrifying and magnificent, reminiscent of the evil gods of antiquity.
“…”
When his hand rested on the demonic blade at his waist, transcendent power surged through him. A single swing could annihilate ten thousand mortals. The Flame Sword of Apocalypse—an artifact that symbolized his father’s favor.
“…All troops.”
But that, too, had surely been part of his father’s scheme.
To set his children against one another.
“Invade the Abyss!”
Kwaaaaaaaa—!
The moment the Flame Sword of Apocalypse tore open the dimensional boundary, the devils of Gehenna surged into the Abyss. Sensing the anomaly, the Hell King ordered the entire army to halt, yet Gehenna’s field army obeyed only their direct superior in accordance with military law. Soldiers followed officers, officers followed generals, and the generals followed none but Lucifeles.
It was no mere order but a command infused with the authority of Hell itself. The Lucifeles of the original timeline would have possessed neither the means nor the will to resist.
“Father.”
Yet the Lucifeles of today succeeded in defying it.
All thanks to the necklace radiating brilliant starlight.
“I will follow you no longer.”
Subject defies sovereign
Lv90 Archdevil → Lv80 Archdevil
Lv80 Archdevil → Lv70 Archdevil
“I wanted to be your son.”
“You are my most beloved youngest child!”
“No.”
You do not know what love is.
You do not know what a father and son are.
“I desperately longed for your approval and love. But I see now that I will never receive what I desire.”
I would have accepted you even as the King of Hell. I would have accepted your wish to bring about the world’s end.
“If only our family could be together again—”
“What nonsense is this?”
“If we could gather like we did when I was young, share a meal together, I thought nothing else in the world would matter.”
But.
I accept it now.
Such a future will never be granted to me.
“Stop this rebellion and return at once! I will grant whatever you wish!”
A satisfied smile formed at the panic in his father’s voice. For the first time, he had landed a blow.
“I refuse.”
Watch from your palace!
Watch as your grand design collapses!
Lv70 Archdevil → Lv60 Archdevil
With a sweep of the Flame Sword of Apocalypse, the warrior demons guarding the boundary were obliterated. One swing killed a hundred, two swings two hundred. The vanguard of Hell that followed Lucifeles thrust their spears with mechanical precision.
Hyaah!
Hyaah!
Hyaah!
Gehenna’s field army crushed the warrior demons and poured into the streets of the Abyss. The devil soldiers, guided by perfect discipline and malice far crueler than discipline, slaughtered every living thing in sight.
“Kill them all!”
“Kill them in the most efficient way possible!”
“We must maximize the body count!”
The hellish troops mercilessly carved apart even the tempting succubi and ignored the incubi who offered mortal souls in exchange for mercy.
“This alley has been cleared!”
“This alley is cleared as well!”
“Good! Slaughter them to the last!”
They reaped the demons’ lives like machines built solely for massacre. The devil soldiers harbored no personal grudge, yet their intent to demonstrate true evil was unmistakable.
“Discipline!”
“Brings victory!”
“Brings glory!”
“““It calls to us!”””
Witnessed the devils’ method of war!
Experience +10
Lore Point +1
Level up!
0/100 until Level 32
Lore Points: 23
“You filthy devil bastards—!”
The warrior demons who had descended to the surface rushed back to their homeland in panic, only to be butchered by the Gehenna field army waiting at the summoning point. Death within their home dimension was true death.
“This!”
“This is true evil!”
“You are nothing but fake evil!”
“You angelic frauds!”
The demons fled desperately toward the eternal pleasure harem where the Mother of Demons resided, begging for protection. The harem gates did not open.
“How amusing! How very amusing!”
The Queen of the Abyss slowly savored the souls of holy knights while cheerfully watching her own offspring being slaughtered.
“The devils have broken the truce they themselves proposed! What a delightful, joyous day! At last, those foolish devils are learning what true evil is!”
Save us, Your Majesty!
Save us, Mother!
Did you not promise us protection?!
“Hmm? Did I?”
Ah, that’s right.
I suppose I did.
“But watching you die is far more entertaining. Isn’t this the day you are betrayed by the very mother you trusted? It would ruin the fun if I suddenly displayed maternal love now.”
Kihihihi!
Kyahahahaha!
“Minions of Hell! Slaughter my sons and daughters! Make them scream and suffer! Kill them in the most painful, humiliating way possible!”
This was the decree of the Queen who ruled the Abyss!
“Now then, gentlemen and ladies of the harem! What are you waiting for? Dance and make love while savoring the screams of your brothers and sisters! Simply birth as many new children as those who die today! Wahahahahahaha!”
Witnessed the madness of the Abyss!
Experience +20
Lore Point +2
20/100 until Level 32
Lore Points: 25
“Grrrrraaaaaaaaah!”
“Kill them all and take everything!”
“Discipline! Maintain discipline!”
“Betrayal! Chaos! Massacre! Kyaahaha!”
The Queen’s decree drove even Gehenna’s field army into frenzy. The soldiers who had slaughtered with mechanical precision began killing their own officers, breaking formation, and indulging in torture and plunder.
“…!”
No longer did Gehenna’s field army obey even Lucifeles’ commands. The elite devil legion had transformed into demons crazed by madness.
This was the true power of the Queen who ruled the Abyss.
At that moment, a message from the Lore Master reached Lucifeles. Tellorian had been waiting outside the Abyss, concealing his presence.
“The portal is ready. Withdraw.”
“…”
Lucifeles spread the wings he had inherited from his father and escaped the Abyss. Another command from his father descended—return to Hell at once and face judgment—but he ignored that as well.
Lv60 Archdevil → Lv51 Archdevil
With a soft landing, Lucifeles touched down beside Tellorian. A portal leading to the material plane stood open amid the endless ashen wasteland.
“You want me to flee to the material plane?”
“Not flee. Return home.”
The material plane was the homeland of humans.
The land where his mother had been born and raised.
“Your mother’s homeland can become your homeland as well.”
“…”
“In exchange, you must abandon everything you gained in Hell. Treasures, titles, garments, even your magic power.”
What can I take with me?
“Only your mother’s necklace.”
“…”
“That is the only thing you may bring.”
Lucifeles stared at the Flame Sword of Apocalypse sheathed at his waist with complicated eyes. It symbolized his father’s expectations for him.
“…”
With all his strength, he hurled it away.
Into the endless Abyss.
Lv51 Archdevil → Lv50 Cambion
Lucifeles felt the permanence leave his body. He could no longer look down upon mortals from the heavens. From now on he would have to stand at their eye level and revere the transcendent.
“…Refreshing.”
Yet the feeling brought back a memory.
The lullaby his mother used to sing.
“Tellorian.”
The devil who had lost his power looked at his friend.
“I have done everything you asked. I defied my father’s orders and inflicted massive damage on both Hell and the Abyss. By abandoning the power of an Archdevil, I have also lost any chance to kill my father and seize the throne of Hell.”
Inflection Point of Fate
Devil Apocalypse Trigger weakened!
Research Clue 4/5
Experience +10
Lore Point +1
30/100 until Level 32
Lore Points: 26
“What fate awaits me now?”
“I no longer know your future either.”
Stepping toward the portal, Tellorian extended his hand to the troubled cambion.
“But we can create it together.”
“…”
“Let’s go back, my friend.”
A new homeland awaits.
The one to which you truly belong.
Upon returning to the mage tower, Elenstra—who had awakened from her prophetic dream—greeted them.
“…Tellorian.”
“I am glad you are safe, Elenstra.”
“Your actions have provoked the Hell King’s fury.”
Provoked a powerful transcendent!
Experience +20
Lore Point +2
50/100 until Level 32
Lore Points: 28
A small chuckle escaped him.
“It would be troublesome if he got angry already.”
This was only the beginning.
The traps he had prepared were—