Chapter 210

“This is John and Mia—they’re the ones harassed by that demon.”

Both smiled awkwardly, Mia still holding the child in her arms.

Ed surveyed them briefly, found nothing unusual, then walked aside with Perez to begin talking.

Soon, the two began arguing fiercely.

They argued because, while they agreed on reporting the incident to the Church, they disagreed on what to do about Louis, who had taken the demon.

Instead, they had diverged.

Ed didn’t want to report what he had learned, but Perez refused—he wanted to submit a full report on everything that had happened.

He believed no information related to this event could be concealed, or it would mislead the Church and cause harmful consequences; moreover, that man had taken the demon and must be found.

Ed couldn’t convince him, so they remained at odds, arguing back and forth.

Their loud voices successfully disrupted the concealment spell Louis had left behind, drawing the attention of nearby police.

“Hey!”

“Stop! Stop right now!”

“Warning you!”

Seeing the police instantly draw their guns, everyone turned pale and reacted correctly.

They raised their hands while speaking to explain.

They dared not make any move to pull out anything or run—after all, the situation in America was unique; police were always on edge, especially during major cases, and no one knew if the other side was armed, risking a chaotic gunfight.

Ed reluctantly raised his hands, glanced at Perez, still furious, and sighed.

“Luo Lin, it seems we have to contact the Church.”

Luo Lin, who had been rubbing her eyes all along, nodded.

Eventually, police cars arrived and took all of them back to the station.

This incident was too big; though the internet wasn’t highly developed, information still leaked out, even though the Bureau, possessing America’s most advanced technology, had intervened.

The pressure on the local police department was unimaginable.

Citizens didn’t care whether this was a natural disaster—they only knew they had been threatened, and the police they paid taxes to had failed to protect them, choosing to flee—even faster than they did!

Thus, Ed’s group, appearing at the disaster site and acting suspiciously, was clearly a perfect target to divert attention.

After the firefighters arrived, water cannons were set up, foam deployed, and vast quantities of liquid began pouring into the crack.

But.

As they poured the liquid, a dark shadow flickered through the water, drifting along with it toward the sewer.

……

While Louis struggled cunningly to imprison Marduk’s avatar.

On the other side of the world’s space.

In modern society, scientists had many theories and studies on space: dimensional worlds, parallel worlds, otherworlds, alternate dimensions…

There were countless of them.

Some were correct; others were pure fantasy.

Hell was very close to their theories of dimensional worlds and otherworlds.

If the world were described as a pair of twins, then Hell and the mortal realm were such a pair; as for Heaven, Mount Olympus, and other “divine realms,” they were massive alternate spaces carved out from the mortal realm.

Conversely, Hell, no smaller than the mortal realm, contained countless “divine realms” from mythologies: the Underworld, Hell, the River Styx, and more.

But unlike the mortal realm, where God had wiped out most pantheons, Hell was far more chaotic.

It was a constant cycle: you finish your performance, I take the stage; fortune turns endlessly.

Today, it’s my turn, King Hades dominates; tomorrow, it’s Hel; the day after, Osiris…

There was no true King of Hell.

Until God’s favorite angel, the Morning Star, led one-third of the angels in rebellion.

Satan—the Enemy of God.

Lucifer gained the title of Satan and led the demons born from one-third of the angels to conquer vast stretches of Hell, subjugating other mythological underworlds; though he fell short of God’s grand achievement, it was no small feat.

Thus, the title “Satan,” once applicable to any being opposing God, became to some extent his exclusive designation.

Hell.

Pandemonium—or, the Ten Thousand Swords Mountain.

On a pitch-black land burning with black flames stood a colossal palace spanning countless miles; at every moment, countless minor demons and demon-bloods carried materials to build, expand, and modify the palace complex.

The overseers of these slaves were the legion under Mammon, one of the Demon Lords.

“Hey!”

“Hey!”

“Hey!”

A terrifying, pitch-black, horned beast with a bull’s head!

This was a bull-blooded demon, descended from the Minotaur of Greek myth, transformed over a thousand years in Hell into a full demon-blood, serving as a laborer in this palace.

They carried stone pillars into the palace.

Nearby, tiny demons, barely over a meter tall, used sharp teeth and claws to carefully polish crystals into ceilings or floors; they were the most widespread beings in Hell.

Though called “demons,” they had no relation to true demons.

They possessed intelligence, were cruel by nature, reproduced rapidly, and often served as both soldiers and food for true demons—yes, dual roles.

Naturally, such grueling labor as palace construction couldn't do without them; countless were captured daily, brainwashed by magic, and thrown into the construction process.

In addition, there were spirits burning in candles as light sources, giants serving as beams, half-demons with human forms preparing food, and legion demons riding monstrous beasts to hunt down minor demons and spirits…

This was a structure that would never be completed.

Within this Ten Thousand Swords Mountain.

Only demons were entitled to a small palace; greater demons had larger ones, but only those reaching the level of Demon God could cover an entire region, achieving the feat of one palace per region.

Because a Demon God commanded vast numbers of demons and greater demons, combining into a massive palace complex.

And in the southeast corner of this vast Ten Thousand Swords Mountain.

At the center of a palace complex.

A vast hall built of black crystal, candles burning and releasing faint souls, whose screams formed a symphony of torment.

The grand throne, illuminated by fire, cast a long, wide black shadow.

And within that shadow.

The familiar four-horned demon Marduk knelt trembling on the ground, prostrate, terrified.

His expression was frantic; he dared not even breathe loudly.

Upon the golden throne, intricately carved with musical instruments, sat a cat-headed humanoid with a yellow feline head, muscular and powerfully built, limbs long yet strong, a tail swaying lazily.

Beside the throne lay a gray-white steed, covered in scales, wisps of black mist seeping from the gaps between scales and from its nostrils and mouth.

The cat-headed being was one of the Seventy-Two Demon Gods, among the most powerful, bearing the title of Demon Lord: the former angel—Bereit.

He held a flute but did not play; instead, he stared coldly at Marduk on the ground, his tail flicking slightly, producing sharp sonic booms.

“Marduk, I recall you were the first in our legion to successfully summon an avatar, correct?”

Bereit spoke.

His voice carried the sharpness of a feline.

Marduk swallowed hard. “Yes, Legion Commander.”

“Then why are you telling me your avatar is gone?”

“Legion Commander, it wasn’t intentional—it was coincidence. My avatar was destroyed by a strange priest.” Marduk hurried to explain.

He truly hadn’t expected it.

Losing the avatar was bad enough, but his luck was even worse.

Just as his superior, Bereit, summoned him to quickly manifest his true form to complete a mission, his avatar had been captured—making true-form descent vastly harder.

But its avatar was just captured, making the difficulty of its true form manifesting skyrocket.

His superior didn’t care whether it was bad luck.

“Heh. You say a Church member destroyed it—I won’t argue. But you call him a ‘priest’? Marduk, have I been too lenient with you? Would you like to listen to a concert inside my flute?”

“Hehe, you say it was dealt with by the Church, I won’t press you on that—but you actually mentioned a priest, Malesus? Has I been too easy on you? Would you like to come listen to a concert inside my flute?”

The flute in his hand trembled slightly, revealing the holes hidden beneath his fingers—inside, countless tiny souls screamed, clutching their ears in agony!

As if enduring some unimaginable punishment.

Even suicide was impossible.

Bereit loved music most of all—and especially concerts. Yes, concerts—this concept from the mortal realm was his favorite.

Even on campaign, he preferred his subordinates playing different horns as accompaniment.

But what he played was never pleasant; for his subordinates, Bereit’s flute was the most terrifying punishment.

But what he played were never anything pleasant; for subordinates, Beret’s flute was the most terrifying punishment.

Marduk dropped to his knees and begged for mercy, revealing his backup plan.

“Legion Commander! I still have followers in the mortal realm—I still have a sliver of power taken away, and soon I’ll be able to summon another avatar!”

“Commander! I still have followers in the mortal realm, a sliver of my power was taken, and I’ll be summoned again soon—my avatar can manifest again.”

A piercing flute note erupted.

A wave of sound, like ripples in water, hurled Marduk through the air like a bullet, slamming him into the wall; one-third of his black demonic aura instantly dissipated.

A wave of sound, like ripples on water, sent Malesus flying through the air; he slammed into the wall like a bullet, and one-third of the black demonic energy on his body dispersed in an instant.

But no matter what, as long as it wasn’t captured inside the flute or killed outright, that was the best outcome.

“I’ll give you some time to do it quickly. If you fail to meet Mamen the Demon King’s requirements, you won’t live to see another day.”

Biret elegantly licked his paw and spoke thus.

Marsas, who had narrowly escaped death, had no room to refuse; he quickly agreed and moved to withdraw.

But at that moment, a horn was thrown toward him.

It landed in his arms.

(End of Chapter)