Chapter 230: Cognitive Hell: The Seven Sin Demons, Demon Ranks

“No!!!”

A piercing scream echoed through the chamber, sounding like a crow, a dog-fox, a tiger’s roar—strange beyond words, constantly shifting…

The realm of consciousness.

The clouds that had once covered the sky had shrunk; the blue lightning within them had thickened twofold, now as wide as an arm.

The storm clouds, once merely mimicking heavenly wrath, now carried a hint of judgment.

Gazing at the shattered remains of Malsas’s projection—its self-awareness obliterated, reduced to fragments—the blue lightning pupils flickered with exhaustion.

Lightning flashed; the clouds dispersed.

Louis’s consciousness returned to stillness.

He opened his eyes.

A flickering, unstable lightning glimmered within them.

He looked down at the ground.

On the ground, the demons’ condition was grim: the lustful demon Abalam was reduced to nothing but a modified husk and scattered soul fragments.

Malsas’s projection had left not a trace behind.

The demon Jester had not been destroyed, but now cowered inside the music box, daring not even to breathe.

Alice, the Gluttony Witch—a rare demonic spirit—had likewise been incinerated, her soul brutally stripped before death.

The remaining soul of the Moth God was unusual: though fully incinerated, the soul-searching had failed to yield results.

Though the Moth God’s consciousness was feeble, it still held a proud spirit; during the soul-searching, it shattered itself outright, denying any chance of humiliation.

The fortune-teller’s soul was peculiar—linked to an unknown entity—so Louis had not yet acted upon her.

At this moment.

Louis looked at what remained of the demons, his fingers brushing lightly over the interdimensional stone box, the tarot card box, and the music box, his expression calm.

Having incinerated Abalam, Malsas, Alice the Gluttony Witch, and the Moth God’s remnant—all four met the demonic rank requirement—Louis now needed only five more to fulfill the demonic trial.

Through soul-searching Abalam, Malsas, Alice, and the demon Jester, Louis now understood Hell and witches far more deeply.

No longer was it like viewing through fog—he now saw the truth.

“Huh… Hell really isn’t a good place. The environment is brutal, and even the demons I thought were common aren’t nearly as numerous as I imagined. Summoning demons via ritual is far harder than I thought.”

As Louis organized the compressed memories from the demons into book-like forms, he sighed.

What is called Hell.

Is the opposite of the mortal world.

Its territory is boundless, far larger than Earth, yet most regions are vast and sparsely populated, relying solely on Hell’s soil to spontaneously generate evil lifeforms—minor demons being the most numerous among them.

Only a few regions corresponding to the mortal world are wildly prosperous, for they have opened soul channels to the mortal realm, where mortal souls fall into Hell to become food, new evil lifeforms, or fertilizer for the land.

As previously understood, demons are limited in number, though none of these demons knew why.

Currently, Hell’s greatest powers are the Seven Primordial Sin Demons.

Pride—Lucifer, former Archangel of Heaven, God’s favorite, the Morning Star, King of Kings, the truest Satan, and now Hell’s strongest being!

Greed—Mamen, one of Heaven’s angels, who fell due to insatiable greed for wealth and jewels; after his fall, he once served as a demon god in the mortal world’s Zoroastrian faith, then entered Hell after Lucifer’s fall, commanding evil lifeforms, demons, and fallen angels to build the Palace of Ten Thousand Demons.

Lust—Asmodeus, formerly the Zoroastrian god of desire, who survived the destruction of Zoroastrianism by God, was hunted by Archangels Gabriel and Raphael, escaped, and fell into Hell to become the Sin of Lust.

Wrath—Samael, a fallen Angel of Death, ancient in origin, who once took the form of a serpent in Eden to tempt Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden fruit; he was once called Satan, and remains the only being with the right to challenge Lucifer for the title.

Gluttony—Beelzebub, originally a minor deity in Canaanite myth, who defied God’s preaching, was repeatedly struck down, and ultimately fell—accidentally avoiding annihilation. Later, for reasons unknown, he became the Sin of Gluttony, inciting panic in the mortal world, earning the titles Fly King and Ghost King, and once vied for the title of Satan.

Envy—Leviathan, born from a colossal sea serpent-like monster of the mortal world, who fell into Hell and became the Sin of Envy—the largest of the Seven Sin Demons.

Sloth—Berial, also a fallen angel, regarded by Hell’s demons as the most dangerous of the Seven, second only to Lucifer; even the Seventy-Two Demon Pillars nominally serve him. He once made a pact with Solomon, inciting the Kingdom of Judah to abandon God. A demon who appears slothful but is in truth fiendishly cunning.

These are the seven strongest demons of Hell, each ruling a domain. Perhaps due to their connection with the Primordial Sins, demons born within their domains are innately attuned to them—like Abalam, who is born as a lustful demon, a natural subordinate of these lords.

They form the core of demonic legions. Do not assume that demon lords, being powerful enough, have no need for legions.

Hell is simply too vast. Though the demon lords now dominate, they still have enemies—other pantheons’ Hell forces have not been fully eradicated, and the demon lords continually lead demonic legions to crush them.

The war has dragged on for ages.

The environment is brutally harsh—this is why Louis sighed.

Moreover.

Entering the mortal world from Hell is no simple matter. Like two parallel lines, achieving precise intersection and descent demands a terrifying cost; often, demons must rely on luck.

Thus, various methods have been developed—the most famous being pacts, through which demons’ projections may descend at will to collect souls.

Therefore, whether a demon descends to the mortal world or mortals summon a demon, success is never guaranteed.

…

“Sss—demons in Hell are incredibly strong!” As Louis flipped through the demons’ memory-books, he saw the ranks beneath the demon lords.

The Seven Sin Demons are universally recognized as the strongest.

Below them, however, controversy arises: the Top Four of the Seventy-Two Demon Pillars, the strongest demon Mephisto, the vampire progenitor Cain, and others.

All are immensely powerful—though unable to defeat the Primordial Sin Demons, they far surpass ordinary demon lords.

To distinguish them from the Seven True Demon Lords, these powerful, potentially rivaling beings are secretly called “False Demon Lords” by demons.

Their power is a chasm apart from ordinary demon lords.

Among ordinary demon lords, those once called “Demon Lords” or “Fallen Angels” are stronger, while the weaker ones are far more numerous.

This is the general understanding Louis gained from these demons’ memories, synthesized and categorized with his modern perspective:

True Demon Lord rank: the Primordial Sin Demons.

False Demon Lord rank: the Top Four, Cain, and others of intermediate power.

Strong Demon Lord rank: fallen entities like Valak, Berial, etc.

Ordinary Demon Lord rank: the weak demon lords.

Below them: Great Demon rank and Demon rank.

Below Demon rank: not counted.

Currently, Louis’s realm is roughly at Demon rank, but due to his magic treasure, his combat power may already reach Great Demon rank.

Within Hell’s power hierarchy, he is roughly mid-tier.

Yet such strength in the mortal world already places him among the upper echelon—simply because the mortal world has almost no strong beings; God’s earlier crusades destroyed too many pantheons, leaving the mortal world weak.

So even Louis’s level qualifies him as a “big figure” in the occult circles.

“Yin Spirit, Yang Spirit, Primordial Spirit…”

“Sss—these demon lords are all Primordial Spirit rank?”

Louis suddenly realized something: if demon lords are Primordial Spirit rank, then his planned ghost cultivator—the split soul of Valak, one of the Seventy-Two Demon Pillars—

Might be far stronger than he imagined!

In the original story, Valak repeatedly failed, was pushed back to Hell, and sealed—but that doesn’t mean she’s weak; only fate (the plot) dictated it.

Now, in this horror anthology world, the plot has shifted beyond prediction—so facing a Primordial Spirit rank entity’s split soul…

Louis’s lip twitched.

The deeper one’s cultivation, the more reverence one feels toward higher realms.

He was merely a Pure Yin realm cultivator—facing a Primordial Spirit master…

“Risk it all. Opportunity knocks but once.” Louis’s eyes hardened with resolve.

He had planned for the ghost cultivator for a long time—he could not abandon it now. He had to try, no matter what.

“The original plot is only a reference, but its elements can still be used as aids: Christ’s blood, Saint Lucy’s Eye, Lucy’s bloodline descendants…”

“I must prepare thoroughly, ensuring I can retreat safely.”

As he thought, Louis stroked the music box.

Inside the music box.

The demon Jester stared at him in terror—just moments ago, it had been dragged into his consciousness and subjected to lightning strikes more terrifying than the vile poison fire.

It had nearly been erased.

Worse, he had rummaged through its mind, nearly wiping out its consciousness.

Now, seeing him, it felt only fear.

At that moment.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

A tapping sound suddenly echoed.

(End of Chapter)