Chapter 1735: with translation of chapter title

NO. 349：Evil forces often need two kinds of people.

Although 'Hell' as a punitive afterlife world is a basic concept in many religions, what truly occupies the bulk of publicity and can serve as a major reference for building the digital world is evidently the monotheistic religious concept merged by the Gospel of Blessings.

Christianity, Judaism, Islam… travelers often can see many familiar elements in that colossal entity.

Even relatively niche fictional religious elements are mixed in.

Although its creed, having endured over a hundred religious wars and swallowed too many religious settings, is as tangled as they come, its doctrine of condemning opposition remains unchanged amidst all changes.

Sin.

Seven deadly sins.

Pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, lust—these classic yet enduring concepts are etched in humanity's self-exploration and naturally become the ever-present sin concepts circulating the internet, forming part of the foundation for building the digital world.

Seven Great Demon Lords.

Lurking in the deepest part of the Hei'an region, the seven Demon Lord–level Digimon at the pinnacle of Hei'an-affiliated Digimon, who reign as evil demons, correspond to the seven deadly sins themselves; while they each occupy their own territory without interference, they occasionally unite for a common goal.

This of course does not refer to the troublemakers who frequently move between their territories and roam about, but to grand aspirations such as 'invading the human world'.

Yes, invading the human world.

Although 'greed' is solely the power source of the Barba Beast and the core of its personality, that does not mean the other Demon Lords' ambitions stop at the core of their respective sins; thus, those who command the Hei'an domain that expands together with the digital world still crave further rule——

From the digital world, then to the human world.

Indeed, at this point normal thinking is to first secure the digital world itself before considering the human world, not trying to swallow everything at once like getting fat in one bite, but reality is rather awkward.

They cannot take the first step.

The main world's digital realm not only has the Twelve Olympian Gods, Ten Warriors, Four Holy Beasts, Three Great Angels, Royal Knights, etc. —powerful organizations that are mutually non‑infringing and will join forces when needed—but also boasts an efficient intelligence network woven from countless human‑Digimon partnerships.

Moreover, relying on internal human communication, this intelligence network can even cover entities like the Steel Empire, Dragon's Roar, Wind Guard, etc., which are both adaptation domains and could be the loci of massive forces—so much so that merely showing a hint of the Seven Great Demon Lords' invasion will instantly summon powerful Digimon-led investigation teams, making it extremely difficult.

Don't ask whether those Digimon and people in the main world are idle; there are plenty of willing folks, and the schedule can always find someone free.

Thus, under these premises, the Seven Great Demon Lords' ambitions, which had nowhere to go, ultimately found their outlet——still the human world.

After all, seriously speaking, when it comes to making contact with humans, these Demon Lords of the Hei'an region act no slower than the Digimon of the main world.

Quite the opposite—they are actually much faster! Human children with clear advantages are far more numerous than grown‑ups burdened with resentment and other negative emotions!

Just the danger of the Hei'an region—those who understand, understand.

Those humans who set foot here for various reasons, even if they survive, the ones who can truly stand before the Seven Great Demon Lords are as rare as one in ten thousand. Naturally, one cannot hope to surpass the main world in the progress and scale of cooperation with humans.

But this is only the beginning.

Even placed in a prolonged 'arms race', this is merely the opening act.

When the Seven Great Demon Lords truly become aware of their situation and seek breakthroughs in this slow decline, they can easily catch up to the forerunners of the main world.

Because they have no taboos.

And their collaborators are the same.

The rebirth of the Revelation Beast arose from this, yet in the usual talk it fell short, ultimately causing the Hei'an region's most mainstream cooperative project to degrade into a secret bar instead of the various training grounds of the past.

Who let the Hei'an region, although its entry threshold is high, not be truly closed off?

If one wants to come here to investigate, there are always more ways than difficulties, which also left the Hei'an region languishing for a while after the Revelation Beast was slain, and even now it does not seem to show any signs of revival.

It's merely not like that.

No one would think the Seven Great Demon Lords would be subdued.

Nor would anyone think they could behave themselves.

After suffering a round of failure, all those covert schemes ought to be concealed even more tightly; in this protracted information attack‑defense battle, all we can hope for is that the other side makes a mistake first.

Yet the day this hope comes true has never arrived.

Thus everyone just lived peacefully like that, until that earlier time when they had no chance to meddle in the Seven Great Demon Lords' external scheming, but instead had the opportunity to challenge two Demon Lords afterward, eventually causing one Demon Lord to step down in favor of another, and the missing Belst Beast, which similarly reappeared after a period of being missing——

Bang!

"Not only has it appeared, but it even revealed its ultimate form right before taking action here?"

Amidst the shattering of cups and bowls, the Hei'an goddess who governs the sin of lust, with her corrupt golden right claw, gazed at the image sent from the front end and pondered: "Is this progress or just a coincidence?"

Without waiting for the kneeling subordinates nearby to respond, the golden‑bird‑faced, long‑bearded elder appearing on the screen asked: "Lilith Beast, have you received the news?"

"How? Are you also planning to take action? Barba Beast."

"Of course not; you should know I'm presiding over a ceremony that cannot be disturbed. I merely recalled that you and that mouse who went and came back have some history, so I had to come over to warn you to mind your bounds."

"Mind your bounds? Hah, I see you wishing I would act so you could have grounds to impeach me~"

"Discussing the division of spoils while everything is still undecided? That's not good, really not good, Lilith Beast."

"That's something you shouldn't be saying—you old schemer full of greed. My patience is also limited; if there's nothing else, let's meet again next time."

"One company."

"Huh?"

"Just send out one company to prove your dislike for that cowgirl; that's enough—don't make over‑the‑line arrangements that hinder everyone. Otherwise, even if you don't care about this term's Beelzebub Beast's gunfire, you should consider the ill‑tempered Paradise Lost."

"That sounds like you're hinting at something."

"It's your illusion."

"What are you scheming? Barba Beast."

"Likewise an illusion, Hei'an goddess—you should cut back on your playtime with those humans," said the old man beneath the golden mask, his tone still hoarse and calm, "don't treat me as one of those youths constantly trying to steal a kiss from under your skirt."

"Huh? You mean I'm overly self‑conscious?"

"Really astonishing—how did my well‑intentioned reminder get wrapped up to this point?"

Hearing this, the alluring, plump Lilith Beast burst into laughter, shaking like a flower in the wind: "Barba Beast's good intention—who knows if it could win this year's Hei'an region joke championship."

"Whatever you think, anyway my advice has been given—do as you please. I heard that the cowgirl's partner in the human world's circles has a reputation for being somewhat sharp and cunning; you'd better not let everyone's preparations come to naught!"

The moment the words fell, the screen vanished, and he was anxious, as if afraid to hear the Hei'an goddess's reply.

The visage corresponding to the present‑day Barbatos, moreover the curly‑bearded demon Barbatus from Dante's Divine Comedy, no longer appeared; instead, the Lilith Beast lifted her left hand, as fair and beautiful as a human woman's, and brushed it across her jaw, lost in thought.

No matter how she looked at it, she felt this old man seemed to be here to guide her, to give her pointers, as if he eagerly hoped she would do something to cause trouble for everyone.

Unable to figure out what he could gain, and hesitating over what decision to make, the Lilith Beast gazed at the black heart-shaped vessel used to seal the X potion and antibody, filled with a personal taste of morbid aesthetics.

Calculating, that elderly figure faced the resistance of that Lost Paradise.

(End of Chapter)