Support me and be 30 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
For every 5 Patreon memberships I receive, I'll release 15 chapters all at once. Your support means a lot to me.
*****
To catch the Dark Triad off guard, Julius and the captains moved immediately after their strategic meeting.
Dorothy Unsworth, Captain of the Coral Peacocks, and Vanessa Enoteca of the Black Dragons—both hailing from the Witches' Forest—headed back to their homeland to persuade the Witch Queen. Asta, Noelle, and the others, who had strong ties to the Underwater Temple, were dispatched to secure their cooperation.
Yami took the Blue Rose and Green Mantis squads to the Diamond Kingdom, using a mix of martial force and hard logic to make the bellicose nation understand the true horror of the devils. Lumiere, meanwhile, led the Crimson Lions and Silver Eagles to the Heart Kingdom; he was a personal acquaintance of the Heart Kingdom's Water Spirit.
The Golden Dawn, Azure Deer, and Purple Orcas—acting in the name of Prince Yuno—used the Black Bulls' Vice-Captain, who was already undercover in the Spade Kingdom, to secretly contact the Spade mages who were only feigning submission to the Zogratis family.
Julius remained in Clover to manage the puppet king, handle the rest of the nobility, and coordinate the overall logistics. As for George, he stayed out of the political fray. Instead, he focused on researching the remaining Magic Stones and infused Julius with Time Dragon Force, raising the Wizard King's power to a level that rivaled a true Time Devil.
Six days later, the elite forces of the Diamond and Heart Kingdoms, the Witches' Forest, and the Underwater Temple had gathered secretly at the border of the Spade Kingdom—right in Hage Village, Asta's hometown. Most of the Spade nobility had sent word that they would, at the very least, remain neutral.
The stage was set. At dawn, spatial mages would teleport the unified army directly into the Spade Royal Palace.
That night, George set down the Magic Stones and vanished from the camp.
"Time to see what the Underworld looks like."
Having studied all ten stones, he had mastered most of the rules governing this world. A trip to the Underworld was all he needed to complete the replication and begin his own world-modeling.
"Open!"
Returning to the Shadow Palace—the rift between the human world and the Underworld—George flicked his wrist, tearing through the spatial barrier and stepping into the realm of devils.
At that exact moment, on the seventh and deepest level of the Underworld, the Three Pillars—Lucifero, Beelzebub, and Megicula—simultaneously snapped their eyes open.
"A human has entered the Underworld!"
The Tree of Qliphoth connected the entire realm. As the strongest entities at the bottom, the Three Pillars monitored the Underworld through its roots. They had just felt a spatial rift open on the first level, followed by the unmistakable scent of a human.
"All devils, heed my command! Capture the human intruder alive!" Lucifero's voice boomed through every layer of the realm.
Why had they granted power to the Zogratis siblings? Why help them seize a kingdom? It was solely to open a gate so they could leave this prison. Now, a human had entered of his own accord. This meant the human possessed a method to traverse the planes. If they captured him, they might not even need the Zogratis siblings to reach the surface.
As for why they didn't go themselves? They were cautious. Even Beelzebub, the master of spatial magic, couldn't tear a rift out of the Underworld. This human was either incredibly powerful or possessed a unique, exploitable secret. They would use the countless devils on the upper floors to exhaust him, study his magic, and then step in to claim the prize.
"A human! A human is here!"
On the first level, the lower-ranking devils erupted into a frenzy. For 99% of devils, humans were myths—delicacies they had heard of but never seen. Even without Lucifero's order, they would have swarmed the intruder to tear him apart for sport.
George, floating high above the first level, heard the command but didn't care. He simply activated his Abyss Authority, releasing the same primordial pressure that had paralyzed the Time Devil.
"Every world really does have its unique quirks," George mused as he flew. He had seen similar realms in other universes—Hell, the Void, the Pit—all filled with negative energy. But the specific laws governing this Underworld were distinct, and that was exactly the data he needed.
"The human! There he is!"
George's blatant presence caught the attention of the Low-ranking devils. They flapped their leathery wings, diving toward him with predatory glee.
However, the moment they entered a hundred-meter radius around George, their bodies jerked, their eyes rolled back, and they plunged from the sky, unconscious from pure terror.
An absurd scene unfolded: a lone human drifted through the air, casually observing the landscape, while a literal rain of devils fell around him. Within minutes, a small mountain of unconscious devils had formed on the ground below. Some of the weaker ones were even crushed to death by the weight of their falling kin.
Devils were cunning by nature. Seeing that they couldn't even get close to him, the survivors realized this was no ordinary prey. Yet, they feared the Demon King's wrath even more. They compromised: some fled to report to the depths, while the rest circled George at a distance of exactly 101 meters, moving when he moved to avoid the "fainting zone."
George ignored them, focusing on the architecture of the realm.
"This sealing array has some technical merit," George noted, stopping before a massive magical formation in the center of the first level.
The Underworld was shaped like a funnel; the deeper you went, the denser the mana and the stronger the devils. But the entire realm was spatially reinforced—impossible to break without Universal-level power. The only exit was this central point on the first floor, which was guarded by a specialized seal.
The seal was composed of dark energy and life energy. Any being possessing devil power who touched it would be crushed by the weight of the entire Underworld's gravity. Even a Supreme Devil would be lethally wounded. To pass, one either had to have zero mana (like the devil inside Asta) or possess sealing knowledge superior to the original architect.
George could easily dismantle it with a bit of time. This seal was clearly the work of this world's Creator. While George's current avatar lacked the raw power of a Creator, his "status" and understanding of laws were an entire tier higher.
There was a third way to bypass it: an external ritual. By sacrificing two powerful humans—one with dark energy and one with life energy—the Tree of Qliphoth could be forced through the seal. This was exactly what the Dark Triad was currently preparing in the Spade Kingdom.
"I'll finish touring the seven levels before I dismantle this," George decided, descending to the second level.
The second level housed Mid-Low ranking devils. Their fate was the same: they entered the hundred-meter radius and collapsed instantly. The Abyss Sequence 0 was the equivalent of a True God; to these devils, George's aura was that of a "Devil Creator."
By the third level, even the strongest of the Low-ranking devils were dropping like flies.
In the seventh level, the Three Pillars watched the projection of the third level in stunned silence.
"The human's mana is pathetic, and he hasn't cast a single spell. Why are the devils losing consciousness just by being near him?" Lucifero muttered. By their measurements, George was weaker than the puniest devil in the seventh level—someone they should be able to crush with a thought.
But the reality was undeniable. Thousands of devils couldn't even stand in his presence. Most importantly, the Three Pillars—the strongest beings in the Underworld—couldn't detect a single ripple of mana or the activation of any known magic. That was the truly terrifying part.
"Let us see more," Beelzebub suggested. They wanted to see how he fared against stronger foes to gauge his true depth.
George reached the fourth level. Here, the minimum power level was Mid-ranking—comparable to a Vice-Captain in the human world.
THUD!
As the Mid-ranking devils snarled and lunged, their expressions shifted from bloodlust to pure, unadulterated horror. Their legs buckled, and they slammed their faces into the ground, trembling so violently their bones rattled. They didn't just faint; they prostrated themselves, too terrified to even look up.
"Bring one here!" Lucifero commanded. Since the Mid-ranking devils were still conscious, he ordered a Supreme Devil to snatch one from the fourth level for interrogation.
Moments later, the trembling Mid-ranking devil was brought to the throne room. "I... I don't know!" it shrieked. "My heart just... it felt like it would stop. I couldn't even think of being disrespectful. Looking at him felt like a sacrilege! It was like... like he was the God of Devils!"
"A god? Hmph. Devils have no god, only a King—and I am that King!" Lucifero roared, releasing a wave of pressure that made the Mid-ranking devil shrivel in fear.
Beelzebub and Megicula exchanged a glance. They saw the difference. In front of Lucifero, the devil was terrified but could still speak and stand. In front of the human, it had been a broken, silent heap on the floor.
They still didn't believe a human could be their superior. They hypothesized that he possessed a "Fear-type" magic that amplified a target's internal terror. Their evidence? He hadn't actually attacked anyone yet.
They decided to test the theory on the fifth level, home to elite Mid-ranking devils with Captain-level power. They ordered a long-range bombardment. If the hundred-meter zone was the problem, they would strike from beyond it.
"Attack!"
As George stepped into the fifth level, the elite devils unleashed massive fireballs, ice spears, and lightning bolts from the shadows.
However, before the spells could even leave their hands, the devils slammed face-first into the dirt. Their spells, now out of control, detonated in their own faces.
George shook his head, continuing his stroll. "Did I ever say my presence was limited to only a hundred meters?"
(End of Chapter)