Chapter 67 — The Eight Circles of Hell
Back to reality.
Ivar had finally regained his composure after everything that happened. Yet despite the events of Pandemonium, something inside his usual calm had shattered. For hours perhaps even days he had been unable to remove Suo's words from his mind.
But now, seated within the immense hall of the Illuminati, he had finally stopped thinking about them.
Or rather…
he had forced his mind to stop.
Because Ivar refused to fear Suo. Even after sensing that strange energy emanating from him, he remained deeply perplexed. He refused to accept that an existence could truly surpass him to the point of making him lose control of himself. So he buried that feeling deep within his mind, behind his usual arrogance, behind the monstrous coldness that had defined him for so long.
And yet…
even now, something about Suo still felt wrong.
Ivar slowly looked around the Illuminati hall, swallowed by a bizarre darkness. This place did not resemble a simple meeting room. It felt more like a structure built outside the entirety of the universe itself.
The walls were alive.
Not literally…
but almost.
At times, black lines appeared across their surface like gigantic veins before slowly fading away. The ceiling, meanwhile, did not truly exist. In its place stretched an enormous cosmic vault where unknown galaxies drifted slowly, alongside dead stars and impossible structures that seemed to transcend every astronomical law known to the physical world.
At the center of this gigantic chamber stood an immense circular black table.
And around it…
sat the most important members of the Illuminati.
Silence reigned.
A strange silence.
Too heavy, filled with invisible tension.
Then Gaku let out a loud sigh as he dropped back into his seat.
— "Seriously… all this for that, Ivar? I'm bored. You let that guy escape before I even got the chance to test him."
No one answered immediately.
He raised his eyes toward Ivar and smiled faintly.
— "The Abyss Hunter only escaped because I let my guard down. But I'll find him again… and slaughter him."
Gaku slowly turned his head toward him.
His gaze was cold.
— "He really pissed you off, little Ivar. I kinda like seeing you like this."
— "….." said Zero.
Gaku crossed his arms behind his head.
— "Weren't you with Loki too? So how come the two of you couldn't do anything? Getting played like that is pathetic."
— "You wouldn't have done any better, Gaku," Bam replied.
A few members let out quiet laughs.
Gaku only smiled wider.
— "I don't remember asking that old piece of trash to speak."
Ivar was about to respond—
But suddenly, the doors of the hall slowly opened.
And instantly…
everyone fell silent.
The atmosphere changed abruptly.
The air became heavier.
The symbols carved into the walls stopped moving entirely.
Even the crimson glow of the false sky above the chamber darkened.
Then a silhouette slowly entered.
Darken.
The Supreme Leader of the Illuminati.
No words could truly describe the impression he gave. His skin was dark, with long black dread-like hair and tattoos covering his body. It wasn't simply power that emanated from him. People like Ivar or Dominus already radiated monstrous pressure, but Darken…
was different.
His presence felt like an anomaly within the laws of nature themselves.
As if this man should not even exist in this world.
His immense black cloak literally absorbed the light around him. The space near his body was slightly distorted.
And his face…
it was impossible to look at it properly.
Shifting shadows constantly covered part of his features.
But his eyes…
his eyes were probably the worst thing about him.
They felt like staring directly into a bottomless abyss—
a beautiful yet horrifying crimson void.
Darken slowly walked toward the center of the room.
Then he spoke.
— "It is time for us to take action. We have wasted enough time."
His voice instantly spread across the chamber.
Not like sound.
More like pressure itself.
Every word resonated directly within the organs of those present.
Then behind him…
an enormous black circle appeared.
Thousands of geometric symbols began rotating within the gigantic structure. Some members instinctively looked away. Staring at the circle for too long caused a strange sensation in the brain. The power of this man completely surpassed human comprehension.
Darken slowly raised his hand.
And the black circle opened slightly.
An infinite darkness condensed into a concentrated sphere within his palm.
— "Once the six stones are gathered… we will be able to open the Circle of the Hell."
The silence in the hall immediately grew heavier.
Then Darken calmly continued:
— "And when the seal breaks… one billion demons will descend upon Earth."
Even the calmest members of the Illuminati became serious.
One of them finally spoke.
— "So Hell truly exists…?" Dominus asked.
Darken slowly raised his eyes toward him and let out a faint chuckle.
Then he answered:
— "Hell is the origin of everything in this world."
The black circle behind him began displaying images.
Dimensions.
Layers of existence.
Impossible spaces.
Then suddenly—
eight gigantic circles appeared within the depths of the void.
Immense.
Stacked vertically.
And the deeper one looked…
the larger the worlds became.
— "The current world is not unique. You already know that, Dominus…"
His voice echoed slowly throughout the hall.
— "Our reality is merely one branch among infinity."
— "Existence is divided into multiple independent dimensional layers…"
— "Layers you currently cannot perceive."
— "But above all those possibilities…"
His eyes darkened slightly.
— "lie the Hells."
The images revealed monstrous structures impossible to describe properly.
Cities made of black flesh.
Red oceans filled with gigantic eyes.
Creatures living within space itself.
— "The Hells possess eight principal circles."
— "And each infinitely transcends the previous one."
Having lived for over four hundred years, Darken had spent centuries studying the reality of Hell, gathering immense knowledge about even its darkest truths.
— "Even the First Circle completely surpasses our space-time continuum."
— "According to your human mathematics… it could be considered an 8-dimensional structure superior to our universe."
Several members exchanged silent glances.
Darken continued:
— "The deeper a demon originates from within the circles…"
— "the more terrifying its existence and power become."
Then silhouettes appeared.
Some had no stable form.
Others seemed entirely composed of concepts themselves, completely immaterial.
One of them literally devoured the light surrounding it.
— "No human has ever successfully formed a pact with a high-ranking demon."
— "No spirit in this world could endure their power."
Gaku, seated near the back, frowned slightly.
— "Then why are the stones so important?"
Seven lights slowly appeared around the black circle.
Seven different stones.
Seven colors.
Seven magical pulsations.
Darken silently observed the stones before answering:
— "Because they are the very foundations of the current world, my dear Gaku."
His voice became almost solemn.
— "Long ago… God divided the primordial magic into seven stones of power."
— "Each stone became the heart of a kingdom, the very essence of the universe's balance."
— "And together… they were used to seal Hell."
The silence in the room became suffocating.
Then Darken resumed:
— "If the seven stones are united…"
— "then the seal will disappear."
The black circle behind him opened wider.
An infinite darkness seemed to breathe within its depths.
— "We will then open the First Circle of Hell."
His voice dropped almost into a whisper.
— "And we will completely destroy this world…"
— "just as His Majesty desires."
At those words…
no one spoke.
Because even among the Illuminati…
that name inspired something profoundly evil.
Dominus finally stood up slowly.
— "Then I'll depart for the Dragon Kingdom."
She calmly adjusted her black gloves.
— "If the Dragon Queen is truly ill, we must act immediately before the other kingdoms begin to move. Don't you agree, my dear Loki?"
Loki gave a slight nod.
Then Zero stood as well.
And immediately…
the space around him became unstable.
— "As for me…"
His gaze turned toward the void.
— "I'll take a trip to the Kingdom of Wind and retrieve the Stone of Sky Power."
Even Ivar slightly raised his eyes.
— "You're going alone?" he asked.
Zero did not answer.
And in the very next instant—
he vanished.
No portal.
No light.
No energy.
As though he had simply been erased from that place.
Gaku stared at the empty spot for a few seconds before sighing.
— "He seriously tries way too hard to look mysterious… it annoys me so much."
A few muffled laughs escaped from Dominus.
But Darken…
continued silently staring at the empty space left behind by Zero.
Then he calmly murmured:
— "Do not worry about him…"
His eyes darkened slightly further.
— "If there is anyone capable of accomplishing it…"
— "it is him."
A brief silence followed.
Then Darken smiled faintly.
— "Besides…"
— "I already have another plan concerning him…"
To Be Continued