After Lilith left, Veen walked through a dim corridor, the lights on either side just enough to illuminate his solemn expression.
The sound of his footsteps echoed through the empty hall.
At the end of the corridor was an undecorated black stone door with a single indentation in the center.
Veen stopped, raised his right hand, and pressed it gently against the indentation.
The moment his palm touched the stone, golden magic flowed from his fingertips, spreading rapidly along the grooves of the indentation.
A low resonance sounded.
The stone door slid inward, revealing a pitch-black space behind it.
Veen walked inside.
The door closed quietly behind him.
The secret room was not large, but a waist-high stone pedestal stood in the center.
Resting flat on the pedestal was a sword.
An extremely ordinary-looking longsword.
It was something he had hoped he would never have to use in his entire life.
He sighed, slowly walked to the pedestal, and reached out to gently brush the cold blade.
A flash of complex emotion crossed Veen’s eyes. “This sword ignores all defenses and all ranks... as long as it hits, it will inevitably sever.”
“But there is only one chance.”
“After one use, the blade will shatter, the laws will dissipate, and it can never be recreated.”
He remained silent for a few seconds, then gripped the hilt.
Veen lifted it from the stone pedestal and held it horizontally before his eyes.
The blade reflected his calm face and his deep, golden vertical pupils.
“Though there is only one chance... given the current situation, there is no other choice.”
“With a god involved, the problem has become grave.”
He tightened his grip on the hilt.
When the former Demon King handed him this sword, he had said: “Veen, this is the final safeguard I leave for the future. If a day comes when you encounter an enemy you feel must be dealt with using this... then use it. No matter who they are. But remember, there is only one chance.”
Though he had sealed the sword away after giving up on the idea of killing Lilith, an unknown existence had now appeared.
God.
Those who fancy themselves maintainers of order have begun to interfere in this world.
Who is the threat?
“The Demon King? No, the Demon King does not have a bloodthirsty nature and poses no threat to a god. It can only be Orosius, who is about to return.”
But regardless of the target, this meant that a god had already cast their gaze upon this world.
And once a god officially enters the fray, the situation will become... exceptionally complex.
Veen did not like complexity.
He liked control, and he liked achieving his goals with the minimum cost.
But the intervention of a god shattered that possibility.
“I must make preparations in advance.” Veen placed the longsword into his personal storage space.
The moment the blade disappeared, the last faint glimmer of light in the secret room faded.
Veen turned and walked out of the secret room.
He stopped and looked up into the void.
“Orosius...”
Veen whispered the name.
Seeking him out might cause his return to happen earlier.
But... he couldn't worry about that now.
A god had intervened, and the situation was spiraling out of control.
He needed to know Orosius's stance and which side he would take.
Veen closed his eyes.
His consciousness sank into the void, searching through the vast and endless Sea of Planes for the magic traces left by Orosius.
Fortunately, Orosius never bothered to hide his presence.
Wherever he went, destruction and death followed like a shadow.
Soon, Veen opened his eyes.
He raised his hand and made a light slashing motion against the air in front of him.
Riiip!
Space was torn open. From the other side of the tunnel came a thick scent of blood and the wails of dying creatures.
Veen stepped through.
This was another world on the brink of collapse.
In the very center of this scorched earth, sitting atop a small hill made of corpses, was a figure.
Veen stepped out of the spatial tunnel onto the scorched earth, his gaze slowly moving toward that figure.
The figure was holding a severed head.
Judging by the residual magic fluctuations, the owner of the head must have been a top-tier expert of this world while alive—roughly equivalent to a Rank 9 peak by the standards of Veen's world.
The eyes of the head were still open, frozen in an expression of unbelievable terror and despair.
Orosius sat there casually. With his other hand, he tore a piece of meat from a relatively fresh corpse nearby, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed slowly.
Orosius looked up at Veen.
“You’re here?”
“What is it now? Didn't I tell you to wait for my return?”
He casually tossed the head aside. It rolled down the hill of corpses, leaving a trail of blood on the scorched earth.
Veen looked at Orosius with a heavy expression, ignoring the impatience in his tone.
“There is a problem with our world.”
Orosius frowned. “A problem? What kind of problem could there be? Once I return, all problems will cease to be problems.”
“God,” Veen uttered the single word. “A god has made a move, attempting to forcibly create a ‘Child of the World’ in our world.”
Orosius paused for a moment.
Then, he bared his teeth in a savage grin.
“A Child of the World? Hahaha... can't we just kill it?”
“Wasn't the last Child of the World slaughtered by the old man? If another one comes, we'll just slaughter it again. What's the big deal?”
Veen shook his head. He noticed that since Orosius learned of the former Demon King's death not long ago, his form of address had changed from 'Lord Demon King' to 'the old man.'
“That is not the point. The point is... a god has entered the fray. They are making small moves and interfering with our world. There may be a larger plot behind this.”
Orosius's smile slowly faded.
“A god... dares to make small moves in my world?”
He slowly stood up.
“The throne of the Demon King will be mine sooner or later. If a god dares to cause trouble in my world... they are seeking death.”
He looked down at the piece of flesh still in his hand, then closed his fist. The flesh and bone were crushed into a mass of blurred fragments.
He casually shook it off and looked at Veen, his eyes filled with a desire for destruction.
“I want to see for myself... who has such audacity.”
With that, Orosius raised his right hand toward the sky and made a grasping motion.
Boom!!!
The entire world began to shake violently!
This world was being deconstructed by Orosius's own hands!
Veen stood in the void, watching the scene around him.
Mountains collapsed, rivers evaporated, and the sky shattered... everything was returning to the most primitive chaos.
This world was marching toward its end according to Orosius's will.
A few seconds later.
The world had vanished.
Only the empty void remained.
Orosius stood in the center of the void and glanced at Veen.
“Three more worlds.”
His voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable decisiveness.
“After I finish with these three worlds, I will return. It will take... roughly two months by our world's time.”
His original plan was to slowly savor these worlds and enjoy the process of conquest and destruction before returning in six months to seize the Demon King's throne in his perfect state.
But now, he had changed his mind.
A god dared to meddle in his territory?
Then he would return early and crush those gods hiding behind the scenes, along with their chosen Child of the World!
Orosius's figure began to grow blurred.
“Tell Lilith...”
His voice drifted from the void, carrying a hint of a cruel smile.
“Tell her to wash her neck and wait for me. I will personally see her off and take away her authority as the Demon King.”
“As for those gods, I, Orosius, will be coming for them soon.”
“Tell them... to prepare their coffins.”
As the words fell, Orosius's figure vanished completely.
Veen remained silent for a moment, then gently shook his head.
“As expected... it still turned out like this.”
He had known all along that telling Orosius this news would cause him to return early and make the situation even more... unpredictable.
But it was necessary.
Brutal as he was, Orosius was extremely possessive of what he considered his own. He would never allow outsiders to lay a finger on it.
Of course, this wouldn't stop Orosius from attacking Lilith after the external threat was dealt with.
But at least until the god was dealt with, Orosius would temporarily view Lilith as property that needed protecting rather than an enemy that needed eliminating.
And if Lilith were to lose the battle against Orosius, he would launch a sneak attack and use that sword to end Orosius.
Veen raised his hand and tore through space once more.
On the other side of the tunnel was the familiar aura of the Demon Realm.
He stepped inside.
The void returned to silence.
...
Demon Realm, Demon King's Palace.
Veen stepped out of the spatial tunnel and into his study.
“Two months...”
Veen whispered to himself.
“Your Majesty Lilith, you still have two months.”
“In two months, Orosius returns.”
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