A young man stood in a large room. The room , or more appropriately , rather going by its size the hall seemed to be dimly lit, with a single lamp illuminating the spot in front of the man. On the ground in front of him, were inscribed some strange symbols in a circular manner. He let some blood drop from his hand on the circle. He then chanted , " From the darkness, I call out to you. As decreed by the Ancient Covenant, my soul shall be thine and thy strength shall be mine. Fulfill my desires , O wish granter , and arise from the depths ! Arise as I call out to you ! Come forth and shatter the laws of Providence and Fate ! "

           A blinding red light shone from the circle as soon as the boy finished chanting. As the light dissipated, it revealed a woman with bright red hair. The woman carried a rapier on a belt tied to her waist. Her clothes could only be described as ' revealing ' . She had a beautiful face and body that most men would happily die for. However, those wise would easily know that this woman could be their doom as there was a sense of danger lurking around her , like a predator ready to pounce on its prey at any moment.

          The boy had an ecstatic expression on his face after seeing the woman and he cheered and screamed as he said, " I did it ! I did it ! I succeed in the demon summoning ritual ! " The red headed woman merely smiled on seeing this. She was surprised that she was summoned in a dimension this far away from hell , yet her summoner was just a inexperienced low level Magus , a young boy on top of that. Well, she wasn't complaining, considering that it made tricking him just more easier. Just a simple charm spell, and he would be at her feet like a pet dog. Thousands of humans before had been the same , how was he going to be any different ? And while certainly, the summoning contract prevented a demon from actively harming the summoner , nothing prevented them from taking their soul if they willingly handed it over to them . The boy wasn't bad looking too, so maybe she could have some fun with him , before his eventual death.

       The woman smiled and said, " My name is Lenora, a demoness from hell. May I ask the name of the one who has summoned me ? " The boy took a deep breath, seemingly to calm his excitement. He then said, " Yes ! My name is Shido Itsuka. I have summoned you here to fulfill my wish. " The woman smirked and said, " Oh ? To think that such a young Magus would be able to summon me , a true demon rather than an inferior devil for wish fulfillment. How truly fascinating.  " And this was certainly true. Lenora herself was surprised when this young seemingly weak human had managed to summon a demon like her rather than a devil. Devils were descendants of demons and by nature , were weaker than demons. And while she herself was only a low ranking demon , the weakest on the hierarchy of hell, she was strong enough to go toe to toe against what the devils called ' Middle class Devils '.

        Regardless of this , the boy scratched his head in embarrassment and said, " Yeah , I myself was surprised by this. I was hoping to summon something different, but I unexpectedly summoned you. " Lenora leaned closer to his face and said in a mock hurt tone , " Oh ? Am I not satisfactory for you ; Master ? ~ "  The boy turned the other way , most likely embarrassed by her actions.

         Lenora chuckled slightly and stepped back. As the boy turned to her, she said in a lax tone , " That aside, I think we should get to business. Just to remind you, as per the contract, I'll fulfill your requests, and in exchange I'll require souls as payment for strength, either your , or from someone else. And of course, there are limitations, some obvious like , no resurrecting dead individuals ( which was something that even gods couldn't easily do since after a soul is separated from the body and enters the collective unconscious, nothing can be done. ) , to the less obvious like to no incidents causing large scale loss of human life due to the peace pact between Heaven and Hell. Not that you'll understand, so don't worry about it. "

        The boy nodded in agreement and said ,
" Alright. Now here's my wish. I need your assistance to increase my alchemical skills. " Lenora raised a brow and said, " Oh ? How intriguing. Most people call us for more sinister reasons, but you called me for knowledge . Hmm… maybe I'll throw in a little something extra, just because you're such a good boy . "
Saying this, she once again leaned towards the boy till their chests were touching each other. However, she wasn't doing this just for fun. She was doing this because to increase the chances of a charm spell to work, weakening the targets mind and resistance beforehand was crucial. The boy probably hadn't even realized that even at this moment, her powers were eroding at his mind. Soon he'd be under her control, grovelling at her feet.

        The boy stepped back and hurriedly began to scrounge through some leather bag behind him. Maybe he was going through some of his research notes ? To humor herself, she asked the boy, " I have a small question , master . You said you were hoping that someone else to come instead of me. What exactly were your expectations ? " The boy, still facing away from her , replied in a monotone voice, " Well , I was expecting at least a soldier class demon if not a general rank demon. But instead I got a pathetic low ranking demon. But oh well. I guess beggars can't be choosers. "

         Lenora was enraged on hearing this. What the hell was this human thinking ?! Only low ranking demons like her answered summons ! No soldier class demon would answer his summon , let alone a General class ! A General class demon was so strong that they could only be defeated by a few extremely strong and experienced gods of Heaven. Why the hell would they bother with the summons of a pathetic human ?! And he had even dared to call her pathetic ! A human of all things !

       Angry at his words , she angrily casted her charm spell at him to seize control of him . She then spoke up and said, " Now before I kill you , beg and grovel at my feet ! " However to her surprise, he didn't even turn towards her. Instead, he only spoke a single word. A single word spoken in a solemn tone reverberated through the room , " Kneel ." Immediately, Lenora kneeled and was on the ground on all fours . Her body had responded to the command as if it had been second nature to her. Her own will didn't matter , her own self was all for naught. For this was the strength of Bloodline Domination !

        Lenora understood her situation. Her body was under the effect of Bloodline Domination, an authority stemming from the existence of demons as a whole. With it , a Demon of higher ranked bloodline could gain absolute control over someone of lower purity bloodline. Individual strength mattered not in front of it, because it was something intrinsic to the existence of demons as a whole. No matter, how much a Demon or devil tried, they couldn't disobey the orders of someone of purer Bloodline.

           The fact that the boy in front of her had managed to make her kneel meant that he was at least a soldier class demon. But then why had he disguised himself as a human and summoned another demon here ? However, before she could think of any further questions , she saw something that made her sink into absolute despair. From the back of the boy , sprouted Six Demonic Wings. Six wings representing Absolute Authority. The mark of those who stood near the pinnacle of power in Hell, Demon Gods.

        Her body had involuntarily started to tremble. Trails of sweat flowed down her forehead. As the one in front of her began to radiate Demonic Qi from his body, she found herself internally screaming in pain due to the sheer amount of Demonic Qi that her body was absorbing unintentionally. She was royally screwed. She was a mere low ranking demon. All demons , even the strong and mighty Demon General's have only two wings. The nobility of demons, Demon Lords are the only ones who possess Four wings . The difference between them was so great that even the strongest Demon General's could only last for a while against the youngest Demon Lords.

          However , Demon Gods were something that were even beyond them. Seventy two Demon Gods reigned over Hell. Their powers were absolute. The only one capable of standing against them other than the Demonic Goddess Daityayani was Shukracharya, their mentor. And here she was, having pissed off one of them. It didn't matter why one of the Demon Gods was here on earth, or why they had summoned her , or even which among the Seventy-two Demon Gods they were. One thing was certain, she was going to die. And she couldn't do anything against it. She was a mere low ranking demon. And some Demon Gods were known to wipe out entire kingdoms in hell , just out of boredom. So what chance did she have of surviving , especially after insulting them ?

( AN : From here , Lenora will be speaking in third person, so as to refer Shido with utmost respect, as is the tradition when speaking to someone with purer bloodline than you in hell. )

         She knew that even now, they could kill her. Just the radiant Demonic Qi from a demon God was enough to corrupt and kill all life on a planet and kill most gods , let alone inferior beings like humans. Yet they had ,for some reason, restrained it. The least she could do was beg and grovel at their feet for a less painful death. Even if her chances were absolutely low , it was at least worth trying. Barely managing to leak out a voice, Lenora said in a fearful and trembling tone ,
" P-Please. M-Mercy. Please forgive me, my Lord. "

         They then kneeled and stared right at her. Their gaze was enough to send shivers down her spine and she would have most likely recoiled in terror, if not for the fact that she was unable to move. He spoke in a tone , starkly different from the act they had put up before. Their current tone was that of a ruler's, one who wasn't requesting, but rather commanding. They said , " Do not be afraid. You have no reason to fear . On my existence as a Demon God, you have my word , no harm shall come upon your life. You may stand up now. "

     Saying this, they got up and stood upright. She herself found that she had regained control of herself and immediately stood up, lest they feel that she was insulting them by not following their commands. She bowed down and said, " Thank you for your mercy my Lord ! "  With a wave of their hands, they dismissed it. They spoke up again and said,
" That said , I have summoned you for a reason.  "

        Lenora was extremely confused on hearing this. What reason could one of the Demon Gods have for summoning a low rank demon like her, when hundreds of Demon Lords would come rushing at their single call. Yet she chose not to think too deeply about it , considering that whatever it was, she was at least staying alive because of it. She said hurriedly, " Of course my Lord ! Order and I shall fulfill your will ! "

        They paused for a moment, then said, " I require your body , Lenora. While I originally had plans for something better, this will still
do. "  Lenora was shocked to hear this. She was no idiot. Requesting her body clearly meant that they were choosing her for fulfilling the desires of the flesh.  While they could have chosen anyone, she was the one who was chosen. And while certainly, she would not be a mate , but most likely a low ranked concubine, or perhaps just something for sexual relief. But did that even matter ? Most demons ( male or female ) would happily sell themselves into slavery to be granted the honor of spending a night with a Demon Lord ranked  demon , much less a Demon God.And here she was, being ASKED by one of them to do so. How could she disagree ?!

( AN : The reason that Lenora here isnt hesitating is because in Hell, demons place a high value on strength. If you're a demon in hell and you defeat someone, you can claim them as your mate or concubine
( regardless of your gender ) . Even the defeated party won't disagree with you because that is just how Demon society functions. In this manner, their mating habits are similar to animals. )

        And the energy felt by her and the Aura emitted by the wings was genuine. There was no way something like the energy radiated from the wings could be copied. The Demonic Qi radiated by a Demon God was easily recognisable to any demon in existence, as it was a part of their existence itself.

            She hurriedly replied in an ecstatic manner, " Of course my Lord ! There could be no greater honor for me ! The fact that you chose such a lowly demon like me , I definitely won't let you regret your decision ! "  They then started walking and gestured her to follow them. She meekly followed behind them. She was internally a complete nervous wreck. She was mentally preparing herself. While she had many sexual encounters with thousands of humans for centuries, this was completely different. Her entire existence could be erased at any moment, if she failed to satisfy them in any manner.

         She then entered what seemed to be a larger hall. Inside it , various huge machines lay strewn . The Lord beside her spoke in a solemn tone and said, " You see, I'm something of an alchemist myself. I may not be proficient at it as others, but I can still do many wonderful things. " While she was confused by their statements, she still pondered over them. Them saying that they practiced alchemy meant that they could be either one of Lord Paimon , Lord Vapula or perhaps even Lord Bifron or Lord Marabas. They most certainly could not be Lord Forneus , considering that he specifically stated that there were others better than them. And Lord Forneus ,the most skilled in alchemy and the mystic sciences among all of the Demon Gods, would never state something like this. Of course, this hardly mattered, considering that even what they would describe as low level alchemy would be beyond the dreams of even the greatest alchemist in all of Hell.

          They then turned suddenly and faced her, and caressed her face and said, " What beautiful skin you have." Before she could make sense of their words , they began speaking once again and said , " It truly is a fascinating thing , isn't it , the skin of a demon ? It has the property of being useful in everything from alchemy furnaces to panaceas, to even large array formations. The blood too helps in creating medicines for stabilizing foundation and helping in ascension. The bones, being the most useful, helps once again not only in array formations, but also for smithing and runic inscriptions. Truly, praise be to Inferno, the progenitor of Demonkind for creating such a useful species. "

         Suddenly, she found herself unable to move. Her body had once again went beyond her control. They then turned towards her , having an innocent smile on their face. They then spoke cheerfully and said, " Of course, that's where you come in ! Your body will satisfy all my requirements ! Oh and don't worry, you won't die ! The machine here in front of you has my stored Demonic Qi. So as you may know, it'll keep regenerating not only your physical body, but also prevent any harm to your soul ! After all, I did give you my word, didn't I ? I'm a man of honour , I won't be doing something so disgraceful as breaking a promise to another demon you know ! "

          The machine then opened up to show a seat inside with multiple mechanical arms , fitted with sharp tools all on them. She was terrified, but due to the orders , she couldn't scream , nor could she cry. She began walking towards the machine and sat on the chair. In an instant, metal straps inscribed with runes snapped open and held her limbs in place. They the turned to her and said with a smile,
" Don't worry , it'll be alright ! You aren't going to die you know ! I'll extract your blood, bones and skin, nothing more ! After all, you have my word……"

       The machine shut close , as metallic rumbles emerged from it. The boy walked away from it merrily, feeling a sense of accomplishment. He took out a small black diary , and scribbled something into it. He then spoke up and said, " Well, one thing's done , now onto the next item on the list ! " Placing it back in his soul storage, he then removed a walking stick, and tapped it on the ground. A portal opened in front of him and he stepped through it , leaving the poor victim behind…..

      
Location : The Vryxihs Plains , ???

    
         One could see two large armies facing off against each other on a large plain. The battle was yet to begin , but both the sides could feel the fear and anticipation before the war began. On one end was the alliance of Humans, elves and dwarfs, three of the planet's most powerful species. On the other side stood demons , beings of power , considered to be the strongest on the planet. Each of the species held something that gave them an advantage ; the dwarves their smithing skills , the elves their proficiency with magic and naturally long lifespans and the humans with their large numbers and their ingenuity to make up for their average magical skills with inventions.

     
      The demons however were considered strongest for a reason. While their skills weren't as great as the dwarves, they far surpassed the other species. While their numbers weren't as large as the humans, they still had more of their kind than the dwarves and especially the elves. And their dark arts were definitely more than strong to go toe to toe against the magic of the elves. As such , due to the combination of these things, they were one of the uncontested champions of the world, at least until now.

        The other species had come together, wishing to claim the lands inhabited by the Demons as their own. As such, the situation that everyone was currently in had occurred. The greatest war that the world had ever seen was going to happen. And while no one knew for how many years or decades the war would continue, one thing was certain, that at the end, billions of lives would be lost….

       A large sound of a horn resonated through the air as the morning sun's first rays touched the earth. The battlefield erupted into chaos as both the armies rushed towards each other. If things continued like this, the war would have continued for many years or decades  However, fate it seems , had different plans…..

        Suddenly, the sky turned dark. Gone was the warm morning sun, now replaced with the dark clouds that graced the skies, overlooking the earth. While it was a strange sight, no one paid attention to it and kept advancing. As expected because of the clouds , it soon started to rain. As both the armies were completely drenched in the rain , something completely unexpected happened.

         Before both the armies could clash blades against each other, the army on the human alliance completely disappeared. What was even more strange , was that all of their horses, their wywerns and their armours and weapons fell on the ground. They were submerged in what seemed to be a feet deep blood red liquid. The demons then noticed their bodies and saw that it wasn't water that rained on their body , but rather blood.

   
      The demons started to panic . Was this blood rain the reason for the deaths of the humans and others ? And if so, were they going to die too ? The commanders tried to calm down their soldiers. However, everyone's attention was suddenly drawn to the sky , as the clouds parted themselves to reveal a  Six winged figure of a young boy with blue hair. He had a small walking cane in his hand. The boy was seemingly average looking, yet he was surrounded with an indescribable aura. A feeling of reverence echoed through the hearts of every individual.

     The figure then began to walk calmly towards the centre of the army , the place where the Demon Queen herself was. None of the soldiers dated to block his path and simply moved out of his way and stepped aside. Some had even started to kneel in front of him. And none dared say anything about it, as if it was second nature to them .

       As the boy reached the centre, he came across a heavily guarded individual. A woman, who had a calm , yet firm look on her face, with a demeanor fitting of royalty. Around her were countless soldiers, who had began to step away from the queen, leaving only her along with a woman and a one armed man beside her , who were standing ready to defend their queen.

      The boy turned to the queen and spoke with a solemn tone, with a smile on his face and said , " Are you curious ? The reason why you feel reverence ? As if something primordial calls out to you from the depths of your soul. The reason why your entire body seems to ask you to kneel ? Do you know why , queen of devils, Orinsya ? " The woman beside queen Orinsya, Glysaris had anger plastered on her face as she tried to point her sword at the boy and said, " H-How D-Dare you ! To insult the queen ! Y-You must have a death wish ! "

        While she was trying her best, it was obvious that her body was betraying her. Her body refused to hold any killing intent towards the boy in front of her, as if doing so was wrong. The emotion in her heart was the same had she tried to point her blade towards her queen, only much more stronger. The boy however, didn't seem to mind her words and merely raised a brow.

         Her queen raised a hand and gestured her to stop. She spoke up and said, " Yes. However, are you the one who is causing this ? Are you also the one who destroyed the army of the alliance ? " The boy responded to her question with a simple nod. This involuntarily sent a shiver across the spines of everyone present there. To destroy an entire army , one formed from the combined forces of three different species, and that too in a single instant was no ordinary feat. What sort of horrifying and wicked magic was the person in front of her  capable of to even attempt a feat like this ?

        The boy stepped right in front of her and said, " That aside, for further talks , let us change the surroundings a bit , shall we ? After all, this is no place for royalty to discuss important matters now, is it ? " Saying this, the boy tapped the walking cane on the ground. Suddenly around them , the ground with dirt and grass began to transform into smooth and beautiful marble. Around them rose beautiful arches and pillars , made of smooth seamless marble, seemingly sculpted by the greatest sculptor. The roof arose on top of them in the form of a dome , with multiple precious stones embedded in it , as if recreating the majesty of the starry night sky. In the centre of the newly created structure, was a small beautifully crafted wooden table, along with four leather chairs around it.

  
        All three of them were shocked by this. While it was certainly possible for wizards to change something else or create something out of nothing by using mana to form the
object , this was completely different. Not even queen Orinsya had magic reserves large enough to create something as ludicrous as this. Perhaps she would be able to make the marble ground, and perhaps the table and chairs at best . But all of this ? She would die ten times over before she could even muster enough mana to create all this. And then there was the issue of the finesse and perfection. Whenever one created something from mana , one had to visualize the object in their mind. The stronger , better and more perfect the visualisation, the more better the created object. And from the looks around her, everything seemed to be the pinnacle of perfection. Not even the artists and architects serving the royal family could create something so beautiful like this in their lifetime. Yet the fact that the person in front of her had done so spoke volumes about his skills and powers.

       The man gestured them to seat themselves. While they had seated themselves, Grysalis and her other retainer , Angroz still maintained a cautious stance. After they had seated themselves, the man spoke and said, " Firstly, my name is Rhadamanthus. And to answer your other questions, the reason you are feeling those emotions are because of your Demonic heritage. A high ranked devil like you can sense my Demonic presence. As such, it is causing that feeling of reverence, as all devils and demons intrinsically respect the stronger bloodline holders. "

         While her retainers were slightly furious, she ordered them to stay still. She asked him curiously, " You called me….a devil ? And you called yourself a demon . What is the difference between these ? And are you implying that your bloodline is higher purity than mine ? " The man , now identified as Rhadamanthus, said calmly, " Yes . A fundamental difference exists between demons and devils. Devils are to demons what wywerns are to dragons. Lesser variants of a stronger species. All devils are descendants of demons , and depending upon the rank of the demon from which they descended, ther strength can vary greatly. Your ancestor was a demon too. From the bloodline purity of the royal family, I think he must be a demon general. Two wings, just like devils , yet something much stronger than even the strongest devils.  You must certainly know about it , right ? "

       Orinsya had her eyes wide open with surprise. How did he know about the secret of the royal family ?! It was passed down from the ruler to the next in line, only when the ruler was nearing their death. And even then, it was done with a memory transference spell, to ensure that only the two individuals would know of it. So someone else knowing of it was completely absurd. The secret in question was essentially a story, one detailing how their kind came into being. How in the beginning, there were only the three races, human , elves and dwarves. Then their ancestor descended to the world, and from him came to be. Yet the person in front of her knew that.

        Seeing her surprised expression, Rhadamanthus smiled and said, " Yes, It seems my estimation was correct. No way that the royal family would let knowledge as important as this be lost to the sands of time. " Orinsya asked him curiously, " Then are you a Demon General too like our ancestor ? " While Grysalis was shocked that her queen was comparing this nobody to the great ancestor, she still held her silence out of respect for her.

        Rhadamanthus calmly spoke up and said, " No . Truth be told, I'm something much different. Something much greater. I'm a Demon God, an existence even above the Demon Generals . " This however was the final straw for Grysalis. She immediately unsheathed her sword and pointed it at Rhadamanthus. While she was fuming in
anger , Rhadamanthus was hardly bothered by it.

       He got up calmly and said, " It seems that you do not trust me. I don't blame you, for these truths are perhaps too earth shattering for you. So I'll demonstrate  my might to you. " Orinsya was visibly worried by this . Regardless of the truth of his words , he was strong, that much was certain. Perhaps even more so than her. If a fight broke out between them, how could she hope to stop him, the one who had wiped out the entire alliance's army in a single instant ?

        However, much to her surprise, Rhadamanthus did not enter a fighting stance , nor did he emit any killing intent. He calmly spoke and said, " For this however, I'll require one of your retainers. Do not worry, you have my word, that neither my blade nor my magic shall harm them. " Orinsya breathed a sigh of relief. However, before she could say anything, her retainer , Angroz stepped forward and said, " I volunteer for this. "

       Rhadamanthus merely nodded his head at this. Extending his hand forward, there seemed to emerge some sort of black mist like energy from his palm. For some reason, the energy seemed to call out to her , mesmerising her, as if it was something that would justify the reason for her entire life. Rhadamanthus then pushed the energy ( for lack of a better term ) into Angroz by placing a hand on Angroz's chest.

        Immediately, Angroz began twisting and writhing on the ground in pain. Before Grysalis could rush towards him in worry, Rhadamanthus spoke up in a stern yet firm tone and said, " Do not touch him . If you do , not only him, but even you will die because of the energy recoil ! "  Hearing this, Grysalis stopped in her path yet worry was evident on her face. However, something unexpected happened which caused everyone's eyes
( except for Rhadamanthus's ) to be wide open in surprise.

        Angroz had begun to grow a new arm. Like a plant which grows from a sapling, it was initially small , yet it was steadily increasing in size. He had lost it a few years ago when trying to defend Orinsya from an assassination attempt. This was particularly surprising because no matter how strong one's magic was, no one could regrow lost limbs. While yes, regeneration of wounds was possible, and if one was a strong enough healer , and the dismembered limb was intact, it could be reattached in some rare cases. However regrowing limbs was completely unheard of and quite literally, impossible. Thousands of healers throughout the ages had attempted it, yet none had ever succeeded.

        A few moments after having completely regrown his arm, Angroz had calmed down. While he was still breathing heavily, he was alright for the most part. He looked in surprise and joy at his new arm . Glysaris, overjoyed at her loved one's healed state, ran towards him to embrace him with tears of joy in her eyes. However, before she could hug him, Rhadamanthus stopped her by blocking her path with his walking cane.

       While she was confused by this, Orinsya asked her to heed his command. Rhadamanthus spoke in a slightly condescending tone and said, " Hold your horses there Romeo and Juliet ! You don't want to end up in a tragedy like them , do you ?! " While all three of them were confused by his words, they thought that perhaps giving it an ear was definitely worth it.

      Rhadamanthus then walked towards Angroz and picked up Grysalis's shield. He then handed it to Angroz and said, " Now imagine this shield to be Miss. Grysalis. Now embrace it just as you would have embraced her. " Angroz looked towards his queen in confusion. Seeing that she asked him to do what Rhadamanthus said by nodding to him, he did so. However, the moment he did that, the shield crumpled in his arms like a bundle of hay. The shield , made of the highest quality mythril, capable of withstanding multiple magical attacks and not even being dented when a wywern stepped on it , was crumpled in his hands.

        As the three of them stared in disbelief at the shield , Rhadamanthus smirked and said, " This is why I stopped you. If you can do this to a mythril shield , imagine what would have happened to little Miss. Grysalis over here. " Angroz shuddered at the mere thought that he could have hurt his Grysalis. He asked Rhadamanthus fearfully, " Does that mean I can never touch her again ? "

        Rhadamanthus shook his head and said, " Of course not. The Demonic Qi along with regrowing your arm also increased your strength, agility, reflexes and mana reserves exponentially. It's just a matter of time before you get acclamatised to your new strength. It'll take some training on your behalf, but you'll be fine in a few days at worst. Of course, it's not that your body will weaken again, but rather you'll have a more refined control over your strength as time goes on. "

       Orinsya was in shock hearing this. A sudden thought emerged in her head , could this be the same as the ancestral blessings ?! In the legends , the demon ancestor had chosen the members of the royal family and imparted his blessings to them , transforming them from ordinary demons , or rather devils as she knew now into the royal family, which was significantly stronger than the others of their kind.

       She asked curiously to Rhadamanthus,
" You mentioned something about Demonic Qi. Is it what that strange energy is called ? " Rhadamanthus smiled and said, " Yes. Demonic Qi is something that is the core of a demon's strength. While demons can use mana for normal magic, Demonic Qi is something much more superior than it. Demonic Qi is produced directly in hell , and the farther a dimension exists away from hell, the less Demonic Qi reaches in that dimension and subsequently, the weaker a demon is in that dimension. Of course, this changes completely when Demon Gods enter the equation. Demon Gods differ from other demons , even demon Lords in the aspect that they do not absorb Demonic Qi, but rather create it. A Demon Gods arrival on a battlefield is a sure sign that the opposing army , even if made of gods are going to lose , as not only are Demon Gods massive powerhouses, the Demonic Qi radiated from them greatly strengthens the other demons around them. They're like portable mobile towers in that sense. As for Angroz here, he is now stronger than you and surpasses you in all aspects. You may have the higher and purer bloodline , but now he is infused with pure Demonic Qi from a Demon God. His strength right now is what is commonly classified as an ultimate class
devil. "

        Orinsya took a moment to take in all the information. She was awestruck hearing all of this. While certainly before this , Angroz and Glysaris together working could last against her for a few minutes, but now she could clearly understand that he alone surpassed her in all aspects. His strength was more than proof of it. And Rhadamanthus had just given away this sort of strength just to prove his point. And he wasn't lying when he said that his presence makes devils strong. She could feel herself growing stronger ever so slowly. Perhaps Grysalis wasn't able to sense it , but she was more experienced and accustomed to sensing minute changes in her mana strength. And it was definitely increasing.

        She turned to Rhadamanthus, now her tone more respectful than before and asked , " May I know the reason why you have visited our world then ? " Rhadamanthus calmly spoke and said, " Because of the war. I've come precisely to end the war. I do not wish for it to continue. As such, I have ended it before it even began. " Orinsya was ecstatic to hear this. They were indebted to him for ending the war that would have caused the deaths of countless devils. Not only that, it seemed that they wanted to support, or atleast strengthen the devils. This was a blessing from fate itself. Now all she had to do was convince them to stay here by the side of devils.

       The first plan that came to her mind was a simple one, a marriage proposal between them and her. The child born from such a union would be powerful too, perhaps more powerful than the world had ever seen . And while she didn't mean to brag, but she was fairly beautiful and she had proposals from many nobles, yet she had rejected all of them. And while it was certainly wrong to think that she was thinking about marrying someone she had just met, if it meant the prosperity and survival of her people, she was ready to not only submit her body , but also her soul. For the sake of her people, it mattered not what deeds she had to commit. A ruler exists for the sake of his people. For his duty , there is no cost too great.

         She gazed at her army outside the barrier that protected the meeting hall. Perhaps her people would finally be prosperous, after having endured hardships and wars for aeons, there would finally usher a new era , an age of prosperity. Hope, had once again found place in her heart, all thanks to the one in front of her. She spoke in a solemn tone and bowed to him and said, " For everything you have done, on the behalf of all my people , I thank you. Secondly, please accept this humble request of mine.  Please grant us the honor of providing hospitality to you in our capital. "

        Rhadamanthus smiled and asked her to get up . Walking towards the barrier, he stared silently at the army outside with a smile on his face. He then said, " Worry not. I'll certainly attend the capital in person. After all, how could I reject this gracious hospitality ? However, there is still some work that needs to be taken care of. " Orinsya was confused by his words . What other work was left here in this empty battlefield ?

       Rhadamanthus spoke up in a joyful tone and said, " Of course. What sort of farmer harvests only half the field and leaves the other half just like that ?! Besides, have you
forgotten ? It was both the armies that were drenched in that blood. "  With a snap of his fingers, her entire army disappeared in front of her. All that was left was a large ocean of blood, stretching as far as the eye could see. She was left horrified at this complete change of turns.  She screamed angrily, yet found that for some reason,she and both her retainers were kneeling on the ground. No matter how hard she tried, her body refused to listen. It was as if she Wanted to kneel.

      He turned to them and said while still maintaining the carefree smile on his face and said, " This is another nifty perk that comes with being a Demon God. You can freely order all demons and devils below you . Isn't that fun ?! " Orinsya screamed in rage and said, " Fun ?! You just killed all those people ! How can you be so cruel ?! "

      Rhadamanthus had a hurt expression on his face as he said, " Cruel ! Who ,me ?! How can you say that ?! Can't you see the extent of my mercy , my love for all beings ? " Orinsya asked him with an incredulous expression on her face and said, " You call this mercy ?! " Rhadamanthus smiled calmly and said, " Of course it is ! Even you must have realised that this war would have likely continued for a few decades at the absolute best. Think of all the countless lives that would have engulfed in the flames of war , not just devils but also humans ! By ending this war before it even began, I have saved all those lives. And as for all the people that have died today, it is a small price to pay for salvation. Do you still not see my mercy, my affection , my love ? Am I not a kind God ? "

    
        Orinsya stared in rage at the twisted firm of kindness and mercy in front of her. A mockery of ideals , was all that he was. She spoke in a venomous tone and said, " Then why come here ? Why contact and decieve us instead of outright killing us ?! "  Rhadamanthus kneeled and made eye contact with her. With a crazed smile on his face, he said, " To see despair ! I know how you saw a ray of hope in me , perhaps salvation for your people . To see someone with hope in their heart be drowned and consumed in despair ! Is it not beautiful ?! is it not magnificent ?!  Ah , truly despair is the second most beautiful emotion in existence ! "

       Orinsya was completely terrified on seeing this. Gone was any semblance of sense or reason, the being in front of her was madness. Madness and rage incarnate. Nothing else existed.  He then straightened the tie on his neck, having a calm smile on his face back, as if having once again adorned the false mask of eloquence and sanity.

      He got up and turned to her and said, " I too was like you, once having festered hope within my heart. Having faith , that goodness exists in all and that people can rise above their selfish desires. Yet all my hope was snatched away from me. All that is left now is despair. Darkened despair which I shall paint the world with ! "

        However, someone here was not content , for lack of a better term , with their current situation. Grysalis screamed and said, " Do not worry your Highness, we'll soon find a way to break this strange magic that this wretch is using on us ! After we're free, we'll capture both him and all of his family and show them a hell they can't even dream of for all their crimes ! "

      Orinsya looked at Rhadamanthus and saw something that she had yet to see, rage. His face had a frown on it, with fists clenched tightly. Grysalis, having seemingly noticed this , smirked and said, " Hit a sore spot didn't I ? Don't worry, we won't kill them. After we have tortured them , we'll turn them into slaves. Your father , brother and perhaps even your son will be sent to the mines, toiling day and night without rest. Your mother , wives and daughter however will experience something much worse. They'll be sent to a whorehouse ! Also don't worry , I'll ensure it that they'll be selling their body for the most cheap prices, so even a roadside beggar can enjoy their flesh ! "

        As soon as Grysalis finished speaking, killing intent filled the room. Orinsya had experienced killing intent before multiple times, yet this was completely different. Normally, killing intent is only supposed to instill a sense of fear and uneasiness in you , yet this killing intent was too oppressive. It felt as if her soul was being crushed and yet there was nothing she could do. However, all of it suddenly disappeared as she heard the sound of deep breaths.

  
       She turned to Rhadamanthus and saw that he had once again, a smile on his face. He kept repeating to himself, " No, no. Can't have myself losing my temper. Don't forget Rhadamanthus, you gave your word , you gave your word. " He then turned to Grysalis with a cheery expression and said, " You know another fun fact about Bloodline Domination ? No ? Let me tell you then. You don't need to speak out the commands . You just have to will , and it happens , kinda like this ! "

      Suddenly, Angroz got up. He then made his way towards Grysalis and lifted her up by the neck with a single hand. As she was starting to choke , Angroz cried out and screamed as he said, " Please, please don't hurt her ! Kill me if you want, but please leave her alone ! I beg of you ! " Rhadamanthus smiled and said, " Now now, we can't have that. Don't worry, I myself know that feeling of powerlessness, seeing your love die in front of you, so I know how it feels. Don't worry though , unlike me, your cases will be different, I'm sure of it . But that aside, why are you crying ?! We can't have that now , can we ?! So let's, put a smile on that face. "  Saying this, Rhadamanthus extended his two fingers from both hands and touched the sides of Angroz's mouth. He then pulled it sideways, as if teaching a young child how to smile.

       After this , he stepped away from him as Angroz smashed Grysalis on the ground, while still holding her neck while keeping his foot on her chest while crouching. He still had a smile on his face, and his tears had stopped flowing, due to Rhadamanthus's orders. With his other hand , he then inserted his fingers into Grysalis's mouth. With a loud yank , he pulled out one of her teeth with a large chunk of flesh and bone attached to it. Grysalis screamed, yet his hands continued to do so with the other teeth. After that , he brought his leg to her stomach from her chest. With his hand , he then began to tear open her stomach wide. All of Grysalis's internal organs lay bare . Angroz then grabbed her intestine and pulled it out. He then proceeded to wrap it around Grysalis's neck. Suddenly, a large pole with a small horizontal bar attached to it appeared beside Angroz. He then tied the end of the intestine to the bar. Letting it loose, he now saw the lifeless corpse of Grysalis, swinging and rocking on the bar , with blood dripping down it.

       Angroz tried to cry, yet no tears came out. He tried to scream and weep , yet the smile on his face persisted. Felling to his knees he spoke in a somber tone and said, " How could you ? How could you kill her ?! " Rhadamanthus had an expression of mock hurt on his face as he said, " Who ?! Me ?! I would never do something like that ! I gave you my word, didn't I ?! "

      Orinsya stared at him in rage , while Rhadamanthus merely smiled and took out a small unknown object out of nowhere. It was a violin, with a bow. He then began to play a quaint, melodious tone on it. With a smile he spoke while playing the violin and said, " Allow me to enlighten you on the true nature of Bloodline Domination. It's not a power that orders someone. It's a compulsion. It's completely up to you whether you follow it. Instincts can certainly be tamed , can't they ? Yet you failed to do so. Do you not understand what it means , Mr. Angroz ? "

              ( PLAY THE  OST AT THE TOP )

        Angroz stared in horror at his bloodied hands. Unbeknownst to him however, while Rhadamanthus hadn't lied to him, he hadn't exactly told the complete truth too. While it was true that Bloodline Domination manifested in the form of a compulsion, to term it a simple compulsion would be the same as calling the mighty ocean a  pail of water. The compulsion which arose from it was something primal, something instrinsic to the existence of Demonkind itself. Denying it would be the same as denying one's own existence itself. If the strongest Demon Lords had been unable to resist against it since nearly twenty eight Yugas, what chance did a lowly devil ever
have ?

        However, at the same time, Rhadamanthus changed the symphony he was playing. It became that of something that was beautiful, yet invoking a sense of terror in the listener. Angroz started to laugh maniacally as he kept repeating ,
" I killed her ! I killed her ! I killed her IkilledherIkilledherIkilledher…." While repeating those words, in his insanity, he picked up his sword. In a single instant, he plunged his blade straight through his chest , killing him in a single instant. The blade prevented his body from touching the ground, holding him up. Blood trickled down the blade and mixed with the blood already present from the fresh corpse of Grysalis. The blessings of Orpheus along with the charisma that came with the Demonic bloodline had pushed the poor soul towards madness.

   ( AN : Jump to 00: 47 on the above OST )

      Rhadamanthus gleefully danced and spun around in the puddle of blood , splashing it while continuing to play his violin.  The stark contrast between the bloodied surroundings and the youthful smile and joyful demeanor that seemed to belong to a child was horrifying. Orinsya felt terror like she had never before felt. Yet despite it , her hatred still outmatched her terror and fear.

      As Rhadamanthus stopped his act , he kneeled and stared once again at Orinsya. She spoke in a venomous tone and said, " I curse you ! I curse you even in my death ! You'll suffer. More so than any of my people ! " Rhadamanthus chuckled at this and said with a smile as Orinsya dissolved into a blob of red blood , " Don't worry. I have more than enough of those. Unless you have a few new ones, it won't really matter you know ? "

         And with that, the last survivor of the war that ended before it even began had died. Rhadamanthus placed his violin back into his soul storage and merrily made his way out of the marble hall. Steeping outside on the plains , he stretched his body for a moment to relax. He then kneeled and placed his hand inside the blood. Soon , all of the blood on the battlefield rushed towards him and started to be absorbed by him. His body glowed for a few seconds, accommodating itself to the excess energy , and storing it in his spiritual core.

          He then found his consciousness in a dark place. This was his mental landscape. Around him , were thousands of blackened ghostly figures. Myriad hands then stretched out towards him and wrapped him in place. Haunted screams echoed as they kept on repeating , " Why did you kill us ?! " ;  " It hurts ! "  ;  " What did we do to deserve death ?! "  ;  " Die ! Die ! Die ! "  These were the screams of all the souls who had just died. When a member of the cursed bloodline absorbed too many souls at once , they would have a hard time ' Digesting ' and absorbing them. At that time, they would have to endure the pain and the mental load along with the spiritual load from all the souls they had absorbed and if they failed, they would completely lose their sanity and sense of self.

         Suddenly however, a maddening laughter echoed through the mental landscape. Shido spoke up as a red liquid emerged from where he stood and started to spread outwards and dissolve the souls around him. As the souls cried out in pain he laughed and said, " You think you can kill me ?! You're already dead ! You vermin are nothing more than food on which I feast upon , nothing more than nourishment for me , you worthless cretins ! Hahahahahahahaha !!!!!!! "

             Shido opened his eyes and found himself back on the battlefield. He sighed. He thought that perhaps after more than a century he would have been used to this but at this point, it was more annoying than terrifying to him. Well, atleast he had gained a large amount of energy and Numen from those souls. Granted , due to his large spiritual core capacity, it was barely enough to even count as something. Had it been some other cultivator, he would have advanced directly to the Golden Core Formation from the body training realm where he was currently at ( If he managed to survive that is ) . Well, there wasn't exactly anything he could do, so he didn't mind it too much.

         He then looked around him. Soon , the battlefield was completely clean, just as it had been before the war began. The only thing that was left was different armours, weapons , and shields strewn across the battlefield. Two red tendrils emerged out of Rhadamanthus's arms and fell on the ground. They soon increased in volume before dividing themselves and rose up as multiple clones of him. The clones rushed across the battlefield and started to pick up all the objects there. After they had been gathered and seperated into different piles, with swords in one pile , shields in another, staffs in one as such , Shido put all of them in his soul storage. Just because he had countless divine weapons didn't mean that he was going to waste all those simple magical weapons. Besides, what he was doing wasn't exactly illegal, considering that he was just collecting spoils of war. It was not stealing, but just proper etiquette.

       The multiple clones then converged into two large blobs. The blobs then rose in size and took on the forms of  majestic, yet terrifying beasts , beings of power and destruction, those whose arrival heralded destruction, Elder Dragons. This was of course due to the special ability of the Cursed Bloodline, where upon killing and absorbing any being , the individual could turn themselves or their clones into that being. Of course, it cost a large amount of mana to sustain two Elder Dragons, but when you have infinite mana and Qi from the collective unconscious, it hardly mattered. The dragons flapped their wings , and rose to the skies. They went in different directions, one to greet humans, the other to greet devils. Their destination was the capitals, more specifically, the palaces within the capitals that held wealth and weaponry.

         He then proceeded to transfer jump and stand atop the dragon that was heading towards the devil capital. The real reason he had come to this dimension was because of what was being kept in the capital of the devils, more specifically in the royal treasury. Nyarlothep had detected an energy, strange yet it was strong enough that it could leave extremely faint traces even outside this dimension. His goal was to get whatever the artifact was that was emitting this energy. The loot from the human side and other things were just added bonuses.

       In a few minutes, he arrived at the devil capital. It's huge enchanted walls were useless against it as his dragon clone merely smashed through it as if it was paper. The devils tried to attack it , yet all of them were incinerated like flies by the dragon's breath. Once the dragon was right above the palace, Shido simply jumped calmly from it towards the ground. However, he made no attempts to land properly on the ground. As soon as his body hit the ground, it splattered everywhere with chunks of flesh flying off and a large puddle of blood forming there. However, the chunks a d blood gathered at the spot where Shido landed as he started to assemble his body. After all, why put efforts to land perfectly when it doesn't matter ? He wasn't going to die because of a simple fall, so why go through all the trouble ?

 
       The dragon then flew off and continued to cause havoc in the capital. On the other end , the other dragon was doing the same in the human capital. Feeling satisfied, Shido made his way towards the lower levels of the castle, where the artifact was located. He had all the floor plans of the castle from Orinsya's memories, so he wasn't going to get lost here. While making his way towards the treasury, he had two long red tendrils that were emerging from his back and slicing, piercing and absorbing any foolish devil that tried to attack him. When he was slightly bored , he used the Bloodline Domination ability to make the devils kill themselves with their own weapons, kill each other or a few unlucky ones he had ordered to start eating their own body. They would either die a slow and painful death by blood loss , or if they were lucky , die by being crushed under the falling rubble. Oh well. Who cares ? It wasn't his concern at least.

          He then came across a large door. In front of the door, was a single middle aged person, guarding it with his sword in hand and donning a suit of armour. He was the
treasurer , and unless he himself opened it ,  the door wouldn't open.  Of course, he could disable the lock which was attached on the door which was essentially based on the simple principle of Grcacodk'n method of
seals , commonly used in olden days for making magical locks. It would only take him a few hours at best , but why go through all the trouble when the door opener was right in front of you ?

       The person spoke in a defiant tone and said, " I don't know who you are , but no matter what happens, you shall never step foot in the royal treasury ! " Shido merely shrugged at this and said, " Sure . Be my guest . "  Before the person in front of him could charge at him and attack, the tendrils slashed and dismembered both of his legs in the blink of an eye. As he cried out in pain , one of the tendrils quickly raised him in air while the other plucked out his eyes. His ears and tongue was next as they too were ripped apart. The tendril then started to flay and rip out the skin on his arms , torso and face. After that , it started to rip out it's guts in a feral frenzy, similar to a ravenous beast. After it's entire stomach was gouged out and parts of the skull were visible in place of his face, the tendril which was holding him up began to trash him on the floor like a ragdoll before finally throwing him down.

 
        However, the treasurer's pain was not yet over. One of the tendril then pierced his
torso ( or atleast what was left of it ) . Soon , his entire body including limbs , eyes and skin began to regenerate like it was growing back. However, he continued to scream in pain. This was because while the Cursed Bloodline allowed the user to regenerate and regrow the body parts of even other people, it was ultimately upto the Bloodline holder what sort of experience it would be for the subject when regeneration occurred upon usage on others. It could range from the same amount of pain one feels while taking a vaccine shot, to feeling as if your entire body was set on fire while thousands of spikes pierced your flesh. Guess which one did Shido choose for the person in front of him.

        After the person had fully regenerated, Shido calmly said, " One . " Before the other person could even make sense of it, the tendril picked him up and the entire process was repeated on him again, right down to the exact spot the slashes and cuts were made. After the whole process was finished and he was regenerated again, Shido said , " Two . " As soon as he finished speaking, the victim's torture began once again.

        After a few moments, as he lay on the ground once again, as his body had once again started to heal under the effect of cursed bloodline, he saw that Shido had manifested a third tendril which was lighted on fire as he was roasting a piece of chicken over it while a fourth tendril sprinkled some sort of spice mixture over it. He himself was drinking something out of a large glass bottle. Taking a large chug of the liquid, Shido spoke up again and said, " This'll continue as long as you don't open the door buddy. Don't worry, I'm in no hurry. Take your time. Oh , on that note, Three. "

        Thus once again began the victim's torture, while his torture drank and had a hearty meal. He would have perhaps been able to smell the wafting aroma in air , if he had a nose to smell. Or breathe. Or even have a face at this point. Once again, he landed on the floor near the door. Before the tendril could come to him however, he quickly yet weakly lifted his hand and placed it on the door , passing a surge through the door, finally opening it.

          Shido had a look of genuine surprise and slight disappointment as he said, " Huh, I thought you'd at least last until the thirtieth round, but I guess playtime's over. Oh well. " Saying this, the tendril instead of healing him simply picked him up and threw him on the nearby wall. The body immediately exploded into a thousand pieces along with the wall collapsing, which is what happens when you throw a sack of flesh at Mach 8 at a brick wall.

         He then made his inside the treasury. Gold and other precious metals along with gems were kept on one end. The artifacts and weapons however, were neatly arranged and placed on large golden shelves. They were all useless for him , yet his eyes were drawn to the corner on one of the shelves. A seemingly simple black rock protected by multiple barriers on it. Shido's eyes widened in disbelief upon seeing this. He rushed towards it and immediately picked it up.

         As soon as he held it in his hands however, his flesh started to emit a brilliant blue light and started to disintegrate. Shido laughed hysterically upon this. The fact that it was managing to hurt him despite multiple barriers was the proof that what he held in his hands was a genuine Shaligram. The Shaligram was an extremely special gemstone which didn't form normally. It comes into existence only from the blood of the Aura Guardian himself. It was essentially a crystallisation of the blood of the Cosmos's strongest Light user.

         It was so potent that while it wouldn't outright kill him if only exposed to brief period of time, it was still powerful enough that of one had a Shaligram with them , even a Demon God would dare not approach them. The Shaligram repelled both darkness and evil . Only light users could truly withstand it. And if the purity of their light was not enough, even they could be slightly affected by it. Just finding it was worth the entire trip.

      However, he had a strange feeling in his heart, as if the situation wasn't that simple. While he couldn't explain it , he still used the
' All Seeing Eyes Of The All Father ' or simply the ' All Father's Eyes ' , which was something that fools could obtain . It was a gift from Philemon himself, and worked similarly to divine sight of gods which allowed gods to see and sense various energies and look for the soul signatures of others. Of course, since they were a gift from Philemon himself to Fools, they had a few additional features too.

        Peering inside the Shaligram, he saw something that blew his mind. Inside it rested some sort of unknown object. He couldn't make out what it was because it seemed to mask itself. What was strange was that not only something had somehow managed to get inside a Shaligram, but also stay intact. Even a divine artifact would be destroyed due to the sheer energy density inside. Nothing could endure the energy of Shaligram except….. !

        As soon as he realised the truth , his eyes were wide open in surprise. The Shaligram held within it a Primevial artifact ! All mystical artifacts in the cosmos were divided into three grades :

1) Normal Grade ( The ones used by humans and other lower beings )

2) Divine Grade ( The ones used by Gods like raikiri , Zeus's bolt , Gungnir etc. )

3) Primevial Grade  ( EA used by Gilgamesh belongs here )

Primevial Grade artifacts were something even beyond divine level artifacts. They were highly coveted, not just because of their horrifying power , but also due to the fact that how rare they were. Only Higher Beings could even try to create one of these. No matter how hard a God tried , it was simply impossible. It was an iron clad rule of the cosmos. And in his hand, he was most likely holding one of these.

        But then the question of how to get it out arose in his mind. There was nothing he could do considering that all of his attacks were Darkness based , which would be completely rendered useless on the gem. While he did have countless divine weapons, he could detonate each and every one of those and not a single scratch would appear on the stone. Then it occurred to him . How could he have been so blind when the answer was right in front of him ?! A force which was neither of Darkness, nor of Light. It simply held the concept of cutting down whatever stood in its path, Blade Force.

      He immediately placed the stone on the ground. Taking out a simple divine level katana out of his soul storage, he readied himself and took his stance. He began to channel blade force through the katana , untill it glowed a dim golden hue. In a single slash , he brought down the katana. A slash appeared on the Shaligram which ran vertically across it. The slash started to grow into multiple cracks out of which brilliant blue light emerged. Shido panicked and screamed , " SHIT ! "  He then immediately covered himself on a large done made out of Primordial Darkness. The gemstone however, exploded into a brilliant blue light which engulfed not only the castle, but the entirety of the capital itself. In a single instant, each and every devil in the capital had their bodies and souls disintegrated by the light.

            As the light dissipated, what was left in the hall was a single black dime, which seemed to swallow all light around it. The dome opened itself and from it stepped out Shido who had a nervous smile on his face. The dome was now only 2 inches in thickness while at the time of deployment it was nearly nine feet in thickness. The aura had shredded it's layers and those of Darkness was what saved him. While he wouldn't have died , but he would have been injured to the point where it would take him a few weeks to recover and interdimensional travel would have been impossible.

        However, he started to panic when he realised that all the devils in the capital were wiped out. Sure , they hadn't gone extinct since many scattered settlements of them still existed and many of them managed to leave the capital before the explosion. But it still had reduced their population by nearly sixty percent. If things continued like this, the humans would drive devils to extinction due to their low numbers. So he had to either give the devils some powerful divine level weapon or teach them some special mystical art from the thousands that existed in the Akaksha. But he suddenly stopped as he had a moment of realisation. Why go behind all these complex ideas when the solution could be something much more simpler , something much more easier ? He snapped his fingers and ordered his clone in the alliance capital to take action.

Location : The Alliance Capital

        The humans , elves and dwarves ran helter skelter , desperately trying to save themselves from the wrath of the dragon. They had seen wywerns, but the only time true dragons ever came up was only in stories and legends. They had never thought that they would ever see one , much less be dying at it's hands . The soldiers had stopped fighting it a long time ago and instead focused on evacuating everyone, for regardless of numbers and strength,  to fight a dragon was the greatest folly. Dragons were a force of nature itself, raw, uncontrolled destruction incarnate. Nothing could stop them, much less kill or even hurt them.

         However something unexpected happened.  The rampaging dragon suddenly stopped in its tracks and stood with its wings stretched outwards. The dragon's chest suddenly split open and out of it emerged a large metallic sphere of some sort. While everyone stared at the beast in bewilderment, the sphere itself opened up and from it emerged a small doll (?) of some sort. From the doll emerged a loud and clear voice as it proclaimed , " This is a public service announcement . It's time for the weekend Barbecue ! " As soon as the doll finished speaking, a bright white light emerged from it. The entire capital was consumed in Light and Fire. This world had witnessed the power of a Fusion warhead, courtesy of the blunder of a certain blue haired boy.

Location : The Palace , Demon Capital

            Shido nodded and smiled in satisfaction after confirming that the alliance capital was destroyed. This should balance things out , maybe. Eh , it's alright. Besides, he made sure to transport a Fusion Warhead in the clone body, instead of a Fission Warhead, so there was no fear of radioactive fallout. So the humans would be safe ( except those that had just died in the capital ). With this , he had effectively culled the numbers of all four species roughly to about forty percent of their original population. This should ensure that it will take the species centuries to recuperate their numbers and losses, so there shouldn't be another great war at least for a long time. So in the end , even though he had killed a few million people, he had saved the lives of many more which would have died had the war continued.

         That aside, it was time to see what the
' Loot box '  had dropped for him. He just spent a Shaligram for drawing the gacha , so it better be worth it ! He then ran towards the object which was on the ground . He then picked up the object, which was a dull black bow. However, as soon as he picked it up, a powerful energy coursed through him. The bow itself began to change from the dull black into a brilliant and dazzling Golden colour. On the bow's riser ( the middle portion where you hold the bow ) ten gems began to light up one by one until they all shone magnificently. The bow had chosen and  completely accepted it's new owner.

          Shido's eyes were wide open as his hands trembled with shock and ecstasy. He couldn't believe it. He didn't just find a Primevial weapon, he found one of the Strongest Primevial weapons ! Not only that, IT had accepted him and gave him all his strength. He couldn't wait to test it ! No wait, this wasn't the right spot to test it ! He needed a suitable location ! He immediately took out Nyarlothep's cane and tapped it on the ground, opening a portal in front of him. He literally ran through the portal to reach his destination. The portal disappeared immediately as he stepped through it, as he left the world, with destruction in his wake…..

Location : A solar system , Crab Nebula

        In a distant Solar System, in a galaxy far far away, a boy stepped into the vacuum of space. This would have normally killed anyone, but it didn't matter to the boy. He had no need for resources like oxygen and the cold space didn't bother him as he could control every aspect of his body with mana. He then took out a Golden Bow out of nowhere. Taking a stance, he pulled back the bowstring. A tiny black mass gathered at the centre of the bow which morphed itself into something that resembled the shape of an arrow. As the arrow was forming, Space-time itself began to twist and contort in front of the bow. It spun rapidly and frantically, like a vortex . The very forces of nature were breaking in front of the bow. Then , in a single instant, the arrow was launched.

                     ( Play the above OST )

       The arrow covered the distance of millions of miles in a fraction of a second, moving faster than light itself. Five planets stood in its path. Five planets bore it's Wrath. It pierced effortlessly through them , leaving a large cavity in its wake. It finally reached the star which stood at the centre of the Solar System, majestic yet terrifying. It collided with the star , yet instead of exploding , it did something different. The star soon began to be engulfed by a dark substance , similar to which formed the arrow that collided against it. The Darkness first engulfed the star , then began to expand even rapidly. The Darkness spread out as a dome which engulfed everything. The planets , their moons , the comets , the asteroids, everything. All that existed, the Darkness engulfed it.

       Yet in the Darkness, the boy stood with a maniacal smile on his face , ecstatic at the results . He was not bothered by the Darkness, how could he ? Darkness bowed to him, heeded it's commands, for it belonged to him . As the Scion of Darkness, Primordial Darkness followed his will. He gazed around himself. Truly, magnificent was the beauty of Eternal Darkness, which embraced all that came into its arms. The only thing that still shone in the Eternal Darkness was the bow in the boy's hands. The bow , which had chosen it's new wielder. The bow , forged by the Aura Guardian himself. The bow which once slayed the Great Demon Lord , Hiranyaksha. It's name was Sharanga. And it , had chosen it's wielder.

Location : ??? , The collective unconscious

       A grey haired man sat idly on a blue chair beside a blue table. He was enjoying his drink from a beautiful wine glass. The room and everything in it, from the carpet to the shelves was completely velvet blue. Suddenly, a door opened in the room out of nowhere. Out of it stepped a certain blue haired kid .The grey haired man got up and bowed as he said,  " The Crawling Chaos pays his respects to the Great Sharangadhar , wielder of the Mighty Sharanga.  "

      The boy sighed and said, " Quit with your jokes you bastard. Pour me a drink , will you ? "  Nyarlothep chucked and seated himself along with Shido . He then poured him the drink in another glass. As Shido drank it, Nyarlothep asked, " So , how does it feel to be the next Sharangadhar ? To have one of the Cosmos's strongest weapons in your hands ? " Shido shrugged and said, " To be honest, I was not expecting it. I had gone to that world hoping to add another divine weapon to my collection , instead I found ….. this ….. Still , as strong as it is , I don't really think it'll be useful in close quarters combat, considering that with the energy normally used to blow up a brick wall, I kinda blew up a solar system…. "

        Nyarlothep laughed and said, " Of course. After all, that is the true power of the Sharanga. It's not a weapon per se , but rather an amplifier. It amplified whatever energy is channeled through it. And while it was created by The Aura Guardian, a being of Light, it itself does not discriminate between Light or Darkness. That's just how it's nature and property is. "

      Shido nodded and suddenly asked in a somber tone, " So how many did I kill ? " Nyarlothep looked at him in confusion and surprise while Shido sighed. He said,
" Come on now Nyarlothep, have you forgotten I have all the knowledge of the Akaksha ? I know the criteria for selection by Sharanga. The bow selects not character or ideals , but only Greatness. And Greatness by nature is neither good or evil. Great is the man that saves a thousand innocents. Great is the man who holds the strength to slay thousand innocents. And even though I don't have memories of my past , I sure as hell wasn't a saint ! For crying out loud, I literally created a swordstyle called the ' Slaughterer's Path ' ! So answer me this . How many people did I kill in my past life as Rhadamanthus ? "

     Nyarlothep breathed a heavy sigh and said, " I'll be honest with you. The number of lives that you took can't be expressed in simple words , much less a statistic. Countless souls fell to your blade. Every being that knew of your name feared you , and for a good reason. Your title as the Scion of Darkness, Lord Eldritch, The Destroyer Of Worlds , was conferred upon you for a reason……"

       Shido took a moment to compose himself. He then said, " And despite this , your leaving the Cosmos's strongest Primevial Weapon in my hands….. "  Nyarlothep scratched his head and said, " Well , once Sharanga has chosen it's wielder, there's nothing we can do untill you relinquish it's control by your own will. And besides, it's not THE Strongest Bow in the cosmos, just the second strongest. "

 
     Shido's eyes were wide open with surprise and confusion as he said, " But the
Akaksha... ! " He stopped abruptly as Nyarlothep smiled and he came to the realisation. The Akakshic records were maintained by Nyarlothep and Philemon himself. As such, if there was something that Philemon didn't want others to find out, it was completely possible for him to do so. He calmed himself and said, ". I'm listening. "

      Nyarlothep smiled and said, " What I'm going to tell you is something very few individuals know in the entirity of the cosmos. Not even the Heavenly Twelve or the Demon Gods have knowledge about this. You see, Primevial Grade artifacts aren't the strongest artifacts in the cosmos. There is a rank of artifacts above them. There exists something above them. Something that predates them. They're called Primordial Artifacts. All of them were either created or are in some way related to the Mahakala and were created during the early days of the formation of the cosmos. Some of them include the staff of Lady Maya, the Paramount Dao ; the staff of Daityayani, gifted to her by the Mahakala himself when she was under his tutelage ; the Great Sword Asi, which wasn't just the first Sword that cane into existence, but rather the first weapon in the cosmos itself. And of course, there is Pinaka , the strongest bow in the cosmos. "

        Shido was listening intently to what Nyarlathotep was saying. He still found it difficult to believe , but knew that it was indeed true. Nyarlothep began speaking again and said, " To understand about Pinaka, you'll first have to understand about how Sharanga was created. As you may know, it was created by the Aura Guardian himself to defeat the Demon Lord Hiranyaksha. However, he didn't just one day wake up and create it, no. What happened was while the Aura Guardian, or Ashura was conflicted with the situation and how to defeat Hiranyaksha. He just seemed too powerful. So he meditated and connected himself to Aura itself, and asked it for guidance. While Aura doesn't communicate per se , it still shows the path to the one holding the position of the Aura Guardian.

    
          And it was at this moment, when  under meditation, he saw what Aura wanted him to see. He saw a majestic and awe inspiring bow , far surpassing anything he had witnessed before. It's strength could not be described yet he felt a strange sense of attraction towards it. Upon snapping out of the trance , he put himself to work and created Sharanga, which finally defeated Hiranyaksha. Of course, the battle wasn't an easy one, as entire galaxies were destroyed by the fight between Hiranyaksha and Ashura.  Yet Ashura prevailed in the end , finally managing to slay him . He later relinquished control of the Sharanga and dispersed it in the cosmos. And now it is in your hands , having chosen you now. "

        Shido inquired Nyarlothep in surprise, nearly screaming as he said, " You mean to say, that the bow in my hand which blew up a fucking solar system with ease and I'm sure it can definitely do more , is a fucking replica of another bow ?! What the actual fuck ?! " Nyarlathotep smiled and said, " Of course. Sharanga may be strong, yet it's nothing compared to the bow it is based on, Pinaka. Of course, the funny thing is, Pinaka belonged to and was created by the Mahakala , meaning Ashura himself in his past life. Of course, at that time he had no idea about it. Yet he did manage to get it back. After the progenitor of Demonkind, Inferno had broken from his seal and Ashura gained back his powers and memories as the Mahakala, he used the Pinaka to kill him. Of course, he had to do drag Inferno outside the cosmos itself, so as to not destroy all of the cosmos upon using Pinaka. "

       Shido pondered over it for a moment and said, " So how strong is Pinaka ? " Nyarlothep paused momentarily and then said, " It's kinda difficult to quantify the power of such a weapon which is the first bow in existence itself. However, I'll say this ; If fired inside the cosmos, the energy from the Pinaka will destroy everything. Matter , energies, Light, Darkness, mana , Qi , blade force ; every energy and force that exists, it will end. Of course, the Mahakala and Lady Maya will be fine because she's existence itself and even if the cosmos is gone , she still will be fine. And the Mahakala will be fine because he's the goddamn Mahakala. What else do you expect ? "

       
          Shido held his head and sighed heavily. He then suddenly paused for a moment, before asking hurriedly to Nyarlothep , " Wait a minute. Sharanga is a replica of Pinaka, which means Pinaka must have had the similar power of amplification, albeit on a much larger scale. But you said that if you use it , all known energies in the cosmos will be destroyed. And you can't use the energies to destroy the energies. So what the fuck does it fire ?! "

       Nyarlathotep smiled sheepishly and said,
" Yeah , about that…. You see , it fires composite arrows for lack of a better term. The arrows it fires are formed from the fusion of the Flames from the Third Eye of the Mahakala and another ' Special ' material….. "  Shido looked at him curiously and said, " Then what is this special material ?......"

         Nyarlothep looked around here and there , trying to avoid eye contact. He finally gave up and said, " Well to put it simply ; the special material is an universe . Or universes if you need a bit more firepower . " Shido merely screamed , " What !! " Nyarlothep chuckled nervously and said, " Yeah , it launches an entire dimension or as I said, if you want a bit more firepower, the entire dimensional branch, adds it with the Flames from the Third Eye of the Mahakala, and then fires it at the target ! "

( AN : The dimensional branch here refers to the alternate branching paths arising from any dimension. For example, the marvel universe of the Marvel cinematic universe is one dimension, and the entirety of the marvel comics universe with all the parallel timelines and alternate realities are the branches that arise from it.  So when Nyarlothep says that it uses an entire dimensional branch, it for example will use not only the marvel cinematic universe, bit also the all the parallel realities connected to it. )

       After listening to this , Shido got up and flipped the table and threw it at a nearby bookshelf. He screamed as he said, " WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS WRONG WITH THAT GUY ! What sort of madman uses an entire dimensional branch as an arrow !! Fuck ! Fuck ! What the hell was he smoking when he created this ?! What the hell is wrong with him ?!!!!! "

      Nyarlothep tried to calm him down by saying, " Well , in his defense, he created it in the earlier days of the cosmos, and at that
time , he really didn't care much about others. Besides, it's not like he's firing it on a daily basis you know ? He hasn't used it since many Yugas after Inferno was killed. So don't worry too much about it. Here , have a sip , maybe it'll calm you. " Shido immediately snatched the bottle from Nyarlothep's hands and emptied it in a single gulp.

         Nyarlathotep stared at him with his mouth wide open, before sighing and saying , " I should have thought before handing it over to you….  I only had a single glass……"  Shido didn't pay attention to it and said, " Hey , sip counts as a gulp , so it's the same thing. That aside, you're sure I can keep Sharanga, right ? "  Nyarlathotep sighed and said, " Of course. It has chosen you , so you're free to use it as you see fit. Just don't go around exterminating humans throughout the cosmos. Of course, if you really need to vent out your anger , other species extinction is fair game. So go
crazy. "

      Shido nodded and said, " Hmm…. I see. That aside, when are you leaving ? " Nyarlothep had a look of shock on his face as he said, " Umm…. Can't I stay a bit ? I know you won this room , but come on man ! I was it's owner for such a long time ! " Shido scoffed and said, " And now it belongs to me. So leave. " 

       Nyarlothep got up and grumbled incoherently. A portal appeared in front of him  While leaving, he said, " I'll give you the locations of any new treasures if I  find any. I'll take forty percent of it in exchange. As he stepped through the portal, Shido said calmly with closed eyes, " Thirty percent. " Nyarlothep peeked his head out of the portal and said , " Over my dead body ! I want forty percent, and that's final ! "

        Shido smiled while still keeping his eyes closed and removed a crimson red katana from his soul storage and said, " Sure , be my guest. War God Six Swords : Fifth Sword ….."  Before he could finish however, Nyarlothep screamed and said , " Alright ! Alright ! I'll take thirty percent  ! Happy ?! " Shido placed his sword back into his soul storage and said, " Very much so. Good bye , Nyarlothep. "  Nyarlothep left with a scowl on his face as the portal closed behind him. Shido smiled and took out another bottle from his soul storage and opened it before drinking straight out of it. This night, once again, had been a very resourceful one…….

And with that the chapter is done ! This was a bit longer than any of the previous chapters too. And this should give you a pretty good idea of Shido's personality. I did say it already before that he is cruel. He's definitely no hero. He can and will do messed up things. Oh and on that note, the book just passed 1K reads ! Thanks a lot for that ! Once again, feel free to ask any questions, opinions or suggestions.

Word count : 14430 words