593. Reconstruction
Reconstruction had begun. The Unveiling had come to an end. It was time for the second stage of Regnorex’s plan to move forward.
…I didn’t know what any of that meant, but that was what Haec had said, and apparently it was a big deal.
I flew into the sky and watched as the Netherworld shifted all around me. The crevices that had spread as far as I could see began to twist and turn into each other. The earth rumbled, and spouts of lava erupted into the air.
It was like when Revelation had first begun— but different. It was a small difference, however it was evidently clear. The magma that spilled out into the earth came from the ground underneath rising to fill the broken earth.
The ravines seemed to unfurl like a blooming flower, giving way to the new ground that ascended from below. It was happening gradually. The tremors continued for what felt like forever as the sky flashed above.
I raised my head, watching as white holes ripping through the sky fade and flicker. They cracked with black lightning. But the lightning bolts never crashed into the ground. I swept my gaze over the changing landscape as thousands of distant figures scattered into the sky and the land in utter disarray.
They were tiny little specks, tens of miles away. I could make out the vague shapes of their bodies because of my enhanced senses. However, to see further, I needed a Skill like [Manifestation of the Old Gods].
But… I didn’t need it to tell that the distant figures were thrown into a panic.
They were wild Demons— or at least, most of them had to be wild Demons. And yet, for the first time ever, I had seen them display fear. Well, I had sometimes seen wild Demons flee and run when they knew that it was pointless to continue fighting. But I had never seen them in such a state of confusion.
All they did was follow their strongest instinct at the moment. So there was nothing to ever be confused about. And yet, for whatever reason, they didn’t know what to do right now.
Some of them took to the skies, while others descended to the shifting ground. A few remained hidden in the crevices, but they were crushed by the moving earth. And as their blood spilled into the earth, a strange sensation washed over me.
I lowered my head with a frown.
“What is that feeling…?”
I placed a hand on my chest as I narrowed my eyes.
I felt… uneasy.
Like something was wrong.
It reminded me of when I used to have [A Hunter’s Sense]. Whenever the Skill warned me that something was amiss— whether it was a trap nearby or whether I was being watched. But it wasn’t like I was in immediate danger.
Or at least, I didn’t think so.
But the sensation refused to fade away. Even as I descended back to Haec, Bertrugil, Taburas, and Aemula. The four Archdemons were standing atop a ridge, overlooking the effects of Reconstruction on the world.
“So, um, what happens now?”
My voice drew their attention back to me. They hadn’t even noticed me landing right next to them. They were too distracted— they looked unsettled. I pursed my lips.
“Do you guys feel that too?”
“We do.”
Aemula nodded slowly. She placed one of her six hands on her chest.
“I was told it would be uncomfortable, but I never imagined it would be like this…”
“Huh.”
I stared at her, then I looked at Taburas who just nodded. Bertrugil seemed less agitated by this strange sensation. He shook his head, before waving a hand dismissively.
“You learn to ignore it over time. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“But what is it?”
I asked, tilting my head. And it was Haec who answered. He was staring into the horizon— his gaze unfocused at something far, far away.
“It is the instinct that allows Salvation to occur. The very same instinct that protects newborn Demons from being massacred in an instant by more powerful evolutions.”
Slowly, my first ever companion turned to face me. He held my gaze as he explained simply.
“It is the desire to return to the place of your birth.”
I blinked a few times, before opening my mouth. I looked past him, wanting to protest— I wanted to tell him that I didn’t care about any of that. But that was when a memory flashed in my mind. I thought of my very first moments of existence.
I remembered when I saw my name for the very first time. When I thought my very first thought. When I first became me.
And my heart ached. I stumbled forward as I bit my lower lip. I looked back up to Haec, and he continued.
“Wild Demons— those who cannot control their instincts— are the most susceptible to this. They scramble for the lands they were born in before it is fully replaced by a new Netherworld. They seek safety there. They feel protected and at ease as Reconstruction plays out all around them.”
Haec brought a hand up, and I blinked as the black stains covering his body began to peel away. My eyes went wide as the dried smears of blood covering him evaporated into a thin mist that floated into the air.
And it was not just from him either. I looked back as all around me, these little globules of Demon’s blood floated into the sky. It happened even slower than the shifting of the earth. The movements of the dark liquid were strange and almost unnatural. It was like something in the air was sucking them up, but I couldn’t see what.
“The world is preparing itself for Advent— for Genesis. For those who had perished to be replaced. For new life to begin.”
Haec spoke slowly as he finished. I stared at him, before looking at the unfurling Netherworld all around us. I managed to work my jaw.
“But how does that work? Why does it protect the newborn Demons if we go back to our birthplace?”
“Because Genesis never occurs in the same place.”
Taburas explained from behind me. She snorted, crossing her arms together.
“Did no one ever teach you this?”
“Nope!”
I replied in an instant. The [Succubus] massaged her temples.
“Figures.”
I looked back up towards the sky as the first vestiges of a dark cloud formed overhead. It was still so small, hovering in the air beneath the flickering white rifts. It was an extraordinary sight— it reminded me of a natural magical phenomenon like when the stars would fall from the sky in the Mortal Realm.
But I could not bring myself to look at this scene in awe. Because it reviled me. For whatever reason, I felt repulsed just staring at the black dot forming in the sky. It was like I was peering into a darkness that wasn’t supposed to be there, and I involuntarily took a step back.
I clenched a fist to steel myself, before looking down at myself. I thought of my birthplace— the time I spent staring at a rock seemed so distant, but the fondness I held for those memories remained. Just the thought alone put me at ease.
It was nice. It was a different time. A simpler time. But… was it better than the time I spent with Haec?
Was it better than the time I spent exploring the Mortal Realm?
No, I told myself simply as I raised my head. It is not better than the time I spent with my companions. Not in the slightest.
I broke myself out of my stupor, before turning back to Haec. He was still distracted. And so were both Aemula and Taburas. Bertrugil just stood off to the side, looking slightly unsettled by mostly annoyed by how we were just standing around.
“I hate dealing with newbies…”
He muttered, and I took a step forward. I brought my hands together, clapping loudly for all to hear.
“Hey! That’s enough daydreaming!”
I exclaimed as Haec, Taburas, and Aemula reeled. They blinked and turned towards me as I gestured vaguely around us.
“So Reconstruction has begun— great. Now what do we do?”
Taburas and Aemula blinked a few times, looking like they were still struggling to shrug off the unsettling feeling. But Haec calmed himself by looking at me. He nodded slowly as he refused to break away from my gaze.
“I do not know. I have never experienced it in my life, but I was told by Oracli that Reconstruction is just as dangerous as the Unveiling.”
“That’s ridiculous— Reconstruction isn’t just as dangerous as the Unveiling.”
Bertrugil snorted from the side. He gestured at the world around us, before shaking his head.
“Reconstruction is clearly far more dangerous than the Unveiling.”
I blinked.
“Wait, seriously?”
I had thought that the start of Revelation was already very dangerous. Well, sure, I thought it wasn’t that bad after I had visited the second layer of the Netherworld and the End of the World. And while I highly doubted that the second half of Revelation was nearly as bad as what I experienced down there, I was still surprised to hear that Reconstruction was more dangerous than the Unveiling.
“But why?”
I asked Bertrugil, and he wagged a finger at me lecturingly.
“Because there is no place left to hide, and all the Demons in the Netherworld that remain are forced out of the earth to fight against each other. Sure, there are far fewer of them wandering around than during the Unveiling. However, what remains is…”
My eyes flickered as I realized where he was going with this.
“Those that remain are the most dangerous. The strongest survive, and the weak die. Now, we have no other choice but to fight the survivors.”
I raised my head, meeting Bertrugil’s gaze.
“We have to fight the strongest.”
“Exactly.”
He nodded simply, and I pursed my lips. That was… alarming. While the Unveiling wasn’t that bad since I mostly fought weak Demons with the occasional strong ones here and there, Reconstruction was going to be far more dangerous since there were only strong Demons around now.
“Fortunately for us—”
Bertrugil continued as he took a step forward. He looked up at a group of wild Demons flying overhead, ignoring us entirely.
“—most of the wild Demons are too focused on returning to their birthplaces to go out of their way to attack us. They will only do so if we are in their way.”
I paused. I opened my mouth as I stared at the [Abraxas].
“That’s not that bad—”
“All wild Demons except for a single one.”
He spoke simply as the ground shook. It was a subtle shaking, mixed together with the rumbling of Reconstruction, so I didn’t even notice it at first. None of the four Archdemons with me noticed it either, too focused on the discussion at hand.
“Only a single wild Demon continues to roam the Netherworld, destroying everything it sees. Never coming to settle in its birthplace, even during Salvation. ”
Bertrugil continued, and once again, the ground shook. Or, rather, it seemed to jolt. And that was how I noticed it. I raised my head, looking past Bertrugil as I saw a shadow in the distance. The sense of unease I felt only heightened, and this time it came from [Angelic Premonition].
I stepped past Bertrugil as he finished.
“And this wild Demon is the most feared throughout the Netherworld. The most dangerous. The wildest of them all. It is—”
I pointed past him, interrupting him as I caught sight of the tall dark shadow. I saw it, without needing [Manifestation of the Old Gods]. I didn’t even want to use the Skill anyway. I didn’t want to risk it.
I just saw its long serpent-like heads. I saw its massive figure. One that I had only seen from another space before.
And I whispered its name.
“The Beast.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Bertrugil nodded as Haec, Taburas, and Aemula looked at where I pointed. They paled, backing away in fear as the [Abraxas] slowly turned after them.
“But how did you… oh.”
He froze when he saw it. The Demon that Demons feared the most. The highest-leveled being in all of the Nexeus. A Demon that predated even my father. There, standing in the horizon with its glowing eyes and many heads was—
The Beast.
MelasD
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593. Reconstruction
Reconstruction had begun. The Unveiling had come to an end. It was time for the second stage of Regnorex’s plan to move forward.
…I didn’t know what any of that meant, but that was what Haec had said, and apparently it was a big deal.
I flew into the sky and watched as the Netherworld shifted all around me. The crevices that had spread as far as I could see began to twist and turn into each other. The earth rumbled, and spouts of lava erupted into the air.
It was like when Revelation had first begun— but different. It was a small difference, however it was evidently clear. The magma that spilled out into the earth came from the ground underneath rising to fill the broken earth.
The ravines seemed to unfurl like a blooming flower, giving way to the new ground that ascended from below. It was happening gradually. The tremors continued for what felt like forever as the sky flashed above.
I raised my head, watching as white holes ripping through the sky fade and flicker. They cracked with black lightning. But the lightning bolts never crashed into the ground. I swept my gaze over the changing landscape as thousands of distant figures scattered into the sky and the land in utter disarray.
They were tiny little specks, tens of miles away. I could make out the vague shapes of their bodies because of my enhanced senses. However, to see further, I needed a Skill like [Manifestation of the Old Gods].
But… I didn’t need it to tell that the distant figures were thrown into a panic.
They were wild Demons— or at least, most of them had to be wild Demons. And yet, for the first time ever, I had seen them display fear. Well, I had sometimes seen wild Demons flee and run when they knew that it was pointless to continue fighting. But I had never seen them in such a state of confusion.
All they did was follow their strongest instinct at the moment. So there was nothing to ever be confused about. And yet, for whatever reason, they didn’t know what to do right now.
Some of them took to the skies, while others descended to the shifting ground. A few remained hidden in the crevices, but they were crushed by the moving earth. And as their blood spilled into the earth, a strange sensation washed over me.
I lowered my head with a frown.
“What is that feeling…?”
I placed a hand on my chest as I narrowed my eyes.
I felt… uneasy.
Like something was wrong.
It reminded me of when I used to have [A Hunter’s Sense]. Whenever the Skill warned me that something was amiss— whether it was a trap nearby or whether I was being watched. But it wasn’t like I was in immediate danger.
Or at least, I didn’t think so.
But the sensation refused to fade away. Even as I descended back to Haec, Bertrugil, Taburas, and Aemula. The four Archdemons were standing atop a ridge, overlooking the effects of Reconstruction on the world.
“So, um, what happens now?”
My voice drew their attention back to me. They hadn’t even noticed me landing right next to them. They were too distracted— they looked unsettled. I pursed my lips.
“Do you guys feel that too?”
“We do.”
Aemula nodded slowly. She placed one of her six hands on her chest.
“I was told it would be uncomfortable, but I never imagined it would be like this…”
“Huh.”
I stared at her, then I looked at Taburas who just nodded. Bertrugil seemed less agitated by this strange sensation. He shook his head, before waving a hand dismissively.
“You learn to ignore it over time. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“But what is it?”
I asked, tilting my head. And it was Haec who answered. He was staring into the horizon— his gaze unfocused at something far, far away.
“It is the instinct that allows Salvation to occur. The very same instinct that protects newborn Demons from being massacred in an instant by more powerful evolutions.”
Slowly, my first ever companion turned to face me. He held my gaze as he explained simply.
“It is the desire to return to the place of your birth.”
I blinked a few times, before opening my mouth. I looked past him, wanting to protest— I wanted to tell him that I didn’t care about any of that. But that was when a memory flashed in my mind. I thought of my very first moments of existence.
I remembered when I saw my name for the very first time. When I thought my very first thought. When I first became me.
And my heart ached. I stumbled forward as I bit my lower lip. I looked back up to Haec, and he continued.
“Wild Demons— those who cannot control their instincts— are the most susceptible to this. They scramble for the lands they were born in before it is fully replaced by a new Netherworld. They seek safety there. They feel protected and at ease as Reconstruction plays out all around them.”
Haec brought a hand up, and I blinked as the black stains covering his body began to peel away. My eyes went wide as the dried smears of blood covering him evaporated into a thin mist that floated into the air.
And it was not just from him either. I looked back as all around me, these little globules of Demon’s blood floated into the sky. It happened even slower than the shifting of the earth. The movements of the dark liquid were strange and almost unnatural. It was like something in the air was sucking them up, but I couldn’t see what.
“The world is preparing itself for Advent— for Genesis. For those who had perished to be replaced. For new life to begin.”
Haec spoke slowly as he finished. I stared at him, before looking at the unfurling Netherworld all around us. I managed to work my jaw.
“But how does that work? Why does it protect the newborn Demons if we go back to our birthplace?”
“Because Genesis never occurs in the same place.”
Taburas explained from behind me. She snorted, crossing her arms together.
“Did no one ever teach you this?”
“Nope!”
I replied in an instant. The [Succubus] massaged her temples.
“Figures.”
I looked back up towards the sky as the first vestiges of a dark cloud formed overhead. It was still so small, hovering in the air beneath the flickering white rifts. It was an extraordinary sight— it reminded me of a natural magical phenomenon like when the stars would fall from the sky in the Mortal Realm.
But I could not bring myself to look at this scene in awe. Because it reviled me. For whatever reason, I felt repulsed just staring at the black dot forming in the sky. It was like I was peering into a darkness that wasn’t supposed to be there, and I involuntarily took a step back.
I clenched a fist to steel myself, before looking down at myself. I thought of my birthplace— the time I spent staring at a rock seemed so distant, but the fondness I held for those memories remained. Just the thought alone put me at ease.
It was nice. It was a different time. A simpler time. But… was it better than the time I spent with Haec?
Was it better than the time I spent exploring the Mortal Realm?
No, I told myself simply as I raised my head. It is not better than the time I spent with my companions. Not in the slightest.
I broke myself out of my stupor, before turning back to Haec. He was still distracted. And so were both Aemula and Taburas. Bertrugil just stood off to the side, looking slightly unsettled by mostly annoyed by how we were just standing around.
“I hate dealing with newbies…”
He muttered, and I took a step forward. I brought my hands together, clapping loudly for all to hear.
“Hey! That’s enough daydreaming!”
I exclaimed as Haec, Taburas, and Aemula reeled. They blinked and turned towards me as I gestured vaguely around us.
“So Reconstruction has begun— great. Now what do we do?”
Taburas and Aemula blinked a few times, looking like they were still struggling to shrug off the unsettling feeling. But Haec calmed himself by looking at me. He nodded slowly as he refused to break away from my gaze.
“I do not know. I have never experienced it in my life, but I was told by Oracli that Reconstruction is just as dangerous as the Unveiling.”
“That’s ridiculous— Reconstruction isn’t just as dangerous as the Unveiling.”
Bertrugil snorted from the side. He gestured at the world around us, before shaking his head.
“Reconstruction is clearly far more dangerous than the Unveiling.”
I blinked.
“Wait, seriously?”
I had thought that the start of Revelation was already very dangerous. Well, sure, I thought it wasn’t that bad after I had visited the second layer of the Netherworld and the End of the World. And while I highly doubted that the second half of Revelation was nearly as bad as what I experienced down there, I was still surprised to hear that Reconstruction was more dangerous than the Unveiling.
“But why?”
I asked Bertrugil, and he wagged a finger at me lecturingly.
“Because there is no place left to hide, and all the Demons in the Netherworld that remain are forced out of the earth to fight against each other. Sure, there are far fewer of them wandering around than during the Unveiling. However, what remains is…”
My eyes flickered as I realized where he was going with this.
“Those that remain are the most dangerous. The strongest survive, and the weak die. Now, we have no other choice but to fight the survivors.”
I raised my head, meeting Bertrugil’s gaze.
“We have to fight the strongest.”
“Exactly.”
He nodded simply, and I pursed my lips. That was… alarming. While the Unveiling wasn’t that bad since I mostly fought weak Demons with the occasional strong ones here and there, Reconstruction was going to be far more dangerous since there were only strong Demons around now.
“Fortunately for us—”
Bertrugil continued as he took a step forward. He looked up at a group of wild Demons flying overhead, ignoring us entirely.
“—most of the wild Demons are too focused on returning to their birthplaces to go out of their way to attack us. They will only do so if we are in their way.”
I paused. I opened my mouth as I stared at the [Abraxas].
“That’s not that bad—”
“All wild Demons except for a single one.”
He spoke simply as the ground shook. It was a subtle shaking, mixed together with the rumbling of Reconstruction, so I didn’t even notice it at first. None of the four Archdemons with me noticed it either, too focused on the discussion at hand.
“Only a single wild Demon continues to roam the Netherworld, destroying everything it sees. Never coming to settle in its birthplace, even during Salvation. ”
Bertrugil continued, and once again, the ground shook. Or, rather, it seemed to jolt. And that was how I noticed it. I raised my head, looking past Bertrugil as I saw a shadow in the distance. The sense of unease I felt only heightened, and this time it came from [Angelic Premonition].
I stepped past Bertrugil as he finished.
“And this wild Demon is the most feared throughout the Netherworld. The most dangerous. The wildest of them all. It is—”
I pointed past him, interrupting him as I caught sight of the tall dark shadow. I saw it, without needing [Manifestation of the Old Gods]. I didn’t even want to use the Skill anyway. I didn’t want to risk it.
I just saw its long serpent-like heads. I saw its massive figure. One that I had only seen from another space before.
And I whispered its name.
“The Beast.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Bertrugil nodded as Haec, Taburas, and Aemula looked at where I pointed. They paled, backing away in fear as the [Abraxas] slowly turned after them.
“But how did you… oh.”
He froze when he saw it. The Demon that Demons feared the most. The highest-leveled being in all of the Nexeus. A Demon that predated even my father. There, standing in the horizon with its glowing eyes and many heads was—
The Beast.
MelasD
You can now read up to 30 chapters ahead on my patreon and support the webcomic.
Join my discord or subreddit.
Follow me on twitter or instagram.
