602. Certain Death
It happened so fast. The Beast unleashed an attack that wiped out everything. A blinding light engulfed my vision, and hundreds of miles were incinerated in an explosion in an instant. The landscape, the swathes of wild Demons, and [The Great Agarus]— they were all consumed by the blast.
Was it a Grand Skill? Or was it just a regular Skill? Did the Beast even have regular Skills? I didn’t know.
All I knew was that I couldn’t have reacted in time if not for my [Angelic Premonition]. I thought I had been safe. I thought that since I was hiding in my pocket space, the Beast’s attacks couldn’t reach me. But I was wrong.
I saw my death flash before my eyes— a vision of what was to come if I didn’t react right now. The explosion shredded the shifting landscape of Reconstruction. The floating droplets of Demon’s blood eddying up to the sky would instantly evapore. And the fractal walls of [The World Of My Mind] would crack, before shattering open as I…
I acted quickly, returning to reality. I spun around, cursing as I reached for my pocket space. Haec blinked. Bertrugil looked towards me with wide eyes. Taburas and Aemula just stood off to the side, completely confused as to what was going on.
There was a flash of light behind me, and the glass-like panels of my pocket space began to dim. I moved [The World Of My Mind] away from the Netherworld. But navigating between the folds of space wasn’t easy. We didn’t instantly appear in the void between the planes.
And that moment where everything was still spinning was when the explosion finally reached us. The white inferno that expanded outwards, covering dozens of miles in a few seconds. But we didn’t feel the impact until a moment after, when the pocket space began to shake.
“Salvos, this is…?”
Haec whispered, turning to me with a harrowed look. [The World Of My Mind] trembled as the glass-like walls around us shone with a blinding white light. The quickly dimming walls was instantly brightened, and the ground beneath my feet began to crack.
“I knew we shouldn’t have even been here!”
Bertrugil exclaimed as he stumbled back.
“I knew this would happen—”
“Just let me focus!”
I snapped, cutting off the [Abraxas]. I closed my eyes as the vision from my [Angelic Premonition] played once again in my head. I took in a deep breath, feeling the walls of my pocket space beginning to give in.
Taburas shouted something, and I could hear Aemula’s panicked voice echoing in the distance. But I ignored all that. Just like when I learned how to control my [Manifestation of the Old Gods]. So I could focus on what I needed to do.
I saw the world unveiling around me— not as I saw it with my eyes, but as a plane in space. And what I saw was the dimensional fabric of the Netherworld itself tearing open. Not just where [The World Of My Mind] was located, but all around us, holes were ripped open from the sheer force of the Beast’s attack.
And I saw my opportunity there. The chance to flee from the blast. Instead of trying to force my way through the fabric of the Netherworld with my own magic, I could just navigate through the broken space around me. The same way I had used the grand ritual to summon the Demon King to leave the Mortal Realm.
So that was what I did. Even as [The World Of My Mind] trembled and shook. Even as the Beast’s blast engulfed everything in hundreds of miles. I calmly navigated my pocket space away from the inferno, traveling out of the holes in space as Haec stared.
Taburas stopped shouting, and Bertrugil looked on with round eyes. Aemula was the last to grow silent, pausing only when she realized the blinding light was dimming. The scene of the Netherworld engulfed in the white blanket was gone.
I blinked my eyes open, looking at the darkness surrounding us. There was no black hole, nor were there floating objects hovering in stasis. Since I didn’t control where we were going, I didn’t escape to where my dad’s pocket space normally was located. Instead, I appeared in a random spot between the planes where nothing but a blackness was there.
Now Leaving [Nexeus: Netherworld]
“That was close…”
I sighed, collapsing to the cracked ground. I wiped the non-existent sweat off my brow, before looking around. [The World Of My Mind] was in a terrible state. The entire cube was covered in cracks, practically falling apart.
Haec stood next to me, stunned at what he just witnessed. And both Taburas and Aemula were kneeling on the ground, the look of terror on their faces slowly vanishing. Bertrugil shook his head as he looked towards me, before he opened his mouth.
I thought the [Abraxas] was going to admonish me— maybe curse me out. But he just gave me a grateful look.
“Good job… getting us out of there.”
He offered a weak smile, and I picked myself back up.
“Well, I guess I did get us into that mess in the first place!”
I paused, tilting my head back.
“Or maybe I didn’t. Venas was after you guys, after all. So I guess I saved you guys.”
I beamed to myself as the [Abraxas] rolled his eyes. He drew back, and I turned to Haec. The former Heir of the Netherworld was standing off by himself, still staring at the cracked walls of my pocket space.
“I’ve never seen such power before…”
Haec whispered as I walked up next to him.
“Even the Demon King isn’t nearly that powerful. I— that was…”
He trailed off, and I grinned.
“That was amazing, right?”
I spoke up as he blinked. He turned to face me, breaking out of his stupor.
“Huh?”
Haec stared at me, and I nodded eagerly.
“That was a battle between Primordial Demons! And not just any Primordial Demons, but the Beast was there! Didn’t you know? It’s the highest-leveled being in all of the Netherworld!”
“I… I knew that.”
He slowly nodded, but he didn’t look as excited as me. He chewed his lips, glancing back towards the glass-like walls— as though he could still see the figure of the Beast standing there in the darkness.
“But that wasn’t amazing, Salvos. That was… terrifying.”
I stared at my companion as he weakly raised a hand.
“Such power… such ferocity… how is Regnorex’s Kingdom still standing? How does the Demon King’s Domain even exist when such monsters roam the Netherworld?”
“I dunno.”
I shrugged, before placing a hand on Haec’s shoulder.
“But there’s no need to be afraid of them! Because look at you—”
I gestured towards him with a smile. I quickly used [Identification] on him, before shaking my head.
“You’re already Level 150! You’re about to evolve into a Primeval Demon, just like me. And after that, the only evolution we have left is to become a Primordial Demon!”
Haec stared at me with round eyes as I took a step back, smirking. I gave him a reassuring look as he continued processing my words. He opened his mouth, trying to formulate a reply. But it was Taburas who spoke up.
“You… did you not just see what we saw? How are you excited over that?”
She was shaking as she stepped forward. I saw the horror in her eyes, and she placed a hand on her chest.
“We nearly died because of you! You told us we were safe! How are you still so… so full of yourself after what just happened?”
“We nearly died, but we didn’t.”
I corrected Taburas with a smile. She blinked a few times, trying to work her jaw. But she couldn’t come up with a response to my flawless logic. I waved a hand off dismissively.
“Look, Haec and I will both become Primordial Demons soon anyway. When that happens, we’ll be just as strong as [The Great Agarus].”
And after that, I’ll become even stronger than the Beast, I quietly added in my head. But I didn’t vocalize that thought. I knew better than to antagonize Taburas even further, especially in her current state.
She stared at me, and so did Haec. It wasn’t just the both of them either. Aemula finally rose to her feet as she muttered quietly.
“She… she can’t be serious, right?”
The [Fiend] turned to Bertrugil for answers. And he just shook his head.
“I’m pretty sure she isn’t.”
“What?”
I scoffed as I crossed my arms.
“Do you really think I won’t be reaching Level 200 anytime soon? Come on—”
I started. But a voice cut me off. And it wasn’t any of the four Archdemons standing before me who spoke.
“Unfortunately, I think you’ll find the road to a Primordial Demon to be quite difficult, my dear daughter.”
My eyes went as I watched a rift open up in the middle of my pocket space. A black hoof stepped out, and a red face smiled at me. I paused as I saw who it was.
“Wait, what are you doing here?”
Taburas gasped when she saw who it was, and Haec took a step back as he whispered.
“You’re… the Devil.”
MelasD
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602. Certain Death
It happened so fast. The Beast unleashed an attack that wiped out everything. A blinding light engulfed my vision, and hundreds of miles were incinerated in an explosion in an instant. The landscape, the swathes of wild Demons, and [The Great Agarus]— they were all consumed by the blast.
Was it a Grand Skill? Or was it just a regular Skill? Did the Beast even have regular Skills? I didn’t know.
All I knew was that I couldn’t have reacted in time if not for my [Angelic Premonition]. I thought I had been safe. I thought that since I was hiding in my pocket space, the Beast’s attacks couldn’t reach me. But I was wrong.
I saw my death flash before my eyes— a vision of what was to come if I didn’t react right now. The explosion shredded the shifting landscape of Reconstruction. The floating droplets of Demon’s blood eddying up to the sky would instantly evapore. And the fractal walls of [The World Of My Mind] would crack, before shattering open as I…
I acted quickly, returning to reality. I spun around, cursing as I reached for my pocket space. Haec blinked. Bertrugil looked towards me with wide eyes. Taburas and Aemula just stood off to the side, completely confused as to what was going on.
There was a flash of light behind me, and the glass-like panels of my pocket space began to dim. I moved [The World Of My Mind] away from the Netherworld. But navigating between the folds of space wasn’t easy. We didn’t instantly appear in the void between the planes.
And that moment where everything was still spinning was when the explosion finally reached us. The white inferno that expanded outwards, covering dozens of miles in a few seconds. But we didn’t feel the impact until a moment after, when the pocket space began to shake.
“Salvos, this is…?”
Haec whispered, turning to me with a harrowed look. [The World Of My Mind] trembled as the glass-like walls around us shone with a blinding white light. The quickly dimming walls was instantly brightened, and the ground beneath my feet began to crack.
“I knew we shouldn’t have even been here!”
Bertrugil exclaimed as he stumbled back.
“I knew this would happen—”
“Just let me focus!”
I snapped, cutting off the [Abraxas]. I closed my eyes as the vision from my [Angelic Premonition] played once again in my head. I took in a deep breath, feeling the walls of my pocket space beginning to give in.
Taburas shouted something, and I could hear Aemula’s panicked voice echoing in the distance. But I ignored all that. Just like when I learned how to control my [Manifestation of the Old Gods]. So I could focus on what I needed to do.
I saw the world unveiling around me— not as I saw it with my eyes, but as a plane in space. And what I saw was the dimensional fabric of the Netherworld itself tearing open. Not just where [The World Of My Mind] was located, but all around us, holes were ripped open from the sheer force of the Beast’s attack.
And I saw my opportunity there. The chance to flee from the blast. Instead of trying to force my way through the fabric of the Netherworld with my own magic, I could just navigate through the broken space around me. The same way I had used the grand ritual to summon the Demon King to leave the Mortal Realm.
So that was what I did. Even as [The World Of My Mind] trembled and shook. Even as the Beast’s blast engulfed everything in hundreds of miles. I calmly navigated my pocket space away from the inferno, traveling out of the holes in space as Haec stared.
Taburas stopped shouting, and Bertrugil looked on with round eyes. Aemula was the last to grow silent, pausing only when she realized the blinding light was dimming. The scene of the Netherworld engulfed in the white blanket was gone.
I blinked my eyes open, looking at the darkness surrounding us. There was no black hole, nor were there floating objects hovering in stasis. Since I didn’t control where we were going, I didn’t escape to where my dad’s pocket space normally was located. Instead, I appeared in a random spot between the planes where nothing but a blackness was there.
Now Leaving [Nexeus: Netherworld]
“That was close…”
I sighed, collapsing to the cracked ground. I wiped the non-existent sweat off my brow, before looking around. [The World Of My Mind] was in a terrible state. The entire cube was covered in cracks, practically falling apart.
Haec stood next to me, stunned at what he just witnessed. And both Taburas and Aemula were kneeling on the ground, the look of terror on their faces slowly vanishing. Bertrugil shook his head as he looked towards me, before he opened his mouth.
I thought the [Abraxas] was going to admonish me— maybe curse me out. But he just gave me a grateful look.
“Good job… getting us out of there.”
He offered a weak smile, and I picked myself back up.
“Well, I guess I did get us into that mess in the first place!”
I paused, tilting my head back.
“Or maybe I didn’t. Venas was after you guys, after all. So I guess I saved you guys.”
I beamed to myself as the [Abraxas] rolled his eyes. He drew back, and I turned to Haec. The former Heir of the Netherworld was standing off by himself, still staring at the cracked walls of my pocket space.
“I’ve never seen such power before…”
Haec whispered as I walked up next to him.
“Even the Demon King isn’t nearly that powerful. I— that was…”
He trailed off, and I grinned.
“That was amazing, right?”
I spoke up as he blinked. He turned to face me, breaking out of his stupor.
“Huh?”
Haec stared at me, and I nodded eagerly.
“That was a battle between Primordial Demons! And not just any Primordial Demons, but the Beast was there! Didn’t you know? It’s the highest-leveled being in all of the Netherworld!”
“I… I knew that.”
He slowly nodded, but he didn’t look as excited as me. He chewed his lips, glancing back towards the glass-like walls— as though he could still see the figure of the Beast standing there in the darkness.
“But that wasn’t amazing, Salvos. That was… terrifying.”
I stared at my companion as he weakly raised a hand.
“Such power… such ferocity… how is Regnorex’s Kingdom still standing? How does the Demon King’s Domain even exist when such monsters roam the Netherworld?”
“I dunno.”
I shrugged, before placing a hand on Haec’s shoulder.
“But there’s no need to be afraid of them! Because look at you—”
I gestured towards him with a smile. I quickly used [Identification] on him, before shaking my head.
“You’re already Level 150! You’re about to evolve into a Primeval Demon, just like me. And after that, the only evolution we have left is to become a Primordial Demon!”
Haec stared at me with round eyes as I took a step back, smirking. I gave him a reassuring look as he continued processing my words. He opened his mouth, trying to formulate a reply. But it was Taburas who spoke up.
“You… did you not just see what we saw? How are you excited over that?”
She was shaking as she stepped forward. I saw the horror in her eyes, and she placed a hand on her chest.
“We nearly died because of you! You told us we were safe! How are you still so… so full of yourself after what just happened?”
“We nearly died, but we didn’t.”
I corrected Taburas with a smile. She blinked a few times, trying to work her jaw. But she couldn’t come up with a response to my flawless logic. I waved a hand off dismissively.
“Look, Haec and I will both become Primordial Demons soon anyway. When that happens, we’ll be just as strong as [The Great Agarus].”
And after that, I’ll become even stronger than the Beast, I quietly added in my head. But I didn’t vocalize that thought. I knew better than to antagonize Taburas even further, especially in her current state.
She stared at me, and so did Haec. It wasn’t just the both of them either. Aemula finally rose to her feet as she muttered quietly.
“She… she can’t be serious, right?”
The [Fiend] turned to Bertrugil for answers. And he just shook his head.
“I’m pretty sure she isn’t.”
“What?”
I scoffed as I crossed my arms.
“Do you really think I won’t be reaching Level 200 anytime soon? Come on—”
I started. But a voice cut me off. And it wasn’t any of the four Archdemons standing before me who spoke.
“Unfortunately, I think you’ll find the road to a Primordial Demon to be quite difficult, my dear daughter.”
My eyes went as I watched a rift open up in the middle of my pocket space. A black hoof stepped out, and a red face smiled at me. I paused as I saw who it was.
“Wait, what are you doing here?”
Taburas gasped when she saw who it was, and Haec took a step back as he whispered.
“You’re… the Devil.”
MelasD
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