Chapter 110: Ch 110 : A council of Ancient Malice
"We haven’t found a single one," Ichor, the Demon Lord of Corrosion, snarled. His voice was a low hiss that seemed to scrape against the very air, causing the jagged, red rocks around him to weep a foul, acidic slime. "Not one."
For a day, he and Maledictus had followed the trail of the new Gods, only to find empty space where planets once orbited. The faint, tantalizing scent of divine energy lingered, a ghostly reminder of the prey that had slipped through his grasp.
Maledictus, the Demon Lord of Curses, glided beside him, her bat-like wings stirring the sulfurous air with an effortless grace. "They are not simply running, Ichor. They are being moved," she mused, her voice a melodious hum that was far more chilling than any demonic roar. "I am more interested in this masked God, the one who weaves portals and spirits entire worlds away. Such a talent for evasion is... noteworthy".
"Bah! He is just someone with a slightly better talent for running," Ichor scoffed, kicking a loose rock and watching it dissolve into bubbling sludge before it hit the ground.
"These single-trick whelps are nothing. They wouldn’t be able to even scratch us." His maniacal laughter echoed across the desolate landscape, but it died in his throat as a new figure appeared on the horizon, a silhouette of absolute authority against the blood-red sky.
The figure was humanoid but radiated a power that warped the very air around him. His skin was deep charcoal, and two wickedly curved horns jutted from his brow, complementing unsettling, pitch-black eyes that glowed with a malevolent amusement.
It was Deimos, the Demon Lord of Discord. He paid the other two no heed, his gaze fixed on the city in the outside world as he strode past them, an emperor entering his domain.
The city of Ashgar, This was the City of Beginning and Conquer, the holy land where the first demons, the seven demon lords were released by their Void Beast creators, had taken root.
This city was where they created the demonic realm, a realm that was so vast that it connected to all the multiverses.
As the three Demon Lords entered, the two thousand Demon Gods standing guard—handpicked champions of by these demons lords—bowed their heads in silent, instinctual reverence. Their path led to a colossal castle at the city’s heart, a fortress carved from a single, mountain-sized obsidian stone.
Inside, in a grand, circular hall, a massive table of polished bone awaited them. Four other figures were already seated, each a monolith of ancient evil.
There was Phobos, the Lord of Fear, a being of shifting shadows and countless screaming faces. Belial, the Lord of Lies, a handsome, smiling demon whose eyes held no warmth.
A shrouded, silent figure sat hunched over, a being whose very presence seemed to drain the hope from the air—the Demon of Despair. Opposite him, a gaunt, skeletal demon with a perpetually distended stomach gnawed on a blackened bone, its eyes burning with an endless, gnawing hunger—the Demon of Gluttony.
The seven Demon Lords were assembled.
"Shall we begin?" Deimos asked, his voice calm but carrying an authority that left no room for dissent.
Six voices replied in unison. "Yes".
"The Lord’s meeting is officially open," Deimos declared, his black eyes sweeping over his peers. "If any of you have information of value, share it now".
Ichor slammed a corroded fist on the table, his eagerness palpable. "We should speak of the new Gods".
"New Gods?" Belial, the Lord of Lies, leaned forward, a look of genuine surprise on his deceptively charming face. The others turned to him, their expressions a mixture of disbelief and amusement. "Don’t you know about this?"
"I have been busy," Belial replied smoothly, a hint of annoyance flickering in his eyes at being so out of the loop. "How many multiverses have they conquered?"
A wave of derisive laughter erupted around the table. It was a harsh, grating sound that echoed through the castle. Belial’s smile tightened, his curiosity about the situation increased even more.
Ichor finally took pity on him. "Conquered? They are not conquerors, Belial. They are prey. Many of them are running and hiding from us as we speak". He puffed out his chest with pride. "I myself have already taken four of them as my personal slaves."
"Oh?" Belial’s interest was piqued. "Slaves? Then you must possess some valuable information, no?" He was dumbfounded. The old Gods were formidable foes who had fought to their last breath. Killing many demons gods, and even killing the demon lords for millions of times, if these new Gods turned out to be weak, he would really be disappointed.
Ichor’s boastful expression faltered for a second. "I... actually forgot to ask any questions because of the meeting," he admitted, a wave of regret washing over him. That simple oversight might have cost him thirty-four more planets.
"My territory is connected to a few million of them," a raspy voice whispered. It was Phobos, the Lord of Fear. "Apart from a few with SS-Grade talents, the others are pathetically weak." He licked his lips, the grotesque sound echoing in the hall. "But their fear... their fear is truly tasty."
"I know," Ichor agreed eagerly. "The four I caught were crying buckets of tears. Such a delightful vintage."
A deep, resonant voice cut through their boasting, silencing the room instantly. It was Deimos. "One of these new Gods has caught my eye," he said, his tone casual, yet every Lord at the table leaned in, their full attention captured. "You may have all the others."
"Oh?" The other lords spoke almost in unison, their ears perked like predators sensing a worthy challenge after millennia of boredom. "Is he strong?"
Deimos leaned back in his throne of bone, a slow, ancient smile spreading across his face. "Perhaps," he replied, his eyes gazing into a distance only he could see. "It has been centuries since I last saw him. He was just a fly back then."
He paused, letting the silence hang in the air, thick with anticipation.
"Now," Deimos continued, a dark, hungry amusement in his voice, "I only hope he has grown into a dragon".