However, I could no longer ask the angels. It’s not that I finally succumbed to fear and fainted; I’m not that weak, but instead because my time in heaven ran out.
(Little one…)
[It is about time…]
[For you to return…]
<To your world.>
As they said this, my body began to glow in a translucent blue light. It was a class of energy I had never seen before! .
“But there’s still questions I…!”
Before I could ask them, the scenery around me changed. From the cloudy scenery, my surroundings turned into a barren wasteland. Seeing the magic array before me, this must be the location where Azrael called for the elevator.
[Human, you’re finally back.]
Then, a voice echoed inside my head. It was Azrael’s familiar, godly voice.
“You…! you just suddenly vanished; I thought I was going to get killed by those wheels, you know?!”
Now that those Thrones were nowhere in sight, I could finally unload my pent-up fear by changing it to anger. Azrael, becoming the recipient of my outburst, simply tilted his head as if unable to understand why I was angry in the first place.
*Pant!* *Pant!* *Pant!*
When I was finally out of breath, I could feel that my heart and mind got a lot lighter. That should be enough for today.
“And? What are your plans from now on?”
I asked directly, since I have no way of predicting what a being of his level would do. Azrael looked up, toward a location far away, which I can’t even fathom.
[I need to return to the Otherside first. Then, I’ll start to fix the anomaly there.]
“… Sounds like a plan. And us? Do you need us for anything?”
[Actually, yes, I have another request.]
“…”
B*stard. I was just asking to be polite! How dare you actually request something more from us!
[Now that I have fixed my connection with the Otherside, I can feel that the border between this world and that one is becoming weaker. I want you and your friends to fix the barrier protecting the world.]
“…!”
The scale of the request was beyond what I imagined!
Fixing the border between the two worlds? I’m not even sure who to ask for that! Maybe Zeshion and Goddess Zeta, since it’s technically “space” related.
“We don’t have a time limit, do we?”
I asked just in case. Azrael smiled and answered.
[Of course, there’s none. But the faster it’s completed, the better.]
In short, the deadline was A.S.A.P. F*ck you!
“Master!”
Just as I was feeling like cursing at Azrael, a portal suddenly appeared to my side. Ember popped out of it, followed by Fang, Igni, Fatima, and finally Fina, Minerva, and Hekate.
“Master, where did you go all this time?!”
“Wait. I wasn’t gone for long, though?”
I was away for roughly an hour at most, wasn’t I? Were Ember and the others such worrywarts? Suddenly, Ember was pulled aside by Igni, her face as serious as could be.
“My Lord, you’ve been away for 10 days!”
“… What?”
Ten days? I was away for that long? Maybe time in heaven isn’t equivalent to time in our world? Wait, rather than that…!
“The Otherside! What’s going on with it right now?!”
Namia’s prediction mentioned that we’d be facing millions of god-level demons in a week. And if Igni’s words are true, then that was already three days ago.
Hearing my question, I noticed that everyone’s faces were grim. They eyed each other, as if seeing who would be the best to relay the information. In the end, it was Fatima who stepped forward.
“Actually, the Succubus Lord’s words came true. Millions of god-level demons were observed to be spreading all over the globe.”
“D*mn it! Azrael! What’s the meaning of this?!”
The situation we came to heaven just to prevent ended up happening anyway! I turned to the gigantic angel floating above us with a gaze filled with anger. However, Azrael simply shook his head.
[That, I’m sorry about. The journey using the elevator took longer than expected. Our stay should’ve just lasted three days in this world’s time, but the delay tripled it.]
So it was that elevator’s fault, then?
“Wait, who cares about that now? The god-level demons! How can we face millions of them at once?!”
“Master, currently, all God tamers are out strengthening the country’s defenses. Fina also helped, and I also did my part, but we could only defend our kingdom at most…”
Hearing Ember’s sad tone, I could only imagine what had happened to the other countries by now. Attacked by millions of god-level demons. It was a recipe for a nightmare, for sure. If I hadn’t gotten information about the Singularity, then I might’ve thought it was this one.
At this rate, entire humanity would be wiped out before the Singularity even began!
[Human…]
Just as I was wracking my brain, thinking of a solution to this conundrum, Azrael’s voice echoed inside my mind.
[Since this situation is mostly my fault, let me offer you some help. I’ll wipe out as many demons as I can before my 24-
hour time limit ends. After that, you can only rely on yourselves.]
“…”
After hearing his offer, I began to think. If God Zeshion was to go and kill as many god-level demons as he wanted, then he could probably take a hundred alone. That was just at the god level. What if it was someone beyond god-level?
“Alright, I accept.”
In the end, it was a no-brainer. Having a beyond-god-level’s help is definitely better than not.
As soon as he heard my assent, Azrael turned around and vanished like a fading ghost. Was that how his spatial movement skills looked? What a peculiar method…
“Ember, Fatima, brief me about what happened while I was away. The rest, follow along. We’ll return to the castle first!”
Using the same portal that Ember kept open all this time, we reached the Seimei grounds immediately. Then, I began to create a portal leading to the castle. As soon as I appeared in my office, as if knowing about it beforehand, Yu Na entered through the door with a quick stride.
“President, you’re late! There are tons of documents that need your attention! After all, your clones have already vanished!”
“…!”
Right, the clones I left for administration were limited by time too! I quickly created several clones, each tasked with handling the paperwork, as I turned to my own table and sat down. 𝑖𝘳.𝒸ℴ𝑚
There, I began flipping through reports and other documents while the girls talked one after another, relaying as much information as I’d missed for the ten days I was gone.
“… The cleaver kingdom was staying strong thanks to the new walls made by the Research Team. Among the 200 or so kingdoms around the globe, half of them had already fallen under the demon’s control…”
When Fina began to relay the situation to other kingdoms, I began to notice something strange.
“The demons aren’t attacking all at once?”
It seemed as if they were attacking kingdoms one after another instead of at the same time. Thinking logically, it was the best choice, but don’t forget that the enemy is a demon. They shouldn’t be able to make such intricate battle plans.
“… I’m getting a bad feeling about this. Ember, show me the situation of the demons right now.”
“Please wait, Master.”
Ember quickly produced a hologram-like display. Did her technology level jump up again? Anyway, on the large hologram of Hargoth, this planet, a wide area along it, was covered in red.
There were a few clean circles here and there, which probably depicted the remaining kingdoms.
“Hmmm…”
I studied the distribution of demons and quickly noticed that they were moving as one large mob instead of scattering around. As they move, the weaker demons get pushed close to the other kingdoms, forcing them into battle.
“Their movement, as expected…”
With this, I’m about 99% sure about what I discovered.
“The demons have someone that could strategize among them!”
The army of millions of god-level demons is already a headache in and of itself, and now you’re telling me that they even have a strategist? This world is f*cked, for sure!
“… But why is this strategist not spreading out his forces?”
Given the number of god-level demons they have, it would be a simple thing to wipe out several kingdoms at once.
“Will, I actually think they’re buying time.”
Fatima decided to speak, adding her own opinion to the mixing bowl of ideas.
“What for, I’m not sure. But whatever it was, they prioritized it more than eliminating all the tamers in the world.”
“Buying time…”
I turned to look at the globe again, checking the large red area. I quickly pointed at its middle before turning to Ember.
“Show me the view of this location.”
Ember merely snapped, and the hologram began to zoom in. The myriads of demons cramping together filled the screen. Looking at them like this, they look like cockroaches moving about. However, that wasn’t what I wanted to see.
“…!”
Then, I finally saw it. In the middle of their horde, a gigantic black and white egg, coursing with arcs of dark and shadow, mixed with demonic energies, was hidden. I quickly zoomed into it, letting the others see what I just saw.
“That is…!”
Fatima gasped, seeing the thing in the middle.
“The Egg of Disaster!”
.𝒎