476 Nothingness and Existence
Helcan the Mighty’s main body was that of a ten-foot-tall demonic gorilla with two curled-back horns. He was huge and burly, packed with physical power within his bulky muscles.
Even without his known title, anyone could guess he was a tyrant with immense brute strength.
However, the crimson glow within his red eyes had weakened since Vaan had burned away some of his divinity, effectively reducing his power and lifespan.
If Helcan knew someone on Pangea could harm his divinity, he would have never possessed Emperor Renardier’s body with his divine consciousness.
Naturally, any divine being risked getting their divinity harmed when they possessed weak vessels. But such risks were usually negligible in the mortal realm since no one should have been capable of harming their divinity.
Unfortunately, there was one in Pangea.
“It seems like you got your ass beat in Pangea after using divine possession,” Balmodon the Undying laughed before abruptly becoming cold and nonchalant, saying threateningly, “I’d fix that tone if I were you.”
“Did you think you are still my equal after losing some of your divinity? I guess you’re only around the Late-stage Divine Spirit rank now,” Balmodon added with a cold laugh.
Unlike Helcan, who was a true demon from birth, Balmodon was originally human and still retained the appearance of one, albeit much larger than most.
Although Balmodon wasn’t as tall or bulky as Helcan, his muscles were more defined and seemed incomparably heavy. This was especially visible at a glance as Balmodon was topless, only wearing ragged leather shorts and some semblance of straw sandals.
With rough patches of hair on his chest and forearm, a sharp gaze, and messy, long, mane-like hair, Balmodon looked like he descended from an ancient line of tribal humans who lived primitive lifestyles.
Of course, the desolate land in the background played a part in giving Balmodon such an impression. If the person were put in a normal human society, many would take him for a bum on the streets, albeit an abnormally large and strong one.
“What do you want, Balmodon?” Helcan grumbled with a softer and more receptive tone, clearly giving in to Balmodon’s threat.
A wise devil would not pick a losing battle when the odds are stacked against him.
“Tell me everything that happened during your divine possession. It’s best if you don’t leave out any detail,” Balmodon stated before reminding Helcan, “Also, don’t forget Nightmare, Hades, and Baator are watching our realm.”
“Are you trying to make our secret known? If not, you better pipe down on your voice,” Balmodon scolded right after.
“Right…”
Helcan acknowledged his mistake, but he couldn’t calm the fury he had in his heart.
After all, he had lost several thousand years’ worth of divinity in a single day. Even if he obtained all of Pangea for himself, it wouldn’t be able to make up for the loss, let alone only a part of it.
Pangea was just a primitive planet in a desolate region of the latest chaosverse; its tiny population would offer little faith value.
“Someone in Pangea has reached the Peak-stage Demigod rank and wields the power of nothingness. We will only suffer if we send our divine consciousness over,” Helcan stated.
“Peak-stage Demigod? So fast?” Balmodon frowned and said, “No one was expected to reach the Demigod rank for another two hundred years and seven hundred years for the peak of it…”
“Perhaps… This person has my—”
Balmodon’s eyes lit up at a certain possibility when Helcan immediately shut him down the next moment.
“You think that missing primordial relic of yours could raise a person to Peak-stage Demigod? You must be kidding me. Even if that person slayed the seven Transcendent Witches, it wouldn’t be enough to reach the Demigod rank, let alone the Peak-stage Demigod rank.”
“True, you have a point.”
Balmodon acknowledged Helcan’s reason without a hint of anger and gave it some more thought for other possibilities.
If honest remarks easily incited the Great Devils, they would have long destroyed themselves from infighting.
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Although Balmodon thought that, he didn’t seem to believe it seriously and simply laughed it off as a joke.
However, Helcan surprised him when he partly agreed.
“I also thought of that,” Helcan nodded before saying, “However, this person’s comprehension of the Fire Law has already reached the permissible peak of his level, and you know just how difficult it is to comprehend the laws; it’s even more difficult than reaching its corresponding soul rank.”
“Considering this person is still young but has abilities that don’t match his age, I believe he is a reincarnated expert of his chaosverse,” Helcan stated.
There were two types of reincarnation: the normal reincarnation through the natural cycle and the unnatural one that doesn’t.
Naturally, the one that entered the natural cycle of reincarnation would have their level of existence reset with a slight chance of retaining their memories.
On the other hand, unnatural reincarnation doesn’t reset one’s level of existence since it is done by maliciously entering a living body and wiping out the original soul, replacing it with one’s own soul. By doing so, one would be able to skip the natural cycle of reincarnation and keep their level of existence and memories fully intact.
Balmodon didn’t need to ask to understand which of the two types of reincarnation Helcan was referring to.
“That does seem to be the most plausible reason,” Balmodon acknowledged before muttering, “A reincarnated expert from the new chaosverse, huh?”
Nevertheless, Helcan failed to mention Vaan’s connection with the Red Dragon Clan. Not only did he reveal his dragon bloodline, but he also exposed the dragons.
However, the thought of Vaan acquiring the Fire Dragon God’s inheritance and leading the Red Dragon Clan never crossed Helcan’s mind.
After all, Vaan was the supreme commander in the Kingdom of Black Rose’s war with the Holy Knight Empire. So it wasn’t strange for the dragons to follow his orders since the Red Dragon Clan was working with the Kingdom of Black Rose to repel the Holy Knight Empire.
If anything, Vaan only shared a friendly relationship with the Red Dragon Clan, and his dragon bloodline was proof of that friendship.
However, that’s also why Helcan believed Vaan couldn’t be the Red Dragon Clan’s Supreme Leader. After all, he possessed more than just the dragon bloodline; he also had a wolven bloodline.
The proud dragons would never follow such a mixed-blooded being nor allow such a person to obtain their Fire Dragon God’s inheritance — if the Fire Dragon God had truly passed away, that is.
What made Helcan even more certain of that was the age of the Rank 5 dragons; they were all relatively very young — still far from the same age as the adults, seniors, elders, and dragon lords in their clan.
“Right, we need to be careful of the Fire Dragon God and Red Dragon Clan. I fear they have become more powerful than ever,” Helcan mentioned.
“Why do you say that?” Balmodon frowned before asking, “What have you not told me, Helcan?”
“I’ve met Rank 5 dragons during my divine possession,” Helcan stated.
“However, they were all relatively young — somewhere around 300-odd years. They would have only been newborns when the Red Dragon Clan fled to Pangea. And yet, their young are already at such a level. It’s hard to say what level of power the older ones have achieved.”
“Given the desolateness of Pangea, I find it hard to believe anyone could ascend to the Demigod rank, let alone the Divine Spirit rank,”
Balmodon said with narrowed eyes.
“That said, 80% of Pangea’s surface is covered by water and remains practically unexplored by humans. The Red Dragon Clan could have access to far richer resources that we aren’t aware of. So they are still a cause of concern.”
“It seems we need to speed up our plan. Otherwise, Pangea will become too strong to subjugate, and we will end up with another powerful neighbor. We need to consult with the others,” Balmodon said seriously.
“That goes without saying,” Helcan coolly said before mentioning, “However, you have missed the most important part of what I said: There’s someone in Pangea who can wield the power of nothingness!”
“Do you not understand the gravity of this discovery, or are you feigning ignorance?” Helcan asked gravely.
“No, I don’t understand the gravity of this. Why don’t you tell me what’s so important about this wielder of nothingness, Helcan?”
Balmodon coolly asked, not putting any importance on the subject at all.
Nevertheless, he didn’t give Helcan a chance to speak before he continued, “Was it true nothingness or just a concept of another law, hm? Do you think it’s something special because no one in Chaos can use it?”
“It was just a concept but still nothingness, nonetheless. Isn’t it obviously special since no one else in Chaos can use it?” Helcan retorted unhappily.
“Hahaha!” Balmodon cracked up with laughter and patted Helcan heavily on the back, saying, “You stupid gorilla! You’re so funny!”
“What do you mean it’s obviously something special? It should be obvious that no one in Chaos can wield the power of nothingness!
That’s because Chaos itself is existence! Nothingness can only ‘exist’ outside existence, not within it!”
“How can you say something so ignorant? Did you not learn in a demon academy in your younger years? Oh, wait… I guess you didn’t, or more like, you couldn’t. Hahaha…” Balmodon continued to laugh at Helcan.
However, Helcan could only endure Balmodon’s humiliation in silence.
‘Just you wait, you fucker. Once I recover my strength and surpass you, I’m going to fuck you up!’ Helcan secretly vowed while gnashing his teeth.