Chapter 0: Prologue

The Amala Network. The corridor between universes. The common ground of all existence. Each and every universe, connected by the common strands of the Great Will's essence. This was what the Demi-Fiend had set out to destroy.

Or, at least, this version of the Demi-Fiend. There were others, of course. Separated by the labyrinthian space between worlds, they underwent their own trials, and came to their own decisions. None could surpass, however, the power that the fully realized Demi-Fiend came to possess. Untold potential, infinitely realized. The most powerful being to ever be created. The final demon. The greatest Fiend.

That was all that mattered to him anymore, wasn't it? Power, at the cost of his humanity. A bitter laugh echoed in his mind. What a weak, pathetic kind of human he was. Indecisive, naive... Trusting. No, he knew better now. Much better. Those fools he knew in the past would barely recognize him now. It mattered not, however, as they were dead. All of them, dead. Isamu, Chiaki, Ms. Takao, Hijiri... They were better off that way.

They were weak anyways.

The Demi-Fiend looked towards the end of the Amala Network. There were still so many universes undergoing the torture of endless rebirth. So many that the Great Will could taunt him with.

And it annoyed the hell out of him.

This section of Amala was different. The air seemed clearer, as if some sort of wind was attempting to blow away the demonic essence. It was not completely pure, yes, but something about it just seemed... Lighter. The stink of the Great Will was there, though. That scent of self-righteousness and stagnency, that lingered in every world. A fragment of him was here, alright. In whatever universe this hall led to, there was a part of the Great Will that had carved out a home for itself.

It gave the young demon just a bit of joy, knowing he would soon tear that home away from it.

Lucifer had taught him how to diffuse into universes early on. Though the dark prince could not intrude into universes where he already held some sort of presence, the Demi-Fiend was, by nature, a completely free agent. There were only so many of him in Amala, and those branches would soon die off on their own without the Prime Kagutsuchi watching over them. The lesser overseers would perish, and their worlds would end. It struck the Demi-Fiend as almost slightly unfair to take away their realities from them like that, but if any in those worlds wished to challenge his decision, he would be glad to murder them to make his point clear.

This universe, however, was completely untouched by his hand.

Which could only mean that it was completely held in the grasp of the Great Will.

The Great Will... Presumably the one true God that Lucifer originally rebelled against, losing his status as a facet of his will. The very same deity that had plunged the former human into a literal hell. The monster that had plunged every universe into an endless cycle of death and rebirth. How cruel... Though, that was why... Hm. How peculiar. He was not yet diffused, for some reason. Which should not be possible, because as long as he was stronger than whatever god currently reigning over that reality, it would be his to take. But here, for some reason, he could not. That would have to mean that...

Whatever facet or being that presided over this universe...

Could match his strength in some way. The god that called this universe home... Was somehow able to... Match the Demi-Fiend.

The Demi-Fiend allowed himself a small smirk. Somehow, he just knew that this new reality would be interesting. He just hoped that whatever this being embodied itself as, it would be able to put up a fight.

Far, far away, in line at an unremarkable grocery store in Z-City, Saitama sneezed for no reason in particular.