Chapter 101 - Sneaky Grayfia

After finishing my spar with Hela, we went to have another study session as I was teaching her magic. Fortunately, she was catching on rather fast, as I didn't have a lot of patience.

Her roots as Vanir helped her master magic rather fast, fortunately...

Several days later

Currently, I was preparing to take my trip to Japan, more precisely to the Takagahamara. As this would be a more formal visit, I was taking Grayfia with me, as she is my Lucifuge and this time I didn't need to sneak into the territory of the Shinto Pantheon.

"Grayfia, have you compiled all reports about the situation in Japan?"

I asked my fianceé as she stood before me, while I was sitting and going through some papers.

"Yes, here they are."

She as she gave me a small stack of papers.

In past decades Yahweh has been trying to expand his influence to Asia. In regard to China, he didn't dare go there, due to Jade Emperor's power as Celestial Court was stronger than Heaven many times.

Not talking about human cultivators Jade Emperor created. It was rather interesting information I found out from Zekram. Apparently, before the Celestial Court came into existence, there didn't exist anything like cultivators in Draconic Deus. In Astral Boundary you can find some, but no in the true sense.

But after Jade Emperor appeared, several centuries later, the first human cultivators started popping here and there, even though their limit was only Ultimate-Class, they were extremely large in numbers. And this gave me an idea... Jade Emperor himself wasn't a person from Draconic Deus or maybe even Astral Boundary. There was a high possibility, he was someone from a different Universe as me.

When I thought about it, I often thought about my home Universe. Truth to be told I wanted to return and take a look at what happened there and how much time has passed. If possible, rob technology from Aeldari and explore something called Tomb Worlds, I have heard from Aeldari myths. There should be a lot of precious things to take with me.

"How is the situation in Japan currently?"

I asked Grayfia.

"From latest reports, Heaven has sent there a contingent of Angels and several dozens of Exorcists as they are losing foothold there. Vassals of Shinto, namely Youkai, Five Principal Clan, and Samurai and Ninja Clans have started pushing them back and killing every single of their faith they could find. Forces of Church and Heaven are fighting back, but they are severely outnumbered be it in quantity or quality, as they are concentrating most of their forces in Europe."

Said Grayfia.

Japan collectively had a very strong supernatural faction, just it lacked Mighty Stage God, but in all other regards, it was strong. Shinto was the collective name given to the Takagahamara, Youkai Clans, Five Principal Clans, and other warrior clans.

Five Principal Clans were long lines of humans that worshipped Shinto Gods and had the protection of Five Divine Beasts, while warrior clans, were lines of humans that used martial arts combined with the usage of Magic or Chakra, many of them were ancient Samurai Lines and Shinobi Lines.

Though from a supernatural point of view, these humans could maximally reach peak High-Class, and only a very rare exception could reach Ultimate-Class.

"Hmm... so the wars of pawns are coming to the end there. He probably won't enter Japan, as it could spell doom for him, but he could send Archangels, something which is not realistic, as there is no real gain."

I muttered.

Yahweh won't personally go to Japan to fight with Shinto Gods, as that could easily get him killed due to some trap or something. Japan has been under the rule of Shinto Gods for millennia, they have an entire place wrapped in countless wards and formations, from which the strongest could kill even someone like him.

And he won't send Archangels, due to tension between Heaven, Grigori, and Devils. On top of that, the human forces of the Church are getting harassed every day in Europe. Apparently, my and Zekram's schemes have worked perfectly.

Even some devils started harassing them, and I leaked some information about the location of members of Clans Leviathan, Beelzebub, and Asmodeus to Grigori and Heaven that were on Earth... they could do the dirty work for me.

"If we find them, we shall kill them. We will fulfill two goals at the same time. Weaken the plans of Heaven and obtain good graces from Shinto before negotiating with them. Also, how is your current strength Grayfia after taking God Corpse Potion?"

I stated as I asked Grayfia.

"I was able to strengthen my body to the Ultimate-Class, and I feel that my Demonic Energy Reserves are expanding at a faster speed, within a decade or two, I should reach Satan-Class with ease."

Said Grayfia proudly. It would be good if she managed to achieve that before the Great War. I should help her, giving her some resources and access to special rituals I have used on myself to speed up the process.

"Also... I didn't thank you for the potion."

She said quietly, as she stood in front of me, and like thunder from the clear sky, she kissed me out of all of a sudden.

At first, I was surprised, but then I returned her kiss with equal passion. Apparently, she must have found that I have slept with Venelana, and while Grayfia was good at masking it, she was very competitive. Especially when the competitor was another young heiress with a similar background as hers, so she cannot admit defeat.

After several minutes we have separated, with the only trace of saliva between us.

"..."

I stared at her for several seconds, before kissing her once more. It was weird, but it was different than Venelana. When I kissed Grayfia I felt like I was whole, it was due to her being Lucifuge and me being Lucifer.

It was in our genetics that we would be attracted to each other.

Chapter 102 - Territory of the Youkai

Several days later, outside Japan

"Do you think we can enter undetected, Zeoticus?"

Asked me Grayfia as we stood outside Japan.

Entire Japan was enveloped in the enormous magical barrier, whose purpose wasn't blocking entries, but rather scanning being and undercover those with magical power and alerting Shinto about them entering Japan.

The barrier itself would activate the moment it detects somebody with magical power, currently Unit. With this method, Shinto has practically covered the entire nation and absolutely control over who enters and leaves the country.

"We can, such big barrier, unless created by someone on Apocalypse-Class with expertise in this type of magic or God with Divinity over Magic at Mighty Stage God, will have some weak spots. We just need to find them and disrupt the flow of magical power in the barrier and we can enter."

I explained as I cast detection spell, and Grayfia did the same, as I taught her some spells.

Several hours later, it was Grayfia who found the weak spot in the formation.

"Good and now we will do this."

I said as I used some magical power to disrupt the flow of the formation in the weak spot.

"Quickly enter... it won't last longer than ten seconds."

I said as I unleashed my ten pairs of wings and flew through the spot and entered Japan, with Grayfia flying closely behind me. As we entered the place, the barrier soon continued operating normally as it repaired itself rather quickly.

"Now, where are we?... Kyushu... we need to get into Kyoto."

We were in Kyushu that is not so far from Kyoto, at least not far for the supernatural beings that could cross great distances within one day. For example, I at my top speed could easily travel through the entire planet within 6 hours, as Draconic Deus wasn't a large planet.

Kyoto is the Imperial Capital of Japan, and also the Spiritual Capital. It has the highest concentration of the Youkai, Gods, and other supernatural beings in Japan. The reason for that was, the main entrance to the Takagahamara Realm was located there.

Contrary to the Nine Realm, Takagahamara wasn't a Dimensional Pahtneon World, but rahter it was originally naturally born pocket dimension, that later became something akin to a divine world, when many gods of Shinto infuse their Divine Kingdoms into that pocket dimensions, giving birth to the Takagahamara. Origins of Olympus were the same.

"We should move... Kyushu is close to the place where forces of Church and Angels are concentrating... we should look for them. They should send maximally someone or two Cadre-Class Angels, which I should be able to handle, while you will take care of weaker angels. No one can survive."

I said with a bloodthirsty voice as I cannot wait to spill the blood of some angels. Grayfia just nodded and flew behind me as we were searching for angels that were in Japan. As we were flying through the lands of Japan, I observed the country itself.

Medieval Japan was an absolute shithole. The current year 1414, around 50 years before the start of the Sengoku Period, or the commonly known Warring State Period, where Japan was engulfed in constant wars for about 150 years.

"Land down."

I said, as we landed down and went by foot, as I felt some disturbances through detecting spells. Currently, it was deep night, so it was a time when most Youkai are active and some malicious would often hunt for humans as their prey.

We were walking for about twenty minutes before I stopped, and took out my scythe Rosenkreutz. I silently chanted a spell, a Strategic-Tier Spell [Hell Flame] as dark red flames materialized out of nothing around my scythe and when they grew to sufficient size, I released them in a full might around my surrounding, burning down everything in diameter of two hundred meters.

After the dust settled, I looked around and scanned the area.

"Ohh not dead yet?"

I muttered in surprise, as I looked at the half-charred body of Onis that were following us. All of them were Ultimate-Class beings in terms of physique, meaning they were pretty strong.

"They were following us?"

Asked Grayfia surprised and ashamed at the same time, that she couldn't detect them.

"Indeed. Don't need to worry that you cannot detect these guys. In their home turn and during the night they are strongest. Not to mention that they can use Negative Energy during the night to boost up their strength even more. These ones should be some rogue Onis."

I said, as I swung my scythe and ended their pathetic lives. At the same time, I used Devour to absorb their Life Energy, as it would help my physique.

[Life Energy of 4 Ultimate-Class Oni absorbed. Physique collectively increased by 15 points.]

Each of my physical attributes was increased by 5 points. My bad for killing these guys in so crude-manner and not killing them instantly, it wasted too much precious Life Energy.

Oni were species that were similar to devils, that lived in Japan and its affiliated realms. They were a race of negative energy and were often regarded as evil spirits. They looked mostly humanoid, with one or two horns on their forehead.

Contrary to devils, who were more inclined to Energy Training, and magic overall, Oni were a race of physical warriors. Rarely some Oni were spellcasters or magicians, and all of them were warriors and were extremely dangerous in close combat. For them, it was very easy to reach Ultimate-Class in physique, as long as they trained for several decades.

Onis that were tailing us were rogue ones, meaning they were kicked out of their tribe or clan for committing some crime. They probably felt that we were reeking negative energy, and wanted to kill us so they could eat us and get stronger through eating us.

Similarly to devils who could eat souls, Oni could get stronger from eating the flesh of beings of negative energy such as devils.

Chapter 103 - Killing Angels in Japan

"Come Grayfia... we are nearing the hole where Angels and Exorcists are coping up. We need to dye it red."

I said as we went on the move once more. Soon enough, we have come to see a small city, housing probably a few thousand people. What was interesting, was there were several churches there, so we have just hit the right place.

"Hmm... Grayfia cast concealment spell on this area, and when I am ready you will break it."

I ordered as Grayfia cast the spell, and I was creating another.

My newest creating, the first Ultra-Order Spell ever exist [Lightning Judgement]. Currently, I have two Ultra-Order Spell, one of them was Lightning Judgement and another one was Dimensional Slash, which was redesigned as an Ultra-Order Spell.

To lure the rats out of the holes, I planned to do a most simple thing.

Destroy this entire city. Based on the number of churches here and the population, it should be one of the major strongholds of Heaven and Church in Japan. The best thing was that not even Takagahamara would say anything about me massacring some humans, as they were already converted to the faith of their enemies, so Gods wouldn't care if some humans that betrayed them died by my hand. And I didn't care about life of anything that isn't my ally.

As this was the first time I was casting Ultra-Order Spell it took me entire five minutes to create a spell matrix for the Ultra-Order Spell [Lightning Judgement]. When Grayfia saw that I was done, she released the concealment spell, as it could interfere with my casting and I released the spell, onto the quiet night city.

Out of nowhere, an enormous thunderbolt hit the ground and razed one-third of the city to the dust. Immediately, several light figures appeared in the air, with their eight wings spread fully, as they tried to create a barrier against other lightning strikes, but the barrier was cracked like a fragile glass, and three Ultimate-Class Eight Winged Angels and a whole bunch of High-Class Six Winged Angels was pulverized to oblivion.

When the third strike sounded, the entire city was just a pile of rubbles and ruins, where not even bodies of killed humans and angels remained.

As the fourth strike was landing on the city, to finish remaining survivors of Church and Heaven that were hiding in the underground of the Church that was protected by rather a strong barrier, suddenly a figure appeared before the lightning strike.

It was an angel, in golden armor, holding a golden spear with ten pure white wings.

A Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel has appeared.

"When he blocks that, go and kill everything that breathes. If you cannot handle them, let me know, and I will help you."

I said as I reminded her to not push herself too much. There should be at least two or three Ultimate-Class Eight Winged Angels hiding in the basement, protecting there something precious, as they didn't dare to leave the room.

And only after the entire town was turned to ash, has their leader a Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel appeared.

He outstretched his spear and cast out a barrier before himself, to stop the last lightning strike that was aobut to hit the target.

I watched in wonder, as I had to admit that the Angel was strong, but unfortunately for him, not strong enough. Even though he managed to block the last lightning strike, he was still injured by it.

After that, I spread my ten wings and flew to the angel, as he already noticed me, while Grayfia went to the place where rats were hiding to do small clean up.

'Architect scan.'

[Class: Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel

Holy Energy: 359 (521)

Strength: 101

Agility: 100

Vitality: 98

Condition: Injured]

'Hmm... much weaker than me.'

"So, what are Angels and rats from Church doing here in Japan? Are you perhaps lost? Or running?"

I mocked as I prepared my spells, while Angel looked at me stoically, but I knew he was panicking inside as I was outside his league of power, and could easily kill him.

He probably won't say anything of use to me.

"Not talking... shame, then have a nice journey."

I said, as I shot several Dark Light Spears after the Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel. This one was injured, his physical body was seeral times weaker than mine, and he used nearly half of his energy reserves to block my spell and was injured.

Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel spread his wings and tried to dodge incomming barrage of the Dark Light Spears, succesfully, albeit a few of them still managed to hit him, and cause him energy poisoning, as the Dark Light was poisonous to everyone with Darkness or Light attribute.

Seeing the Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel still holding up, I decided to change a strategy a little, and this time I have used Truth-Seeking Orb Style to condense tens of the Dark Light Orbs, that shot towards the Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel at tremedous speed.

As the Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel was succesfully dodging the fast Dark Light Orbs, I grinned, as at the same time, all thirty or so Dark Light Orbs exploded and created enormous wave of the Dark Light that swept everythign in its way.

Fortuantely Grayfia was arleady in the underground space under the Church or she would be hit too.

As the explosion settled down, the Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel was killed in it.

"Hmm... this would be a first time I would be using Devour on such high-ranking pure angel."

I muttered as I used Devour, and felt Holy Energy from Angel being devour and refined as my own energy reserves expanded by around 16 Units, reaching altogether 640 Units.

Though I felt a bit dizzy after devouring Holy Energy from the Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel, I noticed that my Devour became eevn more easy to use and could absorb even more energy. Probably my mastery went higher, as I devoured the Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel.

Chapter 104 - Rich Loot

After killing the Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel I went to the location where Grayfia was dealing with the weaker ones that were just on the Ultimate-Class or High-Class.

Grayfia was much stronger than all Angels so she killed them all with rather ease and with one of the most basic spells of the Tier Magic System, called Counter Spell, she could easily defend against Light and Holy attributed attacks from them.

On the other side, most human exorcists were just Middle-Class and only one or two were High-Class so they weren't any kind of threat. Humans in Draconic Deus were just at the bottom of the ladder... probably from the intervention of Pahtneons since ancient times.

It seemed logical. In Astral Boundary, humans were one of the strongest species, with Arcanists and Warlocks leading and haveing countless powerhouses. Probably before or shortly after the Dimensional Gap was created, the Gods of Draconic Deus severed paths for humans to get stronger and made them depended on faith.

Not something rare across countless planes of Astral Boundary. Those planes, which are ruled by Gods usually have other species living there, on a tight leash. Often crippling their lineages so it would be impossible for them to practice any Power System, or making them entirely dependent on Gods. It would be dangerous for them if their subjects could get stronger without dependence on faith... often it would lead to violent retaliation.

Across Draconic Deus existed many books and information about Astral Boundary, especially in older factions. There were even inheritance sites in Dimensional Gap of mighty begins of other races that fell here.

"Grayfia what have you found there?"

I asked as I looked around searching for something of value that they were so vehemently protecting.

"It's there..."

Pointed Grayfia at a huge chest that was inscribed with countless protective runes. As I looked at them closely, they were Divine Runes, crafted by god and these looked like runes crafted by Yahweh himself.

I opened the chest and almost froze in shock.

Hundreds of Divine Crystals were there and most shocking thing was that they were all of High-Grade. Divine Crystals on the High-Grade were used by Intermediate Divinity Stage Gods to strengthen their powers and Divinity.

These were priceless. With such an amount, one could practically create twenty to thirty Intermediate Gods from nothing. This of course led me to a question, what Heaven wanted to do with such a huge amount of Divine Crystals.

Only Pantheon currently, that had the ability to produce such an amount was of course only Heaven. The fact there were present on Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel and several Ultimate-Class Eight Winged Angels wasn't a good sign.

"Grayfia searches the room for clues... maybe we could find what they were trying to do with such amount of High-Grade Divine Crystals."

Grayfia then went to search for clues as I did the same thing. I did the same thing and we started searching underground rooms that were hidden under the Church. After several minutes I have found some Divine Grimoires on Divine Magic of Gods, and soon enough I had my answer.

They were trying to create the artificial Divine Kingdom that Yahweh has designed, here in Japan. Every God had their Divine Kingdom, Gods would often create their Divine Kingdoms outside the plane they Ascended, or they would infuse their Divine Kingdoms into Pantheon Dimensional World to make it stronger.

Usually, Gods were stronger in their Divine Kingdoms. Angels here in Japan were trying to create the artificial Divine Kingdom, that would give them a stable foot in Japan that would allow them to create a practically turtle shell fortress.

While the artificial Divine Kingdom would be weaker than the geniue one, but with Yahweh's amount of followers, he had more Divine Crystals than other Mighty Gods of the same rank. He used most of them to strengthen Heaven to create an extremely strong Divine Kingdom and only a few on himself. He could easily strengthen this artificial Divine Kingdom to rival the genius one.

If Angels had one here, they could easily recover their strength, as Angels would regenerate many times faster in an environment filled with Holy Power. They could also connect this place directly to Heaven and start a bigger invasion if needed. They were pretty unlucky, they didn't manage to construct it before I came.

If they did, then I couldn't destroy it. Only combined forces of many gods of Takagahamara and at least three Greater Gods would stand a solid chance to destroy something like that. The reason for that, it would be the strong Divine Kingdom, and on top of that, Yahweh would send at least two Archangels to protect that place.

With the amount of Divine Crystals I had, I could give some of them to Hela, it would easily allow her to reach the peak of Intermediate Divinity Stage God, and she would have a good chance to enter Greater God Stage.

Or she could create her Divine Kingdom, as she still didn't create one. Maybe I can convince her to fuse her Divine Kingdom to the Underworld, though that would be risky, as they are several other gods inhabiting Underworld and such action could cause war.

Especially with Hades, his Divine Kingdom was infused to the Underworld, and it was no secret that he despised devils. While he wasn't exactly the strongest Greater God in the Draconic Deus, he was a pain in the ass to deal with due to his Divinity.

I used a spell to store the chest with Divine Crystals. I would think about their usage later... they could also be used as money as such things as Divine Crystals used as currency across the Astral Boundary.

"Come we need to get out... I want to have this entire mess already behind me."

I said to Grayfia.

As we exited, she cast a most destructive spell, to set everything in here on flames, so even ruins would be turned to ash.

After that, we went to Kyoto and to the final destination of Takagahamara.

Chapter 105 - Three Rulers of Takamagahara

Kyoto, Japan, 1 hour later

"We need to go to the Temple. Its guardian should allow us to pass through to enter Takamagahara."

I said as we went through the night streets of Kyoto. Several city districts were fully lit up as it was night, and countless Yokai were strolling the streets. There were many species of them, as they have a plethora of different forms, though most of them have a human-like form with animalistic accents or have to shapeshift to assume such a form.

Kyoto Temple was a place where the portal leading straight to the Takamagahara was located and was protected by the Gatekeeper, who was usually the High Priest of the Amaterasu-no-Omikami.

The current High Priest was by all information gathered, some Dragon called Ryuzen. According to the Astral Boundary classification of Dragons, his strength moved around Immemorial Dragon Level 2 or Level 3. Here in Draconic Deus, he would be classified as a Dragon King.

When we entered the temple, we saw an elderly-looking man, in priest clothing, as he held a staff in his right hands.

"Devils... Lucifer and Lucifuge. Come, they await you."

Said the man, as we followed after him. Truthfully, I wasn't that surprised he knew we were coming, as Japan was under heavy surveillance from the Gods.

"You must be current High Priest of the Shinto, Ryuzen. It is pleasure, Your Excellency."

I said with a slight bow.

"Oh? Then, allow me to welcome you, Lord Lucifer and Lady Lucifuge."

Said the man, as he too bowed slightly.

"On our way here, we have encountered a small town controlled by Angels and Church. Apparently, they were building a base there."

I said.

"By your wording, I could judge that the town is not in existence anymore, Angels and forces of Church, including."

Said High Priest Ryuzen.

"Indeed. There was a Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel and several Ultimate-Class Eight Winged Angels among them, including many weaker ones and at least one thousand Human Exorcists."

I explained, as Ryuzen suddenly halted in his steps.

"Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angel, you say? According to our intel, we are currently aware of five Cadre-Class Ten Winged Angels that are operating in Japan. All of them are under the watch of Intermediate Gods and waiting to be killed. These ones must have come to the country unnoticed... how troublesome. What have you found there?"

Asked Ryuzen with a serious voice.

"They were trying to build the artificial Divine Kingdom there, underneath the town. Unfortunately for them, they were killed before they could implement their plans."

I explained, while omitting some minor details as a number of Divine Crystals, I have found.

"Wait here... I need to report this immediately."

Said High Priest Ryuzen as he teleported out.

After several seconds he teleported back.

"Come this way."

He said, as he led us to some kind of platform, which suddenly lit up and several figures walked out of it.

The first one resembled a young man with long and spiky black hair and gold eyes. He was dressed in armor that appeared to be of Chinese design. It consists of five parts-the white undergarment, the gold pauldrons, the gold and red vest, gold arm bracers, and gold and white pants. In his right hand, he held long katana with a gold and silver handle.

I recognized him as Susanoo-no-Mikoto, a Greater Divinity Stage God. He had divinity over Storms and Seas.

The second man was a tall slim man, appearing in his mid to late-twenties, with long silky silver hair flowing past his shoulders. His outfit is a purplish-blue and white kimono with Moon-representative ornaments.

This was Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, a, a Greater Divinity Stage God. He was God of Moon.

The last person to came out of the portal was a woman.

She was a fit beautiful young woman around twenty years old, with long black hair. She wore clothing similar to Ryuzen, just her aura was that of a god.

Amaterasu-no-Omikami a pinnacle, a Greater Divinity Stage God and Goddess of Sun.

There three Greater Gods were basically rulers of the Takamagahara and the entire Shinto Pantheon.

"Descendant of Lucifer, you wished to speak with Shinto Trinity. Now speak."

Said Amaterasu with an aloof voice.

"Thank you for granting me an audience, honorable Gods of Takamagahara."

I said as I bowed, showing my respect. Gods were arrogant creatures, especially the strongest ones of strong Pantheons. To be granted an audience with all three rulers of the Takamagahara was something I didn't expect.

At most I awaited that they would send a Heavenly Messenger God as a negotiator. Probably the info about Angels building here the artificial Divine Kingdom must have been shocking for them.

"As you are aware that soon enough the war between three Christian Factions would erupt, and we devils hope, that you as Shinto Pantheon could attack the influence of the Church on Earth and annihilate it. Within your capabilities, of course."

I explained.

"What about Yahweh? I doubt he would just watch his followers getting exterminated one by one."

Asked Tsukuyomi.

"He is not a problem. Great Satans have a method to make it impossible for him to intervene. Lord Bael already contacted Pale Blood of Yharnam, Werewolf Tribes, and Olympians from which all of them would make a move on forces of Heaven and Church on Draconic Deus."

I stated.

Three of them looked at each other, probably communicating telepathically, before deciding on the next course of action.

"Very well, Shinto will make a move on Church."

After several seconds said Amaterasu-no-Okami.

Chapter 106 - That went well...

"Then I must thank you Excellencies and now we will take a leave."

I said as I and Grayfia teleported out. We appeared in the outskirts of the Gremory territory in the predestined location I set up.

"That went well..."

Said Grayfia from behind me.

"Yes, but still I hate gods. They always look down at us... just wait once you will fall from the grace."

I muttered.

Path of Gods was a fickle thing. While being god gives you immense lifespan and powers, most gods are depending on Faith to create Divine Crystals so they could restore Divine Power quickly. For example, if God used all of his Divine Power, it will take him decades to regenerate and get to full state.

That was due to the special nature of the Divine Power. To speed up this process, Gods used Divine Crystals, which was basically crystalized Power of Faith, that came from the Faith of their followers. Once gods are cut of this, they would get much weaker.

In the future, when the world gets more technological and faith becomes something obscure, Gods will get much weaker. Their supply of faith would be much smaller, which would mean fewer Divine Crystals, which in turn would mean, for first: make almost impossible for Gods to get stronger, and for second will basically cripple their ability to make a move.

If they attacked or did something, and used the majority of their energy reserves they would be forces to recuperate for a long time, as they cannot use Divine Crystals to regenerate their energy reserves without planning for future.

The beginning of the technological age will mark the tremendous weakening of Gods and Pantheons in their ability to expand and attack others. Of course, Pantheons with strong and long foundations will be less affected, due to their long history and many trump cards.

And species as Devils, Pale Blood, Werewolves, Youkai, Buddhas, and others would become real powerhouses. Of course with exception of some Pantheons, which would enforce their faith even in that age, such as Hindu.

At the same time at the Kyoto, Shinto Shrine.

"Are you sure this is a smart move Amaterasu? Meddling in the war between their factions?"

Asked Tsukuyomi as he was always most moderate among the three of them.

"Who knows... but this time is the best to strike at Church and annihilate its influence from Japan. We need to secure dominance over humans in the future... don't forget what happened in Pantheons across the Astral Boundary that let humans grow too much."

Said Amaterasu in a stern voice.

"I doubt these humans will learn magic, or Warlock Cultivation or Arcanist System."

Remarked Susanoo from her side.

"Of course they won't... but when they start pursuing the path of technology their faith in gods will weaken, and after several centuries it will be just a small fragment of what it was. Less faith means less Divine Crystals, and less Divine Crystals mean we can't use our Divine Power too much as we won't have effective means to regenerate it instantly."

Explained Amaterasu to her two brothers.

"So what do you want to do after this mess passes up?"

Asked Susanoo.

"We will need to meddle more with human affairs. While our religion is not suitable to be a theocracy, it needs to be strong among people even after centuries to pass. And to achieve that, the first step is to push out all foreign religions from our turf. From now on, start giving a blessing to martial talented humans to strengthen them... maybe turn them into Divine Guards and have them create their Clans with a bit of Divine Blood. Invest more resources into Five Principal Clans... their patriarchs are only at middle stages of Ultimate-Class... we need to push it up."

Said Amaterasu her plans.

"What about those Devils? They would profit too much from this mess... more precisely that one that came, if they became too powerful it would be detrimental."

Said Tsukuyomi.

"I know, hopefully, that war will result in their mutual destruction, and I doubt Hades, Seth, or Izanami will leave them be after they are weakened. They will attack the first moment they see to seize devil-controlled parts of the Underworld. For these Gods, it is the only path to become Mighty Stage God."

Explained Amaterasu.

"That would be ideal."

Underworld, Gremory Territory, Castle Fuerig

After I returned from the Takamagahara, practically all things I needed to do were now complete, and I had some free time.

I had already promised Venelana that I would meet with her parent and we would have dinner. I even met her brother, future Lord Bael.

He was younger than her by several decades, and truth to be told he was pitifully weak. He was only around later stages of the High-Class and he didn't train often. Just a bit of my aura and killing intent was able to scare him for life.

Of course, an aura of someone like me, at Satan-Class was not something someone on High-Class would be able to withstand.

Now I was observing my familiar, Bloody Thorny Flower, which was already at the pinnacle of the Commander Level.

[Race: Bloody Thorny Flower

Level: Commander

Magical Power: 99

Strength: 99

Agility: 75

Vitality: 80

Abilities: Take Root, Corpse Feeding, Poison Spit, Basic Elemental Magic]

'Hmm... I will feed it several General Level monster corpses so it could reach the next evolutionary stage and then next, and next and become the terrifying enemy. Maybe I should go to Familiar Forest and try to get other familiars. Some have terrifying potential if groomed correctly, such as Nemean Lion or Wampus Cat, both would be tremendously useful. Especially Wampus Cat which can cover for my weakness in Illusions, Mind Magic and Hypnosis.'

I thought in my head about my next trip to the Familiar Forest.

Additionally, I also wanted to go to the Sunset Monster Mountain Range once more to explore the inner layer. Even though I knew it was risky as my grandfather Zeldris was killed there, it was an immense opportunity to obtain the corpses of some Monarch Level monsters and increase my power.

Chapter 107 - Will you go kill monsters with me?

Several months have passed.

As planned I gave fifty High-Grade Divine Crystals to Hela, so she could reach Pinnace Intermediate God and see if she had a chance to reach Greater God before the Great War. Unfortunately for me, she told me, to reach Greater God, she would need to condense new Divine Authority.

For Innate Gods, this was impossible, as they gain Divine Authority only when they ascend to godhood. For them, the only way to acquire new Divine Authority was to obtain and absorb the Divine Spark of another god of the same or similar alignment.

Hela was able to reach Intermediate God without acquiring new Divine Authority for a simple reason, as she was once god, that lost godhood.

"So have you found suitable targets who have the same Divine Authority as you?"

I asked Hela who was sitting across me, this time she was not wearing her black-green battle armor, but rather typical Asgardian clothes, that usually female aristocrats over there wore. I had to admit, she looked gorgeous.

"Yes. First, two could be ruled out immediately, as they are Hades, Osiris, and Izanami. Then are also out of question Gods, namely Seth, Anubis, and Morrigan. But I have found a target... apparently Ereshkigal is still alive even after Sumerian Pantheon was massacred and is hiding in the Underworld... somewhere around Sunset Monster Mountain Range. If we are able to find her, killing her is a simple thing. If I get the Divine Spark, I can bring out her Divine Authority and assimilate it within a decade perfectly."

Explained Hela to me her plan.

All Gods she named were major gods in the Underworld. Especially Hades, Izanami, and Osiris, as all three of them were top-tier Greater Gods with immense Divine Power reserves and terrifying might, not to mention endless armies standing behind them.

"Ereshkigal? Didn't she have been granted control over the Underworld by the World's Will?"

I asked surprised.

"Indeed, she holds one of the parts."

If that is the truth, then even I could get something out of killing her. In the Underworld, there existed a group of gods, that have been granted control over the Underworld, and could to a certain degree warp reality in the Underworld and became stronger.

They were called Gods of the Underworld. For example, Hades, Izanami, and Osiris were one. Ereshkigal was another one. For my future plans, I needed to have all four control parts of the Underworld, and for now, getting one from Ereshikgal was the best to start.

Hades, Izanami, and Osiris were looking for her frantically from the moment she disappeared when her Pantheon fell. If one of those three would get her control part, then with enough time, he would be able to overpower the other two.

"Then it is splendid, as I planned to visit Sunset Monster Mountain Range in a near future, to enter the inner layer to hunt for Monarch Level monsters."

I said it was decided we would venture into the Sunset Monster Mountain Range. Getting Hela going with me is for the best, as she was stronger than most Monarch Level monsters, so I would have another security over my head during my trip there.

"Zeoticus I heard some disturbing news from Japan. Apparently, Shinto Gods have descended among humans and have started strictly enforcing their faith and germinating loyal followers. They even established official organizations to spread their faith, Cult of Shinto headed by High Priest Ryuzen."

As Hela said that, I was deeply surprised.

Apparently, Amaterasu was much smarter than she looked to be. Shinto Pantheon didn't have a unified religious organization, which made spreading and grooming the faith very hard. Truth to be told, not many Pantheons did something like this with exception of Yahweh and maybe some, as it was too troublesome and gods were lazy.

"Smart move... they are preparing for the future. They don't wish to lose the majority of their followers to advancement in technology when humans would gradually forget gods."

I said.

"Also, they have been making moves on weak Pantheons in pacific Asia, annihilating several of them. While the strongest god they killed was only Intermediate God, they ended three Pantheons, and altogether 70 Gods have fallen. They are also spreading their faith to other humans that are out of reach Hindu or Celestial Court."

Even expansion?

In the future, Shinto Pantheon would probably be pretty strong. Compared to other Pantheons that will fall with the passage of time, such as Olympians as mortals won't be worshipping them, they would get an enormous advantage.

Of course, I wonder, now that Olympians will be making move against Church they may be able to spread their faith more and keep it alive much longer compared to what it was in history. Though I wonder, as even right now, their faith is not that strong among mortals.

"Observe them carefully, they could easily turn into our enemies. Especially in the future..."

I said seriously.

"Of course. If possible I plan to sabotage them and weaken their influence without them tracking it back to us. If Takamagahara grows too strong, it would be detrimental for development in the Underworld."

What Hela said was right.

The stronger Shinto Pantheon was, the more troublesome it would be to take down Izanami and take her Control Sequence of the Underworld.

On the other side, I didn't have similar concerns about Hades or Osiris.

Egyptian Pantheon has fallen a very long time ago, and their gods have retreated to seclusion centuries ago when their influence in the Draconic Deus was rooted out. They wouldn't spend too much of their already non-existent resource on saving one god.

In regard to Hades, while the Olympians were a stronger and deeper foundation, the relationship between Zeus and Hades was terrible at best, so even if Hades is attacked, Zeus won't send any help too fast, as he would want Hades to suffer a great loss first. So if an attack is done quickly and Hades is killed before reinforcements arrive, all good.

Chapter 108 - Playing Monster Hunter

When I first entered the Sunset Monster Mountain Range I was just weak High-Class shortly after my rebirth. It was several years ago, but to me, it seemed like decades.

Now I was at the Satan-Class with combat prowess to defeat anyone at the same rank as me.

"Last time I was here, it was when I was High-Class and I didn't dare to venture to Inner Layer, and this time we are going to the Core Layer."

The entire Sunset Monster Mountain Range could be divided into three layers. Outer Layer, where the strongest monster was at the Commander Level, then Inner Layer where there was an abundance of General Level Monsters, and finally a Core Layer where Monarch Level monsters were living. Of course, there were even Emperor Level monsters in the Core Layer, whose strength was comparable to the Super-Devil Class or Great God Stage, but they were usually sleeping in their nests not bothering with anything.

"And now, how do you want to find Ereshkigal here Hela? Sunset Monster Mountain Range is an enormous place."

I commented from the side as I watched Hela wearing her tight battle suit, enhancing her womanly curves to the maximum. While as Devil, my main sin wasn't Lust, I had to admit after sleeping with Venelana, Lust has become one of my secondary sins.

"She would be hiding in the Core Layer. If it is so dangerous, then it would be a perfect choice for a hiding spot, as nobody would search there for her."

Said Hela, with a smile.

We strolled through the Outer Layer like nothing as all monsters immediately run away when they see us due to our overwhelming aura.

"How long till we reach Inner Layer Zeoticus?"

Asked Hela with a bored tone.

"When we see first General Level monsters running away from us, we would be either already in the Inner Layer or extremely close to it."

I said as I already knew the layout and my way around here. Hela just nodded, not betraying her hope that we would soon arrive at the Inner Layer, and then to the Core Layer.

After twenty minutes we have finally arrived at the Inner Layer. Inner Layer was full of the General Level monsters, and Commander Level monsters were everywhere.

As we were talking and observing various species living in the Sunset Monster Mountain Range, not even one of them, dared to make a move on us, and all of them just escaped or pretended they didn't see us.

One must know, that monsters on the General Level had the same intelligence as average intelligent species, so they knew very well who to not provoke. Soon enough, we have arrived at an enormous valley, deep within the Inner Layer of the Sunset Monster Mountain Range that was the path to the Core Layer.

Not many devils have entered the true depths of the Sunset Monster Mountain Range. As I was admiring the beautiful nature here, all that various plants and trees suddenly heard a roar.

I looked in the distance and I saw, a Monarch Level Violet Tattooed Bear.

Violet Tattooed Bear was a monster of bear species, with extremely terrifying physical abilities and high resistance towards energy-type attacks, due to its steel-like hide and fur. It was called Tattooed because as this species of bears grew older, they would get various patterns on their body. All of them were magical and could release magical attacks during the fight.

"It is a Violet Tattooed Bear, Monarch Level. Physical ability is astonishing and I don't want to use Ultra-Order Spells to deal with it so it is yours. Remember to not destroy Nuclei."

I said to Hela seriously. I wanted to fight strong opponents, as I have become a bit battle maniac after my rebirth, as every time I fought somebody strong my blood was boiling and I was in a state of absolute bliss.

While my physique was strong, it was nowhere near to compete with Violet Tattooed Bear, so I let Hela kill it. She was a close-combat fighter and was good as hell. Of course, I warned her to not destroy its Nuclei, as it was a valuable thing for me to Devour. It could increase my energy reserves by some amount.

Hela's fighting style was brutal... nicely said.

When she heard that, she grinned with a bloodthirsty grin and conjured two Necroswords as she rushed at the Violet Tattooed Bear.

Violet Tattooed Bear noticed somebody was attacking him, so he used his massive pawns to strike Hela down, but alas, she was too fast for his reflexes. She dodged Violet Tattooed Bear's paw strike, and jumped in the air, high above the Violet Tattooed Bear's head, and slashed down with her Necroswords.

In the split of the second, a huge paw of the Violet Tattooed Bear fell down, as it was perfectly sliced off. I observed this battle from aside, and I noticed why her combat style was so effective.

She was using her Magical Power and Divine Power to enhance her strikes and weapons, so they would cause more damage. On top of that, her Power of Death, was practically unhealable in Draconic Deus by normal or standard means.

The bear roared in pain, as Hela landed behind the bear's back, and threw her two Necroswords at the Violet Tattooed Bear, piercing through its legs, as two missiles. Immediately afterward, another two Necroswrods were conjured, as she ran up to the bear, and sliced off the neck of the Violet Tattooed Bear.

As anticlimatic as the fight was, Hela won very easily due to her combat experiences and other sets of abilities.

Also, Violet Tattooed Bear was a rather ordinary monster, with not a lot of special abilities and as I warned Hela about its magical tattoos, she ended the fight as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary troubles.

"Bring me the Nuclei or do you want it?"

I asked her.

"I will keep it, my Magical Power reserves are stagnating already for some time."

She answered swiftly as she tore out the Beast Nuclei out of the corpse of Violet Tattooed Bear.

Chapter 109 - Unexpected Meeting

After we killed the Violet Tattooed Bear, we have entered the Valley and finally arrived at the Core Layer of the Sunset Monster Mountain Range. During our journey through the Valley, we only saw several General Level monsters, that ran away the moment they sensed our aura.

"Now what?"

I asked Hela, as I looked around the enormous mountains, even the smallest one was highest than Mount Everest on Earth.

"Nothing... we will hunt and search for Ereshkigal."

Answered she as she readied her Necroswords.

As were prepared to move forward, suddenly I heard someone talking.

"You are finally here."

We both turned around to see a handsome young man, with long flowing red hair with uplifted dark red bangs with a third eye on his forehead. He wore a heavily stylized three-piece suit-type outfit consisting of a black waistcoat over an untucked collared white shirt, an orange cravat and magenta-colored trousers tucked into light brown boots. The most distinguishing feature of the outfit is the stylized high-collared robe jacket with a length that falls to the wearer's shins: the upper part and shoulders of the robe jacket are dark-colored, the rest being a teal color and the robe jacket's trimmings are gold-colored; on each shoulder is a large gold-colored Ω-symbol, on each outer forearm are three gold-colored strips of fabric and the robe jacket ends in large white cuffs. The outfit is finished with white gloves.

In his right hand, he gripped a sword that looked like katana, and in his left, he had a walking cane.

When I looked at him, I felt absolutely nothing. Not even an ounce of any kind of energy... he seemed like an ordinary average human.

"What has brought Your Imperial Majesty to place like this?"

I asked as I stepped forward before Hela, signaling her with my hand to lower her weapons. As I already know who this person was, and with his power, he could kill both of us with a wave of his hand... it would be easy like squashing a bug.

"The right question should be not what. But rather who, young traveler."

He said with a smile as his third eye opened slightly, and my eyes widened in shock.

"Then it would be most appropriate to talk somewhere in a private."

I said, as he tapped with his cane on the ground three times, and suddenly the environment around me changed, and I was sitting in the garden of sorts?

It was filled with peach trees and sakura. When I looked forward, I noticed those peaches weren't ordinary fruits, but rather Peaches of Immortality.

I wasn't in the Underworld.

And Hela apparently remained in the Underworld.

"I see you like the place here... I always go here to relax my mind."

Said the young man, as he came to me and we both sat down cross-legged.

"Now allow me to introduce myself, though you already know my title the Jade Emperor. My name is Okhwang."

Said the Jade Emperor Okhwang with a slight gentlemanly bow.

"Zeoticus Gremory von Lucifer."

I did the same.

"It is interesting to meet a fellow reincarnator... though your rebirth was devised by someone else, and mine by my own."

Stated Jade Emperor Okhwang plainly. As I heard that, I froze in shock as I looked at Jade Emperor Okhwang.

"What? Did you think that reincarnators were rare? Or perhaps that your own was an accident? Come and drink this."

He said as he gave me a cup of beautifully fragrant tea. I gulped the tea down in one go, as I didn't even have time to savor the wonderful taste of one of the most precious tea leaves in the entire Draconic Deus.

"You should now feel better."

He said as I nodded. Indeed I felt much calmer.

"You have mentioned that my own rebirth wasn't accidental... I have always wondered it was indeed like that."

I said as it was useless to hide more information, especially from someone who appeared to be stronger than The Great Red.

"I can see remnants of power of the artifact that caused your reincarnation... pretty interesting. Someone of great power. My own body here is just a mere clone of my True Body in a different Universe which is built upon cultivation, but even my True Body is weaker than an entity that meddled here... probably only..."

He suddenly stopped in his speech as he looked at me, and waved his hand, as some energy entered my body. Shortly it vanished like it never existed in the first place. Soon after, if felt something change in my body, and it gave me a very warm feeling and I felt like I was freed from something.

"You have passed even before the test."

He muttered in a very quiet voice, but I still managed to catch it.

"I would like to invite you to Longinus Dreizhen Orden. Here take this."

He said and took out something that looked exactly like a Tarot Card of the Devil Major Arcana. As I touched the Devil Tarot Card, it started shining brightly in pitch crimson color, as it soon broke down to crimson particles that all flew and were absorbed into my body.

The Devil Tarot Card wasn't the only thing I got, but I additionally obtained plenty of information about the Astral Boundary, other Universe, important factions and powerhouses, and about Longinus Dreizhen Orden.

In truth, it will take a week to process all information I got from the Tarot Card, which now fused with my soul. The Card itself wasn't only some kind of proof of membership, but also it was a top Empyrean Grade soul and mind protection treasure. Additionally, it had many other functions, from which most were not usable.

Something absolutely priceless no matter what Universe you were in.

Longinus Dreizhen Orden was a rather new organization, created only short tens of millennia ago. Altogether, it will have only 13 members in the future, now only 6 seats were filled, 7 with me included.

Chapter 110 - Enlightening Discussion (1)

Every member of the Longinus Dreizhen Orden had two identificators. One of them was Major Arcana, which was like the signature of the member. Another one was the Code, which was the cover name under what the member was operating in the world.

Mine Code was Samiel Zentaur.

"From current members of the Orden, how many of them are from the Astral Boundary Universe, Deus Ex Machina?"

I called Okhwang his Code, Deus Ex Machina, while his Major Arcana was ironical, The Emperor.

"From current six, 4 are natives of your Universe. I am native to the other Universe, though I was reborn in many Universes to absorb their cultivation systems. Aside from me, Rot Spinne is not from Astral Boundary, though he is Traveller. He travels across Universes and doesn't stay in one for a longer period of time. Also, while Mercurius while a native of Astral Boundary, he doesn't care about almost anything and is only an observer. And Christof Lohengrin usually sleeps and wakes up once per millennia."

Answered Okhwang. I was surprised about things he even said about himself, but I wasn't that surprised.

Basically, you can truth another member of the Longinus Dreizhen Orden at 100%, as betrayal is impossible thanks to the Arcana Cards infused with our souls.

"What is your home Universe like?"

I asked him.

"Did you know that I created Three Realms in Draconic Deus as an experiment? I wanted to combine various cultivation systems across several universes, but it didn't go very well. I am a cultivator, but not like these here, the true one, from Universe you can call Cultivation Universe, the most common type of Universe. I came from the Ancient Dao Universe, a place stronger than Astral Boundary, which is logical as Ancient Dao Universe is really 'Ancient' in every sense. There are countless powerhouses, and people with strength like Great Red are basically everywhere. Many of them were old billions of Terran years."

He explained with a sense of nostalgia over his face. While I was shocked listening to his description of his home.

"What about you?"

He asked me.

"When I died, it was the 25th Millenium by our dating system, also called the Golden Age of Technology. I was a scientist in the Solar Federation tasked with weapon research. We didn't have a name for our Universe, as only explored part of it was just one Galaxy, called Milky Way Galaxy, and it was a shithole. There were constant wars among species, and we waged war Orks, often with Aeldari or other species. Aeldari were the most advanced species in my homeland; they ruled a large part of the Milky Way Galaxy and had strong psychic-like powers. Once I want to return and plunder all technology from those arrogant pointy-eared bastards."

I talked a bit about my homeland.

"Aeldari? Aeldari... where I have heard that..."

Muttered Okhwang as he tried to remember the name of Aeldari.

"Oh! I remember now. It is the Immaterius Universe. God damm it, you really came from a shitty place. I heard from rumors that place is like a dead zone, avoided by practically every powerhouse that has power across Universes. Apparently, something happened there that turned the entire place in one big no."

Siad Okhwang, as I was now intrigued about what happened in my home Universe.

"Well, if you want to return there to take a look, you should probably be at least as strong as Warlock Emperor in the Astral Boundary, which would be Lord-Class for you. Immaterius Universe has become extremely dangerous these days."

He warned me.

"Perhaps your clone can still communicate with your True Body and exchange information?"

I asked, intrigued.

"Part of that, but I got this info from the annual meeting of Longinus Dreizhen Orden. At the last meeting, Christof Lohengrin said that two newly advanced Pale Blood Ancestors stole some space-time artifact from depths of the Divine Blood Plane, an Ancestral Home of all Pale Blood and Kindreds, and in their infinity arrogance and stupidity, by some accident they managed to open a portal to Immaterius Universe. When they arrived there, the place seemed ordinary without a strong presence, but soon they were attacked and nearly killed. Fortunate enough, they managed to escape back to the Astral Boundary, while the artifact was destroyed by something there."

Said Okhwang.

I was now surprised as I knew that Ancestor rank among the Pale Blood and Kindreds was the same as Dimensional-Class for Devils, or Holy Spirit Warlock for Warlocks or Supreme God Stage.

Hearing two existences on that level could barely escape with their lives was absolutely baffling after several seconds of battle. Apparently, the waters of my homeland were far deeper than anyone in the Solar Federation could have predicted.

"Don't worry... I won't be going there anytime soon, or anywhere... unless we tore down the Dimensional Gap."

I said.

"Tearing down that pathetical spell formation is not that problematic. Though I cannot do it, as I am not a magician and don't follow your power system, we can do it together with ease."

Said Okhwang with disdain.

"Can't you destroy it with pure force?"

I asked him.

"I can, but that would lure here practically every existence on Dimensional-Class from surrounding planes. Probably tens of Holy Spirit Warlocks, Magister Arcanists and Monsters, and Supreme Gods would arrive and probably kill everything here. And this clone body of mine must return intact to the Ancient Dao Universe without a fault."

Answered Okhwang seriously.

"I have wanted to ask, what exactly is the purpose of the Longinus Dreizhen Orden?"

I asked like one would say, a million-dollar question.

"Longinus Dreizhen Orden has many purposes, but the main and primary one was to create an organization to help its members get stronger, gather information across Astral Boundary. Later Mercurius invited me and Rot Spinne, so it stretched its influence to other Universes. Its goal is to help its members to sit upon a Divine Throne."

Answered Jade Emperor Okhwang seriously.