And so, another half hour passed.
And just when Jeremy’s patience was beginning to wear thin, sothing happened.
"Well, about ti." Jeremy’s voice no longer sounded so stoic and indifferent. He was annoyed. Why had it taken her so long?
"She owes an explanation." He added, watching her erge from a deep blue portal.Then he rushed toward her at full speed. He wanted to have a word before she found out what he had done to the rest of the humans.
However, sothing seed off...
"Yvanna? What is with that face?" Jeremy was rather curious now. He did not expect such an expression from soone who had managed to defeat such a powerful devil.
The fact that she was the only one to erge said it all. She had won.
But no emotion could be seen on her face.
Her face was a mask portraying absolute nothingness.
No, there was sothing else.
The mont she raised her head to look Jeremy in the eyes, he noticed it.
Another emotion was hidden within them.
Resignation.
But that did not make any sense.
He could not connect the dots. Judging by her completely unscathed appearance, such an emotion was unheard of.
Yet, resignation was on her face.
At the sight of the boy, a brief glimr flashed in Yvanna’s apathetic eyes. But it lasted only a mont before vanishing.
However, Jeremy noticed.
He realized that the situation did not look promising, and just as he was about to ask again what had happened, a figure appeared next to him.
A shiver ran down the boy’s spine.
He had not noticed it at all.
Turning his head, he finally saw him.
It was not Malrik. He did not resemble him in the slightest.
From his aura to his appearance, he was in no way similar to the devil boy.
Question after question flooded Jeremy’s mind.
How long had he been there? Why had not he noticed his presence? Who was he? How had he appeared there? Were these the reinforcents Prish had ntioned?
"Do not be scared, boy. I’m not a bad guy." The figure’s voice, clad in a white robe with green decorations, was composed and hypnotic, almost seductive.
A faint smile adorned his simple face. His eyes were closed in a crescent shape, his thick blond hair carried away by the gentle breeze.
Jeremy did not respond.
He just stood there, silent, staring at the figure that had appeared out of nowhere.
It was not that he did not want to say anything, it was just that he could sense a threat unlike any he had ever felt before.
Death.
Sure, Jeremy was not afraid of a simple death. As long as his concept shined or a mber of his legion existed, he could be reborn.
But the sensation he felt at that mont was different.
True death.
"Oh, forgive . I have not introduced myself—" placing a hand on his chest and bowing his head in greeting, the figure said:
"My na is Ade, ruler of Hell."
Well, to be fair, Jeremy had guessed as much.
The figure present here could not possess power above EX Rank, otherwise the world would have been destroyed by his re presence.
Therefore, he could not be the reinforcent Prish had ntioned.
Moreover, judging by the resigned expression on Yvanna’s face, she seed to have faced this being.
But the only creature brought into the prison reality was Malrik, a devil.
And judging by his hell-linked power and the glance he gave just before Malrik was captured by the Empress, Jeremy realized who it was.
After all, the sensation he had when observed by that being was identical to what he had just felt.
Ade, the judge of Hell.
He had many titles, but that was not the point.
He was strong, that was what mattered.
As the seconds passed, the crushing pressure Jeremy felt while observing Ade’s figure faded.
If he wanted him dead, he would have killed him already.
The fact that he was introducing himself had to an sothing.
"The pleasure is mine. I’m Jeremy Veydras—" slightly lowering his gaze, Jeremy continued, "Ruler of the Osseoth Legion."
The boy’s eyes glead with pride as he spoke those words.
And with him, Ade’s eyes also glead unnaturally.
"I see..." His face looked amused as he observed the army of white bones.
"So, you’re here for so reason, I suppose." Seeing the being’s reaction to his previous words, Jeremy rode the wave, trying to appear bold and not frightened at all.
He was betting on sothing.
"Mh... interesting. You’re an interesting type. I like you!"
After a mont, a small laugh burst from Ade’s mouth.
"Do not worry, I do not intend to harm you. You know... actually, I need your help."
Ade’s gaze turned serious.
There was no trace of jest on his face.
Jeremy, on the other hand, frowned.
Help? For what? How could he help a being of that level?
These questions plagued the boy’s mind, however, before he could respond, Ade continued.
"I understand your doubts. And let tell you sothing. Yes, you’re weak. You’re still too weak to help . However, I see potential in you. So much potential. I just need to help accelerate your growth."
Ade’s words struck Jeremy deeply. He knew he had potential. Well, not only that. He was also very strong.
But he also knew that the being before him was right. In the grand sche of things, he was considered weak.
"Why should I help you?" Jeremy blurted out the words without thinking.
A chilling silence enveloped the area.
Then, Ade spoke.
"Why, you ask?" The air temperature plumted, making the boy shiver.
"Simple, because I said so. But if you do not want to, no problem. You can always die."
Jeremy’s body trembled imperceptibly at the figure’s words.
He did not know how to respond.
Obviously, no one wanted to die.
But he could not allow his pride to be wounded like that...
And so, after a few seconds of silence, Ade’s laughter reached the boy’s ears, halting his thoughts.
"Good, you’ve made the right decision, my boy."
Ade was a smart man. He knew he could not force the boy to say sothing so undignified. Besides, despite his words, he needed Jeremy.
---
Yvanna.
She stood still, observing the two’s interactions.
Seeing Ade doing nothing harmful, the pressure weighing on her spirit began to ease.
And so, she could better listen to their dialogue.
But not only that.
Looking down, she noticed sothing strange.
The humans were gone. But not only them.
All the corpses, blood, and any signs of death were also gone.
Everything had vanished, as if it had been absorbed.
Then she noticed the skeletal army.
It was different. Every mber had been modified, made more powerful.
Moreover, they had increased in number.
This made the woman frown.
Could Jeremy really have killed them all?
Sure, he had said he would. However, she thought she could intervene to fix things. Besides, she had not expected his power to grow so deeply in such a short ti.
So many miscalculations, one after another.
And now, here she was.
A secondary character.
Empress? Of what, exactly?
As she thought all this, with growing disgust and murderous intent toward Jeremy, a gaze struck her, freezing her in place.
"Let give you this gift to celebrate our eting and the start of a future collaboration, my dear boy."
Ade’s voice was intimidating.
Yvanna could feel it.
Death was coming.
And she could not escape.
And so, with unnatural calm, Ade approached her.
His steps were precise and controlled. There was no rush behind them, quite the opposite. An unnatural elegance set him apart.
"Even though I believe you could easily deal with her, let help you buy so ti. After all, sothing big is coming for you, my dear boy. I can only buy you a few days..."
And with those words, Ade placed his hand on Yvanna’s head.
He had no intention of killing her, of course. He just needed to render her powerless.
And so...
In less than an instant, all of Yvanna’s skills and powers were sealed.
"Well then, good luck. I hope that when we et again, your power will live up to my expectations."
With those words, Ade’s body began to wither.
His saintly face returned to that of a devil.
But not just any devil. Malrik.
"Ah, now this is a fine gift..." Jeremy’s voice returned to being relaxed. He knew exactly what to do. And he could not wait.
Approaching the Empress, Jeremy gently grasped her face.
"It is nothing personal. I hold no grudge against you. It is just that I have a fabulous idea in mind. Do not worry, Empress, I’ll make good use of your power."
Yvanna’s eyes were blank. She had lost, there was nothing more to say. She was a strong woman, and as such, knew how to accept defeat.
With those words, Jeremy cleanly severed Yvanna’s head from her body.
Then, without giving it another glance, he placed it in his Osseoth Cathedral.
And he did the sa with Malrik. The poor man was just a puppet in the hands of soone more powerful.
At this point, his domain was full of corpses. He could not wait to use them.
"Well, now that everything’s done..."
Jeremy looked down at the world from above. An excited smile painted his face. He finally had so ti to do what he should have done from the start.
"It is ti to conquer the world. This will be our first official conquest."
Reviews
All reviews (0)