Mephistopheles's lips twitched upon hearing his undesirable nickname. However, he quickly ignored it as Thanatos's words caught his attention.
"Lord Thanatos, did Helcan pay you a visit earlier?" Mephistopheles inquired.
"Since you already know, why bother asking? Are you trying to waste my precious time, Mm?" Thanatos replied.
Mephistopheles's expression immediately turned somber.
Just when Mephistopheles thought his name couldn't get any shorter, Thanatos found a way to exceed his expectations. Moreover, it even made Meph sound like a nice name.
After all, at least Meph sounded like a pet name.
As for Mm, what the hell was even that? An expression of disinterest or annoyance? Could his name fall any lower than that?
It had already dropped to the bottom of the abyss.
Mephistopheles hyperventilated as he wanted to protest. However, he forcefully suppressed his frustration with a deep breath and calmed down, albeit slightly."Helcan just left Gehenna and took off in the direction of the Great Divider. Are you aware of that, Lord Thanatos?"
"Mm..."
"....."
"Is that all you wanted to ask?"
"Well, yeah, kinda..."
"Zzz..."
"...Mother fuc-"
"Mm?"
"...I'll take my leave now, Lord Thanatos."
Shortly after their brief exchange, Mephistopheles quickly departed with a darkened expression. He feared that if he stayed any longer, he would either be angered to death or angered into cursing, then get beaten to death for it.
"My apologies... Too much death energy makes me sleepy..." Thanatos's half-hearted apology sounded as Mephistopheles was leaving.
'Bullshit!' Mephistopheles cursed in his mind without turning back.
He was wrong for expecting something out of Thanatos.
After all, Thanatos was most likely the laziest Realm Lord in the history of Gehenna-No, in all of Chaos. He only knew how to sleep all year round and never personally dealt with any problems.
Nevertheless, as dissatisfied as he was, Mephistopheles thought his trip wasn't exactly wasted. At the very least, he found out Thanatos knew about Helcan's departure but had chosen not to take any action.
That said, Helcan had not actually done anything that went against their interest yet, and there was nothing wrong with going to the Great Divider.
In fact, it wasn't wrong to go anywhere outside Gehenna.
However, the timing and secrecy of Helcan's departure proved that he was up to no good. If Thanatos actually waited for Helcan to make a mistake before taking action, it would be too late.
'Lord Thanatos shouldn't be that stupid... Then, is he actually turning a blind eye to Helcan's action because he secretly approves of it?' Mephistopheles frowned in thought.
Undoubtedly, Helcan wanted to get rid of the Soul Master. However, Thanatos wasn't doing anything to stop it.
'Just what is Lord Thanatos's intention? Is he secretly hoping Helcan succeeds in removing the Soul Master? Or is he waiting for Helcan to fail and empty his seat?' Mephistopheles wondered.
If Helcan disappeared as well, the rest of the Great Devils would have a new territory to exploit.
Moreover, Titanfall was highly rich in earth-type minerals, if nothing else. Thus, the rare metals would be useful for the development of their own territories.
However, Gehenna's strength would drop even further if they also lost Helcan.
Furthermore, it was also uncertain what kind of mess Helcan would make. It could prove to be too much for them to clean up after.
'Did Lord Thanatos not think about this? Why does it seem like I am the only one taking this matter seriously?' Mephistopheles frowned.
He wasn't sure what everyone's game was, but he wasn't intending to wait and find out.
'It seems I have to monitor Helcan's movements personally...' Mephistopheles thought before paying a quick visit to the Titanfall Territory.
...
...
Meanwhile, the Great Ashfallen Forest north of Blackthorn City received an unexpected visitor while the Black Rose Empire was at the peak of its rapid development.
The moment the burly figure with long silvery-grey hair stepped over the Dimensional Crack connected to Gehenna, the air thickened, winds surged, and dead leaves crackled.
It was as if the world of Pangea itself was trying to announce the person's arrival as the heavenly laws were mobilized to suppress his power. However, waves of mana also surged out of Gehenna to block the heavenly laws and counteract some of its suppressive power.
At the same time, the disturbance in the dying forest also drew the attention of nearby mercenaries and scouts.
When they arrived at the source of the disturbance, they were quickly shocked by the divine pressure emanating from Balmodan's huge, burly, and furry body.
After all, it was far more overpowering than that of a Transcendent.
Furthermore, it possessed the devilish aspect of Gehenna that made it seem like a dreadful and gloomy place. As such, many mercenaries and witches at the scene were immediately stricken with fear.
"G-Great Devil Balmodan! It must be Great Devil Balmodan! The Immortal Lycan King! Quickly! I don't care who! Anyone! At least one of us must make it out and alert Her Majesty!"
a Senior Witch cried.
Although she was able to speak, albeit shakily, it seemed to have sapped all her strength and courage as she failed to move the way she wished.
Her lack of strength and unsteady balance quickly caused her to take a tumble when she turned to escape.
'I'm going to die!' the Senior Witch immediately instinctively thought in that instant.
After all, how was it possible for a mere Senior Witch to outrun a Great Devil who specialized
in power and speed?
Nevertheless, she was still in a better position than the ones who were closer to the Great Devil. They were paralyzed by their fear and couldn't even squeak. The despair of
powerlessness could be seen in their eyes.
Why were they so quick to investigate the disturbance?
When they arrived at the scene, Balmodan's devilish aura had already surged past them by the
time they thought of escaping.
Nevertheless, outside of everyone's expectations, the overwhelming devilish aura and pressure were suddenly withdrawn back into Balmodan's body.
They had retracted so deeply into his being that he seemed like an ordinary lycan and that everything they had experienced earlier was only an illusion. They couldn't even sense his
killing intent.
"I apologize for startling you all, Humans. I didn't come here to fight, so you can all rest easy," Balmodan said amicably, like some typical grandpa next door.
However, despite the absence of hostilities, everyone still looked at him with dread and
apprehension.
How could any of them 'rest easy' in the presence of a Great Devil?
"Where is Vaan Raphna? I would like to meet him," Balmodan requested earnestly, adding, "I would appreciate it if someone could lead me to him or point me in his direction." "You want to meet Lord Vaan? And you want us to lead you to him or give out his location?
Why would we do that? You're just trying to lower our guard!" an Aura Grandmaster accused,
full of distrust.
"Everyone, don't be fooled by the words of this Great Devil! If Lord Vaan ends up getting harmed because of our naivety, we'll be eternal sinners!" another one said nervously. "No, please listen to me," Balmodan patiently implored without getting angry. "It might seem unbelievable and suspicious, but I really come in peace and have no intention of
fighting anyone."
"That's exactly what a suspicious person would say! How do you expect us to believe the words of a devil, let alone the Great Devil who invaded our world in the past?! I don't know what your game is, but you're not fooling anyone!" another Aura Grandmaster barked in a
trembling voice.
Balmodan's amicable smile became forced after listening to their distrusting accusation. He almost wanted to lash out at them for their insolence. However, he didn't antagonize the
humans.
Nevertheless, their courage had certainly grown a lot after he withdrew his oppressive aura from the area. To think he would have so much trouble over such a simple request.
It was easier to be mean than it was to be nice.
"Like I said, I really have no intention of fighting or hurting anyone..."
"We don't believe you, Great Devil! Just go back to your world!"
"Yeah! You're not welcome here! We will inform Lord Vaan of your visit after you leave.
However, it will be up to Lord Vaan whether he will agree to see-"
"Quit fucking around and just tell me where Vaan Raphna is, you cunts! When this King asks,
you listen!" Balmodan snapped.
He lost the last shred of his patience.
His oppressive aura instantly covered the region and robbed away everyone's courage.
Everyone was immediately drowned in endless fear.
Even so, they refused to tell Balmodan anything due to their bottomless respect for Vaan.
Balmodan frowned at their stubbornness.
Seeing how they were so uncooperative, he was prepared to look around and ask someone
else. Even he felt impressed at his self-restraint for not killing these humans for their
insolence.
"Why did you come and bully my people, Balmodan?" Henrietta's grim voice suddenly trickled over as she maintained a safe distance.
"Ahem, I didn't come here to bully them. They were being unreasonably distrustful and
giving me a hard time," Balmodan withdrew his aura awkwardly before saying, "You look like someone more reasonable to talk to, Black Rose."
"I hope you can agree to my request. I truly, truly have no intention of fighting or hurting any
more humans. I give you my word."
Henrietta was immediately surprised by Balmodan's earnestness and seriousness. But at the same time, his intention also confused her.
Was this still the same Great Devil who had been at odds with her kingdom for the past
hundreds of years?
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