With his enhanced mental capabilities accelerating the learning process, Azrael's progress in mastering the secret realm demon language proceeded at remarkable speed.
Within mere days, he'd achieved functional comprehension of the mysterious script's fundamental structure and meaning.
"Time to discover what secrets these ancient records contain."
Azrael possessed two samples of demon writing in his collection. The first was a diary recovered from the Sword Lake secret realm, while the second consisted of the ancient tome acquired during his recent practical training expedition.
He decided to examine the diary's contents initially.
After disconnecting his computer from the network for security, Azrael imported the diary images captured by his Mark 3 system into the secure environment.
The opening passage immediately caught his attention with its cryptic implications.
[The clan elders informed us that our traditional calendar system had become obsolete after that pivotal day.]
[Our current calendar bears the designation 'Nuli', a name supposedly chosen by His Imperial Majesty.]
[Why would they select such a designation? The term carries ominous connotations that disturb me.]
[December 3rd, 378th year of the Nuli Calendar. Today marks my first diary entry. I have reached twenty-nine years of age. The preceding years contained nothing worthy of documentation. Perhaps fortune has smiled upon me, I have yet to witness the catastrophic event Master Reeves prophesied.]
The initial page concluded there. Azrael's expression darkened as he processed the implications before advancing to subsequent entries.
The following pages contained extensive documentation of mundane daily activities. Azrael found no immediately relevant intelligence within those routine records.
Maintaining patience, he continued reading methodically.
[June 4th, 387th year of the Nuli Calendar. Young Nian has reached twelve years of age. Joy fills my heart because he has matured without encountering the calamity Master Reeves predicted.]
[Nian demonstrates exceptional wisdom and natural talent. According to Master Reeves's assessment, during the previous era, he would have qualified for direct discipleship in a minor sect.]
[Strange perspective. Surely being the patriarch of our Kai family carries greater prestige than leading some insignificant sect.]
[However, Master Reeves possesses tremendous power, and I dare not challenge his statements.]
This passage confirmed Azrael's suspicions, the diary's author had served as the Kai family patriarch within the Sword Lake secret realm.
"Master Reeves?" Azrael carefully reviewed his memories of the Sword Lake exploration. No individual bearing that designation had appeared among the Kai family members he'd encountered. "Presumably deceased by natural causes."
Uncertainty gnawing at him, Azrael pressed forward through the text.
[July 8th, 392nd year of the Nuli Calendar. Master Reeves revealed that the prophesied catastrophe will manifest three years hence.]
[This date was established through consultation between His Imperial Majesty and ■■.]
[Today marked my first awareness of ■■'s existence. I had previously assumed His Imperial Majesty represented absolute authority.]
[But Master Reeves claims that compared to ■■, His Imperial Majesty resembles a helpless infant.]
[How can this be possible? His Imperial Majesty's sword techniques can shatter mountains and sever peaks with casual effort.]
Multiple characters had been deliberately obscured throughout the diary. Azrael suspected this represented the actual puppet master orchestrating the secret realms' manifestation.
The demons' behavior during previous encounters had strongly suggested external control.
[January 16th, 393rd year of the Nuli Calendar. Two years remain before our appointed time. Master Reeves delivered devastating news today.]
[An entity known as the Four Evil Gods has declared war against His Imperial Majesty.]
[Will ■■ not intervene? Both factions serve under their authority. Internal conflict benefits no one.]
Azrael had encountered references to the Four Evil Gods during his interactions with the Kai family previously.
However, he possessed minimal additional intelligence about them. The designation had never appeared in records from the Empire of Aetherlight.
Suppressing his growing concerns, Azrael continued reading.
[March 1st, 393rd year of the Nuli Calendar. Master Reeves summoned me to accompany him and the Sword Lord to the front lines.]
[Only then did I realize that the Sword Lord faced not the Four Evil Gods directly, but rather the Plague King serving under their command.]
[According to Master Reeves, the Four Evil Gods command four mighty kings as their subordinates.]
[Can we possibly achieve victory? The four kings alone match the Sword Lord's capabilities, not to mention the Evil Gods themselves.]
The reference to a "King" immediately triggered Azrael's memory of the Flesh King encountered within the Demon's Nest secret realm near Velkairos City. The connection seemed likely.
As Azrael advanced through the pages, the handwriting deteriorated dramatically from the previously neat script.
[December 24th, 394th year of the Nuli Calendar. The Sword Lord has fallen in battle. Master Reeves perished before my eyes. This conflict serves no further purpose.]
[Fortunately, the Plague King appears uninterested in eliminating mere subordinates like ourselves.]
"Defeated so decisively?" Azrael wasn't surprised by the Sword Lord's defeat. His investigation had already suggested that the broken blade at Sword Lake's bottom represented the legendary warrior's final remnant.
However, the speed and completeness of the defeat exceeded his expectations.
The diary had reached its final entries.
[December 31st, 394th year of the Nuli Calendar. Several days have passed since my return to the Kai family compound. Despite the Sword Lord's defeat, our daily existence remains largely unchanged.]
The subsequent passages bore no resemblance to the earlier content's measured tone.
[The heavens have split open!]
[I witnessed them, the Four Evil Gods themselves!]
[Absolutely certain, the Four Evil Gods appeared!]
[I glimpsed His Imperial Majesty's blade as well!]
[What transpired after the Four Evil Gods departed remains unknown to me.]
Frantic, chaotic script covered the page, clearly written while the diary's author experienced complete panic.
Only a single page remained.
[Following that terrible day, I discovered our world had contracted to encompass only this lake and the Kai family grounds.]
[Our current existence resembles...]
[fragments.]
The diary concluded permanently. The Kai family patriarch never recorded additional entries.
Azrael absorbed this information thoughtfully. While the diary provided substantial intelligence, most details proved irrelevant to current circumstances.
However, recalling Lian's reaction upon viewing the diary previously, Azrael harbored troubling suspicions about the Crimson Oath Society's ultimate objectives.
"Their target couldn't possibly be these Four Evil Gods."
Suppressing his growing unease, Azrael turned his attention to the ancient tome.
The volume contained limited content, essentially a single narrative account.
[In the forgotten reaches of ancient history, upon a distant continent, there dwelt a demon god whose power could pierce the heavens and penetrate the earth's deepest foundations.]
[One day, secret realms of varying sizes began manifesting across this continent. Within these dimensional pockets lurked strange creatures consumed by aggressive impulses toward all other life.]
[Fortunately, the demon god's protection proved sufficient. Despite horrific casualties, the secret realm creatures failed to completely overrun the continent.]
[However, as time progressed, the major factions serving under the demon god gradually developed growing resentment.]
[The secret realm creatures whispered poisonous suggestions, claiming that without the demon god's presence, such devastating conflicts would never have emerged.]
[Through careful manipulation by the secret realm entities, during one crucial battle where the demon god engaged an opponent of equal power, the protected peoples betrayed their guardian.]
[The demon god perished, torn apart by the very secret realm creatures he had spent eons fighting.]
[On that day, blood rained from the sky as if the world itself mourned his sacrifice.]
[Subsequently, the continent's inhabitants discovered they no longer needed to wage desperate battles against secret realm invaders.]
[Because they had become part of the invasion force.]
Closing the ancient tome, Azrael finally understood the secret realms' true origin.
They represented the remnants of an entire world, or perhaps multiple worlds, that had fallen to this insidious corruption.