The fall of the Hidden Demon Lord! This was a foregone conclusion. As a being that had infiltrated deep behind enemy lines to cause chaos, the moment it was discovered, its fate was sealed. No one believed it had sneaked into the world of Erathia just to take a look without stirring up trouble. Thus, the infamous Hidden Demon Lord from its home realm met its end.
Its demise was not dramatic or tragic; rather, it was somewhat pathetic. It was beaten to death by the gods of Erathia in a brutal brawl. Before dying, it tried to escape, but to no avail. No matter how well it concealed itself, the God of Murder, Cyric, could always find it.
However, Cyric was the fundamental reason for the Hidden Demon Lord's downfall. The direct cause, though, was the other gods pressuring Cyric to act as their eyes while they unleashed their divine might to kill the Hidden Demon Lord.
The Hidden Demon Lord held on for quite a while, sustained by seven drops of Source Energy. It even attempted to drag a few gods down with it, but this effort was futile. Being the first outsider of epic rank to enter the world of Erathia, it had already attracted the full attention of the gods. Under such circumstances, there was no room for it to maneuver.
Its body was destroyed again and again, and yet it continued to use Source Energy to restore itself each time. But when its Source Energy was finally exhausted, the inevitable end came.
After it fell, its body, which dissipated like a gray mist, was not treated kindly by the gods. Instead, it was torn apart. Several powerful deities took portions of its remains.
Each god who participated in the battle claimed a piece of the Hidden Demon Lord's body, with Cyric obtaining the largest share. After all, without Cyric, the gods would never have discovered the demon.
"Shall we try pulling this foreign epic's world over here?" asked the God of Fear with a mischievous smile, toying with a clump of gray mist in his hand as he glanced at the other powerful gods. "Judging by its combat strength, it should be at the second epic rank, above the False Realm level."
"Waste of time. It's not like this demon was a lone epic. It's backed by a powerful race. Do you think its world would be left undefended by the other epics of its kind while we seize it?" Cyric replied coldly, staring at the God of Fear. He had a chance to claim the entire body of the Hidden Demon Lord, but due to the God of Fear's interference, he had only obtained 20% of it, and he blamed the God of Fear for this loss.
"How do you know it won't work unless we try? This is the first epic to infiltrate. Maybe its companions didn't expect it to fall so quickly. If we move fast enough, we might be able to pull its world over, doubling our gains," the God of Fear suggested.
"Let's give it a shot!" Ban, the God of Tyranny, grinned savagely, also intrigued by the idea. Other gods, including those from the good-aligned pantheon, agreed. When it came to matters of profit, there was rarely any disagreement among the gods.
A tremendous spatial ripple, only perceivable by the gods, began to spread. More than a dozen powerful deities joined forces, using the remnants of the Hidden Demon Lord to trace back to the world it had created.
Soon, a swirling vortex of space-time opened, expanding under the constant infusion of divine power. Before their eyes, a fractured world, even smaller than a minor realm, appeared. Despite its size, the gods were visibly excited.
This world, created purely from Source Energy by an epic being, was incomplete. Yet, precisely because of its flaws, it was easily digestible by larger worlds, making it one of the most favored "meals" for such realms.
"Pull it over quickly! The other side's epics have noticed!" urged the Elven God, feeling a strange thrill from this robbery-like act.
"Let's yank this world over. If any epics from the other side try to interfere, we'll drag them in too and crush them together!" Talos, the Stormlord, laughed in excitement. With so many gods gathered, what did they have to fear?
Crackling energy spread as the fractured world was pulled through the expanding rift, dangerous void lightning snaking across the spatial tear. Meanwhile, the world was slowly being dragged into the gods' realm.
"Arrogance!"
"Foreign gods, you seek death!"
Several furious voices echoed from the other side of the rift. A black-scaled hand reached toward the world the gods were pulling in, and a massive dark red scythe, dripping with blood, sliced toward the rift as if freshly drawn from a blood pool.
"Hmph!" Hades, the Lord of the Underworld, who stood atop a chariot pulled by four Nightmare steeds, snorted coldly. He raised his spear, prepared to strike at the scythe.
"Wait! Don't just destroy the scythe. Try to drag its owner over here too!" A god called out, stopping Hades, worried that his immense power would obliterate the epic on the other side.
As one of the newest lords of the underworld, Hades had been absurdly strong even in his epic days. Now, with the added power of divine authority, he was even more fearsome. Some gods speculated that he could go toe-to-toe with Lathander, the Lord of Dawn. If Hades unleashed his full power, who knew what might happen to the epic on the other side?
Hades said nothing, but he pulled back the spear and instead reached his hand through the rift.
"Clang!" Encased in blackened armor, Hades' hand reached through the vortex and grasped the blood-stained scythe. With a powerful pull, he prepared to drag both the scythe and its owner into the gods' realm.
"Crack!" A sharp metallic sound echoed from the rift. The gods watched as cracks spread across the scythe, starting where Hades' hand gripped it. The fearsome weapon, which had likely slaughtered countless beings, shattered in Hades' grasp.
The sudden destruction of such a powerful weapon left many gods momentarily stunned. Even Lathander glanced over in surprise at the death god's overwhelming strength.
"That's a god on the verge of eternity! Run, don't resist!" a voice from the other side of the rift cried out in shock and fury after the scythe shattered, clearly not expecting these raiders to be so strong.
"Huh?" A voice of confusion followed. The black-scaled hand, which had been reaching for the fractured world, hesitated and began to retract.
But for Hades, the demon lord's movements were far too slow. As the demon tried to pull back, Hades reached out and seized its arm.
"Come over here!" Hades murmured softly. Drawing on the vast power inherited from the Titans, he yanked the demon lord through the rift into their realm.
"No!" The demon, a towering figure with horns and black scales, let out a desperate roar. If it were pulled through, could it possibly survive?
But no matter how much it struggled or tried to buy time for its own reinforcements, it was powerless. The strength gap between it and Hades was too great, leaving it with no means of resistance.
Boom!!!
A violent explosion sounded as chaotic void energy spread through the space. The demon lord, dragged through the rift along with the fractured world, was brought into the gods' domain.
"Roar!" The gods paid little attention to the fractured world they had just seized. All eyes were on the demon lord, who had been forcibly pulled into their realm. The demon, now consumed by despair, attempted to take a few gods with it in death, but before it could act, Hades punched it, shattering its massive body.
"I am immortal! You cannot kill me, foreign god!" Even as its body disintegrated, the demon's form quickly reassembled, as though time had rewound, restoring it to its original state.
"There is no such thing as immortality!" Hades responded without a hint of emotion. He threw another punch. If one punch couldn't kill the enemy, then two would suffice.
The demon, finally regaining some composure, tried to fight back. It swung its fist at Hades, but as their fists collided, cracks spread from the point of impact across the demon's body. Dark gold light spilled out from within, and the demon was shattered again.
"Why?" the demon roared, its body re-forming once more. It displayed an incredible vitality typical of epics, but no matter how resilient, it knew that being pummeled like this would eventually spell its doom.
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