In a moment of confusion, the Seventh Demon King heard the panicked cries of the demon lords calling out to him. As he broke free from the golden light that filled his vision, he realized with shock that his true form had been enveloped by a world composed entirely of golden lightning.
"How bold!" Feeling the damage caused by the lightning, the Seventh Demon King snorted in anger. A field of energy rapidly expanded from his colossal body, and as it spread, the world of thunder surrounding him instantly shattered.
An eternal being had launched an attack on him from across countless world clusters, but he was able to fend it off with ease. The sheer distance had significantly weakened the attack's power.
"Such arrogance!" His first instinct after realizing he had been attacked was to retaliate, but he quickly came to a frustrating realization.
While he could launch a similar attack, he couldn't strike back at the distant eternal being. That being was sleeping within a great world, and in order to attack, the Seventh Demon King would first have to breach the world's defenses.
As much as he hated to admit it, he couldn't accomplish that. A great world is on the same level as an eternal epic, and the world of Erathia had clearly advanced at least once, growing even larger than him in scale. Breaking through such a world's defenses was beyond his current abilities, especially since its defensive mechanisms had already been triggered, blocking any further extension of his power into it.
Thus, if he wanted revenge, his only option was to awaken other Demon Kings. With three or more Demon Kings working together, they could tear through the world's barriers and repay the humiliation he had suffered.
However, there was a further complication. To target the eternal being of that distant world cluster, he would not only have to deal with the world's defenses but also face that eternal being directly.
As he hesitated, deep in thought, a scorching gaze fell upon him. The Seventh Demon King looked toward the source and saw a figure walking through the endless void.
This figure was humanoid, with endless light spreading out from his back, forming twelve pure white wings. Thousands of blazing stars dotted his wings, and wherever this being passed, the void's darkness was banished, bathing everything in his radiant light.
"..." The Seventh Demon King fell silent. He could feel his body heating up.
"Your Majesty, Demon King!" a familiar voice cried out in alarm.
"I know!" the Demon King responded irritably. What was there to be surprised about? It was just another attack from an equal. He could see his body being enveloped by a faint white-hot flame, transforming his black hole-like form into a radiant star, emitting boundless light and heat.
"Another one!" The Seventh Demon King regained his composure. In the intense seriousness of the moment, he extinguished the blazing flames surrounding him. This time, he didn't immediately retaliate.
He understood that he wasn't being attacked for no reason; it was a warning because he had provoked the other side. He sensed that this radiant being was connected to the world he had just spied on. Having developed malicious intent toward that world, he had been detected, and this being had responded with a simple glance, delivering the message.
After a long silence, the Seventh Demon King asked the demon lords who had awakened him, "What started this war?"
"The world cluster we are fighting against had a god who stole one of our origin energy techniques. We aimed to reclaim the technique and erase the souls of all who had learned it," they explained.
"The other side refused, so the war began, correct?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" the demon lords exchanged glances, understanding the meaning behind the Demon King's words.
"This war ends here!"
"But..."
"For you, this war should be over. It is not worth losing so many of our kin over a stolen technique. It's simply not worth it!" The Seventh Demon King spoke calmly.
He could see clearly that once the technique had been stolen, recovering it was unrealistic. The idea of killing all the gods who had seen it was equally unfeasible, unless they could kill the eternal beings on the other side, which was an impossibility he was all too aware of.
"I'll handle the rest! While the war must end, we cannot let it close without a proper conclusion. There must be one final battle," he added.
"Your Majesty!" the demon lords cried out in shock. They had begun to realize that the world they were trying to take back the technique from was far stronger than they had initially thought.
"Withdraw!" the Seventh Demon King ordered, his voice harsh. "From this moment on, this has nothing to do with you!"
In truth, the Seventh Demon King desperately wanted to continue fighting. He had merely glanced at that world, yet he had been struck by two beings of equal strength. The humiliation he felt was overwhelming, and he longed for revenge.
However, he knew that he alone wasn't enough for such a task. He needed to awaken more Demon Kings. Yet, other Demon Kings would not support a war aimed solely at eliminating the other side. The reason was simple: there was no benefit proportional to the cost. Waging a war against two or more eternal beings over a stolen technique wasn't worth it.
The Demon Kings were the leaders of the demon race, the foundation of its continued prosperity. They couldn't act on impulse and had to make the wisest decisions.
So, while no other Demon King would help him fight the eternals simply for revenge, if he framed the conflict as necessary for protecting the demon race, they might assist him. But even then, it would only be a single battle before they stopped.
After dismissing the demon lords and ordering a retreat, the Seventh Demon King began summoning the other six Demon Kings. One by one, they awoke.
"What's going on?"
"An origin energy technique was stolen!"
"And you woke us up for such a trivial matter? Who stole it? If they have a race, wipe out the entire race along with them!"
"Their race has an eternal being!"
"..."
A heavy silence fell.
"Punish them lightly, and let it go," one of the Demon Kings said after a moment. For most beings, origin energy techniques were valuable, but for these entities who stood at the pinnacle of the void and could devour worlds, such techniques held no meaning.
"I disturbed their world while spying on them, and they attacked me!" the Seventh Demon King interjected. Although the two long-range attacks hadn't caused him any harm, they had humiliated him.
"They? More than one?"
"Yes, there were two! When I peeked into their homeworld, they both warned me."
"Which means there could be more eternals on their side?"
"I don't know." The Seventh Demon King's reply was crisp and direct.
"Regardless of how many there are, we cannot let this go. Let's fight them once, then end it."
"I won't participate in a pointless battle. If you want to fight, go ahead. I'm going back to sleep," said a voice that had remained silent until now, which then fell quiet once again.
"This is too much trouble. I won't take part either!" One by one, the awakened Demon Kings withdrew. Engaging in a war with the eternals over a stolen technique was a senseless endeavor.
"Are you expecting me to fight two eternals alone?" the Seventh Demon King asked coldly. If none of them would help, he wasn't going to fight either.
"Sigh, I'll go with you," the Sixth Demon King responded. After all, they needed to protect the dignity of the demon race since they were the victims of the theft.
"I owe you one for this," the Seventh Demon King said gratefully.
"Let's make it quick."
...
A massive void serpent, its head visible but its tail stretching far beyond sight, slithered out of a black hole, piercing through time and space until it reached a world cluster bathed in light.
This immense serpent opened its jaws wide, aiming to devour the mighty being spreading light below. Endless darkness poured from the serpent's mouth, swallowing everything in its path, dimming the starlight as it advanced.
The Celestial Ancient God looked up at the void serpent, poised to devour him. A single feather fell from the glorious wings of light on his back, quickly transforming into a sword of light that stretched across the void.
The ancient god grasped the sword and gently swung it toward the sky. A vast torrent of light surged forth, engulfing the void serpent in an instant. Darkness and light collided and extinguished each other. As the serpent was obliterated, the flood of light was also consumed.
"It ends here!" A calm thought echoed to the Celestial Ancient God as the void serpent was destroyed.
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