Within his senses, although the divine power wasn't abundant, it harbored an overwhelming malice—an intense hatred toward abyssal creatures.
This suggested two possibilities: either the artifact had been specially crafted to combat such beings, or its original owner harbored such deep-seated hatred toward them that their will had seeped into the weapon, imbuing it with a natural counter to abyssal entities.
Whichever the case, one thing was certain: the weapon posed a serious threat to demons. If its wielder had been a true God rather than a mere Demigod, that fat greater Ranking Demon would've been annihilated—reduced to ash with no chance of recovery.
However, this kind of danger didn't concern Orsaga. The divine power currently present was minimal—far too little to pose any real threat to him. At most, it was a prickly toy.
Under his control, his magical energy slowly flowed into the divine essence, neutralizing it bit by bit.
Through this process, Orsaga was gauging the disparity in quality between the two types of power, closely observing their interaction.
He was trying to measure the gap between himself and a true God. That said, a living god and an artifact were two very different things; their power might share a similar nature, but the difference in application was significant.
---
Far from Orsaga, deep within the front line...
The Beastman warrior who had previously faced off against Orsaga was now standing in a massive war chamber, solemnly addressing a gathering of multi-racial representatives.
The topic of the meeting was clear: Orsaga.
In his recounting, Orsaga was portrayed as an incredibly dangerous demon—one that could easily spark a major crisis if not taken seriously.
However, most of the gathered representatives seemed unconvinced. After patiently hearing him out, the dwarf representative waved his hand dismissively, his expression indifferent.
"Harlan," he said.
"You must understand—every race has its geniuses. Demons are no exception. Occasionally, one or two exceptionally powerful demons emerge in the same rank. It's nothing unheard of.
"As for your claim that he lifted a 2000-meter-wide slab of land…"
He stroked his beard skeptically.
"That must've involved some kind of specialized magical tool. You do realize most mountains aren't even 2000 meters tall, and mountains are cone-shaped—far less mass than a full sphere. If what you say is true, that high rank Demon essentially lifted the equivalent of several standard mountains. That kind of brute strength alone could allow him to pummel most Demigods to death—no technique required. That just sounds... a bit too exaggerated."
Harlan was momentarily lost for words. He himself had trouble believing what he'd witnessed. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have accepted it either.
To violently lift a massive sphere of earth with a 2000-meter diameter—even if only half of it due to being embedded in the ground—was absurd. That kind of weight could crush dozens of adult dragons. Dropped from the sky, it could annihilate an entire nation.
As he racked his brain for how to rephrase his report more credibly, several of the representatives suddenly received urgent transmissions—messages from their own races' Demigods. Such communications were reserved only for pressing matters.
Given the stature of those sending the messages—one step away from godhood—their words couldn't be taken lightly. The representatives instantly began reading the content carefully.
After reading, a hint of shock flashed across the elven representative's face. He looked at the Beastman warrior and hesitantly asked, "The demon you mentioned—does he resemble a humanoid, wears red armor, about six meters tall, and covered in floral-like markings?"
"Uh…"
Though surprised that the elf, who hadn't shown much interest earlier, was suddenly following up, Harlan still answered honestly, "Yes, that's him."
"Then it must be him," the elf confirmed, frowning.
He turned to the others and explained, "Lady Alison, the one responsible for battlefield support among our kind, recently received an emergency distress call from Lord Emosen of the Dark Elves. If not for her swift response—and a life-saving talisman she gave him—Lord Emosen likely wouldn't have made it out alive...
"In their subsequent engagement with the enemy, even though they outmatched him by a whole Rank and had the numbers advantage, both Alison and Emosen still fell into a disadvantage. They were on the verge of calling for reinforcements again when the demon finally chose to retreat."
"If the information is accurate, then the demon they fought was the same one Harlan warned us about..."
The Dark Elf representative nodded gravely. "He's right. Lord Emosen is currently in critical condition—one arm severed, internal organs severely damaged. He's lying in the Hall of Revival receiving emergency treatment from our priests."
Their words left the room in stunned silence. Even Harlan was momentarily speechless.
He'd only wanted to warn the legendary warriors of various races to be cautious—not expecting that Orsaga had already taken on two Demigods head-on… and nearly overpowered them.
He knew full well that both Alison and Emosen were elite even among Demigods—nobly born, armed with exclusive techniques and weaponry. They were the kind of foes few in their Rank wanted to face.
Then something clicked in his mind—a puzzling thought.
'How did I manage to escape?'
'Could it be... he just didn't care enough to chase me?'
He couldn't believe that someone strong enough to overpower Demigods would be unable to stop a simple teleportation spell.
Unable to reach a conclusion, he turned his attention back to the ongoing discussion.
The elven representative, now dead serious, said, "Judging by the current situation, that high rank Demon already possesses the strength to threaten this front line—despite this being a time when no gods can descend. What's worse is that he's still just a High Rank. If he ever advances to greater Rank, we may be powerless to stop him…"
The Beastman representative responded in a low voice, "Just get to the point. No need for dramatic pauses."
Ignoring the bluntness, the elf continued earnestly:
"I believe that since this demon is capable of overpowering multiple Demigods, relying on a group ambush to take him down might not be feasible in the future."
"The safest course of action is to have Lord Karveth take him out directly—using the divine artifact to eliminate him once and for all, leaving no room for future threats."
The "Lord Karveth" he referred to was the strongest warrior guarding this front line—the very one who had previously injured the fat demon with the divine weapon.
Being a direct descendant of a god, Karveth possessed the qualifications to wield an divine artifact—but doing so always required a long period of rest afterward.
To this front line, Karveth was a keystone of power—a stabilizing force during every demonic tide. Unless it was an emergency, they never deployed him lightly.
Now the question arose: Should they spend such a critical resource on a High Rank Demon?
On one hand, Orsaga's capabilities indicated that once he ascended to Greater Rank, he'd be a nightmare to deal with. On the other hand, using the divine artifact's power now—mid-battle—against a non-demigod-rank demon seemed like a waste.
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T/N:
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