"Beelzebub?" Cipher murmured to herself, hearing Feidric's words. It was a classic name, one that had appeared in countless stories from her past life, usually representing the "Lord of the Flies" or a devil associated with disease.
Despite the seemingly unimpressive title, Beelzebub's power was formidable in these stories. Clearly, even an ordinary devil had pushed the group to their limits; facing an Archduke of devils would be a completely different ballgame.
Black Hand watched as Cipher gave him a thumbs-up and grinned. "Go get 'em!" she encouraged.
Black Hand stared in bewildered confusion. "Huh?"
In the next instant, Cipher vanished before his eyes. "Teleportation?!"
He had no time to dwell on it. The moment Cipher disappeared, the remaining Lesser Devils swarmed toward him. "Oh shit!"
Switching back to Cipher's perspective, she was now channeling Divine Speed. Her cat form transformed into a golden streak of light, darting across the crimson landscape with blinding swiftness.
To be honest, this place reminded Cipher of the Nether in Minecraft. Except for the relatively flat area where the Blazing Fire Gang had first descended, the terrain was ridiculously uneven.
She had barely taken a few steps when she encountered a massive cliff, with lava cascading down like a waterfall, splashing crimson waves upon impact. Cipher continued her vertical descent, only to find another precipice looming ahead.
Beyond that, she found herself facing a towering rock wall. She climbed tirelessly, finally reaching the summit to find a vast, crimson plain stretching before her, dotted with countless devil figures soaring through the sky.
A quick glance revealed at least a hundred devils—not Lesser Devils, but full-fledged devils! Aria and the others had struggled to defeat just one. How could they possibly stand a chance against this many?
Suddenly, Cipher's ears twitched as a soft chuckle drifted from the devil ranks. "This is hilarious!" one of them chuckled. "A devil successfully opened a portal to the Material Plane, only to be beaten by a human from the Main World who came through?"
A chorus of mocking laughter erupted:
"Who's this idiot? When he arrives, I'm going to ridicule him mercilessly."
"He's utterly pathetic! Is he really a devil? He must be some imposter from the Abyss."
Devils had always looked down on demons, so comparing a devil to a demon was a particularly venomous insult.
The devil who had spoken first continued, "Still, what luck! I've been lazing around at home, doing nothing, and this opportunity falls right into my lap. Once the portal to the Material Plane stabilizes, even if it's only for a moon's cycle, that's plenty of time for me to wreak havoc there."
Because the Main World was protected by the Twelve True Gods and their numerous priests, creating a stable portal to the Material Plane was an incredibly difficult task for devils.
Nearly all devilish plots started smoothly, only to crumble near completion when a horde of priests inevitably appeared to thwart their plans. Even stranger, random adventurers might stumble upon the scene through sheer coincidence, joining forces against the devils and transforming the entire affair into a legendary tale passed down by bards for generations.
This wasn't entirely a matter of pure coincidence. The Twelve Main Gods had likely intervened to some extent, which was only natural since it was their own domain.
Only in the lawless Chaos City, where Castorice had repeatedly summoned Pollux to weaken the spatial fabric, could such a series of improbable events allow this particular devil to succeed.
From Beelzebub's perspective, it was a stroke of pure luck—a meat pie falling right into his lap.
Cipher silently sized up the boss leading the group of devils, wondering, "Is that Beelzebub?"
He didn't seem particularly remarkable.
Just as Asians might struggle to distinguish European faces, and Europeans might find Asian faces all look the same, Cipher saw little difference between these devils. She was beginning to feel face-blind.
But that wasn't the main issue. The real question was how to deal with these devils. Should she charge in directly? Wait for Castorice to position Pollux? Or simply summon Mydei?
Despite the considerable distance, the moment Cipher's gaze landed on them, they immediately sensed her presence.
Beelzebub raised an eyebrow slightly. "Oh? Where did this little cat come from? Daring to sneak around and spy..." He trailed off, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He recognized Cipher!
He remembered their encounter in the Grand Duchy of Kandela. Cipher had fought a warlock who, realizing he was losing, had used the "Terminate Contract" skill to sacrifice himself to his patron, hoping the Archduke of devils would avenge him.
That patron was none other than Beelzebub himself, the Archduke of devils ruling the first layer of the Nine Hells. When Beelzebub had possessed the warlock's body to descend to the Material Plane and spotted Cipher, he had nearly died of fright.
As one of the rulers of the first layer of the Nine Hells, Beelzebub possessed power beyond Legendary, reaching the Hero-level. Moreover, as both a sorcerer and a warrior, his versatile skills made him stronger than a typical Hero.
Yet even with all his might, he was still vastly inferior to a Demigod, let alone an Ancient God walking the mortal realm!
(The Nine Hells consist of nine layers, each ruled by different Archdukes of devils, whose strength increases with each descending layer.)
Back in the Grand Duchy of Kandela, Beelzebub hadn't even dared to claim the warlock's soul, terrified that the god might come seeking vengeance. He had turned tail and fled immediately.
And now? This very god had appeared in the Nine Hells, right before him?
Before, they had been separated by an entire Plane, allowing Beelzebub to escape. But now that the god had come knocking on his door, he knew he stood no chance of evading divine judgment.
Upon seeing Cipher, Beelzebub's first thought was naturally that this "petty" god had come seeking revenge. How else could she have coincidentally appeared in the Nine Hells, right in front of him?
Most beings, when gripped by extreme fear, would find their legs trembling uncontrollably. But Beelzebub was soaring through the air, not standing on solid ground. So instead of his legs shaking, his wings began to quiver violently, vibrating like sieves.
This sudden tremor caused Beelzebub to wobble precariously in mid-air. Forcing a smile, he plummeted rapidly to the ground. After a clumsy landing, he stumbled forward and stood before Cipher, while the other devils exchanged bewildered glances, utterly clueless about what was happening. Nonetheless, they all followed their boss's lead and landed as well.
Beelzebub rubbed his hands together, forcing a servile smile. "Um... Your Highness, did you come all this way specifically to see me?"
Though Beelzebub suspected Cipher had come for revenge, he couldn't simply blurt out, "Oh, here to settle the score?" He needed to be more tactful.
Cipher, however, looked genuinely puzzled. "Do I know you?"
To Cipher, all devils looked alike. If Beelzebub were to slip into the crowd of lesser devils, she doubted she could even pick him out again. How could she possibly remember the face of a devil she'd met only once, months ago?
Beelzebub froze. "You're not here for me? Then why are you in the Nine Hells?"
Cipher replied matter-of-factly, "For nothing. Who would willingly come to this wretched place? A devil dragged me here with Seventh-Level Magic."
Beelzebub wasn't stupid. The moment he heard those words, realization struck him, and he cursed inwardly.
That nameless devil who gave me the planar gateway to the Material Plane! That bastard actually dragged a god into the Nine Hells?!
In the past, human traitors had always been the ones to summon devils to the Material Plane. But this time, Beelzebub was experiencing something unprecedented: a devil traitor had dragged a god—one of his sworn enemies—to the Material Plane and right to his doorstep!
A surge of stifled rage burned in Beelzebub's chest, and he struggled to suppress a string of vulgar curses.
Then he suddenly remembered the message he had received: a devil had been locked in a protracted battle with someone who had descended through a planar rift. The devil had ultimately lost by a hair's breadth and had been forced to request the aid of an Archduke of devils.
In other words, this unknown devil had fought a god for so long and only lost by a narrow margin? Just moments ago, they had mocked the wretch for being too weak to defeat a group of humans. Now, it seemed this nameless devil's true strength might be far greater than they had imagined.
Could it be another Archduke of devils in disguise? Had his meticulously prepared scheme been foiled by a god walking the mortal realm? Driven by resentment, had he dragged Beelzebub into this mess as a scapegoat?
The theory sounded far-fetched, but for cunning devils, such a plot wasn't beyond possibility. Beelzebub began to seriously consider which of the other Archdukes might harbor a grudge against him. He quickly realized... he was at odds with all four of them! Meaning any one of the other Archdukes could be the culprit!
While Beelzebub was frantically brainstorming, the nameless devil he had mistakenly believed to be powerful was being chased by Nathaniel and Aria. As he fled, he wailed, "Grand Duke Beelzebub, where are you?! You promised to be here immediately! Why haven't you arrived yet?!"
Aria shouted, "Divine Smite!"
The nameless devil yelped, "Ouch!"
At that moment, Cipher vaguely recalled who this devil was. She had only encountered devils a handful of times, and his familiarity with her suggested their encounter in the Grand Duchy of Kandela.
A look of realization dawned on Cipher's face, followed by a mischievous grin. She drawled mockingly, "Oh~ it's you~"
Instantly, cold sweat broke out on Beelzebub's brow—an unthinkable phenomenon for a devil who could swim in lava without breaking a sweat! The sheer panic he felt was palpable.
Meanwhile, the lesser devils surrounding Beelzebub bristled at Cipher's attitude. "Boss, what are you waiting for? We outnumber them! Just give the order, and we'll swarm her!"
These devils might seem formidable to ordinary humans, but they were utterly insignificant before an Ancient God. None of them could even sense Cipher's true nature, except for Beelzebub, the Archduke of devils, who clearly perceived the vast, turbulent sea of divine power surging within her!
Beelzebub's perception was sharper than before. Previously, he had observed her from across a Plane, but now they stood face-to-face. He was certain: Cipher wasn't just a Demigod—she was a fully realized Ancient God!
Observing Beelzebub's demeanor, Cipher knew he had no desire for a fight. It was only natural; who would willingly engage in a battle they were destined to lose, a battle that would surely lead to their death?
In other words, Cipher could easily scare the Archduke of devils away with a few intimidating words, thus avoiding the confrontation altogether. But... would it be a waste to let such a perfect opportunity slip through her fingers?
Cipher's body began to distort slightly, then slowly split down the middle, transforming into two distinct figures.
She smiled. "You think you outnumber me? Really? I'm pretty sure I have the numerical advantage here. In fact, you've all been surrounded by just me from the start, meow~"
The lesser devils couldn't understand what Cipher was saying, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that Beelzebub heard and believed her words. Combined with what he was witnessing, Beelzebub naturally assumed Cipher had used some kind of clone ability.
In reality, Cipher had created afterimages of herself by repeatedly darting back and forth at Divine Speed. This process was incredibly taxing for her. She had to sprint to the left, linger there for a split second, then return to her original position and linger again, repeating this cycle tirelessly.
Throughout this ordeal, she also had to maintain a confident facade to deceive Beelzebub.
For some reason, she suddenly thought of Black Hand, a man who always put on a show of effortless superiority in public while secretly toiling behind the scenes.
But all this effort was worth it. Now that Beelzebub believed her lie, Cipher truly possessed the ability to create clones!
Cipher stopped her frantic movements and began to utilize her newfound power. One by one, identical Catgirls materialized on the crimson earth, their numbers rapidly multiplying until they far outnumbered the assembled devils.