Boom—
Through the combined efforts of the Four Great Satans, they finally managed to change the flood's course, preventing it from surging toward the devils' settlements.
Even so, the situation remained far from optimistic. Such an enormous amount of holy water would bring unimaginable trouble to the Underworld.
The Satans' expressions were grim as well. The Underworld's land was limited, and every noble house possessed its own territory. If some of those territories were struck by the holy water, the nobles might very well start fighting over the remaining land.
Unless this matter was handled properly, civil war would soon erupt.
"The devils are facing internal and external threats at the same time..."
Since they had assumed the positions of Satans, they naturally had to consider the interests of the devil race. Yet Heaven's relentless pressure had left the devils with very few choices.
"Sirzechs, what do you think about what the Scribe of Heaven said?"
"..."
Ajuka turned toward him and sought his opinion, but Sirzechs clearly could not think of any good solution.
"We devils have already been forced into a passive position, and our strength is no longer equal to Heaven's..."
Although Metatron had said there would be negotiations, everyone knew they would be "negotiations" in name only. In reality, they would be no different from orders.
Ultimately, this world still followed the law of the jungle.
The weak were destroyed by the strong, and weaker factions were swallowed by stronger ones. This was precisely the situation Sirzechs now faced.
Among the Three Factions of the Bible, the devils had previously been the strongest, allowing them to occupy the dominant position. But after the resurrection of the God of the Bible, Heaven had reclaimed that position.
During the battle just now, every Satan could tell that Metatron had not used her full strength!
What power countered devils most effectively?
Holy light!
Nearly every angel possessed the ability to wield holy light. As long as the difference in strength was not overwhelmingly large, angels would generally emerge victorious.
Yet from beginning to end, Metatron had not used any holy power whatsoever. She had suppressed all four Satans through sheer strength alone and even summoned holy water capable of inflicting catastrophic damage upon the Underworld.
Simply from facing Metatron, Sirzechs knew he had no chance of victory. That unfathomable power completely surpassed even him, a Super Devil!
Moreover...
The God of the Bible had not acted at all!
With Heaven's strongest combatant absent and its second strongest combatant holding back, the Underworld had still been reduced to this state. Sirzechs truly had no idea how they could oppose Heaven.
If an all-out war truly erupted, wouldn't Heaven simply flatten the Underworld?
"What should we do? Should we contact the forces of other pantheons?"
"No. Ordinary pantheons cannot oppose the God of the Bible... Among the pantheons possessing that level of strength, perhaps only the God of Destruction from the Hindu pantheon qualifies."
"But once we seek help from the Hindu pantheon, we may also be swallowed by them... In the end, it would be the same problem we face with Heaven."
No matter how they considered it, seeking outside assistance was impossible.
Pantheons without sufficient strength would never dare offend the God of the Bible. As for those powerful enough to intervene, the devils risked being absorbed by them.
In the end, they had returned to the starting point.
"We must summon every noble house and unify the opinions of all devils."
"For now, however, we should deal with the holy water first."
A day passed in the blink of an eye.
The Underworld now had far more matters to address than anyone had imagined, but the most important was still its stance toward Heaven.
Submission or resistance to the bitter end!
Therefore, no matter how many troublesome matters they currently faced, they had to set aside time to consider this issue.
The Four Great Satans had long since taken their seats in the conference room. The previous day, they had dispatched devils to notify the heads of every noble house and order them all to attend the meeting.
However, as they looked at the empty seats, the Satans sighed in unison.
Although they held the exalted positions of Satans, they did not possess absolute control over the Underworld in the same way the God of the Bible ruled Heaven.
Among the devils, the power of the nobles was almost equal to that of the Satans. To make a genuine decision, they first had to unify the nobles' opinions.
Although Sirzechs possessed enough strength to silence every last one of them, he could never bring himself to do such a thing...
Should that be called kindness or indecisiveness?
In any case, that was simply the kind of person... or rather, devil, Sirzechs was.
"The nobles still haven't arrived?"
The devil race had already reached a moment of life and death, yet those nobles still refused to appear?
Bang, bang!
A series of noises came from the side. When everyone turned to look, they discovered Serafall pounding the table.
"Those bastards!"
"Even at a time like this, they still refuse to show themselves? Do I have to freeze every last one of them into blocks of ice and drag them here myself?"
The other Satans were perhaps more accustomed to it. They frequently dealt with the nobles and understood those people's personalities far too well. Serafall, however, was different. She was not a Super Devil and was not constantly targeted like Sirzechs, so she was the first to lose her temper.
"Hey! Notify them again!"
The impatient Serafall glared unhappily at a devil standing nearby. He was the one responsible for contacting the various noble houses.
"Yes! I'll contact them again immediately!"
Seeing that the Satan was angry, the devil ran out with a miserable expression.
"Ugh!"
"Those people still haven't arrived. Is there really any point in doing this?"
"And what about that bastard Rizevim? At a time like this, he still has the leisure to play his games?"
Although none of them particularly liked Rizevim, he was still a Super Devil and possessed considerable influence among the devil race.
"Let's keep waiting..."
Sirzechs frowned as though pondering something.
"For a matter this important, I don't believe those nobles would simply ignore us."
The devils had already reached a moment of life and death, yet the nobles remained completely unresponsive and paid no attention to the Satans' orders.
Either they had found a powerful backer, or...
They were dead!
But was that possible?
Those nobles were not easy opponents. Wiping them out would require either a massive army or an overwhelmingly powerful combatant.
Sirzechs had already seen the situation on yesterday's battlefield. Heaven had deployed all its major forces against them, so how could it have had enough strength left to deal with the nobles?
Surely the God of the Bible had not acted personally? That would have been far beneath her status!
"Report! We have news! There's news from the nobles!"
At that moment, the devil who had run out earlier hurried back. Judging from his words, it appeared he had managed to contact the noble houses.
However, his expression looked rather strange.
A sense of foreboding arose in everyone's hearts...
"They finally responded! At least they understand the situation and didn't force me to drag them here myself!"
After finally receiving what appeared to be good news, Serafall relaxed slightly. However, she seemed not to notice the unusual expression on the devil's face...
"Something terrible has happened!"
"Except for a small number who were gravely wounded, every head of the noble houses has been murdered!"
"Even Lord Rizevim has fallen victim to the killer!"
...
"Did you properly carry out everything I instructed you to do?"
After bathing in holy water, Elise immediately adjusted the environment of the Seventh Heaven, restoring the beautiful realm that resembled an aurora.
Metatron and the Seraphs happened to return at that moment, and Elise also had a few matters she needed to discuss with the angels.
"Yes, my Lord!"
Metatron, Michael, and the others knelt on one knee and answered Elise's question with utmost seriousness.
Had Metatron been alone with Elise, she certainly would have behaved more playfully and casually. But with the other Four Great Seraphs present, she could not act too freely.
Her Lord had to appear perfect in front of others!
"As you instructed, I eliminated a large number of wicked nobles in the Underworld, along with its remaining Super Devil!"
The moment those words left her mouth, Michael and the others were startled. Although they knew Metatron had gone to carry out a special mission, they had never imagined it would involve assassinating the nobles.
Of course, considering Metatron's strength, calling it an assassination was somewhat inappropriate... She had erased entire castles along with the land beneath them!
Although her actions had been somewhat excessive, she had at least accomplished her objective.
"The devils of the Underworld are now entirely within our grasp. Even if we ordered them to end their own lives, they would have no power to resist."
As an angel, Metatron naturally despised devils. However, her understanding of them came entirely from the knowledge Elise had left her, combined with what she had personally witnessed during her excursions into the outside world...
Clearly, Metatron had never encountered any benevolent devils before.
Therefore, she naturally showed no mercy when she acted. She merely eradicated all that was "evil"!
"You did very well, Metatron."
"But let's forget about exterminating the devils. I'm still hoping to obtain a few things from them!"
The instant Elise said this, she clearly noticed Michael breathe a sigh of relief.
Was he... worried about the devils?
"Michael!"
"My Lord!"
Hearing his Lord call his name, Michael hurriedly responded.
"Were you worried about the devils just now?"
Elise's sudden question immediately caused cold sweat to form on Michael's forehead.
From an angel's standpoint, worrying about devils was absolutely impermissible. Yet before his Lord, Michael knew he could not lie.
"Yes, my Lord..."
Michael lowered his already bowed head even further.
"Why?"
Elise did not reveal any emotion, leaving Michael in a difficult position. He could not determine what his Lord meant.
But even if he understood, what difference would it make?
Perhaps he could deceive a devil, but he absolutely could not lie before his Lord. Even without understanding her intentions, Michael still could not speak falsely.
Under the worried gazes of the other three Seraphs, Michael gave them a reassuring look before his expression became solemn.
"This subordinate believes that exterminating every devil would not be a good thing."
It was precisely because Michael had governed all of Heaven for so many years that he clearly understood the devils of the present were no longer the devils of the past.
The devils of old had practically been monsters embodying evil, deception, and destruction. But now...
The new generation of devils born from unions between devils and humans still possessed certain flaws, but they had grown increasingly distant from the devils of the past.
Take Sirzechs' House of Gremory as an example. That family was practically an anomaly among devils because they valued their relatives.
One had to understand that true devils possessed no concept of family whatsoever. Rizevim was a perfect example. He could use even his own son as a punching bag, let alone other living beings, whom he would undoubtedly torture and slaughter without mercy!
This proved that true devils were gradually dying out, and Heaven had no reason to exterminate those who remained.
The second issue concerned their "definition."
According to the previous God of the Bible's definition, angels represented goodness, while devils represented evil.
The two existed in opposition to one another. It was precisely because evil stood in contrast to justice that the radiance of justice shone all the brighter!
If devils ceased to exist one day, how would the goodness of angels be demonstrated?
Thus, devils also served as a contrast that highlighted the angels' virtue.
Finally, exterminating the devils would create many problems for Heaven.
Although angels and devils had been enemies for a very long time, the devil race was still a major power.
If Heaven truly set out to exterminate the devils, it would unquestionably cause a tremendous upheaval throughout the entire world.
Although the powerful figures of other factions might not interfere, they would undoubtedly become suspicious!
Did Heaven truly intend only to "exterminate the devils," or did it simply wish to "exterminate"?
There was no way to know, and no one would dare ask in person. If it was merely the former, then all that would happen was the destruction of the wicked devils. But what if it was the latter?
What if Heaven exterminated others simply for the sake of extermination?
If Heaven ever developed ambitions of expansion and came into conflict with numerous pantheons, would those pantheons be exterminated as well?
No pantheon would dare gamble its survival on whether someone else intended to kill it...
Therefore, to avoid arousing suspicion among the other pantheons, the devil race could not be exterminated. At the very least, it could not be destroyed by Heaven's hand.
Conversely, if Heaven chose to treat the devils mercifully, some factions might even surrender without a fight in the future!
For example, a certain one-eyed old man...
"Therefore, for Heaven's benefit, the devils should not be exterminated in this manner. Allowing them to survive will bring us far greater value!"
Michael chose to explain the matter in terms of self-interest because he could not accurately discern Elise's intentions.
However, as long as his argument was made for Heaven's sake, God should not blame him, right?
"Very good, Michael!"
Only after a smile finally appeared on Elise's face did Michael breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed his answer had been correct!
"I intended to spare the devils from the beginning. I never ordered Metatron to exterminate them entirely."
"The only ones eliminated were devils who slaughtered indiscriminately and committed evil wherever they went. I even added something to the holy water that allows it to distinguish between its targets, ensuring innocent devils will not be harmed."
The thought of those worthless noble scum in the Underworld darkened Elise's expression slightly.
Fortunately, all the people who had displeased Elise were now gone.
"So..."
Seemingly realizing that Elise was implying something, Michael immediately volunteered.
"I understand, my Lord. Leave the upcoming negotiations with the devils to me!"
"I will make certain the devils choose to submit!"
"From this day forward, Heaven shall stand at the head of the Three Factions of the Bible!"
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