Having uncovered the reasons behind Spencer's allegiance to the devils, Morpheus casually handed Rizevim over to Sirzechs and his group.
The man was useless now.
"Thank you." Sirzechs raised a hand, sealing the unconscious Rizevim into a crystal orb and tucking it away, ready to take him back.
His gaze then fell on Vali Lucifer.
The bearer of the Sacred Gear, Divine Dividing, had the potential to grow into a powerful combatant.
Such a person would be a tremendous asset to the Hell.
Not to mention, Vali was Rizevim's grandson and the great-grandson of His Majesty Lucifer himself.
For both emotional and rational reasons, Sirzechs had to bring Vali back.
Seeing Sirzechs's expression, Morpheus knew what he was about to say. "You can have this one too, but I'll need a ransom. It can't be cheaper than Rizevim's—it has to be more expensive."
"The White Dragon Emperor is worth that price."
Morpheus wasn't particularly interested in the Divine Dividing Sacred Gear.
While the gear had strong growth potential, it was nothing compared to Morpheus's power.
Even a White Dragon Emperor who hadn't yet become a Sacred Gear wasn't a match for him.
So, if the Hell's devils wanted to ransom Vali Lucifer, Morpheus had no objections.
Sirzechs hesitated for a moment before agreeing.
"Very well, but I'll need to discuss it with His Majesty Lucifer."
"No problem."
Morpheus readily tossed the unconscious Vali Lucifer to Sirzechs.
Sirzechs sealed Vali in another crystal orb and stored it away.
With that, the group left Silent Hill.
Sirzechs and Serafall took Rias and returned to the Hell via teleportation magic.
Morpheus, meanwhile, left United States for the Holy Britannian Empire.
His destination was tied to the founder of the Umbrella Corporation, Oswell E. Spencer, who resided there.
London.
The capital of the Holy Britannian Empire.
Using teleportation magic, Morpheus arrived at a manor in the suburbs.
This manor was Spencer's stronghold.
From Rizevim's memories, Morpheus knew that Spencer had been living here recently, secretly developing an even more terrifying virus.
Spencer called this virus… the Apocalypse Virus.
When Morpheus first learned of this virus from Rizevim's memories, he immediately recalled its origin.
Guilty Crown.
In that series, the Apocalypse Virus, also known as the Genesis Virus, was characterized by crystalline structures resembling purple amethysts. The more severe the infection, the more crystals spread across the body's surface and interior.
The crystallization process could be gradual or sudden.
Morpheus recalled that the Apocalypse Virus had at least four infection stages.
At the fourth stage, the patient's body was extensively covered in purple crystalline structures, which could not be forcibly removed.
At stage one, a patient might test negative or show only minimal crystallization, but as the virus spread, they would gradually lose their sanity, becoming fully unconscious by stage four.
Upon death, the patient's body would fully crystallize, and the crystals would shatter and vanish under physical stress.
Additionally, the Apocalypse Virus had an antidote.
However, this antidote was a short-term vaccine, requiring regular injections to remain effective, with different types for different situations.
In simple terms, it wasn't a highly lethal virus.
But it was incredibly persistent.
Once infected, a person would need lifelong vaccine injections.
So why was Spencer researching this virus?
After some thought, Morpheus arrived at one answer.
Money.
This virus was perfect for profit. If it spread on a large scale, the demand for the antidote would be astronomical. Umbrella could then roll out the vaccine and rake in massive profits.
It could easily become the wealthiest corporation in the world.
But there was a problem. Umbrella was already obsessed with developing viruses to destroy humanity. Why bother with money?
Wasn't that contradictory?
That's why Morpheus came—to find Spencer and uncover his true intentions.
The manor wasn't large. Morpheus entered with ease and quickly located Spencer, who was conducting research.
Though Spencer had been reborn as a devil through a Evil Piece, he was no match for Morpheus.
Morpheus effortlessly defeated the founder of the Umbrella Corporation and smoothly accessed all of Spencer's memories.
He found the reason behind Spencer's development of the Apocalypse Virus.
As Morpheus had suspected, it was for money.
From Spencer's memories, Morpheus learned that, despite pledging allegiance to Rizevim, Spencer had no intention of destroying humanity, as Umbrella relied heavily on human resources.
Moreover, Spencer himself needed a large human population to serve him.
If humanity were wiped out, Umbrella would become useless, and his wealth would turn to worthless paper in an instant.
He would fall from the lofty founder of Umbrella to a lowly devil.
Such a fall was something Spencer couldn't tolerate.
So, while the Blacklight Virus, MK Virus, and Progenitor Virus were developed one after another under Rizevim's influence, Spencer was working on his own project—the Apocalypse Virus.
Spencer intended to use this virus to replace the highly destructive Blacklight and Progenitor Viruses.
His motive wasn't for humanity's sake.
It was for his own status, power, and wealth.
If he could successfully develop the Apocalypse Virus, he could not only amass a fortune but also rise above humanity, becoming a savior-like figure.
He could command the human world with absolute authority.
Umbrella would surpass even nations.
Furthermore, Spencer was secretly researching another strain of the Apocalypse Virus.
Though both were Apocalypse Viruses, they targeted different groups.
The virus Spencer developed openly was aimed at humans, but the one he worked on in secret targeted… devils.
This was Spencer's two-pronged strategy.
If he couldn't save humanity or if humanity faced extinction, the devil-targeted Apocalypse Virus would be his trump card.
Once developed, it would give him control over devils as well.
In the Hell, Spencer could still rise to the top.
He wouldn't be relegated to the bottom.
All of this was Spencer's hidden agenda.
He thought his actions were covert.
But he didn't know that Rizevim was already aware of everything.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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