A/N: We are 3 Chapters away from the end of Volume 2. YAAAAAAAAY.
What did you think of the Volume, what were your favorite moments and worst moments.
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Far to the east.
Beyond the Western Nations.
Beyond the dry borders where wars were fought openly and grudges were remembered for centuries.
There stood the greatest military nation in the world.
The Eastern Empire.
Its capital was vast.
Orderly.
Cold in a way that had nothing to do with weather.
Everything in it looked built for permanence. Towering walls. Wide avenues. White stone cut with perfect discipline. Even the soldiers moving through its streets seemed less like men and more like parts of a machine that had long since learned how to govern itself.
At the heart of that nation, in a chamber reserved for only the highest of powers, sat Rudra.
He looked relaxed.
He usually did.
One arm rested lazily against the side of his throne, his eyes carrying that same easy confidence that made people forget just how terrifying he truly was.
Standing before him, however, was someone who had no such problem.
Velgrynd.
Her expression was serious.
More serious than usual.
Rudra noticed it immediately.
He smiled faintly.
"That face again."
Velgrynd did not return the smile.
"We need to talk."
Rudra's expression softened just slightly.
"That bad?"
Velgrynd folded her arms.
"Yes."
That answer alone told him enough.
The room quieted.
Then Rudra sat up properly.
"Go on."
Velgrynd's eyes narrowed.
"That demon."
Rudra tilted his head.
"Loki."
She gave a slight nod.
"He is more dangerous than we first thought."
Rudra did not interrupt.
Velgrynd continued.
"He is unstable."
"Unpredictable."
"And far too powerful for someone who has not yet fully awakened."
Her voice remained even, but there was clear pressure underneath it.
"The longer he remains unchecked, the worse this becomes."
Rudra looked at her quietly for a moment.
Then he smiled.
"You've already decided what should be done."
Velgrynd did not deny it.
"Yes."
She stepped a little closer.
"At first, I believed recruitment was the better path."
Her eyes sharpened.
"But now?"
She paused.
"…Getting rid of him is safer."
Rudra said nothing.
So she kept going.
"He has already fought me and Velzard and survived."
"He has drawn the attention of Demon Lords, Primordials, and powers that should have stayed still."
"And with every confrontation, he grows."
There was no exaggeration in her voice.
Rudra rested his chin on his hand.
"And your solution?"
Velgrynd answered immediately.
"A full invasion."
That got his full attention.
She continued before he could speak.
"If we move before he fully realizes his potential, then this remains manageable."
Her voice was colder now.
"Overwhelm him."
"Erase him."
"Make sure there is nothing left for anyone else to use."
Rudra let out a slow breath through his nose.
"Harsh."
Velgrynd did not blink.
"Necessary."
Rudra leaned back again.
For a while, he simply watched her.
Then he smiled.
"You really do see him as a threat."
Velgrynd's expression remained unchanged.
"I see him as a variable."
"And variables should either be brought under control…"
Her gaze deepened.
"…or removed."
Rudra's smile did not fade.
But it changed.
Slightly.
Into something more thoughtful.
"We'll consider it."
Velgrynd frowned.
"Consider?"
"Yes."
Rudra rose from his seat.
He walked down the steps of the throne and stopped in front of her.
"I understand your concern."
"And I agree that he is dangerous."
His voice was calm.
"But a full invasion is not a small decision."
He looked out toward the distant east beyond the walls.
"If I move the Empire for one demon…"
He glanced back at her.
"…then the whole world will start moving too."
Velgrynd held his gaze.
"Then let them."
Rudra chuckled softly.
"That's very you."
She did not smile.
He noticed.
And his own softened just a little.
"Don't worry."
He placed a hand lightly against her shoulder.
"If the time comes…"
"…we won't hesitate."
Velgrynd looked at him for another moment.
Then gave a small nod.
For now—
That would have to be enough.
---
Elsewhere.
Much closer to the borderlands.
A different kind of army was moving.
They were not the Empire.
Not officially.
And certainly not anything noble enough to call itself lawful.
They were an armed nation in all but name. A brutal force that had grown through conquest, slaughter, and opportunism. Village by village. Territory by territory. They had consumed everything weaker than themselves and called it destiny.
Seventeen thousand strong.
Their banners stretched across the plain like a sea of iron and blood.
Soldiers stood in packed ranks.
Armored beasts waited in chained rows.
Carts full of weapons and provisions creaked behind them.
At the head of it all stood their general.
A broad-shouldered man with a booming voice and the sort of confidence that only came from years of winning against those too weak to stop him.
He raised his weapon overhead.
And his army roared in response.
"Men!"
His voice rolled across the camp.
"Before us lies another nation!"
Another roar.
"They think walls can protect them!"
"They think numbers can save them!"
He swept one arm dramatically toward the horizon.
"But we know the truth!"
The soldiers shouted.
The general's grin widened.
"The world belongs to the strong!"
Another wave of shouting followed.
"We have taken city after city!"
"We have crushed every army sent to stop us!"
"We have buried kings and burned nations!"
He slammed the butt of his weapon into the earth.
"And tomorrow…"
His voice rose.
"…we do it again!"
The army erupted.
Weapons lifted.
Voices thundered.
For a brief moment, it looked like momentum itself had taken physical form.
Then—
Someone clapped.
A single pair of hands.
Sharp, clear and almost cheerful.
The entire army stilled.
The general frowned.
Every head turned.
Standing atop a cart wheel a short distance away, as if he had simply wandered into the speech midway through, was Loki.
Maroon suit.
Hands still coming together from his applause.
He looked genuinely impressed.
"That," he said, "was excellent."
The general blinked.
Loki nodded approvingly.
"No, really."
"One of the best speeches I've heard."
He tilted his head.
"Maybe even better than Erwin's one that one ended in a death march against a giant monkey."
Silence followed.
No one in the army understood what he meant.
That did not stop Loki from seeming deeply sincere about it.
The general's face hardened.
"Who are you?"
Loki hopped lightly down from the cart wheel.
"Me?"
He placed a hand on his chest.
"Just a concerned citizen."
Several soldiers shifted uneasily.
There was something very wrong with the way he smiled.
The general stepped forward.
"You've got nerve showing up here alone."
Loki's grin widened.
"Oh, I'm not here to negotiate."
He looked around at the assembled ranks.
At the banners.
At the armored units.
At the countless men who had killed and taken and marched their way across weaker lands.
Then he looked back at the general.
"I'm here to kill you."
The words came out lightly.
Almost pleasantly.
The general scoffed.
"Big talk."
He gestured behind him.
"We've got men who can handle demons in our ranks."
That made Loki laugh.
"Do you?"
He took one step forward.
Then another.
"Wonderful."
His maroon eyes gleamed.
"Then let me ask you something."
The general frowned.
Loki stopped.
Spread one hand.
And smiled.
"Can your demon slayers handle a black hole?"
No one answered.
No one even had time to.
Loki raised his hand.
The world bent.
The air above the army twisted inward as gravity folded over itself, the sky dimming around a single point no larger than a fist.
Then the point deepened.
Collapsed.
And became something that should not have existed.
An artificial black hole.
Small by cosmic standards.
Absolute by mortal ones.
For one heartbeat, the army only stared.
Then reality screamed.
The first line vanished instantly, bodies and steel and weapons dragged upward and inward and crushed into nothingness before anyone could even turn to run.
The second line followed.
Then the third.
Seventeen thousand voices tried to become one sound.
Panic.
Terror.
Prayer.
None of it mattered.
The battlefield ceased to be a battlefield and became a feeding point for gravity itself. Wagons were torn from the ground. Horses screamed once and were gone. The general tried to shout an order, but the words never reached his own men before he too was dragged into the black center of annihilation.
Loki stood with one hand raised.
His suit moved gently in the wind created by total collapse.
His expression was almost thoughtful.
Then—
As quickly as it had formed—
The black hole was gone.
So was the army.
Silence settled over the land.
Not a single soldier remained.
Not one banner.
Not one cry.
Nothing.
Only scorched earth and a sky that seemed somehow emptier than before.
Loki lowered his hand.
"Well," he said quietly, "that was effective."
Then he looked down.
The air around him had changed.
The land itself seemed to pulse.
Something warm—
No.
Something enormous—
was flowing into him.
The souls.
All seventeen thousand of them.
Loki's smile faded into stunned realization.
"Oh."
He took one step forward.
Then stopped.
His legs suddenly felt heavy.
Very heavy.
The world blurred around the edges.
"Ah."
He swayed.
"That's…"
He blinked once.
"…new."
The pressure inside him surged again.
A great current of power flooded through his body, filling every part of him all at once. His limbs felt distant. His thoughts slowed.
He tried to laugh.
It came out weak.
"I guess…"
His knees gave slightly.
"…this is happening now."
The ground rushed up.
Loki barely managed to catch himself before collapsing fully.
Then even that effort became too much.
His body slumped.
His vision darkened.
And as consciousness slipped away, a voice echoed through the deepest part of his mind.
[Notice. Evolution to Demon Lord Commencing.]
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