After spending a day in Getildamare town, Lucifer teleports everyone back to the Ducal Training Arena using his 'Void-Transit' teleportation magic.
In the Westirifer Duchy, the 8,100 soldiers from the newly integrated Holycross State—who had arrived with the Holycross delegation—complete their one-day test, and Lucifer re-ranks them.
Before the test, the Holycross soldiers had been claiming that their ranking varied from S+ rank to SS+ rank and that they were not as weak as Lucifer thought they were. But after taking Lucifer's test, the Holycross soldiers realized just how out of their depth they truly were… far from SS+ rank… not even a single one managed to achieve A+ rank against Lucifer's test.
The soldiers who performed the best numbered only 10, and according to Lucifer, their rank was A-. In a way, Lucifer was essentially ranking the elite soldiers and knights of the Holycross State against the regular soldiers of his Westirifer Duchy's Viper Guards.
Throughout the entire test, only Oriana's group received A- ranking, which consisted of ten people. Among those ten soldiers, there were 3 men and 7 women. 3 women were from the Holy Mothers squad. 4 women were from the Valkyre Knights. And the 3 men were from the Paladin units. Among them, Oriana… belonged to the Valkyre Knights, which was an all-women elite unit.
Excluding these ten people… everyone else only received lower rankings. 1,910 soldiers obtained B+ rank. 2,500 soldiers fell into the B- rank category. 2,380 soldiers came into the C+ rank, and lastly, 851 soldiers were in the C- rank category. Total: 8,100 soldiers.
Actually, it wasn't the soldiers' fault that they seemed so weak; rather, Lucifer's standards were extremely high… incredibly high… at least for these soldiers.
In the Human Kingdom, there were three ways to increase one's rank. First: Adventure guilds and mage towers would issue quests or rank the completion of those quests. If individuals completed 5 quests of the same rank, the guilds and mage towers would promote their rank. Second: Adventurers, mages, and hunters would challenge individuals of higher ranking than themselves, and upon defeating them, they would get promoted. And the third and final method: Individuals would apply force on a magical measuring stone slab, and the slab would determine their ranking. Most nobilities and royalties used the stone slab method for recruiting soldiers.
But here… in Westirifer, there was nothing like that… or rather, the Westirifer Duchy did not test its soldiers using any of these methods.
Yes… there were adventure guilds and mage towers in Westirifer too… but there was a huge difference between the Duchy's actual power ranking criteria and the ranking criteria of the adventure guilds/mage towers.
Because in the Duchy—or rather, in the Westirifer army—Lucifer recruited his soldiers according to his own judgment and ranked them on his own scales. And this was the reason why there was a 3-4 level difference between the rankings of Lucifer's depraved system and those of the Human Kingdom's adventure guilds and mage towers. This was why Lucifer's shadow-wives, who were S+ rank according to the depraved system and Lucifer's standards… were seen by the rest of the world as being at the higher end of SS- rank.
Just as the entire world called the Holycross army an elite army and ranked them from S+ to SS+ rank… those same soldiers, while taking Lucifer's test in Getildamare town, barely managed to achieve rankings from A- to C-.
Moreover… the Holycross soldiers had never even imagined a test like this… one where they might have to face an unknown spell.
For them, facing Lucifer's 'octa-gravity barrier' was no ordinary matter. Moreover, the octa-gravity barrier was not an ordinary spell… it was a legendary class spell, and it was legendary because Lucifer could change its gravity output… In reality, it was a spell of quantum magic. If Lucifer wanted, he could change this octa-gravity into hexa-gravity… or even into hecto-gravity. But according to Lucifer… octa-gravity was sufficient for testing the soldiers and for the Velmora family's men and the Westirifer Duchy's apprentice knights. For example, if we take an 80 kg person… it could be said that inside the barrier, they would feel an extra load of 640 kg on their body… and if their own weight was also counted, it would total 720 kg. That is why the first stage of the test for the Holycross soldiers—breaking Lucifer's octa-gravity barrier—was so incredibly difficult. And it wasn't as if the barrier was just beside the individuals… The barrier trapped each individual in a semi-sphere form, and the individuals were right in the middle of it. Meaning, they first had to stand inside the barrier… then walk 10 meters to reach the barrier wall, and the final step was to strike the barrier with full force 35–40 times. Enduring eight times their body weight for a full hour was no easy feat. Meanwhile, the second test was even more serious… The soldiers had to face Lucifer for a full ten minutes… Here, facing Lucifer was no joke. If Lucifer wanted, he had unlimited methods to toy with the Holycross soldiers… to the point that even a light flick from Lucifer would be enough to kill them. But while conducting the test, Lucifer had set his power to 1%, and even then, not a single soldier could last the full 10 minutes against him. Moreover, Lucifer had never registered with any adventure guild or mage tower, so his rank remained unknown.
After teleporting everyone to the Ducal Training Arena, Lucifer looked toward Vance and said… "Vance… the time has come. Just as I told you… deploy soldiers at the Duchy's borders in exactly that manner."
"The next eight days are going to be extremely important for the Duchy… Because on the ninth day, Westirifer will no longer be just a Duchy but will become an Empire… and I don't want any disturbances on such a sacred occasion."
Upon receiving Lucifer's order, Vance knelt before him and said… "Sire, do not worry… As long as I and my wife Artemis are alive, no trouble can befall Westirifer." Saying this, Vance disappeared from there.
After Vance disappeared, Lucifer looked toward Elder Guntor and said… "Elder Guntor… I apologize to you."
The entire hall fell into stunned silence. Every eye turned toward Guntor as Lucifer's mother, aunt, sister, and other wives glared at the elder with clear contempt.
Elder Guntor waved his hands nervously with a polite smile. "Lucifer… What are you saying? Why are you apologizing to me… You haven't made any mistake… Don't embarrass me by apologizing like this for no reason."
"It is my fault," Lucifer replied gently. "I had promised you that on some free day, I would impregnate Lady Talmora and her daughters… Fobila and Rkliona… to carry forward the Keilname family's bloodline… and yesterday was that free day. And I couldn't fulfill the promise I made to you… But don't worry… After eight days, my Duchy will turn into an Empire, and three days after that, the Fertility Ceremony Festival will begin… So I will surely impregnate Lady Talmora, Fobila, and Rkliona during it."
Hearing Lucifer's words, Guntor said… "Lucifer, it's alright… Yesterday I saw how you impregnated 400 women soldiers from the Holycross State." After saying this, a teasing smirk appeared on Elder Guntor's face as he continued… "And then, out of those same 400 soldiers, you even proposed to Lady Oriana and convinced her to become your wife."
At those words, teasing grins appeared on the faces of Mia, Ruby, Westeria, and the others. Oriana's face flushed a deep, burning crimson.
Lucifer turned to Elder Guntor with deep sincerity and spoke from the heart:
"Elder Guntor… In this world, everyone has things they like and dislike… Similarly, I have my own cherished desires. I adore bold, confident, and mature women… and Oriana possesses every one of those beautiful qualities in perfect, breathtaking harmony. The way she teased me yesterday, the way her lips brushed mine in that passionate kiss, the way her voice wrapped around my soul as she spoke… my heart fell hopelessly, irresistibly in love with her in that very moment. It whispered to me with undeniable warmth… 'Lucifer… I want Oriana. She is the one my light has been searching for.'"
"So tell me, Elder… how could I ever refuse the deepest longings of my own heart?"
His voice grew softer, richer with tender emotion as he continued:
"My heart whispered that in this entire life, there is no one brighter or more precious than my mommy… so I listened with every beat of my soul, because truly, she is my entire world.
My heart whispered that it loves Westeria with a passion so deep and endless that it could drown the stars… so I embraced her completely.
My heart whispered that it wishes to keep my beloved elder sister Amelia by my side forever, never allowing even a single moment of distance… so I vowed to hold her eternally close in my arms.
My heart whispered that my dear aunt Ruby loves me as deeply and fiercely as my mother… so I cherished that love with every part of my being.
My heart whispered that as an elder brother, it worries tenderly for Jason… so I welcomed him as my precious younger brother with open arms.
My heart whispered that nothing in this vast world means more to it than my shadow-wives and shadow-daughters… so I treasured them with boundless, unwavering devotion.
That is why… when yesterday my heart whispered with such sweet certainty that it yearned for Oriana… how could I possibly deny such a pure, radiant longing? Even if she had refused my offer yesterday… my heart had already claimed her as its own, forever."
As Lucifer openly confessed his profound and heartfelt love for his mother, aunt, sister, wives, and family in front of everyone, their hearts fluttered wildly with overwhelming joy. Blushes bloomed like roses across their faces, and radiant, uncontrollable smiles of pure happiness lit up their expressions.
Unaware of the beautiful storm of emotion he had created, Lucifer continued with gentle passion:
"Elder Guntor… do you know why my mother named me Lucifer? Do you know the meaning of my name?"
Guntor, completely captivated, shook his head. "No… what does it mean?"
Lucifer's voice became soft yet powerfully emotional:
"It means… *A being who loved light so deeply that he couldn't accept losing it.*
For me, every whisper of my heart is pure, golden light… and I love that radiant light more than life itself. So when my heart told me yesterday that it desired Oriana… how could I ever let that precious, beautiful light slip away from me?"
As everyone listened, their hearts resonated deeply with his words. Oriana, standing proudly in her Valkyre Knights squad, gazed at Lucifer with tears of overwhelming joy shimmering in her eyes. A radiant, heartfelt smile bloomed on her lips as she slowly drowned in the vast, warm, and endless ocean of his love. For the first time in her life, someone had confessed true, sincere, soul-deep love to her — not mere lust, not a transaction, but genuine, heartfelt adoration that made her heart soar. Her chest tightened with pure emotion, cheeks burning, and a single joyful tear slipped down her face. This day had become the most special and treasured moment of her entire existence… because today she had finally found her true love.
While the entire Velmora family glowed with radiant happiness and Oriana smiled with tears of bliss, sharp jealousy burned brightly in the eyes of the other women — especially the 100 Holy Mothers and 299 female soldiers of the Valkyre Knights. They had all been intimately filled and got impregnated by Lucifer the previous night… so why was his love pouring out so beautifully, so tenderly, only for Oriana?