Sukuna, who was reading a magic book, suddenly stopped, and his pupils constricted into needles.
He had sensed several large mana signatures step within his detection range.
'On par with Solitaire...'
He grabbed the wooden box and opened it up, revealing the Inverted Spear of Heaven.
Instantly, Solitar, who was reading the book in her hand, stopped and stared at the weapon.
"So you were hiding a weapon."
She said in a calm tone, staring intently at the unknown patterns on the spear.
Sukuna ignored her scrutinizing gaze and informed her about the unwelcome guests.
"Some powerful people have gathered outside the barrier."
"Is it an invasion?..."
Solitar said as she turned her head and looked towards the direction Sukuna was pointing at.
After concentrating for a moment, she too sensed the energies and slightly widened her eyes.
"I know some of them."
"Who are they?"
"Qual, Aura, Bose, Schlacht, and an unknown Demon Sage of Destruction."
Sukuna's face hardened as he asked,
"Is it Grausam the Miraculous?"
"No, it is someone I haven't met before."
"It's good as long as it's not Grausam....."
----
Outside Dawn City.
The five powerful demons stood outside the barrier.
Qual touched his beard, examining the magic barrier with great interest.
"Has human magic really reached such a level?... Impossible. This must be the work of a demon...."
"Is it a very powerful barrier?" Aura asked without turning her head.
Instead of replying, Qual raised his hand towards the barrier.
"Zoltraak."
His prized magic collided with the barrier, causing small wave-like ripples before disappearing without a trace.
"It distributes any attack into several smaller layers... I thought it would consume a lot of magic, but no... This is very interesting..."
Qual narrowed his eyes with great interest.
The more he examined this barrier, the better it seemed.
The Demon Sages, knowing well about Qual's abilities, remained silent.
To be able to impress Qual so much must mean the barrier is truly impressive.
"Are we going to break in?" Macht asked.
"No, wait for a moment. Soon they will arrive," Schlacht replied in a calm tone.
Macht glanced at him and said,
"Why didn't you bring Grausam?"
"To avoid battle."
"Bringing Grausam would have resulted in a battle?"
"Yes..."
"It's good. I do not enjoy unnecessary fights—"
Macht suddenly paused.
His eyes slowly moved towards Dawn City.
And he wasn't the only one.
All of the great demons fell silent.
Because within their vision,
They felt a change.
An incredible amount of mana
Had appeared within their vision.
The balance within Aura's hand started shaking. A drop of sweat appeared on her forehead as she muttered,
"Stronger... than the Demon King."
The 8th Demon Sage of Severance.
Just what kind of monster have they come to meet?
Macht silently placed his hand on the shawl draped over his left shoulder.
Schlacht simply raised his head and looked at the two approaching figures.
His target was the one in front, carrying a large spear over his shoulder.
Sukuna and Solitar arrived at the edge of the barrier and looked at the great demons.
"Long time no see, Schlacht."
Solitar, with her usual smile, greeted the Demon King's confidant.
"Hello, Solitar."
Schlacht gave her a polite nod before turning to Sukuna.
"Can you invite us inside?"
You think I'm an idiot?
Sukuna looked at him with a calm gaze and said,
"You tell me, Schlacht the Omniscient."
Schlacht looked at him in silence before saying,
"It's alright. We can talk like this as well."
"Ryomen Sukuna, I've come to you with a proposal."
"A proposal?" Sukuna repeated.
"Yes."
Schlacht paused, then continued.
"The Human Empire in the north—I want you to destroy it."
"....."
Silence fell upon the place.
The great demons glanced at each other.
Sukuna looked at Schlacht as if he were an idiot.
"You want me to attack the Empire?"
"No, I want you to destroy the Empire."
Sukuna snorted and waved his hand as if he were shooing a pest away.
"I won't do it. Go back."
Schlacht calmly nodded his head and replied,
"That is regrettable."
What is wrong with you?
Why are you just accepting it so calmly?
If Schlacht knew Sukuna was going to reject it, then why did he even bother asking the stupid question?
As Sukuna's mind was filled with confusion, Schlacht said to Solitar,
"The request you made last time has been fulfilled. Come this way, I will tell you about it...."
He took Solitar to the side, leaving Sukuna and the great demons alone.
Sukuna, unable to make sense of Schlacht's purpose, turned to the Demon Sages, looking at them in silence.
Especially Macht of the Golden Land.
As he was observing them, he noticed Aura of the Guillotine always seemed to tremble whenever she met his gaze...
Heh, she must be scared after seeing his huge man.
As he was thinking, Qual suddenly took a step forward and greeted him.
"I am Qual."
"Ryomen Sukuna."
"Was this barrier created by you? It is truly excellent....."
"Solitar and I worked on it together."
"Together? Are you researching magic in this city?" Qual asked with interest.
"Yes."
"Interesting... very interesting..."
Demons researching magic together?
A change he had never seen before.
After thinking for a moment, Qual asked,
"Can I also join in your magic research?"
----
After walking a specific distance away, Schlacht suddenly stopped and said,
"This is far enough."
Solitar stopped and turned back to look at him.
Staring straight into her eyes, Schlacht said,
"Solitar, you're going to be killed."
Making Solitar tilt her head in confusion.
"I am going to die? Is that what you saw in your vision?"
"Yes."
Schlacht nodded.
"I didn't come here to talk to Sukuna; I came here to warn you."
"Solitar, not far in the future..."
"You will be killed."
"It seems your future vision has suffered, Schlacht," Solitar said in her plain tone.
"It is impossible for me to die as long as I am by his side."
Demons only felt two emotions in general.
Fear of death and arrogance in their magic.
"His strength is enough to guarantee my eternal safety."
This was a major reason as to why Solitar was staying with Sukuna, other than the magic research they did together.
His strength guaranteed her survival, and his experiments kept her busy.
For her, a demon, it was a perfect life.
Alas, she was unable to make progress in learning human emotions, but even Sukuna took a century to understand them. It was only natural for her to take more time.
"I do not deny that my future vision has been affected..." Schlacht replied in a soft voice.
"Everything I saw seemed to be the same, yet in my vision I never saw the existence of the 8th Demon Sage, Ryomen Sukuna."
Schlacht continued in a slightly confused voice,
"I didn't see Dawn City either. Perhaps he knows some magic that can block the effect of my future sight..."
"Originally, I thought of eliminating the unstable factor."
"A foolish decision," Solitar interjected.
"Indeed. My future vision always cut off when I challenged Sukuna to a battle..."
"So I chose to ignore him, but recently I saw a new scene, which forced me to take action."
"You saw my death?", Solitar asked.
"Yes, I saw you die when you weren't supposed to," Schlacht said in a calm tone.
"The future is a frecklish thing, Solitar. The more people know about it, the more complex it becomes."
"That is why I took you away from others before informing you about it."
"I understand...." Solitar nodded, then said,
"But I do not see the possibility of my death....."
"Not to mention, this is not his true strength..." Solitar said while looking back toward Sukuna's mana.
Schlacht raised his head and asked,
"Not his true strength?"
"Yes, he is still hiding it. Having spent time observing him, I can tell this is not his true form..." Solitar replied in a fascinated tone.
"Ah... I requested him so many times to let me see it... yet he always pretends that there's no such thing... truly a pity... to hide that great power...."
Schlacht saw her dazed expression and said,
"Since he is so strong, I believe you should stay by his side for the next decade."
"I plan to stay next to him for a few centuries, perhaps more," Solitar replied with her classic smile.
"I see. Then take care and don't die. It is not your time yet....."
Schlacht turned around and started walking back toward the group, with Solitar following behind him.
Arriving back, they saw Qual and Sukuna talking with each other.
"Is it really not possible?"
"Yes, you're not allowed."
"A pity, truly a pity, I must say....."
Macht looked at Schlacht and asked,
"Should we go back?"
"Yes, let's retreat," Schlacht replied, then turned to Sukuna.
"It was nice meeting you. The Demon King is also very interested in seeing you."
"The Demon King..."
Sukuna muttered as he watched the great demons fly away into the distance.
Only after they were completely gone from his area of view did Sukuna turn back around and start walking toward the city.
Just then, Solitar beside him suddenly grabbed his arm, putting it between her soft chest.
Before he could say anything, Solitar started speaking.
"Do you know what Schlacht told me?"
"What?" Sukuna looked at her calm face in curiosity.
"He said I will be killed."
"..."
Sukuna suddenly stopped walking.
Solitar tightened her grip around his arm and said with the usual smile on her face,
"I told him that it was an impossibility, that no one will be able to kill me as long as I am with Sukuna."
'What if I was the one to kill you?' Sukuna said silently in his mind.
"Let's go back and continue learning."
Sukuna patted her head, then said,
"Don't worry, I won't let other people kill you, as long as you don't break my rules."
"Hmh, that is reassuring."