Holding the Spider Demon's neck, Sukuna clearly felt the hard exoskeleton covering her body.
She was tall, even a little taller than him.
Though unlike Solitar, she did not have the soft body of a woman, but only its outer shape, with even her breasts covered in dark green exoskeleton.
The natural armor felt stronger than the ones used by the human capital's soldiers.
Not to mention the four spider-like legs on her back...
'Demons really do come in all shapes and sizes...'
As he was thinking, the four spider legs behind her suddenly twitched and rushed straight towards his head.
But before they could reach him—
All four of them were cleanly cut apart, sending red blood flying everywhere.
As the Spider Demon's red eyes widened in shock, Sukuna stopped suppressing his mana, making her entire being visibly tremble.
"Do you submit?"
Even though she hadn't been born for a long time, the Spider Demon seemed to instinctively understand the key point in his words, and so she quickly repeated in a strange pronunciation.
"....s..submi...t..."
Sukuna let go of her neck, making her fall to the ground.
Then he made a binding vow with her before quickly healing the spider legs he had cut off.
"Let me show you how to fly," Sukuna said in a calm tone as he levitated off the ground.
"Pretty easy, right?"
The Spider Demon gave him a blank look.
Sukuna demonstrated a few more times.
But his new demon underling didn't seem to understand.
It seemed she was a little dumb.
Maybe she needed some practical experience.
So Sukuna threw her off the cliff.
"She will be fine, flying is second nature to demons—oh, she crashed."
Sukuna dived down and landed near the crashed Spider Demon.
After healing a few broken bones, he flung her over his right shoulder like a bag and flew back towards Dawn City.
----
Quickly returning to the city, he handed the new minion to Linie while telling her to teach the Spider Demon how to fly.
Then he made his way to the docks where Demon Qual, Solitar, and Erde were waiting for him.
Beside Erde stood the diplomats from the human kingdoms.
It was Solitar's suggestion to include them on the testing trip, her reasoning being to demonstrate their might to the human kingdoms.
"Lord Sukuna, it is a pleasure to meet you...."
"Mhm."
Sukuna returned their greetings before walking towards the restricted area of the docks.
As they entered the factory, the diplomats' eyes widened as they let out small gasps of surprise and wonder.
Before their eyes was a metallic construct covered in magic runes, shimmering with an eerie light of concentrated magic pressure.
On the side of the ship were large letters painted in a reddish color.
"Iron Shrine?..." one of the diplomats muttered in confusion.
"Yes, the fruit of our research and hard work—Iron Shrine," Sukuna replied with a smile.
"Let's go, it's time for the test run."
Following Sukuna's lead, everyone got on board.
"Magic power reserves 100%...
Magic cannons active....."
Sukuna stood in the central command, listening to the information given by the magic professors.
Seeing that everything was in line, he declared in a calm tone while activating the magic patterns.
"Beginning levitation."
*Vroom*
A loud noise was generated as the Iron Shrine shook, sending magic ripples through the air.
The human diplomats lost their footing and fell onto their backs due to the sudden thrust.
Then, under their very eyes, the giant metal behemoth started flying.
It slowly came out of the docks before increasing speed.
"Deploying magic barriers," Solitar said, quickly manipulating the ship from her end.
A light blue ripple appeared around the Iron Shrine before forming a complete barrier similar to the one protecting Dawn City.
"A—a city barrier....."
Sukuna smiled upon hearing the humans' dumbfounded voices.
With the magic barrier, they didn't need to worry about wind pressure.
"Increase the speed. Let's see if the top speed is as much as we theorized."
"Yes, Lord. Starting boosters."
*Vooom*
Instantly, the speed increased.
70 mph... 150 mph... 500 mph....
As they gained altitude, a group of seagulls suddenly crashed into the magic barrier, turning into meat paste.
"..."
A small sacrifice on the road of progress.
In no time, the Iron Shrine reached an altitude of 30,000 feet above land.
They finally stabilized at 800 mph.
According to their calculations, they could reach a speed up to Mach 7, which is seven times the speed of sound.
But for that, they would need to enter cruise mode, which meant going to the lower deck.
"Slow down, let's test the magic cannons."
The Iron Shrine's speed decreased before it came to a stop in the middle of the ocean.
Elder Demon Sage Qual expertly controlled the attack cannons.
"Launching Storm of Zoltraak."
The magic patterns on the ship glowed with an eerie light, forming an uncountable number of Zoltraak outside the magic barrier.
"Don't use more than 5% of our magic reserves. Now fire."
*Zoom*Zoom*Zoom*
In a matter of seconds—
Thousands of Zoltraak were launched into the air.
Fast, deadly, and precise.
This attack alone was enough to destroy the human army he had faced three times over.
As Sukuna smiled in excitement, the diplomats from the human kingdoms were already sweating buckets.
Unfortunately for them—
This wasn't the end.
Sukuna silently opened his mouth and said in a solemn tone—
"Prepare to launch Tier 1: Spark of Dawn."
"Finally...." Demon Qual grinned wildly and initiated a new attack sequence.
Instantly, the Iron Shrine came to a complete stop.
The magic barrier around it quietly disappeared, and all the magic runes started moving.
Except for the ones meant for the ship's levitation, every other rune moved to form a complete structure of eerie beauty.
"Charging.... magic reserves dropping.... 80%.... 70%..... 40%...."
A concentrated mass of mana quickly started gathering at a single point, turning purple.
"Charging complete."
"Fire," Sukuna gave the command.
And the very next moment—
A purple mana beam struck at a terrifying speed, eclipsing the spectrum of light around them.
*Boom*
In the distant ocean, a terrible explosion with an area equal to three Dawn Cities combined appeared.
Before the shockwave from the strike could hit them, Solitar deployed the magic shield.
"Wonderful."
Sukuna declared, gazing at the rising mushroom cloud in the distance.
He doubted there was anything in this world that could survive a head-on clash with Tier 1: Spark of Dawn.
The magic professors felt emotional seeing the fruit of their hard work in action.
Even Demon Qual and Solitar went silent, appreciating the terrifying might of mana, which is sacred to demons.
*Thud*
Sukuna slightly turned his head and saw the fallen diplomats of the human kingdom.
"Lost your footing again? Get up quickly, or you'll miss the beautiful sight."
"Y-yes, C-City Lord," the diplomats gulped down a mouthful of saliva before quickly getting back on their feet.
That blast was capable enough to wipe out the royal capital from the face of the earth.
Traversing through the air, Iron Shrine was high up in the sky, looking down at the land below.
But then, it started levitating even further up.
100,000 feet... 200,000 feet.....
Finally, at 400,000 feet, it stopped.
"Is that our world?..."
"It's round, like a sphere....."
Both the magic professors and demons on board were staring at the scene in marvel.
Their hands clenched in excitement at discovering the truth of the world.
Sukuna remained calm; he focused on the decreasing magic concentration in the environment.
The most direct effect was the slowdown in mana regeneration time.
On land, Iron Shrine would have taken about five hours to replenish its mana reserves from the air.
But here, the time increased by almost tenfold.
Sukuna's eyes drifted to the boundless darkness of outer space.
It carried an eerie silence.
Everyone on the Iron Shrine was unharmed due to the improved magic barrier they had created.
Still, the mana reserves were decreasing at a quick pace, meaning they wouldn't be able to stay here for long.
Placing his hand on the green crystal before him, Sukuna started supplying the ship with his own mana.
'Hm, with my reserves we can extend the stay for about an entire day.....'
Though there was no reason to stay here for that long.
After gathering some more data, Iron Shrine started dropping down under the reluctant eyes of those on board.
Still, this experiment had opened up a whole new world to them.
Their planet was spherical in shape, and it wasn't the only one around.
The boundlessness of outer space, the vague shapes in the far distance which they couldn't see...
It was all... breathtaking.
As they hovered over Dawn City, the people below let out loud cheers.
Landing Iron Shrine in the sea, except for Demon Qual and some magic professors, everyone else got off.
Iron Shrine is a self-sufficient weapon, with almost everything on it relying on mana, except for the food supply for those onboard.
And mana can be recharged from the atmosphere.
So it will be run by Demon Qual, always standing ready while also being used to study new truths.
After returning, the diplomats from the human kingdom bid him farewell before quickly running away to convey the news.
Sukuna watched them retreat with mild amusement.
They must have been scared senseless.
Raising his hand, he started ruffling Solitar's head, moving it left and right, confusing her.
In the process, her bald head also became visible....
After giving the smooth forehead a few extra looks, Sukuna went back to his place.
Sitting alone on the chair, he couldn't help but think—
'Should I go for world domination?'
His military capability was already far above his neighboring human kingdoms.
'Heh, I'll become the new Demon King then....' he thought in mild amusement.
But world domination... is kind of overrated.
Especially in this world, where literally 90% of things can be accomplished using mana.
He didn't need oil from other nations, nor any raw material that he didn't already have.
Hmm, maybe if his mood changed in the future, then he would consider it.
While Sukuna was busy with his own thoughts, the world outside was going crazy.
"A flying ship? Iron Shrine??"
"Capable enough to wipe out the kingdom..."
"As if the 8th Demon Sage himself wasn't dangerous enough!..."
"What should we do?? If they keep progressing at this rate, then who knows what else they will create???"
Even though they wanted to do something, they couldn't.
After all, how do you deal with a city ruled by a Demon Sage who alone defeated their entire army, not to mention Elder Sage of Corruption Qual and Great Demon Solitar, who were also working with him?
They could only hope that the Lord of Dawn, Sukuna, wouldn't suddenly change his mind and decide to conquer or destroy their kingdom.....
At some random place—
A familiar party of four heroes were camping in the wilderness.
Hero Himmel glanced at the road and said to his party,
"We should reach Dawn City by tomorrow."
"Do you think Sukuna will give us the discount he promised?" Heiter added in an amused tone.
The two men started snickering, while Frieren and Eisen on the side remained silent.
Frieren was more focused on the magic book in her hands.
While Eisen... was just being Eisen.
Hero Party's next destination: Dawn City.
----
In the northern part of the world—
Demon Sage of Destruction, Macht of the Golden Land, was standing silently in the middle of a human village turned entirely into gold.
"Failed again," Macht muttered in a calm tone, staring silently at the humans turned into gold.
Turning away from them with no remorse in his mind, he glanced towards the south.
"Sukuna.... I wonder if he has achieved what I have been seeking."
To understand humans, to understand guilt, malice, evil, and justice.
Concepts he had repeated, tested, and pursued....
Yet still remained distant.
Coexistence...
Hasn't Dawn City already achieved it?
Perhaps he could understand these emotions if he went there.
"Qual has also joined them."
That, too, was unexpected.
For a demon like Qual to remain in one place, working alongside others...
It suggested a variable worth observing.
After contemplating for a moment, Macht decided to change his course towards the south.
But before beginning his journey, he looked down at the piece of paper in his hand.
It was a wanted order for a demon he knew all too well.
Saint of the End, Great Demon Tot.
At the end of the wanted order was the seal of Dawn City.
"Tot.... I might know where she is."
Demon Macht thought for a moment before deciding.
If Sukuna has achieved coexistence, he must observe him.
If he captures Tot, then Sukuna might become willing to help him.
One that would help him understand humans.
Turning around, Macht started walking away, leaving the golden land behind him.
-----
Ps: I'm curious how many of you want to see world domination, comment here, though there's no guarantee I'll listen.