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“So you’re saying that we’re in Brillente’s territory, and it’s the biggest one in the Demon Realm?”

- Yes, exactly.

Out of fear, Gaga side-eyed Henry every time he answered. Henry picked up on that, and he thought it would be useful to keep Gaga in check and make sure that he remained fearful of him.

In any case, Henry’s mind started racing after hearing Gaga’s answer. He had just learned that Brillente was the ruler of this territory, but he had taken down that creature not long ago, which meant that he had created a power vacuum for this land.

Henry could already tell that this territory would be plunged into chaos.

‘Well, this is going to be fun…’

“Sigh…”

According to Gaga, everyone in the Demon Realm sought to expand their own territory because there was the constant threat of stronger challengers trying to steal their land. So, striving to own more territory was natural for these creatures, as they wanted to claim victory and evolve into stronger beings.

After Henry organized his thoughts, he told Gaga, “Alright then, let’s go”

- G-go where, sir?

“What do you mean, where? I thought you said this is Brillente’s territory? But with Brillente gone, don’t you think we should leave before stronger foes come here to claim the territory for themselves?”

- W-what? Did you say Brillente disappeared? What do you mean by that? Brillente is the Demon King candidate that the Demon God has chosen himself.

“He’s dead.”

-Wh-what?

“I killed Brillente.”

Gaga had a hard time understanding what Henry had just told him, so Henry had to repeat.

“I killed Brillente. He ambushed and kidnapped me here, so I fought him and ended up winning.”

- I-I don’t believe you!

“I don’t care whether you believe me or not. Just lead the way. I’m not in the mood for pointless arguments.”

All sorts of thoughts passed through Gaga’s mind. He couldn’t believe what Henry was saying, but at the same time, based on everything Henry had said and done so far, it just felt like whatever he was saying was true.

Gaga was taken aback and stood still, and Henry shouted out of frustration, “Hey! What are you doing? Will you lead the way already?”

- Ah, yes!

But regardless of how Gaga felt about Henry, he knew he couldn’t voice his thoughts. He knew that Henry wouldn’t care the tiniest bit about what he was thinking and that he would eventually take full advantage of him to get what he wanted.

Thus, Gaga came up with a plan to take advantage of this situation. Despite not having a say in what they did, Gaga could take Henry wherever he wanted, given that Henry wanted him to take the lead.

‘Okay, we’ll see whether you’re telling the truth once we meet him.’

In order for Gaga to challenge Henry, he had to bring in an ally that was equal to Henry or at least close to his level. He planned on introducing Henry to another demon that was on par with Brillente in order to get rid of him.

Of course, Gaga wasn’t sure if the demon would act the way he wanted, but if Henry had in fact taken down Brillente, Gaga was confident that Henry would engage in a fight with that demon. Moreover, Gaga knew that any demon would instantly notice an intruder in their territory.

Having devised a plan to get out of this mess, the lizardman led the way.

As they were walking, Henry eventually said, “Hmm, this is too slow.”

- Sorry?

“Haste.”

Henry cast an 8th-Circle version of Haste on himself and Gaga. He knew he couldn’t run because he didn’t know the way, but every second mattered, so he couldn’t afford to just walk around in Brillente’s territory either.

This was the same spell Henry had always used, but the magic he used this time was millions of years ahead. Their surroundings changed rapidly, and a dust devil came out of nowhere.

Confused by the sudden wind, Gaga couldn’t help screaming.

- Aaaahh!!!

However, the wind completely muffled Gaga’s screams, and before he realized it, he was walking at a tremendous speed even though he himself didn’t try to walk faster. It was a strange phenomenon that Gaga couldn’t describe with words.

Seeing Gaga all clumsy, Henry scolded him.

“Hey, get back to your senses and lead the way!”

- Y-yes!

With Henry’s magic, it seemed like they were going to arrive at their destination much sooner than anticipated.

***

Ganisel used to be an archangel who had control over the Powers in the heavens, but with one bad decision, he had been sent down to the Demon Realm. During his early days in the Demon Realm, he had been forced to fight countless demonic beasts because of his sanctity and holiness as an angel.

However, Ganisel’s goal was to survive and somehow find a way to destroy the heavens that had abandoned him. And in order to do so, he had made many sacrifices.

Ganisel had cast away all the principles of an angel, such as order, rule, and justice, and he had fully adapted to the Demon Realm. He had also redefined his beliefs, goals, and what power meant to him.

After changing his ideology, Ganisel was no longer afraid of the Demon Realm. In fact, he felt more comfortable here than back in the heavens. He no longer had to suppress his true beliefs, and if he wanted to establish his own values, he could easily do so just with his powers.

All in all, Ganisel was satisfied with his life in the Demon Realm. He sometimes even thought that he had been born an angel by mistake.

After getting used to living in the Demon Realm, Ganisel devised a grand plan of his own. He would become the almighty Demon King that controlled the entire Demon Realm and make an army of demonic beasts and demons in order to wage war on the heavens.

Ganisel had in fact managed to become the second strongest creature in the Demon Realm, something that mere demons could never even dream of. And being so high up on the hierarchy, Ganisel couldn’t help smiling as it seemed that his dream was a whisker away.

He just had one more thing to do—kill Brillenete and become the next Demon King candidate. Ganisel didn’t believe in what the Demon God had foretold. Knowing that he had made it this far by himself without ever being chosen, Ganisel was more than confident that he could take down Brillente.

He was determined to cut down his competition once and for all.

Ganisel had made all sorts of preparations for this exact moment. He had picked up black magic, which was forbidden for the angels in the heavens, and had come up with strategies that would’ve been frowned upon in the heavens for being deceitful.

Ganisel had even managed to bring the spirits of the Demon Realm to his side, even though demons weren’t allowed to follow him because of his background.

All that was left was to fight and kill Brillente. But as he was about to get going, Ganisel noticed something in the distance.

‘This feeling…!’

Ganisel felt the presence of a strong entity at the very edge of his territory. The murderous aura of the approaching entity was overwhelming, and he knew that there was only one being in the Demon Realm that could exude such a vicious presence.

‘Brillente, you bastard…!’

The two had never trespassed on each other’s territory. As Ganisel felt the presence closing in, he figured that Brillente finally made up his mind to attack him first.

Things were working better than Ganisel had planned. He was more than eager to showcase to Brillente how he had prepared for him, but he hadn’t expected him to show up on his own.

A devilish smirk crept up on Ganisel’s expression.

‘If you insist on coming here yourself, I shall give you a warm welcome, Brillente!’

Ganisel rose from his throne and spread his four pairs of wings. The symbolic wings of an archangel that had once been pure white were now as black as they could be, drenched in darkness and evil.

The shift in color reflected how the concept of justice had changed for Ganisel.

Flap!

With a single powerful flap, Ganisel sent a powerful gust of wind at the ground, creating a gigantic crater beneath him. The fact that he could do this with a mere flap of his wings meant that his power was at its peak.

Swoosh!

Ganisel soared like a hawk going after its prey, flying high in the sky until he looked like a sparkling star amidst the vast Milky Way. He then dropped like a meteor, with his aim fixed on Brillente’s head.

Ganisel thought this would be a good way to welcome his rival into his territory.

Red flames enveloped him as he swooped down at a tremendous speed, producing an ear-splitting sound. The flames grew larger and larger until it looked like Ganisel was emitting an orange aura.

But just as he thought he was going to hit his target, he hit something else, and the ground rumbled from the collision.

Dirt kicked off in all directions.

Somebody had gone down.

Thud!

It was none other than Gaga. He went down with foam at his mouth, his pants wet. It seemed that he had fainted and peed himself.

Henry furrowed his brows at Gaga. He had cast a Magic Shield around him just in case of another ambush, and his instinct had been right. An unknown enemy had swooped in, kicking up dirt from the ground.

‘Who is it this time?!’

After Henry confirmed that his Magic Shield had no cracks, he assumed that this enemy was similar to Gaga in terms of strength.

Henry shook his head and cleared away the dust to see who was trying to take him down this time. As he snapped his fingers, a gust of wind instantly swept by and cleared the dust. With everything clear, he spotted the enemy not far from Gaga.

“Wings…?”

The creature that had tried to ambush him had four pairs of wings on his back. However, what was more absurd than his appearance was the fact that it was unconscious. Henry didn’t understand how the enemy was down after attacking first with the element of surprise.

‘Tsk, tsk, I guess this guy’s also just a low-class demon.’

As Henry looked at Ganisel lying unconsciously on the ground, he became more certain that this demon would be no different from Gaga—just another weak and scrawny enemy.