42. First Visit To The Underworld
Heria had left a lasting impression on Revet, not a good one but a headache he was not expecting after just defeating Berry. "A declaration of war...," he sighed deeply. "These psychos never get tired, how infuriating!" He rolled his eyes inwardly.
[Rank No.24 H has successfully defeated No.1 Berry with the assistance of rank no.2 Blank]
[Congratulations! You have ranked up to the top spot]
[Due to the rank difference between No.1 Blank and No.4 H, Blank will take full control of Berry’s domain]
[You have gained the domain buff: Endless. It allows you to infinitely use your spirit energy for four days straight without depletion in the presence of your domain’s core]
Bing!
"All hail Lord Blank!"
"That serves him right, that Berry! Those monsters he sent destroyed about half of my domain!"
"Blank, I never doubted you for a moment!"
Messages filled with praise for him and insults towards Berry kept pouring in. Revet was exhausted, and he started to feel dizzy. "A call back home." He teleported to his room in the Dominion.
He fell flat on his bed, every muscle in his body aching severely. Just when he was about to close his fatigued eyes, the door of his room was banged open by Fubuki.
"Lord Revet, pardon my intrusion," she said, her tone softening upon seeing Revet’s tired expression. "I’ll come back later." She closed the door behind her.
Revet adjusted himself properly and drifted into sleep. Not all sleep is restful. Instead of resting, Revet replayed all the events that had just occurred in his mind—especially about him not having any memories of his past life, the voice that spoke to him amidst the dark fog, and the mysterious power he had just unlocked. After a few hours, Revet woke from his restless sleep.
"That was not refreshing even in the slightest," he grunted as he stood up from his bed.
"Revet-san!" Aria’s voice echoed from beyond the walls as her footsteps grew louder. She opened the door forcefully, threw her arms open, and hugged Revet tightly. "I missed you..." She let go of him. "You needed to see the way I obliterated that Ravter Abomination." Aria flicked her hair.
She had always been one to show off her feats while also shoving them down others’ throats. But around Revet, she always tried to earn his praise.
"Wow, I’m sure I missed a lot," Revet replied uninterestedly.
She filled him in on the details of the battles that occurred within the Dominion. Though it weighed heavily on his heart, Revet told Aria about all the new developments that happened in Berry’s domain, including that he had no memories of his past.
"Revet-san..." Tears rolled down Aria’s cheeks as she grabbed his hand. "You are not alone in this... I will always stand by your side. Memories or no memories, it doesn’t matter."
Her words melted Revet’s heart, and ever since Aria knew him, he had never smiled this brightly. "Thank you, Aria."
Aria moved closer to Revet until she was standing directly in front of him. "I have always wanted to tell you this." She looked down, her cheeks growing redder. "Revet-san, I, Aria—the great goddess of Takeoun Shrine—have fallen in love with you..." She slowly lifted her gaze. "Ever since the day you saved me," she added shyly.
"Huh?!" Revet reacted inwardly. He couldn’t properly process what had just happened. He knew nothing about love or how to respond to a confession. He was completely taken aback—well, you can’t blame him, he had no memories.
Revet placed a hand on his head, rubbing it with an awkward smile. "Ehhhh!" He could destroy mountains with a snap of his fingers, but he couldn’t properly answer a love confession.
"You don’t need to give me your answer now. I can wait." Aria’s cheeks turned even redder, then she disappeared.
Revet was left dumbfounded. "I had my answer already," he smiled.
He left his room with the intention of going to see Fubuki at the Strategic Planning Squadron’s base of operations. Asmaroth and Kaimaroth walked up to him hurriedly.
"Revet-sama, we would like to talk to you..." they said in sync as they turned towards him with mischievous grins.
"In private, of course!" they added loudly.
"Hmmm... why do I have a bad feeling about this...? Whatever it is, I hope it’s not what I’m thinking." Revet had no memories of his past life, but that didn’t stop him from having a wild and exotic imagination. No, he’s not a pervert.
"Sure, where are we headed to—" before he could finish speaking, the twin sisters grabbed his shoulders and warped away.
Orange burning floating lanterns, medieval wooden houses and stalls built without proper spacing, the ground tiled with pitch-black long square bricks, the sky above dark and filled with dim white clouds of different shapes—the spirit energy circulating around was denser than any Revet had ever felt before. The streets buzzed with voices of people with horns or tails; some even possessed both, buying and selling as they moved about.
Two large twin moons stood side by side in the dark sky—one radiating a purple glow while the other emitted a white glow. They represented the twin Goddesses of the Underworld.
Their light illuminated the streets and every corner of the realm, except for a certain area miles away that was covered in absolute darkness.
The sound of blacksmiths hammering weapons echoed throughout the streets.
This was the Underworld—the realm of devils and demons, ruled by the twin Goddesses of Beauty and Strength. They were otherwise known as Lunar and Umbra, as each represented one of the twin moons.
"Welcome to the Underworld," Asmaroth and Kaimaroth exclaimed cheerfully.
"Huh?!!!" Revet exclaimed inwardly, still maintaining his composure outwardly. He didn’t expect the Underworld to look so lively and carefree.
He had imagined a terrifying environment, cruel-looking demons, and an endless battlefield stained with blood.
What stood before him now was the complete opposite.
The demons were well-appearing and carefree, the environment was stunning, and everything felt peaceful.
Then it dawned on Revet—he had never considered there was a way to leave Astera before the Summoners’ War concluded.
"Wait! How did you manage to get here without getting blocked?"
Asmaroth smiled. "That’s simple. As for us, we are gods—and in your case, you aren’t with your domain’s core," she said calmly.
"We asked Aria earlier, though she was acting weird. But she told us that if a summoner is not currently in possession of their domain’s core, they can freely leave Astera. However, their lives are still linked to their domain’s core, so if it is destroyed while they are away, they perish immediately wherever they are," Kaimaroth explained meticulously. Her little sister nodded in agreement.
But this didn’t apply to mirror dimensions because they are similar to the original realm. That’s why summoners could enter the mirror world of Astera—which was the Nuxeon cult’s base of operations—with their domain cores without being blocked.
Dum Dum Dum...
A parade approached from down the main street. Harmonious voices of praise echoed loudly throughout the area.
"All hail the Twin Goddesses! All hail the salvation of the Underworld!"
All the demons and devils stopped what they were doing and bowed before the twin Goddesses.
They were highly respected in the Underworld for two reasons: one, they were insanely strong; and two, they had put an end to the endless wars that broke out between devils and demons three hundred and fifty years ago, when they were just twenty-one years old.
They locked up high-ranking demons and devils—called Lords—who refused to comply with the peace treaty between the two factions, which specifically stated that there should be no more wars. They were sealed in the Vermit Prison World, a subspace created by Asmaroth and Kaimaroth to prevent them from causing further harm.
Through their leadership, the Underworld successfully left the era of war and entered an age of peace and tranquility. Though there were minor outbreaks from time to time, they never lasted long because of the Nine Emperors of the Underworld.
They were currently the strongest entities in the realm apart from Kaimaroth and Asmaroth, and they operated under the command of the twin Goddesses.
A demon with a black heart-shaped tail, blond hair, and green eyes stood in front of the parade. Upon laying eyes on the twin Goddesses, he began wagging his tail in excitement.
"Your Excellences..." he placed a hand over his abdomen, bowing his head. "On behalf of the Nine Emperors, I, Diablo—Rank Number 3—welcome you back home."
Cheers erupted from the crowd, especially from the females.
"Ahhh, Diablo-sama is so handsome!" a voice echoed from behind.
"That was to be expected... after all, they are big shots here," Revet thought.
Diablo led Revet and the twin Goddesses to the royal palace. Throughout the walk, Diablo kept giving Revet cold, hostile glances.
They arrived at the palace. Towering spires stood along each wall, and a grand high-rise structure rested firmly at the center of a garden filled with white and purple flowers. Gentle breezes swept across the vast surroundings. It was truly worthy of being called a royal palace.
Diablo walked up behind Revet.
"I don’t like you," he whispered into Revet’s ear.