Chapter 868: We are Demon, not monsters.
"I say, this is the first time I've seen a Mortal become The Leader of a Pantheon. I must ask, how is that possible?" The Limbo guy inquired.
"Who knows?" Victor smiled slightly.
"Hmm, keep your secrets. They will be revealed eventually anyway... By the way, is there a name for your Pantheon?"
"For now, I've decided to go with Dragon's Nest." The moment these words were heard, all the God-Kings present felt the name being registered in The System.
"Hmm, quite the simple name, is it not?"
"I've learned that simplicity is often better. Besides, my Pantheon won't be composed solely of Gods." Victor smiled before continuing,
"Dragons, Vampires, Demons, Angels, Werewolves, Youkai, Humans, Extraterrestrial Beings, all are welcome so long as they accept my Leadership."
"This sounds more like a Faction than a Pantheon."
"You're not wrong."
"Quite a diverse group of Beings. Aren't you afraid of problems arising? Gathering so many Beings with so much hatred in one place, racism and hatred are likely to be quite common."
"Hmm, not likely."
"Why?"
"Because anyone who tries to do that in my territory will disappear from existence in the worst possible way," he spoke with a sweet smile that sent shivers down the spines of those watching.
"Those who follow my beloved faithful know the rules: accept each other, respect the rules, and strive, and you will be rewarded."
"Those who break this rule and do not respect each other... Well, they are not necessary to exist, right?"
"Hmm, another question, then. Are you affiliated with The Biblical Pantheon? Your position seems quite complicated. You're not only affiliated with The Biblical Pantheon as The Demon King but also with a completely new Pantheon composed of Gods from The Ancient Greek Pantheon."
"Yes and no."
"Oh? Please elaborate."
"I am an ally of The Heavenly Father unless he says otherwise. I used to be part of The Biblical Pantheon once, but today, I stand alone."
"I understand. Allies, but not part of the same group."
"Correct."
Everyone watched in silence as this meeting turned into an interview for Victor. They wondered what was happening here. Wasn't this a meeting to decide something? Why did it turn into an interview?
"What do you think, Heavenly Father?" The Limbo Guy asked.
The golden-covered Being looked at Victor for a few seconds. "I agree. Although a complete Alliance is difficult, given that he leads the naturally violent Demons, I still consider him an ally."
"Hmm, that's a rather misconceived thought." Victor smiled slightly.
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"I'm talking about the Demons." Victor leaned back in his chair and rested his face on his fist.
"They are a violent Race? Yes, but what Race isn't? Even the Angels are the same, are they not?"
"... We only act when necessary."
"It's still violence, Heavenly Father."
"The word 'Angels' is beautiful and all, but in the most literal sense of the word, you are the Commander, and The Angels are your soldiers. If you order the Angels to destroy something, they would do so without hesitation, correct?"
"..." The Heavenly Father fell silent. He couldn't refute those words because they were true. He had done so many times in the past as well.
"The same goes for the current Demons."
"The reason the Demons were violent, unruly, and undisciplined in the past was because the previous Leadership was incompetent. The so-called Favorite Son of Heaven was just an arrogant idiot who knew nothing about Leadership."
"Let me break some Taboos related to my beloved Demons..." Victor looked at The Limbo Guy for permission. "May I?"
"Go on." The Limbo Guy nodded.
Victor raised his hand, and pure Miasma emanated from it, flying toward the center of the open area within the table, and soon three portals appeared in the middle of the room.
These portals each displayed a City of Hell.
"Alexandria is the name of The First City; it's the starting city located in The First Levels of Hell."
Everyone was absolutely shocked to see these images. When people thought of Hell, they envisioned a place full of fire where Souls were tortured. This image was not incorrect because such places did exist in Hell, as Souls went there to pay for their crimes. However, that wasn't the whole story.
People, or rather, Demons, were coming and going, tall buildings, Demons selling food, Demon children running and playing around—it looked like a thriving City. There were even police officers patrolling the streets to maintain security.
"I built this City to be the tourist attraction of Hell, so various entertainments from the Human World are also available in this City."
Bars, water parks, cinemas, and even adult-oriented areas controlled by Succubi; the sexiest Succubi were managing that place. There was even a Disney-like theme park, although the theme was different, incorporating movies created in Hell itself.
The Angels watching this scene were in awe. They were looking at Hell as if they were seeing something completely unknown. Was this the same Hell they knew?
"Alcántara is the next City, located in The Intermediate Levels of Hell; it is The Economic Center of Hell, where major companies exist."
"Companies?" The Heavenly Father asked incredulously.
"You can't avoid Capitalism, even in Hell. Although, it's rude to call the society I built Capitalism. I like to refer to it as Meritocracy. But even that term is flawed. Considering Human examples of Meritocracy, most of them didn't thrive. Mine only functions as intended because I exist."
Victor wasn't foolish; he knew that if he didn't exist as a tyrant above all, his society wouldn't function. Demons were creatures of desires, so he needed a firm hand.
"My policy is that every individual can grow if they have the necessary skills. No matter what they are, and depending on how much they contribute to society, I, The Demon King, will personally reward them with rewards ranging from Economic Power to Personal Power."
The City of Alcántara was mostly composed of skyscrapers and resembled a very modern metropolis, with various residential areas, some of which were huge. Due to the abundance of space in Hell, even the smallest houses were 500 square meters, while the largest houses could easily reach the size of a football stadium, or even larger.
"The last City is The Royal Capital, where I reside."
Soon, the image of a city with a gigantic building clearly visible in the distance appeared.
"Abaddon, The Royal Capital of Hell."
"Flying cars..." The Angel next to The Heavenly Father widened his eyes.
"That building... How is it standing? How many floors does it have?" Anubis whispered.
"The houses are floating!" Seth exclaimed in disbelief.
'Isn't this place better than my Hell?' Seth thought. Comparing his barren wasteland of Hell to this Cityscape was like comparing Heaven and Hell, as ironic as that comparison might be.
"Oh, that's to accommodate the flying Demons; there are many of them in The Lower Levels," Victor said as if it were entirely normal.
...
"Is this really Hell?" Ruby asked incredulously as she looked at a Futuristic City straight out of a science fiction movie.
"Of course," Helena said proudly.
"We made several scientific advances by taking in The Greek Pantheon, and with the help of The God of The Forge, we were able to completely renovate The Royal Capital. Now, it is a place worthy of The Demon King's residence." Aline nodded proudly. She was so excited that the area around her seemed colder due to her enthusiasm.
Such an evolutionary process was not unrealistic; after all, Time passed differently in Hell.
"... I never thought I'd say this in my life, but... I definitely must visit Hell in the future," Sasha said as several people nodded in agreement with her.
The eyes of Pepper, Lacus, Siena, Nero, Mizuki, Maria, Eve, Bruna, and Roberta were shining with excitement as they looked at this scenery. They really wanted to experience this technology.
A thought was passing through the minds of many Beings now.
...
"Looking at these images, what do you think, Heavenly Father?" Victor asked with a small smile. With just this demonstration, he had achieved several secondary objectives he had with this meeting. He predicted that his Religion would soon become even more popular in The Supernatural World.
"This is quite impressive, Demon King. You are very competent."
"Don't put all the credit on me; this was a collaborative effort." Victor spoke humbly with the same tone of voice.
"But it only worked because there was a competent Leader... Under The Rule of Lucifer, Diablo, or even Lilith, such a scenario like this would be impossible in Hell. They are too 'Demonic' for their own good." Though he spoke floridly, what he meant was that they were Beings who acted more on emotions and had a tendency to destroy rather than build something.
...
The girls looked at Lilith, searching for her reaction, and seeing her unresponsive, they were disappointed.
"What?... Even I understand that if I were in charge, such a scenario wouldn't be possible," Lilith replied. To be honest, what Lilith did wasn't governing; it was acting as a Ruler. After all, she didn't build anything or do anything to change the lives of her subordinates; she only accumulated Power.
...
"In that case, I appreciate the compliment," Victor replied.
"Mm..." The Heavenly Father nodded in satisfaction, glancing sneakily at Victor.
"... About the matter of me visiting Hell..."
"Of course, I haven't forgotten; I was just waiting for you to contact me," Victor smiled a bit wider.
Seeing The Supreme Authority of The Angels wanting to 'visit' Hell did wonders for the marketing of his own people. With this gesture alone, the impression that Demons were 'evil' had largely softened. Of course, this wouldn't change the feelings of those who had suffered at the hands of Demons. By showing these images, a sense of outrage might also arise. After all, while they had everything destroyed, Demon Society was prospering. But Victor didn't care about that; his goal in doing all this was to show that Demons were not irrational.
Ra, Seth, and Anubis, who were watching this, were sweating. They had just realized that they were not dealing with just a group of Beings but an entirely organized and highly developed society. They had no doubt that this society possessed terrifying weapons that could kill on a large scale, much like Humans.
The more Victor spoke, the more they realized that their situation was not good.
"You speak many flowery words, boy, but that doesn't change the fact that Demons are Creatures of Hell that tend to destroy everything they touch," Odin spoke in a neutral tone with Authority.
Victor slowly turned to face Odin.
"Boy...?"
The air was filled with pure murderous intent, and everyone felt as if they were in a Sea of Blood and Bodies. The world was blood-red, and on the horizon, a gigantic creature covered in Crimson and Miasma was visible. This creature had sharp horns, and a massive mouth full of sharp teeth.
More than a Dragon, this creature looked like a Cosmic Horror!
The murderous intent was so strong and heavy that it made them hallucinate their own deaths in hundreds of different, and 'creative,' ways.
It was correct to say that if they were weaker, they would have died just from the shock.
Suddenly, this entire image disappeared completely, leaving only Victor's smiling and innocent face.
"You are correct; compared to you, who has thousands of years under your belt, I can be called a boy. A boy who has done more than you and achieved more than you in a mere 25 years of existence." Of course, he wasn't counting the time he spent in Hell but the actual time on Earth.
'Damned monster…' Loki swallowed hard as he wiped his face. He couldn't conceive that this was the same Being he had played with a few years ago. 'I should only play tricks on Beings I know; I don't want to provoke another talented monster who might come to kill me in the future.' He promised himself.
Loki now understood that if it weren't for Aphrodite, he would have long since died at Victor's 'vengeance.'
Thor, on the other hand, was thinking about something. Before, when he saw Victor, he thought it would be good to fight him to test his strength and see if he could improve further. But... upon feeling his display of bloodlust, such a thought simply evaporated from his mind.
You don't fight 'this'; all you can do when you see 'this' is run as fast as you can and not look back.
Thor wiped the cold sweat from his face.
Thor and Loki simply weren't interested in defending the 'All Father' now.
"Tell me, Odin. How does it feel to discover that in my presence, everything you've created is worthless? How does it feel knowing someone younger than you is better at everything you do?"
A functioning society? Victor had it, and his was always evolving.
Powerful soldiers? Victor had them, and his soldiers would never stagnate for long.
A Competent Ruler? Victor was one; if he weren't, he wouldn't have been able to accomplish what he did in Hell.
Wisdom? Victor had BILLIONS of memories within him of Beings as old as Odin himself. His mental library had digits beyond counting of stored information.
Everything Odin is, Victor was better. Often much better.
The old man's face, for the first time, contorted, losing composure.
It should be noted that Victor had a knack for provoking people; he could even make a stone cough up blood if necessary.
Before Odin could say anything, Victor added, ignoring him: "But the old man has a point." If the other party didn't want to be cordial, Victor wouldn't be either.
Eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth. Blood for blood. This had always been his motto, and it hadn't changed even now.
"I can control 99.99999999% of my Demons. But there will always be that 0.000001% that will rebel. But don't worry; it is precisely with that in mind that I have recently developed something."
Victor raised a finger in the air, and Red Energy covered it before flying to the center of the room. Using his finger, he drew a Rune in the air.
"...What...?" Odin, Shiva, Ra, and everyone who had knowledge of Runes widened their eyes at what was happening before them.
YOU CANNOT write Runes in the air; that was simply impossible.
Yes, you could project an already-prepared Rune in the air, but WRITE one? Create an entirely new Rune using nothing but your finger? And in mid-air, no less? That was impossible.
Even Odin himself couldn't do that.
...
Ireland.
In a relatively simple house, a woman... No, a Goddess was watching the meeting.
"Oh, oh? This is interesting... I recognize this Runework... It seems Scathach taught everything to her new Disciple, huh?" The woman made a gesture in the air with her hand, and a coffee cup appeared in her hand. What Victor had just done in front of the entire Supernatural World, she did the same to make a coffee cup.
"I can see that he's still learning, but his skill is high enough to impress Odin, so... Pure talent?" She thought, but she was slightly surprised when she saw the pattern of the Runes.
"Oh, Draconic Runes... Of course, he can do that. I forgot that Dragons are born knowing how to do that." She grumbled about the unfairness of this broken Race.
As Scathach had said, there were three aberrations she had met in her life.
The first was her own teacher, who was an unparalleled Master of Runes.
The second was Merlin, who was an absolute monster in controlling Energies.
The third was Victor, who was a genius among geniuses in The Art of Combat.
The woman watching this transmission was none other than the first on that list.
Dun Scaith, Scathach Scarlett's teacher.
"How clever..." The light-brown-haired woman commented, intrigued when Victor finished his Rune.
"A mixture of Draconic and Demonic... Not bad at all. It seems that on her journey, she found another 'monster'." Dun Scaith looked at her Disciple next to the man, observing her new characteristics. It was easy to tell what her relationship with the man was, even though her name gave away quite clearly what kind of relationship they had.
But for a woman who knew Scathach, Scaith's thoughts were different from the common masses.
"She finally found someone 'equal' to her, huh..." She remembered well that her foolish Disciple always said she would only marry the man who defeated her and had her approval in terms of mentality, talent, and ability – an extremely difficult requirement to fulfill.
"You would not only have to defeat The Strongest Female Vampire, but also have her approval in terms of mentality, talent, and ability – an extremely difficult requirement to fulfill.
"I thought she would remain single for life, but it seems she found her match..."
Victor raised the Rune in the air and spoke something in The Draconic Language. Another Rune appeared within the Rune, creating a double set. Using his control over Creation, he uttered another word, and this Rune became a triple set.
"...What...?" Scaith's eyes widened as she got up from her chair.
"This Rune is a Decree as well as a Tool." Victor snapped his fingers, and the Rune split into smaller parts, flying to each Leader present.
"This Rune will automatically recognize a Citizen under my Rule, so, Heavenly Father, if your Angels find a Demon in the streets causing chaos and they don't have this, you can kill them without mercy. If they do have this, I want them for myself." Victor's eyes gleamed.
"I will make sure to personally punish that Demon for not obeying my orders."
Scaith didn't care at all about Victor's speech; she only looked obsessively at the Rune. 'How... How did he do that? Is that even possible? Creating Runes within Runes?'
As mentioned earlier, Runes were like the Programming Code of Existence; writing one code within another code should be impossible! This was something that not even Scaith could do.
And she had no idea how this was possible.
"This… This… I want… I want to learn…" She looked at the floating Rune almost obsessively.
She looked at Scathach standing there with a small proud smile on her face almost as if she was telling Scaith that she had something that she would never have, a scene that was created by her imagination but felt very real to her.
The woman with light brown hair spoke: "... It seems that I have to visit my Disciple after all this time."
