Eru Empire.
Eru Empire was one of the Large Countries near the battlefield against the demons. Their forces were huge and they were one of the reasons why the demon army couldn't advance easily. No one would underestimate their might, even those Holy Lands had to be careful when dealing with them.
A man was sitting on the majestic throne while looking down at his subordinates.
Zardon III, he was the current emperor of the great Eru Empire. He was a man who stood at the top of the mortals. He was an elite Freedom Realm expert. No ordinary Freedom Realm would be able to match his combat skills.
Everyone thought that he would be able to achieve godhood in the future. Most of his subjects believed that the current emperor would be able to join the ranks of their ancestor, the previous emperors of the Eru Empire that achieved godhood and was now protecting the country from the shadows.
"How is the war?" Zardon III asked.
"The demons have stopped forcing their forces. They reached became passive a few months ago so they didn't initiate any attack." One of the Generals of the Army answered.
"Hmm... What are they planning? They stopped before the battle became a war between Seventh Shackles..." Zardon III mumbled as he rubbed his chin. "Is it related to the latest event near the Olympus? My ancestor told me that a huge event happened there."
"Your Majesty, even our allied countries noticed the anomaly in the demons. All of them have the same report saying that the demons are building defenses." The General said.
"I see..." Zardon III nodded his head.
From his point of view, the demons have conquered enough lands. It should be the time to start building defenses and manage the territory that they conquered.
But he had a bad feeling about this...
He always trusted his instinct as a Freedom Realm expert, which was hundreds of times higher than ordinary people.
"The demons are planning something..." Zardon mumbled. He glanced at his subjects and asked, "Send a few of our scouts there to verify if the demons are really strengthening their defenses. Also, don't forget to stationed more people around the walls. I have a bad feeling about this."
"I understand, Your Majesty." The General nodded.
Bang!!
Suddenly, the huge metallic door of the throne room was slammed open. A man wearing a black outfit walked inside with a faint smile on his face.
The man looked around as he combed his messy black hair with his fingers. He had that nonchalant attitude even in the presence of the emperor.
"You!! Who are you?!"
"How did you get here?! There are various runes all over the palace!"
The subordinates of Zardon III shouted at the unknown man who intruded into their meeting. They released their aura one by one, filling the room with a very oppressive energy. Even Fourth Shackle experts wouldn't be able to lift their heads in this atmosphere.
Zardon III alone was already at Freedom Realm. The Commander of the Royal Guard and the General of the Army were also at Freedom Realm. Even the Minister was someone at Freedom Realm. The rest of the officials were either at Ninth Shackle, Eighth Shackle, or Seventh Shackle.
Most of the top experts of the Eru Empire were in this very room.
The unknown man still had that carefree smile in his place as he observed the people in this room.
"A magical human, wood elf, high elf, dwarf, Four-Winged man, and mermen. The upper echelons of the Eru Empire are really filled with a variety of races."
The man grinned wider as darkness spread out from his feet.
Ohm!!
Zardon III and the rest were instantly paralyzed. Their bodies had stopped moving along with their oppressive aura. They could only see the devilish smile on the unknown man's face.
"WHO ARE YOU?!!!"
A loud booming voice echoed throughout the entire palace. The voice alone contained boundless power that dispersed the looming darkness on the ground.
The palace started trembling as if it was about to collapse.
The runes flickered wildly before they slowly dimmed down.
Zardon III and the rest breathed a sigh of relief as the pressure around their bodies disappeared.
"Grandfather..."
The voice came from Zardon III's grandfather, one of the God-rank powerhouse of the Eru Empire, the true pillars of this country.
"I apologize for intruding on your place but I like your place now so I'm gonna take this land for myself. Also, I've deactivated all the runes here. I'm quite a master of runes myself. If I didn't deactivate the runes, I would have some trouble arriving here. The defensive runes of a Large Country can truly hold back a god, luckily, I'm pretty good at disabling and carving runes."
The unknown man bowed before he looked up. His eyes flashed with crimson brilliance.
Boom!!
The whole area trembled once again and a powerful aura that reached god-rank burst out of the unknown man's body.
Ohm!!
His entire body was covered in a cape of darkness. Various crimson-colored eyes opened from the cape of darkness.
"You!! You're going to start the battle of gods?!!"
The voice was filled with anger.
The energy grew stronger and an old figure appeared above the palace, looking down at every living being of this country. But his attention was only focused on that unknown man.
The unknown man stared above and the ceiling of the palace couldn't block his vision. He slowly opened his mouth and said, "You alone...? It seems that the other gods of this country are underestimating me."
"You've started it! This will travel across the continent and the other gods will move too!! A lot of mortals will be affected by your action!" The old god said in a loud and oppressive tone.
"Let me start it... This will be over before you know it." The unknown man slowly raised his hand.
BOOM!!!
A powerful wave of energy rose from the capital of the Eru Empire. All the cities nearby could feel the presence of the gods. The intensity of the energy directly killed ordinary people.
A mass panic occurred as the battle between gods began.
In just a second, hundreds of thousands of people in the royal capital had died.
Various experts from afar couldn't help but gulp a mouthful of saliva. They were nervous as they didn't expect a battle between gods would happen without any warning. It was too sudden that a lot of people died.
This was greater than what happened in the Desolate Woods, the two Commandments back then were holding back their energy level so that the nearby countries wouldn't be able to detect them. It's the same for Zodiac Leo when he fought the Underground King, he held back and turned the battle in the sky so the city somehow survived.
But this time, the gods didn't care.
They just kept releasing powerful attacks that could wipe out all the mortals.
No, a barrier appeared all of a sudden that protected the royal capital from destruction.
The remaining gods of the Eru Empire have started to move too.
The energy soared through the sky and even the other countries saw it. They turned their heads and felt the intense vibration on the ground. Even the demons on the other side of the battlefield also felt intense energy fluctuations in the atmosphere.
They all have the same thing in their minds.
There's no doubt that god-rank powerhouses were fighting in the Eru Empire.
The gods from the nearest Large Countries opened their eyes.
"This energy level... A powerful god had descended!"
In just a minute, a figure fell from the sky and landed around the barrier that was protecting the royal capital.
Bang!
The figure was none other than the old god of the Eru Empire. He was on his last breath as he stared at his opponent in disbelief.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Five figures appeared at the same time beside the old god. All of them were gods of this country. Even the public didn't even know a few of them since they have lived for a long time.
"You... I've seen you five hundred years ago."
One of the gods said as he stared at the unknown man's face. His expression was grim as if he knew what was gonna happen right now.
The unknown man looked down at them with a frosty demeanor. The darkness covering his body spread out in the sky, devouring all the light.
In an instant, the light disappeared as everything turned dark. Countless crimson eyes opened within the darkness. It continued to devour everything in sight and it eventually covered everything with hundreds of thousands of kilometers.
Even the experts who were trying to travel through space to escape were devoured as traveling to space was useless. It could even devour space.
Everyone outside the Eru Empire, several hundred thousand kilometers away from the Eru Empire, stared at this sight in horror.
"What is that?!"
Their faces turned pale as they witness the power of a top god for the first time in their lives. It was a horrifying experience that brought terror to everyone that witness it.
The unknown man slowly opened his mouth.
"My name is... Esquin, the one who will devour everything. The Gluttony is the ability to devour everything. Now, let me hear your cry of despair."
