Chapter 174 – The Demon God Appears: This Baal is No Mere Baal
The hall had already been simmering with tension, but as the otherworldly priestess continued her account, even the seasoned war strategist Azazel felt his breath catch.
"So... these first two battles—humanity only won by the slimmest margin, correct?"
The priestess gave a small nod. "The fifth match was chaos incarnate. Loki's true heritage as the son of a giant was revealed, stirring revulsion among the gods. Cast out and scorned, he retaliated without pause. Fenrir and Jörmungandr were summoned into the fray, wreaking havoc across the divine pantheon. The Roman gods narrowly avoided annihilation."
Azazel blinked, dazed—not because the fight was evenly matched, but because it was nowhere close.
"And in the second battle," the priestess continued, "Beelzebub resurrected a terrible entity—Māra, the demon king who nearly consumed the entire underworld. He offered himself as a vessel, allowing Māra to kill his alternate persona: Satan."
A beat.
"But Satan resisted. He reversed the devouring and consumed Beelzebub instead. A fully realized Satan was born—transcending the dominion of mere Supreme Gods, and achieving a scale comparable to the triadic pillars of the EvisEtourute system."
The room fell into stunned silence, the weight of her words pressing upon every soul. The implication was staggering: even humanity's combatant in the second match must have reached pillar-level strength to defeat such a being.
Too implausible. Too grand.
The priestess wasn't finished.
"That alternate persona, the one called Satan... appears to have been orchestrated by the biblical God."
Azazel flinched. That deity—was he truly meddling behind the scenes in ways no one had foreseen?
"Wait. That world's God didn't fight personally?" Azazel asked warily. "Was he... afraid?"
"He cooperates with the original Creator," the priestess explained calmly. "Beelzebub was deployed intentionally, designed to trigger Satan's emergence. A calculated gambit."
She paused as the implications sank in.
"Anyone tied to the biblical God," she continued, "was doomed. Satan would devour their hearts. Beelzebub, broken and desperate to die, could not end himself. So he summoned Māra, the underworld's destroyer."
Even Serafall was lost in the swirl of revelations. "I'm confused... how exactly was Satan born?"
Azazel shook his head. "Apologies. Even I can only speculate."
Then Serafall voiced what everyone was now wondering.
"Now I'm curious. What kind of humans defeated them? What kind of monster could slay a being like that?"
"Perhaps," she muttered, "those humans were empowered by the original Creator."
It was a reasonable guess. That Creator had long held a grudge against the gods of that world. Wouldn't he secretly aid their enemies?
Azazel agreed. It made sense.
But the priestess had one final twist to unveil.
"No... humanity was not supported by the original Creator. In fact, they were slated for destruction by him. Even I do not know who supported them. But I do know this: in the fourth battle, the human champion actually stormed the Creator's own citadel."
The room gasped.
"He was nearly destroyed there—but the Creator's head guardian sacrificed themselves to cast the intruder into the void beyond the universe. If not for the Akasha System summoning him at that very instant, he would have perished."
Serafall was speechless.
"These humans are absurd. If anything, it seems the gods were the ones under threat of extinction."
She glanced at Azazel. "Now I understand. You wish to prevent the final clash between gods and humanity—not out of peace, but to preserve their top combatants. Otherwise, the EvisEtourute gods and the original Creator might strike during the aftermath."
Azazel nodded gravely. "Exactly."
"Then... who were the five champions of humanity?" Azazel finally asked, sitting up straight. He no longer dared to lounge in his chair—he might faint from the shock.
"The first was Xiang Yu, the Conqueror of Western Chu."
A murmur of recognition followed. That name carried weight in both worlds' histories.
But what of the second? Who faced down Satan?
Azazel leaned forward, as did every figure in the chamber. The priestess opened her mouth—
And froze.
"Who was the second champion?" someone whispered. But no answer came.
Just then, Rias felt it—a sudden dizziness, as if her consciousness had dipped into an unnatural tide. When her senses returned, she noticed an eerie shift. The expressions in the room had turned cold. Several figures were peering out of the windows. But more disturbing was the sight of two completely immobilized individuals—Irina, the Holy Sword wielder, and a female angel behind Michael. Frozen as if time itself had stopped.
Rias's eyes widened.
She recognized this phenomenon. It was her own subordinate's power—time had halted.
Only the strongest remained unaffected.
A delighted voice rang out.
"Finally. I thought they wouldn't show."
Azazel was smiling strangely now. For him, this council was more than a mere political gathering—it was bait. A chance to see which monsters emerged from the shadows.
Rias bristled. "Azazel!!"
She was seething. This entire summit had been his idea. If word of it leaked, every opportunistic force in the multiverse would come hunting. Her subordinate—Gaspar—had clearly been targeted and exploited for his artifact's power.
Could Azazel be... the traitor?
Especially after Solomon claimed his ally Vali had joined the Khaos Brigade.
Was this an assassination attempt disguised as diplomacy?
She clenched her fists.
"If anything happens to Gaspar, I'll make you pay!"
Just then, the door burst open. Akeno and Haruhime stepped through, fully mobile. They joined Rias, Canna, and the others—manifesting pure hostility toward Azazel and the White Dragon Emperor behind him.
Rias now knew the truth.
The supposed descendant of Lucifer wasn't fully human. He was a hybrid—a mix of human and demon blood. And from her conversation with her father after learning that God was dead, she knew he was dangerous.
It made sense. Lucifer had always been a cruel being. His heir colluding with enemies during this meeting—nothing surprising.
They'd expected some disruption... but to reach for Gaspar? Unforgivable.
How was his artifact's power even leaked? Rias suspected her brother had told Azazel—naively trusting him.
Then—the window shattered.
Everyone turned to see what lay beyond.
A massive magic circle formed in the sky. Michael's eyes narrowed.
It was a Leviathan-class transport circle—but not one belonging to Serafall. No, this bore the insignia of the previous Leviathan.
A female figure emerged.
Cadreya Leviathan, heir to the old Demon King's bloodline.
"Greetings, Lord Michael of the angelic faction…"
But her introduction was interrupted by a bone-chilling scream.
From another circle nearby, a battered figure stumbled out. Khaos Brigade's Kokabiel.
And someone else… forced their way through the dissipating magic gate.
All eyes turned to the newcomer.
He carried a massive hammer in one hand, lightning orb in the other. Horned crown on his head, thunder beneath his feet.
A figure from ancient demonology.
"Baal," someone whispered.
But something was wrong.
Those who had met the original Baal—Michael included—could tell immediately. This was not the same entity.
Chapter 175 – That Is No Demon, But a True God
Among mortals, the 72 demons had long been described in grotesque terms. Misshapen, surreal. But in truth, they were more refined—those monstrous depictions were exaggerations, or mere family insignias.
Which is why Michael and his companions stared in disbelief.
This Baal—he was not what they remembered.
So what was happening here?
Kokabiel, missing an arm, was clearly being hunted by this entity. But if Baal were allied with the Old Demon Faction… then why was Kokabiel retreating?
Had Baal aligned himself with Cadreya?
That would track—rumors said Baal hated the current rulers and had supported the old guard during the civil war.
Michael assumed a connection.
Until Kokabiel fled straight toward Cadreya—treating her as an ally.
"What's going on? Kokabiel?"
"No idea! I stumbled onto a hidden barrier in the mountains. Crossed it. Then he appeared. That's not the Baal I know!"
Their words jarred Michael.
Azazel stepped forward, his voice icy.
"Kokabiel. What are you playing at?"
"You still pretend ignorance?" Kokabiel spat. "You're the one who pulled us back from war. We were so close! And now you want peace?! What about our sacrifices?"
Azazel closed his eyes.
He understood.
Kokabiel had always despised diplomacy.
There were others like him among the fallen angels—hardliners who wanted conquest, not compromise.
"So," Azazel said grimly, "you really plan to sabotage this summit?"
Kokabiel sneered. "You think it's just me?"
He smiled darkly.
"You're still waiting to see