Chapter 537: Amidst Reverence and Envy
When Arthur had been first told about the Valmone Universe by Lucifer, the Archdevil had mentioned Gozon, Aidos and many other Prime Worlds.
However, Arthur took note of Gozon for one reason.
’That Planet? It’s doomed to forever be a Prime World. It’s never gonna be able to become Apex no matter how hard it tries.
Maybe you’d understand once you see the cosmic energy flow in the energy hotspots.’
Energy flowed through a planet’s structure like how blood flowed through a humanoid’s body—through veins.
Energy veins could sometimes cross over each other and locations where multiple energy veins intersected were called energy hotspots, and this Landing Outpost 47 was one of said Hotspots.
Arthur was trying to study the cosmic energy to see if he’d understand Lucifer’s words, but he saw no indicator of Gozon failing to become a Prime World.
So, he quickly gave up on the matter as it wasn’t too important to him and turned to Alvey and McEnda who were coming up behind him.
"You okay now?"
"Yeah."
Alvey’s little mistake of trying to perceive ’Gozon’ had resulted in his brain being overloaded with over 180+ billion km2 worth of spatial information, far too much for a Transcendent’s brain to handle so he needed some time to reorient himself.
With him making an appearance and talking with Arthur who already had many gazes on him, they drew twice the amount of attention.
Alvey was famous, both for good and for bad. So was McEnda standing next to him.
The two of them were among the strongest and most successful young demons of their generation—the current generation.
They were around 50 years old, but for Demons who lived thousands even without becoming Deities, that was young.
Anyway, Alvey was a talent and had a reputation for leading the charge to conquer two High-Level Worlds.
There was also the issue of him being previously being expelled by his Household since he wasn’t born as a ’High-Demon’ like everyone else in the family.
He had taken up his mother’s maiden name; ’Sargon’, and under that name, he’d evolved his race breed to become a ’Greater Demon’ and had become a figure that multiple Demon Kings had their eyes on.
Regarding Demon Nobility, there were 11 ranks.
The Tenth Rank was the lowest, and the Zeroth Rank was the highest. Each Rank (except Zeroth) was divided into Lower and Upper Divisions.
The Zeroth Rank only had 71 Families, all of which were the families where the current generation of 72 Demon Kings came from. Westley was not Gozonian, so he didn’t have any ’Family’ so to speak.
If a Household with a Demon King were to lose that Demon King, they’d fall to the ’Upper First’ Rank.
McEnda and Sigesi’s families were Zeroth Ranks and since the first generation of 72 Demon Kings, there had always been a ’McEnda’ amongst them so they’d never dropped rank.
Sigesi’s ’Valren’ family only gained theirs in her grandfather’s generation.
As for Alvey, his paternal family was a ’Lower Fourth’, family, and his mother’s family was a ’Lower Eighth’.
Back to the current situation, Alvey, McEnda and Sigesi were a trio born to gather attention as effortlessly as a summer breeze for many reasons, from appearances to strength to merits.
Merely standing there garnered them looks from all around and admiration lit up on the faces of many onlookers.
"Sargon’s aura is more powerful than it was when I saw him in April?!"
"Damn...it’s possible to get that strong while being a Transcendent?"
"It’s no wonder they’re so revered. They’ve accomplished more in a few years than most could dream of in a lifetime."
The admiration wasn’t limited to a single type; it was multifaceted, ranging from respect for their achievements to appreciation for their beauty and poise.
"How do they always manage to look so perfect?"
"Sir Alvey’s presence alone could silence an army..."
"What do you mean ’could’? Didn’t you hear what that other guy on Aramis Prime said? He already did!"
"That’s not what I mean you buffoon. I’m talking about his looks."
"Oh, there’s that too."
Yet, where there was admiration, envy was never far behind. Having talent worthy of resentment earned them exactly just that.
"They think they’re so special..."
"Everything comes so easily to them. They’ve never had to struggle for anything."
"They walk around like they own the place."
These ones were unable to hide the bitterness in the words they spat, their voices low but filled with smouldering jealousy.
However, the targets of their envy didn’t seem to pay them any mind. Arthur was busy trying to see if Alvey could notice the cosmic energy underneath them, while McEnda’s attention was 100% on Sigesi.
His eyes were fixed on her with a focus impossible to ignore, hanging on every word she spoke and this sight only fuelled the admiration of the onlookers—particularly the female demons in their generation.
Squeals of delight and excitement filled the air as they caught sight of the two, their faces lighting up as if they had just seen their idols in the flesh.
"Oh my, are you seeing how he’s so focused on her? That intensity! I wish my fiancé would look at me like that."
"Sigesi is so lucky."
They gushed with voices filled with excitement, and some who were acquainted with her and wanted to go up to her changed their minds after seeing the sight.
Some jealous ones made a few snide remarks, but such comments were quickly drowned out by the chorus of admiration and envy, the majority too captivated by them to give negativity much thought.
Yet, not everyone was entirely captivated by the famous trio. Some in the crowd shifted their attention away from them, their curiosity piqued by the two unfamiliar teenagers who were with the trio.
"I’ve seen enough of Alvey and McEnda before, but who are those two with them?"
"The one with the silver hair... Which noble family is he from, I wonder? Is he even a demon?"
"The masked one’s more my type...He’s got that... mysterious vibe."
"Don’t be silly, we’re talking about who they are now."
Their gazes fell on the uniforms worn by the silver-haired boy and the masked figure. Embroidered on the shoulders beneath the Gozonian Army insignia were the words; ’Gozonian Interstellar Army: Aramis Division’.
With that, eyes began searching for other soldiers from the Aramis Division and they began hounding them for information on who the two teens that Alvey and McEnda were so casual with were.
In the midst of this, one of the High-Ranked demons present silently observed Arthur with his crimson eyes. Looking at them, one could subtly notice an aura of destruction law energy around the pair of eyes.
’That boy...’
Perhaps because Arthur stood in one place for too long, the ambient laws had begun to react to him slightly.
"He’s hiding his energy, but the reaction of the law of destruction to his presence.... He’s definitely got a Pseudo-Authority, like me, but stronger... much stronger."
The man voiced his thoughts to himself, but this was a hall filled with superhumans so despite how low his mutter was, it still caught the ears of anyone paying attention for information on the two boys.
A collective gasp escaped the demons who overheard him, shock rippling through them as they glanced at the Transcendent who had just spoken.
Before they could press further, the High-Rank Demon stepped forward, making his way directly to Alvey’s group.
Some people were expecting a confrontation, and some were expecting drama, but none of that happened as the man introduced himself like a perfectly normal person would.
"I am Tharan, from the ’Upper Second’ Family Ilmoth. General assigned to the High-Level World; Zath’ruun."
"A pleasure."
Alvey responded with a nod, while McEnda patted the man’s shoulder and spoke casually with him, revealing they had been acquainted before. His introduction just now was for Alvey’s sake since he’d never spoken with Alvey before.
He didn’t dawdle and quickly revealed his purpose for coming up to them.
"Arthur, is it? I overheard Alvey calling your name earlier. I’m intrigued by the way Destruction energy seems to ripple around you. It’s...unusual."
When Tharan said this, Arthur raised his brow in confusion. Then, he realised that the Demon’s crimson eyes...were not natural.
’Oh...’
Upon this realisation, Arthur simply removed his black contacts which he hadn’t taken off after meeting with Rachel and revealed his real eyes.
There was a collective intake of breath from those close enough to see. High Ranked Demons instantly noticed that the colour of his eyes was not natural just like Tharan’s, but the result of law energy infusion.
Seeing this, Tharan nodded to himself, confirming the suspicions he had. His interest deepened and he leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a more private tone.
"It’s rare to meet someone with such a deep connection to the laws of Destruction. Besides the ’Demon King of Destruction’, I’ve never met anyone else with an automatic infusion like myself...until you.
Tell me, how far have you delved into its mysteries?"
Tharan was now guessing Arthur was a Transcendent, as only when he began comprehending laws did his eyes change. Arthur was a special case but he didn’t need to know that.
"Far enough to know that understanding is just the beginning. Destruction is as much about creation as it is about obliteration. It’s a balance, a cycle."
When Arthur responded to him in this manner, Tharan nodded, a glint of respect in his eyes.
"Indeed. It’s a force that can either tear apart or rebuild, depending on the wielder’s will. I see you’ve grasped that nuance."
Their conversation continued, each testing the other’s understanding of the law, gauging the depth of their comprehension.
It was a fairly rare occasion where Arthur could discuss the law with someone who wasn’t too far off in comprehension from him, a fresh experience given he’d lived around people who had High-Rank Authorities in it for most of his life.
While Arthur was conversing with the Demon General, their resident Rogue Hero glanced around and when he saw the demonesses nearby who were watching Alvey with adoring eyes, he laughed and spoke.
"Beatrix might be in tears if she sees how much... ’competition’ she has."
As if on cue, a few of these demonesses approached Alvey, eager to catch up. He entertained the first two with charm and politeness, engaging in light conversation. However, as more attempted to join in, his responses grew curt, effectively ending the interactions before they could even begin.
"McEnda, Arthur. We’ve dawdled too long."
He called out to the other two before walking forward, heading towards the check-in counter at the other end of the large hall.
♧ ♧ ♧
Hey y’all, it’s your friendly neighbourhood author, _michael here. 👋🏽
Starting Next Month, September, there will be changes to the Privilege settings. The number of Chapters per tier as well as their prices would change.
Here are the Chapter number changes.
Tier 1: 2>5
Tier 2: 4>10
Tier 3: 8>15
Tier 4: 12>20
Tier 5: 16>25.
Tier 5 guys get 9 more Chapters than before. This technically means there’d be more bonuses next month. (I’d probably regret this decision later 😥.)
Anyway, I’ll run this new privilege system next month and you guys should give your feedback regarding the Chapter numbers and prices. That’d decide how things would be for October and beyond.
Thanks for your understanding and I look forward to you continuing on our Godslayer’s Legend.
This has been _michael.
Over and Out!✌🏽
