Chapter 692: Danger Zone Plans
"Welp, that’s done."
Arthur muttered under his breath as the wind rushed past him. He glanced at the Stellar Guard on his arm, and upon seeing that all five charges were intact, a quiet chuckle escaped his lips.
"Pretty sure I’d still be miffed if I had to use even one of these."
He stretched his arms and cast his gaze downward, surveying the devastated continent of Zefesh. Despite the sheer amount of land he and Duskhand had reduced to rubble, not a single soul had crossed their path.
’Guess one of the Demon Kings did something. They do consider the people of Aramis as precious human resources, so it figures they’d act to protect said resources.’
The thought crossed Arthur’s mind as he slowly descended to what was left of the ground. His eyes briefly glanced at the lingering fracture in space before shifting to the notifications hovering in his vision.
"Now then, about this..."
[Processing EXP...]
[Special circumstances detected.]
[Calculation will take additional time. Please wait.]
The messages had been present ever since Duskhand’s body disintegrated. The delay made sense; considering the unique circumstances, it wasn’t surprising there were complications with the EXP calculation.
EXP—the resource that determined an individual’s numerical level—was composed of many factors, but three stood out as very critical:
Existential Records, Soul Power, and the Energy of the Defeated Existence.
However, Arthur had completely erased Duskhand’s body and soul.
With Duskhand’s soul no longer in existence, where was the ’Soul Power’ component supposed to come from?
That question was precisely what the system was now processing.
From Arthur’s understanding of the system, every existence within it had their data stored in a vast database. That log was their Existential Record.
These records persisted even after death and reincarnation, acting as a log that stated, for example, that Soul A was once Existence AA—a kind of soul archive.
But when Existence Erasure came into play, things took a different tangent.
If a being’s physical body and soul were erased, their Existential Records remained within the system for a limited time. Afterwards, those records collapsed into raw energy.
Depending on the eraser’s level, one of two outcomes occurred:
1) The energy was reabsorbed into the system.
2) It was transferred to the eraser as part of their EXP gain.
Before this transfer could happen, however, the system underwent a processing period.
If the system determined that the Existential Records were to be converted into EXP for the eraser, it first analysed those records for encoded traces of the erased individual’s energy and soul power.
These encoded traces acted as a ’blueprint’ to reconstruct the Soul Power component of EXP.
As for the energy needed to complete this reconstruction? The answer was rather obvious.
Energy adhered to the principle of conservation—it didn’t simply disappear; it shifted forms or was redistributed.
When the target was erased, the energy they possessed didn’t just vanish; it was transformed. It shifted form, redistributed itself, and, through the system, became part of the eraser’s reward.
"Damn, the Eternals really outdid themselves with this."
Arthur muttered, his thoughts spiralling as he contemplated the sheer complexity of the Devour Class System.
"Is it because they wield the power of the Concepts that they can pull this off? But what even are the Concepts?"
His philosophical musings hung unanswered in the air—not that he expected a reply. With a resigned sigh, he shifted his focus to the diaphanous board hovering in his field of vision.
[Level Up x15]
"Fifteen levels... That’s a lot, especially at my current stage where each level demands exponentially more EXP.
I guess Duskhand really was built different."
And he truly was.
But it wasn’t just because of his power or the absurd amount of EXP he yielded.
What made Arthur think this?
It was due to something most would overlook.
Arthur had used his Extreme Nothingness: Chaos, to erase Duskhand.
And yet, Duskhand had still managed to speak. He’d formed coherent, complete sentences even as his body dissolved into dust.
The fact that he could keep existing long enough to do that was extraordinary by every definition.
"Well, he’s now part of my EXP. Level 985 now."
He closed his status board and surveyed the devastation around him before shrugging, leaving the land’s recovery to the Demon Kings.
It wasn’t like he had the energy right now to rewind the destruction, which he estimated had wiped out roughly a third of the continent.
"All that’s left is heading to the Danger Zone Jamie mentioned and getting those last 15 levels."
Despite being so close to the Deity Realm, Arthur didn’t feel as giddy as he thought he would.
"Ugh, this is so uncomfortable. How did Alvey and McEnda deal with this for years?"
His brows twitched as he shifted his body, but his senses suddenly tingled, and a wave of demonic energy rushed over him.
The wave travelled at light speed, emanating from across the ocean.
’Wait, Light?’
Arthur’s gaze snapped toward Gledea, and a laugh escaped his lips as realization dawned.
He could feel the power of the ’Authority’ of Light from here.
’Authority’, not ’Pseudo-Authority’.
Alvey had exuviated, and the energy burst was potent enough to reach Arthur despite being on another continent.
The sensation sparked an idea, and Arthur turned his gaze skyward, speaking aloud.
"Yo, Jamie. Mind giving me a lift, I just got an idea."
A moment of silence passed before a Cosmic Gate materialized beside him.
"Thanks."
With that, the boy leapt into the gate, and upon emerging on the other side, he found Jamie seated in a spatial chamber alongside three others. They were observing the battles on Gledea through a grid of screens forming a video wall, each displaying a different feed.
Turning his attention away from the video wall, Arthur addressed Jamie.
"I’d leave the devastation of Zefesh to you guys. Don’t have the energy for it now."
"Hmm?"
Jamie raised a brow, momentarily confused, but his gaze shifted to the sea of magma visible through the gate he’d created and realisation flashed in his eyes.
"Oh, don’t worry about that."
Seeing that Jamie wasn’t too bothered, Arthur let the matter drop and turned his gaze to the others seated near Jamie.
"Oh, the older McEnda is here as well."
His gaze then moved from the dark-blue-eyed man to the person beside him whose hair matched the same hue.
"And the older McEnda’s in-law."
Finally, he looked at the last individual in the room and concluded.
"And the Destruction guy."
At Arthur’s words, McEnda II turned to him with an incredulous look and spoke.
"You’re the only person I’ve ever heard refer to a ’Main Entity’ governing an entire universe as the ’Destruction guy’."
His comment about Arthur’s form of addressing Malorum, the Demon King of Destruction was met with a shrug from Arthur who plopped down on the chair beside Jamie and responded.
"The Main Entities back home are kinda like distant uncles and aunts to me, so while I understand the importance and gravity of the position, it doesn’t feel all that ’Grand’ to me."
Despite his explanation, McEnda II still had his incredulous look.
"Even if it doesn’t feel ’Grand’ to you, we’re talking about the Aspect of ’Destruction’ here. Do you call the Main Entity of Destruction back home the ’Destruction guy’ too?"
Arthur only laughed at McEnda’s question.
"No. I call her ’Mum’. Because she’s my mother."
"...ha?"
Though the shocked look on McEnda’s face was quite the spectacle, Arthur didn’t laugh. Instead, he raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Haven’t I told you this before?"
The response came not from McEnda who he asked, but from Jamie, seated beside him.
"It’s pretty obvious you hadn’t."
Indeed, Arthur hadn’t shared that detail. While he had explained Hell’s current power structure to the Demon Kings, he’d omitted specifics about the Main Entities.
As a result, the revelation that his mother governed Destruction came as a surprise to them.
Arthur merely shrugged, unconcerned about the weight of this revelation. Instead, he shifted his focus to what he truly wanted to discuss with Jamie.
However, before he could speak, McEnda’s voice broke through the room.
"Finally! That stupid boy did it."
Arthur glanced at the video wall, following McEnda II’s gaze to one of the screens. It displayed McEnda III, effortlessly one-shotting Aramisian Transcendents left and right.
"Oh, he’s exuviated as well. Seems the Aramisians are done for. The month ends with the war’s end."
A moment after Arthur spoke, something occurred to him, and he turned back to question Jamie.
"Didn’t you guys have an agreement about Deities not participating in battles? Alvey and the younger McEnda should be out now, shouldn’t they?"
To Arthur’s question, Jamie responded with an explanation of the only exception to the rule.
"It doesn’t apply if they exuviate mid-battle. They can continue fighting as long as that battle doesn’t end.
But once it does, they can’t join the next one."
Arthur nodded silently, offering a moment of sympathy for the Aramisians still facing Alvey and McEnda III on the battlefield.
But again, this wasn’t what he came here for.
"Jamie, about that Danger Zone you mentioned. Why don’t we bring Evan and the girls along? Alvey and McEnda could come too."
The moment Arthur suggested this, McEnda II immediately turned to him, his expression alarmed.
Despite his usual behaviour, McEnda II did care for his son, so there was no way he was going to remain silent after hearing such a conversation.
"What’s all this talk about taking my son to a Danger Zone? What Danger Zone?"
"The Abyss Labyrinth."
"..."
Silence filled the room after Jamie responded.
Even the other two Demon Kings present, Xagthor and Malorum, turned their attention from the video wall to Jamie.
Finally, Xagthor broke the silence.
"So, I may not like the kid, but my granddaughter does, so I’d rather you not send him to his death..."
Xagthor, Sigesi’s grandfather, had no fondness for McEnda III. To be precise, he believed his granddaughter was far too good for him.
For someone like Xagthor to speak up in defence of someone he disliked highlighted just how dangerous this ’Abyss Labyrinth’ was.
"...why the hell would you want to go there?"
McEnda II questioned after Arthur spoke, fixing him with a look one might reserve for a lunatic.
Ignoring the incredulous gaze, Arthur responded.
"I’m pretty close to the Peak of Transcendence, and I decided to stay here and take advantage of the system to become a Deity before going back home.
That’s the main reason why I’m still here."
Before anyone could interrupt, Arthur continued, pointing at Jamie.
"Of course, that’s beside the fact that this idiot decided to toss me into the Infernal Dimension for months."
Jamie, unbothered by the jab, kept his focus on the video wall while Arthur concluded.
"Anyway, that’s the gist of it. I want to become a Deity before heading back home.
I’d probably handle a few things back there for some years before I go to Draco Sirus."
The latter part of his explanation seemed more like a musing to himself, but it was what drew Jamie’s attention.
"You’re heading to Draco Sirus? It’d be a lot quicker to just go straight there from Valmone, wouldn’t it?"
Jamie knew of the Draco Sirus Universe Arthur planned to visit after Valmone, and from his perspective, detouring to Hell was a waste of time and energy.
"Draco Sirus is here in the Second Multiverse. But Hell’s in the First, right?"
Arthur nodded silently, acknowledging the point. He was fully aware of the distance involved but had no intention of altering his plans to return home first.
