Chapter 736: Negotiations of Dominion I
Interstellar Citadel
Imperium Astra Region
Prime World Gozon
December 2nd
Year 1054 (Valmone)
The demoness was shocked. No—shocked wasn’t enough. She was dumbfounded. Stupefied. Terrified, even.
And more than anything, she just wanted to go home.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
She was a high-ranking servant in the Interstellar Citadel, trusted with leading special guests to important meetings.
That was her job. She had done it a thousand times, had escorted beings of great status and unfathomable power without so much as a twitch of unease.
When she was instructed to escort the Progenitor godslayer to a meeting, she had raised a brow, mildly intrigued.
Of course, she had heard of him. One couldn’t work in the Interstellar Citadel without keeping up with the events of the Interstellar Stage.
She had expected to be surprised upon meeting him.
She had not expected to find herself staring at a boy who had simply walked out of a strange spatial gate, radiating a wave of destructive energy that made her heart skip a beat.
She could instinctively tell that no matter what she did, no matter what abilities she called upon, she could never defeat this boy who was less than half her age. Not even with a stroke of luck, not even with every trick in her arsenal.
And she was no weakling—a Superior Stage Half-Deity should not feel this powerless against a teenager.
Her mind reeled. Just a week ago, he was a Transcendent. A WEEK.
’What had he done in that time?’
She had heard the news of Cruotis Prime’s destruction and the rumours of his involvement. But even then, she had assumed—like most people—that he had simply been caught up in something larger.
A piece of the chaos, not someone at the heart of it.
She could feel the dense law energy rolling off him. Law energy comparable to that of a Low-Tier Deity—a Low-Rank Law.
That should only be possible if he had achieved Basic Rank Law completion.
’At seventeen years of age?!
No. No, no, no. That’s insane. Impossible!’
Her thoughts were concealed with practised discipline, buried beneath years of experience. She did not allow even a flicker of them to show on her face.
And so, with the same measured grace that had carried her through years of service, she turned, nodded politely, and led him through the citadel’s grand halls.
She might have been spiralling inside, but outwardly? Flawless composure.
The boy, however, could not have cared less.
He didn’t spare a glance at the ornate carvings on the walls, the glowing sigils woven into the architecture, or the floating crystal chandeliers that would have left many pausing in admiration.
When she glanced at him, he didn’t seem to be thinking about the Demon Kings he was about to meet, nor on the immense political weight of his presence in this place.
His attention was entirely fixed on the small, portable game console in his hands, occasionally tilting it as he played a car racing game.
In reality, her thoughts were quite far from the truth.
While Arthur played Want for Speed on the console, he thought about the Demon King’s revised treatment of him.
Before, they afforded him the treatment deserving of his status as Foreign Universal Royalty, the descendant of Lucifer, who had once aided their race and planet greatly. He was also the Progenitor of a race handcrafted by the Cosmos to cull the gods, one of the demons’ greatest enemies.
But despite all that, he was a Mortal. A lower existence in their eyes.
Now, he was a Deity—a Higher Existence.
His value, the weight of his words, his actions, and everything connected to him had spiked to a new high. The Demon Rulers hadn’t taken him lightly before, but now, they had to redouble their efforts.
According to what he had been told, he was set to meet with three Demon Kings—Malorum, McEnda II, and the Demon Queen of Gravitas, Yiltir.
Malorum’s presence was obvious since he was the one who had arranged the meeting. McEnda II’s involvement made sense as well, given their connection through McEnda III. As for Yiltir, Arthur had a guess on why she was included.
From what Jamie had told him, Malorum’s role was to ensure that none of the other Demon Kings accused McEnda II of favouritism. Apparently, Malorum was considered the most impartial of the 72 Demon Kings—a man who refused to align with any faction.
Thinking about it, Arthur realized that was probably why Yiltir was there as well. With little to no personal connection to him, she would be seen as an unbiased presence, someone who would view the situation objectively.
Within minutes, Arthur arrived at the room where he was to meet the Demon Kings. The servant led him inside, and as he stepped in, his gaze fell upon the three figures seated at a table.
They sat in separate chairs, positioned next to each other with small gaps in between. Opposite them, a single chair had been placed for him.
Reaching the seat, Arthur gave a light greeting before sitting down. His gaze first shifted to Malorum.
"Thanks for helping me arrange this as quickly as possible. I understand you all have been quite busy due to a certain person’s actions over the past few days."
Naturally, Arthur was referring to Jamie breaking stuff on the Interstellar Stage while searching for them after Bewússtsein had kidnapped them.
He continued, "So, to avoid wasting any more of your time, let’s wrap this up within the hour so we can all get back to more pressing matters."
Yiltir nodded in agreement.
"That would be much appreciated," she responded.
Right after she spoke, McEnda II leaned forward.
"I assume you’re here because of the ’Book of Truth’, aren’t you?"
Arthur nodded with a polite smile.
"Good thing you remembered.
Saves me the trouble of explaining just how much of a favour I’ve done—not only for you Gozonians but for every demon in this galaxy.
Last I checked, Gozon was the strongest demon world and held the largest empire in this galaxy. That means you stand to benefit the most from my actions in destroying the Book of Truth replica—something that very few would have been capable of accomplishing."
Arthur leaned back slightly before continuing, "Before we get started, let me share a little secret with you.
If anyone other than me had destroyed the Book of Truth replica, the Valmone Universe might have faced the wrath of the Progenitor Angel.
She would have immediately known that her artifact was destroyed, and there’s a nonzero chance she might have come here because of it. Who knows? I can’t say for certain what happens in other universes where the Book of Truth replica is destroyed—I’ve never been to one, after all.
But based on what I know about the Progenitor Angel, I’d say there’s a strong chance of it."
Arthur’s expression remained calm, but his words carried weight.
"I mean, she wouldn’t have gone out of her way to create the Book of Truth replica, extract a portion of her Progenitor Authority, and embed it within the artifact if she didn’t care about its existence.
Of course, she doesn’t know that the replica was destroyed in this universe, nor does she have any idea that the Gozonians were involved in any way, shape, or form. At least, not unless she happens to come here, hear the news, and investigate the matter.
Wherever she is, even if she realizes that the Book of Truth replica has been destroyed, she doesn’t know where it was when it happened."
Right after increasing the value of his feat, Arthur’s polite smile disappeared. His face turned serious, and his demeanour shifted completely.
"With that out of the way, let’s begin."
Arthur tapped the table, and a document outlining his original agreement with the Demon Kings materialized.
"My participation in the conquest of Toverus was part of our original agreement. I fulfilled my end of the deal. Now, I wish to revise it.
The first thing I’m putting on the table is the extra service I provided by destroying the Book of Truth replica—something I wasn’t obligated to do.
And while I understand that it would have eventually fallen into your hands once Toverus was conquered, let’s not forget your Universe’s history. The Book of Truth replica has ended up in the possession of multiple Demon Kings before... yet, somehow, it always finds its way back to the angels. And each time, it’s been used against demons across this galaxy—perhaps even beyond."
Arthur’s gaze swept across the table.
"I’ve made sure that can never happen again."
With that, he extended his hand, conjuring a luminous projection of Toverus in his palm. The image of the planet hovered above his fingers, spinning gently.
"Toverus was a High-Level World."
He turned the projection slightly before adding, "I want one."
Silence fell over the room.
For a moment, the Demon Kings were puzzled. He wanted one? One what?
But that moment quickly passed as the glowing projection in Arthur’s palm provided the answer.
Yiltir raised an eyebrow, voicing out realisation.
"You want... a planet?"
Arthur nodded.
"A High-Level Planet, to be specific."
Malorum’s gaze narrowed at Arthur’s response.
"Your demands are rather grand. An entire planet? You ask much."
Arthur met his gaze without flinching. "I do. But I offer much in return."
Dismissing the projection and tapping the document on the table, Arthur continued speaking.
"I seek an agreement that benefits Gozon as much as it benefits me. After all, the greater your gain, the more incentive you have to uphold your end of the deal."
The writing on the paper faded away as he spoke.
And then, meeting the three gazes on him, Arthur laid out the first term of negotiations of dominion that would stretch on far longer than planned.
