Chapter 799

【 NEW EMPLOYEE 】

—

“A bunch of fools.”

After leaving those several Abyssal Myths behind, Los, the Flame Demon sneered and entered the Dimensional Gate to return back to Hell.

As the deputy of the Demon Lord Samael, Los had been granted control over this Gate by Samael from the very beginning. Therefore, the so-called destruction of the Gate was nothing more than an excuse Los had used to deceive the other Demons.

During the invasion of Seigües, the sixth layer of Hell suffered devastating losses. In particular, among the Abyssal Myths who had followed Samael into battle, not a single one managed to return. Even Samael himself was rumored to have been sealed away by the Goddess of Life.

Now, the strongest Mythical being in the entire sixth layer of Hell was him, Flame Demon Los.

And this caused his ambitions to grow.

Demons were inherently born with rebellious natures. Their alignment naturally was chaotic evil. Even though the strong ruled over the weak and the weak submitted to the strong, it was only because the strong were simply stronger.

Betrayal, deception, abandoning allies…

Such things were far too common within the Abyss.

Honestly, if not for the endless number of demons born within the Abyss, the constant internal conflicts of Demonkind alone would have already thrown the entire Endless Abyss into complete disarray.

And now, this Flame Demon, whose strength had reached the rank of a Intermediate Divine Power, began to harbor thoughts that he had previously only dared to imagine but never dared to act upon.

“Samael, that idiot who only knew how to bark, has finally fallen. Now, there is no one left in the sixth layer who can suppress me…”

“Once I close this Dimensional Gate, I will seal all passages leading to the other layers of Hell. Then I will become the true ruler of the sixth layer!”

“Although, I wonder where that bastard hid the Core of the Second Layer… But everyone who opposed me has already been left behind in the Wasteland of Desolation. No matter… From now on, I will have plenty of time to unify the entire sixth layer of Hell and search for a way to become a Demon Lord!”

Los’ eyes flickered.

By using the elves and the Mythical Dragons to deal with those Abyssal Myths, he had essentially eliminated all of his rivals.

His era would begin anew from this point on!

Looking at the vast and desolate world of Hell, Los could almost see himself sitting upon a throne amongst the Demon Lords, while receiving the worship of Evil Gods and demons while enjoying the service of beautiful and enchanting succubus and nymphs.

However, just as Los was imagining his glorious future, an arm glowing with holy light suddenly reached through the Dimensional Gate from behind and grabbed his shoulder.

“—Who?!”

Los was both shocked and furious.

However, his heart immediately became filled with extreme caution, because until the moment he was grabbed onto, he had not even sensed the existence of anyone at all…

In other words, the other party was stronger than him!

Realizing this, Los felt uncertain and alarmed.

But when he turned around and sensed that vast, sacred aura behind him, his heart was instantly filled with terror.

That surging vitality and overwhelming force of nature…

Within the entire universe, only one Myth possessed such power.

“G-God… Goddess of Life!”

Los’ expression changed drastically, and fear appeared on his face.

If there was any True God in the current universe who could make Demons feel genuine fear, then it was undoubtedly this fearsome entity, the Goddess of Life.

After all, this somewhat mysterious deity not only advanced at an astonishing speed, but also seemed to possess extraordinary resistance against Abyssal power. Even within the Abyss itself, Abyssal beings like them found it extremely difficult to gain any advantage against her.

Furthermore, her increasingly powerful Divine Artifacts were enough to make every mythical being tremble.

“I need to escape!”

Without hesitation, Los made his decision.

He roared and burned his corrupted divine power, attempting to break free from his opponent’s grasp.

However, to his shock, that seemingly slender and delicate arm possessed a strength completely opposite to its soft appearance.

Los was horrified to discover that even after burning through his divine power, he still could not break free at all…

In fact, that fair arm holding onto his shoulder was able to pull him backward slowly, inch by inch.

The movement was not large, yet the force behind it caused the Flame Demon, who had always considered himself to possess unmatched strength, to feel an overwhelming sense of dread.

Only one being could pull this of…

HIgher Divine Power!

She had truly advanced to Higher Divine Power, just as the rumors claimed!

Los’ face was filled with terror.

He gritted his teeth and no longer hesitated. With a furious roar, he pulled out the demonic blade from his waist with his other hand and chopped down on his own shoulder, severing it along with his right arm.

Dark red blood splattered through the air.

He had cut off a large portion of his own body. Letting out a muffled groan, he continued fleeing into the distance at an even greater speed.

As for the severed arm, it was pulled out through the Gate by that delicate hand…

“Hm?”

Looking at the half shoulder and twitching arm that she had pulled out of the Dimensional Gate, Evé was slightly stunned.

“Hiss…”

Faintly, she seemed to hear waves of sharp breaths coming from the players below.

Along with their shocked voices:

“Damn… The Goddess looks really beautiful, but she’s also terrifyingly ruthless…”

“Seriously, she just ripped off an Demon King’s arm just like that…”

“How scary…”

Evé: “…”

Hearing the commotion below, the corner of her mouth twitched. However, Evé decided to ignore it and used her innate skill, [Absorption], to siphon all the energy from the arm she had just pulled out as it turned into ashes.

Afterward, she once more activated the Gate of Reversal.

The golden arch gate manifested onto the battlefield, and several vines shot out from it, piercing directly into the Dimensional Hell Gate.

Along with the spreading vines came a vast expanse of golden radiance.

On the other side of the Gate, Los sensed the familiar aura, which had become even stronger than before, and his expression instantly turned pale.

When he turned around and saw the golden radiance, his soul nearly left his body.

“A D-Domain?!”

Without hesitation, Los roared and immediately unfolded his own pseudo Domain as endless flames spread outward in the vicinity, before confronting the golden-green Domain head-on.

“Heh, this is Hell… Which is ultimately my territory!”

Seeing that he had managed to suppressed his opponent’s domain somehow, Los finally relaxed, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

However, before he could even celebrate, a crimson light suddenly shot out from the Gate…

The light flashed past in an instant, as if it had locked onto Los from the very beginning, and directly entered his body.

The next moment, he felt his aura fell dramatically, much like a deflated balloon.

“A sealing-type Divine Artifact?!”

The smile on his face froze.

Los let out a strange cry of alarm.

He no longer cared about controlling his Domain to fight against this fearsome opponent and immediately continued fleeing.

In reality, controlling his simulated pseudo Domain was already meaningless, because the moment that crimson light entered his body, his Domain had already begun to collapse.

Immediately afterward, under Los’ horrified gaze, several terrifying vines, which appeared especially sinister to him, shot out from the Gate and wrapped around him.

The vines were incredibly fast, and with the assistance of the golden-green Domain, Flame Demon Los had no chance to dodge whatsoever.

Thus, he was instantly bound tightly.

In just a few seconds, he was wrapped up completely like a dumpling.

“Finally caught you.”

Faintly, Los seemed to hear a voice speaking such ominous words from the other side of the Gate.

The voice was clear and pleasant, almost calm in its tone, as if it belonged to someone speaking casually in ordinary conversation. Yet in this moment, that very calmness made it all the more unsettling.

For some reason, it felt more terrifying than the screeches of demons he had heard countless times before.

Suddenly, the vines tightened, and Los was forcibly dragged back through the Dimensional Gate…

“No!”

His desperate scream echoed throughout the skies of Hell.

On the other side of the Gate, the players only saw the beautiful Goddess gently point her finger.

The vines behind her immediately pulled out the completely restrained Flame Demon.

Then, under the Demon’s unwilling and terrified gaze, the vines wrapped around his mouth while dragging him into the Stone Arch Gate.

Witnessing this scene, the players all swallowed nervously.

Meanwhile, the three Abyssal Myths who had escaped far away became even more terrified after seeing Demon King Los’ fate.

As such, they desperately pushed themselves to their limits and fled toward an even more distant location…

Meanwhile, Mars the Golden Dragon slowly withdrew his gaze from the sky.

Suppressing the shock in his eyes, he looked at Ji Gang, who was just as dumbfounded beside him, and smiled.

“See? I told you they wouldn’t be able to escape.”

After saying that, Mars laughed loudly.

He exchanged a glance with his two companions, and their forms began to change once again.

Transforming back into huge majestic dragons, they chased after the three fleeing Abyssal Myths…

As for Evé, who was still standing in midair, she lightly tapped the Dimensional Hell Gate and began chanting an obscure incantation.

As her spell continued, the Gate, which had been closing, suddenly stopped.

This spell had been taught to her by Azazel, and it allowed anyone who invoked the incantation to temporarily seize control of any Dimensional Hell Gate without authorization. In truth, only a select few Demon Lords knew of its existence.

Immediately afterward, every player present received a new system notification.

【❗】

【Conditions fulfilled. The Epic-grade Hidden Questline: “Deep Into Hell” has been triggered…】

༺⟐༻

World of Seigües, Demon Lord Labyrinth.

Currently, the great overseer of the Labyrinth, Azazel, sat high upon his throne.

With a melon in his left hand and a crystal ball in his right, he was happily observing the battle between Samael and the elves, as if it were an entertaining performance staged solely for his amusement.

Suddenly, golden light illuminated the entire hall, flooding the vast chamber with an overwhelming radiance.

Azazel, who had just been laughing heartily moments before, immediately stopped. His posture shifted ever so slightly, and a sharp alertness replaced his earlier carefree expression.

However, that figure which even a Demon Lord like him feared did not appear.

Instead, what emerged was a creature completely wrapped in vines, resembling a tightly bound dumpling…

Looking at the demon whose appearance bore some resemblance to his own, Azazel was slightly stunned.

“Huh, a Flame Demon? Who are you again… Los, right?”

At the same time, Los finally saw Azazel’s appearance clearly.

His eyes instantly widened, and he could only make muffled sounds.

After all, his mouth was still wrapped tightly by vines.

Azazel examined him from head to toe.

After a moment, he nodded with little interest.

“Mhn. Good, good. Your appearance is acceptable, but it seems your temperament is a little bit lacking.”

“Okay. Drag this bastard to Palace No. 18 and make him start working immediately. Recently, a lot of elves have been complaining that there are too few bosses lately…”

After saying that, Azazel did not even bother helping the newcomer remove the vines as he simply waved his hand and ordered several of his lackeys to drag away the bound and unfortunate Los.

“Mm… mm…!”

Los’ eyes widened as he struggled desperately, yet he was completely unable to break free from the restraints.

He remained trapped until he was finally brought into a grand and majestic palace.

Flame Demon Los was thrown onto the throne.

The vines wrapped around his body vanished on their own, and the strange crimson light that had sealed away his power also flew out from within him.

However, a sealing restriction still remained on his body.

Not only that, he could sense that this palace itself faintly carried a suppressive force, or rather… the power of a seal.

It was obvious that this magnificent place was not merely an ordinary palace, but a place specifically designed to seal demons.

At this moment, Flame Demon Los realized that he had been imprisoned.

Yet before he could carefully examine his surroundings, suddenly—

The palace doors opened.

Los looked over and saw more than a dozen fully armed groups walking inside.

The two sides looked at each other, and the new arrivals were slightly stunned.

What’s this…

Elves?

Then, Los heard them begin whispering among themselves:

“Eh? What’s that, a Boss we have never seen in the guides before? Did the dungeon update again?”

However, they quickly pulled out their weapons.

“Forget it, who cares? As long as this new guy is interesting!”

“Take him down!”

As soon as they finished speaking, under Flame Demon Los’ furious and shocked gaze, these elves, whose average strength had not even reached upper Silver rank, excitedly charged toward him with their weapons raised…

༺⟐༻

First Layer of Hell.

Holy hymns echoed throughout the darkened skies as golden winged angels led an army of radiant Einherjars enveloped in holy light, battling against the endless Abyssal legions.

Above the heavens, battles between Mythical beings had erupted again and again. By now, the war across the entire first layer of Hell had gradually reached its climax.

On the ground, the armies of the gods had already conquered more than half of the first layer of Hell and were advancing toward its center.

However, as the front lines stretched further, the power of the Abyss became increasingly dense, and the demons’ defenses grew stronger, making the advance of the divine armies more and more difficult.

At present, both sides had begun a brutal struggle deep within the heart of the First Layer.

The number of participants reached into the millions, and the average rank of the combatants was terrifyingly high…

Iron rank soldiers were as common as dirt, Silver rank fighters could be found everywhere, and even Gold rank warriors were countless.

Even Legendary and Demigod rank powerhouses could fall at any moment.

However, upon closer inspection, one would notice that the armies of the gods had already become much smaller compared to when they first invaded the Abyss.

Even the three leaders of the Heavenly Realm, the Eternal Lord, the God of War, and the Guardian of the Stars, had only left behind their incarnations to command the battlefield.

Experienced Mythical beings could already see the truth.

The gods had begun to retreat.

This war between gods and demons was likely approaching its end.

In fact, it was easy to understand why.

In truth, the so-called ‘Crusade’ of the Gods had originally been launched with the purpose of weakening the power of the Abyss.

During the demon invasion of Seigües, the Goddess of Life had displayed overwhelming might and severely wounded the Abyssal Evil Gods who invaded Seigües.

Thus, the Demon Lords’ plan to invade Seigües had already completely failed, and they had suffered devastating losses…

Meanwhile, the first layer of Hell had also lost the majority of its standing army during this war.

Its various affiliated realms had also fallen one after another under the assault of the God’s Einherjars.

Up until this point, it could be said that the side of the Heavenly Gods had already won this war.

Now, with the battle in the first layer of Hell gradually reaching a stalemate, more and more demons continued arriving as reinforcements.

The hope of completely conquering an entire layer of Hell was becoming increasingly unlikely.

At this time, withdrawing after achieving enough gains was a perfectly reasonable choice.

However, aside from the Guardian of the Stars, Rigdal, who continued gazing at the war in Hell with clear and unwavering eyes, the God of War and Destruction, Lóðurr, as well as the Eternal Lord, Etriōu, did not seem to be in particularly good moods.

The former’s incarnation had a gloomy expression, and even the surrounding temperature seemed to drop because of him.

The latter still wore a gentle smile, but beneath that smile was a deep and chilling coldness.

Meanwhile, deep within the first layer of Hell, inside a massive city, the Sixth Demon Lord Beelzebub sat upon the throne that had once belonged to Azazel.

He slowly caressed the armrest of the throne while looking down at the surrounding demon who had pledged their allegiance to him.

“Have you found any clues about that ‘thing’ that bastard Azazel left behind?”