568 War of Devils and Gods

"Sub-Almighty and Quasi-Almighty cultivation. Father was right. Some of them did reach the Almighty tier. How dreadful."

Dragon Dark muttered as his face contorted in a grimace. Because of the vast strength gulfs that lay therein, Celestial Slaughter split the Almighty Supreme tier into four levels: Sub-Almighty, Quasi-Almighty, False Almighty and True Almighty.

With her current cultivation and strength, Yvonne could call herself a Sub-Almighty. With his, Krann was qualified for the Quasi-Almighty tier. As for False Almighty, it was for those existences that possessed True Almighty level strength but didn't form an Almighty Will.

Without an Almighty Will, there was no Omnipotence. Therefore, no matter how dreadful their abilities became, False Almighties could never defeat a True Almighty. At least, those were Celestial Slaughter's words. But with the Dharma Lord's knowledge backing him, how could he be wrong?

But though he knew very well that he wasn't their match, Dragon Dark showed no fear.

"Little sister-in-law, I must admit that your strength exceeds all my expectations. However, father's unparalleled genius cannot be defeated by this bit of strength. 

Formation!"

Dragon Dark exclaimed, and lifted his right hand, causing the 100,000 Primordials God and Supremes at his command to morph into an intricate formation. The Primal Laws filled the sky, backed by Infiniteness Insight as a grey ray flew from Dragon Dark's forehead and landed in the center of the formation.

The light dispersed, revealing a grey, ancient steamer that quivered with the screeches of boiling souls. Dragon Dark, Asmodeus, and all the Supremes' hands flashed in incantation gestures, and as the core of their energies erupted in a maelstrom of forces, the steamer's lid opened, releasing trillions of discarnate souls that screamed their rancor and sorrow as they merged in a grey hurricane.

The Primordials and the majority of Supremes vanished in the hurricane. Dragon Dark, Asmodeus and other elites such as the four Dragon Kings, however, remained on the front, with eerie grey winds swirling and empowering their forms.

"Formation!"

The Evil Body exclaimed, and in tandem with the Void Dragon Army, the 30,000 Tribulation Demon Guards blended in a supreme formation, first forming three suns, a white, blue and red one, that then merged to produce a pitch-black star rippling with Almighty level strength. The Heavenly Demon Tablet served as the Formation's nucleus, while the Evil Body controlled and channeled it from outside.

To the Chthonian Forces, the collusion between Tribulation Demon and Void Dragon Forces was ancient knowledge. Therefore, they showed no surprise. Leading their forces, Yvonne and Krann summoned their weapons.

"KILL!"

In an explosion of nefarious energies, the war between Devils and Gods began!

…

Meanwhile, Konrad crossed the Firmament's core, the inner world where the greatest of secrets hid. If the Firmament's Throne hid somewhere, that was the place. A jade bridge led the road. Jade was the color of perfection. All perfect bloodlines and bridges were - in a sense - jade. 

There didn't seem to be an end to that bridge. It just went on and on, with no difference between 10,000 kilometers and ten centimeters. After his seventh step, Konrad stopped and closed his eyes.

"Negation."

As the word left Konrad's lips, 90 broken locks appeared, swirling around his form as they released boundless negation powers. The bridge shrank, going from its infinite proportions to a tiny passage of three meters at the end of which a kaleidoscopic energy portal stood.

Without a word, Konrad stepped in, vanishing to land in an empty world with clouds as the ground, and dazzling light as the sky. From that blinding sky, a jade coffin descended, dropping before Konrad with neither sound nor pressure. Besides its odd color, there didn't seem to be anything special about this coffin. Konrad, however, didn't doubt that therein lay a force able to decide the very pattern of the omniverse.

The coffin's lid opened, and even then there was no sound, no grating, just the graceful slide of that lid. It spread enough to let a human-sized figure pass, then stopped moving. Kaleidoscope fog erupted from the opening, releasing a mild force that triggered a reaction from Konrad's bloodline and physiques.

A slender arm rose from the opening, using the coffin's side as support to let its owner rise from slumber. And from the opening, a veiled figure emerged, stepping out of the coffin's confines in nimble moves.

Before Konrad's eyes, the veil failed to conceal the short figure's looks, and he could see the young, androgynous face hiding underneath. Though its appearance mirrored that of an androgynous human being without an ounce of strength, the kaleidoscopic hair and eyes undoubtedly marked that slender existence as non-human.

"Greetings, Konrad."

The figure began in a voice neither male nor female.

"Firmament Will?"

Konrad inferred, and in response, the figure nodded in approval.

"That is not inaccurate, for I am indeed the driving force from which the rest of the Firmament emerged."

The Firmament's Will replied, and with a soundless step, landed before Konrad. Initially, at least seven meters stood between them. However, with that one step, it was as if that barely 1.55 meters tall figure contracted space, forcing down the gap between them.

An Infiniteness trick.

"Though, as the first sentient being of the Omniverse, I find that term rather...lacking. You can call me Shadow."

Shadow stated, as its pupil-less gaze nailed Konrad's icy eyes.

…

While Konrad made the acquaintance of the omniverse's highest will, Regretless sat crossed-legged within his cultivation paradise, with the Neutral Body sitting several hundred feet above, and the two coordinating with the Evil Body and Tablet to maintain the Formation.

Right beside Regretless, a grey vortex opened, revealing the grey-haired form of Celestial Slaughter. His slit, golden eyes dropped on Regretless with an outwardly contented smile.

"Child, well done. You haven't let me down."

Celestial Slaughter began, but though neither rage nor hatred remained in his Good Body, though the face and voice were that of Talroth's, as his eyes locked on those golden hues, Regretless couldn't help but feel his stomach turn.

"You seem oddly insouciant for someone whose worse enemy might very well be seizing the eternal crown."

Regretless stated, for indeed, Celestial Slaughter's calm left him baffled. Neither doubted that Konrad was currently somewhere within the Firmament. Better, Celestial Slaughter knew the where. And it didn't take a genius to figure out what he planned to seize.

Still, Celestial Slaughter remained undisturbed.

"Who? Konrad? Have no fear, he isn't getting anything. In base terms, Shadow is the first cunt of all times. I learned a lot from that creature. Konrad can never get the crown...because he is Konrad."

Celestial Slaughter sighed, making Regretless' eyes narrow in confusion.