Chapter 335 An Oath Of Loyalty.

-RUMBLE!! Rumble!!!

"Zakiel, what brings you here?" Alvine's roque voice echoed in the dimension, more precisely in the souls' purification room.

Just like Luna, Darka, and Greed, who now live on the upper floor after they evolved, Zakiel is also the shadow soldier who has resided there since he evolved to the upper level.

But unlike Luna and the other two, he was the subordinate who rarely went down to the first floor, even if he lacked the desire.

But it simply was because he was strongest than the others because of the rich souls he had absorbed for his evolution, unlike the others who had obtained only lower-ranking souls in large quantities, more than enough for their evolution during the long years he had spent in his war.

"My lord, I came to warn you that there's an ongoing battle in the arena," Zakiel announced in a distant voice that seemed to resonate in Alvine's soul; despite being close.

-BOOMM!!

"Hm? A battle? In the arena?" He asked with a frown as he looked above him.

'I thought it was Greed who was training with Darka, but apparently, I was wrong.' He continued in his thoughts by finally guessing the cause of the countless tremors in his castle.

"Yes, the third General Shadow is currently fighting against the second General Heepha in the arena on the second floor.

"... Heepha?" He murmured as he looked at Luna, who had never left him.

"So she ended up waking up?" He concludes by seeing Luna's nod.

'But why is she fighting against Dalvine? Sigh, it's already a problem to manage this bastard alone. But there seems to be another troublemaker who is no different from Dalvine. I don't have time to care for them.

-It's already a problem locating the planet where the like of this fucker Doungra resides. Could it be that this so-called transcendent has moved their planet? Sigh, this is the most plausible hypothesis since I separated from this Gargas; I have not seen a single planet despite a year of nonstop travel! And since my powers of mind control worked perfectly well on him, it was, therefore, impossible for him to lie to me!' He murmured in his thoughts with rabid eyes.

"Yes, and she--

"Let them do what they want. I'm not interested in a head-to-head with this bastard. Not to mention managing another person who is no different from him." He said as he walked towards the exit to continue his progress.

But he suddenly stopped and looked at Luna.

"Ignotus and Stella still haven't found planets?" He asked.

"No, my lord. They are slower than me and the other shadows of the high levels, so they take longer than us. My hypothesis is, in my opinion, you must send Sir Darka or Zakiel here to accelerate the spotting."

"... I had already thought about it. But this transcendent seems to put obstacles in our way, and I hate that. In addition to that, there are--

-BOOOM!!

"As I said, there are currently more things to consider. First, there are 99 other celestial demons whose power is not negligible. And above all, there is their master, who is probably the so-called transcendent that hides in the shadows and begins to act. So we should stay at the top of our strengths before meeting them." He continued after being interrupted by the deafening noise from the upper floor.

"I understand. Since your goal is to end them by methodical extermination without sparing one of these inferior creatures, it is understandable to remain cautious and hide your real power." Luna also nods with a cruelly pressed smile on her lips.

"Finally, this is only a temporary solution. If it takes longer than expected, we must move to plan B!"

"?? Plan B? You mean to meet this woman?"

"Yes, it's the only solution to speed up my plans. I don't intend to drag on to a place that doesn't give me too much advantage. I have not advanced my rank as an intermediate divine magus for years. And above all, there is also--

-!!!

"Fuck! What are they doing, these fucking two?!" He retorted annoyedly after repeatedly interrupting himself by the sound of their fights.

-Craaakckk!!

But the next moment, the roof above them suddenly began with cracks before suddenly breaking, followed by the fall of Dalvine with the rubble.

"..."

Everyone remained silent, including Alvine, when they saw the strange appearance of Dalvine, who was fully dressed in black armor from head to toe, making his figure strangely threatening in front of Alvine, who saw him dressed like that for the first time.

[[KEUh! This slut is still as strong even though she just woke up!]]

By hearing him speak in a language unknown to him and yet understandable to him, although he heard it for the first time. He frowns with a tiny smile after seeing Dalvine's dishonorable state for the first time.

[[So? Do you admit defeat, or do you prefer that I kick your ass more?!]] At the same time, Heepha's childish but cold voice resonated above Alvine.

"..." he raised his head and saw the inside of the floor that he had wanted so much access to from the start. But because of the seal on the stairs, he could not access it.

"Heh! They have a certain use." While whispering these words to himself, he tried to teleport to the upper floor instantly.

"!?!"

This action, on his part, revealed his presence to Heepha, who had not yet noticed him and, simultaneously, made Dalvine and the others nervous.

"No!!" Dalvine and Heepha shouted together with horrified expressions on their faces.

"??" He suddenly stopped in his actions after hearing these disturbing cries coming from them.

"Hey, you two! With what right do you get involved in my business?" He asked with bloody eyes, which switched between Dalvine and Heepha.

"!?"

Hearing his question, the demonic silhouette of Dalvine, who had two long draconian horns exceeding his helmet, eclipsed and appeared before him.

And at the same time, Heepha also descended from the lower floor by borrowing the hole that Dalvine had created by his fall and which regenerated the second after.

'Tsk, I expected to be overwhelmed, but now, it's already unbearable to stay with these two.' He said to himself in his thoughts with strangely colder eyes than usual while staring at Dalvine and Heepha with a frown.

"My lord, you can't go up there yet; the energy of the upper floor is--

"You are this so-called Heepha, aren't you?" He suddenly asked before she even finished her sentence.

"..." Hearing Alvine's question, she looked at Dalvine next to her with a frown.

*Don't look at me like that! He wasn't like that during our last head-to-head, believe me! * Dalvine explains when he sees Heepha's confused eyes.

'At some point, I would have sworn to see the old one before me. How could he change and become so powerful in such a short time? Exactly how many years have passed there?! I know that this little girl's universe is low-ranking and that time flies at a speed impossible, but all the same...

While Alvine complained about his slow progress, Dalvine had an incredulous expression as he showed an excessive surprise for the first time in front of him.

After a while, he could not contain his surprise and curiosity. He used his magical perception to inspect Alvine.

But the next moment, as his eyes turned to the abyssal blacks, they wavered with horrors as he unconsciously walked away from Alvine.

'Hm? What was that?! Why can't I see through him?! It's--

"Hey, you two, I thought I asked you a question. When do you plan to answer me?" He asked casually in a cold tone that woke Dalvine up in dizziness.

"?!" Then, the two exchanged looks and realized they had the same expressions.

'Kuku, I'm beginning to understand now why the lord is so strange. Even if he has not recovered a percent of his power, it seems he has made dazzling progress. No wonder this slut beside me looks at me like that, as if she was waiting for my explanations.' He said to himself with a strange smile that could not be identified as a joyful or disdainful smile.

!?

But the next moment, he was speechless when he saw Heepha's actions, who kneeled respectfully in front of Alvine with her eyes closed.

"Yes, my lord, I am Heppha Blaze, the name you had blessed me since my creation." She announced in an inflexible voice with a smile while extending her stick toward Alvine.

'What is she still doing?!' Dalvine shouted in his thoughts, not understanding the reasons for Heepha's decision.

Alvine, for his part, also frowns when he sees the strangeness of the two. Not to mention Heepha, whom he knew absolutely nothing about her apart from the fact that she was one of his former generals.

'Why does this guy, who is usually arrogant, behave like that? Is it related to this girl? Sigh, it seems that she is different from this bastard.' While Alvine himself was in his thoughts, he then looked straight into Dalvine's eyes, wanting to know what he was doing while ignoring Heepha in front of him.

'That's the guy who is the problem.' He continued frowning towards Dalvine.

But the latter had misinterpreted his thoughts. He was not the only one; anyone in the hall of purification of souls had the same hypotheses as Dalvine, including Heepha, who looked at him with dissatisfied eyes.

"..."

*Heepha, it's--

*Stop being an idiot, imbecile! I'll explain everything to you afterward. You know very well that I'm not mistaken when measuring someone's power, and there, we talk about our lord; never forget it!* Before he finished his words, Heepha interrupted him with their telepathic links by retorting these words with an angry voice.

Instantly, Dalvine removed his helmet, exposing his face, which was still different from those before, with a strange scar on his left cheek that was like a trophy from his previous battles.

But unlike his previous appearances, his skin was darker black than the other shadow soldiers, and his irises were redder than before, as if they were blood crystallization.

And apart from that, he also had a rune engraved on his forehead that Alvine could read, thanks to these classes with Sabrina.

'Shadow.' He murmured to himself, interpreting the rune on Dalvine's forehead with confused but, at the same time, clear eyes.

Following Dalvine's evasive actions, he knelt and held his helmet to Alvine while speaking in a rock but powerful voice...

"Shadow presents his respect to his lord."

"??" Hearing Dalvine says these words while kneeling in front of him, Alvine's confusion reaches its climax.

"... Sigh, what do these mean?" He finally asked after seeing Luna and Zakiel's nod.

Even if he was suspicious of Dalvine and the newcomer, he knew he could trust those loyal to him from the beginning, unlike Dalvine, who had imposed all kinds of trials on him and tried to manipulate him several times, even if it was for his good.

"It's to prove to you our loy--

"I know what you intend to do; I'm not stupid. What I want to know is to know what motivates you to make such a decision. You know, just like me, that this is not something to be taken lightly. So why do you want to submit soon?" He interrupted Dalvine in the middle of his explanations while asking him this question in a monotonous voice and with dark eyes.

"..."