Divinia and Abyss

Far from Arcadia, in a kingdom that worshiped the God of Creation, the Holy Kingdom of Divinia.

A young man with black hair and eyes that appeared to be in his late twenties entered a sacred temple, where the current Pope resided. 

He had just passed through the guards and was guided to the room where the current Pope, William, was sitting.

The young man entered a spacious room with rows of bookshelves lining one side of it. There was one desk and one chair positioned in front of a large window.

Pope William was seated, engrossed in reading a thick book resting on his lap. 

The young man approached and took a seat in front of the Pope without disturbing the elderly man's enjoyment of the world within the pages.

After a few moments, Pope William closed the book and looked at his guest, who had been sitting calmly with an expressionless face throughout, whether due to a lack of emotion or sheer boredom.

"It seems I've kept you waiting, Your Majesty Lucifer," Pope William greeted the young man. 

This was not their first meeting, as the individual before him held the status of the Demon King, ruler of the Abyss.

"It's not a problem. Whether you spend one day or one year reading, it doesn't seem like a long time to me," Lucifer replied. 

Hearing this response, Pope William fell into a brief silence. 

It didn't matter to Lucifer, for William knew that the Demon King had lived for hundreds of years. The time mentioned by William was insignificant in the eyes of the Demon King.

"Hohoho, I still must apologize. So, what brings the King of Abyss all the way here?" Pope William inquired with a chuckle.

"Don't pretend you don't know. Were you the one who incited Westya when we invaded Farnodt?"

Pope William fell silent for a moment, then gave a faint smile and nodded. 

In William's mind, he was evaluating Lucifer, thinking that the Demon King was not as foolish as he had initially believed.

"Why did you do that? Didn't we agree that Farnodt would be mine? The entire western and southern parts of Kastia belong to Abyss. Divinia will take the territories that lie from the east to the north. Don't cross your boundaries."

"Hmm, but Divinia didn't take any of Farnodt's land."

"Don't think I'm unaware of the spies you've planted in every kingdom of Kastia."

"Hohoho, you are more careful than I expected. Well, consider this our frustration because you failed to take over Huntara. The situation has only grown more complicated since then." 

Pope William remarked, explaining that they now needed many human subjects for research. 

The population labeled as trash in the eyes of the Pope and the Cardinals in Divinia had been depleted.

They needed more sacrifices.

Divinia's plan to take over Huntara had completely failed. Their plan was for Abyss to subdue the kingdom, and then, under the banner of the God of Creation, Divinia would send forces to drive Abyss out, using the excuse of saving the survivors in Huntara. 

Afterward, they would declare Huntara as their territory, giving the surviving residents hope for a fresh start. 

This would also provide Divinia with followers and a substantial number of research subjects, all without having to sacrifice the people of Divinia itself.

Unfortunately, this plan had failed in its initial phase. 

The Holy Kingdom of Divinia could not invade another kingdom without a justifiable reason, as it would tarnish their reputation as followers of a God who loved peace and justice. 

Therefore, Divinia collaborated with Abyss, asking Abyss to play the role of the villain while they would be the heroes. 

Abyss, however, didn't accept this cooperation without gaining significant benefits themselves. 

One of these benefits was gaining access to Divinia's archives. Through this access, the people of Abyss could learn about the ritual to summon back the Demon God.

"You speak as if the failure of that plan has nothing to do with you. Wasn't it your people who let Princess Sravati pass through Ethyria and return to Huntara?" said Lucifer.

"Hohoho~ those were the orders of Duke Grenhall that our spies were unaware of. Besides, whether it's our spies or myself, we didn't anticipate that the Little Princess of Huntara would have such a significant impact on Blackwinter. Even up to the invasion in Marina the other day."

"Instead of an impact, it might be more accurate to say that Sravati awakened someone in Death Valley. If the Huntara Princess hadn't met the Shop Owner, that man might not have known about the situation outside and gotten involved in various matters," Lucifer added.

Pope William fell silent when he heard about the figure who had suddenly appeared on the world stage. 

Initially, they were not aware of this figure's involvement, whether it was in the Blackwinter War or in the Lusting Case in Ashur.

However, when the invasion of Farnodt occurred, and the world learned of a human who was on par with the most powerful demon figure (the Incarnation of the Demon God) at the moment, the world was shocked. 

The human's name was still unknown to the public, but one thing they did know was that this person came from Death Valley.

Divinia immediately initiated an investigation into the individual who had managed to halt the Abyss invasion. 

From there, they learned the name Cien Millard, the Shop Owner from Death Valley.

"Indeed, knowing that there's someone that powerful in Kastia right now is quite surprising. But it doesn't matter. He's just one person. Sooner or later, he'll get crushed by the conflicts of the world." 

Pope William remarked, then rose from his seat. He instructed a priest to fetch drinks for himself and his guest.

"Are you sure about that? He's more dangerous than you think, William. At least for Divinia," Lucifer cautioned.

"What do you mean?" Pope William asked.

"The Shop Owner could potentially be a Death God's Proxy," Lucifer replied.

"!! Impossible! We've made sure there are no more followers of the Death God! We've erased all historical records of Him from all of Kastia. It's impossible for anyone to become a Death God's Proxy again!" William exclaimed. 

To him, the existence of Death God followers was a dangerous matter, especially the presence of a Proxy.

Through centuries of hard work, Divinia had elevated the Creator God to the highest deity in Kastia, leading the other five deities: Sky, Earth, Sun, Moon, and Darkness. 

The Holy Kingdom was the kingdom with the highest throne and the most followers in Kastia. 

They were considered the leaders not only in terms of military power but also due to their significant influence.

However, there was one thing Divinia feared—the presence of the Death God. 

Why? Because after worshiping the God of Creation, Divinia's followers gained access to special magic, namely Holy Magic and Creation Magic.

The two types of magic, Holy Magic and Creation Magic, were still considered the strongest forms of magic. 

Holy Magic could heal various wounds and even resurrect the dead, while Creation Magic allowed wizards to materialize their imagination into reality. 

These two magics were considered miracles or wonders of the world by the masses. 

That's why many people worshiped the Creator God, and it contributed to Divinia's extensive influence in Kastia.

Furthermore, the power of Creation Magic was virtually unbeatable. That's why Divinia's military strength was unmatched in Kastia. 

However, it would be highly problematic if there were followers of the Death God in Kastia. The only thing that could counter Creation Magic, an absolute power, was Death Magic.

The God of Creation created everything in Kastia, while the God of Death could extinguish everything created by the Creator God. 

The presence of Death God followers could diminish the standing of the Creator God in the eyes of the people. They couldn't allow a single Death God follower to live in Kastia.

If Cien indeed was a Death God's Proxy, Pope William felt a threat to his position. 

He recalled the teachings of his predecessors about the sacrifices Divinia had made to eradicate Hela and all Death God followers in Kastia. 

Considering how impossible it was to kill a Death God's Proxy, their predecessors had to kneel and implore the Gods to descend and kill the Proxy.

If in the past, humanity couldn't kill a Death God's Proxy, what could they do now? 

Especially when human power had significantly diminished compared to the time of the War of Seven Proxies and Seven Demon Kings.

"If he truly is a Death God's Proxy, this will be a big problem, Lucifer." 

Pope William stated. He paced back and forth, thinking of ways to handle this issue and formulating a plan to eliminate Cien while confirming the resurgence of Death God followers.

"Wait, how do you know that Cien Millard is a Death God's Proxy?" he asked.

"Our God told us. He said that the man opposed Him using the power of death, raising millions of souls to confront Him," Lucifer replied.

"Power of death, raising and manipulating souls... millions of them... it seems he's no novice in Death Magic." 

Pope William agreed with Lucifer's assumption, though they both underestimated Cien. 

Cien was still a beginner in Death Magic and far from being a Proxy.

"I heard he's established a new kingdom in Death Valley. Perhaps I should send representatives to assess this new kingdom." 

William suggested, wanting to gauge the threat posed by Cien and his new kingdom in thwarting their plans.

Lucifer wasn't particularly concerned about Divinia's plans for Arcadia. His main goal was to obtain information that William could gather from Cien's new kingdom. 

Furthermore, Lucifer had come to inform William that his subordinates were preparing to take over Mandora.

Worried about potential interference from Cien, Lucifer asked William to do something, at least to divert Cien's attention temporarily.

"How can I do that? His location is far from Divinia. Even though I plan to send a delegation, it won't be anytime soon because we need to monitor the conflict in the former Farnodt territory," William explained.

"Hmm... ohh~ isn't that perfect? A conflict over territory between two major kingdoms, the emergence of a new kingdom, and appearances of the Abyss Demon King and Demon God. With topics as crucial as this, isn't it time to gather them, the Kings, around one table?"

"Hohoho, a Conference of Kings. That's a good idea."

"Invite the new king to this huge meeting."

"I understand. I'll provide the date and time for this grand gathering. I hope this time you can bring down the Land of Sand."

"It will be easy this time. Because that meeting will make Prince Hannibal leave the Land of Sand. Without their protector, what can Mandora do? Oh, and don't forget to hand over the Farnodt territory that Westya controls. I will not let you take it after your puppets slaughtered my people and took the region as you pleased."

"Hohoho, of course, we'll hand it over. But after we've moved the research materials from there. I'll inform you when the time comes for you to slaughter Westya's soldiers in Farnodt."