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I toss Manus's body to the forces that be and let him be condensed into a useful powerup stone for Delia. A stone soon condenses on the altar and I pull it out and look it over a few times before nodding and tossing it over to Delia.

"A gift, don't ever say I don't do anything for you." I playfully wink earning a roll of the eyes from her as she stores the familiar stone inside her ring. She knows what it is and how to use it from her brother's stone I gave her, and she is also the only Leviathan I have on my side that I can give it to so there is that.

I can't believe the giant Mecha was real, it worked in this version of the world. I plan to have my Olympus forces pick it apart and study it, maybe we can make some linked to the artificial kingdom. Worst case we can make copies of it and improve it even if it's not linked to the kingdom.

"Seems Dodo managed to stop the bomb or the self-destruct feature should have triggered by now." I say as I spot a giant black monster and feel a bit bad. Chen Rui was able to befriend the thing and I forgot that they would send them out. I could of try to talk it into calming down and joining my side, what's done is done though.

"Why hasn't he come back then?" I hear Catherine ask and soon come to a horrifying conclusion.

"Find him!!! He will eat all the research data and materials if he is left to his own devices!" I speed off to stop the devil's slime. I fly past a shattered crystal dragon who Zola is shooting with different magics while writing something in a notebook. Isabella tilts her head as I fly by and I give a short wave.

----

"Dodo didn't do anything wrong! He is being framed and quite possibly set up!" I hold the slime up by one of his tendrils as he is in a room with random gaps in the assembled tools and workstations.

"Are you sure you didn't eat anything except the bomb?" He nods and it looks like I am holding a Yo-Yo.

"Dodo did a good job and didn't eat anything valuable or super tasty." I drop the slime on a table and shake my head, should have sent someone else down here.

A giant room filled with all kinds of different projects only a mad scientist would attempt. Pods filled with fluid and growing fetuses along with different monster parts and even some humans. Giant artillery-looking machine with big storage batteries full of power, I throw them into my storage in case it fires.

A green slime inside of a clear box that is making claws and trying its best to cut the container, it looks like it's trying to get to Dodo. I point at it and Dodo shakes his whole body in a no gesture while also sweating slime blobs onto the floor.

"Scary!" He can tell that from over there but can't tell if he is eating something valuable?!

I begin to throw everything into my inventory for later sorting and research, this stuff can push forward the demon world and better prepare for the future. I grab Dodo and set him on my shoulder as I leave the empty room to head back up topside.

----

"I think he is dead." I look down at the dead Jacob, I never even got to interact with him. I wonder if his corpse has the dragon essence that is needed to craft higher-tier things.

"He is, but I am testing his body for its anti-magic property while I wait for you to show me where the rune tablets are." She could have easily scanned for them and is likely enjoying kicking the corpse of her hated foe a bit too much.

I scan and find the fountain of resurrection where the rune tablets are set at.

"Follow me, I just found them." She stops torturing the corpse and I store it away for its Essence and also to research for my own use.

Zola walks by my side slowly as we pass by others of our group walking around confirming the dead are dead and overall looting. The hoarder mentality has passed on to my future Devils beautifully and brings a tear to my eye.

I look over at Zola and smile as she is observing the crystal valley, she has been warming up to everyone nicely. I wasn't like Chen Rui and locked into her rainbow dimension for months as he butler so I was worried she wouldn't act the same. But she is making friends and teaching everything she learns of demonic energy to the others to help them. She is a natural when it comes to demonic energy and it is kind of scary, to be honest.

I made a monster of magical imagination and it will consume all possibilities and reach its limits. She still lags behind me in some aspects and concepts because I have traits that help in shortcutting to results but she won't settle and is working hard. It pushes me forward and is nice, kind of like a rival in Pokémon that I refuse to lose to.

"Nova?" I shake my head and realize I was staring and look back forward as we approach the steaming Resurrection fountain.

"Yes, Zola?" I ask as I crouch down and observe the dragon script and ancient runes used to apply the rune tablet to the ground. They are in an array to boost the healing factor of Jacob as he soaks in the resurrection fountain. An old wound from Paglio was still hurting him and he can only heal with this kind of thing, a side effect of his physique.

"You were looking at me so I was wondering what it was." She also crouches and her leg brushes against mine as we run our fingers across the array. She probably already figured out how to break it because of her experience but she will leave it to me so she can see my progress.

I could break it with sheer power or maybe unwind it with Agares. I also could Worthless pieces away until it collapses like the corner that has an ' anchor ' but that wouldn't show my knowledge of this magic. Worthless is like a direct way to collapse it, I can do it in a more sophisticated way, like a Rubik's cube.

"I was just admiring you and got lost in thought." I flick a section of the rune sequence and cause part of it to shut down as the rune tablet pops out of place. I grab it and tuck it under my arm and make my way to a different one.

"I see." I begin to work on the next and spot similar sequences and make short work of it.

----

- Zola POV -

Watching Nova solve the sequences like this clicks something in my brain the right way. I look under his arm and see my old rune tablet, I can now begin learning the pieces I was missing. With Nova's help, I am confident that we will learn them all fast.

I still feel like something is missing though, this feeling has been consistently bothering me. Running multiple tests and scans over the last weeks I haven't found the source.

It's a feeling that makes me fuzzy inside, running through all the possible scenarios of what could have caused this I soon narrowed it down to this man.

Nova has infected me with something, even before the evil piece he had implanted something inside of me that changed something inside me more than the evil piece itself. And that's saying a lot because after I studied a different piece I learned just how much it changes.

I don't know if Nova was lied to or is just confused about the evil pieces. Everything he told me about the evil pieces is either wrong or barely right.

I don't believe he is aware of the true power of these pieces as I barely am scratching the surface and it is exciting. He said a devil called Ajuka Beelzebub created them and sent them out for people to use to create more devils after a war.

I don't even think that is the purpose of the pieces Nova is using, they have too much room to simply be for repopulation. They can aid someone and give them the potential to grow far beyond their limits and on top of that imagination-based magic.

It seems strange to me, how strong are the people in his world if this kind of thing wasn't hunted as soon as they started to show up. They are either not worried or can't afford to worry, the devil leaders described by Nova could do some incredible feats according to him.

"Zola? You lost in admiring my skills?" Nova says in a tone that sounds a bit too proud of himself.

"What?" he deflates and his shoulders go slack.

"I finished but you were just staring into space." I see he has all of the rune tablets in hand and I nod.

"Oh." A mischievous light passes through his eyes and he takes a stance that confuses me until he begins making other poses and finishes the ritual. Did he just do the dragon's courtship dance?

"I humbly ask the most beautiful dragoness in the world to be my bride." He holds up the offering in hand and I can't help but want to slap him since they are my own rune tablets. But I got just the thing to stomp on his fun.

"Ok." I try my best to not grin wickedly as he looks up shocked, get out of this now. Digging holes and jumping over them, one day you might just fall if you are not careful.

----

- Nova POV -

I wanted to do this stupid dance since Paglio showed it to me, these runes were originally used to secure Zola in the original. I didn't think she would say yes, we have spent time together but not like that.

I see a cruel gleam in her eyes and I realize she was just getting back at me and I almost laugh but cringe instead when I hear an approaching voice speak.

"Leave it to Nova to shamelessly propose with a woman's own items." Krobelus is the only other person who knows this dance as the only other living dragon here. I look back and see a crowd of devils and a few outright glaring at me.

"Wait I ca-." I am cut off as I feel the runes leave my hand and look back to see a red-faced and smiling Zola. Oh no, she wouldn't!

"He did! but I accept anyway! I love you too Nova!" She squeals in voice I have never heard before and falls back as she hugs me to the ground. "I will teach you to mess around with me." She whispers into my ear and conceals it with magic.

"Nova!" A stomp is heard and I look upside down as I am still pinned down.

Kia looks pissed and Freya is giving a kind smile, Shea even looks a little more emotionless than usual.

"Next time say most beautiful dragoness in the multiverse or even omniverse." Her whisper tickles my ear and I can only groan as I can look a fool or a fool at this point. Shouldn't have taught her chess, she has been waiting to 'checkmate' me ever since I smashed her in it when she was a noob. I teach them and beat them and then never play them again, unbeatable records come at a price it seems.

----

- Teris POV -

"What do you mean the crystal valley was attacked?!" I smash my plate after getting a report from a grunt.

"It went offline and the emergency response was sent out, it's gone and there are no survivors to tell us what happened." I fall back into my chair and feel a cold sweat as my Lord's anger momentarily flares from the artifact in my body.

"LEAVE!" I order and the grunt scurries away like a rat.

I enter the inner world and bow to my lord and slam my head down.

"I don't know what happened, I told them to turtle up and lick their wounds." A calming wave comes from my lord and even heals my soul damage from the headbutt.

"I know, I was watching when you did it." He sends another calming wave and I stand up.

"What will you have me do?" He holds his hand up.

"Wait, they shouldn't know our involvement, we can continue the ambush with the artifact and cleanly take over the demon world. With the worship of the masses, I will become a god and you will guide the sheep to my cause as their one emperor." I feel excitement bubble up inside me but keep my face still. "So just wait, continue the trap and catch them at all costs, Nova has to be there. I sensed many strange things about him and have to investigate it personally." I nod and leave the inner world.

I head for the door, it's time to head to the secret cultivation cave and ' isolate ' for a few months until the event.

We will succeed and I will be the one true emperor!