The Author's POV

Rumble—! Rumble—! 

The cosmos began violently trembling, and the nebulae visible in the space above the islands began to warp and enlarge at an accelerated rate.

Everyone within the Pillar became startled at the unexpected development, and they immediately stopped whatever they were doing and looked up. Toward the source of the chaos. 

'What's happening?'

The most concerned was Prince Letvia who looked up with a serious expression.

Unlike the others, he was the most familiar with the structure of the pillar, and for it to shake this much, it was obvious that someone was breaching it from the outside.

'How is it possible for someone to be outside? Didn't his majesty…'

A sudden thought crossed the Prince, and his pupils constricted. He quickly shook his head, dispelling such a thought from his mind.

'No, it's impossible. There must be another explanation.'

Perhaps His Majesty had made a mistake…

If that was even possible? 

However, the more the Prince contemplated it, the more he came to the conclusion that such a scenario was extremely improbable. 

He refused to acknowledge such a scenario. 

Rumble—! Rumble—!

The world that was contained within the pillar continued to shake, and Prince Letvia began to feel an increasing amount of unease regarding the unexpected circumstance.

Such nervousness, however, didn't last for very long, as his eyes became sharp moments later. His shoulders quickly relaxed, and power started to course through his body. 

'Worst comes, I'll deal with it.'

He looked around him and could feel the power that was coursing through his body. As he did so, his body began to float upward gently, and he looked behind him, where a number of other demons were.

"Follow me; we're going to be greeting a guest."

His voice was soft, but it had a certain tone to it that made the demons behind him unable to refute his words as they floated up and followed him from behind.

Cr…crack!

Not even a second after, his words faded, and the space above cracked.

The crack in the sky began to widen, exposing a blue sky, and light began to pour through it, enveloping everything that was below it. 

Shortly after, two figures emerged from behind the azure-colored sky. A hazy black figure and what appeared to be a human woman.

Appearing from behind the crack, they immediately attracted the attention of all those within, and everyone's gaze fell on them.

"Who do we have the honor of meeting?"

Meeting them, Prince Letvia placed his hand over his chest and bowed ever so slightly.

His polite actions attracted the attention of those around him as they turned to look at the two guests with renowned interest.

Even without taking into account the fact that they were able to create a crack in the pillar, the fact that the Prince was treating them with such respect indicated that they were not typical people.

"…"

It was unfortunate that the new party didn't answer as their gaze wandered around the world.

Wherever his eyes paused, the area would come to a sudden standstill as a tangible pressure enveloped the area. If it wasn't clear before, it became certain now. 

Whoever or whatever the hazy figure was, they carried an immense amount of power that was out of their reach.

'Strange…'

While this was happening, the Prince was also observing them. 

The first thing he noticed was that the human woman was weak. She seems to have the power of a Duke ranked demon. Perhaps even less. 

The same couldn't be said for the hazy figure. Unlike her, he actually felt a threat coming from him, and his expression stiffened at the thought as something crossed his mind.

If he appeared from the outside... 

Wouldn't that mean? 

'It can't be that… no, no, how is this possible? There's no way His Majesty would be unaware of such an existence… it's simply impossible!'

He once again forced himself to dispel such dangerous thoughts from his mind. 

"Is there anything that I can help you with? Why have you come here?"

If possible, the Prince wanted to resolve this peacefully. Just standing before them…

Regardless of who or what they were, the Prince sensed an immense pressure bearing down on him. He wasn't particularly afraid of the power, but he did want to avoid engaging in combat with such a powerful adversary if it was at all possible.

"Is this enough?"

All of a sudden, the hazy figure spoke, and Prince Letvia froze. His words weren't directed toward him. 

So... 

"Eh?"

Who was he talking to? Enough? What was enough? 

While Prince Letvia was confused, the shadowy figure slowly extended his palm, and two orbs appeared in his palm.

"This!" 

He recognized the orbs in an instant, and his pupils constricted rapidly the moment he caught sight of them as chills ran through his body. 

"How is this possible!?" 

He couldn't believe what he was seeing at this moment.

He had to blink several times to ensure that he wasn't hallucinating, and when he realized that what he was seeing was real, his entire body stiffened. 

"That… " 

He raised his head to stare at the shadowy figure. 

"How is this possible?! How would his majesty allow for someone like y—Euekh!" 

Spurt—! 

The Prince was never able to complete his sentence. 

In the middle of it, he saw a certain hand piercing through his chest and dark blood dripping down toward the ground below him. 

He was horrified by the sight.

"Y..you…" 

When Prince Letvia turned his head to stare at the culprit, he was shocked to see that the one responsible was someone with whom he was familiar.

"W..why…?" 

Too bad for the Prince, the culprit's gaze had never been directed at him but at the shadowy figure that stood in the sky.

Or, more specifically, the orbs in his hand.

"That's more than enough." 

It was there that the Prince understood what had happened, and his entire expression started to distort. 

'Traitor!' 

If there was one thing the demons hated more than anything, it was someone who betrayed their own race, and a powerful force started to come out of his body.

WOOOM—!  He may have been injured, but he was far from dead. If he wanted to, he could still drag everyone down with him. 

"Stop." 

Unfortunately, before he could even think of doing anything, an ancient voice reverberated through the air, and time stood still all around the Prince. 

His body came to a halt in the middle of nowhere as golden runes floated through the air and clamped at his body. 

"H-huh?" 

Unable to move, the Prince was shocked to realize that the power entrapping him was something he was familiar with. One he'd just recently gotten his hands on, and something he deemed the pinnacle of all powers. 

"How?" 

Once again, more questions emerged in his mind as the situation turned once more. Sadly, they were questions he'd never get to know the answers of. 

"Be glad that you didn't suffer like the others did." 

A hand reached out for his face, grasping his head entirely. Prince Letvia wanted to resit, but under the restraint he was under, he was helpless. Given time and without injuries, he would've been able to escape, but alas, the situation made it impossible for him to do so. 

"Ehk." 

Feeling a rough hand grasp his face, the Prince's vision grew dark. After that, a certain force within him escaped out of his body and began making its way slowly toward the hand that was grasping his face.

'No…' 

He wanted to scream. Get away from the grasp, but it was no use. 

'It's over.' 

Never had he imagined that he, who stood at the peak of the universe, would die such a death. 

Truly… 

*** 

"Haa…"

It was a familiar feeling. A feeling I had relieved twice by now, and I couldn't stop liking it. It felt refreshing, and my power steadily rose once more. 

"Uehk… ekh…" 

The Prince's cries rang before me, and when I lowered my head to stare at him, our eyes met.

Once our eyes met, I blinked my eyes once. 

He looked pitiful. Very pitiful. 

'I also wouldn't be pleased if I died such a death…'

The thought of dying such a meaningless death at the hands of someone that you don't even know, and in a matter of a few seconds...

It truly was pitiful, but that was what made it worth it.

Staring at his face, which was unable to conceal his emotions, I felt my emotions churn as I clenched my fists even tighter and heard the air crackle with a certain cracking sound. 

Cr… Crack! 

Staring deeply into the Prince's eyes, I nodded my head before pulling with my hand. 

Spurt—! 

As I pulled his head away from his body, revealing a black core, blood immediately splattered all over me. Throwing his lifeless head away, I immediately grasped his core and squeezed it.

Crack! 

The Prince's body immediately faded after that, and silence reigned over the area around me.

Two orbs appeared before me, one yellow and one black, forming from the residue of the Prince's body. I wasted no time and absorbed them both, relishing in the sensations they brought upon me. 

"Haaa..." 

Taking in the sights around me, I took a deep breath before shifting my attention back toward Prince Valling. 

His hand continued to drip with the blood of the Prince as he looked at me with a calm expression.

"You've made the right decision." 

"It looks like I have." 

Prince Valling answered with a smile, his gaze lingering over where Prince Letvia had previously been standing.

It took defeating two Pillar Masters to convince him to join my side, but it was worth it.

Thanks to his help, I was able to deal with one of the Pillars a lot more easily than I anticipated. There were still four more to go, but at the very least, I knew that I could carry one for a little longer. 

This was good. 

"Now then…" 

I shifted my attention toward the other demons that were remaining.

They stood where they were in utter shock, seemingly unable to understand what had happened. Perhaps they did but refused to acknowledge it. 

That didn't matter to me. 

Extending my hand forward, I channeled all of my mana. 

Rumble—! Rumble—! 

"…let's start by getting rid of the rest."