บท 345: Satan
After absorbing the Spade Origin Grimoire, Edward felt he could control the entire Spirit World. With his mana, he could drive the birth rate of Shikigamis and even close all the breaches connecting it to the mortal world. The only thing he could not do was force the Shikigamis to serve him, but he could ask for their help.
As he continued to sense the Spirit World, he suddenly discovered something, so he focused on it. A few minutes later, he muttered: "The Seal on God is almost broken."
He just learned there were two parts to the seal: one sealed God itself and most of its power, while the other prevented them from entering the mortal world. The first one has already been removed, while the second one is full of flaws and on the verge of breaking.
Edward analyzed the seal before concluding it would break in about 23 years if nothing unexpected did happen. At the same time, he sensed something odd with it: he sensed a massive amount of soul strength. Regrettably, he could not feel everything clearly because he was still missing one last piece.
"I don't want to wait that long, so the Elysium Invasion is still on," he muttered before raising his hand to manifest a new and strange power.
"The Universe Will," muttered Edward. With the grimoire, he now has some control over the Universe Wil; to be precise, this timeline's Universe Will. He could foresee that with it, his research would go exceptionally well.
Furthermore, Edward wanted to gather all the Origin Grimoires across the Multiverse and use their powers to study the Universe Will and accomplish his plan of becoming a Perfect Tier 11 Arcanist.
Furthermore, with control of the Universe Will, he could now use Conceptual Magic in this universe, which was only possible with his Time and Death Staff.
The Time Staff was in the hands of the Konosuba's group, while the Death Staff remained back home. So, it would be advantageous for him to use Conceptual Magic.
"It's a shame I can only use a few spells. I have to get the last Grimoire."
Without the last Grimoire, his control of the Universe Will is limited. Additionally, Conceptual Magic requires a lot of mana, and without the Floating City as an energy source, he cannot use a bunch of spells as he did with his fight against Yahweh.
After analyzing the Origin Grimoire, Edward put it away before leaving. He closed the gate and made it look like nothing ever happened. Before his departure, he looked at the Akimitsu Clone from a distance.
The latter used its power to remove the fog surrounding the capital, close the Spirit World breach, and save the commoners who suffered from this incident. With the royal clans almost destroyed and the noble-affiliated mages, the Yamato Dynasty was essentially crippled.
As such, it was the perfect time for a hero like Akimitsu to rise, rebuild and spread new ideologies to the people. And with reincarnator Onizuka's ideas already existing in the world, the process will not be as tricky or suspicious.
In the future, the people of the eastern continents will integrate much easier into the Arcane Empire under Akimitsu's guidance. And Edward will be responsible for the western continent's people.
After one last glance, a portal appeared before him, and Edward returned to the Western Continent. He did go back to the Black Clover Kingdom but headed straight to the Underworld since he knew something went wrong: his clone with 60% of his power was killed a few days ago.
The first thing Edward noticed upon his arrival was the magic circles he placed in all six layers of the Underworld were removed. So, he did not hesitate to go straight to the seventh layer.
"Lucius?"
"Yes, it's me. Surprised?"
"You've absorbed Astaroth's power?"
"Not just him, but Beelzebub and Lucifero's as well," said Lucius with a confident smile. "I've always believed humans were the most unique race, and your existence is proof of that. You inspired me to take control of my destiny and no longer be Astaroth's puppet."
Edward looked at him with a frown, "Something is odd about you."
"Have you noticed?" Then, he changed his form. He had a large halo floating behind him with a small one on his head. He had three pairs of slender wings and two horns that looked like deer antlers.
"Have you seen it? Humanity's new form."
"A perfect combination of human, devil, and angel," said Edward, with his eyes lit up. Lucius can use bother Negative and Positive Karma Empowerment in this form, with no conflict.
'This must be the reason for him having two souls.'
Edward was slightly excited since he had found the perfect specimen to study Karma Empowerment.
"Where is Julius' Soul?" he asked. Julius was a kind person and a great wizard. Edward wanted to save him if possible–especially since the latter has the talent to wield Time Magic; he would make an excellent Arcanist.
"He's dead," Lucius replied calmly.
"I don't even need to sense your Ki to know you are lying. Without the second soul as an anchor, there is no way for you to control two opposite power of devil and angel."
Lucius did not say anything; he retained his calm and confident side.
"It's either still with you, or you hid it in a safe place," said Edward.
"Enough with the chit-chat. I have conquered all levels of the Underworld and inherited the power of the Archfiend- -"
"You mean Satan."
"Satan? That's a good name, very pleasing and oddly very suitable," Lucius said. "Yes, I have inherited the position of Satan, and only you stand in my way of world domination and modeling humans into higher beings."
Edward secretly shook his head. Although Lucius inherited Satan's position, it's evident that he did not know much. Otherwise, he would know that God was as much of a threat as him.
A giant orb with Lucius at the center suddenly spread out. Edward knew this was the manifestation of Lucius using his Time Magic. Inside that orb, time is his to bend to his will. So, he immediately counter-attacked by spreading an orb of his own, canceling the opponent.
Immediately, Edward frowned. He could tell that the current Lucius was Tier 7, but he still had a larger mana pool than the latter. After absorbing all of Astaroth's understanding of time magic, along with his own study, and a larger mana pool, his time magic should have overpowered the latter, but they were equal.
He glanced at the dark underworld and understood it was because of home advantage. The Underworld Dimension boosted Lucius' strength since he was technically its owner/controller.
Gravity Magic: Black Holes
Lucius used Lucifero's Gravity magic to create five black holes, trying to swallow Edward; however, the latter waved his hand to make five dark slashes that separated the black holes in two before dispersing them.
'Yami's Dark Magic?' thought Lucius before evading the slashes. At the same time, he frowned as he discovered his opponent was preventing him from seeing too far into the future.
Spatial Magic: Space Bombs.
This time, he used Beelzebub's magic to create a bunch of small dimensions and exploded them; there were hundreds of them. Edward made the same number of time spheres to swallow these explosions. Then, he reverted them to their original form.
Meanwhile, countless black lights came from the surroundings to enter Lucius's body. He raised his hand to create an enormous time sphere.
Time Magic: Time Erasing.
Edward calmly looked at the ball and snapped his finger. Ten dark arrows appeared from Lucius' front and back. The front arrows pierced his time spheres before annihilating them.
Although he evaded these ones, the one from his back still pierced his back and arms.
"Anti-Magic? You can use Asta's Anti-Magic?"
"Why are you surprised? They don't call me the God of Magic for no reason–albeit, I'm not too fond of that name."
Edward then used Secre's Sealing Magic in combination with the eastern Sealing Art to create chains to bound Lucius, that could not use any spells with the Anti-Magic Arrows on his body.
Regrettably, before the chains could tie him up, a bone cage appeared to protect him. Edward looked at the three new people that showed up. Like Lucius, they had angels and devil features, and their mana was way beyond what it should have been.
"Dante, Zenon, and Moris," said Edward before focusing on the Diamond Kingdom's scholar.
"I've been wanting to meet you."
"Oh? I don't think we have any reasons to interact."
"You have two things that belong to me," Edward said. "To be exact, one thing that belongs to me and one thing I want."
บท 346: Angel-Devil War
"Is that so?" said Morris before summoning a disturbing creature that was the combination of many different mid-level devils. It had three bodies stuck together, while the lower part appeared to be an enormous octopus.
Dante used his Body Magic to turn into a small muscular giant 5 meters tall. At the same time, numerous bones sprout out from Zenon's back as he uses his Bone Magic. Furthermore, the two could still use the magic attribute from when they were a devil host.
Gravity Magic: Presence of the Demon King
Dante used Beelzebub's Gravity Magic to increase the gravity in the surroundings.
Spatial Magic: Spatial Mana Domination.
Zenon created a cub that surrounded the group, and inside that cube, he had absolute control over mana. So, he can cancel spells if he wishes to. Meanwhile, Morris' abomination of a creature opened its mouth to shoot different attribute attacks.
The first head shot a jet of purple poison, the second head had a fire element and the third wind.
Edward calmly watched these people perform. He created an Anti-Gravity Shield around to block Dante's attack. As for Zenon's spell, it was useless to him since his control of mana was even better than those loved by mana, which this spell is ineffective against.
As for Morris' creation, he only looked at it and said: "Silence." With Zagred's Word Soul Magic, this creature could no longer open its mouth, causing their attacks to explode their heads. Regrettably, as devils, they could regenerate.
Meanwhile, Dante took this opportunity to rush toward his opponent. His Body Magic granted unimaginable physical and healing capabilities, making him perfectly suited for close combat.
And he knew that most wizards were weak to close combat. And even if they were not, they could not compete with his overwhelming strength. Unfortunately, he miscalculated this time.
Once he arrived in front of Edward, the latter punched straight in his face, sending him crashing on the floor while leaving a fist mark on his deform face.
Furthermore, Dante sensed an unknown and strange energy nullifying or delaying his regeneration. So, he quickly used his magic to its full extent.
"Bind," said Edward, and chains appeared to capture Dante, rending him useless. Zenon went on the offensive as his bone spike rushed toward Edward. However, his attack was a distraction as he separated a few dozen bone spikes to free his body.
Meanwhile, a Time bubble came out of Edward's body and, before Zenon could react, encapsulated him, rendering him immobile since time had stopped inside.
In this short time, Lucius managed to remove the Anti-Magic Arrows from his back. And for his next step, he opened the 7th layer of the Underworld and summoned all the devils under his control.
There were hundreds of thousands of them, and they all had the same Angel-Devil Form that Lucius and the Dark Triad had.
Edward ignored Lucius as he looked at the calm Morris; he then sneered before using the Origin Grimoire to summon the Shikigamis from the Spirit World. He asked for their help to subdue all these devils.
Then, he suddenly appeared between Lucius and Morris. Before they could react, a black sphered enveloped them, rendering their magic useless.
Spatial Magic: Anti-Magic Domain.
Edward created a cube-like space similar to Zenon before filling that space with Anti-Magic to create a pseudo Domain where magic is nullified. He then watched as Lucius punched the cube's edge with all his strength.
Although he had the enhanced physical abilities of Lucifero, without his magic, he was not strong enough to break this spell. Meanwhile, Morris slowly disintegrated while his pet lay in the cube, also useless.
Under Edward's control, the captured Dante and frozen Zenon flew into the cube before it became smaller until he could hold it in his palm. After selling these three, he looked at the confrontation between the Shikimamis and the devil. And after noticing his side had the advantage, he opened a portal to another place: the Underworld's 8th Layer.
"I guess I cannot escape my fate," said Morris calmly.
However, Edward ignored him but looked at a throne where a skeleton dressed in dark gold armor sat.
'Satan's dead body? It seems he really is dead. Nevertheless, he would make a great Undead,' thought Edward, looking at Morris, who seemed to be establishing some sort of ceremony.
"I always suspected that God had a pawn on the mortal plane. I did not expect it to be you."
"Father offered me something I could not resist."
"Let me guess: knowledge."
Morris was slightly surprised before smiling: "I had a feeling that you and I were candid spirits."
"Maybe. But I would never sell my soul for things I could get myself. Now, are you going to resist?"
Morris just smiled, but Edward suddenly appeared before him before placing his finger on his forehead, sealing and controlling his soul. Then, he sensed the power of the Universe Will, trying to eliminate Morris's soul, but he was ready this time.
He used his Origin Grimoire to cancel God's Universe Will before searching Morris' soul for information. And he did find something.
In his early years, Morris became infatuated with researching magic at all costs to unravel its mystery. So, when a mysterious being contacted him in his dream and offered him the knowledge he could never dream of in exchange for working for it, he quickly accepted.
His first task was to help the devil open the Gate of the Underworld while keeping tabs on them. Then, recently, his task was to acquire Satan's remains. Unfortunately, accessing the 8th layer was not easy, and even Lucius did not know how to and might not even know of its existence.
After getting that information, Edward was not satisfied since he had only learned very little about God. So, he placed his focus on someone else who might know more: Astaroth.
This devil survived since the ancient war and should know a lot more information. Lucius's Soul Magic allowed him to suppress Astaroth's soul and take control of him and his magic. Of course, Edward believed that the injury he gave the latter few years prior also contributed to his success.
Nevertheless, it was not a complete success since Lucius appeared to not know about God or even the 8th layer of the Underworld: these were secrets that Astaroth should know and should have learned from him.
Edward removed Astaroth's Soul from the cube and slowly searched through his memories. Although much of it was blurry through time or some outside force, he did learn a lot.
God and Satan were the first creatures in this universe, and they each served the purpose of maintaining the balance of the world: they were responsible for guarding the afterlife.
After a creature died, it would be judged in the underworld. If they lived a good and morally upright life, they could go to Elysium and turn into angels. If they were horrible in their lifetime, they would be punished for eternity in the underworld. And if they live a neutral life, then they can reincarnate and try again.
Everything was normal until Satan got greedy. He discovered that the sinful souls he punished in the underworld could increase his power if he swallowed them. So, he began to tempt the races in the mortal plane to commit more sins so they would go to the underworld after death.
And, of course, God was not happy with this, so he wanted to stop his counterpart and former friend. Unfortunately, the war expanded and got out of control until the Wizard Sage appeared and sealed these two.
Edward frowned after learning this. He previously thought Satan and God fought for a chance to transcend this universe, but it appears he was wrong.
"Something is wrong with this information," he muttered. From the information he got about God so far, he appeared to be a cold and calculated individual, not someone who would do something for the greater good of all the races in the mortal plane.
After reviewing the information again, he found a few anomalies. The first one was Satan's death. He sacrificed much of his life force to increase his strength and severely injured God. Then, he used the Afterlife to reinforce the seal on God.
As such, since the war, the soul of 80% of the dead people of this world will turn as energy to reinforce the seal; this is the reason it has lasted for hundreds of thousands of years since the war.
After that, Satan did not resist when the Wizard Sage sealed the underworld, prevented all devils from entering the mortal plane, and died soon afterward.
"His actions were not like someone consumed by his lust for power, but out revenge and anger," commented Edward on Satan's action.
Another anomaly he discovered was a battle Astaroth experienced between Satan and God. Although they appeared evenly matched, based on God's facial expression and eye movement, he could tell the latter was not really trying.
Oftentimes, he would look at one of Satan's openings, but instead of taking the opportunity to attack, the latter ignored it. Furthermore, when Satan suddenly boosts his power to use a surprise attack to defeat his opponent, the latter would easily respond while making it look like he had suffered.
'With this evidence, there is a high chance that God started the entire war because of his goal of transcendence.'
After coming to this conclusion, Edward raised the threat level of God for their confrontation. Nevertheless, the Elysium Invasion was less than a month away, and Nacht had already infiltrated these. So, he will know all the answers soon.
He then gazed at Satan's remains.
'The Soul is already scattered. However, I could use Astaroth, Beelzebub, Lucifero, Lucius, and the Dark Triad's souls to create a truly powerful undead as my aid.'
He proceeded to take Satan's remains away before taking out the Diamond Origin Grimoire, which was the final piece.
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