Chapter 444: Hell Devils

That the System insisted on giving me presents despite the risk that she would expose her identity and rouse my suspicions meant they were very important.

“The most expensive and troublesome things in the world are those that come for free—no, I’m not talking about multi-level marketing or scams. Favors, trust and so on are the biggest headaches to deal with.”

But despite the fact that I hated owing favors—especially troublesome ones—I had to admit that this time I owed my System. The “free” experience about creating the world I had received was far too important and a tremendous help.

Previously, when I had created Frigidwinter Earth, my ability to create a world relied on my talent as well as the System’s cheat-like assistance. Even more of world creation was simply copying. All I had to do was imitate what Eich had done back in the day.

Actually, that was how mages did things. They didn’t need to understand the foundational workings behind magic or Divine Arts. They only needed to follow established processes, the advantage of which was that it was far easier to learn such spells. However, the disadvantages were that they would be unable to surpass their predecessors, and the most critical drawback was that these mages would become inflexible and rigid during practical combat. If they were targeted or fell into a trap without being able to adapt, they’d likely meet death in the face.

True archmages and archpriests would analyze the foundational workings of their spells. They would understand the true reason why everything worked. They would be capable of casting magic with a flick of their fingers and modify and strengthen existing forms of magic. And the true indication that a mage was mature was if he or she was capable of using theories and current conditions to improve or even invent new and specialized types of magic.

Without a doubt, of all forbidden spells the Seal of the Four Elements was the first and of the highest-level. Simultaneously controlling the four elements to create such a powerful seal had demanding requirements. For one to simply copy the method one had to be an incredible archmage, so let’s not mention modifying and improving the Seal of the Four Elements. It would be even more impossible when we needed the evolved form of the Seal of the Four Elements: Creation via the four elements.

Originally, even with my Creation experience from Frigidwinter Earth, my most optimistic guess put us at a forty percent chance of success. Even if I succeeded by coincidence, my new world would be an incomplete product with deficiencies…

I was gambling everything on a forty percent probability, you ask? Well, the success rates of every other path I thought of went no higher than 0.01%, and doing nothing at all was the equivalent of waiting for death. A forty percent success rate was more than enough for us to gamble everything.

However, everything changed after I received this unexpected gift of the knowledge of Creation.

Astrya’s gift was her memory of the very beginning of the world’s creation. This was the original form of how to Create using the four elements. Not only did I obtain the most foundational knowledge of using such a magic spell, I also gained experience and knowledge on how to actually do so. After obtaining this gift, I probably surpassed even the Goddess of Creation herself in understanding how to Create because Eich had created the world mostly through her instincts, while I needed to use techniques to reproduce and surpass everything she did…

Why? Because what we intended to create was no ordinary world for the living.

“This place… shall be a country for the dead!”

With my proclamation, a pitch-black world stole away the existence of light with the Ghostwind Plains as its core. On this patch of land, obsidian pillars rose from the ground, like smaller versions of the tremendous black tower. A seemingly maniacally laughing skeleton head was at the top of each black pillar.

“This is a country for the dead. The living should stay away.”

Just by faintly observing these pillars a warning sounded in everyone’s minds. This was no threat. It was simply a statement of fact.

“Take one step within, and you’ll never be able to leave.”

This was an instinctive warning, as if an invisible border was present, where crossing it meant one’s soul would forever be destined to stay behind.

If some still decided to treat this invisible, instinctive warning as a mistaken impression, then they would be greeted with the black mist these obsidian skeletons were spitting out.

“Poison!”

“How is this possible? How can we demons succumb to poison!?”

The black mist first swept over the location where the demons and devils were battling. These demons from the Chaos Abyss had long since gotten accustomed to the most extreme of environments. Their resistance to fire, acid and poison far surpassed any other species out there. As these demons were subordinates under Ladvioka, the Lord of Putrefaction, they lived in dimensions filled with toxic mist and poisonous swamps. Those with slightly low poison resistance would have long since died off.

An eight-meter-tall Burst Sword Inferno demon walking at the forefront was right next to one of the obsidian pillars that appeared. The moment he inhaled the black mist, he collapsed. And the moment he collapsed, the eternal flames on his body spluttered out, together with his lost life.

His massive gray body and greatsword crashed into the ground, leaving a deep pit behind. Yet there wasn’t a single visible injury on his body. His vicious face still had a confused expression, as if he didn’t understand why he had died.

The next instant, a silver soul walked out of his body and disappeared into the black obsidian pillar, still with that confused expression. Then, as if the skeleton head on the obsidian pillar had eaten its full, it spewed out even more black mist.

The mist had begun to spread all around. Thanks to the example of this high-level demon, both demons and devils fled in all directions to avoid this death-bringing mist.

Meanwhile, through this black mist, the undead knights were beginning to increase the force of their charge. Their bones became thicker and stronger, their weapons and armor strengthened by the black mist, their skeletal warhorses faster and more agile. Soulfire flickered in the undead knights,’ living, breathing and hungry.

When their enemies were retreating in fear, how could these undead knights, accustomed to spreading death, possibly miss this opportunity? They swiftly pierced and cut with their strengthened weapons that were capable of harvesting even the demons’ souls. Any demon sliced by these weapons would collapse and lose their souls.

When faced with this abnormal black mist, even the powerful Ladvioka and his army began retreating. The devils on our side were no different, however. Despite their leader’s commands, they began to retreat as well. In fact, some devils were even looking over with enmity in their eyes. It appeared they felt that I was using them as cannon fodder.

“Don’t run! Don’t resist!”

At my request, the Lord of Lies roared at his subordinates. With his command, Devil Lord Marshan, who had been near a patch of black mist, walked into it of his own volition. As black mist swirled furiously around him, he howled in pain, and a miraculous change occurred.

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The gigantic Lord of Rebellion kneeled on the ground as the black mist changed his physical appearance and body shape. As the mist around him dissipated, his giant body experienced explosive growth. By the time all the black mist had been used up, a skyscraper-tall monster had been born.

The devils’ typical traits of scales and magic claws had vanished. His smooth and well-proportioned figure was quite similar to that of humans, his dark green devil eyes now black. Compared to ordinary giants, the single black horn on his forehead was rather eye-catching. That horn was gathering mystical energy, and the energy aura around his body had increased in power by thirty percent.

“…He’s just as ugly as he was back in the day.”

Ilmisya pinched her nose and chuckled at the sight, but faint tears of joy and delight could be seen in her eyes. Of course she would recognize this physical appearance of Marshan. This ugly and courageous warrior now had the exact same physical appearance as when he was a human of Tall Mountain—other than an extra horn.

Marshan kneeled on the ground, staring at his hands in disbelief. The vicious appearing sword scar on his face started twitching with excitement as he lifted his head and roared with astonishing anger at the skies!

“Ahhh! Damned Chaos Abyss! I, Marshan Dibor, the greatest warrior of the Yellow Dragon Tribe, have returned!”

With angels and demons as the witnesses, the first Hell Devil, the Devil General Marshan, was born.

Wielding a tremendous trident, he charged straight into the demons’ formation and began slaughtering and taking revenge as he desired. After seeing his transformation, the other immemorial devils hesitantly allowed the black mist to envelop them as well.

Soon, after a wave of roiling black mist and painful howls, countless new Hell Devils were bown anew. These Hell Devils didn’t have the time to digest their reobtained former memories and knowledge as they walked back out onto the battlefield. The black mist that brought death to the demons had become their ally.

“My Hades Mist has finally succeeded.”

I heaved a sigh of relief as I watched everything happen from the top of the first black tower.

This black mist wasn’t actually a toxin. In fact, it had no attack power of its own. It was simply something that belonged to this “Plane of the Dead” that I had created. Anywhere it spread would become part of the country of the dead.

This black mist was replenishment for the dead. Living beings that touched it would be transformed into the dead. Or, in certain special circumstances, they would be transformed into the guardians of Hell: the Hell Devils.

In my previous experiment, I had provided a sample of my Hades Mist but failed to completely transform Marshan. Instead, he gained the strange appearance of that black mist twirling around him. But now, this completed version of my Hades Mist successfully transformed the devils into Hell Devils.

Ilmisya, who stood right next to me, was rather tempted by the sight. I understood that it was only natural for a woman like her to wish to restore her former beauty. However, I stopped her from going into the black mist. My country of the dead was still incomplete, and my Hades Mist, although capable of forceful transformations, was still too weak. There wasn’t enough of it yet. Transforming a single Devil Lord had consumed much of the Hades Mist I had on hand, and I couldn’t afford to waste the rest.

Meanwhile, a hammer of flames was burning within the giant skeleton head next to me. Its flames were becoming darker in color as they went from bright red to a deeper crimson-black.

This hammer was actually the God Equipment of Fire that Solo had successfully obtained from the Water Elemental Plane: the Blessing of Original Fire.

Now, it was acting as one of my four top-level elemental items to create the foundation for my new world. It would be the part that represented the “soul.” Unlike the mortal plane of Eich, where fire was the representative element of the soul, I was planning on having “death” be the factor of the soul.

Death was the foundation of Hell. Death was the most basic requirement that all existences must have in order to enter it.

“Only the dead will be allowed to exist in the country of the dead.”

This black tower was one of the main pillars of the new dimension I was creating. It was creating the country of the dead. However, not everyone would simply sit back and watch this happen.

As this dimension’s rules gradually started to form, wings of light descended before us as the Holy Light clashed against my Hades Mist. The still immature Hades Mist was directly dispelled as a squadron of angels arrived before us.

“I’ve never felt this annoyed before by the blinding Holy Light. Ayer, we’re under great pressure here. Could you hurry things up?”

I received a response from the skeleton head right next to me. A familiar voice spoke up in that typically unhurried tone of his.

“I’m almost done. The Queen of Storms is slightly more difficult to deal with than expected. Hold on the best you can. I shall send some power over your way.”

Together with Ayer’s response, the skeleton heads dissolved into laughter as the Hades Mist furiously started spreading again. The angel charging at the forefront collapsed to the ground. This time, the increased black mist suppressed the Holy Light.

That’s right. While I was the main person who designed and planned this forbidden ceremony to create Hell, I wouldn’t have enough power to provide the high-level death energy and power required for this plan.

“Ha! Who in the world could possibly compare to the first undead in the world, the Death God Ayer, in purity of death energy?”

Currently, inside the black tower’s skeleton head was a jade white humongous skeleton which provided an endless amount of death energy. This skeleton was the true core of the obsidian tower.

That’s right, this skeleton was Ayer’s own bones.

Ayer was even using his own corpse in our plan. It could be said that he was also giving everything he had in order to succeed constructing Hell here.

Ayer, who was currently far away in Auland, stroked the crystal skull in his hand as he witnessed his own tribe’s transformation through their eyes. He unhesitatingly increased the amount of divine power he sent over to me, delighted.

I too possessed an identical crystal skull. When I felt Ayer’s resolution and the powerful waves of death energy he was sending to me, I knew I could now enter the next phase of the plan.