Chapter 111

“In the beginning, Grace created mankind.”

— The Holy Book of Grace, Chapter 1, Verse 1

It was nothing more than human artillery.

Attacks that could easily be deflected by the power of a Demon Lord.

The real problem was that these bombings struck precisely when Belphegor was at her weakest.

Once again—it had been a colossal mistake to create a vessel in the human realm and descend into it, carrying her divine essence.

Her flesh, melted and disfigured under the holy radiance of Asmodeus .

Her divinity, thinned by the real-time deaths of countless followers.

And to top it all off, the persistent interference of divine powers from the Pantheon, clinging to her like parasites and pulling her down.

“[Dullaneir! You wretch!!]”

A 155mm high-explosive shell tore deep wounds into Belphegor’s body.

She had to recover.

She needed to draw on her divine power, rally her followers, and heal her mortal shell.

But at this most critical moment—Belphegor couldn’t access her powers.

Dullaneir, still in the spiritual realm, was raging, throwing everything into sabotaging her.

As if unable to forgive Belphegor for corrupting her chosen ones and the countless Quattuor, Dullaneir was doing everything in her power to block the manifestation of her divinity.

And she wasn’t the only one.

The other gods of the Pantheon, having long been obstructed from meddling, were now seizing the chance for vengeance—interfering with the divine avatars of Leviathan and Belphegor on Earth.

Moments ago, Asmodeus had been hindered by Lucifer yanking her chains. Now, the tables had turned. Belphegor was experiencing the same helplessness.

“[...No. No, this can’t be.]”

Only a few of her followers had survived.

The lower-tier devotees had been reduced to something less than human—more like mangled meat—by the previous barrage.

Even the high priests, the elite of her worshippers, were trembling as they stared down at their hands.

“M-my magic! It’s gone!!”

“O Lord of Sloth! Lord of Sloth! Grant us your power!!”

Despite their desperate cries, Belphegor could do nothing.

Divine power?

Of course she wanted to give it.

But her mortal body—and the divinity within—was on the verge of collapse.

She had to protect her followers if she wanted to survive.

And yet, the meddling of Dullaneir and the Pantheon made that impossible.

They too were likely overexerting themselves.

Lucifer wouldn’t just stand by and let the Pantheon do this unchecked.

But even so, it was a risk they were willing to take.

Because if things continued this way, even Leviathan and Belphegor’s divine forms would be fully exposed and vulnerable in the human realm.

“[You Heavenly bastards… you revolting sons of—!!]”

Cursing through gritted teeth, Belphegor forced her body to rise—but it didn’t change the situation.

“Load it! Hurry!”

“Charge! Charge!!”

“Battery Two, fire ready!!”

The Imperial Army’s 40 artillery guns, stationed in the distance, were once again primed to strike.

One more volley would obliterate Leviathan’s body for good.

“[Lucifer!! Lucifer!! Please—!!]”

At the very last second, with nothing left she could do, Belphegor cried out the one name that could still save her:

Lucifer.

“[Do something! Anything!! Now!!]”

The 300-year balance teetered on the brink.

The very outcome the demons and Hell had considered impossible—a victory for the Pantheon—was suddenly becoming reality.

And in that instant…

The spiritual realm was flooded with divine energy from the gods of the Pantheon.

Lucifer had stopped resisting.

He poured everything—every last bit of his divine authority—into one final gesture toward Belphegor.

The sky ripped open.

A blinding surge of power, unbearable in its intensity, reached out from Lucifer toward Belphegor’s broken body.

A portal to the spiritual realm.

Tears welled in her eyes as she reached out.

“[Please! Hurry… Lucifer?! Lucifer!!]”

She thought salvation had arrived.

But the next moment, she screamed—Lucifer’s hand dug into her chest, grasping at her divine core.

[The Goddess of the Moon. The Goddess of Wisdom. The Goddess of War. Even Satan himself.

Four divine essences—ripped away to the Pantheon.]

“[No! Don’t do this!! You can’t!!]”

[There’s no time for ascension rituals. This is the only way.]

Agonizing pain coursed through her as her divinity was torn out.

Descending into the human realm had required meticulous preparation.

Returning to the spiritual realm—ascension—required even more care and ritual.

Her essence, ripped from her body, was disintegrating before her eyes.

Belphegor shrieked in agony.

But worse than the physical pain… was realizing Lucifer’s true intent.

“[You’re going to consume me?! Lucifer!! You son of a—!!!]”

[This is the best option. Unless you had a contingency like Mammon—some emergency escape plan—you wouldn’t have made it back intact. Your essence is already broken. I might as well devour it myself.]

“[No… you can’t…!!]”

Those were Belphegor’s final words.

Her divine essence—brutally extracted—was crushed and torn apart.

She couldn’t speak anymore.

As the shattered fragments of her essence twitched and trembled, Lucifer’s power devoured every last piece.

And in the distance…

The exact same thing was happening to Leviathan.

Two divine beings, violently ripped from their vessels—both consumed by Lucifer.

And with that, he hurried to seal the portal between realms.

[Beelzebub!!]

Arrogance gave birth to Gluttony.

And so, the ruined divinity of Leviathan—shattered from her forced ascension—was tossed to Gluttony.

[Devour it. Quickly. Devour it, and stop the Pantheon. We can’t let human faith grow any stronger than this.]

Now, Lucifer alone could no longer stop the Pantheon.

Only by joining forces with Beelzebub could they barely manage to keep the divine council in check.

If they succeeded, the Pantheon would once again find themselves where they had started—unable to freely bestow divine commands or manifest their power.

But the same fate now applied to the two Demon Lords as well.

Lucifer clenched his jaw.

[Abaddon.]

The balance would be preserved.

But now, the only one who benefited from this balance was that writhing worm from the Abyss.

Abaddon—he alone would thrive.

While the Pantheon and Hell remained locked in a standoff, Abaddon—unhindered by either side—would grow in strength and begin to consume the human realm.

Yet, even knowing that, Lucifer had no choice but to suppress the Pantheon.

If they were allowed to keep meddling in the human realm unchecked, their divine influence—fueled by rapidly expanding faith—would soon grow immeasurable.

If the Pantheon were to destroy the followers of Arrogance and Gluttony entirely…

Then that would be the end of Hell.

[Fine. I’ll play your game, Abaddon.]

Swallowing his pride, Lucifer chose patience.

He knew the day would come when Abaddon would clash with the Saint.

And when that day arrived—Lucifer would repay Abaddon for today’s humiliation in full.

Taking sides in a tense tug-of-war.

Intentionally leading one side to destruction.

What Abaddon had done to him today—Lucifer would one day return the favor.

[This grudge… I will never forget.]

Until then, Lucifer began once more to sever the connection between the Pantheon and the human world.

I hated blacking out.

Whenever I lost consciousness, I always missed something important.

And when I woke up… I’d be left behind, knowing nothing, stranded in a world that had moved on without me.

I still didn’t know who Asmodeus really was.

Why the Pantheon was so incompetent—and so hostile toward me.

I never had time to ask.

That’s why I hated fainting.

But today—

Today, for the first time, I understood why I had always just blacked out.

And that maybe, if I could have stayed unconscious… it would’ve been better.

[Amael!! Amael!! I’m scared! I’m really scared!!]

I opened my eyes to the familiar sound of Kon’s terrified screaming.

And the very next second, I had to clamp both hands over my ears and writhe on the ground.

“Ghhk—aaahhh!!”

It was massive.

That’s the only word that could describe it.

The howls and screams of divine beings—far beyond human comprehension—pierced through everything with raw, unfiltered force.

No human could endure it.

You know that saying, “When whales fight, the shrimp gets crushed”?

This was worse.

I felt like a krill caught between battling Great Old Ones.

“Please… make it stop!!”

I didn’t want to hear those monstrous cries anymore.

Curled up on the ground like a worm, I writhed until, suddenly—the overwhelming noise that had been exploding from all sides… stopped.

[Amael.]

A voice called to me.

A strange resonance—a mix of human speech and divine utterance.

I looked up—and saw her.

An angel wearing the face of the goddess Lilia, gently covering my ears.

She had four radiant wings, spread wide.

But three of the wings on her left side… were stained pitch black.

[Nnnghhh!! I-I don’t want this!! Amael, close the locket! I’m scared! I can’t take this!!]

The pendant around my neck trembled violently.

Kon’s voice echoed from it, and I understood exactly how she felt.

Even I—who wasn’t particularly strong in the psychic arts—had collapsed, clutching my ears.

For someone like Kon, who was highly sensitive psychically, this clash between divine forces must have felt like the world was ending.

I snapped the locket shut.

And the trembling stopped.

The pendant went still.

The world… fell silent.

No more godly clashes.

No more deafening roars.

There was nothing—only me and the angel wearing Lilia’s face.

It felt like we were the only two beings left, standing atop a mountain peak, isolated from the world.

“Who… are you?”

After much hesitation, that was the first question I managed to ask.

At my words, the winged Lilia smiled—and then changed her form.

“[It’s me. Gigachad. This face feels a bit more familiar, doesn’t it?]”

He looked down at me, voice playful.

But I shook my head.

I could feel my body trembling.

“What’s your real identity?”

At that, Gigachad returned to his angelic form once more.

“[I serve you.]”

The vagueness of his answer made me clench my fists.

“Asmodeus . That’s your real name, isn’t it? The Demon Lord of Lust. That’s who you really are.”

“[I was, once. But not anymore. Like I said—I’m only someone who serves you now.]”

There was a quiet, composed aura about the Demon Lord of Lust.

So much so that it was hard to believe this being had the power to destroy the human world.

“I don’t want the world to fall into chaos. Never.”

“[I know, Amael.]”

“You said you serve me, right? Then if I told you to destroy yourself—right here, right now—would you obey?”

“[I would. But if it came to that, it would completely go against the very vow you made—to protect the human world.]”

“…Why?”

Asmodeus pointed to the blackened feathers on her left wing.

“[I’m not fully yours yet, Amael. Part of the authority over me still belongs to Hell. If you ordered my destruction, you’d be relinquishing all command over me. And then—my only remaining master would be Hell.]”

My eyes widened.

Asmodeus nodded solemnly.

“[I would become the Demon Lord of Lust again. The very outcome you fear the most.]”

Those words made my path clearer.

“I have the right to know the truth. Who you really are. Why all of this is happening. Everything behind it—I deserve to know it all.”

I carefully sat down on the ground.

The wildflowers and grass brushed against my skin and nose—when had the mountaintop become so lush?

It didn’t feel unpleasant.

“Explain.”

But Asmodeus didn’t answer.

Instead, she said:

“[It’s over, Amael.]”

And somehow, just from that—I knew what had ended.

I looked up, just slightly, and saw holy knights and tower mages cheering in the distance.

And in the center of it all… the women I loved, standing safe.

The humans—and the Pantheon—had defeated the three Demon Lords.

“[So don’t ask me. Ask the ones behind you. They’ll explain better than I ever could.]”

Even though her answer was vague, I understood what she meant.

I turned around—and there they were.

Dullaneir.

Rophus.

Lupiel.

R’Nery.

The gods of the Pantheon stood before me.

And representing them all, standing at the front—

A blood-soaked goddess, visibly in pain.

[Amael.]

The Goddess of Grace, Lilia, looked straight at me.

I rose to my feet.

Silence.

I tried to calm myself, but it wasn’t easy.

“…Why?”

It was the only word I could say, finally, after all that time.

“Why are you doing this to me? Why?”

My eyes blurred with tears.

I stared at the gods, my voice cracking.

“What did I ever do to deserve this? Threatening me with prophecies, invading my dreams to say you’d cast me into Hell. Is that what benevolent gods do?! Was it fun—torturing one human?! I didn’t choose to carry Asmodeus in my soul! I just… woke up one day, and she was already there!”

I choked out the words, sobbing, everything I’d buried in my heart finally spilling free.

“I just wanted a normal, happy life! This… this isn’t the fantasy reincarnation I asked for!! I don’t care what happens anymore—just take this burden away from me! Please! If you’re such powerful gods, then just—”

Like a child, I broke down.

And then—I felt it.

A gentle touch against my cheek.

I looked up, eyes swollen from crying.

Lilia, the Goddess of Grace, was caressing my face.

[I’m sorry, Amael… but we can’t.]

My face twisted with grief.

“…So that’s it, then? You’ll only stop when my soul is thrown into Hell? When I die a martyr? Is that how this ends? What kind of gods are you?! I hate you. I hate all of you!! Every last one of you!!”

It was blasphemy.

But not a single god among the Pantheon got angry.

My sobs turned into hiccups.

I cried like a lost child, overcome by injustice and rage.

And then—Lilia embraced me.

I didn’t push her away.

Her warmth… was real.

And in that warmth, I was able to calm down—just a little.

“Tell me. I need to know what this all means. Why me? What happened between Hell, the Pantheon, and the Evil God? I deserve the truth. So tell me.”

Once I had quieted, I asked.

And Lilia nodded.

[I am not the Goddess of Grace, Amael.]

Her next words stunned me completely.

[I am the Goddess of Life—Lilia. Long ago, so long ago that your people call it ‘the beginning,’ humans knew me by that name.]

Join Our Patreon

Support our translations and gain early access.
Read up to 25 Chapters ahead before the official release!

Join Now