Chapter 553: Asmodeus’ Warning

...One Month Later...

The bathhouse doors swung open, and William walked inside hastily, his footsteps echoing against the polished stone floor as the warm mist rolled around him. He had already been waiting outside for several minutes, and the patience he had maintained throughout the morning was rapidly disappearing.

"What is taking him so long... All the ministers are waiting...." William’s annoyed voice trailed off as he looked toward the massive bathing pool, and the irritation immediately vanished from his face.

The entire pool had become completely pitch black. There was no reflection from the marble walls, no visible surface beneath the darkness, and not even the faintest trace of the water that had filled it moments ago. At the very center, however, a bright crimson light pulsed beneath the surface like an enormous heartbeat, each pulse sending faint ripples of red through the darkness.

The atmosphere around it felt wrong, heavy enough that even William instinctively stopped several steps away. Hazel, Racheal, Ruby, Mary, Loth, Rah and Alice stood outside the pool with towels wrapped around their bodies, their wet hair clinging to their shoulders as they stared toward the vague silhouette sitting motionless within the darkness.

Nobody spoke for several seconds. They had all watched Damian enter the pool earlier, expecting him to simply spend some time cultivating before attending the meeting with the ministers. None of them had expected the entire bathhouse to become saturated with such oppressive energy.

Loth instinctively moved closer to Mary, while Rah narrowed her eyes at the crimson light. Alice remained still, her expression serious as she studied the faint outline of Damian’s body beneath the black surface.

William swallowed quietly before forcing himself to remember why he had come in the first place. The ministers were waiting, the coronation was today, and the entire realm was already moving according to a schedule that depended on Damian’s presence.

Meanwhile, within Damian’s Sea of Consciousness, everything was completely silent. Damian sat upon the desolate ground beneath the dead trees, his body relaxed despite the enormous crimson eye staring at him from beyond them. Rin rested comfortably across his arm, her tails hanging loosely behind her, while Abel remained draped across his shoulder like a living black scarf. Neither spirit seemed particularly concerned about what was happening outside. Their attention remained fixed on the Abyss.

The massive crimson eye pulsed once before the Abyss spoke, its voice carrying through the empty landscape with an almost amused warmth.

"It’s finally time... Today, you either die, or become a deity the entire Underworld must be forced to respect." The Abyss chuckled, the sound reverberating through Damian’s consciousness.

Damian smiled lightly, though the expression never reached his eyes. He had spent the past month preparing for this moment.

"Do you believe I can win?" Damian asked quietly.

The massive crimson eye nodded firmly. "As long as things go according to plan, we can win. By the way, you have accumulated quite a sizable amount of talent points in the past two months." The Abyss let out an eerie chuckle, clearly amused by the number.

"I killed Duke Darbin, Lilith, Malakor and Sargathis, who were all demigods, and Duke Dantalion, who was almost a God. Of course I gathered a sizable amount of talent points from them. I was just hoping constant sex with my wives would help me gain some more, but even that wasn’t that impressive." Damian sounded slightly disappointed as he rubbed his chin, genuinely considering whether his time could have been spent more efficiently.

"Hahahahahah, you gained a measly 20 talent points after two months of hard work... You should have spent the entire time sitting on the Throne of Power. You would have at least made up to 50 points." The Abyss laughed out loud, its crimson eye narrowing with amusement.

Damian’s expression stiffened slightly. Maybe he should have kept his petty squabbles with Hazel, Racheal and Ruby aside and spent more time with them instead. If their strength was truly approaching the God realm, the amount of energy he could have gained from them might have been considerably higher. He sighed before looking back at the Abyss. "Should I have focused my energy on my ex fiancées instead?"

The massive eye shook left and right. "You are right to be wary of them. No one can be certain how much closer they are to the God realm. If they reached that realm and decided to turn on you, you won’t be able to resist them and Lazarus at the same time." The Abyss’ voice became more serious as it spoke.

Damian’s expression darkened. It felt as if the Abyss could peer directly into his thoughts. The main reason he had avoided sleeping with those three women for so long was exactly this concern. He could not allow Hazel, Racheal and Ruby to reach the God realm before him, especially when all three were connected to powerful clans and possessed enough accumulated strength to become genuine threats. The Faustian Bargains meant almost nothing once they reached that level. The only reason those contracts remained useful was because the three women were still demigods whom Damian could potentially kill after weakening them by breaking the bargains. At the God realm, however, the situation would become entirely different.

Before Damian could say anything else, a thunderous voice suddenly echoed from behind him. "BASTARD, ARE YOU TRULY GOING TO DISREGARD YOUR ROOTS AND FOCUS COMPLETELY ON THAT INHERITANCE?"

Damian slowly looked over his shoulder, irritation immediately returning to his expression. Beyond the desolate land where he sat stretched an endless river, and across that river stood the massive red gates that separated him from Asmodeus’ inheritance. Three pairs of colorful eyes stared through the darkness, their presence carrying the ancient pressure that had once terrified countless beings throughout the Underworld.

"Relax. I’ll get back to you once I have accumulated enough strength to vanquish you and claim your complete inheritance for myself." Damian sneered disdainfully, his tone carrying none of the fear Asmodeus clearly expected from him.

The three pairs of eyes burned brighter. "FOOLISH HUMAN, DO NOT FORGET THAT ANYTHING GOTTEN THROUGH THE ABYSS BECOMES EQUALLY HIS. ON THE DAY WHEN IT COMES TO TAKE OVER YOUR BODY, ONLY THIS POWER OF MINE WILL BE ALL YOU HAVE TO RELY ON TO DEAL WITH A DEMON WIELDING THE MULTITUDE OF INHERITANCES YOU HAVE FED IT OVER THE CENTURIES. YOU MAY DEFEAT ME, BUT THERE IS NO FUTURE WHERE YOU SURVIVE THAT MONSTER!"

The warning lingered heavily in the air.

Asmodeus’ blazing eyes slowly closed, and its overwhelming presence disappeared from Damian’s Sea of Consciousness. Damian remained seated, staring toward the gates long after the voice had vanished. His expression had lost its earlier amusement, and the fingers resting against his knee slowly tightened.

For some reason, Asmodeus’ warning disturbed him far more than he wanted to admit.