After reading the unabridged report that had been placed in front of them. Everyone fell into deep contemplation as they reevaluated their entire worldview, as well as their ultimate agenda.
What they were currently reading was not something that could be believed easily. In fact, if Ike hadn't watered them down from the beginning by releasing the information one piece at a time, they would all most likely call him delusional and question his sanity.
Sai nodded his head in resignation as he broke the deathly silence that had ruled over the unholy sanctum for a while now.
"It's true that we would have doubted this if we had seen this first. We would not have believed it at all. But after understanding the reality of this Demon Lord's forces and access to the demon king's resources, we have no choice but to believe it. Something this insane could not possibly be made up."
Sai fell back into his seat as he spoke with a somewhat defeated attitude. His irises seemed to disappear when the stone table was suddenly slammed by another of the six pillars.
"Still!… I don't want to believe this. Who would've believed that such a lowly undead Lich would stumble upon an item cursed by the Shadow king? That was one of the ancient artifacts that went missing during the Great War and now it's also in the hands of this despicable Demon Lord."
As Eddard spoke and the air froze around him, the other 13 members of the round table finally snapped out of their daze as a new discussion broke out.
"That's not even the worst part. How in the name of Lord Apollyon is a single demon capable of defeating the Shadow king? This is getting ridiculous. That's the fucking Shadow King, a cosmic being capable of rivaling the embodiment of death itself, the Grim Reaper! I just can't believe it…"
The fact that they had also dealt with the Grim Reaper, however absurd that was, they could still understand it. After all, they had faced it with the aid of a Devil, a powerful water nymph, and an ArchLich, before finally managing to seal it in an equally powerful sealing crystal.
However, the report on the Shadow King was completely different. Not only had this Demon Lord faced it head-on, but he had also actually defeated it by himself. Not even the Great Demon Lords of the Great Five could manage that without significant preparations, and even then, they might still not survive the battle.
"Only he saw it, right? It says the Demon Lord had sealed off the area the moment the Shadow king began taking over that thing. Even if it's Little Roland, I'm sure he's capable of bypassing even the most complex of anti-divination Magic but, isn't it possible he was mistaken? Perhaps he had misused the activation of an artifact…"
In a desperate attempt to wrap their head around the logic of the situation, the head of the Judicial department raised his doubt but was immediately shut down by Faxon.
"Even so, it is still a fact that this behemoth had gained enough power to venture into the territory of the gods much less the Great Five. We would need to revise our strategy in dealing with him."
"I can't deny what he'd seen anymore. This is the true power behind even the level of ascended demigods. That should be it."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"The advent of a god, or perhaps a celestial?"
"I might be exaggerating here but the abilities of this Demon Lord written here are similar to the description of that god… is it possible He has descended from the astral planes once more?"
"Impossible. The legend states that the God of the Abyss, Magma, was destroyed by the Dragon King. This must be something else. And if Lord Magma had actually descended once more, she would surely have told us. After all, she is Lord Magma's first servant."
"Then, it's come at last?"
"Probably, yes. After 800 years."
"It should be correct, judging by the words of the scripture. It might appear somewhere on the continent."
"Their power and influence over their assigned parts of the continent increased so slowly because those piles of trash that call themselves Royalties messed up so much of the plan."
"Those idiots in the other Greats, more especially the Zoraks…"
Everyone had looks of disdain in their eyes as they heard those words.
The Sentro Region was the most geographically secure region of all the Great Five. Because of that, the Alcar Family had secretly assisted them in the hopes that the region would one day develop into a region capable of saving the demon race.
By breeding large quantities of demons on safe and fertile land, many talented individuals would also appear, who could then be groomed into the proper vessels that could accept the divine descent of the demon god, Apollyon.
However, peace and prosperity over the last few huffed years had caused the region to fall into degeneracy, and the Zorak's rotted from within. Filthy creatures like demi-humans had also swarmed into that region and they were slowly infecting the entire region as they began to gain titles rivaling that of nobles by becoming these so-called Hunters of a thing.
Worse of all, they've also may their way into the Zoraks Magic institute and academy. Such a thing was further damaging their plans for a pure Jew world where demons would reign supreme over all other beings.
What was more troubling was how they produced narcotics and exported them to the other family's regions, mostly the Taine Ze Region.
Thus, the Alcar Family had changed their plan.
Their backup plan was to incite the Brimstone to devour the Zoraks as they lack the presence of their Demon Lord. They had learned by their spies in the family that one of the Great Demon Lord's brothers was responsible for his current illness.
However, the biggest problem with the family was the fact that the Grand Elder was aware of this and still chose to do nothing even though they may be targeting her next.
Such a degenerate family did not deserve the mercy of the Great Demon God.
The reason why the Alcar family did not conquer the Zorak themselves was not simply because they would be violating the non-aggression treaty by the Five but because they would then become neighbors with the Elven Continent, which might lead to a dangerous movement within the people to destroy the Elves.
Although the continents were separated by the Silent sea, it didn't stop the possibility of invasion as the elves worshiped the God of Life, Freya, a mortal enemy of the Demon God of Destruction.
The basic tenet of the Alcar's was that the Demon race was chosen by God, and all other races had to be exterminated, or serve underneath the demons' feet as slaves.
Thus, they inculcated an attitude in the people that they were surrounded by enemies and lower life forms, and that they had no choice but to work together.
This was the only way they could instill the unholy word deep within the souls of their people to become a truly unified race, unlike the other families. However, if they became neighbors with the Elven continent even when separated by sea, there was a chance that their philosophy might lead them in a dangerous direction.
Everyone here understood that they could only plan the future of the Demon Race by knowing the strength of their family and not harboring any pointless pride that would lead them down the wrong path.
It was important not to overestimate ones self and be keenly aware of their weaknesses. Also, one must know the strength of their opponent, and which matters to prioritize. However, the common folk would shout for war with the Elves in order to destroy the enemies of the demon race.
That would be disastrous.
After all, the Elves were very strong.
To be precise, the danger lay with one of the High elves of the Forest elves, the White AngelKin, the child of an Arch Angel, and a Hugh elf. If they did battle with her, the mightiest of the High Elves, they ran a risk of the demon continent being reduced to ash. It was the same reason why none of the Great Demon Lords had battled seriously with each other and why they were being patient with this new Demon Lord.
However, for the people who did not know any better and were eager to serve their God. What would they think? They would see enemies to destroy, yet all they could do was bite their nails and wait impatiently for the higher hopes to make a decision.
Such a thing would create a state of high tension amongst the masses and could easily be escalated into a chaotic riot.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmOf course, everyone here could easily quash such resentments and unease through force, but that would produce backlashes that would weaken the unification they had worked so hard to achieve. In addition, they could not deny that a war might break out in the future.
Thus, the Alcars could not share a border with the Elven continent, nor could they directly control the Zoraks. Even if they wanted to rule it from the shadows, the Sentro Region was simply too large.
"Let's consider this new Demon Lord first. By the way, I believe we should find a way to obtain the crystal with which he had sealed the Grim Reaper in. I sense the power that item now contains may even rival that of a God Tier artifact."
"Well that's to be expected, it does contain the embodiment of death itself. With it being sealed we should be able to freely manipulate the powers of death. Provided we find a suitable medium for its use. It would be dangerous to be exposed to the entirety of that energy at once."
"Indeed. That would be elevated on our list of priorities. However, stealing such an item from a being of his caliber is more delusion than reality. We might be overestimating our capabilities here. Even if we manage to somehow kill him, I don't think we have the means to break into his dimensional storage."
After hearing the suggestions from two of the six pillars, Cain decided to voice an objective outlook on the situation.
"In that case, we would have to find a way to force him to hand it over. Perhaps in a trade of sorts."
"That would mean we would have to make contact with him after all. And why would he trade us such a thing."
"We don't have to give him a choice you know. If he's hell-bent on remaining in the Darknar region, regardless of his might, he would have to answer to the Five."
"I see where you're headed. So in the end, we'll have to officially accept him as one of the Greats. So a Grand conference between the five families, and him? The last time we did that was more than 500 years ago, after the Civil War."
"Indeed... however, how do we bring forth the idea of a Grand Conference to the other families without being a target of suspicion given the tension amongst us lately."
"There's no need to worry about that, I believe he has gained interest in this matter and might finally make a move."
"Him Huh. Is that true?"
"Yes. That fellow is extremely fickle, but I believe this situation is to his liking. We might finally get to witness something we haven't seen for more than a thousand years."
"He is still a part of the noble demon race yet he acts separate from the other Greats, his personality completely annoys me. Still, one cannot deny his genius."
"Then all we need to do now is wait."
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and the room regain his calm. However, that calm did not last for long as the Pillar of Ice initiated another topic and a new round of discussions erupted in the holy sanctum.