Chapter 883

The Felscar Rift descended slowly through the atmosphere, lining itself up with the enormous crater left behind by the Interdimensional Walker before dropping into it.

The crater wasn’t a perfect fit. There were still sizable gaps around the edges, but it was better than landing on open ground.

The Rift wasn’t exactly a cube. Its bottom came to a point, and if Evenson tried to land it on flat ground without getting the balance right, there was always the possibility that the entire structure might tip over.

That would be embarrassing.

And potentially fatal.

BOOM.

The ground—or whatever passed for ground beneath the Rift—shuddered violently beneath Evenson’s feet.

The descent finally stopped.

Evenson looked around.

Then frowned.

This was... considerably higher than he’d expected.

By his original estimate, once the Felscar Rift settled into the crater, the uppermost level should have been only slightly above the surrounding terrain. From a distance, it ought to look like a small hill.

Instead...

He looked down.

The mountains were below him.

All of them.

Evenson slowly turned in place.

"Well," he muttered. "So much for looking like a hill."

CLANG!

Before he could investigate further, the Rift abruptly dropped again.

BOOM!

This time, it stayed put.

The reason quickly became obvious.

Gronos hadn’t quite managed to aim properly during the descent. The bottom of the Rift had caught on the edge of the crater, leaving the entire structure precariously balanced there.

Eventually, the crater rim could no longer support its enormous weight.

It collapsed.

And the Rift dropped like an elevator whose cables had just snapped, sliding straight to the bottom.

Fortunately, the demons inside remained remarkably calm.

They’d experienced worse landings before.

Much worse.

And once the descent was finally over, everyone was still standing on solid ground.

Everyone except Evenson.

The accident hadn’t caused particularly severe casualties, either.

Only a few hundred demons on the lower levels had failed to react in time and been crushed beneath the falling structure.

All things considered, it had been a remarkably smooth landing.

Evenson was lying flat on the ground.

"Ugh..."

He slowly pushed himself upright.

His back felt as though someone had tried to fold his spine in half.

The first order he’d issue once things settled down would probably be a proper set of landing safety regulations.

The Burning Legion had apparently conquered countless worlds without ever discovering workplace safety.

Eventually, Evenson got his feet underneath him.

That’s when he noticed the crowd.

All the demons who mattered had gathered around him.

Agatha.

Dest.

Lady Sargis.

Gronos.

Zeros.

Each had brought a handful of trusted subordinates, and all of them were standing respectfully to the side like officials waiting for their superior to finish speaking.

Evenson understood immediately.

Their respect wasn’t entirely directed at him.

So he took a deep breath and shouted:

"The Lords have arrived! Bow before your rulers!"

The demons dropped to their knees as one.

Behind Evenson, a black portal opened.

Two slender figures stepped through.

The Eredar Twins.

Evenson immediately sensed something was wrong.

Their entrance was far too quiet.

Normally, whenever the Eredar Twins made an appearance, they would launch straight into some suitably dramatic declaration about pain, betrayal, and despair—as though they’d rehearsed an opening number for an especially depressing musical.

This time, however, they said nothing.

They didn’t even look particularly pleased.

Their eyes kept drifting toward Evenson.

He began to feel nervous.

Perhaps silence really was more intimidating than words.

The twins’ complete lack of reaction left the demons around them scrambling to demonstrate their loyalty.

"Lady Sacrolash! We’ve been waiting for you!"

"The twins have returned to save us and restore the Rift!"

"We’re willing to give our lives for you!"

The declarations overlapped until Lady Sacrolash slowly raised one hand.

Silence immediately fell.

Every demon lowered its head.

Evenson finally understood.

Ah.

This is the silent intimidation strategy.

The twins hadn’t even said anything, and everyone was already terrified.

Honestly, it worked better than their usual theatrical introductions.

Still...

Wasn’t there supposed to be one idiot who stepped forward, challenged them, and got brutally murdered as an example?

Apparently even demons had learned when to read the room.

Then the demons lowered their heads so respectfully that none of them could see what happened next.

Both twins turned around.

And spat out a mouthful of dirt.

"Ugh..."

They glared at Evenson.

He could practically read the accusation in their eyes.

Nice job.

You buried the teleportation marker we’d prepared.

We weren’t expecting to materialize inside the atmosphere, genius.

That mouthful of dirt came completely out of nowhere.

Evenson immediately walked over and handed each of them a bottle of water.

"Here."

They rinsed their mouths.

Meanwhile, Evenson turned back toward the assembled demons as though nothing had happened.

"Rise, everyone!"

The demons obediently stood.

The twins soon arrived before the former lord’s fortress.

There, they found the enormous headless corpse of Harmondis hanging upside down.

Both sisters stared at the remains for a moment.

Then sighed.

"Harmondis," they murmured. "You were once one of our bravest commanders."

Lady Sacrolash’s voice carried a trace of regret.

"If you’d only listened to our advice back then, perhaps you wouldn’t have ended up like this."

Lady Sargis immediately dropped to one knee.

"My ladies, you mustn’t blame yourselves."

Her tone was earnest.

"Harmondis refused to obey your orders. He acted on his own authority. His fate was entirely his own doing."

When the Eredar Twins had originally departed the Felscar Rift, they had left orders for the Spider Queen Sargis to assume command.

Harmondis, however, had considered himself too powerful to accept that decision.

He had spent years fighting on the front lines, believed his contributions made him indispensable, and refused to surrender his position.

He challenged Sargis for control of the Rift.

And defeated her.

Lady Alythess sighed.

"That’s why we always said Harmondis was only suited to being a vanguard commander."

She turned away from the corpse.

"His abilities were never the problem. His judgment was."

Agatha approached at precisely the right moment.

"Abyssal demons have always been arrogant and foolish creatures. Besides brains, the thing they lack most is self-awareness."

She gestured, and two thrones that had clearly been prepared in advance appeared before the twins.

The sisters sat.

Agatha clapped her hands.

A group of succubi entered.

Two knelt before the thrones and began massaging the twins’ legs.

Two more stood behind them, kneading their shoulders.

Another pair polished their horns with soft cloth and scented oil.

Evenson stood off to the side.

He stared.

Seriously?

These two are basically feudal landlords.

And, more importantly—

They’re stealing my job.

The twins, naturally, looked perfectly content.

After enjoying their new seats for a while, Lady Alythess waved for Gronos to approach.

"Is the Soul Engine functioning properly?"

The Eredar Twins were nothing like the reckless Harmondis.

The Soul Engine was the primary source of energy for the entire Rift. The fel cannons, defensive systems, magical arrays, and countless other systems all depended on it.

Naturally, the sisters had always treated it as a priority.

"The Soul Engine is operating normally," Gronos reported happily.

"There appears to have been a tremendous loss of life on this planet in the distant past. Countless creatures seem to have died here in pain and despair."

"Even after all this time, fragments of their souls still linger."

"I’ve already activated the engine’s dispersal and absorption systems."

"There are enough lingering souls here to keep the engine running for a very long time."

"Excellent."

Lady Sacrolash nodded.

She dismissed the succubi serving her, then straightened in her throne.

"This planet is the only world we currently control in this universe."

Her expression became serious.

"You must take good care of it."

Evenson coughed.

The first part had sounded reasonable.

Then came the punchline.

"So," Sacrolash continued, "begin construction of a Demonforge Camp."

Cough. Cough!

Evenson nearly choked.

He stared at the twins.

You two have a very unusual definition of environmental protection.

Building a Demonforge Camp wasn’t exactly preserving the environment.

The planet was already suffering from severe desertification.

What they were planning would take it one step further.

They weren’t merely turning the world into a desert.

They were planning to kill whatever life remained.

Lady Alythess continued.

"Construct the Demonforge Camp. Gather the lingering souls of the dead and the negative emotions generated throughout this universe."

"Those resources will allow us to create new demons."

"I intend to build a true army here."

"Understood!"

Zeros immediately accepted the order.

He was practically trembling with excitement.

The Eredar Twins were far too important to remain trapped on a miserable little planet like this.

Clearly, they intended to expand the Legion’s territory throughout this universe.

And once the army was large enough, they’d conquer a realm worthy of their status.

Harmondis was dead.

That meant the position of vanguard commander was vacant.

Who else could possibly fill it?

Zeros’ eyes practically glowed.

This was obviously the twins’ way of signaling that they intended to promote him.

Lady Alythess looked at him.

"Then get started."

Zeros eagerly prepared to leave.

But Alythess raised one finger.

"There’s one thing you need to understand."

"This is an entirely new universe."

"There are powerful enemies here."

"Until the army has been expanded and we give you further orders, keep a low profile."

"Do not attract unnecessary attention."

Lady Sacrolash continued.

"Your operational range is restricted to this planet."

"If anyone acts recklessly and attracts the attention of outside forces, jeopardizing our strategy..."

Her smile became cold.

"...they should save us the trouble and throw themselves into the Soul Engine."

"It will be less painful that way."

"Understood!"

Zeros gave a solemn nod.

This was different from the old days.

The Eredar Twins had reclaimed control of the Rift.

That meant strategy would replace Harmondis’s preferred approach of charging straight at everything that moved.

The twins were planners.

They would identify an enemy’s greatest weakness, build an overwhelming advantage, and strike with enough force to destroy their opponent in one decisive blow.

It was more complicated.

It also wasn’t really Zeros’s style.

But this concerned his future.

If he proved himself worthy of the vanguard position, the twins might reward him.

And if their reward was generous enough...

He might even break through the limits of a Doomguard and become a Doom Lord.

He’d probably be one of the weakest Doom Lords imaginable.

He couldn’t possibly compare with veterans like Kaz’rogala or Kazzak.

But a lord was still a lord.

That was certainly better than being permanently stuck between ranks.

Besides, he was a demon, not a paladin.

Sure, he enjoyed charging straight at an enemy and smashing them face-to-face.

But an overwhelming massacre?

Now that was satisfying.

His eyes widened.

No.

I have to say it.

I love war.

Zeros trembled with excitement.

He bowed deeply, then took off to begin construction of the Demonforge Camp.

Not long after, Peggy Carter and Galia approached.

The Eredar Twins smiled.

"Now we can finally discuss the important matters among ourselves."

They weren’t saying they completely distrusted Zeros.

He was a useful weapon.

But asking him for strategic input was pointless.

With a brain like his, involving him in a council meeting would only guarantee that everyone else spent the entire meeting cleaning up his suggestions.

Peggy didn’t waste time.

"What exactly are you planning?"

She looked directly at the twins.

"Why are you increasing the number of demons?"

Peggy had participated in the assault on the Felscar Rift without hesitation.

But her reasons were fundamentally different from those of the others.

She wasn’t loyal to the Eredar Twins.

She’d fought because she wanted to protect Earth from the demons.

That was it.

So watching the twins deliberately expand their forces naturally made her suspicious.

And Peggy had been burned before.

Operation Paperclip had brought countless former Hydra personnel into American service.

They’d all promised they’d changed.

They’d promised to help rebuild the country.

Instead, Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. from within and nearly brought down the entire world order.

Peggy wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.

So she couldn’t help wondering whether the twins’ current behavior was another elaborate deception.

Perhaps they never intended to protect this universe.

Perhaps they simply wanted an army of their own.

An army powerful enough to drag the entire universe into destruction.

That was why she’d asked.

Unfortunately, the moment she finished speaking, Galia quietly tugged at her arm.

Don’t be that obvious.

Agatha and Sargis were also watching Peggy with complicated expressions.

The two demons had fought alongside her moments ago because they shared a common objective.

That did not mean they’d hesitate if Peggy suddenly decided to oppose the twins.

They wouldn’t.

Not for a second.

Lady Sacrolash smiled.

"That question?"

She considered it.

"If you want the official answer, there are still many dangers in this universe."

"We need a powerful army to protect it."

Lady Alythess smiled as well.

"And if you’d prefer a more personal explanation..."

"You participated in the battle."

"You should have a very clear understanding of these demons’ personalities by now."

"They’re no longer wandering around the empty Twisting Nether."

"If we don’t give them something productive to do and keep them confined to this planet, they’ll cause enormous problems."

She shrugged.

"So choose whichever explanation you’re willing to believe."

Evenson casually stepped into the conversation.

"And if you don’t like either explanation, don’t worry."

"I can always make up a third one."

Peggy stared at him.

"Is that really all there is to it?"

"Right now, we have an army."

Evenson smiled pleasantly.

"You’re one person, Agent Carter."

"Why would we need to deceive you?"

"You’re powerful, certainly."

"But don’t forget that your abilities came from us."

He paused.

"And besides..."

Evenson reached into his dimensional storage and pulled out a small, antique-looking box.

He tapped it lightly.

"You should understand that I’m not lying to you."

Peggy’s expression changed instantly.

"That..."

The box hadn’t been enchanted.

Her ghost vision pierced through it without difficulty.

Inside was a heart.

A living heart.

It was beating.

And the moment the box appeared, Peggy felt something.

A strange connection.

Something tying that heart to her.

She didn’t need much imagination to figure out whose heart it was.

Her own.

Peggy gave a bitter smile.

"So this is your version of a threat."

She shook her head.

"That’s almost as vicious as the Evil Queen from Snow White."

She knew what would happen if that heart were destroyed.

She would die with it.

A dozen questions immediately crowded into her mind.

She could only choose one.

Her eyes settled on Evenson.

"Why does that heart have a wound?"

She pointed toward it.

"That one."

"The mark that looks like it was punctured by a surgical blade."

Evenson hesitated.

"Uh..."

He smiled weakly.

"I told you I slipped, would you believe me?"