Chapter 58: He, Him, She, Her

I have no time to be lost in confusion…
Gazing at the vast areas of land collapsing in the distance of the Death Realm, Belial’s gaze remained as resolute as ever.
He knew that everything he did would bring immeasurable, catastrophic disasters to this world; countless lives would be lost, their souls wandering without rest, and the entire world would be plunged into eternal darkness.
Belial still remembered the vicious curses of those seven Immortal Kings before he destroyed them…
Death?
He sneered.
Since embarking on this journey that ordinary people could never even imagine, he had never thought about living long.
Without “her,” what was the difference between him and death?
A world without “her” wouldn’t even deserve his glance.
If destroying this world was the only way to bring her back to life, he would do it without hesitation—destroy the entire world!
“I don’t have the time to be lost in confusion!”
Hearing Belial’s calm voice, the demon god “The All-Knowing Prophet” Vashak closed his eyes, then opened the triangular eye on his forehead, looked at Belial, and said in a low voice, “I can see everyone’s inner world, including yours, Lord Belial. I see the struggle within you… Even if you fall into endless darkness and merge with its forces, your thoughts and will remain intact… What a remarkable and beautiful flame of the soul. But… beautiful things are always fleeting. I have seen your future…”
“Future?” Belial smiled faintly and said carelessly, “What will my future be, oh sage of the Kingdom of Savos?”
Vashak fell silent for a moment, his forehead-eye observing Belial’s inner self carefully, then said in a low voice, “You, who are skilled in astrology, must have seen it too—your future…”
“Hah,” Belial sneered, took a deep breath, looked up at the blood moon in the sky of the Death Realm, and said calmly, “I will die in seven days, is that so?”

Vashak was stunned for a moment before a look of relief appeared on his face. He praised, “Truly worthy of Lord Belial. As far as I know, throughout history, no human has ever reached your level…” Then, he changed his tone, speaking with a hint of reluctance and pleading, “At first, I chose to follow you because of your immense power. But over time, I’ve come to see your true nature. Although your fellow humans see you as a villain, I believe you are different from them. Throughout this time, you have never killed anyone out of personal whim. You… are a kind person!”
“Kind?” Belial couldn’t help but laugh. He glanced around and sneered, “It was the so-called kind humans you speak of who destroyed the entire Death Realm!”
“No!” Vashak shook his head firmly. Then, using the third eye on his forehead, he looked at Belial and said solemnly, “The gods granted me the Eye of Truth so that I might see through the illusions of the world… You are a great man. You could have lived and died in a better way. Your future shouldn’t be like this…”
Belial stared deeply at Vashak, then laughed self-mockingly and said disdainfully, “The future, you know, refers to what will happen. It cannot be predicted or changed, not even by so-called fate… And the future you speak of—well, once it’s seen, the future changes as well. The so-called predetermined fate also changes…” He paused, turned to Vashak, and smiled faintly, “And my power is enough to override fate!”
“No,” Vashak shook his head and said earnestly, “No one can escape fate, not even you, Lord Belial!”
“Is that so?” Belial smiled faintly, raised his right hand, and snapped his fingers. Immediately, a strange black curtain appeared beside him—a portal for traveling between different spaces and dimensions.
“Then let’s wait and see,” he said, his eyes filled with arrogance as he sneered, “The future I see tells me that I will die in seven days… I’m curious to see who will be able to kill me! Humans? Gods? Or the Ancient Will? Ridiculous! As long as I, Belial, still wish to live, no one can kill me!—That is my ‘future’!”

Feeling the immense pressure from Belial, Vashak’s gaze shifted slightly as he shook his head and murmured, “Perhaps! — If this is the future you have chosen…”
— A few days later, at Vandor —
More and more troops gathered in Vandor. Besides human armies, the five surviving Immortal Kings also summoned numerous undead forces—ghosts, skeletons, liches, and even powerful bone dragons, dozens of them in total…
But in the eyes of those who knew the truth, they were nothing but pawns. The only ones truly capable of standing against Belial and facing him were just a handful of individuals.
Sos, who wielded the Source Power; Lilith, the apostle of [Lust] Asmontis; Lily, the apostle of [Anger] Sammael; and Jerry Berford, the apostle of [Greed] Mammon…
Apart from them, neither the once-famous archmage Greta Kaines, nor Grand Elder Vandell, who lost his life trying to predict Belial’s movements and now existed as a soul, nor Professor Hode, who was once on par with Argus and was half-human and half-elemental, had such qualifications.
Speaking of which, after the collapse of the Dead Realm, many renowned magicians from history gradually arrived in the material world. Some were even archmages from Vandell or Heliorox Academy. Though they no longer had physical bodies and existed only as souls, they still boosted the morale and enthusiasm of Vandor’s black magicians, as they were predecessors from history.
However, when they learned about their enemy, fear spread invisibly among them.
Because they simply couldn’t imagine what kind of enemy required such a massive army to confront. After all, the troops gathered in Vandor had reached a terrifying number—even the allied forces during the Golden Age never assembled such a powerful military force.
And their enemy was merely nine people!
Vandor’s black magicians were puzzled by this.
During these days, Sos stayed by Dia’s side, helping her with household chores she usually didn’t handle, or taking her out to walk around the streets.
The affairs of Heliorox Academy were temporarily handled by the old dean and Professor Manhert, at the request of the Grand Elder. He wanted everyone to relax as much as possible before the battle, not to be burdened by memories of Belial’s strength—especially Sos, Lilith, Allen, Scott, and the others who had once fought Belial directly.

It’s funny—when Professor Manhet met the old dean in his soul form, his horrified expression made everyone laugh nonstop.
Professor Hode and Abel went off to their own little world—oh, no, a three-person world, including their child, Wheatles.
As for little Lily, she remained in Vandal to receive special training from the Grand Elder. After all, compared to the other apostles, she was far behind, and her strength was needed badly in this battle.
Meanwhile, Uncle Werewolf Connel rushed from Altak to Vandal. Though his power was ineffective against Belial, it was still a source of combat strength. As for Ravia herself, she didn’t come…
Perhaps Thos was secretly relieved, as he hadn’t handled Ravia’s relationship with Dia very well.
Ulric rushed back to Vandal just two days before the great battle. It was said he had gone to Brownhill in the north, where he was caught by a tavern owner who demanded he play music for days because he couldn’t pay for food. Eventually, the tavern owner, unable to stand the poor bard’s nonsensical tunes, sent him away. Ulric, who had planned to continue north, encountered the meteor shower and the bizarre phenomenon of the inverted world along the way, which forced him to hurry back to Vandal…
As for Lilith, a rift appeared in her relationship with Dia. During a conversation with Thos, Dia sensed something was wrong. Under further questioning, Lilith was forced to admit that she had used Asmontis’s power to hypnotize Ravia and manipulate her to strain Thos’s relationship with Dia.
Dia never imagined that something so painful to her would come from her own good friend. Especially the fact that Lilith wanted to kill Thos made her feel extremely sad and angry.
But for Thos, he didn’t hold much resentment toward Lilith. Although she had accepted Asmontis’s orders to kill him for Belial’s sake, she hadn’t harmed Ravia or Dia. After all, in the end, Lilith was only acting out of concern for her friend, as Thos had indeed treated Dia poorly in the past.
Dia was a good woman…
“Thos, do you know where the flour is?”
“I don’t know. Is it in the small cabinet upstairs?”
“The small cabinet? No, it’s not there…”
“Let me check.”
“Mm!”

Dinner was as usual—bread, dried fish, cured meat, and so on. Oh, and broth. Dia was excellent at making broth, much to Nina’s envy as she stayed at the Thors’ house these days. Though the young lady from the magic world possessed outstanding magical talent, she wasn’t very good at cooking.
Dia was a good woman…
It had to be said that her personality and the impression she gave were very similar to Nina’s when she was with Thors. Although the two had only become close due to a misunderstanding at first, Dia was indeed the woman most suited for Thors. She could do things that others couldn’t—at least, not Ravia…
“There it is.” After searching for a while, he found the bag of flour and handed it to Dia. Thors watched quietly as she busied herself in the kitchen.
It felt so good…
What they called the feeling of home…
Seemingly noticing Thors’ intense gaze, Dia turned her head and glanced at him shyly, saying softly, “Alright, go outside. Go talk to Allen and the others. I’ll be done in a moment…”
“Him? It doesn’t matter!” Thors shrugged, stepped forward, wrapped his arms around Dia from behind, rested his head on her shoulder, and said softly, “Or do you not want me here?”
“Of course not…” Dia quickly replied, then, seemingly noticing Thors’ teasing smile, she said playfully, “You really like to tease me…” As she spoke, she naturally leaned back, pressing closely against Thors’ body.
In truth, she was nervous. Because of the battle ahead, she needed Thors’ comfort, and similarly, Thors needed hers too…
The two stayed like that for who knew how long until there was a knocking at the kitchen door.
Dia instinctively turned her head and saw Nina leaning against the door, looking at them with a smirk, teasingly saying, “I was wondering why there was no noise for so long. No wonder…”
One sentence made Dia’s face turn red with shame.
“Alright, Thors, go outside first. Otherwise, we might not finish dinner anytime soon,” she said. Then, Nina turned to Dia and asked, “Do you need help?”
Only after Thors left the kitchen reluctantly did the redness on Dia’s face fade. She said softly, “It’s okay, Sister Nina. You’d better go rest for a while. I can do these things… I can only do these things…”

She gave Dia a deep look, then shook her head. She rolled up her sleeves slightly, stepped beside Dia, picked up a spoon to taste the broth, nodded in satisfaction, and praised, “It tastes great!” After that, she let out a soft sigh and whispered, “You still say such things. You know, I’m actually envious of you…”
“Huh?” Dia was stunned for a moment before seemingly realizing something and looking at Nina in surprise.
“There’s nothing that can’t be done… In this world, we either need others or are needed by others. Even a person’s value lies in these bonds. He needs you, and even if you’re irreplaceable, so please stop saying such things. Your words sometimes hurt me deeply!”
“Sis Nina, I’m sorry…” Seemingly understanding, Dia looked at Nina apologetically.
“It’s okay, I understand. You’re just lacking confidence,” Nina said, taking an apron from nearby and putting it on. With a smile, she added, “But with you by my brother’s side, as his sister, I can feel at ease… Enough talk. Let me see what I can do to help.”
“Then… shall sis be in charge of simmering this broth?”
“Sure, leave it to me!”
That night, lying in Thors’s arms, Dia couldn’t fall asleep. Tomorrow, the man beside her would leave to fight—against the most powerful enemy in the world. This filled Dia with extreme fear, as she worried that her beloved man might suffer some harm.
Seemingly sensing Dia’s tremors, Thors opened his eyes, held her closer, and gazed into her eyes, which were like sapphires, in the darkness. He asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
“I… I’m scared…” Dia instinctively curled up in his arms to comfort her restless heart.
“Scared?” Seemingly guessing her thoughts, Thors smiled slightly and said, “Actually, I’m scared too…”
“Huh?” Dia raised her head in surprise.
Thors let out a soft sigh, held her close, and murmured, “People say the most terrifying rival is oneself. It was meant as an inspiring phrase, but I never expected to be so unlucky… Belial—this guy is just my future self seven years from now, yet he’s far stronger than me. All my moves, all my magic, all my abilities mean nothing against him. I really don’t want to be his enemy…”

“But for everyone’s sake, for this world, for all those who hope for peace in the world, Thors, you must defeat your future self!” With that, Dia stretched out her fair arms and wrapped them around Thors’s neck, whispering, “Today, Sister Nina told me that everyone has a reason to exist—that is to be needed by others, and that’s what reflects a person’s value…”
“Needed?”
“Yes, maybe you were destined to appear for the sake of the entire world…”
“The entire world?” Thors smiled slightly, teasingly, “What about you?”
Gazing deeply at the man she loved, Dia said softly, “Since the day you asked me out, I’ve lived only for you…”
“Dia…”
“You are everything in my life, Thors. So please come back safely, okay? Although we might not be able to go to Jerbat together, we can open a small bakery in Vando…”
“Hehe, then I’ll have to resign from my duties first!”
“No rush. We’ll all get old one day. We can open it then—well, six hours a day, watching the sunrise together in the morning and the sunset together in the evening…” As she spoke, Dia’s face showed a hint of shyness as she added timidly, “Is it too boring?”
“How could it be?” Thors chuckled softly, hugging Dia gently. “Isn’t it wonderful, such a life?”
“So…” Biting her lip, Dia raised her head and looked into the man’s unusual eyes, one dark golden and the other silver, with an expectant gaze.
“Oh, I’ll come back, safe and sound!—for that life we hope for…”
“Mm!”
—The next day, Bries—
Bries is a small city near the Empire of Sassen. It’s located on the edge of the empire’s central region. Why? Because it’s bordered by Sassen to the west, Vando to the south, and Theland to the north. You see, Theland is the poorest region in the empire. Due to the empire’s policies, the poor people of Theland can’t get enough food, so they resort to robbing caravans along the road between Bries and Galk. This is why the people of Theland have such a bad reputation and are despised by other regions.

By the time Thors and the others arrived in Brees, it was already a desolate sight—entire cities had been destroyed by that meteor shower. Endless flames had burned down the city walls, claiming people’s lives and utterly destroying the cities they relied on for survival. At a glance, the city was filled with charred corpses; seeing the terrified expressions on their faces, one could only imagine how terrifying that catastrophic disaster must have been.

“That’s too much…” Allen, usually so carefree, sighed heavily.

Indeed, the weak souls of ordinary civilians like these couldn’t stay in this material world for even a few days. It wasn’t hard to guess that the souls of these innocent residents might have long vanished under that unremarkable sunlight, disappearing silently.

Who could understand the fear they must feel when, as souls, they noticed themselves fading under the sunlight?

In the end, Vanth’s black magicians buried those corpses with sorrow, along with the entire city. They didn’t want the upcoming battles to destroy the last remnants thesethe dead left in this world. The entire city was leveled and buried deep underground.

“Hey, buddy, do you think that guy Beelzebub will come?” While waiting, Allen quietly asked Thors this question.

Actually, not only him but even Thors himself was a bit skeptical. After all, Beelzebub wasn’t just a powerful black magician; he also had skills in astrology that were comparable to, or even surpassed, those of the Grand Elder. In other words, Beelzebub surely knew his whereabouts had been exposed. If so, would he still proceed with his original plans?

“Maybe,” Thors replied vaguely.

But everything turned out completely beyond his expectations…

About an hour later, a heavy, oppressive aura covered the sky. Beelzebub had arrived, just as the Grand Elder had predicted!

“Over there!” Thors, Lilith, Lily, Scott, Allen, and the others immediately sensed that powerful presence. Along with it, a black curtain like a portal suddenly appeared not far in front of the army. Soon after, Beelzebub appeared before them at a leisurely pace.

Compared to their meeting in Sassen a few months ago, he seemed much more exhausted. His originally silver hair had turned gray, and there were faint shadows under his eyes. It wasn’t hard to imagine that his soul was constantly under the pressure and weakening from the laws of this world. Perhaps now was the best chance to defeat him!

But was it really that easy?

The once noisy legions of dark mages suddenly fell eerily silent the moment Belial appeared, for they truly realized—or rather, felt deep in their souls—a sense of dread, a horror that arose merely from a glance from him. Now they understood why they needed to gather a massive army to confront him, when he was all by himself. A brief silence settled over the vast battlefield; no one spoke, no sound was made, until a loud, almost arrogant laugh broke the oppressive quiet. It was Belial’s laugh—only he dared to laugh so freely in front of countless armies, as if mocking those before him. Belial’s laughter made most of the allied forces show expressions of disdain, but no one dared interrupt his laughter, for the sheer intimidation from Belial was immense, as if he were standing right before you, yet you had to look up at him as if he were a god. Human soldiers were like this, apostles were like this, and even the Immortal Kings were like this! With nothing but his presence, Belial suppressed hundreds of thousands of undead and human troops. “I didn’t expect you to actually have the guts to come!” The Immortal King [Utreid Baines, the Emperor of Corpse] had to break the silence first, as he noticed slight unrest among the human mages. Though he used those humans as pawns, he still didn’t want them to lose confidence before the battle even began. “Me? Ha, funny,” Belial, standing before countless armies, seemed utterly unconcerned by them. His indifferent gaze swept over apostles like Thoth and Lilith, and he shook his head in disdain before fixing his eyes on the Immortal King and speaking in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, “Do I need to fear you? No matter how many there are, reptiles are still just reptiles… On the contrary, I admire your courage!” With that, his gaze shifted back to Thoth, and he said meaningfully, “I suppose since you dare appear before me, you must be prepared to die, right?” Facing Belial’s fearless attitude, which dismissed everyone else as insignificant, Thoth felt his confidence waver. He knew well that Belial wasn’t joking—he believed Belial would go all out this time.

Seeing Belial point his spear at himself, Thor could no longer remain silent. After all, he was also one of the leaders of this allied force, and the two shared a bond beyond what the world recognized. After a brief silence, Thor said in a deep voice, “Belial, give up!”
“Hah?” Belial was stunned for a moment before shaking his head in mockery and saying, “I thought you had something to say. In my dictionary, there’s no such word as ‘give up’! Isn’t this what you want?” With that, he took out the crystal-clear Holy Spirit Stone from his chest. Under the scorching gazes of the Immortal Kings, he sneered, “Don’t talk to me about justice. Your so-called justice is worthless in my eyes. The rule that has governed this world from the beginning is survival of the fittest… This gem now belongs to me. Kill me, and you can take it back and use it to restore balance to the world. But once you do that, I’ll consider you enemies. That’s simple!”
“Why?” Thor asked, frowning at Belial with suspicion, “Why go to such extremes as destroying our world? What’s in it for you, Belial?! I can hear the wailing of your soul. You no longer have the energy to travel through space. If this world collapses, you’ll die here too!”
“And so what?” Belial smiled faintly and spoke in a calm, emotionless tone, “From the start, I never intended to survive…” He glanced deeply at Thor and murmured, “There are things you, who stand on that side, can never understand.”
“You…”
“Enough,” Belial took a deep breath, put the Holy Spirit Stone back in his chest, glanced coldly at the army before him, and said in a deep voice, “What are you waiting for? Reptiles, I knew you’d be here waiting for me, but I still came… I’ll stand here, not running away or surrendering. And… I’ll achieve victory in the end!”
Belial’s words were arrogant and boastful, but his tone carried no trace of such arrogance or pride, as if he were merely stating an established fact. For a moment, the entire battlefield fell into an eerie silence, like still water with not a single ripple. Yet everyone knew that once someone broke the deadlock, what would follow would be a battle that could determine the fate of the world. The enemy had only nine people…