Chapter 732: The River of the Underworld Contract

When the River of the Underworld began to spread in the underworld, Rops, the nominal ruler of the underworld, did nothing to stop it. After all, the river was a product born from the will of the underworld itself; even if he tried to stop it, he could only slow down its spread. As a supreme god, Rops understood this well, so he ignored it. In any case, even if the power of the River of the Underworld joined the underworld, it would not affect his own power or his rule over it.

Things were different in Kasseli. The Dead Abyss, as the lowest level of prisons, was under the control of Nairou. Nairou was a mad god of death, while Rops was the god of the underworld, governing realms such as death, the dead, rest, and slumber, without seeking to claim lives. Thus, there was a significant difference between the two.

Moreover, Nairou’s madness manifested in his actions, which could not be predicted by common sense. If Oustasius, the mad destroyer, was like a constantly burning fire, then Nairou, the god of death, was like a bomb that could explode at any moment. This was evident from the fact that he, a true god of the underworld, abandoned his divine kingdom and descended to the lowest level of Kasseli’s prison realm, risking severe injuries to eliminate the terrifying creatures imprisoned there, thereby locking himself in that abnormal place.

It was due to his weakened power and subsequent injuries that his soul suffered further damage, forcing him to fall into sleep from time to time to recover slowly.

Therefore, the mad Nairou was unreasonable. Even though the power of the River of the Underworld might not pose a threat to him, this god of death still felt as if he had been invaded. Upon waking up in anger, he roared and focused his strength to counter the invasion of the River of the Underworld, ignoring the battles happening right before his eyes—assuming such a death god even had eyes.

Yet, as a convergence of the powers of fate and time, the power of the River of the Underworld already surpassed that of ordinary supreme gods, nearly reaching the level of a demi-god. Though not as flexible as true supreme gods, it was still beyond the control of Nairou, a god of death who had fallen to the level of a mid-tier god.

Especially in the realm of death, where Nairou excelled, he could offer no effective resistance under the influence of fate and time and was simply crushed.

But the obstruction from Nereus’s Death Domain indeed slowed down the expansion of the River of Death, though only temporarily. As a result, the river couldn’t pass through the City of Death immediately; instead, it had to split into two branches to bypass the city and take control of the surrounding areas first, before turning back to erode the domain of the God of Death.

Looking back at the battle at the Hidden Temple, Milaku, the immortal demon priest, received support from the power and domain of the God of Death and, despite being at a disadvantage, could still be sustained by Thanobos.

On the other hand, problems arose on Asas’s side. After breaking the chains binding Edimachus, Asas tried to awaken the fallen angel’s consciousness. After several attempts by the Fallen Prince, the dazed Edimachus finally showed some reaction, a glimmer of clarity appearing in his eyes, which Asas, who had been watching him closely, noticed.

Seeing his efforts bear fruit, Asas was overjoyed, but before he could rejoice long, he saw Edimachus suddenly exhibit a mad expression, like a strange demon, and wave his hands at him in attack.

“Haha! Your Edimachus has long disappeared. Under my care, this body now contains only madness. You, Asas, are doomed to be disappointed…”

Seeing Edimachus go mad, Milaku gloated and boasted loudly to Asas.

Asas’s face turned extremely embarrassed, his eyes burning with hatred, eager to burn Milaku to ashes. Turning to look at the mad Edimachus, his expression shifted to endless self-reproach. Yet he had no choice but to swing his sword to parry Edimachus’s frenzied attacks, trying to subdue him and find a way to restore his sanity later.

What Milaku didn’t know was that his torment of Edimachus had led to the emergence of madness, which granted him even greater power, nearly restoring him to the level of a mid-tier god.

In a little while, this fallen angel would be able to break free from his bonds, and then Asas, the abuser, would be the first target for Edimachus to deal with.

If the God of Death, Nereus, couldn’t awaken in time, the freed Edimachus would deal a devastating blow to the City of Death.

After falling mad, Edimachus’s body also changed as his power shifted.

The current form of Aedimachus is completely different from that of the former celestial beings and demon lords. It is a beautiful form of a fallen angel with pale purple skin. Golden tattoo-like patterns constantly move across its bare body, and its originally gray fallen wings have transformed into metallic golden wings with razor-sharp edges. It also has golden eyes reflecting its divine bloodline, but their pupils have turned pitch black, as if it has lost all reason and emotion, becoming as cold as a machine. Once fully transformed, the former Aedimachus will likely be unrecoverable. Anxious, Asas was even willing to risk injury to control Aedimachus. But the latter had already descended into madness; even though it had fallen to the rank of a lower god, its immense power was beyond Asas, a half-god warrior, to suppress—let alone now that it had regained its strength as a mid-tier god due to the changes! “Need help?” As Asas fought through the most difficult battle of his life, a indifferent voice quietly reached his mind. Though the suspicious Asas knew that any help offered at this moment might have ulterior motives, he, trapped in despair, had no choice but to grasp at this lifeline. “Who are you? What do you want me to do to help you?” The fallen prince communicated with this suddenly appearing consciousness in his mind. From the fact that it could communicate with him despite the presence of many powerful true gods around, and even within the domain of the Death God, Asas realized its strength must far exceed his own—at least on the level of a mid-tier god. The voice didn’t explain much, only saying simply, “Are you willing to convert to the great River of Eternity and receive its blessings?” Asas was somewhat aware of the River of Eternity—it was a force that even the three great powers could hardly expel, possessing the immense power of a higher god and gradually eroding the abyssal world. Under normal circumstances, Asas might have had many doubts, but at this critical moment, this usually cunning fallen prince didn’t hesitate and immediately signed this contract with the River of Eternity within his consciousness. Seeing that Asas had signed this contract, second only to the supreme contract, Donald, who was overseeing from behind, immediately diverted the power of the River of Eternity and poured it into Asas’s body as the contract bearer. Asas felt a powerful force surge within him—appearing suddenly, seemingly endless yet intangible, impossible to grasp.

With the power of the River Styx, he temporarily gained the strength of a mid-tier god, yet seemed unaffected by any burden at all. He immediately unleashed his full power, sending the wildly attacking Edimachus flying with a single strike.

Seeing this from the Ninth Circle of Hell, Donald shook his head and said, “The power of the River Styx isn’t meant to be used like this!” With a thought, Asas, who was at the lowest level of Kasseli, felt as though his body had lost control. Reaching out, he pointed at Edimachus, who was rising again from the ruins and roaring furiously, and an invisible force cut off Edimachus’s source of power.

To Asas, it felt as though he were the master of fate—everything was governed by fate. But with this strike, the fate of all existence would be one and the same: a dead end, erased by fate.

Of course, this strike did not erase Edimachus’s existence. Instead, it first severed the source of power that drove his madness using the power of fate, then reversed time, restoring his consciousness to the moment he was first imprisoned.

Having regained control over his divinity, Edimachus was too weak to move. But when he saw Asas, his eyes showed a mixture of anger, pain, and complex emotions. Eventually, those emotions turned into deep sorrow, which pained Asas greatly. He cried out loudly, “Forgive me, Edimachus! I didn’t want to deceive you. Don’t be sad—it only makes me more heartbroken. Let me make amends for the harm I’ve done to you in the days to come as atonement, shall I?”

But before Asas could wait for Edimachus’s response, that powerful force, under the control of that mysterious will, instantly imprisoned the powerless fallen angel, turning him into a small statue the size of a palm that fell into Asas’s hands.

Feeling that will trying to use the power of the River Styx to send him out of the City of Death, Asas suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said, “No! I still haven’t completed my deal with Thanobos. That Miraku must die!”

As soon as he spoke, that will stopped acting, returning control of his body to the fallen prince before retreating.

Regaining control over himself and the power of the River Styx, Asas immediately sneered and delivered a fatal strike at the priest of the immortal demons.

Miraku felt as though he had been thrown into the waves of the sea, his strength rapidly fading. In panic, he tried to flee toward the center of the Hidden Temple, where his true god, Nagara, resided. If he could reach there, he might save his life.

But Tanobos, the lord of the undead demons fighting against it, would not miss such a good opportunity. He acted decisively to shatter Milaku’s last hope, opening his serpent-like maw wide and devouring the body and soul of the undead demon sorcerer. After swallowing the dark Milaku, the undead demon smacked its lips as if savoring the taste, and exclaimed, “Indeed, it is the power of death. Even just a portion of a divine messenger’s soul possesses such formidable power. I wonder how much strength I’ll gain after devouring that Flesh Reaver!”