Hearing Zeus’ agreement to his proposal, Bael smiled. It was a smile born of relief and satisfaction—but coming from a Demon King, even such a simple expression looked terrifying. Twisted ever so slightly by the weight of his nature, Bael’s grin radiated an ominous presence that made it impossible to tell whether it hid something more sinister. Was there a darker intention lurking behind that expression?
Zeus couldn’t be sure. And yet, despite the tension, he found himself surprisingly pleased with the outcome of this unexpected meeting. Who would have thought that his first face-to-face encounter with Demon King Bael would go so smoothly?
"Shall we begin soon?" Bael asked.
"Yes," Zeus replied. "I’ll prepare myself and my army. But we’ll go to them first—just the two of us. No soldiers. If we show up with an army, they might see it as a threat. Once we secure their cooperation... then we proceed as you proposed."
Bael nodded silently. Then, with a wave of his hand, he opened a swirling portal pulsing with Hell’s energy. As its heat and darkness surged outward, he stepped in without hesitation.
"See you soon," he said, vanishing into the void.
The portal sealed shut behind him.
For a moment, Zeus simply stood there. Then, for the first time since the meeting began, he smiled.
Despite it being their first encounter, he felt a strange sense of camraderie toward the Demon King. Perhaps it was because Bael wasn’t what he had expected—not a bloodthirsty Demon King, but a calculating force willing to do what was necessary.
Turning away, Zeus began walking toward his palace.
He needed to share what had transpired—not just with Hades and Poseidon, but with all of Olympus. The time for fragmented power was over.
A few days had passed.
Far from Olympus and the uneasy alliance forming there, on the other side of the realm, Clyde and Asqa had already delved deep into another Ruin—a shattered world left behind by apocalypse. The air was thick with the scent of decay and ancient power, but neither of them faltered. With the Codex in his hand and his plan solidifying, Clyde moved forward with unwavering resolve.
He wasn’t just grinding for strength. He was preparing for war.
His next move was clear: to strike at the domains of the higher realm. Not with mindless violence—but with purpose. He would offer them a choice. Join him peacefully and embrace the power of the Ancient One just like what he did to Asmodeus, or face annihilation. If they refused, he would not hesitate to wipe them out. One by one, he would tear down their false order.
So far, everything had gone better than Clyde expected. Much better.
He had imagined resistance, setbacks, more time to gather strength—but instead, the world seemed to open up before him, ripe for conquest. The monsters in the Ruins fell like wheat before a scythe, and the power that surged into him with each kill only fueled his ambition further.
He and Asqa hunted in different regions of the Ruin, intentionally staying apart so their devastating abilities wouldn’t interfere with each other. They didn’t rest. They didn’t slow down. There was no need for words. They understood the mission.
Clyde was now Level 215.
He had been grinding relentlessly for days without pause. Occasionally, he ordered the mansion’s servants to bring food to the Ruins. He had granted them access through portals, allowing them to deliver meals directly to him and Asqa. They would eat in silence for a few minutes then return to the hunt.
Asqa never complained. Even when rest was nothing more than a brief pause to chew, she pushed forward with the same intensity as Clyde. She knew what was at stake. She knew what strength meant in this world.
And so, in a world long since fallen, two forces of destruction continued to rise without the higher realms knowing their existance.
Finally, the time of sunset arrive in this decaying world.
Clyde and Asqa sat side by side atop a jagged cliff of shattered land, their silhouettes outlined by the burning orange glow bleeding through the cracks in the sky.
The light filtered down in fragmented rays, casting shadows of the broken landscape of the Ruin behind them. It wasn’t beautiful in the traditional sense, but in its quie and crumbling way, it was hauntingly serene.
Their breaths were still ragged from the relentless fighting, their clothes stained with monster blood and grime. But for now they allowed themselves this small moment of stillness like a pause between storms. A reminder that even in a ruined world peace could exist, however brief it is.
Asqa leaned back, resting her weight on her hands, eyes tracing the deep crimson streaks in the horizon.
"Feels like the sky’s bleeding, right?" she muttered quietly.
Clyde didn’t respond right away. He looked up, following her gaze.
"Maybe it is," he said finally. "This place remembers what happened to it. All the pain, the screams, the fire... it’s still here."
Asqa nodded slowly. "And we’re walking through its memory. Taking its remain to make ourselves stronger."
Another silence fell between them but this one was not uncomfortable. It was the silence of comrades who understood each other deeply, beyond the need for constant words.
They had killed and survived together, and now just for a fleeting moment they rested together.
Clyde let out a quiet breath. "We’ll be moving again soon."
"When we do... it’ll be harder. They will fight us back with everything they’ve got."
Asqa looked at him, her expression hard in the fading light. "Then we crush them harder." She said with determination in her eyes.
Clyde chuckled that sounds dry and tired. "Yeah. We will."
The sun finally dipped below the edge of the broken world, swallowed by darkness. And as the first stars emerged in the sky above, Clyde and Asqa stood.
The rest was over so now the grinding will resume.