Responding casually, Laine couldn't help but think of that restless fellow.
Beyond the main courtyard, Laine had no intention of keeping the other two levels of Hell in his hands.
Enfeoffing them would save time and effort.
Perhaps some beings are simply not suited to overly comfortable surroundings; Laine believed that here, that individual might truly be able to play to their strengths.
"Speaking of which, compared to those Demon Gods, I'm actually more interested in the Styx River,"
"I noticed long ago in the previous epoch that the essence of Styx penetrated Tartarus. And I really didn't expect that its power of vows could be effective here, even more so than elsewhere."
Asmodeus, on the other hand, had a different opinion. He didn't care why the River of Vows was so special, as long as it was useful.
"The 'vow' taking effect amidst Chaos is indeed quite interesting, but it's also a good thing. After all, without it, Crius might not have believed in my promise."
With some indifference, as the goddess never had much presence, Asmodeus then asked:
"I heard she gave birth to three children on her own, releasing the explosive aspect of her nature and having them serve in place of herself for my rebellious son?"
"That is indeed the case, and some say that they were born of her and a Titan Deity. But from what I've seen, those deities don't carry any traces of other divine natures in their bodies."
The violent Bia, the brutish Kratos, and their two sisters. There were True Gods and Demigods, but indeed, they bore only the bloodline of Styx.
"I'd welcome the opportunity to have them serve me in the future."
"The Vow Goddess, her power aligns well with the Nine Hells."
With some regret, Asmodeus fell silent for a while before he stretched out his hand and drew a circle in the air.
On one side of the circle was the main courtyard; on the other were countless demons gathering around an altar, bowing in worship.
Unfortunately, these evil lives, even for the ruler of the Nine Hells, seemed to lack genuine devotion.
"Faith... Golden Humanity seemed to have had this power too, a pity I didn't pay attention to it in the past. After all, compared to the power of the Divine King, my temporal divine authority was quite insignificant."
Sighing, Asmodeus felt some regret.
If he had discovered this secret earlier, he might have been able to achieve greatness on his own. But the outcome now seemed not too bad, after all.
Without the twisted Dark Source Power, the reborn souls of Silver Humanity gained freedom. Now, their 'evil' arose more from the environment here and memories of the past rather than forced modification.
This led to ample faith, which seemed even greater than that of individual Humans due to their strength, so the Lord of the Nine Hells actually discovered this earlier than Zeus did.
But he also faced two problems: firstly, demons truly lacked devotion, so the faith derived from them could cut off the part labeled as 'devout worship,' effectively halving the total.
That he could accept since, as the creator of the demons and master of Hell, they would inevitably provide him with faith as long as they lived there. But the second problem was more difficult.
Since Samsara had no access to the Nine Hells and Tartarus did not welcome the intervention of the Spirit Realm, his souls were thus limited. The faith from a mere several hundred thousand intelligent lives was considerable for those below Intermediate Divine Power, but for Asmodeus, the effect was quite limited.
"Part of the Nine Hells is yours, why are you unwilling to invest souls here?"
As if asking rhetorically, the Lord of the Nine Hells spoke.
"On one hand, the Spirit Realm is my foundation; on the other, the souls of the present world will eventually return to the Spirit Realm. If the gods of Olympus dare to divert in large numbers, I can directly cut off their source, but the demons of the Nine Hells won't."
Shaking his head slightly, Laine once again rejected Asmodeus's request for souls. The demons, naturally transcendent as they were born in an extramundane environment, had a lifespan nearly impossible to end naturally. However, the tradeoff was that their reproductive ability was almost nonexistent.
"Unless they die in the outside world, even death from infighting means their souls would only be used as material to breed new demons by you, until they are completely worn out. Why would I agree to a one-way transaction?"
As if he had anticipated Laine's refusal, the Lord of the Nine Hells slowly spoke.
"Well then, I'll find a way myself, as long as you do not personally intervene."
"No problem," Laine nodded and turned to his old friend, "But, aren't you already doing it?"
Under the authority of Spirituality, there was no barrier between this special incarnation and the original body. The figure who had passed through the Underworld and ultimately headed to the surface had always been within his perception.
"I remember his name was... Mephisto, wasn't it? One of the former leaders of Silver Humanity."
"Yes, a very capable fellow. To select the finest among these Silver Humans, I gave them all the same starting point, and only the most excellent could stand before me. He was one of them."