Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Slipping my mask back to the ring of Bael, my gaze swayed to the disciples trembling. Disbelief crowning their faces, and hesitation suddenly blinded me.

How was I supposed to know who Ezra has under her thrall? I guess I could just kill every heavenly lord. Their souls will be pretty helpful in training my soul artes to create a hive mind.

My lips curled upwards, and from the edge of Pestilence, en eruptions of flames licked the flesh of Kerr'ii, and the last scream he would ever release echoed, staining the ears of his fellow brethren, ash rippled through the air, along with my laughter.

"Flitly peasants, kneel before this King, and I may show you penance!" I rambled on, bellowing in laughter, watching their faces contort.

"For the—"

My body flashed like a bloody bolt of lightning piercing through the battlefield as my arm tore through the skull of that disciple, ready to release his war cry. I brutally tore out a chunk of his brain, crushing it without hesitation, as my cold gaze swept upon the Heavenly Lord with only one eye.

"Lay down your sword…boy," I said, feeling my inner Kratos awaken.

A feral growl left Sen Lee as the whispers of the Hells sounded his name in my mind. My lips arched, but the coldness of the abyssal night pressed against the Heavenly Lord's heart.

I spoke with the Dao of Devils at my command. "I will allow you your life. All I ask is your loyalty." I pulled close, licking the fine wine of blood tracing down my palm, " Take the head of at least one of your fellow brethren and present it towards me, and I promise you—" I paused, letting my words sink in, " And I will promise you power beyond your wildest dreams, this also goes for the rest of you."

The binding sword of shadows dismissed itself, and I lifted a single finger, " Just one. Bring me the head of one of your brethren, and—"

Blood splashed, staining bits of my clothing as laughter crept through my throat. Watching each disciple turn their sword towards the other, even the Heaven Lord, I felt my Will expand, reaching deep into their traitorous hearts.

Collecting the souls of everyone who perished, I pressed ahead, enjoying the carnage my words created.

Ten

Twenty

Thirty

A Hundred.

Spreading my Will, a small army slowly appeared around me. Envisioning an army of Shadowfell, the sent of brimstone slowly swept over the battlefield filling the skies.

The Abominations were not a problem. At least not to me. These monsters were beings of Iliah, a powerful kingdom to Iluthath. Their battle prowess was truly higher than any of the disciples here and even most of the masters. I'd even go as far and say the founders of the court of Nox. The Bed of Chaos was simply too weak as it is now. But that's going to change.

Noctem didn't need to change, but the Bed of Chaos needed to. It had too much of a badass name to be anything less than the carriers of monsters like the Hells.

Glancing high up in the skies at the monstrous dragon figure of Arkanos, a rich silver black scale dragon, crowned by horns protruding from her draconic head, her mouth opened, and even I felt death close at hand.

I braced myself glaring in horror at the vicious beam of cold scarlet death that whipped through the forest. At first, I was a bit taken back as no explosions sounded, but as a few seconds passed, a terrifying shockwave blasted me off my feet, taking a few disciples for my army. I bellowed in laughter, landing squarely on my feet.

"THAT'S! MY GIRL! BURN IT ALL DOWN!"

Lost in the thousands of souls pouring into me, I knew it would not be long before I created a forbidden technique. Ten years.

It was all I needed.

Without the Arbiter's eye upon me, nothing was stopping me from being catapulted to the next level or higher without the Arbiter's eye upon me.

My eyes blazed under the flames of abyssal might Arkanos had created. Embellishing in the heat threatening the death of my entire army, I pushed ahead into the heart of this fortress the Holy Swords had created And traveled to my knight, tearing through Empyreans like dirt. The battle against the abominations was more of a challenge to Freya than the upper lords of the holy swords.

It was sad, but the war ended before it started.

There were ten Shadows of Iliah here, not a lot, but since they had higher battle prowess than every one of the Holy Swords and immortal, these fools were struggling. The strongest of these shadows was around Heavenly Lord, which Freya quickly sealed in seconds. Her knowledge of circles was downright scary.

…

…

…

I crackled in laughter high upon the dais overlooking the hundreds of thralls Ezra had, alongside mine, mixed in. Hands poised behind my back, with my two daughters near my feet, gazing down with smiles.

"It all seems so easy." I mocked, shifting my gaze to Freya, "Turn a few and let them turn the rest. As for the price…Speaking of, what is the price to make a Shadowfell?"

"Oh master,' Freya moaned in disapproval. "If you followed the rules, you would know it required lives of those of the purest of bodies. So virgins, babies, or rare races like fairies." She said with pursed lips." The price is high, and usually, you aren't supposed to be able to convert people as we do."

"Why?" I asked, and Freya sighed.

"Master, the components usually need to be prepared beforehand when performing high-level spells or circles. That's just how it's supposed to be." She paused to gather her thoughts," From there, you will cast your spell, and the components will be destroyed, but your Circle will be activated. And that is how Gods usually fall into debt when the components aren't enough to cover what they are trying to achieve. But you just skip all those steps, and I have no idea how or why we can do that."

My expression sunk. "So when I create a Shadowfell, I need not just any pure body but extremely powerful ones, like Cleo or Ren."

"Yes."

"Guess we can thank the Hells for that." I kindly mentioned, rolling my eyes. "It's the only thing that makes sense—Devils bargain. But I'm about to pay off my debt in a single move. The Arbiters aren't here, so there is nothing to fear."