"Garon Aurelia, the King Slayer Alliance needs your assistance."
"The Heart-Eater War God and the Spider Queen Lolth have descended to the twelfth layer of the Abyss, intending to occupy the Twelve Tree Plane."
"The King Slayer Alliance and the Insect King are entangled and unable to confront the Heart-Eater War God and the Spider Queen Lolth."
The message from the Beast Prince briefly informed Garon about the current situation in the Abyss, explaining why they needed his help and who his targets were.
In the boundless Astral Void, the silver dragon who had received the distress message narrowed his eyes, emitting a faint platinum glow. He observed the scenes of many layers of the Abyss reflected in the river of time.
He did not fully trust the Beast Prince's message and chose to see for himself, observing the current situation in the Abyss.
For Garon, who was now in the Astral Plane, his gaze could sweep across the Abyss, taking in the numerous events occurring within it, unless there was an entity of the same level to obscure his vision. Otherwise, all information would be revealed to him.
The Ninth Layer of the Abyss, the Boiling Sea.
A ferocious and towering demon prince, half-man and half-spider, Aranea Miska, was fighting the equally sinister and ferocious Insect King Obox.
In the boiling ocean, Aranea's spider legs pierced into the depths of the sea, resembling towering mountains, with his head almost touching the abyssal sky.
The Insect King, a creature like a combination of a centipede and a scorpion, moved its body, wrapping around Aranea. Its blade-like limbs collided with Aranea's demon armor, causing thunderous roars and sparks akin to celestial fire.
"Obox, the demon prince who has been killed multiple times, your existence is laughable."
"Let me tear you apart again!"
Aranea roared, his eyes blood-red.
"Haha, the winner takes all. Are you sure you can claim the throne?"
"The one who survives until the end is the true victor."
The Insect King retorted.
Their full power clashed, causing terrifying waves thousands of feet high, making the Boiling Sea even more chaotic and dangerous. The endless abyssal energy grew even more frenzied, forming massive vortices that could corrode and obliterate both flesh and mind.
Neither Aranea nor the Insect King paid attention to Garon's observation.
At this moment, countless beings were silently watching the battle between these two demon princes. At the focal point of many eyes, the demon princes fought for the throne, displaying their power to the gods and demigods of the multiverse.
The 241st Layer of the Abyss, the Domain of Dread.
In this abyssal layer filled with dark mists that induced dread, trembling, and unease, purple-red tentacles and green, snake-like hair writhed chaotically, blocking out the sky.
On the other side, the Lord of Shadows wielded a destructive demon sword, slashing out blades of thick acid that could corrode even demon lords. The body of the Mother of Demons spread out like paper, exuding a faint glow that radiated soul-stealing psychic power.
"Graz'zt, Iuz."
"Do you think your loose alliance can compete with my prince?"
The whisper of the Chaos Queen echoed in the Domain of Dread.
Her thick, octopus-like tentacles flew through the air, violently smashing towards the two demon lords.
The Chaos Queen was single-handedly fighting the Lord of Shadows and the Mother of Demons in the Domain of Dread.
The reason why Aranea's faction was the strongest among the three was primarily because the Chaos Queen was a part of it. The Chaos Queen was one of the oldest obyrith demons, even the creator of the current tanar'ri demons. She had once been a ruler of the Abyss, with vast experience and immense power. Though weaker than the demon princes, she was stronger than most demon lords.
She single-handedly faced the Lord of Shadows and the Mother of Demons, holding her ground without difficulty.
The conflicts above were only a small part of the ongoing war in the Abyss.
The Beast Prince and the Beholder Queen were fighting in the Endless Maze.
The Dragon Queen Tiamat had already descended to the Abyss, joyfully moving between different layers, slaughtering demon lords from Aranea's faction for fun, sometimes accidentally killing demon lords who followed the King Slayer Alliance or the Insect King.
The Dragon Queen was indeed assisting the King Slayer Alliance but was not fully committed.
Meanwhile, across the many layers of the Abyss, demon lords who followed different demon princes or lords formed multiple factions, fighting continuously in various abyssal layers. Demon corpses piled up like mountains, and rivers of blood flowed, staining the spaces of many abyssal layers.
The entire Abyss was in a state of extreme madness.
In the endless flow of demon blood, chaos and evil rapidly increased, filling the abyssal atmosphere more densely. Black and purple clouds of energy even formed in the sky.
"Demon battles are bloody, insane, and chaotic, but they shouldn't be entirely devoid of reason."
Garon withdrew his gaze, pondering deeply.
He felt something was off with the current Abyss.
Abyssal demons were not just mindless brutes; many were more cunning and scheming than devils, valuing their lives greatly.
In the early stages of the war for the throne, many demons, unable to bear the intense conflict in the Abyss, chose to flee, even enduring great pain to cleanse themselves of abyssal energy in Mount Celestia, becoming demon paladins.
As time passed, the war for the throne was now in its late stages.
All demons, no, all beings in the Abyss were caught in the whirlpool of war, unable to extricate themselves.
In such a situation, more demons should have wanted to escape the Abyss. But contrary to expectations, examples of demons losing their will to fight and fleeing were fewer than in the early stages. Each demon fought valiantly, unafraid of death, unwilling to stop fighting until their last drop of blood was shed.
"Are they being inspired by the demon princes or lords, or are they being subtly influenced by the will of the Abyss?"
Feeling the increasingly dense abyssal energy in the Abyss, with many places almost becoming tangible, Garon quietly pondered.
Meanwhile, he looked towards the twelfth layer of the Abyss.
The Twelfth Layer of the Abyss, the Twelve Trees.
Twelve ancient demon trees stood silently on the ground like towering giants. Their dense canopies covered the sky, replacing it. On the thick branches, countless demons prayed devoutly. Despite their withered bodies, and even the presence of evil gods, they continued their actions, unmoved by the external chaos, entirely captivated by the Twelve Demon Trees.
The Heart-Eater War God, clad in rough, metallic armor, was aggressively attacking an ancient demon tree.
His target was clear: the central area of the twelve ancient demon trees.
Facing the assault of the powerful evil god, the twelve demon trees seemed to come alive.
Endless thorny vines twisted together, smashing towards the Heart-Eater War God like giant arms, but they were torn apart by him effortlessly, unable to effectively resist.
Since their birth, the twelve ancient demon trees had been regarded as holy objects by billions of demons, receiving their worship over countless years. At the center of the ring-shaped formation of the twelve ancient trees, where the roots intertwined endlessly, was a heart of the demon tree.
If left to develop naturally, over endless years, nourished by countless demon beliefs, the heart of the demon tree would eventually become a pure demon deity, becoming the fourth unique demon prince with divinity.
It was said that this prince was a vessel prepared by the will of the Abyss for itself.
The Twelve Trees Plane had been a battleground for various factions, with many battles erupting here. This time, because many demon lords were entangled with each other, only the highest-level forces, the Heart-Eater War God and the Spider Queen Lolth, had reached the Twelve Trees, and they were allies.
Ordinary demon lords could not resist the assault of two powerful evil gods and had already been defeated, which was why the Beast Prince sought Garon's help.
Meanwhile, the heart of the demon tree had a weak will, resisting the attacks of the evil gods.
But it was far from mature. Facing the Heart-Eater War God and the Spider Queen Lolth, even the twelve towering demon trees could not hold out, with branches breaking and leaves like blades being destroyed. It was only a matter of time before the heart was taken out.
"Seize the heart of the twelve demon trees and absorb it. I will become the sole demon god."
The Heart-Eater War God's eyes burned with fervor.
"Lolth, while the King Slayer Alliance and the Insect King are preoccupied, quickly conquer the Twelve Trees and take out the heart!"
"With the heart of the demon tree, I have a chance to gain higher-level power and overpower Aranea."
He growled.
On the other side, the Spider Queen Lolth nodded, her red lips parting, continuously spitting out black-purple webs.
The webs, appearing and disappearing, quickly spread to every inch of space, binding the twelve ancient demon trees, making their resistance even harder and slower.
Boom, boom, boom!
It was like twelve giants trapped in a net. The ground cracked, fissures spreading, and the twelve ancient demon trees trembled violently, causing the devout demon believers residing on them to fall like raindrops. Before they hit the ground, they were shredded by the Spider Queen's web, meeting a fate similar to
being pulverized.
"The heart of the demon tree... the vessel prepared by the will of the Abyss for itself. I wonder if it's true."
"Should I wait for them to destroy the twelve ancient trees and take out the heart before attacking, or act now?"
"If the heart of the demon tree truly exists, it should be quite extraordinary. Even if not fully matured, it is a precious divine artifact, an excellent addition to my collection."
The silver dragon narrowed his eyes, deciding to wait and observe for the right moment.
"Garon Aurelia, aren't you going to act?"
The Beast Prince sent another message.
"Don't rush, I'm waiting for the right opportunity."
Garon responded indifferently, quietly watching the battle in the Twelve Trees Plane.
As time passed, under the combined assault of the Spider Queen Lolth and the Heart-Eater War God, the twelve ancient demon trees were teetering on the brink of collapse.
Seemingly sensing a great threat, the ancient trees uprooted themselves, with their lush branches and vines intertwining to form twelve ancient tree giants, engaging in fierce battle with the two powerful evil gods.
Leaves like blades, branches like spears, vines like dragons.
The onslaught of the ancient tree giants swept towards the Heart-Eater War God and the Spider Queen Lolth like an apocalyptic tsunami.
In response, the Spider Queen Lolth's beautiful and graceful form vanished, revealing a monstrous and sinister appearance. Her spider legs stepped on the web she had woven, causing it to vibrate at high frequency, instantly shredding countless vines and branches.
Whoosh!
The Spider Queen's lips parted, spewing purple venom like arrows, corroding through numerous barriers of branches and vines, landing on the trunk of an ancient demon tree.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle... The venom seeped into the trunk, spreading from the point of contact, forming a web-like pattern that covered every inch of the ancient demon tree, even the smallest buds.
The ancient demon tree became rigid, motionless.
A few seconds later, it began to collapse silently like snow under sunlight, ultimately dissolving into a pool of decayed purple liquid.
The Spider Queen inhaled gently, and the purple liquid reversed direction, continuously flowing into her mouth.
She displayed a look of exquisite enjoyment.
On the other side, the Heart-Eater War God was even more ferocious.
His muscular arms ended in sharp claws.
With a casual swipe, his claws sliced through the defenses of the ancient trees, leaving deep, chasm-like scars on the trunks.
Two ancient trees had already been reduced to fragments by the Heart-Eater War God, with a third on the verge of collapse.
Of the twelve ancient demon trees, only nine remained.
Thus, they found it even harder to resist the assault of the two powerful evil gods.
The demon believers wore expressions of sorrow, crying out in despair, trying to stop the evil gods' destruction of the ancient trees, but to no avail. These ordinary demon believers couldn't even approach the evil gods before being incinerated by the divine glow surrounding them.
Boom, boom, boom!
One by one, the ancient demon trees fell, revealing the sky previously obscured by their canopies. The sky and the ground covered with tree remnants and demon corpses faced each other silently.
After some time, the last ancient demon tree was also shattered.
The heart of the demon tree was now unprotected.
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
The ground trembled, cracked, and shattered.
At the same time.
A fist-sized, crystal-clear, semi-transparent purple crystal shot out from deep underground. It carried a heavy abyssal aura, filled with a chaotic and evil sensation that could drive one mad, shaped like a demon's heart.
Both evil gods focused their gaze.
The Heart-Eater War God's eyes gleamed with greed, his claws reaching through the air, crushing the space in front of him.
Ahead, in the trajectory of the heart of the demon tree, space shattered, and the Heart-Eater War God's claw extended from it, aiming to grasp the heart.
The heart of the demon tree accelerated, like a purple comet.
It deftly slipped through the Heart-Eater War God's claws.
The Spider Queen Lolth spat out billions of silk threads, densely filling the surrounding space, squeezing the room for the heart of the demon tree to maneuver.
The Heart-Eater War God also pursued, his claws getting closer and closer to the heart.
After several chases, the heart of the demon tree, cornered by the two evil gods, was forced into a dead end, with webs in front and the Heart-Eater War God behind.
"Haha, you're mine!"
The Heart-Eater War God laughed.
He extended his claws to grasp the heart of the demon tree, which had no escape.
At this moment, the river of time suddenly surged.
In the faint ripples of time, a crystalline ring emerged from the river of time, striking towards the Heart-Eater War God's head.
The Heart-Eater War God's pupils tightened.
As a war god, his combat reflexes matched his title. He instantly crossed his arms, his claws intersecting, blocking the crystalline ring.
Boom!
The crystalline ring collided with the Heart-Eater War God's claws, sending him flying like a meteor across the sky, towards a distant location.
Simultaneously.
A silver dragon with a body covered in fine silver-gray scales and deep platinum eyes also emerged from the river of time, his dragon claws reaching for the heart of the demon tree.
The Spider Queen Lolth's gaze turned serious, quickly making a decision.
The webs filling the space collapsed and disintegrated, clearing the way for the heart of the demon tree.
The heart of the demon tree erupted with extremely dense abyssal energy, like a purple lightning bolt, narrowly avoiding Garon's grasp.
"I will tear you apart!"
From afar, the Heart-Eater War God, having stabilized himself, roared with bloodshot eyes.
His claws, now a metallic black resembling obsidian, were heavy and sharp, indestructible, clutching the crystalline ring tightly.
His arm muscles bulged, veins writhing like snakes, extraordinary divine power surging within him, attempting to shatter the crystalline ring.
The Heart-Eater War God did not use weapons; his claws were his authority, his strongest weapon, having shredded the bodies of countless opposing deities.
However, no matter how the Heart-Eater War God roared, until his eyes were bloodshot and his claws creaked, his immense strength shattering the surrounding space, he could not break the crystalline ring, not even leaving a single crack.
Buzz!
The crystalline ring merged back into the river of time, disappearing from the Heart-Eater War God's claws, and reappearing before Garon.
"A divine core cannot be destroyed, but the crystalline ring structure I crafted from the divine core is not indestructible."
The crystalline ring appeared undamaged, but Garon knew that if the Heart-Eater War God continued to pull, it would eventually shatter into its basic divine core units, losing its power.
"Without a strong divine core as the foundation, it's still not stable enough."
"But for now, it's enough."
The silver dragon remained calm, silently contemplating.
Looking at the ferocious Heart-Eater War God flying towards him, Garon poured the power of time without reservation into the crystalline ring.
Buzz, buzz, buzz... The crystalline ring split into three, then multiplied into hundreds and thousands of crystalline rings reflected in the Heart-Eater War God's eyes, densely sweeping towards him.
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!]
[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]
[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter]