The Demon King wants to become a god? Of course she does—because once she becomes a god, she'll gain eternal life.
Although technically a god, she wouldn't be one who upholds order, but rather an evil god, a demonic deity.
Moreover, once the Demon King becomes a god, she would be far stronger than those gods born to uphold order.
In fact, many Demon Kings already possess power greater than that of ordinary gods. The only real difference is that gods can't be killed unless their soul is destroyed—and they possess eternal life. That's all.
Now, the Demon King of the world of Yadetre is just one step away from that breakthrough.
Once she fully awakens and gains control of that weapon, she will ascend in a single bound. This world will be upgraded to an SSS-rank difficulty world in the eyes of the Unified Divine Realm.
Naturally, she will become an SSS-rank god.
At that point, other than the God of Destruction and perhaps the gods of the so-called Three Great Evil Realms, no one else would pose a threat. They're hardly a concern.
She'll carve out her own evil god circle in the realm of evil deities and march toward the throne of supreme ruler among evil gods.
That long-cherished dream felt as if it were right in front of her—so close she could reach out and grasp it.
The Demon King of Yadetre laughed maniacally.
"Fuhahahahahahaha…!"
Her arrogant laughter echoed not just through the entire altar, but to every corner of the Demon King's Castle.
...
A distance away from the Demon King's Castle, within the human territory, a door opened. From it stepped a beautiful goddess with red hair and red eyes.
"So this is the world of Yadetre?"
A melancholic murmur spilled from Ariadoa's lips.
She glanced around and saw a human village not far away. She decided to head there first to gather information.
However, as she walked into the village, Ariadoa's expression grew darker. Though the villagers appeared normal—and their surprised, puzzled glances at the sudden arrival of a beautiful woman were expected—she sensed something was wrong.
"Could it be... You're Goddess Ariadoa?"
"Thank goodness! Goddess, please help us!"
"Please save the world of Yadetre, Goddess Ariadoa!"
Cries of desperation erupted from the villagers as if they were seeing a savior. Many even wept with joy and crowded around her.
But the moment they got within a certain distance, their bodies began to swell. From within their flesh burst forth grotesque demonic monsters, who lunged with vicious claws.
"Wha—?!"
The ambushing demons were stunned. They had all been trapped inside transparent bubbles.
"Floating Bubble."
Ariadoa's voice rang out, cold and emotionless. She had cast the spell. But were these just containment bubbles?
No. The demons inside began to gasp and claw for breath—the bubbles had sealed off even the air.
One by one, the demons suffocated to death, their faces twisted in agony.
She felt no pity for them. The stench of blood on them was so overwhelming it made her want to vomit.
Clearly, they had murdered countless humans.
And when she examined the bloated, torn-apart human skins lying on the ground—real human skins—it was clear. This entire village had been overrun.
As she journeyed onward, her expression darkened further. The reality was far worse than the reports. The world of Yadetre was already mostly fallen. The one behind it all was that female god.
If not for the need to deceive the Unified Divine Realm, this world would have already completely fallen.
Currently, over half of what was supposed to be the "human domain" was filled with demons disguised as humans. They were still infiltrating human society to wipe them out completely.
Now, the only safe haven for humanity was the imperial capital of the strongest human nation—where the last of humanity remained.
"Floating Bubble."
Once more, Ariadoa cast her spell to isolate the entire capital from the outside world.
The surrounding humans thanked her profusely, but all she felt was guilt. If she had known earlier, this might never have happened.
Just then, though it was only midday, the skies darkened unnaturally fast. In a flash, a disturbing black night swallowed the daylight.
A dreadful unease spread through the air.
Simultaneously, the world began to tremble, as if echoing with eerie whispers.
"Could it be—?"
Ariadoa's lips trembled.
There was only one possibility: the hero destined to clear this world had been killed by the Demon King, and the Demon King was ascending.
The world was transforming into a demonic realm in response to her rise.
Even her Floating Bubble barrier began to shake from the pressure.
Without hesitation, Ariadoa unleashed all her divine power and rushed toward the source of the terrifying energy.
The moment she emerged from the teleportation gate, Ariadoa saw a succubus with three pairs of bat wings and three tails. A mouth full of jagged canine teeth opened and closed on her abdomen, still stained with fresh blood.
She didn't need to guess—the hero had been devoured by this succubus Demon King.
The Demon King appeared to still be in the middle of her ascension and hadn't yet reacted. Ariadoa acted immediately.
"Floating Bubble!"
Invisible bubbles sliced the Demon King into seven or eight segments.
"Lightning Ball!"
Without mercy, she hurled lightning spheres charged with divine power into the containment bubbles.
Then came a blinding explosion.
BOOM!
The Floating Bubble couldn't withstand the blast and shattered, causing the entire Demon King's Castle and even the fabric of space to tremble violently.
Ariadoa finally relaxed, cold sweat covering her face. As a sealing goddess, she wasn't good at combat, so she had to go all out before her opponent could respond.
The only reason she managed to teleport so precisely next to the Demon King was because Lady Ishtar had secretly added a tracking spell to her portal. Otherwise, by the time Ariadoa arrived, the Demon King would've already completed her ascension.
"Watch out! Get out of the way!"
A sharp voice called out urgently.
Thud—
A sound of flesh being pierced.
Ariadoa's vision shifted. The Demon King—who should've been destroyed—was completely unharmed. Her tail had run straight through Ariadoa's abdomen.
How...?
Stunned for a moment, Ariadoa gave a bitter smile.
So it was an illusion all along, triggered the moment she stepped through the portal by the Demon King's charm ability.
No, the Demon King's charm alone shouldn't have worked that well. She glanced to the side and saw a fallen god beside the Demon King.
So it was a joint illusion cast by both of them.
Moments later, Ariadoa was violently thrown aside—landing beside a human girl she had intended to save.
"How wonderful! Another god to use as a sacrifice!!!"
The Demon King trembled with joy, then, as the ecstasy faded, her blood-red eyes locked onto the two captives. Her tongue ran across her lips.
"Well then, let the sacrifice begin!!!"