Chapter 225
The Ruler of the Night.
After Ahetta, who was called the Master of the Moon, went bankrupt, his body and territory were all put up for auction and sold to demons.
“Haha! So this is Ahetta’s territory! It really does overflow with mana!”
One such place.
A territory known as the Land of Warriors Flowing with Lava.
The demon lord Helium arrived there with his followers.
“Congratulations, Lord Helium!”
“The fertility of the land and the scale of the castle both suit Lord Helium!”
“This land is wasted on a fool like Ahetta.”
A hundred followers.
A hundred thousand demons.
Satisfied with their newly claimed territory, they praised Helium one after another.
It was only natural, since demon lord Helium had won the bid for this land at the auction.
Helium shrugged.
“The castle is huge. The scenery is breathtaking. Isn’t this the perfect domain for my legend—Helium’s legend—to begin?”
The demons nodded and chattered.
“That’s right!”
“At this rate, you’ll soon be qualified as a Creator!”
“Just a Creator? Helium is the very stuff of a Demon King!”
Helium squared his shoulders.
Compared to his previous trash heap of a territory, this place was incomparably better.
For a property sold in a rushed auction, it was beyond satisfying.
‘It was worth investing all my assets.’
Though he was only a minor lord, he had saved up a decent amount of coins.
He had spent every last one, but he had no regrets.
For a demon lord, territory was power.
A lord’s status and prestige were written into the very land of the Abyss.
Moreover—
‘I can become a real Creator.’
One of the qualifications for a Creator—and the most important one—was territory.
A vast territory was essential to form a Creation Abyss within it and connect it to the worlds of other races.
‘Once I become a Creator, recovering the coins I spent buying this land will be easy.’
It was an investment.
Above all, this had been Ahetta’s land.
Ahetta was infamous for owning only prime territory.
That was why Helium had joined the auction without hesitation.
And the result was deeply satisfying.
A castle at least five times larger, lava flowing around it, and Mana so rich it made him happy just standing there.
Helium sat on the castle’s throne.
And in that moment—
Crack!
“Ooooooh!”
“Lord Helium’s wings!”
“Congratulations!”
His followers erupted into a frenzy.
Wings had sprouted from Helium’s back.
From two to three.
That meant Helium’s standing as a demon and as a lord had advanced by one stage.
Because a demon’s power could strengthen depending on the territory he possessed.
And—
“…I’ve finally met the qualifications of a Creator.”
Helium smiled.
How long had he waited for this?
If anything, it was late.
He was confident his abilities surpassed most Creators.
But to truly become a Creator, one had to create a Creation Abyss.
‘I don’t have enough coins to create a Creation Abyss.’
That was the problem—securing coins.
He had invested everything to purchase this territory.
He no longer had the funds to create a Creation Abyss.
Of course, there were many ways to secure coins.
And the easiest was—
“Find out what territories border this land, and who owns them.”
“Is it war?”
“Oooooooooh!”
The demons roared in excitement.
War.
Helium had revealed his intention to invade.
The Abyss was all connected.
Which meant there were neighboring territories that could be targeted.
Helium intended to invade and conquer the weakest among them to secure coins.
If that wasn’t enough, he could simply sell off the conquered land to refill his coffers.
‘This used to be greedy Ahetta’s territory. Powerful lords wouldn’t bother bordering land tied to Ahetta.’
At best, it would be minor lords like himself.
Helium’s anticipation rose.
If he won this war and created a Creation Abyss, he could make a name for himself as a Creator.
How long had it been since he sent out scouts?
“I found it! A huge land!”
A demon who had finished scouting came running in a hurry.
“Tell me. What land is it?”
“It’s the Land of Valhalla that Ahetta used when he conducted the ‘Second Night’ on Earth!!”
“…That land was auctioned too? But if it’s that large, a powerful lord must have bought it.”
Valhalla.
Compared to the land Helium had just acquired, it was on an entirely different scale.
Size and fertility weren’t even comparable.
If Ahetta went bankrupt, it made sense that it had been put up for auction as well.
He had never imagined it would be connected to his land.
The problem was that a lord on the level of a Demon King wouldn’t have seemed strange as the buyer.
However, the reporting demon shook his head.
“It seems a lord who hasn’t been a Creator for long has taken it.”
“A recently promoted Creator owns Valhalla? Then he must have backing.”
“I checked the auction history, but there’s no record. It seems Ahetta handed over the territory right before going bankrupt.”
“……I see. So he transferred ownership just before the collapse?”
“Yes. You see cases like that sometimes. When bankruptcy is imminent, they temporarily transfer territory to the weakest among their subordinate demons.”
“……!”
That was plausible.
It wasn’t unheard of.
A common tactic when someone wasn’t bankrupt yet but was on the verge of it.
To prevent forced auction, they temporarily moved territory within their own faction.
Since auctions were conducted randomly, there were plenty of cases where even land they didn’t want to lose ended up transferred.
A territory named Valhalla.
Of course Ahetta would have wanted to protect it.
“Indeed… so he became a Creator recently. And Ahetta, his backer, has truly gone bankrupt. That means he’s a miserably insignificant demon.”
“That’s right. It seems he barely obtained Creator qualifications with the power of the land after receiving the Land of Valhalla.”
“He won’t have followers, and no demons will be loyal to him.”
“That appears to be the case.”
“…What’s your name?”
“I’m called Kabron.”
“Kabron. You’ve done well. Once this is over, you’ll serve as my direct follower.”
“I, I am honored!”
Kabron bowed deeply.
Helium’s smile widened.
Blessings poured in one after another the moment he moved and claimed this territory.
Just meeting the requirements for Creator status had him intoxicated.
‘If I take Valhalla, most lords won’t be able to look down on me.’
It was thrilling just to imagine.
With consecutive victories, he might even rise to the rank of Demon King.
Helium rose from his seat.
“We begin the war. All demons and followers—arm yourselves immediately.”
—
‘So that’s what they call a Colossus?’
The demon merchant Dagon was overwhelmed by the giant doll before him.
He could only stare up at the sky, mouth hanging open.
He had seen countless demon lords who ruled Abyssal territory.
He had seen countless golems and Colossi guarding their lands, but this was something from another dimension entirely.
‘……That’s not a golem.’
The demon merchant association sold golems as well.
And as a demon merchant, Dagon traveled through all kinds of territories.
He must have seen at least ten thousand golems.
Yet their shapes, characteristics, and uses were largely the same.
What was a golem, in the first place?
Golem.
A magical being that faithfully followed its master’s words.
Though it was called a “being,” it was merely a doll driven by Mana—an artificial heart implanted with a Mana Core.
Some described golems as “soldiers that protect gods,” but the magic system for creating Mana Cores and operating dolls had originated from dragons.
Its origin was the Dragon Tooth Warrior.
Soldiers made from dragon teeth, guarding the dragon’s nest.
When dragons reach adulthood, they molt.
Their teeth and scales grow anew.
And in the process, the discarded parts are used as materials to create soldiers that protect the nest.
‘The dragons must have generously handed down the magic of Golem Crafting to the lower races that followed them. That must have been the beginning.’
Golems were created by applying the process used to make Dragon Tooth Warriors.
Even that had been tossed down hastily to the lower races who claimed to be the dragons’ slaves.
Afterward, the lower races joined forces to develop Golem Crafting.
Over a long time, they even produced Colossi that surpassed Dragon Tooth Warriors and possessed power comparable to dragons.
But—
‘A Colossus can’t surpass a dragon. Because there’s a congenital limit.’
A Colossus wasn’t a dragon.
It tried to resemble one, but it was far removed from the real thing.
Even if it used the bones, teeth, scales, and hearts of dragons that hadn’t yet fully matured, it was still just a giant doll that didn’t even know how to use proper magic.
At best, it followed its master’s commands and barely activated pre-engraved spells.
In the end, it couldn’t overcome the limits of a created “golem.”
But—
The Colossus before him was different.
No, he couldn’t even call it a Colossus.
Because its very form was exactly that of a dragon.
The Sloth dragons searched through every record of the ‘Tribe of Despair.’
And they built a body in the shape that best suited Arcana.
They invested every Spirit Stone and material without hesitation.
Moreover—
They spent over two hundred coins, and madly poured in the highest-grade Mana Stones.
As a result—
…It was completed.
An Original God that surpassed the Colossus.
“…Revived.”
Ataraxia said.
The Dragon of Despair, Arcana, had been revived.
Just like when he was alive, he was thinking and moving on his own.
“I really didn’t think this would work……”
“The dragon itself. No, it has surpassed the dragon.”
“Ah, beautiful!”
The Sloth dragons watched as if they still couldn’t believe it.
Magic drifted around the Original God.
Rather than relying on engraved spells, the Original God composed the magic he needed on his own.
And what about the division of the core?
The moment the Magic Core of Despair was inserted into the artificial heart membrane, it split into nine.
The Dragon of Despair.
Worthy of the most brilliant, noble existence that had reached the great lord’s realm.
Ziiiiiiiiing!
It was then.
“Hmm?”
“Warp?”
“Who’s coming over?”
A massive warp suddenly formed at the edge of the land.
At the same time—
“Attack!”
“Kill them all!”
“Let’s offer Valhalla to the great Lord Helium!”