The Throne Room, City of Gods.

Sunny sat motionless on the Throne. The hall was silent, but for Sunny, the silence was screaming.

"Something is wrong here," Sunny whispered, his voice barely audible.

He closed his eyes, extending his senses to its absolute limit. He swept his senses across the floating continents and down into the deepest dungeons.

Nothing.

His God's Domain reported perfect order. The sensors of Thea showed no problems across his territory. The magical barriers were intact.

And yet... the feeling persisted. It was a itch on the back of his soul. It felt like a gaze was crawling over his skin. It was the distinct sensation of an intruder walking through his city, invisible to his eyes.

He sensed it due to his divine intuition, which whispered to him that something was wrong, but even it couldn't find the source of this wrongness in his territory.

"Is it the Demon Lords?" Sunny wondered, his expression darkening behind his mask. "Are they already making their move?"

He considered the possibility. If a Demon Lord like Deimos was personally inspecting his city, could they hide from him? Perhaps.

But if a Demon Lord was here, the pressure of their existence should have triggered every alarm in the City of Gods.

"No," Sunny shook his head, dismissing the thought. "If a Lord were here, my intuition wouldn't be this weak. It's faint... Something weak...."

"Spies," he concluded. "Some weak spies have infiltrated the city."

Immediately, the shadows in the corners of the room deepened.

His soulless Clones appeared out of nowhere.

"Hunt," Sunny commanded telepathically. "Search the city. Scan every alley, every shadow, and every anomaly. But do it quietly. Do not disturb the Gods. We are currently in a Golden Age; I do not want panic to sour the milk."

The clones acknowledged the order instantly. Invisible and silent, they dispersed throughout the city, beginning a search that would leave no stone unturned.

Sunny leaned back, his eyes fixed on the empty air.

"You can hide," he murmured to the unseen intruder. "But in my domain, even the shadows answer to me."

Far away from the ordered light of Veridia, deep within the chaotic heart of the Demon Realm.

In the center of the capital was a twisted tower of black obsidian that pierced the clouds.

At its summit lay the meeting hall of the seven Demon Lords.

The atmosphere inside was heavy enough to crush anyone into paste.

Currently instead of 7 demon lords, there were only 5 available in the meeting, as Maledictus and Ichor were busy.

Standing before them, looking insignificant by comparison, was Lom.

"Lom," Deimos spoke, his voice shaking the soul of Lom, "Have you found out anything about this... Cosmos?"

Lom kept his head bowed. He was sweating, though his body had no sweat glands. Standing before the Lords was like standing before death itself.

"My Lord," Lom replied, his voice steady but respectful. "The situation is far graver than we anticipated. There are currently 6 Billion Gods under the banner of Cosmos. He has somehow united all the Gods into a single Empire, and he calls it the City of Gods."

"What?"

The exclamation came from Phobos, the Demon Lord of fear, who sat further down the table.

"Six billion?" Deimos leaned forward, the shadows around him struggling to breathe. "How is that possible..."

"Teleportation," Lom answered quickly. "We are already aware of his ability to create stable portals. It seems he has used them to teleport every God and even their world."

Deimos looked toward Belial. The Lord of Lies had his eyes closed, his tongue tasting the air for deceit.

Belial nodded slowly. "He speaks the truth"

Lom suppressed a sigh of relief. He hadn't lied. He simply hadn't told them the whole truth.

He hadn't mentioned the SSS-Grade battleships, the removed limiters or the fact that Cosmos was effectively unkillable.

Lom had his own plans. He wasn't just a servant; he was a player. If the Demon Lords underestimated Cosmos and destroyed each other, Lom would be there to pick up the pieces.

"Is there anything else?" Belial asked, opening his eyes. His gaze was sharp, dissecting Lom's soul. "You are holding back, Lom. Spit it out."

Lom froze. This was the dangerous part. He needed to frame the truth in a way that served his agenda.

"There is..." Lom said carefully, "Cosmos possesses Trillions of Faith Points."

The room went silent. Trillions? That was a laughable amount but to think that he had collected this much faith in just a few centuries, this alone spoke of his potential.

"Impossible," Belial hissed. "Unless..."

"Unless he is taking it," Lom interjected smoothly. "It is impossible to generate that much naturally. He must be taxing the other Gods heavily. He is draining them dry to fuel his own growth."

Lom held his breath.

Technically, it was true. Sunny did tax the Gods. He did take trillions.

"What I mean to imply, My Lords," Lom continued, "is that causing discord among these Gods is not entirely impossible. They are being bled dry. Resentment must be simmering beneath the surface."

This was the masterstroke. A lie wrapped in a truth. Yes, Sunny took their Faith, but he gave back benefits worth ten times as much. There was no resentment, only adoration. But Belial didn't know that.

"Truth," Belial declared.

Lom mentally cheered. He had done it.

Belial waved his hand dismissively. "You may leave, Lom. Continue your surveillance."

Lom bowed deeply and backed out of the room, eager to escape the crushing pressure.

Once the door clicked shut, Belial turned to Deimos.

"Deimos," Belial said, his voice echoing in the silent hall. "Now that we know the multiverse is empty and the rats are hiding behind this Cosmos, our path is clear. We should send the Demon Gods to crush this nest immediately."

"How many are left?" Deimos asked, tapping his claws on the table. "Cosmos has been killing our demon gods."

"Around 879 Demon Gods are confirmed dead," Belial reported, checking a slate of black stone. "We have approximately 2,500 Demon Gods remaining in the multiverse of Gods. They are currently scattered, hunting for stragglers."

"Order them to regroup," Deimos commanded coldly. "All 2,500 of them."

"Shouldn't we send some more demon gods?" Belial asked. "Six billion is a large number. Quantity has a quality of its own. Shouldn't we send a few hundred thousand demon gods more?"

"No, 2500 are enough" Deimos corrected. "As Belial... you will lead them."

Belial froze. The color drained from his shifting face, leaving him a pale.

"Me?" Belial stammered.

"Yes," Deimos said, his red eyes locked into Belial. "2,500 Demon Gods led by a Demon Lord. That is more than enough to burn this City of Gods to ash. Crush the weaklings, Belial. Bring me the head of Cosmos."

Belial felt his stomach drop.

He wasn't afraid of Cosmos. He was afraid of Him.

Adam.

Belial remembered the old war. He remembered the God of Growth. He remembered how Adam had torn through the demon ranks like a hurricane.

And most importantly, Belial remembered that he was the one whose lies had trapped Adam in the first place.

If Adam is in that city... and if he saw Belial...

The hatred would be personal. Adam wouldn't just kill him; he would dismantle him on a molecular level.

"Deimos, I..." Belial started to protest, trying to find a lie that would save him.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

The heavy iron doors groaned.

"Enter!" Deimos roared, annoyed by the interruption.

A demon messenger sprinted into the room, gasping for breath. He carried a glowing red ruby in his claws.

"Lords!" the messenger shrieked, falling to his knees. "Urgent intelligence! This Projection Ruby was sent by Lady Maledictus!"

Deimos frowned. He gestured for the demon to leave and touched the ruby.

HUMMM.

A holographic projection flickered to life above the table. It was Maledictus, the Demon Lord of Curses. She looked like she was in hurry, her usual composure was gone.

"Deimos!" Maledictus's voice was frantic. "This is bad. We found the reason behind the sudden appearance of so many Gods."

"They are back," Maledictus whispered. "They are all Reincarnations of the Old Gods. The ones we killed million years ago. I don't know who is pulling the strings, but someone is bringing them back."

"Chrono escaped us," she continued, her voice trembling with rage. "Only us two cannot handle so many Gods. They are too fast. They run even before we reach them."

She leaned into the recording. "We need reinforcements. We need all the Demon Gods. We need the Lords. We must hunt them down before they regain their full power. If the Old Gods rises again... That would be problematic."

The projection faded. The ruby cracked and turned to dust.

The meeting hall plunged into a suffocating silence.

"Reincarnation..." Deimos whispered.

It changed everything. A new upstart Emperor was one thing. The return of the Old Gods who knew how to kill demons efficiently was an another level of threat.

Deimos stood up, his full aura exploding outward, cracking the round table.

"So they are really back," Deimos growled.

Belial looked up, hope sparking in his eyes. "Deimos! This should be prioritized! I should go with Maledictus! My lies can trap these Gods!"

He was desperate. Anything to avoid facing Adam.

Deimos looked down at Belial. For a second, he considered it.

"No," Deimos said.

Belial's heart shattered.

"Belial, you proceed with your mission," Deimos ordered, his voice brooking no argument. "Take the 2,500 Demon Gods. Attack the City of Gods"

"I... and the other Lords... will hunt these Reincarnated old gods."

Deimos turned his back on Belial, staring out at the city below.

"Go, Belial. Do not fail me. If Adam is there... kill him, he is weak right now."

Belial slumped in his chair. He had hoped for a escape, but it didn't work at all. He was going to Veridia. He was going to war.

And waiting for him in the city was a ghost from his nightmares, sharpening his claws.

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