Supreme Monarch

What the hell is up with this world.

Azalea— who was already at his life's end due to his current low energy state— was at a loss for words as he could not believe what he had just heard. Who would've thought that the great Devil Lord Moloc, would so happily call someone his or rather, her master?

The idea in itself was ludicrous and Azalea did not want to believe it. Because if he did, then, he had just made the worse mistake imaginable by attacking the vassals of the said master.

'No no no no no... There's still I chance.'

Although his world seemed grim at the moment, there was still a sliver of hope hidden on the horizon for him as he clung tightly to that possibility.

A Devil was just a bundle of energy that gained sentient after developing an ego over a period of centuries which in turn, develops into a personality that is deeply rooted in their strong desires.

A Devil's desire was the driving force of their entire existence and the thing that gives their long life meaning besides just spreading chaos and destruction.

Thus, there was a chance, even if it was abysmal but still a chance, that Moloc hadn't chosen a master based on his strength but rather her desire.

If she had, for some reason, chosen a master based on love, fascination, curiosity, or simply intrigue, then that means this master might not be very strong and as long as he could somehow use that to his advantage and escape Moloc, he might just be able to survive this.

Of course, escaping Moloc was not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination. The only reason he had considered it was because of his plane shifting ability. If he tried escaping to his world of lies then Moloc would simply rip through it and drag him out before he even had a chance to set his rules.

The only chance he had was if Moloc moves to protect her master when the Grim Reaper pushes him to a corner.

He could then muster up his courage to return to the spiritual plane and seek protection from another Devil Lord.

However—

That dream of his wasn't meant to last as it was immediately crushed the moment he turned his head to watch the strange demon fight against the nigh-indestructible Grim Reaper.

The reason was simple, as the moment his gaze settled on them, he saw the Grim Reaper swing his large scythe faster than it had done before, yet instead of moving away from the attack to avoid it as he wielded no weapons that could stop such an attack.

This Lord Ty had moved in closer before the attack could even get to him and pulled out a red octagon like gem— the size of a tennis ball— from thin air and then, his feet moved faster than Azalea's eyes that could perceive beyond light speed could follow as it connected with the cloaked head of the reaper with a force that could not be understood.

*BOOOOOM! *RUMBLE...

Azalea could barely understand what had happened as the massive figure of the Grim reaper had been shot down and crashed into the ground in a massive reverberating boom that felt as though the entire planet had shifted.

[Wha...]

First of all, there were so many things wrong with what had just happened as the Grim reaper was a conceptual and spiritual entity that had minimal interactions with the physical plane, and thus, the mere fact that its body had made such a massive impact was technically impossible.

The creature could only be harmed bu spiritual and conceptual energy infused attacks so kicking it was surely possible but it should only be able to make limited contact with the ground as it did not generate any actually force to change the terrain.

This meant all that energy had been transferred from the man's single kick without Azalea ever sensing it.

Before he could even keep up with the current development, the man shot down in an instant and landed on the Grim reaper's chest with another reverberating impact that dug the reaper deeper into the ground.

His eyes glowed brightly in a crimson hue that even scared him yet he still could not sense his aura nor could he feel his presence.

It was as though there was no one standing where he was and that was beginning to frighten him more than Moloc's smile. There was no longer any hope left for him to cling to as he now had to accept the reality of his situation.

"This should do."

As the man's eyes slowly dimmed after he was done using whatever skill he had just used, he stretched forth the red gem in the shape of an octagon and it began to glow, and then, almost instantly, the illusionary body of the Grim Reaper was sucked into the gem as it changed colors from red to a purplish black.

[Ack... Wha... did he just, Huh?]

Azalea stared at the scene in surprise as his mind almost went blank. Not only had the Grim reaper disappeared after that, he could not even sense the looming presence of death anymore.

"Wow you're completely speechless aren't you kid. Impressed, Moloc's master is impressive isn't he, kekekeke."

Seeing Azalea stare at Tyler's figure in awe, Moloc happily moved closer to him as she spoke in a giddy mood with a wide grin plastered on her face.

Azalea was completely at a loss for words as he stared dumbly at Tyler who had just sealed the personification of death itself, unable to respond to Moloc's taunts.

The resolve and will he had fought so desperately to gain had instantly faded away and the light in his eyes died off as Moloc moved closer to him and spoke.

"Well, That takes care of that pest, and now that that's done, I can't really keep my master waiting now can I? So I'll make this brief, I promise, it'll be fun."

Although his very cells were screaming in terror and despair, he did not even try to resist or escape as he knew such fruitless efforts would only serve to increase his suffering and he didn't have the energy for that anyway.

"Not fleeing, well, you've gotten bolder. I guess this won't take as long as it used to Huh? How boring."

••••••••••••

••••••••••••

Tyler sighed in relief as he stared at the purplish-black gem on his palm that had a slight glow to it and currently oozed a faint deathly aura.

This was a straightforward Magic item he had found amongst all the Magic crystals in the void library. He had mistakenly assumed every Crystal there was the same and stored everything but soon found some different ones amongst the pile.

For instance, this was a Sealing Crystal that was used in sealing nearly anything.

They could seal spells, a skill's effect, natural lightning, light itself, and several other things depending on the capabilities of the user.

Still, sealing an entity such as the Grim Reaper, a personification of death itself was not an easy task. Not only was it powerful, but it also wasn't a real existence and was just the power of death given a form so technically, Tyler had just sealed the power of dearth.

Of course, this did not mean that death no longer existed and no one could die. If anything, this could not even be considered a tenth of the powers of death but it should come in useful to him as long as he found a way to use it without releasing the reaper.

'I guess I'll have to conduct some experiments by myself. I can't exactly leave this to anyone can I, it's far too dangerous.'

The nature of the sealing Crystal could be adjusted with Magic runes and enchantment and Tyler wanted to find a method to easily harness the powers of death itself even if it was only a fraction.

Of course, he didn't actually need it as he could gain any ability he wanted from the Boundless Void Library and this was just something he thought he would enjoy and may make a good gift or reward for someone else in the future.

With that in mind, Tyler returned the Crystal to his pocket dimension and flew out of the crater he had just created. His physical strength had been greater than he had expected and thus, he had failed to control it perfectly.

As his figure left the crater, he immediately noticed Moloc waving at him with the other Devil kneeling beside her. Tyler was wondering why that was but it seems Moloc must've scolded her friend about attacking his vassals or something.

Still, the look on that guy's face was deathly pale, his handsome face seemed to have been completely drained of life so Tyler couldn't help but wonder what had happened to him.

"That was an amazing display of strength Lord Ty, as expected of Moloc's master."

Moloc said with a charming smile as she gently clapped her hands in satisfaction.

'Why does that feel like she's praising herself instead.' Tyler thought that but didn't voice it as he shifted his gaze back to the make Devil and asked.

"And who's your friend?"

"Oh right, do introduce yourself to your new master maggot."

While the smile on Moloc's face did not fade, her eyes told a different story as she turned to Azalea then gave him a gentle command that made him shiver.

'Maggot?'

"Forgive me late introductions master, I am the Arch Devil, Azalea. Please use me as you see fit. From this day forward, I swear my undying loyalty to you for eternity."

'What the hell happened to this guy. Isn't this the same person I saw on the screen? And whose he calling master? What are you swearing? Well, whatever.'

Tyler was a little taken aback by the drastic change of the devil's character but decided to move on as he didn't exactly have all the time in the world. Besides, he was being watched right now, and having a Devil swear loyalty to him was very effective.

There's no need to worry about the minor detail, he'll just have to leave Uriel in charge of monitoring him for the time being even if a Devil was bound to their oath.

"An Arch Devil Huh? Since Moloc is a Devil Lord, I take it you were one of his underlinings back in the underworld Huh?"

[Th-thats correct master.]

Tyler's question seem to have shaken the Devil up a bit but he soon returned to normal as he answered reverently.

"Well then, I guess I'll put you under him now as well. So Moloc, take care of him and return to the castle. I'll end this here myself."

The moment Tyler had ulterior those words, he could see the color rapidly drain from Azalea as the due was on the verge of becoming a ghost, and all that ran through his mind was.

'What the fuck did Moloc do to this guy?'

[It is advised that master doesn't inquire about this any further. For master's own mental health and appetite.]

"..."