Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 61: A Lord of Hell

Everything silenced immediately after I finished speaking, a silence that drowned everything like a wave from the sea. Then, suddenly, everything erupted into loud noises; the ground trembled and groaned.

Slya and Tiber cried out, running from the bones that began to grow out of the ground. The bones weaved together and overlapped, forming a gigantic door that glowed with fire. Arcane symbols of running lava covered its surface.

I shifted and gathered my remaining essence into a raging fireball in my hand. I was only making an ordinary pact binding. What is going on now?

"What did you do, Vale? Is this hell?" Slya asked, fear choking the words out of her mouth. Tiber, on my left, raised a trembling knife.

I didn’t reply, focusing instead on the door that was slowly creaking open. I expected darkness or maybe fire and brimstone, but on the other side was a simple room, a study with chairs and bookshelves.

But the man standing before us was far from ordinary. He was tall and muscular, draped in a yellow robe, with a white scarf wound around his neck. His hair was white fire snapping at the air, encircling the two dark horns jutting out of his head.

I met white eyes with my green ones, and both of us froze. This is a demon?

The man looked around, frowning slightly. His gaze moved from me to the others, then back to the surroundings, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He cleared his throat when he saw the fireball in my hand, the trembling knife pointed at him, and Slya’s glare.

Nobody spoke for a long moment until I straightened and let the fireball fizzle away. "I wasn’t expecting you," I said, as if I had been expecting anything at all.

The man smiled, his sharp, white fangs glinting. "I wasn’t expecting you either. I was looking for him..."

He trailed off, but I caught on immediately. This demon must have been expecting the forbidden Knight who left the inheritance behind!

"Are you his friend or what?" I asked curiously. I guessed this demon must be a big deal, how else could he be so majestic?

The demon smiled faintly. "Maybe. He never did consider me a friend. But we crossed paths in his castle before."

I was shocked. "You mean he has a castle in hell?"

Slya and Tiber looked between us, still trying to understand what was happening, but they had stopped cowering.

The demon peered at me closely, his mouth tightening slightly. "I see. You don’t have everything, very far from it. To answer your question, yes. He was a titled man here. He held the Infernal Dominion, one of the powers of demons."

Oh... oh shit! The power I’m using belongs to a demon? Oh shit...

Demons were creatures often mentioned in mythical books, and their Hell was one of the few other realms of existence actually known. In fact, low-level demons like imps were sometimes found in ruins and similar places.

To think I’d be using one of their powers...

"What title did he have? Is he like a king or something?" I asked eagerly.

The demon smiled, narrowing his eyes. "The throne of the Demon King is currently empty. As for him, well... he held the title of ’Lord of the Eternal Pyre’

My eyes glowed. "That’s... impressive, right? The Eternal Pyre sounds like something powerful."

Events flashed through my mind. Maybe I can go to Hell and bring demon armies here! Then I won’t have to go through the stress of gathering and making armies. They’ll flock to me if they see my demon armies. I’ll make them bow to me. I’m the new Lord of the Eternal Pyre!

The demon grimaced, though his white eyes held a hint of laughter. "Ah, no. The title of ’Lord’ is the most common, the easiest to obtain among titles. And the Eternal Pyre was so named because the land once held the Eternal Pyre fire for the Demon King."

"Oh." I deflated slightly. But it’s still impressive! For a human of the Eternal Skies to have a title in Hell, isn’t that something? And now... it’s been passed to me. Wait... has it been passed to me?

I swallowed. "So, the Lord of the Eternal Pyre..."

The demon caught on and laughed. "You are, of course, the new Lord. I thought it was the old one come back from the dead, but it’s actually a new successor. I tracked your essence to this place."

I mentally breathed a sigh of relief. I’m a Lord of Hell. Just how impressive can that be? Should I head to Hell? Hmm... that’s stupid. I’m nowhere near strong enough. I have to build my power... yes! The pact binding!

"I was making a pact," I reminded him. "I didn’t know I needed a demon in attendance."

"You do, since you’re making the pact in the witness of Hell, and your level of power isn’t strong enough. Usually, you’d only get a spirit, but your essence drew me, so I came here to investigate.

"All right. I stand as witness!" the demon shouted.

Immediately, red, bellowing essence flowed from the ground and covered me, Tiber, and Slya. It carried the intense heat of Hell but did us no harm. The red power thinned and then formed a thick rope connecting the three of us.

"What..." I gasped as power flowed from me, my blood feeling like it was running in reverse. Pain laced my body, and I doubled over, my eyes rolling white. I gritted my teeth, understanding what was happening. I didn’t fight it, though it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I heard Tiber and Slya gasping loudly, heard them fall and roll on the ground as power they’d never felt before rushed through their bodies. It raced in their veins like liquid fire, seeped into their flesh and bones like dew made of lightning.

They screamed until their voices gave out, until they blacked out, covered in sweat and filth. And still, it continued.