Transmigrated As The Final Villain of a Death Game-Chapter 273: Hell Raid Arc [ 16 ]

"..."

What?

Promoting Wilhelm to the rank of Demon Emperor? Is he even allowed to do that?

I scrambled through my memories, looking for any precedent. There were a few demons that were forcefully promoted, but it was a weird process, to say the least.

Verbal promotions amongst demons worked, sure. However, that didn’t change the fact that Grade ranges existed for a reason. So while it may be possible to make a Grade 10 demon into a Demon King, that wouldn’t mean it would be as powerful.

The only plus side to all of this was that upon promotion, the demon would get some unique abilities that were completely exclusive to a demon of whichever rank it was promoted to. And in this case... I wasn’t sure just what kind of abilities he got.

But from the giant smirk that suddenly appeared on his face, it was obvious that the Gift was good.

Not to mention...

"We’ll need to put more focus on Kai, because if not for his report, I would be blind to this whole situation. I will arrive soon, so play your part, even if you cannot win."

With those words, Ren finally vanished. Though the threat of his promise, as well as the full extent of his power, made me realize just what would happen if he were to arrive. For one, Aliyah was already close to exhaustion. If she fought against Ren, she would most definitely lose.

In the same manner, if Clementine and I tried to mess around and help her, we’d only be getting in her way. After all, we’re powerful beings, but when it comes to those who were really powerful, we were just a bunch of ants.

And as if on cue, Wilhelm finally made his move. There was no more hesitation in his steps, nor was there any semblance of holding back. A thin thread of energy escaped his palm and made its way straight to Clementine.

I froze for a moment, realizing that her head was about to go flying off. I reacted instantly, though it didn’t really seem like I had to, as Clementine turned into her Soul form and perfectly dodged the attack.

Not to mention, the Demonic Core that she had in her grasp was no longer physical, as it had gone through the ground alongside her. That meant that she had finally succeeded.

And of course, when she finally resurfaced, she showed the fruits of her efforts.

She infused her energy into the Demonic Core, giving it a form. At first, it was nothing but an undefined blob of silver energy. But it soon gained a form, and it appeared like a copy of Clementine. Except this copy wielded a sword, and from the amount of power it was emanating, I was genuinely surprised.

After all, who’d expect someone at Grade 60 to be able to control a Grade 70-80 being, let alone make it possible for them to retain more than 95% of their previous strength? It was just unreal.

Wilhelm spotted that too, except that he wasn’t worried in the slightest. If anything, at the appearance of his old comrade, he was even more relieved.

In the short moment that he had his attention off me, I reappeared beside Clementine, only to realize that she had exhausted most of her energy already.

"Are you alright?"

She shook her head. "It’s nothing... I overheard the conversation. Is it about time we start making our way out of here?"

"Mhm."

I turned to Wilhelm, then back to Clementine.

"Focus all of your remaining energy on defense. I’ve got no idea what kind of power-up he got, but it’s definitely substantial."

"Ah, there’s no need for that," Wilhelm remarked from the side, then let out a chuckle. "I believe everything could be sorted much more... Hmm... How do you put it? Individually, maybe?"

While I didn’t quite understand what he was getting at, I was soon met with something I hadn’t seen in a very long time.

[Ding!]

[You have triggered a [Main] quest!]

[Objective: Survive The Realm of Despair]

[Reward: Special Ability]

[Additional Reward if at least Clementine Noir and Aliyah are alive by the end of this encounter: +150 Free Stat Points]

[Additional Reward if both Clementine Noir and Aliyah are alive by the end of this encounter: Gift Rank Increase.]

[Difficulty: ★★★★☆ (Extreme)]

Realm of Despair?

The moment I had that thought, I suddenly felt a numbing sensation in the back of my mind, and when I focused on it, my vision darkened.

I was confused for a good moment, wondering just what exactly happened. I tried to reach into my Mind Realm, perhaps tap into some Divine Energy. But nothing changed.

Clementine wasn’t beside me, and it didn’t feel like I was in the Demon Realm either.

I had to stop denying the possibility that he had actually just tossed me into whatever the Realm of Despair was.

And it seemed like I wasn’t too far off, as once my vision finally returned, I spotted the surroundings that looked nearly identical to where I had just been.

But now, the earth was scorched, the ocean was completely dry, and craters were riddled across the mountaintops as well as the ground. Black energy crackled within each crater, and as for the sky, it was a clear gateway to the cosmos. It pulsed and expanded, sometimes even shifted inwardly. It was an indication of each of my Gifts.

Though this...? This isn’t something I could do. This scale... It was just unrealistically powerful, to the point where I’d need to be at least Grade 80 to achieve something like this.

As I was lost in my thoughts, I spotted a figure emerge from the ground. The figure didn’t have a shape at first, until it manifested as none other than Wilhelm.

Yet this Wilhelm was completely different. One of his horns was cracked, while the other was much longer than before. Not only that, the amount of energy I could feel from him was a large step up from earlier.

And if I had to guess... He was the sole person I’ll be dealing with here.