A Descending Asura

"G-g-g-great sir, I swear to the Overgod that everything I said was true."

Balseze sensed Prequeil's killing intent and hurried to speak.

As a longtime subordinate, he knew his lord too well.

If his lord wanted him dead, he would kill him without hesitation, no matter how many years Balseze had served him.

"Hmm? It's true?"

Prequeil was momentarily stunned and fell into thought.

An oath to the Overgod was the one thing in the entire Magic Universe that absolutely could not be broken.

If Balseze was willing to swear one, then everything he'd said must be true.

But that made the whole affair especially bizarre.

The force called the Interstellar Federation acted strangely. Normally, anyone who seized a Material Plane had to have a purpose.

But apart from the power of faith, the Material Plane shouldn't have anything else of value.

Surely they weren't after the various ores and other materials found in the Material Plane? What use could those things possibly be?

Not to mention, the materials in the Material Plane were vastly inferior to those in the Divine Plane, in both quantity and quality. Simply having to mine them across plane after plane would make things far more difficult.

Yet they didn't seem to be spreading any faith. The power of faith was directed toward a specific recipient: for it to be properly channeled, one had to know the name of the person being worshipped.

Even if the recipient wasn't clearly identified, there had to be some defining title, like Lord of Light. Then the power of faith would go directly to the Chief Sovereign of the Light Element.

The Interstellar Federation had left behind only its name, with no specific information about its leaders. There was no way it could receive the corresponding power of faith.

It wasn't as if someone could be named Interstellar Federation. Even if such a person existed, he would have to tell the people of the Material Plane his name and have them worship him before he could possibly receive the power of faith.

Generally speaking, the only ones competing with the Radiant Plane for the power of faith were the Dark Divine Plane.

But if this was a scheme by the Dark Divine Plane, it shouldn't be aimed only at the territory under his control. After all, he was merely a subordinate commander of a Radiant Sovereign.

"Wait. Could Sykes be targeting me?"

Prequeil suddenly had a flash of inspiration and thought of a possibility.

The Sykes he knew was, like him, a commander under the Radiant Sovereign, and the two of them had been at odds for years.

The last time they competed over a Material Plane, that bastard had lost a great deal of resources. Back then, he'd threatened that he wouldn't let it go.

Prequeil had assumed he was just talking big. Now, it seemed he intended to target the Material Planes under Prequeil's jurisdiction.

If the faith from those Material Planes dropped on a large scale, Prequeil would certainly be held accountable by his superiors.

"Sykes, you vicious bastard." Prequeil suddenly understood it all.

That so-called Interstellar Federation had to be his doing. Like all those who helped the Chief Sovereigns spread their faith, Sykes had a Chief Sovereign's token, which allowed him to send people into Material Planes on a large scale. With his abilities, it wouldn't be difficult to send a few people to a Material Plane.

When Prequeil's subordinates discovered a problem, the strongest person they sent to investigate had only been an ordinary Highgod. As long as Sykes sent a few five- or six-star fiends skilled at concealing their soul auras, it was entirely possible to evade detection.

There were plenty of holes in the logic, but Prequeil decided this was the most likely truth.

"Balseze, come with me!"

With that, Prequeil seized Balseze and flew toward the teleportation array without another word.

He was going to catch them in the act, then report the whole affair to his superiors.

"My lord..." Balseze hadn't finished speaking before Prequeil whisked him away, leaving him stunned.

He couldn't understand what had gotten into his lord. Why was he so worked up? Was he planning to investigate in person?

Prequeil was indeed going to investigate. He planned to go to a Material Plane and use his abilities to capture those so-called Federation leaders. With proof in hand, he could turn around and accuse Sykes.

Meanwhile, on the Aien Plane, at Flame Mountain, a Lowgod yawned in boredom.

As a Plane Guardian, he spent most of his time with nothing to do.

But today, he wasn't going to get to rest in peace.

Suddenly, the teleportation array leading to the Radiant Plane lit up, and he sprang to his feet.

"My lord!" The Plane Guardian bowed.

Though he didn't know who had arrived, no one who could travel from a Divine Plane to a Material Plane was someone a Plane Guardian like him could afford to offend.

On a Divine Plane, only at least a Six-Star Fiend could amass enough wealth to travel to a Material Plane.

Such a powerful figure was not someone a Lowgod guardian could afford to offend.

"Hmph!"

Prequeil ignored the guardian and merely snorted before flying rapidly toward the continent, his divine sense spreading out at once.

"This lord seems to be in a bad mood. I'd better not go to the continent anytime soon."

The Plane Guardian wiped the sweat from his forehead. He'd been planning to visit the continent after a while, but now he firmly decided to stay by the teleportation array until his assignment ended.

At the same time, a monitoring station above Flame Mountain immediately detected someone arriving from a Divine Plane. The next second, an alarm blared.

[Warning! Warning! Incoming from the Radiant Plane detected. Speed exceeds monitoring range. Estimated strength: Highgod, Highgod!]

"Damn it! It's a Highgod!"

The instant the alarm sounded, the Lowgod in charge of security inside the Federation Building reacted. He immediately activated the emergency protocol.

In a flash, the phones of every Federation leader rang at once, and the highest-priority alert filled their screens.

Everyone realized it was an emergency evacuation order. They had to leave immediately.

The Federation had issued its highest-level directive: a powerful invader was on the way, and they had to evacuate to keep their secrets from being discovered.

The entire Federation center went into emergency mode. Everyone from other planes, along with the few highest-ranking members native to this plane, rushed toward the emergency escape device.

"Everyone's here. Prepare to evacuate!"

Inside the shelter, the security officer checked the headcount and immediately prepared to press the teleportation button.

But the next second—

"Boom!"

A massive explosion rang out, and the entire upper section of the shelter was torn apart. The teleportation array was shattered in two.

"How did he get here so fast?"

The security officer was completely dumbfounded, staring at the scene in disbelief.

Less than three minutes had passed since they'd detected the enemy, sounded the alarm, and prepared to evacuate. Yet he'd already arrived—and found them immediately.

"Is this the strength of a Highgod?"

The security officer murmured in disbelief. He had never seen a Highgod before, and now he suddenly felt utterly hopeless.

The Federation had devised a complete system to keep them safe. By all rights, a Highgod shouldn't have been able to find them so quickly.

Against an ordinary Highgod, they would have had enough time to evacuate. But Prequeil was a cultivator, and with an Asura's speed, the Federation's preparations fell far short.

"Oh? So you were hiding here? But you're so weak?"

Prequeil looked down at the people below, surprise and confusion in his eyes.

As he rushed over, he'd suddenly noticed something unusual—a place that seemed to block divine sense. He'd immediately realized something was wrong.

Then he'd sped ahead at full force, torn apart the strange-looking structure, and discovered the people hiding inside.

"This thing seems to block divine sense to some extent. Could this be where they've been hiding whenever people from other planes came to inspect?"

Prequeil guessed, surprised, and fell into thought.

He'd lived for countless years, yet this was the first time he'd seen such a strange material. It could even block a Highgod's divine sense. If he hadn't spent years as an Asura, he might never have noticed it.

"You there. Whose subordinates are you, and where did you come from?"

After a moment's thought, Prequeil spoke, his voice carrying an unquestionable authority.

"W-we..."

The security officer's mind raced as he tried to stall for time.

When the teleportation array had been destroyed, headquarters must have noticed at once and sent reinforcements. They only needed to hold out a little longer.

The man didn't seem to know who they were. Had he come from the Radiant Plane because of the Light Church's faith?

"Oh, it seems you're not going to cooperate." Prequeil's brow furrowed as he glanced at Balseze.

"Not talking? Then I'll kill one of you every ten seconds!"

Balseze was also shocked. He couldn't understand how these people had managed to hide, but he quickly recovered and began carrying out his duty as a subordinate.

He cultivated the Laws of the Earth, while Lord Prequeil cultivated the Laws of Light. Neither of them was skilled in Soul Bewilderment, so killing people outright was the most effective way to interrogate them.

"I'll talk! I'll talk! We came from the Dark Divine Plane."

The security officer spoke at once. After thinking it over, he'd recognized the identity of the people before him and immediately began lying through his teeth.

"The Dark Divine Plane? Then whose subordinates are you?" Balseze muttered, thinking that it really was as he'd suspected, then pressed on.

"We—we're subordinates of Lord Melt, the Prefect of Silver Blue Prefecture."

After thinking it over, the security officer gave his answer. He'd learned that name from one of the Federation's leaders.

He'd heard they had discovered someone worshipping this Prefect on a Material Plane belonging to a Dark Church.

"Brat, you dare deceive us!"

Prequeil roared in fury.

Melt, the Prefect of Silver Blue Prefecture, had fallen just a thousand years ago. The news hadn't spread widely yet, but Prequeil knew about it.

These people had dared to mock him by naming a dead man. They clearly had no intention of telling the truth.

"It's over, Lord Huosi. I can't serve you any longer."

Realizing he'd given himself away, the security officer closed his eyes in despair.

But in the next instant, a voice rang out across the world:

"They're my subordinates!"

The light from the teleportation array vanished, and Huosi's voice rang out.