Arguing with the Prime Evils would only affect him more. To avoid walking down the path of corruption, Bul-Kathos needed to maintain his consciousness better, rather than having his emotions easily provoked.
At this moment, Azmodan and Andariel chose silence.
The current Bul-Kathos was different from before. At the very least, they needed to treat him with caution.
So, when they felt Diablo's fleeting power, they tried hard to disrupt Bul-Kathos's thoughts.
Corrupt Bul-Kathos? That was too dangerous!
They were worried too.
Ever since Bul-Kathos obtained the complete Authority of Devouring and Time, the Prime Evils had to treat him carefully.
Especially Azmodan, who had personally experienced the immense power of the Band of Might (Ikathian Ring/Ring of Might), was very worried.
Worried that Bul-Kathos, in utter despair, would merge with the other half of his soul.
If that happened, although the Prime Evils would have completed Bul-Kathos's corruption, Bul-Kathos would also fully master the Authorities.
The Authority of Devouring and Time would allow Bul-Kathos to consume the Prime Evils in a short time. He might become the next Malthael!
A creator god bent on eliminating all Prime Evils?
Azmodan dared not imagine that ending.
Andariel and Azmodan had wanted to discuss this issue inside the Black Soulstone more than once. But they found that no matter how they signaled each other, they couldn't communicate about it, as if some existence was setting the rules inside the Black Soulstone.
They couldn't speak of it.
So the only thing they could do was delay the time when Bul-Kathos realized this.
And hope their other siblings would realize it early.
Their hope didn't lie with the most dangerous one, Fear (Diablo), but with Mephisto, who represented Hatred.
Currently, only Mephisto had some understanding of Bul-Kathos's situation, and Diablo might become Mephisto's pawn to test Bul-Kathos.
But the Prime Evils were also guarding against each other!
Azmodan was worried!
Worried that the idiot Diablo would prematurely make Bul-Kathos realize the tables had turned.
Damn it! Why are humans always so blessed!
Azmodan could only think this in his heart.
He didn't even plan to express any opinion inside the Black Soulstone that Bul-Kathos could hear.
In their constant battles with the Nephalem, they had long known what kind of person Bul-Kathos was.
Bul-Kathos was never as crude as he looked. He was the only Barbarian who could completely suppress the source of power that was Fury.
To Bul-Kathos, Fury wasn't just an emotion; it was merely a power source.
That cold anger, enough to freeze a Prime Evil's soul, was the truly terrifying thing. It felt like seeing the Mad King Leoric.
After Bul-Kathos finally found a quiet place to sit down, he spoke.
"Azmodan, I will find out what you are fearing."
Bul-Kathos spoke in the softest voice, certain the Prime Evils in the Black Soulstone could hear him.
"Your behavior is too abnormal. You are afraid."
"What nonsense are you talking about!"
It was Andariel who answered Bul-Kathos.
This idiot!
Azmodan thought furiously.
There was a reason Andariel was the least respected Prime Evil. She sought only anguish, so she never had the ambition to rule the world. In other words, Andariel had no ambition, just wanting a place to enjoy the process of torture.
"Azmodan, do you not plan to speak?"
Bul-Kathos frowned, pouring a bottle of strong liquor into his mouth.
"The news Dracula told me wasn't just about where Mephisto is."
Dracula's exchange condition was unequal; Bul-Kathos knew this well.
Using a piece of gossip to exchange for Bul-Kathos's protection of Integra?
Barbarians protect the kind; this is what Nephalem have always done. But Nephalem almost never gave extra protection to a specific individual because, in their eyes, everyone was equal.
"What do you know?"
Azmodan finally stopped using that ridiculous "Prime Evil" style of speech to affect Bul-Kathos's mind.
"I don't plan to let you out. As long as I exist, you will stay in the Black Soulstone!"
Bul-Kathos took a fierce swig of alcohol.
"But I don't feel that when Malthael arrives, I will definitely win."
"You mean we should help you? Don't joke. I still remember the intense pain when you split my body!"
Azmodan breathed a sigh of relief saying this.
If Bul-Kathos just wanted to face a common enemy with them, there wasn't much to worry about.
"What you fear is the tattoo on my body, right? At least that's one of the reasons."
Bul-Kathos suddenly wanted to eat meat in large mouthfuls. Usually, he had no interest in food.
"I know without you answering. You won't tell me the truth. But do you think I will fail? I have only failed once in my life, and that was facing the invasion of the Authority of Death. But now you coexist with me. If I see Malthael again, the power of Death will act on you. And you will not die."
Bul-Kathos continued.
The embedding of the Black Soulstone in his forehead was originally a last resort.
If he hadn't been transported to this new world back then, he still had one final method when facing Malthael.
The Spirits of the Ancients on Mount Harrogath could enter the Black Soulstone and bear the erosion of the divine power of Death for him.
And Bul-Kathos only needed to finish off Malthael before the Ancient Spirits were annihilated by Death.
Although talking about the situation back then was just a hypothesis—no one knew if Bul-Kathos would have succeeded—as Bul-Kathos said, he had never failed in his life except when facing Death.
Once Malthael's Death had no effect on him, Malthael would be just another Prime Evil.
Bul-Kathos had never lost a battle outside of rules, even if the enemy was the incarnation of a rule.
"You planned to use those Ancient Spirits to bear Death?"
Azmodan couldn't help but ask.
"If the Black Soulstone hadn't exploded, what did you plan to do?"
"The Ancients would bear Death for me, and I would kill Malthael. Then I would let him join you in this cramped cage, keeping company with the Ancients."
"Barbarian Ancients, Prime Evils, and a mad Angel, all in a cramped cage, killing each other endlessly... Even if you went mad, none of us would be allowed to escape?"
Azmodan felt his blood run cold saying this.
It wasn't their first time inside the Black Soulstone, so they knew well that inside, power itself didn't exist.
The only thing determining strength in the cage was Will.
Thinking of the Barbarian Ancients who persisted for thousands of years due to a single obsession, and Malthael who had gone completely mad to destroy demons, Azmodan felt fear.
"You're crazy."
Azmodan said to Bul-Kathos.
Andariel still hadn't realized what Bul-Kathos and Azmodan were discussing.
"I was crazy the moment I chose to split my soul. When I met the Wise King of Khanduras and struggled to restrain my immense power just to shatter his bones bit by bit, I was crazy! And that madness was given by you!"
Bul-Kathos responded to Azmodan with a roar.
How strong was the Skeleton King Leoric?
Strong enough that just by choosing to leave his palace, he could turn all the living into the dead, blurring the line between life and death!
As long as he followed the power, Leoric could have shoved his jagged scepter right up Diablo's ass!
But he was ultimately Leoric.
Even after becoming a blasphemy against life, Leoric was still Leoric!
The Wise King of Khanduras!
The father of the Dark Wanderer!
The great king who gave humanity a land to live on!
Before seeing the lucid Leoric, no one would understand what choice the Mad King made back then.
And Bul-Kathos, in front of the Wise King of Khanduras, simply made a choice!
A noble sacrifice.
That was all.
"Leoric was Diablo's fault!"
Azmodan failed to notice his voice was filled with fear.
The Prime Evils were the most lucid and the coldest.
But they were never fearless!
Facing Bul-Kathos's interrogation and that madness, Azmodan felt more helpless than when his power was swallowed by Malthael.
The "strength" he once took pride in felt like a shivering white mouse before Bul-Kathos's rage.
"But, all tragedies were manufactured by you. Prime Evil, Lord of Sin! Azmodan! The cruelty in your smile when Kanuk shattered against your chest, the joy you felt commanding demon armies to bring sorrow to the Barbarians! Now, before the Barbarian's rage, it will all turn into your fear!"
Bul-Kathos roared with anger, then his emotions slowly returned to calm.
"I will continue. I have made my decision. I will not hesitate to release Leoric! Let him pour out his mad longing to you inside the Black Soulstone!"
"I will shatter Malthael, let that idiot understand! Humans are not toys he can manipulate! Nor are they vassals of demons!"
"I will lock you all within my will, and let you wail in endless slaughter!"
"Even if I die, I will have the one I choose inherit my will, making you scream in pain forever and ever!"
Bul-Kathos's low growl dissipated in the wind; no one heard his voice.
Far away on Mars, Imperius cast his gaze upon Bul-Kathos, his wings of Valor radiating scorching brilliance!
And Dr. Manhattan followed Imperius's gaze, also projecting his sight onto Bul-Kathos.
Dr. Manhattan didn't know what Bul-Kathos was thinking; he just watched quietly with curiosity.
"Bul-Kathos, you won't succeed!"
Azmodan roared, fierce in appearance but weak inside.
But this time, Bul-Kathos did not respond.
Andariel had lost the ability to speak. She was completely terrified by Bul-Kathos's hatred for the Prime Evils.
Bul-Kathos's insane idea was enough to make every Prime Evil feel fear.
If not for the teleportation caused by the explosion of the Black Soulstone inside Malthael's body back then, these Prime Evils might have already fallen into the nightmare Bul-Kathos had calculated.
Bul-Kathos didn't know when Malthael would arrive, nor did he know what Malthael would look like or how strong he would be.
But Bul-Kathos had never feared, because he had never been utterly defeated!
"You won't succeed! You won't!"
Azmodan kept saying this. The entity pushed to desperation was no longer the Barbarian Bul-Kathos.
It was these Prime Evils who had lost their freedom!
Every defeated Prime Evil would learn this despairing news from their siblings.
Every Prime Evil who once represented Terror would be uneasy in the face of the fear named Bul-Kathos!
"Is this world friendly to humans?"
Bul-Kathos whispered. He didn't expect an answer.
Having seen the Death of this world, he knew there were high gods here too, bastards just like Malthael.
Bul-Kathos was thinking about the thoughts of those existences.
What does a Death who isn't good at fighting represent?
It represents that there are more than two gods skilled in combat protecting Death!
Only this could explain why Death, a top-tier Authority, wasn't good at fighting.
Because the fighting was taken over by the existences protecting her!
Bul-Kathos pondered how to give humanity the "freedom" it deserved. Human destiny should not be controlled by other existences, even if they are gods!
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