The battlefield was collapsing.
Saints bled.
Legions shattered.
And the Abyss only grew louder.
The Demon Lord stood amidst the carnage, its cloak of darkness fluttering as it watched humans struggle against inevitability. Every step forward cost blood. Every victory was temporary.
Then—
The world fell silent.
Not gradually.
Instantly.
Spells froze mid-air. Abyssal mist stopped flowing. Even the Demon Lord stiffened, its instincts screaming in terror.
A presence descended.
There was no explosion.
No dramatic arrival.
Only a pressure so vast that the battlefield itself seemed to bow.
The sky dimmed as if eclipsed by an unseen hand.
Soldiers fell to one knee—not from fear, but from instinct.
"W-What is that…" someone whispered.
The Demon Lord slowly turned its head.
And its pupils contracted.
A lone figure walked forward across the broken land, his black imperial cloak untouched by blood or ash. Each step he took caused the corrupted ground to crack, restoring fragments of the land beneath.
Aurelius Valen had arrived.
The World Emperor stood between humanity and the Abyss.
"You're late," the Demon Lord said, forcing a smile. "I expected you sooner."
Aurelius looked at it.
Only once.
Then he spoke.
"Kneel."
The word carried no shout.
No divine chant.
Yet the world itself obeyed.
A thunderous force slammed into the Demon Lord. Its knees shattered the ground as it was forced down, shock rippling across its twisted face.
"This—this is impossible!" it snarled. "I am a Demon Lord!"
"You are an invader," Aurelius replied calmly. "Nothing more."
The Demon Lord roared, abyssal energy erupting wildly as it struggled to rise.
Aurelius raised his hand.
The sky cracked.
A vast, invisible seal descended, crushing the demon's power layer by layer. Abyssal runes ignited and burned away like paper in flame.
With a single step forward, Aurelius stood before it.
"Return to the Abyss," he said.
The Demon Lord laughed hysterically, blood leaking from its mouth. "You think killing me will end this? The Abyss is endless. The gods will bleed you dry!"
Aurelius's gaze sharpened.
"I am not killing you," he said.
The Demon Lord froze.
"I am erasing your authority."
His fingers closed.
The world screamed.
The Demon Lord's body shattered into fragments of darkness, its core crushed and dispersed into nothingness. No rebirth. No retreat.
Erased.
Across the battlefield, every demon shrieked as their connection to command vanished. Panic spread. Formation collapsed.
"Advance," Aurelius said calmly.
The surviving legions surged forward, cutting down fleeing demons without mercy.
Far above, unseen by mortal eyes—
The heavens shook.
Divine thrones stirred.
A goddess leaned forward, eyes gleaming with cold interest.
"So he can erase Abyssal authority now," she murmured. "That power…"
Another god clenched his fist.
"He's crossed another line."
Aurelius Valen looked up at the sky.
Not in challenge.
But in warning.
"This world is under my rule," he said quietly. "Interfere again—and I will remember."
The heavens offered no reply.
But they were no longer calm.
The war had escalated.
And for the first time—
Both gods and demons realized the same truth.
The World Emperor was no longer testing his enemies.
He was declaring dominance.
(This was only the beginning.)