Ch.245Chapter 245 – The First Demon Takes the Field

The First Demon.

The Pope of the Demon Cult.

And the former High Elder of the High Elves.

These seemingly incompatible titles all referred not to different individuals, but to a single person.

Eldran.

He was both the leader of all demon-kind and the Pope of the Demon Cult.

However, he had never once shown himself in either the Western or Eastern continents.

Typically, the leader of an organization would tour their domain to strengthen unity among members or to restrict the actions of dissidents.

But Eldran had never once revealed himself to the followers of the Demon Cult.

The reason was directly related to the throne he sat upon.

In Eldran’s dwelling beneath the abandoned wasteland stood a massive throne.

Eldran sat on this throne daily, and except for the rare occasions when he would stand, he never left the room where the throne was located.

There was a reason why he wouldn’t leave the throne, or at least not leave the room containing it.

The reason was that the throne he sat upon was created with the power of the Demon God.

From the basic ability to transmit his will and voice to distant cult followers, priests, or demons, to teleportation functions that could send objects or summon people.

This was a tool that allowed Eldran to manage all his organizations from one place without having to go anywhere.

The throne’s functions operated solely on demonic energy rather than mana, and being made with the power of the Demon God, it never aged or broke down.

Moreover, when combined with the appearance of the throne and Eldran’s own dignity, those who saw him naturally submitted to him.

Eldran had no intention of ever leaving this throne that gave him such a powerful presence that others would bow their heads just by looking at him.

But for the past few years, the plans he had established kept falling apart or completely failing.

This was not what Eldran wanted.

He wanted his plans to proceed smoothly so that when all the nations and religious orders in this world were weakened, he could overturn everything and create a world ruled by the Demon God.

This was his way of showing gratitude to the Demon God who had allowed him to cast off his tedious duty as a guardian and live as the being called Eldran.

He also wished for the elves, who were bound by their duty to protect the World Tree, to be freed from their obligations and live freely as he did.

Despite investing considerable time in meticulous planning and preparation to achieve this goal…

Things began to go awry with the appearance of Pathos, the man with the ability to fix everything.

Eldran worried that if things continued this way, all his efforts would be in vain, and the advent of the Demon God would be postponed indefinitely.

After endless deliberation, he finally reached a conclusion.

I must take action myself.

Eldran was well aware that if he personally intervened, the gods would notice and send down beings to oppose him.

Indeed, as soon as he showed signs of beginning his activities in earnest, the gods bestowed abilities upon people, creating hundreds of ability users.

Of course, all of them would need time to learn and adapt to properly utilize their gifted abilities.

In the worst case, the gods might directly intervene to stop Eldran.

But Eldran knew all too well that the gods would never do that.

Because the moment the gods directly intervened to stop Eldran, the Demon God would gain an equal opportunity to influence the world through Eldran.

That’s why the gods couldn’t come down directly to eliminate Eldran.

If they killed Eldran with their own hands, the Demon God’s influence in the world would strengthen accordingly.

“Haaah…”

Eldran rose from his throne.

He stretched and moved his body to check his condition.

He ran around, swung his arms and legs wrapped in demonic energy, and performed various movements.

“I haven’t grown rusty yet.”

Eldran smiled as he confirmed that his body moved as he wished.

This was the first time he had risen from his throne to eliminate a single being.

“Your combat ability is practically non-existent… Therefore, if I ambush you, victory is mine.”

Eldran had no intention of declaring war on Pathos by announcing when and where he would come for him.

He believed the most efficient approach was to ambush him.

If he could ambush and eliminate Pathos, the being who kept interfering with his plans would disappear.

Then he could slowly rebuild his forces over time and prepare for the advent of the Demon God.

He anticipated interference from those protecting Pathos, but that was something he would have to endure.

“Well then, let’s go!”

Eldran used demonic energy to create a gate before him.

It wasn’t a blue gate made with mana, but a dark red gate created with demonic energy.

As Eldran stepped through the gate, his surroundings changed instantly.

Where before there was a dark, dreary underground world, now there was a slightly dim but open and beautiful natural landscape.

“Haaah… Someday I must let my kind live in such a nice place.”

Eldran inhaled the fresh air emanating from nature.

Although they used magic to purify the underground air in the abandoned wasteland where the demons lived, it couldn’t compare to the fresh air of nature itself.

He closed his eyes and concentrated.

Born as a High Elf, the most noble and excellent among elves who were naturally attuned to nature, he could read the flow of natural energy.

Sensing the natural energy, he analyzed what he felt.

“He’s not far from here.”

Eldran realized that Pathos was about a two-day walk away.

But he didn’t immediately go looking for him.

“Two of them.”

This was because he detected two beings with immense power near Pathos.

According to information from the Demon Cult followers, there were always two powerful individuals by Pathos’s side.

One was a mage.

The other was a martial artist from the Eastern Continent.

Eldran had thought they were merely humans.

No matter how long humans lived, they couldn’t outlive elves, and due to the limitations of the human race, he believed he could easily defeat these two powerful guardians if he personally intervened.

‘I was mistaken.’

But upon arriving in the Western Continent, Eldran realized his error.

Just from the amount of energy he sensed from afar, he knew these were not opponents he could take lightly.

‘Have the short-lived races grown this powerful…!’

In the hundreds of years since Eldran had taken his throne, the average combat ability of people had increased significantly, and some had even surpassed elven capabilities.

Despite having access to much information, he had never personally experienced this reality.

Eldran now had to make a choice.

Should he return to the abandoned wasteland to build his strength and come back later?

Or should he quickly eliminate Pathos when he was separated from his two guardians and then retreat?

Choosing the former would allow him to safely build his strength, but with the penalty of having to rebuild the Demon Cult’s influence across the continent.

Choosing the latter would eliminate Pathos, who kept ruining his plans at critical moments, allowing him to regroup the Demon Cult and slowly rebuild his plans.

To Eldran, the former seemed the most reasonable choice.

Even though he had come this far, how pathetic would it be if he failed to defeat Pathos and was defeated himself?

Moreover, if he chose the latter and failed, the Demon Cult would face renewed persecution, potentially wiping out the Western branch completely, unlike before.

“I have no choice. I’ll retreat for now and plan for another day…”

Just as Eldran chose strategic withdrawal, his instincts foresaw death.

Immediately, Eldran leaped into the air, and an invisible force swept through where he had been standing.

“I smelled something strange and came to check, and here you are—the one they call Eldran or whatever.”

Eldran looked at the woman who had suddenly attacked him.

With hair almost sky-blue and dressed in Eastern Continental attire.

It was Cheon Hyeryeong, the current Heavenly Demon, glaring at Eldran with eyes full of killing intent.

“So it’s you. The one who ordered my husband’s death.”