Chapter 268: Forced Awakening
As Yuno was summoned by God, Yuki faced another reality.
He currently floated in infinite darkness, reminiscent of when he awakened in Sharingan, a solitary space drowning in endless loneliness.
[Save me... Please...]
But as he floated, he heard a faint voice of a girl; weak, yet he managed to hear it.
For some reason, this voice made his deepest being tremble, and the invisible Crown on his head began to rotate.
"The world..."
Yuki had heard this voice many times, both in the Shinobi world and the realm of Gods.
This voice was the will of the world.
The mother of all was asking for help.
[Papa...]
Getting closer to the voice, Yuki finally found the source. In the midst of darkness, an approximately 8-year-old girl floated with a rotating crown around her, shielding her from infinite darkness.
This crown was the only ray of light that enveloped the world and prevented it from collapsing.
However, the crown was damaged; fragments were falling from it, as if corroded over time.
There was no doubt; the crown was losing its light, and if this continued, the girl would be trapped in darkness, and the world would collapse.
Seeing this, Yuki's heart began to beat strongly. The girl stretched out her hand, asking for help, looking so pitiful and lonely that his instincts to protect her activated. Not only that, but he also reached out and took the girl's hand.
[Papa... Thank you]
As if feeling his warmth, the girl smiled for the first time, and the protecting crown collapsed.
This made Yuki panic; after all, the girl would be exposed to this darkness, and it would be the end of life.
But before that happened, Yuki heard a familiar sound—the Chat Room activated.
*Bell...
[Anomaly detected]
[The world is dying...]
[World No. 252615272 requests immediate assistance]
[Request accepted]
[Initiating forced awakening of the Champion]
[Loading... 10%... 60%... 100%]
[WARNING]
[The Champion is injured; activating the absolute shield under these circumstances will have serious consequences. Please switch to an alternate source]
Seeing this, Yuki wanted to quickly change the control panel. However, the Chat Room didn't give him a chance.
[Initiating...]
[Changing world destination...]
[Demon King Lucifugus has been awakened]
[Entering Reverse Mode...]
[Reverse Mode activated]
[The absolute shield has been activated...]
[Error]
[The world has suffered severe damage; immediate attention is recommended]
[Due to the lack of energy and the corrosion of Chaos, the absolute shield began healing the world]
[Error]
[The Champion's injuries are serious; the absolute shield cannot bear the burden of the world and the chaos corrosion]
[Switching to Order energy]
[Loading...]
[Activating Order Fragment...]
[The absolute shield has been stabilized]
[Confirmed errors; due to the Champion's injury, the Order Fragment operates at 0.000001% of its capacity]
[It is recommended that the user seek another source of Order energy]
[Estimated collapse time]
[71:59:59]
Reading each of those messages, Yuki opened his eyes wide. This was getting out of control.
And when he was about to take action, his vision darkened; the invisible crown on his head lit up, expanding and enveloping the girl inside, replacing the broken crown. Simultaneously, a terrifying power emerged from within him.
---
(Shit...)
Opening his eyes, Yuki sighed with fatigue.
The Chat Room operated on its own, leaving him defenseless. Fortunately, Yuki never trusted this Chat Room. In the last moment, he transferred his Sephira Crystal to a clone, using it as a decoy for the Chat Room.
He also used Zafkiel to stop its reverse mode and Demon King Lucifugus, just as Kurumi had done in the past. Unfortunately, the Chat Room didn't allow this; the Demon King is crucial for using the absolute shield. Therefore, he couldn't use Zafkiel to reverse the situation.
"This doesn't look good."
Looking at the running Time Countdown, Yuki furrowed his brows.
Moreover, this dark space had now disappeared, replaced by a huge shining crown rotating. Inside it were two children embraced in the fetal position, like a pair of twins in their mother's womb.
One of them was the pitiful-looking 8-year-old girl; however, now her skin color had returned, she looked very healthy, her wounds completely healed, and a happy smile on her face as she closed her eyes, embracing the boy beside her.
The boy, like the girl, also hugged her tightly, and they both had their eyes closed, floating inside the bright crown. This was Yuki's clone.
However, unlike an ordinary clone, this one had snow-white hair and wore a different astral suit—a white and blue military suit that danced around him.
This clone had entered forced reverse mode.
If it weren't for always being on guard against the Chat Room, Yuki would be the one trapped in that crown, floating with the world's will.
Fortunately for him, he acted quickly, swapping places with his Sephira Crystal, with Zafkiel, Rasiel, and Est helping him at the last moment.
[Master, that was dangerous]
Speaking through their contract, Est had cold sweat running down her face; the Sephira Crystal was like a black hole, forcefully absorbing them.
If they hadn't used themselves as a bridge, they would have been consumed by the Demon King.
"I know, fortunately, we have each other."
Sighing, Yuki wanted to pat Est's head, and he also thought he should treat Zafkiel and Rasiel more carefully. His Angels switched places with the Demon King, hiding in the contract he had with Est, so they weren't absorbed by the Sephira Crystal. Now both Est and Zafkiel and Rasiel shared the same spiritual space—or rather, shared the same room, as in Yuki's 'House,' other beings still lived.
If not for this, Yuki would lose most of his powers. Fortunately, with Zafkiel and Rasiel with him, this change with his clone didn't affect him.
However, this also told Yuki many things.
His Demon King is very powerful, more powerful than he imagined.
Even now, he can't get too close; otherwise, he'll be absorbed by the great gravitational field around the crown.
The strength of his Demon King far surpasses his own. Yuki doesn't doubt that if his Demon King were to fully awaken, it would have enough power to destroy the world.
Now he understands why he ranks above Hestia; Lucifugus is on another level.
Although he doesn't know to what extent, it might be a High Destroyer and a very powerful one at that.
[What do we do, Master?]
Asking with uncertainty, Est still feared that Crown and the Demon King, and from how the situation looks, staying longer is not pleasant.
"We need to get out of here... Don't worry; it seems this space has stabilized. We can leave at any time."
[Yes, Master]
After a quick analysis, whiteness surrounded this space, and Yuki's shadows felt the presence of the real world. Without any hesitation, Yuki left this space. There was no guarantee when the Demon King would act again, so it was better to exit and discover what was happening in this world.
"We have returned..."
Taking in a breath of fresh air, Yuki felt a great relief. For a moment, he thought he wouldn't make it. Exiting that bubble of reality was more challenging than he had anticipated. Fortunately, the bubble had stabilized, making finding the exit not as difficult. The most problematic part was 'passing through' the bubble.
So, looking around, he could see Yuno bowing her head, eyes closed; it seemed she was unconscious.
However, this was not the main concern either, as when he looked up at the sky, he couldn't help but open his mouth.
In the world's atmosphere, a massive ring covered it, rotating on the outskirts of the world. However, it was no ordinary ring; it had several gigantic peaks, resembling mountains.
Yuki knew what this ring was...
This was the Crown that enveloped the girl and the Demon King.
This was his Crown...
"Rasiel!..."
Calling his angel instantly, Yuki didn't like this. He needed urgent information.
---
TN: btw which demon king is your favourite from animes?
Mine would be Anos Voldigoat but if we talk about awakening moments then it would be Kasuga Arata when he awakened as Last Trinity just to get slapped back to original form next moment xD