Chapter 59

"Hehehe~ Master, are you done already? Why did it feel so short this time? Master, you really need to take better care of your health, or else you won't be able to satisfy all your girls in the future," Jibril said as she looked at Riku, a mischievous grin on her face.

Riku just glanced at Jibril and, without a word, flicked her forehead. Whether he was "up to it" or not, Jibril should know best. Who was the one begging for mercy last night?

"Riku, did you really... with her?" Schwi tilted her head, suspicious.

"Don't overthink it. I didn't eat her up," Riku shook his head, dispelling Schwi's wild guesses.

Eating wasn't an option, but "training" a Maou girl was way more fun than simply eating.

"Serafall, are you alright? Did he do anything to you..." At this moment, Serafall's Queen anxiously asked.

"Don't overthink it... He..." Serafall's face flushed a bit, but it wasn't from embarrassment; it was from anger. Just as she was about to say something, she noticed Riku's sharp gaze. Her expression froze, and forcing a smile, she said, "Master didn't do anything to me."

"——!" This answer left Serafall's peerage wide-eyed, as if they were witnessing something impossible. Was this really the notorious, reckless Serafall Leviathan who used to threaten to attack Heaven at the drop of a hat? Now she was actually calling their enemy "Master."

Something was seriously wrong here. This man was definitely...!

In an instant, Serafall's peerage glared at Riku with murderous intent.

"Should I say you're all too naïve, or just ignorant of your own limits? Looks like I'll have to do a bit of training," Riku said with a half-smile, glancing at the peerage still sealed by [Fourth Blessing of Eternity].

"W-wait! Master, please don't do anything to them!" Serafall exclaimed in a panic, quickly signalling to her peerage with her eyes.

Serafall knew all too well that Riku's strength wasn't something they could hope to resist. After experiencing his "training" herself, she definitely didn't want her peerage to suffer the same.

Seeing Serafall's reaction, her peerage wisely fell silent. The enemy was just too powerful.

Once her peerage had calmed down, Serafall let out a secret sigh of relief, her heart full of bitterness. This might truly be the Underworld's greatest crisis.

In Serafall's mind, Riku's power was at least on the same level as the Heavenly Dragons. Even if the Four Great Maou joined forces, they might not be able to defeat him. Trying to subdue him would mean disastrous losses.

And now, she herself had the misfortune of being captured. The situation was even worse.

"I thought you'd be a bit more stubborn, what a shame," Riku said, pretending to be disappointed.

Serafall gritted her teeth. Clearly, this guy was hoping they'd rebel so he could "train" them even more!

"Riku, why are you taking them with us? Wouldn't they just be a burden?" Schwi asked in confusion.

"Yeah, wouldn't it be better to just kill them?" Jibril wondered.

"My first little goal is to rule the Underworld, so I need to make people submit. What's the point in killing them?" Riku replied casually. The three of them alone couldn't realistically govern the Underworld, so he had to start by subduing the high-level elites.

"Rule the Underworld?!" Serafall's pupils shrank, her face clouded. No wonder this man wasn't killing them. But did he really think they'd help him seize power?!

"Alright, enough small talk. Looks like we've got more guests," Riku said as he looked into the distance, the corner of his lips curling upward. "How enthusiastic they really sent quite a few devils this time."

Hearing this, Schwi and Jibril also looked over. In the distant sky, a large group of devils was flying toward them, led by a red-haired man who radiated an overwhelming presence.

"Sirzechs is here? This isn't good!" Serafall's expression changed, her face turning anxious. If she didn't know Riku's strength, she might have been glad, but now that she did, just Sirzechs and his peerage, plus this subjugation force, were nowhere near enough.

If they lost, they'd all be captured. With two Maou taken prisoner, the remaining forces would stand no chance against Riku's trio.

"Serafall?" In seconds, Sirzechs Lucifer and his group stopped about a hundred meters away. He first shot Riku a serious look, then glanced at Serafall and her peerage, and couldn't help but freeze.

Not only Sirzechs, but the rest of the subjugation force was stunned as well.

Because Serafall and her peerage were so clearly... captives.

Being able to capture a Maou and her peerage, this enemy was terrifyingly strong.

"Oh? Sirzechs Lucifer, and the legendary Queen, the Silver-Haired Annihilation Queen Grayfia Lucifuge; the Holy Dragon Tannin, Enku ... quite the lineup," Riku calmly assessed the newcomers. He hadn't expected Sirzechs to be so cautious, deploying such a strong lineup. Clearly, he wanted to leave nothing to chance.

Unfortunately, with Riku as their opponent, all these efforts would be for nothing, just empty gestures.

"Sirzechs, don't worry about us, just get out of here and gather all your forces! This guy's power is at least on par with the Heavenly Dragons! The other two aren't much weaker either!" Serafall could no longer care about appearances and shouted anxiously. "His goal is to capture the Underworld's leadership and take control!"

"Heavenly Dragon-level strength... aiming to rule the Underworld?" That statement made Sirzechs and the other top-tier devils' eyes narrow sharply.

"Disobedient maids can wait for their punishment; let's handle business first," Riku said, reinforcing the [Fourth Blessing of Eternity] barrier and blocking all sound.

Then Riku stepped forward, gazing at Sirzechs and speaking coolly, "Now that you know our purpose and power, will you run away or fight?"

"Hmph, with ambitions like yours, we have no choice but to fight. Besides, abandoning my comrades is not something I can do," Sirzechs replied, stepping forward without hesitation. Instantly, his aura erupted, waves of crimson destruction surging and stirring the wind and clouds.

"This makes me look like the Demon King, while you all look like heroes," Riku said with an odd expression as he listened to the two Maou's conversation. "Clearly, I'm the One True God, and you're the Maou! Our roles are totally reversed."

"Hehe, whether god or demon, none of that really matters," Jibril replied with a playful smile.

"Riku, don't overthink it," Schwi said, tugging at Riku's sleeve.

"I'm not overthinking. It just feels a bit weird, that's all," Riku shrugged.

"One True God?" That title made Sirzechs, Serafall, and the other devils frown slightly. They'd never heard of such a name before. But if someone had the title of "god" and this kind of power, it wasn't that surprising. Still, the fact that Riku appeared human was strange.

"Well, talking about this is meaningless," Riku said, shrugging as he walked through the air toward Sirzechs.

"Schwi, Jibril, just keep an eye on the prisoners. I'll take care of these guys by myself." At that, the corners of Riku's mouth curled up, and his interest was piqued. His method for conquering the Underworld was simple: demonstrate his power and forcibly subdue all the top forces.

When it was a matter of life and death for the entire Underworld, he was sure the high-level devils would know how to choose.

"If Master says so, I'll just watch obediently," Jibril said with a bright smile.

"Mhm," Schwi nodded simply.

"Alone?" Sirzechs watched Riku, his eyes flickering. While he felt they were being underestimated, it was also to their advantage.

"Well then, let's begin." With that, Riku stuck his hands in his pockets, his gaze sweeping across Sirzechs, Grayfia Lucifuge, the Holy Dragon Tannin, Enku, and the other top combatants.

Boom—! As soon as he finished speaking, Riku vanished from where he stood and reappeared before Sirzechs's knight, Okita Souji. With a single punch—

Thunderous crash! Even though Okita had the strength of an Ultimate-class Devil and was Kiba Yuuto's master in swordsmanship, he was sent flying in one blow, spewing blood, and instantly incapacitated.

"—!" Everyone, including Sirzechs, had their expressions change.

The next second, all their combat instincts took over, and they coordinated seamlessly to attack Riku.

Sirzechs instantly condensed his power of destruction, unleashing a deep crimson magic sphere that could erase anything in existence.

Grayfia conjured a storm of wind chains to restrict Riku's movement. The Dragon King Tannin charged with his mighty body, swiping at Riku with his massive claws.

Enku and the middle-aged devil bearing the Phoenix crest both unleashed flames these were no ordinary flames, powerful enough to burn through dragon scales.

The other devils all unleashed their signature abilities, attacking Riku with everything they had.

In the blink of an eye, the sky lit up with all sorts of devastating attacks, like a fireworks show of ultimate power.

Any ordinary Maou-level being facing so many top-class opponents at once would only despair and die. But Riku was no ordinary Maou; these so-called ultimate attacks were meaningless to him.

At the last second, Riku disappeared without a trace.

Boom—! A terrifying explosion followed, shaking everything for miles around.

Everyone, Sirzechs and the rest, and even Serafall, stared wide-eyed at the blast centre.

Did they get him?

"Yo, what are you all looking at?" Riku's voice suddenly rang out, startling them all.

Especially the Dragon King Tannin, his pupils shrank in disbelief. Riku was standing right on his head.

"Spatial powers?"

The other experts also tensed. This wasn't good; someone with spatial powers and this level of strength would be almost impossible to catch.

"Don't get too cocky!!" Tannin, however, didn't care. Dragons were proud beings, and having the enemy stand on his head was the ultimate humiliation.

Roaring in fury, Tannin swiped at his own head with his massive claw.

"So short-tempered. That's not good. Just lie down for now," Riku said coolly. He lifted his foot and stomped down.

Crack—!

Boom—! With that one step, an overwhelming force shattered Tannin's hard skull, splitting his dragon scales. The next moment, Tannin fell from the sky like a meteor, crashing into the earth below, sending shockwaves for miles, leaving a massive crater in the ground.

The once-mighty Dragon King now lay in the centre of the crater, blood streaming from his head, unable to move, he'd been utterly defeated by just one of Riku's casual strikes.

"Tannin!" The rest of the subjugation team gasped in shock. They had been startled by how quickly Riku had defeated Okita, but this was far beyond their expectations. After all, Serafall had warned them Riku was at least at the level of a Heavenly Dragon.

But now, even Tannin had been felled in an instant. This was too terrifying. Tannin was once one of the six Dragon Kings. Dragonkind's physical defences far surpassed most races, and a Dragon King was even tougher. Even the Two Heavenly Dragons couldn't have instantly one-shotted a Dragon King.

But Riku had done it.

Now, everyone finally understood the true depth of Riku's power. Forget his other abilities, just this pure, overwhelming strength alone was enough to crush any Maou-level opponent.

And that wasn't even considering his spatial powers. The combination of these two abilities was more than just one plus one; it was a force multiplier.

And who knew if he was still hiding even more power.

At that moment, even these battle-hardened top-class devils felt their hearts sink. It wasn't that they were weak, their enemy was just too strong.

Now, they understood why Serafall had told them to run. This was definitely not an opponent they could handle.

To stand even a chance, they'd have to gather nearly all the fighting power of the Underworld, prepare a trap to seal off spatial movement, and hope for the best.

Otherwise, even if they managed to wound him, Riku would just escape.

Of course, that was all wishful thinking on their part.

If Riku knew what they were thinking, he'd probably just laugh. Let alone the full force of the Underworld, he could probably beat the whole world single-handedly.