Sovereign of the Infinite Clones [Novel] Chapter 450

My Alter Ego’S Path To Greatness Chapter 450

***

The Conquest of Another World (2)

Olivia, who had been summoned to another world without warning and saddled with a considerable burden, was currently overwhelmed with emotion.

‘Death is rampant throughout this entire world. At this level, it would not be an exaggeration to say that this place rivals, if not surpasses, the heyday when I conquered the continent alongside the previous Immortal King.’

Unlike the front lines of that time, which had been concentrated in the western part of the continent, this place was in a similar state everywhere one looked. Taking that into consideration, it would not be an exaggeration to say that this place was even worse than back then.

Given the nature of undead, who grew stronger the denser the aura of death, this place was practically the perfect battlefield for them.

‘So this is where His Majesty has been going all this time…’

Only now did she understand his actions.

Why the current Immortal King had not been particularly enthusiastic about conquering Auterica.

Why he had kept postponing the war and prioritizing other matters.

‘Who would have thought that he had already been preparing to venture into other dimensions even back then!’

A grand scheme that not a single member of the Immortal Army had anticipated.

Olivia blamed herself for her foolishness in daring to presume she could understand the thoughts of the great monarch. Using McCarthy’s knowledge as a reference, she did her utmost to carry out the command her king had given her.

She didn’t even mind having more work to do.

After all, she was already accustomed to working all day long.

‘Whether I’m there or here, the amount of work I have to deal with each day isn’t going to change anyway.’

More than that, she was deeply moved that His Majesty had summoned her before any of the other high-ranking officers.

Didn’t this prove that His Majesty trusted and favored her the most?

[This trust must be repaid without fail… Now, there is no time… Search every corner of this entire world…!]

Gooooo—
Whoooooosss—

Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions…

Around Olivia, who had soared high into the sky, waves of spirits swirled before spreading throughout the entire world.

Not only did the ghosts that already existed join in, but new entities born under the influence of her power also began joining the swarm one after another, causing the wave to spread even farther.

Unfulfilled wishes, resentment toward unjust deaths, lingering attachments…

This was already a world that had been ruined beyond repair and was filled with sorrow. As a result, there was an abundance of the very material she needed, the lingering thoughts left behind by the dead.

And Olivia’s full-scale movement was enough to provoke the arrogant beings who regarded this world as nothing more than their playground.

***

A massive castle located at the center of the continent.

“The atmosphere feels strangely unsettled today.”

Lapua, the great lord who ruled the castle, frowned as he looked up at the sky outside the window.

But he soon shook his head lightly and hurried on his way.

He had just received a summons from his master, so he had no time to spare for anything else.

In front of others, he ruled as a king who had reached the pinnacle of the world, a being who had transcended humanity.

But in reality, he was nothing more than a mere slave.

Knock, knock—

Standing before an ornate door, he politely knocked before cautiously entering.

Just like the door, the spacious room was filled with all sorts of extravagant furnishings. Inside, a massive man stood with his hands behind his back, gazing out the window.

“You called for me.”

“Mm.”

With a deep, heavy voice, the man slowly turned around.

He stood over two meters tall, his skin so pitch-black that it was difficult to make out his features. Blood-red tattoos covered his body, while his red eyes gleamed like glass despite having no pupils.

“Lapua.”

The terminal created by the undisputed strongest being in the current world, the Great Demon of Infinity, spoke quietly as he looked down at his contractor.

“It seems some rat is testing the waters.”

“A rat…?”

At Lapua’s question, he slowly extended one hand.

Although he had kept both hands behind his back the entire time, somehow, a pale spirit was already struggling in the middle of his pitch-black palm.

“This is a rather high-level necromantic technique. And it seems this one isn’t the only one.”

“…You mean someone actually dared to use this to spy on this place?”

Lapua stared at the spirit in disbelief before letting out a hollow laugh.

The Great Demon of Infinity was a supreme being considered to have no equal in the current era.

And yet, someone had attempted such a trick in the very castle where that being resided.

Whoever it was, Lapua could only think that they had done something incredibly foolish.

‘Who could it be? Ruin? Sorrow?’

The most likely candidates were the other Great Demons, Ruin and Sorrow, but Lapua soon dismissed the thought.

Although the two had risen to the rank of Great Demons alongside Infinity, the gap between them was still enormous.

Unlike those two, who had only recently risen in rank as the world descended into misery, the Great Demon of Infinity had occupied his position for thousands of years.

Even if the two joined forces, they would have a hard time defeating his master.

Since they themselves knew that better than anyone, it was unlikely that they would provoke him with such a foolish act.

‘Unless it’s that legendary Eternity.’

The records concerning the Great Demon of Eternity were practically nothing more than legends.

A human who had become a low-ranking demon before reaching the pinnacle and becoming a Great Demon in barely twenty years.

In the end, he had even slain Slaughter and Terror, who had occupied the seats of Great Demons alongside Infinity at the time.

Then, roughly a hundred years ago, he had suddenly disappeared, never to show himself again—a phantom-like existence.

If traces of his existence had not remained throughout this ruined world, Lapua himself would never have believed it…

“You’re thinking about something useless.”

“I-I apologize.”

Lapua’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the icy voice and murderous aura emanating from his master.

Remembering that the Great Demon of Infinity disliked hearing about Eternity, he quickly gave the answer his master wanted.

“I will take care of it immediately. I will thoroughly root out the culprit and make sure to warn them never to attempt anything like this again.”

“Hmm.”

The black demon slowly nodded at his words before turning his head.

Lapua secretly breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed his chest, but the Great Demon of Infinity continued staring coldly out the window.

Turning over the strange sensation he had felt when he crushed the spirit in his hand.

‘Necromancy… Necromancy.’

The demons of Devour, who worshiped their titles above all else, had little interest in necromancy.

If they had power to spare for something like that, they would rather absorb every last bit of a spirit’s energy and add it to their own authority.

Perhaps it could be someone like the Demon of Wraiths, but as far as he knew, there was no one capable of commanding spirits at this level.

‘And then there’s this strange sensation.’

It reminded him of an unpleasant feeling he had long since forgotten.

Yes.

It was just like when he had encountered that bastard Eternity roughly a hundred years ago.

‘No. There’s no way he has returned. I personally confirmed several times back then that the otherworlder had disappeared beyond the dimensional barrier.’

The boundary between dimensions was an absolute law that no one could defy.

Even Eternity should not have been able to cross it again.
Then could this perhaps be…

‘…Something doesn’t feel right. Until I know the full circumstances, it would be best to proceed cautiously.’

His forces were filled with countless formidable demons.

Even if the Great Demons of Ruin and Sorrow joined forces and attacked, they would not fall easily.

Even against someone else, they should be able to buy enough time to properly assess the situation.

And he wasn’t the only one thinking that way.

The Great Demons of Ruin and Sorrow, who were more wary of Infinity than anyone else in this world, also suspected that he might be behind this incident.

In the end, as if they had coordinated beforehand, they refrained from stepping forward themselves and sent the demons under their command first.

As the situation approached a hair-trigger state, the ruling powers of Devour all held back and devised countermeasures, preparing for a long war.

However, there was one unfortunate piece of news for them—

[My king… This one has fulfilled all the commands Your Majesty gave her…]

[Hooh? You were faster than I expected.]

[Perhaps because they were confident, or perhaps because they never intended to hide themselves in the first place… It was not difficult to determine their location…]

[Khehee— Excellent. I quite like that arrogance of theirs, believing that no one could ever lay a hand on them.]

The true culprit behind this incident had absolutely no intention of dragging things out.

[I’m curious to see what kind of faces they’ll make once that confidence is shattered.]

‘There’s no reason to drag this out when the enemy’s identity is so clear.’

The conqueror who had invaded another world—the Immortal King, Hans—looked down upon the plains below.

The Eye of the Abyss opened within his blazing eye sockets.

And then, every piece of land touched by his gaze was dyed black.

Immediately afterward—

“Kieeeek!”

[Answer the call of the King!]

“Grrrgh!”

[Wooooooo—!]

Countless forms, both large and small, began rising one after another from the darkness of the earth.

Not only human corpses and skeletons, but undead possessing the bodies of monsters, and even jiangshi made from the corpses of yokai and martial artists.

Rumbleee—
Fwoosh!

And that wasn’t all.

The vengeful spirits of those who had died on this land over the countless years were also being resurrected.

The bodies of the dead violently clawed their way out of the earth.

Perhaps because Hans had deliberately sought out an ancient battlefield where resentment had accumulated most intensely, the number of undead that rose was far from small.

[This subject, Karam, humbly receives his lord’s command.]

[For the glory of the King! Let us spread infinite terror throughout this world!]

[…Please, give us your command…]

[Groooooooaaar!]

And at the very front of them all—

The officers of the Immortal Army who had answered the Immortal King’s call and crossed dimensions appeared, bowing before him as Bone Dragons soared through the sky, circling overhead.

With the effects of skills such as Lord of Defiance applied to them, and being his servants connected to Hans, who had awakened the divine nature of Death, the aura they emitted was on an entirely different level from when he had first recruited them.

The presence radiating from the officers gathered in one place was so overwhelming that even space itself seemed to tremble.

The aura of death filling the world synergized with the abyssal power transmitted by the Immortal King, causing black flames to blaze fiercely throughout their bodies.

“…Glory to the Lord of Death.”

“Ahh! My lord!”

Among them were also numerous Abyss Revenants that Hans had painstakingly created, including the Heavenly Demon and the Scribe.

In other words, practically the entirety of the undead forces Hans had accumulated thus far had assembled here.

[There’s no need for a long speech.]

His voice echoed across the plains swarming with undead.

At the same time, the space that had been filled with countless noises fell into absolute silence.

The eyes of an overwhelming number of undead all focused on a single point.

[I have no interest in dogs that have already submitted to power.]

The only human present, McCarthy, who had been frozen stiff and barely able to breathe at the magnificent sight before him, swallowed hard.

He desperately held onto his consciousness while ignoring the pain in his left arm and eye, the very limbs that had been forcibly bound to him.

Those words were practically the last lifeline for the humans barely surviving in this world.

There was no way the humans, who had already declined to such an extent, could survive this army.

‘So this is… the King of the Dead, the ruler of death who even the Great Demons regard as beneath their notice.’

The great conqueror floated high beneath the ash-gray sky, looking down upon his proud army.

With every word he spoke, the morale of his servants continued to rise without end.

[Slaughter every last one of the demons ruling this world!]

And the moment his final words ended—

[Wooooooo—!]

[Slaughter! Slaughter! Slaughter!]

[Coordinates confirmed! Activate the gates immediately! We proceed with a lightning-fast assault!]

Amidst thunderous roars, the Immortal Army scattered around its officers and began advancing all at once.

A war against the entire world, without even a declaration of war.

Having prepared for war long ago and already pinpointed the exact coordinates, the army’s movements were as smooth as flowing water.

And the result—

158 entities.

That was the number of demons revered as inviolable beings in this world that were hunted down in a mere few days.

***

There was a major difference between the demons of Devour and those of Auterica.

The demons residing in Auterica’s demon realm were more like an unusual race of beings with strange biology.

In Devour, on the other hand, they were much closer to the conventional concept of a demon, transcendent embodiments of evil that were incomprehensible to mortal beings, almost akin to phenomena themselves.

‘The Executioner didn’t seem particularly demonic, perhaps because he had originally been an Awakened human.’

Every demon possessed a title bestowed upon them.

It was simultaneously the name used to refer to that being, their authority, and an indication of their rank.

‘Originally, this world was maintained by demon hunters operating in the shadows and eliminating demon contractors. But now it’s become a full-blown dark fantasy world.’

The demons residing in Hell could not be defeated by ordinary means.

They rarely acted directly, instead revealing their presence by granting power to contractors, so there had been little anyone could do about them.

The problem began when, for some unknown reason, the demons of Hell were released into the world and became free to roam the earth as they pleased.

With the balance of power completely shattered, the world descended into chaos in an instant.

The demons that had risen from Hell to the surface had to endure all sorts of weakening, including losing their immortality.

But among them existed a gap that even such weaknesses could not overcome.

And the ones who had led the world toward destruction at the forefront were those known as the Great Demons.

They were beings who possessed authorities on an entirely different level from ordinary demons, powerful rulers who stood above all the others.

And one of those mighty Great Demons, the Great Demon of Sorrow, was currently—

[Ha! That fellow certainly knows how to be troublesome. I suppose this is what it means to be a Great Demon?]

[Ughhh— What are you?! How could an irregular like you possibly exist in this world?!]

With a leash around its neck, held by a hand made of nothing but bones, the Great Demon of Sorrow was drowning in futile grief over the absurd violence that had descended upon it.