When Azes and Lilis arrived in Hell, the former hurriedly looked around and furrowed his eyebrows as he felt the lingering presence of Death.
"Zesta, do you have any way to contact or locate Arima?"
"Yes, I still have a telepathic connection with him. As long as he didn't cut it, I can contact him."
At the same time, Arima was going down the red sea by propelling himself with water magic. It was as if his entire body had turned into a torpedo. When he received Lilis' signal, he widened his eyes in surprise and smiled. "{Hey, it's been a while.}"
On the other side, Lilis wryly smiled as she had spent her time looking at Arima's past during that period. She didn't feel like it had been 'a while' at all.
"{Yes. Sorry, but let's get to the main point, are you in Hell right now?}"
When Azes noticed that Lilis was actively using the telepathic link, he sighed in relief.
"{I am. I suppose you are as well considering the current situation,}" Arima casually answered and Lilis was speechless.
"Can you share the connection?" Azes demanded and Lilis complied.
"{Hello again, Arimane,}" he greeted Arima and the latter abruptly stopped moving, startling his group.
He frowned. "{What's wrong for you to talk to me?}"
Azes was a bit appalled. "{Why would something be necessarily wrong if I want to talk to you?}"
"{I don't know. Your whole presence sounds like a problem,}" Arima responded and Azes groaned.
"{Anyway, when you arrived in Hell, did something happen to you?}" He finally asked and Arima didn't conceal his confusion.
"{How do you know that?}"
"{I see. So, you managed to resist it, huh? It's something that has to do with your identity. But for now, that's not the most pressing thing. What are you going to do? I assume Kerberos is with you but it's not enough to assure your well-being. You're considerably vulnerable compared to the other people in Hell,}" Azes said and Arima snorted.
He nodded at his group and continued to advance within the red sea.
"{I'm currently diving to find Origin,}" Arima answered simply.
Azes closed his mouth and rubbed his eyes. "{So… not only you went to Hell, but you even decided to go after its biggest mystery… Are you trying to kill yourself?}"
Arima laughed lightly. "{Not anymore. You shouldn't worry about me. You better focus on what is coming soon. Apparently, your side will have to face Hades.}"
Azes sighed. "{You're right about that…unfortunately.}"
"{Something's wrong?}" Arima thought that his reaction was odd.
"{Hades is my brother,}" Azes responded and Arima didn't know if he should laugh or pity him. "{Though, it's most likely Poseidon who will fight him, not me,}" Azes added."{You still didn't answer my question by the way. How are you going to fight the prisoners and the other devils?}"
"{I plan to initiate the Life Judgement soon.}"
"{…You've already learned way too much about the Judgment before starting it,}" Azes ranted and shook his head. "{Fine, I have one last warning for you.}"
"{Which is?}"
"{I'm convinced that Karaskan will act in the near future,}" Azes said and Arima fell silent. "{He has in his possession what we call the Pandora. Similar to the legends; once opened, it will release 'something'. The only way to open the box is either great one-off energy or an immense charge of fate. You satisfy both. I'm almost sure Karaskan will try to kill you for it. So, you should be careful if you ever meet him,}" Azes told and both of them stopped speaking.
Arima finally said something after a moment. "{Old man, I don't care what his goal is. If he's coming for me, that's good news. You can be sure that I will terminate him,}" Arima answered with frightening composure.
"{You should take care of your family problems now. I will get Origin and assist you afterward. I will gladly fight Karaskan, but I require a great deal of Life Force for my plan to succeed. Do me a favor; store the bodies of every devil you kill. I will need them later on,}" Arima smirked. "{You can do that much, right?}"
Azes mused and clicked his tongue. "{No problem… I'll do it.}"
"{Thanks,}" Arima was about to interrupt the link when he suddenly remembered something. "{Oh, yeah. Old man, I didn't forget. Next time, I'll punch you. See you, Lilis,}" he said and cut the telepathic link.
Azes was left there speechless. "…He seriously meant that?" He mumbled and Lilis chuckled.
Azes glanced at her and scowled. "What are you so happy about?"
"Nothing," Lilis grinned. "Do you know where Origin is?"
Azes raised his eyebrows even more and pointed at a certain direction.
"There, in the red sea. Nobody knows where exactly."
"Thank you," Lilis shortly thanked him and was about to rush there immediately.
"Hey!" Azes called her before that. He stared at her and came to a conclusion. "Zesta, do you like him?"
Lilis's eyes widened and she stopped moving. She looked at Azes in the eyes and snickered.
"Who knows," she stuck her tongue out before flying off.
Azes rolled his eyes. "Well, well, we have a charmer here…" he uttered and looked around. His eyes fell on Zeus and Poseidon discussing together.
"…I hope things don't go too awry. This war could possibly lead to unrepairable damages… But I may see my ambition fulfilled sooner than I thought."
**********************************************
Karaskan landed on the top of a tall mountain and looked below at the literal 'waves' of devils. He scanned the scene and smirked. He turned into a black mist and teleported away.
The black mist reappeared miles away from a certain person's shadow. Karaskan's figure emerged entirely as he put his hand on the shoulder of his target.
"So, you're the one? Ojure Karez, was it?"
Karez trembled and darkness magic gathered around him to push Karaskan back. That casual exchange could have destroyed a city if it had occurred in a mortal world.
Karez jumped away and glared at his attacker.
"Who are you?" He asked with his usual, empty voice.
"My name is Karaskan. Never heard of me?" The Mad God answered candidly and Karez's expression twitched.
He, of course, knew about that name. Karaskan, God of Dark Slumber and Madness. It was an infamous title. It was impossible for him who is aiming at Heaven to not know about him.
"…I've heard of you."
Karaskan smiled. "Obviously you did. Anyway, I'm hesitating right now," his expression shifted from amusement to coldness. His aura began to manifest as the rocky ground of Hell was being covered with a layer of dark mist.
"What should I do? I must say; your plan to start a war was quite an enjoyable show. It's also quite fascinating how you managed to appropriate yourself a part of Hell's essence. If I'm not wrong, your actual strength is only around the First Sky. But your control over Hell's essence allows you to amplify it until the Second Divine, perhaps even the Third as long as you're in Hell," Karaskan analyzed and Karez gritted his teeth silently.
"All of this is really interesting. You may be a good material for Pandora, but I don't think you're worth more than him. Ultimately, there's no reason for me to go after you…" He paused. "But your goal, unfortunately, does not align with my plans. So, I guess I'll have to eliminate you," he declared and Karez instantly circulated his mana.
Karaskan laughed and darkness erupted behind him to form a giant silhouette. "Sorry, but you won't be able to beat me with a borrowed power," he said and charged at Karez in his mist form while the dark giant kicked the ground.
Karez similarly became a strange shadow as he clashed with Karaskan. He opted to counter the giant of magic with the control he had over Hell. His powers came directly from Hell, but he didn't have as many privileges as Chulainn, such as the movable dimension for example. But the only thing he could do was also the thing Chulainn wasn't capable of doing.
Crimson chains sprouted from the ground and bound the giant while the two ethereal forms fought at an unimaginable speed.
In fact, the form which both of them were using at the moment was something only feasible by people in the Heavenly Realm. It was called 'Full Phasing' and its main characteristic was movement speed. For example, Arima uses 'Wild Spark' usually. It's a magic that partially transforms his body into electricity. The only reason he doesn't transform his body entirely is that he simply can't do it while in the Earthen stage.
That fact is different when you're in the Heavenly Realm. If Arima reaches that level, he will be able to literally turn into a bolt of lightning.
Karaskan and Karez fought in that state. They never stopped clashing and were continuously changing the landscape with each attack. If it wasn't an Original Land, maybe half of a planet would already be gone.
The winning side in this clash was obviously Karaskan who would leave an injury on his opponent with each strike without even going all out.
Karez was being pushed more and more even as he used the chains of the inquisitorial to his advantage. At some point, Karaskan sneered and chanted a small incantation.
"[I'm the master of Darkness and Madness]," he waved his hand and a black metallic sphere materialized before trapping Karez.
Karaskan clenched his fist and the sphere slowly started shrinking as a howl of pain resonated from inside. When he was about to end it, his eyes narrowed. He shifted his body as fast as he could. The shadow of a leg scratched his cheek and the resulting shockwave dug a large hole on a mountain behind.
Karaskan phased his body to dodge a punch directed at him. He backed away by a few hundred meters and wiped the blood on his cheek. He looked up to see the man who just attacked him shattering his magic sphere with a single punch.
Karaskan smiled. "Utain, The Destroyer. To what do I owe this pleasure?"
The old beast-man, Utain, pulled out a cigar from his pockets and lighted it up before smoking it in front of Karaskan. He pointed with his thumb at Karez. "I can't let you kill my savior. You owe this to my honor."
Utain spoke with a composed voice and blew some smoke. He stared at Karaskan and probed him with his eyes before opening his mouth. "Do you want to continue?"
Karaskan snickered and raised his hands. "Alright, you win. That kid's goal is something that I don't wish for but I'm sure he will be stopped by someone else. I'll give you face. After Baphomet, you're the last monster I want to deal with, Destroyer," he uttered and disappeared afterward.
Utain snorted and glanced Karez. "Now tell me, what's this goal he was talking about?"
Karez coughed a mouthful of blood and looked back at him.
**********************************************
Back in the middle of the sea, Arima instructed everyone to stop.
"Something's wrong," he muttered, although he was underwater, and looked around. "I think I understand the first reason why people never come back from here," he added and Chulainn scowled at him.
"And what is that?"
"Well, quite simple actually," Arima replied and waved his right hand to the left and then his left hand to the right. His group was perplexed at his actions.
Arima smiled. "We're in the middle of a very sophisticated array," he paused and did the same movements again. "…and I don't know if I can break out of it," he admitted with a thoughtful expression.
"Sorry?" His companions all exclaimed at the same time.