Earth, Fire, Water, Wind...
These four seem to be elements, but the latter ones—Oblivion, Redemption, Revelation, and Karma—are unclear in their meanings.
Roger looked at the strange prismatic box, puzzled. However, he had a vague feeling that these eight terms were related to the Demon Lords.
It was more complex than there being eight Demon Lords.
Rather, he remembered something Aatrox had once said.
'When this world settles down, I will return to where I belong, which is Oblivion.'
The Oblivion Aatrox spoke of should be the same as the Oblivion mentioned in this box. Following this logic, the other seven symbols should also correspond to a Demon Lord.
Thinking it through, the currently known or rumoured Demon Lords included Aatrox, the one likely to descend upon Wano Country—Xi Mie Tian Lai, and the father of the demon Xiaolong—the Holy Lord.
Aatrox was already confirmed to be associated with Oblivion, so there was no need to dwell on that.
An's investigation gathered information about Xi Mie Tian Lai. With his Admiral-level access, An pursued the truth behind the events in Jalzburg and Wano Country. Before these events, he only knew about the great demon Tun Buddha, who represented a Demon Lord.
The matter of Xi Mie Tian Lai was classified as top secret, even beyond the reach of Admirals. Only when the Wano Country incident began did the World Government declassify everything about Xi Mie Tian Lai to prepare against Tun Buddha.
That was when Roger learned this secret through An.
Which symbol among the eight does Xi Mie Tian Lai represent?
And then there's the Holy Lord, who revealed his traces early on but has the least clues among the three known Demon Lords.
Roger pondered for a moment while his crew gathered around.
Seeing the colourful box in Roger's hands, they, too, felt puzzled. Roger shared his thoughts, and Nameless responded, "Actually, we missed someone."
"Hmm?" Roger raised an eyebrow, curious about Nameless's words. "What do you mean?"
"Think about it. Have you all forgotten Zero?"
Zero!?
Roger's eyes widened, and memories surged. He instantly felt a sense of dissonance.
Rayleigh experienced the same. Nameless's words triggered a realisation in all of them.
Right, how could they have overlooked Zero?
Zero was the highest rank among the demon followers Nameless once belonged to.A special transformation occurred when transitioning from Number One to Number Zerd, allowing the person to embody a demon's will and gain more unique traits and abilities.
However, since most demon followers had sacrificed themselves for Aatrox, and their ultimate goal was to summon Aatrox from hell, they naturally saw Zero as Aatrox's representative.
But now that they thought about it, could Zero be linked to Aatrox?
Aatrox, despite being mad, was proud of his actions. Roger, having fought Aatrox personally, understood this better than anyone.
Would Aatrox act mysteriously in front of them and say those things?
Indeed, since Zero carried the will of a demon, he should be regarded as that demon's earthly incarnation. But his behaviour didn't match Aatrox's style. So, who was he?
Why did he guide others in releasing Aatrox?
Could he also be one of the eight great demons?
Which symbol does he represent?
"Actually, it doesn't necessarily have to be a Demon Lord, right?" Nameless pondered momentarily and said, "After all, in hell, besides Demon Lords, there are other powerful entities, like that Shinigami."
Roger nodded. This was true. Kuchiki Byakuya was also immensely strong and very mysterious.
Although he hadn't shown his power directly, the fact that he guarded the 'Hell Key,' a treasure even Makima seemed wary of, indicated that Kuchiki Byakuya might be a figure on par with the Demon Lords.
Kuchiki Byakuya was not a Demon Lord, implying that demons didn't solely rule hell.
That Zero...
It could also be someone like Kuchiki Byakuya.
Otherwise, it would need to explain why he would release Aatrox.
Roger thought of a possibility and said, "Could it be the demon who built the Ascension Altar? The one Aatrox has been searching for?"
Nameless pondered for a moment and replied, "It's not impossible. After all, Zero appeared along with the Ascension Altar. If so, he must have some terrifying scheme."
Indeed, dealing with straightforward demons like Aatrox was easier despite their strength. They didn't need to engage in mind games.
But the hidden demon Zero was truly unsettling, even plotting against a Demon Lord like Aatrox.
"In any case, we cannot let our guard down." Roger sighed. He glanced at the ruins again. His Observation Haki was fully active but couldn't detect anything unusual.
"This box is our only gain here. I wonder what it is."
Roger took another look at the colorful box in his hand, curious. He tried to see if there were any mechanisms but found none.
"Engraved with symbols that seem to represent the eight great demons, this must be significant. Keep it safe." Rayleigh said calmly, "And this ruin, let's try digging around. Maybe we'll find more clues."
Roger nodded, though his mind was still puzzled.
Back in Hueco Mundo, Kuchiki Byakuya had told him to look for clues about 'Domination.' He initially thought Domination would be one of the eight great demons, but the symbols on this box did not include Domination.
Considering the two-character names, the latter four—Oblivion, Redemption, Revelation, and Karma—didn't align with Domination either. Could these names have another meaning, or was his line of thinking incorrect?
Could Domination not be a demon?
Thinking back, Aatrox had mentioned Domination when Makima appeared, saying it was Domination's idea to seal him.
At that time, he didn't consider Makima to be a Demon Lord, thinking she was a Demon Hunter of some sort. But later, Toguro's arrival and the contents of the Dead Sea Scrolls made Roger suspect that Makima was a demon!
According to the Dead Sea Scrolls, a woman's corpse, once in contact with certain creatures, could destroy half the world. Only a demon would undertake such behavior.