"Huh?" Grendum was taken aback by the proclamation made by the Death Lord.
"I want him, Grendum. It's as simple as that." Lady Death flipped her snow-white hair as he grabbed her lethal scythe and leaned it across her shoulders.
Even at his peak, Zachery would be overwhelmed by the sheer weight of the scythe. However, the women in front of him regarded the weapon as if it were a toothpick.
Zachery gazed at her scythe but quickly pulled his gaze away from it. The scythe was a work of art in and of itself. Its blade was jagged, and its black and crimson metals mixed in a haphazard symphony.
From beginning to end, the scythe had many twisted faces with great corruption potential, which caused Zach to swiftly avert his gaze away from it.
As it gazed around, each of the distorted faces had a flicker of fire sparked inside their hollowed eyes.
"Why?"Grendum's eyes squinted suspiciously. Beings of their caliber were only interested in a few things. If she desired Zachery, it was probably for two reasons.
First, it was due to Zachery's threat to the whole Omniverse.
Second, she desired Zachery to inherit her power and succeed her.
Grendum had little trouble determining what was true.
Grendum's crimson eyes gradually turned golden, with intricate patterns forming all over them.
But, all of a sudden, Grendum's eyes widened as he stared at Lady Death in stupor and disbelief.
As she stared at Grendum, the woman smiled knowingly. Grendum had a variety of ocular powers at his disposal, one of which he was currently using came from the God of Weakness.
One of Grendum's worthy adversaries.
This special ocular skill enabled him to precisely assess the level of power and weakness of his opponents.
It was not a superficial ability that would reveal the weak points of the specific opponent's anatomy, such as the eyes, throat, nape, and brain of the majority of beings.
The majority being the humanoids.
This power of his allowed him to gaze into the very existence of beings, revealing their glaring vulnerability.
Cultivators producing Qi, for example, would constantly have foundational instabilities, and numerous holes in the spells flung by Mages would be like a red-blaring alert for Grendum's eyes.
However, as he looked the 'Death Lord' in the eyes...
Every single part of her body screamed "weakness." It could only mean one thing...
She was going to die.
The death energy was going to overwhelm her and take her to the afterlife.
"Who did this, Hel?" Grendum's face scrunched up as he asked the woman, grimly.
Previously, the Omniverse was divided into various factions, and Hel and Grendum belonged to the same one. They were acquainted and were fully aware of each other's power.
"An Outer God," Hel spoke, and a strange silence followed.
Zachery's eyes widened as he stared at Hel as if she were a maniac. The titles of the Outer Gods were very important to them. The Outer God's attention would not be drawn in if it was a powerless and nameless being calling.
But if a being of their level was speaking, even if she didn't say the Outer's name, he would sense it.
Zachery's last hope was this pocket realm that isolated any outside interference.
"Seems like our 'Reign' is ending, huh?" Grendum gave a dry laugh as he looked at the black sky with regret.
Hel nodded and went forward, getting closer to Grendum while he continued to stare into the emptiness.
"This is our only shot," Hel remarked, her gaze stern and strong. Grendum glanced at her for a few moments and laughed.
"He is going to be absurdly strong if he receives both of our Inheritance, you know," Zachery's ears perked up as he heard what they were saying.
"That's how our successor is supposed to be, right?" Hel nodded, looking at Zachery.
At this moment, Zachery was overjoyed; he was receiving two of the most potent Inheritance and still owed Alexa a wish; if he was correct, he would have a relaxing life for the rest of his... well, life.
"But we can't just leave him there like that, can we?" Zachery's face was pale as he observed the predatory grins on each of their faces.
"So I wonder," Hel cocked her brows in amusement as she gazed at the frightened mortal, and a wicked smirk came on Grendum's face as they both considered a suitable challenge for their successor.
"Why not to conquer?" Alexa's innocent voice entered the room, and Zachery came out in cold perspiration upon hearing Alexa's statement.
She didn't know what she was speaking. Conquering the Mother System was a near-impossible task that no one could do.
The domain of the Mother System contained so many planets that it could form a little Omniverse of itself. The sheer logistics of that many planets would put any ruler to their knees.
But he couldn't back down.
He couldn't give up on the one wish Alexa had offered him, even if she was just leading Zach on; he had to take a risk after seeing so much.
"Hah, what a lovely conquest!" What are your thoughts, Gren?" Hel burst out laughing as delight radiated from her face, and Grendum laughed with a wide grin on his face.
"Fine! A formidable pursuit for my heir!" Zachery sighed, looking at them both with a deadpan expression. As he stared at both of them, his expression was blank.
Their faces refused refusal, so Zachery didn't even bother to refuse. He'd interacted with enough Demi-gods to understand what was going on inside their heads.
If he refused, they would probably keep him inside this realm, or they would not grant the request that Alexa had promised her. Remembering that it was all Alexa's fault to begin with, he gave her a venomous glance, which she deftly avoided.
"Which realm should I conquer?" Coming to terms with his circumstances, he stated his query, only to be met with puzzlement on the faces of both Hel and Grendum.
'Oh, shit' Zach swore in his mind as he had a bad promotion coming.
"Exactly what do you mean?" Hel asked the query, her head tilted. "You must conquer every realm that it is possible to traverse," Grendum responded, while Zachery's face was twitching all over.
As he laughed dryly, Zachery softly lit the candlestick in his tomb that he had imagined.
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Hope you all liked it!