CHAPTER 289: UNDER CONTROL

Darian took a deep breath... all the demons surrounding Earth had at least six rings. At that level, a Spiritual Guardian’s ring power was so dense they could use it to fly or move through space without even needing a blessing.

The message on the card was clear to everyone in the Empire, but Darian had no intention of moving. He could feel this was directly connected to the black box he had opened.

Suddenly, he sensed a massive surge of power from all directions. Looking toward the horizon, he saw a golden beam shoot into the skies — the Emperor. Alongside him, a dozen white auras also burst from the ground, racing toward space. They were Earth’s most powerful eight-ring wielders.

After that, the twins and Niara came closer, looking confused.

"Bro, let’s..." Lucy murmured, but she stopped when Darian’s card started vibrating again.

He didn’t even need to pick it up to read the message — dozens of auras appeared in the skies, surrounding the clan and the building he was in. All of them were military officers with more than six rings, ordered to take him immediately.

The whole Empire tracked the locations of their Spiritual Guardians, so there was nowhere to run.

The soldiers landed around them with stern expressions.

"The Emperor issued an urgent order to bring you in."

Niara hopped onto Darian’s head, clinging to him. Darian just motioned for the twins to stay calm and turned to face the soldiers. He discreetly put away the black box and nodded.

One of the soldiers gestured, and a violet energy wrapped around Darian. With a leap, they all shot into the skies, taking him with them.

As they climbed higher, Darian had to channel his ring power into both himself and Niara. Even someone with just two rings could survive in space without breathing or immediate harm for a while — though the weaker they were, the less time they could last.

At that moment, all the soldiers turned to look at him. When they saw the green flame surrounding him, their surprise was obvious. They’d watched the tournament just two months ago — back then, Darian had only two rings.

He snorted. He’d planned to hide that breakthrough as long as possible, but now he’d been forced to reveal it.

Well... two breakthroughs in just one trip to the training universe was insane, but not impossible. He could just say he’d already been close to reaching three rings when he went. Then, thanks to a massive contribution, he reached three rings and completed his second advancement at the same time. Still absurd, but at least somewhat believable.

Within minutes, they arrived — and Darian was met with thousands of stares.

There were demons of every shape, size, and race. One thing was certain: this wasn’t just an issue with one demon planet. This looked like it involved countless demons... maybe all the demons in the universe.

As soon as he arrived, three golden figures approached him with grim expressions — Blaine, Camille, and Nikolai — taking defensive positions at his side. Clearly, there were demons here far stronger than them.

The other three emperors were nearby too, silently watching the scene.

"Human!" — the voice came from a demon with six pairs of wings.

His dry, thunderous voice echoed alongside a blinding white power. There was no sound in space, but ring power could also be used to transmit words directly.

"You received the demonic artifact and opened it?!"

Darian nodded and took out the black box.

"They didn’t tell me what it’s called, but I’m guessing this is what you mean." He made a subtle motion and opened it.

The moment they saw it, all the demons’ eyes went wide.

"How did you open this?!" another, even deeper voice boomed, its suffocating golden power flooding the area.

Darian turned to face a gigantic demon with three horns.

"I can’t say. I’d tried before and it didn’t work. But this time, I tried again and it just opened... Well, I don’t really care—"

"Bullshit! You’re just a human. I won’t ask again — how the hell did you open this box?!" roared the nine-ring demon, unleashing golden power like a furious sun.

Camille moved in, shielding Darian with her power.

Darian narrowed his eyes. He’d been handed this damn box without any explanation, and now they were treating him like this without telling him why. And the idiot in front of him clearly had no interest in hearing explanations. Rage almost burst in his chest, but he forced himself to stay calm.

"No need to waste time." Suddenly, a cold voice rang out from Earth.

Everyone turned to see a woman with green hair and red eyes appear, flanked by about six men radiating indigo auras.

"Mallory..." Camille muttered, her gaze pained.

Darian sighed. Mallory didn’t deserve forgiveness, but Camille didn’t know the full truth. To her, her granddaughter was just a troublemaker, and she still wanted to talk things out with her.

The day Camille spent with Darian and the twins, she mentioned she’d talked to Mallory a few times before. But every single time, her granddaughter acted arrogant and only asked about what benefits the Empire could give her son.

Camille wasn’t stupid, so she never promised anything. She asked to see Vanh and get to know him better... but Mallory just hid her disdain, saying her son was too busy at the moment.

"Darian’s known for being connected to that traitor. And if he’s got the demonic artifact, it can only have come from him," Mallory said coldly. "Only a Devil Lord could be recognized by it and open it — it’s impossible for any race besides demons..."

A demon roared, "The Devil Lord just appeared recently! The demonic altar warned us, and we’ve been searching for him with everything we’ve got."

Mallory gave a faint smile.

"I’m sure this is that traitor’s scheme. The Immortal Keepers probably found the Devil Lord first, and now they’re using Darian to buy time."

The six emperors turned pale. The demons... upon hearing that, let their auras spill out, like they’d gone into a frenzy.

Darian was the only one hearing all of this for the first time. Devil Lord? He’d never even heard of that, not even in that book.

But from what he understood, a human like him shouldn’t have been able to open that box. So what had changed in him, that he couldn’t open it before but could now?

’Heart Demon...’ he thought, stunned.

According to legend, when someone was taken over by a heart demon, there was no saving them. The only exception was for demons themselves — and even then, the chances of recovery were tiny.

He’d had plenty of time to examine his own soul, and he was sure the black power had fused with it, completely changing its normal structure.

Now, his soul was something abnormal and strange. The only reason he’d managed to return to reality was because he had the black ring, which let him control that power inside his body. But...

...he was still consumed by that black power. Constantly, Darian felt intense, furious emotions. The darkness inside him twisted and stirred at the slightest provocation, trying to cloud his mind and pull him back into an illusion. He kept it under control by relying on the single ring on his hand.

Right then, every demon unleashed their power, locking it onto Darian.

The emperors were tense. There was only one demon here with nine rings... but he alone could wipe them all out with ease.

"So that’s how it is... fine. We’ll just read your memories. There must be some clue about where Beleth might have taken the Devil Lord," the nine-ring demon’s dry voice rumbled.

Darian took a deep breath and felt Niara clinging to him. With her there, he was sure he could pull himself back from the edge. So...

"Wait! This isn’t right!" Camille roared, stepping forward and shielding Darian with her body.

Nikolai didn’t say a word, but he moved in as well, drawing a golden light sword, his gaze cold. Both of them were ready to fight to the death, even knowing they’d die.

"Hahahaha..." the demon laughed, spreading his wings as the space around them started to crack.

Mallory scoffed, "Don’t be irresponsible. Darian’s just a—"

She stopped dead and swallowed hard. She felt like her whole body was being squeezed. Turning around...

She found herself staring into a pair of red eyes that radiated terrifying oppression. Her soul quivered.

"!"

Everyone felt something unbelievable erupt.

The demons froze in shock. Camille and Nikolai turned to Darian, startled.

On his face... was a twisted, sinister smile.

Suddenly, his entire body began to radiate a black power that made even the strongest feel their chests tighten. It was like staring into a deep, endless abyss that crushed their very souls.

"Fuck this shit. You wanna screw me over? Hahahaha... then bring it on."