"An angel in the Abyss? Ah… what a new thing."

It was not only Nuk who was shocked.

Deep within the Fifth Layer of the Abyss, Void slowly opened his eyes as his gaze pierced straight through space itself.

"So it's really true?" Void muttered.

He could feel his usually docile body stirring violently.

Every cell within him rejoiced.

After all, that was a being directly connected to Heaven itself.

He wanted to go.

He wanted to cause chaos.

He wanted to drink the divine blood of angels and use the wings of archangels as cushions.

But…

"No… not yet," Void muttered as he forcefully suppressed his body before closing his eyes once more and focusing on studying the "Rules."

But Void was not the only one who felt this way.

Across the Abyss, Rank 3 demons and above all noticed the change.

In fact, even before Void became aware of it, they had already known.

After all, unlike Void, they had existed within the Abyss for ages.

Rumors had long been spreading..

Angels appearing within the Abyss.

Demons entering Heaven in order to break through.

It sounded absurd.

Strange.

Yet it seemed the times themselves were changing.

But even more shocking than that was the realization that the Abyss could now directly open portals into Heaven…

And Heaven could do the same.

That alone was enough to shake countless existences.

Still, just like Void, those Rank 3 demons and above all

restrained themselves and returned to what they had been doing.

Yet they were not the only ones affected.

Across Heaven itself, Rank 3 angels were awakened by this phenomenon, and they were even more shocked.

Why?

Because even they did not know when the Abyss and Heaven had begun doing this.

But the Rank 6 angels understood.

The Abyss…

Was slowly returning to what it once was.

You must understand…

At one point in history, the Abyss had been shattered by a terrifying being.

They called him…

The Bane of All Existence.

He was a name that should never be spoken.

A being so terrifying that all the great races feared him.

And worse…

He had once risen from a weak race.

Yet he became the only one among them capable of reaching such a terrifying level.

As for why he shattered the Abyss?

Well…

That alone was proof of his power.

It had been a very long time since then, and those who knew the truth never dared speak of him.

Ever.

For it was said that he could sense anyone who even thought about him.

Even among the highest-tier existences, he was respected with fear.

After all, he was the only being capable of entering the deepest regions of the Abyss filled with Rank 6 demons…

Fighting all of them…

And still managing to shatter the Abyss itself.

But now…

The Abyss was growing once more.

Growing stronger.

And more than that…

The Abyss was furious.

Everyone could feel it.

Especially with these recent changes.

The Abyss desired stronger demons.

More powerful demons.

Demons capable of making existence itself tremble.

Void's generation had merely been an experimental batch.

And because Void performed exceptionally well, he had been granted a blessing.

But this next generation…

They would become the true first

result of the Abyss' research.

---

"Jejeje… and who do we have here?"

"Ohhh, Genot… you are about to break through."

"Hahahaha! And yet the portal opens and you still dare to enter?"

"You… you're actually planning to break through this soon?"

"Well, now that you are here…"

"Prepare to remain here forever. Jejejeje…"

Multiple Peak Rank 0 demon auras spread across the battlefield as an angel with two illusory wings descended.

His body radiated divine light.

He appeared like a true divinity.

If he descended upon a mortal world, entire civilizations would worship him.

But to the demons…

Such divine brilliance was nothing more than a disgusting scourge upon their eyes.

Instantly, the angel's body trembled.

He was deeply uncomfortable within the ghastly darkness of the Abyss, a place naturally hostile to angels.

But more than that…

He recognized some of the Peak Rank 0 demons before him.

They had clashed in battle before.

And now…

Old hatred would finally be settled.

At this point, the portal leading back to Heaven had already closed.

If he succeeded, it would reopen and welcome him back as a Rank 1 angel.

But if he failed…

Not even his corpse would remain.

The demons would devour everything.

"So what?" Genot declared as his illusory wings spread behind him, allowing him to float in the air.

"Come on. I'll take all of you on."

Of course, if he succeeded, those illusory wings would become real.

He would truly ascend.

Hearing his challenge, the surrounding demons burst into laughter as they completely surrounded the area.

Meanwhile, Nuk and the other demons retreated into the distance to watch.

This was not a battle they could interfere in.

Unlike the Peak Rank 0 demon Jinag had killed earlier, these Peak Rank 0 demons were only a single step away from Rank 1.

They stood at the absolute limit of the Second Abyss and rarely revealed themselves.

For them, gathering souls was no longer the problem.

They had already collected enough.

What they lacked now was contribution.

War.

Destruction.

As long as they contributed enough in the destruction of worlds…

Or destroyed an entire planet themselves…

They could ascend into Rank 1.

Or at least…

That used to be the case.

Now, with this new system, even after meeting those conditions, they still had to invade Heaven itself and survive before they could truly become Rank 1.

Yes, they had heard the rumors.

They would become far stronger this way.

But in exchange…

They would have to face countless angels.

And survive for who knew how long.

"It seems you are forgetting…"

A Peak Rank 0 demon slowly rose into the sky.

He was one of the few capable of flight, and several others immediately followed behind him.

"…this is the Abyss."

Was Genot too cocky… or did he think this was merely another battlefield between demons and the angel army?

Soon, as he looked at the increasing number of Peak Rank 0 demons surrounding him, Genot could feel the tremendous pressure closing in from every direction.

He clenched his fist as a divine sword materialized within his grasp.

Facing them all, fear naturally rose within him, but…

For Heaven.

For the brilliance of the angels.

Even if he died today, he would die as an angel…

Not as a coward.

So even if death seemed certain, he would still fight.

Even within Heaven, they had heard the rumors.

But Genot could not wait for another angel to test them first.

He had to break through.

Yet now, seeing what he truly had to face, he finally understood why the others hesitated.

This was almost certain death.

And this time, before attempting a breakthrough, one had to prepare thoroughly.

Blessed equipment.

Terrifying artifacts gathered from countless worlds.

Everything possible.

Meanwhile, the demons slowly moved closer and closer as Genot's body flared with even brighter divine radiance, illuminating the surrounding darkness.

Then...

He charged.

Genot rushed toward the closest demon and brought his sword crashing downward.

"Jejeje… you seem ready to die," the targeted demon muttered with a grin as he directly clashed against Genot.

The demon actually grabbed the divine sword with his bare hand.

Instantly, the angelic blade burned through his palm, but the demon endured it as he clenched his fist and threw a devastating punch forward.

But Genot was prepared.

He deflected the punch to the side before grabbing the demon by the torso and tearing it open violently.

Organs scattered across the battlefield.

Without stopping, Genot pressed forward as his divine sword flashed once more..

SHING!

The demon was sliced cleanly in half as both pieces of its body crashed onto the ground.

BAM.

Silence descended briefly across the battlefield.

Then…

Genot smiled.

Perhaps this was not impossible after all.

He could feel that he was stronger than ever before.

It seemed Heaven itself had blessed him.

With that thought, Genot raised his head and looked provocatively toward the remaining Peak Rank 0 demons.

"You were saying something… right?"

*********

.(example of what we can world props are like a wand that can cast any spell but belong to a world and known as the ultimate wand no witch could handle etc)