The System Awakens: Rise of the Champion

After absorbing the soul energy, karma, and providence of 20,000,000,000 damned souls from all the pits and corners of Biblical Hell, he and the succubus queen Lilith disappeared from the infernal realm.

Before he left, Damian instructed his servant Lucifer to manage things in Hell as the Demon King's personal steward until he gave further instructions.

Damian and Lilith appeared in the Nightingale inside Twilight Castle, in the throne hall where the five countesses, the four human ministers, and Lenora and Amelia were waiting.

"Hmph?" As soon as Lilith appeared, an annoyed expression crossed her face.

Sensing multiple connections between her master and several women, something she could perceive through her own link to him, she immediately understood what kind of connections they were.

"Hmm, great timing. The werewolves are waking up," Damian said. "As expected of werewolves, their recovery is unparalleled… I'll be back in a minute." In the next second, he disappeared from the spot, leaving the women alone in the throne hall.

"It's been a while, Lilith," Amelia said with a grin. "I see you're doing great. So, how was it? Doing it with darling? I imagine he rocked your succubus ass so hard your legs ended up trembling violently."

"That should be obvious," Lilith grinned back with the same expression as Amelia, eyeing the five countesses and the four high humans with intrigue.

"You've changed a lot, Lilith... Did darling alter your race like he did with us?" Lenora asked, observing her from head to toe.

"Yes… I'm surprised Master was able to do this," Lilith muttered as she spread her arms, tightening her fists and feeling the overwhelming changes happening within her. "But then again, I guess it's obvious, he's Master, the greatest existence known to the universe…"

She looked at Lenora as she continued. "He said he altered my existence with the essence of vampires, humans, and werewolves. Did Master do the same with you all?"

"Yes… we all possess the essence of humans, vampires, and werewolves mixed within us. And now that he has become the progenitor of demons, he will give us the racial essence of demons as well," Lenora nodded.

"Hmm… will we get the essence of other races as Master becomes the progenitor of them too?" Lilith asked.

"Obviously," Amelia replied.

Lilith nodded, but thoughts began to form in her mind.

After the racial essences of werewolves, humans, and vampires merged with her own demonic essence, she no longer felt solely like a demon, but at the same time, she could still feel all her racial abilities as a high demon and as a succubus.

In fact, they felt even stronger than before.

It was strange… but she liked it very much.

Lilith turned her attention to the five mature vampires.

"The five Countesses of the Vampire Race… How long has it been since we last met?" Lilith asked.

"About three hundred years… I think," Akira replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"Who cares? We've become sisters, haven't we?" Tiana said, grinning.

After a few more minutes of talking, a series of prompts appeared in front of Shiru and the remaining three high humans, and a frown appeared on their faces.

The others noticed their expressions changing and not in a good way.

"What's going on?" Lillian asked, raising an eyebrow, a bad feeling spreading through her heart.

"Our subordinates… they found Elfie's brother…" Maira replied.

"Elfie? Is that the low elf you spoke of?" Lilith asked.

"Yes… The King has a thing for her. He wants to take her as his wife, but many things happened. When the King became the progenitor of vampires, she left along with her younger brother, saying they had something personal to deal with… It's been a while since we even talked to her," Shiru muttered before looking at the high humans.

"So… where did you find her brother?" Amelia asked, narrowing her eyes.

"They found him in Solarta…" Ana replied.

"And her sister?" Lenora asked slowly.

"It seems she is in…"

"Alfheim!"

Before Shiru could finish, a loud, manly voice completed her sentence.

They all turned to see a very tall man with thick, dark black hair and pinkish-red eyes that glowed like diamonds.

His expression was intense.

"Darling/Husband/Master," the women called out, surprised and a little intimidated by his expression.

He wasn't alone. Behind him, the six werewolves, Sia, Veyla, Selia, Avenya, Leona, and Lea, each wearing the same necklace the Countesses wore, walked in with expressions mirroring those of the other women.

"Is Arlen on Earth?" Damian asked, his voice emotionless.

"Y-Yes, my L-Lord," Shiru replied in an uneasy tone.

"Let's go then…" Damian said.

In the next moment, a crack appeared in space before breaking into countless pieces, forming a gate that connected Nightingale to the world of Earth.

Without waiting for his wives, Damian walked through the gate and appeared in a modern-day castle.

As soon as he entered the majestic castle of the Human King, he walked directly toward the throne.

Hundreds of high humans bowed before him, and the wives of the Human King followed behind.

Damian's appearance began to shift from his non-progenitor form into his Human Progenitor form.

His dark black hair turned greenish-brown and grew longer, while his eyes changed to a bright emerald green as he sat upon the golden throne.

"Bring him to me," the Human King commanded.

Within the next minute, a couple of high humans brought in a young elf with short brown hair and green eyes.

The young man's eyes widened, and relief returned to his face as he laid eyes on the Human King.

"B-Brother-in-law… My sister… They took her," Arlen, the young elf, said in a breaking voice.

"Arlen, calm down and tell me exactly what happened," the Human King said, using his influence to calm him.

"I… A few days after you went to the world of vampires, my sister and I received an invitation summoning the elves who were currently going through the First Tower Realm, Solarta, back to our world of elves, Yelvera. When we arrived there, we found ourselves being collected… by gods," Arlen said, his expression deeply unsettling.

When he mentioned gods, the expressions on every face in the throne hall changed, especially the Human King's.

"Gods? The gods are seeking mortals again? What the hell are they doing with them?" Lenora asked seriously as she turned her attention to the young elf. "What happened next?"

"Um… I… When we arrived in our world, some of the high elves from the noble families separated us, saying they only wanted the talented ones. They said the gods had graciously offered to help the talented ones become more powerful. Then a couple of gods appeared and took my sister, along with hundreds of other elves, with them. I came back to the First Tower Realm," Arlen said, sighing deeply.

Damian could clearly see the worry in his eyes, even though the boy tried to hide it.

"A few days passed, and I didn't receive any sort of message from my sister. I tried to contact her, but I never got a reply. So I went to Yelvera, and that's when I found out the high elves had sold the lower elves with great potential and abilities… to the gods. And I couldn't do anything about it," Arlen said, looking at the Human King.

"When I went to Yelvera looking for my sister, the high elves captured and imprisoned me. But eventually, they allowed me to leave. After I got out, the high humans came looking for me and my sister, and they brought me to Earth."

The human king turned his eyes toward Lenora.

"What do you know about this, Lenora?"

"My king, there have been rumors that the Norse pantheon has been doing something using the life force of mortals, talented mortals and those possessing great innate potential. It's been happening for hundreds of years now," Lenora said.

She referred to him as 'king' because he was the king, and he was currently speaking in that capacity.

Calling him 'husband' or 'darling' in the king's court would be disrespectful to her husband, which she, nor any of the other wives, would ever do.

"As if whatever they're doing is working," Amelia added.

"The gods of the Norse have been growing stronger at an incredible rate, faster than they ever did before. But the other pantheons couldn't figure out exactly what they are using the mortals for. Whatever they're doing to increase their power, they're doing it through mortals."

"That's probably why those gods took Elfie and other elves who have shown great talent and potential. And those high elves must be working for them, errand dogs for their masters, fetching the low elves in exchange for godly blessings or riches."

"Why haven't the other godly pantheons made any move on the Norse?" the human king asked.

Amelia and Lenora exchanged a knowing glance.

"Your Majesty, after your disappearance, the balance between the godly pantheons began to crumble, especially among the lower plane gods. Each started trying to conquer the other. Even some of the upper plane pantheons began to get involved in these conflicts. To restore peace, the High Order intervened," Amelia explained.

The High Order is a council made up of rulers of the godly pantheons and kingdoms of the upper plane, and to a certain extent, the leaders of the lower plane pantheons as well.

The High Order was formed after Damian completed his 13th lifetime and regressed into his 14th, his current life.

Lenora and Amelia are also members of this council, Amelia representing the race of vampires, and Lenora representing the race of werewolves.

Even Lucifer was a member of the council as well, representing biblical Hell, demons, and dark angels

"The High Order forced the lower plane pantheons to sign an agreement that they would not interfere in each other's affairs, and absolutely would not instigate conflict with one another. If they do, they'll be answerable to the rulers of the upper plane," Amelia continued.

"As long as the pantheons keep their business to themselves, others cannot interfere with them. That's why the other godly pantheons haven't done anything about the Norse."

"Hmm... I see," the human king, Damian, thought for a few seconds. He wasn't the least bit concerned about the High Order. If anything, he was glad it existed. It had proven itself useful by keeping peace intact after his regression.

But right now, the only thing on his mind was Elfie.

The more he thought about her, the more worried he became for her well-being, and the angrier he grew at the Norse gods.

His emotions radiated outward, and others could feel the monstrous aura responding to his rising fury.

"Fine... I will deal with them myself," the king said as he stood up, his destructive aura seeping in every direction.