MIGHT AS WELL BE OP Chapter 1146: Tripolarity

Unbeknownst to the Demon King, Anthony possessed the capability to aid his ascension if only he had asked or pleaded for assistance. Anthony was the type of individual to act solely on his whims, and helping the Demon King might have simply amused him. Furthermore, Anthony would have been curious to observe if the Demon King could continue to wreak havoc upon the Upper Galaxy as he had the Lower Galaxy.

If this possibility were known to the Demon King, would he stoop to beg Anthony for help? Undoubtedly. Yet, what of his pride and ego? True powerhouses understand that pride and ego are impediments when they offer no immediate tangible benefit, nothing more, nothing less.

"Now, regarding Null Anthony, what information can you provide?" the God's projection inquired, snapping out of his musings and addressing the Demon King, as it seemed the latter possessed a more intimate knowledge of the boy.

Despite the God's projection referring to Anthony as a child, in all his years of existence, he would never have conceived that Anthony was merely twenty years of age; knowledge of this fact would have rendered him incredulous.

Even the Demon King, privy to the truth, found himself questioning it following Anthony's recent accomplishments. However, he knew it to be factual, having witnessed Anthony firsthand and perceived the flow of Vitality and Lifespan himself. Although his World Knowledge skill had proven ineffective against Anthony at the time, he could ascertain at least that much.

'To think I advised him to join me, promising to aid his ascension in a few centuries,' the Demon King reflected internally, his thoughts drifting to the conversation he had shared with Anthony during their initial... and thus far, only encounter.

At the time, he had perceived Anthony's words as sheer arrogance, but now, he recognized that he, the Demon King, had been the one displaying arrogance.

'Sigh... if only I could ascend alongside someone,' the Demon King mused to himself.

Much like Anthony, he had overanalyzed the situation, assuming that ascension was an exclusively solitary endeavor. This was the very reason one of his strategies involved gathering talented individuals, hoping that if any among them achieved ascension, perhaps when they were significantly stronger, they could breach the divide between the Upper and Lower Galaxies and facilitate his own ascension. However, this was merely one facet of his plan. After all, the Demon King could not entirely entrust his fate to others... particularly not demons. Even with a Chaos Contract in place, the uncertainty of its efficacy in the Upper Galaxies lingered.

Moreover, one of his current viable plans involved usurpation of Anthony's body to then initiate the ascension process. His alliance with the God before him did not preclude the necessity of a contingency plan. One should not place all their hopes in a single venture... typically. Unless, of course, no other options remained.

His chosen method for this endeavor was a formidable soul skill he possessed: Soul Merging.

The Demon King had spent eons experimenting with souls – the souls of the deceased, his own soul, and those of his demonic kin. He had even fragmented his own soul into a hundred pieces, embedding them within his hundred subordinates. Such profound mastery inevitably led to the creation of diverse skills and abilities enabling him to meld with another soul, a process he had meticulously 'perfected' over an extensive period.

Following the impending confrontation with Anthony, he intended to attempt merging his soul with Anthony's, forcibly transplanting his own essence into Anthony's physical form to seize his talents, abilities, and all that constituted him. This approach would grant him the capacity to manipulate both Mana and Chaos within his being without them devolving into uncontrollable states.

Should circumstances deviate from this plan, his alternative was to capture Anthony's soul post-mortem and then fuse it with his own essence within his Demon King physiology. Although this would entail the forfeiture of certain capabilities, such as various Physique-related abilities, it was a negligible cost. The paramount objective was the ultimate goal, which would be achieved without the protracted wait for the God to propagate his Faith or convert individuals, nor the arduous search for the Acarnis Galaxy Core and the subsequent utilization of both Galaxy Cores.

However, it must be noted that this Demon King Soul Merge skill was a singular-use ability, applicable to only one individual, owing to the exceedingly delicate nature of souls, a complexity the Demon King dared not presume to fully comprehend. Attempting to merge with more than one soul risked descent into madness, insanity, identity dissolution, bipolarity... or perhaps something even more profound... tripolarity.

In essence, he would forfeit his very sense of self. He would cease to be the Demon King, cease to be Azrath Kaelthar Morvanyx Doomrend... he would simply become a raving lunatic... a mere echo of his former being.

Consequently, he could not indiscriminately merge souls with individuals possessing immense talent merely to augment his own 'innate' capabilities in pursuit of the Calling. He was not driven to such desperate measures.

However, if only the Demon King understood the sheer suicidal nature of his scheme.

Let’s consider the possibility that Anthony was defeated. Would the Demon King truly be able to claim Anthony’s soul, even in such a scenario? And supposing he could, would he be capable of merging with it? Anthony’s overpowered system was inherently tied to his soul, Romulus resided within it, and then there was ‘Boundless,’ a being so lethargic it defined laziness itself. Moreover, there’s one thing that utterly irks lazy individuals… any disruption to their precious peace and leisure time.

Therefore, the Demon King might actually perish at the hands of the ‘Unbound’ before Romulus could even intervene.

Alas, if only the Demon King had someone who could genuinely offer prayers for him at this critical juncture and convey the utter folly of his plan… but it appears the sovereign of the Abyss is fated to meet their end, regardless of the path taken… how lamentable… truly, deeply lamentable.