From God of Lies to Lord of All Worlds

Chapter 326: Jose's Journey Through Hell

"You disappoint me greatly, Jose Carmen!" As Jose groggily tried to wake up, a harsh reprimand echoed in his ears.

This caused the drowsy man to snap his eyes wide open.

Recalling what he had just experienced, he stammered in fear, "I... I have become a demon..."

"Fool! The moment you offered up your soul, you were already a demon!" Gaap appeared before him. The entity no longer looked like an elegant noble scion; instead, he had taken on a bizarre and terrifying demonic form.

Demons of this caliber could generally shape-shift at will, much like the various forms assumed by Satan or the black dragon.

These infernal beings rarely possessed just a single appearance; they merely preferred to use a specific form most of the time.

It was just like the angels. The earliest angels looked even more terrifying than demons, their very appearances radiating a power capable of intimidating all of creation!

Hearing those words, Jose finally regained his senses. He realized that his shock was nothing more than the final lingering shreds of humanity from his mortal form. From every possible angle, he was no longer human!

With this psychological preparation, Jose quickly discarded any other thoughts. If he could no longer be human, then so be it. In America, being a human was far less comfortable than being a monster anyway.

"I understand, Crown Gaap!" Jose declared, but Gaap immediately cut him off. "Call me Your Excellency or Your Highness. In this place, only those few Archdukes can be addressed as the Crown!"If they were in the mortal realm, titles would be insignificant, but in Hell, such a misplaced honorific could be fatal!

"Understood!" Jose knew he had misspoken. However, he was surprised to realize that he could somehow speak his native language again. What was going on?

Seeing his confusion, Gaap casually explained, "Because of your recklessness, you have lost the memories of Babylon. The power of Brick Glyph Magic will leave you, and that glimpse into the future will also slip away. You can only retain the ability to exchange your lifespan for knowledge!"

Jose understood. Since the power was lost, the price had also been returned.

But this return felt infinitely heavy! His two greatest sources of strength came from those very things. Now that he was left with nothing but trading his lifespan for power, how was that any different from death?

"Then, Your Highness, can I still regain those powers? Or am I already dead, and my soul has already been claimed?" Jose asked, his curiosity piqued. Having already anticipated death, he was no longer quite as terrified.

"Dead? You are not dead yet!" Gaap shook his head. "Even if you die, your soul does not belong to me. I need you to stay alive and continue gathering those powers for me! Whether that is hatred, fear, or desire!"

"You disappoint me greatly. You were beneficial at first, but over time, for the sake of temporary pleasure, you chose to submit to humans. A demon submitting to humans—do you have any idea what that means?"

Gaap's words plunged Jose into sheer terror. "N-no... I do not..."

"It means you should be cast down into the Fiery Rage City, to face incineration in endless lava. Every time you revive, you will burn to ashes before you can even offer your repentance!"

Gaap spoke softly, but the meaning behind his words struck infinite terror into Jose's heart!

Was this the punishment of Hell? Just for this, he would have to endure the agony of burning in lava, and it sounded as though he would be subjected to it for a very long time?

"Already consumed by fear? As a demon, if you cannot even bear this little bit of power, you might as well rot in Hell with those insignificant vermin!" As Gaap spoke, he raised his hand and tossed Jose straight into a roaring burst of fire before them. "Cold and heat form the first punishment of Hell, and this is your penalty!"

The apathetic supernatural creature had handed down a punishment akin to death. Before Jose could even react, he felt endless agony ravaging his body.

"Help... Save me... Please forgive me..."

His body felt as though it had been encased in ice in an instant. The freezing sensation completely paralyzed his limbs, and the bone-chilling pain made it impossible for him to even articulate a word.

But it was not over yet. A peculiar fire ignited around him, and the agonizing, endless burn of those dreadful flames brought a scorching, blistering heat.

Trapped between extreme cold and searing heat, it felt as though his very life force was being violently ripped away and forcefully stuffed back into him. This sensation alone was entirely equal to the true horrors of Hell!

Jose could only suffer through the excruciating torment, yet he could still see Gaap taking him to a lower realm that resembled a desolate void. In this domain, countless fallen angels with black wings stood in absolute silence, and in the very center of these fallen angels sat a young man with pitch-black hair.

"Your Crown, the person has been brought before you!" Gaap bowed his head, entirely stripped of his usual arrogance as a noble scion and his pride as an archdemon.

"I see him. You have done very well, Gaap. Much better than that fool Raum!" The black-haired man's voice echoed, miraculously clearing Jose's clouded mind. It felt as though just the sound of the man's voice was enough to soothe his physical agony.

Jose managed to guess the entity's identity. To be surrounded by fallen angels and addressed as the Crown, this demon could only be Lucifer. The King of Angels who fell from grace, the master of the dark abyss, a being whose mere presence caused the crystallization of time to form into ice crystal spikes in the darkness. Without a doubt, it was Lucifer.

However, the two of them exchanged only that single sentence before falling completely silent. That was, until Lucifer finally raised his hand and asked, "Baphomet, are you here?"

"I am here!" a gruff, demonic voice boomed out. "Cain is also in position. Beelzebub and Sumado cannot make it for the time being. They were struck down by Michael recently!"

"Michael... Michael!" When Lucifer spoke that name, a hint of hesitation and detachment seeped into his tone. It seemed the vice-king of the Heavenly Kingdom had truly caused them a great deal of trouble.

Soon, two humanoid creatures manifested before Lucifer. Together with Gaap, they assumed the appearance of three humans clad in aristocratic attire.

Standing alongside Lucifer, if one ignored the dark void and the surrounding fallen angels, it could easily be mistaken for some high-society human boardroom.

"Hmm... Cain greets Your Crown!" The handsome, almost bewitchingly gorgeous man bowed respectfully to Lucifer before nodding to Gaap. It was evident that Cain and Gaap shared the same divine status, whereas Baphomet stood on an equal divine status with Lucifer.

"Excellent. Everyone who has laid hidden schemes in the mortal realm has arrived! Since Beelzebub and Sumado cannot come, we will not wait for them. Having you here is sufficient!"

Lucifer waved his hand, forcefully yanking Jose from his hell of ice and fire into the center of their gathering. All four archdemons locked their gazes on him simultaneously.

Jose shuddered violently. He felt a total loss of control over his own body as the four penetrating stares swept over him.

"He is... the one you chose?" Cain looked extremely curious. "Your Crown, his power does not even exist anymore..."

"Is power not something we can bestow with a wave of a hand?" Lucifer countered. "Within him harbors a deep hatred! A hatred that has converged and intensified following a bitter betrayal!"

Heaven needed souls, and Hell naturally needed them as well. These souls had to possess traits worthy of attention. The previous Jose lacked any such qualities, but now, following the betrayal by the American officials, he finally had it!

The moment Lucifer said those words, Jose felt an overwhelming rage surge straight into his brain, a momentary flash of unspeakable fury.

This anger was so incredibly pure that it made the other three demons, aside from Lucifer, cast sidelong glances at him.

They watched with a flash of astonishment in their eyes as Jose, driven by the physical manifestation of his rage, completely revealed his true body and even experienced a surge in his power right there in that domain.

"Hmm... Looking at it this way, he truly possesses an outstanding soul!" Baphomet could not help but remark. A goat phantom materialized in his hand, and he thrust it straight toward Jose.

In a mere flicker, the goat phantom possessed Jose's form. His previously frail body suddenly erupted with radiance, instantly growing robust and exuding the ravenous desire of "Wrath."

That pure fury and hatred, acting as a catalyst, astonishingly caused the powers he was supposed to have lost to flood right back into him.

Brick Glyph Magic and his authority over the future returned one after another. At the same time, the demonic power bestowed by Baphomet fully manifested. His body, which had merely been that of a minor demon, began sprouting twisted goat horns, massive hooves, and a pair of leathery wings!

"Your Crown's judgment is as sharp as ever!" Cain praised in awe. "He already possesses the strength of a low-tier demon of Hell!"

Lucifer nodded, looking extremely satisfied. "Yes... He finally looks somewhat like an Archbishop of the Solomon Cult!"

Hearing this, Jose's previously chaotic mind finally seemed to grasp a sliver of sudden realization!