Fuck! Fuck!

Who was it?!

Who dared to disturb me on my wedding day?!

Angered by the sudden noise, I teleported out of the cathedral and adjusted my eyes skyward. The Solar Eclipse I'd called upon was gone, and a massive whirlpool of demonic energy was in its place. Magic power, one of the likes I'd never felt before, filled the entire planet as the vortex sucked in all forms of energy into one singular point.

And at the event horizon, a massive pool of energy ripped the dimensions apart.

"A Gate? The Outer Demons are still planning to invade?"

After I'd killed the Eyghon, Cthulhu and Baishe, all of the created Gates of the world had now faded away. Perhaps there were one or two remaining, but those were infinitely smaller than the major Gates that used to plague the world.

Rightfully, most of us thought the Outer Demons had been spooked by losing three of their Demon Lords and were going to lay low for the foreseeable future.

Alas, how wrong we were.

Watching the size of the Demonic Gate, I finally understood why the Outer Demons had closed the other ones. They weren't afraid of sending more Outer Demons over… They wanted to save their energy to open one final massive Gate.

Easily ten, no, a hundred times bigger than any other Gate before it, the spiralling vortex in the sky possessed far more magical energy than Cthulhu and Baishe combined. Heck, it may even hold more energy than the Holy Church's Faith Dimension, which was created through billions of faithful over thousands of years.

That Gate itself… possessed more energy than me. A Progenitor.

Oddly enough, the change of atmosphere didn't cause thunderstorms or chilling rain. It didn't even seem all that different from a breezy Sunday evening. The only difference was… The eerie sound and intense magic emitted out from its epicentre.

It felt like we'd been transported into a dimension filled with nihilism and despondence, where no one could feel emotions. Be it joy, fear, or love. This was my first time experiencing such sinister magic.

It was utterly terrifying.

My skin was crawling, and my innards were on the verge of churning. Instinctively, I felt like an impossible hurdle had appeared, and my senses were screaming at me to run away.

This was… fear.

It had been a while since I'd felt this way. Ever since I'd become a Progenitor, nothing could make my heart falter this much. I was the apex predator, the being above all. No entity on the planet or other planets could threaten me, and even if they could fight, I was confident of beating them to the ground all the same.

And yet… My body was telling me to run away.

What the hell was coming through that Gate?

(Un)fortunately, I was about to find out.

A torrent of magical energy condensed into one from the depths of the darkened clouds. Blackened mists descended from the heavens, dripping like falling ash and snow. If one were to look at it objectively, it was quite the beautiful scene. However, the contents of the sinister foggy material were anything but.

"H-Help!"

One unlucky guest accidentally made contact with the black mist, and his body started to disintegrate almost immediately. Starting from his arm, the man's body was rapidly decomposing. First, his skin was peeled off in less than a fraction of a second. Next, the meat on his bones dissipated into nothingness, leaving his white bones vulnerable to the same fate.

Like a relentless hungry beast, the mist continued to 'eat' at the man from his arm to the tip of his toes. His entire physical body, no, his entire existence was being wiped clean away from the Earth and eventually…

"He's dead…"

One scared voice shook the hearts of all those who witnessed that terrifying event.

"Everyone, don't panic!" I immediately got into my combat mode and started firing my brain cells. "Angels, create a barrier and protect this venue."

"Understood!"

The numerous emotionless servants stepped forward at my order and unveiled their true nature. Black-feathery wings, highly reminiscent of those of the actual Angels of the Holy Church, popped free from their backs as their bodies were filled to the brim with Faith Energy.

Some possessed one pair of wings, while others had two or three. However, they didn't care about their ranks this time as they all pooled their energy together to create a sturdy, impregnable barrier that protected the beautiful cathedral.

However…

"W-What?!"

The barrier, powerful enough to resist a full-on strike from Cthulhu and Baishe, was nothing against the sinister black mist. The moment the two magics intersected, the black smoke melted the barrier away like a hot knife through butter. At best, the barrier could only slow down the despicable mist for a few seconds, but eventually, the sinister magic made its way to the ground.

That black mist… It felt similar to Cthulhu's black goo but at the same time… It was much more different.

Cthulhu's black goo only negated magic and rendered anyone who was covered in it incapable of using magic. This black mist however… Felt like it could negate someone's existence altogether.

This… is far too dangerous.

Many of the guests were flabbergasted by the revelation that the servants who catered them to their seats were actually Angels in disguise. They were likely equally shocked by the immense power the black mist possessed, but I wasn't going to give them the luxury of staying shocked forever.

"Those who can fight, come to the front. Those that can't, please escape to the Valter Realm using the portal at the centre of the cathedral."

I snapped my fingers, and a portal linking this place to my Nightmare Realm was established. Truthfully, the connection has already been there since I've been travelling to and fro when building this wedding venue. Therefore, it was stable enough for most people to slip through.

While there was a handful who quickly scurried away, the vast majority of the guests stayed behind. Most of them were combatants with over a thousand years of experience fighting Outer Demons, so it made sense that they would stay. Even ancient powerhouses, like Matriarch Innocence or powerful Vampires at the top of their field, like Sirius Moonreaver showed no signs of taking the high road.

However, the most concerning ones of them all were…

"Girls, I want you all to escape to the Valter Realm now!"

"And leave you alone here? No way!" Ysabelle scoffed and folded her arms in defiance. "We're not going to leave you in danger, Jin!"

"Brother! You're not the only one who's pissed about this!" Irina scowled, and her eyes were seemingly able to shoot daggers as she stared at the sky. "Those assholes ruined my wedding! My wedding to Brother!!! I won't forgive them!!!!"

Irina's Winter Sovereign Aspect was activated in a rage, and the soiled ground froze up. A massive spear made of pure ice appeared within her hands as she tip-toed her way forward and waited eagerly for the Outer Demons to arrive.

"I'll exterminate them all!!!"

Tch, they're not thinking straight.

"Okay, but you must listen to my instructions. Don't be impulsive or go out of line! I have a really bad feeling about this Gate."

"What's wrong?" Lilith, the calmest of the four, asked with a worried tone. "Is it because of that mysterious magic?"

"No, worse." I sighed and looked up at the massive Gate. "The Outer Demons had remained silent all these months, and the fact that they've appeared now to gate crash our wedding can only mean one thing."

"They have an ace up their sleeves?"

"Yes," I applauded Lilith's keen insight. "The threat that will come through that Gate will be infinitely stronger than the other Demon Lords that came before it. If that's the case, I won't have the confidence to protect the four of you."

"You don't have to worry about us," Lilith smiled. "We're the wives of the Progenitor. We're more than capable of taking care of ourselves."

"I know that, but…"

"Don't worry about us… Just hurry up and kill those Outer Demons so we can continue with our wedding."

"You lass…"

Hearing Lilith's words made me realise that no matter what I said, the four wouldn't budge. They were going to stay with me whether I liked it or not. We are, after all, bound eternally.

"Okay, just stay safe and protect my parents as well. When the fighting begins, I won't have much luxury to look elsewhere."

"Leave it all to us!"

With that final word, my attention switched from my four beautiful wives to the terrifying vortex in the sky. Magical power continued to pour out from the monstrosity as even more black mist rained down from the heavens. The barrier magic that the Angels had cast was essentially useless, and it was only a matter of time before this entire meadow was filled with that toxic gas.

But I wasn't going to let that slide.

"Imperium: Warp!"

Clenching my fist, I moved the black mist with my Spacetime magic, sending it far away into the void of outer space. After experimenting on the black goo for multiple months, I'd finally concluded that the only safe way to neutralise it was to warp the space around it and teleport the threat far away. It was a crude method, but it was the only failsafe one.

And fortunately, the same could be said about the black mist. With the sky again cleared up, I could pinpoint the epicentre of this sinister magic.

Tunnelling through the massive hole in the sky, a certain robed figure emerged. It possessed a black cloak and a humanoid appearance. Appearance-wise, it looked eerily similar to the Grim Reaper of legends.

Its face was covered, and its limbs were wrapped in bandages. In its right hand was a ghastly silver and grey scythe, which seemed to contain the souls of the damned. Floating in mid-air, it appeared unaffected by the laws of gravity. No, with that eerie aura, it seemed unaffected by all the laws of nature.

Shockingly enough, the moment that figure stepped onto our planet, the massive Gate behind it closed. It didn't bring in an army of Outer Demons, nor did it bring in a Demon Lord multiple mountains tall… All it brought with it was that small figure who seemed no taller than a regular human being.

However, just because only one enemy appeared didn't mean that the threat was any lesser than before. On the contrary…

"T-That's…"

"P-Paul! N-No, don't look at it!!!"

One of the guests unknowingly stared into the abyssal darkness of the monster's cloak; mysteriously, his eyes started to bleed black blood. In time, he knelt down on the pavement in pure pain and suffering as black blood escaped from every hole in his body. Writhing around in agony, he begged for someone to end his life. He begged for his suffering to end. And as if to grant his wish…

SCHLING!!!

One swift swing of its scythe and the man's life was voided.

The Demon killed a man without breaking a single sweat. Even though it was still descending slowly from the sky, it looked as if anytime the Demon swung its scythe; someone would die. Eventually, those weaker amongst us started to feel the same effects as the man who passed on.

Unable to look at the Demon, they felt hollow and void. With no hope left in their hearts, they looked up at the descending Demon like one would a deity. And as if to answer their prayers, the Demon reaped their lives without casting a single spell.

It was as if… the God of Death had descended upon our mortal realm.

"Argh!!!"

Rosa fell to her knees while covering both her ears. Shivering from head to toe, she curled up into a ball. Sora, her contracted Spirit, was in a similar state. Both of them were showing fear of the likes I'd never seen before. With tears in her eyes, Rosa looked up at the black cloak Demon and said:

"All the plants… They're dying."

"H-Huh?"

"That Demon's existence… Is killing everything. It's death itself."

I looked all around, and everything was withering away. All life in the area could not hold against the distinct and deathly aura of the Outer Demon, and they were losing their life force rapidly. Trees, grass, flowers… They weren't immune to the damage.

In fact, those that were weaker amongst us wouldn't be able to withstand the Outer Demon's aura and would terminate their lives from the inside out.

"J-Jin… Run…"

Rosa begged as fear completely overran her senses. She held onto my hand as if trying to drag me back into the Valter Realm to protect me for all eternity. But alas, her feet weren't going to move. As the emissary of the World Tree, she was distinctly aware of all life around her and how precious it was. So, seeing the embodiment of death appear right before her made her soul shiver from its very core.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

The Demon had finished its descent and had landed ten metres away from me. From our proximity, I could feel how dangerous the Outer Demon truly was. Just by sheer magic power alone, it towers over me, but it also has a power that I was wholly unfamiliar with. A power that counters all of my spells and abilities.

Death.