Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

"It seems Belar's soul wasn't captured by Purgatory.'"

Eren thought to himself as he carried on with his fiend creation process.

"Or… it was collected and then released due to its perceived lack of potential," Eren murmured, his eyes closed, still wielding the powers of his Sin Series Abilities and Summoner Class.

"I had hoped to surprise Viper and Renar by resurrecting him. Fate, it seems, has decided that only half of my plans shall come to pass, while the other half is at the mercy of my ever-dismal luck," Eren sighed as he settled on the number of fiends he intended to create.

Belar had been one of Eren's anthrope subordinates during his initial venture into Eliza's Purgatory with Renar and Viper. He had met his demise at the hands of their enemies, as Eren had used him as bait for their escape. Eren, though unwavering in his actions, had wished to facilitate a reunion between Belar, Renar, and Viper. Regrettably, Belar's soul remained out of his reach.

Eren finalized his selection of souls to be resurrected as loyal fiends. Lacking a means for his fiends to level up post-creation, he opted to imbue each fiend with the potential to rival Grandmaster Rankers. As always, quality took precedence over quantity, and he settled on creating 30 fiends, each possessing the combat capabilities of at least an early-stage A-Ranker within their mana core.

With Eren's choices made and souls aligned with their chosen compatible bodies, a snap of his fingers saw the dissolution of the remaining bodies into pure essence, devoured by the Wrath Flames and Mouths of Gluttony. Elemental Attainments and Weapon Comprehensions of the deceased Rankers were extracted and distributed among the fiends according to their requirements and compatibility.

The 30 fiends, their bodies coated in a slimy substance crafted by Eren's bloodline powers, began to writhe strangely as their souls became bound. These slimy primers were essential to facilitate the fiend creation process.

As the mana storm invoked by Anfang's World Will raged on, dark clouds gathered, releasing powerful lightning strikes upon the 30 soon-to-be fiends to impede their resurrection. Spectral flames emerged and consumed the bodies, even the ground beneath transforming into quicksand in an attempt to swallow them.

Eren envisioned the turmoil this process might unleash upon the world beyond Eliza's Purgatory, but he pressed on, unfazed by the Calamity sent by Anfang's World Will to test his fiends' resolve. He kept on injecting these bodies with Wrath Mana, Gluttony Mana while allowing them to sustain the Calamities using the runic formation he had created using the previously thrown array disk.

The Calamities cleansed the flesh and souls of the 30 bodies.

"One must endure the darkest night before basking in the light of dawn," Eren mused, allowing Anfang's World Will to temper his fiends. Knowing he had prioritized quality, he held hope that not many would perish in this arduous transformation.

The Test of Calamity lasted for a few minutes before disappearing into thin air. When the dust settled, Eren, Alephee, and Naya found out that 6 fiends had succumbed to Anfang World Will's Calamity and only the remaining 24 had survived.

"Hmm. Not a bad turnout."

Eren grinned as he surveyed the 24 fiends gradually awakening before him. He couldn't help but feel satisfaction at the prospect of having gained the strength of 24 Grandmaster Rankers upon completing his Fiend Creation project.

Eren noted that his fiend creation had progressed even more smoothly this time, as evidenced by the Calamities invoked by Anfang's World Will during their births. His meticulous preparation and utilization of the groundwork laid by Eliza's Purgatory had exceeded his expectations.

The slime-like substance enveloping the fiends' bodies was eventually absorbed by them, and the magic runes that writhed over their forms like restless serpents sank deep within. As their heartbeats synchronized, the 24 fiends crossed the threshold between life and death, emerging as living fiends in the world.

"Perhaps Anfang's World Will showed restraint as well," Eren mused as he observed the fiends gradually opening their eyes. He had relinquished reliance on luck to achieve such favorable results in his first attempt at fiend creation. So he guessed that there was something else at play. Not that it mattered to him. He was content with the results because they were quite fruiteful.

The fiends appeared bewildered and disoriented upon awakening, as if trapped in a dream-like state. It took several minutes for them to regain their senses and offer obeisance to their master, who had bestowed upon them a second chance at life.

"My liege!"

"Master!"

"Savior!"

The fiends greeted Eren with lowered heads and gestures of absolute submission.

Though each fiend individually surpassed Eren in strength by a considerable margin, none dared to act against him. They understood that opposing Eren meant forfeiting their newfound lease on life. As their creator, Eren held absolute control over their existence, even if it led to their second demise.

These fiends displayed diverse appearances, shaped by their choice of bodies for resurrection and their compatibility with various types of mana involved in the process. Some resembled grotesque Children of Echidna, while others took on divergent monster forms. A few bore humanoid features with subtle distinctions, while others defied description due to their nightmarish visage.

Eren dispelled the Domains of Wrath and Gluttony after confirming there were no immediate threats. He had been somewhat hesitant about empowering the fiends to A-Ranker levels.

Yet he deemed this level of combat prowess manageable without risking their uncontrollable rampage. Creating fiends weaker than Grandmasters served little purpose given the circumstances he faced.

Eren cast a swift, assessing glance at his devoted subordinates before continuing. "Embrace your second chance at life," he declared, stepping closer to the fiends who remained humbly on their knees.

"From this point forward, your existence is bound to me, regardless of whether it's long or fleeting," Eren spoke in a stern voice. "Many of you may still grapple with uncertain origins or undefined purposes. But fret not. I'll infuse your lives with newfound meaning."

Coming to a halt before Hilda and Ashton, he leveled a compelling gaze at them. "Are you prepared to reshape this world under my name?"

The butcher intoned, his deep voice resonating through the hearts of all the fiends.

AN: Eren, Renar, and Viper offer eulogy to Belar in chapter 312.