The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　Furthermore, none of the thirty-two fallen ones were able to make it into the regular selection. At this point, regardless of where the eldest prince's plan ultimately led, it was a complete and irreversible failure.

　But the eldest prince was clearly not content with this.

　In this "Dark Crystal Cave," he recreated the ritual based on a microcosm of the World Cup, attempting to forcefully reverse his defeat and continue his own scheme.

　Although this ritual narrowed its scope of influence, its ultimate effect certainly could not compare to the "Summoning of the Gods Ritual." However, by using the number thirty-two to rewrite his own failure and steal the key to the "Summoning of the Gods Ritual," he actually managed to make up for it to some extent, allowing the ritual to continue to its current state.

　It can be described as another form of "stealing the sky and changing the sun".

　These thoughts flashed through Dark's mind in an instant, and then he couldn't help but sigh.

　It's truly astonishing that the eldest prince has managed to go this far. Darke's mind raced, realizing that as he gradually became involved in the ritual, he had unconsciously become immersed in it, ultimately leading to this situation.

　But it seems as if it were preordained.

　At the end of the ceremony, the eldest prince finally met him.

　This time, the eldest prince disregarded external influences and unleashed his full power during the ritual. He not only summoned the "Great Demon King of the Styx," but also the "Great Demon God of Dark Destruction," who was even more powerful than the Demon King, displaying all his abilities and clearly determined to win.

　But in the end, he still lost.

　Dak's gaze shifted, and his expression turned serious.

　He was pondering how the eldest prince had acquired and mastered the ability to forge the "God Card".

　Putting aside those "false god cards," the "Styx Demon King" and "Dark Destruction Demon God" that the eldest prince finally summoned were definitely true "god cards," and they were not directly transformed from gods.

　—In order to accomplish all the arrangements mentioned above, Prince Charles's current abilities are, in Dark's eyes, no less than those of the professors.

　He himself certainly doesn't have that ability.

　Where did he get this ability?

　"His behavior seemed somewhat strange when the 'Golden Country Cavalry' used 'Death Stare' on him."

　"【Death Gaze】is a soul shock, there's something wrong with his soul." Dark suddenly recalled all the things that had happened in the academy before, recalled Charles exploring the secret room, triggering the hidden trial, and experiencing an abnormal fainting spell, recalled the "Demon King No. 3" who returned from the underworld, and recalled the "Demon King No. 3" escaping by hanging himself.

　"So he really is the Demon King?"

　All the speculations eventually converged into one conclusion: Dark was certain that "Demon King No. 3" had ultimately been reincarnated into Charles's body.

　The reason he was able to reincarnate into Charles's body must be because he used Charles as a vessel for himself during the hidden trial!

　"Demon King No. 3" is a brand new Demon King born from the body of the real Demon King during the Demon King's execution ritual.

　He was sucked into the "Gate of the Underworld" at the moment of his birth, and later "accidentally" encountered the remnants of the Underworld of the "Hero" Brightgold, and merged with him.

　He must have set up a container in the underworld, but after returning to the mortal realm, he was blocked by the world wall and most likely lost contact with the container in the underworld, which is why he risked setting up a new container.

　After returning from the underworld, he was at St. Marian Academy, which was an opportunity for him to learn and master magic, and to catch up with the times and reach the pinnacle again.

　However, he exposed himself while plotting to become the other two demon kings, so it was impossible for him to reincarnate as a student or professor at the academy.

　At that time, there would certainly not be many people who would leave the academy immediately and meet the container requirements.

　He ultimately chose Prince Charles. That's how it all began.

　But Charles is not "Demon King Number Three".

　To be precise, he had not yet been reincarnated and possessed by "Demon King Number Three". This was because the Demon King Aleister and Demon King Aldrich that Dark carried with him had not sensed any similar auras before.

　This indicates that "Demon King No. 3" must be in a self-regulating "hibernation state".

　Choosing "hibernation" was forced upon me.

　Because "Demon King Number Three" learned about the existence of [Demon King Aleister] and [Demon King Aldrich] while in the academy, and knew that there was an unbreakable connection between them.

　Therefore, he was very aware that he would be immediately discovered if he were to reincarnate normally. So he had no choice but to "hibernate".

　In other words.

　Although "Demon King No. 3" successfully reincarnated, his soul is only hibernating in Charles's body and has not yet completed the final step of possession.

　At this point in the reasoning, the situation has once again reached a singularity.

　If "Demon King No. 3" had remained in hibernation and had not been awakened by external forces, none of this would have happened today.

　However, there must be "unknown factors" interfering and influencing this.

　Ultimately, although "Demon King No. 3" remained in hibernation, his knowledge, power, and so on flowed into Charles's body.

　It is also possible that Charles actively drew upon it from his soul.

　In short, although Charles is not yet the Demon King, he possesses most of the knowledge and power of "Demon King No. 3".

　—That makes sense. "Hey!"

　A cat's meow suddenly echoed in his mind. Dark's expression changed drastically.

　[Demon Lord Aldrich] has sensed a fellow demon!

　"The Demon King has awakened!"

　He then abruptly turned to look at Charles, the image of the "Golden Country Cavalry" using the "Death Stare" on Charles flashing through his mind.

　"Was it awakened by the soul impact of the [Death Gaze]?" The Demon King's awakening means that Charles will immediately have everything taken away and become a true vessel.

　Although Dark didn't like him, it was impossible for him to just stand by and watch the Demon King complete the possession.

　But even so, how can we stop it?

　In that instant, he began to think rapidly, but for a moment he was at a loss!

　suddenly

　Charles took another step forward, his body shrouded in black mist, overflowing with magic, and a deep madness surging from the depths of his eyes.

　He was still conscious, though his mind was shattered, his reason gone, and he had descended into madness.

　But that crazy and terrifying consciousness seemed to be covered with sharp spikes, filled with demonic intent, rejecting the intrusion of "Demon King No. 3" and making it difficult for the soul of "Demon King No. 3" to get close.

　"The ceremony continues, it's not over yet, I haven't lost!" Charles's voice seemed to be forced out from the depths of his throat, a desperate roar.

　The ceremony has not ended and is still operating normally.

　Dak suddenly realized.

　Even if Charles makes the starting lineup, he has no chance of winning the championship. Similarly...

　He recreated the ceremony as a microcosm of the World Cup, without necessarily winning the final victory. That was his ceremony.

　All he needed was for himself, or his pawns, to truly participate in the ritual process.

　As for winning the championship in the end, it was just an added value of the ceremony. "No wonder he broke down, I really did stop him at the last minute," Dark realized.

　Charles's primary objective has been achieved. The ceremony is about to conclude!

Chapter 1588 Yesterday's events are dead yesterday, today's events are born today (4k)

　"No, not immediately, it's already done!"

　Dak suddenly turned his head and looked around.

　The thirty-one fallen ones, from who knows when, had already knelt down and formed a circle around the field.

　Their masks had either fallen off or were torn, almost all revealing their true faces.

　Each fallen one was as if in prayer, hands clasped together, face showing piety.

　Their faces were slightly tilted back, their expressions blank and bewildered. But their eyes were filled with a devotion and longing that transcended madness.

　Those gazes, filled with intense longing, were all focused on the center of the venue, slightly above it.

　There was nothing there, but in their eyes, it seemed as if something sacred and majestic was lurking there.

　A melody, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, floated in the air—a melody that was both sacred and eerily sinister.

　The lantern bearers, led by the red-faced man, all held their right hands outstretched straight forward, like lantern stands.

　The flickering light from the lantern reflected on the wall, creating a ghostly, almost tangible shadow.

　suddenly.

　A roar of fury, a cry of despair. The aura of demons, the aura of divinity.

　A cacophony of sounds and scents suddenly arose from the place where the Fallen Ones and the Lamplighters were.

　Moreover, it filled the entire cave as soon as it appeared.

　From the place where the Fallen Ones resided, along with the surge of divine and dark power, those inferior gods and the pitch-black phantoms of the twelve-star dark demon species emerged from the "God Cards".

　Where the lantern bearers were, many demonic figures appeared. Black mist emanated from within their robes.

　The foul aura that had been hidden deep within the black mist gradually came to be revealed. With just one glance, Dark immediately determined that these lantern bearers were all demons in disguise!

　"Demons... Where did Charles get so many demon followers... Could it be that he re-created them using that method... No... It's those remnants of the demons he hunted down!"

　Dark instantly realized that Charles had already begun his scheme when he was searching for the Demon King and annihilating the remnants of the Demon Clan!

　He absorbed the knowledge and power of "Demon King No. 3" and will inevitably be influenced by the will of "Demon King No. 3".

　If he continues on his path smoothly, even if he is not possessed by "Demon King No. 3", he will inherit the will of "Undying Demon King" and become the new Demon King!

　"Charles couldn't possibly be unaware of the source of that knowledge and power; he must know that slumbering within his soul is an immortal demon king who has returned from the underworld."

　"Even if his will is corrupted and influenced, he couldn't possibly be unaware that he has become the vessel of the Undying Demon King and could be possessed by the Demon King at any time."

　"So, did he orchestrate this ritual to unite the three elements in order to become the Demon King himself, thereby devouring the soul of 'Demon King Number Three'?"

　"But if he wants the ritual to ultimately lead to this goal, he must be the last one left in the ritual."

　"That was his additional objective!"

　"In other words, I not only blocked his final shot, but also thwarted his attempt to save himself."

　"If that's really the case, he should have said so earlier!" "If he had said so earlier, I might still not have gone easy on him." "The story of the hero and the demon king has ended, and the old tale of the demon king's constant resurrection should also come to an end."

　"Now is the age of God!"

　"The ritual is complete, and the Demon God will awaken with the eternal darkness!" "Once the Demon God is awakened, the mere Undying Demon King can be easily annihilated!" "I remain myself, the Demon God's most loyal servant!"

　Charles spread his arms and muttered to himself, his gaze, like that of the Fallen One and the Lamplighter, fixed intently on the empty space.

　It was indeed the age of gods.

　With the ceremony now fully completed and all that remained was to await the outcome, Charles no longer needed to hide anything and directly revealed his true feelings.

　What he wants to awaken is not the God Card "Dark Destruction Great Demon God", but the true Demon God - the God of the Demon Race!

　He extracted memories related to the Demon God from the soul of "Demon King No. 3".

　After reviewing the records and searching for clues, they finally integrated information such as the Demon King's memories, royal records, demon legends, and whispers of evil gods, and finally confirmed the existence of the Demon God.

　The demon race did not exist in the previous era.

　Even the fragment of Zeus residing within Quintina's body had no memory of it.

　While it could be due to fragmented memories, it is almost certain that demons did not exist in the previous age of gods.

　They were born in this era after Ragnarok.

　But the birth of a species can never happen out of thin air. The birth of the demon race must have its origins.

　The demons call this source "God." This is the demon god that Charles speaks of, the god of the demons.

　The legend of the Demon God is similar to that of the "Saint," both referring to the creator of a race. The Demon God created the demon race. The "Saint" created humanity.

　The difference is that the "divine source" within the Holy Church has proven that the "holy" does not exist.

　Moreover, humanity has existed for countless eons before the present. Various religious doctrines, unrelated to the concept of "holy," also have their own gods and stories of human creation.

　But the demons did not.

　In the legends of the demon race, there is only the Demon God.

　Therefore, whether from legends or logical reasoning, it is possible that the "demon god" truly exists.

　Now, the era has entered a period of divine resurgence.

　If all gods can be resurrected, why can't demons?

　Thus, Charles's scheme of switching the world and using another's shell to lay eggs came about.

　His fundamental purpose was to welcome the demon god who had been asleep for countless years!

　"I see, this is the ultimate outcome of the ritual—he is trying to awaken the demon god."