Chapter 28: The Soul Reaper's True Identity... Exposed?

Immediately, the spheres behind him began to rotate faster.

The sky twisted into spirals.

And then—

A radiant crimson light blinded the heavens.

The energy condensed in the spheres was released all at once—ripping through the sky and crashing down onto the city.

From afar, it looked like divine retribution was descending upon the Gremory Territory.

Pillars of annihilation bombarded the barrier.

An unending meteor shower of blood ceros rained upon the Underworld.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Serafall! Falbium! Protect the city!” Sirzechs roared. “Ajuka—!”

His skin peeled away. His flesh disintegrated. In his place remained a humanoid being—pure Destruction incarnate.

And most shockingly his strength surged towards an unbelievable level.

[Sirzechs— |88,750|→|910,780|]

This was Sirzechs true form, a form he desperately kept suppressed to not kill everything around him.

He raised both arms and beams of Power of Destruction shot into the sky—intercepting Ceros in mid-air. His Destruction was of higher quality than Tatsuya’s demonic energy.

But his power wasn’t infinite.

Ajuka didn’t lag behind. His eyes glowed, and thousands of intricate symbols spiraled around him. Dozens of miniature black holes emerged, devouring the ceros.

While Soul Energy had always been elusive to him, Demonic Energy was his domain.

Yet even they, as Super Devils, had limits.

The brunt of the work fell to the massive barrier Ajuka himself had crafted.

And it was cracking.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The sky trembled as crimson pillars tore through the heavens, colliding with the protective dome over Gremory Territory. The ground cracked open. Mountains collapsed. Rivers vaporized into steam. The landscape was swallowed by annihilation.

Ajuka’s runes flickered chaotically, black holes struggling to contain the descending wrath. His breathing grew ragged. The precision of his formulae wavered.

Sirzechs, as Destruction incarnate, looked less like a Satan and more like an apocalypse given form. But even his near-invincible might was cracking—literally. Fissures appeared along his shoulders and chest, revealing unstable chaos underneath.

Serafall had discarded all pretense of elegance. Her frost armor was shattered, her lips pale. She stood atop a collapsing spire, arms extended skyward, a freezing dome rising to meet the rain of ceros. Falbium stood beneath her, shielding a crowd of retreating civilians with his battered body, with only his Absolute Defence still keeping him alive.

And still, the ceros came.

Each blast was apocalyptic. Every flash was another crater. Another scream.

Gremory Territory—the noble stronghold, once pristine and proud—was a smoldering ruin.

Only the core city, protected by Ajuka’s great barrier, remained somewhat intact. And even that was generous. The barrier—his masterpiece—was flickering, collapsing in places. Whole chunks of the protective dome had turned translucent. It had already absorbed enough energy to power a world for decades.

Now, it was only 5% away from total failure.

All four Satans floated in the heart of that ruin, drenched in sweat, their skin charred, clothes tattered, faces grim.

Silence. Deafening, after the storm.

For a long moment, the sky stilled.

Sirzechs panted heavily, steam rising from his body. Ajuka’s runes slowly receded, his breath uneven. Falbium fell to one knee, a large gash across his back. Serafall coughed blood into her hand, barely keeping herself upright.

And then—

“…Is it over?” Falbium rasped.

Sirzechs glanced at the battlefield. Nothing but ash remained outside the central city. No sound. No movement.

He turned his gaze upward.

The Soul Reaper still floated there—untouched.

But he hadn’t moved.

His head was bowed. His hair covered his eyes. His arms were still linked behind his back.

Maybe… just maybe…

“Is he exhausted…?” Ajuka muttered. “That attack… it must have cost him.”

Serafall let out a shaky breath and glared at the Soul Reaper. “About damn time.”

Sirzechs’ eyes narrowed. “We can’t kill him… Let's try to seal him for now while he’s weak…”

They all looked at each other, slowly nodding.

A chance.

Finally, a chance.

Ajuka raised a hand, preparing a spatial binding matrix. Falbium grunted and stood tall, fists clenched. Serafall conjured chains of ice. Sirzechs gathered black-red destruction orbs in his palms.

And then—

Ajuka’s breath hitched.

“…Wait.”

Sirzechs’ expression froze.

Falbium turned his eyes upward.

Serafall stopped cold.

All four Satans stared in disbelief at the sky above them.

It was happening again.

Behind the Soul Reaper—the blood ceros were forming once more.

Instantly. Effortlessly.

One. Two. Three. Four. Ten. Twenty. Fifty. One hundred. Two hundred...

All at once.

No build-up. No channeling. Just... manifestation. As if their very existence was conjured from the void.

The sky that had barely begun to heal was once again bleeding red.

“…Impossible,” Serafall whispered, her hands trembling.

“Shouldn’t he be drained…?” Falbium growled, stepping backward, fear etched in his eyes. It hurt his pride that he felt this way but only at their level would they understand the horror of the earlier attack.

Unleashing attacks drained energy.

This was an undeniable rule of nature. Who could claim to really be limitless?

Even Ajuka felt his soul shake. His eyes gleaned with curiosity that bordered madness.

His declaration of being a human… Was it false? But he really hadn't used any Demonic Energy back then.

Ajuka felt his mind whirl despite his body aching.

No, maybe that was a diversion in the first place. With his strength, it made no sense that it took him almost two hours to gather enough energy for that attack on Grigori.

Is the Soul Energy he used more complicated than it seems? Or alternatively, could he have really increased his strength to such a level in a short time frame?

Ajuka suddenly frowned as another terrifying conjecture swirled in his mind.

Maybe we've been looking at this the wrong way. With how quickly he dealt with my tracking he surely has countermeasures against my ability, why allow us to determine it took him two hours?

Did he intentionally hide his strength and let us underestimate him? But if he has such strength why go through all this trouble?

Ajuka felt a crucial piece of the puzzle was missing. Just this one inconsistency stopped him from deducing further.

After all, if he had displayed even half of his current strength that day the Devils would've forcefully brought in all supernatural factions to initiate an immediate witchhunt for the Soul Reaper instead of trying to investigate first.

Nonetheless, if he had this kind of strength…

Why did he hide himself after that attack on Grigori?

Did he fear something… or someone?

Ajuka did suspect it might be because of the True Dragon Gods, the Dragon God of Dreams and the Dragon God of Infinity, but the biggest problem lay in their utter neutrality. For ages, they have remained silent, not interfering with the world.

At this point in time, Ophis’ involvement with the Khaos Brigade was not revealed, in fact, the Khaos Brigade itself had no fame. It had not shown itself to the world yet.

Thus, despite being close to the truth, Ajuka failed to determine the true nature of the Soul Reaper.

As for increasing his strength in such a small frame of time… Ajuka felt that was the most implausible theory. The amount of energy he was able to generate indicated he was at a level higher than himself and Sirzechs.

Sirzechs that anomaly aside, Ajuka had used a King Piece to bring his strength to his current terrifying level. The King Pieces were his ultimate masterpiece and few knew of them.

While his Kankara Formula made him invincible at the same level and even against stronger opponents, he still had his limits. Time and time again had proved that no matter how powerful the ability it would eventually fall flat against overwhelming strength.

Take the Divine Longinus, Divine Dividing for example. The wielder of this God-Slaying Sacred Gear is said to be able to directly half the Energy of his opponent, repeatedly at that too.

So why wasn't he invincible? After all, all he needed was a few divides to be able to defeat anyone in theory. But in reality, against a real God, the Divine Dividing failed to live up to its claims.

That was why Ajuka had frantically created such a taboo item. His capabilities and personality of that of a true scientist drove him to his current level. A level where he could stand side by side with the Incarnation of Destruction, Sirzechs Lucifer.

And that was precisely why he felt fear towards the Soul Reaper.

Either he was at a level above them, the Super Devils, or he had a source of endless energy.

Either possibility filled him with dread.

If it was the former, at least they could fight with hope but if it was the latter…

Ajuka felt a chill go down his spine as gazed at the Soul Reaper who had begun to descend, the spheres of destruction hanging in the sky like a scythe to their neck.

What made it worse was that Ajuka could not sense a Sacred Gear, leaving him utterly baffled and confused as to how such a thing was possible. His ability that borderlined Reality Manipulation needed to have at least some understanding of his opponents’ abilities to counter them.

Alternatively, he could also reverse deduce the mystery behind his source of endless strength being a prodigy of calculation but that would take too much time.

Something he didn't have…

Even as his thoughts churned at lightning speed it didn't stop the Soul Reaper.

The silence was deafening.

The blood-red ceros hung outside the dome like a macabre halo, swirling lazily in the windless void. But they didn’t fall.

They simply… existed.

And that, more than anything, was what terrified them.

Because it meant he could but chose not to.

Falbium glared at the Soul Reaper while Serafall bit her lip, ready to make a desperate gamble.

Sirzechs didn’t speak. His eyes never left Tatsuya’s form.

Slowly, Tatsuya lowered himself toward the ground.

And then—he raised a single finger.

A bloody cero shot towards him and contracted into a size that could rival a fingernail. It wrapped around his fingertip.

Then with the tip of his index finger, he reached out and touched the barrier protecting the core city.

Ssshhhkkk.

A glowing crimson line carved itself across the magical dome like butter under a hot blade. The barrier—crafted by one of the greatest minds in all of the Underworld—split open with a hiss, peeling apart to form a narrow entrance.

He was inside.

Tatsuya stepped through the opening without any overt hostility.

Yet every step he took echoed like a war drum.

The Satans watched in suffocating silence.

Sirzechs watched him intently.

In his mind, he had already laid out a plan.

If the Soul Reaper showed even a flicker of true hostility—Ajuka would isolate them inside an independent dimensional cage. In that instant, Sirzechs would detonate his core, his soul and his body.

All of it.

A nuclear act of sacrifice to destroy the impossible threat before them.

He had made peace with it the moment the sky first bled red.

Now he just waited for the signal.

One misstep. One twitch.

And the Underworld would lose its brightest star to eliminate the darkest one.

Tatsuya continued walking, boots gently pressing against scorched stone.

And then—

His eyes met with the gazes of the strongest Devils alive.

It was impossible to tell his expression behind the mask but his eyes radiated cruelty.

The Satans watched as the Soul Reaper fearlessly walked towards them, deliberately dragging his steps. They clenched their fists in anger, despising the show of power.

It was arrogance that bordered madness.

Yet even as he reached a foot before them they dared not move. Sirzechs had the urge to simply blast him to ashes using his Power of Destruction but just one look at the bleeding sky would provide an explanation of his helplessness.

Yet what they didn't know was that beneath the mask a look of frustration etched across the Soul Reaper's face.

Why hasn't it shown up yet?

His face turned grave as glanced towards the sky, anticipating the arrival of the Dragon God of Dreams. His overt show of power and deliberate destruction along his path weren't just for show.

Had he simply wanted to kill Rizevim he could've silently returned and ambushed him.

Rizevim was nothing more than a pawn.

What Tatsuya really wanted to do was test his strength and gauge the attitude of the Dragon God of Dreams. He wondered if Tiamat's recollection of Great Red stopping her from bringing back Chaos was a task given by the Heavenly Spirit or its own whim.

After talking with Tiamat he pondered over the conversation and had a grave suspicion forming in his mind.

And meeting Ophis proved his suspicion right.

Maybe Heavenly Beings weren't just Creators and instead… Rulers.

He had tried asking Kaguya but she remained silent, stating her lack of memories.

Tatsuya instinctively thought that since the world belonged to the Heavenly Spirit it was also the Creator of said world and as a creator it would inevitably hold immense control over its creations.

But the incidents with Ddraig and Ophis proved this to be wrong.

Combined with Tiamat's tale of the Heavenly Spirit forcefully creating Order it appeared as if the Heavenly Spirit was no different than an intruder.

And if the Heavenly Spirit, which was currently locked in tribulation, was really no more than just a Ruler then perhaps Great Red wasn't really its pawn.

The possibility remained there.

He wouldn't forget that all he had left was a year before beings much much stronger than the True Dragon Gods would arrive.

By then his death would be inevitable.

If there was a chance that the Dragon God of Dreams also bears no hostility towards him Tatsuya would simply abandon his slow approach!

There would no longer be a need to pretend!

The identity that ‘Tatsuya’ held in this world could be abandoned immediately. No more of a need to play pretend.

Precisely why he had created such fanfare while assaulting the Underworld.

But Great Red’s absence left him uneasy.

Otherwise if killing Rizevim was truly his sole goal, then Rizevim, the Four Satans and everyone within the Gremory Territory would've long been slaughtered.

Rizevim hadn't angered him to that extent yet.

If it were Tatsumaki within that barrier Tatsuya would've nuked the entire Underworld immediately regardless of who else would die along.

“Who are you searching for?” Sirzechs asked directly, trailing a few steps behind him.

The Four Satans followed behind him, and it might've appeared as if they were having a fun leisure stroll together were it not for the absolute desolation and destruction outside the barrier.

“Rizevim Lucifer,” Tatsuya replied calmly as he walked slowly, hoping for Great Red to appear.

Immense shock flickered within their eyes. They knew Rizevim Lucifer, he was a legendary figure from the past, famous before even they, the Four Satans, were born.

At the same time— seeing that he was willing to chat, the Four Satans exchanged confused glances. According to their intel, it seemed like the Soul Reaper loathed the Supernatural that weren't human.

“Are you a Devil?” Ajuka seemed to linger closer to him. Whether it was because he wanted to seal him together with Sirzechs or truly just to satisfy his curiosity remained unknown.

“I am not.”

“Then are you a human?”

“I am not.”

“Are you an Angel?”

“I am not.”

“Are you a Fallen Angel?”

“I am not.”

“Are you a Dragon?”

“I am not.”

“Are you a—”

“Ajuka!” Sirzechs spoke with gritted teeth. What kind of conversation was this? Angel? How did he even dare ask that? Fallen Angel? Didn't you see him wipe them out himself? He did not understand why Ajuka was even asking this, after all didn't the Soul Reaper clearly use Demonic Energy?

Most of all he couldn't understand the personality of this Soul Reaper. It was too erratic.

Did his powers come at the cost of a mental illness?

Ajuka paused after hearing Sirzechs and frowned slightly. His curiosity got the better of him. He would've felt a slight sense of satisfaction if he had guessed correctly. Unlike Sirzechs, Ajuka could tell the Soul Reaper was not a Devil— Or at least not just a Devil.

“Then what are you?” He asked again.

But this time Tatsuya remained silent.

He couldn't exactly say he was half a Heavenly Being, now could he?

Seeing him not answer, Ajuka felt disappointed.

“Then can you answer why your strength has reached such heights? I'm positive the capabilities you showed on the night of Grigori’s destruction were fabricated.”

“Isn't it fine if you're positive?”

His response left the Satans speechless.

They finally realised something. The Soul Reaper was not even taking the conversation seriously, his replies were clearly half-hearted. It's similar to how one would talk to a clingy child who wouldn't leave their side.

And they were right.

Tatsuya really couldn't be bothered to cater to them. He was trying to slow his steps as much as possible without giving his intentions away.

“Then at least tell us what Rizevim has done to anger you?” Falbium asked, confused, wondering how this guy got entangled with the Heir of the original Lucifer.

His question made Tatsuya pause for a brief second, he turned to glance back at the Four Satans causing them to halt in their steps.

They looked at his menacing eyes flickering with complex emotions.

“He dared to have designs on my offspring.” His inhuman gritty voice sounded somewhat sad.

The revelation of having a family member made the Four Satans’ eyes flicker as well. A family member could be seen as a weakness, but at the same time touching such a reverse scale…

The outcome laid before them.

Suddenly they noticed his gaze turn cold and that put them on immediate alert. Sirzechs and Ajuka exchanged a glance, resolve shining in their eyes.

But the following conversation was going to leave them stunned silly. After all, whenever Tatsuya decided to fuck with someone in a non-sexual manner it would barely end well— for the other party of course.

“Do you know why you all and this city still breathe?” The Soul Reaper's inhuman voice caused the Satans to frown.

This was the biggest mystery plaguing their minds.

Why was the Soul Reaper going about in such odd machinations? Truly if Rizevim were in the Gremory Territory, simply continuing his earlier assault would result in their and Rizevim's death.

Could it be he was hesitating?

What a joke!

This was the same ruthless and immoral Soul Reaper who wiped millions of innocents off the map without any mercy!

As they waited for him to clear their doubts his voice sounded again.

“After all,” The Soul Reaper glanced at Sirzechs in particular, an eerie chuckle escaping his lips, “It wouldn't look good if I were to kill off my own daughter-in-law's brother.”