Even the Demon King is worrying about another world today.

Chido lost his balance and fell flat on his face... oh no, he fell flat on his face like a dragon.

The lords who had encouraged Chido to knock on the door walked in with elegance and courtesy.

"You're still the same as ever, Neil Hawke."

The Demon King's voice came from the steps. Qiduo got up from the ground and scratched his head sheepishly.

"Your Majesty the Demon King..."

"You're supposed to be the emperor of an empire, so you should be more serious about what you do."

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I would not act so rashly among humans."

Chido nodded slightly and moved his huge feet to stand on the far left of the row of people.

The group of people, of varying ages, stood at the very end. The six-winged fallen angel glanced at the crowd. She stepped forward and knelt on one knee before the demon king on his throne.

"Supreme Demon King, the nine apostles have gathered as you wished. Please give your command."

047 The Nine Apostles

The hall was completely silent. Qido looked around, and only after Renee gave him a murderous look did he realize what was happening.

"Hell Level 1, <Lava Land> Administrator, Three-Eyed Black Dragon Neil Hawke"

Chido stepped forward and knelt down, mimicking Renee's gesture. The black dragon was enormous; even kneeling, its gaze was level with the Demon King on the steps. To show its respect for the Demon King, the black dragon lowered its head, resting its chin on the ground.

"Second Layer of Hell, Administrator of the <Forest of Poisonous Creatures>, Insect Queen Sethim"

Sethim's eight spear spider legs couldn't bend, so he could only bow his head to show his respect.

"Hell's Third Layer, <Frozen Plains> Administrator, Frost Phoenix Odelia"

A clear, crisp female voice, tinged with coldness. Ottilia was an ice phoenix, half the size of the black dragon, yet still considered enormous by humans.

Ottilia's feathers were as sharp as ice blades. She folded her wings and lowered her head toward the Demon King.

"Hell's fourth level, the ruler of the <Wasteland>, Sand Scorpion Hazlitt."

A brown scorpion moved against them.

Its massive pincers and sharp, barbed tail gleamed with a cold light. Although this scorpion wasn't the largest among the lords, its aggression was the most deadly.

There is no antidote for the sand scorpion's venom. Neither magic nor potions can save Hazlitt's life. The poisoned victim's body will begin to fester from the inside, losing mobility until death. It is an extremely cruel and deadly poison.

"Hahahaha……"

A sharp, bell-like laugh echoed through the hall. The person was draped in a black cloak, and the half-exposed angel wing behind him was nearly rotten, with flesh and bone mixed with blood, and a few feathers stuck in it.

"The fifth level of Hell, the ruler of the Cursed Land, the necromancer Celia. Paying homage to the supreme Demon Lord."

As the necromancer knelt, a long staff made of withered bones served as her support. Celia exuded an aura of evil and terror, and the sand scorpion beside her unconsciously shifted its feet away.

Ah... you're still as unapproachable as ever, Celia.

"Sixth floor, <Abyssal Howl>, Undead Knight Saxton."

The undead knight's lower body was that of a warhorse, with eerie blue flames emanating from its hooves. Even though kneeling was difficult, Saxton bent his forelegs and knelt down to express his absolute obedience to the Demon King.

Mikayi nodded, then shifted his gaze to the next apostle.

"Moo-"

The seventh-floor lord, who should have been announcing his name, was instead a bewildered cow. Faced with the Demon King's astonished gaze, it bellowed in fear.

"My Lord, the lord of the seventh floor doesn't seem to have arrived. Shall I go and bring her here?" Renee looked up and asked the person on the steps.

Mikayi shook his head; the absence of the seventh-floor lord was entirely within his expectations.

"No need."

There are only two possibilities for the absence of the seventh-floor lord. First, he's extremely busy. Second, he's asleep.

The former is fine; even if the other party is unwilling, they can be dragged over, tied up and bound. But if it's the latter, waking up the seventh-floor lord will result in a terrible temper.

Rather than making this meeting a complete mess, it's better to ignore what's going on on the seventh floor.

But then again... if she can't come, fine, but she actually sent a whole cow. No wonder she's from the seventh floor.

Mikayi and the cow looked at each other, their eyes meeting in a strange mix of amusement and exasperation.

"The eighth level of Hell, the manager of the Demon's Lair, the succubus Akman."

Her alluring figure moved with elegance even in the act of kneeling, her pointed tail drooping to the ground. Akman's gaze was fixed on the Demon King, burning with fervor and madness.

"Rennie Neal, the administrator of the Ninth Layer of Hell, the Hall of the Demon King."

Six full wings spread behind her, partially obscuring the succubus's radiance. Rene seemed to be doing this intentionally, using her wings to shield Akman's body.

Akman was clearly unhappy and pushed away the wings that were blocking her face.

"This is the first time I've gathered everyone here since we came to this other world from the continent of Garan."

As soon as the Demon King spoke, all the fidgeting below ceased. Everyone lowered their heads, listening attentively to the Demon King's commands.

"Let me state this first: I have no intention of ruling this other world. I hope you all remember this."

Upon hearing this, some people's eyes flashed with doubt, while others felt regret.

However, regardless of their attitude towards this matter, their obedience to the Demon King is absolute.

"Therefore, everyone should do their job well and not think about doing anything destructive to the other world."

The Demon King spoke in a low voice, for all eight people present were, without exception, races that loved bloodshed. To the Demon King, these apostles were all problem children.

in particular……

Mikael's gaze lingered on Renee, the killing angel who was the number one problem child. However, with him watching over her, Renee would be much more restrained.

"The second thing, Neil Hawke."

"exist!"

The black dragon whose name was called raised its head and flapped its wings in response.

“Although Neil Hawke is still the administrator of the first level, the soul within him is the king of this world, or rather, the emperor. As the only native of this world in Hell, if you have any questions about the continent of Lolan, just ask him.”

"If you wish to set foot on this continent and explore it, then please go ahead. As long as you do not do anything to damage this other world, I will allow you to."

"The third thing is that the 'Boundless Hell' has now officially taken up residence in the Goragol Great Forest. Although we do not believe that the species in this world will pose a threat to Hell, you should still go back and instruct your servants and subordinates to be on high alert at all times. Until the strongest force in the other world is determined, Hell's alert level will remain at the highest level."

"Fourthly, Neil Hawke provided reliable intelligence on the Goragol Forest, and I am very satisfied with our stopover point in Hell. As a reward, Neil Hawke, you may choose one of these items."

As Mikayi spoke, he opened his palm, and several items emerged from it. Each of those items was a treasure.

There are crystals that efficiently transmit magic, thunderstorm bombs with explosive power capable of quelling an imperial-level war, recovery potions that compress magic power to quickly replenish magic points, priceless black crystals, and so on.

048 The Special Seventh Floor

Neil Hawke ultimately chose a space magic ring that could hold a lot of items.

The other seven people's eyes lit up, and they were all very interested in the props that the Demon King had taken out.

These hell lords don't actually lack magical items or gold and silver treasures; what they lack is the Demon King's 'reward' for them.

Their Great Demon King has always only punished and never rewarded, but this time, the age-old rule has changed.

"I'm not doing this to specifically commend Neil Hawke; I'm doing it to tell you all that from now on, I will be fair in rewarding and punishing."

Although these subordinates would not do anything against his will, establishing a reward system would at least make him appear as a reasonable demon king.

Thinking about it now, I realize that I used to be a boss who only punished and never rewarded, and who was strict and demanding. I was the kind of boss that people disliked.

Fortunately, his subordinates were absolutely loyal to him; otherwise, they might have betrayed him one day.

Unsurprisingly, the apostles' eyes seemed to be shining, their gazes towards Neil Hawke filled with envy and jealousy.

One second Neil Hawke was smug, the next he was sweating profusely while holding the ring the Demon King had given him as a reward.

Why did I see several murderous gazes amidst those envious eyes, especially from the last two angel ladies and the devil lady...?

I'm not going to get assassinated, am I?!

Neil Hawke trembled.

"That concludes today's meeting. Remember, we paid a heavy price to leave the Garan Continent. Now that we've come all this way to another world, please don't even think about destroying it."

Mikayi was still worried and added another sentence.

"Not only should we not destroy it, but we should also find ways to protect it."

All eight people nodded in unison.

"Yes!"

"Moo~"

A discordant moo of a cow broke through the crowd.

Mikael rubbed his temples: "Saxton, when you return to the sixth floor, return this cow to the lord of the seventh floor."

The undead knight Saxton raised his horse's hoof and bent down to receive the order.

Once the surroundings quieted down, Renee stepped onto two steps and stood at a slightly higher vantage point than the remaining seven people.

"Please be sure to follow the Demon King's wishes. This meeting is now adjourned."

Behind the wings of the six-winged angel lies the Demon King, and at this moment, the six-winged angel is issuing commands on behalf of the Demon King.

The apostles paid their final respects to the demon king and then left the hall one by one.

The group left in the direction they had come from.

The Demon King leaned back in his chair, looking at the rows of candles overhead with a troubled expression.

What's the next step?

Where on the continent of Lolan should we go and take a look?

Although there is still a lot of information to be gathered, Mikayi no longer wants to have any contact with humans.

The last Ariel incident almost drove him to the brink of depression.

But since we've come all this way, staying cooped up in hell isn't a solution, is it?

There are still so many unknown aspects of this other world waiting for him to explore, not to mention that he hasn't fully experienced the magic of this other world yet.

So where should we go next?