Chapter 61: Before Setting off, You Need To Gather the Team

  A dead silence hung in the air, and for several seconds, no one dared to utter a single word. The delegation stood with jaws dropped, stunned into silence. The nearby devils glanced at the Grim Judge—who looked just as confused as they were—then shifted their eyes to one another.

  It wasn't long before the first whispers emerged.

  "See? He's not moving."

  "Is he even alive?"

  "This... is not normal."

  Of course, the unassuming young man on the stage had already achieved a legendary reputation in the dimension. Many of those present today had witnessed great events several months ago when, immediately after achieving Foundation Stabilization, he killed the powerful mountain ruler.

  This meant his victory was expected. But something like this?

  The way the duel ended was what gave everyone the most chills. Eredinus' strangely elongated neck would surely haunt the nightmares of many present.

  In this unique atmosphere, Justinian, hearing all the whispers around him, decided to quickly end the miserable spectacle. Looking at the remaining three delegates, he asked the one standing closest.

  "I don't need a rest; I understand you are next?"

  The devil with the twisted horns was only now brought back to reality and slowly lifted his jaw. However, the words reached him gradually.

  "Yes, yes... What?"

  When he realized what was the actual question, his eyes widened. Sweat poured down his temples, and he immediately started waving his arms.

  "I... No! That's not what I meant!"

  The other two delegates nearby retreated from him in no less panic and began to cheer.

  "That's right! Good luck!"

  "Take care of him and we'll take care of Eredinus!"

  Naturally, the crowds noticed this, and strange expressions immediately appeared among the average observers. On the one hand, they didn't at all wonder at the delegates' behavior, but if so, why had they provoked this monster in the first place?

  Justinian was starting to get annoyed with the whole situation when Rudnicki's loud voice pierced the air.

  "What is going on here?!"

  "Hahaha, what a commotion!"

  The corpulent nobleman laughed heartily upon hearing the story. He seemed particularly amused by how Eredinus slammed into the wall motionless and how he had previously been outraged by the golden liberty prevailing in the dimension.

  His face told better than words that his Noble Brothers would hear of the story later.

  Shaking his head, Justinian moved on to more pressing matters.

  "What about Boruta's situation?"

  He was answered by a shrug from the nobleman, who slowly stopped smiling.

  "Unfortunately, we will indeed have to visit the sixtieth dimension."

  "Is it as bad as the Voivode says?"

  Rudnicki waved his hand dismissively.

  "There's no need to worry; since I've been alive, these classifications have only been a formality."

  Justinian felt a little reassured. The earlier words about the dimension's destruction didn't sound good. He had only recently found a home here and didn't want to lose it again.

  "Boruta would take some troops and a couple of the best adepts from the concluded Holy Pilgrimage. Then they would be gone for maybe a week or two, and the whole matter would be resolved."

  The problem this year was the fact that the Voivode himself couldn't travel. The same was true for other serious devils.

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  "You killed Greedius. Eusebius is still unconscious after Twardowski's attack, and sending the Emptyhead is obviously out of the question."

  Rudnicki didn't have to convince him for long.

  "Listen, my dear friend, we need at least three adepts to show up. It would also be good if someone familiar with etiquette is included as well."

  Justinian agreed with this. The more power they could gather, the better. Considering the problem, one name came to his mind, which he asked the nobleman about.

  "Hahaha, that young sprout? He'll be perfect, absolutely perfect!"

  Neither of them wasted any more time. Rudnicki set about rousing the still-unconscious Eredinus, while Justinian set a new course.

  With a powerful leap, he soared high into the air, his destination lying far beyond the territory of the devil mountains.

  After a few minutes of travel, he hovered over a dark manor.

  Scanning his surroundings, he couldn't help but smile at how much it had changed. Vast golden fields still stretched around, their uniformity only broken in the distance by scattered wooden villages.

  The manor before him struck with its austere beauty and magnificence.

  While once that splendor had a lot of neglect within it, now the perfectly maintained corners indicated a planned aesthetic.

  Slowly descending to the ground, he entered the castle courtyard, where servants standing rigidly at attention directed him to one of the side rooms. That was where the owner of the estate was.

  Still admiring the order that prevailed there, he quickly walked toward his destination when he heard high-pitched female screams.

  Justinian frowned, but silence reigned for a moment. Only upon taking a few more steps did the scream resound again. The situation was quite strange, so he began to move faster and faster in case someone needed help.

  Only when he was a step away from the chamber did he hear that, amidst these high-pitched screams, there were also quiet lines spoken by a male voice.

  "...I'll do it."

  "What did you say?!"

  "...it."

  He failed to catch the last line, as it was even quieter than the first. Troubled by the weird commotion, he stepped inside only to freeze.

  There was his good acquaintance, Seweryn, the lord of this manor, dutifully noting down the commands of the Miss Wachowska standing before him.

  By the window, at attention, stood the servants he had met a year ago. Back then, they were a bit heavy and disorganized; now, everyone was slim with freshly shaved beards.

  'They weren't this tense, either.'

  "Such mistakes cannot be repeated! The mowing must always be at 5mm, not 4.5! Understood?!"

  Seweryn nodded his head with a weary expression. He seemed to have lost weight too.

  "You have until eleven to mow the grass in the yard, go out for milk, and start replacing the roof in the old village to the south."

  This time she wasn't yelling, but her voice was still full of authority, and every time she said something, the servants by the window flinched.

  That's when they noticed Justinian standing in the doorway.

  Before he could say anything, Seweryn reacted to him as if he had seen a savior.

  "Justinian, my boy! Long time no see!"

  Saying this, he threw himself around his neck, embracing him like a good friend. Before the surprised guest could say anything, he saw that the nobleman's eyes were practically begging him for rescue.

  So, after a brief greeting with Wachowska, the two men stepped outside. The host shyly mentioned that he would gladly go for a walk to stretch his legs.

  Considering that he himself was a cultivator dripping with the aura of Foundation Stabilization, this was rather strange, but Justinian did not object.

  On the dirt road near the nobleman's manor...

  "What? You want me to go with you and Rudnicki for a dimension re-categorization?"

  Seweryn seemed unable to believe his ears. Justinian understood it was a bit out of the blue and wouldn't blame the nobleman if he refused. However, before he could even answer, the owner almost jumped up as if afraid the human changed his mind.

  "Of course, I'll go with you! There's no need to wait; I'll announce it at home right away!"

  The young man did not understand his surprising hurry, but soon everything was agreed.

  No longer than an hour later they both were traveling through the sky of the 66th hellish dimension. Justinian told him about his journey after last year's match-making mission.

  The story of how he achieved his revenge and who Belisara truly was.

  However, this was not a topic he wanted to dwell on, so the conversation quickly turned to other matters.

  "We still need two more people from the younger generation. Do you have any ideas?"

  The nobleman shook his head.

  "Unfortunately, no. Since I got married, I haven't had much time to develop acquaintances."

  The statement amused his friend.

  "I see the new Lady has already started implementing her orders."

  Seweryn looked at him with pain in his eyes.

  "My Kitty is, ahem... quite demanding."

  The thought crossed the young man's mind that the earlier scene certainly confirmed this, but he didn't want to torment his companion further. Instead, he motioned for him to follow.

  "I have an idea of who might help us."

  The nobleman quite enthusiastically took to this task, which allowed him an escape from his domestic duties. They sped through the air for another minute or two until they finally stopped above one of the devil mountains.

  "Okay, where are we flying?"

  They were quite high up, and from that perspective, there was no point in judging exactly where Justinian wanted to go.

  "It's here."

  "Hmm? But now we're over..."

  Seweryn suddenly fell silent, realizing his companion's plan. What flashed in his eyes was fear, and it was greater than when he was previously huddled before his wife.

  "You can't be serious."

  The young man merely smiled and slowly began to descend, looking for a suitable entry point.

  The mountain they were above was only a meter shorter than the Voivode's mountain, casting a silent challenge to the chief of this dimension.

  This was the Mountain of Darkness, ruled by the terrifying Maleficius.