Chapter 326: Ch 326 : Salvation

The City of Gods: The Underground Prison.

It was a place designed not to break the body, but to dismantle the soul.

The screams echoing through the damp, stone corridors were not born of physical torture. There were no whips, no branding irons, no pools of acid.

The cells were clean, illuminated by a soft, golden luminescence that radiated from the walls themselves.

And yet, the Demon Gods shackled there were screaming as if their very essence was being flayed.

“Namo… Amitabha… Shanti…”

The voice was soft, rhythmic, and terrifyingly calm.

Sitting cross-legged in the center of the cell block was Sugata, the Demigod of Peace and Contracts. He did not look like a jailer. He looked like a serene monk, his eyes closed, his hands clasped in prayer.

A golden aura rippled from him with every word he spoke.

To a normal being, this aura would feel like a warm hug. It was the essence of tranquility, the desire to lay down one’s weapons and embrace brotherhood.

But to a Demon God? It was poison.

Demon Gods were beings forged in the fires of the demon realm. Their power came from the demon lords. Their mana was fueled by Wrath, Greed, and Hatred. Their identity was built on the foundation of hostility.

Sugata’s voice was melodiously dismantling that foundation.

“Stop it!” roared Gogon, a demon God, straining against his chains. “Stop looking at me with those pitying eyes! I want to kill! I want to slaughter! I don’t want… I don’t want to have peace with you!”

His voice cracked at the end, tears of confusion streaming down his stony face.

The chains binding them, forged from Star-Metal and inscribed with the Law of Sealing, tightened. They didn’t just restrict movement; they restricted intent. The moment a Demon tried to channel mana, the chains burned.

They were forced to listen. They were forced to think.

And thinking about Sugata’s words was the trap. The more they processed the concept of “Peace,” the more their demonic nature eroded.

“Your anger is a burden,” Sugata whispered, his voice echoing in their skulls. “Let it go. Return to the void of serenity.”

A Demon God of magma, usually wreathed in eternal flames, whimpered as his fire flickered and died out, replaced by a gentle glow.

He looked at his hands in horror. He was forgetting why he hated the world. He was forgetting who he was.

For a Demon, this forced redemption was a fate worse than death. It was identity suicide.

After what felt like an eternity, the chanting stopped.

Sugata opened his eyes. They were clear, devoid of malice, but also devoid of mercy. He stood up, dusting off his robes.

“That concludes the session for this cycle,” Sugata said politely, bowing to the prisoners. “Please reflect on the nature of non-violence until I return.”

He sighed deeply, rubbing his neck.

“My work is never done,” Sugata murmured to himself as he walked toward the heavy doors. “Now I must go to the Hell Realm. There are millions of souls there waiting for purification. Being the demigod of Peace is exhausting.”

CLANG.

The heavy doors slammed shut, locking with a magical seal.

Silence returned to the prison.

For a moment, the only sound was the heavy, ragged breathing of the Demon Gods. They slumped in their chains, sweating profusely, terrified by how much “calmer” they felt.

“I… I almost forgave him,” one Demon whispered, shivering. “I almost thanked him. What is happening to me?”

“We are doomed,” another groaned. “At this rate, in a hundred years, we will be gardening in the City above, smiling like idiots.”

“So… how does it feel?”

A voice cut through the despair. It wasn’t holy. It wasn’t peaceful. It was dripping with mockery and sharp intelligence.

“How does it feel to be trapped like rats, having your souls scrubbed clean against your will?”

The Demon Gods turned their heads as far as the chains allowed.

In the darkest corner of the prison, separated by a special barrier, sat Edgar, The genius who had almost destroyed the Emperor and his Empire.

Unlike the others, Edgar didn’t look broken. He looked bored. He sat casually, leaning against the wall, a smirk playing on his lips.

The other Demon Gods rolled their eyes. They wanted to shout, ’You are a prisoner too! You are in the same boat!’

But the chains constricted their throats, forbidding them from speaking freely.

Edgar chuckled, reading their expressions perfectly.

“Oh, don’t give me that look. If you think I am a prisoner like you, you are very wrong.”

Edgar tapped his temple.

“The power of that bald monk doesn’t work on me. My body devourers everything thrown at me, His ’peace’ is devoured long before it can touch my core.”

He leaned forward, his eyes gleaming in the dim light.

“But you? You lot are simple creatures. You are changing faster and faster. You don’t realize how much of your ’Self’ has eroded in the last few years. You are becoming… domesticated.”

The Demons growled low in their throats, but the growls lacked conviction. He was right.

“I have some news that might cheer you up,” Edgar said, his tone shifting to one of conspiratorial whisper. “Or perhaps break you completely.”

He paused for dramatic effect.

“I heard… through a close friend of mine… that Demon Lord Belial is going to attack the Emperor. He is coming with an army of 2,000 Gods.”

The reaction was instantaneous.

Hope flared in the eyes of the prisoners. Belial! The Lord of Lies! If he was coming, the City would fall. The prison would be breached. They would be saved!

Some of them grinned, their demonic teeth baring in anticipation of their liberation.

“He is coming in 15 Years,” Edgar added.

The grins widened. Fifteen years was nothing to an immortal. They could wait. They could survive, even if Sugata’s words corrode them, but 15 years was not a big deal for them.

“Look at you,” Edgar laughed, shaking his head. “Look how happy you became with only half the information. It’s pathetic.”

The smiles faltered. A cold dread crept back into the room.

’What do you mean?’ their eyes seemed to ask. ’Are you lying?’

“I wasn’t lying about anything,” Edgar said, shrugging. “The attack is real. The timeline is real. Belial arrives in 15 years… of Outside Time.”

He stood up and walked to the edge of his cage.

“But you all misunderstood one crucial point. You are not outside. You are in the City of Gods.”

“According to my observations,” Edgar explained, “The City of Gods is currently time-dilated to be significantly slower than the real universe. This is to allow him to micromanage his empire.”

“So, 15 years in the outside universe… will be roughly 12 hours here in the City.”

Note: From outside time he means the time of multiverse, not the time of Veridia.

The Demon Gods blinked. Twelve hours? That was amazing! That meant Belial would be here later today! Why was Edgar acting like this was bad news?

Edgar saw their confusion and let out a cruel laugh.

“You idiots. You still don’t get it.”

He pointed to the glowing runes on the prison walls.

“The City is slow. But This Prison? This prison is designed for rehabilitation. Rehabilitation takes time.”

“This cell block is a Time-Accelerated Pocket Dimension nested inside the City.”

Edgar dropped the bomb.

“While 12 hours pass in the City… and 15 years pass in the Real Universe…”

“150 Years will pass inside this prison.”

The silence that followed was absolute.

150 years.

150 years of Sugata coming in every day.

150 years of “Namo Amitabha.”

By the time Belial broke down the door in 12 hours (City Time), they would have been listening to the Demigod of Peace for a century and a half.

“Will you still be a Demon God then?” Edgar whispered, his voice cutting like a scalpel. “Or will you be a weeping, pacifist shell who apologizes to Belial for his violence?”

The realization crushed them.

One Demon God began to weep. Another slammed his head against the wall in despair. It was a perfect trap. The Emperor didn’t need to kill them; he just needed to wait for an afternoon, while they rotted for lifetimes.

They looked at Edgar, their eyes pleading. They would have hugged his thighs and begged for salvation if the chains permitted. He was the only one who seemed unaffected. He was the only one who understood the mechanics.

Edgar watched them break. He savored the despair like a fine wine.

“Despair is useful,” Edgar mused. “It makes you obedient.”

He walked back to his corner and sat down, crossing his legs.

“But don’t worry, my simple-minded friends.”

Edgar grinned, and for the first time, it looked truly demonic.

“I can get us out of here,” he lied smoothly, or perhaps he told the truth. With Edgar, it was impossible to tell.

“But first… you need to swear allegiance to me. Not to Belial. Not to Deimos. To Me.”

“So,” Edgar whispered, “do you want to listen to the monk for another century? Or do you want to play a game?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep