Little Alicia is now sleeping in my lap. I asked Gargian,
"What kind of spirit is she, Gar? And can you elaborate more about the Seven Seats?"

"Sigh! Okay, the thing is—
As far as I know through the World Tree system, there are currently seven gods under the Supreme God.
And if, for some reason, any of the Seven Gods' positions become vacant, the Spirit Kings take over that position temporarily.
Like in your world—when a president falls, the military takes over, right? Spirits are like that. Spirits are born strong, while we have to gain strength.

There was only one seat vacant—the Water Spirit King's position—but Shila will ascend to that throne. Even Kara (the god who ranks first) acknowledged it and gave her approval for registration.
As for the assistant to the God of Knowledge, the Wind Spirit King still exists, so there's no need for another.
Also, Alicia is far stronger than any known Spirit King. And from what I can see, she has more than one element in her core. She's an anomaly.
An oddity—just like you. Way too strong."

My kid is strong! As a father, I'm proud.
But his rude comment,
about both of us being anomalies—it's a bit much.(￣ε(#￣)
If you guys are weak, that's not my problem.
It's not like I made you weak.
I just made you feel that way just by existing.
Sigh. Is this what people call suffering from success?

I asked, "So what? Can't she just live quietly?"

He stared at me like I was some kind of fool. (´.＿.｀)
"Think about it, you dummy. An army without restraint—is that good or bad?"

"But I'm still here."

"You're not restricted by the system—yet your power is still increasing. And now you've created an ultra-strong follower.
The system must have sensed the anomaly. Sooner or later, we'll be in big trouble."

"Why are you so scared of the system?"

"Because of the Supreme God, you dummy. Within His domain, He is the law.
And the system is the policeman that enforces that law.
It hasn't done anything to you because you'll be succeeding in my position, but that won't be an excuse for your child."

Although we're outside having this conversation, but these aren't normal children either.
So , I'm worried, so I asked,
"So what am I supposed to—"

BANG!!!
An explosion—50 meters ahead, right where I had set up the barrier. Someone must've attacked.

Alicia appeared before me and said,
"O Great Father, pardon my intrusion, but it seems some pests are here to annoy us."
What's with the way she talks?
Well, it's true I was once someone who could be king—but not anymore.
Her honorifics make me feel awkward.

Let's just play along.
"My child, don't fret. It is I who shall punish them today.
I can't let my newborn child face such a threat already.
Protect the others and treat them as your siblings, because I've taken them as my students.
Take care, my child."
I patted her head and headed toward the explosion with Gargian.

I don't know why, but I feel like I won't be able to see them for a long time if I go now.


---

First things first—we arrived at the scene.

"Gar, are those guys demons? Because they seem to have horns?"

With a 'for real?!'(⁠ʘ⁠ᗩʘ')
kind of expression, he said,
"They're not just demons—they're high-ranking ones.
And the one in the royal dress with red hair? I think he's a demon prince."

"Is that so?"

"Not 'is that so,' you fool! Don't you get it? The system must be behind this!"

"The barrier is still intact. Even with that kind of powerful spell, they hardly scratched the first layer.
And there are over 100 layers. Hehehehe."

I think I really did smile like a villain at the thought of their suffering.
But I'm not scared.
Is it because I'm melania older? Maybe.
Who cares? I just need to beat them up, right?

But are they really after my new-born daughter?
Suddenly, my rage increased at the mere thought of it.

They stopped attacking the barrier after noticing us.
The demon prince turned to me and said,
"You lesser being, come and become my nourishment willingly—otherwise, I'll give you a painful death."

This guy really is trying to piss me off, isn't he?

But even if I'm almost a god, can I beat him with my current strength?
If not, we'll all die.
And even if I try to fight him, I might die.

Hmmmm.
I have Gargian with me.
I took a deep breath and began considering what I could actually do.

Then I remembered something Gargian said earlier:
"There are only a handful of people who can fight gods toe to toe. Even fewer who can stand before me and Kara.
And you're stronger than both of us.
What you lack is experience.
But don't fret—you have your brain to counter that."

I took a deep breath—then exhaled.


---

The air stopped flowing.

The time hold itself —frozen, silent, bound by the will of the spell.
Only I stand in this moment.
Alone.

I had stopped time.
(To be more precise, I've just become so fast that everything seems still.)

I flew toward the demon prince.
He seemed unfazed. He himself didn't have much mana, but the necklace he wore gave off a suspicious vibe.
Its mana was stronger than his own.
Let's remove it, as it might be a problem later.

But then, within my still world, I felt a presence.
Not divine.
Not even natural.
A being born of pure evil.

The silence cracked—
Not with light or shadow, but with raw, wicked laughter.

Low at first—broken, ancient, earth-shaking.
Destructive.
It rose—splitting, consuming—
from the depths of hell.

The space around me shattered like fragile glass.

"What do we have here?
I sent my sweet little boy to hunt a lesser god, but he seems to be facing quite a formidable foe."

Time resumed.
And everyone's attention focused on one figure.

A four-horned demon appeared before me, smiling wickedly.
So, this is the one they call the ruler of the Seven Hells—
The god of ten thousand demons.
The demon king who can even slay gods—
Archmund Nelphear Zolarous.

He really does fit the title of king.
His mere presence makes nature's mana tremble.
Every spirit in the area fled in fear.

With deceptive politeness, he said,
"Oh Great God, I humbly apologize for the ruckus my son has caused.
We were just hunting—nothing more.
So, if you don't mind, we'd like to take our hunt and be on our way."


---