“Since many of the beings on the list have never fought against one another, we cannot truly determine the rankings, which is why we classify those within the strongest five hundred beings of the worlds as extremely powerful beings. There are often gods or demons that holds tremendous power and can easily overwhelm an army or two by themselves. The current you wouldn’t be able to even survive a fraction of a second against them,” Lucifer began.

“Hmmmm…” David wasn’t surprised, he didn’t expect himself to be very strong. Certainly he was considered to be somewhat of a prodigy when it came to combat and martial arts, but it was only to a level in comparison to normal people, he wasn’t someone who could fight a martial arts expert and come out on top.

“Above them are the top two hundred, which could be compared to the power levels of entire countries or empires, depending on circumstances, they can be stronger, many of the gods that you know of would be in here: Ares, the Greek God of War; Thor, God of Thunder and Battle; Nergal, God of Plague and War; Seth, God of Chaos, et cetera. Many of them are gods that are related to combat in some way or form.

Stronger than them are those within the strongest hundred, who can essentially wipe out entire continents. Zeus, God of the Sky; Susanoo-no-Mikoto, God of Storms; Indra, God of War; Lilith, the Witch Queen; Duke Astaroth; Huanglong, the Yellow Dragon of the Centre; and Trahern, the Force of the Mountains, essentially beings that possesses nearly unrivaled strength, are all among those who are included within here. Many of them are those who have left their name down in history as supreme heroes, gods or creatures of unimaginable power.

The top fifty would then be a class above them, they are beings that under a very specific circumstance would be able to rival those who are considered the strongest in the world. They are beings that possess powers that could wipe out an entire world. However, these are beings that are generally unwilling or unable to unleash their full powers in order to not destroy the entire world. Ones you may have heard of are Beelzebub, the Prince of Gluttony; Gabriel, the Power of God. Others are ones you probably have never heard of, since among these would be beings that may have never even set foot upon this world, since they see no reason to.

The top twenty could be side to rival those at the pinnacle of the world. They are ones that are considered to be a dimension-wide threat, and could easily be in the strongest 10 in the world given a little advantage. The ones you have heard of would probably be Incubus, the King; Azazel, the Arrogance towards God; and Gadreel, the Wall God.

Finally, there is the strongest ten in the worlds. Among them are the three sons of Death, one dragons, three demons, one angel, one god and one human.”

“A human…?”

“Yeah, a human who has reached the pinnacle all by himself. A warrior that is unrivalled among mankind. But let’s not talk about him, as his personality is truly the worst among the worst.”

‘Three sons of Death?”

“Aye, the triplet sons of Death and Andronea, perhaps the strongest dragon to ever live. Their children are truly monsters, although it may not really concern you all that much, since you may never meet them.”

“Where do you reside on the list? From the way you’re speaking, you are probably within the strongest ten aren’t you?”

“You guessed right. But it really isn’t anything to boast about. This list is only a rough list that many use, which is then altered depending on one’s knowledge on them. For us the Seven Princes of Hell, this is what we have categorised, but there may very well be many other beings that would rank highly on the list. Perhaps one day you would too.”

“Heh. What about Death and Andronea, was it? If their children are so strong, surely…”

“Dead.”

“Death… died?”

“Surprising isn’t it? I never saw it happen, but I have full faith in the one who told me. After all, he was one of the sole witnesses of the event.”

“I see…”

“Anyways, now you know about the kind of outrageous monsters out there, listen carefully to my tale.”

David was deep in thought right now, he was trying hard to process all the information that Lucifer had just given him. At least 500 outrageous beings were out there, and from the way Lucifer spoke, it didn’t seem like Emmet was among them either. David didn’t really wanted to believe it, but yet he get like Lucifer wasn’t lying. There was no reason for him to, he would gain no benefits from it.

“The tale is of someone who loved his kingdom more than himself. Let’s call him M. He was born of nobility and was meant to be the next in line for the throne after his father’s death, but it all changed when he decided to secretly visit the village where the one of the kingdom’s treasured swords was kept.

When night fell and everyone was sleeping, he sneaked outside in order to try to lift the sword. The sword was enchanted magically and could not be wielded by anyone that it did not recognise as a true hero. When he tried to lift it, he failed. He was displeased by this, but he accepted it quietly. He didn’t think he had the composition to be a hero in the first place.

On the next day, just as he was about to leave, he saw someone lift the sword up easily, as if it was designed for them. The person in question was A, a young man about the same age as himself. He was surprised at this, and so were the rest of the people that witnessed this. It was a sword that had been left there for almost fifty years, and no-one had been able to wield it. The fact that someone had achieved this feat was astonishing.

He walked up to the A and asked if wanted to become his companion and fight for the kingdom. A instantly agreed, it has always been his dream to fight for his kingdom.

As time passed on, the two grew closer and became more or more like brothers. As A did not know his parents, he was never given a surname. Knowing this, M decided that A should bare the same surname as him, signifying their undying bond.

On the battlefield, A piled on many achievements, and after a few years M could see that he was a true hero for the kingdom. After the King died, at M’s coronation, he made a surprising declaration. He declared that he would abdicate the throne and A would be king. He believed that the kingdom deserved a hero as its king.

Feeling safe that the kingdom was in the right hands, M set out to traverse the world. Several years later, he heard the news that shocked his years. His kingdom was waging war against countries, one after another and were continuously victorious. Unsure of what to make of it, he went back to the kingdom.

It was there that he discovered the tragic lives of the peasants. A had made the country a power to be reckoned with, but at the same time, destroyed the lives of the people. M was furious, and when he attempted to talk with A about this, he was shunned away. In hope for a chance to talk with A, he took away the sword of the kingdom.

The same night, he was attacked by soldiers that were under A’s command. He fought desperately and managed to get away. It was at that moment that A appeared before him and told him to either accept what he was doing was to make the country strong, or leave and never return. He said that this was the task that an angel had charged him with.

M was shocked. He didn’t believe that the angels of his religion would have wanted this. But he had no way to fight against A. When A appeared before him, he could already tell that A wasn’t telling lies. That’s when he decided to turn away from his faith. He sold his soul to a demon who rivalled the angel in order to procure enough power to oppose A.

He stayed quietly in the country, and peasants rose to this side. Soon, even some worthy knights began to support him.

When he had enough of an army, and he was certain that A was going after him, he started the rebellion.

The rebellion waged on for several years, neither side coming any closer to wipe the other out. It was then, M challenged A to a final battle to end the suffering of the people. He knew that the war had caused even more suffering to the people than A’s reign did, and he wanted to end it all.

At the final battle, they went at each other. Sword against sword, magic against magic, until A used an underhand tactic and took a hostage. M was unable to raise a hand against A, and he was defeated. But knowing that A would not rest until he is truly dead, he took a leap into the lake. Upon seeing this, A immediately followed as he believed that there was no way M would die from just that.

After this, the kingdom was in chaos. Nobles rose to power to take over the kingdom, and eventually another king ascended to the throne.

But M’s sacrifice was not in vain, he had managed to end the suffering of his own people, at the cost of his own life…” Lucifer stopped there, and seemed to reminiscent about something.

“He sacrificed his own life for greater good huh? If I was to put in the same position, would I be able to do the same?”

Lucifer silently chuckled upon hearing that, despite only having known David for slightly more than a week, he was sure that David was someone who could have easily been the protagonist of the tale he just told. That was just the kind of person David seemed to be, it was obvious that he would go to all extents to protect someone he cares about, and admitting his own inferiority is exactly what M had done when he chose for A to be king instead.

“Don’t worry about such worrisome things for now. Hone your skills more, both physical and magical. Train yourself so that you would be able to survive in this world. The demon Emmet seems to have somewhat of an interest in you, and similar to any demons, they will come for you eventually. Ensure you are prepared by then. That is your priority isn’t it?”

“I suppose it is. If I want to defy the so-called fate, then I have to be strong enough to stand up on my own two feet!”

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