Becoming the Demon Lord: Taming the Demon Queen Begins

"Ebon Goddesses, this chaos wasn't caused by the Netherworld. It all started when something from the outside world tainted Supreme Emperor Verena's soul. That's what led to the disorder. You didn't help us back then, and now you're punishing the entire Netherworld Citadel? Isn't that going too far?"

"Too far?"

Morganna's voice was cold and unyielding. "The Ninefold Underworld exists to maintain order across all Netherworlds. If you failed to protect that order, then you deserve to be punished. If you're so incompetent, maybe it's time for you to return to chaos."

Netherworld Citadel

A figure hovered in the sky, looking down on the vast land below with disdain. In her hand, she held a golden sword, its blade gleaming as the wind whipped around her. The woman, clad in golden armor, radiated an aura of icy coldness and lethal intent. She was Morganna, one of the Eight Ebon Goddesses of the Ninefold Underworld.

The Underworld Dynasty of the Elant Continent had always fulfilled its duties, overseeing the cycle of reincarnation. Because of this, they had little interaction with the Ebon Goddesses. No one could have predicted that Morganna would arrive today, brimming with such murderous intent.

"They're nothing but a bunch of ants without bodies, and they dare to resist?"

Hearing the faint cries of the ghost soldiers below, Morganna's expression didn't soften. If anything, her gaze grew even colder. Without a shred of mercy, she took a step forward, her sword slicing through the air.

A wave of sword energy surged like a tidal wave.

In an instant, thousands of ghost soldiers from the Underworld Dynasty, unable to react in time, were swallowed by the sword's energy. They didn't even have time to scream before their souls were obliterated.

These soldiers had served the Underworld Dynasty for countless years, hoping to earn the right to reincarnate. Yet, none of them could have imagined that they would be wiped out under the sword of the very Ebon Goddess they revered.

But Morganna wasn't done.

Her golden armor shimmered with a light that struck fear into the hearts of the ghosts. As she raised her hand, a sound echoed through the air.

"Jingle, jingle~"

A crisp, clear ringing filled the sky.

At first, the sound seemed almost pleasant. But as it reached the ears of the ghost soldiers, their souls trembled in terror.

"This… this is!"

Countless souls looked up at the sky, and when they saw the bell in Morganna's hand, a wave of fear washed over them. Many of the souls, who had been practitioners in life, recognized it immediately.

The bell Morganna held was none other than the infamous Soul-Reaping Bell.

To the living, the bell seemed harmless, ordinary even. But to ghosts, it was a weapon of unimaginable destruction. Even a low-quality Soul-Reaping Bell was enough to annihilate most spirits. And this bell, forged in the Ninefold Underworld, was far from ordinary.

The Soul-Reaping Bell was created specifically to destroy souls.

No matter how powerful a ghost had become after years of cultivation, no matter how strong their spirit, they were powerless against this bell, which could strike at the very essence of their soul.

And that wasn't all.

Beneath the Soul-Reaping Bell, Morganna waved her hand, conjuring three formations in the air.

One.

Two.

Three.

The formations expanded, one after the other, growing larger as they descended.

Their purpose? To amplify the power of the Soul-Reaping Bell beyond imagination.

Ordinarily, the bell's range was limited, and there were ways to escape its deadly chime. But now, with its power magnified tenfold, even a hundredfold, there was no escape. No matter how fast they ran, no matter where they hid, there was no way out.

For the souls trapped in the Netherworld Citadel, there was only one fate: death.

"She's really going to destroy the entire Netherworld Citadel!"

"We've spent years guarding the Netherworld, hoping to earn the right to reincarnate, and this is how it ends?"

Countless ghost soldiers stared blankly, their eyes filled with despair. They had never imagined that the Ebon Goddesses of the Ninefold Underworld, whom they had once revered, would be so different from what they had believed.

"I don't want to be obliterated! I still want to live!"

Under the crushing pressure of the Soul-Reaping Bell, the ghost soldiers cried out in terror, desperate to avoid being wiped from existence. They refused to sit idly by and die, scattering in all directions, trying to escape the bell's deadly range.

"You really think you can run?"

Morganna didn't move. She simply watched the fleeing ghost soldiers with a cold smile, as if she already knew the outcome. She let them run, watching as they fled hundreds of meters away. Some even began to show glimmers of hope on their faces, thinking they had finally escaped.

That's when Morganna's smile deepened, and she raised the Soul-Reaping Bell once more.

"Jingle, jingle."

The clear sound rang out again.

This time, amplified by the three formations, the bell's chime transformed into dark blue ripples, spreading outward like waves. But unlike water, these waves moved so fast that they were impossible to see with the naked eye.

In the blink of an eye, the ghost soldiers who had fled so far that their figures were barely visible were caught by the bell's deadly resonance.

The moment the sound passed through their bodies, their eyes widened in horror.

They could feel the destructive force tearing at their very souls, bit by bit.

"No! No, please!"

Their screams of agony echoed through the air. They struggled desperately, but no matter how hard they fought, they couldn't resist the overwhelming power.

"Crack."

In an instant, before they could even react, their spiritual forms were ripped apart by the force. The fragments of their souls ignited like flames, burning away until nothing remained.

Their souls were utterly destroyed.

This was the most terrifying fate of all—complete annihilation, with no chance of reincarnation, no return to the cycle of life.

"Ah, yes. First, give them hope, then crush it with my own hands. That's the best feeling, isn't it?"

Morganna's smile twisted into something colder, more sinister, as she watched the souls disintegrate before her eyes.

"Well then, I suppose it's your turn next~"

Her gaze shifted to the remaining ghost soldiers of the Underworld Dynasty—hundreds of thousands of them. Her eyes gleamed with unmistakable intent to kill.

With a flick of her fingers, the Soul-Reaping Bell rang again.

"Protect Princess Erelyn! Get her out of here, now!"

As the crushing weight of death bore down on them, many ghost soldiers didn't flee. Instead, they formed a protective circle around Princess Erelyn, determined to shield her from harm.

But the power of the Soul-Reaping Bell wasn't something that could be resisted by sheer numbers. Even as they raised their weapons and fought with all their might, trying to cut through the deadly sound waves, it was all in vain.

"I'm not leaving. As the princess of the Underworld Dynasty, if I must die, I'll die here with you."

Erelyn shook her head, her voice firm. She didn't retreat a single step. Instead, she looked up at the sky with unwavering determination.

A faint blue light began to glow from the crown on her head. As the light spread, it formed a protective barrier around the entire Netherworld Citadel, shielding it from the bell's deadly chime.

For the first time, the Soul-Reaping Bell's power was held at bay.

Wearing the crown, Erelyn's strength as a protector of her people was far beyond what it had been before. But even though she was holding her ground, her hands were trembling ever so slightly.

The power of the Soul-Reaping Bell was far greater than she had anticipated. Without help, it wouldn't be long before she could no longer hold out.

But the Netherworld Citadel was like a massive cage. Who could possibly come to their aid now?