Fate: The Rise of Shikama Douji

Shikama Doji gazed deeply at Solomon. Among his disciples, Solomon was undoubtedly the most talented. He was an absolute monster, absorbing Shikama Doji's vast knowledge at an astonishing speed, even without the need for divine wisdom. Solomon had absolute talent in everything. Shikama Doji could only say, "This is what is expected from someone who is destined to mediate between the Israelites and God."

To make the training a bit more challenging, Shikama Doji said with a gentle smile, "I will seal 50% of your power." Suddenly, Solomon felt weak and looked at Shikama Doji in surprise. He didn't even notice how his power had been sealed. He knew the gap between him and his teacher, but now he realized he knew nothing. What he had understood of Shikama Doji's power was merely a drop in the ocean.

"Your training is to survive in hell until you defeat one of the princes of hell with only 50% of your power," Shikama Doji playfully uttered these words. Anyone would be shocked by the difficulty of this training, but Solomon simply nodded. Shikama Doji smiled, spread his wings, and flew into the sky, beginning to watch Solomon as if he were watching a movie.

"How long do you intend to follow me?" Shikama Doji spoke without turning his head. But there was no one behind him, as if an invisible presence was there. Suddenly, a blue light condensed behind him, taking the form of a beautiful woman with blue hair. The woman had a large horn, indicating her non-human nature.

"I thought I had hidden my presence well," the woman replied. She was Leviathan, the embodiment of envy and one of the princes of hell. Leviathan stared at Shikama Doji with curiosity. Seeing a high-ranking seraph like him in hell was an extremely rare occurrence. Usually, seraphs came to hell for war, not for anything else.

"Your presence is like a rotten fish. Your stench is noticeable from a kilometer away," Shikama Doji replied playfully. Leviathan, as if shocked by electricity, quickly began to smell herself. After a few seconds, she glared at Shikama Doji in anger.

"Enough of the games. Why have you come?" Shikama Doji stared at Leviathan seriously. This gaze reminded Leviathan of Lucifer's gaze. Her body trembled.

"Nothing, I was just curious about what a seraph is doing here. But now I remember His Majesty summoned me. Hahaha!" Leviathan let out a dry laugh and quickly fled. Her instincts told her that if she stayed any longer, something bad would happen. She fled at the speed of light, as if she had a great talent for escaping, a talent equal to Merlin's.

Shikama Doji did not stop her from fleeing. He turned his head and stared at Solomon again. As if Leviathan's presence was not important. In a way, he was also glad that Leviathan had left. The stench of rotten fish had made him uncomfortable.

---

Time passed, and it only took two weeks for Solomon to defeat one of the princes of hell. He defeated Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies. Solomon, with half of his power, brought down that disgusting insect. It was a very tough battle. Their fight lasted three days and destroyed an area spanning a hundred kilometers. These two titans had caused great chaos in hell.

"Congratulations, my dear disciple. You managed to win," Shikama Doji playfully stared at Solomon, who was sitting on the large, unconscious body of Beelzebub. Solomon had large wounds on his body. Suddenly, his wounds began to heal. His magical energy was also restored, and the seal on his power was broken.

"Thank you, teacher," Solomon replied. All his strength had been restored. Shikama Doji threw a grimoire towards Solomon, and Solomon caught it. Without hesitation, he opened the grimoire and began flipping through it. In this grimoire, an endless volume of knowledge was recorded.

"This is my farewell to you, my beloved student." Shikama Doji uttered these words. A portal formed in front of Solomon. Solomon stood up and slightly bowed. He did not say goodbye, as he was sure they would meet again someday. Shikama Doji watched Solomon leave. Unlike his other disciples, he could not utter words like "I hope you always succeed," because he knew Solomon's future. No matter how much Shikama Doji had altered the cause and effect of fate, some things were inevitable.

Meanwhile, Shikama Doji healed Beelzebub's wounds. He was sure that if he didn't do this, Lucifer would throw a black hole at him. After a few seconds of pause, the space in front of him shattered, and Shikama Doji entered it. He returned to the real world, but as soon as he set foot on the ground, his smile faded.

"So you finally did it, Alaya." The ground beneath Shikama Doji's feet rejected and repelled him. This planet did not accept Shikama Doji. He had expected this. It seemed Alaya had made a deal with Gaia. Shikama Doji had expected that a coward like Alaya would use such a method, even though it would cost him a lot to pay Gaia. Alaya had done it. Shikama Doji could only stay on this planet for a short time, and from now on, he would have to descend using a vessel. If he tried to forcibly stay on this planet, it would be a declaration of war against Gaia. Although Shikama Doji and Alaya had made a deal, Alaya was still afraid of Shikama Doji walking on this planet without restrictions. So, with this move, he wanted to limit Shikama Doji.

"Gaia must be very foolish not to see how Alaya is exploiting him. This is an indirect move; the contract is not violated, and Alaya is not punished." Shikama Doji stared at the sky seriously. "It seems I need to create a few vessels."