It was a colossal castle situated in the northern reaches of Northground. On the floor of a remarkably spacious hemispherical chamber inside lay a carpet as crimson as fresh blood, upon which rested six chairs decorated with vulgar, monstrous designs.
In one of those chairs, the three-faced fierce god Asura reclined arrogantly, while in another, the geometric-patterned boy Anra sat clutching his knees to his chest, munching on what looked like sweets.
Before them, three monsters stood at attention, saluting with their right hands raised to their brows.
The first was Forneus, a bipedal evil god bearing the head of a fish.
The second was Medusa, an evil god wearing a revealing military uniform, with countless snakes sprouting from her head.
The third was Ose, an evil god clad in a military uniform with the face of a leopard.
All three were lieutenant generals renowned as the martial faction of the Evil Army, battle-hardened to the point that myriad deities avoided provoking them.
Behind them knelt dozens of officers of the Evil Army.
Every single one was a veteran evil god, bearing power that ranked among the absolute strongest in this world and forming the core fighting force of the Evil Army.
"Quite a sight. Looks like we've gathered a decent crowd."
"Indeed. With a force like this, we won't lose to the Heavenly Army unless beings on the level of Thor or Indra manifest in this realm."
Anra chimed in as he munched noisily on his snacks.
"So? What about the demon race under that guy's command?"
Asura asked, fixing his gaze on Aldebaran, who was kneeling at a distance from the main group.
"Sir! The demons of this land have already been exhausted as sacrifices!"
The leopard-faced lieutenant general, Ose, answered promptly.
"Which means if we want to manifest any more forces, we'll have to replenish our stock using the southern monsters."
Letting out a wide yawn, Anra muttered listlessly.
"Right. That shitty clown did say there might be a prize catch down there, after all."
At Asura's words, the bipedal evil god Forneus, dressed in a tailcoat with the head of a fish, stepped forward.
"Then, then! Allow this humble Forneus to procure them to fulfill our esteemed Generals' desires, yes indeed, sir!"
He thrust his right hand forward and offered a theatrical bow.
Asura stared intently at Forneus for a moment before answering.
"Fine. I'll leave it to you."
"Consequently, I would like to request permission to utilize Aldebaran over there and the modified demon race, yes indeed, sir!"
Manifesting a walking stick in his right hand, Forneus pointed the tip directly at Aldebaran and his executives, who were kneeling with their foreheads pressed to the floor beside the chamber doors.
"Ah, right, you were the one who modified them. Go right ahead, use 'em however you like."
Waving his left hand dismissively, Asura took a sip of the crimson liquor poured generously into the bone vessel in his right hand as he granted his approval.
"I am truly honored, yes indeed, sir!"
Contorting his hideous face into a smirk, Forneus bowed pompously once more and exited the room. A step behind him, Aldebaran and his retinue followed.
"Even lowly demons were enough to grant Incarnation to three lieutenant generals. If that prize the shitty clown mentioned actually exists, it might truly be possible for the other three to manifest as well."
As Asura licked his lips, Anra chimed in.
"Don't try to dress it up. In your case, you just want to play around with that prize, don't you?"
"Well, I ain't gonna deny it. Alcohol tastes best when you're watching pathetic insects scream and cry, after all."
"Honestly, you have terrible taste."
Anra shook his head, to which Asura retorted sarcastically.
"Ha! You're the absolute last person I wanna hear that from."
Shrugging at Asura's sneer, Anra let out another big yawn before vanishing from sight.
"Well then, time to get back to my little fun."
With a wicked smirk, Asura gulped down the rest of his liquor.