The woman was beautiful, young-seeming, with long black hair that spilled over her shoulders like ink.

"Who are you?!"

Even chained to a wall, she held her chin high, a smoking pipe in her right hand.

Malik activated a single Shifting Ground Soul Glyph, letting go of the "disguise" that kept him looking weak and old, returning to his true appearance, the one his people knew.

He was the Sultan, an Angel.

"Malik..."

The man who had defied history.

"Your Sultan."

He approached Noor, becoming visible to her as he stepped into the light.

"Is that how you welcome your teacher?"

Noor stayed still.

Her dark eyes locked on his golden ones.

She stared. And stared. And stared. She would have called him a liar, accused him of being an illusion. A trap designed to break her hope. But she couldn’t for one simple reason.

He said "Malik."

No one but an Angel or higher could speak an Angel’s name.

It was Divine Law, much like a Rune Oath was. The moment anyone tried to call the name knowingly, they’d lose their very Soul. It would unravel, dissolve, and turn to ash in their mouths.

This man had spoken the name and remained whole.

This indeed was her Sultan.

Returned from his penance.

"M-My... Sultan."

Calling away the smoke pipe, Noor lowered her head.

Her chin—that arrogant chin that never bowed to anyone—finally dipped.

"I’m beyond relieved that you are finally back."

Malik looked at her for a moment.

"It’s my duty. Now stretch those chains and let my shadows cut them."

His reply was his usual one.

Blunt and without warmth, no "I missed you too."

But it wasn’t on purpose; he seemed prepared for something.

Noor, far from offended, stretched her limbs, prompting Kabir to approach.

The large man stepped forward, hands reaching for the chains, ready to snap them—

CLICK.

A sudden sound rang out like a gunshot.

Thuds came after, one after another, way too fast.

At the same time, Malik’s people rushed towards him to protect him.

They practically threw themselves between their Sultan and something they couldn’t see.

But of course, they fell as well.

One by one, dropping to the ground like puppets with cut strings.

Their eyes rolled back, and weapons clattered against stone.

After Kabir, Dunya was the last to fall.

She made it three steps before her knees buckled.

Even while unconscious, her hand reached out to him.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Malik stood alone in the silence.

His entire unit was dismantled in a moment.

Even Noor had slumped against her chains, her dark eyes closed.

Everyone except him.

’...I thought so.’

And that wasn’t luck, but preparation.

Malik, expecting this to be a trap, had used his Soul Glyph.

It wasn’t only to show Noor who he was.

His name was enough for that.

It was to defend himself from a trap like this.

Thanking his people with a glance, he looked at the newcomer.

"Ah..."

A man stood in the cave entrance.

Skeletally thin, so thin Malik could see the outline of his bones through his skin.

His eyes were yellow vertical pupils, a snake’s.

His hair was incredibly bright white, almost glowing.

He wore clothes that only the transmigrated Malik was familiar with. Not the Sultan. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"You dare attack an Angel, boy?"

This man was an invader, likely from a planet not too far from what was once home.

"Hehehehe... yes, yes, yes! You’ve truly Ascended into an Angel!"

The "boy" tilted his head, his snake eyes blinking slowly.

"Nearly everyone I know doubted that, thanks to your fast return. But they can’t deny it any longer. Otherwise, that attack would have gotten you as well! I knew that arrogant girl would finally let her guard down too! Hehehe! I’m so clever!"

"..."

Malik said nothing in reply.

He simply stared at the man before him.

’An attack that can knock out all Magi until the Angel Class? Noor was Class Five while Kabir and Dunya were Class Six, and they dropped like flies.’

But his mind was moving fast.

’Am I up against an Angel? That’s impossible. Who’d send an Angel this early, especially when there’s practically no confirmed information about me, their target?’

He studied the man again, specifically his posture and the way he held himself.

’His abilities have to be enhanced somehow. A Holy Relic. It amplifies his power way beyond its limits. I need to confirm.’

"You are no arbiter to decide if I’ve become an Angel or not."

Malik’s voice came out with more hate than intended.

"You are no Angel yourself. A Class Five at most."

The white-haired man nodded, looking impressed.

"Indeed. I am a Class Five."

He chuckled while shaking his head.

"What do you people call it? Balancer of Scales? Heh. You’ve got very poetic names for the Classes in the Divine Hierarchy. Quite unlike us. It’s very nice. I can admit that much."

Malik kept blankly staring at him.

The man shifted his weight, cleared his throat, and spread his arms in a mockery of a greeting.

"Oh! Excuse me! I forgot to introduce myself!"

He tapped his chest with a skeletal finger.

"Call me, uh... let’s see. Call me Wahum! Yes, Wahum."

His smile showed too many teeth.

"Why am I here? Well, I’m here to do the Order’s bidding and end you~."

Malik’s calm mask almost cracked. And no, not at the name Wahum; that was obviously fake, something the bastard came up with on the spot because he thought it sounded clever.

’The Order.’

He knew that name; he knew it very well.

After the fragments from the system, memories from before he woke up here became obvious and no longer forgotten.

This was a name he knew from those very memories.

The Order was a galactic federation!

A group so strong that they controlled many thousands of factions.

In layman’s terms, nearly all of the factions here trying to take over Devil’s Maw were under their influence in some way.

’It isn’t just Demons that want us dead. Not just monsters, the invaders, and the traitors. No, a collective above them all. One directly under a God... as if the Origin of Corruption wasn’t enough.’

Malik wasn’t only facing what most of the Gods avoided, but also the humans.

Indeed, Devil’s Maw was against the world.