Chapter 179: Six Pillars Confirmed, Sixty-Six Pillars Absent!
Having once formed a contract with King Solomon, Runeas would never mistake the fluctuations of his soul.
Yet the newly formed contract now resonated with a soul frequency utterly unfamiliar to her.
Upon deeper perception, she could directly witness the true form of the other's soul—an image that contradicted her understanding of King Solomon.
This individual was not King Solomon at all; she had been deceived!
Thus, Runeas gritted her teeth in frustration.
Still, she felt perplexed. If he wasn't King Solomon, how could he know about that promise?
And how was he able to wield King Solomon's ring?
That ring was exclusively crafted for King Solomon; no one else should have been able to use it.
Of course, nothing was absolutely impossible, but given that the ring was forged by a deity, it was nearly inconceivable that anyone could bypass divine craftsmanship.
"Who are you really? How did you come to know of that promise?"
To think he had used it to deceive her—it was utterly unforgivable.
"The promise? King Solomon told me about it."
As he stated, the promise had indeed been relayed to him by King Solomon.
That day, when Renji informed Rias that the position of the Gremory Demon God had already been filled, it was because Renji had detected the lingering will of this world's King Solomon within the ring.
This will had actually awakened when Renji first obtained King Solomon's ring, but it remained concealed, unable to surface.
Renji, cautious not to damage the ring while seeking to utilize it fully, had refrained from delving too deeply and thus hadn't discovered its presence initially.
So, what was to be done?
The solution was simple: complete honesty. Renji revealed his purpose for coming to this world to the lingering will of King Solomon.
He had no fear of the secret being exposed, as this residual consciousness was on the verge of fading completely. By being forthright, he hoped to gain more insights about this world, which would aid his plans.
Of course, mere words wouldn't suffice to earn trust. Only by opening their memories to each other could genuine confidence be established.
Thus, before the will of this world's King Solomon vanished entirely, Renji fully mastered the ring.
The preserved power of the Seventy-Two Pillars of Demons could be easily extracted and integrated into his Seventy-Two Demon God Cards.
Before disappearing, this world's King Solomon entrusted Renji with the names of the few devils he could wholly trust, one of whom was Runeas Gremory.
Strangely, after absorbing the residual soul of this world's King Solomon—a necessary step to fully wield the ring's Sacred Gear—Renji experienced a peculiar sensation.
It was as if this King Solomon had always been a part of him.
"Whether you believe me or not is your choice."
"Believe you? I..."
Her voice trailed off as a fragment of memory surfaced in Runeas's mind.
It was a memory transmitted by him—a final message from the King Solomon she knew, urging her to trust the Solomon before her.
Though reason whispered that memories could be fabricated, her heart insisted this was genuine.
Sigh.
"Sigh, does it even matter what I choose? I've already become one of your Demon God Pillars."
Runeas could only glare fiercely, as she was already tied to the same boat—their fates were intertwined, sharing both losses and gains.
"So, what exactly is the matter? How much do you know? What's your plan? Tell me everything."
"No!"
"What does that mean? You don't trust me?"
"It's not a matter of distrusting you, but you might leak information."
"Isn't that just another way of saying you don't trust me?"
It wasn't exactly peering into memories—more like when someone in this world dreams, their dreams connect to something and flow into the past.
So, when Renji sensed he might be detected, he immediately severed the dream connection and woke up.
"Huh? Is that how it is? Then doesn't that mean there are no secrets at all?"
Runeas didn't think he was lying. How could such a bizarre existence exist? Who was it?
"Then why didn't you seek out the Michael Church?"
This guy was probably afraid of being exposed as a fake.
So, what was his true identity? She really wanted to know.
But since he mentioned that strange power that connects to dreams, it was better not to know for now.
Although she didn't dream often, if she happened to dream and accidentally recalled related memories in her sleep, it would be troublesome.
"The Seventy-Two Demon Gods must be confirmed as soon as possible. Please help me select suitable candidates."
With those words, he directly used a teleportation magic circle and left, leaving Runeas pouting in displeasure.
Suitable candidates?
How many were still missing? Including her, only six Demon Gods had been confirmed so far? That meant sixty-six were absent.
Aside from her, the others were the Fifth Pillar Demon God Marbas, the Twelfth Pillar Demon God Sitri, the Thirty-Seventh Pillar Demon God Phenex, the Fifty-Third Pillar Demon God Caim, and the Fifty-Fourth Pillar Demon God Murmur.
And a few of them were nearby—those kids, right?
The Sitri family happened to inherit the Demon God Sitri, her queen inherited the Demon God Caim, and Rias's queen inherited the Demon God Murmur.
Huh? What about Rias herself?
Nothing?
Was it because of her that she took Rias's spot?
Since these kids had become his Seventy-Two Demon Gods, they must have had contact with him and should know his true identity in reality.
"Runeas, can I ask what you two were talking about?"
"No~"
Runeas refused to answer.
Indeed, their conversation hadn't been spoken aloud—it was conducted through telepathy using his card.
So, Michael, who had noticed they were having a secret conversation, couldn't help but want to know more, but she rejected him.
"Alright~"
Michael gave a bitter smile and sighed.
The reason he hadn't intervened when the other party left was that Runeas didn't seem to treat him as an enemy, so he didn't take action.
From Runeas's reaction, it seemed that King Solomon had truly come back to life.
But he didn't communicate with the Church or the angels at all, which made Michael deeply disappointed.
Did he not trust the angel faction? Had he chosen to cooperate with devils instead?
And he even enhanced the power of the first-generation Gremory?
Although the first Gremory quickly suppressed her aura, Michael still sensed the God-King Level power fluctuation.
Perhaps it was also because he knew God of the Bible had died, making him deeply disappointed in the angels.
They had failed to protect their master.
Then, could Solomon's resurrection also be a preparation made by God in anticipation of the current storm?
Highly likely.
King Solomon might be the hope God left for them.