The first reaction Beelzebub had upon hearing about travel between worlds was shock. Then came realization...
"Travel between worlds..." he murmured, still in a daze.
Even if on a small scale, Caleb's memories, his dreams and desires were integrated into his being. But since Beelzebub himself was a god who had lived for more than millions of years, only 25 years of a mortal young man's memory did not affect him that much.
"What world are we going to?" He didn't ask this out of pure curiosity; Beelzebub was a pragmatic and intelligent god, so knowing which world they were going to could bring him advantages, if he had any knowledge.
"Well, that I don't know..." Satan replied honestly. "To be honest, I'll need to spend a large part of the power I've accumulated to break the world barriers and then hide our tracks from other Primordial Gods."
Upon hearing about the other gods, Beelzebub's expression darkened. He understood well how the power scale in Shuumatsu worked; in the canon, many of those gods were sealed, but here the majority still roamed freely.
"So we're going to a random world?" He asked, the worry in his voice evident.
Even if he was a god, he knew how dangerous and ridiculous the power levels of beings from certain multiverses could be... Like a bald guy who only needed one punch.
Noted, don't mess with bald guys dressed in yellow with a white cape. Noting that detail in his mind, he turned his attention back to Satan.
"Yes, it will be random." She prepared to open the portal and continued explaining: "But don't worry. I already thought about that point. When we make the crossing, most of our power will be exhausted..."
"Makes sense," Beelzebub agreed.
"...But the world we're going to will be low-level, maybe it won't even have magic!" Satan concluded, easing Beelzebub's concerns.
"Wait, if it doesn't have magic, what's the point of creating a pantheon in that world?"
"Heheh~ that's what we're doing, Beel-chan. Normally, these worlds that don't have magic or that do but it's very weak, are like that because they don't have their own mythology or gods."
Satan had thought about this plan for thousands of years; she discovered the existence of other worlds thanks to an iridescent crystal called the Pantheon Key.
But one thing she didn't tell Beelzebub was that this crystal was different from the ones that existed in their world...
That's because that crystal came from outside this reality. From an "Outer" world... A key of an Outer Pantheon...
"So, are you ready?" She asked, looking at Beelzebub.
He only nodded, even if he didn't say anything and his face remained cold. Inside, he was a little happy; his inner "Caleb" longed for this, for a new world, with new adventures.
And soon... I'll show this world to you... He thought, holding the pendant close to his chest.
Without further delay, Satan spread her arms as if she were tied to a cross. Her ethereal and astral body began to levitate; within seconds she was already more than ten meters above the ground.
Just like her, Beelzebub also rose slowly right behind her. Clouds began to gather, turning the sky of the abandoned city into complete chaos.
Lightning struck, destroying houses and trees unlucky enough to be in the way. Winds swirled around, forming a massive tornado.
In the eye of the tornado, amidst lightning, chunks of ice, and debris from houses, Beelzebub and Satan floated in the air like gods... Though they really were...
A shrill sound of tearing fabric was heard as space itself was ripped open in front of them. Corrosive energy from the dimensions spilled out in torrents, causing even more chaos.
If a mortal entered there, all that would remain would be the memories their loved ones had of them, for even their soul would be shredded.
Strangely, the Pantheon Key seemed to absorb that energy, and its glow grew even stronger.
"Go!" Satan said.
"You're not coming?" Beelzebub asked. Not that he had grown attached to her, after all she was the cause of all his suffering until now.
"I can't... As you know, this is just a weak image of what I truly was... and my real body is still sealed."
He understood well, but still felt conflicted about entering a new world alone.
"Hehe, you still have a piece of me in you, hehe." Satan teased, reminding Beelzebub about the curse.
His expression soured and his tone became cold. "What do you mean by that!"
"Hehe, don't worry, I promised I wouldn't interfere in your life anymore, that's our deal."
Beelzebub decided to ignore everything for now, and without another word he left Satan behind...
When he entered the strange rift, it closed quickly, stopping all the phenomena happening in the place.
Leaving behind only a melancholic Satan. "He didn't even say goodbye..." she grumbled, pouting, as her astral form dissipated into small fragments of light.
---
Inside the rift, Beelzebub's body was gradually corroded by the abundant energy. Not even his eyes could open due to the corrosion.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaarh!!!"
Pain — that was all he felt. A stabbing pain that ravaged his soul.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaarhg!!"
If it were any other god, they would be creating barriers to try to lessen the suffering of their physical bodies and their soul. But not Beelzebub. Even though his pain was at a level that would drive even Primordials insane.
He used every fiber of his being and gathered all his divine energy.
"Hell Gates!" His voice, even in pain, came out ethereal, calm. He didn't use his defensive ability on himself. That would be possible, but its effectiveness would be lower on a large scale.
All he did was create a vibration shield around the pendant that held his beloved's body.
Gathering strength to open his eyes, he saw—
The whole scene was chaotic, like being inside a massive nebula, carried by rivers of cosmic stars.
He didn't know where that current was taking him; he simply followed the river. But suddenly—
An absurd pressure appeared on his body. His whole being trembled. Satan before that seemed like a mere child. With difficulty, he raised his head, and what met his eyes was a massive red eye watching him with curiosity and fascination.
What the hell is that??? His mind was almost collapsing trying to understand what that being was.
""⟟⧉'ƨhrr̷̛͕͖a͘͟͠'vūl-kaʈha⟁⟁⟁rru͜͟͡'ēēnn… Ϟʜaa̡͘ʀ'thuuλλ-s'kaŕr̶̢o͘͘šh • v̴͢͜uu-rrh'ɘɘɘnn'thaal… ⧫grauū̵̴m-t͢͡haa'zzh'rrhuu͡͞l ⧖⧖⧖ ǁkha'ruum-vyr̴̨ʈʈʈ'aah, ǝ̷̵ntuu-fhr'kaa͢͜͝r šho̴͜-rrhul'uun-uun-uun ϘϘϘ v͢͡hraa͢͞'kʈʈʈ-ess'rrhaa—""
The voice sounded distorted and incomprehensible, Beelzebub's mind buzzed. His eyes bled and his being was slowly being undone, until—
The strange key he carried floated in front of the massive eye observing him. Ever since it appeared there, for the first time, the eye displayed surprise and then a bit of affection...
""Vrrha͢a͟nn—k͜'thuul s'kaeerrh'nn… f̷a͜m͠i̴l͝y̸— rhuu'zzh-ǝnnaae krr'vha͢ll-esssh, ⟟⧉'thuun vrr'kaeʈʈʈ'ul… f͟a̸m͢i̵l͞y̶a͟e— sha'rruul khae'vrrh-uunn'tekk, v͢huu͝rr'θaall f͟a͟m͜i͝l̵y̸— eezzh'uul-rrruu'kan…"
This time the voice didn't cause the same pain; even though it was still unreadable, he managed to understand a word in the middle of that chaotic chant.
Family... He didn't fully understand... But after that, the strange energy that had been slowly destroying his body began to deconstruct his entire being.
"This... is comfortable..." These were the last words he managed to utter before falling into a deep sleep.
Seeing Beelzebub fall asleep, the strange eye closed, and everything returned to silence... The Pantheon Key, which had been floating before the eye, returned and entered Beelzebub's body.
He continued to be carried by the current for a long time, until he fell into another strange rift...