Kill each other until only half of you remain.

The command needed no complex thoughts to decipher.

Half. Meaning, the hundred demons assembled in this hall — reduce that number to fifty. Unless one was contemplating self-destruction, the Demon King of Incarceration was commanding them to kill the demon standing next to them.

It was a straightforward command, yet not a single demon could grasp the sudden decree and act accordingly.

Of course, this was only to be expected. The declaration of the Demon King was shockingly sudden. The Palace of Babel had opened after a hundred years. Today was supposed to be a gathering of the top one hundred ranked demons to celebrate the appointment of the new Staff of the Demon King.

But out of the blue, they were commanded to slay each other. Even for the bloodthirsty and violence-craving demons, comprehending this command was challenging. It deviated too far from the expected edict.

"Aha."

Not everyone was at a loss, though. There was at least one who understood.

However, her actions were delayed not because of misunderstanding but because an eerie exhilaration made her shiver in anticipation. Darkness surged beneath the feet of Noir Giabella, then elongated into a sharp spear and pierced through the forehead of a demon standing at the far end of the room.

It didn't stop there. After piercing through the brain and skull, the spear expanded, opening wide like a gaping mouth. The darkness swallowed the demon whole.

"What are you all doing?" Noir Giabella tasted the sweet blood in her mouth. She laughed as her lips grew redder.

"The Demon King of Incarceration himself permitted it. Don't overthink it, hmm? Three hundred years — no, even before that, this...