The Supreme Monster Gecko and Hwait stared at one another as the atmosphere seemed to gradually turn volatile.

For now, all the Black Demons stayed put, unwilling to do anything as they anticipated what Hwait, the wisest and strongest of them all, planned to do.

As for the Black Demon in question, it was staring at the Supreme Monster Gecko, observing something as it muttered, asking Grotak, "How did you say the creatures summoned by Krune looked like?"

"It had a long symmetrical body that could float in the air" Just as Grotak began to speak, Hwait motioned for it to stop.

It then looked at the Supreme Monster Gecko and asked, "So, you're the same. Then, why doesn't your owner come out to greet me?"

The Supreme Monster Gecko grinned once, slamming its fist into the ground, suddenly causing the entire place to cave in. As soon as it had done so, its figure vanished.

Hwait's eyes darted around at superhuman speeds, quickly taking everything into account by the time its body fell through a meter into the massive hole that had appeared. It then saw the figure of a Black Demon standing farther to one side, sporting scales all over its body.

The moment their eyes met, hundreds of eyes and mouths formed on Hazak's body as it spoke, "If you wish to meet its owner, you'll have to find the correct route."

"Hazak!" Doit shouted, hurling towards it at its fastest speed, suddenly noticing a couple of walls appear between it and Hazak. It simply blasted through the walls, scowling upon noticing that Hazak had vanished.

From their previous fight, it realized that Hazak had the same level of power as it. So, Doit had taken Hazak seriously. After all, even before it reached the peak of Tier 6, Hazak was able to face it and even injure it numerous times.

So, Doit knew very well that once Hazak reached the peak as a Black Demon, it wouldn't be Hazak's opponent anymore. Naturally, that thought wounded its ego. That was why at the moment it spotted Hazak, it flew towards it without hesitation.

Upon seeing Hazak's figure vanish, Doit was angry, intending to just vent its frustrations on everything, wishing to blow apart everything in an effort to find Hazak.

"Doit, control yourself," Hwait warned, causing Doit to stop in its tracks.

Flapping its wings to remain in place, Hwait said, "Let's first analyze the situation before heading inside."

It then shouted, "Is Krune still in our hands?"

"Yes, we were prepared for anything that might happen. So, we were safeguarding it all this time," Grotak replied as it and Leat carried the ice cocoon, grumbling in the process. "This is pretty heavy."

All the Black Demons retreated from the hole, landing on the ground nearby, still reeling from the shock of the previous event. They hadn't even imagined the ground caving underneath them like that.

It was the first time they had experienced such an event in their lives. So, quite a few of them still hadn't recovered from the shock. As for the damage they sustained from the event, there wasn't any physical damage whatsoever.

Hwait flew higher up, noticing the Supreme Monster Gecko from before dig out from the ground. Only it had noticed the Supreme Monster Gecko. As for the rest of the Black Demons, they were unable to see it.

Some of the Black Demons were even staring straight at the Supreme Monster Gecko, but for some reason, it seemed like they were unable to notice it.

The Supreme Monster Gecko gazed at Hwait, understanding that it was able to notice it. It grinned as it opened its jaws wide, motioning as if it would clamp upon the Black Demons that were still unable to notice it.

It then retracted its jaws, removing the effect of the Wind Zone over itself, causing the Black Demons near it to flinch in response.

The Supreme Monster Gecko looked at Hwait, opening its mouth as it spoke, "At present, my race isn't strong enough to threaten the Black Demons. But that's only for now. Give us a decade, and we'll be able to fight you on par."

"Even then, we can give you a pretty great scare. Only your bodies are tough. Your minds aren't." The Supreme Monster Gecko smirked. "The demons roam the lands while the humans and octopuses are confined to small regions. As for us Monster Geckos, we'll be everywhere under your feet."

"Is this your declaration of war?" Hwait frowned, slowly walking towards the Supreme Monster Gecko as it asked in response.

"Not really." The Supreme Monster Gecko grinned. "Any demon below Tier 6 cannot even break out of that mold, you see. So, the only free-willed demons are the ones here."

"Then, what do you want?" Hwait asked, slightly curious. After all, it hadn't talked with anyone other than a Black Demon for quite a few thousands of years. So, it was curious as to what the other party had to say.

Moreover, it didn't feel threatened in the least. Rather, it was looking forward to having another enemy to deal with.

"What do you think of Hazak?" the Supreme Monster Gecko asked in return.

"Nothing much," Hwait replied. "It seems to have obtained a couple of extra abilities. But, that's it."

"I've been listening to your conversation from the start. It seems the goal of all the Black Demons here is to leave Layer 2," the Supreme Monster Gecko said, noticing Hwait's expression twitch upon the mention of the term 'Layer 2.'

It then said, "Anyways, Hazak can leave Layer 2 anytime it so wishes."

Its words resounded in the ears of all the Black Demons, causing them to erupt in shock. Hwait noticed their fluctuating emotions, frowning as it looked at the Supreme Monster Gecko. "So, are you offering that in exchange to free Krune?"

"Nope." The Supreme Monster Gecko grinned. "I want all the Black Demons to become my subordinates. That's all."

"And, what makes you think we'll do that?" Hwait glared, emitting a tinge of its presence, noticing the Supreme Monster Gecko's body begin to tremble as a result. "You aren't even strong enough."

"Strong enough?" The Monster Gecko laughed humanely. "You should say that to my real self. The one before you is just an avatar I'm using to speak with you. With your current strength, you'll simply die in my presence."

"Also, I'm not going to simply accept you all as my subordinates just because you asked so. You'll have to prove yourself first." The Supreme Monster Gecko smirked, pointing at the massive hole beside before saying, "If you manage to reach me within 10 years, I'll accept you as my subordinate."

"If someone strokes my favor, you'll even become my disciple," the Supreme Monster Gecko said before vanishing. "As a mere mortal, you should be capable of at least this if you wish to seek the favor of"

"A deity."