I'm The Devil-Chapter 322: Destroying The Outer Gods 1

The silence didn’t last.

Not in this place.

Not when the Balance moved.

Lucifer twisted mid-air, wings flaring wide now—not the feathery ones he used to wear, but raw, jagged arcs of crimson flame, cracked and twitching like they were alive. He spun around Nezha as the null-beam passed beneath them, erasing space like it never mattered. For a second, neither of them said anything.

Because what could you even say?

The gods had gone quiet. Not because they’d won.

Because even they were watching now. Hesitating.

Above them, Zathrith the Bound Leviathan shrank back, his writhing tendrils curling into tight knots, flickers of hesitation twisting across his infinite mass. Naqirath the Thousand Eyes folded her shifting limbs around her core, countless eyes blinking in silent, calculating dread. Vora’Zhul the Wailing Womb retreated her birthing tubes like claws from a hot flame. Even Izh’raqul the Endless Maw, who had swallowed stars like candy, hung back now, whispering in forgotten languages only black holes remember.

They weren’t scared of Lucifer anymore.

They were scared of that.

That… thing.

The Balance.

The thing with the mirror-face and no presence. The being that even reality itself didn’t seem to know how to recognize.

It didn’t move like anything else. It didn’t move at all, really. It just existed.

And every second it existed, something else didn’t.

Lucifer’s boots hit ground—if you could call the spinning chaos under them "ground." He staggered a bit, not from damage, but from the whiplash of just existing near that thing. Nezha dropped beside him, spear raised but trembling slightly.

"Okay," Nezha breathed, eyes fixed on the being. "We’ve fought gods. Demons. Outer freaks."

Lucifer cracked his neck. "Yup."

"But that’s not any of those."

"Nope."

They both stood there a second, staring. The Balance just tilted its head again, same slow, glitchy motion. The kind of movement that makes your bones itch just watching it.

"Do we… stab it?" Nezha asked, voice low.

Lucifer smirked. "That’s usually step one."

The Balance raised a hand again.

Lucifer grabbed Nezha and pulled.

Another beam. Not even light. Just absence. A whole strip of space erased. One of Naqirath’s limbs was in the path too—gone. She shrieked, curling back, eyes dimming. Lucifer skidded to a stop, dragging Nezha behind cover—a floating shard of collapsed possibility. Whatever it used to be, it was now just a jagged rock that happened to still exist.

Nezha wiped his mouth. "Okay. Definitely not just a god."

Lucifer peeked out. "No. It’s worse."

"So what is it, exactly?"

He paused, eyes flickering. "I’ve seen it once before. When I first broke through the edge of creation. It was just… watching."

Nezha frowned. "It follows you."

"Apparently."

The Balance moved again—toward them this time. It didn’t walk. It just blinked forward. One step, and ten miles disappeared beneath its feet. Stars collapsed behind it. Not destroyed—rejected. Like this part of the universe wasn’t canon anymore.

Lucifer stood. "We can’t outrun it."

Nezha stood with him. "Then we kill it."

The gods stirred.

Zathrith’s voice rumbled. "You cannot."

Naqirath followed, quieter. "It is the anchor. The root. The thing that keeps the edges from fraying."

Lucifer turned. "Then why does it want me dead?"

"You fray everything."

Nezha rolled his eyes. "Helpful."

Izh’raqul’s mouth twisted open. "You should flee. Return to your broken reality and die with it."

Lucifer smiled. "No thanks."

He stepped forward.

The Balance turned again.

That mirror-face still reflected nothing.

Lucifer’s voice rang clear. "You followed me."

No answer.

"You’ve been watching. Waiting."

Still nothing.

"Fine. Now you’ve got me."

He raised both hands. Crimson light surged between his palms, folding in on itself like origami made of dying suns.

"You’re not a god," he said. "You’re not a rule. You’re just a… maintenance system gone rogue."

The Balance took another step.

Nezha gritted his teeth. "Any time now."

Lucifer launched.

Straight at it.

The moment he moved, time bent. Reality buckled like paper. He crashed into the Balance with enough force to crater existence—but the impact made no sound.

No light.

No reaction.

Lucifer staggered back.

His punch hadn’t landed.

It hadn’t missed either.

It had just… not happened.

He stared at his hand. "Okay. New problem."

The Balance raised a hand again.

Nezha was faster.

His spear screamed through the air, cutting arcs of heat and myth. It struck the Balance dead center.

The spear bounced.

No impact.

Just rejection.

Like the fight itself was being edited out.

Lucifer’s eyes burned red-hot. "It’s not fighting us."

"It’s… deleting us," Nezha said.

Lucifer grinned. "That’s not gonna work."

This time, he didn’t attack physically. He thought.

And the world changed.

The color bled out of the space around the Balance. The void twisted, becoming his domain. Lucifer bent the rules—not just physics, but story. Gravity flipped. Time slowed. The entire battlefield warped to his rhythm.

The Balance paused.

Then glitched.

Just a flicker.

Lucifer’s grin widened. "You don’t like chaos, huh?"

Another glitch.

Lucifer stepped in.

Flame erupted behind him, spears of memory turned solid. He punched—not once, but infinite times across parallel moments. A barrage of himself, all attacking at once. Nezha followed, leaping through each ripple, striking between the beats.

The Balance stepped back.

And for the first time—

Cracked.

Just a line.

Barely visible.

But it was there.

Lucifer’s eyes widened. "We can break it."

The gods gasped.

Even Zathrith reeled. "Impossible."

Lucifer shouted, "Help or shut up!"

No response.

Typical.

Nezha stabbed again, locking the Balance’s motion with a clash of divine will. Lucifer summoned a blade—not metal, but promise. A broken vow from Heaven’s oldest day.

He stabbed.

Right into the crack.

The Balance staggered.

And time buckled.

Everything collapsed.

Nezha screamed as the air ripped apart. Lucifer’s wings exploded into flame. The gods shrieked. The void twisted.

Then—

Silence.

Not emptiness.

Stillness.

The Balance was gone.

No explosion. No scream.

Just…

Gone.

Lucifer hit the ground hard, sliding through the dust of broken laws. Nezha landed next to him, coughing, blood running from his ears.

They both stared up.

The void was… quiet.

The gods hadn’t moved.

Zathrith stared down. "You… broke it."

Lucifer spat blood. "Not really. Just knocked it offline."

Naqirath spoke, voice unsteady. "You’ve done what no creation has ever done."

Lucifer leaned on one knee. "Yeah. That’s kinda my thing."

Then he stood.

Slowly.

Nezha pulled himself up beside him.

The gods still circled—but they didn’t attack.

They didn’t speak.

Lucifer’s eyes scanned the horizon.

"You’re not done," he said.

Zathrith lowered. "Neither are you."

Lucifer grinned.

"Good."

Then he raised his hand.

And called down the storm again.