Chapter 373: Ethan escaped Ethan looked at the demons with eyes colder than the void itself. They stood before him in disciplined ranks, their auras thick and oppressive, warping the air around them. At first glance, they resembled the ancient demons he himself had resurrected from extinction. Their horns, scales, and crimson pupils followed the same ancestral patterns recorded in his memory. Yet the longer he observed them, the more wrong they felt. These were not the same creatures. The ancient demons he had revived were remnants of a forgotten era, beings whose bloodlines had decayed over endless epochs. They were powerful, yes, but their strength followed rules he understood. Their instincts, limitations, and growth paths were all within his authority. The demons before him now were fundamentally different. Something had rewritten them at the most basic level. Their bloodlines pulsed with unfamiliar rhythms. Their flesh responded to power in ways that violated the original laws he had engraved into this world. Even their souls carried traces of a foreign will, faint but undeniable. Ethan narrowed his eyes. "A power capable of overwriting my authority and altering an entire race from its genetic core," he muttered. "Interesting." A genuine curiosity stirred within him. An invisible pressure pressed down on his consciousness, subtle but persistent, forcing him to think more deeply than usual. It was not hostile pressure. It was closer to the feeling of standing at the edge of an abyss and realizing how deep it truly was. For a brief moment, Ethan felt the urge to unseal his full power, to cast his perception beyond the boundaries of this world and hunt down the being responsible. The impulse was sharp and instinctive. But he restrained himself. Acting rashly had never suited him. More importantly, the enemy had already done something far more alarming. They had breached the defense system of this world, a system Ethan himself had created using his full power at the peak of his existence. That fact alone carried terrifying implications. Either the intruder was stronger than him, or they possessed a tool, artifact, or authority capable of bypassing his defenses. Either way, Ethan was currently at a disadvantage. "They are probably watching me right now," he thought calmly. "Perhaps this pressure itself will force me to reflect. To understand what life truly is." With that thought, Ethan stepped forward. The demons roared and charged, they were very powerful. Yet to Ethan, it was still insufficient. He fought the demons. For the first time in a long while, Ethan fought seriously. Not desperately, but sincerely. And he enjoyed it. When the last demon fell, dissolving into corrupted blood and ash, Ethan exhaled slowly. His expression remained calm, but his eyes gleamed faintly. Now he was certain. Someone had truly entered his game. And the Lords of this world were now in mortal danger. "This is my game," Ethan said quietly, his voice echoing through the ruined battlefield. "No one is allowed to harm my players." He made a decision. He would hunt down every ancient demon that had been altered by this foreign power. He would kill them all. And with every kill, he would grow stronger, steadily reclaiming the power he had once sealed away. Just as he was about to move, the world itself trembled. A translucent screen materialized before him. [Announcement: All Lords are ordered to worship the Queen if they wish to live.] Ethan stared at the words in silence. Then he slowly turned his gaze toward the distant horizon, where the Demon King’s castle loomed like a festering wound upon the land. "So," he murmured, "my enemy is a female." His brows furrowed slightly. "What does she want? Recognition from mortals? Worship?" He shook his head faintly. "Meaningless." The World of Lords had lost its original purpose. An enemy of this caliber, one who could rival or surpass the god of this world, made the struggle of mortals irrelevant. They would not grow. They would not resist. They would simply be erased. How could such fragile beings teach him anything about life when they were denied even the chance to struggle? "What do you want?" Ethan asked aloud, his tone cold and steady. He was certain she was watching him at that very moment. A voice answered inside his mind. "Huh, bug. Why are you in such a hurry? I am just having a little fun." The voice was childish, light, and filled with careless amusement. Ethan’s lips twitched. "A bug," he repeated softly. In his mind, an image surfaced of a spoiled noble child, one born into overwhelming privilege, trampling everything beneath their feet simply because they could. "Afraid to reveal your identity?" Ethan asked mockingly. It was a simple provocation, nothing more than a probe. But it worked. "Afraid? Of you?" the voice snapped, irritation bleeding through. "Do not make me laugh. Listen carefully, bug. I am Selene Alucard, daughter of Count Alucard of the Genesis Vampire Race from the Origin World." Ethan absorbed the words carefully. "Genesis Vampire Race. Origin World," he thought. "Is that the world I glimpsed beyond this one?" Before he could ponder further, her voice continued. "You are nothing but a parasite living inside one of my pets in my garden. A slightly powerful parasite, yes, but still a parasite. You are causing my pet pain, so I came here to punish you." Ethan’s pupils constricted. The infinite world he had once perceived, the vast expanse filled with primordial creatures and endless laws, was merely a garden? And that ancient primordial being was nothing more than a pet? What kind of existence treated infinity as decoration? None of it made sense. For the first time, genuine uncertainty entered Ethan’s thoughts. Judging from her tone, this enemy was not an ancient schemer or transcendent monarch. She was a child. A child born into a race so powerful that the cosmos itself bent naturally around her. "How does one deal with an overpowered brat?" Ethan wondered. "Huh?" Selene’s voice rang again. "Afraid now, bug? You are interesting. I have decided. You will become my slave. I will take very good care of you." Her earlier amusement had vanished, replaced by naked arrogance and fury at his mockery. Her game was over. She wanted to take him back, to bind him, to torture him at leisure for daring to disrespect her. "Your parents failed to teach you manners," Ethan said calmly. "Perhaps one day, I will teach you myself. But for now, I am leaving." With those words, he unsealed his full power. The world screamed. Infinite laws surged. Space folded. Time distorted. Ethan attempted to teleport beyond the boundaries of his creation. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢 But nothing happened. His expression darkened. Space itself was locked around him. Even with primordial-grade power fully unleashed, he could not move an inch. "Bug, did I give you permission to leave?" Before he could react, a tremendous pull seized him. Reality twisted violently. The next instant, he stood inside the Demon King’s castle. Before him loomed a massive throne room soaked in blood-red light. At its center stood the Monarch of Ancient Demons, his aura now comparable to that of a progenitor. And sitting casually on his shoulder was a little girl. She appeared no older than twelve, with silver hair and crimson eyes that glowed with cruel delight. Then she raised her hand. Ethan felt an overwhelming force descend upon him, freezing his body completely. She was about to place a slave seal on him. He struggled with all his might. It was useless. At that moment, something within Ethan cracked. He realized that no matter how powerful he became, there would always be someone stronger. Then what was the point? To rise endlessly, only to become an ant before another superior existence? Yet as the thought formed, another followed. Was it not precisely this inferiority, this endless ladder of oppression, that forced all beings to climb higher? Life itself was an infinite loop of struggle. Unless one became absolute, unless there was no level above them, the cycle would never end. In that instant, Ethan understood. The meaning of his life was not balance, nor observation. It was dominance. To become the absolute existence that ruled everything, so that no one would ever look down on him again. This realization completed the final fragment of his existence. Deep within him, the Locked Infinite Ascension Sutra began to run on its own. But there was no time to celebrate. The slave seal was descending. "Let’s die," Ethan whispered. Without hesitation, he chose self-destruction. He would choose death over slavery anytime and everytime. But before he could explode, a portal opened beneath his feet. An infinite portal. Selene’s face twisted with fury. "An infinite portal? How can this appear here?" Ethan felt the restrictions shatter. Her power could not suppress infinity. "Goodbye, little girl," Ethan said, smiling coldly. "I will visit you someday." "You are not going anywhere!" she screamed. Her blood surged. "Genesis Blood Domain!" Crimson reality expanded, altering existence itself. Still, the portal remained. Enraged beyond reason, Selene bit her finger. A single drop of blood floated forward and pierced Ethan’s body. "The Alucard Mark," she laughed madly. "Wherever you go, any Alucard near you will sense you. Enjoy your freedom while you can. I will come for you." The portal closed. Ethan vanished from the Primordia World. No one knew where he would reappear. But one thing was sure, the genesis vampire race had made an unfathomable enemy this day. Because though she looked small, she wasn’t. She actually lived for countless epoches. So Ethan wouldn’t forgive this disrespect.