Chapter 276
Chapter 276
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 276
Chapter Title: Demon (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Oh, this is impressive.”
Babel stopped midway through generating his true force and let out a gasp of admiration.
At those words, Dorgo asked in a voice laced with irritation.
“What nonsense are you spouting this time that’s going to make you halt the work?”
“One of the demons we sent after them is on the verge of returning to hell.”
Dorgo couldn’t help but be shocked.
There was only one reason a demon dispatched to the enemy would be reverse-summoned.
Severe damage sustained mid-battle.
“Ridiculous. The Five Great Saints may be powerful, but they can’t possibly take down a Count-rank demon this quickly.”
Even hampered by possession and unable to unleash its full strength, a Count-rank demon was no pushover.
Dorgo’s assessment was that even the Five Great Saints would have their hands full against it.
“Ah, you’ve got it wrong. Not the Five Great Saints, but the other side…”
A smile suddenly crept across Babel’s face.
“Oh… If luck’s on our side, they might even come here.”
“What? How badly did you botch the job…?”
Babel crooked his finger. The black sphere hovering in the air flew straight into his hand.
He gripped it tight and channeled his power, drawing the true force emanating from him into the sphere.
“It’s done. Here, take it.”
Babel tossed the sphere to Dorgo, who flew into a rage the instant he caught it.
“If you could finish it this fast, why drag it out all this time?”
“I wanted to savor the surface air a little longer.”
Babel winked one eye. Dorgo’s face twisted in revulsion.
“You’ve got what you came for, so why not head out? I’d like to handle the guest on my own.”
Babel said as he stretched his limbs. Dorgo, however, looked deeply skeptical.
“You want me to leave a dangerous bastard like you here alone?”
“Hahaha. You rigged the summoning circle ahead of time to keep tabs on that dangerous bastard—what are you talking about?”
Dorgo’s expression hardened just a touch.
Just as Babel said, Dorgo had adjusted the summoning circle to self-destruct after a set time.
It was a precaution for any contingency. Demons were never to be underestimated.
“Besides, even a wild rampage with an avatar instead of your true body has its limits. You know that better than anyone.”
“…”
“Come on, I’m begging you. I finally made it to the surface—can’t I make one little memory before I go?”
Dorgo agonized over it for a long while before summoning Iota.
“Iota, open the gate. We’re leaving.”
-Got it!
Iota opened the dimensional gate at Dorgo’s command.
Just as Dorgo and Iota moved to step inside, Babel spoke up.
“Oh, right. Take this with you too.”
Babel flung a half-key toward Dorgo.
It was the very item he’d used moments ago to possess the Count-rank demons.
“…Have you lost your mind? You’re giving this to me?”
Dorgo asked, utterly dumbfounded.
The value that key held for demons was beyond measure.
Babel himself—a Duke-rank demon—had only been summonable to the surface thanks to it.
“Felt like you’d put it to better use than I would.”
“Me?”
“The other half. You’ve got it, don’t you?”
Dorgo’s body jerked at the words.
“What nonsense is that…?”
“No point playing dumb. I know everything.”
Babel shook his head as he spoke.
“When we demons fled back to hell, the king held the gate until the bitter end. In the end, your rescue squad murdered him, and the gate was destroyed.”
Babel went on.
“At that moment, the key split in two—one half left behind in hell, the other on the surface. Now, who do you suppose claimed it? No matter how I turn it over in my mind, it’s got to be you.”
Dorgo said nothing. As if Babel’s speculation had hit the mark.
“I’ve got zero intention of using this key.”
“Haha, we’ll see about that. The world has a way of defying intentions.”
Dorgo narrowed his eyes to slits.
“…What exactly do you know?”
“Who can say.”
Dorgo glared at Babel in silence. Then he bent down and picked up the fallen key.
Better for him to hold onto it than let a hazardous creature like Babel keep it.
“Catch you later, then.”
“Bullshit.”
Dorgo stepped through the dimensional gate with Iota. Once it sealed shut, Babel muttered under his breath.
“Dorgo, fleshless as you are, you wouldn’t be able to see it. How badly your fate’s been twisted.”
Demons wielded countless authorities.
A Duke-rank demon could even glimpse the currents of destiny to a degree.
“No one knows what’s coming next. But one thing’s for sure: the key’s fate now runs straight to you.”
Babel stretched languidly and turned around.
“More importantly, time to get ready for our guest.”
The words had barely left his mouth when space rent open with a rip.
A human man and the mangled Lesorve tumbled out from the fissure.
“I did say bring the man… but not like this.”
Babel remarked to the pair.
* * *
“Babel.”
Even with his own eyes confirming it, Demian could scarcely believe what he saw.
Hell had no king. Duke-rank demons held de facto dominion over it.
Which made a Duke-rank demon the equivalent of hell’s sovereign.
Their power was cataclysmic. A single summoning demanded preparations for the surface world’s annihilation.
Summoning a Duke-rank would require a circle at least three times larger than this one.
“How the hell is a Duke-rank demon here?”
“Huh, you recognized me right off the bat? Color me impressed.”
Babel grinned with delight.
“I clocked you the moment you blocked my light ray, but damn, you’re no average human. This is gonna be fun.”
Babel’s eyes gleamed like a child’s, brimming with the urge to toy with Demian.
“Hah.”
Demian barked out a hollow laugh.
He’d sensed it from the light ray assault—the demon was treating him with blatant contempt.
It went without saying that it soured his mood. Infuriating beyond words.
“I don’t know why a Duke-rank demon’s here, but…”
Demian summoned his mana.
“First, you’ll pay for looking down on me.”
Demian’s form vanished. In the next instant, he reappeared at Babel’s flank.
Demian swung Dawn. But it failed to cleave Babel’s neck.
A transparent wall conjured from thin air had blocked it.
Dawn hammered the wall. It shuddered violently but held firm, neither cracking nor shattering.
“Neat, huh? This is my authority—Isolation.”
Ever the gracious host, Babel explained his power in exhaustive detail.
“Nothing fancy. Just conjures a box to trap anything in a fixed range. Ever wonder if it breaks? It probably could, but I’ve never seen it happen.”
Demian’s lips curled despite himself. It was a first, being dismissed so thoroughly.
“And you see that?”
Babel gestured behind him. A perfect cube had settled there.
Its opacity hid whatever lay inside.
“Holy Knights dispatched by the Holy Church are locked in there. Tough customers, so I boxed ’em up for a bit.”
“Talky bastard.”
“Cut me some slack. Stuck doing grunt work here gets lonely…”
Demian launched off the ground. He skirted the wall to materialize at Babel’s back.
But another wall sprouted to bar him. Babel flashed a smile.
“Not bad speed. Let’s see you dodge this.”
Babel lifted his hand. Countless rectangular pillars materialized in the air—thick as those ripped from buildings.
“No blocking these, so you’d better evade.”
Babel dropped his hand. The pillars rocketed toward Demian.
The pillars, small at first glance, ballooned in size mid-flight. They hurtled at insane speeds, aiming to skewer him.
Demian darted frantically, dodging the onslaught.
Each pillar that slammed into the ground boomed with weight, gouging massive craters.
He could feel it on his skin—a mere brush would shred his body to pieces.
“Oh, dodging nicely.”
Babel spawned even more pillars. Dozens fired off in rapid succession.
Demian tracked their paths and shifted accordingly. Every one whiffed.
“Outstanding! The more I watch, the better it gets! A human worth my attention!”
Babel beamed at Demian’s prowess.
“How’s this?”
Babel raised his other hand. In that heartbeat, pillars encircled Demian.
Every direction sealed off, sky included. Thick curiosity lit Babel’s features.
“Think you can slip this one?”
The pillars unleashed all at once. Zero margin for escape.
“Three Rings.”
Demian murmured under his breath. The resonance amplified.
He lashed out with Dawn at the incoming barrage.
Each graze from Dawn warped their trajectories. The pillars veered toward sky or earth, bypassing Demian entirely.
“Oh?”
Babel’s mouth fell open in genuine surprise. At that moment, Demian shoved off the ground.
He charged in a straight line, closing to Babel’s face. Dawn arced toward him.
“You’ve got another gear? Impressive.”
A wall erected dead ahead of Babel. Demian’s body winked out once more.
“…Huh?”
Babel’s face went slack—he’d lost the trail. The next instant, Demian rematerialized at his back.
Sensing the presence, Babel whipped around in alarm. He reached to summon a wall, but it was far too late.
Dawn, swung by Demian, kissed Babel’s neck.
The Aurablade coating Dawn sought to shear through. It ground out a horrific metallic screech but failed to decapitate.
Babel’s flesh was simply that resilient.
“Oh… seriously impressive? Getting a blade on my body…”
Demian withdrew Dawn. He spun full circle, resetting his stance.
Both hands clamped the hilt, blade tip trained on Babel.
He stepped in and thrust. In the same breath, he invoked the Azure Flame realm.
Annihilation Strike.
The all-destroying blow smashed into Babel’s chest.