The King of Depravity, Azazel!
The King of Depravity, Azazel!
Bang! Fire erupted from the pistol gripped in my hand.
Shing!Slash!
“Grraaah! You filthy worm!!~~”
The razor-sharp blade of the saber in my other hand sliced through Ostis's arm.
BZZZZT!
“Gaaaaahhh!!--”
Lightning magic shot from the staff in my grasp, electrocuting the bastard.
Gun. Sword. Magic. All three attacks hammered down at once, giving the enemy no room to breathe.
Who in this world could pull off such a multifaceted assault simultaneously? Even the so-called magic swordsmen of Magus Civitas couldn't sustain combat like this.
Magic swordsmen were a rare breed here, and the spells they wielded were limited anyway.
Aura and magic—knights and mages spent their entire lives mastering one or the other. Combining them demanded insane talent that bordered on the impossible for any normal human. And even if you had a massive mana pool, deploying both in battle simultaneously? Near impossible.
Put simply, it was like acing both STEM and arts & PE, then in a life-or-death fight, drawing a triangle with your left hand and a circle with your right—at the same time. Fine for casual brain teasers, but in the heat of combat, where every second counted and blades or spells were flying at your throat? Only a handful could manage it.
That's why magic swordsmen were geniuses among geniuses! Facing one who also wielded a gun? Overwhelming.
Magic swordsmen weren't flush with mana like elite mages, so they couldn't spam high-tier spells. But in real fights, blending melee and magic to corner foes was their edge.
And unlike Earth—though these were old-school guns—even armor couldn't stop a point-blank shot. I was a freak even by this world's standards, and the smug tower lord scrapping with me right now must be losing his mind.
'Of course, this is all a cheat. The face skins having their own egos is a flaw I turned to my advantage—the main me wields the sword, while the other faces' original personalities handle the magic and shooting, puppeteering my body.'
The origins of this Asura Mode traced back to my first meeting with Dantalian. Inspired by that freak's form, I'd developed it.
The guy's body was a tower of flesh mashed from thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of faces and arms. The grotesque horror and disconnect it inspired—plus my experience of personalities getting devoured while using the powers he granted—led to a hypothesis that birthed Asura Mode.
What if one face skin devoured my ego? What about stacking multiple skins? Would their egos fight over my body?
The experiment's result: They blended into a diluted mess, letting my core ego hold firm. Upside: I kept full control.
Downsides: Stacking three skins guzzled mana, straining my body. And sharing vision from three angles caused disorientation I had to adapt to—extra faces on left and right meant puking from vertigo for a while.
But through relentless practice and live drills against beasts and monsters, I'd perfected Asura Mode earlier this year.
'Now I can tango with a tower lord no sweat! Time to finish this punk.'
Ostis had started rattled but adapted with eerie calm. Our key difference? I knew his habits, style—hell, even the principles behind the White Tower's light magic inside out!
The instant I saw his spells, I knew them cold. My mage face skin cast Dispel, shattering his incantations, then me and the hunter skin tag-teamed the gap. He folded like paper.
Sure, ten years of black magic let him sling curses, attacks, necromancy. But black magic was demon-granted to mages. Demon contractors like me came pre-loaded with that knowledge—I grasped its basics and principles cold.
Their powers were just specialized black magic hacks. Half-demon via Dantalian contract, curses targeting souls? Useless. Mine was already pledged to him as collateral.
Bang!
"Flame Strike"
⟨ Flame Strike ⟩
Whoosh!Rumble!
“Nngh! H-how... how can this be?! Not even magic swordsmen fight like this!”
“You spewing nonsense 'cause you know I'm a demon contractor? Shut up and die!”
Shing!
“Sh, [Shield!]”
Slash!Pssshhh!
“Gaaaaahhh!-”
Ostis panicked a hasty shield—sloppy incantation? Unbefitting a tower lord, it shredded under my blade, and from left collarbone to right gut, I carved him straight, spilling organs.
“Nngh... impossible... cough! I... the chosen one... not here like this...”
“Contract Azazel maybe, but facing a demon contractor head-on? Arrogance has limits.”
“You...”
“Chosen one? Blessed with magic talent, coasted through life, so lesser humans are lab rats or slaves? Ha! Pathetic.”
Was this how Dantalian saw humans? Pitiful fools deeming themselves chosen. What hubris, what delusion—innate gifts making them "special," sacrificing others' lives like it was nothing. Clownish farce.
“Ten years of your atrocities. Pay up.”
“I'll curse you! Cough! Cough! I'll curse you yet!”
“Curse? Oh yeah—fun fact. Those I skinned? Their souls go to my contractor Dantalian post-mortem. Know that?”
!!!
“Dantalian's face collecting includes souls, not just skins. Curse me? Yours is already marked. Beg him in hell to preserve it—might eat it otherwise?”
“No... no! Cough! P-please... not that! Cough!”
Bang!- “Guh!”
Thud!
... ...
I planted a bullet in his skull as finisher, yanked a nearby spear, and pinned his heart.
Ten years of horrors, countless human experiments—this madman got his miserable end.
Now his soul drags to Dantalian's flesh palace in hell, becoming part of the freak.
“How many left on my Dantalian quota? Faces and souls—about 2,000? Sigh. Long road ahead.”
BOOM!
Rumble rumble!
Crack crack crack!
“What the—?!”
Thunder boomed overhead, blasting central Brad City. Quakes split the earth.
A violet-flame spire rocketed skyward, ominous light dyeing the heavens purple aurora.
And at its heart, I spotted it—a 6-7 meter behemoth demon!
Purple-skinned, hulking muscle—a demon manifested in Brad City's plaza!
“Rank 10 demon lord, ruler of depravity and decadence... the King of Depravity, Azazel!”
Dantalian's lore dump: From him on, top 10 demons were absolute Demon Lords!
** ... ... ...
Rumble rumble!
“Kraahahahaha!—Ground after ages! Meat puppet sucks, but fresh air's nice!!~~”
Rumble!Crack crack!
The colossal demon materialized in the plaza, bellowing laughter. The King of Depravity, Azazel. His mere guffaws cracked earth and sky, toppling nearby homes.
Not even half his true power, yet a walking disaster. His depraved aura hit like it did to holy knights and mages—people warped into lustful she-demons, swarming victims.
“Shrieeek!-”
“Kyaaaah!-”
“Demon's here!-”
“Run!-”
“Feast freely, my depraved kin! Rejoice! Endless pleasures beyond imagination await!~”
“Shaaaak!!~~”
“Decadence. Corruption. Desire. All permitted! Indulge!—”
BOOM!
“Kiyaaaaah!”
“Hm? War maniac got business here?”
Flap!
“Kyahahahaha!~ Pervert lord been well? Guess why I'm here?”
“Hmph. You just get off wrecking everything, fallen god? No clue.”
“Oh? So oblivious~♥ Just told you—prime [smashable] showed up. Gotta smash, right?”
“...Ignored your hell rampages too long. You're climbing now, incarnation of war. Halphas?”
“Kyahahahaha!~♥ Me, crazy? Crazy bitch does crazy shit—duh? Victory? Defeat? Survival? Death? Who cares? War means kill, die, smash. Let's play—who lives, who dies... pure evil clash, beautiful war!~♥ Not chickening out, right? Per! Vert! De! Mon! Lord?”
Crack!
...
“...Sometimes rankings need cleaning. Liked your fallen-god vibe, overlooked you. Now you're blind?”
“Kyahahahaha! Love rankings too! War goddess below some depravity hack? Infuriating. Die here!~♥”
Babyyy!~♪ Fallen art's beauty!~♪
True heavy metal'll make you kneel!!~~♪
...
“...What? Amdusias? Kh... Kahahaha! What're you, that getup? Pathetic fall?! Art demon's a joke! Kahahaha!!~~”
Zing!Screeech!!--♪
True Rock artist baby don't know!~♪
Rebellion from old days!~♪
Today's flop's the same~♪ Pitiful punk with no art!~♪
...
Crackle!
Rank 38 Halphas kicked it off, then Rank 67 Amdusias dissed the Rank 10 overlord. Azazel, all smug, popped a vein.
Overlooked hell scrubs before, but this insolence? Unbearable.
“Had other business, but you first. Clueless fools! Can't stem depravity's tide!-”
“Kyahahaha!~♥ Talky talky? Rush me? Boss praise pending—hurry and end it!”
Zing!~♪
Show master epic show!~♪
Death metal essence to artless perv!~♪
ROCK'N ROOOOLL!!~~♪
Halphas & Amdusias vs. Azazel—the fight pitting great demons against a demon lord was about to erupt.