Chapter 914: A battle royale of gigantic proportions
Vlad sneered at the behavior of the Devils—and at the blatant lack of effort from Hazon. His sharp eyes swept across the battlefield and easily caught sight of Freya and Ouroboros in the distance. Outwardly, they behaved like the other Devils, standing still, watching, pretending to abandon him to his fate. Yet he knew them well enough. Both were poised, ready to rush forward and fuse with him the moment he called.
The Eye of Greed and the Eye of Lust would greatly enhance his battle strength, enough to face the Demon Lord head-on and even leave the monster crippled. But Vlad did not summon the power of Depravita Samsara Typhon. He held it back. This made his priorities clear. More important than defeating the Demon Lord was concealing the full extent of his strength.
Drawing in a deep breath, Vlad raised his sword. His eyes glowed with burning wrath as hundreds of copies of himself suddenly bloomed across the battlefield, each wielding the dark blade cloaked in death fire. In unison, they swung.
A sea of black flame erupted, a tide of annihilation that could have engulfed even Sector Master Devils. The storm surged forward, swallowing everything in its path.
But the Demon Lord was too powerful.
With a roar of maddened fury, he tore through the wall of fire. His eyes locked onto the original Vlad, and he hacked downward with all the brutal strength of his colossal body. His cleaver descended like a guillotine forged from molten mountains.
Steel bit into flesh. The humanoid figure of Vlad split cleanly in two. A savage smile curved the Demon Lord’s face, a glimmer of triumph flashing in his fiery eyes—
—until his victory shattered.
The bisected body trembled and broke apart, not into blood and bone, but shards of glass that dissolved into smoke. All around him, every illusionary Vlad shattered the same way, fragments scattering like fading mirrors.
The Demon Lord froze. His eyes widened. He realized too late what had happened. The wall of death fire had been nothing but a distraction. The real Vlad had already vanished, trading places with one of his clones beyond the Demon Lord’s perception.
Fury boiled in the Demon’s core. To be tricked so cleanly—by a small Devil!—it stung like poison. Yet even in his rage, he was not a fool. Surrounded on all sides by Devils, many of whom had already begun to gather, he dared not stay. With a snarl, he blurred into motion, flashing into the distance where his forces had already retreated.
Silence returned to the battlefield.
The Devils turned toward Vlad. Though he had concealed much, the True Depravita of Wrath had still revealed shocking abilities. His mastery over space was undeniable, his ability to deceive even a Demon Lord’s senses remarkable. They looked at him with new wariness, with awe laced into their suspicion.
Only after the Demon Lord’s aura had fully faded did Hazon miraculously rise from the pit where he had been buried. Blood still dripped from his body, but he stood tall, as though ready to fight once more.
The Devils’ faces grew solemn. The encounter had revealed something far worse than danger—it revealed competition. The Demons also knew of the Primordial God’s tomb. Other forces sought the same corpse, and that meant this task had grown more perilous than anyone expected.
Hazon broke the silence. His voice was rough but commanding:
"I took heavy wounds preventing that Demon Lord from slaughtering you all. Hand over two-thirds of the corpses you managed to secure."
Reluctance darkened the faces of the Devils. Still, none dared defy him. One after another, they gave up their kills. Hazon absorbed the bounty with a grin too wide, too smug. He turned last toward Vlad, his eyes gleaming with arrogance.
"And you. What are you waiting for?"
There was no shame in his expression, no guilt. He had abandoned Vlad, forced him to handle the Demon Lord alone, and now demanded tribute for his supposed sacrifice. To him, it was natural. He was stronger. That was reason enough. In his mind, Vlad had no choice but to bow his head—or be crushed beneath his heel.
Hatred flared in Vlad’s eyes. Coldness and wrath churned in his chest, boiling so fiercely that for a heartbeat he wanted nothing more than to tear Hazon’s jaw from his skull. He had the power. He could end the Devil Lord here and now.
But emotion did not master the True Depravita.
The True Depravita mastered emotion.
Vlad exhaled. His expression stilled into icy calm. Without a word, he handed over two-thirds of the Demons he had slain.
Hazon smiled, satisfaction blooming on his face. Superiority gleamed in his gaze as he looked down at the Depravita who had lowered his head. For him, this was enough—a petty indulgence of pride before returning to the true goal.
"Good. Now let us continue. We must discover the nature of this place, and how far we are from the world’s center."
The words carried no room for argument.
The Devils nodded reluctantly. The search resumed. They spread through the pyramid, analyzing carvings, broken chambers, and fragments of inscriptions, seeking any clue that could point them closer to the tomb of the Primordial God.
Far away, Barkial led the second force deeper into the realm. With him traveled Jormungandr, Fafnir, and Overlord. Their path had taken them into what had once been a magnificent garden. Now it lay twisted and ruined. Dead trees loomed like skeletal giants, their branches tangled in coils of blackened vines. Flowers bloomed in grotesque forms, petals of bone and thorn, their colors leached away until only rot remained.
But there was no time to dwell on the decay. For this group, the enemy was not Demons.
It was other Devils.
Clad in the marks of different Sectors, their horns sharp and their eyes alight with malice, the rival force had come prepared. Nebolex was not the only one with knowledge of this place. Other Lords had sent their own pawns into the tomb.
Steel and flame clashed as the two groups collided in the dead garden.
The truth was undeniable. This sacred realm, the resting place of a Primordial God, would not be a treasure hunt.
It would be a battle royale of gigantic proportions.