Chapter 43: The Storm of Sason (III)

To be honest, among all opponents he had encountered before, the man before him was undoubtedly the most terrifying—so terrifying that fear arose in Sos’s subconscious. For someone like him, an apostle, this was utterly incomprehensible.
Even Agus in the past had not made Sos feel such fear.
The other man simply stood there, silent and motionless, yet an oppressive weight lingered, making Sos feel as if he couldn’t breathe.
Was this the aura of a strong warrior?
No, if this continued, even his own legs might start to tremble…
After taking a deep breath, Sos finally broke the heavy silence between them and said in a low voice, “What do you really want, Belial? This country? Or even this world?”
“A country? This world?” Belial’s eyes showed slight surprise, then he shook his head. With a tone of contempt and an arrogant voice as if he were a god, he said expressionlessly, “Why would you think of such things? Such trivial matters are not worth mentioning!” What he really meant was that he could take this country, or even this world, with ease—just by wishing it!
“Then why? Why risk such a heavy price by coming here? Why do such things?”
Looking at Sos’s unchanging expression, Belial seemed to find it amusing. He tilted his head back, glanced at the clear sky, and said indifferently, “Everyone has something in their heart that’s worth risking their life for, isn’t that so?”
Glancing at the corpses of the nobles who had been cruelly killed, Sos frowned and said, “But what you’ve done is too extreme!”
Staring at Sos with deep gaze for a long time, Belial, rarely, spoke seriously, “Haven’t I said it before? To achieve my goal, I’ll spare no cost, use any means, and sacrifice anything that can be sacrificed… What surprises me is, when did you side with the nobles? Do their lives concern you? Or are you trying to say you’re on the side of justice?” As he spoke, a mocking smile appeared on his lips, and he looked at Sos with contemptuous and mocking eyes.

Looking at Belial’s mocking faint smile, Thos was momentarily speechless. Just then, Ravia stepped beside him and said to Belial in a low voice, “Do you find it ridiculous? This so-called justice?—My husband has never done anything unjust! I don’t want to talk about what contributions he’s made to this country, but at least you have no right to insult him!”
“Avi?!” Thos, who had been shocked by Belial’s presence, realized that Ravia had somehow stood beside him. Fearing that her words might anger Belial, he instinctively protected her. Unexpectedly, Belial didn’t show any reaction but frowned and said to Ravia in a strange tone, “He… your husband?”
It seemed Ravia then remembered Thos’s relationship with Belial. A fleeting hint of panic appeared in her eyes, but when she saw Belial’s intrigued gaze, she showed a look of embarrassment and anger. Gritting her teeth, she said resentfully, “Are you mocking me?—Yes, he’s my husband… But if one day he becomes as cruel as you, I will… kill him with my own hands!—I will do it!”
Under Thos’s awkward and astonished gaze, Belial stared deeply at Ravia and suddenly smiled faintly. “It’s this kind of look… I believe you, because you truly would do it!” He glanced at Thos, then at Ravia, and sighed with some concern. “But I really didn’t expect you two to be married… It seems there are many places in this world that don’t develop according to what I know. How troublesome…” He took a slight breath and said to Thos in a somewhat serious tone, “‘Apostle of Justice,’ let me tell you the true meaning of an apostle. An apostle is someone who abandons their conscience, joins forces with darkness, acts according to desires, and is driven by them. No matter how you try to hide it, you can’t conceal the deep darkness within!”
“He’s different,” Ravia quickly shook her head to defend Thos before he could speak. “Thos isn’t like you. He’s kind…”

“Kindness? Hahaha!” Belial couldn’t help but laugh. Shaking his head, he said in a calm tone, “Kindness arises from having too weak a power. The stronger one’s power, the more easily they are influenced by their desires… Aren’t humans just creatures who tend to dominate, control, and rise above their peers? Once one gains power, the dark side in their heart keeps expanding—getting a little more and wanting even more, with no end in sight. Not to mention those apostles influenced by their ancient wills!” Seeming to realize he had said too much, he chuckled self-mockingly and said to Thor in a flat tone, “I don’t want to waste any more time talking to you. If you consider me an intolerable evil, then I have no objection to you, who claim to be righteous, trying to stop me. But only if… you have the strength!”

As soon as he finished speaking, without any visible movement from him, a wave of energy suddenly erupted around his body, like a fierce wind that made Thor and Ravia unable to keep their eyes open.

Glancing at Thor with a cold smile, Belial said indifferently, “What’s the matter, ‘Apostle of Justice’? Giving in in the face of intolerable evil can’t be called justice!”

At that moment, the pawn puppet, King Cain, who had been standing beside Belial, seemed to sense that Belial intended to act. He hurried forward, drew the black long sword from his waist, and said in a low voice, “You should try to avoid wasting your strength. If you want to test something, I’ll handle it!”

“Cain?” Looking at Cain’s determined gaze, Belial smiled faintly, shook his head helplessly, and said softly, “I need to make that guy understand… Trying to stand up for others without enough strength isn’t justice—it’s stupidity!”

“Yes!” Cain, wearing heavy armor, bowed slightly and stepped forward with heavy footsteps toward Thor, saying in a deep voice, “For my current master, Lord Belial, I will destroy anyone who dares to resist, including… you from another world!”

“King Puppet, Cain…”

“Sorry!” The moment those words left Cain’s mouth, he rushed at Thor like an arrow, raising his black long sword high and swinging it down hard at him.

Just as Thor was about to use teleportation magic to dodge with Ravia, a white light flashed beside Thor. With a clang, Cain’s sword was blocked by an ordinary spear.

“Boom!”

The mighty force carried by Cain’s long sword even left a mark as deep as a finger joint in the rocky ground, a clear testament to his strength. Looking at the guy who had blocked Cain’s attack for her sake, Ravia rubbed her eyes and muttered in disbelief, “Sordjes?” It was no wonder Ravia was surprised; even Thors found it odd that it was his own puppet, the soldier Sordjes, who had blocked Cain’s attack. To be honest, aside from that one time at Gallek’s Dark Castle, when the dark power within him caused Sordjes to evolve into the Dark King Cain, the guy had done almost nothing, merely acting as a servant to handle Thors’s daily chores. Though Thors had once thought of using him against Argus, he gave up on the idea in the end because the guy was simply too weak. As just a soldier, Sordjes, apart from that single instance, never had the strength to match the other three puppets. But now, this guy could actually block the Dark King Cain’s long sword? Thors knew well that Belial’s king puppet, Cain, possessed even greater strength than the Cain that Sordjes had evolved into at the Dark Castle, and was also a better fighter. Such a powerful strike was one even half-demonized Thors wouldn’t dare to block lightly. “…” Under Belial’s intrigued gaze, Cain frowned at the soldier puppet Sordjes, who had blocked his strike. He released the force in his hand, stepped back a few steps, and said oddly, “I suddenly understand my master’s feelings now… It’s a strange feeling!” With that, he raised his black long sword, pointed it at Sordjes from afar, and said coldly, “Step aside, Sordjes!” But Sordjes, holding his spear, didn’t move at all. “As I thought…” Cain looked at Sordjes with admiration and said self-mockingly, “He might just step aside!” Then his expression changed, and he said gravely, “Then, I’ll have no choice but to destroy you!” “Sordjes!” Thors instinctively wanted to order Sordjes to back away as his master, after all, Sordjes’s weak strength was deeply ingrained in his mind. But at that moment, a remark from Ravia made him abandon the idea. “Thors, Sordjes… he’s so strange…” Thors instinctively followed Ravia’s gaze and was shocked to see milky-white mist continuously seeping out of the soldier puppet Sordjes’s body… Holy power?!

To Sos and Lavia’s astonished gazes, the white light on Sodges’ body grew brighter and gradually enveloped him. By the time the light dissipated, Sodges had transformed into another form. But it wasn’t King Cain at all…
“Whoosh!” The last trace of white light spread out and vanished in an instant. The Sodges who reappeared before them was clad in a pure white robe adorned with gold-trimmed stripes and strange symbols. The wide robe, complete with a hood, almost covered his entire body, revealing only the lower half of his face, except for his eyes.
Especially the huge cross on the back of the white robe and his innate powerful holy energy left Sos utterly stunned.
“Sod… Sodges?”
Glancing back at Sos, the figure wrapped in the white robe said respectfully, “Please call me Besup, my lord!”
[Pawn Puppet, Light Governor, Besup]!
“Hm? It’s a ‘Bishop’?” Beholding the transformed Sodges, now the Light Governor Besup, Beryll showed slight surprise and glanced thoughtfully at Sos.
“Who… who are you?” Stunned by his opponent’s changed appearance, the Pawn Puppet, Dark King Cain, was momentarily stunned, but soon his eyes flashed with wariness.
Almost at the same time, two white swords appeared swiftly from the wide sleeves of the Light Governor Besup’s robe. His figure moved at incredible speed and arrived in front of Cain in an instant. With two sharp sounds, two white marks appeared on Cain’s black armor.
“Such fast speed…” Lavia murmured in amazement, “This speed is on par with Quin’s…”
“And that’s not all!” Sos frowned, as he clearly saw that the Light Governor Besup’s combat movements were extremely skilled and agile. In just a few seconds, several white marks had appeared on Cain’s armor. Such mastery far surpassed even Scott’s puppet, Knight Knight.
What’s going on? Shouldn’t a [Bishop] be good at defensive barriers? How is this possible…

At that moment, the Chess Puppet, the Dark King Cain, seemed to be growing annoyed. Seizing the opportunity as Besup’s two slender swords had just been retracted, he raised his black long sword and swung down fiercely. He thought this strike would be enough to break those swords and inflict serious damage on his opponent. Yet unexpectedly, the moment Besup used those swords to block his attack, a shield-like defensive magic appeared on the crossed swords. With a clang, Cain’s sword was sent flying back.

“Not bad…” Even Belial gave a slight compliment. Then, looking at Besup, who was crouched on the ground, he chuckled and said, “But it seems you’ve also taken a significant hit!” For Besup’s left hand appeared to have cracked at the knuckle due to the immense force, with blood slowly flowing down along his sword.

But to Belial’s surprise, Besup placed his right hand over his injured side. A flash of white light appeared in his palm, and his injured left hand healed within just a few seconds. Holding his two swords, he stood up again. Though his face couldn’t be seen, the faint smile on his lips seemed to say that healing such minor injuries was effortless for him.

“Really, I still have to do it myself in the end?” Belial shook his head with a half-smile.

“Master…” Cain glared at Belial in shame and anger, about to return to his side, when a gentle breeze blew. Without hesitation, he used his black long sword to block it.

Using his two swords to defend against Cain’s long sword, Besup, whose face was hidden, spoke in a calm and serious tone, “King against king, soldier against soldier, isn’t that right? — Your opponent is me!”

“…Damn it!”

Watching the battle between Cain and Besup with amusement, Belial turned to look at Thors and said in slight surprise, “I thought another ‘Cain’ would appear. I didn’t expect…” He paused, sizing Thors up, and murmured, “Thors’s power just now was holy power, right? But I’m curious when you acquired this holy power?”

“Hm?” Thors looked puzzled, frowning. “Haven’t you been to Salonia?”

“I have,” Belial replied in surprise. “What does that have to do with mastering holy power? Those guys just purified the dark power in my body. Ridiculous…” As he spoke, he seemed to sense something odd and glanced at Thors in astonishment.

Sos slowly raised his left hand and used his right hand to remove the white glove from it. Pointing at the hexagram magic array on the back of his hand, he asked oddly, “So, where’s the Sacred Mark?”
“The Sacred Mark?” Belial chuckled lightly, then seemed to understand something. Shaking his head, he said, “No wonder. No wonder I felt something strange when I saw you just now—strange that Sloth inside you was so calm. So that’s how it is. ‘Me in this world,’ you didn’t use this so-called ‘Sacred Mark’ to suppress Sloth’s power, did you? — Truly worthy of [Evasion]… How could mere sacred power suppress Sloth? It’s useless!”
“Don’t underestimate human wisdom!” Sos said gravely, rubbing his left arm with his right hand. “Three Sacred Marks are more than enough to suppress Sloth! That dark power shouldn’t be something humans could possess!”
“…” For a moment, Belial showed a look of shock and confusion. After staring intently at the serious Sos, he said self-mockingly, “I remember the elders of Vandel once said that puppet marionettes have the most direct spiritual connection with their masters, allowing them to reflect the master’s truest self. It seems there really are differences between us…” As he spoke, the smile on his face gradually faded, and he said gravely, “It seems you’ve given me another reason to kill you! — Leave this place, and I’ll spare you for now. But if you dare to block my path…” By the end, his gaze had turned icy and murderous.
“I never expected the ‘future me’ with such an evil aura to say such humane words,” Sos retorted with a cold laugh. Taking a deep breath as if thinking of something, he turned to Ravia and asked with a slight smile, “Avi, do you want me to back down here?”
Ravia seemed to grasp the deeper meaning in Sos’s words. Her expression changed several times before she shook her head, almost pleadingly, and said bitterly, “No, Sos, don’t go…”
“Didn’t you say, ‘Your husband must never back down no matter what opponent he faces’?” Sos teased with a light laugh.
“This time is different… just… just this time…” Ravia bit her lips tightly, a few drops of blood seeping out.
“I don’t want to either…” Sos gently patted Ravia’s hand and sighed. “But there’s no choice!” With that, he turned to look at Belial and said mockingly, “Let me go? Only after I give up Sloth’s power, right?”

“Hey!” Belial chuckled lightly, not denying it, and said calmly, “Slos, there’s no need for two apostles to exist at the same time. I really want to let you go, but ever since I came to this world, I’ve gradually realized that because of your existence, my own self, Slos, has started to act restlessly. After all, it’s an ancient will—although suppressed by me for a while, once it gets a chance to escape, even someone as [lazy] as him will spare no effort to break free from my control. Simply put, as long as you continue to exist in this world as Slos’s apostle, my [Power of Escape] will gradually shift to you. How could I allow such a thing to happen?—Actually, I arrived in Thassan yesterday. The reason I haven’t taken any action is that I was waiting for you!—What do you say? Give up Slos’s power, and I’ll let you leave. Isn’t that great? I’m not Mammon; I have no interest in controlling the world!”
“…” Staring deeply at Belial, Thos snorted coldly and said in a deep voice, “Although I’ve wanted to give up Slos’s power many times, even to anyone else, it’s only you… I refuse!”
“Why?”
“Because ‘you’ make me feel fear!”
“…” Belial smiled in surprise and said calmly, “I see. Even afraid of yourself—what kind of terrifying being is that then!” As he spoke, his smile vanished, and he said coldly, “Then, negotiations are over. Let me see what you’ve got—someone who hasn’t even mastered [Source Power]—what right do you have to resist me!—Foolish. I am your limit!”
At that moment, over a hundred royal magicians who had come to reinforce them quickly surrounded the entire square. About twenty of them approached Thos and Ravia, staring at Belial warily, and said respectfully to Thos, “Are you two alright? Volmon Vormisley, and your wife… Leave this guy to us!”
“You?” Before Thos could warn them, Belial glared, his pupils emitting a dangerous glow as a magic circle symbol vaguely formed. Then, with a pop, the royal magician who had just spoken had his body twist and explode instantly, turning into a mess of flesh and blood that splattered everywhere in a gruesome sight.

“Or do you think you can handle it?” As Thors was barely able to do anything to rescue them, the dangerous blue light in Belial’s eyes flashed once again. The more than twenty royal magicians, who were stunned and panicked, had their bodies twist in an instant before exploding. The gruesome scene made Ravia feel extremely nauseous, and she couldn’t help covering her mouth.
“What… what’s going on?” The nearby royal magicians stepped back in fear, their gazes fixed on Belial.
With a cold smirk at those fearful magicians and another glance at Thors, who was filled with shock, Belial slowly raised his right hand, exhaled slightly, and said expressionlessly, “It seems my tone just now caused you to misunderstand… From the very beginning, I never had any intention of negotiating with you, kid! — You all underestimate me too much. Don’t think of me as someone on Argus’s level; it would give me a headache…”