Chapter 44: An Indomitable Force! (1)

“Clang! Clang! Clang!”
In just a few seconds, amidst the successive clashes of swords, two figures—one black and one white—merged at an impossible speed beyond human perception. Following a loud metallic impact, both figures suddenly recoiled, sliding across the hard ground for over a dozen yards before finally stopping.
“You bastard…” Glancing at his shattered shoulder plate on his left shoulder, the Pawn Puppet, Dark King Cain, stared intently at his opponent in disbelief. “Is this the true power of a ‘Bishop’? It’s quite surprising…”
“I should be the one surprised,” said the Pawn Puppet, Light Governor Besup, standing opposite Cain. He raised his right hand and used holy energy to heal the wound on his chest. A strange smile appeared on half of his face covered by the white cloak as he chuckled. “As far as I know, a ‘King’ shouldn’t possess such close-combat skills, right? Indeed, even those of the same rank can differ in ability!”
“That should be something I say!” Cain said grimly, staring at Besup. He gripped his black long sword and frowned. “Although he’s a ‘Bishop,’ he’s not the type skilled in defensive magic…”
“Oh, that’s because he’s an ‘Executor’!” Besup said mockingly, raising the two white blades in his hands. “What about you? Though you’re also a ‘King,’ your profession seems to be that of a ‘Warrior,’ doesn’t it, Cain?”
“Heh!” Cain smiled faintly, clenched his fist, and murmured, “It seems we’re both outliers! No wonder—after all, we have the same master…” As he spoke, he glanced toward Belial in the distance, his expression filled with concern.
Seizing the concern in Cain’s eyes, Besup said lightly with a hint of mockery, “Are you worried about your master? But it’s not good to get distracted during a fight. I really don’t want to remind my opponent! Hey, your master can’t possibly make you so worried, right?”
“Worried? Well, yes!” Cain said self-mockingly, meeting Besup’s gaze again with a half-smile. “Of course I’m worried. I’m afraid Lord Belial might lose control of his power and destroy everything in this area. That would go against our original goal, wouldn’t it?”
“…” In an instant, Besup moved and appeared in front of Cain, swinging his dual blades.
“Clang!”

Blocking the opponent’s attack with his black long sword, Kane laughed darkly. “It seems you understand as well—the gap in strength!”
“……”
In the square in front of the Saxon Palace, the black and white figures clashed once again. Only the continuous sounds of swords meeting could be heard, but their actual forms were impossible to discern. And it wasn’t just them engaged in fierce battle at that moment.
There was the fight between the legendary archers, the demon god Babatos and the demon god Lelagin; the battle between the “Duke of Shadows” demon god Valiver and the Vantore vampire Ulrich; the clash between the “Will of the Warrior” demon god Elioq and the “Dark Knight” Simonli; and the fight between the “Tyrant Who Commands Thunder” Bal and the original Gungroconil. None of these battles were ones that humans who came to offer support could intervene in.
“That guy doesn’t have any active demon gods around him, and there are three more…” Scott whispered to Beelzebub as he stood beside Thors.
“Are they not good at fighting?” murmuring softly, Allen couldn’t help but glance at the duel between the two demon god archers in the distance. Seeing the dense barrage of arrows like a storm, he instinctively wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said awkwardly, “Fights between immortal monsters… I really don’t want to get involved… But is this okay? With Lelagin facing that guy named Babatos alone?”
“That’s Lelagin’s choice! —Demon gods, in a sense, aren’t much different from us humans. They too have things they fear. For Lelagin, Babatos is his ‘fear’… And I believe that guy Lelagin won’t be easily defeated,” Scott said, sighing slightly before looking at Beelzebub with a solemn gaze and whispering, “…He’s the key to the outcome of this battle!”
“Yes…” Allen agreed, frowning.
“Heh,” Beelzebub glanced at Scott and Allen, then at the terrified royal magicians surrounding him. A faint smile appeared on his face as he said to Thors in a mocking tone, “It seems you don’t even have the courage to fight me alone. What a pitiful ‘weakness’…”
Noticing the embarrassment on her husband’s face, Ravia quickly whispered, “Don’t fall for his provocation, Thors! —That guy can’t be dealt with alone!” She then turned to the royal magicians and said firmly, “Be careful in fighting! —The opponent isn’t an ordinary foe!”

The nearby royal magicians nodded in dread, forming a line as if they intended to combine their forces to attack the figure before them. But before launching an attack, they first cast a defensive spell—after all, Belial’s power, far beyond what the world had ever known, had left these royal magicians in utter shock. As they chanted their spells, the ground around them gradually froze. On those ice layers, shapes resembling ice dragons stretched out their bodies. Meanwhile, the unfrozen parts of the square emitted waves of flame, with streams of red lava giving rise to fire dragons spewing flames. Facing the prepared royal magicians, Belial remained as calm as ever, murmuring, “[Synchronized spellcasting]… Quite interesting!”

[Synchronized spellcasting] referred to several or even dozens of magicians coordinating their magical energies to cast a complex spell. Since he hadn’t reached the rank of a grand mage, he couldn’t cast such spells on his own; the only way was to use this technique of synchronized spellcasting in collaboration with others. Under ideal conditions, one mage could control water elements while another controlled wind elements—if they worked well together, they could cast the complex spell [Ice]. Similarly, fire elements and earth elements could combine to create [Flame], while fire elements and water elements could create [Thunder]. This was the most basic combat method for royal mage squads, something even the Vandor dark magicians who had fought against Argus could hardly accomplish.

“Ah, what terrifying energy! Hehe…” Behind Belial, the “Servant of Death,” the demon Simachimo, chuckled darkly and said, “Should I step in, Lord Belial?”
“No need,” Belial replied indifferently to the astonishing energy of his opponents. “This is my game… Oh, by the way, Simachimo!”
“I’m here, Lord Belial…”
“You may go prepare.”
“Yes!” Watching Sos and the others lick their lips, the “Servant of Death” Simachimo said ominously, “Then I’ll withdraw. Please excuse me, Lord Belial—it will take about ten minutes…”
“It’s fine,” Belial said with a slight shake of his head, smiling at Sos and the others. “I’m sure these ten minutes won’t be boring for me…”

“Hehe, then, I wish Belial a pleasant time…” With that, the demon god Simachimo chuckled and walked from beside Belial to a corpse in the square. Raising his skeletal staff, the blood on the ground seemed to be guided by some force, spreading at an astonishing speed. As it absorbed the blood from nearby corpses, it formed a huge and complex pattern on the ground of the vast square, resembling a sophisticated magic array.

“What’s that guy doing?” Allen asked in a low voice, clearly noticing the red patterns on the ground.

Next to him, Scott stared intently at Simachimo, who was focused on drawing the pattern in the square, and said softly, “It must be some kind of magic array. Those demon gods killed those nobles earlier—probably to use their blood to create this magic array!”

“That’s right!” As if hearing Scott’s whisper, Belial said without hesitation, “Even I, who am [evil], don’t want to engage in pointless killings. The blood of those nobles is just the material needed to create this magic array. Don’t worry; I have no intention of destroying the entire Sassan. Once I have enough material, I’ll order them to stop!”

Glancing at the rapidly forming crimson magic array on the ground, Allen said with a strange expression, “Hey, it’s obvious this isn’t something harmless. How can anyone feel at ease with this…?”

“Don’t believe it? That’s too bad,” Belial said, shaking his head slightly. Then, looking at Thos and the other royal mages who seemed ready to attack, he raised his hand and flicked his fingers, saying calmly, “Ten minutes. I have ten minutes to accompany you in this game… Come on, don’t waste time. I hate boring waits the most. So, try to entertain me as much as possible during this time!”

“…How arrogant!” Allen couldn’t help but scowl. At that moment, one of the royal mages, seemingly unable to tolerate Belial’s arrogance any longer, snapped angrily, “To look down on us like this… Damn it!”

As soon as he spoke, ice dragons and fire dragons spewed flames and ice, rushing toward Belial. In just a few seconds, they reached him. Then, with a loud explosion, the entire area where Belial was located was covered in flames and frost, and a strong wind blew across the square, alternating between freezing cold and scorching heat.

Watching the ice sculpture burning fiercely in the distance, Allen said excitedly, “Did they kill him? That arrogant guy!”

“It can’t be killed, right?” Scott, standing next to Allen, let out a soft sigh. He turned to look at Thors, only to see Thors shaking his head, frowning, and saying in a deep voice, “That guy… hasn’t suffered any harm at all!”
“What?” Ravia stared in shock at the giant ice statue engulfed in flames. Just then, there was a series of cracking sounds, and the ice statue suddenly shattered completely. Under the astonished gazes of everyone, especially the royal magicians, Belial stood unharmed where he was, saying disappointedly, “I thought it would be more impressive… I didn’t expect it to be this weak! ——It’s such a disappointment!” As he spoke, he slowly raised his right hand, and a strange blue glow appeared in his eyes. The defensive barrier created by the royal magicians was instantly destroyed like thin paper, and several of them who were maintaining the barrier were also hit by the force, flying dozens of yards away before collapsing on the ground, covered in blood and unconscious.
Immediately afterward, Belial clenched his right hand sharply, and the remaining royal magicians nearby began to groan in pain, holding their heads. Then, one after another, explosions rang out, and soon only Thors, Ravia, Allen, and the rest remained in the square…
“No way…” Allen glanced in shock at the corpses on the ground and then at Belial not far ahead. Swallowing nervously, he said strangely, “Dozens of royal magicians… and they couldn’t hold out even a minute?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Scott next to him pushed up his glasses and said with difficulty, “To be precise, they couldn’t hold out even ten seconds…”
As Allen, Scott, and the others exchanged glances, stunned by his overwhelming power, Belial spoke calmly, “As expected, I shouldn’t have had any expectations of them… Well, I never really expected them to bring me much fun anyway! ——There are still nine minutes left. Let’s continue!” As he spoke, his gaze swept over Thors and the others. Though he didn’t release any aura, it exerted immense pressure on them.
“Damn it!” Unable to tolerate Belial’s arrogant attitude, Ravia was the first to lose control. She raised her whip, and with a crisp snap, a fiery red figure suddenly leaped out of her flaming whip. It grew larger as it jumped, and by the time it landed, it had transformed into a fire fox twenty yards tall, growling at Belial nonstop.
“Avi?”

Thors didn’t even have time to stop it—the massive fire fox had already rushed at Belial under Ravia’s control. Strangely enough, Belial used just his left hand to block the fox’s charge. Then, with a swift grab at the fox’s left leg, he crushed it like foam, turning it into sparks that scattered in the wind.
“How…?” Ravia stared in disbelief at the sparks, muttering in a dazed state, “How is that possible? It was destroyed so easily…”
Seeing Thors instinctively step in front of Ravia, Belial shook his head and laughed. “You’re far too weak compared to you in another world!” With that, he raised his left hand, and Thors, standing in front of Ravia, suddenly felt a strong gust of wind approaching. He instinctively resisted with all his strength to avoid being blown away by the shockwave.
“Hm? Did you block it?” Belial showed a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Thors took a few deep breaths and said coldly, “You… didn’t use your full strength, did you?”
“Yes,” Belial nodded expressionlessly. “I’m not like some idiots who go all out against weaker opponents. If I used my full strength, then this game would lose its fun! What would I do with those remaining eight minutes if I accidentally killed you all? I hate waiting aimlessly the most!”
“Tch! Those words really make me furious from head to toe… I’ve never felt this angry before!” Staring intently at Belial, Allen’s playful expression gradually disappeared, and the veins on his right hand, which was gripping his sword, became prominent.
“What should we do?” Scott pushed up his glasses and said softly, “Let me make it clear—this guy is too strong. Fighting head-on is utterly foolish!”
“Yes, but…” With flames of anger and determination in his eyes, Allen said gravely, “But as fearless knights, no matter how strong the enemy, we must never turn our backs on them. That’s the glory of a knight!” He licked his lips, exchanged glances with Thors and Scott, and smiled softly. “It’s been a long time since we’ve felt this way, hasn’t it? Since leaving the academy, we haven’t fought side by side like this again…”
“Heh,” Scott chuckled lightly as dark energy gathered in his hands. “If possible, I’d rather not face such an opponent! Thors?”

“Mm!” Seeming to understand Scott’s gaze, Thos gently patted Ravia’s shoulder and whispered, “Be careful, step back!”
But to his surprise, Ravia slapped his hand away dismissively and snapped, “You want me to back off at a time like this? Arrogant fool!” Yet there was a hint of warmth in her eyes as she added softly, “Don’t underestimate Altak’s women!”
“Hey!” Allen and Scott exchanged a knowing smile.
Just then, Belial on the other side spoke in a slightly impatient tone, “Haven’t you decided yet? — It’s already been a minute!”
“…” Thos instinctively glanced at Belial, then looked back at her again. Seeing the determination in her eyes, he reluctantly stepped back and nodded, “Alright, then… be careful!”
“Heh, that’s much better!” Ravia gave Thos a satisfied glance before gripping her fire whip and solemnly staring at their common enemy.
Taking a deep breath, Allen’s body emitted an unusual red and green glow, his muscles seeming to swell under that light. He clenched his knight’s sword and whispered, “Don’t die, buddy!”
“Mind your own business!” A powerful holy energy also began to surge within Thos’s body, and as it flowed, the distinctive dark tattoos of an apostle gradually appeared on his face.
“Hey! Then… let’s go!”
As soon as Allen spoke, he dashed forward like an arrow, appearing beside Belial in just a few blinks. He swung his knight’s sword fiercely downward, while at the same time, Thos used teleportation magic to appear instantly to Belial’s left, gathering astonishing holy energy in his right hand.
Ravia, Scott, along with their puppet queens Queen Qunin and Knight Knight, and Castle Kanso, all launched attacks on Belial in turn.
“What a straightforward battle!” Belial shook her head slightly, stretching out her hands. With her right hand, she grabbed Allen’s knight’s sword, and with her left, she blocked Thos’s holy light sphere. To the shock of the two, a powerful gust of wind erupted from Belial’s body, blowing Thos and Allen away.
With a loud crash, the two slammed into two stone pillars in the square.
“Master!” Castle Kanso rushed over with heavy steps and roared angrily, ready to strike Belial with his massive fist. But in a flash, Belial disappeared from her spot. Before Kanso could react, he found his right arm had been effortlessly torn off by Belial.

After severing Kanso’s right arm, Belial, without looking back, threw the huge rock in his hand. With a muffled thud, it hit Queen Puppet Queenin, who was trying to launch a surprise attack, crushing her instantly. The force sent her sliding dozens of yards across the ground, toppling a massive stone pillar in the square. Even a puppet couldn’t withstand such damage. Once the dust settled, Queenin was trapped under the debris, her face twisted in pain. Though she wasn’t completely destroyed, she was unable to move again.

Having lost his right arm, Castle Puppet Kanso still seemed determined to attack Belial, but the disparity in strength was too great. Belial emitted a massive black beam from his palm, piercing half of Kanso’s body. With the sound of shattering rocks, Kanso’s rocky exterior peeled away, revealing his severely injured true form. This meant that, after Queenin, Kanso too could no longer move.

Next was Scott’s Knight Puppet Knight. This meticulous and calm puppet also couldn’t withstand Belial’s attacks. His spear broke, his shield shattered, and the punch to his chest—delivered with sheer physical strength—pierced Knight’s body in an instant.

“…” Watching his puppets slowly fall at Belial’s feet, Scott’s shock grew deeper. This was too fast! He and Ravia hadn’t even had time to use magic to assist them… Scott instinctively glanced at Ravia, who also wore a face full of terror. Just a few dozen seconds… Covering her mouth in panic, Ravia cried out, “Queenin? Thos? Allen?” She rushed to Queenin’s side, gently cradling her as her humanoid skin was torn open, revealing the puppet’s internal components. Queenin, with eerie electric arcs flashing across her body, managed to lift her head and touch Ravia’s cheek, apologizing, “I’m sorry, my master… I’m too weak…”

Originally, Ravia was checking Quin’s core in his chest. Seeing that the core was undamaged, she breathed a sigh of relief. But upon hearing Quin’s words, she bit her lip and said softly, “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have let you all… endure this temporarily. Quin, once this is resolved, I’ll immediately ask the elders of Vandel to repair you…” With that, she gently set Quin down, stood up, glared angrily at Belial standing not far away, and called out softly, “Belial!”
“Hm?” Glancing at the knight puppet Knight at his feet, Belial turned his gaze to Ravia. Seeing her angry expression, a faint smile appeared on his face as he said softly, “What a familiar look! — To be honest, I’m curious. In my memory, you were so arrogant and proud, refusing to compromise even when facing me as an Apostle. Truly worthy of being the Queen of Altak… And yet, in this world, you ended up marrying ‘me’ from this world. Hehehe, how interesting!”
“I’ll kill you!” A fierce fire ignited within Ravia. Just as she was about to attack, suddenly, a figure appeared in front of her, blocking her move and speaking in an extremely familiar voice, “Don’t be impulsive, Avi!”
“KangNeil?” Ravia stared in surprise at the werewolf KangNeil who appeared before her.
“Huh?” Surprised by KangNeil’s serious expression, suddenly, an electric arc struck the ground beside Belial. After the flash of lightning, the demon god “Tyrant” Bal snapped at KangNeil irritably, “Hey, what’s the meaning of running away halfway? Hm?” It seemed he noticed Belial’s presence and said carelessly, “I’m sorry, Lord Belial. I let this guy get involved in your battle…”
“What’s going on?” Belial asked Bal curiously. As far as he knew, Bal was the strongest among the seventy-two demon gods. Even without his ability to control lightning, his physical strength alone was enough to deal with pure warrior demon gods like Simonli. But…
“This guy is really strange,” Bal scratched his head and laughed loudly at KangNeil. “This is the first time I’ve heard of someone who can’t be killed, other than us demon gods. There’s nothing I can do…” He shrugged helplessly.

“Oh, I see,” Belial nodded slightly, glanced at Connel, and said calmly, “Jean Connel. I’ve heard of this name. The legendary Gungro who devoured 240,000 souls, right? — Are you also one of their friends?” He then looked at Ravia and said with a smile, “You’re here to stop her, aren’t you?”
“Ah!” Connel instructed Ravia to step back a few steps before slowly walking toward Belial, saying coldly, “So you’re that brat’s ‘future’? You seem pretty strong!”
“In fact, I’m stronger than you think!” Belial said arrogantly.
“Hey! Interesting!” Connel’s right hand instantly transformed into a claw sharp enough to cut through steel as he stared at Belial like a hungry beast.
Seeing this, the demon lord Bal frowned and was about to step forward when Belial said calmly, “Step back, Bal. Don’t take away my ‘ten minutes of fun’ too!”
“Huh?” Bal nodded incomprehensibly, then, upon seeing Belial’s mocking smile, burst into laughter. “Lord Belial, are you serious? I advise you not to do this. Destroying this city in an instant would be too boring!”
“Heh, don’t worry! — I just don’t want these ten minutes to be too dull!” With that, Belial waved his finger at Connel.
“Damn it!” Glancing at Belial’s contemptuous gaze, Connel snarled and transformed into a black wolf-like shadow, rushing toward Belial. But as he got closer, his entire body suddenly erupted in a fierce black flame. The intense force sent Connel flying back to the ground, his body charred by the fire, and the anger on his face replaced by shock.
No… It can’t be. Is that Flame Flash?
Under Ravia’s astonished gaze, Belial blew on the black flames above his finger. Staring at those flickering flames, he said calmly, “The legendary Gungro is nothing special after all!” Then, surprise appeared on his face as he saw Connel, nearly reduced to charcoal by the black flames, emitting strange wisps of smoke before visibly recovering from his injuries and returning to his original state in the blink of an eye.
“Haha, this guy really can’t be killed. How interesting!” Tyrant Bal laughed heartily.
Looking at Connel’s solemn expression, Ravia sighed secretly. She knew well that Connel had already been killed once, having lost one of his lives…

Conner, who was part of the Gungro, was “killed instantly” upon first encounter with that guy—just how strong is that bastard, Belial! At that moment, mocking laughter came from the square. “Hahaha, no way!—Uncle Conner, you look pretty messed up!” As he spoke, a broken stone pillar was lifted, revealing Allen’s figure. “Are you okay, Allen?” Ravia exclaimed in delight. Allen casually tossed the pillar aside and began removing his armor, smiling as he said, “Ah, I’m still alive!” Then he glanced somewhere in the square and shouted, “Hey, buddy, stop pretending to be dead!” Under Ravia’s astonished gaze, the pillar hit by Thors shattered completely. As debris fell, Thors brushed off the dust on his clothes and snapped, “Who’s pretending to be dead?!” “Thors? Are you okay?” Ravia looked at Thors with relief. Though his clothes were torn from the falling debris, he seemed unharmed, and she felt relieved. Seeming to notice the warmth in Ravia’s eyes, Belial in the distance said indifferently, “How could such an attack possibly hurt them? After all, he’s an Apostle!” “…” Thors gave Belial a deep look, then walked over to Ravia. Seeing the worry in her eyes, he reassured her, “I’m fine!” Then he nodded at Scott in the distance. “Phew!” Seeing that Thors and Allen seemed unharmed, Scott also breathed a sigh of relief. But when he turned to see Knight, the knight puppet, lying at Belial’s feet, his face once again clouded with concern. At that moment, the participants in the other battles in the square also seemed to notice what was happening here. Aside from the puppet warriors “King” and “Bishop” who were still fighting fiercely, and “Death’s Servant,” the demon god Simachimo, who was still drawing a huge magic circle, everyone else paused their battles and gathered around Belial and Thors. After all, the surviving nobles in the square had long since fled somewhere, leaving no reason for either side to continue fighting. “The opponents over there are quite strong too, Lord Belial!” laughed Waliver, the “Duke of Thieves,” who was evenly matched with Ulrich. “Isn’t that good?” Belial smiled faintly, glanced at the half-finished giant magic circle on the ground, then looked at Thors and the others before saying with a light laugh, “Bal, Babatos, you guys go help Simachimo. Don’t let anyone disturb him!”

“And what about Lord Belial?” The demon god beside Belial glanced in surprise at his master. “You don’t need to intervene here,” said Belial, waving his hand. Turning to Sos and the others, he gave them a indifferent look with a hint of interest, and softly added, “There are five minutes left!”