Chapter 45: An Indomitable Force! (Part 2)

Tch, that guy is really too arrogant!
But… there’s absolutely nothing they can do against him!
Watching Belial stand alone in front of them with a calm expression, Thor and the others felt extremely depressed, especially due to the slight contempt in his eyes.
However, they were well aware that this guy was completely different from all their previous opponents. He was definitely not someone one person could handle—especially Thor, Allen, Ravia, and Scott, as they had clearly seen the entire process of Belial killing those Royal Magi, using a power far beyond what they knew!
It had to be said that neither Thor nor the others detected any magical fluctuations in Belial’s actions. Moreover, the power of his magic was astonishingly strong, leaving those Royal Magi completely defenseless. After all, every mage had some resistance to elements—though not immunity, they could at least reduce the severity of injuries. Yet even so, they were still killed in an instant…
What worried them even more was that Belial destroyed the defensive barrier created by dozens of Royal Magi with almost no effort. If he had used some incredible magic, Thor and the others could have understood it. But Belial simply raised his hand and did it at near-instantaneous speed, without giving them any warning of magical fluctuations.
Suddenly, Thor and the others alike remembered the words of the Grand Elder…
“…Belial possesses [Primordial Power]…”
What exactly is Primordial Power?
According to the Grand Elder’s explanation, Primordial Power is the [original force] of the world—the most fundamental and ancient force, superior to magic. Yet it isn’t a pure form of power that can simply make one’s magic more powerful.
In the documents cherished by the astrologers, Primordial Power isn’t originally a force stronger than magic. In their understanding, mastering Primordial Power means reaching a new level, allowing one’s mental strength to connect with a great will— the will of fire, the will of water, the will of wind. For the astrologers, these great wills are known as [Aetheric Power], representing the entire star, their all-knowing and all-powerful deity.

Although such claims seem even more absurd than those of divine legends, it must be said that the ability to predict the future, of which astrologers are so proud, originates from this. Every astrologer strives to connect their spiritual energy with the great will of the stars in order to uncover the secrets of the world and its origins. Yet even Sos, today, cannot truly understand what the Grand Elder said, let alone master the power of ether—something that requires years of meditation to harmonize one’s spiritual energy with the will of the stars, and meditation is precisely what Sos is worst at. As for the others, there’s no need even to think about it. After all, even Abel, a genius among the Vandel astrologers, has not reached the level of the past prophets. Yet Beria, who appears to be only twenty-three or twenty-four years old, has achieved it… What exactly is Source Power? And what does it feel like to master it? Looking at Beria’s contemptuous and calm expression, Sos felt immense pressure, because both Beria and the Grand Elder had said the same thing: […Those who haven’t mastered Source Power don’t even deserve the right to fight him (me)…] Is that really true? Does mastering Source Power truly create such a huge gap? Sos was deeply skeptical, but in the next five minutes, he truly experienced that gap… The first to attack Beria was Connel, a Gungro vampire. With 240,000 souls, which equates to 240,000 lives, he was indeed the best choice to test the opponent’s strength. Joining him in the attack was Ulric, a polite and elegant noble vampire from the Vanzo clan. Relying on the blood energy in his body as his power source, he possessed the ability to control blood, even that of his opponent, allowing him to replenish his energy at will during battle. But in front of Beria, these two powerful men, like beasts, seemed to have lost their sharp claws and fangs. Not only could they not hurt Beria, but they couldn’t even touch his clothes before being battered into injury… “Boom!” Once again, Connel was sent flying by Beria. This was already the third time in just a few dozen seconds. Watching his wounds heal rapidly, Lavia’s expression turned very grave. Connel had already “died” three times in just a few dozen seconds…

“Heh, still alive?” With an interested gaze fixed on Connel, Belial turned his head away to avoid Ulrich’s blood-thorned attacks, then casually waved his hand. A strange distortion appeared in midair, and Ulrich, in the form of blood, had most of his body shattered instantly.
“What’s going on…” Realizing something was amiss, Allen murmured, “Uncle Connel and Ulrich are completely overwhelmed. Their movements seem to be predicted by Belial…”
Indeed, in the eyes of Sos and the others, it seemed less like Belial was attacking Connel and Ulrich and more like they were themselves “colliding” into Belial’s magic. Every time, Belial’s magical attacks would wait for them at the exact spots they tried to dodge, as if he could predict their movements.
Sos remembered that during the Battle of Riox, Aibel had also used a similar ability, avoiding all the offensive spells from the necromancer targeting her…
Could this be the new “power” that comes with mastering [Source Energy]?
“They’re no match at all…” Allen said with a bitter smile, glancing at Scott before taking a deep breath and joining the battle alongside the demon god Simonley.
To be honest, he didn’t believe he could make much of a difference, but what good was staying put? It was better to give it a try.
He wasn’t the only one with this thought. Soon, Scott, Ravia, the demon god Lelarkin, and Sos all joined the battle. After all, if they continued to watch passively, they might lose even the slightest bit of fighting spirit…
“Heh, now this is interesting!” With a light laugh, Belial made a gesture with his right hand, and a long sword gleaming like obsidian appeared in his hand. With a clang, Allen, who possessed strength nearly on par with Sos’s, was sent flying far away.
Then, Belial flicked his right hand, throwing the sword, which pierced Connel who was charging at him. Next, as if sensing that Sos might teleport closer, he grabbed Sos’s right hand, filled with immense energy, and threw him high into the air. Then, his expression changed, and with a boom, Sos, who had been thrown into the air, was engulfed by a black flame.

“Thors!” A hint of panic appeared on Ravia’s face. Just as she instinctively turned her gaze to the black flames in the air, a light laugh suddenly came from beside her. “Do you still have time to worry about others?”
Before Ravia could react, she suddenly felt a powerful gust of wind erupt in front of her, lifting her high like a hurricane before slamming her back to the ground. The intense impact made her spit out a mouthful of warm blood.
“Heh,” Belial said with a laugh, shaking his head slightly as he looked at Ravia lying not far away. Suddenly, as if sensing something, he glanced in Scott’s direction and said calmly, “I almost forgot about you!” With that, he snapped his fingers.
With a loud boom, a cluster of black flames erupted in front of Scott. The force sent him flying far away; unfortunately, he hit a rock and immediately lost consciousness.
Glancing at the broken glasses on the ground, Belial turned around and saw the black flames falling from the sky. With a loud crash, the black flames were instantly replaced by white flames imbued with holy light. Inside those white flames, Thors, whose upper body was mostly burned, was crouched on the ground, gasping for breath.
Allen…
Scott…
And Ivy…
Although he had already had such apremonition, seeing his best friends knocked unconscious and in critical condition made Thors feel rage, especially when he saw the bloodstains beside Ravia. This emotion grew even stronger.
Overwhelmed by intense emotions, he could no longer maintain the balance between the two forces within him. As a result, the dark aura of Sloth spread from him again, enveloping him like black mist.
“Heh,” Belial sent Ulric flying with a flick of his hand, then turned to look at Thors. His expression finally became slightly serious as he said calmly, “Are you finally starting to act like a proper warrior?”
At that moment, Connel also noticed Ravia’s condition. Seeing her lying on the ground with bloodstains around her, his eyes filled with anger. Like an enraged beast, he charged at Belial without hesitation. Unfortunately, Belial simply raised his right hand and sent him flying, without even showing what technique he used.

“Tch…” Looking at where Connel had been pushed back, Belial let out a soft sigh and said indifferently, “I really don’t have time to deal with you now… It’s a bit late, but there are still three minutes left…” With that, he turned his gaze toward Thos, who was covered in dark forces.
As expected, Belial’s goal was merely to force out the dark forces within Thos—namely, the existence of Sloth.
“Damn it!”
Yet the enraged Connel paid no attention to Belial’s words. After all, he had once regarded Ravia as his own daughter. Her injury reminded him of the past, and a frenzied expression appeared on his face.
“Roar!” In a wild state, Connel attacked Belial frantically. But Belial showed signs of boredom, easily dodging Connel’s attacks as he said indifferently, “The so-called werewolf is only this good. I’m already tired of this… So, [disappear]!”
As he spoke, a faint red light emanated from Belial’s pupils, causing Connel’s frantic attacks to halt abruptly. Soon after, his body gradually became transparent—just a few more seconds, and he would vanish from this world…
This was Sloth’s divine power—the terrifying nature of [erasing existence]. Even Gangro, who had lived over 240,000 times, could not resist such divine power. Aside from beings of the [Great Will] level and Apostles, Sloth’s [erasing existence] could eliminate any powerful creature, even those considered immortal. This was the power of a god!
No wonder Belial had said: Even demons cannot be killed…
Just as Connel was about to completely vanish from this world, Belial suddenly stopped moving and vanished from his spot. Half a second later, Thos, enveloped in both dark and light forces with a chaotic aura, appeared here at incredible speed and slammed his fist into the ground.
With three loud booms, the hard brick and stone ground of the square sank deeply layer by layer.
Connel, who had narrowly escaped, quickly stepped back. He had heard about Sloth’s power of erasing existence from Thos and Ravia, but he never imagined it would work on him as well. If it weren’t for Thos, he might have been killed 240,000 times in an instant by Belial’s divine power, dying completely.

Still shaken, Connel was about to say something when he was shocked to notice that there seemed to be something wrong with Thors before him. The magical energy emanating from him was extremely violent, with forces of darkness and light entangled and mixing together, constantly colliding.
“L… little brat?”
What concerned Connel even more was the emotionless, cold gaze in Thors’ eyes at that moment—it was exactly like Belial’s. Moreover, from the black mist behind him, a giant creature began to emerge, its pale red demonic eyes fixed intently on Belial.
“Heh,” Belial smiled faintly before turning to the stunned demon god behind him and saying, “If you don’t want to die, don’t stare at his eyes!”
But as soon as he finished speaking, his body mysteriously floated upward. Under the astonished gazes of the demon gods, Thors, radiating violent energy, punched Belial hard in the abdomen.
“Lord Belial!”
Amid the shocked cries of the demon gods, Belial pulled back and pressed his right hand against the ground to stop his momentum. He then raised his head to look at Thors, showing a hint of surprise in his eyes as he said with a smirk, “It seems I was right. You’ve finally become somewhat decent!”
“Belial…” A hint of anger appeared in Thors’ cold eyes. At this moment, he had no time to suppress Sloth’s dark energy. To be worthy of fighting this guy before him, he had to unleash all his power.
To be honest, this was the first time Thors had fully unleashed the power of the three sacred marks. The intense divine energy quickly healed his wounds, but it also constantly clashed with Sloth’s dark energy.
After all, once the three sacred marks were fully released, Sloth’s dark energy would reappear in Thors—this was inevitable. As a result, Thors’ aura became extremely chaotic and violent, as darkness and light were opposing forces that could not coexist.
It was clear that Thors was struggling greatly, with the dark tattoos on his face flickering in and out, indicating that the two forces within him were constantly colliding. But his power…
“Ah!” As if unable to bear the violent energy within him, Thors roared. A fierce gust of wind swept across the square, leaving deep marks on the ground around him.
The intense wind was so strong that people couldn’t even open their eyes. Even the demon gods were shocked by this astonishing energy.

“What’s going on? A mere human brat with power greater than ours?” The tyrant Bal’s face showed horror as he stared at Thor in the arena.
Beside him, the demon lord Babatos glanced hesitantly at Belial and murmured, “Lord Belial…”
Under the strange gazes of the demon lords, Belial seemed completely unaffected by that violent gust of wind, as if the wind itself had a life of its own, scattering aside as it approached him.
Shaking off the dust from his clothes, Belial looked at Thor and shook his head, saying calmly, “Don’t lose your sanity to excessive anger. That would disappoint me greatly… Though your power is impressive, it’s… foolish! — How long can you hold on?”
Yet Thor seemed to have no time for idle talk with Belial. He took a deep breath, pushed off with his legs, and rushed toward Belial at incredible speed, shattering rocks along the way.
“Boom!” Just the collision of their arms generated such intense force, comparable to a powerful spell. Even the hard rocks beneath Belial’s feet couldn’t withstand the impact and kept breaking apart.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Under the solemn gazes of everyone present, Thor and Belial snapped their fingers simultaneously. Almost at the same time, black flames and white flames engulfed each other.
The battle that followed was so fast that even the demon lords couldn’t keep up. Only continuous snapping sounds could be heard, with intense flames erupting across the square—black and white flames entwining like two vicious beasts fighting each other.
“Boom!”
With another massive explosion, Belial emerged from a swirl of white flames. His gray cloak was long gone, and even his black cardinal’s robe showed signs of being burned. Thor, who appeared next, was in even worse condition, still covered in black flames as he rushed out.
Comparing the two, the demon lord who had chosen to follow Belial seemed to sigh in relief, then turned his curious and surprised gaze to Thor.
It was clear Thor was in terrible condition. His bare upper body appeared badly injured, but it seemed not caused by Belial, but rather by the two opposing energies within him.

It was clear that Sos’s skin emitted a hissing sound from time to time, followed by signs of burns, which then healed thanks to the divine power and his strong regenerative abilities as an apostle. Yet after healing, the burn marks reappeared… over and over again. It was not hard to imagine the pain Sos must be enduring, but clearly, he was more concerned about something else. Could even this not defeat him? His future self, Belial… Seeming to read Sos’s thoughts, Belial said calmly, “You seem disappointed? Or do you think you can defeat me just by unleashing all your power? How ridiculous. I am your ‘limit’…” With that, he raised his right hand and looked at the massive gray shadow floating behind Sos, saying lightly, “It’s foolish to refrain from using such powerful dark forces and instead rely on artificial divine power… Sloth’s power shows no effect on you at all, what a pity!” He chuckled lightly and added, “But for me, it’s a good thing—it saves me a lot of trouble…” “…Belial!” Looking at the panting Sos, Belial shook his head slightly and said calmly, “It’s time to end this, kid!” With that, he disappeared from his spot and suddenly reappeared in front of Sos in just one second. Before Sos could react, Belial grabbed his neck and lifted him up, preventing any resistance. Ignoring the divine power that was burning his left hand, Belial punched Sos in the abdomen, causing him to cry out in pain. Then, Belial’s right hand actually pierced through Sos’s chest… Well, not pierced—more like merged. Belial’s right hand strangely merged into Sos’s chest… It could be seen that powerful dark forces were flowing from Sos’s body to Belial, while at the same time, the shadow of Sloth behind Sos continued to fade away… “Let Sos go!” Suddenly, an angry voice came from not far away. Belial turned to look and saw Ravia, holding onto a broken stone pillar in the square, staring at him fiercely. Looking at Ravia with a gaze mixed with admiration, Belial nodded and said calmly, “No problem!” With that, he released his left hand, which had been gripping Sos’s neck.

“Bang!” As Belial let go, Thoros fell to the ground as if he had lost all his strength. Compared to before, his aura had become much more stable. The divine power was once again healing the injured parts of his body, with no signs of backlash anymore. This undoubtedly meant that Thoros had lost Slos’s power…
“Thoros!” Ravia rushed to his side without hesitation, helped him up, and asked anxiously, “Are you okay?”
Thoros shook his head slightly, then raised his head to look at Belial, his expression complex as he gazed at the dark power surrounding his body.
Just then, a lightning bolt as thick as a finger struck Belial’s shoulder. Immediately afterward, a clear voice filled with anger came from not far away.
“Leave my brother, you bastard!”
“…”
Belial silently glanced at his shoulder, then his expression turned very strange. He turned his head to look at the beautiful mage in the distance, his cold eyes revealing a hint of inexplicable sorrow.
“Ni… Na…”