Chapter 65: Semi-God (II)

Too strong—this is truly too strong!
Faced with Vincent Flores, who possessed the power of [Siphoning], Belial took less than two minutes to knock him out.
After all, Vincent Flores was no ordinary man—he was an Apostle, one who wielded the divine power of [Desire to Steal]!
Relying on that incredible divine power, Vincent Flores had once stolen the strength of Zos and Belial, even causing Zos to suffer greatly at his hands. Yet against Belial, even with such power, Vincent Flores had no chance to fight back and was effortlessly knocked unconscious in just two moves.
Kane was right—Belial, now free from his self-imposed seal, was far stronger than before. It wasn’t just a matter of power difference; it also involved his courage, will, and that fearless arrogance that defied heaven and earth, as well as anyone else.
The atmosphere on the battlefield instantly became tense. Even JerryBelfort showed a panicked expression of uncertainty. He had thought that with Vincent’s formidable abilities, the two Apostles combined could kill everyone there, including Belial. But he was wrong—completely wrong. Even Vincent, with his power of siphoning, couldn’t stop Belial’s advance, not even by a step.
How could this happen?
Thinking of his secret agreement with Vincent, JerryBelfort couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
His plans had indeed been sound—he wanted to take advantage of the perfect opportunity where Zos and the others were fighting against the powerful enemy Belial, allowing both sides to exhaust each other. Once Vincent arrived, he could kill Belial, who posed a threat to the empire and the world, and at the same time eliminate threats like Zos within the empire. In this way, they could gain absolute power and high prestige.
But he never expected that this man claiming to be Belial would be this strong…
Thinking of how hundreds of royal magicians were killed instantly by Belial, this power made JerryBelfort doubt his own strength for the first time.
Could he defeat this terrifying man before him?
JerryBelfort had no confidence at all.
What should he do now?
JerryBelfort racked his brains, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead as he felt the pressure.

Although Belial’s gaze wasn’t on him at all, Jerry Belford still felt a tremendous sense of intimidation. He had an inexplicable illusion that if he dared to make any rash move, his fate might not be much better than Vincent’s, who was lying there. With that thought, Jerry Belford suddenly used teleportation magic to arrive beside Thors and the others. At such a time, no one would laugh at Jerry Belford’s timidity—even Allen, who knew it was like throwing eggs at a rock yet still chose to fight alone, was acting foolishly, not bravely! As for fleeing… Jerry Belford was sure that the terrifying man’s teleportation magic was faster than his own… Glancing at Jerry Belford’s embarrassed expression, Thors said nothing more. After all, in these final moments of the world’s end, conflicts over power struggles were unimportant matters; the top priority was to stop the world from collapsing! With that in mind, Thors took a deep breath and said softly, “Whatever happens, we must retrieve the Holy Spirit Stone. Otherwise, this world is doomed!” Hearing Thors say this, Jerry Belford secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to look at Lilith, only to see her turn her head away with a cold smile, prompting him to sigh bitterly. “Do we want to defeat that bad big brother?” Little Lilith tilted her head cutely and said, “Lilith will go first!” “Stop, Lilith!” Before Thors could finish speaking, Little Lilith spread her arms, and a surge of magic appeared. Hundreds of “Pabets” slowly emerged from the ground—clay puppets infused with [Hate Power], as strong as the warriors of Gusauros. Even if their bodies were destroyed, they would keep regenerating, becoming stronger each time, making them extremely troublesome foes. But against a powerhouse like Belial, they seemed not very effective… With a wave of his right hand, a powerful stream of energy shattered hundreds of “Pabets” into dust. The “Pabets” had the ability to regenerate from death, but that took time, whereas Belial’s magic required no preparation time at all. “Huh?” Little Lilith tilted her head in surprise. Just then, Belial’s gaze fell on her. A blue light flashed in his left eye, and rows of triangular magic arrays appeared in front of Thors and the others. Those [Mirage] arrays, as solid and dense as city walls, covered everyone without any gaps.

“Everyone, be careful!” Thors’ expression changed drastically as he appeared instantly at the front of the group. With his right hand loosely clenched, thousands of fireballs formed and deftly intercepted each terrifying beam, blocking them all.

The others, such as the old dean, also woke up after Thors’ warning and quickly activated protective shields to keep the harmful energy outside.

After blocking those attacks, Thors glanced at Belial in the distance. His gaze remained cold, as if he were looking at a stranger.

Kane was right—Belial truly wanted to kill everyone here…

Thinking of this, Thors sighed slightly and turned to the old dean and the others, saying apologetically, “I’m sorry, Old Dean, Professor Hode. Please…”

At first, the old dean looked embarrassed upon hearing these words, but after seeing Thors’ apologetic gaze, he understood and nodded with a bitter smile, saying self-mockingly, “It’s your turn now, the young ones. Go ahead, kids!”

“You’ve grown up, Thors! Go ahead—let us handle the support!” Professor Hode also replied with a helpless smile, retreating with the old dean and the other grand magicians to create a protective shield.

Although they were only providing support from the side, they knew well that Belial’s attacks couldn’t be stopped by ordinary shields.

At that moment, Thors’ gaze fell on Allen and Scott. Before he could speak, Allen, holding the Great Knight’s Sword, said cheerfully, “Don’t say anything, buddy. As a brave knight, no matter how strong the enemy, I won’t back down from battle—even if it costs me my life!” By the time he said this, there was no trace of humor on Allen’s face, proving his determination.

Indeed, Allen was no longer the troublemaking troublestudent of old—he had become a true knight.

A true knight would never expose his back to the enemy!

“That’s right, don’t say anything, Thors!” Scott adjusted his glasses and said with a smile, “My army under Galick is still somewhere in the distance. As its commander, I must uphold Galick’s beliefs! Even if I die, I’ll die while charging forward!”

“Hey, hey, hey! That’s what I should say!” Allen protested unwillingly.

“Tch, who cares about you?!”

“You…”

Looking at these two friends who had grown up together, at the conviction in their eyes and the calm smiles on their faces, Thors shook his head helplessly and said in a low voice, “Well, be careful then!”
“Ah!”
It wasn’t that Thors wanted to see these two good friends die needlessly; it was precisely because they were friends that Thors couldn’t bring himself to say anything to stop them. After all, what right did he have to question their beliefs and determination?
Besides, Allen was already a great knight, his combat intuition comparable to the perception and prediction abilities of the Force. Scott, on the other hand, was an excellent sorcerer. Though he didn’t possess much direct destructive power, with his various curses at his disposal, he would be an invaluable asset in dealing with Belial.
Thors’ gaze shifted to Connel and Ulric…
Connel shrugged and said carelessly, “I don’t believe that guy can kill me 240,000 times!”
Hearing his self-mockery, Ulric smiled slightly and said to Thors, “Don’t worry. We can take care of ourselves, right?”
Indeed, it would be absurd to claim that the most powerful vampires among the bloodkin, the Vampires of Vanthor and Gungro, lacked the ability to protect themselves.
In the end, Thors’ gaze fell on Nina beside him. Before he could speak, Nina looked at him, sighed softly with deep affection, and said gently, “Don’t say anything that would upset your sister, my dearest brother!”
“Huh?” Thors was stunned and could only say nothing with a bitter smile.
The weaker ones gradually retreated far away, leaving only Thors, Lilith, Little Lily, Jerry Belfort, Nina, Allen, Scott, and the three puppets—“Castle,” “Knight,” and “Light Governor.” Even the demon gods Simonli and Lelarkin stepped back, as they had suffered severe injuries in the previous battle and hadn’t yet recovered.
The group slowly dispersed.
Actually, what Thors was most worried about at this moment was the Dark King Cain and those demon gods on Belial’s side interfering. But to his surprise, it seemed that Cain and the others had no intention of stepping in to help Belial.
“Shouldn’t we go help? Lord Cain?” The Sixth Demon God, “Duke of Shadows” Waliver, looked at Cain in surprise.
Cain shook his head and said in a complex tone, looking at Belial in the distance, “Our master doesn’t need our help right now. And… if we intervene rashly, he might kill us along with him…”
“Hm?” Waliver looked horrified.

Next to him, the Third Demon God Vashak gazed at Belial in the distance with a pained expression, murmuring, “Even such a beautiful and powerful soul has gradually degenerated under the erosion of darkness. Lord Belial, you now cannot make me follow you willingly… Is this truly fate’s arrangement? What a sad thing…”

“Shut up!” snapped the First Demon God, the Tyrant Bal, before fixing a solemn gaze on Belial in the distance.

After that move, Belial showed no intention of taking action again, quietly observing as Thors and the others devised some strategy. After two minutes, boredom appeared in his eyes—a very dangerous sign.

“Haven’t you decided yet, you reptiles? I’m getting impatient!”

Belial’s words sounded harsh to Thors and the others, but they still did not retort, perhaps because Belial had put too much pressure on them.

Only Thors…

“Do you know, Belial?” Thors frowned as he looked at Belial in the distance and said in a deep voice, “Though your strength has doubled compared to before, that annoying aura of yours has increased tenfold!”

Belial showed no sign of annoyance at Thors’ words—a truly terrifying sign. It meant that, as Cain had said, Belial had abandoned all human emotions, merged with Slos’ will, and become a half-human, half-god being. A monster…

“This is terrible,” JerryBelfort sighed secretly. Glancing around, he whispered to Thors, “Please forgive my rude behavior, Lord Klaest!”

Thors was momentarily stunned before seemingly understanding something and nodding.

Seeing Thors agree, JerryBelfort wasted no time. His pupils emitted a faint red glow as he stared intently at Thors. Then, two red and white flames slowly emerged from Thors’ body and landed beside JerryBelfort, transforming into two figures.

One was a child who appeared to be about eleven or twelve years old, his entire body covered in crimson flames, with four or five fireballs floating around him—this was Thors from his academy days.

The other looked roughly the same age as Thors, dressed in the uniform of a Holy Inquisitor, with blazing white flames burning in his right hand—this was Thors from his time in Salonia.

These two, Red Thors and White Thors, were created by JerryBelfort using his divine power [Desire Exposure]. One represented Thors’ desire for magic, while the other represented his hatred for Agus. After all, Thors was one of the strongest among everyone here, and now he was just a human. JerryBelfort, with his consent, naturally used Thors as the medium to wield his divine power.

“Be careful, everyone!”

As soon as Thors spoke, Red Thors and White Thors vanished from their original positions and reappeared beside Belial in the blink of an eye. Red Thors let out a sharp command, and dense clusters of fireballs appeared behind him, raining down on Belial like artillery fire. At the same time, White Thors waved his hand sharply, and white flames coiled up like a dragon, its head charging straight at Belial’s body. The power of the magic wielded by these two was almost on par with that of the real Thors.

“Boom!” With a loud explosion, Belial’s body was instantly engulfed by white and red flames.

“Wow!” Allen widened his eyes in astonishment, once again realizing just how unimaginable the power of the Apostles was.

At that moment, JerryBelfort shouted in a slightly panicked tone, “He’s coming out!”

Before anyone could react, an energy storm swept through the area. With two loud bangs, Red Thors and White Thors were sent flying without any resistance.

“Boring tricks!” With a cold sneer, Belial stepped out from the flames, targeting JerryBelfort first. As JerryBelfort was filled with terror, there was another bang—as Thors, who had arrived in time, used his elbow to block Belial’s right hand.

“Boom!” The ground beneath Thors collapsed.

Belial’s immense strength pressed down on Thors, and the ground beneath him couldn’t withstand such force. With a loud collapse, a circular pit formed.

But anyway, Thors managed to block it, though in a rather desperate manner.

“Roar!”

A black giant wolf leaped high, its sharp fangs aimed at Belial’s throat—that was Cornell in his wolf form. But against Belial, who possessed Source Power, such a direct and simple attack would yield no result. Sure enough, Belial turned his head abruptly, his blood-red eyes staring fiercely at Cornell. An unimaginably powerful force threw Cornell into the air.

“Bang!” Connel crashed heavily to the ground. Even his mighty Gungro body couldn’t help but spew out a mouthful of blood. Yet, Belial’s attacks weren’t over. Before Connel could get up, countless triangular magic arrays appeared around him. The terrifying technique of “Mirror Flower” shattered Connel’s body, reducing him to a pool of flesh and blood in a cruel act. “Uncle Connel!” Allen cried out instinctively. With a whoosh, the blood and flesh on the ground stirred up a dark wind. Amidst this dark force, Connel reappeared unharmed before everyone, shouting at Allen irritably, “Why are you shouting? I’m not dead yet!” Allen opened his mouth, looking speechless. Taking advantage of Belial’s attention drawn to Connel, Thos vanished in a flash. Along with continuous snapping sounds, powerful flames erupted around Belial. Those flames, mixed with a sacred aura, swirled around, trapping Belial inside. “Hmph!” With a light snort, Belial spread his arms and shouted loudly. With a bang, the sacred flames were blown away by his aura. Just then, a shadow darted behind Belial, and a dagger emitting a dim glow pressed against his neck—it was Lilith, who had transformed herself into darkness. But Belial seemed to have anticipated this. He tilted his body slightly backward and dodged Lilith’s deadly strike. “Damn it!” After cursing, Lilith, who had lost her balance, used her left hand to push herself up. Just as she tried to leave, she felt a heavy blow to her waist. Instantly, her entire body was flung uncontrollably, leaving a trail dozens of yards long on the ground. “Pfft!” Lilith, lying on the ground, couldn’t help but spit out blood. As she raised her head, she saw the dense array of “Mirror Flowers”… “Boom!” Amidst a blue energy storm, Lilith looked at Thos standing in front of her, her expression complex, and said, “I owe you two favors…” “Heh,” Thos understood what Lilith meant. Shaking his head, he said softly, “Don’t be careless. Belial isn’t an opponent who can be knocked down by simple attacks!” “Mm!”

At that moment, Connel and Ulrich were fiercely attacking Belial. These two special vampires, regarded as the strongest among the bloodkin, had no chance to fight back against Belial at all. After just half a minute, Connel had been killed no less than twenty times, with each resurrection leading to immediate death. As for Ulrich, although he had transformed into a blood form and could selectively avoid Belial’s attacks, it was evident that the concentration of blood in his body was gradually fading. This “incompetent vampire,” unaccustomed to drinking human blood, was almost out of blood reserves.

Ulrich seemed to realize this as well and focused his mental energy on Belial, seemingly trying to replenish his blood from him. Admittedly, this was a beautiful wish, but reality was cruel. Belial suddenly made a sharp gesture with his right hand, and Ulrich, flying in midair, seemed to suffer a fatal blow. He spat out a large mouthful of blood, fell to the ground, and lost consciousness, his body returning to its human form.

After dealing with Ulrich, Belial sensed an attack from behind. He turned around and grabbed Connel, who had transformed into a giant wolf, then punched him hard in the abdomen. The sheer force of the punch nearly made Connel’s eyes bulge out.

Just then, a blast of ice passed by Belial’s side. He raised his head and stared expressionlessly at Allen in the distance. The immense pressure made Allen swallow hard. With a loud shout, he turned and ran the moment Belial became wary.

Allen’s actions caused Belial to momentarily lose focus. Just as he tried to deal with that guy Allen, a beam of dark power enveloped him entirely.

[Constriction!]
[Imprisonment!]
[Blindness!]
[Senescence!]

Scott, who had been waiting for an opportunity, unleashed all the curses he possessed on Belial. In a flash, he succeeded in trapping Belial, causing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief.

“You bastard… didn’t you say knights never expose their backs to their opponents?” Scott sneered at Allen.

Allen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, still shaken, “Wouldn’t that be suicide? Do you think I’m stupid? Besides, I’m not a knight—I’m a battle mage!”

“How bold…” Scott said with disdain.

At that moment, Sos’s anxious voice came from afar.

“Don’t be careless! This won’t hold Belial back!”

“Huh?” As Allen and Scott stared in shock, Belial wriggled his hands free from all restraints and appeared before them in an instant.
“Damn it!” Allen’s eyes showed horror as he forced down his fear and used the Great Knight’s Sword to block Belial’s attack. Yet he paid a heavy price, being sent flying like a cannonball.
“Allen!” Scott shouted instinctively, then looked at Belial standing before him, at a loss. Just as he was about to cast a spell, Belial raised his right hand, and an unstoppable surge of power blew him away.
Fortunately, the knight Knight arrived in time to protect Scott. Unfortunately, his strength wasn’t enough to withstand Belial’s attack, and both were blown away and crashed to the ground.
“Guh!”
Scott spat out a mouthful of blood, struggled to get up, pushed his glasses up with his trembling right hand, said something with a bitter smile, then collapsed unconscious.
“What a pity…”
Not far from him, the knight puppet Knight was also severely damaged. With its exposed mechanical parts, it seemed unable to continue fighting.
“Roar!”
With an angry roar, the castle puppet Kanso rushed at Belial, seemingly determined to avenge its master. But before it could raise its massive fist, it was already pierced by countless beams of light.
In just a few minutes, Ulrich, Allen, Scott, the knight puppet Knight, and the castle puppet Kanso all lost their fighting ability…
“Even Scott’s curse can’t trap Belial…” Thos worriedly glanced in the direction of his two friends. Only after sensing their faint presence did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Connel had already been killed by Belial hundreds of times, causing Belial to show signs of boredom.
Thos noticed this and shouted, “Don’t look into his eyes, Connel!”
“Huh?” Connel raised his head in shock, directly facing Belial’s terrifying blood-red eyes. He seemed to have lost his soul, appearing eerily dull.
Worse still, his body was gradually fading away.
At that moment, Thos used a teleportation spell to appear beside Connel and slashed his neck with a sharp hand strike. Connel let out a pained cry and quickly regained his senses.

Coming to his senses, Connel showed a terrified expression and exclaimed in shock, “Did this guy take away 100,000 of my lives in one go?”
Glancing at Connel beside him, Thos lowered his voice and said, “That was the divine power [Erasure of Existence]. No matter how many lives you have, you can’t resist it… Luckily, it takes a bit more time to erase you than an ordinary person. Otherwise, you’d have disappeared completely!”
“This isn’t funny at all, kid!” Connel said, still shaken.
“I wish it were a joke!” Thos snorted. Seeing that Belial’s attention seemed to be focused on Little Lily and JerryBelfort, he quickly used teleportation magic to go help them.
After all, Little Lily was too young to wield the powerful strength of [Anger] Sammael, let alone JerryBelfort, whose power of [Greed] Mammon was almost the weakest among the seven ancient wills.
Thos, along with Red Thos and White Thos, all poured their magic at Belial continuously, but their attacks had no effect on him. During one encounter, Belial seemed to split into two. One of them rushed at Red Thos in an instant, grabbed his neck, and crushed him to death, while the other appeared behind White Thos, piercing his chest with his right hand. The black flames burning on his hand instantly devoured White Thos.
After dealing with these two impostors, Belial focused his attention on Thos, who was the closest to him.
“Belfort!” Thos shouted loudly while fighting against Belial.
Sweat beaded on JerryBelfort’s forehead. He knew what Thos’s shout meant, but the problem was that his use of divine power had a time limit. Who would have thought that even Wolmon Kleist’s clone could be easily defeated by Belial?
Without access to divine power, JerryBelfort was just an ordinary high-level mage.
“Boom!” Dozens of giant boulders seemed to be summoned, but they existed for only a few seconds before being reduced to ashes by Belial’s illusory attacks.
Just as Cain had said, this Belial was the one who had sealed himself after losing his loved one—Belial without emotions. At this moment, he was at his strongest, with no weaknesses in terms of attack, defense, or predicting and capturing enemy movements.

His innate exceptional fighting talent, surpassing that of any great figure in history, combined with his deep and extensive perception of the Force, along with his beast-like intuition—how could someone with such gifts fail to drive his opponents to despair?
“Tch!”
Thors had no choice but to confront Belial head-on, as he was the strongest among everyone here. Others, like Lilith, JerryBelfort, and Little Lilith, paled in comparison to his body strengthened by both dark and light forces.
But he didn’t dare go too far away…
“Be careful, Thors!” Nina kept unleashing her lightning powers. As a mage of three elements, she could control fire, water, and the combination of both—lightning. If not for her relentless attacks to harass Belial, Ulrich and the others might not have lasted even a minute.
However, this put Nina’s own safety at risk. After all, Belial now cared nothing; all he wanted was to kill any enemy who stood in his way—every enemy!
As the battle continued, fewer and fewer people remained as combatants. Against Belial’s overwhelming power, the light barrier of the puppet “Governor of Light,” Besup, was nothing but a joke—Belial shattered it along with its user, though its core wasn’t severely damaged. Still, even the infinitely adaptable “soldiers” couldn’t pull off a miracle this time.
In just ten minutes, only Thors, JerryBelfort, Nina, Lilith, and Little Lilith remained in front of Belial—just these five!
Even Connel had no choice but to withdraw from the battle, as he had already lost too many lives. After all, Gungro’s regeneration ability could only restore his normal strength, meaning he was merely wasting his lives in front of Belial, serving no purpose.
Belial had already begun to wield the divine power [Erasure of Existence]. This meant that aside from the Apostles and those who controlled the Force, Belial was a far more terrifying existence than death itself for ordinary humans.
Thors had tried to persuade Nina to withdraw as well, but sadly, he failed.

The only thing that reassured Thors was that Belial’s interest in Nina didn’t seem as strong as it was toward the other three Apostles and Thors himself. Indeed, in terms of apostle strength, Nina, as a great mage, still appeared rather weak, despite possessing many precious gems to enhance her magic power and recovery speed.

Everyone else besides them was defeated by Belial’s incredibly powerful strength—Allen, Scott, Ulrich… Even many of the human great mages who had retreated to provide support were killed by Belial…

“Are you okay, Raphael?” Thors didn’t dare turn around; his gaze never left Belial, though he wasn’t relying on his eyes to perceive him.

Along with Thors’ words, the radiant Archangel Raphael barely managed to stand up. Compared to his once magnificent appearance, he now looked utterly disheveled.

“Damn it!” Lilith wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and glared hatefully at Belial in the distance. Behind her, a vague shadow coiled like a giant serpent, occasionally flicking out its fangs at Belial. That was the projection of the Ancient Will [Lust], Asmontis.

“It’s unbelievable…” JerryBelfort muttered, holding his bloodied right hand. Behind him, the projection of Greed [Mammon], a two-headed giant bird, let out shrill cries from time to time.

“That scary big brother is so terrifying…” Little Lilith cowered behind Thors. Behind her, the projection of [Anger], Sammael—a creature with wings on its ribs and claws on its belly, covered in scales, resembling both a dragon and a dragon-beast—continuously spread its wrathful will everywhere.

As Little Lilith fearfully stared at the shadow behind Belial, Sloth’s projection, which should have been in the form of a bear, had turned into a human-like being, almost identical to Belial himself. Perhaps Belial now was the Ancient Will Sloth, and the Ancient Will Sloth was Belial now—the two seemed to have completely merged.

“There’s no way to defeat him!” In the distance, the old dean sighed sadly. He had once been confident that Thors, JerryBelfort, Lilith, Little Lilith, and the others combined could defeat Belial, but now he was desperate because of him.

Who would have thought that three Apostles, along with a powerful being who wielded Source Energy, still couldn’t defeat Belial? No—rather, such strength held no chance whatsoever against Belial.

Beside the old archbishop, Pope Neomi Metment cast a faint glance at the desperate old archbishop and said in a deep voice, “We must seal that dark force!”
“Hm?” The old archbishop was stunned and asked in surprise, “Can it really be sealed? The power of the Ancient Will?” As he spoke, it seemed he remembered something and exclaimed in amazement, “Could it be the legendary ‘Great Ritual Sealing Art’ said to be capable of sealing the gods?”
“Hm!” Neomi Metment’s expression became somewhat awkward at the old archbishop’s blunt words.
Next to him, Archbishop Alma Bird was stunned and frowned, saying, “But that requires 164 archbishop-level white magic users to cast it together…” As he spoke, it seemed he remembered something and murmured, “That’s right, you, me, plus Archbishop Kleist—that makes five sacred marks. The energy should be about the same… No wonder…”
“No wonder what?” Neomi Metment asked with a frown.
Archbishop Alma Bird smiled and said, “I was wondering why you’re so cooperative this time. I thought I’d help those young people, but it seems you already had a plan!”
“Hmph. I just wanted to exhaust that pagan’s strength as much as possible…”
“But Archbishop Kleist also used too much of his strength…”
“Him?” Neomi Metment snorted coldly, showing no respect for Thos at all. “If he’s exhausted just like that, then that brat is nothing but that— a believer of the Lord, who must defend the Lord’s glory and dignity even at the cost of his life!”
“Hehe, truly worthy of Archbishop Metment!” Archbishop Alma Bird chuckled.
Seeing their conversation, the old archbishop said softly, “Is there anything I can do to help?”
Neomi Metment frowned and thought for a moment before saying softly, “We need time to gather sacred energy. If those brats fail during that time…”
“I understand!” The old archbishop nodded solemnly.
“But to seal Belial’s power, we still need an opportunity. Almighty Lord, please grant your believers the power to overcome evil! Sigh…”
Just then, an immense amount of energy came from the battlefield. Everyone instinctively turned their heads and saw a violent energy ten times larger than Belial himself floating above his raised right hand, and this violent energy continued to grow stronger.
“He… no… it can’t be…” Professor Hodd showed a horrified expression, as if he had understood Belial’s purpose.

He, Belial, seemed tired of fighting against Sos and the others, wanting to destroy the entire region in one go, including everyone here. Even Sos was speechless upon seeing that indescribably powerful energy—he knew full well that if it erupted here, not to mention Brees, the blast would even reach Thassan. That immense energy was enough to destroy ten Thassans; though it might sound exaggerated, it might not even require the Eye of Chaos to destroy the world… Under the horrified gazes of Sos and the others, Belial’s right hand slowly descended, along with that powerful energy. “Belial!” Exhausted as he was, Sos tried to stop him, but Belial wouldn’t let him. A dense array of trident magic formations surrounded Sos completely, preventing him from getting even a step closer to Belial, no matter how many times he used his teleportation magic. The others seemed to realize the threat as well, but it was too late—the massive energy in Belial’s hand was about to hit the ground. And at that moment, time itself in the entire world stopped… Finally, the final moment had arrived… “This is the end…” Yet, Belial’s movements halted, because someone stopped him… It wasn’t Sos, not Lilith, not Jerry Belford, not Nina, not Little Lily, nor anyone else… It was a woman… A pale blue figure appeared mysteriously beside Belial—a very beautiful and mature woman. Though her figure was somewhat blurred, Sos felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity about her. Her appearance caused Belial, whose eyes had been filled with coldness, to show a brief moment of distraction. Under the breathless gazes of everyone, the woman grasped Belial’s right hand with both hands, stopping him. Looking at his face, she shook her head slightly and said softly, “Enough, Sos. Enough, my foolish brother…” “What?” Sos widened his eyes, and Nina also looked utterly incredulous. Under their astonished gazes, Belial’s indifferent eyes gradually returned to their normal color, the coldness fading away, and the desperate massive energy in his hand slowly weakened and disappeared.

Belial stared at the woman in front of him in disbelief, opening his mouth dumbly before murmuring, “Sis… sis…” Then, as if he had just remembered something, he said joyfully, like a child proud of his achievement, “I succeeded! I succeeded, sis! I can revive you!” With that, he quickly took out the Holy Spirit Stone from his arms.

Looking at the dazzling gem, the woman showed no joy on her face; instead, it was filled with sorrow. She gently held Belial’s face with her translucent hands, speaking softly with a choked voice, “Enough, enough. Stop talking. Please, stop…”

The joy on Belial’s face vanished completely. At a loss, he said, “W-why, sis? I… I’ve succeeded. Time in this world has stopped, and the forces that balanced us no longer exist. I can revive you! I did it…”

“Yes, you did,” the woman said, gazing at Belial with an affectionate look as she held his face. “But you’ve taken the lives of many others. What right do you have to do that?”

Facing her pure gaze, Belial opened his mouth, awkwardly turning his gaze away before saying stiffly, “So… what if? What does it matter to me what happens to others?!” She sighed and gently stroked the crystal necklace on Belial’s chest, saying, “Actually, being revived isn’t a big deal for me, because I died for my dearest brother. I have no regrets… Why must you hurt so many people just to revive me? Even if I could be revived, how could I continue living under the weight of such guilt?”

“I… it’s… not a big deal,” Belial said, forcing a smile. “I’ll kill everyone who knows… No one will ever find out…”

“Including me?”

“Hm?” Belial was stunned for a moment before forcing a smile. “I… how could I possibly kill you?”

“Because I know everything you’ve done,” she said, sighing and looking at Belial with a pained expression. She shook her head. “Since when has my dear brother become willing to sacrifice others’ lives just to achieve his own goals…”

“I…” Belial opened his mouth, then seemed to remember something. He looked up at the sky and said anxiously, “There’s no time. I’ll revive you using the power of the Holy Spirit Stone now…” But before he could finish, he was interrupted by the woman.
“No, don’t do this! Unless you want me to suffer forever!”
Facing the woman’s angry gaze, Belial’s eyes showed confusion and bewilderment. He stepped back absentmindedly and murmured, “W-why… why… why…”
His bewildered eyes flickered between the woman and the Holy Spirit Stone. His breathing grew rapid, and the dark energy around him surged like boiling water.
“Why, why, why!”
Finally, with a scream that echoed across the sky, the dark power within Belial burst outward. The overwhelming dark energy coalesced into the form of an enraged bear in the air, glaring angrily at all the humans below. It was the power of Sloth!
“What… what’s going on?” Lilith and Nina stared in shock at the sky.
Looking at Belial in the distance with a complex expression, seeing him kneeling on the ground in confusion, Thos sighed slightly.
“That guy… has collapsed…”