Chapter 88

The Demon Lord felt a presence vanish from this plane of existence. "Hmm, he was that weak?" he remarked aloud, his tone dripping with disdain. "Who are you talking about, my lord?" asked Eriza from behind him, her voice filled with curiosity. The Demon Lord turned around to face her, his expression unreadable. "It seems Argath has died. He actually lost to that nameless angel, though I do sense the presence of a manifested Heavenly Paradise, so it makes sense that he lost," he said, showing no care for his seemingly dead subordinate.

"A Heavenly Paradise!" Eriza exclaimed in shock, her eyes widening with realization. "Wouldn't that make him a massive threat, my lord?" she asked, her concern evident in her voice. The Demon Lord waved her off dismissively. "I doubt he has an actual halo. He's most likely making one using the divine blood in his wings. Otherwise, he would have used it while we were all together. Most of you couldn't have survived it, after all," he explained matter-of-factly before turning his attention back to the portal, which continued to spew forth more demons. With a motion of his hand, he directed them to fly off and cause chaos wherever they pleased, providing no direction but to power the portal more.

"And besides," the Demon Lord continued, his voice tinged with confidence, "I'm sure someone else has gone to deal with him already."

**Back to the angel**

The angel dropped his Heavenly Paradise after Argath was reduced to nothing but ashes. He found himself back in the forest, sprawled on the ground, his body drenched in sweat and blood. The blood halo above his head faltered, struggling to maintain its shape, while the angel's wings had lost their luster, appearing dirty and ragged, far from their usual majestic pure white. With great effort, the angel pushed himself up to his knees, his weakened body protesting the movement.

"Come on, that was the weakest one. You have a Demon Lord to defeat. This world is relying on you," he muttered to himself, his voice filled with determination.

"That's a lofty goal. Also, if this world is relying on you, then it's already dead," a voice suddenly remarked from behind him. The angel's eyes widened in realization. *Here already? Must have sensed the manifested Heavenly Paradise,* he concluded before turning to face whoever had arrived.

His gaze fell upon a demon, a chimera of sorts, with the head and mane of a lion, the eyes of an eagle, and the body of a white bear adorned with crocodile-like scales on his back. His arms were striped like the legs of a tiger, while his legs were spotted like those of a cheetah. A tail, reminiscent of a scorpion stinger, swayed behind him as he stood on his hind legs, appearing more humanoid than a typical chimera.

The angel huffed as he struggled to stand, turning his body toward the chimera with great effort. "Whoa there, are you sure you don't want to die lying down? You look like you took quite a beating," the chimera taunted, his voice dripping with mockery.

"Shut up. I'll send you back to hell just like I did your friend," the angel declared defiantly, his voice wavering slightly with exhaustion. He extended his wings fully and clasped his hands together, preparing to unleash his Heavenly Paradise once more. "Heavenly Paradise: Rule Breake-" His sentence was cut short as the blood halo above his head burst, splattering divine blood onto the forest floor. The angel's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked up at the now-empty space where his halo had been.

The chimera erupted into laughter, the sound echoing through the forest like thunder. "Ha ha ha, looks like you can't just spam that and win, can you?" He jeered, pointing a clawed finger at the angel. Ignoring the mocking laughter, the angel turned his gaze back to the chimera. "Whatever. I don't need my paradise to beat a little shit like you," he retorted, his fists trembling as he raised them in a defensive stance.

"Oh, this is just golden," the chimera remarked with amusement before crouching down slightly. "Don't worry. Unlike Argath, I'll kill you quick." With those words, he charged toward the angel with astonishing speed, his tiger-like claws aimed directly at the angel's head. Time seemed to slow as the angel contemplated his options.

*What should I do?* the question echoed in his mind. *Should I try to block with my wings?* he considered, but quickly dismissed the idea. *Nah, they won't be able to protect me this time.* Another thought crossed his mind: *Can I counterattack?* But he rejected that idea too. *Can't do that. He's too fast, and I don't have any energy left.*

In that moment, the angel realized there was nothing more he could do. This was the end. *Ugh, I thought I would be able to do more, especially after all those flashbacks. But it looks like this is as far as I'll go. Sorry, everyone. I failed.*

Just as the angel had resigned himself to his fate, both he and the chimera were jolted by the roar of an engine. Before they could react, a powerful vehicle rammed into the chimera, sending him hurtling through several trees. The angel fell backward, narrowly avoiding being struck by the vehicle himself. "Wha-who-huh?" he spluttered in confusion as he scrambled to his feet and looked at the vehicle, recognizing it and its large reinforced windows. "That's the car from the village," he remarked aloud.

The Mark IX steamstrider let out a blast of steam from its multiple vents as the doors of the cockpit opened. "That was a demon, right? We didn't just hit a weird forest animal or somethin', right?" Larkin asked, peering in the direction where the chimera had been launched.

"Yes, Larkin, that was a demon. You do not have to worry," the demon assured him before turning its attention to the injured angel. "You look very injured," it remarked, offering a hand to help the angel to his feet.

"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock. You two almost ran me over with that damn thing," the angel retorted wearily as he accepted the demon's assistance. Larkin approached them, his eyes widening in shock as he took in the angel's battered appearance. "Holy shit! You look like ya got mauled by a pack of wolves!" he exclaimed.

"Thanks for telling me that," the angel replied dryly as the demon instructed Larkin, "Hold him, please. I will be occupied." Confused, Larkin complied with the demon's request.

"What are ya goin' to be occupied with?" Larkin questioned, but the demon didn't have to answer. They all heard the roar of a lion echoing throughout the forest, and soon after, the chimera emerged from where he had been launched. He looked almost completely unharmed, save for a few cuts and scratches.

The chimera looked upset, to say the least, with his fangs bared and claws flexed. It was sufficient to say that he very much wanted to kill all of them. "How the hell is that thing still fine after gettin' hit like that!?" Larkin exclaimed in disbelief.

"Chimeras are very resilient to blunt forms of attacks, however..." the demon explained calmly before morphing its right arm from the elbow below into a sword. "They are not very resilient to sharp objects," it finished, its gaze locking with the chimera's.

"You hit me," the chimera snarled through bared fangs, his voice dripping with menace.

"Yes, we did. Now it's time to finish you off," the demon remarked coldly, a barely noticeable tone of anger in its voice as it pointed its morphed arm toward the chimera. The stage was set for the battle between demons to commence for the second time this day.