RELGRIZ

Relgriz.

One of the Stygian Lords because he is very strong, though his body is smaller than most of the bigger demons. Relgriz is also the youngest of the Stygian Lords. And he likes to take the form of a human, though his behavior is playful.

Relgriz's mouth is very sweet, even to his victims. If Nesses seduces humans with her "sexy woman" form, Relgriz is the opposite. Even men can fall for the demon's charms.

Malron knew that the human corpses lying on the ground were unaware that they had been consumed by Relgriz's deadly lure.

"What did you say before?" "I didn't hear you," Relgriz said lightly.

"Go back to hell!" Malron shouted in frustration.

For some reason, repeating the same words again made them less impactful.

"I still have work to do." Relgriz casually looked at his fingernails. "Unemployed like you, maybe it's better to go home, Malron. The world doesn't need many demon rulers."

With a swift movement, Malron drew his trident on the enemy in front of him. Relgriz's fan slipped between the prongs of the trident, then the jade-green demon turned sideways, causing Malron to stumble. 

Relgriz stood on the ground and looked down at the fallen Malron.

"Are you not the most powerful demons? What's wrong with you?" Relgriz chuckled softly.

Once upon a time, Malron had dueled with Relgriz. There was no doubt that Malron easily broke every attack, even making Relgriz crawl at his feet.

But now?

"Are you weakening?" Relgriz asked.

Malron stood up, then ran quickly toward Relgriz. A battle between the two was inevitable. Relgriz's movements were so light, and his hands casually blocked every attack from Malron with ease.

Easily.

This was something Malron couldn't accept. How could the demon known to be the strongest be troubled by a demon like Relgriz?

Malron realized that both Nesses and Relgriz had undergone significant improvements. Perhaps because they were summoned to Earth and grew stronger? Malron should have gotten the same, since all the Stygian Lords were summoned.

Except...

Malron jerked, remembering the sudden arrival of the System, which then destroyed everything for him!

Could it be that the Demon Curse System weakened Malron even more?

Suddenly, Relgriz was standing behind Malron and his terrible laugh could be heard.

"You are careless."

Malron tried to turn around, but Relgriz was much quicker. The green demon's weapon was shorter, more practical in close quarters. And of course it was deadly when Relgriz swung his fan at his opponent.

Crashh!

Malron's back was hit by Relgriz's fan, sending sparks flying between them.

"You better go to hell," Relgriz hissed.

"You son of a bitch!!"

"I like the world the way it is now. So many souls trapped, even lost. They will be mine." Relgriz laughed. "And I don't share."

Malron's body quickly moved away from Relgriz. The trident in Malron's hand stood guard. Relgriz might be getting stronger, but there was no way he could surpass Malron.

One thing was for sure, Malron sensed that it was the system that had significantly reduced his strength. So the demon had to be extra careful when facing Relgriz. Even though the fan-wielding demon was nothing more than a speck of dust in Malron's eyes.

Malron jumped up and prepared to thrust his trident. Malron's movement was so fast that it couldn't be seen with the naked eye. Relgriz just stood there, and Malron thought the green demon was too careless. He caught him off guard!

Malron aimed his trident at Relgriz with all his might.

But...

The trident hit the ground. The figure of Relgriz suddenly vanished.

"Your attacks never change." Relgriz whispered quietly from behind Malron.

Relgriz's follow-up blow to Malron's back was quite fatal. Malron finally fell to the ground, feeling the pain. Relgriz did not waste the opportunity.

The green demon continued to beat Malron mercilessly.

*

From the window of the church, Kieran stared at the darkening sky that spread over the city. He turned to Mariel, who sat with her hands clasped tightly together. Mariel's face looked pale, and she suppressed her fear by praying. 

There were several other people taking refuge inside the church, doing the same as Mariel.

But Kieran couldn't find peace, even though he continued to seek shelter in his heart. The fear for Malron made him want to leave immediately to follow, but he didn't know where Malron had gone.

Kieran's gaze shifted back to the center of darkness that could unleash a massive storm at any moment. An alarm sounded, indicating a tornado warning. Soon, Kieran and those inside the church would be directed to the basement shelter.

The church door opened and people rushed in to escape the wrath of the wind. The priests opened the door to the shelter and led them through the hallway.

"Hey, you!" Mariel called. "Hey, K!"

Kieran turned around.

"Come on, we need to get to the basement fast," Mariel urged.

Kieran quickly glanced back out the window. He shook his head. "I'm waiting for Lord Malron."

"He may already be hiding somewhere else. Come on, K!"

"No!" Kieran shook his head again.

"Don't be stubborn, we need to get to the cellar now!" Mariel insisted.

People streamed into the church, and some suspicious figures entered as well. They were all wearing black hooded jackets. For some reason, Kieran immediately crouched down and hid between the pews.

"What are you doing?" Mariel asked.

"Get down!" Kieran hissed.

Mariel looked toward the door and suddenly crouched down as well. Her face was completely pale as she looked at Kieran.

"Could they follow us here?" Mariel whispered.

"Do you know them?" Kieran's eyes widened.

Mariel looked confused. "I don't know."

"Are they after me or you? Are they undercover cops?"

"What?! Really?!"

Kieran and Mariel, busy with their own thoughts, didn't notice that the group of people had spotted them. The men in black were clearly sent by the leader to follow Kieran.

Quickly, the men moved past the pews, approaching Kieran and Mariel until they were surrounded and about to be captured.

"No..." Kieran didn't know what to do.

Mariel, crouched beside Kieran, immediately pulled something out of the back of her boot. She stood up and jumped onto the pew, then kicked the nearest enemy. With the stick in her hand, Mariel swung it out to both sides.

Kieran marveled at what he had just seen.

"Go, Kieran!" Mariel ordered. "Run!"