Hanibal VS Asmodeus

"Prince Hanibal! Zakaria! What are you really doing?! You've just sta—"

The Royal Advisor, upon seeing Zakaria stabbing King Abayomi and Prince Hanibal seemingly preparing himself for a fight, immediately snapped out of it and tried to regain control of the situation.

However, before he could finish his sentence, Prince Hanibal's shout interrupted him.

"Zakaria!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

"Step back! He's not your opponent!"

"But, Your Highness?"

"Do you think I will just stand idly by?!"

Asmodeus, growing increasingly furious, began to unleash an incantation.

He held onto the sword that pierced his chest, preventing Zakaria from pulling it. Then, from his right hand, a black flame started to manifest.

"Burn, [Hell Flare]!"

"[Sand Wall]!"

The burst of black flames surged towards the retreating Zakaria. However, a wall of sand suddenly emerged from the floor, blocking the fiery onslaught.

"Hanibal!"

King Mandora, or Asmodeus, turned to the Prince who created the sand wall.

As he looked, he found a sand ball resembling an egg by the Prince's side, which then shattered, revealing Zakaria inside. Witnessing this, Asmodeus became even more enraged.

He unleashed black magic once again. This time, it took the form of a large bird-shaped flame, soaring towards Hanibal.

"[Gate of Sands]."

Five solid sand gates suddenly lined up, obstructing the path of the black bird of fire.

"Your Highness..."

Zakaria, seemingly aware that the opponent surpassed his own strength, could only whisper softly.

"It's alright, Zakaria. He's too powerful. I'll hold him back. You! Evacuate everyone from the residence! Find Halima and follow her orders! She knows what you should do next!"

"But—"

"No 'buts'! Just do it, stay calm. I've prepared a force elsewhere."

Whoosh!

"Done chatting?!" Asmodeus asked irritably as his attack was once again thwarted.

"Yeah, now it's just you and me."

Asmodeus frowned upon hearing that. He sensed something peculiar. Why did Prince Hanibal suddenly come to Ashur and attack him?

Hanibal was someone he wanted to avoid.

Asmodeus disliked battles. Not because he was weak, but because he preferred to control everything from behind the scenes. But now, he unexpectedly had to face the strongest individual in Mandora.

Although Asmodeus was confident in his ability to win, he knew it wouldn't be easy.

"Hanibal! Explain why you are fighting against your own father?! Don't tell me this is a coup?!"

"Huh? What are you talking about? A coup? Perhaps! Because I need to snatch that throne back from the hands of a demon like you!"

Prince Hanibal then charged forward, unleashing three spears of sand towards his enemy. Asmodeus retreated, evading each attack and counter attacking with three fiery arrows.

Hanibal created another sand wall. But this time, after withstanding the assault, the wall transformed into dozens of thorns that pummeled Asmodeus.

The demon was taken aback and leaped backward, but unexpectedly, a stone pillar suddenly struck his back, halting his leap and causing him to be impaled by numerous thorns.

Or at least, that's what should have happened. However, Asmodeus strengthened his body with magic, and the entire onslaught of thorns failed to pierce his skin, although some wounds could still be seen.

Hanibal could see the enraged face of his father-like demon.

"Blood. It has been a long time since I shed this much blood. Do you know who you are fighting, Hanibal?"

"Heh, of course. What do you think brought me all the way here? The Demon General of the Abyss, Asmodeus."

"!!!"

Asmodeus was stunned. He never expected Hanibal to truly know his true identity.

How was that possible? Asmodeus had never left any clues to his identity.

Although he had acted suspiciously during his reign as King, it should have only led people to believe he was a false king, not a demon, let alone his true name.

If Asmodeun thinks about it, how did Hanibal know his name?

There are no historical records in the human world that mention his name. He hasn't set foot outside the Abyss for decades. So, it's almost impossible for anyone to know about him.

Asmodeus could only imagine one possibility. There must be a traitor in the Abyss who has leaked information about him, including his mission.

"How do you know about me, Hanibal?" Ask Asmodeus.

Prince Hanibal just smiled as he prepared to unleash another spell, then he reply, "I got a tip from someone."

"Someone?"

"Old rules, it's a secret! [Sand Prison]!"

"Do you think you can trap me in sand? Dream on!"

As the sand began to surround Asmodeus and compacted itself, the demon emitted a dark light around him, which then exploded like a bomb.

BOOOM!!

The powerful explosion successfully destroyed a part of the mansion.

The impact could have been more dangerous if Hanibal had not contained the explosion with [Sand Prison].

'Damn, I was a bit hasty!'

Through the scattered dust, Hanibal could see the silhouette of Asmodeus floating. There was a red glow above the silhouette. Hanibal knew he couldn't just stay idle.

"[Meteora]."

A large circle encompassing the entire city appeared. From that magical circle, giant fireballs emerged, raining down on the city and all the lives within it.

But fortunately, another large magic circle, the size of a city, was also active.

"[Pyramid]!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A gigantic pyramid instantly enveloped the city, shielding it from the meteor rain created by Asmodeus.

The citizens who witnessed this immediately panicked. Luckily, Halima had prepared the guards who promptly instructed the residents to evacuate in an orderly manner.

They assured them that the situation was still under control because Prince Hanibal was holding off the enemy's attack.

The name of a Champion held great influence, so everyone complied. Even though their faces were pale, knowing that a dangerous figure was being faced by Ashur.

Elsewhere, Hanibal successfully protected the city.

He swiftly launched himself towards the floating Asmodeus. He couldn't continue fighting in the city any longer. It was too dangerous.

Hanibal transformed the lower part of his body into a small sand tornado to fly. He ambushed Asmodeus and dragged him towards the predetermined location.

Of course, Asmodeus wouldn't stay idle. He easily broke free and unleashed several fire shots towards Hanibal, which the Prince managed to dodge.

"How troublesome! [Wild Instinct]!"

"..."

"Huh?"

Asmodeus was taken aback because the spell that was supposed to increase his opponent's lust had no effect at all.

"[Charm]!"

"..."

"Why isn't it working?!"

"Hehe, too bad. I know you can control my hormones. That's why I drank the impotence potion temporarily."

"…"

Asmodeus fell silent, not because of the impotence potion, but because his opponent knew about the skill he could use.

While he was lost in thought, Asmodeus failed to realize that Hanibal had manipulated his large pyramid into a giant spear of sand.

"[Spear of the End]!"

Whoosh!

The massive spear pierced Asmodeus and propelled the demon to the location desired by Hanibal.

Seeing his opponent successfully being driven away from the city, Hanibal breathed a sigh of relief.

In those few minutes of their battle, he realized that Asmodeus' power level was superior to his own.

He wasn't sure if he could win, but it had to be done for the welfare of the people and his kingdom.

Hanibal glanced at the bustling streets of Ashur, now filled with people fleeing.

"I leave it in your hands, Halima."

Muttered Hanibal, then he dove into the sand and headed towards the location where his prepared troops were waiting.

***

Gazing at all the fascinating shows taking place in Ashur from the rooftop of the tower, where Lilinette was confined by Dion Bahman, were Cien and Lilinette herself.

After contemplating the safest hiding place, it was this tower that came to mind for Cien and Lilinette, as no one would come here and inspect the roof of a tall building.

Cien intended to stay there for the next three days, so he had prepared plenty of food.

As for drinks, Cien could conjure them up with magic. However, unexpectedly, the situation took a drastic turn.

Cien was enjoying his lunch, consisting of smoked meat-filled bread with a touch of vegetables and cheese. It tasted delicious on his tongue.

He was truly savoring it when suddenly, the sky turned red.

He looked up to see a large magic circle enveloping the sky of Ashur.

Cien then glanced at his niece, who looked annoyed at him. It seemed that the girl was reading, and the sudden disruption of light had irritated her.

"Umm, it wasn't me," Cien defended himself, feeling strange that his niece could be annoyed just because her reading time was interrupted.

Lilinette returned to her book, but seconds later, the sky went pitch black. Ashur was now covered in sand.

"What just happened?"

Cien wondered, finally feeling irritated as well, because his food was not finished, and now he couldn't even see his own hand due to the darkness.

Cien looked down, he could see some colorful lights of the city, but unfortunately, those lights didn't reach the top of the tower.

"Uncle…"

Once again, Cien heard Lilinette's flat voice.

"Umm, this is not me either."

"No. Not Uncle. Prince Hanibal."

"...uhh, huh?"

"Lily thinks. Prince Hanibal. Fighting Asmodeus."

"So fast... wasn't he not found yesterday..."

The sky suddenly brightened again.

Now, in the sky, there was a giant spear that shoots to the west, outside the city. It's so fast that Cien can see it anymore.

"..."

Cien didn't know what actually happened. However, Lilinette seemed to have clearly seen the situation briefly.

"Big spear. Swoosh King. Out. Prince is chasing."

"Can you speak more normally..."

Cien protested, starting to feel strange about Lilinette's way of speaking.

Sometimes she speaks normally, but sometimes she speaks like this. And strangely, Cien still understood what she was talking about.

"So Asmodeus was taken out of the city by Hanibal. Maybe to prevent their fight from destroying the city. A good plan."

Cien then looked at the streets where he could see people scrambling but still appearing organized in evacuating themselves.

He could also see many city guards at every street corner.

"It seems like Halima has already made preparations for this situation. Is this their plan together? Whoa, they're efficient and fast. If it's like this, maybe the situation can be resolved quickly."

"If Asmodeus. Dead."

"...Is Hanibal strong?"

"Strong."

"Can he defeat Asmodeus?"

"Asmodeus's Rank?"

"Queen."

"Lose. Prince."

"Ugh... What are the chances of winning?"

"Hm. Five percent?"

"Sigh..."

Cien then swallowed the last bite of his meat-filled bread. He chewed while preparing himself.

"Come on, Lily. Let's meet that damned demon and go home."