Chapter 32

Along with the announcement of the new main quest, Theodore conjured up several magic circles, all with different colors ranging from the gold of holy spells to the dark purple of Demon Arts, thanks to the newly upgraded 13th's Knowledge, his control over magic had significantly improved.

Mammon laughed. "So be it!" He raised his hand before letting it drop to the front, signaling for the army to march forward.

The 'Blessed Battalion' roared and charged towards Theodore, their expressions filled with bloodlust as they were swept by the heat of the battle.

And things hadn't even started yet.

'They're crazy…' Theodore thought as he activated his magic, the circles in front of him gleamed dangerously before projectiles shot forward, impaling anyone they touched, the ones that'd managed to avoid his arcane frenzy got close enough to deliver cuts and stabs, with their weapons being high tier, they'd managed to scratch into him.

Though his increased hit points made the attacks more of an annoyance than an actual threat. 'Blessed Battalions, huh, let's see if you're still blessed after this!'

Theodore thrashed his body violently, sending his tail smacking against the wave of demons, their armor were strong but it merely caused more pain to the wearer as the sheer force of his attack broke their bones and crushed their organs, they would've died in a single hit if not for the armor absorbing some of the impact.

The sights of their fellow brethren didn't cause the army to waver, instead, their battle cries grew fiercer and their attacks more persistent.

Theodore sucked in a deep breath and shot out holy fire from his mouth; they only needed to scratch against the demons for its attributes to take effect; anyone unlucky enough to have been touched by the fire would continuously burn until nothing but their ashes remained.

"A demon king using holy magic?" Mammon sounded confused yet intrigued at the same time, he hadn't made his move yet most likely because he thought one thousand trained troops would be enough to put a newbie in his place. "Seems like I've underestimated you, serpent. Very well, I'll take this seriously."

Following those words, Greed got off of his horse and flicked his wrist, causing his mount to disappear in a wisp of golden flames. He stretched his hands outward before conjuring up his own magic, it was the Demon Arts, but the aura was orange unlike Theodore's dark purple.

Theo immediately noticed the magic's presence and swiped his tail once again, clearing away the demon soldiers, he used this opportunity and pushed his body against the ground, flinging himself to the perimeter of the crater and creating some distance between him and his opponents.

He wouldn't stand by idly and casted his own spells, a big purple magic circle appeared up above, it shined ominously as it grew larger and larger, until it was ready to manifest a dark ball in the center of the circle.

[Doom Desire: Half-Stage]

[Doomsday: 21%]

<<MP: 15,000/20,000>>

Mammon had surrounded himself in the orange demonic energy and was now rushing towards Theodore, it was as if he was running on air as he hovered a few meters off the ground. He pulled back his arm and prepared to strike him with a punch, but Theo easily leaned his body to the side and dodged the attack, however, Greed's punch had caused a powerful gale which created a large hole in the ground.

After seeing this, Theodore retreated once again and prepared another spell. '…I shouldn't be holding back, he's seriously going to kill me.'

['Lightbringer' has detected a threat to its savior.]

[It is offering to assist you.]

'…Alright, give me your best shot.'

A light blue magic circle appeared below him and a burst of cold air erupted from his figure, ice crept from the perimeter and began to spread outwards at a rapid pace until it fully covered the entire crater.

Ice spikes rose upwards and surrounded the army, some were unlucky enough to be standing in the spot where the spear had emerged and was helplessly impaled. A fierce storm brewed up ahead with Theodore standing in the middle of it, acting as the eye.

['Lightbringer' had imbued the Spell 'Serpent Bearer's Domain: Devouring Winter' with the 'Holy' attribute!]

[The opposing demons' magic power will be greatly reduced!]

[The Fragment of the Original had responded to the use of the Domain.]

[The Bloodline Skill 'Corrupting Touch' is tearing through your enemies!]

The demon army was instantly plunged into chaos, Theodore's skills began to take effect and the soldiers' limbs would start to freeze, the frost biting into their skins while fleetly crawling up their body, some had already been engulfed in ice and was screaming and crying as they fell to the cold floor with their backs arched in pain.

['Corrupting Touch' has inflicted your enemies with the Status Condition: 'Discord'.]

['Lightbringer' is urging you to release 'Doomsday'. It is saying that it'd enhance the attack with its holy attribute.]

[Doomsday: 100%]

[Would you like to release 'Doomsday'?]

Theodore stared at the scene in front of him, though more specifically, he was paying attention to Greed, who seemed to be fighting through the pain of both the holy frostbites and the 'Discord' effect.

Mammon looked back at him and forced a smile. "…Not bad, kid."

"Will you surrender?" Theodore perked his head up slightly. "If you still refuse, I will wipe out our entire army with that spell."

Greed seemed hesitant as he bit his lips, his brows furrowed into a knot as he glanced towards his men, even as they were speaking, the numbers of the battalion were getting lower and lower. 'It wouldn't take a lot of effort for Pride to just end it right here, he's showing us mercy…Damn it! What a mockery!'

"Make your decision, Greed." Theodore urged. "For once, don't be too greedy."

"Damn you…" Despite his cursings, Mammon was smiling. "I'm not going to surrender to a newborn like you, me and the Blessed Battalion will continue to fight until the second army arrives!"

'Second army?' Theodore would be frowning right now. 'Is he joking? For a small city? He'd already dispatched his best troops!'

"Your resistance is futile!" He shouted and 'Doomsday' gleamed like it was responding to his frustrations. "Are you not worried that your entire kingdom will fall?"

"Who are you to care about my territory?" Mammon laughed as his body began to glow a dark orange hue, his demonic aura growing larger. "The Blessed Battalion isn't my best troop, they're simply lucky to have survived Wrath's own army!"

It was then that Theodore realized the demon king had been stalling for time, Mammon's bat-like wings spreaded from behind his back as the orange energy began enveloping his body until a cocoon was formed.

Theodore could instantly tell what was happening. 'It's the second boss phase again…!'

As the strings of the cocoon unfurled, Greed's army was also engulfed by the force, and miraculously those who were still breathing began to stand and picked up their weapons, the notifications that rang in Theo's head made him flinch with surprise.

[The Demon King of Greed has used 'A Demon's Majesty']

[All of his allies have been cured of all debuffs.]

['A Demon's Majesty' has inflicted the 'Blessed Battalion' with the Status Condition: 'Bottomless Greed']

[Warning! A large amount of bloodlust is being directed towards you!]

From where the cocoon had once been, an imposing dragon stood in its place, it had shiny orange scales and a piercing gaze, its horns took on the same shape as Mammon's, and one of its wings looked crooked and broken. It reminded him of what Asmodeus had said and it wasn't hard to guess the dragon's identity. "Let's see if you're as lucky as them, Pride."

The dragon was around forty meters in height if measured from its head to its front claws, which meant that Theodore had to look up at it, though Mammon didn't expect him to still manage to look at him with contempt. "I guess I am pretty lucky."

[The Personal Attribute 'Greater than Dragons' has taken effect!]

[You are the Serpent that'd slain even the most arrogant of beasts, the Avaricious Dragon will be cut down by your prowess!]

'…Why is he so confident?' Mammon could immediately feel that something was wrong. 'It's like he knew I'd already lost when I'm in this form.'

'No matter.' Greed raised his head and let out an earth-shaking roar, causing his army to cry back and rushed forward. "Bring me his head!"

However, when the demon soldiers took a few steps forward, they would instantly be stopped, as if someone had put an invisible barrier in front of them. It wasn't Theodore's magic, but he could tell who it was. He turned his head towards the sky, and as expected, 'she' was hovering in the air with her wings spread wide.

[The Demon King of Lechery had used the Spell 'Captivation'!]

[All enemies are now forced to dwell on Lust's beauty!]

Mammon looked up and roared with annoyance. "Lust…!"

"Hello!" Asmodeus waved at the dragon before shifting her attention towards Theodore. "Did you miss me?"

Theo pretended he didn't hear that. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the front line?"

"Eh, Cyrus can handle it, he's one of the best generals I have after all~" Asmodeus shrugged playfully. "Besides~ I thought you might need an extra pair of hands!"

"Actually I don't—"

"No need to thank me!" Asmodeus completely ignored his statement and laughed proudly. "Anyway, I'll support you!"

Theodore titled his head. "Do you not see the spell above your head? I can wipe them all out in one go."

Suddenly, a large cylinder of flames shot towards Asmodeus and she was forced to dodge before she could continue speaking. Mammon glared at them with clear irritation etched in his expression. "Take me seriously damn it!"

Asmodeus laughed. "I'm sorry dear, it's hard to notice you when your frontline is falling apart~"

"What…?" Greed whipped his head around and his eyes went wide, Lust's signature goat head banner was raised high while his own was nowhere to be seen, it didn't take long for him to realize that Lust's army had already infiltrated the city's walls and was marching straight towards them.

Theodore saw Rhys leading the army alongside Cyrus, he seemed to be doing well despite his low rank, possibly because of all the equipment that he'd bought.

He turned his attention back to the battle and decided that this was the best opportunity for him to release 'Doomsday'. "Asmodeus, hold off Mammon for me."

"You got it!" She replied quickly and swooped down from the sky, a flash of pink shined in her right palm before her trusty weapon appeared within her grasp.

The whip made an elegant arch in the air before it suddenly grew longer, the spikes running along its body extended outwards as the attack landed on the dragon's face, inflicting a large wound across his snout. "F*ck! How dare you…!"

"Very daring if I do say so myself." Asmodeus chuckled as she dodged Mammon's fire breath and struck him again with her whip.

Theodore didn't waste any more time and looked up at the sky, and as if responding to his gaze, the dark ball fell towards the ground.

['Doomsday' has been released.]

The spell fell directly onto the middle of the demon army and it exploded in an instant, causing a powerful wind to burst from ground zero and expand outwards until it reached Asmodeus' army. Cyrus managed to order everyone to stop just in time as he watched the sunset-locked sky turn as bright as the afternoon from the explosion.

Rhys pursed his lips nervously, since he was a magic swordsman, he could feel the strength of a spell just by taking a glance, and despite how much it hurted his pride, he couldn't deny that it was much more powerful than anything he'd ever seen, and he didn't think that he could even reach that realm of strength in this lifetime. '…I tried to fight that monster?'

"Wow, His Majesty is very strong." Cyrus murmured as he glanced towards Rhys. "You're a lucky one to have a chance of serving Pride, I can't imagine what it's like to make an enemy out of him."

Rhys let out a nervous laugh. "Ha…I can…"

As the smoke cleared, the crater had gotten slightly deeper than before, revealing some riches and broken animal bones underneath, the Blessed Battalion was no were to be found as they left behind nothing but their S-tier equipment that'd just barely survived the impact of Doomsday. The demon kings weren't as affected at all since they'd managed to cover themselves with their Demon Arts beforehand.

[The Personal Attribute 'Deitify' has detected an increase in 'Faith' from 'Cyrus' and 'Rhys Griffins'.]

[You will be rewarded 30 Skill Points.]

[You have completed the 3rd Requirement of the Main Quest #3]

['Faith' towards the Serpent Bearer has increased!]

['Faith' towards the Ouroboros has increased!]

[You have reached the required 'Fame' threshold. A new status window has been created.]

[You have completed the 2nd Requirement of the Main Quest #3]

[You have been rewarded accordingly. Would you like to view your new Personal Attribute?]

Theodore stared at the strings of notifications and dismissed them for the time being, he would look at them once he'd defeated Mammon, he turned his attention towards the fight between the demon kings and waited for an opportunity to strike.

Asmodeus was doing quite well, she was taunting her enemy while timing her attacks in between, she seemed to be better at using physical attacks rather than magic, though Theodore guessed that her spells were only meant for psychic manipulation like 'Captivation'.

Mammon had completely lost the cool that he had before, he was violently roaring and swiping the air with his claws while occasionally breathing fire, it seemed that he had very little patience for a king. "Just stay still you b*tch!"

Asmodeus was slightly triggered by that word, but she feigned laughter. "How about no?"

Lust flew up higher as she narrowly dodged the dragon's claws, and in order to not lose momentum, she switched to using her Demon Arts instead, a purple magic circle appeared in front of her and tentacle-like constructs emerged from the center, poison leaked from their spikes as they flew towards the dragon.

Mammon growled. "You're using such a weak spell! Don't underestimate me, Asmodeus!" Along with his cries, an orange magic circle was drawn in the air and golden flames shot forward, as it moved across the sky, it would soon take the shape of a dragon around half the size of Greed.

Two attacks struck each other in mid-air, causing an explosion. Asmodeus took this as an opportunity and used the smoke to hide her movement, she flew into the fog at high speed and emerged next to Mammon, as if she'd just teleported. "I think my evaluation of your strength is just about right."

However, when she looked up, she realized that Mammon had always been staring at her, it seemed that he'd predicted where she would fly towards and was preparing to attack. "Oh really?"

He left no room for her to dodge, Mammon's circle appeared above her head and golden spears fell at great speeds, they all pierced Asmodeus' body, causing her to collapse onto the ground and when she tried to get up, she would realize that the spikes had pinned down her wings. She cursed through gritted teeth. "Sh*t…!"

Mammon mockingly laughed. "That's for messing up my wings, b*tch."

"Thanks Asmodeus." Theodore's sudden speech caught the two demon kings' attention. "You brought just enough time for me."

['Lightbringer' is proud of its work!]

['Lightbringer' has successfully strengthened the spell 'Evil Vanquish'.]

['Evil Vanquish' is ready for use.]

Mammon looked below him and realized that a large magic circle had appeared beneath his feet, he instantly knew what the spell was and tried to fly away just to notice that his wings were still unusable. "Sh*t!"

Golden pillars rose from around the perimeter of the magic circle and began to surround Greed, he tried to run out of the circle but the holy towers would rise just in time and block his escape.

In front of Theodore, another circle appeared and a ball of concentrated magic formed in the center. "Since both of us aren't keen on doing extra work, I'm more inclined to keep you alive."

Their army had just arrived, although they simply stood there and watched the scene in front of them unfold, their strengths won't be needed and their main purpose had already been accomplished.

Cyrus rushed forward to Asmodeus' side and helped her from Mammon's spells, pulling the golden spears from her wings. "Your Majesty…Are you okay?"

Asmodeus nodded through the pain as she let herself be pulled up by her general as he wrapped her arm around his own neck. "Are the citizens safe?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, some had secretly moved out of the city but most of them knew who we were and stayed inside the building."

"Reckless bastards…" Asmodeus huffed, while her people were extremely loyal to her, she thought it was a bit too excessive to wait out a conflict like this just because of it.

Mammon was the only one here not celebrating, he gave Theodore a death stare before forcing himself to speak. "…I surrender." His body glowed a soft orange as he shifted back into his humanoid form.

Theodore sighed and dismantled the spell, causing the pillars to crumble and soon the large magic circle would disappear too. "Glad you still have a bit of common sense left."

Greed didn't reply as he dusted his suit, he had irritation etched in his expression and his eyes were deeply furrowed. He then suddenly spoke while pointing a finger at Theodore. "I will never forget this humiliation…! Next time, we shall fight at our full strength!"

"Your broken wing doesn't make a difference, mind you."

"F*ck! It does!" Mammon pulled up his middle finger before a portal appeared behind him, though before he left, he would shout at him one last time. "You better show up at the Hall of Sins on the Winter Solstice, b*tch!"

After Greed had disappeared into the portal, Theodore turned towards Asmodeus. "What did he mean by that?"

"Ah, the Hall of Sins is like a record, it keeps the history and information of all the demon kings and their kingdoms inside of it," Asmodeus began to explain, her voice sounded tired as she was being propped towards Lilly the sea serpent. "The Hall needs to refresh its documentations every decade, so all demon kings need to be present."

"That's it? I just have to show up?"

Asmodeus glanced towards Cyrus for a moment before returning her gaze back towards Theodore, her silence made him feel nervous. "…Why did you go quiet?"

"Well…" The demon king pursed her lips. "For the Hall of Sins to properly update its records…We would need to fight each other."