Chapter 21: Give him a surprise

Seeing the gory wound on my left shoulder, I knew it was merely an illusion, yet the searing pain of the severed limb felt more real than reality itself.

"Hahaha, useless fool, how does it feel to be struck by your own Devil eye's power?" The Iron-faced Man taunted from the other side of the screen.

I glared at him fiercely, my mind swirling with confusion and questions.

Having already invaded the Iron-faced Man's thoughts, why was I now, without warning, experiencing the illusion of the "Eye of Illusions"?

Could it be that his Devil eye ability was to reflect other devils' attacks?

Even though I am a devil with an extraordinary healing speed, within the illusion created by the "Eye of Illusions," this ability was rendered useless, as my real body wasn't actually injured.

Though the severed hand was just an illusion, I knew the power of my Devil eye all too well. The nonexistent, bowl-sized wound bled profusely, making me feel increasingly weak.

If this continued, my brain would eventually believe I had lost too much blood and forcibly shut down all my bodily functions.

In other words, I would die!

Ignoring the Iron-faced Man's mockery, I calmly observed the possible escape routes.

I tried to maintain a peaceful state of mind, knowing that excessive tension would only exacerbate the bleeding.

"Ah, why so silent? Hmm... let me guess, are you planning to tuck your tail and run?" The Iron-faced Man speculated, stroking his chin.

I didn't respond, instead, I coldly countered, "Do you want to know the second reason I sought you out?"

"Let's hear your nonsense then," the Iron-faced Man laughed.

"I believe you are aware; the apocalypse is imminent. This world will soon be destroyed by the angels of Heaven. We devils are fragmented and powerless to resist; at that time, our kind will face extinction," I revealed my second purpose, hoping to sway the Iron-faced Man, "Though I don't know why you are gathering other devils, I doubt it's to prepare for the Third Angelic War. Rather than waiting for death, why not join forces and fight to the death? There might still be a chance."

"You mean to turn enemies into allies?" the Iron-faced Man asked.

"Exactly. Though it's just Rahab and me, Rahab is one of the Seven Lords and a confidant of Satan. He can surely gather a number of followers," I nodded, "Combined with the power of your Satanic cult, we might stand a chance."

"You mean Rahab? Doesn't he hate me to the core? Why would he agree to cooperate?" the Iron-faced Man asked with interest.

"For the greater good, Rahab said to set aside personal grievances for now. Otherwise, when the angelic army arrives, no one will escape," I conveyed Rahab's sentiments.

"Haha... that guy can even set aside grudges. It seems he truly fears the Third Angelic War," the Iron-faced Man laughed.

"What do you think?" I asked as calmly as possible.

In truth, my consciousness was already becoming dizzy from blood loss, but I had to maintain my composure to avoid alerting the Iron-faced Man to my condition.

"My answer... I refuse," the Iron-faced Man laughed.

"Why?" I asked in bewilderment.

"Because of you," the Iron-faced Man pointed at me disdainfully, "Because you are a worthless piece of trash. Just seeing you irritates me. Forget cooperation; if you were by my side, I would kill you!"

"Why do you hate me so much?" I asked, puzzled.

"Hate you? No! I don't hate you; you are just garbage, and garbage shouldn't exist in this world. Since Rahab chose you as a partner, it proves he's grown senile. Cooperating with him won't achieve anything," the Iron-faced Man said coldly.

I smiled bitterly, unable to comprehend why he held me in such contempt.

The only thing I knew now was that the negotiation had failed.

"In that case, we'll have to rely on our own strength to recruit other devils. I don't expect you to refrain from interference, but I want to remind you, with each devil less on Earth, our strength to fight back diminishes," I said, "Mutual destruction benefits neither you nor me."

The Iron-faced Man laughed heartily and said, "Recruit other devils? Haven't you tried before?"

"Rahab and I have been searching the world for partners for the past six months, but many devils have suddenly vanished without a trace," I said, my breathing growing labored, "Even the only devil we found, the Japanese officer, was killed before we arrived. This is all your doing, isn't it?"

"Yes, most of them have joined the Satanic cult, serving me. As for the few ungrateful fools... well, you know the result," the Iron-faced Man laughed.

"So, it seems there are very few devils left who haven't been recruited or fallen to your hand," I said with a bitter smile.

The Iron-faced Man responded with arrogance, "According to my intelligence, there are only about a hundred left in the world who haven't submitted."

My heart jolted!

A hundred! Only a hundred or so devils left who haven't joined the Satanic cult!

According to Rahab's rough estimate, the total number of existing devils is around a few thousand, less than ten thousand.

If what he says is true, and those devils have indeed pledged allegiance to him, then the Satanic cult practically encompasses the entire demonic realm. No wonder Rahab and I have been unable to find other devils!

"So, whether you and Rahab join or not makes no difference to me," the Iron-faced Man said, pausing as he noticed my shocked expression. He then laughed, "But I'm starting to regret deciding to kill you, because seeing your utterly stupid expression is quite entertaining."

"Kill me? What do you mean?" I asked, feeling a sense of unease. I immediately focused my senses and detected ten faint breaths outside the door.

"Finally realized, fool?" the Iron-faced Man sneered, "The people outside are my subordinates. Though they are mere mortals, they have killed 172 devils for me. You will be the 173rd."

The ten breaths outside were slow and steady, clearly well-trained, far more formidable than the bald, black-clad thugs from before.

"At this point, can you tell me why you're gathering so many devils? Don't tell me it's for the Third Angelic War," I asked, panting.

"It seems you might bleed to death without my subordinates' help," the Iron-faced Man said, laughing loudly, "But I won't tell you my purpose. I want you to die with regret!"

"Is that so?" I said with a weak smile.

At that moment, the Iron-faced Man uttered something in a language I didn't understand, and the study door suddenly opened on its own.

Ten black-clad men, equipped like a special forces unit, stormed in and quickly surrounded me.

Each one held a light rifle, silently aiming their barrels at me.

In an instant, ten red laser dots appeared on my body, moving across my form.

"Fool, let me tell you, these rifles are loaded with silver bullets, the bane of devils, and they fire so fast that even devils can't dodge them," the Iron-faced Man laughed, "I see you can barely move a finger now, so just sit there and become a sieve."

With that, he laughed loudly again, clearly finding amusement in watching me get killed.

I turned to look at the black-clad men and saw they all wore pitch-black helmets.

Their visors were as dark as ink, preventing me from seeing their eyes. Strangely, I couldn't feel their gaze at all, which meant I couldn't use my Devil eye to invade their minds.

"Stop staring at them like an idiot. Your Devil eye can't penetrate those special visors. Just accept your death!" the Iron-faced Man clapped and laughed.

"Samael," I struggled to lift my head, looking at the smooth, mirror-like mask on the screen.

"Last words?" the Iron-faced Man tilted his head and asked.

"Do you always underestimate people like this?" I asked.

"No, I only look down on useless trash, not people."

"How many devils have these ten killed?" I asked, closing my eyes.

"One hundred seventy-two. Finally scared?" the Iron-faced Man's laughter echoed in my ears.

"No."

I opened my eyes, which shone with a fierce light, and smiled, "Because I am not one of those 172 devils!"

Before I finished speaking, my figure had already vanished from the spot!

Bang!

Two black-clad men behind me didn't even have time to react before I, moving with lightning speed, struck them down with a single blow each.

The force in my palms was so strong that they flew like broken kites, crashing into the wall.

"I, Bi Yongnuo," I said, dashing forward like an arrow and laughing proudly, "am more formidable than those 172 devils!"

In fact, when the Iron-faced Man refused to ally with me, the illusion of my severed left hand had already dissipated.

Because I had only intended to surprise him and slightly dampen his spirit, I had set the condition for the illusion to disappear to be his refusal of my alliance proposal.

When he refused to cooperate, my body had already returned to normal. The subsequent display of fatigue was merely an act to lower his guard and coax out his purpose for gathering the devils.

Unfortunately, even to the end, he remained tight-lipped, revealing nothing.

In the confined space, I moved swiftly, initially planning to eliminate the remaining armed personnel one by one at a speed beyond human perception. However, as I made my move, the eight remaining men remained unflustered, immediately closing ranks into a circle and opening fire in all directions.

Ordinarily, my vision and agility could keep up with the speed of bullets, but the firing rate of these specialized rifles was several times faster than usual!

I was instantly forced into a desperate struggle, using every ounce of my ability to avoid being hit.

In a flash, my rapid movements whipped up a fierce wind, sending countless papers and debris swirling through the air, yet it did nothing to hinder the eight black-clad men's relentless assault.