Chapter 93: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Chapter 93: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

To be frank, if this were a one-on-one fight, Bella wouldn't fear Alex. This young man indeed had some peculiar abilities, and Bella could sense he had some tricks left up his sleeve. But so what? As a subordinate of a Demon Lord, Bella had seen countless demons and devils in the Abyss—each as cunning and treacherous as the next.

But the issue here was that this wasn't a duel!

Bella hadn't forgotten that Alex had ordered that little angel to destroy the altar. And for Bella, this altar was absolutely critical. If the altar were destroyed, it would mean her entire plan would fail—again. While Bella had tasted failure before, this was her first plan since waking up, and she dearly wanted it to succeed.

Initially, Bella thought she could easily kill this mere mortal and then hunt down the angel. That angel was absurdly weak—so weak it exceeded Bella's expectations. Even though the angel had some strange abilities, in terms of raw combat power, she was utterly worthless in Bella's eyes. Taking her down would be child's play.

However, Bella hadn't anticipated that her hesitation would allow Alex to stall her!

Now, the situation was difficult. Bella didn't want to fight, but Alex wouldn't let her leave. And since her strength had been limited to the Grandmaster level, the gap between her and Alex wasn't as large as it should have been. But more important than the gap in power was the terrifying deathly aura Bella felt from Alex!

If it had been holy light or some strange bestial aura, Bella wouldn't have cared. But that deathly aura was different. Bella had a strong premonition that if she were hit by it, she might truly die!

It was important to note that Bella currently didn't have a physical body. The body she was using was created through the sacrificial magic of a Destruction Mage combined with her soul—it wasn't just a mere avatar!

In other words, if she died here, she would really die!

This was the reason Bella hesitated before Alex. She had only just been resurrected, and she hadn't come this far just to get killed again. But the situation wasn't in her favor. The lesser demons were struggling to fend off the Pegasus Knights, and the cultists were barely holding off the mercenaries. If only Bella could act, she would immediately eliminate the mercenaries. But for now, that was out of the question.

"Useless fools!"

Watching the cultists being blocked by the mercenaries, Bella gritted her teeth. If the cultists could break through and help her, even delaying the mercenaries for just a few seconds, it would be enough for her to escape. But instead, they were utterly useless!

And where was that angel?!

Bella warily scanned the surroundings but saw no sign of Ikaros. If it were a normal angel, Bella could easily track her by sensing her holy energy. But Ikaros's divine power was so faint that it was almost nonexistent. Moreover, unlike the angels Bella remembered, Ikaros wasn't righteous or upfront at all—she was deceitful. The thought of Ikaros hiding, waiting to strike, made Bella even more frustrated.

Who's the real angel here, and who's the demon?

While Bella was growing increasingly anxious, Alex remained calm. To be honest, Alex still didn't fully understand what Bella and that Destruction Mage were trying to do with the altar. But it didn't matter—his mission was clear: destroy the altar!

When in doubt, smash things first!

That's why he had ordered Ikaros to destroy the altar while he kept Bella occupied. This was all Alex could do at the moment. The six-armed snake demon lord was a tough opponent, and without using his Soul Stone, there was no way Alex could kill her. But under the current circumstances, using the Soul Stone wasn't an option.

If he activated it, who knew if this snake demon would suddenly decide to switch allegiances?

As a result, the situation at the altar had reached a strange equilibrium. The balance would only be broken if either the cultists broke through the mercenaries' line, or the Pegasus Knights repelled the lesser demons.

It all depended on which side's reinforcements came through first.

Meanwhile, as Alex and Bella faced off, Ikaros had quietly reached the core area of the altar.

As an omnipotent electronic warfare angel, Ikaros excelled in search and reconnaissance. In fact, the moment she had infiltrated the statue earlier, she had quickly detected a large hidden formation beneath the altar, which seemed to be connected to the statue in some way.

Unfortunately, before she could investigate further, the statue activated its defense mechanisms, forcing her to retreat.

But now...

"As expected, I can't make sense of it."

Looking at the strange symbols etched on the ground, Ikaros frowned. If the formation had been activated, she could have analyzed its energy fluctuations and spatial distortions to make a rough estimate of its function. But since the formation wasn't active, and Ikaros had no knowledge of this world's magic, she could only stare blankly at the runes and symbols.

But it didn't matter. Ikaros's mission wasn't to figure it out; it was to destroy it!

Although she didn't know what the formation did, it didn't stop her from locating its core. After all, energy flow was universal, and finding the core of the energy flow wasn't difficult.

Is that it?

Ikaros's gaze settled on the massive stone pillar in the center of the altar. She frowned slightly. Her combat abilities weren't particularly strong. In fact, Ikaros only had one real attack move.

But that one move was more than enough for destruction!

With that thought, Ikaros opened her small mouth, focusing on the massive stone pillar in front of her, and took a deep breath.

Boom!!

Blades clashed violently.

Bella retreated silently, her six curved blades still shimmering with a silver glow. In front of her, Alex rolled and scrambled to his feet, his once finely crafted attire now covered in dust.

"How pitiful," Bella sneered, her voice dripping with mockery as she looked at Alex's disheveled appearance.

"Look at yourself, mortal. What's the point of continuing to resist? I can sense it—you're not like those brainwashed fools. There's a darkness lurking within your power..."

"If you say 'I'm your father!' right now, maybe I'd consider it..."

Alex interrupted with a cold smirk before Bella could finish her taunt. He twirled his broken space sword, pointing it again at his foe.

"Sorry, but the prophecy says I'm supposed to destroy the Sith, not join them. I'm here to bring balance to the Force, not fall into darkness."

"Sith? Force?"

Bella was momentarily stunned by Alex's response, but in the next instant, she flashed a triumphant smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but... it seems you've already lost."

"Alex, we can't hold them off any longer!"

Behind Alex, a panicked voice from Fianna rang out. The cultists had finally broken through the mercenaries' defensive line and were advancing toward Alex's position!

There was nothing that could be done. The mercenaries were limited in strength, and the sheer number of cultists was overwhelming. Holding them off for this long had already been a significant achievement.

"Now, do you have any last tricks?"

Bella asked confidently as she glanced at the sky, where the Pegasus Knights were still entangled with the lesser demons, unable to assist. With the cultists approaching, victory was within her grasp!

However, what the six-armed demon lord didn't expect was Alex's calm reaction. He simply smiled and slowly planted his sword into the ground.

"Are you surrendering?"

"No, I'm saying..."

Alex glanced at the ground beneath his feet.

"It's over."

Boom!!!

Before Alex even finished speaking, a thunderous explosion echoed through the air. Bella watched in shock as the altar beneath her feet began to collapse, crumbling like a pile of broken bricks.

(End of Chapter)

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