Demon Lord Scientia

"Don't you think it's beneath your status to attack a demon lord?"

Staring at Iratus, Apathy asks in an indifferent tone. 

Ignoring Apathy, A look of confusion appears on Iratus's face as he stares at Memphis. 

"Why do you look like that bloody sissy!?"

Raising a ghostly brow, Apathy throws a glance at Memphis.

Memphis, previously clad under a hood, now has his face exposed for all to see.

A demon, almost human in appearance, aside from the blood-red pupils that almost take over the entirety of his eyes, could be seen. His face possesses immaculate beauty, the epitome of perfection. 

Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Apathy waves his hand causing the hood to once again obscure Memphis's face. 

Ignoring the rarely-seen calculating glint in Iratus's eyes, Apathy tries to put on a serious expression.

"Although I already expected you to come, for formality's sake...

BOOM!!

Apathy releases a deathly aura. The previously tense atmosphere now drips with a viscous feeling of despair. The corpses of billions of deceased demons begin to quickly decompose as if time has accelerated.

"...You have 30 seconds to explain yourself. What... are... YOU... DOING... HERE?!! 

Turning his gaze back to Apathy, Iratus's eyes glow a brighter scarlet. Veins begins to bulge from his body… 

Crack, crack,  

… with a slight move of his head, Iratus cracks his neck and lets out a savage grin. 

"You have 20 seconds left," Continuing with his silent count, Apathy snaps his finger…

Whoosh

Memphis then vanishes from his previous location, his whereabouts perhaps only known to Apathy. 

"You have 15 sec…"

Swoosh, BOOM!!!

Iratus interrupts Apathy's Count with a powerful punch. 

The force sends apathy flying at speeds countless times faster than the speed of light. 

Vanishing from his spot, Iratus appears at a location slightly in front of Apathy's path. 

Raising his leg, his gaze turns sharp, then...

swoosh,

Iratus's Leg descends at ridiculous speeds.

So fast that it almost appears... slow. 

As his leg gets lower and lower, Apathy, still traveling due to inertia, enters within the range of Iratus's kick.

Then, as if fated to meet, Iratus's heel connects with Apathy's chest. 

"..."!!!

Silence...

The world turns into a dull grey, everything, even the space itself freezes.

---

"Why do you look like that bloody sis...!?"

As Iratus continues to speak Apathy frowns.

Sensing something amiss, he raises a finger, causing Memphis to disappear, then he vanishes from his spot, appearing several hundred miles away leaving only a clone of himself behind. 

Crack, BOOM!!!

A second Iratus suddenly appears in the position of his clone, kicking it in the chest. 

The clone then shatters into countless particles.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Apathy looks around at the destroyed surroundings.

"Let's bring this fight somewhere else, although the destruction of this layer won't affect the fact that it's already created, it would be a waste for the abyss to spend so much energy that could've gone towards advancing the 56th…"

Not letting Apathy finish his sentence, both Iratus look at each other, then in conjunction, they pounce at Apathy, one silently appears behind, throwing a kick towards Apathy's head. 

As the leg moves, space shatters with its every motion. 

The other Iratus attempts to knee Apathy in the chin. His gaze, which is cold and sharp, remains plastered on Apathy in alert for any sudden movement.

Apathy, Observing the current proceedings with an indifferent look, lets out a lackadaisical sigh, "You are the newest addition to the Demon Kings, so, there must be quite a few things you don't understand, for example, why my title is... Demon King Apathy."

As soon as he finished his sentence, his aura changed, it didn't become stronger, nor did it become weaker. It simply became, something... different, indescribable so to speak, nothing profound or unique. In fact, it's quite the opposite, It became... mundane or better yet, normal.

Unbothered by apathy's change, both Iratus simply continue their attack,  

Swish

Both knee and leg connect, however, unexpectedly, nothing happens, no injury, no reaction, not even a shockwave. Both Iratus can confirm they felt their bodies made an impact however, the reality says differently.

Tsk, too lazy to figure out the reason, one of the Iratus simply clutches his fist in preparation for another strike, but before he can move, Apathy silently appears behind him. 

Apathy then gently taps him on his shoulder, Causing Iratus, the duplicate, to disappear and reappear back to his original timeline. 

Swoosh,

Apathy once again vanishes from his location and appears before the remaining demon king, attempting to tap him as well.

Unfortunately, the world suddenly undergoes a strange shift, followed by countless Iratus appearing before Apathy. 

Twitching his lips in annoyance, Apathy lets out a frustrated sigh. "Do you really want to destroy this newly created layer," With his tone laced with impatience, Apathy pulls out a reaper, his previously indifferent and nonchalant gaze now bore a slight trace of seriousness. 

Responding to his question Iratus merges all of his temporal incarnations, his aura growing ever so oppressive.

Iratus's very presence now brings destruction to not only the surroundings but also the fabric of space. Letting out a final sigh, Apathy's body, previously ghostly and transparent, starts to solidify into something more... real, more tangible.

As the aura of both individuals reached their peak, and they were about to truly start their fight...

"I think that's enough... my two kings."

Naramil, previously standing a distance away, suddenly appears between the two individuals while still maintaining his haughty smile. In his hand, an unconscious Exneal is casually being held.

Both demon kings, after a brief moment of contemplation, restrain their aura and return back to their usual state.

The abyss, as if given a signal, begins to repair all damage done to it during the Demon king's clash.

Once the damages are repaired, It once again resumes its expansion. 

"Naramil, what brings you here?"

With a slightly less disdainful smile Naramil responds to Apathy's question, "Under the orders of master, I'm to follow this mindless brute around."

"Ohh… I see, in that case, send demon lord Scientia my regards. 

"Will do, my king." 

Hmph,

Iratus let out a cold snort, interrupting the conversation.

"Let's split this layer 70:30, 30 for you."

Both Apathy and Naramil look at Iratus like he's retarded.

No longer wanting to mingle with this idiot, Apathy turns around, leaving behind a single sentence.

"If you want layer 55, you can have it, anyway it's not like you'll be able to keep it."

The final part was mumbled to himself in a slightly inaudible voice, Apathy then waved his hand, causing all the fallen and decomposed demons to resurrect. 

"Let's go," said apathy, before vanishing along with his demons.

Gritting his teeth, Iratus Glares at Naramil and then barks out in an aggressive tone.

"Send some demons to take over this layer.

Naramil's attitude returns to that of disdain and haughtiness as he replies, "Our contract states I'm to be your attendant for either a duration of 100,000 beats or until you enter into a conflict with another demon king. As compensation, you are to provide 30 drops of your blood."

Letting out of Victorious smile, Naramil continues, "I'm afraid our contract ended as soon as you attacked Demon King Apathy, so...

It's time for you to fill your end of the deal."

Hearing his words, Iratus first looks up in a daze, then, after coming to a realization, an ungodly amount of anger erupts from him, causing his aura, previously suppressed, to flare up. 

The repaired ground, once again becomes completely destroyed, obliterated into nothing.

Unbothered by the aura, Naramil's disdainful smile grows even thicker.

Flipping over his palm, a silver rod engraved with countless ancient runic patterns appears.

Iratus, who already lost his rationality, throws a punch at Naramil.

As the fist gets closer and closer,

Naramil's smile further thickens, then, once the fist becomes merely an inch away, 

crack

exerting a bit of force, he snaps the rod in half. As soon as that happens, everything stops.

The fist, the rage-filled expression of the demon king, the cracking space, everything. 

Staring at this scene, a look of wonder, amazement, and fascination appears in Naramil's eyes.

"As expected of Demon Lord Scientia, even one of her failed experiments is capable of subduing a demon king, truly worthy of the title, 'the uncrowned king'. But, then again, this fool is the weakest of all demon kings. Why didn't Apathy just kill this useless buffoon and be done with it?"

Putting away his random thoughts, Naramill pulls out a syringe from who knows where and pierces it into Iratus's skin.

Then he pulls out a tube and inserts it into one end of the syringe.

Finally, he pushes a transparent button, causing the syringe to vibrate for a few seconds before thirstily sucking up Iratus's blood.

Contrary to the agreed-upon 30 drops, Naramil removes the syringe after taking 4 Liters of blood.

With this, Lord Scientia should be pleased.

Hopefully, this will be enough for her to refrain from sending me on another annoying mission. 

Then, with a 'pop,' Naramil disappears from his spot, leaving the rod behind.

As soon as he vanishes the rod shatters into microscopic particles, returning the world to its usual state.

Crackle, Boom 

With the unfreezing of the realm, Iratus's fist lands in his previously intended position, causing a massive shockwave that obliterates the land for several million miles.