[Salvos] 599. Great Confrontation (Patreon)

599. Great Confrontation

***

I drew back from Venas as he slowly burned to death behind me. He was a Level 188 [Archfiend]— he should have been stronger than me. But I defeated him with ease.

Perhaps I had been too cocky throughout our duel. Maybe I didn’t take him seriously enough, considering his level. Haec had been wary of him because he was supposedly a Captain of the Deathsquad Hunters. I didn’t know what that meant, however it made Venas sound incredibly dangerous.

So I had wanted to test him. I wanted to see exactly how strong he was in battle. He was higher-leveled than the [Hellabomination] I fought right after leaving the Remnants of the First Demon Kingdom. It had been an easy fight for me to win— at least, compared to what I had to deal with in the second layer of the Netherworld.

The end of the world was like nothing I had ever seen before. Compared to the army of corruption I had to battle down there, the Demons of Revelation were incredibly weak. Or at least, that was what I thought until I saw [The Great Agarus] and the Beast.

Still, most Primeval Demons I fought no longer posed much of a threat to me. Not with my four Grand Skills, when many of them didn’t even have a single Grand Skill. The [Hellabomination] I battled did have a Grand Skill of its own, unlike Venas. So even though he was ostensibly stronger than it should have been through sheer levels alone, he ended up being much weaker.

I waited. I really did wait to see what Venas had in store. I gave him plenty of chances to turn the battle around with his own Grand Skill— or Grand Skills, if he had multiple. But he disappointed me.

Even though he had copied my Skills, he hardly put up a fight. Even though he had transformed into a [Hellmonstrosity], he was still weaker than me. The only advantage he had over me was his durability, but that would hardly have mattered if I activated [My Flames Shall Burn Until Eternity Ends].

However, I didn’t need more than a single Grand Skill to win. I walked away from Venas as he burned to death from my [Sacred Hellfire]. I wasn’t going to waste any more time chipping away at his broken chitin. He was going to die soon.

But he didn’t perish just yet. And perhaps that was my mistake.

I walked back towards [The World Of My Mind] in the distance, watching as my clones finished off the remaining Deathsquad Hunters. They tried to put up a fight, but they were cut down quickly. I heard their death notifications resounding in my mind, except for…

My eyes flickered as I heard a shuffling behind me. I spun around, turning to face Venas who was overcome by my [Sacred Hellfire]. I narrowed my eyes as I saw his blazing figure rise from the ground.

“Are you seriously still alive…?”

I spun around and raised my claws warily. But I paused as I stared at his burning face. He no longer wore the body of a [Hellmonstrosity], instead taking the form of his original self. He was an [Archfiend] once more.

But he didn’t shed the flames of [Sacred Hellfire]. In fact, without the chitin protecting him, the flames ate away at his skin even faster. The flesh had already melted from his face when he held my gaze. He didn’t glare, nor did he glower. He looked at me with a face of apathy as he spoke simply.

“You are wrong, Enemy of the Demon King.”

“My name is Salvos—”

I started, but Venas spoke over me.

“I do have a Grand Skill of my own. I simply could not find the right opportunity to deploy it. Generally, I ensure I have a means to escape before it is activated.”

Even though the [Archfiend] was literally burning to death, he maintained a calm and collected demeanor. His voice didn’t betray a hint of pain. He raised his hand, and I blinked.

“What are you talking about?”

I asked, and he answered simply enough.

“[Devour All of Demonkind].”

His voice came out as a whisper, but it still echoed out. Like a susurration that swept across the landscape. I blinked a few times, before I felt a strong compulsion overcome me. One that was similar to the uneasy feeling I felt at the start of Reconstruction.

But instead of leading me back to the place of my birth, this compulsion seemed to lead me towards Venas himself. I watched as a pillar of light shot out from his fingertips, and it drew my attention. I managed to brush off this feeling. However, that wasn’t what I was worried about.

I hurriedly glanced to the side— looking past my confused clones. Haec, Taburas, Bertrugil, and Aemula poked their heads out of [The World Of My Mind], looking around quizzically. But I ignored them, instead looking towards the horizon.

And there I saw it. I felt it. The ground shook. The sky trembled. I heard the chittering in the distance. I saw the dark specks drawing closer.

Thousands of Demons. Tens of thousands of Demons. Hundreds of thousands of Demons. Maybe even millions of Demons.

They all frantically made their way towards me— towards the pillar of light shooting to the sky. All kinds of Demons. Whether they were Lesser Demons or Greater Demons or Archdemons or Primeval Demons. They were drawn by this beacon summoned by Venas.

And it was not just them.

I looked towards the nearby mountaintops. In between the shifting hills and the floating valleys, a lumbering figure moved. A colossal creature that stood as tall as a mountain. A goliath that ruled the entirety of the Netherworld.

The Beast.

The highest-leveled being in all of the Nexeus. It had been minding its own business just moments earlier, heading away from us. But now, i turned its seven heads towards the beacon of light. And it slowly began to move. It trampled over the landscape, each step it took causing the earth itself to quake. I sucked in a deep breath, before looking back towards Venas.

“What have you done?!”

I asked with a horrified look on my face. The burning [Archfiend] didn’t chuckle. He didn’t smile in delight. He just nodded at me as he lowered his hand.

“Every wild Demon in dozens of miles shall converge on this point. They shall slaughter each other, and you will be caught in that destruction.”

“Why would you even do that?”

I took a step forward, shaking my head. But there was no response.

“I wish you luck, Enemy of the Demon King…”

And with that, Venas collapsed into a pile of ash, incinerated by my [Sacred Hellfire]. I stared at him— at where he used to be. A notification resounded in my mind. Then I turned back towards the approaching hordes of wild Demons. I looked at the Beast, a towering figure even from such a great distance.

One of its seven serpent heads opened its mouth. It unleashed a streak of black lightning that flashed with the destruction of Revelation. I winced, but the attack wasn’t aimed at me. I watched as the Beast obliterated thousands of wild Demons in an instant.

And I was spurred to move.

I spread my wings wide as I shouted, turning back to [The World Of My Mind]. My clones were on alert, and the four Archdemons waiting there were looking on in stunned silence. I called out to them as I raised a clawed hand.

“Get back inside the pocket space! We need to get out of here!”

I flew as fast as I could, heading for the sanctuary I created. Haec broke out of his stupor, and he turned towards me. He waved an arm at me, calling out after me.

“Salvos—”

But as his voice left his mouth, it turned into a muffle. At least, to my ears. Because instead, I heard an alarm blaring in my mind. [Angelic Premonition] warned me just in time.

I dove straight down, swerving out of the way of a flash of purple light. A beam of fiery magic shot past me and streaked into the nearby mountains. I watched as the mountains evaporated, engulfed by a powerful explosion that illuminated the horizon.

The shockwave ripped apart the landscape, and I slowed to a halt. I recognized that blast. I knew the source of that attack. I spun around, looking on with wide eyes as another hulking figure emerged from the distance. A giant amongst giants.

A Primordial Demon that nearly killed me.

[The Great Agarus].

Author's Notes:

What thonk?

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