Book 5 Chapter 112 - The Trial (4)

Game of Divine Thrones

Three demon kings attacked him at the same time.

While Woo-hyuk was struggling, Aris came to his aid with a pitch-black scythe.

“Don’t you dare try to harm Lord Asura!”

She had arrived late because she couldn't handle Woohyuk's speed.

“I guess that woman with red hair is Demon King Aris?”

“You deal with her as planned, Dantalion. I'll be watching from the side and help the one who is struggling.”

As Volak stepped back, Dantalion opened a pitch-black spellbook with a tense look.

As he recited the spell, dozens of clones appeared around him and simultaneously shot dark spheres at Aris.

Slash!

Aris skillfully twisted her body to avoid them and cut down Dantalion's clones one by one.

However, even if the clones were destroyed, the battle would not end because new clones would be produced.

Instead, as time passed, the number gradually increased, and the situation became disadvantageous to Aris.

“Stop with these little tricks! I know you're just trying to buy time!”

“Sigh… Did you think I would be willing to fight you head-on?”

Dozens of Dantalions laughed in sync.

His specialty was illusion magic.

He could transfer the real body into one of the clones, and could also change his appearance to transform into someone else.

“I see that you’re underestimating me.”

Aris’ eyes flashed and she swung her pitch black scythe.

Then, black waves of energy flew out as they cut through the air with a sonic boom.

Swooosh!

The Dantalions that got attacked spat black blood as their bodies got sliced in half.

However, there were still many copies left. The attacks had only slowed down the clone rate, but hadn’t stopped it completely.

When Aris tries to perform the same attack again,

Rumble! Boom! Boooom! Boooooooooom!

Dark clouds gathered, and purple lightning struck her several times in a row.

“Urgh…!”

Aris, who instinctively spread a protective barrier, groaned.

It was difficult to prevent Volak’s chain attacks because of her lack of strength from her fierce battle against Dantalion.

“Actually, I wasn’t underestimating you. I was just using my brain. I’m a tactician.”

“You just outnumber me 2 to 1. Stop barking so much.”

“I am quite shameless. I know my position. 72nd Demon King. I can get challenged by high-class demons at any moment.”

Therefore, Dantalion had joined the Ars Nova circle.

He gave advice and suggestions to Amii and Volak, who only believed in their powers and fought without planning out strategies, and received their protection.

However, if he were to win this battle, he could end that way of life.

It would be very advantageous to him if he fully acquired the Dane Kingdom and played against the other demon kings on the continent.

Unlike the barren demonic world, the Eeth continent was overflowing with resources and quests, which he could use to establish a solid foundation for growth.

“Your dreams are too big compared to your balls. Your bravery can’t hold a candle against Lord Asura.”

“And that man is going to die tonight. I will send you to his side as well!”

Rumble! Boom! Boooom! Boooooooooom!

Along with dazzling flashes, purple thunderbolts descended from the dark clouds and struck her again.

“Urgh!!”

As Aris struggled and couldn't move, the Dantalions cheerfully burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! How is it? How does it feel to die in the hands of an enemy weaker than yourself?”

“You, you really are the worst…”

“Now, try to struggle as painfully as possible! I will watch you till your last breath!”

After finishing his speech, the Dantalions turned into Woohyuk in sync.

It was a ruse.

He was trying to mentally torment Aris, who was yearning for Woohyuk.

Boooom! Boom! Boooom! Booom!

Dark spheres flew in from everywhere and collided against Aris' protective barrier.

Aris' face darkened as the barrier shook and cracks began to form.

'Lord Asura, I'm sorry. I can’t…’

Since she wasn't fully recovered yet, Aris couldn't last long against the two demon kings.

As she recalled her happy days with Asura,

Whooooosh!

A black silhouette flew in from somewhere and killed Dantalion's clones.

Slice!

The speed of its movements couldn’t be followed with the naked eye.

Dantalion stiffened as his face darkened at the sight.

“Wha, what is…”

A sudden feeling ran down his spine.

His body trembled in fear, an emotion he hadn’t felt in a long time.

His instincts screamed at him, telling him to escape.

“Thank goodness, I arrived in time.”

As silence ensued, Loengreen appeared and broke the quiet atmosphere.

After stopping the Witch Cult in Erutonia, he had gone straight to the Lydia Kingdom to rescue the Borges family that was being held hostage.

It was to get rid of the variables that could arise in advance. After completing his mission, he had returned

“Lo... Loen Green… .”

“So you’ve come, you filthy gay bastard.”

Dantalion and Volak’s momentum had been blocked by him.

Loengreen is a demon who had fought equally against Orobas, the 55th ranked demon king.

Although he was considerably weakened by the battle from that time, he still instilled fear in the two demon kings.

“It's been a while, Lord Dantalion. How have you been managing your territory?”

“There, there’s not much to manage in the first place…”

The size and location of the territory divided between the demon kings varied according to their ranks.

In the case of Dantalion, the 72nd demon king, the land he owned was a simple barony on the outer area.

Therefore, he had a greater longing for vast territory compared to other demon kings, and actively tried to conquer the Eeth continent.

“But what are you doing here? The kingdom that Lord Dantalion occupies should be beyond that mountain range.”

Loengreen asked even though he knew the answer already.

Volak, who had been supporting Dantalion from a distance, frowned.

“Don't pretend to be confident, Loengreen! We all know that you can’t fight against mere executives of the Witch Cult properly!”

“That was true. But then, I wasn’t fighting at my fullest.”

“Wha, what?!”

“In simpler terms, I have been saving my strength to fight against you two.”

Loengreen sharply opened his golden eyes.

Immediately, his demonic energy blazed fiercely, and the air around him dropped in temperature and froze.

Dantalion was terrified and quickly opened his mouth.

“Lo, Loengreen. Do you think Agares will let this pass unpunished when he finds out? Even if you rank 3rd amongst her vassals, you can’t make these kinds of decisions as you want...”

“It doesn't matter. All of you aren’t close to Lady Agares in the first place.”

Agares was reasonable and rational despite ranking 2nd.

On the other hand, the demon kings of the Ars Nova Circle were all hardheaded and unreasonable.

Since their mindsets were different, it was hard to maintain a good relationship with each other.

Instead of a punishment, Loengreen would get praised for eliminating competitors.

He had to move cautiously when he wasn’t aware of this, but now that it had come to this, there was no need to hold back.

“Da-damnit!”

When the negotiations broke down, Dantalion swore and began to recite spells.

Since he had to fight anyway, he thought it would be advantageous to attack first.

“Isn’t Lord Dantalion's specialty illusion magic? It definitely is a troublesome ability. It would be difficult to find the true body amongst all the clones.”

Loengreen knew the weaknesses of all the 72 Demon Kings.

Although they were from the same demon faction, they could become hostile at any moment depending on their interests.

As he reached out, the wire-thin demonic energy began to cut off Dantalion's clones in a smooth curve.

Slice!

Loengreen's exclusive skill.

Unlike Aris, he was able to easily stop Dantalion because he could do wide-range attacks in all directions.

“He-help me! Volak!”

Dantalion exclaimed as the number of clones decreased significantly.

But Volak was also busy fighting Aris.

Clang!

The purple two-handed spear and the pitch-black scythe crashed into each other, leaving sparks in their trail.

The gap in weapon quality was small, but Aris was more skilled. She gradually began to push Volak back.

“Ugh… You damn bitch!”

“The lightning bolts you dropped on me earlier really pissed me off.”

The time to part with Lord Asura hadn’t arrived yet.

Although his original ego had been consumed, his true demonic energy remained intact.

She wanted to fulfill her master’s wishes even if she had to put her life on the line.

‘I can do it. If I work a little harder...’

There was something she had felt while adventuring with Woohyuk so far.

The importance of unwavering beliefs.

He didn’t fall back in face of adversity, he just ran as he looked ahead.

That was the origin of his strength.

He was getting closer to the divine throne system.

As she dreamt of the second coming of Demon God Asura, Aris swung the pitch-black scythe with all her might.

Swoooosh!

Thunderspear Negima left Volak’s grip and flew into the night sky.

When Aris tried to finish him off,

Boom!

Flaming spheres flew in, aiming at her unprotected back.

“Ugh!”

Aris drew a protective barrier and neutralized the flame spheres with difficulty.

Afterwards, her gaze turned toward a group of people flying towards her.

‘High-class demons... .’

They were the servants of Demon King Volak.

Although Melphis, the 2nd ranking servant, had died, there were many other demons working under Volak.

Aris turned around to look at her allies’ situations.

Woohyuk and Loengreen were in the same situation as her, while the Spiritual Society and Sieg were still unable to end the battle against the monsters.

'I have to help Lord Asura.'

Compared to others, the number of demons targeting Woohyuk was far greater, maybe because he was the strongest being.

As she fought a fierce battle with the high-class demons, Aris couldn’t hold back her worries.

***

"Pant… Pant...”

Woo-hyuk stared around him as he breathed roughly.

Nine high-class demons.

After the guys intervened, they lost the momentum of the battle.

“What happened? Didn’t you say that I was an insignificant opponent earlier?”

Amii spoke without hiding the joy on her face.

She used her subordinates as meat shields. As she sacrificed three high-class demons, she continuously inflicted damage on Woohyuk and gradually sapped his energy.

“I guess you weren’t confident in a one-on-one fight.”

“Well, there is a difference in our weapon qualities. So now, I’m using everything at my disposal. I don't really think that it’s unfair.”

Honor and dignity didn’t matter to a demon with Amii’s personality.

The only importance was to gain power and authority.

Amii’s motto was ‘You must use whatever means and methods necessary to reach your objective.’

“Then, if I put my weapon away, will you continue the battle in a hand-to-hand combat?”

“…No. I now know that you are a martial artist as well. That first punch back then was quite painful.”

Amii stroked her red cheeks to check if the pain had vanished.

“What a shame. Let’s decide on the victor and loser now.”

“Do you think you hold a chance? How hilarious. Look at yourself. I don't know how much longer you can endure my onslaught in that state.”

Woohyuk was struck by Amii’s flame whip.

This was because the Berserker's Plate Armor Set did not absorb enough damage.

Some attacks had to be avoided or blocked with armor, as the demonic energy could not be operated continuously.

'It’ll be difficult to win like this.'

He would have to release another seal on Verserios, even if he would be at risk of being swallowed up by his own demonic energy.

If the battle were to take any longer, the lives of others would be in danger.

When Woohyuk was steeling himself, time came to a halt and a man's voice echoed in his head.

[Do you need help, my disciple?]

It was Nakron, the King of Fallen Wizards.

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