The air around us grew heavy as the dark clouds coiled tighter, forming the grotesque visage of Asmoneal. His voice thundered across the battlefield, vibrating in the very marrow of my bones. The weight of his presence pressed down on us, even though it was just an avatar of his will. His eyes, burning like black suns, locked onto me with the kind of malice that could crush entire civilizations.

Yet, I didn’t feel threatened. He couldn’t descend into this world. He was nothing but a chained dog barking.

“I offered you peace.”

He hissed. Gökbörü growled beside me. I glanced at Blanche and she looked shook. Even as a harmless avatar, a demon king’s presence was too much for someone without divine power. I infused Aliera’s divine power into my cloak and threw it on her.

The moment the cloak settled over Blanche’s shoulders, Aliera's divine energy surged through the fabric, instantly dulling the oppressive aura radiating from Asmoneal's avatar. Blanche took a deep breath, her shoulders relaxing slightly as the weight pressing down on her lessened. Gökbörü, sensing the shift, stood firm at my side, his growl still deep and guttural, but with renewed determination.

Asmoneal's twisted visage contorted further, the black suns of his eyes narrowing as he realized his suffocating presence no longer affected me or those beside me. His lips curled into a sneer.

“Peace?” I scoffed, tightening my grip on the hilt of my sacred sword.

“Yes. Peace. An alliance against a common enemy and perhaps the first step to a new partnership.”

A cold laugh escaped my lips at his suggestion. "An alliance? With a parasite like you? You must be even more desperate than I thought."

Asmoneal’s sneer deepened, and the dark clouds that formed his visage roiled with suppressed rage. “Your arrogance blinds you, Champion of Aliera. Do you think the Stars you serve are so different than me? They are no different from me. Parasites, feeding on the devotion of lesser beings. You are nothing but a tool, wielded by those too afraid to stain their own hands.”

I tilted my head and clicked my tongue.

“Perhaps they feed off the devotion of mortals but at least they don’t corrupt and torture souls. I have seen what you do, Asmoneal.”

The tortured souls of beastkin flashed through my mind. A laughter reminiscent of howling shook the ground beneath me.

"You think your gods are free from the blood of innocents? You think the Stars care about you or your kind? Tell that to those who were summoned before you. Those who got dragged by the same chain on your neck.”

Asmoneal’s words slithered through the air, thick with venom and ancient bitterness. His grotesque visage in the clouds loomed above us, daring to challenge the foundations of everything I stood for. The black suns of his eyes burned into me, attempting to sow doubt like seeds of poison in my mind.

Previous summons. I guessed that there were people who were summoned from different worlds before me. Aliera had told me that she summoned with a “system”.

“And this is your offer? A chain for a chain? A leash for a leash? If I were to be bound the same, I would prefer the one who has similar goals as me.”

Asmoneal’s laughter echoed across the sky, a twisted symphony of malice and disdain. His presence was a storm, coiling and lashing out, yet it was still just an illusion—his true form was imprisoned in the depths of the infernal realm. If he tried to step into here, so could Aliera and he definitely wouldn’t want that.

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The demon king's face twisted into an exaggerated smirk as if my words amused him. "You misunderstand, Champion. The leash I offer is freedom. Freedom from your shackles to the Stars. I do not ask for your loyalty, only for your strength. Together, we could eradicate those who would enslave us both." His voice was smooth, almost seductive, dripping with the promise of power and liberation.

Gökbörü snarled, his wolfish eyes glowing with a fierce rejection of the demon's words. I chuckled darkly, rolling my shoulders to ease the tension that had been building up. "Freedom? Is that what you call it? You corrupt everything you touch and twist it to serve your own sick ends. I am not working for you, or with you. Fuck off and wait until it is your turn. I am going to kill Moloch then I am going to kill you.”

Asmoneal’s burning eyes flickered with rage, the black suns narrowing as my final words struck like venom. The air grew colder, the storm above us intensifying. His grotesque visage, a writhing mass of darkness and malice, twisted into something far more sinister. For a moment, it looked like he might lash out, desperate to exert what little power his avatar held. But it passed just as quickly.

“Very well,” Asmoneal’s voice was a low hiss, filled with barely controlled fury. “You’ve made your choice, Champion of Aliera. You’ll find that the weight of your righteousness grows heavier with every step. When your allies fall, when your so-called gods abandon you, and when you beg for mercy at the feet of powers far beyond your understanding—remember this moment.”

The clouds twisted tighter, his form beginning to dissipate like smoke caught in a violent wind. As his visage faded, the air around us lightened, but not before his final words echoed through the sky, lingering like a curse.

“I will be waiting, Karabulut. When your strength fails you, when your precious Stars abandon their pawn, I will be the last face you see before you fall.”

Silence followed. The oppressive weight that had hung over us lifted entirely, leaving the battlefield eerily still. Blanche finally exhaled, pulling the cloak tighter around her as if to ward off the lingering chill from Asmoneal’s presence. Gökbörü, no longer growling, shifted beside me, his blue eyes never leaving the sky where the demon king’s avatar had been.

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, my fingers loosening from the hilt of my sword.

“Well, that was something.”

I muttered to myself as I was Artemeni, Thalia, and Aurora entered my vision.

“Champion, that was…?”

Artemeni's voice cut through the lingering silence, her expression a mixture of awe and concern. She stepped forward, her gaze darting from the dissipating storm in the sky to me, then to Blanche and Gökbörü.

"Asmoneal," I answered, demanifesting my sword.

"Just an avatar of him, though. He can't fully manifest here—not yet."

Three of them wore worried and shocked expressions. It was normal. We were attacked by humans and now demons with a demon king manifesting himself and we haven’t reached to dungeon we wanted to reach. If it went on like this we would be drained of our energy before we could reach War God’s Battle Area.

“What will we do, Champion?”

Aurora asked, her eyes narrowing behind her glasses as she looked towards the horizon.

"We move," I said, smacking my fists together. “We can’t afford to linger here. The sooner we reach the dungeon, the better prepared we’ll be for whatever comes next.”

The resolve in my voice steadied the air around us and we moved towards our destination.