Dodging was easy for Theodore, he pushed himself to the side and Rhys’ sword went past him, however, the flames suddenly bursted and grew until it struck him straight in the chest.

[The Personal Attribute ‘Scales of the Serpent’ has been activated!]

<>

Theodore stared at his attribute window and he couldn’t help but laugh. “You did a hundred damage, great job.”

Rhys didn’t seem fazed by his comment, as if he’d already known that it wouldn’t do too much to his opponent. “It’s just the sword’s passive, dumbass, that’s not all I’ve got!”

Suddenly, Rhys disappeared, leaving only an afterimage behind, Theodore reacted on instinct and turned to his left where he was met with a burning blade, luckily he put his arms up just in time to prevent it from hitting his face.

He staggered backwards and lowered his hand, just to notice that he was bleeding.

<>

Theodore frowned and looked at Rhys’ sword, ‘True Dragons Eye’ gave him a bunch of information but he only focused on a single detail:

<

Description: Loyal flames that are bound to their owner’s will, even when the blade had missed its target, these fire will not let their master’s enemies go that easily, they’ll lash forward up to a distance of 10 Meters and hit them for a maximum of 100 HP, the attack has a 50% chance to inflict them with the [Burn] Status Condition.>>

<

Description: A true king of swords that doesn’t falter even when facing against the tallest, thickest walls. The [Sky Emperor Blade]’s attacks will ignore armor, not counting the Defense Stat, any and all skills related to defense will be affected by this skill.>>

Reading the skill’s description only caused Theodore to become more confused, the Sky Emperor Blade was only an A+ grade weapon, but his raw defenses were considered S rank, so it still made no sense as to how he’d gotten hurt from it.

While he was preoccupied with his thoughts, Rhys dashed forward again and prepared to strike with, he drew his sword back as far as he could and slashed horizontally, Theodore wasn’t paying attention so he got hit once again, this time a large wound appeared in his stomach.

“What are you thinking about? Surprised that I’m stronger than you?” Rhys was getting cocky as he closed in the distance once again and prepared another attack.

Theodore took one glance at his enemy and dodged to the side. “…What did you do?”

“Huh?”

“My defense is S rank, how did you…”

Theodore would then realize that he hadn't checked the armor’s skills yet.

<

Description: Blessed by the Ten Lambs, the chance of victory will increase tremendously when fighting a losing battle. For ten minutes, Attack, Speed, Defense, and Magic will increase by 1.2x and you cannot be struck by a Critical Hit.>>

<

Description: A knight’s best friend is always their sword, when using any weapon classified as a [Sword], you’ll gain a 20% [Armor Pierce] buff which will increase to 50% once your HP falls below 30%.>>

Theodore’s expression turned sour. “Is being rich all you got?”

“Ha? You just realized right?” Rhys smirked and ran at him again. “Even if your defense is S rank, I just need to lower it down until I can cut you!”

Theodore didn’t do the exact calculations, but combining every buff Rhys has, his defenses had been lowered to about S-. But it seemed that it was enough for an A+ weapon to cut him, even though the wound wasn’t very deep.

“Well, it’s not like injuries are a problem for me.”

[The Bloodline Skill ‘Super Regeneration’ has been activated!]

<>

The sights of Theodore’s wounds disappearing made Rhys’ eyes widened, he bit his lips nervously but nonetheless he couldn’t just stop running, he tried cutting him again but now that Theo knew what sort of tricks he had up his sleeves, all he needed to do was wait until the ten minutes buff was over.

Or maybe just knock him out right then and there.

‘No, this is funny to watch.’ Theodore smiled slightly as he watched Rhys struggle to reach him, the sword’s passive: ‘Living Flames’, couldn’t do enough damage to properly be a threat, even if he got the ‘Burn’ status, ‘Asclepius’ Secret’ easily dispelled the debuff.

“Damn it!” Rhys was getting frustrated, and at the back of his mind, he was also afraid. “How many f*cking skills do you have!?”

“I could count them right now, but you’ll probably have to wait for a while.”

“F*ck!”

Theodore had completely overlooked the fact that Rhys was still holding onto that blue cube, although after a quick glance, he now knew that it was a ‘Storage Box’.

Storage Boxes were created by the Griffins and sold at a very high price; it allowed people to store a maximum of ten items inside of it, although if one paid more, they could upgrade the box to hold more items.

Of course, Theodore had only seen them in commercials, he wasn’t financially stable enough to afford such a thing.

‘But why does he keep holding onto it?’

‘Suicide bombing? That doesn’t sound like something Rhys would do.’

‘What is he planning?’

His questions would soon be answered.

As soon as his back was facing the wall, Rhys sprung into action, he discarded his sword and used his fire magic to boost himself forward at an abnormally fast speed.

Since his back was against the wall, Theodore didn’t have enough space to dodge.

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But that didn’t mean that his reflexes were lacking.

It was as if the world had significantly slowed down, the blue box in Rhys’ hand glowed brighter, signalling that it was about to summon an item from the storage, then instantly a silver collar appeared in Rhys’ free hand as he was moving towards Theodore.

‘Slave collar.’

Theodore didn’t panic, it wasn’t his thing after all, his scarily rational mind immediately told himself to shift into his snake form, and as soon as his body size grew, Rhys simply crashed head-first into his thick, metal-like scales and dropped everything in his hands, he stumbled backwards and fell onto the ground.

“That was a very smart plan,” Even Theodore sounded genuinely surprised, he turned back into a human and picked up the slave collar while Rhys was still clutching his head in pain. “But maybe you should’ve told them to make you a helmet too.”

“F*ck! I almost had you!”

“Did you forget that I’m a thirty-meter-long snake?”

“…” Rhys gritted his teeth. “The hell is with your reflex!?”

“Ah, so it’s not that you forgot.” Theodore smirked triumphantly. “It’s just that you’ve underestimated me.”

“Sh*t! Just kill me! You won!” Rhys dismissed his armor and they disappeared into small, golden particles, he averted his gaze to the sandy ground, knowing that he was out of tricks.

But Theodore had other ideas.

“Kill you? Didn’t I just tell you that would be mercy?”

“Huh?”

As soon as Rhys looked up, Theodore would instantly shove he slave collar onto his neck and it snapped shut in an instant, the red gemstone embedded in the middle glowed, as if saying that the collar has been locked.

Rhys obviously panicked at this sight, he was involved in its creation so he would know best what had just happened to him, despite that, his stubbornness caused him to begin tucking at the collar in an attempt to break free. “F*CK! GET THIS OFF ME!”

Theodore laughed. “That’s karma for you.”

“I would rather die than be your slave!” Rhys glared at him as his sword appeared back into his hands.

It surprised Theodore, he didn’t expect that Rhys would be willing to go that far, but luckily his foot was faster and he immediately kicked the weapon out of his hand. “I won’t let you, here’s your first order, Rhys: You’re not allowed to end your own life no matter the circumstance.”

The red gemstone glowed softly, responding to Theodore’s command.

“F*ck..!” Rhys cursed as he grabbed his sword and tried sticking it onto his chest, however the tip of the blade would only hover over his skin as his hands shook against a mysterious force pushing it back.

“Ah, second!” Theodore put two fingers up, smiling with amusement. “You are to address me by ‘Sir’ each time you speak to me. Do you understand?”

Rhys’ mouth moved on its own. “Y—Yes sir!”

“Third.” Theodore stuck up three fingers. “Slaves don’t curse at their master, when you’re speaking to me, you’re not allow to use bad words.”

Rhys could only sit there and looked at him with a face flushed with anger. “…Yes sir.”

Theodore clasped his hands together. “Great! Now before we go…Get up.”

Rhys did as he was told and stood, while his body moved, his expression still told of pure frustration and his eyes were wary of what Theo would do next.

Unexpectedly, a fist flew directly onto Rhys’ face, sending him toppling backwards, but since they were underwater, he didn’t fall that hard onto the floor. “S—Sir!?”

“Shut up.” Theodore stared coldly at Rhys. “That’s for killing our teammates.”

He walked a step closer and kicked the blonde in the abdomen, sending him flying against the current as he coughed up blood, eyes widened with pain, although because of his command, he was only able to utter a few cries. “That’s for hurting my dad.”

He pushed himself off of the floor and swam at Rhys, as soon as he was close enough, he grabbed his shirt and yanked him closer until he was within his knee’s reach, it struck close to where he’d initially kicked him. “Merlin said he wanted to f*ck you up, unfortunately for you, you’re dealing with me.”

While still grabbing his shirt, Theodore threw Rhys onto the ground, making sure he landed head-first, the impact instantly made him bleed. He then used ‘Wild Thunder’ and lightning shot from his body, striking Rhys while he was still down.

Theodore was about to use his ice magic when he noticed that Rhys had already fallen unconscious, his mouth fell agape as blood flowed out of it. He sighed in annoyance and activated ‘Asclepius’ Secrets’, healing all of Rhys’ wounds and bringing him back from his sleep.

Rhys’ widened eyes looked around his body, he would relax when he saw that he was still okay. His gaze slowly shifted towards Theodore, a hint of defiance glinting in his blue eyes, but behind it, fear was visible.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Theodore spoke monotonously, looking down at him.

Rhys instantly lowered his head and whimpered, but Theodore was able to tell what he was trying to say. “I’m sorry…”

“Get up.”

The blonde flinched slightly but his body had already moved, though the instant that he was finally on his feet, Theodore’s fist connected against Rhys’ left cheek, causing a few teeth and blood to fly out into the water.

“That’s for killing me, I’m not healing you this time.” Theodore turned around, while he was still not satisfied with just a few kicks and punches, plummeting Rhys’ arrogance to rock-bottom was enough to make him calm down a little, he wouldn’t want to go overboard and accidentally kill him. “Follow me.”

Now that the situation on his side has been dealt with, he thought of getting back to Asmodeus.

‘She should be cleaning things up by now.’

.

.

.

Asmodeus swung her whip and the lasso arched towards her target, the spikes gleamed under the lights of the fiery tornadoes, making them even more menacing than they already were.

The demon that seemed to be called ‘Lilith’ was the perfect image of a mermaid, the scales on her lower fish body shined like an aurora and her pearl hair went all the way down to her waist, her upper body was covered by a short pastel-green dress, matching her jade-colored reptile-like eyes.

Lilith’s hands extended out and a burst of flames shot forward, swatting Asmodeus’ attack away, she gritted her teeth in clear annoyance as she spoke. “You b*tch! Know your place! The Lake of Rage is mine!”

“Who’re you calling a b*tch?” Asmodeus had a light smile on her face, as if taking her insults as a joke. “I rightfully won the war, what are you so mad about anyway? Don’t you people favor the strong?”

“Strong?” Lilith spreaded her hands and multiple magic circles appeared behind her back, as soon as the arcane was drawn, whips of flames shot forward and went straight towards Asmodeus. “You’re not strong at all! I will kill you right now and take your place as the demon king!”

“Oh? How bold…” Asmodeus’ eyes grew wider as she smacked her whip against the ground, immediately, the sand began to shift and a wall seemingly made from darkness rose from within the crack, blocking all of Lilith’s attacks. “The only person that has ever taken a demon king’s place…Is something several times more powerful than you are, dear.”

“Ha! Who could possibly take the position of other demon kings?” Lilith wasn’t buying it, she shook her head in doubt. “You’re the only weak one among the rest! No one else will—“

“Lucifer.”

Lilith’s eyes widened. “What…?”

“Lucifer’s title has already been taken.” Asmodeus spoke in a cheerful tone, as if the death of her fellow kings didn’t faze her one bit. “And I’m sure that if I’d tried to fight him on the surface…I would’ve surely been eaten alive!”

Even while she was speaking, Asmodeus wasn’t going to create an opening for her enemy, she swung her trusty whip and its length suddenly grew as it flew towards Lilith, the lasso seemed to be encased in dark mist. “Anyhow…I’ve had my fun.”

Lilith conjured up another spell, this time the magic circle appeared on the ground in front of her, it expanded until a large fire swirl shot upwards from the center, trying to suck in anything within its vicinity, a small brick flew into it and was instantly incinerated. “You’re not ever going to kill me! You’re weaker than me!”

“Weaker?” Asmodeus’ eyes gleamed with amusement as she watched Lilith’s expression crumble from prideful to despair in a matter of seconds.

The whip simply passed through the tornado unscathed and reached Lilith, it didn’t strike her but instead wrapped itself around her figure, it coiled and coiled until eventually half of her body was encased by the lasso. “F*ck! No way…How did I lose!?”

“You probably don’t like to follow the news,” Asmodeus chuckled as she also walked through the flames, seemingly as if it was never there in the first place, with a flick of her wrist, the fire dispersed into tiny flickers before eventually burning out. “I’m ranked second right after Wrath, next time, maybe check your sources before picking your fight.”

“…Second?” Lilith didn’t believe her ears. “How can you be ranked second!? Your territory is the smallest!”

Asmodeus laughed. “That doesn’t mean I’m the weakest! I just don’t like vast spaces and unnecessary violence! War is cruel to everyone, I only care for my people’s safety and happiness.”

“What…?” Lilith looked crestfallen, she hung her head low with a look of betrayal on her face, it seemed that everything she’d believed almost all her life was a lie.

“But I know you’re not just stupid.” Asmodeus leaned closer to her, staring right into her soul. “You really should go after the title of ‘Greed’ since you want the strength of a king that much.”

The demon king straightened her back, noticing how Lilith’s expression had changed to fear, she knew what sort of crimes she’d committed and how she was going to be punished. “I, the Demon King of Lechery, hereby sentence you to immediate execution for the act of treachery.”

[Treachery.]

[Mass Murder.]

[Manipulation.]

[Coveting the King’s Power.]

[Thy Judgment is absolute…!]

A deep, rough voice rang out from seemingly nowhere as a dark figure rose from Lilith’s shadow, it loomed over her small stature and stared down at her with its large, red eyes, its body looked to be humanoid, but half of its giant body was still submerged within the darkness, in his big palms held the handle of a broadsword, the blade was even longer than the wielder’s body.

“Your…Your majesty…” Lilith looked at Asmodeus with pleading eyes, but she simply smiled and watched as the shadowy figure raised its sword.

“Your majesty please! I beg of you! Please give me a second chance! I’ll do…I’ll do anything! Please…Please…!” Lilith screamed in fear and tried struggling out of the whip’s bindings, her words slowly became nonsensical words spouted towards the demon king, of course it was no use, the sword was brought down and blood spilled into the lake’s water.

[By Lust’s words, I hath fulfill my duty.]

The dark creature gave a slow bow to Asmodeus before its body slowly crumbled away like dust, until the only thing left on its spot was Lilith's perfectly cleaved body.

The demon king retrieved her whip just to strike it at the ground again, dark mist flowed out of the crack she’d made and dragged the corpse into it. When the body had completely disappeared, the earth closed as if nothing was ever there.

“You’re done?”

A familiar voice sounded behind her.

Asmodeus turned around and smiled at Theodore. “Yep! Judgment has been rightfully passed!”

She then turned to look at her surroundings, seeing the broken buildings, the injured and the dead, despite that she was still smiling softly, her expression still showed clear remorse, the light in her eyes wasn’t as shiny and her brows slightly furrowed.

“…Their souls can now be put to rest.”