“Anyway,” Asmodeus stood with her arms akimbo. “What’s up with him? Why is his face messed up?”
Theodore glanced towards Rhys behind him. “I punched him, he tried to use a slave collar on me.”
Asmodeus laughed. “Wow, he’s just as idiotic as Lilith.”
Rhys didn’t say anything and kept his head low, he seemed to have a lot on his mind however Theodore’s command prevented him from speaking out loud, his face expressed both anger and pain.
The demon king didn’t seem to be interested in the details. “Thanks Theodore, more people would’ve died if you didn’t help me. With their leader gone, the rebellion group should start dispersing soon.”
Theodore nodded. “You should probably keep your guard up, the rebellion group is crazy enough to challenge a demon king and even kill their own people, they might be too stubborn to give up.”
Asmodeus giggled as she covered her mouth with the back of her hand. “Aw, you’re worried about me?”
“I’m more worried about the people here, even if they aren’t that smart or strong, they have feelings and know the pain of losing their loved ones.” Theodore spoke in a serious tone, contrary to Asmodeus’.
“That’s perfect then,” The demon king spoke as if she’d already anticipated him to say something along that line. “You remember when I say that I have something to announce?”
As soon as she finished her sentence, a group of mermaid demons slowly got out of their hiding spots, they all gathered around behind Asmodeus and looked at her with questioning expressions.
An old demon was the first to speak up. “Your majesty, why did you call us here?”
Theodore frowned at the demon king. “What are you doing?”
Asmodeus’ lips curled into a bright smile as she turned to face the low-rank demons. “I have something I would like to say!” Her hands spreaded to her side, more specifically, she was trying to get people to look towards Theodore.
“…Asmodeus?”
She ignored him and continued her speech. “From today onward, he, the new Demon King of Pride, will now rule over the Lake of Rage!”
Theodore was obviously stunned, his eyes slightly widened and anger bubbled inside his chest, it felt as if the demon king had just shifted her responsibilities onto him. “Asmodeus, take that back, I’m not taking on your work.”
“Eh? But you’re a demon king now! You need a territory to rule over!”
“Demon King of Pride?” The old demon frowned as he stared at Theodore, it was clear that he and every other low rank demon didn’t seem to believe what they’d just heard. “But Lord Lucifer is sealed away, how can he be here? Your majesty, please enlighten us.”
“Oh, he’s not Lucifer.” Asmodeus spoke with a bright smile as she pointed an index finger towards Theodore. “He took his title after killing him.”
“I don’t believe that.” Another low rank demon spoke up, they seemed to respect Asmodeus but they also wouldn’t believe everything she said either. “We have spent thousands of years following true strength, that man you claimed to be the new Pride had not shown us anything, why should we follow him?”
“Ha? But didn’t he save your life?”
“If we were armed and prepared, we wouldn’t have struggled against the rebellion group.”
Asmodeus frowned as she hummed, thinking of how to fix the situation, she glanced at Theodore and he shook his head, saying that she should find a way on her own.
“Ah! I know!” Lust clasped her hands together as she turned towards Theodore. “Fight me!”
He sighed with another shake of his head. “I already told you, I don’t want to rule, I’m not fighting you.”
Asmodeus smirked. “But if I attack you, you’d have no choice but to fight me.”
“I just have to lose then.” Theodore shrugged.
“What if I aim for your life?” Asmodeus’ aura suddenly changed and dark energy enveloped her entire figure, causing the low-rank demons and Rhys to back away with fear and discomfort.
Theodore frowned, he could tell that she was serious. “I thought you like me, you wouldn’t dare.”
“You might be right.” Asmodeus said and she instantly disappeared, leaving behind only an afterimage. “But a king without a territory is already as good as dead.”
Theodore side-stepped to the right, narrowly avoiding a spike-covered lasso that was aiming straight for his chest, Asmodeus was standing somewhere to his side, keeping a distance and used her whip’s range to her advantage.
“I just took his name, but I’m not actually a king.”
“That’s not how it works, as soon as you become Pride, you’re instantly crowned.” Asmodeus released a fury of attacks, the sound of her whip striking the water and the ground was ear-deafening, but Theodore simply stood there and took her hits, letting ‘Scales of the Serpent’ and his insane defenses to do the work.
“…What would happen if I didn't have a territory?”
“Lucifer was lucky that he was sealed,” Asmodeus yanked her whip back as far as she could and struck forward again, this time the force was several times stronger and as the lasso moved through the water, the sandy floor split apart beneath it. “Since he didn’t have a territory, the other demon kings would instantly try to jump him at every moment, even if Lucifer was strong, he wouldn’t be able to take on five other kings all at once.”
‘…So she’s saying that I’ll get attacked.’ Theodore narrowed his eyes, as soon as the whip was within his reach, he grabbed it with his bare hands and pulled it forward, causing Asmodeus to be dragged along with it as well.
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The demon king toppled forward and lost her balance, allowing Theodore to easily pull in faster until he deemed that she was close enough, he extended one hand and a pale blue magic circle hovered above his palm.
[Frozen Disaster: Freeze]
It was a simple basic ice spell, but because it’d come from his Unique Magic, the power had been boosted to an abnormal degree, it could be considered a Mid-Tier spell when compared to magic humans used.
A blast of frost and ice burst from the magic circle and Asmodeus had no room to dodge, the attack instantly sent her flying backwards, forcing her to let go of her whip. She was around fifteen meters away when she finally was able to regain her footing.
Asmodeus frowned as she saw that her body was slowly getting frostbite, despite the pain she must be feeling, she still managed to put up a smile. “Can I have my weapon back?”
Theodore threw the whip to his side before kicking it away. “Magic only.”
He then created another magic circle, this time it was shining a golden hue, causing the lower demons to cringe in disgust as they realized that it was holy magic.
Two magic circles overlapped each other and grew in size until they were big enough to cover his upper body, the ‘13th’s Knowledge’ skill allowed him to combine different spells of any element with the limit being his imagination.
[The Bloodline Skill ‘Divine Blaze’ is giving the Unique Magic ‘Immortal Flames’ the ‘Holy’ element!]
[Two Unique Spells are combined into one…]
[‘Freeze’ and ‘Holy Light’ have turned into a new spell!]
[Frozen Disaster: Silent Judgment]
< Rank: A Origin: Frozen Disaster Type: Damage. Debuff Cost: 200 MP Cast Time: 5 Seconds Cooldown: 12 Seconds Description: A combination of the ruthless ice and the righteous flame, Silent Judgment will both freeze and burn all you considered to be your enemy, those with great sins weighing on their soul will receive 10% more damage but the innocent will not be harmed, the skill can be used to check someone’s virtue. Silent Judgment’s effects will not end until the enemy is unconscious, verbally announce their surrender, or when your mana has fallen below 50%.>> Theodore had given the choice to Ouroboros, but the Immortal Flames magic seemed to go well with his Divine Flames. He was glad that he’d made the right call giving the responsibility to someone as reliable as him. The combined magic circle gave off light and a beam of concentrated energy shot forward, heading straight towards Asmodeus at an alarming speed. The demon king tried to move out of the way, however she would soon find out that the frost had decreased her speed tremendously, she frowned at the ice blocks that had formed on her arms and feet, making it extremely difficult for her to move. She stared ahead at the spell, sensing a mixture of cold and divine aura radiating from the attack, it felt chilling but at the same time warm. She stood still as a smile formed on her lips. “I yield.” Miraculously, the light beam stopped in its tracks, hovering a hair’s length away from her face, before it eventually dispersed into small shining particles. The magic circles in front of Theodore also disappeared as well. “You didn’t go all out.” Asmodeus chuckled. “I did go all out, what do you mean?” “Lucifer put up much of a fight than you.” Theodore narrowed his eyes. “He had his second boss phase and everything, where’s yours?” “You meant a demon king’s true form?” Asmodeus laughed. “If that attack had hit me, I would certainly be forced to use it. But…Lake of Rage would be destroyed along with me since there would be no reason for you to hold back.” She then turned towards the lower demons, who had a look of disbelief on their faces, some were in awe while some stared at Theodore with a hint of fear. “Now do you think he’s worthy of becoming your king? He forced me to surrender.” The demons looked at each other for a moment, then one of them would slowly get on their knees, followed by another who lowered himself to the floor, tucking his fish tail close to himself. Soon, the rest of them would follow. “We follow the strong, so we shall also follow the Demon King of Pride.” The elder demon spoke with his head hung low, one arm strapped across his chest. Theodore felt slightly awkward being treated like this, but it was essential that he wouldn’t be jumped by five powerful opponents all at once. ‘If they’re at least half as strong as Lucifer…I’ll be dead.’ He turned to face Asmodeus. “Would the other kings know that I killed Lucifer?” “Of course.” The woman nodded with a smile. “When Lucifer died, his presence disappeared from the Hall of Sins, and it was replaced with a new one; yours. When we first met, I instantly knew that it was you, though I wouldn’t have believed it if you didn’t use Lucifer’s magic.” “I thought Demon Arts were used everywhere?” “Yes, but Lucifer is the creator, so his magic is very distinct.” Asmodeus continued to explain. “Even we fellow demon kings need to use his magic simply because it’s the only one we’re compatible with.” Theodore hummed before turning towards the lower demons. “You can get up now, I don’t really care how you treat me as long as we’re both being respectful.” “Ah, I almost forgot!” Asmodeus suddenly exclaimed, she then whistled, as if calling for something. In only a few seconds after the voice had died down, a large serpent-like creature emerged from afar, it swam up to her before lowering its head, it was Lily. “Since you’re the Lake’s owner, she’s yours too.” Lily stared at Theodore for a moment before slithering up to him. “…We are both snakes.” Her shy voice was low yet soft. “Well, I breathe on land.” He gave her a pat on the head and she squealed happily. “I saw Your Majesty's fight, it was…very…cool.” She struggled to find her words, it seemed that low-rank demons were intelligently limited just as Asmodeus had said, especially for non-humanoids like her. “Thank you.” Theodore looked at the group of mermaids then at Asmodeus, it’d just hit him that he was now a leader, meaning he had a lot of responsibilities on his shoulder. “Asmodeus, what’s the job requirement?” “Oh not much.” The demon king shrugged. “If your territory is big, you have to do more work, but since it’s just the Lake of Rage, you just need to make sure that this place flourishes and stays safe from harm.” Theodore nodded. “But I need to go back to the human world, are you going to rule in my place?” “Don’t worry, I already thought about it.” She looked at Rhys. “Won’t he be perfect for the job?” Theodore frowned, turning towards who she was looking at, as soon as he realized it was Rhys, he laughed. “Oh, that would definitely do.” . . . They’d left the mermaid demons and went back to the Pearl Palace’s construction site, even when they were fighting, the workers didn’t waver and continued on building, it shouldn’t take all that long until it was finished. Lily dropped them off at the front of the site, letting Theodore, Asmodeus and Rhys down from her back. “Your Majesty, are you really leaving in a month?” “Yes, I have some business to attend to,” Theodore gave her a reassuring pat on the side. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back after everything’s cleared up.” After she felt more at ease, Lily gave him a bow before swimming away. Asmodeus giggled. “You like your new friend more than me, huh, is it because she’s a snake too?” “That’s not it.” He stared at her coldly. “Anyway, we need to talk about this whole demon king thing, I don’t want to get in trouble with the others, it’s too much work to deal with.” “Don’t worry, we can just sign an official alliance then the others would naturally back off.” “Would they?” Asmodeus nodded. “Of course, I ranked second on the Hall of Sins, so they know that I’m strong.” “Who’s first? Lucifer?” “Nope, it’s Wrath.” Asmodeus put her hands behind her back. “Lucifer was never evaluated, since you know, he’s sealed. It wouldn’t be fair if we just rank him like that. Still, even if his strength was never tested, we all know how strong he truly was.” “How would that help anyway? You said they won’t be scared of me because of the territories.” “I should probably tell you about it first.” Asmodeus sighed. “A king’s territory is extremely important, it meant that you can gather more resources and you’ll have an army to back you up when things goes south, despite us having rankings, that only goes for individual strength, but if they take army force and supplies into consideration…I’ll probably be the weakest right now.” “…I’m surprised Hell is not in chaos right now.” From what he was hearing, the demon kings would surely be on the constant look out for any weaknesses in the nearby territory and war should be common around here. “They might be power-hungry, but they’re not stupid. Even if they manage to conquer one territory, it would most likely cause a lot of damage to the army, which will only open a door for the other demon kings to attack.” Theodore frowned. “So you’re saying that, if we forge an official alliance, they’ll see us as a threat and back off?” “Yep!” Asmodeus nodded eagerly, smiling with satisfaction at the fact that he got her message. “Lake of Rage is large enough to rival Wrath, the demon king with the strongest army; combine that with mine, we wouldn’t be attacked easily.” Theodore glanced at Rhys. “So even if I leave it up to this f*cker, they still won’t attack us.” “Exactly!” Asmodeus clasped her hands together. “Finally! A demon king that I can talk reason with!” “So this was your plan all along? To give me territory? Why do I need to stay for a month then?” “Well…” Asmodeus pursed her lips. “At first I wasn’t planning on giving up the Lake, but I just saw your appearance as an opportunity for me.” “Opportunity?” Theodore frowned, he was glad that she was going to speak with him honestly, but he was also starting to feel wary of being used. “One of Greed’s territories was once mine, so I was waiting for a good time to try and take it back.” “Greed? Is he strong?” He asked with a tilt of his head. “Third in the ranking, just below me. We were attacked by surprise while we were fixing the city’s walls, so it fell in a single night. I did manage to break one of his wings off before he retreated but that was it.” Asmodeus shrugged, her voice filled with pity. “…You’re going to try and take it back in a month?” Theodore’s frown deepened. “Greed was lucky that the fight lasted a night, it would be difficult to win otherwise.” “Well…I didn’t want to hold you back for long since you needed to head back to the human world.” Asmodeus pursed her lips. “I also lied a bit at the start…The Pearl Palace would be finished by tomorrow, so you’ll probably have to sleep outside for a bit until then.” “Wait.” Theodore wasn’t focusing on the construction of the Palace, he was more worried about Asmodeus’ ambitious plan. “I appreciate that you’re thinking about my own errands, but I don’t think it’s necessary to bring ‘everyone’ to the fight.” “But how are we going to win? Didn’t you say that I was difficult?” Now it was Asmodeus’ turn to frown, confused as to what he was trying to say. “Greed’s army might not be as good as Wrath’s but he has a lot of units that he could dispatch from his main territory, we wouldn’t stand a chance if we reduce our army’s numbers.” “Difficult when you need to worry about tens of thousands of people, yes.” Theodore crossed his arms, raising his eyebrows while he spoke. “But what if I do know a way to win in one day?”