Chapter 187 - Aspect of Fire (2)

A little earlier…

"Intruders?" Julia Vilkova questioned in surprise.

"Y-Yes!" the priest responded urgently.

Julia wore a fierce frown as she raised her hand and cast magic. The branch interior immediately became visible to her like a live stream of CCTV footage.

"Gasp."

Julia's mouth gaped open. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

'Why is Balrog here?'

She couldn't understand what was going on. It might be possible for humans to ambush them, but why was Balrog there?

'Didn't he get killed by some members of Guardians?'

Julia had thought that Balrog had died at the hands of Guardians' members, yet she was now watching him run wild inside the branch.

Moreover, he wasn't the only one attacking the branch.

'I'm not sure who that kid and the bag of bones are, but…'

The other invaders had a level of power that couldn't be compared to that of an average demon. However, they didn't seem to be part of the group of Guardians members who were attacking the entrance of the branch.

'They're using demonic energy.'

Demons were Guardians' mortal enemies, so there was no way that Guardians would recruit members who could use demonic energy.

More importantly, Balrog and an Undead were among the invaders. So, there was no way the invaders were part of Guardians.

In other words, the three individuals who had infiltrated the branch and the members of Guardians who were currently attacking the entrance of the branch were two different forces.

"Shit! What in the world…"

Julia burst into a rage at the unexpected development of events. She slammed her fist onto the giant table, splitting it in two.

"Call back the forces that were sent outside!" she ordered.

"B-But if we do that, Guardians will—"

"The humans aren't the issue right now! The branch is being attacked on the inside!"

"Y-Yes, ma'am," the priest replied, quickly lowering his head.

A portion of the Demon Cult's forces that were fighting against the Guardians members headed inside instead.

The black-haired child and the skeleton were a problem, but the biggest issue was Balrog.

'It's nowhere near enough,' Julia thought.

They didn't have enough demons to stop that monster Balrog, who was famous even in Hell. Even with the full force of the branch, they would barely be able to stop Balrog. Having to fight off Guardians at the same time was simply absurd.

'I have to request for reinforcements.'

Julia grabbed a crystal orb and contacted the branch nearest to Tibet with the biggest forces.

BOOM!

Crack!

- ARRGGHH! S-Stop him!!

"What the hell…?"

Julia heard explosions and screams through the crystal orb.

"This is the Apostle of Evil Julia Vilkova. The Tibet base has been attacked. Requesting immediate backup."

- B-Backup?! Nonsense! We're also being attacked! a voice screamed desperately.

The Cardinal had responded to Julia disrespectfully despite being of lower rank, which showed just how bad the situation was. Julia had guessed it after hearing the explosions, but it seemed like something serious had happened there too.

"Who are the attackers? Guardians?"

- L-Lucifer! Lucifer's retainers are attacking us!

"What?"

'Guardians, Balrog, and Lucifer…'

Julia looked confused.

'What the hell is…'

Satan had said that Lucifer would send delegates to talk things out first, yet they had suddenly attacked the Demon Cult out of nowhere.

"Did you attack Lucifer's delegates?!"

- Shit, no! We didn't do anything!! They just attacked us out of nowhere!

The Cardinal sounded too desperate for him to be lying.

Julia grabbed her head as if it hurt.

'Has he gone mad?'

She'd heard that Lucifer was being attacked by the celestial realm and couldn't recklessly take action at the moment. If he had come all the way here to attack them, it pretty much meant that he was trying to drag them down and perish with him.

"D-Don't tell me…"

Julia thought of Balrog, a third party in all of this, and Lucifer's retainers, who were currently attacking the other branch. There weren't many conclusions she could reach based on those two facts.

"Balrog must have sided with Lucifer!!"

This conjecture appeared in her mind like a strike of lightning. She couldn't think of any other explanation for the current situation.

'As for why Lucifer is attacking the Demon Cult…'

Lucifer had likely allied himself with Balrog after concluding that he would be able to wipe out the Demon Cult easily with Balrog's cooperation.

"H-Hahahahaha!" Julia laughed.

She then frowned and stomped on the ground.

Boom.

The entire room shook, and a dense wave of demonic energy surged upward.

"How dare they…"

There was only one possible reason why Lucifer would be attacking the Demon Cult despite being under attack from the celestial realm. He was surely aiming for the Demonic Origin that the Demon Cult possessed.

"He dares to attack us?!"

Julia was overcome with rage. Since it had come to this, they could no longer hope for compromise with Lucifer.

'Now, it's war.'

It was time to instill fear into all those who were going against the Demon Cult.

"Fuuu."

Julia got up.

BOOM!

The loud explosions that were shaking the branch were getting closer to her location. The mountain shook so much that it seemed like it would crumble.

"Guh."

Julia had talked as if all of their enemies would regret attacking them, but the situation was not looking good for the Tibet branch. The Demon Cult might have had a chance if this had happened at the headquarters, but the Tibet branch had no way of fending off these enemies.

'No.'

There was a way.

'But…'

She hesitated.

The preparations for the next part of the Demon Cult's plan were still incomplete. The consequences would be irreversible if she messed something up by commencing it hastily.

'I have no other choice.'

Julia quickly made up her mind. She quickly headed somewhere.

Tssss!

"U-Urgh."

Every time she took a step, smoke rose from her skin as if it were burning. She wrapped her skin with all of her demonic energy. It was being consumed at high speed, but it was due to that layer of demonic energy covering her skin that she could resist the heat.

"Oh, Aspect of Fire…"

Julia walked through a tunnel filled with red lava. At the end of it, there was a glowing yellow sphere.

The Prince of Greed, Mammon, was asleep inside that sphere.

"Fuuu."

Julia took a shaky breath and placed her hands on the floor. Demonic energy flowed out of her hands and spread all over the floor, lighting up a magic circle made up of complex geometrical patterns with a black glow.

She chanted, "Zazas, zazas…"

The sweat dripping from her forehead evaporated before it could touch the ground. The horrifyingly intense heat gradually got even hotter.

Rumble—!

"Kuh!"

A red Rift had formed in the air. However, the demonic energy emerging from it rampaged, likely due to the incomplete preparations.

The mountain—no, the entire Tibet branch shook.

'Please.'

It didn't matter to Julia if the land around them was split or if a massive volcano erupted and its lava engulfed the entirety of China. All that mattered to her was whether Mammon would open his eyes.

As long as he awoke, this gamble would be a success.

Crack.

The yellow sphere split open, revealing a three-meter-tall figure. It was a demon so fat that it looked like it would have trouble breathing.

"Aahhh."

The enormous being that should be called a ball of fat rather than a demon waddled out of the sphere.

The demon's appearance was hideous and unsightly, but Julia knew very well who he was.

"Oh, Aspect of Fire," Julia greeted.

[Puhihihi. The hell? Did you forcibly awaken me?]

The lump of fat laughed, but the thick bloodlust he exuded did not match his smile.

"M-My apologies. I know the preparations are incomplete, but we were attacked…"

[That doesn't change the fact that you forcibly awakened me, does it?]

"My apol—kurgh!"

A glowing yellow arm sprang out of the ball of fat in the blink of an eye and grabbed Julia's neck.

Sizzle—!

"KYAAHH!"

[Puhihihi! You damn bitch, I wasn't able to pull enough power from the Root because of you. What are you going to do about this? Hmm? All that time I spent has gone up in flames because of you!!!]

Flames covered Julia's entire body. Her skin was disfigured, and her beautiful face became so unsightly that it was hard to look at.

A horrible pain washed over her. She was about to lose consciousness because of the whirlpool of pain.

Thud.

"Huff! Huff! Huff!"

[Puhi. I won't kill you. After all, Satan seems to have taken a liking to you.]

Mammon twisted his mouth and threw Julia aside.

Julia, who had suffered massive burns, was rolled on the ground.

[So, who did you say ambushed us?]

"U-Urhhh."

[It seems you can't talk anymore.] Mammon snickered and waddled forward. [Well, all right. I guess I'll find out once I go myself. Fucking hell, my precious time. Once I finish this, I'll have to stay asleep for a hundred years to just barely recover my power.]

The power of the Root that he had been absorbing all this time had gone up in smoke because he had been awakened too soon.

[Fuck, fuck, fuck. Should I just kill her?]

Mammon glanced at Julia. Then he clicked his tongue and turned around. He didn't want to cause problems with Satan just by killing such a worthless human being.

[Well, what's a hundred more years?]

For Immortals like them, a hundred years was nothing.

[It's been a while since I've been up and about, so I might as well let loose.]

Puhihihihi.

Mammon waddled up the stairs to where he could hear explosions.

* * *

Crack!

Crash!

"ARRGGHH!"

[Wh-What the fuck!! Why is Balrog here?!] a demon exclaimed while stomping on the ground.

A whip covered with dark red flames swooshed through the air.

Boom!

There was an explosion of air as the whip struck the demons, causing their bodies to burst.

One demon had a fearful expression as he tried to escape.

[You cannot escape,] Balrog said in a low voice.

He wrapped his whip around the fleeing demon and pulled.

[L-Let go of me!! Sh-Shit! I never heard that Balrog would be h—]

[You're so noisy.] Balrog frowned. [Die.]

Crack. The demon's head exploded.

Balrog looked around and asked, [Have any escaped?]

[Hehehe. My subordinates are holding them down,] Vaal Zahak answered.

"Haaa. Haaa. I didn't let a single one go," Echidna said.

[…] Balrog walked toward Echidna, who was breathing heavily. [You do not need to push yourself, young dragon.]

"...I'm not pushing myself."

[No, I can feel your impatience. If you are doing this to be of help to the king, it is unneeded,] Balrog told her quietly. [The king does not need help. He is a perfect being.]

"But Kang-Woo has been weakened because his power’s sealed by the system. He's different from how he used to be in Hell."

[Hm?] Balrog tilted his head. [KAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Yes, I do recall him saying that his power had been sealed by something called the Gaia System.]

"Are you not worried at all, Balrog? I don't know how Kang-Woo used to be in the past, but he's far weaker than b—"

[Do not worry, young dragon.] Balrog laughed. [You still have no idea who he is and what he is capable of.]

Step, step. They walked down the tunnel.

[You will soon see over time, young dragon.]

"…"

[Come to think of it, I believe you mentioned that you are the daughter of a demonic dragon named Kargath, correct?]

Echidna nodded.

[Then do you perhaps—]

BOOOOM—!!

FWOOSH—!!

Just as Balrog was about to say something, there was an explosion of giant flames.

Balrog's expression hardened.

[This is…]

It was a familiar energy.

Balrog clenched his giant hands into fists.

[Puhi! Puhihi! I was wondering who it could be, but… Balrog, huh?]

A grotesque ball of fat crawled up from below the tunnel.

[Mammon.]

Balrog's expression crumpled into anger.

The Lord of Inferno, the Demon of Greed… he had numerous titles, but there was one that was above them all—a prince of Hell.

[Puhihihihi! This is gonna be a lot more fun than I expected it to be! I can't believe I've come across a dog, who has lost its owner, in this world.]

Mammon was one of the seven demons who had been able to reach the position of a prince among the countless demons that lived in Hell. He was weaker than Satan and Lucifer, but he was still a prince regardless.

[Skeleton, young dragon. Run,] Balrog said, raising his whip.

Vaal Zahak and Echidna were fairly strong despite being new additions to the demon king's army, but they were no match for a prince of Hell.

[Go and bring the king,] Balrog added.

"That's not necessary," someone's calm voice rang out from behind.

Balrog turned to look and saw Kang-Woo walking leisurely along the gaps of the crumbled passageway.

"Mammon, huh?" Kang-Woo smiled. "Not bad."