[Ha.] Belphegor laughed in disbelief and looked at Balrog.
[Balrog, did you lose your mind?]
Belphegor frowned and rested his chin on his hands, sitting in his chair in a relaxed manner.
He narrowed his eyes.
Balrog…
He was vice-commander of the Demon King’s army, and he was one of the demons that the Demon King liked the most.
His strength couldn't be compared to other great demons. It was also widely known that he could even give archdukes a run for their money.
But…
[You dare to face me, Belphegor, alone?]
In the end, he wasn't an archduke.
There was a gap between archdukes and other demons that couldn’t be overcome.
Even if he'd received the Demon King’s strength, even if he was the strongest among the great demons…
That was it.
He couldn't beat an archduke.
Archdukes were beings that were born to become absolute rules.
Even in the Hell of Nine Skies, except for the ancient demonic monsters, no beings could fight against them.
[What? Are you scared?] Balrog asked, a smirk on his face.
[Ha.]
Once again, Belphegor laughed in disbelief.
He lowered his head and tried to hold back his laughter.
[It seems like you lost your mind after winning the thousand-year war.]
Belphegor extended his hands toward Balrog.
[Balrog, remember this…]
He kept talking.
[It was the Demon King who won, not you.]
[You're right.]
Balrog waved his hand, and a whip covered with a dark-red flame appeared from a black fissure.
He grabbed the whip, and the tips of his mouth went up.
[And you lost.]
[…]
Belphegor remained silent and glared at Balrog.
The memories of the bitter defeat returned to him.
It was extremely unpleasant.
[It seems like you've forgotten how scary the world is due to the Demon King’s coddling…] Belphegor said in a mocking tone.
[You're just a defeated soldier who couldn't protect his owner.]
[…]
A defeated soldier…
Balrog's eyebrows twitched when he heard that.
[Did you completely forget about Beelzebub? Didn't he used to be your owner?]
Belphegor laughed.
Beelzebub…
The Archduke of Gluttony.
Among the archdukes, he was the only one who'd lost his position to another demon.
Baal had killed Beelzebub and taken his place.
Before the war of a thousand years, the biggest war had been between Baal and Beelzebub.
He'd lost his position as an archduke, and even the Hell Equipment recognized Baal as its new owner.
Beelzebub's subordinates were torn apart and eaten by Baal's subordinates.
All of them, save one, had died in immense pain.
There was one demon who managed to survive Baal.
At that time, Beelzebub’s most loyal demon was called 'Balrog.'
[Aah, I still remember how you looked when you lost your owner. You were a loser whose meaning had been stripped away, and you looked like a rotten corpse.]
[…]
[Hahaha. Did you go and find the Demon King that day to suffer the most miserable death a demon could?]
The first day Balrog and the Demon King met…
It was quite a famous encounter, even in the 9th hell.
At that moment, demons thought that the most miserable death possible was death at the hands of a human.
He was so remorseful at not being able to protect his owner that he craved death.
[But to think that human would end up becoming the Demon King…]
Who would have imagined that the human he went to see to have a miserable death would become the Demon King?
That was something no one could have imagined.
Belphegor shook his head as if he didn't want to remember that.
[I'm still curious about something. The Demon King should have been weaker than you at the time, but why did you decide to serve him? Hmm? Did you really wish to have a new owner that badly? I wonder what Beelzebub would think if he saw you now.]
[Belphegor…]
[Pff, hahaha!! To think that you'd change owners so fast after the one you swore loyalty to died.]
Tsk tsk. He clicked his tongue.
[This is why raising a dog isn’t worth it.]
BOOM-!
The surroundings shook, and Balrog's huge body rose into the air.
He swung the black whip covered with a dark-red flame with an unbelievable speed.
[Hngh,] Belphegor snorted.
His Authority activated from his outstretched hand.
—The Authority of Stopping.
The Authority that could slow down time within a certain area restricted the strength of the whip.
The whip, which had initially been moving at a speed faster than sound, slowed down to such a speed that one could easily grab it.
Tap-!
Without hesitating for a moment, he dropped the whip, flapped his wings, and shot toward the ground, smashing into it fist-first.
BOOM-!!
Rocks scattered in all directions.
* * *
Belphegor's expression distorted.
His Authority of Stopping had a condition—it could only slow time in places he could see.
Since his sight was blocked, the Authority of Stopping was dismissed.
Balrog appeared from between the rocks, and a huge fist that resembled a boulder hit Belphegor's head.
BOOM-!!
The chair Belphegor was sitting on was pushed back at a huge speed.
Before the fist touched him, he managed to use the Authority of Stopping by a narrow margin and was able to protect his face.
[Ugh!]
Still, he wasn’t able to fully mitigate the blow.
Black blood dripped from Belphegor’s mouth after he was hit by the demonic energy contained within Balrog’s fist.
With his back straight, Balrog spoke in a subdued voice.
[Your tongue is long. It seems that, although your body is lazy, your tongue isn't.]
[…]
Belphegor’s face twisted.
He felt ashamed that Balrog, someone who wasn't the Demon King or an archduke, had managed to hit him first.
[You worthless, defeated soldier…!]
Belphegor extended both hands and created a blade of time with the Authority of Stopping that couldn’t be seen or heard.
It was an intangible sword that could twist time and cut through any target, and it sliced down toward Balrog.
Slash-!
Balrog lowered his body as if he were crouching down.
As the intangible sword touched him, the flow of demonic energy in that area became extremely slow.
Balrog closed his eyes.
Belphegor's attack couldn't be seen, so using his eyes would only bother him.
He dodged the attacks using only the sensations he could feel through demonic energy.
The movements his huge body made were so fast that they were hard to believe, and he quickly dodged Belphegor's attacks and appeared before him.
He clenched his right fist.
As if it were alive, the whip on the floor quickly flew toward him and wrapped around his fist, which began burning with a dark-red fire.
He twisted his body and pulled his fist back.
[Do you think that's going to work?!]
Belphegor laughed at him.
He created a defensive wall with the Authority of Stopping.
Everything that moved within five centimeters of his skin would start to move at an extremely slow speed.
It was a defensive wall one could call ‘definitive’.
[Sky…]
Balrog He stretched his left foot forward and stepped firmly on the ground, as he pulled his shoulder back and lowered himself.
He concentrated all of his strength on a single point before unleashing his fist in a display of explosive power.
[Break.]
BOOM-!
It was one of the techniques his master, KangWoo, had taught him.
Although it was just a punch, the theory and thought behind it was quite complex.
You needed to regulate the demonic energy that flowed from your waist to the shoulder; the moment you punched, you had to make it explode all at once.
Of course, if he used such a technique, Balrog would also be swept away by the recoil.
However, Balrog had a characteristic no other demon had.
Demonic Energy Armor… There was a strong armor made of demonic energy that covered his skin, even if he wasn’t aware of it.
That unique characteristic protected his fist, and…
[Cough!!!]
Belphegor's body bent like a bow.
Along with the chair, Belphegor's body rolled on the ground, and copious amounts of black blood poured out of him.
[How?]
Belphegor looked at Balrog in confusion.
Even if the strength in Balrog's fist was powerful, it shouldn't have been able to pass through his Authority that controlled the flow of time.
That wasn’t supposed to happen.
[Damn it, damn it, damn it!!]
Belphegor cursed while holding his hand, and Balrog slowly walked toward him.
‘Defeated soldier…’
That sad nickname echoed through his head.
- Don't try to act like someone who's gone through things. Back the fuck off.
The memories of the past came back to him.
- I wasn't able to protect my owner.
- What does that have to do with me?
- I came here in search of you to pay for my crime.
- What nonsense are you talking about?
Since he didn't seem to understand it, he explained how humiliating it was for a demon to die at the hands of a human.
KangWoo had laughed in disbelief after listening to the explanation.
- Ah, so you came here to die?
- Yes.
- Haa. I should've known when I saw your eyes.
He laughed in disbelief and continued walking, ignoring Balrog.
- Leave the drama for TV shows.
- …
- Don't bother me. Just fuck off. I'm busy at the moment.
- You… aren't afraid?
- What?
- This is the 9th hell. It's a place governed by the archdukes. It's completely different from the hells you're used to.
- I already know that. I heard it all before coming here.
- No, you don't know it. You… don't know how scary the archdukes are. If you knew, there's no way you wouldn't be afraid.
- Hey, you bastard, stop caring about what I do or don't know.
He lightly stomped on the ground and flew toward him; then he grabbed his collar.
Balrog was finally able to look into his eyes.
He looked into the black pupils on top of his white eyes.
- Ah…
A thrilling sensation spread through his body.
KangWoo’s eyes were shining with a stronger craving than any demon’s, no, rather than craving, it was closer to obsession.
Chills ran through Balrog’s body.
Balrog already knew the name of the craving and ambition reflected in his eyes.
- I don't care if there are archdukes here or whatever…
He kept talking.
- What I have to do won't change, after all.
Answer evil with greater evil.
A killing intent with a stronger killing intent.
He had to devour everything in the world and take steps forward.
- If you're done talking, then fuck off. I have no time to waste with a defeated soldier like you. If you want to suffer a humiliating death, throw yourself into a group of demonic monsters.
[HAHAHA!]
Balrog, who was walking toward Belphegor, suddenly burst into laughter after remembering what had happened at that time.
[Balrog…!]
[Ah, it's just that I remembered something from the past!]
Balrog smiled.
He raised his flame-covered fist and curled his finger toward Belphegor as he spoke.
[Belphegor, stand up. Hasn't the fight just begun?]
[Ugh.]
He glared at Balrog intensely before he placed his hands on the ground and pushed himself up.
He placed his hands on the chair he was sitting in.
[Balrog…]
A thick demonic energy swept away the surroundings.
Crack!
The wheelchair began to change form, breaking into fragments that joined back together in what looked like white, bone-like armor.
[You made me stand… I’ll make you regret that.]
Belphegor's body was covered with the armor, 'Sloth', from which a strong fighting spirit rose.
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