Natas spread his arms and fell backward, slowly sinking into the towering figure behind him. As black ooze writhed, the power of the Ritual Array fused him completely with the Demon Avatar—a creature nurtured on sin.
’If Satan doesn’t exist, then I’ll just have to beco him!’
·
·
When Zhou Chen and Yao Hu rushed back to the church, the first thing they felt was a horrifying, savage malice. It was bone-chilling, almost suffocating.
As if heralding the coming disaster, or perhaps due to the evil radiating from the Tier Three Demon, even the moon had turned the color of blood. A bone-deep sense of oppression and a grim chill filled the air.
Above the church, dark clouds gathered. Beneath the scarlet Blood Moon, the Demon spread its pitch-black, draconic wings and looked down upon the town below—and upon the two "Special Agents" with Supernatural Abilities.
One of them was the powerhouse who had severely wounded it at the abandoned mine.
—Due to the recent string of strange incidents in Akita Town, the FBI had sent an investigator to look into it. That investigator also possessed Supernatural Power, so to avoid detection, Natas had his Demon Avatar temporarily hide in that abandoned mine.
For so unknown reason, however, that FBI investigator suddenly vanished. Just a few days later, several more Investigators with Supernatural Power arrived in Akita Town, each one of them incredibly formidable.
’But none of that mattered anymore. I have evolved into my final form, becoming the King of Hell, embodying the power of seven great demons—Satan!’
Natas could clearly feel his own power. ’Those Investigators are no match for !’
"He’s a strong one."
On the ground, Yao Hu cracked his neck and loosened his limbs. "But he’s just an old Priest with no combat experience. All he has is brute force. We just have to dodge his attacks."
"You’ll be the main attacker, and I’ll provide support. Also, this thing can pull people into a beautiful dream woven from their desires. It took two days to wake up, so be careful." Zhou Chen let out a breath of Turbidity, trying to recover his energy as much as possible.
’First, I survived an ambush, then I used long-distance Instant Teleportation twice while carrying soone. My Essence is almost completely drained. And with this global live broadcast, I can’t just instantly replenish my energy in front of everyone.’
"No, you don’t have to do anything."
Yao Hu shot him a look and said flatly, "I entered the Sword Forging Competition to face powerful opponents and temper myself. It’s not often I find an enemy this good. I’m going to fight it alone."
Zhou Chen frowned. "I don’t think you can handle this alone."
"Even if I can’t win, I’ll weaken it and buy so ti. The rest will be up to you."
Yao Hu opened his hand, and Essence coalesced in his palm, forming an exquisite longsword. He gripped the hilt firmly, gazing at his own reflection on the blade’s surface. "I don’t care about rankings, and I don’t care if I pass this trial. All I crave is a good, satisfying fight.
And for the record, I’m not asking you."
"—By the War God above, bear witness!"
Yao Hu let out a resonant battle cry. He raised his longsword high, pointing it directly at the Demon’s face in the sky, and proclaid in a grave voice:
"I challenge thee."
The longsword erupted in a brilliant light. In the next instant, Yao Hu and Satan vanished.
The phantom of a massive colosseum appeared in the sky, a spectacular sight visible only to Ascenders.
Even more unbelievably, the phantom colosseum was packed to the rafters. In the stands, row after row of spectators wore excited expressions, cheering and roaring their support for the fighters in the arena.
Inside the colosseum, Natas was clearly bewildered, a trace of Fear mingling with his confusion.
’Th-this is what power? What is this place?’
’Those humans... Why are they cheering? Aren’t they afraid of ?’
’What in the world is going on?!’
"This is the Glory Colosseum."
Opposite him, Yao Hu spoke coldly. "Only when one side is victorious will the duel’s contract be dissolved."
"Now, co fight !"
A sonic boom erupted. Yao Hu shot forward like a cannonball, a tempest trailing in his wake. The visually stunning display left Natas reeling. ’Is this the kind of power a human can unleash?’
In his daze, he even forgot to defend himself. By the ti he reacted, Yao Hu’s scorching Iron Fist was already inches away.
BOOM!
Natas was sent flying backward, his skull cracking under the force of the blow. A searing pain shot through him, and his burgeoning ambition was instantly doused as if by a bucket of cold water.
’I thought I was invincible after evolving into Satan, but soone can actually hurt !’
"Magnetic field, engage! Get over here!"
The Magnetic Gloves erupted with imnse Thunder Magnetism, acting like a pair of invisible hands that yanked Natas straight back toward Yao Hu, directly into his iron-hard fist.
BANG—
Fissures spiderwebbed across the Demon’s face. It had no skeleton; instead, its interior was filled with roiling black matter—sin and blasphemy given physical form.
The Magnetic Field Power locked Natas in place before Yao Hu. He summoned all his strength, his fist, empowered by his Vajra Transformation, glowing as hot as forged iron as he smashed it into the Demon’s chest.
A deep, thunderous boom echoed out. A ghastly hole was punched through Natas’s chest, and torrents of the pitch-black, solidified sin poured out.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!"
The searing pain made Natas roar as he began to fight back. His enormous, fly-like eyes flared with red light, and Yao Hu’s heart instantly stopped. Yet, as if completely unaffected, he raised his fist and swung again!
BAM!
This punch slamd into Natas’s arm, which he had thrown up in a desperate block.
And then he realized...
’Wait... I can actually fight him?’
’No, it’s more than just being able to fight him...’ Natas channeled all of his Power. Black energy surged from his body, and he easily broke free from the Magnetic Field Power’s hold. With a single flap of his draconic wings, a hurricane-force gust blasted Yao Hu away, and Natas used the montum to put distance between them.
"I can feel it," Natas snarled, his voice monstrous. "My Power is greater than yours. I can kill you!"
Yao Hu’s eyes burned with a battle-crazed fervor. He replied coolly:
"Then try ."
·
·
Back on the ground, Zhou Chen looked away from the sky.
’Yao Hu really is the Sin of Pride incarnate. Even after shaking off the influence, his personality is still pure arrogance. He just took his Dueling Sword and initiated a one-on-one duel.’
’Or maybe, it’s just absolute confidence in his own strength.’
’After all, Yao Hu is still only Tier Two, but he’s on the verge of breaking through to Tier Three at any mont!’
’This battle will probably give him the catalyst he needs to break through.’
’As for the Dueling Sword, that thing is connected to the Pantheon. It’s an Extraordinary Artifact that the Pantheon gives to ’fated’ individuals. It can force any living being into a one-on-one duel, and the colosseum won’t vanish until one combatant is defeated.’
’The spectators in the colosseum aren’t illusions, either. Each one holds a ’ticket.’ Whenever a duel contract is activated, they get a notification and can choose whether or not to spectate.’
’Since there are so few duelists, every match draws a huge crowd. Sotis, if you’re even a second late, you can’t get a seat.’
With Father Natas occupied, Zhou Chen couldn’t just stand around. He went into the church to investigate and eventually found a deep tunnel in the storeroom leading underground. A large hole had been torn through the storeroom’s ceiling, likely smashed through by Natas after his Demonization.
Zhou Chen kicked a large stone down the hole. After estimating the depth, he leaped in.
After falling for several seconds, he landed steadily in a gloomy, foul-slling cavern.
’The stench... Is that pit full of human skeletons?’ Zhou Chen’s eyes imdiately fell on a pit filled with a jumble of bones, and his brow furrowed in disgust.
’Judging by the sheer number of skeletons, the people who went missing in Akita Town over the past two months are just a drop in the bucket!’
’Just how many people did Natas kill?’
Zhou Chen then looked at the Inverted Pentagram Array on the ground. In Mysticism, an inverted pentagram is the symbol of Satan. What was truly thought-provoking was that an ancient Ritual Array from a bygone era was still functional.
Next, he walked over to an altar, picked up an Ancient Book, and began to leaf through it.
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