As the fog surrounding its body slowly began to fade away and turn into a black and blue fire, Asmodeus focused his gaze entirely on this dragon. The damage from the violent blow caused the scales near the top half of his snout to crack, with some falling off entirely.

However, in the spot where Velvet punched, it began to heal slowly. ''That is to be expected. After all, this isn''t just any old monster. Yet the maw of the dragon looked horrible. The bones were crushed and shattered, along with many of its fangs being broken.

"Graaaaa!" The dragon''s roar seemed to pierce the very heavens with its intensity. It seemed like this lizard didn''t expect that a single person could cause this much damage in this place. Rather, a mere mortal that it toyed with the day before caused so much pain it felt an instinctive fear.

"My King! I will go again!" Velvet''s beautifully seductive voice sounded as her body flickered with a fierce violet aura. The flames on her body quickly melted and ate away all the surrounding ice. "I can''t wait. I want to punch this damn lizard over and over and over!"

Asmodeus chuckled; he couldn''t help but adore the fact Velvet no longer held back and returned to the woman he first met in the training field at Alan''s mansion. ''So beautiful and captivating.''

"Then let me make the fight more interesting." Asmodeus snapped his fingers, which created seven magic circles forming spears of all the elements: fire, ice, earth, wind, dark, light and finally, a blood lance.

At this point, the Dragon opened its jaws in rage and prepared a massive blast of ice.

But it came too slowly.

A moment after it began to inhale a breath, Velvet''s aura suddenly grew with such an intensity that the flames of hell licked at the monster as though they were about to swallow it up whole.

The black, magenta, and violet flame expanded and exploded from her, creating the visage of an all-consuming nightmare that would destroy anything unfortunate enough to find itself caught in her wrath.

''Damn arrogant Lizard!'' She bit down her teeth, the blast of ice creating hundreds of tiny blades that sliced her cheek, a small stream of blood dripping down her chin.

The monster had yet to finish its attack, and in a mere instant, she flew right in front of its snout with the speed and grace of an enchanting creature of the abyss.

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Asmodeus had his left hand held forward and pointed toward the monster''s maw. His eyes focused with a deadly calm. He snapped his fingers once more, which made the magic circle flash, causing all seven lances to launch forward in a sudden burst of explosive energy.

The first to hit was the earth lance. As it hit, the Dragon''s head was pushed backwards by sheer force, making the ice blast fly upward into the sky and miss Velvet entirely.

A few scales cracked and fell from the Dragon, revealing a large wound that looked as though it were rotting. But that didn''t seem to bother the beast as its eyes glared at her with such a deadly look of intent. It was like staring into a black abyss.

''Your body, mind and power will become my own!'' Velvet screamed in her head. Asmodeus would be proud of the bloodthirsty desire that radiated from her body.

*Boom*

Six spears of various elements penetrated the dragon''s wings and shoulder blades as it began to try to escape to the sky.

''You''re mine...'' Her eyes turned into slits, her fangs visible and the look of a bloodthirsty woman seeking revenge.

"Let me show you the true meaning of pain." Velvet''s hand was covered in a black and magenta fire as she jumped high into the air, her aura blazing fiercely and causing a sonic boom from her leap.

***

Meanwhile, in an unknown cave, a group of humans in black robes with the symbol of death, two serpents, and a skull embedded in them were chanting in a strange chamber with an altar in the middle.

Atop the altar was a strange blue crystal, its luminescent light gradually fading as they began to vomit blood and die one by one.

A single woman was at the very top of the steps, her hands in a prayer-like formation, and she began to scream as she was surrounded by blood, the liquid floating around her body.

It appeared she was draining the crystal on the pedestal as she turned into a ghastly pale colour. "No?! How could this be? What happened to the dragon!" she shouted in confusion.

However, her body couldn''t handle the backlash of losing the mana that coursed through her veins, and she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

As the light from the crystal faded, it shattered into many tiny shards that faded away. A man stood before her with his sword impaled in her gut.

His eyes filled with emptiness, and he remained quiet.

"Guha... why?! I served our master well..."

The male just kicked her body to the side, shaking his head. "Failing him is punishable by death. Now die." The man said with no remorse or pity.

He looked at the corpses surrounding them. ''It appears I have to make a suitable excuse for the Apostle to forgive this setback.''

The woman, however, didn''t give up on life so quickly.

Desperate to live, she tried dragging herself from the cave, the stench of copper and blood permeating her nose. "Please..."

Her eyes turned red with fear as she attempted to save her own life. "I will serve better... next... time..." But her body suddenly went limp, and she couldn''t help but feel as if a great weight was pressing down on her.

It was like her limbs had turned to stone. She could no longer move. Her body was frozen. She was helpless. She let out one final gasp before she died.

The man, however, shook his head at the wretched scene before him.

"These fools have no idea what they are doing. Did they truly think that the divine being Mephisto would actually accept them after they finished? Foolish..."

He turned around and began to make his way back to the entrance.

As he exited the cave, he stopped and turned around.

A sudden flash of light and a pillar of flame shot from the cave''s ceiling and pierced the night sky. The black flame was the symbol of Mephisto''s highest believers.

The Paladins of Death.