Chapter 600: To Crush A Demigod

Darius POV

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The human known as Darius Kaiser fought with everything he could. He used his magic, swordsmanship and even the divine aura granted to him by the goddess. Yet. It could do nothing against this monstrosity.

Asmodeus.

An enemy that the mainland first learned about eight months before.

A false demon king, something that shouldn’t exist, a filthy stain on the empire’s ten thousand years of history. To think a summoned hero would become a demon, cause their goddess to fall from grace and even attempt to wipe out their mainland.

Why can’t I kill him!?

Darius lamented, even after using a sneak attack on the city to kill the abomination’s wives. He failed. The filthy women who spread their legs for a demon survived, and no matter how hard he tried since meeting this man, he constantly failed.

“Just fall, you wretched fiend!”

He focused his divine aura into the greatsword his father granted him as a reward. The day he took the title of Grand Duke, Darius swore to protect the mainland, to never surrender or give up. No matter what he might face.

However…..

“You injured my beloved women, how dare you still breath the same air as them.”

Why…..

Why….!?

WHY!!!!!!

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Asmodeus POV

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I will kill you, and every human on the mainland.

Asmodeus cleaved the air, his blood reaver crackling with a violent red aura. Now able to use his divine power, he channelled it into his weapon and body. To boost his physical power and endurance to crush this human Duke.

The blade created a trail of unstable energy that warped space and caused damage to Darius each time they clashed. His blood formed small blades, which sank into the bastard’s flesh like teeth.

“You seem to be struggling, human.”

The black armour of Asmodeus vibrated and grew longer. It covered his legs, arms and half his face as it became stronger the more he pumped it with divine power. This usage brought Asmodeus to a new level.

“Hah! You are nothing but an obscene monster. Don’t belittle mankind!”

Blood Reaver tore through the Duke’s pauldron, pushing him back; however, the Duke grit his teeth while using his sword as an anchor.

“You… I won’t lose, the Emperor…. the Princess… expect me to return as a hero!”

Droplets of blood oozed from the human’s flesh, his shoulder hanging lower because of the wound. Darius gripped his sword and, with a broken howl, he lunged forward. With a mixture of desperation and determination, he launched a violent series of strikes.

***

Darius POV

***

The blows rained down like storms. Darius struck the air with sparks that exploded as steel met the demon’s cursed axe. But every time Darius swung, every time he burned more of his divine aura into the blade, the monster met him and pushed him further back.

His chest heaved, lungs aflame. The power of the goddess coursed through him, but even her divine blessing… felt thin now. Fading.

How?

He could not understand. His strength, his divine aura, his years of war — all of it crumbled before this abomination.

The ground cracked under his boots. Stone walls nearby collapsed as the two clashed again and again, the city itself suffering from their duel. The shockwaves swept away demon knights and adventurers. Men and women screamed, dragged into rubble not even meant for them.

And yet, none of it mattered to him.

The only thing that mattered.

Kill him.

“DIE, DEMON!” Darius roared.

His greatsword, blessed by the goddess herself, surged with shadows. Spears of black light burst from the ground, lancing upward as he poured the last of his divine aura into them. The bright sky turned black, drowning the stars above with its shadow.

The spears struck the demon’s armour, ripping into his body. Blood scattered. At last, Darius felt his enemy falter. His eyes lit with hope.

But the hope died instantly.

The demon laughed.

It was not the laughter of a man. It was deep and monstrous, the laughter of something that should never have lived.

And before his eyes, the monster changed.

Asmodeus’s body twisted, armour snapping like the growth of new bone. His wings spread, vast and jagged, filling the sky with shadow. His eyes became jet black with ocean blue pupils, with a body no longer a man’s but a demon king’s.

The pressure crushed Darius’s chest. His greatsword felt suddenly heavier, and the aura he tried to gather was weaker, as if it was fading… or dying.

He could feel the goddess doubting him.

Her blessing slipped away.

“I will erase you, and that goddess you worship,” Asmodeus growled, his throat tight with a strong bellow. “Every word you’ve spoken, wound you’ve carved. I will tear your legacy apart root by root.”

Darius staggered back with a strange weight in his chest. For the first time, he feared defeat… even when facing a legion of orcs, a goblin king, he felt confident.

No, I cannot fall.

I won’t!

He couldn’t fear this man; he swore to fight no matter what. He was the Grand Duke of the Empire, the Imperial Sword trusted by the Emperor! He was humanity’s shield.

He was….

Blood Reaver cut his thoughts short as it tore through the sky.

“Impossible…” Darius gasped, his knees trembling. “I… cannot lose… not to you…”

But his words were drowned by another blow.

And another.

The demon king was merciless.

***

Asmodeus POV

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The battle could no longer be called a duel.

It was divine punishment.

Asmodeus struck Darius relentlessly, his axe swirling with blood like a death knell, hammering the human deeper into despair. The axe devoured his blood, his aura and will to fight with every drop of blood, making Asmodeus stronger.

Darius’s eyes showed the truth.

Empty, cracked, bloodshot and pale… his fading resolve and desperation.

“You called yourself a hero,” Asmodeus scoffed, wings casting a shadow over the fallen man’s face. “But what have you done but burn, enslave and kill using that name!”

He smashed the back of his axe into the Duke’s chest, crushing armour and shattering bones as blood sprayed in a red arc from Darius’s mouth.

The human fell to his knees, coughing.

Despite trying to stand, he stumbled and fell onto the floor.

Pathetic.

Asmodeus towered over him, black armour writhing with veins of blood. His demonic and divine auras, woven together, spread out like fire, warping the very air. Soldiers below stopped fighting, frozen in terror, unable to breathe beneath the weight of his power.

The humans who followed fled; only the stronger holy knights fought without care for their lives. Sailors were selfish and greedy.

“See, you’re nothing but a dog,” Asmodeus made a mocking dog whistle. “A dog who fails in his goals will be discarded, look… all those men are trying to escape, fleeing to abandon you who fell to a ‘Filthy’ monster.”

He brought the axe down and pressed the cold blade against the Duke’s neck.

The Duke’s muscles bulged. His face twisted with rage.

He lifted his sword and stood once again.

“I fight for mankind!” Darius roared.

“You fight for yourself,” Asmodeus spat back. His voice cracked the stone. “You fear a world without your goddess. You fear being forgotten. That is why you cling to her blessing like a child clutching a toy!”

Blood Reaver clashed with the greatsword again, sparks exploding. The demon king pressed forward, his monstrous strength overwhelming the Duke’s body. Inch by inch, the blade lowered.

“Shut… your… mouth!”

“See, you didn’t deny my words.”

Darius’s eyes went wild, spit flying as he screamed. He poured the last of his divine aura into one final strike, shadows exploding around him.

Strangely enough, Asmodeus didn’t stop him… instead, he let Blood Reaver drop to his side, an eerie smile growing on his face.

“DIE!”

Before Darius could strike, Asmodeus stabbed at him using his hand; the sharp black armour shattered his greatsword and pierced the Duke’s chest with a wet squelch.

Inside his body, Asmodeus grasped something.

“N-No…!?”

Darius stared at it in horror as fragments of steel fell away—his lifeline, his father’s gift, his goddess’s blessing all broken in half before his eyes.

Asmodeus looked down at the broken man.

“This is your end.”

Darius collapsed, coughing blood as his greatsword clattered uselessly to the ground. The divine light in his chest flickered, dimming to nothing.

Asmodeus ripped his hand free, black claws dripping with blood and something else. A small sphere of light pulsed weakly in his grip—the Divine Core.

The Grand Duke’s lips moved soundlessly.

Did he try to plead, curse or speak words of anger…. it didn’t matter, because his body fell, limp, eyes glassy.

Asmodeus raised the core half already absorbed when a sudden burst of divine energy poured into his mind…

His pupils turned black… black veins bulged under his flesh.

A sudden mental attack.

Mephisto attacked!

His grin was razor sharp as he snatched the glowing orb from Asmodeus’s bloody hand.

“At last…” he whispered, clutching it to his chest. “My return begins.”

“ARGH!!!!”

After a moment, Asmodeus broke the Possession, but it was too late… Mephisto stood at the edge of the beach, the small half-orb of a divine core in his hand as he dropped it into his throat, and with a huge gulp… swallowed it.

“M…Mephisto!!!!” Asmodeus screamed, his voice tearing apart the port, blood energy slicing into the ground, making deep trenches.

But the sneaky god vanished into smoke.

“I’ll wait for you where it all began, dear brother! A S M O D E U S! Gyahahahahah!”