CHAPTER 627: THE SKY SHATTERS, THE PAST AWAKENS

The clouds split apart in a ray of sunlight the moment Asmodeus clashed with the murky green light of Mephisto.

"Mephisto."

"Inferior human."

Asmodeus met Mephisto in the sky, their auras crackling and gathering like the calm before a storm, their pressure enough to cause the ground below to tremble. Every soldier, orc, and knight was probably enduring the immense weight.

With Blood Reaver in hand, screaming for blood and threads of blood wrapped around his left arm, ready to devour, Asmodeus focused on Mephisto. Opposite. Mephisto’s twisted form of Alan burned in a green, flaming aura that darkened his flesh.

It’s eating away at Alan’s body!?

The only reason he could endure this long must have been his Holy Mana being a hero!

"You’ll return that body, after I shatter your soul, Mephisto!"

"Haha, oh please! Don’t overestimate yourself, kid!"

Mephisto’s calm atmosphere angered Asmodeus. He adored Alan, his best friend in this world, someone he respected and admired.

Part of the reason he could grow and change.

His body burst forward, using a blast of fire magic to propel him forward. Blood Reaver held overhead as she swung down with brutal force. "DIE!"

"Fool!"

Mephisto laughed, his black scythe materialising as sparts cleaved the sky apart, clouds vanished along with the rain as the brilliant sky appeared.

A wave of force slammed downward, flattening banners and toppling siege ladders, hurling dozens of enthralled soldiers off the walls. The two figures spun apart, wings flaring, their gazes locked in mutual contempt.

"Still using Alan’s power, you coward!" Asmdoeus grunted, the holy element burning his arms as the scythe cut his cheek. "How far the god of death has fallen, hahaha!"

"Shut up!" Mephisto’s face twisted, the power of Blood Reaver almost tore him apart, and the weight of the young demon’s blade shocked him. So he used the power of Alan... desperate to avoid doing so as it stirred the human’s mind. "Don’t put me on your level Maggot!"

The enraged demigod became berserk, rushing at Asmodeus with a relentless offensive using his scythe, both of them clashing in a brutal exchange.

Clink!

Clang!

Boom!

Hundreds of exchanges followed, with Asmodeus cutting, cleaving and smashing the death god into the distance, the blood spurting from the curved wounds from the scythe.

"Damn it..."

The fallen demigod only sneered as he teleported above Asmdoeus, a sphere of death growing with a low buzz. "Heh, to think that slut Serena fell for a human from another world, how pathetic. She could have been my spouse."

The mention of her name froze Asmodeus’s breath.

His grip on Blood Reaver tightened, the threads coiling so tight the axe vibrated in his hands.

"Don’t you dare speak her name."

Mephisto laughed, like a hollow and broken record, but then sneered, his eyes opened wide. "Hahaha, then let me remind you of what you’re up against. Then I’ll make sure to kill her slowly, while you watch!

He condensed the sphere in his hands using emerald fire that gathered in his palm, pulsing like a diseased heart. "Lament! HUMAN!" With a sneer, he hurled it—straight at Zar’Kaleth’s wall.

"No!"

Asmodeus darted towards the walls, his back turned to Mephisto as blood poured from his body and unfurled into a dome, once again creating his blood shield. The fireball filled with divine aura slammed against his palms, pushing him against the blood barrier, crushing Asmodeus as his body shook.

Green flames chew his skin, burning deep into muscle. Asmodeus clenched his teeth while holding the blast back with raw strength. His wings spread to the limit, all his feathers sizzling into ash.

"Ngh...! You won’t win!"

He endured the heat and pain vanished when thinking of the people fighting below, his lovers, children and men. Behind him, many defenders saw nothing but a blood shield and the massive green sun slowly burning away.

"FOCUS!" Levia’s voice rang across the battlements, reaching even his ears, bringing a smile to his face as she continued. "Our King holds the sky, we must hold the wall to support him!"

And as the fire burned out, Asmodeus, covered in hissing smoke, looked up at Mephisto with a confident smirk.

Their duel... it was far from over.

***

The wall roared with the clash of steel and screaming passion of the possessed. Orcs hacked thralls apart in blood arcs without hesitation, goblins used their small figures to slice, cut and penetrate the Grigor knights through the soft parts of thier armour.

Meanwhile, the demon knights support them, with their shields locked, to stop the massive enemies from crossing the shallow battlements in an endless tide.

Suddenly, an orc began to rage.

"RAAAAAGH!?"

His eyes turned black, and a bellow tore through the air. One of the larger orc warriors suddenly turned, cleaving his axe through the skull of his own comrade. Blood sprayed, painting the wall. Before anyone could react, three more orcs followed suit, eyes glassy, veins blackened, showing their transformation.

"Damn it!"

"They’re our allies, why are they?!" A knight shrieked before her head split open, under another corrupted blade.

"SARIEL, RIEL!" Levia screamed.

Above, Mephisto’s laughter rumbled like thunder, but Asmdoeus couldn’t take action.

"Your little whores are dying, Human. Hahahaha!"

Sariel’s pink hair whipped in the wind as her eyes widened and she stepped onto an elevated platform where the brazier burned with coal. "RIEL! We have to start now, it’s Mental domination, he’s going to tear us apart from the inside!"

Riel dropped with an elegant tap, with a soft hum. "If we don’t stop this monster, the walls will collapse before we can help darling."

"Oh? Calling Master Darling?"

"Well, don’t you call him Honey in secret, Sari?"

"Hehe. Let’s do it!"

The two sisters pressed their palms together, and a beautiful sound echoed from their lips.

A song of devotion and love towards one man, their hearts became one as shadow pink magic spread through the walls. Their rose coloured hearts spiralled upward, before weakening a pink dome that settled beneath the crimson dome of Asmdoeus.

Soon, a collective gasp rippled through the wall as the weight on their minds eased, the whispers in their skulls driven back.

But the spell came at a cost.

This defence required them to continue singing and dancing to maintain their mental guard, and both sisters froze in a place without the power to fight or defend themselves. Their wings fluttered and trembled in the air, beads of sweat pouring down their temples and exposed bodies.

Their eyes glazed, locked inward as they poured every shred of power into maintaining the barrier. One slip, one distraction, and the dome would collapse.

’Do you think darking is watching us?’ Riel asked Sariel using telepathy.

’Of course, honey always watches and cares about us.’

’We cannot fail sister.’

’Sister is it, am I truly okay being your sister Sari?’

’Of course!’

’Then let’s endure this harship!’

Levia’s eyes flickered between the desperate battle and the two succubi struggling; immediately, she made a choice.

BANG!

She slammed her shield into the stone, drawing closer to the two. "Knights!" Her aura exploded as she activated a protective aura, which wrapped Sariel and Riel. "Collapse the formation, pull back and defend the INNER WALLS!"

At first, the Orcs looked bewildered.

After losing the mind control, their axes cleaved and tore the enemy apart with ease. Despite the number, they were sure they killed more. But the warchief of the orcs looked at the two women singing.

"Fall back, those girls save orc lives! We cannot let them suffer. Great Warchief values those women, they carry his aura!" Of course, the warchief could sense the children inside their wombs... that’s why he could make this ’sinful’ choice to retreat for an orc.

The orcs eventually moved according to his words.

They snarled but obeyed, dragging goblins and wounded knights back across the thin bridges to the inner walls.

Shields then overlapped, blocking any method of entry, spears poked through the small slots as the wall shrank, but they reinforced their defensive bulwark of steel and flesh around Sariel and Riel.

The possessed roared louder, their blades sparking against the reinforced defence. Yet still they came, scrambling up bridges and ladders, clawing to break through.

Above, Asmodeus and Mephisto clashed violently, the attacks no longer aimed at the demon king but his people below.

All to exhaust him.

***

"Haa.... Haa...." Asmodeus panted, his armour and scales torn, blood oozing from the deep wounds. The air stank of blood, ash, and burning flesh. The walls of Zar’Kaleth groaned under the weight of endless bodies and the strain of divine powers colliding above.

He could hear it. Sariel and Riel were singing, but it wasn’t the planned song... instead, a love song for him, about their story and how they came together. The boost of their feelings stirred his emotions other than rage, bringing his mind clarity.

Sariel and Riel love me so intensely...

They count on me.

Levia is holding the entire wall, believing me to win.

Ciela shoots down our enemies, her eyes constantly watching in case I need her help...

"That’s right, I cannot give up or feel doubt!"

Asmodeus locked eyes with the twisted form that once belonged to his brother-in-arms.

"Alan! Just a little longer, and I’ll reach you."