CHAPTER 242: THE BATTLEGROUND (1)

Medeia stood firmly in front of the door, with no intention of moving even an inch. She wasn’t going to let a single one of them escape and make her lose her points.

Although the Flame Dagger was more effective for killing demons, its small size didn’t satisfy her at all.

That was why Medeia summoned the Abyssal Sword. A dark aura spread from its sharp blade, pulsing as if eager to cut down the demons standing before her.

More demons began crawling out of the shadows, slowly revealing themselves.

All of them had bodies that were horribly thin and clearly rotting.

"Before I start," Medeia said calmly, "can I ask you one question? Which one of you is Mr. Zhang?"

One of the demons, seated on a stone bench above the others, let out a dry, echoing laugh that bounced off the walls. "Mr. Zhang? He died a long time ago. Don’t tell me ... his son finally came back here?"

Medeia narrowed her eyes and stared at that demon closely. She could see the traces of Tian’s face in his decayed features.

Without a doubt, this was the twins’ father.

Unfortunately, the demon had already consumed his soul a long time ago, taking full control of his body. Whoever Mr. Zhang once was ... he wasn’t there anymore.

Just like the demon had said, Mr. Zhang was long gone. There was no point in letting Tian see him now.

"Good," Medeia said with a smile. "That means I can kill you in peace."

Before anyone could move, she shot forward like a flash of black lightning. Her wings spread wide, and with one powerful flap, feathers scattered around her, falling like ash and staining the floor.

The demons were fast, but none of them could fly.

From above, she caught sight of one demon reaching for the door handle.

Without a second thought, Medeia kicked the stone altar toward the entrance. It crashed into place, blocking the door completely, making sure none of them could sneak out.

"You think that’s enough to stop us?" one of the demons growled, his voice thick with fury.

The room trembled slightly.

Suddenly, the heavy altar began to rise, floating in the air as if pulled by invisible hands. The stone groaned and cracked under the force.

Medeia’s eyes narrowed.

Telekinesis.

The demons were using it to move the altar, hurling it straight back at her like a massive bullet.

With no time to dodge, Medeia raised her wings and braced herself.

The altar slammed into her shield of feathers, breaking apart on impact, chunks of stone flying in every direction.

Dust and smoke filled the room.

When the dust cleared, Medeia was still hovering in the air. She let out a slight hiss because she hadn’t managed to harden her wings like iron yet, and the impact left her with a dull ache.

It seemed like she needed to keep leveling up so she could fully control her wings.

"Oh, fuck!" Medeia cursed as the door suddenly swung wide open without anyone even touching it.

[Foul language detected! Penalty minus 20 C-points!]

Medeia ignored the system’s warning. She was too focused on the door.

Standing right in front of it was Tian.

His eyes widened the moment he saw the demon, the one wearing his father’s face. For a second, he looked like he wanted to say something, but before any words left his mouth, the demon took a step forward and screamed.

Flames burst across his skin as if an invisible fire had crawled up from the floor. His body writhed in pain.

Medeia lowered her gaze and noticed something glowing faintly beneath the door.

Runes.

Dozens of hidden runes carved into the stone floor.

She had no idea how Tian’s mother managed to hide them in such a desperate moment, but she couldn’t help being impressed by how brilliant she was.

"Close the door!" Medeia shouted, snapping Tian out of his daze.

Without a word, he quickly followed her command. He turned his eyes away, choosing not to look his "father" in the face again.

"My father is already dead," he whispered to himself.

As the door slammed shut, Medeia smiled. "Well, well," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Looks like you’re all stuck in here with me."

She looked at the demon, who was shaking with rage.

"Don’t be so mad," she teased. "It’s not like I want to spend my time with a bunch of rotten demons like you either."

Suddenly, a heavy metal cabinet came flying toward her.

Instead of shielding herself with her wings, Medeia jumped down and sliced it clean in half with her sword. Some of the demons could use telekinesis, sure, but their power was nothing compared to Lucian’s.

The only thing they could move were inanimate objects and even then, only once or twice.

Lucian, on the other hand, could control shattered pieces, bend metal to his will, even manipulate living creatures if he wanted to. That’s why Medeia didn’t feel even a hint of fear, even when these demons showed off a little magic.

"Your era is over," Medeia declared as she stepped onto the top of a stone seat. Her wings spread wide behind her, casting a long shadow over the room.

"In the past, humans had to make a deal with demons just to use a bit of black magic. But now ..." she grinned. "Oh, you poor things have no idea what you’re up against."

"Humans don’t even need to make deals with demons anymore," Medeia said with a smile. "And yet, so many of them are already stronger than you."

She tilted her head. "Did your Lord tell you about that? No... the real question is ... did your Lord specifically say that you’d be able to devour me?"

Her voice lowered, turning colder. "Because you know... ’freeing you from pain’ could mean two things. Either I let you go ... or I kill you, so you don’t have to keep suffering in this dark, rotten place."

The demons fell silent.

They knew she had a point.

Their Lord had never clearly explained how she would free them from their suffering.

"Nonsense," one of the demons growled, spitting his foul saliva onto the ground. "Our Lord would never lie to us."

"Who knows?" Medeia laughed lightly. "Oh, sweetheart, you should know better than to trust a demon’s words, especially the ones who sit above you."

Demons didn’t see each other as friends or family. They only bowed to those stronger than them and crushed those who were weaker.

That was the only rule they needed to follow.

Trust their Lord’s words? What a joke.

Even Medeia told her own minions they were nothing more than trash in her eyes. If they didn’t meet her expectations, she’d throw them away without hesitation.

That was why she warned them to never trust her. Never trust any other demon.

The only way to survive in Hell was to rely on yourself. Never on anyone else.

"Oh, my poor, poor demons," Medeia said sweetly. "Even if you got out of here, I doubt you’d last long in the outside world."

She smiled at them coldly. "So why don’t I free you right here, right now from all this misery?"

Of course, the demons had no intention of surrendering.

They scattered across the room, grabbing whatever old weapons they could find, rusted swords, broken spears, anything that could still hurt.

Most of the blades were dull, probably useless for killing anyone now. The guns had long run out of bullets.

But even so, if they combined those weapons with brute strength, they might still be able to kill an ordinary human.

Unfortunately for them, Medeia was anything but ordinary.

She moved like a shadow. Her wings sliced through the air behind her, leaving trails of black feathers that danced in the dim light.

As one of the demons charged at her with a rusted axe, she didn’t even blink. With one smooth step, she spun to the side, her sword flashing through the air.

She stabbed him in the chest with the Abyssal Sword, then repeatedly drove the dagger into the demon’s neck.

[The demon’s soul has been burned by 57%.]

Medeia pulled the dagger out and continued striking every vital point he had: his throat, his heart, and his stomach.

She didn’t stop.

Again and again, she drove the blade in until blood splattered across the walls and floor.

[The demon’s soul has been burned by 95%.]

Medeia grinned as she delivered one final stab, right into his heart.

[The demon’s soul has been burned by 100%.]

[The demon can no longer change hosts. His soul will be banished to the darkness for eternity.]

"Pathetic," she muttered, pulling her dagger from his throat. "I thought you weren’t just low-ranking demons ... and this is the best you can do? The demons in this world seriously disappoint me."

The demon’s body collapsed to the floor with a sickening thud, slowly disintegrating into ash.

The others froze for a moment, their eyes flicking between the crumbling remains and the woman standing in the center of the room with blood all over her face.

Medeia twirled the dagger once in her hand, flicking the blood off its blade.

"Well?" she asked, smiling. "Who’s next?"