Pope Johan looked shocked, his face pale, before turning around to face the voice. His eyes widened before his lips distorted into a frown. "You should be dead!" He growled through gritted teeth.

"I made a promise." The figure in black armour emerged from the shadows. "That I would live through today."

"That isn''t possible... you''re cursed... you should be dead already..." Pope Johan stuttered, pointing his weapon towards the tall man.

Asmodeus, with black horns and huge wings, had his body wrapped in a protective exoskeleton, not armour, as it seemed, standing at just under seven feet tall.

He gazed at the knights for a moment before looking towards Yuina, her beautiful fair face, now pink and covered in sweat, while he noticed the wounds on everyone.

''They did their best... I should train more knights in the future.'' With that thought in mind, Asmodeus'' wings extended before he launched into a flying leap. While moving faster than the pope expected, he spread his palm towards the holy knights before conjuring a blood-red pillar of flames.

''I''ll destroy you first.''

The fire vortex burst forward, rapidly growing until it reached nearly 15 feet wide.

"Stand your ground, protect me!"

Several knights turned blue from shock before charging forward as if compelled.

Then, he wrapped around the pope to protect him. A strange thing to do against such an attack, but their eyes were hollow the moment Johan called out.

As the hellfire roared towards the men, they took on a defensive stance.

"You won''t survive that! You bastards are all too weak!" Asmodeus sneered while the flaming vortex swallowed them.

"Hahaha! Foolish man." A golden glow wrapped around Johan. He growled with bloodshot eyes focused on Asmodeus.

"I will crush that ego!" He then pointed out at Asmodeus, spit and saliva spraying from his lips. "You think you could defeat me with my true power!" He screamed and watched as one holy knight after another fell.

BOOM—!

Soon, a loud rumbling sound appeared before the enormous fire pillar faded away.

Several figures remained standing after the fiery vortex burned out—however, most of them collapsed after suffering heavy damage. Charred corpses began falling to the ground, revealing a tall man hidden behind their shield wall.

"Useless inferiors!" Johan''s voice sounded distorted and eerie.

His face was a mass of bulging veins.

"Yuina!" Asmodeus shouted, lowering to the ground and facing off against the pope.

"What?!"

"Go help Group one, I can take care of this, but the knights which headed towards Alice number over three hundred."

Her tails drooped slightly at this command as her expression warped with anxiety.

However, she calmed herself and answered with a smile. "Got it," Yuina said with a hint of joy in her tone before running toward where Aki and Fuuka fought.

"I''m counting on you. Yui."

"Ah..." Her heart fluttered from his words before blushing like a maiden in love for the first time.

"It''s you and me now. Is this how you greet a neighbour who moves into your domain?" The demon king walked forward slowly, step by step, while the clashing sounds of the distant battles intensified.

"Hahahaha!" Pope Johan kicked the wounded and dying knights before jumping over the charred bodies.

''After all, he''s human garbage...''

He stood firm.

However, his glowing red eyes stared through Johan, yet he felt a cold chill.

The bladed projectiles launched towards Pope Johan in the blink of an eye, piercing through every part of his body.

Thump—Thud!

His colossal form wobbled while impaled on multiple bloody spikes.

"...how..." Johan gasped before coughing out blood.

"How am I so powerful?"

"You''re not strong... just lucky..." Johan said before slumping in place. "...no... I''m sorry. Please save me, my lord..."

However... before he could receive any help, a black sword sliced his throat, and all the divine energy inside him...

Asmodeus devoured it.

***

Meanwhile, in the north, the situation turned out to be the worst.

"Haa....haa..... fuck..." Vinea''s lips dripped with blood, Ciela held dual blades while standing beside her, and Alice also looked exhausted with her armour half destroyed. Her hair now looked red from the blood covering her body.

"Little Vinea, it seems we are out of options..."

Alice tried to lift her right arm, but it trembled, with dozens of bloody wounds and a deep gash down her forearm.

Sariel''s beautiful form looked tragic, covered in blood and lacking mana. She looked pale, now panting behind the group as they returned to their normal forms.

''Everyone is exhausted... their forms have faded.''

''What can we do?''

Empress Aurelia looked down at the group of wounded demons; her knight''s number dwindled.

"I guess this was your limit?"

Empress Aurelia narrowed her eyes before looking around at the few knights she had left—though she came with over three hundred, now barely fifty remained. "It seems you did rather well." Her wolf''s ears flicked around, hearing a sound from the forest.

A moment later, a golden beam filled the sky and caused her to gasp. "Well even that arrogant man of yours should have died!" Aurelia started cackling before turning to the defeated women.

"It seems he lost, so why don''t you submit?"

''You bitch! He''s not dead.''

There was no way Alice would give up, nor would Vinea and the other women who had spent so long with Asmodeus at their side. Yet, this battle felt too harsh. They were only a small group, and the divine energy of Mephisto empowered the enemy.

''Shouldn''t there be more? There aren''t enough here...'' Before Alice could think further, a figure appeared, dashing out of the thicket with her hand holding an eastern blade.

Vinea''s eyes widened as she watched the blade slice through several knights. Yuina''s golden hair flickered in front of her body, and a warm, golden aura wrapped around them.

"Are you alright, Lady Vinea?!" Yuina''s healing aura slowly sealed their wounds as she lowered her hips and prepared to strike again. "Aki! My Knights Charge them!"

Behind the knights of the empress, a vast group of demon knights from group four and the rest of Yuina''s group suddenly appeared on the horizon.

Their horses charging with a loud, rumbling echo from their hooves.

"What?!"

Empress Aurelia''s face turned pale, her dull eyes watching the incoming knights while holding her sword.

"How could this happen?!"

The battle was over.