CHAPTER 77: CHOICE

Even though most of the bones in his body were severely dislocated, Augros refused to pass out. No amount of pain right now was enough to overshadow the terrifying sight before him.

Zarria was dead.

Her body lifelessly fell as Angelus ruthlessly pulled his hand out of her stomach. Her blood painted the sands the dark tint of red.

A member of the Theocheirós Clan didn’t stand a chance against the Demon King.

He began to wonder if even Dheinyrus was powerless against such a being.

But above all, among those thoughts and emotions, one resonated the strongest.

Rage.

Not for the Demon King who killed Zarria, but for himself who was unable to do anything about it. Even now, moving just a twitch caused unbearable pain to course through his whole body.

In a blink of an eye, Angelus was already standing before him, observing his pitiful state.

"Aren’t you supposed to be the strongest warrior?" he mocked with an innocent tone.

"What are you doing there on the ground? Get up."

He felt the Demon King’s boot on his face, his light weight pushing down on him.

"Get up and entertain me more. How dare you push my head to the ground. How dare you punch me in the face. You disrespectful swine, after everything I’ve done for this world, this is how I get treated by you pathetic mortals?"

Angelus lifted his boot and then stomped on Augros’ face.

"Look at you now. You’re about to die as the worthless, insignificant weakling that you are."

Stomp.

Stomp.

"I will kill all of your women just like how I did with that one over there. But not before I brutally torture them."

Another stomp.

"This is what you get for meddling in things you shouldn’t. I was only looking to fight the God Tamer."

When the boot was about to hit his face again, Augros opened his mouth and then violently gnawed at it.

"Ouch! What the—"

Angelus kicked his leg up, sending the man flying in the air before plopping to the ground.

The demon was taking a couple of steps forward to finally end Augros’ life when suddenly, deadly sharp icicles pierced Angelus’ skull and chest. This was immediately followed by fireballs, thunderbolts and artificial meteors.

As soon as Thevon landed on the ground, he shot a concentrated light beam at the Demon King, obliterating his whole body.

He quickly turned to Augros and cast healing magic on him. The warrior’s willpower greatly contributed to how he was immediately able to get up.

"That thing’s still alive, Lord Luxier," he uttered.

They looked at the demon who had now regenerated.

"He’s immortal."

Thevon also saw a familiar woman lying on the ground up ahead.

"That’s... Dheinyrus’ sister. Is she..."

After a brief silence, Augros replied.

"That child-looking demon killed her. He’s the Demon King. If he snaps his finger, it seems like a modified explosion that only affects a certain target takes place."

The mage nodded.

"Do you know where Dheinyrus and the others are?" Augros asked.

Thevon answered.

"No. The one who was with me was... Lady Wixorn."

Augros looked at him with a grim expression.

"Don’t tell me, she’s also..."

Thevon shook his head.

"She’s alive, but—"

"Hey, how long are you going to ignore me for?" Angelus irritatedly asked.

He hid his hand behind him, but Thevon knew he was about to make a snap. So, the mage shot a powerful laser beam through his body and destroyed his hand.

Augros immediately charged forward while Thevon flew into the air. As the warrior fought in close quarters, Thevon made sure to provide support and aim for the hands everytime the demon was about to snap.

Still, seeing Zarria’s dead body created a heavy feeling in their hearts.

The fight went on for hours until finally, the members of all the clans arrived at the battlefield.

Specifically, the Wixorns, the Hemmethes and the Luxiers.

But still no Theocheirós.

With their combined forces, they kept the Demon King preoccupied, unable to wreak more havoc nor escape. When a mistake on their part was made, Angelus was able to use his powers a few times, but they recovered quickly and went back to the offensive.

Until suddenly, he vanished.

Thevon and his father were up in the air the whole time, providing support and observing the battlefield from above. But they didn’t see where the enemy went or what it did.

"Alright, I’m done playing," a child’s voice echoed.

Angelus was right behind Raven Luxier. His speed and strength was significantly enhanced.

He bashed the old man’s head, causing his wind magic to be cancelled and sending him to a free fall. Thevon was able to evade the attacks directed to him, so the demon went back to the ground to kill everyone there.

It was faint, but a dark smoke emitted from his back resembling the form of a pair of wings. His movements also changed into more violent sequences.

Suddenly, it was the humans who were under Angelus’ mercy again. No magic spells, no swords or prayers were able to hold him down.

...Until two ominous portals appeared from both of Angelus’ sides. No matter where he ran, they relentlessly followed him everywhere like his own shadow. Then, two diamond hands emerged from the dark dimensions of those portals, grabbing his arms and successfully restraining him.

Axerion walked straight to Zarria and kneeled before her corpse.

After catching his father mid air, Thevon landed on the ground and watched as the leader of divinity recited a prayer. Moments later, a dark void appeared where Axerion’s right eye used to be, followed by the gushing blood from his eye socket.

Thevon’s, and everyone’s eyes widened upon seeing Zarria rise from the dead.

They were reminded how even resurrection was possible for the Divinity Clan.

The girl immediately hugged her father, a primordial terror was in her eyes. Whatever it felt like coming back from being dead, Thevon sure didn’t want to know, just based on how Zarria reacted.

It didn’t seem to be a good experience.

After helping his daughter up, Axerion stood straight and turned to Angelus.

He spoke, a palpable rage was seething through his fake smile.

"Well then, let’s see who was foolish enough to crash my son’s wedding and kill my daughter."