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[Baal’s Counterattack]
Baal Castle.
The long table where dozens of demon lords once sat and held meetings now had many more empty seats.
[…You’re a mess.]
The Demon King who spoke in a hoarse voice was Gamigin, 4th in the Demon World’s hierarchy.
Gamigin had an elongated face resembling a donkey and the stocky body of a dwarf.
He was wearing a black cape that covered his entire body and trailed down to the floor, and it looked comical, like a child wearing adult clothes.
However, now that Agares and Vasago were gone, Gamigin was the second most powerful Demon Lord after Baal among the Demon Lords present.
[Below, Vassago, who defeated Agares, is coming up with a large army, and above, a troublesome demon lord has appeared and is creating a wasteland….] Purr
!
As Gamigin toured roughly, black flames came out of his breath.
[Huh! How did the great Demon World come to be like this!] The one who
speaks with extremely exaggerated hand gestures and voice, as if he is very sorry, is Marvas.
He was the fifth-ranking Demon Lord in the Demon World and had the appearance of a beautiful young man with flowing golden hair like a lion’s mane. However, if you look closely, the skin on his face and hands was rotting away.
{Traitor Vassago!}
{You must kill Vassago!}
{Give me his skull!}
Snake Owl Wolf.
The demon lord with three heads on his shoulders and who cannot speak without saying a word to everyone is Amon. He was the 7th ranked demon king.
[Ugh. Then why did you start a war and create something like this? Do you know how dirty it feels when you are called out of your sleep?]
A red-haired beauty yawns and twists her hair with her fingers. She was the demon king Paimon, ranked 9th in rank.
[Hmm…]
And the demon king who just gently stroked the bow on his lap without saying anything was Buer. He was the 10th ranked demon king.
Five of the ten seats of the Demon World.
The energy emitted by the five demon kings was enough to fill the conference room.
Gamigin rolled his gray eyes and glared at Baal, who was sitting at the head of the table.
[Baal. If you have a mouth, why not make an excuse?]
Each of the demon kings belonging to the 10th throne was powerful enough to not have to swear loyalty to anyone else.
They each rule over their own territory and rarely leave their castles.
There was one reason why they, who rarely attended meetings, were now gathered at Baal’s castle.
‘Barvatos suffered.’
Demon Lord Barbatos is ranked 8th in rank.
A demon king who belongs to the same 10th throne as them, and who has benefited from weighing between Baal Agares and Vassago.
That Barbatos was defeated by Vassago.
Barbatos’ castle became an advance base for the Allied forces, and Barbatos went missing after that.
‘It’s definitely not extinct. I don’t know where it is…’
Gamigin, the next great wizard in the demon world after Vassago, was also puzzled as he did not know his whereabouts.
Anyway,
after learning of what happened to Barbatos, the other 10 members couldn’t help but feel nervous.
Because it was impossible to predict how much further Vassago, joining hands with the Allied Forces, would turn the Demon World upside down.
[Although we are not in a relationship based on faith and trust, we cannot interact with a person who sells the demon world.]
[Of course! I cannot forgive such indecency!]
{Barsago!}
{Kill!}
{Give me that skull!}
[Amon. I’ve always been curious, how on earth did you become the devil? If you put all three heads together, you get as much intelligence as anyone else?]
[Hmm…]
The five demon kings with strong personalities were raising their voices and talking, but Baal was just silent.
[…….]
He was still sitting on the highest throne, looking down, but it was difficult to feel the same majesty as before, perhaps because of the five demon lords or because of the difficult situation he was currently in.
Baal looked at the devil in silence.
Doo doo doo doo doo!
An enormous army was running.
Vassago’s army stopped briefly at the Demon King’s Castle in Barbatos to supply supplies and was immediately advancing.
In just a few days, Baal’s own territory will be invaded.
Baal muttered in a low voice.
[Vasago….]
Vassago was seen riding a ghost horse at the head of the army.
He wore a long purple cloak, and on his head was a brilliant golden crown that had never been seen before.
Baal smiled at the sight of Vassago stiffly straightening his back and commanding the army with confidence.
At that moment, Vassago’s gaze was directed directly at the Demon Lord.
Vasago is the greatest wizard in the Demon World.
There was no way I could not notice the surveillance gaze.
-hmm. Is it Baal?
It was something Baal had never seen before: the arrogant gaze and voice of Vassago, as if he were looking down on him.
[Kkkkkkk…]
While Baal was shaking his shoulders in anger and laughing, Gamigin clicked his tongue and said.
[Are you laughing so foolishly now? Even if we take countermeasures, it is not enough….]
[…….]
Even if he is the fourth-ranking Demon King, he would not have dared to mock Baal like this in the past.
But now things have changed.
Unlike in the past when it was absolute, the invasion of the dimensional hub has failed several times and there has even been a rebellion by Vassago.
Baal’s position was shaken more than ever.
All five Demon Lords were well aware of that fact.
‘Without our help, Baal cannot win this war.’
‘Vassago, who joined forces with the Allied Forces, is strong. Agares was defeated without even being able to properly resist.’
‘At this point, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to reduce Baal’s power a little.’
What the five demon kings wanted was not the throne of Baal.
They wanted order rather than change.
In the first place, only Agares and Vassago had the power to threaten Baal.
Other demon kings did not have as much overwhelming power, influence, or greed.
I just want to maintain the power I have now.
Or have a little more than you have now.
‘Vasago is an untrustworthy man. If we join hands with the Allied Forces and turn the entire Demon World upside down, our position may end up in danger. But if we help Baal… he has no choice but to promise us a huge reward.’
Before coming here, Gamigin had already talked with the other demon lords.
He decided to demand the territories of Agares and Vassago in return for helping Baal.
After briefly exchanging glances with the Demon Lords, Gamigin spoke with his eyes shining cunningly.
[Baal. We sincerely want to help you. Would you dare to forgive those who invaded the demon world?]
[Ah! You must never forgive!]
{Barsago! Landlord!}
{Who. more. Will it be delicious?}
{You can both eat it!}
[Let’s not waste time glaring at each other, shall we? First of all, what I want is…]
[Hmm…]
The demon lords secretly increased their momentum, and the pressure on Baal became even stronger.
But Baal still remained silent.
He stared at the Demon Lords with an indifferent gaze and made eye contact with each of them.
It was then.
I could feel a fierce and rough energy coming from outside Daejeon along with a pounding sound.
[Ha, if you enter without permission…]
[Get out of the way before I tear you to death!]
With a voice growling like a wild beast, the door broke and someone came inside.
-Quaang!
The moment they saw the being that came in with great strides, the five Demon Lords jumped out of their seats at the same time.
[[Agares!]]
He was Agares.
***
Agares, who disappeared after being defeated by Vassago, appeared in Baal’s castle.
[Kkkkkkk. [There are so many happy faces gathered together.]
Agares, walking toward Baal with great strides, looked like a defeated soldier who had suffered a terrible defeat.
His entire body was full of untreated wounds and stained with purple stains like poisonous mushrooms.
‘That’s Vassago’s curse….’
‘I got it right.’
The demon kings recognized the identity of the purple stain that appeared on Agares’ body.
Vassago’s most powerful curse.
Once caught, it eats away at your body and soul until it disappears, and if you try to remove it with a reasonable amount of magical energy, the magical energy is absorbed and the curse becomes stronger.
‘It’s not strange even if she’s already collapsed…’
‘She’s holding on because she’s Agares. After all, it’s a monster…’
Because Agares has the strongest physical strength among the Demon Lords, she can still move her body even in that state.
Jump and jump.
Agares walked firmly but straight towards Baal.
As he stepped onto the stairs leading to Baal’s throne, Baal’s family blocked his path and shouted.
[Agares!]
[Stop!]
[Huh? If you stop me now, nothing good will come of it…] I don’t know
where that kind of power still comes from, but a tremendous amount of magical energy flowed from Agares’ body.
At that time, Baal raised his hand and told his servants to step aside.
[Step back. Agares. I will come down, so you also stop.]
Baal came down from his throne and stood face to face with Agares.
The first and second leaders of the Demon World looked at each other with strange eyes.
Baal spoke first.
[It seems like it’s been a while since I last saw you. In reality, it hasn’t been that long.]
[Kkkk… I expected them to laugh at me, but this is surprising.]
[I have no intention of laughing.]
When Baal answered seriously, one corner of Agares’ mouth actually went up.
[Well, there’s no way you won’t end up like me soon, right?]
[…….]
Baal stared at Agares with an expressionless face, and Agares laughed, shaking her whole body. Purple blood and flesh dripped from his wounds.
Agares, whose expression was contorted in pain, growled fiercely like an animal and spoke.
[okay. I lost. But I survived poorly. I ran away like a bug and came all the way here to get revenge on that guy who wouldn’t mind tearing me up and killing me!]
Agares’ resentment burned hotter than the hottest flames of hell.
[I have information that I found out by directly confronting him. Also, the core of the Demon King’s Castle has not been lost yet!]
Creep!
Gritting her teeth, Agares took out the core of the Demon King from within her body and showed it to her.
Although the entire Demon King Castle could not be moved, as long as the core was available, the shell could be rebuilt.
In other words, if he could just cure the curse, he could return to full power.
[Baal. heal me Then I will fight for you this once.]
Baal did not respond, but Agares was confident that Baal would not be able to refuse.
‘Baal is equally disappointed. You can never refuse my offer.’
Vassago’s power in attracting the Allied forces was stronger than imagined.
Nuclear weapons were a type of weapon that had never been seen before, and the elite members of the Allied Forces, called the Death Squad, were each and every one a force that could not be ignored.
Moreover, Vassago had been hiding his powers until now.
‘We must resolve this curse immediately. If I had enough time, I could treat it on my own… but for now, I have no choice but to leave it to Baal.’
In the demon world, the only being who could cure Vassago’s curse without any side effects was Baal.
[Treat me! Then, I will stand at the vanguard of your army and kill that cunning bastard!]
Baal, who seemed to be pondering for a moment under those vengeful eyes, nodded calmly.
[good night. I will heal you.]
Baal stretched out his hand toward Agares.
The energy extending from his hand spread over Agares’ body.
The five demon kings watched and noticed.
‘If this happens…’
‘Our position becomes a bit difficult.’
‘There’s nothing bad, right? Baal still needs our strength. In fact, I’m glad that my odds of winning have increased.’
‘The problem is that the rewards to be shared later are reduced.’
They talked telepathically and observed the situation.
At that time, Baal, who was curing Agares’ curse, looked around at the demon lords.
[By the way.]
At that moment, Baal was smiling.
More evil and cunning than ever.
[This guy or that guy… I guess I look funny now.]
[Baal…!]
At that moment, Agares belatedly noticed that something was wrong.
At some point, Baal’s magic power, which was curing the curse, bound him like a trap.
Baal took a step closer to Agares.
The distance between them is now as close as their breath.
[Agares. You foolish devil. Why did you run away from Vassago and come to me? Did you think I was more easy-going?]
Baal was silent throughout the meeting. His eyes were full of malice and madness.
[you…! Do you think you can deal with Vassago even without me…!]
Agares resisted with great difficulty, but he had already been exposed to Vassago’s curse for a long time and was already at his limit.
And at that moment, something no one expected happened.
[I guess I should be thankful to Vassago for this. You gave me such a delicious gift.]
Oh my!
Baal’s body split lengthwise, revealing thousands of teeth.
Baal, who ‘spread out’ wide, swallowed Agares in front of him in one go.
[!!]
Agares didn’t even have time to scream.
Forget, forbid, forbid.
The horrible sound of your whole body being chewed alive.
[!!!!]
Agares, trapped inside Baal’s body, let out a silent scream. Baal’s body swelled so loudly that it seemed as if it would explode several times, then sank.
And after a while, Baal’s body opened vertically again and something poured out.
-Puhuaaaaa!
It was an Agares covered in sticky liquid.
As if he had been reborn, all his wounds had healed and Vassago’s curse had completely disappeared.
But at that moment, the demon kings instinctively knew.
‘That’ is Agares, but it is not Agares.
[Why is everyone quiet?]
The newly born Agares looked back at the demon lords and smiled.
And Baal spoke right after, as if one person was speaking.
[Why don’t you talk as much as you want like before?]
The two’s expressions looked like twins, and
the five Demon Lords couldn’t even move a finger in front of the power of the two Demon Lords, which radiated fearsome force.
[Baal’s Counterattack] End
ⓒ Ganjjajang
