Chapter 99
Asmodeus silently looked down at Amael from the Spirit Realm.
Even when Amael was in agony, gripping Satan's Demonic Sword, Baltaruk.
Even when he pushed Body Modification beyond what a human body could endure, he ultimately destroyed his own body.
He fought the Chosen of Envy with his ruined body even in the moment.
She merely looked down at Amael, silently.
No.
She had always been like that.
She had always been forced to watch.
Amael isn't dead yet. You won't move, will you?
Lucifer asked this from afar while holding and shaking the Chains that had emerged from Asmodeus's wings.
Asmodeus nodded at his words.
[As long as Amael's soul isn't destroyed, it's fine.]
How loyal.
I always have been, haven't I?
Amael collapsed.
He reached out a hand, but it was useless.
The Three Demon Lords showed no intention of letting this opportunity slip away.
They had come thoroughly prepared.
None of Asmodeus's abilities granted to Amael worked.
Perhaps it was a predetermined outcome.
It was only natural for a mere Human to end up like this when resisting what three Deities intended to do.
What a mess, Amael. He doesn't realize how much stronger his abilities have become.
If it had been Asmodeus's abilities before absorbing Mammon's Deity and faith, there would have been no problem.
Because his abilities had grown stronger, Amael was able to reinforce his body to a level far beyond human limits, and as a result, his body encountered fundamental limitations.
This phenomenon would likely only worsen in the future, not weaken.
For a mere Mortal to use transcendent power beyond his or her limits meant exactly that.
Asmodeus sighed and averted her gaze from Amael.
He was afraid of her.
It was the result of the Evil God's machinations.
But Asmodeus had no complaints.
If that was what Amael wanted, she intended to let it be.
It seems you've won, Lucifer.
Kanya would be captured like this and once again become a Toy of Sloth.
Using Velia's Deity, the Three Demon Lords would corrupt Amael's soul while keeping themselves bound.
Asmodeus looked down at Amael with a hint of regret.
This isn't fair. He never once knew how to properly handle me.
[The World was never fair to begin with.]
I don't want Amael to be ruined.
He won't be ruined. He'll just misunderstand you for a while.
It shouldn't have been like this. He deserves to know my true identity. If I were unconscious, perhaps not. But now that I'm conscious, it's only natural for us to communicate and interact. He deserves to know how to handle me.
Asmodeus looked at the Chains spewing from her left wing.
You can do that as much as you want after Amael turns to the side of Hell, Asmodeus.
Asmodeus laughed.
Childish and foolish.
It's merely necessary.
Amael lost Kanya.
He was defeated in the fight.
It was only natural.
There was a limit to a mere ordinary man, fueled only by ambition, wielding power he couldn't handle.
A bitter expression bloomed on Asmodeus's face.
Are you satisfied now?
Once Amael is corrupted, I'll let you talk to him as much as you want. I'll even help you protect him.
[Will he be corrupted? Really?]
There are limits to human will.
Lucifer chuckled, his face clearly indicating he believed it was possible, and moved away.
Asmodeus looked at the fallen Amael once more.
He was a foolish, idiotic man.
And that was his limit.
That's right. Human will has its limits.
Asmodeus, too, turned her head away from Amael.
It was over.
As she slowly walked, she suddenly stopped.
Her right wing.
Chains suddenly shot out from her wing, which boasted a brilliant white that couldn't be more radiant.
The four pairs of wings were on her right.
And Chains also burst forth from the discolored wing on her left.
All those Chains shot simultaneously towards the single man lying pitifully on the floor, struggling.
Amael.
He grabbed the Chains.
And shouted.
“*Asmodeus*!!”
Asmodeus's eyes widened.
She turned her body.
She looked at Amael.
[Speak, Amael. I'm listening.]
“*Save Kanya*!!”
A single, simple command intensely shook her entire being.
It was the first time.
It was the first moment Amael had given her a proper command.
Asmodeus rose.
Her Deity was ready to descend directly to the Human Realm.
The Black Chains on her left wing pulled taut.
[*Asmodeus*!! What are you doing!! I command you! I forbid you from descending!!]
It was Lucifer's voice, but Asmodeus didn't listen.
[I'm sorry, but...]
The white Chains from her wing and the black Chains from her other wing intertwined chaotically, clanking.
You are not my <Master>. You have no authority to command me.
[*No*!! *Stop*!!]
Lucifer screamed and desperately pulled at the Black Chains, but Asmodeus did not stop.
Her colossal Deity broke free from the Spirit Realm.
***
Asmodeus slowly rose to her feet.
She looked down at her body.
Her limbs were broken from being reinforced beyond their limits.
Her palm, melted from gripping Satan's Demonic Sword Baltaruk, and the festering wound on her cheek were visible.
[You overdid it.]
She smiled faintly and lowered her hand.
Her body was perfectly healed.
The wounds were caused by Satan's Demonic Sword.
Her limbs were broken from being excessively reinforced.
Everything returned to normal.
At that moment.
[...Ugh... W-Who... Who are you...?]
She heard a voice from her necklace and lowered her head.
A vibration was coming from the locket-shaped necklace.
The emotion contained in the vibration was clear fear.
[I need your help.]
[W-What. What...]
[A human mind can't handle my power. You'll have to help me. Can you do it?]
[O-Of course... Of course.]
After nodding contentedly at the trembling voice, Asmodeus slowly walked forward.
In a world where Time Stop had frozen everything.
The Followers of Envy, frozen and unable to move, were visible.
Asmodeus walked with light steps, as if out for a stroll.
[I need to get her back.]
After retrieving Kanya from the Follower who was holding her, Asmodeus placed her own hand on Kanya's badly injured body.
The binding Curse is shaped like thorns.
The wounds from rolling down a steep slope.
They healed instantly.
However, even she couldn't restore Kanya to her original form.
[Still such bad taste, Belphegor.]
After muttering that, Asmodeus carried Kanya and quietly began to move.
Her destination was Talahaim's Rocky Mountain, where Amael had so desperately wanted to go.
She walked leisurely.
She slowly turned her body at a chilling sound from behind her.
Someone was interfering with her power.
Not long after, the space where time was stopped split open, and then the Time Stop was released in the form of a massive circular dome.
Within the vast space where the Time Stop had been released, numerous cracks formed.
Many people rushed out of the cracks.
It wasn't just dozens.
It was an enormous number, hundreds, even thousands.
It was an almost hallucinatory sight.
[*Asmodeus*!!]
Three voices poured into her mind, as if hammered in.
[Hand over my collection!!]
Asmodeus burst into laughter at the loudest of the voices.
[I'm sorry, but I can't. Amael wants to protect her.]
[Damn woman! You've been quiet all this time. So why now, all of a sudden!!]
[It was because a proper command was given for the first time. That's all.]
At the word 'command,' the Three Demon Lords fell silent.
Admit it, Lust. In a direct confrontation, the three of us would find it hard to defeat you.
But in a fight in the Human Realm, the amount of power you can unleash through a single human body must be limited.
[Hand over the Goddess of War. Otherwise, a fight is unavoidable.]
With an ominous warning, the Mid-air tore open, and even more Followers emerged.
It is almost a war now.
An army of thousands was gathering, targeting only Asmodeus.
She looked at the number of followers, then silently put Kanya down.
[Beast Chasing Purity.]
[Y-Yes, yes!!]
[I'll borrow your ability for a moment.]
The Psychic Amplifier began to tremble madly.
[S-Save me!!...]
Kon's scream briefly echoed before fading.
With the Psychic Amplifier vibrating and radiating heat as if melting, Asmodeus slowly began to walk forward.
[Recall your armies. Belphegor, Satan, Leviathan.]
We can never do that as long as you don't hand over the Goddess of War...
[Then pay the price for your choice.]
Asmodeus extended her hand forward.
And with that.
“Ugh? Ugh... *Aaaargh*!!”
An anomaly began to appear among the leading Demon Followers, who numbered in the thousands.
They suddenly clutched their chests and collapsed to the floor.
Their legs broke as they fell, then rapidly decayed and rotted away.
“O-Oh, Wrath!! Wrath!! S-Save me!!...”
With a dying scream, the Follower's body melted and fell to the Floor.
A faint soul escaped from his body, struggled for a moment, then was rapidly sucked into Asmodeus.
And such things didn't only happen at the front.
Like a spreading plague.
“Ugh... *Aaaah*!! M-My body is rotting!!”
“Oh, Sloth!! Oh, Belphegor! Save us!!”
“Oh, Envy! P-Please, save us!!”
In an instant, dozens of Humans rotted and collapsed to the floor.
The closer Asmodeus approached.
The number of beings rotting and collapsing grew steadily larger.
It was as if the source of a plague was carefully moving forward.
Death was instantaneous.
And the dead failed to preserve not only their bodies but also their souls, being directly sucked into Asmodeus.
Asmodeus laughed as if playing a game.
[Did you think a fight in the Human Realm would be advantageous for you?]
Hundreds were already dead.
The sight of a Human, alive just moments ago, leaving no trace, their bones rotting away to dust, was not something even the Followers could endure.
And the Three Demon Lords felt the same; they could not afford to lose any more Followers meaninglessly.
The Followers began to retreat.
They began to flee madly from the invisible Territory of death that was spreading in real-time.
Asmodeus saw this and only then stopped her steps.
She felt the Three Demon Lords retreating.
And she also felt the Necklace around her neck heating up, almost as if it were burning.
[D-Dying...]
[You did well.]
Asmodeus raised her hand and placed it on the Necklace.
The heated Necklace quickly began to cool.
[For your sake, it would be better to forget your memories of meeting me.]
With those words, the Psychic Amplifier's vibration and heat suddenly ceased, as if it had broken.
Asmodeus saw that everything was over and approached Kanya once more.
She gently stroked Kanya's cheek.
[Your command has been carried out.]
Asmodeus smiled, looking bewildered.
[I never thought you'd give me a command to protect someone other than yourself for the first time. Remember that feeling well, Amael. It's your privilege.]
She quietly closed her eyes.
A single human mind was too narrow and small to contain such a vast Deity.
If she remained any longer, it would be destroyed.
She left the body she had temporarily descended into.
Amael's body lost control and collapsed like a puppet.