164 - 24 Hearts

Chapter 164: The Land of Entertainment and Culture, Uron "Isn't it amazing? You must have never seen anything like this before." Asmodeus spread her arms wide in front of Judah, as if showing off. Her chest, free from any undergarment, naturally bounced with the motion. For a moment, Judah's gaze was instinctively drawn to it, but he quickly refocused. What truly mattered wasn't her chest, but the pillar of fire rising from Uron behind her. Whoooom! It sounded as if a dragon was breathing fire. Tremendous magical power was pulsating through the air. This was the first time Judah had felt such a magnitude of magic since arriving in this world, and his heart pounded fiercely. 'I didn't expect this.' An event that had not even been hinted at in the story was unfolding. However, having faced several exceptions to the norm already, Judah wasn't entirely shocked. He had encountered Cain in Regen, slain him, and had been surprisingly given the shard by Count Genréau with little resistance. Considering these anomalies, Asmodeus's appearance could be accepted to some extent. But still, that pillar of fire was too much. "Hah." An eerie sensation tickled beneath his heart. "How did you do it?" That pillar of fire was a kind of "gate" linking the Demon Realm and the Middle Realm. The phenomena that occurred depended on the scale of the gate, and each lord opened it in a different way. If it were just a pillar of fire, its danger might barely reach the level of a mid-tier threat when categorizing gate dangers as low, medium, or high. However, it was dangerous enough as it was. Asmodeus seemed quite amused, grinning brightly at Judah's increasingly stern face. "What do you think it is? Come on, tell me... huh?" Asmodeus stopped mid-sentence, tilting her head in curiosity. She narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at Judah with a face that seemed to disbelieve her own ears. With her mouth slightly agape, she seemed to be collecting her thoughts. "How strange. Did I hear wrong? You definitely asked, 'How did you do it?' right?" "......" "That means you know what this is, doesn’t it? Wow—this is interesting. Just who in the world are you?" Asmodeus's gaze turned increasingly serious. Judah did not answer. Whether or not she would believe him if he answered truthfully was uncertain. It was clear she would likely scoff at any answer as nonsense. A crimson circle drawn in the air around her hand transformed into a long, thick whip. "Speak!" BAM! With a shout, she cracked the whip against the ground. The intense sound of air splitting was followed by a fiery scorch mark. As the intimidating aura lingered, Asmodeus glared at Judah. Her golden eyes within dark pupils narrowed sharply. "Stop the gate and I'll tell you." As soon as those words left his mouth, the fire pillar abruptly ceased. Was it truly stopped? The curiosity barely settled when the fierce blaze shot even higher, illuminating the surroundings. "Did you really think it would stop?" Asmodeus scorned. The blazing light slowly dimmed, but a strange wailing echoed within Uron. ────────! It was a horrific sound that seemed to rip through eardrums. It was intolerable from a distance; those closer must wish for death. The sound confirmed the gate had indeed opened entirely. Swish! The whip lashed out in Judah's direction. The tip whistled through the air, striking back as if alive. "So, Judah, it seems you have quite a few options." "Options?" "Yes, hear me out. First option: quietly hand over the shards." Judah chuckled dryly. "Do you really think I would?" Respectful titles no longer emerged. Though he had initially used them out of some regard for her beauty and the infamous title of one of the seven deadly sins, there was no longer any need for such pretenses. While Asmodeus didn't seem bothered, she continued speaking. "Second option... Ah, for hell's sake. Why am I even discussing this nonsense?" Annoyed, she swung the whip at Judah. As he ducked, the whip grazed above his head, leaving fiery streaks in its wake that quickly faded. Dodging the subsequent attacks, Judah began activating his skills. "Make a decision! Surrender or die!" "Sorry, but neither option appeals to me." "Then die!" Asmodeus swung her left hand forward, and something began to stir and rise from the ground. Jumping back quickly, sharp spikes shot up, piercing the air. At that moment, a blessing from Arhil infused Judah's body with radiant energy, and a sphere of light rose around him. Glancing back, Judah saw Arhil sprinting away in the distance. "Annoying!" Asmodeus's fiery whip spun in the air like fireworks, then shot straight toward Arhil. Seeing it herself, Judah drew a dagger from his bag and brought the whip down. Grasping the dagger with both hands, Judah sliced through the flaming whip composed of magic. The severed whip wriggled like a snake before it explodes into a brilliant burst of light. BOOM! The sound was thunderous, yet the small explosion didn't pose any real danger. As Asmodeus drew back her whip, she furrowed her brow and resumed her assault on Judah. While successful in diverting her attention from Arhil, her attacks were relentless. The fiery whip cracked through the air with ferocity, scattering Judah's focus. A sudden sting on the back of his hand caught his attention. 'A sting?' With a high resistance to magical attacks, pain from such assaults was usually negligible for Judah. At least, that was his experience from the Count of Serenic. However, this sensation indicated it was no ordinary low-tier magic. Judah pondered whether to grasp the whip in defiance, but judged it too risky. 'Even when sealed, a demon belonging to the Seven Deadly Sins is still a demon.' Judah sliced through the oncoming whip, propelling himself forward. Whether Judah's approach was threatening or merely irritating, the ground trembled as something began writhing towards him from three different directions. Shadows cast by Arhil's floating sphere of light relayed information back to Judah, informing him of the approaching threats. This data fed into his mind, allowing him to predict Asmodeus's magical forms and their potential attacks. Judah deftly evaded the spikes bursting forth from the three directions with agile movements. As he advanced rapidly, Asmodeus exhaled in surprise. Before the whip could reach and wrap around Judah’s neck, he cut it down swiftly. Ignoring the explosive fireworks the whip caused, Judah leaped high, raising his dagger overhead and brought it down with force. Asmodeus lowered her stance and retreated, but Judah quickly retrieved his dagger, pursuing her. "Persistent...!" Asmodeus muttered, then yelled in frustration. "Are you serious about this!?" As her power surged, multiple spells activated almost instantaneously. Dozens of fiery spears materialized in the air, hurtling toward Judah, while chains erupted from the ground, attempting to bind him in place. While the fiery spears could be ignored, the chains possessing physical force needed to be destroyed. Activating the second form of the Shadow Swordsmanship, Judah swung his dagger in a wide arc, shattering the approaching chains. Without slowing, he closed the distance, nearly upon Asmodeus. Just then, a surge of magic pooled beneath his step, and a pillar of fire erupted. Whoooom! The intense heat felt like it was searing his flesh, and the ground trembled as if experiencing an earthquake. Crash! Boom! With the sound of earth tearing apart, a colossal serpent made of stone surged forward, lunging at Judah with sheer brute force. Despite reading the magical serpent's movements through his foresight and shadow deployment, Judah realized he couldn't dodge its enormous bulk and speed. 'Damn it!' He detested magic for such unpredictability. Swords and spears could at least be anticipated, but magic revealed its effects only upon manifestation. Preparing for impact, Judah braced himself against the charging stone serpent. Thud! "Ugh!" A painful groan escaped him. Despite attempting to hold it back, the cry burst forth involuntarily. The collision sent Judah rolling roughly across the ground several times, but he quickly regained his stance. While the attack could have easily shattered ribs, his body proved surprisingly resilient. He felt internal injuries, but the power from his dagger, Yakhal, coursed through him, knitting wounds back together. "Are you okay!?" Arhil shouted as she ran toward him. Even while in motion, she seemed able to cast healing magic, and Judah felt revitalized. "I'm fine! Stay there!" He called over his shoulder, spitting out the dust and dirt that had found its way into his mouth. Despite his rough tumble, Asmodeus didn't jeer. Instead, she regarded Judah with a serious expression as she spoke. "Hand over the shard. I'll let you live." "Ha. This ring?" Judah raised his left hand, the Valentine ring prominently displayed on his finger, tempting her gaze. "Do you seriously think you can defeat me, one of the Seven Deadly Sins? If you know my name, you should understand well enough. I can kill you and the priest behind you with just a flick of my wrist. Yet I'm being lenient." "The shard chose me." "Chose? What does that even matter? It's more than a mere human like you deserves. The shard was scattered by the One as a diversion in this world, intended for demons. It's not something a trivial human should possess." "A trivial human... perhaps. But what if I am no ordinary human?" "What?" Asmodeus gazed at Judah as if he spoke nonsense. Yet, even with her powers, Judah still appeared all too human. His striking looks aside, a human was all he was. Judah continued, meeting her eyes. "Even if you take the shard from me, do you really think you'll be free? That's your biggest mistake." As soon as Judah grinned and spoke these words, Asmodeus's expression hardened. She exhaled slowly, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again. "…Fine. I don’t know how much you know, but if that's your stance, so be it. Feel free to wallow in despair once you comprehend your powerlessness." The moment her whip lashed down with a thud, two additional stone serpents appeared, making three in total, lunging towards Judah. The sight of these gigantic stone serpents barreling forward was overwhelmingly intimidating. "Let's see." Judah murmured to himself, summoning Altemia to his left hand. It was time to see if Altemia, empowered by the blood of the Count's mages and soldiers before arriving here, was stronger than the magic of a demon from the Seven Deadly Sins.