The World Is Mine For The Taking

Chapter 1480: Chapter 210 - The Land Of Lust (4)

Asmodeus of Lust.

One of the Seven Deadly Sins and the current ruler of this land.

Even among demons, her name carried a ridiculous amount of weight. Most people had never actually seen her fight with their own eyes because she spent the vast majority of her time inside her castle, rarely making appearances before the public. Because of that, stories about her strength had spread through rumors, speculation, and countless exaggerated tales. Still, there was one thing that almost everyone seemed to agree on.

She possessed the power to drain a man dry with nothing more than the slightest touch.

That alone was enough to make most men stay as far away from her as possible.

A title like the Sin of Lust wasn’t something someone received by accident. Titles like that were earned, and considering the fear that surrounded her name, it was pretty clear she had earned it many times over.

At first glance, her appearance resembled that of a succubus.

The horns.

The wings.

The seductive figure.

Everything about her appearance fit that image perfectly.

Yet there was something different about her.

Something that made it impossible to compare her to ordinary demons.

The aura pouring out of her body was overwhelming.

Actually, overwhelming felt like an understatement.

It felt as though her power was constantly overflowing from her without restraint. The pressure radiating from her wasn’t something she was actively trying to release. It felt natural, like simply existing was enough for her to affect the world around her.

Standing in front of her made it painfully obvious that this wasn’t going to be an easy fight.

Not even close.

She stared at me with a pair of glowing red eyes.

Those eyes were unsettling.

They looked less like eyes and more like crimson orbs burning within the darkness. Every time they focused on me, it felt as though she could see straight through my body and into my thoughts.

Her wings moved slowly behind her.

Every flap caused her breasts to sway slightly, but that wasn’t what caught my attention.

What caught my attention was the sheer amount of power accompanying those simple movements.

Even something as small as moving her wings seemed capable of affecting the surrounding atmosphere.

Just looking at her was enough to understand why people feared her.

Terrifying didn’t even feel like the right word.

The aura surrounding her was so immense that it felt like it stretched across enormous distances. It was hard to explain, but standing here made me feel as though her presence wasn’t confined to this place alone. The pressure she released felt large enough to spread far beyond the Demon Continent itself.

That alone told me everything I needed to know.

She was dangerous.

Extremely dangerous.

"You dare come to my land, man?!" she shouted.

Her voice echoed through the area.

The hostility behind those words wasn’t hidden in the slightest.

Honestly, it was pretty obvious that she hated men.

Not disliked.

Not distrusted.

Hated.

The way she looked at me made that crystal clear.

There wasn’t even an attempt to hide it.

The glare she was giving me made it feel like she had already decided I was guilty of something before I had even spoken a single word.

It looked deeply rooted.

The kind of hatred that didn’t appear overnight.

The kind that sat inside someone for years and years until it became part of who they were.

And judging by the look in her eyes, she wasn’t interested in changing her opinion anytime soon.

Even Foriel seemed completely frozen.

She was standing behind me, but I could feel the tension coming from her.

Foriel was a woman herself, yet she looked so intimidated by Asmodeus that she couldn’t even bring herself to speak.

That honestly said a lot.

Asmodeus wasn’t merely feared because she was powerful.

She had become a symbol.

A symbol of fear.

A symbol of authority.

A symbol that made people instinctively lower their heads when they heard her name.

"I am not here to cause trouble for you, Asmodeus of Lust," I said calmly. "I am fully aware of your authority over this land, but if you would permit it, I would like to pass through so that I may continue toward my destination."

I spoke as clearly and respectfully as possible.

There was no hostility in my voice.

If anything, I was trying very hard to avoid a fight.

Considering who she was, getting into a battle here sounded like a fantastic way to ruin my day.

Unfortunately, my effort didn’t seem to matter.

Not even a little.

The hatred she carried toward men ran far too deep.

Reason wasn’t reaching her.

Logic wasn’t reaching her.

At this point, it felt like she had already categorized every man in existence into a single group and permanently decided she hated all of them.

Honestly, that felt a bit excessive.

"Nonsense!" she snapped.

The pressure in the air seemed to intensify alongside her voice.

"Do you really think I would believe anything that comes out of your mouth?!"

Well.

This conversation was going great.

At this rate, diplomacy was going to die before the actual fight started.

It became pretty obvious that talking wasn’t exactly her favorite hobby.

Which made things difficult.

Did I really have to fight her?

While that thought was running through my head, something suddenly caught my attention.

Something felt strange.

At first, I couldn’t identify it.

There was another presence mixed within hers.

It wasn’t obvious.

The kind of thing most people would completely miss.

Yet once I noticed it, I couldn’t ignore it anymore.

The feeling was lingering around her.

Clinging to her.

Almost as though traces of someone else were wrapped around her existence.

I focused more carefully.

Then realization hit me.

Elise.

It was Elise’s presence.

I could feel traces of her all over Asmodeus.

The moment I recognized it, something inside me immediately reacted.

My blood began boiling.

The sensation spread throughout my entire body.

It felt as though heat was rushing through my veins and straight into my bones.

The anger came so quickly that it almost caught me off guard.

Questions immediately started appearing in my mind.

Why was Elise’s presence on her?

What happened?

What did she do?

The more I thought about it, the more furious I became.

My muscles tightened.

My jaw clenched.

The pressure building inside me felt impossible to suppress.

At that moment, it honestly felt like I was going to explode if I didn’t do something.

And before anyone could react, I moved.

The place where I had been standing became empty.

I disappeared.

Even Asmodeus looked surprised.

For the first time since we met, her expression changed.

My sudden burst of speed had clearly caught her off guard.

Still, she was one of the Seven Deadly Sins for a reason.

Her reaction speed was monstrous.

Although she looked surprised for a brief moment, she recovered almost immediately.

Just before my attack could connect, she managed to block it.

The impact shook the air around us.

Her eyes widened.

Genuine surprise appeared on her face.

It looked like she hadn’t expected anyone to reach her that quickly.

Or maybe she hadn’t expected me to attack at all.

Either way, she looked shocked.

"You..." I said.

My voice came out lower than usual.

"What have you done to my sister?"

The atmosphere instantly changed.

The anger inside me wasn’t hidden anymore.

It wasn’t something I was trying to suppress either.

My eyes were filled with killing intent.

At that moment, I was furious.

Actually furious.

I had spent all this time trying to avoid conflict.

Trying to stay calm.

Trying to avoid fighting one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Yet the moment I felt Elise’s presence on her, all that restraint started falling apart.

Depending on what answer she gave me next, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to stay calm anymore.

The pacifism I had been forcing upon myself was hanging by a thread.

A very thin thread.

And if she said something terrible.

If she revealed that something awful had happened to Elise.

If she casually mentioned something that should never have happened in the first place.

Then I honestly wasn’t sure I could stop myself.

Right now, I was prepared to kill her.

Not threaten her.

Not fight her.

Kill her.

Everything depended on what she was about to say next.