Chapter 239 Chapter238-John's Promise
Mammon was once one of the 72 Devils of the Abyss, a being of incomparable arrogance and power.
Now, he lay on the ground like a hapless monster, helpless and ready for slaughter.
His core ORDER divine power had already been depleted in the battle, and his existing injuries, aggravated by the new wounds inflicted by John, left him astonishingly weak.
Aside from the natural resilience granted by his demonic lineage, he now had no special abilities to speak of.
Well, that's not entirely accurate.
This Devil's formidable mental abilities remained intact.
It was unfortunate for Mammon that none of his bewildering mental attacks had any effect on John.
Therefore, to say that John could kill this Devil effortlessly would be an understatement.
And indeed, John had no intention of sparing Mammon's life.
This creature was one of the highest-ranking rulers in the inner layers of the Abyss, commanding the Legion of Desire, which had wreaked endless havoc upon the various races of the Godslayer Continent.
War was inevitable, and given John's current standing, he was naturally aligned with the forces of law and justice.
How could he let such a formidable enemy retreat back to its lair?
However, before slaying Mammon, John needed to extract information about what had transpired in the Abyss.
That this Devil, grievously wounded, had chosen to manifest in such a remote place as the Thousand Streams Cave, suggested that a monumental secret was at play.
John remained silent, contemplating for a long while.
Mammon took John's silence as a concession, and the crazed grin on its face widened.
"Human, I concede you are powerful. In fact, in my endless lifetime, I've never encountered a human as formidable as you. You might kill my physical form while I'm weak, but you can never extinguish my soul."
John knew Mammon wasn't raving deliriously in the face of death.
He was aware that the 72 devils governing the inner layers of the Abyss had each left their Soul Seed on the Demon Origin Altar.
If a Devil died, its corresponding Soul Seed would gradually revive by absorbing the dark energy of the Abyss.
This was the fundamental reason why the forces of law and justice, despite having far more deities than the Abyss, had never been able to gain the upper hand in the eternal war.
The immortality of Devils was a universally accepted truth in this world.
It was the underlying reason why many deities of the forces of law and justice had orchestrated an assault on Azazel during the last divine war, but could only manage to seal him away instead of killing him.
In truth, those deities could have erased Azazel's existence, but if they had done so, Azazel's Soul Seed in the Abyss would absorb dark energy and gradually revive into a new Azazel.
However, John was distinctly irritated by Mammon's tone.
He snorted softly, coldly retorting, "What does it matter if you have a Soul Seed preserved in the Abyss? What relevance would a reborn Devil of Desire have to the you that exists now?"
Mammon's smile froze abruptly, his eyes locking onto John with a mixture of bewilderment and suspicion.
"Human, who exactly are you? How do you possess such intimate knowledge of the secrets of my demonic kin?"
John scoffed dismissively, "Isn't the Devil's immortality a universally accepted fact across the Godslayer Continent? How is your hoarding of a Soul Seed in the Abyss a secret?"
Mammon was not satisfied with that explanation, replying with grave intensity, "Indeed, many know of the existence of the Soul Seed, but not everyone understands that it grows into a new Devil."
John suddenly unveiled a mysterious smile, speaking softly, "That's because a Soul Seed absorbing dark energy grows into a Devil inheriting all the ORDER and authority of its original body, even retaining all of its memories."
"That's why everyone still thinks of you as revived beings, rather than duplicated ones."
The moment John's words fell, the bravado that once adorned Mammon's demeanor vanished without a trace.
His crimson eyes brimmed with confusion and fear.
In a hoarse voice that strained to sound as loud as a roar, he demanded, "Who are you? How do you know a secret that only our demon higher-ups are aware of?"
A subtle, mischievous smile curled the corner of John's lips.
"Care to guess?" he taunted.
Mammon's breathing grew heavy.
His scaled armor lay shattered, wounds scattered across his chest that heaved violently with each breath.
Clearly, his emotions were far from tranquil.
John lowered his gaze, speaking with casual detachment, "If you tell me what exactly has transpired in the Abyss, then I'll reveal my true identity to you."
"If your answer satisfies me, I might even spare your life. After all, once you die, even if a new Devil of Desire is born in the Abyss, what would it have to do with you?"
Mammon snorted softly, turning his head away, still wearing a guise of stubborn defiance.
However, the flicker of indecision in his eyes betrayed that he was not as resolute as he appeared to be.
John stood to the side, hands clasped behind his back, patiently waiting.
He couldn't believe that Mammon—a Devil who thrived on invading human minds and feeding on their desires—would truly be as unyielding as he appeared to be now.
Demons in the Abyss were, after all, among the most cunning and treacherous beings in the world.
The 72 Devils, as the ruling elite, were unimaginable in their duplicity.
Over the years, the major churches of the Godslayer Continent had been working diligently to strengthen the spiritual anchors of the various races through faith.
Yet, even so, incidents of Devils invading mental realms continued to occur sporadically.
How could such intelligent beings not cherish their own lives?
Indeed, John's waiting did not last long.
Soon, he heard the gravelly, repugnant voice of the Devil Mammon once again, "If I tell you what has really happened in the Abyss, are you truly willing to let me go?"
Without hesitation, John nodded, his face a picture of sincerity.
"I swear on my own class that I will not take your life. If I break this oath, may I forever remain stagnant, never progressing beyond my current level."
A resonant hum filled the air, as if an enigmatic ripple had suddenly descended from the heavens, settling above John's head.
It was the automatic activation of a system-judged binding contract.
It was only at this moment that Mammon's face finally relaxed.
He loosened his grip on the black scepter he had been clutching, allowing the divine weapon—a match for John's own Divine Palace—to fall casually to the ground.
Reclining into a more comfortable posture, he was lost in deep recollection for a moment.
After a pause, Mammon's raspy voice broke the silence.
"Given your current strength, you must have trained for many years. Perhaps you even participated in the last divine war...though I haven't seen you on the battlefield."
"You should be well aware that the Abyss currently lacks a true ruler. That's because our greatest Father God—His Majesty Azazel—was ambushed in the last divine war by the treacherous God of Holy Light and several other despicable high-ranking deities."
"Unable to kill Father God, they chose to seal him in an endless void."
"After the disappearance of His Majesty Azazel, governance of the Abyss was left to us, the 72 Devils, and a few ancient ones among our kind."
"We never believed that Azazel would remain sealed forever. He is the greatest Devil the Abyss has ever known, the true master of darkness."
"Therefore, we Devils are all confident that one day, His Majesty Azazel will return."
"We've also been diligently searching for the void where His Majesty Azazel was sealed. Alas, tens of thousands of years have passed without any results."
Mammon's voice, tinged with weariness, unfolded the events that had plagued the Abyss for nearly ten thousand years.
So engrossed was he in his tale that he failed to notice the increasingly strange expression on John's face.
"Because we are merely stewards for Father God Azazel, everyone knows that once His Majesty returns, all power will be restored to him. Thus, for ten millennia, the governance of the Abyss has been relatively stable. But all of this was upended a few months ago," Mammon said.
A flicker of unprecedented confusion shone in Mammon's eyes, tinged with a lingering, bone-deep hatred.
"Several months ago, we were horrified to discover that Azazel's Soul Seed, enshrined atop our altar, had flown deep into the Abyss and began absorbing dark energy. Do you know what that means? It means that Azazel has actually fallen!"
Mammon's voice grew tempestuous, roaring in fury.
"It must be the doing of those self-righteous deities. Somehow, they found a way to utterly erase Azazel, who had been sealed for ten thousand years, from this world!"
John's demeanor grew increasingly odd.
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