"Arad? Is that you?" Sara stepped forward, staring at the massive dragon in front of her.
"I am," Arad replied, his voice crackling inside his throat. He slowly moved his head closer to her, "Holy magic? No, it's unholy, cursed." He glared at her.
Sara gulped, "I'm a priestess of Asmodeus, the devil goddess of the hells. I can use both holy spells and curses granted to me by her."
"Your curse magic seems too simple. You don't have any powerful spells?" A faint purple light gleamed deep inside Arad's eyes, the witch inside him inspecting Sara's magic.
"I'm not a fighter, and worshipping the lady of the hells can cause some problems." She looked away, "I might have slacked a bit lately,"
Thud! Abel walked forward, "You can't worship Asmodeus without being blamed for every plage and lost soul in this world," He stared at Arad, "It's best for her to use as little of the hells' lady's gifts as possible,"
"He's right," Lydia smiled, "We shouldn't trust devils, albeit Sara and he can be an exception."
"That hurts my infernal heart," A deep booming voice came from the shadows, two red eyes glared at them.
Everyone froze for a second as Arad growled, his magic rushing back out as he glared into the darkness, "What are you?"
Lydia pulled her blade, igniting it with holy magic. "A devil! Cut the bastard!" BAM! She lunged forward, swinging at the shadow's neck.
CLANG! Her sword stopped at the devil's neck, shining with a bright light, revealing the infernal's red skin and wings, leather-rough skin, and long black horns.
"You stink, like acid," The devil lifted his palm, catching Lydia's sword and pushing her back.
BAM! She regained her stance and glared at him, "You smell like charred rot,"
The devil bowed, "I was sent by Her Majesty, the immortal devil of the nine hells. Arad Orion, I bring you a contract,"
"That can't be right!" Sara cried, "I was tasked with speaking with him!"
The devil stared at her, "The queen watches over her children, and you failed. It was obvious that kids can't save children."
The devil walked out of the shadows and looked at Arad, "A majestic void wyrm with infinite potential. It's sad to see you wither and die of starvation," He smiled.
"That's none of your business, scram!" Arad growled, his muscles bulging again as he walked down his mound of gold.
The devil lifted his hands, "Each step gets you closer to death. It's better if you don't pretend to be deaf." The devil waved his hands, "Stand down, child of none. Before the void beckons,"
"I told you to leave!" Arad growled. He could feel it in his bones and hear both Doma and Mom screaming inside his head. That thing is an Archdevil. He can't win. And even if he won by a miracle, he would die of starvation and exhaustion.
"We curse lives to the eternal. Take the contract, and I shall bring you the metal." The devil flicked his fingers, and a flame sparked, "You better sell when your stock has a price."
"Arad," Nina who was in the back walked forward, "If you won't take contract, can I kill this thing?"
Arad glared back at her. Doma shouted inside his head, She would die, An Archdevil isn't something a mortal should face, they are too much to handle even with holy magic. The faces of the hell's terror.
"Don't fight! I won't take the contract, but stand back," Arad growled at her.
Ginger emerged from the shadows behind the devil, staring at him with a smile, "It's brave of you to come here alone," She smiled, "It's been a while since I tasted a devil,"
"Brave? You're the ones in need of my help, mercy, and favor. Refuse my offer and he would die, soon followed by you all." He smiled, hellish magic flowing from his claws.
"Good thing I was watching," DING! Merlin emerged in a spark of white magic, pointing a small wand at the devil. "You speak of our need, yet that only shows your desperation."
Merlin smiled, "You approach Arad when he's young, weak, and vulnerable. You rot worms of the hells barely hold the courage to face someone of your power,"
"Big words from a mere human," The devil glared at her.
Thud! Nina walked forward, "You two stand back. I will finish this quickly." She started approaching the devil.
The devil glared at Nina, "Big words from a human. and insolence from a magicless, mindless, and crazed animal." He swung his arm, throwing a trident at Nina, gouging her stomach and sending her body smacking into the wall.
"NINA!" Arad roared, and the devil started laughing. "Dead like a bug, guess who the worm was." He stared at Arad, "Take my contract, or everyone will end like her. Stuck to the wall like art..." The devil's lips stopped as he saw Nina standing with the spear still protruding from her stomach.
She walked toward the devil with a passive face, standing a few meters before him. With one hand, she grabbed the trident shaft and pulled it out of her stomach. Blood gushed out, and Nina tossed the spear at the devil's feet. "Try again."
The devil glared at her, sweating as he opened his palm. ZON! The spear flew back to his hand as he rushed forward, thrusting at Nina's neck.
CLANG! The trident stopped at Nina's skin, unable to pierce her neck.
"I faced kids stronger than you," She lifted her hands, grabbing the devil by his horns.
Thud! Nina jumped up, pulling her legs toward her stomach. SWOSH! She then swung both of her feet at the devil's face while still holding onto his horns.
CRACK! The devil's horns shattered as his nose sniffed his brain, and his body rolled with a splash of blood through the air.
GROAR! Nina growled, her skin turning into a dark red color as her veins bulged, her eyes bloodshot as she leaped forward. [Rage]
Thud! Before the devil could stop, Nina grabbed his bloodied face in her palm and swung him at the ground like a stick, shattering the ant's royal room.
Merlin smiled in the back, swinging her wand, "This is going to be fun. I'm taking the horns and the tail." She smiled, pulling the devil's shattered horns toward herself as she conjured a barrier. [Arcane ward]
"The blood and liver are mine," Ginger licked her lips, "It's been a while since such a rare ingredient showed itself." She giggled, "I lost count of how many times I tried to bait a devil into a contract with me so I could farm him for alchemy,"
CLACK! The devil healed himself as he bounced off Nina, standing on the wall with glowing red eyes, "Mortals dare defy a devil?"
"You hurt my feeling," Ginger appeared beside him, "I'm immortal, you know?" A blood spear emerged in her hand as she stabbed forward [Action surge]
BA-BAM! The devil swung his trident and deflected Ginger's barrage of thirty-two stabs in the blink of an eye. BAM! He jumped back, landing upside down on the ceiling.
Ginger smiled, remembering how her belly was full today. How she spent the past weak sucking on high-quality blood, Alcott's blood. She's at full power and doesn't have any reason to hold back.
The devil pointed at her with his spear, ready to blast her with a spell. But he saw her smiling, making him confused. ^That woman just used an action surge. She should be feeling the backlash. A well-known opening of such a powerful ability,^
Ginger's blood rushed through her veins. Her immortal body defied natural boundaries. Exhaustion, breathing, heartbeat, and life itself. As long as she has blood, she cares for none.
[Action surge] [Action surge] [Action surge] She blasted forward with another barrage, using the third action surge to cast her blood magic, and the last one to summon her kin.
The whole room turned dark as blood spikes rushed from the ceiling at the devil. And when he fell to the ground, shadow wolves lunged at him. One of them was a barbarian called Nina. The devil stopped. ^Wait, that's isn't a familiar^
Nina grabbed the devil by the tail, swinging him around like a rage door, smacking his body on the ground and walls before kicking him toward Merlin.
Merlin sighed, seeing the devil flying toward her. "Mages are rear support," She sighed, lifting her wand and opening her palm.
"In the name of the flickering magic, I call upon your wisdom. I, the white mage of Alina, seek knowledge whom you keep." Strands of blue magic flickered around Merlin, flashing with sparks of golden light.
"Goddess of Magic, Lilia Bodhi-Micah." Merlin's magic turned from elemental into holy, her palm flashing with a divine light. "A mage seeks the forbidden knowledge of holy magic."
[Banishment]
She pointed two fingers at the devil, dropping the biggest, and largest divine smite Lydia had ever seen in her life. A hell gate opened behind the devil, ready to take his charred body.
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