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Chapter 280: Divine Battle, Demonic Suffering
"We can't win. It's impossible to win."
Belial crashed heavily onto the ground. It was hard to say if he was always like this, or if that heavy blow had scrambled his brain, but in any case, he kept muttering to himself.
However, his teammate no longer had time to worry about him.
After trading devastating blows, the two demons retreated in opposite directions, disheveled. The next moment, Orin Vale had already flashed in front of Saraka.
A swinging punch nearly blew off half the demon's face, sending a sharp, blade-like tooth flying. The demon flew into the air, and Orin Vale's right arm shot out, grabbing the demon's ankle. He swung the demon overhead like a windmill and smashed him into the ground like an iron rod.
Tisak seized the opportunity to spread his wings and advance again. But Orin Vale, without even turning his head, intercepted him with an uppercut. The heavy blow caught Tisak mid-flight, launching him skyward as a shockwave erupted in mid-air.
Orin Vale turned and looked up, his raised arm having already locked onto Tisak's backward trajectory.
Ultra Shot!
A needle-like ray of light burst from his fingertips, an unstoppable torrent. The demon's eyes widened in fear as he watched the beam shoot toward him. Even his final cry seemed to be cut off deep in his throat.
What followed was an incredibly brilliant explosion. Accompanied by the afterglow of light, it seemed powerful enough to dispel the very darkness of Hell, striking terror into every sentient being that inhabited this space.
Pinned underfoot, Saraka's breathing hitched. He wanted to resist, but fear paralyzed his movements.
Yes, demons could also feel fear.
Just as they feared their Father, never daring to show the slightest disobedience. Everything they did—gathering believers, finding a channel to conquer the Myriad Realms—was ultimately to please their Father.
Because they were afraid of being annihilated.
And now, death was so close.
This wasn't a clone projection like usual, nor was it in an external dimension they were probing or invading. It was happening right here, in their Home Base, within the demons' own dimension.
An Offspring of Trigon was destroyed.
Saraka couldn't remember the last time he had seen a sibling die; he even doubted whether such an event had ever occurred in his memory. They had nearly endless lifespans and operated through clones in every dimension. They rarely acted personally; their true forms always remained secluded at home. Because of this, death was a somewhat distant concept to them.
But for that very reason, they felt even more fear when facing their end.
So much so that in his final moments, the last thing he could do wasn't to fight to the death, but to offer a single, simple plea.
"Please..."
Boom!
The needle-like ray pierced his head. The demon's head exploded like a crushed watermelon. Immense demonic power was released from it, threatening to tear the very ground they stood on in two.
Looking at the corpse at his feet, now a pile of smoldering black smoke and ashes, Orin Vale paused for a moment.
Hmm?
Hadn't he been trying to say something right before he died?
Eh... forget it. It probably wasn't important.
Finally, Orin Vale's gaze turned to Belial.
His oldest acquaintance, and the last demon remaining.
Belial raised his claws, a mournful look on his face.
"I really didn't do anything this time..."
He was exasperated.
Belial felt truly wronged. He'd warned his two teammates not to just go and get themselves killed, but not only did they not listen, they even fucking brought the big boss back home.
This thing before him was simply a demon... oh wait, they were the demons.
That thing was a monster! A terrifying, emotionless Monster of Light!
He had no emotions, understood no mercy; begging was meaningless. He would only mercilessly raise his hands and form that cross-like shape.
That pose was like a cross, sometimes making one think that perhaps what he meant to convey was, "Go and repent your sins to God."
As for me?
I'm only responsible for sending you to see God.
But this time, Orin Vale didn't do that.
Because in an instant, he sensed it.
Compared to Belial, he now had a bigger problem to deal with.
The sky seemed to change color as darkness swept in. The space around him seemed to tremble slightly, and Orin Vale could feel the entire dimension undergoing a subtle fluctuation.
It was as if it was responding to the arrival of someone... or something.
A powerful existence. It couldn't be an ordinary demon, nor did it seem like just any of Trigon's offspring.
Blazing flames shot into the sky, a hellfire that pierced the ground like lava and soared into the heavens. Appearing within those flames was a red giant.
Three pairs of golden eyes, skin the color of blood, huge, ferocious horns, and a body bathed in divine fire. Its body was about two hundred meters tall, its majestic form like a blood-red mountain, containing a great terror that mortal minds could not withstand.
Finally, Trigon.
A well-known disaster in the Multiverse, an annihilator of countless dimensions, a demon whose very name made others turn pale with fear.
"F-Father..."
Belial fell to his knees, trembling uncontrollably.
Weak, humble, and helpless.
There was nothing he could do. He couldn't afford to offend either of the two beings on the field now. A sneeze from either of them could probably obliterate him.
Orin Vale looked up at the colossal Trigon and quickly confirmed something.
This probably wasn't his true form, either.
Whether it was Trigon or Darkseid, the true forms of heavy hitters at this level were rarely seen. The one before him was likely similar to the giant clone that descended upon the main world in the Justice League animated movie.
Of course, even if it wasn't the true form, a heavy hitter of this caliber could not be underestimated.
But it didn't matter. When Orin Vale came to this dimension, he had already considered the possibility of encountering Trigon. Having a chance to test the waters wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
With a single thought, his figure, wreathed in a radiant glow, rapidly grew to a colossal size, instantly becoming comparable to Trigon.
"A creature of light."
Trigon spoke in a deep, muffled voice.
"Interesting. It has been a long time since anyone could reach this place, and even fewer have dared to break in..."
The demon's three pairs of pupils glinted with a cold, golden light.
"And I have never seen a creature like you... but I will understand everything about you. Starting with your corpse."
"Funny, I was about to say the same thing."
Orin Vale clenched his fist.
Lightning radiated and burst from between his knuckles.
Blazing flames flashed briefly in Trigon's eyes, and magical runes erupted behind the demon's body. The boulders beneath the red giant's feet shattered, and the moment his figure shot forward, it was as if he had set the entire dimension ablaze.
In the same instant, the giant of light's figure also shot out. Arcs of spatio-temporal lightning coiled around his afterimage as he moved at Mach speeds, the trailing currents tearing through space.
Two giant silhouettes flickered, their terrifying power clashing, a destructive war on the verge of erupting.
And in the middle of this divine battle, a certain demon, flapping his wings and trembling, scurried away with his head in his claws...
(end of chapter)
"We can't win. It's impossible to win."
Belial crashed heavily onto the ground. It was hard to say if he was always like this, or if that heavy blow had scrambled his brain, but in any case, he kept muttering to himself.
However, his teammate no longer had time to worry about him.
After trading devastating blows, the two demons retreated in opposite directions, disheveled. The next moment, Orin Vale had already flashed in front of Saraka.
A swinging punch nearly blew off half the demon's face, sending a sharp, blade-like tooth flying. The demon flew into the air, and Orin Vale's right arm shot out, grabbing the demon's ankle. He swung the demon overhead like a windmill and smashed him into the ground like an iron rod.
Tisak seized the opportunity to spread his wings and advance again. But Orin Vale, without even turning his head, intercepted him with an uppercut. The heavy blow caught Tisak mid-flight, launching him skyward as a shockwave erupted in mid-air.
Orin Vale turned and looked up, his raised arm having already locked onto Tisak's backward trajectory.
Ultra Shot!
A needle-like ray of light burst from his fingertips, an unstoppable torrent. The demon's eyes widened in fear as he watched the beam shoot toward him. Even his final cry seemed to be cut off deep in his throat.
What followed was an incredibly brilliant explosion. Accompanied by the afterglow of light, it seemed powerful enough to dispel the very darkness of Hell, striking terror into every sentient being that inhabited this space.
Pinned underfoot, Saraka's breathing hitched. He wanted to resist, but fear paralyzed his movements.
Yes, demons could also feel fear.
Just as they feared their Father, never daring to show the slightest disobedience. Everything they did—gathering believers, finding a channel to conquer the Myriad Realms—was ultimately to please their Father.
Because they were afraid of being annihilated.
And now, death was so close.
This wasn't a clone projection like usual, nor was it in an external dimension they were probing or invading. It was happening right here, in their Home Base, within the demons' own dimension.
An Offspring of Trigon was destroyed.
Saraka couldn't remember the last time he had seen a sibling die; he even doubted whether such an event had ever occurred in his memory. They had nearly endless lifespans and operated through clones in every dimension. They rarely acted personally; their true forms always remained secluded at home. Because of this, death was a somewhat distant concept to them.
But for that very reason, they felt even more fear when facing their end.
So much so that in his final moments, the last thing he could do wasn't to fight to the death, but to offer a single, simple plea.
"Please..."
Boom!
The needle-like ray pierced his head. The demon's head exploded like a crushed watermelon. Immense demonic power was released from it, threatening to tear the very ground they stood on in two.
Looking at the corpse at his feet, now a pile of smoldering black smoke and ashes, Orin Vale paused for a moment.
Hmm?
Hadn't he been trying to say something right before he died?
Eh... forget it. It probably wasn't important.
Finally, Orin Vale's gaze turned to Belial.
His oldest acquaintance, and the last demon remaining.
Belial raised his claws, a mournful look on his face.
"I really didn't do anything this time..."
He was exasperated.
Belial felt truly wronged. He'd warned his two teammates not to just go and get themselves killed, but not only did they not listen, they even fucking brought the big boss back home.
This thing before him was simply a demon... oh wait, they were the demons.
That thing was a monster! A terrifying, emotionless Monster of Light!
He had no emotions, understood no mercy; begging was meaningless. He would only mercilessly raise his hands and form that cross-like shape.
That pose was like a cross, sometimes making one think that perhaps what he meant to convey was, "Go and repent your sins to God."
As for me?
I'm only responsible for sending you to see God.
But this time, Orin Vale didn't do that.
Because in an instant, he sensed it.
Compared to Belial, he now had a bigger problem to deal with.
The sky seemed to change color as darkness swept in. The space around him seemed to tremble slightly, and Orin Vale could feel the entire dimension undergoing a subtle fluctuation.
It was as if it was responding to the arrival of someone... or something.
A powerful existence. It couldn't be an ordinary demon, nor did it seem like just any of Trigon's offspring.
Blazing flames shot into the sky, a hellfire that pierced the ground like lava and soared into the heavens. Appearing within those flames was a red giant.
Three pairs of golden eyes, skin the color of blood, huge, ferocious horns, and a body bathed in divine fire. Its body was about two hundred meters tall, its majestic form like a blood-red mountain, containing a great terror that mortal minds could not withstand.
Finally, Trigon.
A well-known disaster in the Multiverse, an annihilator of countless dimensions, a demon whose very name made others turn pale with fear.
"F-Father..."
Belial fell to his knees, trembling uncontrollably.
Weak, humble, and helpless.
There was nothing he could do. He couldn't afford to offend either of the two beings on the field now. A sneeze from either of them could probably obliterate him.
Orin Vale looked up at the colossal Trigon and quickly confirmed something.
This probably wasn't his true form, either.
Whether it was Trigon or Darkseid, the true forms of heavy hitters at this level were rarely seen. The one before him was likely similar to the giant clone that descended upon the main world in the Justice League animated movie.
Of course, even if it wasn't the true form, a heavy hitter of this caliber could not be underestimated.
But it didn't matter. When Orin Vale came to this dimension, he had already considered the possibility of encountering Trigon. Having a chance to test the waters wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
With a single thought, his figure, wreathed in a radiant glow, rapidly grew to a colossal size, instantly becoming comparable to Trigon.
"A creature of light."
Trigon spoke in a deep, muffled voice.
"Interesting. It has been a long time since anyone could reach this place, and even fewer have dared to break in..."
The demon's three pairs of pupils glinted with a cold, golden light.
"And I have never seen a creature like you... but I will understand everything about you. Starting with your corpse."
"Funny, I was about to say the same thing."
Orin Vale clenched his fist.
Lightning radiated and burst from between his knuckles.
Blazing flames flashed briefly in Trigon's eyes, and magical runes erupted behind the demon's body. The boulders beneath the red giant's feet shattered, and the moment his figure shot forward, it was as if he had set the entire dimension ablaze.
In the same instant, the giant of light's figure also shot out. Arcs of spatio-temporal lightning coiled around his afterimage as he moved at Mach speeds, the trailing currents tearing through space.
Two giant silhouettes flickered, their terrifying power clashing, a destructive war on the verge of erupting.
And in the middle of this divine battle, a certain demon, flapping his wings and trembling, scurried away with his head in his claws...
(end of chapter)