“What do you mean by that?” Michael asked, flustered at the sudden unexpected question. “It is just as I said. I want to know more about the new demon lord, Siegfried van Proa,” Baal replied. “Is it strange for a boss to want to know about his new employee?” “Well, you’re not wrong but...” Michael started pondering whether it would be wise to reveal things about Siegfried to Baal or not. Siegfried had suddenly become a demon lord, but his real place was still at the throne of the Proatine Kingdom. In other words, he was bound to clash against Baal when it came to ideology and principles. “I have nothing to say about him.” “Especially if it’s something personal about him.” “Ah, don’t get me wrong. I’m not interested in his personal matters,” Baal said, shaking his head. “I just want to know more about him.” “What exactly do you mean by that...?” “Because the way I see it, he’s the perfect candidate to be my successor.” “I really like that guy. I like him so much that I want him to become my son-in-law.” Michael was so shocked by what he heard that he was rendered speechless for quite a while. “So... you want Siegfried to become your successor?” “Why? Is there a problem?” Baal asked in response. Then, he explained, “That guy is a natural demon. Not only does he possess a strong desire for power, but he’s far more evil than most of the demons in the Demon Realm.” “W-Well, I do agree with that,” Michael replied with an awkward smile. Then, he added, “But, to be honest... I am afraid.” “What are you afraid of?” “If Siegfried does become your successor and becomes the Demon King... I shudder at the mere thought of it,” Michael said while shaking his head. “I am no longer the Chief Archangel nor even an angel... but I do not support the idea of him becoming the Demon King,” Michael said. ‘If he becomes the Demon King... Then not only the demons and the humans, but even the angels will be under his control, which means even the Celestial Realm will fall into the hands of the demons,’ he thought. Michael had quite high regard for Siegfried, and he openly shared them with Baal. However, Baal seemed intrigued and excited by the response he got. “Thank you for your answer. If you hold him in such high regard, then I’m certain that he has to become my successor,” he said with confidence. “But you don’t have to worry about anything. I’m not planning to use him to invade the Celestial Realm or the other realms.” “What do you mean by that?” Michael was surprised by what he heard. Why was the Ruler of the Demon Realm, the Demon King, suddenly not interested in invading the Celestial Realm? This was something not even the most gullible individual in the world would believe. Get full chapters from novel_fіre.net “Listen here, Chief Archangel.” “This is what I think about things...” Baal proceeded to share his thoughts with Michael. “T-That’s...!” Michael was shocked at what he heard. It was all because he hadn't expected to hear those from the Demon King. “Do you understand now? That’s why I have no choice but to appoint him as my successor,” Baal said with a triumphant smirk. “I... agree with you. Though I don’t support the idea of it, I don’t have any justification to oppose it,” Michael said in surrender. “Feel free to do whatever you want. I will not be cooperating with you, but I can assure you that I will not interfere in your affairs.” “Good,” Baal said with a smile. Then, he waved his hand and added, “Shall we put that aside for now, then?” “Why don’t we catch up for old time’s sake? We weren’t in a position to leisurely chat before, but it’s different now, isn’t it?” “I guess you’re right.” “Also, I’ve always wanted to just chat about various things with you since a long time ago.” Thus, the former Chief Archangel, Michael, and the Demon King, Baal, chatted away in the dead of the night. The next day, Dantalion led his army and invaded the Seventh Domain of the Demon Realm. The army he fielded was fifty thousand strong, but this wasn't even the full force of the Fifth Domain. Their objective was to ambush the Seventh Domain, take over the Demon Lord’s Castle, kill Metatron, and conquer the whole domain. Therefore, they didn't need a massive army to achieve their goals. In fact, a few elite squads would be more than enough, as the war would be over the moment they took over the castle and killed Metatron. Dantalion parked his army at the outskirts of the Seventh Domain and waited for Siegfried’s signal. Around two hours later... A signal flare was shot up into the sky from the Seventh Domain. “All units, march!” Dantalion commanded the moment he saw the signal flare. The army proceeded to march toward the northern gates. Siegfried, who already had the gates wide open for Dantalion, was waiting for them. The corpses of the elite demon warriors and gatekeepers tasked with watching over the northern gates were sprawled out all around Siegfried. “Oh! So you’ve kept your promise!” Dantalion marveled after seeing that the gates were open. “Yes, my lord,” Siegfried replied with a bow. “You flatter me, my lord. Hehehe!” Siegfried replied with a silly grin. Then, he added, “It’s best to strike while the iron is hot.” “Hoho! I didn’t know you had some wisdom in you!” “We must make haste, my lord. It will not take long before word of what happened here reaches the castle.” “Okay. We march at once.” Dantalion immediately understood what Siegfried was implying. Speed was of the essence in this mission, and the sooner they stepped foot into the castle, the easier their victory would be. “Go forth, my soldiers! Go and charge deep into the heart of the enemy’s base!” Dantalion commanded. With a war cry, the demon soldiers of the Fifth Domain charged straight toward the Demon Lord’s Castle of the Seventh Domain. Their morale was sky high—but only for a moment. A volley of arrows was shot into the sky, darkening it, before raining down upon the demon soldiers. Simultaneously, cannons were fired at them, too. “W-What is the meaning of this?!” Dantalion cried out, surprised by the sudden attack. However, it was still too early for him to be surprised. “For the Seventh Domain!” “Send those Fifth Domain bastards to the grave!” Elite demon warriors of the Seventh Domain suddenly swarmed in from all sides and surrounded the Fifth Domain soldiers as if they had been lying in wait all along. This could only mean one thing... ‘Don’t tell me...’ Dantalion thought and turned toward the one individual he suspected. Siegfried was grinning from ear to ear while looking right at Dantalion. The title "I Am Backstabbing" flashed proudly above his head. “Siegfried...! Siegfried van SONOVABITCHHH!” Dantalion unleashed a flurry of curses at him. He had never imagined, even in his wildest dreams, that the pesky human would screw him over yet again. The Fifth Domain’s soldiers were unable to put up any proper resistance against the Seventh Domain’s warriors after getting caught off guard. They were surrounded from all sides and were just waiting to be slaughtered by them. “Y-You...! Siegfried! You dare... to stab me in the back?!” Dantalion roared, unable to suppress his anger. Then, he took out his relic, which was a staff with eyes on it. Dantalion channeled his demonic powers into the staff. “I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!” “You son of a bitch! You just made a huge mistake! You messed with the wrong demon!” “You son of a bitch! You just made a huge mistake! You messed with the wrong demon!” “You son of a bitch! You just made a huge mistake! You messed with the wrong demon!” Dantalion split into numerous clones, eighty-four thousand of them to be exact. Every clone was a mere illusion, but they were capable of dealing damage. “Be careful, Your Majesty! Dantalion stands at the pinnacle of magic and illusions! You must not forget that he is the Demon Lord of Deception!” Metatron shouted while running with the Avenger in hand. “You don’t have to come. I can deal with these illusions myself,” Siegfried said confidently. “Prepare to meet your demise, you despicable bastard!” “Prepare to meet your demise, you despicable bastard!” “Prepare to meet your demise, you despicable bastard!” The eighty-four thousand clones simultaneously channeled their demonic powers and hurled a dark magic spell at Siegfried—no, they tried to hurl it at him but were unable to. Siegfried unleashed Wave of Oppression, interrupting their spells. All eighty-four thousand Dantalions were shocked after their spell was suddenly interrupted. How could a dark magic spell cast by a demon lord be interrupted? This was something unheard of in the Demon Realm! However, it was still too early for Dantalion to be surprised. “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” Siegfried muttered with a grin. Another wave of pulse spread out from Siegfried, causing something unbelievable to happen. The eighty-four thousand clones started to crumble one by one whenever the pulse wave passed through them. [The Debuff Master’s dispel skill.] [This skill is multiple times stronger than the Dispel used by magicians; it is on an entirely different level.] [Ashes to ashes, dust to dust – Deus] [Unleash a pulse wave with a powerful dispelling effect. On hit, the buffs of all enemy units are nullified. The duration and range of the nullification increases the higher the skill's level.] [The cooldown time decreases the higher the skill’s level.] [This skill can erase all illusions once its level is high enough.] [This skill does not affect the caster's allies or the Debuff Master’s buffs.] [Area: 1 kilometer radius (+@)] [Cooldown: 150 seconds] [Duration: 120 seconds] Siegfried immediately cast Wave of Truth right after interfering with Dantalion’s spell with Wave of Oppression, causing all eighty-four thousand clones to disappear almost instantly. Everyone who witnessed the scene was shocked by what they saw. The sight of Siegfried eliminating all eighty-four thousand clones of Dantalion was simply awe-striking. Among those who were shocked, Dantalion was the most shocked. “H-How...? How is this even possible...?” he muttered in disbelief. Eighty-four thousand of his clones had disappeared almost instantly, and he was so shocked that panic engulfed his heart. This reaction was only natural. It was all because Dantalion was known as the Demon Lord of Deception. He was a magician-type demon who depended on his black magic spells and clones to confuse or deceive the enemy. Anyone unlucky enough to let him summon his clones was destined to be trapped in the endless hell of deception. They would continue fighting clone after clone, not knowing which one of them was the real Dantalion. Eventually, they would get so exhausted that they would become easy prey for Dantalion. Thus, the other demon lords avoided confronting Dantalion even though he was the weakest one among them. However, the spells he was so proud of were ineffective against Siegfried. It was all because the Lord of Despair was the natural predator of mage-type classes. Siegfried could easily stop any magician from casting their spells through Wave of Oppression, allowing him to hunt them down easily. On top of that, Siegfried had recently ascended into a demon lord, so the fact that Dantalion was a demon lord made no difference. In other words, Siegfried was Dantalion’s worst nightmare.