“This... This can’t be happening...” Dantalion couldn’t accept what was happening to him. The fact that he was rendered powerless so easily was absurd beyond words. After all, he was a demon lord, yet here he was, completely shut down by some upstart demon lord who was not even a demon by birth. “How could a fool like you do this to me?!” Dantalion growled in both anger and shock. “A fool like me? The only fool here is you, buddy,” Siegfried shot back with a chuckle. “W-What did you say?!” “What exactly makes me inferior to you? Am I weaker than you? Or am I dumber than you?” “I sweet-talked you a bit, and you fell for it right away, didn’t you? And you were planning to stab me in the back when it was all over, right?” “Y-You!” Dantalion was speechless. As much as he did not want to admit it, Siegfried was right. Siegfried’s skills were Dantalion's nemesis, and to make matters worse, Dantalion wasn't a demon lord specializing in combat. It would be a different story if he were to outmaneuver Siegfried using his strategic prowess, but that was not the case either. In fact, the one who got outplayed this time was him—no, he was outplayed by Siegfried every single time they crossed paths. In other words, Siegfried was far better than him in every aspect. “Time for a beating,” Siegfried said with a grin while walking toward Dantalion with his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp in hand. “W-Wha—!” Dantalion gasped and tried to run away. But Siegfried was faster... Dantalion barely had time to react when— —Siegfried appeared right in front of his face. Siegfried's +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp immediately came crashing down on Dantalion's head. Blood burst from Dantalion’s mouth. It was his first time experiencing this kind of mind-numbing agony. His head rang like a bell—no, his brain felt like it was bouncing around his skull. Dantalion tried to counterattack, but it was futile. Siegfried threw a low kick at Dantalion’s shin, completely throwing him off balance. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Baaam! The moment Dantalion fell to the ground, Siegfried started beating him mercilessly. “Ack! Ack! Aaack!” Dantalion winced in agony. He rolled all over the ground in a desperate attempt to escape from the beating and even crossed his arms to block the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp. However, there was no way that would stop Siegfried. Siegfried continued beating Dantalion with his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp regardless of whether he was rolling around the ground or crossing his arms. “Ack! B-Bone! You hit my bone just—aaaack!” Dantalion screamed while scampering around. However, Siegfried was neither fazed nor bothered. His face was void of any expression as he focused only on beating Dantalion to a pulp. The sight of the cruel beating sent a chill down the spines of everyone watching it. ‘I-Is he a psychopath...?’ ‘How can a demon lord get beaten that badly...?’ ‘I heard he only recently became a demon... I don’t think that’s the case...’ The sight of the rookie demon lord, Siegfried, mercilessly beating the veteran demon lord, Dantalion, as if he was nothing more than an object, was downright eerie. Even in the eyes of the demons, Siegfried looked like a psychopath void of any emotions. Meanwhile, the Demon King, Baal, sat on the roof of the Seventh Domain’s castle and watched the battle—no, one-sided beating. “Hoho! So he finally met his match!” Baal exclaimed in sheer delight. He was extremely pleased to see Siegfried beating the living daylights out of Dantalion right after subduing him. “That’s it! Nice shot! Hohoho! You’re doing great, young one!” Baal cheered upon seeing the blow that Siegfried had just delivered to Dantalion. After hearing Siegfried's story, Baal started to favor Siegfried greatly. However, Siegfried's merciless beating of a fellow demon lord made Baal like him even more. On the other hand, Michael was at a loss for words as he looked back and forth between Siegfried and Baal. He knew that Siegfried had that side to him, but the thought of Siegfried and Baal getting closer from now on gave him a headache. “As expected, that guy’s a natural. You can easily tell that he’s definitely one of us,” Baal muttered, looking pleased. “He had been obsessed with becoming stronger even since I first met him. I am certain that he will not disappoint you,” Shakiro said with a smile, as if understanding what Baal was thinking. The Weapon Master noticed Siegfried’s potential almost immediately after their first encounter, and that was the reason he taught him various things, including his secret technique, the Torrential Flower Rain. Thus, seeing how much Siegfried had grown stronger since that time was not surprising at all to him. He knew that it was only a matter of time before Siegfried reached this level, and he was certain that he would rise to greater heights in the future. “Kyuuu! You’re doing a great job, owner punk! Give that bastard a good beating!” Hamchi exclaimed while munching on popcorn. ‘T-They’re all insane...’ Michael shook his head in disbelief. The events that took place until now were truly shocking even to Michael, the former Chief Archangel. Metatron's ascension to a demon lord was one thing, but how was he supposed to know that Siegfried, of all people, would also ascend into one? At this rate, it was not an exaggeration to say that Siegfried’s entourage could be considered as the most powerful and evil in all of the three realms combined. “Hmm? Ah, that hungry bastard is coming. Hohoho...” Baal said with a low chuckle. “Who are you talking about?” Michael asked. The former Chief Archangel retrieved some of his wings so he could easily spectate the ongoing battle within the Seventh Domain without much trouble, but that was his limits at the moment. Unlike Baal, he couldn’t sense anything further than the boundaries of the Seventh Domain. “I’m talking about that guy. I’m pretty sure you know who I’m talking about.” “I’m referring to that gluttonous fool who eats everything in sight. Does that ring a bell?” “Ah!” Michael gasped, immediately understanding who Baal was referring to. As the former Chief Archangel, he was well-versed in the demon lords of the Demon Realm, so he knew exactly who Baal meant by the words "gluttonous fool." “The Demon Lord of Gluttony, Sidon... is coming?” Michael asked, sounding tense. Demon Lord Sidon was a monster who would devour everything in sight, and among the rulers of the Demon Realm, he was considered to be, by far, the most dangerous, the most savage, and the most uncontrollable demon lord. “He is. Seems like he caught wind of something to snack on and decided to show up,” Baal replied with a smirk. “Shouldn’t we intervene? The Demon Lord of Gluttony isn’t a demon that can be stopped that easily. If things go south, then—” “He will die if he’s destined to die, so there’s no reason for me to intervene. The strong will live and the weak will die,” Baal said nonchalantly with a shrug. “Just sit back and watch the battle.” Then, Baal snapped his fingers to form a barrier around the roof, preventing the spectators, Hamchi, Michael, and Shakiro from helping Siegfried. “This is going to be quite the show, so third parties like us should know better than to ruin the fun. Kekeke!” Baal said with a chuckle as he turned his gaze back to the battlefield in the distance. The Demon King’s eyes were sparkling for the first time in a very long time. “E-Enough! Stop! P-Please... I was... I w-was wrong...” Dantalion pleaded. It seemed that he had lost all reason after getting beaten senseless by Siegfried. “Aack! P-Please! Stop! No more!” But no matter how much Dantalion pleaded, Siegfried did not utter a single word in response. Instead, he simply continued beating him in silence. After what felt like an eternity of beating... “Swear on a soul contract and become my slave or just die,” Siegfried said icily without any expression on his face. “Nine, eight, seven...” “H-Hold on! Aren’t you being too harsh?! Give me some time to think about—” Siegfried ignored Dantalion’s desperate pleas and continued counting down. What if he refused to submit and become his slave? Simple, he would just kill him. Keeping someone crafty and cunning like Dantalion would only be a headache anyway, so finishing him off here was not a bad idea at all. “Five, four, three...” “It’s the Voracious Ghouls!” “The Voracious Ghouls are here!” The allied forces erupted into chaos as countless enemies charged at them at high speed. “What’s going on?” Siegfried grimaced and grumbled, stopping his countdown. “Y-Your Majesty! We have a huge problem!” Metatron shouted, rushing toward him. “The Sixth Domain’s army is invading!” “It seems they were waiting for the right moment to strike, and they decided now is their chance! We need to regroup our forces immediately, sire!” “Hey, stop panicking. We just have to crush them, no?” Siegfried said with a shrug. “Your Majesty! The Sixth Domain’s army is unlike any other demons!” “They devour everything in their path! Even the demons consider them to be absolute monsters!” “Huh? What the hell are you talking about?” “They are basically—” “T-These crazy bastards!” A horrific scene unfolded when the Voracious Ghouls stormed in. The Voracious Ghouls sank their teeth into everything before them, consuming them indiscriminately, as if they had been starved for centuries. The demons of the Sixth Domain, known as the Voracious Ghouls, were just a bunch of mindless flesh-eating monsters. Their overwhelming numbers swarmed the soldiers of the Fifth and Seventh Domains, attacking them with reckless abandon and feasting on them alive. Even in the midst of battle, they showed not a hint of anything else except their insatiable hunger for flesh. “What the hell are those bastards...?” Siegfried muttered in disbelief. Even he felt a chill down his spine at the grotesque display in front of him, and he felt his stomach churn in disgust. Who would have thought that anyone was capable of feasting in the middle of a battlefield so brazenly? “Kehehe...!” Dantalion laughed. Even after getting beaten to a pulp, he still had enough strength left to mock them. “You’re finished... All of you bastards are... going to be eaten by them...Kwahahaha!” Siegfried swung his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp and knocked Dantalion out cold. Then, he composed himself. He hadn't grasped the situation just yet, but one thing was clear—this was a crisis, and there would be an all-out battle soon. Updates are released by novel-fire.net Right now, he had to fight his way out of this mess rather than waste time trying to understand it with his head. Meanwhile, the greatest blacksmith in the Demon Realm, Tubal-Cain, smiled proudly while gazing at his latest creation. In front of him was a totem in the shape of a large cross. “I didn’t expect much, but it turns out I created something amazing. Hohoho!” Tubal-Cain was very happy to have crafted something after a very long period of time, and the fact that he was satisfied with his creation made him even happier. He wanted to test his new creation out right away. “I don’t usually do deliveries but...” Tubal-Cain muttered to himself. He couldn’t contain his excitement, so he hoisted the cross-shaped totem, forged from the living body of Chae Hyung-Seok, on his back. Then, he left his forge, setting off in the direction of the Seventh Domain of the Demon Realm. He had yet to craft Siegfried’s relic, as he lacked the materials to do so, but he was eager to deliver the Living Totem to Siegfried as soon as possible. “Hehehe! You better look forward to this, young demon lord!” Tubal-Cain muttered proudly, grinning from ear to ear. The greatest blacksmith in the entire Demon Realm grinned proudly as he made his way toward the Seventh Domain. He was confident that the Living Totem he had just crafted was nothing short of a masterpiece that would shock anyone who witnessed it in action.