Siegfried’s party fled toward the Demon Bank, but evading their pursuers was not easy. “They went over there! After them!” Enemies appeared at every turn and blocked their path, forcing the party into short skirmishes while the pursuers closed in. ‘This isn’t good,’ Siegfried assessed the situation. He was a formidable warrior, but they were in the Demon Realm. He was suffering a debuff and a twenty percent penalty to his stats, making it impossible for him to unleash his full power here. In such a situation, the only option was to outsmart the enemy and gain a tactical advantage over them. “Master Shakiro!” Siegfried shouted. “What is it?!” Shakiro, who was running right beside him, shouted back. “We must stop them from chasing us!” Siegfried summoned his radiant aura blades while running. “That’s a great idea!” Shakiro acknowledged. He immediately understood Siegfried's intention and summoned his own aura blades in response. The moment they counted down, the aura blades rained down like a storm, blocking the path right behind them. Then, a massive barrier made of aura blades was formed that blocked the pursuers. Siegfried and Shakiro used the Transcendent Torrential Flower Rain to create a powerful barrier. ‘That takes care of our rear,’ Siegfried assessed their situation once again. With the pursuers in the back blocked off, Siegfried immediately activated Absolute Zero to freeze the enemies coming from their flank. A brilliant white light flashed as a crippling cold swept over the demons charging from the right. As expected of one of Siegfried’s high-tier skills, Absolute Zero, it froze the demon soldiers completely. Well, they didn't die just from being frozen, as they were demons, but— ‘Shred the defenses of the ones coming from the front.’ Siegfried turned to the demons coming from the front. Having sealed off the rear and their right flank, Siegfried activated Eternal Flames to support Balag. With the demons debuffed by Siegfried’s aura, Balag shredded them with his whip as if they were pieces of paper. And now that the front was cleared— “Run!” Siegfried shouted. The party resumed their dash toward the Demon Bank, but... “Don’t let the traitors escape!” Another group of demon soldiers, this time numbering in the hundreds, emerged from the road parallel to theirs. ‘No, you don’t!’ Siegfried had no intention of letting them get anywhere near. He cast Wave of Annihilation at a building up ahead of them, and exactly three seconds later... The entire building collapsed and buried the demon soldiers beneath its rubble. Thanks to that, Siegfried and his party managed to shake off their pursuers as they sprinted full speed toward the Demon Bank. However, just reaching the bank was not enough. ‘No, we won’t make it at this rate,’ Siegfried thought. The moment that thought crossed his mind, he grabbed Metatron by the scruff of the neck. With that, Siegfried hurled Metatron into the air. Metatron screamed after getting caught off guard, but he quickly recovered midair and spread his wings. “Everyone! We have to fly! Hamchi, hop on!” Right after throwing Metatron into the air, Siegfried grabbed Hamchi and took off as well. “Chaos! Get on my back!” “T-Thank you, Sir Michael!” Michael flew into the air with Chaos, who was born a low-tier demon and had no wings, in tow. “I’m going too!” Balag exclaimed before spreading his wings and flying toward the bank. ‘Shit!’ Siegfried suddenly realized that one person was left behind. He had completely forgotten that Shakiro was unable to fly like the rest of them, so he was about to turn back, but... ‘Huh?! What the heck?!’ Siegfried cried out inwardly, shocked by what he was witnessing. Shakiro was standing atop a sword and was already airborne. It turned out that he was using the Flying Sword technique to glide through the air as if he were riding a snowboard. “Don’t worry about me! Go!” With that, the entire party, except for Hamchi and Chaos, utilized their flight abilities and soared toward the Demon Bank. At the same time, the Demon Bank branch of the Seventh Domain was in the midst of an extensive cleaning session. Since the city was under martial law, they took this rare opportunity to lock the doors and do a deep clean. “Hey! Make sure it’s spotless, okay?!” “Let’s move these tables!” However, the Demon Bank’s peaceful cleaning session was soon thrown into chaos by unexpected intruders. With a deafening roar, the bank’s doors suddenly collapsed, and a group of intruders barged in. The guards were momentarily caught off guard, but they quickly regained their composure and drew their weapons to deal with the intruders. “Get out of the way!” Unfortunately, what greeted them was Slaughterer’s Whip swung by Balag. The whip danced wildly and swept through the bank. And the guards were instantly subdued by the whip... They were considered mere guards of a bank, but each of them possessed combat prowess rivaling most high-ranking elite demons. However, against the most powerful warrior of the Seventh Domain, Balag, they were nothing more than ordinary demons. Just then, the branch manager of the Demon Bank appeared. “What is the meaning of this?! Lord Balag! What is this senseless rampage?!” he shouted, completely fuming and outraged. The branch manager looked completely baffled after realizing that the one responsible for breaking into the bank was none other than Balag. Why would he not be baffled? Balag was the most respected elder of the domain, so the fact that he would even attempt to rob the bank was beyond bizarre. “Lord Balag! What reason could you possibly have to attack Demon Bank?! You have both wealth and glory in your hands so—” The branch manager gasped, and his eyes widened in horror after noticing that Metatron was standing behind Balag. He finally understood the situation. Balag, one of the elders of the domain, had brought along Metatron, who was the son of the former demon lord and now branded a traitor. The implication of this was as clear as day for the branch manager. “L-Lord Balag...! Must you go this far? Robbing the Demon Bank just to install Metatron as the demon lord? That will change nothing! Do you have any idea what fate awaits those who steal from the Demon Bank?!” Robbing the Demon Bank was nothing short of committing suicide... Even if one succeeded in robbing a branch, they would be branded as a public enemy in all thirteen domains of the Demon Realm. But that was not the worst of it... The main branch of the Demon Bank would dispatch a hitsquad composed exclusively of top-tier demons, and these demons possessed enough strength that not even the demon lords could disregard them. If even the demon lords were wary of the hitsquad, then there would be no need to explain what would happen to ordinary demons daring enough to rob the Demon Bank. This was the reason that for tens of thousands of years, not a single demon had survived after robbing the Demon Bank. Of course, there was one exception. One of the branches, the one located in the Fortress of Hell, specifically, was destroyed after the fortress' collapse, resulting in the loss of all stored Soul Coins. However, this was not considered a heist, but rather, merely collateral damage from the destruction of the fortress. “Who said I was here to rob your bank?” Balag scoffed at the branch manager’s outburst as if he had just heard something ridiculous. “I’m not here to rob the bank.” “Then what?! You just smashed through the front door! And yet you say you are not here to rob the bank, Lord Balag?!” “I understand that you would think so, but I assure you that I’m not here to rob your bank.” “Then, would you care to explain what this was all about, Lord Balag?” “I simply came here because Metatron wanted to withdraw some demonic power,” Balag said, gesturing behind him. Then, he added, “But the doors were locked, so I broke them down.” “Are you... joking with me right now, Lord Balag?” the branch manager asked, at a loss for words. “Do you think that I, at my age, would joke around with you? Or that I’d rob the Demon Bank just to put someone on the throne?” “Enough. Just process the withdrawal.” “But... we are closed for business right now and—” “Don’t you know how to cater to your VIP customers? Do you have any idea how much demonic power he will be withdrawing? Are you really going to close your doors to a whale?” “Hold on a second,” Balag said. Then, he turned to Siegfried and asked, “Hey, how many Soul Coins do you have?” At Balag’s question, Siegfried opened his Inventory and checked how many Soul Coins he had. “Let’s see... How much do I have? Exactly... 845,518,112.” The branch manager shrieked after hearing the total number of Soul Coins. ‘What the hell?! That’s more than what our entire branch holds!’ Siegfried’s wealth was nothing short of astronomical. “Excuse me? Does this amount qualify us as a VIP customer?” Siegfried asked. “I mean, a transaction of this scale shouldn’t be limited to your opening hours. Most branch managers would come running in the dead of night to process a transaction of this scale, no?” Siegfried recalled how the branch manager of his bank personally handled his transactions whenever he visited them in the real world. The branch manager was at a loss for words. It was all because the Demon Bank also had a VIP care program, where VIP customers received special treatment, just like Siegfried said. “Are you just going to stand around and make your VIP customer wait? Go on, lead the way,” Siegfried pressed. “Y-Yes, please, come this way.” In the end, the branch manager had no choice but to process an after-hours transaction for Metatron. The Demon Bank operated independently and was free from any demon lord’s influence, so they served any customers regardless of who they were. Siegfried, Metatron, and the others followed the branch manager deep into the Demon Bank toward what was called the Demonic Power Extraction Chamber. “I have high expectations of you,” Balag said right before Metatron stepped into the chamber. Then, he added with a hint of melancholy, “Make sure you emerge as a mighty demon. Just like your father.” “Lord Balag...” Metatron muttered, his eyes turning red. “Your father, Lord Vernas, loved you more than anyone else. The fact that he entrusted you to me is proof of that. He simply had high expectations from you; that’s all,” Balag continued with a smile. “I am aware of that, Lord Balag,” Metatron replied. Then, he said with unwavering resolve, “That is why, this time... I will return as a son my late father would not be ashamed of. A son whom he would be proud of.” “Good,” Balag said with a smile. Then, he motioned toward the chamber, “Go, get going. It looks like I’m about to get busy over here too.” With those words, he cracked his Slaughterer’s Whip on the ground. “Over there!” Read complete version only at NoveI(F)ire.net “They have taken over the Demon Bank!” Outside the Demon Bank, a swarm of demon soldiers were already pushing their way toward the bank. “I will be back soon,” Metatron said before hurrying toward the Demonic Power Extraction Chamber. Siegfried followed closely behind Metatron, as the Soul Coins were currently stored in his inventory. He had to deposit the Soul Coins into the Demonic Power Extraction Chamber, where the demonic power stored within the coin would be extracted for Metatron to absorb. “We have no time. Let’s hurry,” Siegfried said. “Yes, Your Majesty,” Metatron replied, hurrying his steps. Siegfried was planning to return to the battlefield right after he deposited the Soul Coins into the Demonic Power Extraction Chamber. Metatron would need time to absorb the immense amount of demonic power within the hundreds of millions of Soul Coins, and the entire party had to buy him the time he needed. And it went without saying that Siegfried planned to join the fight and hold the line, too.