Asia didn't mind if Diodora tried to manipulate her, and if he asked for forgiveness, she'd give it as long as he was truly willing to change. But what about those nuns? The fellow maidens who had been corrupted?
She couldn't… Thinking about what happened to them, she couldn't… After hearing what Sebastian-ojisan said about how the world worked… What Diodora did…
"I… I'll help…" Asia replied with firm determination in her eyes.
"The plan is simple. Use Asia as bait and give Diodora a very limited window of opportunity so he can't make a foolproof plan. He'll know that once Asia reaches the Church, she'll be out of his reach forever, and for that reason, the only safe plan he can make will be very predictable."
**End of Flashback**
Ewald kept a calm face as he swung his sword and blocked the green demonic energy Diodora fired at him, cutting through it effortlessly. Inwardly, he couldn't help but frown. This kid had power but almost no skill. He couldn't really use his power. Yes, he was a high-class demon with sizable mana reserves, but so far, he only used basic attacks.
When he heard the demon responsible was a brother of Ajuka Beelzebub, the genius Maou who created the Evil Pieces and managed all the Underworld's technology, he had prepared for the worst.
But now, facing the kid, he was… disappointed…
Really… He was truly disappointed… He wasn't a battle maniac, but the skill Diodora displayed was… utterly pathetic compared to the infamous Ajuka, to the point he almost felt sorry for him.
Another demonic blast came flying at him at high speed. Moving his legs, Ewald vanished from Diodora's sight to dodge the attack. The attack was fast, but he was faster.
Ewald glanced briefly at the sword he held. It was a simple European-style sword. However, to a blacksmith's eyes, this sword wasn't simple—it was perfect. As a swordsman, Ewald recognized it was finely crafted, very finely indeed. Its shape, edge, and weight felt as if it were made just for him, almost like a copy of Excalibur Rapidly.
It also had the same ability.
The sword could enhance his speed, much like Excalibur Rapidly, and while it wasn't quite as fast, it was enough to give him the speed to handle a typical high-class demon. It might lack the light and holy element of the Excalibur Fragments, but its durability, strength, and effect were nearly the same.
"You can't bring your sword; it would alert him too soon. Hide the sword, seal it so he can't detect it. I'll give you a suitable weapon to fight him with."
That's what the boy had told him. At first, he doubted the sword's capabilities when it was explained, but when he gripped it, it felt similar to Excalibur Rapidly, boosting his speed beyond human limits.
What was this sword, and how did he get it?
But then, remembering who he was, it became clear.
He was talking to the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, the descendant of a man who rivaled Gods and the original Maou, known for collecting all the world's treasures.
It wouldn't be surprising if he had a sword similar to the Excalibur Fragments.
"I have a battle to fight now; these questions aren't important at the moment."
Once again, he charged with speed surpassing normal humans and reached the Astaroth heir. His hand blurred and struck.
The demon raised a hand, a green magical circle enveloped it, and he blocked the blade that nearly cut his head. Sounds like steel clashing echoed as his hand met the sword.
The Astaroth heir made an unpleasant noise with his tongue. Truth be told, he wasn't the close-combat type, preferring long-range, but so far, none of his attacks had hit!
He'd already conjured multiple, countless demonic projectiles, yet the exorcist just moved with speed surpassing even his [Knight] and swatted them like he was playing baseball!
This exorcist was also dangerously close to killing him by now! He was too skilled to push him this far! If this continued, it was only a matter of time before the exorcist got him!
He was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a blunt pain in his stomach. His eyes widened slightly, indicating he felt the pain before another force hit his face, making him stumble back.
However, he forced himself to ignore the pain as he raised his head, just in time to avoid having it cut off by the sword, cursing inwardly as he jumped back to create distance and fired several projectiles created by his demonic power.
It worked as the priest stopped in his tracks and jumped back to dodge the attack, skidding on the ground while still wielding the sword.
"You're too weak for a high-class demon…"
Diodora suppressed a snarl when he heard that. Weak?! Weak?! Oh, he'd rip this man's tongue out when he was done with him! He was angry, truly angry! Oh, how he wanted to curse this man, but he couldn't since he had to hold back—Asia was watching him now. If he showed his true nature, it would be bad.
Wait…
Asia was watching, but…
He glanced briefly at the car and saw it was still there, but Asia wasn't!
What?! What did this mean?! Where was she?!
"You only noticed now, demon? You're too late. My friend already took her away while we were fighting…" Ewald stated with a small smile, taking some amusement from Diodora's shocked face.
"You filthy, lowly human!" Diodora snarled, no longer holding back his attitude. "I'll make sure to rip your head off and send it back to the Church in pieces!" he shouted in rage.
Ewald suppressed the smile that was about to grow. Now he was finally showing his true nature with Asia gone, typical. The guy only pretended to be noble and all. At least he wouldn't have a headache from hearing him talk about "fate," "destiny," and "rescuing her even if the world separates us" anymore—it made him feel disturbed.
"Why don't you come and try, demon?"
**Moments Later**
Gilgamesh, in his battle attire—black pants, black boots, a t-shirt, and a long coat extending near his feet with a black glove on his right hand—his hair spiked up, exuding power.
Gilgamesh observed his surroundings with an impassive face. It was a dense, thick forest, a jungle where no one lived or visited without a special reason.
It was the perfect place for a fight.
"He should be here any moment…"
Gilgamesh leaned against a tree, arms crossed over his chest, his black cape fluttering in the gentle breeze along with his golden hair. There was no sign of emotion on his face except for his stoic expression and sharp crimson eyes.
The plan was simple: use Asia as bait to lure out Diodora. Give him a limited window, making him unable to devise a proper plan, so his movements would be predictable.
After that, Ewald would distract him. That's why Gilgamesh didn't let the cardinal use his Excalibur.
The reason he didn't let Ewald use his sword was that it would corner Diodora too soon. The amount of holy and light elements Excalibur Rapidly radiated could make Diodora flee instead of rescuing Asia if he realized the exorcist was too strong. What? Diodora might be obsessed with her, but it was obvious he wouldn't throw his life away just for her!
The sword Gilgamesh lent him was one of thousands in the [Gate of Babylon], a simple sword with the ability to boost the user's speed, but it wasn't a holy sword.
"He's here…"
"You!"
Gilgamesh tilted his head and turned to Diodora, who emerged from the bushes. He looked at him with a small smile. After Ewald distracted him, Gilgamesh's friends took Asia and hid her to lure Diodora to this place, where he was waiting. He had already asked Ewald's permission for this, and he had agreed.
"Welcome to your grave, Diodora Astaroth."
Permission to silence him… Permanently…
Diodora's eyes widened, the smiling eyes he always wore gone, clearly surprised. But it only took a moment for it to turn into a snarl as he finally realized the situation.
"YOU! YOU—"
BAAAANG!
Whatever he was going to say was cut off as Gilgamesh moved. He was a mere blur in Diodora's eyes—one second leaning against a tree, the next right in front of him. He was grabbed by a hand before feeling pain as he hit the ground. Then another sharp pain erupted from his stomach, courtesy of Gilgamesh's kick, making him gasp and sending him crashing through several trees.
"I know your plan for Asia, demon," Gilgamesh said in an unfriendly tone as he approached the demon, his eyes fixed on Diodora, who was struggling with pain.
Diodora, managing to steady himself, clearly didn't expect this. It hurt! It hurt! He couldn't believe it! How! How could this pathetic filth hurt him like this?! It was unacceptable!
Despite the pain, he couldn't help but smile. Oh, he knew? He found out? Did the Church tell him? It was a strong possibility, but how he knew didn't matter…
"Asia… She knew, right?" Diodora asked with a gleeful look.
"Everything," Gilgamesh replied simply, his tone void of emotion, and Diodora burst into laughter, a laugh filled with joy.
"I see… I see… Well, it's a shame I couldn't see her face. It must have been filled with despair, wasn't it?" Diodora laughed gleefully.
"You enjoy it?" Gilgamesh asked, his tone still empty. "Why?" he asked.
"And why not?!" Diodora scoffed. "They're Church people, my enemy! Isn't it my job as a demon to drag them into despair?" he said with a joyful laugh. "Oh… The expressions of women affiliated with the Church falling, no matter how many times I see it, I never get bored."
Gilgamesh remained silent, his eyes merely staring at Diodora, showing no sign of emotion on his face.
"Ah, why am I even talking to you? I shouldn't care! I don't care about your plan or what you'll do. Asia must be here, right? If she's nearby, it's simple! All I need is to kill you, bring your head, and throw it at her feet! Then all her hope will be crushed! Her expression will be perfect!"
Diodora raised both hands, green demonic energy filling them before countless green projectiles formed around him, glowing menacingly and taking the shape of sharp bullets.
"Die! Filth!" he declared, and the projectiles launched, all made of dense mana strong enough to shatter stone and even iron like twigs. There were many of them, dozens if not more, and even a demon with the [Rook] trait would find their defense unable to stop them completely.
Gilgamesh watched silently, his face still stoic as he looked at the approaching attack. He was aware of what they were capable of. Yet, despite knowing, he merely stood and looked forward. The attack was lethal to a normal human and would take down most mid-class demons or angels.
Mid-class.
And that wasn't even enough to scratch Gilgamesh's skin.
Even more so in his battle attire, which wasn't for show. It was crafted from a light, durable, and flexible fabric to not hinder him in battle, imbued with various Norse runes that enhanced physical and magical protection.
So when the attack hit him, they instantly dispersed, shattered, and broke like glass thrown against a brick wall. An attack at that level couldn't scratch him, let alone harm him.
Diodora's shocked face clearly brought pleasure to Gilgamesh. Despite his raging emotions behind his previously stoic expression, he couldn't help but smile at his opponent's disbelief.
"Is that it?" he asked in a bored tone.
The insult and taunt snapped Diodora out of his shock, and he snarled at him with added fury.
"Don't get cocky! Your petty trick won't save you again!"
This time, he poured more power into his demonic magic. The number of sharp green projectiles increased, their color darker, more refined, and more solid. The power behind them was now more than enough to destroy a high-class demon or angelic being if it hit point-blank, and all were aimed at Gilgamesh, floating menacingly in the air before launching like missiles bombarding their target.
Gilgamesh stood there silently. Then his lip moved.
"Come on."
At that moment, a small golden light enveloped Gilgamesh's hands, and when it faded, two short swords—one golden and white, the other silver and black—appeared in his hands.
Gilgamesh raised the hand holding the golden sword, swinging it to the right, repelling a missile coming at him, then raised the silver sword, spinning it to repel another.
Then he moved, his hands blurring as he maneuvered the swords with mastery, striking all the attacks launched at him like they were a swarm of insects rather than deadly beams.
Diodora watched the scene with a mix of shock and horror as all his attacks were destroyed. The projectiles he launched were numerous! Dozens, in fact! With every second, he fired more, but none hit their target—they were all deflected, repelled, and struck as if they were nothing!
What infuriated him more was the human, the filth! He was giving him that look! The look that said he wasn't worth it! The look that said he was far superior to HIM! And a look that said, "I expect more."
"You! Impossible! You're just a rotten dragon! Not only that, you're a mere lowly human! Die, you bastard!"
Diodora's enraged shout was followed by an increasing number of demonic energy projectiles. Sweat began to drip from his forehead as he felt the strain of using such a large amount of energy.
Then the wave of demonic missiles was launched at Gilgamesh again. This time, they were even greater in number and strength, thus more deadly than before.
This time, Gilgamesh was aware the attack had become quite dangerous. The power within had increased, capable of destroying any other high-class being. A mere block, strike, or deflection wouldn't work this time.
He had to destroy it this time.
Which wasn't that hard, actually…
His grip on the swords tightened, and he stepped forward, swinging his arm to shatter a missile flying at him. Then he took another step, moving his hand again, crushing another missile into mere particles of green light.
Then he moved.
His movement was slow, just one second per step, yet his hands moved faster than before, faster than a demon with the [Knight] trait. His swords spun in his arms as if dancing, moving gracefully, cutting, shattering, crushing, destroying, and breaking all the demonic missiles and bullets like a wooden stick meeting an iron sword, like glass shattering under steel's pressure.
He kept moving as he did this.
Diodora's eyes widened further, shock and disbelief appearing on his handsome face as he witnessed the sight before him. How?! How could this be?! How could this filth do this!
"Impossible! Impossible! Impossible! You're just a filthy human! A rotten dragon!" he shouted in rage, though a hint of fear could be noted in his voice.
Gilgamesh remained silent through it all, his eyes focused on Diodora as he took a slow step forward, crushing all the attacks Diodora launched. At this point, his attacks were nothing but raw power. There was no finesse or beauty in them—just blasts of demonic energy shaped and thrown.
Gilgamesh had no trouble dodging attacks from Ultimate-class or even Satan-class demons.
So an attack at this level was clearly no issue for him.
"Enough…"
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