Chapter 8: Encounter

  The victory cry echoed across the battlefield. Soldiers, hearing Alexander’s triumphant roar, raised their swords and joined in the celebration. The human army’s morale soared, while the demonic forces’ spirit crumbled, dropping to almost nothing.

  The Demon Lords could hardly believe what they were witnessing. Tears welled in the eyes of Ammit and Astarte, streaming down their faces as they sank to their knees in despair.

  Mephistopheles and Apollyn stood frozen, unable to deny the truth before them. No matter how much they wanted to reject it, the proof was undeniable—they had witnessed their King’s defeat.

  Even the Seven Sins were struck with disbelief, struggling to comprehend that someone could match, and perhaps surpass, the power of the Demon King himself.

  The battlefield fell into a tense, uneasy silence, the air thick with shock and awe.

  Alexander and the other demi-gods stared at Lucifer for a few long moments, as if trying to register that they had truly overcome such a powerful opponent. Their energy was nearly spent, and they decided it would be wiser to finish off the remaining Demonic army while they still had strength.

  Silently, they merged back into a single being. Alexander took one final, lingering look at Lucifer.

  “It’s a shame you had to die, but I must protect the humans,” he said, turning away.

  As he reached ten meters from Lucifer, an intense, sudden spark shot through his mind. It was brief, yet colossal—and he wasn’t the only one who felt it. The other demi-gods within him felt it too.

  Alexander froze, eyes darting left and right, then back at Lucifer, then to the sky, and once more to where Lucifer lay. There was nothing. No motion. No trace.

  For a heartbeat, he stood there, confused and unsettled. Then, shaking it off, he turned back and walked toward the battlefield, where the human and demonic armies clashed a short distance away.

  Kane’s face twisted in disbelief. His mind raced—had he failed in his duty as the Demon King’s adviser?

  He turned to walk away, shoulders heavy with doubt, when a sudden spark shot through his head. His heart skipped. He spun around, eyes scanning the battlefield. Lucifer still lay motionless. Shaking off the unease, Kane began walking away slowly, though unease clung to him like a shadow.

  Alexander continued back toward the battlefield. Every human and demonic soldier turned to watch him, anticipation still lingering in their gazes.

  Then, without warning, something else rose from the ground. Slowly, deliberately, it stood on two feet.

  All joy, all excitement, evaporated in an instant. The battlefield went silent, save for the whisper of wind over scorched earth.

  Alexander’s eyes flicked across his soldiers’ faces. Something was wrong. Their expressions were frozen in terror—not at a death, not at destruction, but at something that had yet to happen.

  A wave of bloodlust, raw and unrelenting, rolled across the field. It was heavier, darker, more violent than anything anyone had ever felt before.

  Kane’s instincts screamed. He spun back toward the centre of the battlefield. The sensation of pure demonic fury made his chest tighten, yet a small, twisted smile spread across his face.

  The Demon Lords and the Seven Sins immediately snapped to their feet, senses screaming. They turned toward where their Demon King had fallen.

  The air itself seemed to quiver. The ground trembled, and the scent of ancient, predatory power hung thick over the battlefield.

  alexander felt the bloodlust—and it hit him like a tidal wave. Being so close to Lucifer, the force was monstrous.

  Violent shivers shot down his spine. His bones felt as if they wanted to tear themselves from his body.

  Slowly, he turned. And then he saw it.

  The glowing red eyes of a monster—Lucifer.

  Before Alexander could react, Lucifer vanished from his sight. In an instant, he appeared directly in front of him. Without hesitation, he grabbed Alexander by the neck and lifted him into the air.

  “How… how are you still alive?” Alexander gasped, struggling against the iron grip.

  Lucifer’s grin was cold, predatory. “What made you think an attack like that could kill me in the first place?”

  “You… you were dead! I checked your pulse. How could you possibly still be alive?” Alexander shouted, muscles straining, veins taut with effort.

  Lucifer’s voice was calm, almost amused. “Well… I guess I’ll tell you. That combined final attack of yours? It was dangerously powerful—even for someone like me. But just before it hit, I cast a spell to absorb the energy of all of you. Since I absorbed demi-god energy, there was a backlash… and it almost killed me.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  He tightened his grip just slightly, leaning in closer, red eyes glowing brighter.

  “And my heartbeat?” Lucifer continued. “I stopped it. I wanted you to think I was dead. That gave me enough time to recover from the backlash… and now, Alexander, you see the truth.”

  “How can you survive for so long without your heart beating? It shouldn’t be possible,” Alexander gasped, struggling against Lucifer’s grip.

  Lucifer smirked, crimson eyes gleaming. “Well… it worked out for me, didn’t it? No need to worry about details. If stopping my heart could kill me, I should have died a thousand years ago in the Forest of Slaughter.”

  He tightened his grip on Alexander’s neck, the pressure merciless.

  “Well, Alexander,” Lucifer said, voice low and lethal, “it was a great fight… but it’s time to say goodbye.”

  Alexander thrashed violently, straining with everything he had, but he was no match for Lucifer’s strength.

  Just as Lucifer prepared to finish him, the ground beneath them cracked violently, a gaping hole splitting open.

  Reacting instantly, Lucifer sprouted his massive black wings, pulling himself free before the chasm swallowed him. His gaze fell to the abyss, and something was emerging from it.

  Without hesitation, he released Alexander and kicked him back from the edge. Hovering above the opening, he saw a strange, purple creature burst from the hole. It soared past him, casting a fleeting glance before streaking into the sky.

  Intrigued, Lucifer pursued. Wings beating with deadly precision, he caught up to the creature, reached out, and grabbed its arm. With a fluid motion, he swung it around and hurled it downward.

  The creature hurtled toward the earth, but stopped midway, hovering in place. Its gaze locked onto Lucifer, unblinking and unreadable.

  Lucifer studied it, every instinct on alert. The energy radiating from the creature was like nothing he had ever encountered—but there was something strangely familiar about it.

  “So tell me,” Lucifer called out, voice calm but edged with amusement, “do you normally just pop out of other people’s planets, or are we just special?”

  No response came. The creature surged upward, darting past him with impossible speed.

  Lucifer’s reflexes kicked in. He reached out and grabbed its arm. This time, the tables turned. Instead of swinging the creature around, he was flung through the air.

  The wind tore past him as he spun wildly, but he regained control before slamming into the ground.

  He looked up, and the creature was already retreating again. A flicker of irritation crossed Lucifer’s face. He extended his hand, and with a surge of telekinesis, he froze the creature mid-flight.

  The creature struggled, thrashing violently, but it quickly realized it could not break free.

  Lucifer pulled it closer, then charged. As he neared, he released the telekinetic hold and threw a punch—but the creature slipped aside with supernatural precision.

  A kick followed, equally dodged. Lucifer’s grin widened.

  He feinted a left hook. The creature reacted, evading perfectly—only to meet the real right hook square in the face, sending it hurtling back several meters.

  The creature was visibly irritated. Its eyes remained locked onto Lucifer as it bared its fangs, a low growl vibrating from its chest.

  That detail caught Lucifer’s attention.

  Fangs instead of ordinary teeth. Claws instead of fingers. Every feature resembled those of a demon he had seen countless times before—yet this thing was not a demon.

  Interesting.

  The creature shot forward. Lucifer met it head-on, the air exploding as they closed the distance. He threw a punch. It missed.

  In an instant, the creature slipped behind him.

  Lucifer twisted around, already drawing back his left fist—but froze. He felt it.

  Energy surged from the creature’s feet, flowing upward like liquid fire into its abdomen. Then higher. Into its chest. Into its arms.

  The creature extended both hands.

  The gathered energy detonated outward.

  Lucifer was blasted straight into the earth.

  The impact shattered the ground beneath him, throwing debris and dust skyward. When the dust settled, he pushed himself up—just in time to see the creature turn and fly away.

  That did it.

  “I didn’t say you could leave,” Lucifer roared.

  He raised his hand and released an enormous purple, electrified energy sphere. It screamed through the air and struck the creature from behind, electricity crawling over its body.

  The creature froze mid-flight, stunned.

  Slowly, it turned around, rage burning in its eyes.

  With a sharp gesture, hundreds of metallic silver spears formed around it, floating ominously in the air.

  Lucifer smiled.

  “Oh? You want to end this?” he said calmly. “Then let me oblige.”

  Around him, hundreds of purple electrified spheres, each the size of a tennis ball, materialized and crackled violently.

  “TAKE IT AS MERCY TO DIE AT MY HANDS MORTAL, FOR BRAHAM!” the creature bellowed as it hurled the spears forward.

  Lucifer retaliated. Hundreds of purple electrified spheres launched from his hands, spinning and crackling as they collided with the creature’s metallic spears. Sparks erupted with every impact, lighting up the battlefield in violet and silver flashes.

  The spheres and spears clashed endlessly, a storm of energy and force, but the creature was relentless. Slowly, three of its spears broke through the swirling purple storm.

  The first pierced the right side of Lucifer’s chest, tearing through muscle and sinew.

  The second struck his heart, the core of his magic power.

  The third impaled his abdomen, pinning him with brutal precision.

  He grunted, a spray of blood escaping his mouth. Pain lanced through him like wildfire, yet his eyes burned with an unbroken defiance.

  The purple spheres continued their assault, colliding with the creature. Each impact detonated violently, fragmenting the creature into a hundred splintering shocks of energy. Smoke and sparks swirled around it as it faltered, visibly injured.

  The creature didn’t hesitate. With a roar of frustration, it turned and fled into the sky, limping but alive.

  Lucifer tried to summon magic, but reality slammed into him—the magical energy he had left was slowly disappearing.

  Blood poured from his mouth as he coughed violently. Pain wracked his body, but he didn’t panic.

  Through sheer will, he reached out with telepathy.

  “Kane… use it now,” he commanded.

  Kane’s eyes widened as he realized what he was holding—the spell Lucifer had entrusted him with. Mass teleportation.

  It would transport the entire remaining demonic army back to Hell. Kane, the Sins, and the Demon Lords included.

  Lucifer had left himself out of the spell.

  The battlefield trembled as the spell began to hum with raw energy, the air thick with anticipation, but Lucifer’s focus never wavered.

  Kane had already figured it out. Lucifer had no intention of returning to Hell.

  “My Lord—” Kane began, his voice shaking.

  “Don’t worry about me,” Lucifer said calmly. “Use it. Now.”

  Kane hesitated. His hands trembled as he looked at Lucifer’s impaled body. In this state, only Kane could activate the spell, and they both knew it.

  Lucifer’s expression hardened.

  “In the name of the Demon King,” he commanded, “leave me behind and take our kin to safety.”

  Kane froze. To refuse an order from the Demon King was treason.

  “KANE,” Lucifer roared.

  Kane turned away, he snapped his fingers.