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Demonic power was the power to destroy everything in this world.
The power was thicker and darker than anything else, but the peerless demonic power was going berserk right now. It belonged to none other than Marcus ben Britten, the emperor of the Avalon Empire and Joshua’s current opponent.
“Arggh….” A white cloud came out from Emperor Marcus’ mouth. Even his appearance had completely changed: his shining blonde hair turned pitch-black, and two distinctly demonic horns sprouted from his forehead. Furthermore, his canines poked out of his lips—they looked even more ferocious than most beasts’ fangs.
“Emperor… the Demon Spirit wasn’t the only one you made a submission contract with,” Joshua mumbled. His expression grew grim the longer he observed the Emperor. Signing a contract with a demon only made one powerful, not change one’s appearance like Marcus, even if the demon whom the person made a contract with was the Demon Spirit.
“Hehehe… you noticed?” Marcus asked.
“…I’m quite familiar with the power,” Joshua answered.
“Just as you expected, the power belongs to one of the Eight Demon Kings.”
Despite Marcus’s shocking remark, Joshua’s expression remained the same.
“Well, I guess it’s no surprise that you know about it. I did hear that your real identity is Lucifer, the strongest battle ghost in both Angel and Demon Realms… Hehehe, now I can finally understand why you’re so ridiculously talented.”
“So you embraced the demonic power using the Demon King of Envy’s ability,” Joshua concluded.
Even demon kings had trouble embracing the Demon Spirit’s demonic power—it was impossible for a mere human’s soul to accept the power. It was only possible because Marcus had signed a contract with the Demon Spirit himself.
“...Ha! I can feel the power rushing through my veins.” Marcus examined his state and then lightly swung his sword.
Joshua’s eyes popped wide open.
The sound that the sword made was so quiet that Joshua wouldn’t have heard it if he hadn’t been paying attention—but in contrast, it was very hard to miss what happened before Joshua’s eyes just now. The wall behind the throne, where Marcus had swung his sword, was gone, reduced to dust.
“Humans have eight primal instincts, but the gods that created this world believed those instincts to be evil, so they call them sins,” Marcus remarked with a contented smile. “At the beginning of the world, the Demon Spirit realized that these instincts could be converted into special powers. Among those powers, I have the power of envy… It’s the ability to copy a specific ability from my target, even if the target is a god. I envy again and again, and then steal their talent.”
Black demonic power rose from Marcus and covered his sword.
“I’m incomparably stronger than the doppelganger you went up against. A doppelganger isn’t able to improve any further, but I can surpass the level of my target with this power of envy, depending on my talent or my effort—”
“You’re insane,” Joshua said disbelievingly. “You’ve brought down one of the Evil Sins to none other than the Human Realm.”
“Does it mean anything now?” Marcus casually replied. “The owners of the Angel and Demon Realms have been killed due to the war between their realms.”
“What in the world are the dragons doing when things have turned into this mess?”
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That was Joshua’s biggest question. Unlike the Angel and Demon Realms, there were special beings in the Human Realm that protected it: dragons.
“Those lizards always did whatever they pleased.”
“No.” Joshua shook his head firmly. “It’s different when it comes to the Demon Spirit.”
“Hehehe… Even an Evil Dragon showed up and went on a rampage in this world, so who knows? They might have gotten sick of humans.”
“…Come to think of it, the sin of envy does suit you well.”
Marcus tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
“You’re an emperor, and yet you’re more blinded by jealousy than anyone else.”
“I’m… jealous?” Marcus mumbled blankly, but it quickly turned into a chuckle. “Are you trying to provoke me into attacking you blindly?”
“I’m just saying the truth.”
“Why would I?”
“I think you know why very well,” Joshua concisely answered.
“Just like you said, I’m the ruler of a great empire, so everyone looks up to me. I’m also one of the strongest people on the continent—but you’re telling me I’m jealous?”
Joshua nodded. “In the end, you lost to him, didn’t you?”
“…What?”
“Aden von Agnus.”
That got a visible reaction out of Marcus—maybe the forbidden seal had activated again.
“Aden... von Agnus…” Marcus muttered.
“I assume he’s the one responsible for cutting all your tendons and destroying your mana hall. His talent, his ability to lead his subordinates, being the power behind the scene… You always felt jealous of the Dark God for everything for as long as you can remember.”
Marcus’s eyes lost focus.
“And in the end,” Joshua provoked, “he killed you.”
Marcus’s eyes slowly widened.
Joshua was now certain that Marcus ben Britten wasn’t a human anymore. Marcus was a ghost—but on top of that, he’d already lost his soul to the Demonic Spirit. He just didn’t know it yet.
“You’re just a shell who threw away your pride and lost your soul to somebody else. Is there a better word to describe such a state aside from the word ‘dead’?”
“What nonsense do you keep talking about?!” Marcus roared. He began focusing his strength in his legs and pointed his sword straight ahead. The space around his sword visibly twisted.
‘That’s dangerous,” Joshua’s instincts warned him. He immediately raised his spear.
The attack, which was the same kind of attack that had pulverized the wall, struck the handle of Joshua’s spear. Joshua realized that he would be reduced to ashes if he himself got struck by Marcus’s attack.
‘The only way to fight against the Demon Spirit’s demonic power is to use demonic power or the divine power of an Angel Spirit, which is its polar opposite,’ Joshua thought.
All of Joshua’s muscles bulged as he gripped his spear. There were two choices, and Joshua chose the former without hesitation.
Joshua’s demonic power poured out from his body in a thick wave. Marcus’s sword lashed out at every vital point on Joshua’s body, but Joshua nullified all of Marcus’s attacks with even more overwhelming power.
The air shrieked as it was cut.
Marcus’s eyes widened. His attack had been split in half, destroying part of the chamber floor.
“You… blocked that?”
“I told your owner before, but an imitation can’t beat the original.”
“…Owner? How dare you… You arrogant bastard…!” Marcus furiously tried to swing his sword again.
However… Joshua was quicker. His spear, its original red color stained totally black, stopped right in front of Marcus’s eyes, forcing the Emperor to freeze.
“I am the Marcus ben Britten!” Marcus roared, and swung his sword even more fiercely than before.
It wasn’t just a collision between a sword and spear now. It was a head-to-head battle between two demonic powers. The powers of the two people that had far surpassed the level of humans clashed with a ground-shaking boom.
* * *
Heimdall and his apostles were in front of the council chamber. Jabel put his hand on the door.
“Then… I’ll open it now,” he said.
‘…But what will happen to us if Heimdall becomes the emperor?’ Jabel suddenly wondered. He could say for certain that the appearance of the Dark God was going to turn the world upside down. The First Prince and some other people knew that the Dark God was behind the disappearance of Emperor Marcus, so unless Heimdall was going to silence everyone for good… Wouldn’t he need a scapegoat to take the blame?