At the least, it was much better than Nornâs and Sunsirâs who died before him.
Of course, the most important factor to this reaction was the fact that his perception towards mortals had already been changed by the previous fight.
He had acknowledged the fact that they were threats to Demigods.
A pillar of fire erupted from Agni and surged towards Frey, engulfing his body in an instant. But Agni knew that his fire wouldnât even leave a scorch mark.
A spear of lightning broke through the pillar of fire and reached Agni in an instant.
[Kuk!]
Agni twisted his body immediately.
No, heâd reacted even before he saw it.
Nevertheless, it was impossible for him to completely avoid the attack. The bolt of lightning bit Agniâs shoulder like a hungry beast.
Rather than the terrible pain, Agni was more surprised by the attack that was faster than a thought.
In his Fire God form, Agni was able to move his body almost immediately in response to his thoughts.
Had it not been for Beniangâs Dragontongue, Ivanâs attack would never have been able to touch him.
Yet, it was this same Agni who couldnât even react in time now. In fact, he had only managed to avoid the attack by luck.
Flash.
Agniâs eyes, which had dimmed considerably, suddenly flashed white.
He no longer dared to hold back any of his powers. More importantly, his current situation was anything but good. He had used too much divine power in the last battle.
White flames poured out of Agniâs mouth.
Heart of the Sun.
The flames that would never go out finally appeared in the Amakan Desert. The power of these flames far surpassed any he had used up to that point.
Paht.
But it was these flames that also disappeared as soon as he released them.
White light from Freyâs hand had pierced into the heart of the sun. And the heart of the sun, which had just swelled, popped with a ringing sound.
Agni stared at this sight with a blank gaze.
His mind had gone blank for a moment. His brain was unable to process what had just happened.
In the meantime, Frey appeared before Agni.
Agni flinched.
âWhat the hell?â
Wasnât this man a Wizard?
He had no reason to come so closeâŠ.
No. This could be his only chance.
Agni tried to use the Heart of the Sun again. At this distance, it would be unavoidable.
But before he could do that, Frey flicked Agniâs face with his finger.
Pop!
And with that simple move, Agniâs head exploded.
At the same time, the little divine power he had left flowed away like an ebbing tide.
Heâd lost.
Agni had this thought as he collapsed to his knees. His head, which had been destroyed, slowly regenerated, but Frey didnât stop him. He also knew.
It was only Agniâs shell that had regenerated. Agni had already lost most of his divine power, and the remnants would soon disappear.
[âŠare you really human?]
Agni spoke in a soft voice.
His will to fight had completely disappeared.
Frey had killed quite a few Demigods, but he was the first to respond in such a way.
âŠNo. He wasnât the first.
There was Riki.
[I canât believe it⊠even though I can see it for myself.]
A simple finger flick without any skill had managed to reach his core.
Was it because he didnât have any more divine power and he was already weakened from the previous battle?
He felt like it would have been different. However, he didnât think he wouldâve been able to win even if he was in his peak condition.
As Agni accepted this fact, the last of his power dissipated.
His spark of life went out.
Agniâs body fluttered as though he would disappear at any moment. He looked down at Beniang.
âTruly⊠worse than a dogâs death.â
Beniang sacrificed her life to save dozens of people. If it wasnât for her, they would have all been annihilated before Frey arrived.
On the other hand, his death was meaningless.
Agni closed his eyes.
At that moment, he recalled Leyrinâs face.
He shook his head. He wouldnât regret it.
It was the decision heâd reached before he came to this place. He decided to accept everything Lord had done.
âIâm not like Riki.â
That was why he was worried. He felt regret.
Right. It was probably what he should have done before he died. His role should have been to pass on âthe wordâ.
Agni should have told Lord.
âLord, youâre acting strange now.â
He wasnât sure how Lord would have taken it. However, he felt that it was necessary to say it.
The current Lord was very strange. He was different from before. And he wasnât sure how that would affect the Demigods.
However, when he thought about it, he was overcome with anxiety for some reason. That was probably the reason why he had subconsciously stopped himself from thinking too deeply.
âŠIf Agni were to die, then the presence capable of restraining Lord would be gone as well. Because Ananta and Nozdog would obey Lordâs will without question.
And the words of the mortals would never get through to Lord.
âIt wouldnât matter unless a Demigod said it.â
Of course, he couldnât imagine how Lord would react to it. Rikiâs face then appeared in his mind.
âDid you realise this, Riki?â
Agni shook his head at this question that suddenly appeared.
Then, the last flame burning in the desert went out.
* * *
Lord paused. Then he turned around and said.
[Agni is dead.]
[âŠWhat did you say?]
Nozdog asked in a surprised voice.
Ananta frowned fiercely.
âThat fool! I told him to deal with his ApostleâŠ!â
[It had nothing to do with his Apostle. Agni was directly defeated by the humans.]
Anantaâs mouth fell open.
He shook his head fiercely as if he couldnât believe it.
âThatâs⊠ridiculous. Agni is like us, a being not even the Ancients could kill.â
Among the Dragons, the particularly powerful beings were called Ancients.
The Demigods, classified as Apocalypses by humans, were all beings who could dominate the Ancients.
Agni was in no way inferior to Ananta or Nozdog. But Lord had no reason to lie to them.
Ananta forcibly suppressed his rising anger and said.
âIs that human still in the Amakan Desert?â
[Yes.]
âThen I will go and kill him myself.â
Lord shook his head at Ananta, who was about to use space-time movement right away.
[Stop.]
âWhy?â
[You cannot defeat that human.]
ââŠkuh.â
He felt humiliated, but he couldnât refute it. If the human was truly powerful enough to defeat Agni, then the outcome would not change even if he went.
Ananta turned to look at Nozdog.
âThen I will go with Nozdog.â
[You still wouldnât win.]
âWhat do you mean?â
[âŠ]
Although Ananta asked this, Lord didnât respond.
Crunch.
Ananta, who gritted his teeth roughly, shouted out as if he was possessed.
âThenâŠ! Lord! You can go with me! Since heâs dangerous enough to kill Agni! We should cut this bud as soon as possible!â
[I agree with that. But still, no.]
âWhy not?â
[Because we wouldnât win even if I go.]
ââŠ!!â
[What⊠did you say�]
Even Nozdog, who was doing a good job of controlling his emotions at that moment, couldnât help but react in shock.
He was several times more surprised than he had been when he learned of Agniâs demise.
âWh-, what do you mean? Lord, are you saying that you couldnât kill that human with your power? Thereâs no way that a human is-â
[If I was to give an approximation of my chances of winning, then it would be 60%, but, right, I also wonât deny the fact that if anything went wrong, I would lose.]
[That⊠what the hellâŠ]
They were speechless.
They had never thought that there could be something on the continent that Lord couldnât defeat.
Lord gently gestured to his people.
[I watched that man fight. Heâs no longer a WizardâŠ. No. Heâs no longer a human being. He has obtained the power of the source.]
âThe power of the source?â
[The power of origin which has endless possibilities.]
Such a power existed?
It was their first time hearing it.
Ananta narrowed his eyes.
Lord seemed to know about it. So why had he never mentioned it before?
On the other hand, Nozdog was furious at the fact that a human had obtained a power that even Demigods didnât know existed.
[A being who appears once every tens of thousands of years has appeared among the humans.]
[âŠif thatâs true, then how the hell would we deal with a human like thatâŠ]
[Thereâs no need to worry, my comrade.]
ââŠdo you have a plan?â
[Thatâs right. If I get my hands on what I want, then it wonât matter even if that human has the power of origin. We donât have time to waste, so letâs set off immediately. Please lend me your strength.]
[Set off? Where are we going?]
Lord swung his arm, tearing the space in front of them.
The view was a silent answer to Nozdogâs question.
It was a place where screams could be heard nonstop. A place with purple earth, a sun that burned black, and where countless rivers of blood flowed.
It was a land where the aura of death could be felt more strongly than anywhere on the continent.
It was Hell. Another name for the Demon World that was usually used by the Demons.
* * *
âI wonder how long itâs been since we last saw each other.â
Beelzebub, the King of Gluttony, spoke with a voice that sounded like numerous flies buzzing.
It was truly an amazing occasion. The six Lords of the Demon World had all gathered together.
Naturally, some of them were hostile to each other. For example, Lilith and Asura.
Nevertheless, the reason why they didnât show their hostility to each other was because of the man sitting in the middle and giving off a terrifying aura.
The only person in the world who had the authority to gather all the Demon Lords in one place.
âIf you called me here for something useless, I wonât let it go, Lucifer!â
Barbatos spoke with a harsh tone while staring at Lucifer with a burning gaze.
âHuhu. Thereâs no way the ruler of the Corrupted Hell would call us out for nonsense.â
Lilith responded in a seductive tone.
Then Lucifer, who had been silently observing everyone, finally spoke.
âPrepare for war, Lords of Hell.â
ââŠâ
Silence filled the room.
The first one to open their mouth was Zepar. He spoke directly without concealing his displeasure.
âYouâre not declaring war on us. So what do you mean?â
âThe Demigods will come to this world.â
âThe Demigods? Ha. Youâve completely lost your mind.â
Barbatos mocked him openly.
Zepar, on the other hand, spoke in a rational tone.
âThe Demon World holds no value for them. Iâm certain that Lord knows what weâre capable of. I donât think theyâd willing accept such heavy losses.â
âAre you saying that conquering the continent isnât enough for them? Hmm. Very well. I always wondered what the Demigods tasted like.â
The hall instantly became filled with noise. The Lords of the Demon World were all belligerent.
Even the calmest among them, Lilith, had a vicious smile on her face because she disliked the Demigods.
Lucifer looked around and nodded inwardly.
âItâs as I expectedâŠâ
His gaze then turned to the only being who had sat in his seat without saying a single word so far.
Whether he felt Luciferâs gaze or if he had finally had enough, this being finally broke the silence.
âYou fucking retards.â
ââŠâ
The heated atmosphere subsided as though cold water had been poured onto it.
It was Asura who had frozen the group with his cold voice.