In a mountain range formed over the enormous carcass of a Rank 6 Devil Lord, a war between millions of devils occurred.
Thousands of explosions befell every second as squads of lesser devils clashed among each other, all of them displaying excellent military strategies and organization.
A few thousand kilometers above them, hundreds of Rank 4 Devils fought with their Law Avatars, displaying powers that could level entire cities. These devils killed each other and guided the soldiers beneath them, showing the wisdom that made the devil race famous.
Despite the mighty powers the Soul Forging existences showed, their battlefield was far from being the highest. That title belonged to the one that was hundreds of thousands of kilometers above them where Devil Lords fought.
The shock waves the Devil Lords' fight provoked could cause severe harm to a continent, and just the energy they released was enough to melt anything beneath Rank 4.
Two dozens of Devil Counts occupied the periphery of the battlefield. All of them had "One with the Law" activated, and their powers were impressive.
Despite being in the same Rank, these Rank 5 Devil Lords showed fear and caution as they looked at the center of their battlefield.
The core of the battle between the two armies was located in that area. Only nine people were there, but the winner would decide all the other battlefields. The reason for that was that they were the Devil Marquises, the strongest warriors beneath each Devil Duke.
On one side, there was a colossal Skull Dragon that measured more than five hundred thousand meters. Bones formed every part of the creature's body, and hundreds of giant skulls enveloped its neck.
This creature's enemy was an equally massive Infernal Rage Titan. He had four huge arms, and blood-red lava moved through his skin.
These two colossal monsters that covered the sky and projected a shadow over the entire mountain range were each side's leader.
The rest of the Devil Marquises fought around them, acting like vicious snakes ready to attack the enemy's leader at the first chance.
The Infernal Rage Titan fired a punch wrapped in Blood Essence, but despite his massive body, the Skull Dragon was incredibly agile and responded with a claw covered in Death Essence.
The blast that occurred when the two attacks clashed unleashed a wave of destruction that fractured the space around them. The rest of the Devil Marquises could resist the collateral damage of their fight without a problem, but the Devil Counts had to dodge it or risk suffering severe injuries.
The Skull Dragon was pushed back due to its inferior strength, but there was no fear in the creature's eyes. He made his energy explode before flashing forward, and Death Essence covered every corner of his body.
The Infernal Rage Titan's eyes narrowed when he saw his enemy's behavior. They have been fighting for several hours now, and it seemed the dragon intended to conclude the fight.
The actions of the Skull Dragon confused the other Devil Marquises since it was the Infernal Rage Titan's side, the one who would suffer if the battle extended for too long due to their numerical disadvantage.
Despite his doubts, the Infernal Rage Titan did not hesitate before flashing forward as Blood Essence burst around his arms.
In less than a second, they were right in front of the other, and the Infernal Rage Titan fired his four fists to the Skull Dragon's head. He displayed an incredible level of martial skill as he performed that attack.
The Skull Dragon made no effort to dodge or counterattack the punches, and everybody thought they would blow his head off.
However, what happened next shocked everybody. The dragon's body transformed into a dark fog, and the fists went through it without causing any damage.
The Infernal Rage Titan's eyes widened, and confusion appeared on his face. The next instant, the Skull Dragon's head arrived next to his chest.
The creature's body returned to normal, and his jaws opened as a beam of grey energy was about to be fired.
The Skull Dragon's attack landed point-blank, but the Infernal Rage Titan was an experienced warrior. In the last second, he was able to land a strike in the dragon's neck, shoving him down as a grey beam pushed his body up.
Despite having received a blow, the Skull Dragon's injuries were lesser than those of the Infernal Rage Titan. The former had part of his neck shattered while the latter's entire chest decomposed.
The massive Skull Dragon's body approached the battle between three Devil Marquises, but there was nothing he could do since he had no control over his body.
The Devil Marquises were a reptilian humanoid with a sharp tail covered by a dark fog, a ball of green magma with a woman's face, and a giant made of white stones with a glowing orb in the center of his head.
The reptilian Devil Marquess's eyes glowed with killing intent as he saw the Skull Dragon coming his way, but he knew that if he attacked, an opening would form that his two enemies would take advantage of.
The Poison Magma Devil and the Stone Fiend saw the Shadow Frog vanish into a dimension of darkness, and they move away from the Skull Dragon's path.
The next second, the woman's face in the ball of green magma focused on the space behind the Stone Fiend's head and opened her mouth, releasing a flood of fire.
The Poison Magma Devil's attack forced the Shadow Frog to emerge from the hidden dimension.
The Shadow Frog used his right hand to form a whirlwind of darkness that swallowed the fire, and all that energy gathered in his left arm that he used to counter the Stone Fiend's punch.
The Stone Fiend was one hundred thousand meters tall while the Shadow Frog only fifteen, but the clash between them ended up in a draw.
The duo could not stop the Shadow Frog from vanishing and appearing hundreds of kilometers away from them.
The Poison Magma Devil and Stone Fiend's battle power was average between Devil Marquises, but they were still two against one, and yet they could not get the upper hand.
"Darkness Essence is impressive. You can sneak attack, absorb our spells, and negate our strength, but something tells me you are already reaching your limit." The Poison Magma Devil did not use words to communicate that message, but her consciousness, making it much faster.
Severian's eyes glowed with killing intent, and he said nothing. His cultivation had reached the 5th Engraving Stage, and his Demonic Bloodline improved to the Emperor level after utilizing the profits he obtained from his new title.
Unfortunately, the Shadow Frog's Soul Origin was still too little, and he could not keep "One with the Law" for much longer.
Severian was not a hero, and the moment he noticed the Infernal Rage Titan's injuries, he was already preparing to escape. As for the rest of his comrade, he couldn't care less about their lives.
All of a sudden, the Shadow Frog's eyes widened, and he glanced to the distance. Usually, the Poison Magma Devil and Stone Fiend would take this opportunity to attack, but they did the same that their opponent.
All the Devil Marquises stopped fighting for a second as they focused on the force that approached the mountain range at an incredible speed.
Their consciousness showed them a dark mist that extended for hundreds of kilometers. Everything it touched had its life swallowed and withered until transforming into dust.
The mist advanced through the ground, and soon it reached the battlefield occupied by the lesser devils.
The creatures showed horror and attempted to run, but they were too slow, and all of them died instantly when the mist touched them.
It did not care on whose side those lesser devils were. The mist drained the life force of every single one of them.
None of the Devil Marquises acted as they did not know who controlled the dark mist.
They obtained an answer the next second. The dark mist gathered itself and formed a human with golden wings full of pure life force.
The man had dark armor covering every part of his body except for his eyes and a sword with bluish-purple fire fused into his right arm. He did not hesitate before flashing to the Skull Dragon, and all of the life force in his wings transformed into a death aura that magnified his death sword's fire.
The Devil Marquises on the Skull Dragon's side were fighting and could not help their leader.
The Skull Dragon had just regained control over his body, but he was a Peak Rank 5 life form with Death Essence, so he could not be looked down on.
"ROAR." The Skull Dragon's energy spiked once again. He unfolded his massive wings, and they unleashed a barrage of giant bone spears.
The man did not slow down as projectiles came his way, and just as they were about to impale him, he vanished only to reappear the next instant right beside the Skull Dragon's neck.
Even though he seemed to have teleported, that could not be possible since the Skull Dragon's Law Essence sealed the space around him.
The Devil Marquises' consciousnesses show him what really happened. The man's speed reached an incredible level. He dodged every single bone spear displaying fantastic dexterity, and positioned himself right beside the Skull Dragon's weak point.
Every ounce of life force in the wings had transformed into power for the death sword, which was now a colossal flaming weapon that came crashing down at the Devil Marquess' neck.
