Although he lost access to his greatest weapon and was surprised by his enemy's scheme, Duke Krior would not simply accept death. He knew that if he endured for a few seconds, Baator's Law of Fire would return to normal.
'I need to resist his attack and then use the Law of Light to put some distance between us. Without his Order Snake Heart ability, he can not keep up with my speed.' Duke Krior's eyes shone with the resolution to live. The devil burned his life force to enhance his physical might and channeled Solid Light into his arms.
The Darkness Poison Duke's claws resembled spears as they shot toward Duke Krior's head and neck.
Duke Krior managed to stop the claws with his palms thanks to the additional energy he obtained by burning his life force, but the bones and muscles in the extremities shattered due to the power in the opponent's attack.
Despite having endured severe injuries in his arms and no longer being able to move them, Duke Krior was happy since he thought he had managed to stop the Pit Fiend's onslaught.
However, his expression changed the next instant when a throbbing pain assaulted his chest. The Devil Duke lowered his sight and saw a tail piercing his heart.
The Darkness Poison Duke's wicked smile grew larger after his tail penetrated Duke Krior's chest. He paid an immense price to obtain that Pseudo Rank 7 Artifact, but after killing his opponent and taking control of the Yuru continent, everything will be worth it.
Withering Essence filled Duke Krior's body, paralyzing him and making it impossible for him to defend against the next attack.
The Darkness Poison Duke raised his arms, ready to strike dwarf Devil Duke's brain, destroying his True Soul and killing him.
The Pit Fiend's smiled as victory was right around the corner, but before he could lower his arms and land the final blow to his foe, two powerful soul invasion spells struck him.
Outside his Inner Law Dimension, two phenomena manifested themselves. One took the form of a purple portal from which emerged a monstrous hand that wanted to capture his True Soul, while the other resembled a shining blue sun.
The monstrous hand struck the walls of his Inner Law Dimension, generating incredible pain while the blue sun twisted time, slowing down his speed of thought and reaction time.
As a Rank 6 life form with two Law Essences and an Inner Law Dimension, the Darkness Poison Duke should be able to suppress the damage of those soul invasion spells and fight back, but the battle with Duke Krior had harmed his consciousness too much.
The pain and time dilation stopped the Darkness Poison Duke strike and destabilized his Hollow Sun Domain.
Duke Krior's eyes revealed the shock that assaulted him right now. As the soul invasion spell struck the Pit Fiend, the dwarf Devil Duke heard a voice in his mind.
'Attack with everything you have if you want to survive!'
Although there were hundreds of questions in his mind, the Devil Duke was a seasoned warrior. He did not hesitate before reinforcing his lungs with Solid Light and channeling all his fire in them.
As he prepared his attack, Duke Krior's perception discovered two individuals with a power that surpassed that of even the strongest Devil Marquess, flashing like shooting stars filled with killing intent toward the Pit Fiend's back.
The Darkness Poison Duke's fighting instincts kick in due to the immense threat he felt. His arms moved on their own and twisted around his head, protecting his brain from physical damage.
The Pit Fiend's actions forced the trio to change the target of their attacks.
Eon Six's devil disguise vanished after he activated his Bloodline Inborn Runes. Red aura gathered into his ax as he slashed toward the bottom of the Pit Fiend's spine, right where the devil's tail emerged.
Zatiel's death sword had all of its marks activated, allowing the weapon to contain a torrent of fire with the power of Baator's Law of Destruction at the Minor Completion level. That was not all since the Neo-Demon also poured all the might of his Death Essence into the sword.
The trio attacked at the same time, with perfect synchrony.
Duke Krior unleashed a breath of yellow fire that landed right in the Poison Darkness Duke's chest, Eon Six's ax hacked the devil's tail with all his strength, and Zatiel stabbed the death sword into an open wound in the devil's back before detonating all the fire in his weapon.
"AAARGH!" Despite having his head covered, everybody could hear the Darkness Poison Duke's cry of agony.
The Pit Fiend felt destructive fire overflowing his insides, an ax almost cutting his tail off, and a blast of yellow fire that broke his ribs and burned his chest.
Duke Krior's fire breath pushed the Pit Fiend flying away, but he was not alone. Both Zatiel and Eon Six held to the devil thanks to their weapons that penetrated his body.
The dwarf Devil Duke was pushed back due to the attack's recoil, and the lower half of his face was missing. His condition was horrible, but Duke Krior's eyes shone with a peculiar light as he focused on Eon Six and Zatiel.
'Who are they, and who is their backer?'
The duo displayed an incredible power despite having a soul force of Rank 5, so the Devil Duke was sure they must have obtained tremendous lucky chances.
Although they saved his life, Duke Krior's greed immediately overwhelmed the little gratitude he felt.
Unfortunately for the Devil Duke, what happened next shattered all the plans forming in his mind.
As they flashed through the sky, Eon Six made a blue pearl appear in his mouth before shattering it. The next instant, a wave of Space Essence enveloped the trio and teleported them.
Duke Krior's eyes widened as he saw the Darkness Poison Duke, Eon Six, and Zatiel vanish. He released the full power of his consciousness and attempted to follow the trio, but could not find them.
"Ahhhhh." The Devil Duke sighed when he realized he could not track them. His disappointment lasted only a few moments since he had many important things to do.
The dwarf stared at the Devil Lords on the ground, who were kneeling. Despite not having killed the Pit Fiend, since he was the only Devil Duke present, Duke Krior automatically won the war and obtained control over the Yuru continent.
As for the Darkness Poison Duke returning to claim his lands back, the wounds he received were so severe that no one believed he could survive in such a ruthless place as Baator, not to mention he was not alone.
...
The Second Circle of Hell's size was almost five times that of a High World, but a few million years ago, it was much larger, equal to a big Principal World of the universe.
However, the rise of the Incarnation of Death and Destruction changed that.
Usually, Beings of Laws used their control over spacetime to nullify the collateral damage of their attacks, but why would Zatiel care about the destruction the Iron City of Dis endured as he butchered the Archdevils in it?
Thanks to the current Archdevils' hard work and sacrifices, the Iron City of Dis regained some of its former glory. Nevertheless, the circle's perimeter was still a land contaminated by destructive energies where no life could grow.
The Jupi continent was one of the landmasses that marked the end of Dis. Energies that could melt Rank 4 life form and twist the laws polluted the air, making it an uninhabitable place.
Today, a wave of Space Essence affected the continent. The next second, three figures fell from the sky and crashed into the poisonous ground.
The Darkness Poison Duke understood he left the Yuru continent and that his war against Duke Krior ended up in a defeat. Despite the immense pain and difficulty to think, the Devil Duke's rage allowed him to wave his claws and strike both Zatiel and Eon Six.
The Neo-Demon and the Supernova Race man could not dodge the Devil Duke's attack and had to block it. The first made a shield with flaming branches and put the death sword in the claw's path, while the second gathered an immense amount of red aura in his ax and stroked back.
Despite his wounds, the two powerful soul invasion spells affecting his mind, and his Hollow Sun Domain instability, the Pit Fiend's strength was more than enough to overwhelm the duo and send them flying away.
The Darkness Poison Duke's eyes narrowed when he saw how easy it was to push the duo away, and a bad feeling invaded his heart when he saw them using the impulse of his attack to increase the distance between them.
The confusion that filled his mind vanished the next second when his consciousness showed him the hundreds of artifacts and runes hiding beneath his feet.
"Fuck."
The next instant, a shining light appeared in the Jupi continent, and an explosion that broke the continent apart occurred.
