Aisha, Samira, and Lunoire had already recognized what kind of demon they faced.
Astaroth was a tiny demon who loved to copy his opponents. He was the Experience Gluttony...devouring his opponents' moves and attacks into his mind and copying them. However, what he had not considered was that Lunoire was stronger than Aisha and Samira.
The trio devised a plan.
They would force only Aisha and Samira to attack, tricking the demon into using the duo's combined attacks. Lunoire would wait.
Aisha struck first. Her blade flashed toward Astaroth's neck. The tiny demon copied the movement perfectly, his own weapon meeting hers. Samira came from the side, her sword carving toward his ribs. Astaroth's body twisted, copying her momentum, deflecting the strike.
They attacked again. And again. And again.
Astaroth laughed, mimicking their every move, growing faster, more confident.
He did not see Lunoire.
She appeared behind him like a ghost. Her fist drove through his back and out his chest. He looked down at the hole in his torso, confusion on his face. She ripped her arm free and sliced him in half with a single strike.
Astaroth fell.
Royland was still struggling to hold Belphegor. His magic barrier was finally cracking as the massive demon smashed toward him. Royland closed his eyes, bracing for impact—
Samira yanked him by his collar and ran, dragging him out of the stairwell and into an open hallway where they could finally move freely.
Belphegor rolled down into the open space and stopped. He looked at his friend Astaroth, sliced in two.
"NOOOO!" His voice was loud, but impossibly slow. "Astaroth... YOU KILL MY FRIEND! NOOOO!"
He picked up the halves of Astaroth and cradled them. He cried. Then he devoured the first half. Then the second.
"Forever... in my memory..."
He turned to the others.
"YOU... I EAT... REVENGE."
.....
Akizuki dodged another attack as Belial's spear almost stabbed him.
Chloe emerged from behind, two daggers in hand, slashing at Belial's back. But he had already seen it coming. He blocked with his spear, the impact sending sparks flying. He jumped sideways, dodging a third attack from below as Hogni emerged from the shadows beneath him.
"You are strong..." Hogni said in his usual dramatic way.
Belial smiled. But the fourth attack did get him. A spear tip ran past his face. He dodged, but the tip cut his left cheek wide open. He turned to clash spears with Anya.
She grinned. "Sin of Sloth, nya? Are you not supposed to be lazy, nya?"
Belial laughed. "Sin of Sloth? Hahahahah. I suppose I am. It is because I lost my true sin that I am the Sin of Sloth." He spun his spear. "For I am known as the Escapist Sloth. I escaped my true sin—the Sin of Wrath. I denied myself. And I was punished by becoming the Sin of Sloth."
"I see, nya." Anya's grin widened. "Well, why do we not get you to be fit for your role, nya?"
She activated her magic. Remiste Felis.
From the center of Anya's body, a massive sound wave erupted. Its goal was not to damage Belial. Rather, it lowered the status of anyone who heard it. Due to its massive range, Anya made sure the other three—Chloe, Hogni, and Akizuki—attacked him in a specific spot so that when he dodged, they would be away from her range.
"Now, nya, do you feel slothful yet, nya?" Anya joked.
Belial smiled. "I see... you are a dangerous one."
He spun his spear and moved.
....
"Man, what the fuck is the matter with you..." Damien muttered, scanning the room, trying to locate Asmodeus.
The demon was not fighting at all. He would pop out once or twice, attack, and then disappear for a minute or two. Sometimes longer.
"Why do you not just fucking come out?" Damien called out, his eyes darting across the shadows.
From the ground, Asmodeus struck. His rapier stabbed into Damien's left thigh. Damien spun, double slashing, but the demon had already vanished.
"You are tense, my love," Asmodeus's voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere. "You should relax. Enjoy yourself."
"I will enjoy myself when I cut your head off," Damien replied.
Asmodeus laughed. "So aggressive. I like that. I want to feel that aggression directed at me." His voice dropped, becoming sultry. "I want you to take that anger and use it on me. Pin me down. Make me yours."
Damien's eye twitched.
Another attack came from above. He dodged, barely. The rapier passed within an inch of his face.
"You are so beautiful when you are angry," Asmodeus purred. "I want to taste that anger. I want to taste you. All of you." His voice was thick with desire. "Your cock. Your seed. I want to swallow it all."
Damien slashed at empty air. "Jesus Christ, shut The fuck up."
"Make me," Asmodeus whispered directly into his ear.
Damien spun. Nothing there.
He was getting pissed off. The attacks were not a real threat....he could heal from anything, and his instincts kept him alive. But the constant taunting, the seductive words, the way Asmodeus kept slipping through his fingers... it was grating on him.
He tried to sense the magic. His eyes, almost godlike now, should have been able to detect the faintest trace of mana. But there was nothing. No signature. No trail. No presence at all.
How is he doing this? Damien thought. Even illusions leave traces. I should be able to see through them.
Another attack. He blocked it. Asmodeus vanished.
"You are thinking too hard," the demon's voice cooed. "Stop thinking. Just feel. Let me take care of you."
Damien ignored him.
'I killed Lilith easily. But Asmodeus hides. What if...'
He turned to check on the body.
It lay crumpled on the bed, still and lifeless. But something was wrong. He narrowed his eyes and looked closer.
The body was not real. It was an illusion....a perfect replica, but empty. It had never been alive to begin with.
Damien's mind raced.
What if I have never met Lilith or Asmodeus at all? What if the real ones are somewhere else?
He looked at the room. The walls. The ceiling. The floor. The bed.
What if they are not hiding in the room...
He raised his daggers.
'Can't be...'
Damien activated Shadow Slash.
Hundreds of slashes erupted from his blades....not aimed at any enemy, but at the building itself. At the walls, the ceiling, the floor, the bed. Every surface was carved open in a storm of shadow.
The screams came from everywhere.
Lilith and Asmodeus both screamed at the same time, their voices overlapping, echoing through the entire chamber. The walls bled. The ceiling cracked. The floor shuddered.
Damien watched as the illusion shattered.
The room melted away. The bed dissolved. The grand castle walls crumbled into nothing. And standing where the room had been were two figures...Lilith and Asmodeus, together, their bodies flickering with the remnants of their magic.
They had become the building itself. Using their combined power, they had transformed their bodies into the structure around him, hiding in plain sight.
Damien grinned.
"There you are."
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