City of Sin

Book 9, 109

Star Of Destruction

As Richard activated the Field of Truth, he saw countless threads of laws binding him with the devil lord that had just appeared. It became clear to him that he would be chased endlessly if he didn’t kill it. Even though he didn’t see a point in fighting the devils— after all, he wasn’t here to join the Eternal War— he wouldn’t be able to move freely if he didn’t take care of this problem.

“Get ready!” he yelled out as the devil bounded towards him, feeling the chaos energy around him fade away. Turning off his own field, he allowed the devil to expend the energy to create an orderly domain as he sent Tiramisu and Fiora past it to intercept the army at the back. While none of the 100,000 other devils were a threat on their own, devils possessed enough tactical flair to use those troops to hinder him. The demon and ogre lords were the most skilled at dealing with large numbers of enemies, so they were the best suited to intercept.

In the meanwhile, Waterflower and Zangru disappeared from sight while Zealor floated up into the sky, icy gaze focused on the archlord even as the bow was drawn. Nasia covered Richard in a crimson beam of light that buffed him immensely, the laws of order crumbling wherever it made contact even as chaos was broken as well. Neither demon nor devil could operate in these conditions, but he was like a fish in water. The Projection of Ruin was starting to show its power.

The slender devil archlord was covered in a coat of purple armour made from unknown materials. He had four arms, with each one wielding a different weapon. His human-like face showed a solemn expression, but Richard could tell that this was a powerful devil that had just passed level 30. This gave him immense confidence in this battle; while devils were good at smithing and group combat, their individual strength at any level lost out to the chaotic demons. While the devils won in the battles of the weak, that was offset by their disadvantage in the upper echelons.

The powerful devil lord had a confused look in his eyes. The demon he was facing was ridiculously small, and while he had felt a powerful aura it turned out to be only level 25... No, level 26. The demon just advanced.

But would it matter? Level 25 or 26, no demon should have been able to face him. However, the devil felt an indescribable sense of danger from the tiny demon, and its subordinates that could work together despite being from many different races confused him as well. Coordination was supposed to be the specialty of his side.

While the devil was rightly confused, Richard felt the mana in his body swirling as he passed level 26. He had been on the verge for a while now, and now that he had flared up for a dangerous fight he had advanced naturally. He didn’t hesitate for a moment as he pushed the energy from the advancement into his physique, compacting his muscles, bones, and organs further. The boost allowed him to increase his carrying capacity, not just for runes but also the archlord’s core within him.

Going through his weapons, Richard ultimately chose to use the Judge. A faint purple energy appeared on the sword as he injected the laws of chaos into it, causing the devil’s eyes to narrow as it felt a sharp prick of bloodlust for anyone from the hells. His figure started to flicker as it entered a strange, winding path heading towards the archlord, this time prompting a look of shock as the devil realised that every possible attack had been predicted.

As the powerful devil lord hesitated to smash down with its four weapons, Richard’s will suddenly pierced into its mind. A demonic roar rang everywhere in the aftermath of the attack, but the devil’s eyes lit up with joy. He didn’t know how to fight this strange demon, but he was confident in a confrontation of wills. After all, chaos couldn’t breed as much strength in that regard as discipline. A duel of souls would be a direct struggle of their minds without any tricks.

As the devil growled and shot his own conscient out to welcome the fight, he suddenly felt like he had stepped into an empty void. He found Richard’s will and charged, knowing that he had to gain the upper hand quickly, but what had first seemed like a tiny mote of light suddenly expanded into three huge tetrahedrons that surrounded him. He felt like a bird that had charged into a mountain as he struck, countless faces manifesting on the tetrahedrons and starting to stare at him icily.

Everything around started to tremble as the devil lord’s gaze dimmed, his actions slowing down as well. The momentary absence came with a heavy price; Richard turned into a beam of light as the Judge cut deep into the devil’s arm.

The archlord regained his senses quickly, but as he saw the trail of blood on his arm he let out a scream of terror. The small cut seemed insignificant compared to his huge frame, but as he hesitated to cover it up the wound started to split open and erupt like a volcano. Flesh and blood spurted out as the purple crystal of its bones was revealed.

Richard flew back once more, his powerful conscient engulfing the devil entirely. The archlord did its best to dodge this time, ducking and hiding immediately, but that dealt damage as well. The laws all around the devil became a mess, giving Richard even more of an advantage in the fight.

The devil suddenly roared, the three arms that could still move pointing at Richard as a dark glow shot out from its weapon and merged into a beam of energy that was ten metres thick. The symbols of its laws could be seen flickering on the surface of the beam, forming a powerful destructive power that wouldn’t lose out to chaos.

Moments before the beam attack struck, a large tetrahedron barrier appeared around Richard and scattered the symbols of the laws. Delicate vibrations disintegrated the laws in the attack, weakening it to the point that it could no longer pierce through. At the same time, the archlord squealed in pain as both of its knees were busted open, Waterflower and Zangru disappearing away moments after the attack. Just as the devil was about to give chase, he went rigid as a long cyan arrow pierced into his back.

“Bullseye,” Zealor muttered a few thousand metres away, nocking another arrow. The arrow flickered as it left the bow, travelling a few hundred metres with every blink. Lightning energy spread across the devil’s back, prompting shivers of pain.

The devil had only half-turned before he suddenly shot back, fear written all over his face as he stared at the enormous blue moon floating behind Richard. It was as though Richard had descended directly from the moon as he raised the Judge up high, swinging it down from a thousand metres away.

“The Star of Destruction...” the devil lord abruptly stopped all actions, growling as a blue glow appeared between his brows. That glow quickly shifted within, splitting open the skull to spew viscous, poisonous flames. Richard sheathed the Judge right after, withdrawing from the battle while his subordinates took care of the army’s generals. Unfortunately, devils could only be killed off in their entirety. Once all of the lesser lords were eliminated, he summoned a black hole above the legion that wiped them out in a few minutes.