Chapter 211: The Demons

Watching Malphas depart, Bairet’s tail swished more urgently.

The gray-and-white horse snorted beside him, making a sound. “Bairet, are you agitated?”

Bairet nodded, his vertical pupils flickering with black radiance.

“Lord Mammon seeks to descend into the mortal realm and enact a transformation; by following him, I too shall gain sufficient benefits.”

“Then I won’t have to bear this awkward title of Demon Lord anymore.”

The gray-and-white horse nodded.

It understood Bairet’s thoughts.

The title of Demon Lord is not an easy one to carry; among the Seventy-Two Demon Lords, a few bear this title, and none of them recognize each other.

Or rather, all of them seek to advance further.

To rise above Demon Lords—to become the true Demon Lord!

Yet, there was one thing it did not understand.

“Are you truly prepared? That one… is not easy to betray.”

Bairet was once an angel, one who fell with Lucifer.

The one the gray-and-white horse meant was obvious.

Bairet twisted his mouth into a terrifying grin and let out a shrill laugh.

“Hahahahahaha—”

“Him? I intend to betray Him. He never fulfilled our agreement, and he never will. Since he won’t act, I’ll act myself.”

“Are you certain?”

“Of course. I am a demon now. Isn’t betrayal natural?”

“I am a demon too!”

“Hahahahaha!”

Bairet let out another piercing laugh, but the gray-and-white horse flicked its tail. “Then what’s your plan? Will you follow Mammon?”

“Yes. Mammon already has a plan, but his true descent is extremely difficult. Before that, all of us supporters must send as many agents as possible.”

“Are your numbers large? If they’re too few, I still advise against betting on this,” the gray-and-white horse urged.

“Not few. Varaq is one of them; Agares has agreed too; Astaroth doesn’t oppose; Baal, Asmodeus…”

Bairet said.

The gray-and-white horse fell silent. The names Bairet uttered were more terrifying than the last.

Varaq, one of the Demon Lords, also a fallen angel turned demon.

Asmodeus, another fallen angel from the same descent, capable of knowing past and future.

Baal was once the chief god of a certain pantheon, who fell to resist God—immensely powerful, a Demon Lord in name, but among the strongest, perhaps nearing the true Demon Lord.

Asmodeus too was once a great deity of a certain pantheon, now a Demon Lord…

And Agares, also a fallen angel turned demon, possesses the ability to foresee the future. Though once punished by Raphael for his vile nature, his power remains formidable; now he wages war in Hell against Osiris’s underworld.

With a being capable of partial foresight involved, this plan already carries a degree of certainty.

Moreover, this lineup is extravagant.

All are fallen angels turned demons!

All are Demon Lord-tier!

Such power, even across all of Hell, could shake everything—and now they’ve gathered together.

Mammon’s ambition might truly succeed.

The gray-and-white horse sat back down.

Since success is possible, there was no need to forcefully dissuade this fool.

“This plan is grand. Though we each have our own agendas, our goal of descending into the mortal realm is unified. The first step is to send enough demons in true form, then…”

“…”

“Once Mammon descends, we too shall be able to descend officially.”

“Then why are you in such a hurry with Malphas? Do you have competition with them?” asked the gray-and-white horse.

“Hmph. The sooner one descends, the greater the merit. Once Mammon descends, it’ll be whoever is summoned first—and some demons among us have already acted. Varaq has even descended twice already.”

“Yes, though both times failed, he’ll surely act again. I can’t lag behind—I must urge Malphas.”

“Enough of this. With that horn, Malphas will surely succeed.”

“Now, let’s enjoy some music.”

Saying this, he began singing again. The flute’s melody was soothing, yet upon closer listening, one would hear the piercing wails of countless souls.

The gray-and-white horse shook its head. Since falling, Bairet had become obsessed with this, growing lazy. Whatever. Let him do as he pleases—but just now…

His eyes began to ponder.

He had noticed.

Despite Bairet’s bold words, this was merely a loose alliance, each one scheming behind the others to achieve their own ends.

To truly unite as one? Don’t even dream of it.

But that was normal.

As Bairet said: now, we are all demons.

Betrayal, infighting, conspiracy… perfectly natural.

After all.

I am a demon too!

…

In another palace complex.

This was Varaq’s palace.

As a fallen angel, Varaq’s palace was not grotesque with flesh and blood like ordinary demons’; it resembled Bairet’s palace somewhat.

At this moment, the Demon Lord radiated visible low pressure, his entire being seeming to scream “misfortune.”

He couldn’t understand.

Why?

Why did both attempts fail!

The first time was his best chance—a rare, massive Hell rift opened, and he immediately chose true descent.

But the result? He was sealed by the Church’s blood of Christ.

Damn it.

Christ’s blood.

They really were willing to sacrifice it.

Facing Christ’s blood, he had no power to resist, forced to seal the Hell rift and return to Hell.

Fortunately, he kept a backup—embedding part of his power into a human, creating a human avatar.

Years later, he attempted descent again.

This time, he exhausted every method, even deploying a beast demon left behind in the mortal realm, finally obtaining the Eye of Saint Lucy.

But before fully restoring his angelic rank and power, the descendant of that damned woman sealed him again.

Damn! Damn! Damn!

Why was he so unlucky!

Varaq’s eyes flashed with brutality.

Cracks instantly split the ground.

Moments later.

Varaq closed his eyes.

“It’s fine. I still have a chance. A sliver of my power remains; with it, I can descend again.”

“But this time, I’ll plan carefully. I must… find allies.”

…

The mortal realm.

A cult bearing the letter A was performing a sacrifice ritual.

Not long ago, two of its members successfully summoned the great demon Malphas—but sadly, Malphas vanished afterward.

Now, they were attempting to summon him again.

A young girl lay on the altar; on her belly rested a porcelain doll. If Mia’s family were here, they would scream out loud.

Because it was another Annabelle doll!

After this act, the cultists placed a bound young boy and several sheep around the altar.

Then they raised their daggers.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Blood gushed from wrists and necks, staining the altar’s surroundings crimson.

A dozen robed figures began chanting Malphas’s summoning incantation around the altar.

But…

Nothing happened.

Demon descent is never easy. Besides this side, the demon must also provide something in return—and sometimes, a bit of luck is needed.

Malphas had long since exhausted all the materials summoned into his shrine, leaving him no strength to respond strongly to the ritual.

Fortunately, he had prepared a backup plan.

A stream of water swept through the underground sewer.

A white wedding dress flashed by.

The next second.

Amid a pool of blood gathered from countless veins.

A woman, mouth wide open, tears streaming, appeared with a grotesque expression.

The cultists beside her erupted in cheers at that moment: “Wonderful! Great Malphas has responded again!”

“But… is this really Great Malphas?”

“It doesn’t seem right—last time it wasn’t like this.”

“Damn it! Don’t interfere! Great Malphas, grant me wealth! I want one hundred million dollars!”

A thin cultist crawled to the front of the weeping woman.

The weeping woman looked at him; though uninterested in men, since he had come close anyway…

Whoosh!

A hand clamped around his throat, shoving him straight into the blood pool.

“Woo… woo… woo…”

Plop… plop… plop…

Bubbles rose from the blood as the man thrashed violently, yet was drowned alive in the crimson pool.

The crowd froze in terror.

“Aaaahhhhh!!”

They screamed and scrambled to flee.

The weeping woman spread both hands, ready to begin random slaughter.

But the next second.

A wisp of black mist on her body trembled slightly.

The weeping woman immediately turned toward the altar, approaching the girl, reaching out her hands to grip her throat.

At the same time, that wisp of black mist flowed along her arms and into the doll.

Crack!

The instant the girl lost her life.

The doll came alive.

Creak… creak…

Annabelle’s head twitched slightly; countless invisible souls were drawn by mysterious magic into its mouth.

Crunch… crunch…

After regaining a faint bit of strength.

“Return!”

A voice rang out—and the fleeing cultists instantly turned back, falling to their knees.

“Great Malphas!”

“Go find—find other demons!”

Malphas transmitted his command.

Yes.

Coincidentally.

He and Valak had thought of the same idea.

If one demon is prone to trouble, then two demons! Three demons! More demons!

This time is different—this time, he carried a mission, and failure could cost his life!

So Malphas chose caution.

“Leave this place.”

“It is no longer safe here.”

(End of Chapter)