“Nether Flames…” The leader Devil barely managed a gulp as he said that. In all likelihood, his inherited memories had a record of such a flame so he knew what he was about to face.
“Even a Flame Devil Child like you shouldn’t be immune to the effects of Nether Flames, am I right?” I whipped out my left hand and sent the mote of Nether Flames flying straight at him, its black abyssal tendrils coalescing into the classic Fireball shape as it sizzled through the air.
This time, that Devil didn’t dare to take the attack head on, instead choosing to dodge to the side to avoid it entirely. Yet when were things ever so simple? Even though he had clearly willed his body to the side, and even though he had clearly felt the rush of burning air pass by him harmlessly, he still ended up getting hit squarely on the back by that Fireball that somehow managed to make an abrupt curve in the air!
“How…I know I dodged it…” His body immediately burst into blackish-red flames on impact. The panicked leader Devil promptly tried to convert the searing flames using his mana but no matter how he tried, the flames stuck to his body, greedily eating into his flesh as if they had taken root in his body already. At the very most, his desperate attempts merely bought him several seconds.
Lest one forgot, one of the abilities I had attained upon evolving into a Fallen Angel was ‘Consciousness Impartment’. Thanks to that ability, my mana was now able to act as if it had a mind of its own –just like what just happened to that Devil. The moment that Fireball, made entirely of my imbued mana, missed its target, it was able to curve around according to my direction and smash right into him.
Truly, devious and hard to defend against…in a sense, it was kind of an ambush on my part.
Nether Flames were known for their deadly stickiness. The moment it stuck onto flesh, it was extremely hard to remove it. Furthermore, with my Consciousness Impartment ability, the rate and lethalness of its spread gained a level up as well. Unless I was facing against a Five-stars Devil blessed with an Original Sin, anyone who had the misfortune of being hit by my Nether Flames was basically a goner.
In just a few seconds alone, the flames had already spread from his back all the way up to his shoulders and neck. Even now, that poor sod was still struggling to rid himself of the flames. But try as he might, the flames continued their deadly march unabated. Should we leave him like that, it would probably take a short while more before he was burnt up.
‘Just burn then, like I care.’
“Spare me…save me…I’m begging you…I don’t want to die…”
He had already exhausted all possible means of extinguishing the flames –using his mana to restrain it, tumbling about in an embarrassing fashion, even trying to fight fire with fire, you name it –but all that was to no avail. After all that, he only managed to delay the spread of the fire by a few seconds. It was then that he realized that resistance was futile, so he knelt, with both knees firmly planted in the ground as he crawled his towards me and grovelled at my feet while hugging my thighs.
“So even you know how to beg for mercy? You should have done so from the start.”
“I’m begging you…I can be your subordinate…your dog…I’ll bite whoever you want…just give the word…I’ll be your most loyal slave…”
“Is that so?” I coldly smiled. “But I don’t need you.”
“I won’t betray you…I can hand over my soul to you…so please…spare me…SPARE MEEE…”
I dodged his filthy hands with a look of utter contempt on my face. No longer wishing to talk, I waved my right hand and sent a snake-like stream of blackish red fire right at that Devil.
“AHHHH…NOOOOO…” The moment the flames coiled around him, he was instantly engulfed in it, turning into a massive pillar of fire in the process and filling the air with an unpleasant barbecued smell. Even after all that, he continued to howl in pain, struggling all the way, both wretchedly and pointlessly. Finally, the screaming stopped and there was nothing left of him except burnt cinders and a naked soul.
‘And here I was thinking that this was going to be a good chance to test out my strength…didn’t he just go down after a simple Nether Fireball…exactly how did someone like him end up as a leader anyway? Maybe it’s actually me who is super strong here?’
‘Killing someone at the same Star Level as me with one wave of my hand huh?’ I glanced at those same two hands that had just burnt that Flame Devil Child to a crisp. For that briefest of moments, it felt like I was dreaming.
“Wooo, Mama’s amazing, Mama’s the best!” Mo Na came barrelling towards me from Nola’s back, wings flapping and eyes sparkling as she prepared to hug me. Perching herself around her usual spot around my neck and shoulders, she happily rubbed her adorable little face against my own. “That was fantastic, Mama, you beat up that big baddie in one move! Mama’s the best, Mo Na loves her Mama!”
As expected of my no.1 fan, she immediately gushed about my victory while smothering me with kisses…ahem, on the cheeks, of course…in fact, it was getting rather awkward with how much saliva there was on my face right now…
“That’s it?” Sinmosa revealed a disbelieving look towards Nola.
“That’s it.” Nola, on the other hand, wasn’t all too fazed by it. “He is a Fallen Angel after all…looks like we’ve underestimated him a little…”
“That’s true.” Sinmosa sighed and then swept a brief glance over the nearby Winged Abyssal Golems. Finally, her eyes came to a rest upon those still as a statue Imps who were practically frozen with terror right now. “Seems like Mo Ke’s strength is about to go up as well.”
“Isn’t that great then?” Nola asked in a puzzled voice while giving Sinmosa a brief look. Even though she had a giant brain, she just couldn’t wrap her head around why Sinmosa would be worried. “Mo Ke is a trustworthy fellow, he wouldn’t betray his comrades.”
“I know…but…well…let’s hope it won’t…”
Even though she agreed with Nola’s words, her face seemed to indicate otherwise.
Exactly what was she hoping wouldn’t happen? That she never mentioned in detail. Her more simple minded friend, Nola, didn’t bother asking either; she merely took it as she hadn’t said it at all. In order to aid Mo Ke, she had spent far too long without a nice lava bath. As of right now, all she wanted to do was jump into the nearest lava lake and have a nice soak before returning to her clan.
“Master, here’s the soul from that Flame Devil Child.” No.3 carefully presented the soul with both of his hands, one knee bent in a respect and head lowered entirely.
“Are you still worried?”
“Master, I…”
Arms still wrapped around Mo Na, I gave him a smile before saying: “It’s alright, I know what you are trying to say. As for that soul, you can have it. Just remember, you are the subordinate I value the most. Back when One-eye and Nine-fingers betrayed me, only you and Big 4 were there by my side, that I will never forget.”
“Master…” At that point, he raised his head and his eyes began to water up, clearly touched by my words. In fact, his face was a such mess right now, I highly doubted he was even able to speak through that waterfall flowing from his eyes.
“Come on, stand up already. What’s with all the bawling? Finish up that soul and get me a quick count of the those who surrendered. Don’t forget, our main mission today is to send Nola home while finding the nearest lava lake.”
