“Thousand-Eyed Demon...”
Among the three free mages, the last one to speak up, Obed, slowly opened his mouth. “Stop your useless temptations. Though our faith is free, it’s not without a bottom line. We won’t make deals with demons to pursue illusory power.”
“That’s right. Free mages like us do have principles,” Planck raised his voice and said. Bourne nodded expressionlessly in agreement.
All three legendary mages appeared as white-bearded sage old men, with Obed having the whitest and longest beard. He wore a star-patterned robe and a triangular mage hat, looking quite old-school. He embodied the stereotypical impression people had of old mages.
In comparison, Planck, wearing a white lab coat, and Bourne, dressed in a suit, looked much more modern. They didn’t seem like mages, but more like researchers.
The three all stated their firm resolve to never make deals with demons, though their true feelings were unknown. After all, their faith was too cheap and came with a price tag; they were willing to sell their beliefs to any deity for the right reward, evil gods included. And demons belonged to the evil god faction.
The Thousand-Eyed Demon laughed heartily, seeing their wavering attitude under their pretense. He said frankly, “The church prepared thoroughly this time. I’ll likely be driven back to hell. Just because we can’t make a deal now doesn’t mean we can’t in the future. I very much look forward to receiving invitations from all three of you.”
“You talk too much, Demon!”
Sensing his two colleagues’ interest, Obed raised his staff horizontally, and surging fire elements gathered above the ancient city. A small sun ten meters in diameter radiated intense heat, its great energy waves distorting space and instantly breaking the sealed passage between the ancient city and the outside world.
“Legendary mages are indeed impressive. You have the qualifications to enter the Astral Plane and gain vast knowledge, but you cannot find deities willing to accept your faith. You’re destined to fall into madness in the void.”
Under the scorching sun, the Thousand-Eyed Demon’s form flickered, constantly shedding withered bug corpses. He paid it no mind and continued with a laugh, “Free faith has given you unprecedented power, yet because of your impure faith, you belong nowhere. Poor souls. Can you find a Divine Realm to shelter you before you exhaust your vitality?”
That hit a nerve for all of them and made Obed even angrier. “Don’t give him a chance to ramble. A demon’s words aren’t to be trusted. Attack together and finish him off.”
Bourne and Planck didn’t hesitate. The vitality fields unique to legendary mages slowly expanded, their minds manipulating the void and projecting distinctive three-dimensional spaces. The black domain flickered, and Bourne and Planck each took away one of the Thousand-Eyed Demon’s clones.
Obed’s eyes twitched. He knew they had ulterior motives, but couldn’t find the justification to blame them. They would just claim to be protecting the world by creating isolated spaces and preventing the demon’s thoughts from escaping.
“Now it’s just the two of us. What do you think? Would you like a private chat?” The Thousand-Eyed Demon laughed arrogantly. He had said it before: free faith was a cheap commodity, and free mages couldn’t refuse him.
“Save your breath. I'm not like them!” Obed took a deep breath, his old, cloudy eyes flashing with cold light as he forcefully expanded his vitality field to cover the entire area, lifting a blazing sun in the dark domain. Corresponding to the sun, the moon shone coldly as a forest of giant trees rose from the ground, weaving a vivid world.
Unlike Planck, who embraced all faiths, Obed, despite being a free mage, focused on the Life Magic that combined Sun, Moonlight, and Nature, supplementing it with the holy light magic of the Church of Heavenly Father.
If deities were divided into the good and evil factions, the faiths Obed chose would belong to the good side. Even Darkness and Death, which weren’t considered evil gods, were dismissed by him due to their poor reputation—he had studied them, but never delved deep.
As his vitality field expanded, Obed’s aged body began changing. His star-patterned robe glowed brilliantly, and while his ears elongated, he returned to youth with elven markings appearing on his face.
“Such powerful life energy. No wonder you refused my temptation. You can live much longer...” The Thousand-Eyed Demon’s mocking expression disappeared. “You should join the Life Alliance. All three goddesses would be happy to shelter you. I’m curious, why do you insist on staying in the mortal realm?”
“This is my country!” Obed scoffed. His mana surged in tides as the stars on his robe scattered, manifesting an endless river of stars. “You shouldn’t have created clones to deal with us. Once I destroy you, I’ll eliminate your other two clones, giving you no chance to tempt them.”
“Haha, then you better hurry! They’re having quite the pleasant chat over there!”
Killing intent blazed in Obed’s eyes. He raised his staff and transformed it into a bow, attacking with full force from the start.
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Atori wielded his sacred spear, the blade sweeping and sending stone debris flying like a massive sandstorm, cleaving a six-armed magical creature in half. His armor blazed with holy light as he dashed to another magical creature, thrusting the spear straight through the creature’s chest before lifting it high.
Sacred flames erupted. Roaring white fire erased everything, leaving only a wisp of smoke proving that the creature once existed.
Wherever the spear hit, demonic creatures fell in droves. Although a few lucky ones managed to reach Atori with their better agility, they couldn’t break through his defenses; their claws shattered upon contact with his knight armor.
Atori was like a tiger charging into a herd of sheep and a god of war. When he realized that he couldn’t destroy Gluttony’s familiar, he chose to clear the battlefield by slaying all the magical creatures. Meanwhile, his twenty team members took his place, conjuring a holy light barrier to trap the corpse fiend.
The corpse fiend’s offensive power was limited. It was impossible to kill due to its inherent nature, but it was unremarkable in other aspects. Trapped by the tactical unit, it blindly charged toward its mother—Mona, never managing to escape.
The holy light barrier was extremely resilient, not only confining the corpse fiend but also protecting the team from the ripples of the outside battles.
Wayne tried to blend in, but failed several times due to the full roster. He had no choice but to move away from the main battlefield, confronting the monsters he had lured with flair.
He put on the glove of Death and the ring of Darkness. The former wasn’t particularly high quality, but the black spider legs it manifested could entangle targets and parry attacks, making it useful for crowd control. The latter could summon black curtains that absorbed and nullified attacks. With the two magical items, he fought easily, so much so that he could half-heartedly keep the magical creatures busy while contemplating his exit strategy.
Not only hadn’t the Thousand-Eyed Demon appeared, but even his clones were nowhere to be seen. That meant the demon had been tied up. The church would surely win this battle!
Given the circumstances, Wayne saw no reason to remain at the heart of the chaos. If he didn’t leave now, when the church wrapped things up, he wouldn’t get to keep his mask, and his handsome face would be exposed to the world.
The fun he had had made the eventual payback equally punishing. He only wanted to be an anonymous hero, not taking responsibility for his irresponsible behavior during his undercover period.
He should not linger. It was best to retreat while fighting.
He led the abominations away as he moved farther from the crowd. Then he used the glove’s black appendages to bind the creatures tightly. The crimson longsword disemboweled them, wind blades severed their limbs, earth walls built a furnace, and fire incinerated all of them with high heat. Afterward, water washed the ground clean...
Plus one experience point in destroying corpses and evidence after murder.
Having dealt with the magical creatures, Wayne continued to retreat from the battlefield, planning to find a secluded corner to spread his fleshy wings and return to the upper city. Although he couldn’t open a portal, Julia had been waiting for his summons. Once he was out of everyone’s sight, he could...
Hearing the voice of the Thousand-Eyed Demon, Wayne jumped. The white band on his forehead reminded him that he was currently a good guy. Without thinking, he threw four crystal knives at the source of the voice. The Thousand-Eyed Demon swatted the knives aside, eyes narrowing.
Where his gaze landed, space twisted. The white band on Wayne’s forehead shattered, and his evil persona came online. He was once again cut off from the justice of the world, returning to being the demon’s loyal servant, Bruce.