"──The devils call it 'Pandemonium'. Once you experience it, you'll understand why."
Arald, the chairman of Hitchcock, said.
When the devil's powers clash against each other, it's called Pandemonium.
The nature of 'devil's power' varies from devil to devil.
Just as Belphegor, the devil of sloth, bestows 'sloth', and Ria Lis bestows 'charm'.
As such, the devil's power is not inherently meant to kill enemies.
This is also true for Frondier, who still doesn't know the true nature of his own devil's power.
And it's the same for Baal, who burns with murderous intent.
'This will show him his place.'
Known as the King of Hell, he literally instills fear into his opponents. It is the most appropriate power for a ruler.
No devil has ever resisted his power, and that's how he was able to build a massive army of devils in the West.
The moment he locked eyes with Frondier with such strong conviction.
Baal felt a strange power in Frondier's eyes.
He thought it was a mistake for a moment, but it was unmistakable.
Frondier was also using the devil's power.
'How can a human...!'
Baal was shaken, but he quickly regained his composure.
Even if the human could use the devil's power, nothing would change. His power had always been absolute.
Among devils, the devil's power is a proof of submission.
Naturally, devils who want to rise above others compete with each other's power.
When devil's powers clash, it would be ideal if the stronger power simply wins, but since the types of powers are different from the beginning, it doesn't work that way. Ȑ
There is a certain degree of compatibility, both sides may withstand each other's power, or neither may withstand it.
In other words, the clash of devil's powers is not simply a collision of energies, but the intangible powers themselves engage in another battle.
It is at this moment that devils truly 'confront' each other's power.
The ground beneath their feet began to crack slowly.
Hot lava flowed like a bursting spring, and a heat wave that dried all sweat and moisture rose upwards.
Screams of the dead pouring down from the sky, or perhaps mockery and contempt aimed at Frondier.
Baal's power, 'fear'. This is the illusion it creates.
It's too realistic to simply call it an illusion; the pain suffered within the illusion is felt as real.
In the process, those with weak minds may even die from shock.
That's why Baal shouted for him to die. There's no way a mere human could withstand the illusion he shows.
When only one side uses the devil's power, it only inflicts its effects on the opponent, but when both sides' devil's powers clash, the very root of that power reveals itself . Because it's a battle of origin that must never be lost.
"I am Baal, the King of Hell."
Standing on the hellish landscape he created, Baal glared at Frondier with unwavering murderous intent.
"Do you think you can withstand my power?"
Lava began to flow over Frondier's feet. Hordes of grim reapers with giant scythes approached from all sides.
Creak, something reached out from the lava. Raising a body that was melting away in the lava, slowly towards Frondier.
They made sounds that were neither screams nor laughter. No, it wasn't that they were making sounds, but that sounds were being made on their own.
Just as they were slowly approaching, a giant blade fell from the air and sliced off Frondier's right wrist. As if to avenge Frondier cutting off Baal's wrist.
Frondier winced silently and looked at his severed arm. Indeed, even if it was an illusion, the pain was real.
'This is Pandemonium...'
The devil's power is the power of the soul. It is the weaponization of one's soul to pierce the opponent.
He finally understood what it meant. It was literally pandemonium, everything he saw.
Frondier knew that when devil's powers clash, their forms would be revealed. That's why he led Baal to use his devil's power on him.
The lava had already begun to engulf his feet, and the breath of the grim reapers grazed his shoulders.
In the midst of it all, Frondier asked Baal.
Huh? Baal frowned at Frondier's unexpected question.
Where is this? What nonsense is this human spouting? Does he really think this illusion is reality?
"You're supposed to be the King of Hell."
But Frondier continued.
"Then this must be the landscape of that hell. Isn't that right? Where is the hell you rule as king?"
Baal finally understood what Frondier was saying.
However, he had no answer.
The lava that had engulfed Frondier's feet now burned his skin.
The grim reapers' scythes pierced his shoulders, sides, and thighs. It was a deliberate act of torture, not to kill him.
But even in a situation where he should have been screaming and dying from shock, Frondier continued to question Baal.
"Where is this hell? Nastrond? Or Tartarus?"
Baal was speechless at Frondier's bizarre state.
It was shocking enough that Frondier was calmly enduring all the fear he possessed, but
In reality, Baal had no answer to Frondier's question.
Frondier nodded as if he understood, seeing Baal's silence.
"This is nowhere. Of course, lava and grim reapers, noisy ghosts, guillotine-like falling blades, corpses crawling out of lava. Hell couldn't be this chaotic."