"I really didn't want to use this spell on you, children. I like you four and I actually saw you four as my grandchildren."
When Sora and the others heard what Jeter said they almost spat out blood. They knew that even though Jeter looked like a middle-aged man, the truth was Jeter was actually a few hundred years old already. To demons, this might not be so shocking but for a human to have this kind of life span meant he was either a semi-divine being or he did something taboo. Obviously, the latter seems more likely than the former, which made the four of them shudder by the thought that this old man thought of them as something like that.
"What are you planning on doing?" Even though they couldn't move the four of them could still talk, so Sora asked the question all of them were thinking.
"I just want us to continue on our journey as before. We have been given a mission and we should fulfill that mission."
"You mean the mission of killing the demon lord Kretos. Hmph, do you still think I will do that when I finally found out what you and the king have been doing? When I first came here, you made the demons sound like monsters that would kill on a whim. Yet all I saw were you, humans, doing that instead."
"You keep on saying demons are evil then what about you guys. Throughout my adventures, I have seen the way the Sliral Kingdom deals with its people. In the end, aren't you guys the ones invading the demon lands?! Aren't you the ones who want to assassinate the demon lord to take over the demon lands?!"
Hearing Sora's righteous sounding words made Jeter sigh deeply. Jeter looked at the three others in the hero party.
"How about you help me convince him. Surely, you guys understand what's happening. The only reason we're attacking the demon lands isn't because we want to invade them. No, this is a preemptive strike, we all know after the demons become united they will become the greatest threat to humanity. So while they are weakened shouldn't we use this chance?"
The three were silent when they heard Jeter's explanation. Sora, on the other hand, got even angrier.
"How could you know that! How could you say that the demons would become a threat to you, and how can you use that as an excuse to invade them first?!"
Jeter shook his head and answered Sora. "They're demons a vicious barbaric race. Of course, they are thinking of attacking us."
"So you're telling me that you guys from the Sliral Kingdom are not barbaric and vicious? How hypocritical are you, people?!"
"It doesn't look like I'm going to be able to convince you. How about the three of you, do you feel the same way?"
"... I was always taught that demons were pure evil, and we should never trust them... I haven't met any demons before, but I have seen evil humans as well. If there can be good humans, couldn't there be good demons as well?" Niel spoke while trying his hardest to move.
"I have seen the darkest depths of the Sliral Kingdom, in my eyes, those on top are more vicious and evil than any demon." Night gave his opinion while looking for a way to escape.
"Hmph, if I knew of your plan to invade I would have reported this all to the head priest of the Temple of Justice. Human or demon I believe both can be saved, as a follower of the Goddess of Justice. I only followed you here as I was convinced of Sora's justice... Jeter if you repent now I will speak on your behalf, as a combat priest of the Temple of Justice." Jason spoke with burning righteousness in his voice.
Hearing the answers of his companions made Jeter sigh deeply. They could only talk this way since they haven't seen any real demons. He on the other hand has seen a few demons. There might be evil humans, but they cannot compare to how evil the demons were.
"Why can't you see the light? Well, since you don't want to finish our mission willingly, I will need to make you do it with or without your consent. But first I better finish off this demon that's here."
Jeter looked at Kretos and saw that the young demon hasn't left yet. "You should've run when you had the chance."
"Why should I run away? Are you telling me I should run away from a scheming weakling like you?" When Jeter heard what Kretos said he glared at the young demon. It was that moment Jeter saw that Kretos was looking at him as if he was looking at a fool, this infuriated Jeter to no end.
"As expected of a demon arrogant and ignorant." Jeter pointed his wooden staff at Kretos, he gathered mana while chanting. Seeing this scene the other three shouted at Kretos.
"Run!"
"Flee!"
"Evade!" The three of them spoke at the same time. Sora on the other hand didn't say anything since he knows what the outcome would be.
Kretos remained unmoving he didn't even look perturbed which irritated Jeter even more. He already sensed that Kretos's mana wasn't all that great, he was just a normal low ranking demon. Jeter activated his spell, a huge ball of fire burst forth from Jeter's staff and headed straight towards Kretos.
The ball of fire hit Kretos dead on and a heavy smoke came after. Once the smoke dissipated they could no longer see a trace of Kretos's body. Seeing this scene made Niel, Night, and Jason frown. On the other hand, Jeter was smiling happily in his heart, but on the outside, he showed a sympathetic look.
"Foolish demon, you shouldn't have acted so arrogantly with such weak power." As Jeter was saying this the group suddenly heard someone clapping his hands. They then saw that someone was right beside Jeter.
"Great performance, that was a fun thing to watch. You humans, are more entertaining than I thought." Jeter looked beside him and saw Kretos was there unharmed. Jeter activated another spell and golden chains wrapped around Kretos's body. This was one of Jeter's trump cards he was saving just in case something went wrong.
Seeing Kretos was easily captured made Jeter feel a bit relieved. When he saw Kretos appear behind him without anyone noticing Jeter thought that Kretos might be some powerful figure, but seeing how easily he was caught by the [Holy light chains], Jeter thought he was just overthinking things.
"Little demon, it seems like there is something special about you. Once we're done with the demon lord, I'll find out what you're hiding."
"Hmph, you think this puny spell is enough to handle me?" The moment Kretos's said those words the chains started cracking and Kretos burst of the chains. Everyone present except for Sora was surprised to see such a scene.
The spell [Holy light chains] could even trap Spirit Rulers. Yet Kretos destroyed it like it was nothing. This time Jeter finally took Kretos seriously as he looked at the demon with a tinge of fear in his eyes.
'If I can't defeat this demon by myself, I'll use Niel, Night, and Jason. I can use the control spell on Sora later when we face Demon Lord Kretos, for now, the three should be enough.'
After formulating his plan Jeter tapped his staff on the ground three times while chanting a spell. Niel, Night, and Jason could feel their consciousness being taken over by something. Their bodies were finally moving but they weren't the ones in control.
Jason pounced at Kretos and attacked using his fists. Among the hero party members, Jason had the most powerful physical body, and even without using mana, he could crush boulders. This time he poured mana into his attacking fist which should have tripled his power, but Kretos caught it with ease. He tossed Jason upward and then hit him with a chop at the back of his neck making Jason fall unconscious.
While Kretos was dealing with Jason, Niel and Night had gotten close to Kretos and was about to attack. But before they could do anything chains came out of Kretos's shadow and wrapped around them trapping them. No matter what they did they couldn't break free from the chains.
Seeing how easily Kretos dealt with the three who were known to be among the top fighters in the whole Sliral Kingdom, Jeter finally felt truly afraid. The only reason he was still able to somehow keep it together was because he still hasn't played the most powerful card in his deck, the hero Sora.
On the other hand, Kretos was disappointed by the so called party members of the hero. They weren't worth much. If they weren't being controlled and doing this against their will, Kretos would've already killed them on the spot.
"Who are you? You can't just be some normal demon." Jeter gathered up his courage and asked. When Kretos heard Jeter's question he once again looked at the old man as if he were nothing more than a clown. Unlike before Jeter no longer got angry seeing that expression on Kretos's face, instead he felt extreme fear towards it.
"Haven't you realized already, I'm the one you've been wanting to meet." Kretos smiled a very vicious smile while looking Jeter who was now looking confused. It took him a few seconds before it dawned on him. Jeter had his eyes wide open and moved a few steps backward as he shakingly pointed at Kretos.
"Y-you're Demon Lord Kretos?!"