282 Passion to live

"You guys did it!!"

"That was amazing!!"

"Great job!!"

They all kept praising and shouting compliments to the two of them despite one look from their faces saying that all Detra and Dia wanted right now was a comfy bed to sleep on.

Evlin felt so strange seeing her group acting so nice to the former goddess of the east and the former nightmare queen. She began to wonder if Knucker would become their ally in the future one day as well, but as she thought about that, her memories of all the things he did to her started to flash, making her drop that idea completely.

This man is the reason Gustav was dead after all. That was something Evlin could never forgive.

"Yeah, yeah... Sure, I'm amazing, thank you..." Detra whispered while waving her hand so that they would leave her alone, "Can we not lose focus of the situation please?"

"Come on! Let us enjoy our first victory a bit!" Evlin argued.

"Is it really a victory?" Detra replied.

"Eh...?"

The mage looked at her friends and noticed that Daren, Ashley, and Leona were all lost in thoughts as if the three were thinking the same thing.

"That was too easy..." Ashley mumbled.

"Excuse me...?" Dia whispered, "Does it look like that was an easy fight for you?"

"No, she's right..." Detra added, "This is meant to be Knucker's last stand against his mortal enemy, and yet, we managed to beat his first general in a matter of minutes..."

"What are you saying...?" Evlin wondered.

"I'm saying... This must also be part of his plan..."

"..."

Evlin then turned around to gaze at the arena and noticed the bits and pieces of Wrath starting to float and flay towards Knucker's avatar, proceeded to be completely absorbed into his skin by the palm of his hand like a vacuum cleaner.

"What did you just do...?" Daren wondered.

The dragon in a human form began to open and close his hand before replying, "I gave Wrath a part of myself to make it so that he would not be killed by blessed energy alone... Now that he is done for, I'm taking my present back!"

Detra widened hed eyes, "That's not all, is it?"

Knucker placed his finger under his chin while tilting his head, "Who knows..."

Ashley then understood the situation, "He's not just taking his power back... He's also taking the power of the demon leader's sin..."

"The power of the sin?" Evlin repeated.

"All the demon leaders are powered by the sin they represent... If Knucker absorbed Wrath... That means he can become stronger by feeding on people's hatred as well..." Ashley continued.

Leona then looked at Detra's and Dia's state, "That's not all... If all the demons are this hard to take down... We also will have barely any firepower left to fight him back when he comes for us..."

The group started to feel uneasy. A sense of doubt began to take over making them reconsider if they should keep fighting and running the risk of turning Knucker into an even more dangerous force.

The dragon himself then stood up and started to glare at the group, it was one of the few times anyone had seen him drop his smirk.

"Hey... What are you guys thinking about...? The show's not over yet... Could it be that you are planning on running away again right after the first fight?" he mumbled while snapping his fingers.

Evlin began to hear the sound of people screaming and noticed that ten people in the audience had been killed by Knucker's clones from getting their necks sliced off.

"Stop!!" Evlin screamed, "What are you doing!!???"

"You wasted ten seconds of my life, so I'm wasting ten of our lovely guests... Sounds fair, right?" he replied while glaring daggers at Evlin, "Stop daydreaming... Nobody is leaving this place until the game is over!"

Evlin clenched her fist trying to hold the desire to jump across the field and smack Knucker in the face, but she knew that would not solve anything, so she did her best to contain her feelings.

Knucker looked at another one of the dragons, one that possessed purple scales and red hair, and ordered it to come next. The best did as it was told and jumped all the way from where it was sitting to land in the middle of the arena.

The lizard then began to shrink until its shape changed to that of a young boy who seemed to be around the age of fifteen with a skin of the same color as the dragon's scales. Due to not wearing a shirt, it could be seen that he had a rather muscular body for someone of that age.

"Lust..." Knucker shouted, "You're next..."

"As you wish, my lord..." the purple lad replied.

"That's Lust...?" Joseph mumbled, "He's not what I expected..."

"I think we all know what you expected..." Claire commented.

Daren took a deep breath and stepped forward to enter the arena as well, "Let me take this one..."

Evlin grabbed hold of his arm for a moment, "Are you sure? You only been a mage for a short time... Maybe we should think more carefully about this..."

"It's okay..." Daren stated, "It's best that I go now before we have to face the real strong ones..."

"What...?"

"Look at him..." Daren pointed at Lust's purple skin, pointed ears, large fangs sticking out of his mouth, and claws sharper than any blade he has ever seen, "The Wrath guy from before looked like a normal old man, but this one seems more like a demon..."

"So what...?"

"The stronger a demon is, the more it looks like a regular human... This is so they can erase their presence and blend themselves among other people... The most dangerous demons are the ones you don't realize are right next to you..." Ashley explained, "So chances are that this one is among the weakest members of the seven..."

"I... See..." Evlin replied. She wondered how in the world Ashley knew all that, but then was reminded that her brain was fused with a demon once in the past.

"I know I'm not as strong as you guys..." Daren continued, "But let me at least handle someone like him so you can conserve your power..."

"Okay... Good luck, Daren!"

At that moment, Lilith came closer to pull Daren's sleeve, something rather impressive to do when one considered she could not see, and brought his face closer to give him a kiss.

"Be careful... Our son needs a father to raise him..." she whispered.

"I will..." he replied before finally continuing.

Eclipse followed right behind him and acted as Daren's choice of weapon, alongside a pair of metal claws engulfed in terminal energy made by Ellie and, inside of it, Evlin's magic whip that she kindly landed to him in order to allow the lad to perform his magic.

"I could hear your conversation, you know?" Lust commented while crossing his bulky arms, "Aren't you looking down on me a little too much...?"

Daren just shrugged, "I just said that so that my friends wouldn't worry so much..." he admitted, "I have never in my life looked down on any opponent! I can't afford to when I have so much to lose..."

"Ah! In that case... Let me show you my respect by giving my all in our fight..." Lust stated while opening his arms and getting into a combat stance.

"Do as you want... I have no intention of losing this fight and dying here either way..." Daren commented while assuming a battle stance as well.

"That's great! I can feel your passion flowing into my soul... So much passion for your own life, for your friends, for your family..." the demon of lust noticed, "You are a man who managed to find a lot of reason to love being alive..."

Daren smiled, thinking back to the man he used to be, a man with an empty soul moving with nothing but a desire for revenge keeping him alive, and how everything changed after he met Marceus, Lilith, Evlin, Lance, and everyone who made his heart whole again.

"I guess you're right..."

"Perfect... Come!! Use your passion to power your fists to face me! And I shall respond with the same!" Lust stated.

"As you wish!" Daren yelled as he started to charge after Lust from the left side while Eclipse would run on the right.

The closer Daren got, the more Lust could feel his desire for victory in order to return to the family he loved so much.

Little did Daren knew that this same desire was only working to boost Lust's own power.

The demon then jumped to the side to grab Eclipse with one hand and used its black hairy body like a hammer to smack Daren on the ground.

"Guaahhhh!!!" the man cried after being squashed by the weight of his own pet.

"Come on!! Show me more of your lust for staying alive!!" Lust shouted as he moved closer and kicked the two with one swing of his leg.

"Kuaaaahhh!!" Daren yelled as he began to fly around the arena like a football until both he and Eclipse crashed against the ground.

The whole group consisting of Evlin and her friends stood frozen as they gazed at Daren completely demolished mere seconds after the fight started.

"Oh no..." Evlin whispered.