Chapter 72 - The Demon Lord

N/All: Sorry!!! I know I said I was going to write throughout the day, but I slept all day. :v

Now, enough of my apologies and let's get to the chapter.

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Mammon staggered back as he took Athena's headbutt. With watery eyes, the demon held his nose and glared at Athena.

"My nose! You bitch, you broke my nose!"

"Heh! We're not even yet. You broke my wrist." Athena laughed painfully.

While Mammon had wounds all over his body and a nose that spurted blood, Athena had her entire right forearm purple and crooked.

"You're just a useless human! Don't compare your arm to my precious nose!" Mammon complained and then the demon was hurled at Athena.

Athena widened her eyes at the sight of Lobana in Mammon's back and then frowned as she landed dozens of blows on Mammon with her sword and kicked him aside as if he were a punching bag.

"What are you doing here?" Athena questioned with concern in her voice.

"I came to help you!" Lobana said without taking her eyes off the demon who writhed in the dust on the ground as if he were being attacked by bees.

"Thanks!" Athena screamed with a mixture of feelings of happiness, respect and concern. "But it's too dangerous here!"

Mammon rose from the dust and looked at Athena's back. Until then, he hadn't realized the extent of Athena's power, but now, looking calmly, he could see the abundance of mana the woman had and gritted his teeth.

(A saint who can become a threat? What kind of saint is she?) Mammon thought and flew in an attack on Athena's back. (That's enough for those three... I'll get rid of you first.)

However, Lobana who had her eyes on the demon and raised her shield again.

"It's because it's dangerous that I'm here to make sure you come back alive."

The Valkyrie quickly covered Athena's back, where Mammon was about to strike with his claws and blocked the attack, having her arm thrown to the side on impact.

Mammon opened a smile and attacked Lobana who had her guard open, but Athena forced the woman to the ground and deflected Mammon's attack with her sword.

"Then let's make a deal." Athena said as she followed Mammon that was starting to walk away.

Lobana got up and followed behind Athena. "What agreement?"

Athena enveloped the sword in her left hand with golden flames of the {Celestial Rebuke} spell and merged it with the skill [Holy Fall].

"If you get in danger and realize you're going to get in the way, get out here."

Athena jumped up and rained a tower of holy fire on Mammon that blocked as he blew out a dark and strangely gelatinous fire.

The two powers collided. One trying to overwhelm the other, and spread out, destroying the surrounding terrain.

Lobana made a face of disgust when she saw the black fire that fell to the ground and spread in pieces of wood like a snail.

But soon the Valkyrie recovered and attacked Mammon with the skill [Dimensional Cut] which opened a dark rift in front of her.

Mammon frowned as he reached out to block the blow that didn't come. He was starting to wonder what Lobana did, but then another crack appeared behind him.

Mammon was hurled to Lobana, who hit him in the head with her shield, making a dull sound along with a demon snarl, causing Athena to giggle.

Mammon had never been so humiliated in all of his eternity. In fact, no demon lord had ever been treated this way before.

Whether in hell or in the mortal world, they were glorified and feared. But there he was. Being spanked by two women.

Mammon knew of the new saint that had emerged. All the demon lords had noticed, but they'd brushed it aside because they thought it wasn't something worth worrying about.

A saint would not grow strong overnight. But now Mammon saw that he was wrong. He felt that Athena was different from other saints and that he would have to make more effort to kill her.

(Then so be it.) Mammon straightened, opened his arms to the sides and a huge circle of red fire opened around him.

Athena frowned and attacked, but a wall of red fire blocked the golden flames as if it were nothing.

"Lobana, step away from the circle." Athena warned Lobana that soon walked away.

Mammon broke into a wide, pleasant smile and summoned his magic in a powerful and sinister voice.

{Infernal Ascension}

At that moment, the immense island that housed the empire, Basilica and five other kingdoms, tilted to the north as it shook.

Everywhere, people lost their balance and rolled across the ground as if they were on a slope, and buildings gave way and collapsed.

In places near the edge, like Basilian, several people were thrown off the island, falling to their deaths in the world below, or were devoured by animals and flying monsters, such as wyverns, before hitting the ground.

Beneath the island, from the world below stretched a column of red and dark fire that struck, pierced and pushed the island with mighty force.

The flames in the circle grew and stretched like a tower to the sky, making sparks and balls of fire rain down all over Tarna.

Athena looked at it with a disgusted expression and looked at Lobana. "Now is your time, Lobana!"

Lobana listened, but she didn't say anything and she didn't look at the pillar of fire either. Beyond the red flames, Lobana's eyes were on... "Mifa?"

"Huh?" Athena widened her eyes when she heard Lobana and followed the woman's gaze.

Mifa was watching from afar. In fact she was paralyzed by the tower of fire that could be seen from anywhere on the plains nearby.

"But what is she doing here?!" Athena despaired but had no time to do anything.

The flames that pierced the island reached the surface where Mammon was. A red-black explosion occurred and the fire tower grew thicker and its flames more violent.

Athena grabbed Lobana around the waist and ran away with the tower of fire following her as it grew thicker and thicker.

"Aaah! What the hell!" Athena complained and threw Lobana on top of a house and when the woman had got up, Athena held her again and jumped from house to house to where the wall still existed.

Looking down, Athena looked for Mifa. Her racing heart shrank in anguish every second she didn't find the girl.

"Please…" Athena begged. "Please let her be alright!?"

Lobana got up from the place where Athena had left her and also started looking for Mifa.

Sweat began to trickle down the bodies of women who didn't mind the heat. They kept their eyes on their surroundings still intact and not on fire or near the tower of fire.

The tower of fire was so hot that lava began to trickle around it. And its colossal size occupied the place where hundreds of houses that had once existed.

However, to Athena, none of this mattered. Mifa was somewhere down there and she had to find her beloved.

Athena was about to run and scream Mifa's name until she find her, when the flames wavered and went out leaving a huge hole in place.

Above the hole, Mammon floated, but he was different. His skin and hair were white as snow and his eyes were completely red.

Athena and the demon made eye contact for a few seconds and then he disappeared from his place.

Athena pushed Lobana off the wall and defended Mammon's attack with her sword. The demon used his nails as if it were a single blade. The two made and defended dozens of blows and walked away.

"Stop the joke." Mammon said in a soft voice. "I will eat tour heart and take your soul with me."

"Athena, is everything alright?" Lobana yelled from somewhere below where Athena and the demon were.

Athena breathed relief as she heard Lobana's voice and without taking her eyes off Mammon, Athena confirmed her state. "...I'll be fine. Please find Mifa. Please Lobana!"

"I got it!"

Athena looked into flaming red eyes and her tense expression relaxed. With Lobana looking for Mifa, she could concentrate on battling the demon.

"Tell me, have any demon lords ever been killed?" Athena's mind was full of Mifa, but it was also calm and with ways to kill Mammon. "If not, I'll be the first to slaughter one of you."

Mammon's brow twitched slightly and the battle actually began with a twist of the demon's lower body in a kick towards Athena's ribs.

Athena defended with her swollen forearm and gritted her teeth in pain. Athena gripped the hilt of the sword tightly and cut the air where the demon was.

"Kill a demon lord? Ha... Hahaha!" Mammon laughed on Athena's back. "You can't even keep up with me anymore."

"Not yet..." Athena's eyes glowed blue with the use of mana. "[Fortification]" Athena said and a red layer glowed and disappeared on her body as her muscles tensed and her bones grew stronger.

Mammon clasped his hands together like a mace and hit Athena in the back of the head, knocking her to the ground.

Athena rose from the debris that cushioned her fall and a green layer glowed and disappeared on her body when she activated [Acceleration].

Mammon flew at high speed towards Athena and Athena cut the air creating a pressure that threw the demon against the wall.

Athena flew in a leap and cut through the concrete as Mammon dodged the attack.

Mammon reached out to Athena and a burst of reddish black flames of the {Hellfire} and Athena cut the flames using {Heavenly Rebuke} which Mammon easily defended with his palm.

"What the hell are you?" Mammon frowned and created a net of darkness.

The net stretched like a spider's web as it was thrown at Athena, who fled the area to be affected.

When the magic hit the wall, the concrete was cut like a piece of cheese and collapsed, raising a dense cloud of dust.

Taking advantage of the coverage that she received, Athena focuses on the Akashic Records. A wide range of skills and magics flooded Athena's mind, but what she wanted was much deeper.

However, whether focused or not, the battle still continued and Mammon wouldn't wait.

The demon flew into the dust cloud as he sensed that Athena was not moving.

When he found the woman with her eyes closed and standing on the wall, Mammon grabbed Athena's hair and flung the woman into the air and flying over her.

Mammon kicked Athena to the ground using all his strength. Athena widened her eyes, spat blood, and gasped as she tried to breathe the air that refused to draw in her lungs.

From the ground, Mifa followed the fight as best her eyes could and began to run automatically when she saw Athena fall to the ground at a frightening speed.

But Lobana found and held her. "You can't go there."

Without looking at Lobana, Mifa shook herself, trying to disentangle herself from the woman's hands and screamed hysterically. "Let go of me, Lobana! Athena is..."

"And what can you do when you can't even let go of my hands." Lobana said in a gruff tone. Rubbing the harsh reality into Mifa's face. "How did you get here? Where is Oliana and the others?"

"Oliana let me decide what to do!" Mifa screamed, still fighting Lobana's grip.

"Do you have any idea why Athena left you behind? Do you have any idea what will happen to her if something happens to you? How destroyed will she be?"

As soon as Lobana said that, the ground shook with a loud roar. Everyone who heard the roar trembled as they looked at where the sound was coming from.

From behind the houses that were still standing, a gigantic dragon appeared. Its white scales reflected the sunlight in a yellowish golden color and its wings blew the dust of all Tarna away.

"Athena?" Mifa said upon seeing the dragon's emerald green eyes.