Marlon suddenly noticed that the Succubus Queen across from him had stopped her observation of the chessboard, staring blankly.
"She must be struggling to accept that her powerful subordinates have nearly been wiped out," he thought with a hint of amusement. However, despite the Succubus Queen's daze, he had no intention of launching an attack.
In a moment of fury, if he acted recklessly, he might become a target for her to vent her anger upon. Among divine beings, unless one possessed the Origin of Chaos like the Archduke of Blood and could easily overpower their opponent, they would not carelessly engage in a life-and-death struggle with another being of equal rank.
However...
The Succubus Queen was indeed in a state of shock.
Beneath her veil, her face—remarkably perfect and even divine in its allure—showed signs of astonishment, her rosy lips slightly parted.
What had she seen?
It was the scene in the sky where Sterl was mercilessly slaughtering many powerful members of the Succubus Queen's faction.
Yet, the intention behind the image being relayed by her Supremes was to showcase Mephistopheles's madness and audacity.
But through the Succubus Queen's eyes, she saw a—
Handsome figure, though that wasn't the main point.
He exuded an extremely cool and ascetic demeanor, carrying an inexplicable yet lethal allure!
Moreover...
He was a standard humanoid.
Gulp.
Huh?? Marlon was a bit bewildered. Why did the Succubus Queen suddenly swallow hard? What was going on?
And why was her mood becoming increasingly agitated, looking particularly excited?
What exactly was she seeing??
Shouldn't this be about her subordinates being ruthlessly slaughtered?
Marlon's guesses were completely off-base, but the conclusion was still correct.
The Succubus Queen's subordinates were indeed being slaughtered, but the instigator was not someone under Lord of Evil Spirits.
However, he couldn't understand what was so delightful about this.
Suddenly, the Succubus Queen stood up.
"Respected deity of the main world, perhaps we shall meet again by fate."
"It's a pity; I originally wanted to engage in some friendly games of [Transcendence] with you."
"Now it seems that won't be necessary."
The Succubus Queen spoke with a chilling indifference, which only heightened Marlon's sense of strangeness. He was tasked with intercepting this queen precisely because his looks were the most striking among the three divine beings, allowing him to delay her for a time.
Who would have imagined that the Succubus Queen, who had previously shown him considerable warmth and had even flirted with him during their chess game, would now be as cold as ice, as if she had found a new love and was ready to cast aside the old one.
"Wait, Licitris, you can't leave!"
Marlon shook his head, trying to cast aside the bizarre thoughts swirling in his mind. The Succubus Queen was indeed terrifying, yet after spending some time with her, he had genuinely developed feelings for her. The allure of her respected position was truly formidable!
He stood coldly in front of the Succubus Queen, not only out of duty but also to seize an opportunity to strike. Otherwise, his mental state would continue to be influenced by her enchantment...
However...
Marlon never anticipated that the usually calm and composed Succubus Queen would suddenly adopt an extremely cold tone.
"Do you dare to block me? Fine!"
The Succubus Queen produced a peculiar flower and swallowed it whole. The simplicity of the action was unexpectedly enticing, nearly causing Marlon to lose his composure. Thankfully, he activated his Divine Power and created a unique domain that surrounded him, allowing his expression to return to normal.
But Marlon noticed that after swallowing the flower, the Succubus Queen's eyes transformed from human pupils to vertical slits, shining with a bright golden light. She crouched down, taking on a predatory stance.
"Marlon, if you try to stop me..."
"You will die!"
Before her words even finished, a sensation of frenzied tearing erupted in Marlon's right arm. He felt as though a storm had passed, completely shredding his right hand!
After meeting Mephistopheles, how could she ever compare the men she had encountered in her life... or rather, her demonic life, to this extraordinary figure?
Only a few strong individuals from the Buddhist nation could barely catch her eye, but none could compare to Mephistopheles!
At this moment, the Succubus Queen released her state of burning life force and continued to move forward at full speed.
She had already grasped the whole situation: in short, this little fellow Mephistopheles, whom she held in high regard, had actually single-handedly killed the strongest subordinate of the Lord of Evil Spirits.
Now, it seemed he was engaged in some...
Uh, slaughtering those among his own ranks who had offended him.
Well, that's fine!
A swift and decisive revenge! Good job!
The Succubus Queen felt that Mephistopheles was doing the right thing!
After all, he could be considered one of her faction. When Lovic had targeted him earlier, they had backstabbed him—despicable!
Fortunately, he wasn't harmed; otherwise...
I would have sent you all to... a painful death.
The more Licitris thought about it, the angrier she became.
Mephistopheles, such a good person, how could you bully him like this? He can endure, but I cannot!
Licitris was increasingly anxious. She knew that Lovic, under the Lord of Evil Spirits, was expected to ascend to godhood and was extremely important to the Lord of Evil Spirits.
Because Lovic was utterly loyal, once he ascended, the Lord of Evil Spirits would directly possess a divine-level combatant under his command.
If Lovic were to die, the Lord of Evil Spirits would likely come personally to target Mephistopheles...
I must protect Mephistopheles in advance.
"Fine, that scoundrel Rog will definitely go mad this time; I'll settle both old and new scores with him."
The Succubus Queen had made up her mind to protect Mephistopheles with all her strength! She would even be willing to go to war with the Lord of Evil Spirits! It would be a chance to take revenge for the attack from his subordinates.
It was clear that since Lovic had acted, this internal conflict was definitely instigated by the Lord of Evil Spirits. Rog was not like Licitris, who had sacrificed a Supreme to arrange matters in this layer of Hell.
Therefore, the Lord of Evil Spirits could leave whenever he wished, and he was simply looking to violently extract some benefits from his allies before making a hasty retreat.
This grudge, the Succubus Queen was not willing to endure!
Although facing the Lord of Evil Spirits would deplete her strength significantly, just thinking about it made the fire of fury blaze within Licitris.
According to the Supremes, Mephistopheles had actually withstood the Iridescent-Level skill and counterattacked!
To ordinary demons, this indicated that he hid his strength deeply and possessed many trump cards.
But in the heart of the Succubus Queen, there was only immense pain.
Mephistopheles had encountered such danger, and I wasn't there just now!
Thus, the Succubus Queen hurriedly sent messages to the Supremes.
"Keep an eye on him!"
"Monitor the movements of the Lord of Evil Spirits."
Then she shot forward at full speed. Licitris found herself within a magical artifact activated by three gods, an area vast and boundless; even with divine speed, it would take some time to exit.
After flying for several seconds, the scenery around her hadn't changed at all.
...
On the other side, upon receiving the Queen's reply, Flanda's expression shifted dramatically.
Lovic was merely a Supreme, not even quasi-divine; even with a red skill as a trump card, Mephistopheles could still secure victory.
But if Her Majesty intervened... how could Mephistopheles withstand that?
She could only pray...
That Her Majesty could spare Mephistopheles' life...