Chapter 168. Demons Against Demon

Of course, Sren didn't believe that. Fiona's intelligence wasn't so high. She couldn't possibly think of deceiving a 4th Circle Demon and even act upon it!

Something appeared fishy. The Dark Mage immediately ordered Fiona to return as he felt Jake was controlling her somehow.

Well, he indeed was doing just that, but it was a permanent control which could not be affected by distance.

Jake told the homunculus to go back with an extra order which he sent straight to her mind.

''Daddy, you too…?'' She asked in an innocent voice but Jake didn't answer her.

Suddenly, a magic circle appeared beneath the homunculus and the demon. As spatial fluctuations appeared in the mana field, Jake immediately realized that it was another teleportation magic circle.

Before his Negation Aura could activate, he and Fiona disappeared from the scene.

On the 69th Floor of Tartus Dungeon.

Jake abruptly appeared in what appeared to be the insides of a boiling volcano. The air was scorching enough to instantly turn a normal human into ashes. The ground was made of rock beds with red lava flowing between them.

Pillars of lava occasionally rose from the ground and shot into the bright, white ceiling. The smell of sulfur was in the air.

''Well, isn't it nice…?'' Jake was surprised to see this floor replicating some characteristics of Hell.

He should panic right now, but his pride didn't let him think that any monster, even in such an environment, could lay a finger on him.

Jake was instead interested in knowing whether that demon had visited Hell. Most 'visitors' below the 4th Circle would become 'permanent residents' most of the time.

Those at the 4th Circle or higher had a chance to return… only if some Earl or Marquis didn't fancy their soul though.

As Jake looked around, he saw that some 3rd Circle Pit Fiends, Infernal Demons, and Soulsuckers were spawning from various mini teleportation circles.

''Oh… Oh dear…'' Jake suddenly felt the urge to laugh and then he couldn't help but become angry.

Sending lesser demons to fight against an Earl? Had this dungeon master lost his mind?

'It seems he simply has no idea…' Jake thought as he looked at his opponents.

Sren was trying to use the tactic of cutting steel with steel. Against a demonic creature, demons themselves had to be more effective. Except clerics and paladins, of course. But they weren't in his dungeon.

'He's wrong… I thought there would be some challenges, but against these?' Jake shot up in the air with his black wings and looked down on the lesser demons.

The aura of his Black Devil bloodline pressured them and his title as a Demon Earl sent waves of warning to their minds.

''I'll give you two options, submit or die,'' He said as all the boiling mana of this volcanic floor converged toward him.

At this moment, immense lava pillars precisely shot from the ground and tried hitting Jake, who was floating above.

''Hmph, petty tricks!'' He maneuvered through air with his high agility, dodging every lava pillar trying to hit him.

The demons below weren't sure whether they should follow their dungeon master's order.

Unlike Jake, who could corrupt anybody and have absolute loyalty, Sren relied on a more practical method.

Threat.

He was stronger, thus he could order around the monsters in his dungeon.

However, now that someone as powerful as or even more powerful than Sren had appeared, the demons hesitated. Also, this wasn't just anyone.

Jake was a Demon Earl!

One who would automatically be considered their superior in Hell. Just as thoughts of submission appeared in their minds, the demons realized they had already given their True Names to Tartus Dungeon Master.

''Kuh… Aren't we just sacrifices then?''

''T-This is ridiculous!''

Some Pit Fiends and Soulsuckers voiced their complaint. But they didn't dare to step back as the Earl neared them.

If that Dark Mage even muttered their True Names with the intent to kill, they would die on spot. And it wouldn't be a painless death either.

Even if they tried fighting, what could lesser demons do against an actual Earl? Though Jake was one of them, these demons didn't think he would be any kinder than an exorcist.

Woo!

Multiple crimson flames shot toward Jake. It appeared the Infernal Demons had made up their minds. If they were going to die, they would die struggling!

Immediately, the pit fiends also followed up. Nearing the demon Earl, they swung their maces and tails hoping to injure him.

The soulsuckers, on the other hand, just waited to die. Not that they didn't want to live, struggling felt meaningless to them.

Their innate ability was literally sucking the soul of their opponents. However, that only worked if the opponent had lower Will than them.

When these thin, white demons tried to attract Jake's soul, they were instead met with harsh backlash. The Will and Intelligence of this Demon Earl was way higher than theirs!

Boom! Boom!

At this moment, something unexpected happened. The infernal demons began self-exploding their mana cores!

It was a brutal way to commit suicide, but dealt immense damage to anyone in the vicinity. An explosion of a 3rd Circle mana core contained power similar to one full-blown 4th Circle attack.

''T-That dungeon master…!'' The pit fiends and soulsuckers immediately realized that Sren was invoking their True Names to explode their mana cores.

''He's treating us as one-use weapo-''

Boooom!

Every demon surrounding Jake exploded at once. The chaotic mana shattered the rock beds and splattered lava all over.

A mini quake ran through the 69th floor and even affected those above and below. It was as if an actual volcano had erupted and Jake was in the middle of it.

On the 72nd Floor, Sren laughed seeing the distorted scene of explosion on a crystal mirror. He was sure that this force could rival a single 5th Circle attack, and it was bound to kill this foolish demon!

''Hah! You thought I was going to let you kill them?''