Chapter 251 The Strong (1)

"He wants you to become a monster… something that even he won't be able to oppose in the future. And through the greatest suffering do the greatest winners emerge,"

I just stayed silent, unable to refute this woman anymore without any solid evidence.

With everything that she said, it could've been true, but to be honest, I wasn't buying any of it… he was still an asshole in my mind.

"*sigh*... Well, I won't tell you to change your mind instantly. I feel it's best to have a conversation with him," Cerberus muttered.

"What? Are you going to send me up to Olympus to have a meeting with him?" I smirked, and Cerberus just shrugged before sipping on her tea once more.

"... Later. You are still a resident of Tartarus, and the angels at the gate would absolutely destroy you in whatever path you take," She smirked as if it to taunt me.

"Mhm… Anyway, how long has it been since I've come out?" I asked while sitting back on the couch, allowing my tense muscles to relax yet again.

"For you, it probably felt like decades, but in reality, it was just over a week or so. On the other hand, your friends will probably feel like it has been a month or so… Beezlebub really tried to kick your ass,"

"So he didn't want to kill me?"

"He did want to kill you or, shall I say, eradicate your soul, but that's impossible. You're still part of his plan no matter what you do, so he sent me to you. He wanted me to scare you just a bit, though probably hoping your mind would break,"

I just clicked my tongue and set down my cup of tea.

For the first time in decades… I had a restful and unstressful sleep, blanketed by the cozy flames of Cerberus.

…

The next morning, I found myself still sleeping on the same couch, but a woman was sitting on the end of it, sipping some more tea.

"Did you not sleep?"

"Us higher-tier demons don't need to sleep. Sleep is a mortal concept, just like eating and drinking… you don't need to do it, but you still have a stamina bar, so you're limited quite heavily. You need to recover that energy somehow…."

"Wait, you don't have a stamina bar?"

"Nope… Anyway, let's get going. I wasn't just sitting here hoping to have some more conversation,"

The woman quickly walked over to the corner of her room and tossed me a black coat with a fur outline, clearly wanting me to put it on.

So, she didn't need to say anything else, and I slowly put on the article of clothing and the black leather gloves that she handed to me on our way out of her base.

It was a base engraved into a large mountain just at the border of Beezlebub's territory, and as we walked to the disease-ridden city, I asked the woman some more questions.

"If I may ask, how does Beezlebub's territory move around?"

"Well, he was actually plagued by one of the other demon lords for all of eternity, forcing wherever he went to become something ridden with disease. He moves every… one hundred years or so, so you don't need to worry about missing him,"

"I see… and lastly… why are you helping me so much? A dog of Hades helping me out feels strange. Our relationship should've been cut off as soon as the teacher's quest and the trials had ended,"

But, there was no response from the woman I was following, so I swiftly kept my mouth shut until we reached the disease-ridden city.

It was as disgusting as the aura that wafted off of the horrible place, and with the guards seeing the presence of Cerebrus, they quickly stepped back, allowing both of us through without any problem.

"Assholes," I clicked my tongue.

"What? They didn't let you in before?" Cerberus chuckled as we walked up the vertical streets, seeing the suffering citizens of this city begging for money and food.

The further we went up, the more we saw capitalism take place, with rich demi-humans affording cures that they had come up with.

It was like ouroboros: a self sucking circle that allowed absolutely nobody in while bringing down everybody around it.

And soon, we reached the very pinnacle of the mountain after about half a day of walking, just displaying how small this city actually was.

A normal city would probably take an entire day to get from one side to the other, but here it was just half a day… and I guess there was no traffic and disruptions since it was just a literal spiraling staircase up the mountain, and straight to the peak where I felt a chill get shot down my spine.

"You're all good. Just breathe," Cerberus muttered before the guards standing at the massive stone gate pushed the doors to the castle open.

The chilling sensation that I had felt previously still continued to rage on, and it was practically eating my up from the inside.

Like literally. It felt as if my organs were being gnawed on by a soul-sucking invisible force.

"If you can't handle this, then I clearly didn't train you enough… or what? Did you seriously develop PTSD from that one meeting of yours?" Cerberus snapped her head around to taunt me into doing better.

It didn't make me feel much better, but it was motivation that pushed me through the rest of the castle until we reached the throne room.

There, I saw a man draped in robes, his short wavy white hair wet as if he had just taken a shower, and his spiraling white eyes staring off into the ceiling.

"You're finally here, kid. I thought you would've broken… just like this guy," Beezleblub muttered, and another freezing cold grasp wrapped around my spine.

A man around the same age as me with short wavy black hair, spiraling black eyes, and a complexion as pale as a vampire stepped out of a black portal.

He was draped in loose black robes, and upon seeing him, my system went off.

.

[You have completed the Side Quest: A Comrades Trouble]

[Rewards have been granted]

.

A book appeared in my hand, but I was more focused on the man in front of me, whose eyebags almost drooped to his cheeks.

"Cy… is that you?" I asked, and as the man looked towards me, his spiraling black eyes that looked like all of the other demon lord's locked onto me.

"Orion… is that you?" He muttered in a monotone voice.

His excitement was completely gone, and the cheerful aura that would always follow him had been replaced by something darker.

"Cerb… wanna have a bet?" Beezlebub announced in a monotone voice that shook the entire castle.

"And what's that bet?" The woman standing in front of me asked, already intrigued by the man's small smile.

"Let's bet whose student will win in a fight. Wanna do it or not?" Beezlebub asked, his tongue hanging from his mouth as his eyes roamed the room.

The woman looked back at me, her eyes pretty much uncaring, but after I shrugged, she turned back around and quickly agreed to the man's bet.

"Then, you set your terms first,"

"Sure, whatever… If Cy wins, I take that juicy soul of your student. I also want one of your skills… that should be fair, right?" Beezlebub asked, licking his lips as he started straight through me, presumably looking at my soul.

"That's fine, but if Orion wins, then I want you to give up your title as a demon lord to me. Also, you'll let me and my student shuffle through that expansive storage of skill books you have… deal?" Cerberus asked with a small, and despite the conditions being heavily favored on the woman's side, Beelzebub quickly took her offer.

They shook hands, and that created a massive voice that everything around us, creating the perfect place for my friend and me to duel.

Beezlebub is definitely planning something… such conditions… or maybe he doesn't care about his title as a demon lord?

"What are you thinking about?" A cold voice muttered from behind me, and a spear nearly cut my head off… but this was nothing.

My head quickly shifted downwards, and I unleashed a heavy back kick to Cy's liver, only for him to catch it and throw my leg upwards.

I was completely vertical to the ground with my legs all the way in the air.

"Ugh… when did you get so creative," I muttered before summoning a spear of concentrated bloodlust to block Cy's spear, which had been made of swirling darkness.

We both felt the chilling presence of our weapons and slowly took a step back as we both landed on our feet.

"Let's keep going," Cy muttered before bursting from his singular spot in a speed feat almost too impressive for the boy I once knew.

I just barely managed to block the spear, but his next attacks weren't nearly as fast as the one he had just shot out.

Seems he has acquired some handy new skills.