"Aaah!"

I tried hard to free myself, but the resistance I wasn't putting wasn't enough. Under normal circumstances, I could have used physical enhancement and mana cloak, but I was barely able to handle myself at this point.

Though I still had Flare's blue flame supporting me, so I tried manipulating my Flame cloak and grabbed his hand with it. But despite the resistance I was putting, his grip wasn't getting weaker.

"Boy, you are at least a thousand-year early to fight me. I survived in the era of chaos; I saw the destruction of my family, my race, and I fought the godly dragon kings. Do you think you, who looks like a chicken that just hatched from an egg, can defeat me?"

"What.. do you want to prove? Your race died a long time ago, and now, there is peace in the world. You have nothing to gain here."

"And whose fault is that?!"—He slammed me on the ground— "You are right, I have nothing to gain from this world.. but there is a lot that I need to pay it back, and I know where to start."

He flew towards Zagan, who was lying on the ground. He had taken a lot of beating during the time I was down, and at this point, he too looked barely conscious.

I tried raising myself up, but despite my attempts, I wasn't even able to raise my head. I knew I had to stand up and fight, but at the same time, my body had already given up. All I could do was helplessly stare at the sky above.

I realized how quickly one's life could change. This morning I was nervously walking into an unfamiliar venue. Everything was going well, at least better than how I was expecting it to be. And then all of a sudden, there was a demon attack.

It hadn't even been four hours since I found that out. And now, in just four hours, I was at the center of a destroyed city, staring helplessly at the sky.

I could sense Miss Lilith coming towards us. But even with her, I don't think we would be able to make a difference. Our enemy this time was just that strong, and I could sense him getting stronger with every passing second.

"Damn, what kind of monster are you?"

"How dare you show yourself in front of me, dragonkin?"

My eyes were heavy, but I could hear them speak as they clashed. It looked like Miss Lilith was putting up a good resistance, but in the end, she too wasn't able to make a scratch on him.

Usually, this was the time when the Black Dragon king showed up. But somehow even after all this, he wasn't showing up. And other than him, I can't imagine anyone else who would be able to help us.

He punched Miss Lilith and sent her flying towards the house behind me. And once he was done with her, he looked back towards Zagan.

There was a small crimson magic circle behind Zagan's right hand. I wasn't familiar with that circle, and this was my first time seeing one.

"What is that on your hand, Lucifer? Don't tell me that you made a blood contract with this kid. You know the price of that, don't you? Oh, I know..."

A broad grin appeared on his face, after which he turned around and started walking towards me.

"You were afraid you would betray him as well, weren't you? After all, betraying your comrades, your race, and your master is in your nature. Now let's test the strength of that contract. Let me kill the master that you are so attached to and see if you die or not."

He walked up to me and lifted me in the air. "A fitting end for a coward like you."

He released some of the miasmas within him, and because of that, I was having a hard time breathing.

To humans, miasma was no less than poison. And if inhaled in high quantity, it would cause death.

Even though I was able to purify it to a certain extent with Flare's flames, I was still inhaling a considerable amount of it.

The light that I could see started fading and began to appear as occasional flashes. I could barely sense anything at this point and was right in the blink of collapsing. But right when I was about to accept my fate, I heard someone speaking.

"We can't have that now, can we? Keh-Keh-Keh!"

I remembered that voice from before. It was the clown that we fought along with those vampires.

"Are you one of these weaklings too?" Satan asked.

"Now now, my lord, please don't compare me with these insects. I am far beyond what they could ever hope to reach. And you may not remember it, but I am the one who summoned you, your highness."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, so get to the point. what do you want from me?"

"Nothing, my lord. How could I even ask anything from someone like you? This, my lowly existence, is wholly devoted to you and only you. And to do my utmost best, and as a proof of my loyalty, I resurrected you using royal blood of two species. Unfortunately, one was just human, but the other was one of the 12 progenitors of vampires."

"Do you take me as a fool? I am not someone whom you can fool with those deceptive talks. If you value your life, tell me your true intentions."

It sounded like Joker was hesitating to speak at this point. "No, my lord, that's the truth. All I want is for you to be able to resurrect the demon race, and I already have my hands on the means to do so. But for that, we will need the boy that you are holding to be alive."

"And what is your gain in all that?"

"Keh-Keh-Keh! My lord, all I want from this is the era of chaos. I want the world to be filled with miasma, and I want demons to rule over it. That is what every creature of darkness desires, don't they? And not just that.. Once the world goes into a world war and all the races fight against each other, I want you to take us under your protection. And after the war is over, we will be at the top of the world— I mean, you will be at the top of it, and we will be under you, my lord."

"I don't care about ruling this world. But if you have a way to bring the demon lord back, I can take you under my care."

A wide grin appeared on his face. "Of course, my lord. If that is what you desire."