Chapter 562: Bael offers a deal to the Moon Goddess
Groaning in pain, Alloces slowly woke up and found himself on the ground. His physical injuries were all healed up, automatically by his demonic energy, but the mental injury that Mark placed on him caused him to shiver at the thought of it.
Just as he was praying that everything was just a dream, he heard the voice of Mark, from behind, "You finally woke up, Alloces."
Alloces involuntarily sprung upon his feet and turned around and saw the human, sitting on a glowing exquisite throne that befits a king. While he was at it, he saw the human was also drinking something from a large cup.
Taking a sip of coffee from the mug, Mark looked straight into the eyes of the demon standing before him, "So, what now, Alloces? You have lost. Now, will you honor the bet or will you go back on your words?"
Alloces clenched his fist and took a glance at the spear on the ground, not far away from him, and then at Mark for a few times, before he went down onto one of his knees and placed his fist on the ground, "Master."
'Hohoho… demons are sure easy to handle, compared to the humans.'
Mark maintained his calm demeanor on the surface but there was a tiny figurine size that resembled Mark dancing inside his head, shouting loudly, "Yay… yay… a 12-circle realm slave. I can control him means I can also get to control his army, la lallal la la…"
After a while;
*Ding! You formed a contract with Alloces
*Ding! Absorbing the scroll of Alloces.
5 minutes later;
*Ding! Scroll of Alloces has been transformed into skill.
*Ding! 'Summon Alloces' skill has been added to the skill list.
Summon Alloces (max): The user can summon the demon lord and the Great Duke of Ars Goetia, Alloces, from the netherworld with his full strength. Cost: 1 year of lifespan per hour. CD: None.
Note: No cost is required if the summoned location is in Netherworld. The cost will be reduced accordingly if the summoned location is in a place filled with demonic energy (i.e. a place inhabited by demons). The cost will multiply accordingly if the summoned location is in a place filled with divine energy (i.e. a place inhabited by divine beings).
"Ugh… I should have expected it, but that is alright." Mark wants to face-palm himself for rejoicing prematurely but eventually, he convinces himself that atleast he can summon the demon with his full strength. Not to mention, his lifespan increases as he enters the demigod realm and this would become his greatest asset when he becomes an immortal.
*
Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away, above the Endless sea of Lava;
Chang'e, the Moon Goddess, was seen battling a demonic beast that looked a bit like a giant centipede but could move freely in the endless lava sea.
She was hovering in the sky, breathing heavily while keeping an eye on the lava sea below her, "Damn this insect. It was too cunning. I don't know how long it takes to defeat it.
But, at the same time, I cannot leave its domain until I defeat it either." She was muttering under her breath as she was releasing cold gusts of wind through one of her palms continuously to cool down the temperature in her immediate surroundings. The heat emitted from the sea of lava was proven to be a difficult opponent for her.
The other palm was also constantly conjuring Ice spears, launching at the invisible barrier, a hundred meters above her head.
After concentrating on one spot, for a whole hour, while dealing with the beast's random attacks from time to time, she finally managed to see a crack on the barrier.
Chang'e couldn't help but rejoice, "Finally, I think I can escape this place, instead of wasting time on this insect."
She stopped cooling down the air around her and bore the intense heat, her concentration was no longer on the lava sea, and she went with a big attack for the first time in the past 45 minutes.
Almost half of her energy reserves were consumed as she blasted an Ice beam into the sky, aiming at the crack.
"Graa…"
Pyrochilus, the Infernal Arthropod Monarch, rose from the sea once again and opened its mouth, attempting to swallow the goddess.
*Ting*
A sound resounded in the surroundings as the Ice Beam destroyed the barrier, at the same time.
"Sh*t"
Chang'e face turned serious with a bit of panic with her body was struck with some kind of toxic gas; the centipede's mouth was almost about to swallow her. She concentrated on releasing her remaining reserves of energy in the form of an explosion to blast its head.
But, it was then three scarlet beams came from the sky and struck the beast simultaneously.
"Graaaaa…"
The Centipede let out a painful roar before retracting back into the sea.
Chang'e raised her head to stare at the sky; her eyes fell upon a demon floating in the sky; it had long spider legs but had three heads; one resembled a cat, one resembled a man, and the last resembled a toad. In terms of appearance, one can only term it as hideous.
"Why is he here?" Chang'e was taken aback by the figure appearing in her sight. At the same time, she couldn't help but frown upon sensing its strength, "I cannot see or sense Shang Zhen anywhere nearby. So, he came here alone. That doesn't sound like good news. He is in the same realm as me. But, I cannot display my full strength in this realm.
Without the Orb of time, I'm not a match for his strength. Must I use it here? Unless I'm sure I can kill him with this, I cannot take it out. This treasure might attract the other demon kings too. Calm down Chang'e; let's see how this plays out. He helped me earlier.
So, I can atleast give the benefit of the doubt."
The three-headed demon slowly descended as Chang'e slowly ascended. As they met face to face in the sky, the former opened his mouth, through the man's head, coming directly to the matter, "You are here at the same as Lu Zhen. I suppose both of you must have teleported to this realm, together?"
Chang'e calmly nodded as she dispelled the last bit of remaining toxic gas in her system, "Yes."
Demon King Bael continued to ask, "What was your purpose?"
Chang'e calmly answered, "I merely tagged along with the mortal."
"Lie," hissed the cat head; its eyes seemed glowing in yellow.
The man head then let out a smile, "It's pointless to lie against me, Deity of the Moon. You neither have the stronger cultivation like the other Deities nor have a heaven-defying existence like Lu Zhen." His smile was quite creepy, for his lusty gaze that was wandering her body from top to bottom made her uncomfortable.
Chang'e tried her best to calm her nerves as she answered truthfully this time, "My business is with Leviathan."
"Leviathan?" This time, it was Bael's turn to get surprised. "With your cultivation? You should bring the Jade Emperor to deal with the Guardian," He commented.
Chang'e let out a snort, "That is my headache to deal with it. This matter has no business with you. I'll repay your favor some other time but for now, it is best if you don't get in my way and better focus on your contracted mortal."
"Unfortunately, I'm sorry but I have to get in your way, for I have some business with you," replied the three-headed demon, before increasing his size to atleast a hundred times.
As Chang'e was startled by his sudden move and moved back to maintain distance, Bael continued, "Let's make a deal, Deity of the moons. Hand me the divine essence of your soul and I will assure your protection in this realm. Reject it and I shall take it by force."
"My divine essence?"