What the hell am I seeing?!
The two new addition to our party was ridiculously powerful. Hell, I didn't even think we stood a chance against the abominations and oppression those snakes presented, but these two just took care of them like if they were but worms.
The Archdevil used ominous magic to contort space, and he ripped the beasts to shreds, while the angle could single-handedly pummel the stone snakes to dust with her bare hands.
We encountered these snakes several times, then a scorpion of sorts that was big enough to be compared to a house attacked.
It had two tails with menacing stingers that oozed repulsive and disgusting looking liquid. That Is probably a poison of sorts.
However, the devil could just distort space so that their tails will be severed and their claws would be plucked out.
As for the Archangel, she would just punch them until they looked like honeycombs. The three old party members really looked like useless luggage.
"Do you guys need any help?" I asked
"Euh, not really, but I feel rather thirsty, do you have some water with you?" he asked
"Euh… yea, here." I said as I gave him a water container I carried with me in my inventory.
He drank and gave it back. Then said
"Well, thankfully he didn't send his big guns." Said Beelzebub
"What do you mean big guns! These are damn frightening! There is more?" asked Haruka.
"Considering Solomon's might, this is nothing but appetizers sent to welcome us. He will start sending more and more powerful things, and the closer we get to his castle the more of these things we will meet." Said Beelzebub.
"Why would he do this?" I asked, "I mean, we just want to talk."
"Tell me, human, what do you do when you have pests invading your backyard?"
"So we are pests?" I said ignoring his hidden imply.
"Yes, and he is trying to drive us out, especially with a sworn enemy as this Archangel and a Devil such as I. but him sending these small fries is really starting to hurt my pride."
"Please don't say that that is a terrible way to foreshadow more potent and dangerous enemies that would emerge soon," I said.
The devil could only smirk as a horde of minotaurs showed up.
Ah shit…
"We can't remain idle," said Haruka "This is a good way to level up we might reach new heights if we use the situation properly we could also level up."
"Well, let's try then," I said as I brought my hammer and shield up.
Misaka began to conjure spears of blood and Haruka brought her sword up.
"Hmm, you guys are holding some interesting toys, where did you get these?" Asked the Devil as he was preparing some sort of magic.
"These are gifts from Daiki," I said then stomped forward I was planning on using the shield's innate skill, but I needed cover fire first.
"Dimensional cut!" cried out Haruka as the Tengu apparition stood behind her and slashed at the air. The price of such skill was to pierce one's own abdomen with the blade. It caused the user severe damage, but the attack was ridiculously powerful and had a long reach and range.
A sonic wave split through the air as it went forward splitting the hoards of Minautors in its way, it managed to kill an enormous portion of the stampede, some even fell atop their fallen comrade while the rest stumped them disregarding their screams.
"Blood shower…" summoned Misaka as hundreds upon hundreds of blood speers emerged from nowhere and were sent towards the incoming horde.
"Aegis! Poise!" I shouted
And my legs were anchored to the ground, the sand would have normally given way, but something aking to an invisible net spread through the sand and held it tight so that my foot remained unperturbed.
"Ice domain," I struck the hammer to the ground, and a huge portion of the desert was engulfed in ice, the mounds of scorching sand turned to mounds of freezing cold.
The stampede began to slip and stumble as they approached.
"Enlargen!" I used the shield's skill, and it grew to an absurd size.
"Interesting, it seems that Daiki's companions are not as useless as I thought them to be." Said The Archangel. Her evaluation of us seems to have improved.
"But you are still lacking." She added.
The horde began to crash into my shield, and I began to feel that my legs will give way at any moment, the shock was too much for a single person to withstand even with the added states and the Poise ability I was slowly being pushed back with each Minautor that rammed its head into the shield.
"It is done." Said Beelzebub.
A green magic circle showed up above the horde then hundreds of thousands of small insects emerged from within it, the buzzing and the skittering of various insects made me feel my skin crawl at the sight.
There were flies, cockroaches, locusts and manyother disgusting insects. However, the size of these things was much bigger than the normal ones. They dove towards the horde of monsters and began biting and eating them alive. One could only hear the screams of the monsters as they were eroded by the swarm of pests.
"Disgusting," said all three girls at once, even The Archangel was unable to keep looking at the gore issuing before her.
One could only feel pity for the monsters as they died in a most horrendous way.
"Ah my lovely little creatures," said Beelz as he had a cockroach the size of a palm crawling from his leg until it got to his shoulder, he even gave it a pat on the head, and the damnd pst looked joyful.
"You get anywhere near me, and I will punch you to death." Said the Archangel as she was shuddering at the sight.
"Common, he is friendly! His name is Steve!" said Beelzebub while pouting.
"Why in god's name would you name a cockroach Steve!!!" I shouted.
"Don't say that you will hurt his feelings!" said Beelz as the cockroach looked to be disturbed by my comment.
Good god… it has feelings.
"Arghhh! Forward we go!" said Beelzebub as he marched like a soldier. Even the cockroach gave a damn salute with one of its legs and pointed forward.
I give up…
The swarm of pests also followed suit as it buzzed around disturbingly.
I canceled the Aegis's enlargen function and decided to head forward.
Looking at the corpses of the Minautors all that remained were nothing but bones.
This man should not be made into an enemy…
I approached the still shuddering girls and asked the Archangel saying
"Do you know this guy?" I asked
"I do. This damned Devil is the most troublesome and most annoying. Though he didn't participate in the last war, he was deemed too dangerous to be left to roam the world. The Divine decided that they should entrap him in the sixth circle, where even his power should not work, but somehow he was able to leave…" Said the Archangel.
He must be someone strong to be able to leave Hell alone.
"Actually," said Beelzebub who appeared from behind my back and out of nowhere, which freaked the shit out of me but I decided not to show it. And added
"I managed to find the exit out of the fifth circle only one day after I was entrapped. But I couldn't get down to the sixth circle… Smody was guarding that place, and while he had the Hell Keystone, I couldn't leave the place." Said Beelzebub as if he was explaining the situation.
"Smody, as in Asmodeus? The prince of hell?" said the Archangel.
"Yes, Yes that one, can you believe that guy can really hold a grudge…" he said.
"My only concern was that thing, I knew that Daiki would manage his way in most of the circles of that dungeon but still, he defeated Asmodeus… quite frightening." She said
"Ah, no, he didn't defeat him, he is still alive. We just trapped him within the dimensional compound, he should be out by now." Added the archdevil.
"Who is this Asmodeus?" asked Misaka.
"He was the prince of Hell, an archdevil that was told to be strong enough to perturb the reign of the divine, he has quite the nasty temper, isn't that right Jacob?" said Beelzebub addressing the cockroach.
"Daiki was fighting something like that?!" I said, "And who the hell is Jacob I thought his name was Steve?!" I added while a view as going to pop form my head, this guy truly know how to irritate someone.
"Ah his name was always Jacob who the hell is Steve?" said Beelz addressing the roach.
The cockroach then shrugged as if saying it doesn't know either…
"…"
"Let's move! It seems Solomon decided to stop playing." Said Beelzebub and a huge magic circle appeared to us.
A moment later we found ourselves in a gigantic palace.
Where four great guardians were floating, each in one corner of the room.
Before us, lay an enormous staircase where a throne was erected on top. There was a man that sat atop it. Next to him was a ghost-like lady that resembled the four giants but she was much smaller, almost human-sized.
I inspected the man and saw who he truly was.
Solomon
Level???
Demigod.
Ruler of Jhin.
"Welcome to my humble stay." Said the man as he stood.
And once he did the whole palace rumbled from his overwhelming presence.
"Before your imminent death, please tell me why have you decided to transgress my land…" he said, and his presence doubled, almost forcing me to kneel down from his might.
"Well this should be interesting, isn't that right Luis?" said Beelzebub addressing the cockroach, that nodded its head.
His name changed again! Fuck!