Humans and Demons had different pain thresholds. As opposed to humans who would collapse after being struck in the head, Demons could endure the pain a thousand times worse than that.
In a sense, that gap was present between Demon Ranks as well. Kings would be the Demons. The rest would be the humans.
Bacharoth had the air of being free from agony, but the Demon was still in a great deal of pain. The pain that Bacharoth was enduring right at that moment would kill a Demon Prince's will over and over.
However, Aectaeon's command made Bacharoth feel invigorated. It was now the Demon's chance to set free the humiliation it had received.
{-{ "Meister, I'm afraid you will be swept away by the aftermath of my attack. Please prepare yourself." }-}
Once it was done warning Aectaeon, Bacharoth fronted its enemy demons once more. The man, on the other hand, simply heeded the Demon's words. He retreated to the edge of the shield and leaned his back on it.
Bacharoth raised both of its hands, its palms facing the crowd of Demons.
{-{ "Havoc" }-}
Two bolts of lightning came out of the Demon's palms. They landed in the middle of the pack of Demons, but nothing happened. The bolts just planted themselves in the dirt.
A second later, Bacharoth balled its hands into fists.
And that was the signal for the bolts to be detonated.
Fire, accompanied by thousands of zaps of electricity, spread from the holes left by the lightning bolts. The fire burned all of the opposing Demons in an instant, leaving only their charred bodies on the ground. The female Meister, who was frozen from seeing her Demons' demise, began banging on the barrier.
However, the attack was only at its beginning.
A microburst descended inside the barrier, disabling the onlookers from seeing what was happening. Waves upon waves of wind shears swept away anything in sight -- specks of dirt, pebbles, even the Demons' bodies.
If Aectaeon hadn't stuck his back on the barrier, he would've been sent flying and collapse upon impact.
Bacharoth alone could withstand its own attack. The Demon King just stood there, observing what humans and Demons alike couldn't see through the density of the smoke.
Aectaeon groaned, feeling the pain of being hit by a plethora of debris. He crossed his arms and used them to cover his face, facing sideways to reduce the area where he could be hit.
'This is beyond my expectations. I doubt that those Demons are still alive.' Aectaeon pondered, an inconspicuous grin plastered on his face.
The situation was in Bacharoth's control. The cutting winds, the enormous fire, nothing would stop until the King waved its hands. But looking at the Demon's eyes, its thirst had yet to be satiated.
It seemed as if the destruction inside the barrier would continue for a long while. Withal, when the Demon took a glance at its Meister and saw that the man was having a difficult time, Bacharoth drew a line in the air.
At that very second, the surroundings cleared up.
Sensing the calmness around him, Aectaeon slowly raised his head. He immediately met the eyes of Bacharoth, giving the Demon a nod thereafter.
The man lowered his hands and approached the Demon.
"Bacharoth, is the battle done?" Aectaeon asked, stopping a meter behind Bacharoth.
{-{ "Not yet, Meister. You explicitly told me to attack those Demons in a way that they'll be able to return to the Portal. Am I not mistaken?" }-}
"Yes, you're not mistaken." Aectaeon replied as he peered at the Demons of his opponent, "I presume that those Demons are still alive then."
{-{ "Demons won't die with such a simple injury. Our constitution isn't similar to humans. I made sure to preserve their Demon Cores. Once they return to the portal, they can begin their process of recovery." }-}
As Aectaeon read Bacharoth's message, his face became blank.
"But they're all incapacitated. How can we end the battle at this point?"
{-{ "Two ways. Request to take another turn in succession and attack the Meister. Ask the opponent Meister to surrender." }-}
Aectaeon contemplated the matter and decided that he would be better off pursuing the latter option. The man searched for the female Meister among the crowd, spotting her right away.
"Bacharoth, remove your barrier."
Those were Aectaeon's last words before he started walking towards his opponent. The man made sure to avoid stepping on any of the Demons' bodies. That was the last courtesy he could give to the woman.
One might think that Aectaeon was being arrogant despite doing nothing.
No, everything had to do with him.
Demon Kings were notorious for being the most difficult Demons to capture. First and foremost, they carried more wisdom than humans. Second, their capabilities were in a class of their own.
They wouldn't permit just any Meister to conquer their pride.
Regardless of that trait, Demon Kings would be the most loyal companions once they had decided to yield control of themselves to a Meister.
Bacharoth wouldn't move unless Aectaeon gave the Command.
It was Aectaeon's words that burned those Demons.
The man stood a short distance away from the woman. He stared at her moistened, albeit spiteful, eyes.
"For the sake of your Demons, surrender. While they're outside of the portal, they'll continue to lose HP. You know that."
"This…" The woman cried, "This wouldn't have happened if you didn't order that monster to atta-"
"This wouldn't have happened if you set the time limit properly. You're the first to violate the agreement, yet you're that brazen?"
The woman clamped her mouth, unable to utter a retort. She lost her strength and fell to the ground. Aectaeon stooped down, meeting the woman's gaze anew.
"I'll give you 1,000,000 Gold Coins and enough potions to help your Demons recover. Now, surrender."
Aectaeon went on and rose to his feet, turning his back against the woman. The moment he took his first step, he gave the woman one last reminder.
"Surrender in five seconds, else I'll decimate your Demons, Maria the hoarder."