The infernal duke seemed not to wait for a response to his monologue. His arm moved and gripped the child's throat firmly. He tightened his grip and lifted Daemom off the ground.
Daemom kicked his feet, desperately trying to push away the enemy's arm, but no matter how much strength he exerted, the Infernal Duke's arm remained completely immovable.
For a moment, Daemom wondered if infernal dukes were so strong even while inhabiting human bodies. He didn't want to imagine how powerful they would be using their own forms.
"I'm going to die," he thought, gritting his teeth, feeling his vision blur, his body desperately struggling to breathe. He tried to free himself, but it was futile. The Infernal Duke remained indifferent to his attempts.
Seeing this, Amara opened her mouth and lunged forward. Her fangs sank into the Infernal Duke's neck instantly, injecting her demonic power in the form of venom into the mortal body possessed by the duke.
Feeling a sharp pain and the human body he inhabited dying faster than expected, the Infernal Duke's eyes fell upon the pink serpent.
Increasing his grip on Daemom's neck, he spoke with his raspy, cold voice. "I see you're in the human world, princess."
"Let him go now, Belial!" Amara ordered, seeing Daemom's face growing increasingly purple, her voice tinged with anger and concern. "That's an order."
"Impossible. I've sacrificed many things to earn the right to fight for this body, Crimson Princess of War, and it won't be you who stops me from getting what I want," Belial, one of the four dukes of Hell and the Knight of Hunger, spoke, his voice rough and dragging as his fiery eyes fixed on Amara's pink eyes.
Belial didn't lie to Amara; he had traded many powerful souls to obtain information from a mortal seer. After all, humans capable of becoming vessels for a prince or duke of Hell are rare.
He continued speaking, his voice tinged with a chilling indifference. "Besides, when I take over this body, you will die too."
"I will enjoy seeing your mother's face when she sees your lifeless body." In the end, a sadistic and gleeful sentiment echoed in the duke's deep, repulsive voice.
"How dare you, Belial—" Before Amara could threaten the infernal duke, a malevolent aura spread throughout the convenience store.
Belial's fiery eyes returned to focus on the youth he held by the throat. Then, in the next moment, his eyes widened as if he had seen something unbelievable.
Where have I felt this aura before!? Belial thought, still stunned, his senses conveying a confusing feeling to him at that moment. An aura that was incomparably familiar yet strange at the same time.
Even Amara couldn't help but widen her eyes at what she was feeling.
Even Amara couldn't help but widen her eyes at what she was feeling in that moment. It was an oddly comforting aura, filled with warmth. If she could describe it accurately, she thought she stood before a red sun, radiating power and yet surprising gentleness.
Daemom, who was nearly dying at that moment, felt a fiery sensation rise from the depths of his being. An energy similar to Amara's, but much more powerful, erupted within him—it coursed through his body at an abyssal speed, instantly filling him with strength again, his previously blurred vision returning to normal.
But the crimson energy didn't stop there; as if following a predetermined path, it concentrated on his back.
If anyone had looked at Daemom's back at that moment, they would have seen something grotesquely contorting beneath his skin.
Regardless of the horror and surprise Belial and Amara felt at that moment, observing the entire scene.
"Argh!" A pained groan escaped Daemom's lips; he felt his back tear open instantly, his flesh splitting and blood spraying onto the floor.
Under the stunned eyes of both demons, a pair of gigantic wings unfolded behind Daemom—white and immaculate, burning with crimson flames. Simultaneously, Daemom's blue eyes turned crimson, their intense and blazing glow.
A crimson flame emanated from his body, concentrating above his head, gradually forming an eight-pointed crown of flames. And on his forehead emerged two horns made of crimson fire.
"The fire of Hell..." Amara whispered, observing the crown crafted from one of the most powerful fires in the universe since its creation. A fire that only one being in all of Creation could control—Lucifer Morningstar.
But now, there was another!
Looking coldly at Belial, Daemom raised his hand and positioned it a few inches from his abdomen with a simple thought.
Splash!
A hole was punched through Belial's stomach, and a large amount of yellowish blood sprayed onto the shelves behind him.
In the next moment, the mortal body Belial was possessing was sent flying backward like a cannonball, but before his body could continue flying backward and collide with the wall.
Daemom smirked sadistically and raised his hand again. Belial's body flew back towards him, where Daemom firmly held him by the neck.
"Kneel." Approaching the face of the Infernal Duke, their eyes locked intensely, Daemom whispered coldly.
Reluctantly, Belial was compelled to look up, meeting the cold crimson eyes, infuriated by the disdainful glare.
It was the same gaze he used on mortals, one reserved for an insignificant ant.
"You can only observe me in this situation, kneeling," Daemom smirked coldly, his tone brimming with limitless arrogance.
Gritting his teeth, Belial channelled even more demonic power into the vessel and spoke furiously.
"I'll kill you!!!"
A pair of bat-like wings sprouted behind Belial, a sickly yellow aura spreading around, causing everything nearby to seem to wither and age rapidly, as if years were passing in mere moments upon contact with the yellow aura.
Simultaneously, the mortal body Belial inhabited began to decay at a visible rate, chunks of rotting flesh and skin sloughing off onto the ground with a nauseating sound.
Observing the infernal duke's plight, Daemom smiled coldly and spat out a phrase.
"Burn in the fires of Hell."
With those words, crimson flames engulfed Belial's body, consuming it ferociously.
"ARHGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!" A monstrous roar escaped the infernal duke's mouth, an extremely repugnant and agonizing sound heard for miles around.
Fortunately, the gas station was in a relatively deserted area, so no one lived nearby; otherwise, an ordinary person might have died hearing the infernal duke's painful roar.
"I'LL KILL YOU, I SWEAR BY MY NAME, YOU FILTHY HALF-BREED BASTARD. MY LEGIONS WILL HUNT YOU DOWN LIKE A MANGY ANIMAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
As Belial's blazing body thrashed violently, he lost all previous calm and composure. As his body was consumed by the crimson flames of Hell, he roared furiously at Daemom.
Daemom disregarded the infernal duke's threats and spoke casually, his arrogant tone showing no concern for the demonic being.
"Exorcise."
And then it happened.
Boom!
A blinding flash illuminated the convenience store entirely. The shockwave swept across the entire West Coast of the United States, felt by any spiritually strong beings!
It could be said that the exorcism of one of the Four Dukes of Hell was like a beacon lighting up the dark world of the supernatural.
This would be a topic discussed for a long time.
Then, all light ceased in the convenience store.
In place of the infernal duke, only a shadow of a human with singed bat wings remained on the ground.
Amara was at a loss for words, her eyes wide with disbelief at the unbelievable scene that unfolded before her.
A Duke of Hell has just been exorcised by a human! And not just any human, but one who had angel wings and wielded the Fire of Hell!
Turning to look at the pink serpent, the crimson hue in Daemom's eyes gradually faded, replaced by a serene azure.
"Amara..."
Before he could say more, he lost consciousness and fell limp to the ground, his large, beautiful white wings retracting instantly.
It was then that Amara woke up and shifted into her human form. She quickly walked over to Daemom and cradled his unconscious body in a comforting embrace.
Knowing they couldn't stay any longer, as Belial could send his demons at any moment, Amara spread her bat wings and swiftly flew away with the still-unconscious Daemom in her arms.
In the convenience store, the ceiling lights crashed to the ground at that moment. The young cashier, cowering under the counter, finally gathered the courage to look up. Seeing the devastation around him, his terror-filled eyes welled up with tears.
He didn't see much, only heard the horrifying sounds that he might never forget in his life.
"Mom, your son wants to come home," the young adult sobbed quietly to himself.