Clyde sprinted towards the three Demons approaching him. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of them, unleashing his power.
He battled them for a few moments with incredible intensity, destroying anything in the area of their fight.
Leon and Lola hurried over to where Rosie lay to help her. After Lola administered a healing potion to her, Rosie managed to stand, although she still felt pain throughout her body.
Following that, Leon and Lola quickly moved her away from the battle between Clyde and the three Demons, which was spreading further. They regrouped with Albert and Wiley, trying their best to find a place of shelter.
"Did you guys see that? He just killed the Demons we were struggling with so easily with a single punch," Wiley exclaimed.
"Is this the first time you've seen him do that?" Albert replied. "It's Clyde. He's done things like this before, hasn't he?"
"Yes. But I think he's even stronger now," Leon said, looking towards the battle.
The others agreed with his statement. Clyde used to require much more effort to defeat opponents of this strength, although he eventually succeeded. But now, he could kill them with a single blow, and it was just a punch from his bare fist.
Something had clearly happened during the days when they didn't meet him, and whatever it was, it had boosted Clyde's strength to another level. A level beyond what they previously thought was unattainable.
*BOOM!*
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt*BOOM!*
*BOOM!*
Explosions continued to occur everywhere, destroying the floating ruins in the air to the point of being unrecognizable. Finally, something shot out from within the explosions.
It soared into the air and landed a few meters in front of Leon and his group. It was a torso, a torso that had been ripped apart by some powerful force from the rest of the body. The horned head of the Demon was still attached to the torso. Its eyes widened, realizing that its death was imminent.
Leon, Lola, Rosie, Albert, and Wiley swallowed hard, staring at the gruesome sight.
*BOOM!*
Another explosion ensued. All they could see were flashes of red lightning and fire, as well as debris flying through the air from the battle. Clyde moved so swiftly that their eyes couldn't keep up with him.
After several tense minutes, the battle finally ended. Clyde stood over the body of a Demon whose head he had crushed.
He leveled up once more after killing the three of them. All the Demons turned out to be high-level warriors of the Demon King Asmodeus, so he gained a considerable amount of experience points from defeating them.
Clyde took a deep breath and checked his condition. What he felt wasn't fatigue; instead, he sensed that his stamina had increased.
Then Clyde nodded to himself, satisfied. He had gained enough strength now. He almost felt grateful to Demon King Asmodeus for sending them to him.
"You're quite strong."
A voice emanated from the corpse of the Demon beneath his feet. Clyde bent down and saw the Demon grinning.
Clyde immediately leaped backward, alert. There was another force inhabiting the Demon's body, probably the Demon King deciding to speak with him.
The Demon's corpse stood with its torn body. Then it looked at Clyde with a single remaining eye.
"You're quite strong. It seems you've surpassed a mere human," the Demon corpse said.
"Who are you? Asmodeus?" Clyde asked, staring at him sharply and demanding an answer.
The corpse grinned, its almost destroyed face making the grin even more horrifying and disturbing. "Yes," he said. "I am Asmodeus. You're quite audacious. I'd prefer you watch your tongue when you speak to me."
Clyde could sense the displeasure in the Demon King's tone. Clyde supposed the Demon King was accustomed to being treated with respect by all creatures.
"You attacked me first. Why should I be polite to you?" Clyde retorted fearlessly. Although he knew that the Demon King was a powerful Celestial, he now possessed the strength of several Celestials, albeit only 50%. Clyde had even killed a Celestial before, so he was confident that he didn't need to act like a lowly creature in front of the Demon King.
The grin on the corpse's face disappeared, replaced by a scowl. The corpse's remaining eye glowed red, and an oppressive aura emanated from its body.
This aura caused the air around them to seem as if it had vanished, making Leon and his group feel suffocated. Several floating pieces of earth shattered and fell because of the aura.
The Demon King was clearly furious with him, Clyde knew it. However, the destructive aura that exerted tremendous pressure in the vicinity had little effect on him.
Clyde remained standing tall with a slight frown on his face, staring at the Demon King.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Are you trying to threaten me?" Clyde said calmly.
"Heh!" the corpse — the Demon King — snorted. He seemed impressed. "You keep proving to be impressive to me."
"Let's get straight to the point. What do you want to do? Do you want to kill me?" Clyde asked sharply.
"Yes," the Demon King replied. "But I think there's a better solution to this problem."
Clyde frowned.
"If you become my warrior, then you'll gain incredible power far beyond what you have now. And the best part is, you won't die."
"I don't want to be your slave," Clyde replied.
The corpse grinned again. "You and all of your kind are destined to be slaves. But some of you can be better slaves than others."
Clyde felt his anger rising.
"Many of your kind have sold friends, even family, to have a slightly better life as a slave," said Demon King Asmodeus. "You are one of the luckiest because I've come to you directly. And you'll be my slave in a high position in my domain."
"I refuse," Clyde said quickly. Then, in the blink of an eye, he was in front of the corpse, throwing his fist and instantly shattering the corpse.
"YOU DAMN FOOL!" an ear-shattering voice echoed from the red portal in the sky. "HOW DARE YOU REFUSE ME! I WILL COME AND TEAR YOU APART MYSELF!"
~~~