As if proving Ashtelâs words right, the smile on the demon kingâs face visibly disappeared as anger started to take over his mind.
"You canât possibly be thinking that you can just win if you keep stalling for time and keep a defensive posture throughout the battle, right?"
"You must consider the fact that the more time you spend fighting me, the more the demon armies will damage the world association and the more people will die-"
Before the demon king could finish his sentence, Ashtel interjected and spoke in a calm voice.
"The biggest threat to the world alliance at the moment is only you; other SS-rank demons can still be dealt with by others, but I cannot let you win or move from here at all..."
"If I let you approach the others, you will surely be able to dispose of them all one by one... Aside from the dragon king, I donât think thereâs anybody else who can keep up with the current you..."
"So, yeah, I am not moving an inch; do whatever you want to. I am ready to spend years with you here..."
A smirk appeared on Ashtelâs face as he continued to speak.
"I donât even have to spend years with you, actually. Sooner or later, Rio will reach rank SS, and once that happens, hehehe..."
There was no need to say more.
Both Ashtel and the Demon King knew that once Rio reached rank SS, it would be pointless for the Demon King to even think about forcing him or trying to coerce him with raw strength.
Rio was already capable of going toe to toe with early SS rankers despite only being an S ranker; once he reached the realm of demigods, it would be pointless to try to suppress him as he would be too strong by then.
This expedition of the demon army would become pointless, and the demon king whoâs trying to talk to Rio would become more helpless than he already is.
"As for the people of the alliance who are under attack by the demon armies... For the sake of keeping a bigger threat to the world, which is you, confined, I have no other choice but to let a few thousand people be sacrificed..."
"A few thousand in sacrifice is better than the entire world suffering because of you..."
Usually, Ashtel liked to do things thoroughly and reduce the casualty count to the absolute lowest levels possible.
But even he knew that when dealing with threats at the level of a demon king, it was just wishful thinking that there would be no casualties; he had to make some sacrifices for the greater good.
Looking at Ashtel, who refused to move an inch, the demon king became even more frustrated and angry, but he was helpless to do anything.
His world authority wasnât fully omnipotent, as that was simply impossible for a mere demigod to pull off.
His world authority had its own set of rules.
Inside this artificial realm, the âattackerâ would bear the damage caused to the artificial realm, and the one on defense would have an advantage; thus, if he attacked Ashtel, he would only be damaging himself!
"You are really annoying, Ashtel Rex."
At the demon kingâs annoyed tone, Ashtel smiled and replied with a smirk.
"Hehe, I know that... for evil people, I have always been the most annoying obstacle that wouldnât let them have their way no matter what."
With Ashtel and the Demon King both refusing to attack, the battle between the two of them got stuck in a weird and abrupt stalemate, and the outcome of the battle became completely uncertain.
...
Location: Unknown.
"So you saved Fade when that explosion destroyed the Spire of Ascension. This guy... heâs really more tenacious than a cockroach. Heâs been able to survive every single time no matter the situation..."
Hearing Riyaâs words, Raika smiled as he looked at Fadeâs unconscious body lying on the giant altar entangled with hundreds of thousands of threads of fate.
"He is blessed with great luck; thatâs why heâs alive."
"Children of luck are almost impossible to kill with conventional means, and if you try to kill them forcefully, heavenly punishment would destroy your existence first!"
The main reason why Rio didnât dare to kill Fade until now was mainly because of this same reason.
The power of the heavenly is unpredictable, and Rio didnât want to get entangled with that much trouble for no reason.
This was also the reason why Rio only traumatized Fade with his power and aura back then during the academy days and didnât kill Fade directly.
If not for heavenly luckâs possible interference, Rio would have stabbed a knife in Fadeâs heart before he even awakened his system!
"I see... so thatâs why the demon prince and now you are trying to get your hands on Fade. You want to harvest the luck from his body and take it for yourself?"
Instead of answering Riyaâs question, Raika smiled at her and spoke in a teasing voice.
"I can see you trying to send your healing energy into Linkâs and Liaâs bodies you know. Donât try to be clever little girl; if my patience runs out, I might blow apart your brain right here..."
"The only reason you three are alive right now is because I do not want the strings of destiny in this universe to go completely haywire."
"You three are blessed by the âworldâ to some extent and killing you will disrupt my own plans so you are safe for now, but donât try to be smart; I can do things that are much worse than killing..."
Riya felt a chill run down her spine, and Kaiâs eyes narrowed the moment they both heard those words.
Raika was serious; he was ready to do anything for the sake of his plans, even if it meant offending the strings of destiny and the world.
Just when the situation was getting more and more tense, the locket hanging on Liaâs neck suddenly lit up, and a massive barrier of sword intent appeared around the four of them!
Seeing the barrier, Raikaâs eyes widened in shock.
"What!? How can that activate here!? The main reason why I teleported you all here was to decrease the influence of the worldâs blessing on you all and make Rioâs interference weaker!"
"Rioâs sword intent shouldnât be able to activate here-"
Before Raika could finish his sentence, an emotionless voice echoed in everyoneâs ears.
"Why do you think it wonât activate? Are you underestimating me?"
Without Raika even realizing it, Rio had appeared beside him at some point out of nowhere and was now staring at his face from an extremely close distance.
An unnatural and eerie grin appeared on Rioâs usually expressionless face as purplish bolts of sword intents danced around his body.
"Checkmate, hehe~"