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"Azuthol! Azuthol!" the horde chanted again as their leader raised a skull, dark energy swirling around him.
Leo's eyes narrowed.
He knew exactly what Azuthol was doing. The demon intended to sacrifice the blood and magic of the fallen, collecting magic to fuel his already immense power.
A flicker of greed sparked within Leo's chest. "What if!!"
"Well, the heck with it," Leo whispered to himself. With a quick motion, he pressed a tab in his interface, activating the Black Cock.
From the shadows, dark, crawling entities erupted onto the battlefield. They skittered across the ground with unnerving speed, ripping through the corpses to drain them of blood and magic.
Azuthol froze mid-ritual, his glowing horns flickering with confusion. "Who dares steal my sacrifice?" he roared, his voice thunderous with rage.
The demons looked among themselves, their confusion mounting as they failed to identify the culprit.
"Who dares to claim the blood and magic that belongs to Azuthol?" the horde echoed, searching frantically for the thief.
But their efforts were in vain. Hidden in the shadows, Leo smirked as his crawlers worked quickly to siphon the spoils.
By the time Azuthol turned his attention back to the battlefield, Leo was already slipping deeper into the ruins, leaving the demons to vent their fury on the expeditioners.
"You humans, it must be you. There is a demon among you."
-----
Leo wandered aimlessly, unsure of his direction but certain of one thing—he couldn't go back.
The path behind him was overrun with humans and demons alike, both not friendly to him and returning would mean offering himself up as prey. With no better option, he pressed forward, delving deeper into the ruin.
To his surprise, the deeper sections were eerily silent, but he couldn't deny a sliver of relief.
"Guess all the fucking demons who should've been here went out to hunt the humans," he muttered, shaking his head.
It was a stroke of luck, or so it seemed. The absence of enemies gave him the freedom to explore, and soon he came across an abandoned structure.
Wasting no time, Leo slipped inside.
Once safe, he leaned against the crumbling wall and exhaled. Leo's body was ready. "Damn it, I need to channel my magic," he grumbled, his body still humming with residual energy from the earlier battle.
Closing his eyes, he focused.
Suddenly, his entire form began to glow. A radiant golden light erupted from him, piercing the darkness and shooting into the sky above. Leo's power surged as the magic he'd siphoned from the dead humans and demons earlier took root.
When the glow subsided, he felt it—a new strength coursing through him. He'd advanced to Tier 4 Svad, a level of power that vastly increased his confidence.
"Risky, but worth it," he muttered, a small smirk tugging at his lips.
With this new power, he felt far better equipped to survive whatever awaited him.
Still, he wasn't foolish enough to linger. The golden light of his advancement might have been noticed by any lingering demons nearby. Without hesitation, he left the building, moving cautiously through the ruins.
Eventually, he came to a large, open square. Unlike the crumbling remains of the rest of the ruin, this area was strangely intact, its edges sharp and unmarred by time.
"What the hell is this place?" Leo wondered aloud, stepping cautiously toward the center.
The square felt strange, as if it were watching him. His instincts prickled, warning him to leave—but before he could react, the ground gave way beneath his feet.
"Shit!" Leo yelled as he plummeted, the air rushing past him.
He hit the ground hard, the impact jarring his bones. Gasping for breath, he cursed. "I avoided death at the hands of humans and demons, and now I'm going to die to a goddamn fucking trap?"
The oppressive darkness around him offered no comfort, only realization that his journey might end here, in this pit of unknown danger.
------
"They're somewhere up ahead," Petunia whispered, her eyes scanning the dim ruins as they crept forward.
"Don't do anything reckless," Yun-Yun cautioned. "We're just here to observe, not intervene."
Petunia had refused to return to Sodom City after being rescued from the ruined cathedral. She'd convinced Yun-Yun to follow the human expeditioners, determined to help Leo if the need arose.
Suddenly, the air shook with the sound of thundering clashes. The distant echoes of battle reached their ears.
"They've found Leo! We have to help him!" Petunia exclaimed, starting to move forward, but Yun-Yun grabbed her arm, pulling her back.
"No," Yun-Yun said firmly, her tone measured. "That's not Leo. They're fighting someone else—many others."
The two women carefully edged toward a hidden vantage point to observe the scene. What they saw made them gasp. A horde of demons was attacking the players, cutting them down with terrifying efficiency.
"What happened here?" Petunia asked, horrified.
"If I had to guess, this is our husband's doing," Yun-Yun replied, her eyes narrowing as she analyzed the chaos. "He must have lured the demons here to fight the humans."
Petunia's fear was momentarily replaced with admiration. "He's so resourceful if he did that. I was so worried about him."
"I told you before, there's no need to worry about Leo," Yun-Yun said, her voice calm but firm. "If anything, you should worry about its us. Don't become a burden to him."
Petunia hesitated before nodding. "Alright. But where is he now? He must be near."
Before Yun-Yun could respond, a sinister energy began to rise from the battlefield. Dark, crawling entities emerged, scouring the land looking for blood and magic.
Yun-Yun's face tightened. She recognized the signs immediately.
"He couldn't resist the temptation," Yun-Yun murmured.
"What do you mean?" Petunia asked, confused.
"Husband is here," Yun-Yun said, her voice certain.
"Really? I'll send him a message," Petunia said eagerly, reaching for her messaging.
"Stop!" Yun-Yun grabbed her hand. "Don't disturb him. He's conducting a powerful ritual. If you distract him, it could break his concentration—and that would be disastrous."