Damian let out a long sigh as silence swallowed the battlefield once more.

Honestly, he truly did not want to kill Corbin. Neither did he want Linda to die. Even now, despite everything standing before him, some part of him still resisted the idea of slaughtering humans with his own hands.

But they had cornered him.

The moment they chose to stand between him and his followers, conflict became unavoidable.

His glowing violet eyes slowly drifted toward Linda. For a brief second, genuine pity flickered within them. The woman visibly stiffened beneath his gaze. Her grip around the silver spear weakened slightly while confusion surfaced in her eyes. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"It’s very unfortunate..." Damian sighed softly.

Then everything changed. The pity vanished instantly. What replaced it was a vicious glare overflowing with overwhelming hostility as emerald light exploded violently within his eyes.

BOOOOM!!!

Damian stomped heavily against the ground and the entire forest shook.

An endless sea of emerald hellfire erupted violently from beneath his feet like a volcanic explosion. The flames surged outward in all directions with horrifying speed, swallowing the battlefield beneath waves of green inferno.

The heat alone distorted the atmosphere as trees blackened and the earth cracked apart.

The demons behind Damian cried out in shock as the flames rushed toward them only for the hellfire to split apart perfectly around their bodies like living water obeying its master. The emerald flames curled protectively around them without causing even the slightest burn. Yet everything else was consumed mercilessly.

[Hellfire activated]

"Defend yourselves!" Linda gasped in fright.

Her scream snapped the priests out of their shock.

Immediately the priests retreated backward while the guardian angels surged forward protectively. Massive wings spread across the skies as divine power exploded outward from their bodies.

Then the chanting began.

"The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety."

The voices echoed together in perfect unison. Holy power erupted throughout the forest as countless streams of divine energy poured from the priests into the guardian angels standing before them.

The angels themselves began glowing brighter and brighter beneath the chants. Their wings expanded while golden symbols appeared beneath their feet one after another.

Puff!

A burst of violet smoke exploded beside Damian.

Rin appeared calmly in his smaller three tailed fox form, his black and purple fur glowing vividly beneath the storm of emerald flames surrounding them.

Despite the chaos unfolding around him, the fox looked completely relaxed.

"Mortals possess power far beyond what superior races like ours naturally lack," Rin explained calmly while staring toward the priests. "The Order of Moses harnesses the faith and spiritual force of mortals to strengthen their guardian angels. Corbin is the only exception. His talent is monstrous enough that divine power becomes more effective in his hands than even most angels."

Damian raised a brow slightly.

"So aim for the priests?"

"Pretty much." Rin nodded casually.

Damian slowly nodded in understanding before his gaze shifted forward again. His eyes settled upon the massive golden walls rapidly forming around them.

Brick after brick manifested from pure divine energy at terrifying speed. Towering golden walls rose endlessly toward the heavens themselves, surrounding Damian and the demons completely.

The structure expanded rapidly until it resembled an enormous divine fortress overlooking the entire forest.

"Divine Art: Fortress!" The priests roared together.

BOOOOM!!!

The final wall sealed shut completely.

The emerald hellfire slammed violently against the golden barriers but the fortress held firm. Holy light surged across every surface while divine scriptures burned themselves endlessly into the walls.

Damian and every demon behind him were trapped inside the colossal prison. Several demons panicked instantly.

"We’re trapped!"

"They sealed us inside!"

"We’re dead!"

But Damian simply stared upward calmly and smiled.

"Quite impressive." His voice carried genuine admiration.

Honestly, to him this entire thing looked no different from children participating in a stage play while wielding plastic weapons. It looked flashy, dramatic and entertaining, but held no real danger.

Snap!

Damian snapped his fingers lightly.

BOOOOSH!!!

The endless sea of emerald hellfire surged backward instantly.

The flames reversed direction violently before collapsing back into Damian’s body with astonishing speed and pressure. Within mere seconds, every trace of the inferno vanished completely.

Silence returned.

The priests collectively sucked in deep breaths upon finally seeing the damage left behind inside the fortress. Everything touched by the flames had withered completely.

The trees were dead.

The grass had turned gray.

Animals caught within the inferno had crumbled into lifeless husks scattered throughout the battlefield. Even the earth itself looked diseased and decayed.

Several priests visibly paled. If those flames had reached them directly, the battle would have ended before it even truly began.

Pa! Pa!

Pa! Pa!

The sudden sound of clapping echoed throughout the fortress.

Everyone froze.

Damian stood calmly at the center of the battlefield applauding them with a faint smile on his face. Even the demons behind him stared at him in confusion.

"Well done..." Damian nodded slowly. "I’m really impressed."

The priests frowned deeply at the strange praise. Then Damian’s smile widened slightly.

"So I’m going to give you all a chance to kill me."

The atmosphere shifted instantly.

Corbin’s burning white eyes narrowed sharply while the guardian angels tightened their grips around their divine weapons yet Damian remained perfectly relaxed.

"I’ll give all of you the opportunity to strike me dead with your next attack." His voice remained calm and casual as though discussing the weather itself.

Then his smile slowly twisted into something sinister.

"But understand this. If you fail, what follows will be nothing but gore and terror."

The emerald glow within his eyes intensified faintly. A terrifying pressure exploded outward from his body.

The demons behind him trembled violently while even several priests instinctively stepped backward. Damian slowly scanned every priest present one after another.

"I can assure you, your loved ones will feel your pain wherever they are across the world."

The sinister grin stretching across his face no longer resembled anything human.

"So make good use of this opportunity."