Imp to Demon King: A Journey of Conquest

"What the?!"

Gripped by the monument, Adam's and Leraje's eyes widened as the wind battered their faces. Amidst their fluttering hair, they saw the mountain grow closer with alarming speed. Worse, they gulped when the statue's falcon wings sent raging gales as it transported them to its summit before it stopped moving—just in front of the pit from which the demonic energy rose to permeate the air.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Their hearts racing, they gazed at each other before Adam stumbled to the hole and coughed.

"Thanks for the help, Ozymandias." He raised Leraje and continued. "How far are we from the original flame?"

Leraje's eyes slipped to the side, sweat beading on his forehead.

"I don't know. But it should be right at the center."

Meanwhile, Baal's shadow stirred, and his voice thundered behind the divine barrier.

"Trusting a demon, are you? Absorb him instead! That'll heal you better than any flame could!"

"How dare you, you treacherous bastard! You know that's a lie!" Leraje shuddered, his voice cracking. "His panic is the answer you seek. The flame is nearby!"

However, Adam rolled his eyes as he leaned over the edge. Blasts of burning air, thick with the scent of sulfur, crashed into his face, but his mind raced in another direction.

'Both are manipulating me. Leraje's goal is clear, but Baal's?' He shook his head. 'Is he acting to go along with Leraje's scheme, or does he not want me to reach the flame?'

He didn't know, but he would never let Leraje recover. His eyes and heart hardened as he slashed at the marquis' neck without warning.

Warm blood spurted on his scales, covering them in a deep crimson.

The great marquis' head dropped to the ground, his agonising and enraged roars reverberating.

"What are you doing, fool?! You saw Baal scam me with your own eyes!"

As his eyes dimmed, he only saw the bloodied demon shrug and pick up his head.

"You're both the same lying beasts. I trust neither of you."

With his last strength, Leraje spat through gritted teeth.

"You'll join me soon!"

Adam shook his head and dived into the pit, flapping his draconic wings weakly. Time was too short, and he was too weak to waste it.

'Recover first. Resurrect Shihan if possible.'

His chest tightened at the second part as he cleaved through the green vapor.

The situation forced him to choose, and he prioritised himself over her potential return.

'I'll find this mountain again as long as I survive. But I still hope she can return now.'

The scent of sulfur intensified, and his body gulped more energy with each meter he crossed. By the time he reached the bottom, his veins bulged under his skin, saturated with essence his body had no time to assimilate.

That's when a blissful sensation made him shudder despite the heat piercing through his scales to make him sweat. Closing his eyes to appreciate it, he felt the festering power aggravating his wounds dissolve. Even better, his pierced muscles and putrefying organs devoured the essence to restore themselves as his body churned at full power to adapt.

As he slowly recovered, he snapped his eyes open and took determined steps toward the fuming pool of liquid flames at the center.

However, his eyes narrowed as he noticed a cave on the other side.

Descending deeper into the mountain's belly, a stream rushed upward to feed the pool, meaning he hadn't reached his destination yet.

Without hesitation, he dashed into the cave. His boots echoed against rocks as his breath hastened.

'Faster!'

He emerged inside a circular opening a few seconds later.

'What the...'

Piercing the green glow lighting the place, he scrutinised a small patch of scarlet flames. The heat they radiated prickled his skin, rendering his fire resistance ineffective. Worse, each breath burned his throat as an energy he'd never forget melded into his body.

'I should have guessed it! The purgatory's original flame is a pure condensation of infernal energy.' He shook his head. 'That's not right. Demonic essence is a weakened version of infernal energy, meaning...'

He shuddered as everything made sense.

The demon kings could kill abyssal creatures to get a higher energy form. But why would they when they had a natural supply of their essence's parent?

He took a deep breath and shoved those irrelevant thoughts aside. Instead, he gripped his blade and walked into the pool's green part.

Once he reached the infernal part, a notification pierced the mountain's silence.

[Tiamat's unique quest: Shihan's redemption.]

Bathe Shihan's corpse in the purgatory's original flame to revive her.

Reward: Shihan's revival with an improved bloodline.

Failure: You'll stay a guilty bastard.

Simultaneously, space shattered like glass, glistening sparks falling into the flames.

A chaotic vortex followed, drowning the scent of sulfur with salt as Shihan's clean body appeared amidst the dark water.

His lips twisted in guilt as he saw the holes riddling her pale skin. But he would fix his mistake now.

Before he pushed her into the infernal flames, a chat window burst open in front of his narrowing eyes.

[Tiamat: You have two options, so choose fast. Either you trust me and throw Leraje's body with hers, or you keep it to absorb his essence.]

Without hesitation, he hurled Leraje's limbless carcass and head into the infernal flames, then pushed Shihan beside it.

Heart drumming in his ears and eyes sparkling in hope, he endured the deafening sizzles and insufferable heat as Leraje dissolved into a vortex of essence and shadows. Swirling green and dark, it draped Shihan's body and seeped into her wounds.

He raised his clenched fists, his left arm bone already healed, and his scales reforming.

"Come back, Shihan! We've been waiting for your return!" A soft smile crept on his lips. "Especially Bart!"

However, he bit his lip and trembled as a notification he dreaded to hear shattered his joy.

[Congratulations on your victory in the second round! Lord remaining: Adam.]

"Shit! She needs more time!"