Episode 337: The Demon King (3)
The moment Dorogo appeared, Damien felt his blood boil with an intensity that threatened to consume him. His eyes blazed with a murderous intent that seemed almost tangible.
Dorogo met Damien’s gaze silently, then slowly raised his hands. As his sleeves slipped down, Damien froze in disbelief.
“You’re… not just bones?”
He muttered incredulously, his voice barely above a whisper. Dorogo then pulled back his hood, revealing his face. Damien’s eyes widened in shock.
As the robe fell away, long silver hair cascaded down, revealing blue skin and prominent veins beneath. This was no skeleton. Flesh and blood coursed through this being.
The sight left Damien speechless, and Dorogo smirked, clearly amused by his reaction. “Surprised to see me with a body again?”
The familiar voice snapped Damien out of his stupor. “You got your body back?”
“Not completely, but enough,” Dorogo replied, tearing open his robe to reveal a fully formed body, covered in blue skin and muscle.
The skeletal figure Damien remembered was nowhere to be seen. “And it’s not just my appearance that’s changed,” Dorogo added, exuding a power so immense that Damien felt crushed under its weight.
Damien stared at Dorogo in shock. Even Bahal couldn’t emit such power, nor could Epsilon, who had absorbed a demon lord’s essence.
A sense of foreboding crept into Damien’s mind. “Did you… reclaim the full power of a demon lord?”
“Not reclaim. I took it back,” Dorogo corrected, leaving Damien puzzled. Took it back? What did that mean?
“I’d love to settle this here and now, but that’s not why I’m here,” Dorogo said, withdrawing his aura, and the oppressive force vanished.
“I’ve rescued Sita, so I’ll be leaving now.”
“Mother! What do you mean? If Epsilon and I join forces, we can—”
With a gesture, Dorogo made Iota disappear, leaving Damien stunned once more.
Dorogo had used the power of Pride, which allowed manipulation of space—a skill requiring vast knowledge, one Damien himself couldn’t fully master. Yet Dorogo had effortlessly relocated Iota.
“Did you absorb the Demon King of Pride?”
“That’s not all I absorbed,” Dorogo replied, leaving Damien with more questions.
Dorogo gestured again, and this time Epsilon vanished. “If you want to kill me, come to Mount Karon. I’ll be waiting.”
With that, Dorogo raised his hands, preparing to vanish using the power of Pride.
“Why should I follow your orders?” Damien scoffed, a smirk playing on his lips. Dorogo tilted his head, puzzled.
“Are you afraid to come to Mount Karon?”
“Not afraid, just not interested,” Damien retorted, his aura flaring with lethal intent, enough to make even Dorogo flinch.
“I’ll kill you right here.”
Damien channeled his energy, his inner power surging. “Three Flowers.”
His aura intensified, warping the space around him. He gripped his sword, Dawn, letting its tip touch the ground.
“Die.”
With deadly resolve, he swung Dawn upward, releasing a massive force that cleaved the air, aiming to cut Dorogo down.
Yet Dorogo remained unfazed, raising a single finger. The slash collided with an invisible barrier, shaking the world with a thunderous roar.
“No matter what you do, you can’t harm me,” Dorogo said, lowering his finger. He had blocked Damien’s attack by sealing the space itself—a feat only possible with the full power of Pride.
“So calm down and step back—”
“Is that how you plan to stop me?” Damien interrupted, readying himself again. Power gathered in Dawn once more.
Dorogo frowned. “I told you it won’t work—”
Ignoring him, Damien swung Dawn again. “Fool.”
Dorogo used Pride’s power to block the attack, but this time, the result was different.
The strike, crafted solely to kill Dorogo, cut through space itself, and not just space.
A line appeared on Dorogo’s neck, and his head fell.
Dorogo’s head tumbled down, trailing blood. He was dead.
Yet Damien felt no triumph, only a growing sense of dread. He remained on guard, not withdrawing his killing intent.
Then, Dorogo’s head began to rise, the blood reversing its course, reattaching seamlessly.
“Insane bastard,” Dorogo muttered, incredulous.
“Cutting through space? Even with Ruin’s talent, that’s… Did you have the power of Sloth too?” Damien asked tersely.
Dorogo hadn’t healed; he had reversed time. He possessed not one, but at least two demon king powers, possibly more.
“While you were busy, you were feasting on rotten corpses,” Damien remarked, unfazed by Dorogo’s multiple powers.
“Now I see why you’re so confident,” he continued, determined to kill Dorogo here and now.
Dorogo, however, seemed tense. He sighed deeply. “It’s not time yet.”
Damien instinctively knew Dorogo intended to flee. He pushed his power to the limit, aiming to kill Dorogo before he could use Sloth’s power.
Just as Damien lunged, Dorogo activated Sloth’s power. A strange wave spread across the world, and Dorogo vanished.
Damien scanned the area quickly, but Dorogo was gone, his presence undetectable.
He must have stopped time and escaped through a dimensional portal.
“Damn it,” Damien cursed, sheathing Dawn, seething with a mix of hatred and frustration.
“Mount Karon, was it? Next time, I’ll kill you for sure.”
He glared in the direction of Mount Karon, his face twisted with a demonic rage.
“It’s not time yet,” Dorogo repeated, activating Sloth’s power.
He stopped the world and used Pride’s power to flee to Mount Karon.
Though brief, the encounter left Dorogo drenched in cold sweat, worried Damien might have stopped him.
“Mother!” his children cried, rushing to him as he arrived at Mount Karon. Dorogo looked at the four demon lords with affection.
“Sita, are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Sita replied.
“Don’t lie. I can see your condition,” Dorogo said, making Sita flinch.
“Actually, my internal organs are damaged.”
“I shouldn’t have left you in the Illusionary Realm. I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m glad I could help you, Mother,” Sita replied, and Dorogo smiled, satisfied.
“Don’t worry. I’ve already prepared the procedure for you. Soon, you’ll have the same power as your brothers.”
“Thank you. But Mother… why did you leave Demian Haxen behind?”
At Sita’s question, Dorgo gave a wry smile.
“It’s not time yet.”
Dorgo had absorbed the essence of three demon lords: the Demon Lord of Pride, the Demon Lord of Sloth, and even the body that was once her own, the Demon Lord of Lust.
Yet, she hadn’t fully integrated all the demon lords’ powers. It would take more time to stabilize them.
In truth, her original body was barely a shadow of its former self. She had sacrificed it during a massive memory manipulation spell in the past.
The real challenge lay with Pride and Sloth.
These two were among the most formidable of the demon lords. Absorbing their powers simultaneously was no easy feat.
“Sita, don’t worry. Everything is going according to my plan,” Dorgo said with a smile.
Sita looked at Dorgo with a worried expression.
Whether that concern was for Dorgo or someone else, only Sita knew.