GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

WRATH didn't think that the fight went in PRIDE's favor at all. From what it heard, PRIDE was a thousand times larger than the new demon king. That wasn't strange. What was strange was that PRIDE couldn't kill the new demon god despite the advantage in energy.

It would have argued with PRIDE that a 1,000-fold disparity in energy efficiency is not "a slight disadvantage," and would have made fun of it too, but it was preoccupied with the thought of the strange demon king with corrosive energy that PRIDE mentioned.

It remembered that the demon with the corrosive energy similar to the demon gods was the demon king who made things difficult for them during the meeting to vote for the establishment of the abyssal coalition. It also remembered that this was the demon king who sold it the coordinates to one of the planes that CARNAGE was invading.

WRATH thought to itself, "This is surprising. He was a demon king when I last met him, but he has become a demon god now. But this is too fast. From what I know of him, he is a new demon god with less than 10,000 years. How did he comprehend his sin so fast?"

As an ancient demon god, it knows just how difficult it is to comprehend a sin. 10,000 years is just too short to accomplish that. The appropriate time should be 1,000,000 years and some might never be able to take the last step even after so long. So Aeternus is a hundred times faster than the average demon god.

It couldn't help but ask, "Is there a way to speed up the comprehension of sin? This new demon god seems to have found a way to do that. It is either that or I am wrong about how long he has been a demon king."

LUST and PRIDE heard the question, but they couldn't find an answer to it. Their ignorance displeased WRATH.

It said, "I wish CARNAGE were here. CARNAGE was knowledgeable."

PRIDE said with disdain, "But you were always fighting with CARNAGE."

WRATH retorted with greater disdain, "At least he had more going on in his mind than you. You only think everything is beneath you, but you are wrong."

PRIDE said proudly, "I am not wrong. I am better than everyone else."

"If that were so, you would have been able to kill a new demon god."

"I guess I have to correct that error by killing you."

They were about to start fighting again. It is not something LUST wanted to see because the implications can be disastrous. PRIDE will surely win this fight because it has the stronger clone. But the fight won't end there. WRATH can keep a grudge for a long time, so it will surely return with a stronger clone for the second round.

This can lead to a downward spiral of fights that will reduce the power of the two strongest demon gods just before the era of conquest. LUST wouldn't have cared about the reduction of their strength if the realm lord hadn't given them a joint mission for the era of conquest.

So if they weaken too much, the demon gods as a whole might fail the mission and lose out on their dream to become world enders.

LUST sighed and did what she had to do. She interrupted again with a question, "Does anyone know where CARNAGE is? We need him for the era of conquest."

PRIDE scoffed at her before replying. "Maybe you are the stupidest one. Even I know that CARNAGE is either dead or has become a world ender. The chances of CARNAGE becoming a world ender are higher, so I am willing to bet that it has become a world ender."

LUST didn't expose the fact that she just made them stop fighting with a single question. She could only remain smug within herself. But that didn't last long because WRATH spoke.

WRATH said, "With CARNAGE gone, the appearance of a demon god is a good thing for the abyssal coalition. We will have a greater chance of victory in the era of conquest. Seeing as the new demon god was able to beat PRIDE, he will be a very useful addition."

PRIDE had to correct WRATH. "He didn't best me."

"You had a thousand times more energy. You were chased in defeat. You had to bring in many other clones to fight the new demon god. That sounds to me like a resounding defeat. If I were you, I wouldn't show my face here..."

PRIDE didn't let WRATH finish before it pounced. The two demon gods began to fight. It was a slaughter. PRIDE had overwhelming strength. WRATH didn't back down, though. It was willing to fight to the bitter end."

LUST tried to stop them, but they weren't listening. They didn't even pay any attention to LUST. But something did manage to make them pause.

The abyss was rioting. Sin energy became violent, so every demon was infected with the violence. As demon gods, they knew that this only happens when an intruder enters the abyss.

Their thoughts were confirmed when they felt a vague sense of the direction of the intruder in the abyss. Sin energy was practically leading them to destroy or send away the intruder.

LUST said, "I wonder who it is this time."

WRATH said, "It must be someone strong. At least an Origin god for the abyss to be so agitated."

Then it laughed. "It seems an immortal has come to test our mettle. Ignorant fools. Let the demon kings take care of it."

They resumed fighting. It is not a rare occasion for intruders to enter the abyss. The most common intruders are Origin gods, who have gained immortality. They have lost their fear of death, so they come to challenge the abyss sometimes.

Origin gods do suicidal things like this a lot. Sometimes it is attacking a divine plane or trying to grab a star. It is admirable, but immortality doesn't mean strength. They will learn that when a demon king beats them up.