GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

They clashed soon after. Aeternus's claymore and Danazel's hammers created an explosion as soon as they made contact. It became clear that Danazel was stronger because Aeternus was thrown backward from their clash. He crashed into several buildings before stopping.

Aeternus stood up immediately. His body was damaged a bit but he wasn't capable of feeling pain just like he doesn't get tired. His broken bones snapped together and healed using chaos energy. He was good as new and ready to react to Danazel's next attack.

Danazel had run and jumped up. He intended to smash Aeternus into the ground. But Aeternus began swinging his claymore at him. Danazel's instincts screamed to keep away from the blades of flaming darkness that were thrown at him. He knew that if he could just overcome the attack, he wouldn't need to fear it anymore. But he also knew that the chances of surviving the attack are too low. So he deflected the blades with his hammers.

His hammers clashed loudly with the blades and he was even pushed back from descending on Aeternus. His mana fell significantly and it was still falling due to that clash. It was enough proof for him to realize that his decision to block was right. He didn't get to feel happy for long. The little amount of hair he had on his body straightened in fear when he sensed a serious danger.

While Danazel was preoccupied with the blades, Aeternus was focusing on his claymore. The flaming darkness on it began to concentrate. Then he swung it in a wide arc behind him. The claymore released a sharp attack that tore through the air and created a shriek due to its rough passage.

The three high-rank demons that wanted to ambush him were torn apart. The sharp blade of darkness began to widen as it continued on its journey. It cut everything in its path and burned them. There was cone shape scene of destruction that started from Aeternus and reached the walls.

"Now it's just you and me," Aeternus said to the stunned Danazel.

He continued. "There's that peeping tom but he won't be joining this fight."

Aeternus is referring to the divine sense watching them that only he could sense.

Danazel remained silent. He reviewed his situation and assessed the fortress. There was destruction everywhere. Buildings had caved in or had been cut apart and that dreadful fire was still burning. There was no sight of his soldiers but he had called his allies. High-rank demons of similar strength to him will be here soon. Support was on its way and all he has to do is stall for a while so he made his decision. He turned around and ran. Relying on the punctuality of demons in your time of need is folly.

"Let me go." He shouted to Aeternus as he ran. "My helpers are coming. If you delay then you will be surrounded and you will die."

"Who said I'll need a long time to kill you? Besides, the more the merrier." Aeternus transmitted his amusement and glee very clearly to his prey.

He made his point known, he won't let Danazel go.

"You will tire yourself out. How many attacks of such Caliber can you make again?" Danazel tried to reason with the ominous reaper.

That last attack was very powerful and it must be energy consuming. A demon has to make sure they don't run low on energy or they will become easy prey to their peers. A smart demon should be conservative especially since more enemies are coming.

"You have no idea." Saying so Aeternus grabbed the flames in the fortress and pulled them towards him.

The wind howled as the flames rushed towards Aeternus from every direction. Danazel was cornered without any path to escape through. He didn't despair much before he was covered and burned away.

The flames continued and entered Aeternus' body leaving him alone in a decrepit fortress. Only the castle was largely intact and the completely unaffected abyss altar at the center of the fortress. The haze of darkness around him had grown stronger because the flames on his body had grown stronger.

He ignored the abyss altar and made his way to the castle. There were some mid-rank demons still alive but he ignored them. He searched through the castle floor by floor with his divine sense. Nothing could hide from his perception and he had time for a full search.

He found Danazel's stash at the top of the castle. He had expected a secluded corner underground of the castle somewhere but it was out in the open in a large room on the top floor. The entire floor was fortified with wards, alarms, and traps of various kinds all there to protect his wealth. They did nothing to stop Aeternus's advance.

Even the giant demonic snake that was guarding the door didn't confront him at all. The snake slithered away while trying to camouflage itself somehow, but his senses couldn't be fooled at all.

Aeternus shook his head. "Like master like his pet. Not bad."

The master had chosen to run so did the pet. It might be considered cowardice but it spoke of intelligence and wisdom. Danazel had raised a demonic beast to the high-rank level. Low-rank and mid-rank demons are equivalent to mana entities and transcendents respectively. High-rank demons have the strength of low-rank gods while the strongest high-rank demons like Danazel that can jump ranks are equivalent to mid-gods and lords of laws.

Aeternus is impressive to be able to fight and kill such powerful beings while only being the equivalent of a transcendent but to create such a demonic beast is more impressive. It would require a lot of resources on the part of the master and a good bloodline on the part of the pet.

Demons are like dragons in a lot of ways. They both are immune to the suppression of the divine plane because of the unique energy type that they have that is equivalent to Origin energy. They are also highly virile and can reproduce with a lot of things. Demonic beasts are the result of demons reproducing with beasts. These unfortunate offsprings are capable of living in the abyss but are most often food to be raised for slaughter by mid-rank demons.

They don't have sin marks that demons acquire when they become low rank. So most demonic beasts stay at the low rank all their lives but if they can break through to the mid-rank on their own, then they must be special. It means they have the potential to grow stronger.

Demons can't grow stronger without a sin mark that allows them to evolve but demonic beasts are part beasts and can have the potential to grow but it is rare to see. Encountering a mid-rank demonic beast among other demonic beasts is a 1 in 1,000,000 chance. So there's no way Aeternus will allow this snake to go.

"Come here." He ordered the snake.

The snake turned around and slithered to where Aeternus was standing just at the door to the room with the stash. Then it lay down on the ground and looked at Aeternus fearfully while he examined it.

The snake had gleaming scales of draconic pattern and small stubs on its head. Those are signs of a dragon bloodline. It also has four eyes, two on each side of its head, and a forked tongue with barbs and fangs that can pierce through steel as if it were paper. A pair of small wings are on its back.

"I doubt those wings can help it levitate at all." He mused.

NAME: Xander.

RACE: Demonic Beast.

BLOODLINE: Draco-demonic.

DEMON RANK: High Rank

HEALTH: 100%

STAMINA: 100%

MANA: 2471

ATTACK RATING: Physique:80. Spirit:60. MAGIC:50

DEFENSE RATING: Physique:100. Spirit:65. MAGIC:110.

STATUS: Petrified.

"So it has dragon bloodline." He said to himself.

It isn't rare for a demon to reproduce with a descendant of a dragon. The two races breed a lot so there's bound to be an interaction between the two bloodlines, it just doesn't turn out well. The bloodlines will inevitably clash. The pride in the dragon bloodline will not coexist with the chaos in the demon bloodline so they create an inferior species. But hybridization and mutation across several generations can create a demonic beast with its own unique bloodline and the potential to grow.

The serpent has features similar to dragons and demons just like those two races have similar features. Dragons and demons have tails, wings, horns, and true sight. Dragons even have the sin of pride, greed, wrath, gluttony, sloth, and lust. They are proud and arrogant, greedy for treasures, easy to anger and highly destructive when angry, eat a lot, like to sleep, and will have sex with almost anything.

But dragons don't envy anyone. Their massive pride and ego won't let them. That's where they draw the line in similarities with demons.