GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

Helios rose above the divine city as he transformed but the divine city still suffered from the transformation. The buildings and creatures around him combusted instantly while the city itself caught fire. He is radiating too much heat to be safe around.

He left the burning city behind without bothering about the damage he caused. The various divine lords living in the city will take care of it. As for him, he has a demon Lord to teach a lesson. If she feels she can throw her weight around however she wants, then she should try that with someone of her own size.

He arrived above Armageddon soon after transforming. The fighting stopped immediately with the sighting of the Colossus lumbering towards them. Both sides suddenly became content with waiting and watching. The gods don't know what he is here for while the demons don't know him at all. But they can all sense that this armored monstrosity with golden runes running across its surface is a Celestial and very dangerous.

The demon lord looked on with dread as the Colossus approached her. The ground of Armageddon is shaking with each step of the Colossus. The quaking synchronized with the sound of her thundering heartbeat. And just like the quaking is getting louder the closer the Celestial is to her, the louder and faster her heart is beating as her dread increased.

"It seems I am doomed. I didn't expect them to feature a Celestial right from the start." She lamented as she looked on.

An invasion war usually starts with skirmishes and probes. It is important to be cautious and to test the waters so that you don't fall into your enemy's trap. She was counting on the prudence of the enemy and the sacrifice of her soldiers to give her enough time to extract herself from this murky situation. But they go and sent a Celestial on the first day.

She may have a large army but it is not giving her any confidence. She knows deep down in her very large gut that she is doomed. If there's anyone that can trust their gut for advice it is her because she has a big gut and it is almost sentient. So yes, she is really doomed.

It is not a conclusion influenced by paranoia. She is the commander of the demon army and also the strongest. A Celestial god won't waste time with the rabble. It will come to destroy the leadership of the invaders. That means it is coming to remove her from the existence of the living. Apart from sound reasoning, one will be hard-pressed to come to another conclusion if they see what she is seeing.

It is a terrifying sight. Angels and demons alike are combusting wherever the titanic being passes. The mere presence of the shining Colossus has doomed them to become nothing but ashes. She is more than strong enough to withstand the heat of the Colossus, it is the source of the heat that she is worried about. A Colossus that is 10 times bigger than her, coming towards her army cannot be good news.

Beelta is just a demon Lord, the equivalent of a grand god. She is at the peak of half-divine rank in all her stats so she can take on the most powerful grand god and maybe a weak sovereign of law. What she can't take on is a Celestial. A Celestial is out of her pay grade but falls to her to handle the Celestial since she has the highest pay grade among the demons. That means she cannot give up.

So she initiated communication with the Celestial.

"Sun god. I'll watch my back if I were you. A demon king is hiding in the army."

Her voice exuded confidence and not a hint of the crippling fear that she is feeling. The trick is to make herself believe that there's a demon king here. The best way to do that is to be afraid of her superior. If a demon king were here, she would be afraid. So she twisted her current fear into the fear of her boss with some confident and slightly sympathetic words.

Helios replied. "Is that so? I don't see a demon king anywhere. I only see you."

"That's because he is hiding. You will be ambushed. That is the plan. Or do you really think we demons are so stupid as to attack a plane with a Celestial without a demon king?"

Helios continued forward even as they chatted privately. Yes, it is stupidity made incarnate for them to attack the Zargoth plane without a demon king. He is slightly inclined to believe her and he is also cautious of that possibility. Legion doesn't know everything so a demon king might really be here hiding somewhere. But if a demon king is truly here and it is hiding then it is a weak demon king. Helios is not afraid of such a demon king.

He is also pretty fast so he believes he can escape. But he decided to indulge Beelta. She might be on to something.

"If that were so. Why would you help me by telling me that?" He asked her.

"I am a decoy to be sacrificed for the purpose of the demon king. I don't want to die. Let me live and I'll give you information about the army's plans. You will be able to know what the demon king is up to. It will help you beat back this invasion and save your plane. I can swear an oath to do this."

She grew more confident the more she spoke. She easily wove lies without missing a beat. Her promise to swear an oath is a fine touch that will express her sincerity. Her wordings suggested that she will rat out the demon king but it doesn't say that there has to be a demon king. She will swear the oath and rat out her army. She will do anything just for some time to leave this doomed place.