A strange creature joined the battle.
One resembling a golem.
Massive in size, black in color, with enormous eyes filled with crimson rings.
The golem attacked Gael directly, having judged him to be the strongest among them.
It threw its gigantic fist toward him—
And Gael answered with one of his own.
The fists collided violently, and the pressure born from their clash exploded outward, shaking the entire region around them.
The golem appeared overwhelming.
More than worthy of standing against Gael.
Yet the Duke of Hell quickly proved that to be nothing more than an illusion.
Only seconds passed before his fist shattered through the golem’s own, destroying it before the eyes of everyone watching from afar.
The golem’s arm exploded apart.
Fragments scattered everywhere as the creature released a piercing scream of agony.
Gael pushed forward immediately, breaking through the dark monster’s defenses.
He followed the first punch with another aimed directly at its chest, sending the golem flying away.
The creature tumbled violently across the ground while cracks spread throughout its torso.
It staggered backward until it was thrown all the way toward Agares.
The Second Upper immediately descended upon it, raining down a storm of punches.
Each blow carried the overwhelming might of the King’s Durability, worsening the golem’s injuries as its hardened skin shattered apart piece by piece.
Above them, Marvas extended his hand.
An enormous spear of black fire formed instantly as he poured a tremendous amount of aura into it.
"Move away, Agares."
"Or you’ll be caught in the blast radius."
The Fifth Upper warned him before hurling the gigantic spear downward.
The explosion detonated directly above the golem’s head.
The monster screamed as it burned in agony.
Agares retreated to a safe distance, visibly stunned by what he had witnessed.
Marvas himself looked equally bewildered.
Listening to the creature’s sorrowful cries, he noticed something that deepened his frown.
"Is it... crying?"
A shattered arm.
A split-open chest.
A burning body.
Torrents of tears streamed from the giant golem’s eyes, soaking its face before evaporating against the dark flames below.
It cried...
Like a small child experiencing pain for the first time in its life.
The scene confused the Upper Demons.
Unlike Gael, who showed no concern whatsoever and attacked once more.
His crimson flesh expanded and spread outward, surrounding the golem in a massive circle.
The rotten red flesh twisted grotesquely as dozens of mouths opened toward the creature.
From them, bombs of dark aura exploded one after another, tearing through the crying monster’s body and filling it with holes.
The golem collapsed onto the ground, curling around itself in an attempt to protect its body as its screams grew louder and louder.
Yet Gael never stopped attacking.
In the next instant, he appeared directly before the golem.
One of the Duke of Hell’s arms transformed into a gigantic blade of horrifying sharpness.
With terrifying speed and precision, he severed the golem’s remaining arm and sent it flying away—
Then began tearing apart the rest of its body.
The entire scene was bizarre.
Almost like watching a grown monster mercilessly bully a helpless child.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Is it really this weak?"
Marvas muttered in disbelief.
The pressure wave released by the golem earlier had been anything but ordinary.
It had genuinely frightened him.
He had assumed the creature was at least on their level.
Yet it collapsed crying after the very first exchange of blows.
Gael destroyed it effortlessly, tearing it apart piece by piece.
Until almost nothing remained of the creature that had entered the battlefield.
Half of its face.
Part of its neck and chest.
A tearful eye that never stopped crying.
Its presence weakened more and more until it became almost insignificant.
So insignificant that the Upper Demons found themselves wondering why such a weak creature had dared interfere in their battle at all.
Before it, Gael lifted his foot, preparing to crush what little remained and erase it completely.
The golem’s eye stared at the descending leg—
And suddenly...
That sorrowful, tear-filled gaze changed.
The eye filled instead with fury.
With overwhelming hatred.
Like a child who had finally exploded after suffering too much pain.
Gael’s foot was moments away from crushing it.
Yet it froze before making contact.
A sinister aura suddenly erupted from the dying golem.
The horrifying pressure forced even Gael himself to retreat instinctively.
The golem trembled violently.
Then its body regenerated in an instant before Gael’s hollow eyes.
Its form reconstructed itself completely—
But in an entirely different shape that caused the demons’ eyes to widen in shock.
The golem’s right arm had transformed into a crimson limb resembling a mass of bloody flesh...
Covered in mouths filled with jagged teeth.
Meanwhile, its left arm remained black—
But now radiated overwhelming physical power.
The golem released a furious roar before charging Gael and striking him with the mutated arm.
The Duke of Hell attacked as well.
Their powers collided.
But unlike the first clash...
This time, the golem fought him evenly.
The two exchanged savage blows without retreating, tearing each other apart mercilessly.
As the battle continued, the golem’s screams grew sharper with every passing second.
And the moment the exchange reached its peak—
Pitch-black flames erupted behind its back, granting it even greater offensive power.
The flames spread across its arms as well, drastically amplifying its strength.
Until it physically overwhelmed the Duke of Hell completely and smashed him apart, forcing torrents of blood from his body.
"Impossible... how can it...?"
Marvas muttered in disbelief, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
The golem had regenerated instantly from the brink of death...
And displayed powers that had never belonged to it.
Black flames.
Absolute durability.
And that mutated arm filled with mouths.
Those were all abilities unique to demons.
No other versions of them should exist—
Aside from Agaroth himself, who shared them.
And that realization made Marvas understand something horrifying.
"Can it... copy its opponents’ powers?"
The thought filled him with dread.
Because he had finally received a clue regarding the true identity of the monster currently fighting the Duke of Hell.
An ancient creature capable of perfectly copying the powers of its enemies...
And regenerating no matter how much damage it suffered...
"I thought it was nothing more than a meaningless legend..."
"And now you’re telling me it’s real? That this monster is the one from the stories?"
Marvas’ expression darkened with every passing second, especially after watching the golem brutally overpower Gael, smashing the Duke’s body apart until he was driven deep beneath the earth itself.
The golem released another monstrous howl before turning its head toward Marvas and Agares.
Then it charged toward them with terrifying speed.
The Second Upper reacted immediately, intercepting it before it could reach Marvas.
Agares unleashed his full power, hardening his body to the utmost limit as he rained blows upon the creature.
Yet the monster returned every strike with one perfectly equal to it.
Every punch Agares landed upon the golem’s body...
Was answered with an identical blow in return.