Artifact Embryo

"Souls!"

"More souls!"

As the Archduke of Hell who ruled the third layer of Baator Hell, Mammon possessed strange powers Soren could not comprehend. Soren had no idea what he had done beforehand to these Half-Elf nobles of Falling Leaf City, but after they touched the eerie aura surrounding him, they began to wither and decay one after another. Soren did not even know whether "wither" or "decay" best described these pitiful people, for their bodies shriveled like dying plants. Then bewildered souls emerged, seedlike sparks of light appeared within them, and every soul was finally drawn into the body of Mammon, the Archduke of Hell.

"That is enough souls."

There was no telling how many souls Mammon had taken, only that few living people remained near him. The Archduke of Hell turned and gave Soren a hate-filled look. "Farewell, you wretched new deity!"

"One day, I will come back for you!"

Soren's arrival had undoubtedly ruined his plans completely. Bringing a devil's avatar into the Material Plane was even harder than it was for the Gods, and the costs and risks were just as enormous. Mammon had intended to enjoy a feast amid the burning ruins of Falling Leaf City, reap a vast harvest of souls without a hitch, then return to Baator Hell. But Soren had now thwarted his plans. High-ranking Archdukes of Hell always avoided combat whenever possible, especially battles in which they held little advantage.

—"Trickery [Domain]!"

Black smoke spread. Amid the raging flames all around them, the Archduke of Hell suddenly vanished. Even Soren could no longer sense his location. He could not tell whether Mammon had teleported away or left the Material Plane altogether and returned to Baator Hell.

"No need to wait until next time!"

A trace of the radiance of divinity