Treasure

From the middle level of the crooked Disaster Stone Tower came sudden, heart-rending cheers and sobs.

Yicha glanced over from the corner of his eye and saw a crowd packed before the narrow round window, the dark, gaunt faces of Fallen Angel Cult members crushed together against it.

"He's here! He's here!!!! Is this real!!!! Is this real!!!! We're going back to Heaven!!!!"

"Duke!!! No, no, no!!!! Heavens!!! My Holy Spirit!!!!"

Tears and snot streamed down the demons' faces as they scrambled out through the window one after another. They spread their tiny wings, shedding molten-lava-like tears without pause as they glided toward Yicha.

"Holy Spirit!!!"

"Commander!!!"

"Lord!!!"

A jumble of titles burst from their mouths. Like a heap of ragged clods drawn toward a blazing star, they moved toward the center.

At their head was a tall, thin demon with emerald-green eyes. He looked cleaner and calmer than the other demons. A golden feather fastened his hooded robe, and a pentagram was embroidered on his collar.

The tall, thin demon tried to fly closer, but Yicha made a stopping gesture. He halted, holding back his fellow tribesmen who had already lost control and preventing them from advancing further.

"I am your loyal disciple, Sankarabi. You may summon me at any time." His steady voice carried an uncontrollable tremor as it drifted over from afar.

Yicha did not turn around. He stared directly at Yifomiet and spat out the scarlet spear.

The Extermination Destruction Cone was about to fall into that pool of holy water again.

One of Yifomiet's human arms lifted slightly. The scarlet spear traced an unnaturally steep arc upward and returned to his hand.

All seventy-two pillar statues had been toppled, and Marrowstones had been kicked rolling everywhere. More than half of the thirteen pools had been destroyed, while the precious mercury pools and Gangrene Flower juice pools had been filled with a chaotic mess of rubble.

Everything that could burn had been set ablaze.

The night was burning.

Yifomiet hovered opposite Yicha. Against his massive frame, Yicha looked like a silver fish in a black lake.

The demon soldiers of the three legions stood atop the fragmented three-tiered floating islands. They had even ripped up many of the stone slabs laid across the ground, and now they had nothing to do.

So they raised their heads to watch the angel and demon in the sky.

"Duke Asmodeus!" a demon suddenly shouted.

"Duke Asmodeus! Duke Asmodeus! Duke Asmodeus!" Many demons suddenly began shouting. Their hoarse demonic voices rang through the night sky.

Yicha raised a hand to the wound on his forehead carved open by the Extermination Destruction Cone and wiped it.

The wound had not fully healed, but it was no longer corroding inward, nor was it bleeding or hurting.

This was not healing, but a neutralization of equal forces.

Yifomiet slowly raised the Extermination Destruction Cone, but he did not attack immediately.

"You really are an angel." The arrogance in his tone had lessened.

No, I'm not, Yicha thought.

I became an angel. I hope that one day, I can become something else again.

The muscles on Yifomiet's broad shoulders twitched.

Blood rain. The Extermination Destruction Cone flew toward him.

Yicha extended his hand, and pure divine light gathered into a sphere in his palm.

The sphere scattered like a dandelion. In an instant, downy strands of orderly energy danced through the sky, each one gently wrapping around a sharp drop of blood rain.

The spheres of light encasing the blood drops merged together.

With a crack.

In the material realm, the scarlet spear seemed to strike a solid barrier. It shook twice, then fell from the sky again.

The demons of the Fallen Angel Cult gasped in amazement. Several demon soldiers in the distance realized the cultists' presence was unnecessary and began closing in on them.

"Don't be afraid. The holy angel is with us."

Sankarabi calmly directed the cult members, having them form a circle and face outward together.

Yicha glanced their way, golden light dazzling in his eyes like stars.

The demon soldiers shrank back.

The Extermination Destruction Cone neared the water's surface.

Yifomiet's bloodshot eyes did not move. He raised his hand again.

The same thing happened once more. The scarlet spear's trajectory abruptly bent upward and returned to his hand as if drawn by magnetism.

He gripped the Extermination Destruction Cone tightly and gave a cold snort, making no further move.

"You can't kill me anymore." Yicha's voice carried a magnetism that made one's whole body feel warm. "You're very smart. You didn't come straight at me and attack."

Yifomiet remained silent.

He's cautious, and he values his life, Yicha thought. After that brief exchange, both of them had seen that the original fallen angel's rank was no lower than that of a hell duke.

Yifomiet no longer had any certainty of victory.

He might not even be certain he could retreat unscathed.

Would the ruler of the domain of destruction choose to perish together because of this...?

Yicha watched the bull-headed demon opposite him. "For two reasons, I'm giving you a chance."

He looped the golden horn chain containing the anchor around his neck. "You can leave now. If Beelzebub wants to come find me himself, tell him I'll be waiting here. If he doesn't come, I'll go find him myself. By the way, I can't hear the Hell Broadcast anymore."

The Hell Broadcast had failed...

That was another piece of bad news for Yifomiet.

He held the spear horizontally before him, fell silent for a moment, then spoke.

"State your reasons."

Yicha smiled.

"The first reason: you have mastered Transfiguration yourself. That tells me you're very smart. I don't want to see someone so intelligent waste his talent on this kind of thing."

He pointed at the ruins below, regret filling his tone. "Do you know what these could create?"

Yifomiet looked at the angel-like demon—or seemed to look, since he had no pupils.

He let out a low, cold laugh.

"The other reason?"

"I don't think the other one is very important."

Yicha did not know whether Yifomiet had a harmonious family, but judging from what had happened when family was mentioned earlier, it was better not to bring up Xiqisi here.

In truth, he could not understand the matter of family at all. He had merely dragged out everything with even a superficial connection earlier to buy time in that urgent moment.

In his view, that reason truly was not important.

Yicha sighed and continued, "In any case, take this bunch of troublemakers and leave. Promise that you'll use your talent in the right place from now on. I can overlook the mess you made of my garden."

It pained him deeply, but the garden could be rebuilt. An intelligent being as clever as Yifomiet was a rare treasure in the universe.

If he was willing to be one, that was.

Though he had injured Keir, who was also a treasure, one treasure was still better than no treasures.

Yicha looked at Yifomiet. He did not feel that he was making some great sacrifice for the universe. After considering it, he simply believed this was what should be done.

Still.

His floating islands had not been built overnight. Rebuilding them would take time, after all.

He only hoped Yifomiet could recognize his own worth and not waste his precious mind and strength on needless things like prying up someone else's floor tiles and smashing their vases.

The air was completely silent, broken only by the crackling of flames.

The legion demons and cult demons alike stood blankly, without reacting.

No one understood what Yicha was talking about.