"Which of you two wants to die first?" Xia Yuan's voice was soft, as if he were asking what was for dinner.
But to War and Pride, those words were two sledgehammer blows, striking the most vulnerable parts of their hearts.
A deathly silence fell over the beach.
War's amber eyes contracted violently. Her pupils roiled with three parts humiliation, three parts anger, three parts defiance, and ninety-one parts fear.
Pride—Lucius—trembled in his molten-gold slit pupils, and the radiance of his twelve pairs of wings dimmed.
It was not fear, but an instinctive reaction to having his pride shattered after being utterly crushed.
They were bishops of the Seven Deadly Sins of the Holy Maiden Church, members of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, World-Class Wanted Bosses.
They were apex beings who stood against human civilization.
Yet now, a mere contract spirit looked down on them as though they were ants.
War opened her mouth, her voice slightly distorted by extreme anger.
"You think... killing a few bosses means you can win?!"
She abruptly raised her head, a dazzling light erupting from her amber eyes.
"Xia Yuan! You're too full of yourself!!"
Pride finally recovered from that almost suffocating silence. Fury churned like magma in his molten-gold slit pupils.
"Xia Yuan, your power is indeed formidable, but..."
He repeated those two words under his breath, his voice growing colder and heavier.
"I am Pride, foremost of the Seven Deadly Sins of the Holy Maiden Church. No one has ever dared look at me like that..."
"Never before!!!!"
Both glared at him, terrifying pressure erupting from their bodies, yet even now, neither dared actually attack.
They knew the gulf in strength was vast. Reason told them they should retreat.
But their dignity as World-Class Wanted Bosses, their pride as bishops of