Worse of all, Adam couldn't work on the array in such a state.
The constant bombardment, the relentless vibrations, the jarring impacts that shook the very foundations of the earth they stood on: it made the precision work the rune array needed impossible.
His hands, which had been so steady, trembled with each new explosion, the runes he had been carefully engraving now at risk of being ruined by a single nudged stroke.
"What do we do?" Lyra came to his side, her voice soft and tired.
She leaned her head against his chest, her silver eyes droopy with exhaustion.
The constant rune engraving, the hours of meticulous work, had drained her. She was more tired than troubled at the moment, her body craving rest even as her the situation screamed for caution and attention.
The warmth of his body was a comfort that had become a subconscious comfort; a brief rest from the chaos that surrounded them.
Agri and Blair were also at his side, their bodies tense, their eyes fixed on the shimmering barrier that rippled from the explosions.
But unlike before, they no longer showed fear.
They had been through too many ordeals with their lord in the short time they had been together: battles, overwhelming odds, and moments of crisis that had tested their loyalty and their resolve.
Their faith in him at this stage no longer wavered.
They trusted him to find a way, to lead them through the chaos.
Saphira walked to Adam's side, her expression serious.
"How will you plan to deal with this one? I think-"
She opened her mouth to speak, to voice her thoughts on the matter, but Adam didn't seem to hear her. His mind zoned her voice out as he thought on his own.
Instead, he reached out with his free hand and pulled her in, his arm wrapping around her waist, his hand settling on the curve of her ass with a casual familiarity.
"Hmph?! You!" Saphira snorted coldly exasperatedly in resignation.
She didn't even bother to protest or pull away.
At this point, she had grown accustomed to Adam's antics: the groping, the possessiveness, the way he seemed to treat her body as his personal property.
It was infuriating, but she was also no longer cared.
It was an odd feeling; living your entire life with the only warmth of another being their hot blood sprayed onto you as you slew them.
This time, after having been taken in by Adam, it was the first time that she had been in physical touch with another being; without it being a life and death fight at least.
In the midst of the chaos, this unaccustomed heat had become a strange comfort.
Regardless.
She was more worried about the new problem that had arisen before them: the massive army that was even now laying siege to their nexus.
The other two male devils, Letras and Borog, looked on with slight envy, their gazes flickering towards the intimate scene. Adam being surrounded by female beauties, harboring the faith of these women, and being in charge of a small army.
But they didn't care too much.
They were old enough, experienced enough, to know that such displays were common among devils.
If they truly desired to satiate their lust, they could find a female demon to release upon.
Adam's sin, his overwhelming affinity for lust, had already started to affect the demons under his command, already starting to convert some into the sin of lust. Especially those weaker, low-tier demons that have yet to form their solid physical state.
Their appearances were taking the most notable change; shifting towards beauty, making a transformation that marked them as his.
Nyx, on the other hand, had a glint in her eye as she observed the budding clan before her.
Her enchanting gaze lingered on Adam, on the way he held his women, on the casual dominance he already exuded.
She was a predator, and she recognized a fellow hunter when she saw one.
Her interest in him was not just tactical; it was personal.
At this point, she wanted to see what he was truly capable of.
Adam, unaware and uncaring of the thoughts of those around him, decided to start with a straightforward reaction first: attack back!
He would not simply sit there and let the enemy batter down his walls.
"Roh!" He called.
His most trusted demon, the one who had been with him since the beginning, stepped forward, his massive, muscular body radiating a quiet, steady strength.
His usefulness had proven to be among the best of his horde multiple times already.
Adam told him to attack back with the attack rune, but to not use it at full power.
"Yes, my lord." Roh grunted in understanding and determination, before making his way towards the pedestal.
His constant use of the nexus over the past couple of days had given him a great deal of experience in its activation. Being able to control such a powerful structure had already silently elevated his position and authority far beyond the reaches of all the other demons.
Only Blair and Agri were capable of competing against him, but their goals and desires seemed to be leading towards a different direction…
Quickly, he sent off attack rune strikes, each one a beam of concentrated demonic energy that lanced across the battlefield.
They were significantly weaker than the full-powered attacks Adam had demonstrated before, as Adam didn't want to draw more attention, didn't want to escalate the conflict into something that would attract even greater powers.
Doing so could, no, would bring more trouble than the army at his doorstep.
The army beyond the barrier, seeing the incoming attacks, put up a barrier of their own. It was significantly weaker than Adam's barrier; being a hastily constructed mobile barrier that shimmered and wavered under the assault.
Demons that had been ready to charge were stopped in their tracks, their eyes fixed on the demonic beams that sent ripples through their own magical barrier.
The attack rune served to prevent an infantry assault and to slow down the attacks.
But Adam squinted his eyes, calculating the effects as torrents of demonic mana roared overhead.
Because of the attack rune's activation, plus the barrier enduring the incoming attacks, the overall overheating rate had only slightly slowed down.
It was a small improvement, marginal, but it was better than nothing.
He turned back to the array runes, his gaze sweeping over the intricate lines and patterns. Though he could only stare helplessly.
The constant disruptions, the relentless vibrations, made it impossible to continue.
A single mistake, a single misplaced stroke, could ruin hours of progress. With the stakes so high, he could not afford to take such a risk.