"This is a problem… One was already bad enough—how are there two incarnations of dark gods?"
Gewa, the one leading this operation, felt his composure slipping as he stared at the two now-revealed incarnations of unknown dark gods.
If this mission failed, his fate would be especially grim.
According to the reports from various demons, the number of powerful individuals within this city was roughly one-quarter higher than what their intel had indicated.
Originally, this wasn't too big of a problem. After all, not every powerhouse made a show of their strength. Most drifted from place to place and kept a low profile. As long as they didn't reveal their identities, who would know where they were? So the small discrepancy in numbers was within Gewa's expectations—he had prepared countermeasures for it.
But the appearance of two dark god incarnations made things difficult.
He could sense that these two were anything but weak among dark gods.
Though they were merely incarnations, their essence was on a higher level, and they each retained some of their original bodies' unique abilities. Their strength was far from negligible—just restraining one of them would likely take at least ten Greater-Rank Demons.
This did not bode well for the current battle.
After all, their demon side only had a little over a dozen fighters present. If the majority were tied up dealing with these two, the rest would probably get slaughtered by the native strongholds through sheer numbers.
So for a moment, the battlefield fell into a strange stalemate. The demons stood on one side, the two dark gods on another, and the native strongmen—still stunned by the revelation that their leader was actually a dark god—stood separately, still processing the betrayal.
Three factions, each hostile and wary of the others.
After some hesitation, Gewa finally spoke to the two dark gods:
"I'll allow the two of you to leave."
He understood that his side held the most power and attention at the moment. If the fight continued, he'd be forcing the others to unite against him.
In that case, even a victory would come at a devastating cost. So he chose to retreat, just a little.
The two dark gods—who didn't know each other beforehand—exchanged glances. In mere moments, a massive amount of information passed silently between them.
Eventually, it was Belmorr who stepped forward and said,
"Not just the two of us—we're taking our subordinates with us."
It was a reasonable demand, and Gewa didn't argue. He simply added a condition:
"Fine. But you must swear an oath—not to reveal anything about what happened here to anyone, in any form, for at least one month."
Letting them go wasn't the real issue—as long as the news didn't spread too quickly, it didn't matter.
In fact, letting them leave with part of their forces could even help weaken the city's resistance.
Seeing Gewa agree so easily, Belmorr and the other dark god nodded in approval. They casually gestured, and several people—some of whom had been standing right in the midst of the native defenders—stepped forward and quietly joined them.
Their former allies could only stare in shock and disbelief.
Their city lord was a disguised dark god. Their comrades and familiar faces were cultists all along. To them, this betrayal cut deeper than even the demon invasion.
Gewa swept his gaze over the group now standing behind Belmorr. He didn't know what to say.
Those two had just taken away a full third of the native stronghold's forces.
Clearly, their infiltration into this city had reached an alarming depth.
Even without demon interference, this city's future would've likely turned grim regardless.
In fact, those recent demon-sacrifice incidents in countries near Augustus—which Gewa had originally assumed to be the work of some unruly demons—might very well have been orchestrated by these two dark gods, who even managed to pin the blame on the abyssal demons.
And Gewa didn't realize—he had guessed exactly right.
After the oath was sworn, Belmorr and the other dark god both cast a glance at Orsaga, giving him a subtle look that seemed to say:
"We'll remember you."
Then, without another word, they led their followers out of the city's sealed barrier.
Belmorr didn't just escape unscathed—he even came out ahead. Though he lost Sarah, he managed to recruit two demigods and several Legendary-Rank fighters. All in all, he was in a pretty good mood.
The other dark god, however, was far less fortunate. His identity was exposed, and the influence he had painstakingly built over the past century had essentially gone up in smoke.
According to his plan, once the panic had driven nearby civilians into Augustus, he would activate a grand ritual in a few years' time—sacrificing the entire city to his true body via a massive underground formation.
That would've been a major power boost, perhaps even enough to ascend further.
But he hadn't anticipated the sudden invasion by abyssal demons—and now they had stolen everything.
The bitter resentment gnawed at him.
If he weren't sure of his low chances of victory, he would've definitely fought Gewa to the bitter end.
Watching their departing backs, Orsaga casually flexed his newly regenerated arms. His face revealed nothing.
No one could tell, but deep inside, he was disappointed.
He had no real solution for that dark god—until the idiot ate his arms.
That had taken a lot of guts, honestly.
When it came to poisoning, Orsaga was a professional.
As the bearer of plaguecraft, his blood and flesh might look like molten rock, but were in fact saturated with an exceptionally potent and exotic venom.
Its effects far surpassed traditional poisons. Less than a milliliter could corrupt thousands of ordinary people. It could dissolve nearly 99% of known materials, much like alien blood—it was the crystallization of years of viral experimentation.
If things had gone on a few more minutes—if the enemy had relaxed, believing the flesh had been fully digested—Orsaga could've activated the dormant toxins and melted the dark god's organs from within.
That would've been a devastating blow.
But Gewa, worried about delaying the mission, chickened out and forced an early retreat.
So Orsaga held back from activating the toxins.
If he couldn't kill the dark god in one blow, there was no telling if Gewa would try to reduce risks by betraying him—or perhaps take advantage of the injury to wipe out the dark god entirely.
Facing threats from both enemy and ally, Orsaga chose caution. He played the victim, keeping his head down.
After all, while they couldn't kill him outright, making him suffer would be easy.
Quietly, he shifted the virus into a dormant state. Now, it served as a live beacon—marking the dark god's location at all times.
Orsaga planned to pay him a visit… eventually.
As the dark gods departed, the remaining native strongmen looked deeply troubled.
They knew they couldn't possibly take on the demons by themselves.
Someone immediately stepped forward, trying to pledge allegiance to either the demons or the dark gods.
To that, Gewa calmly issued the command:
"Kill them."
Battle resumed.
Only this time, it wasn't a fight—it was a slaughter.
The demons crushed their enemies completely.
Soon, the native Mages all perished—filled with hate and unwillingness.
After a brief rest, the demons dispersed, heading toward other battlefields still in progress.
---
A few hours later, everything inside the city had settled.
Gewa began fulfilling the terms of the contract, distributing rewards and missions.
After receiving his portion, Orsaga took one last look at the dazed and densely packed crowd in the plaza and streets. Then, he quietly left to find a place to rest.
Gewa didn't stop him.
Instead, he turned toward the entranced citizens, a smile tugging at his lips:
"End yourselves. Offer everything to the great Abyss—your flesh and souls shall become the gate, providing us with shelter and coordinates!"
"Yes!"
In unison, countless voices echoed. The city's entire population dropped to the ground like harvested wheat. Under the effect of the ritual, a crimson light surged into the sky.
Dark clouds gathered instantly, and a colossal vortex formed, unleashing storms and rain.
Centered on Augustus, a radius of several hundred kilometers began to decay.
The ground cracked, rivers dried, plants withered, and the air grew thick with poisonous mists…
The Polluted Lands, perfectly suited for demons, had begun to form.
____
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