Chapter 96

The Demon Lord let out a weary sigh as he watched the portal, his expression betraying a hint of irritation. "What's wrong, my lord? Did someone else die?" Eriza asked, her concern evident in her voice. The Demon Lord turned to her, nodding. "Yes, I just felt Daymier leave this world," he replied with a half-hearted shrug. Though he still didn't show genuine concern, there was a sense of annoyance in his tone.

Eriza nodded, her brow furrowed with worry. "That just leaves Arnan, Kazon, Sazomon, and Bilmoth, who are still in the estate," she muttered, counting on her fingers. The Demon Lord rolled his eyes, turning back to the portal. "Reykur was the only one out of the dead that had value, or so I thought," he remarked aloud, his gaze narrowing slightly.

Confused, Eriza pressed for clarification. "What do you mean, my lord?" she asked. The Demon Lord gave her a side-eyed glance. "I thought Reykur had value. However, given that he lost to an inhabitant of this world, it's clear that I was wrong in my assessment," he explained, pausing briefly before continuing. "I can only hope now that Arnan, Kazon, and Bilmoth don't disappoint me like Reykur did."

Verandez, feeling a need to contribute, raised his hand like a student in class. "Could you not bring more demons like them over?" he interjected, seeking to have some involvement in the conversation, given that he was the one who summoned them.

"Oh, I forgot you were here," the Demon Lord muttered in disinterest, causing Verandez to wince. Eriza turned to him, her anger evident. "Don't interject my lord's contemplations, human!" She spat out with venom, her tone sharp. Verandez stepped back, his head held low, murmuring, "Why are you so hateful towards me all of a sudden?"

The Demon Lord regarded him with a look of annoyed pity. "I can't. If I bring too many named demons, someone would notice and put a swift stop to the invasion," he explained matter-of-factly. Verandez nodded slightly, while Eriza shot him another angry glance before turning back to the Demon Lord.

"Do you want me to go and support the others, my lord?" she asked. The Demon Lord shook his head bluntly. "No, you're useless and would die in an instant," he stated plainly. Eriza nodded, seemingly unaffected by the Demon Lord's words. "Yes, of course, my lord," she replied obediently.

Just then, they all heard something crash against the side of the mansion, prompting them to turn in the direction of the sound. "What was that?" Verandez exclaimed in fear. "Someone joining in on the chaos," the Demon Lord remarked with a hint of interest.

**Back to Jakel and Mincs**

Arnan couldn't help but laugh at Jakel's words. "With that toy of yours, I'd like to see you try, monkey," he mocked, unleashing the charged souls like a bolt towards Jakel. In response, Jakel tapped his foot, and a wall of rock sprouted from the ground, shattering into fragments upon being hit by the bolt of souls. The fragments stabbed into Jakel's flesh, with large pieces embedded in his chest and left shoulder, while smaller ones covered his body. Mincs, hiding behind him, was spared from this, with only a small amount of dust covering her.

Arnan laughed mockingly. "Wow, all that just to die without putting up a fight," he sneered, as black, scratchy smoke, souls gathered around him. "Are you okay?" Mincs asked in a panic. Jakel huffed and gave her a look of confusion. "Why are you asking?" he questioned, wiping away blood from above his lip as his body began emanating a soft blue glow. "You already know I can heal," he stated, his body rapidly healing and pushing the stone fragments out.

Arnan's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Oh, you're one of those monkeys. Just great, as if I wasn't having enough pain with the other one," he remarked, his voice filled with irritation as the souls around him grew more erratic.

"Yeah, I know I'm a pain in the ass to deal with. You don't have to tell me," Jakel retorted, his voice tinged with frustration. He aimed his rifle at Arnan's head and fired off a shot, but Arnan didn't even flinch as the bullet sped towards him. The souls surrounding Arnan shifted, moving to intercept the projectile with precision.

"Worthless," Arnan scoffed before he swiped his hand, and souls whipped out towards Jakel, vibrating at high speeds. Jakel reacted quickly, summoning a stone wall to shield himself, but the souls effortlessly sliced through it, narrowly missing him as he dodged. He dashed out towards Arnan, firing another shot at him. Arnan remained unfazed, allowing the souls to intercept the bullet once again.

Jakel flipped his rifle around and swung it like a club towards Arnan, who stood still as the blow was absorbed by the souls. Mincs was about to attack Arnan with her whip, but Jakel exclaimed, "Don't!" Mincs stopped, confused, while Jakel got pushed away before he launched a stone spike towards Arnan.

"Why did you tell me to stop?" Mincs asked, puzzled, while Arnan used the souls to absorb the momentum of the spike.

"Go out in front, Mar needs your help! I got this guy!" Jakel explained right before he got cut across the chest by souls vibrating like a chainsaw. Jakel hissed in pain as he began to heal the wound.

"Mar's here too? Why? Why did you both come back?" Mincs asked, her concern evident as Jakel fired off another shot while simultaneously launching another spike toward Arnan.

"Now's not the time to explain. Just go, please?" Jakel urged as he charged Arnan again. Reluctantly, Mincs complied, hurrying towards the front of the estate. But before she left, she offered a word of caution to Jakel: "Be careful, Even."

"Don't use my actual name!" Jakel yelled, taken by surprise, as Mincs called him by his name. His focus briefly diverted before the battle demanded his attention once more. A bolt of souls struck him in the stomach, blasting him open and making his internals spill out. "Ugh," Jakel grunted, his rapid healing kicking in thanks to his high water magic affinity. Even such grievous wounds proved manageable.

"Oh, for crying out loud! How are you still alive?" Arnan exclaimed in anger and annoyance. "Sorry, I'm too damn stubborn to die," Jakel replied as he fully healed, ready to continue fighting. His words only seemed to fuel Arnan's rage, who yelled in anger, "Agh, fuck it! Hellscape: Soul of Sorrowful Agony!" As his horns started glowing, the world seemed to warp around them, flipping around on itself, transferring Jakel somewhere else—transferring him to Arnan's Hellscape.