Chapter 1682: Drake's Growth Amidst Despair

The stakes pierced the demonic soul, its flames weakening severely as a result. The demon glanced in disbelief as the stakes imbued his soul with holy power, his very existence growing weaker and smaller!

"S-She even can conjure... The Stakes of Sealing?!" he muttered on his very last moments. "T-That's... a power only the Seven Archangels can use!"

Before he could fight back, his flames extinguished completely, his soul began to grow weaker and then disappeared, the light illuminated everything. BOOOM!

And he died, his immortality did not matter anymore, as his soul was completely destroyed.

As the flames erupted and blew into pieces, Benladra looked the destruction with eyes full of confusion, and a bit of guilt.

"What did he meant with all of that?" wondered Benladra. "Why did he choose to die this way?"

As she sighed, she looked at Kate approaching her.

"Benladra! Are you okay? I already sent the other demon to papa but... What's wrong?" Kate wondered.

"Hm, nothing..." Benladra sighed. "This demon chose to die instead of fighting anymore... So he died, can't send him to papa."

"Oh..." Kate muttered, looking down. "Well, that's a bit strange. I thought they all just wanted bloodshed... Why is he different?"

"I don't know, maybe he was older than the rest," Benladra said. "He spoke of angels and aberrations; I couldn't understand him. He said my powers were like the enemies of demons... And he said Pandemonium fought to protect people like me? I don't understand."

"Maybe he was trying to weaken your resolve, big sis..." Kate said, patting her shoulders. "We can talk this with papa later, don't worry."

"Okay..." Benladra nodded. "For now, we have to keep fighting then!"

"Yeah! Let's go assist everyone else. Also the demonic beast army is still coming, we have to reduce their numbers!" Kate said.

"Got it!" Benladra nodded.

The two-dragon princess rushed down, clashing against countless demonic beasts that were attempting to invade the other territories, singlehandedly stopping their advance.

At the same time, Drake devoured the third Demon General, his power rising once again.

RUMBLE!

His Divine Domain expanded further, the phantasmal flames given to him by his army of Undead that merged with the Domain grew stronger with demonic power, the countless stars his nebula domain created now charged with the power of death itself.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Pandemonium's Infernal Domain waned, slowly beginning to tremble by the power of death, and all of the divinities of the Dragon King.

But would that be enough to become the immense wall that was the King of all Demons?

Nay.

"Your struggles are amusing to see... Drake! Struggle more, show me how you fight, how you die."

Pandemonium smiled, his face looking both furious and euphoric at the same time, his infernal powers rising, several blazing gates opening, to hell, but that did not bring demons nor beasts.

"I'll show you but one of my techniques," he said. "Look well."

The blazing gates flared with power, distorting reality itself as Drake saw giant, index fingers surge from within it.

"{Seven Gates of Hell Arts}: {Inferno Digitus}"

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

A dozen gigantic fingers, each one over a kilometer big pierced through Drake's Domain, each attack ended with an explosion, as Drake felt a fragment of his own divinity being taken away permanently, destroyed.

"W-What...?!"

Drake vomited blood as he felt his entire soul squirming with agony, the domain was left wounded, the wounds did not heal, holes poked through by the fingers of hell, Inferno Digitus.

"Did you feel it? This is the cursed power I possess!" laughed Pandemonium. "The power that cursed me to become this aberration! Do you still believe you can fight back against it, Drake?! YOUR STRUGGLES ARE NOTHING BUT AN ENTERTAINMENT TO ME!"

Yet even before this struggle, Drake smiled.

"Yet it seemed as if your screams of anger and frustration... were genuine too," he smiled, his powers rising, the divinity he lost was gone, but he filled the holes with the power he stole from the demon in front of him. The demonic energy he kept getting from each delicious meal. "Gluttony, it's finally your time. Show him what we can do."

"Fuck this! Why do I have to fight my master and creator?! S-STOP! ARRGH!"

The Primordial Sin of Gluttony flared, his flames spreading through the holes of the Domain, filling them as hundreds of jaws appeared, covering the enormous fingers, and devouring them bite after bite.

"GLUTTONY?! YOUUU! YOU DARE FIGHT AGAINST YOUR MASTER?!"

"I can't help it! The Dragon has total power over me! He has dominated the Demon King Seed! I cannot disobey his orders, master, and creator!"

"How is it possible that you've lost a battle of souls against him?! Not once... but four times?!"

As Pandemonium raged, Drake combined the power of Gluttony with his Divinities and Divinity Fragments, filling the void left behind by the shattered Divinities that Pandemonium destroyed.

He took the shattered fragments left behind and stuck them together with the power of demonic energy and draconic powers, his divinities now shining with demonic power.

This was but a desperate measure, something he would have never tried before, but now that he was in this predicament, he did not have another option!

[The Shattered Fragments of [Divinity: Eternal Winter (SSS)] have merged with the Power of Gluttony, evolving into the [Demonic Divinity: Eternal Devouring Winter (???)]!]

[The Shattered Fragments of [Divinity: Endless Dreams (SSS)] have merged with the Power of Gluttony, evolving into the [Demonic Divinity: Endless Gluttonous Nightmares (???)]!]

[The power of Demonic Divinities is beyond your control!]

[By using Demonic Energy and Divine Power, you can barely control a figment of their shattered, demonic powers.]

Drake was evolving in every second of this battle, Divinities he carried through years now broken, the core of his powers destroyed and reformed anew, as he further embraced the demonic powers he stole from the foe in front of him.

His Domain changed, shaping its form and power, the azure frost he wielded became dark red, purple, and black, becoming endless devouring jaws, the frost ate everything it froze.

The pink- and purple-colored clouds of dreams shattered and corrupted themselves, becoming endless nightmares of beasts and horrifying creatures, eating away at the soul of everything.

"If to defeat you I have to become a monster, then I'll do it!"