Imp to Demon King: A Journey of Conquest

An icy shiver ran down his spine, and his pale lips twitched.

Victory could turn into a tragedy at any moment if he didn't stop the two mythical figures. Their duel had no meaning since he had defeated the opposing army. He also held the King of Heroes' life between his fingers, making further deaths a loss for him.

He gritted his teeth as he watched his demonic army. Like butchers slaughtering powerless lambs, they reaped the human soldier's lives one after another.

His eyes darted between the town and Karna's battlefield, a deep furrow creasing his brows.

Before deciding, he grunted as he unstrapped his riddled-with-arrow breastplate and observed his state now that adrenaline didn't numb the pain anymore.

Many projectiles had pierced the skin and lodged themselves in the upper layer of his muscles. He clenched and unclenched his fists, rolled his shoulders, and raised his knees. Not feeling any sharp pain from the movements, his deathly livide head bobbed.

'My scales protected the bones, but I'm in no state to rush to the battlefield.'

His eyes trailed to the abundant blood gushing from all the wounds he had sustained before he sighed.

'The human army would have fought to the bitter end in vain before I reach them.' He stumbled to the wall's railing. 'I'll try to stop them first.'

He inhaled deeply, watching smoke rise from the burning walls and corpses to cover the sky in a layer of grim. His chest puffed with the stench of blood and death as his lips parted to let his voice crack in suppressed sorrow throughout the town.

"Cease this futile battle! I captured your lord. His life is in my hands! Drop your weapons, and I swear on my name that no demon will touch you." He held his chest, his heart racing in it. "I repeat, drop your weapons! I don't want to see more death!"

At his command, Bart's red sword halted a centimeter above a trembling soldier. Luna's snake's fiery mouth, about to engulf a group, vanished in a puff of smoke before their closed eyes. An unwilling snicker echoed from Ifrit's side as he stomped on the ground and dismissed the walls of flames suffocating the few soldiers left on his side.

Finally, Garduck roared for his division to rush out of the town.

Despite their different beliefs and desires, his trusted generals retreated.

With a relieved smile, he dragged the unconscious King of Heroes and stumbled towards Karna's battlefield.

'I'll drag him by the ear if I must, but he has to stop throwing literal nukes like that!'

Meanwhile, the conflagration pushing against Achilles' shield grew slightly weaker.

"RAAAH!"

An enraged roar pierced the chaos as his shield cut through the energy and hurled it in the distance. However, he heard Karna snap his fingers. With it, the blood-curdling attack dissipated before it could collapse on the mountain's wall.

Karna chuckled. "Be kind and don't destroy the environment too much. Adam will nag if we damage his mountain." His smile broadened. "You also don't want its two inhabitants to ruin our fun."

However, Achilles didn't answer. Instead, water swirled around his right arm as he threw his bronze sword onto the soil.

"Come, Tromos Troias!"

Lightning rumbled and descended on his blade. A divine pillar cast ominous shadows onto his face.

From it, an intricate chariot manifested, the craftsmanship reminiscent of his shield and armor.

More than a transportation tool, it was a celestial masterpiece forged and enchanted by Hephaestus in person. But more importantly, it was a part of his legend and identity.

The winds picked up next, sending his blond hair flowing. The noise of hooves colliding with air followed as two horses charged through the wind and harnessed themselves to the chariot.

Gifts from his father, who received them from the gods, these horses were the sons of Zephyr, the god of the west wind and integral divinities. And today, they would pull him once more to defeat this incredible warrior and his weapons.

Without wasting a second, he picked up his sword and leapt on it.

Then, he seized the reins as his lips parted.

"For eternal glory!"

The horses neighed before they stomped the ground.

Faster than the wind and as indestructible as his armor, the chariot cut through the distance separating them in a split second.

Meanwhile, Karna whistled as memories of his own chariot resurfaced.

Then, a strange idea lodged itself in his mind: Achilles reassembled him.

They were both incredibly skilled warriors driven by glory and acceptance, shared a cruel flaw and died unfairly.

He had learned about it when Adam mentioned that an arrow had struck Achilles' heel. And just like him, this remarkable man died because of the intervention of the gods at his prime. After all, Appolo guided the arrow, imbuing it with divinity and the power of destiny to make it a sure kill shot.

His eyes softened, and his heart pulsed in regret.

"I wish we were on the same side. By learning from each other, we could have reached new heights and redefined the limits of mortals."

He shook his head as Achilless' chariot flashed by, and his blade collided with his neck. As always, his Kavacha protected him from fatal injuries as he continued.

"A pity, but my mission is over." He pointed at Adam's rushing figure and the King of Heroes dangling like a rag in his grip. "We have no reason to continue this endless fight."

Still, his hand burned, his blood evaporating as he called for his ultimate trump card.

"Trust me, Achilles. If you try to target him, I'll erase your life. Not even your soul will survive. I'll bring extinction and burn all impurities with a single strike."

Meanwhile, Adam held the King of Heroes before him. Using him like a meat shield, he yelled in their direction.

"Stop destroying the plain! We can use the fertile soil to build more farms! Achilles, you stop, too."

Despite his ragged breath and the danger, he pressed forward as Achilles' chariot slowed down.

"So what? My life is bound to the clown you're holding. I don't mind it and have no desire to kill you. I only ask to end this duel against the only warrior who ever matched me before I return to Zeus."

As Achilles' words lingered, a notification reverberated in Adam's ears and Tiamat's message formed before him.

[Tiamat: You can kill the clown now. Then? Let's make Zeus cry as he loses the most powerful hero in his pantheon. Hahaha! I want to see his bitchy face when he'll realise with who he messed up.]

After reading it, his palms rose, and his eyes rolled in confusion.

'Sister, you need to explain your plan a little more. Why did I have to spare him only to kill him two minutes later?'

He pondered her intentions before a spark of inspiration flashed through his mind, rumbling louder than Karna's nuking.

His jaw dropped next, and his pupils constricted as his voice cracked in disbelief and joy.

"Don't tell me! You really did it?!"

A single word came to answer him. Yet, he read it like an epic poem of incredible value.

[Tiamat: Yes.]