Chapter 1524 A Long Rest
-----
(Drake's POV)
After Marchosias was finally slain, I joined with everyone else on the task of defeating the rest of the Demons left behind.
It wasn't an easy task even after that, but it wasn't as impossible as it would have felt before, especially thanks to the growth that not only I, but everyone else has gone through.
There were many things I wanted to talk about, especially about a few changes, such as Surtr and Yuki's cases, but right now, we had to quickly get everything done.
The Demons didn't escape when their leader was slain though, they only grew more furious than before. It wasn't an easy task to defeat them, especially due to their amazing skills, incredibly tough bodies, and enormous sizes, but we prevailed in the end.
Marchosias' very presence was apparently enhancing their strength somehow, perhaps through the effects of some sort of Demonic Magic, or even his own Demonic Aura. Demon Lords seem to be very different than the other Demons.
They were much more intelligent, to begin with, had surprising abilities and transformations, possessed the ability to make any allied Demon within their vicinity several times stronger, and were exceptionally smart compared to their not-so-bright fellows.
Of course, Marchosias didn't show much of the latter, but according to my friends who fought him before he transformed, they told me Marchosias held an honorable attitude, with great strength, insight, and intelligence.
But when he transformed, he lost all of that brilliance in exchange for becoming a wild monster with several times his original power. Which allowed him to almost kill Yuki and overwhelm everyone else.
Even when Aegir stepped in, and even when Yuki awakened some sort of new power and grew several times stronger… He was still slowly overwhelming them.
If I had to calculate how strong this bastard was, I would say he was as strong as the Flame Emperor in his Wolf Form.
Although the Flame Emperor was much more of a pain in the ass due to his magic abilities and his many plans when we fought him, Marchosias surpassed him on sheer power, regeneration, and speed.
And if it wasn't because I had assimilated demonic energy into my body and soul and managed to acquire some sort of resistance against this powerful element, I might have not fared too well against him.
Another thing to note is that the Hell Gates are connected to each Demon Lord. It is as if they were the pillars of these gates. Through this connection that Pandemonium somehow creates between them, the Demon Lords gain endless amounts of Demonic Energy, pouring constantly from Hell itself.
This makes it so they can regenerate endlessly and fight without growing tired, turning them into virtually immortal beings. And because not many know how to even close a Hell Gate, it is a guaranteed win most of the time for the Demons.
Their Demon Lord can continue fighting forever and never grow tired or die, the Hell Gate keeps pouring Demons into our world, and eventually, everything gets reduced to cinders.
I can tell why, aside from the endless floods of invaders, the Demons had such a great advantage in the past. Though, I am still wondering how he was even defeated to begin with.
Maybe I should ask my parents or grandparents about this in the Draconic Records, once I find some free time.
Because right now, we have a lot of jobs to do. Right after the Demons were finally slain, we dedicated a good chunk of time to purifying the jungle.
After that, we decided to rebuild the houses that were destroyed and clean the entire area from the demon's blood, which was both acidic and very dangerous due to its mutagenic properties.
And once the final house was done, we were finally allowed some small rest. There was no celebration whatsoever, and because almost everyone was so exhausted, after a few conversations, we decided to leave everything for tomorrow morning.
Honestly speaking, despite my Immortal Body's abilities, I was also tremendously tired and slept for three consecutive days inside of my Divine Realm.
Thankfully, due to my Divine Realm's time dilation, I was able to sleep as much as I wanted and still wake up early for the next day in the outside world.
The morning sun coming from the window of the castle shone right over my face. There were still many things I was thinking about.
This journey to Muspelheim has been both amazing for my growth speed, but also tremendously harsh, I've already fought many overwhelmingly strong foes, and we've even witnessed the resurrection of an Ancient Calamity such as Pandemonium.
It was indeed the most dangerous out of all the Continents, full of monsters, demons, and overwhelmingly strong tyrants… However, it also felt like the climax of this journey was approaching very soon.
After we make sure to rest well enough, we'll all be joining together into a big party that will enter the True Inheritance of the Venerable of Flames, where we'll have to confront Pandemonium again, and whoever that mysterious friend he was hanging around with.
Seeing the pattern, I have the suspicion that it was nobody else than Greenwood or one of his many clones. How many have we killed already?
Black, Red, Deep One, and the Flame Emperor, I've killed four of them and made sure they couldn't come back, but there's no way he only has four of them.
Oberon, how much have you spread your influence across the world? Everywhere I go, you're there. You're such a damn nuisance, like a bug that no matter how hard I try to squash, you always survive and appear elsewhere to annoy me.
"Hahhh…"
But thinking about that won't help me get stronger. I've grown considerably, but this is only the beginning. I need more power, and that includes Divine Power and Demonic Energy.
As I looked through the window, Benladann and Miranda slowly woke up from their slumber, both had slept just as much as I did.
"Good morning." I greeted them with a smile.
"Ah… W-Wait, how long did we sleep?!" Benladann panicked.
"I think that… around three days?" I laughed. "We were tired."
"Eeh?!" Miranda almost fainted. "So much time wasted! Eek!"
Well, as long as I have them at my side, I can do anything.
-----