Chương 251: Chapter 120

"What the hell is going on over there!?" Larkin exclaimed as he saw the massive demonic crocodile vanish from afar.

"Nothing good, that's for sure," the angel muttered, glancing back at the steamstrider. "Come on, let's go," he said, striding purposefully towards the vehicle.

Larkin turned to him, bewildered. "Go? Go where?" he asked.

"To the mansion, where else?" the angel replied.

Larkin's confusion quickly turned to shock. "The hell you mean go to the mansion!?" he exclaimed, thinking he had misheard.

The angel narrowed his eyes at the distant mansion. "I can't sit around any longer. I came to this world to protect it, damn it, and I've spent too much time sitting on my ass doing nothing," he said, his voice tinged with agitation.

Larkin shook his head in disbelief. "Are ya insane!? You're still beat to shit, to the point I'm sure I can beat ya!" he exclaimed.

The angel turned to him with a fierce glare. "Then forget about my reason for being here! What about you?" he demanded, pointing at Larkin accusatorily. "Are you okay not doing anything when you know the kid and the elf are in danger or possibly dead?" he snapped, making Larkin recoil.

"Do you not care about them at all? What if the demon's already dead? What if while we're here doing fuck all, all of them die, and we don't even know until we see demons crawling and flying about!" the angel continued, his frustration boiling over.

Larkin gritted his teeth and clenched his fists before letting out a heavy sigh. He looked down at the ground, his voice softening. "Of course I care about 'em. Both of 'em are in this mess because they decided I was worth protecting," he said, before meeting the angel's intense gaze. "But it's not like I can do anything. I'm weak, just an old man clinging to others for help, and you goin' there would also just be suicide."

The angel looked down at his right hand, his withered wings coming into view. "That might be true. I may not be able to fight like I used to ever again, but!" he exclaimed, clicking Heavens Inventory together. A sound of electricity crackled, accompanied by a flash of black lightning that disappeared instantly. Larkin watched as the angel now donned a pure white pristine suit. It still wasn't something one would typically imagine an angel wearing, but it looked and felt more heavenly than his previous attire.

"I'm still a damn angel," the angel declared, his voice filled with determination. "I'm still born to protect, I'm still born to save, and I don't give a fuck about what condition I'll be put in to do what I was created for!"

Though rough, his words managed to fill Larkin with a glimmer of hope. However, it was fleeting. "That's great and all, but we're still too weak to do anything," Larkin pointed out, the reality of their situation sinking back in.

The angel nodded, acknowledging the truth. "I know, but that's where this comes in, doesn't it?" he said, shaking one of the bracelets on his wrist. "I still have plenty of stuff stored up, and we're going to use them to fuck up some demons," he added with a confident grin.

**Back at the mansion**

Malvorr raised an eyebrow as the mysterious man appeared. "Who are you?" he asked, thinking to himself, *He was holding his own, if not beating Enryu by himself. He's definitely strong.*

Dash smirked as he gently set Elanor down next to Xain. Elanor's head was spinning from the constant whirlwind of events, and he leaned on Xain for support, trying not to throw up.

"Protect him!" Dash instructed Xain, whose confusion only deepened. "What do you mean? Actually, who even are you?" Xain asked. Dash didn't reply, simply giving him a thumbs up.

*What the heck am I supposed to understand from that?* Xain wondered as Dash confidently approached the Demon Lord.

*He's very confident.* *Who the hell is he?* Mar and Even wondered while Mincs thought, *Wow, he looks so pretty,* staring at Elanor. Orian, on the other hand, thought, *What an idiot,* as he glanced at Dash before turning towards the main gates of the estate and narrowing his eyes.

The Fiend and Grace stepped aside as Dash walked past them. *This was the best possible outcome,* Grace thought to herself as she glanced up at the hole she had fallen through and saw Eriza standing there. *I have to kill her,* she resolved before looking back down at Malvorr and Dash. *But later. Rushing will make him put up too much of a guard against me.*

The Fiend made his way to Xain, standing protectively in front of him just in case. *Good goddess, what the heck is happening?* Xain thought, quickly becoming the most confused person alive.

"You still haven't answered me," Malvorr stated as Dash approached him.

Dash flashed a smile and pointed at himself with his thumb. "I'm Dash Ardent! But people call me The Wandering Calamity!" he exclaimed with excitement.

Everyone except the demon, who was still busy healing itself from the massive damage, Grace, who already knew, and Malvorr himself, who had no knowledge of Dash, went wide-eyed in shock.

"Tha-that's, The Dash Ardent?" Xain muttered.

"He's that really strong guy, right?" Mincs asked aloud.

"Yeah, one of The Strongest," Even muttered.

"What is one of The Strongest doing here?" Mar asked aloud. Orian paused for a moment before resuming his walk, clicking his tongue in frustration.

"Looks like you have a reputation," Malvorr remarked with a smirk.

Dash smiled. "That doesn't matter!" he said, waving his hand dismissively before getting into a fighting stance. "What matters is that we're going to fight! We're going to give it our all until one of us wins!"

Malvorr chuckled, raising his right hand which glowed with vibrant red demonic energy. "Let's see if you can keep your excitement after the fact," he said before making a claw with his hand and invoking, "Tarjin."

From behind him opened a red portal similar to the one before, but this time, a massive, black-and-ashy striped demonic tiger paw emerged. It immediately swiped its blood-red claws down towards Dash, who kept his enthusiastic smile as he raised his arms to block. The ground underneath cracked, and shards of cobblestone exploded outward as the paw came down on Dash. Everyone else covered their faces from the debris.

Malvorr watched with a smirk. *Idiot, you should have dodged that,* he thought to himself.

"That was strong!" he suddenly heard. His smirk diminished as he saw a golden aura surrounding Dash, forming a thirty-foot circle around him like a veil.

"Is that Soul Veil?" Even wondered out loud in shock.

"What's that?" Mar asked.

"A technique that I thought only my family knew," Even replied, his eyes fixed on Dash.

"This was so strong!" Dash exclaimed in excitement as he pushed the massive demonic paw away with a powerful swing of his arms. In an instant, he was in front of Malvorr, his right arm reared back. *Fast!* Malvorr thought, raising his arms to block just as Dash's grin widened. "Super Punch!" Dash shouted, his fist connecting with Malvorr's block. The impact created a blinding explosion, launching Malvorr backward, his eyes wide with shock.

Regaining his composure mid-air, Malvorr quickly brought his hands together, both now glowing with vibrant red demonic energy. "Vorath," he invoked, and a red portal opened behind him, pulling him through.

"Huh, it's over already!?" Dash exclaimed in saddened confusion, but a voice from behind him responded, "Not yet." Dash turned just in time to see Malvorr's foot connecting with his face. The violent kick sent Dash hurtling through the entire mansion's bottom floor, smashing through walls and finally bursting through the outside wall. He soared through the air, crashing into the cliffside with a thunderous impact, creating a crater and sending rock fragments flying.

To everyone else, it happened in an instant—one moment Dash was standing there, the next he was gone, launched by Malvorr's kick. "By the gods, with him around I can't play around with the rest of you," Malvorr said, turning to face the group. He dripped with malice and malevolence, so intense that it froze everyone in place, including Grace and The Fiend.

*Can't move,* Mincs thought, struggling with all her might to break free from the paralyzing fear.

*So this is the power of a Demon Lord,* Grace thought, trying to move but finding herself unable to.

*I'm going to die,* Elanor thought, his heart beating rapidly, panic setting in.

The Fiend's body shook with fear, his clawed gauntlets clattering. While all of them were overwhelmed, one person managed to resist, just barely. "Huh?" Malvorr stared in annoyance as Xain stepped forward, standing protectively in front of both Elanor and The Fiend.

"How pathetic," the Demon Lord sneered, his grin widening as he watched Xain.

*He's not as scary as Erkie,* Xain thought, staring the Demon Lord down. *And for some reason, I feel really, really hateful right now.*

Something deep within Xain's soul clawed and gnawed, roaring and snarling to get out—something feral, something hateful, something Beastly. *It's just like the first time I was filled with hatred,* Xain thought as Malvorr stepped towards him. *When I saw him get hurt by those people,* a memory replayed in his mind with picture-perfect detail. *That was the day I truly felt such hatred. I don't know why I'm feeling this now, but even if this breaks our promise further than it already has, I have to use this or else he will hurt more people.*

The Demon Lord now stood in front of him. *So I'm sorry, Nori,* Xain thought. If only he knew.

"I'll start with you then," Malvorr said, looking down at Xain with malevolent energy. Xain was about to give in just as Malvorr made a claw with his hand and invoked, "Tar-"

A thunderous crackle of lightning echoed through the air as a bolt of lightning struck right behind the Demon Lord.

"What is this?" a familiar voice asked as he put his arm around Malvorr's shoulder. Xain looked at this man and his familiar eyes in shock. "Looks like you had a lot of fun while I was away, ape."