Imp to Demon King: A Journey of Conquest

"ARGH!"

He screamed, feeling his bones snapping, and his hand dissolve, yet his eye blazed with fury. "Burn in your friend's power."

Echoing his roar and infused with the Flame of Avarice's absorbing properties, his flames burst to life. They battled the blaze's radiance for dominance, trying to absorb its powers.

Yet, the blaze was stronger. It shattered the bonds between photons and particles, making them flicker like a candle about to be snuffed out.

However, a defiant smirk split Adam's face. The flame of avarice absorbed heat in all its forms to strengthen itself—and the creature's acidic system was scalding hot and much weaker.

ROAR

The flickering fire, fed by the creature's body, condensed into a dragon, each lifelike scale burning a somber crimson. Propelled by the uppercut, its fiery horns pierced the fly's mouth in a cacophony of sizzles and melting flesh. Its teeth followed, digging into its decayed flesh before it emerged from its back.

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The creature wailed, its limbs flailing chaotically in a fierce counterattack as he retrieved his liquefied fist. In the same movement, he leapt back and fed the dragon more essence to endure the blaze now that it was outside.

The evaporating dragon coiled tightly around its limbs, jaws snapping onto its wings. With a savage twist, it tore and swallowed them.

Simultaneously, he charged, his blade already cleaving down.

He hacked the immobilised creature as what remained of his skin vaporised, exposing the muscle fibers in a gruesome spectacle.

But an inner roar rocked his mind. 'Quit wasting my time. Your flame is mine already, like the next ones. I'll master plasma before leaving this damned abyss!'

His blade continued to rain as his body blurred in a lethal dance.

The echo of his strikes thundered throughout the fourth layer of the abyss as he divided the creature's libs. Then, a steely glint flashed in his eye—it was time to end this.

Blade held overhead, he sprang and spun mid-air like a disc cutter. Popping noises echoed as he felt the eyes explode underneath before he mangled the creature's back.

He landed behind it, propelling himself in a slide underneath the eldritch as his blade flashed in a long scarlet line.

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The creature's wail shattered his eardrums as he drew a long gash on its belly. Tentacles and organs dropped behind him, the acrid stench of acid filling the air. Finally, with a last raging cry, he lept high and hurled his blade at the creature's head.

It whistled like a scarlet thunderbolt, the air cracking in its wake before a deafening crack echoed.

The weakened chitin exploded into a rain of splinters as the blade drilled through the thick skull and impaled the soft brain. Carried by the momentum it carved a clean exit to the other side.

The ground exploded as the blade disappeared into the tower, leaving the creature trembling and its mouth opening to let out a final shriek before it collapsed—dead.

He huffed, exhausted, the scabbard's healing overwhelmed by the radiance.

But his victory was short-lived as he saw the dark blaze begin to consume the eldritch.

"Not a chance!"

He lunged, his evaporating muscles hurting like crazy as he touched its head.

[Eight thousand units of abyssal essence converted to chaotic, infernal essence.]

The familiar notification rang in his ears, but he ignored it. Instead, he summoned his magic cube, stored the remains inside, and secured the dark ring.

Then, he turned to the blaze, sweat glistening on his face. Would it consume him on the spot?

After all, he already suffered so much from its radiance alone...

'Don't hesitate, fool.' He slapped his cheeks, the pain grounding his resolve as he approached it and thundered. "Bow before your new master."

His hands blurred inside as his teeth clenched tight. Yet, they slowly opened, his throat bulging to let out a soul-chilling scream.

"RAAH!"

The dark flames swirled around his fingers, the horrible sensation clawing and forcing his breath to clog his throat. His fingers disintegrated first, the hands and wrists following.

Sweat dripped down his forehead, his vision blurring, and his muscles squirming. It felt much worse than if someone plunged him into a volcano and pressed on his head to suffocate him. Even worse, the ravenous blaze spread the destruction to his forearms, the sickening scent of sulfur causing his mind to reel.

Yet, an unbending thought pierced through the chaos. 'You're mine!'

Defiant flames crackled from his crevices as the dark blaze began eradicating them. Yet he controlled them, their orange, gold, and iridescent glow merging into a bright scarlet to oppose the gluttonous invader.

Arms trembling like leaves battered by infernal winds, he despaired as the dark blaze destroyed them, too. Was it the end?

A ray of hope pierced through the next second as the blaze's unstoppable destruction paused. Did it recognise their properties? After all, they came from the same place, guarded by similar creatures.

Gripping this sliver of hope, he shoved every drop of his essence outward in a resplendent spectacle. Illusions of Baal Peor holding the amber, Ploutiel draped in golden flames, and Lilû, surrounded by elegant ribbons that contrasted her ugliness, towered beside him.

As if startled to see them after billions of years, the blaze flickered and halted its destruction. Those people... it had contended against them many times to assert who was the strongest. But where were the three others?

Spurred by the desire to confront and finally prove it was the strongest, the blaze slithered into Adam's crevices, its nature destroying everything in its path.

Another agonising roar echoed, yet Adam smirked through it as the flame vanished into him. It was in his domain now, and chaos would never lose—not even against gods!

"Devour it!" His voice cracked, his neck muscles so tense that the bones were visible. Flames burst from the crevices and shone under his pale skin, covering his distorted face in an infernal layer while his body echoed his will.

Both primordial forces engaged in a cataclysmic fight, each trying to swallow the other as he dropped to his knees and twitched madly.

Simultaneously, destructive knowledge rushed to his mind.