Hearing the "King's" words, Lust frowned, her anger flaring.
"You're quite bold," she glared. "Just because you successfully summoned them, you dare to act arrogant?"
"So what if I like it?" the "King" smiled provocatively.
Seeing that, Lust snapped.
She cloaked herself in a hazy mist and rushed toward the "King," enveloping the entire space around him.
He immediately took a defensive stance, eyes scanning his surroundings.
"You won't be able to find me," Lust's voice echoed.
"Then let me try," the "King" replied confidently.
Extending his hand toward Chaos, the "King" gave an unspoken command.
Chaos, understanding instantly, flew up and unleashed a wave of energy that expanded outward, pushing back the mist and forcing Lust to reveal herself.
As the mist cleared, Lust halted, only to be seized by Order, who grabbed her head and slammed her into the ground.
Stunned for a moment, Lust retaliated with her tails.
Order responded by conjuring countless illusionary arms that gripped her tails, immobilizing them.
Seizing the opportunity, Chaos rushed forward, created a spear, and slashed Lust's tails, drawing a scream of pain from her.
"How dare you!"
Turning into mist, Lust slipped from Order's grasp and retreated, her remaining tails bleeding.
"You dare to injure my charming tails!" she roared.
"Heh... I find them cuter this way," Chaos sneered.
"You..."
Furious, Lust took a step back, then lunged at the "King," who jumped away, glancing at Order.
Order nodded subtly.
Understanding the signal, the "King" stomped the ground and propelled himself forward.
Lust was surprised, but she still opened her jaws, conjuring a giant image of fangs that surrounded her as she prepared to bite the "King".
In an instant, he switched places with Order, now wielding a thick, heavy shield.
Order struck Lust's jaw with the shield, dislocating it and sending her flying.
Switching again, the "King" reappeared, summoning chains to bind Lust and yanking her toward him.
As she flew closer, he extended his hand—and swapped once more with Chaos, now armed with a sharp spear.
Lust was immediately impaled, coughing blood and growling in fury.
"I... underestimated you..." she gasped.
Before she could recover, Chaos pinned her to the ground, and Order charged in, delivering another crushing blow with his shield, cracking the ground beneath her.
Chaos and Order then retreated, weapons drawn, leaving Lust bleeding and groaning.
"I... you..." she rasped.
The "King" stepped closer.
"How does it feel," he asked, glancing down at her, "to be the one being toyed with now?"
Lust glared at him with burning eyes.
"I... give up."
"How can I trust you?"
Struggling to her feet, Lust replied, "I don't have the strength to fight you anymore."
"I'm not so sure," the "King" said. "The last time I heard that, it turned into a struggle."
"That's the thinking of an experienced man," Lust smirked.
"Are you praising me?"
"You can take it as a compliment," she shrugged.
Fully upright, Lust glanced up at the battlefield where her fellow demon lords were still fighting.
Then she turned to the "King."
"What about the seven of us?" she smiled mischievously, before flying into the sky, leaving him puzzled.
"What does she mean... could it be—"
Alarmed, he looked up.
Lust soared into the center of the battlefield and unleashed a colossal mist, thick enough to blot out even the stars.
From within the mist, pairs of glowing red eyes stared down at the "King."
Meanwhile, the Emissaries fought each other, their explosions painting a terrifying scene behind the ominous red gaze.
"Why have you gone this far?" the "King" shouted. "What is your true intention?"
Lust chuckled as she devoured the remains of a Emissaries.
"You don't understand, do you?" she said, her eyes piercing into his soul. "What I want is your soul."
"My soul? Now?" the "King" glared. "Can't you wait until after we complete the contract?"
Lust laughed uproariously.
"It's not just any soul I want," she said, passion burning in her gaze. "I need your soul drenched in suffering—not one at peace."
"You..."
"Don't you realize?" she whispered. "The soul you carry now is so alluring, so delicious... it's calling out to be devoured."
"You disgusting thing."
Lust, rejuvenated from consuming the Emissaries, had regrown her tails completely.
"Enough talk. Hand it over."
She charged—and the other demon lords followed.
The "King" backed away, casting a worried glance at Chaos and Order.
"Do we have the strength to defeat them?" he asked.
"If you still have faith and hope," Chaos smiled.
"How is that supposed to help?" he was bewildered.
"Let me rephrase," Order added. "As long as you're connected to us, you have full control over the space we once stood in."
"Wait, we're still connected?" the "King" was surprised.
"Why do you think we move so seamlessly?" Chaos chuckled.
"I thought it was because we were one," he muttered.
"No time for that," Order said, serious. "They're coming. Prepare yourself."
Order summoned a massive greatsword alongside his shield, while Chaos conjured another spear.
"So... it's like asking me to use my imagination," the "King" whispered.
"It's like a fairy tale, isn't it?" Chaos smiled as she charged forward.
"A fairy tale..." he murmured.
"You could say that as long as you stand firm, everything will be fine," Order encouraged, charging after Chaos.
The "King" stood still for a moment, reflecting.
"A fairy tale... in this ruined world?"
Chaos and Order intercepted Envy and Gluttony, but the other demon lords closed in on the "King."
He looked up, muttering,
"A fairy tale about the end of the world, huh." He smiled. "Sounds worth a try. Now let's write it together."
Suddenly, the space around him cracked, roars echoed, and countless figures emerged, charging into the sky.
Collisions erupted immediately.
Greed was quickly surrounded, pelted by endless bullets it struggled to absorb.
Momentarily overwhelmed, it was damaged.
When the barrage ceased, a swarm of red-eyed Guardians encircled Greed.
"Ready to destroy," the Guardians intoned.
Meanwhile, Pride was grabbed by a sharp claw and flung aside. Before regaining balance, a torrent of flames rushed toward him. He countered with a sound wave that shattered the fire.
Behind the flame stood a towering figure, dragons flapping around him.
"I hear you think you're the best," the Dragon King taunted. "Prove it to me."
The Hydra, diving down, was blocked by countless figures and was engulfed in a series of different spells that injured it.
It roared angrily, while quickly covering the wound with its heads and then detached them from its body and flew around the main body.
"Looks like a tough one," the Deep Sea King commented.
"Interesting," the Dwarf King sneered.
"As long as no one hits their own comrade again." The Elf King glanced at the Mermaid Queen.
"Sorry!" she apologized profusely.
"Enough talking!" the Spirit Queen and the Phantom King shouted in unison. "Let's show it our power!"
Meanwhile, Sloth descended toward the altar, only to be blasted away by gravity, lightning bolts, and water waves.
Though unharmed, Sloth was pushed back, roaring at Ziz and Leviathan, who were injured by its abilities but quickly recovered and turned their eyes towards Sloth and roared loudly.
Behemoth lumbered forward to join them, growling as he entered a battle stance.
Only Lust remained, bewildered by the unfolding scene.
"How... could this happen?"
Suddenly, magical chains bound her and slammed her to the ground.
Groaning, Lust rose, glaring at the "King."
"How did you do this?"
"Ah... the power of faith and hope," the "King" sneered.
"You dare!"
Furious, Lust unleashed a murderous aura so fierce the ground and space around her cracked and distorted.
"Oh really, I'm terrified," he taunted.
Then his entire body was gradually enveloped in a halo, and when the light faded, the "King" was dressed once again in the same outfit he had worn during his reign.
"It still fits," he mused.
A crown appeared in his hand; instead of wearing it, he crushed it.
The fragments reformed into a radiant sword.
He studied it, smiling.
"The sword of faith and hope... It sounds laughable, but fitting now."
Turning back to Lust, he smirked.
"Still standing there growling? Or are you waiting for me to call you something else?"
"You stupid bastard—die!" Lust roared, stomping hard as she charged.
"I thought I'd have to wait forever," he replied.
Sword drawn, the "King" met her head-on, and their clash ignited.
The battle between Utopia and the Seven Lords of Sin.
The battle between Heaven and Hell—had begun.