This Isn’t an E*otic Game?

The colossal form of Asmodeus slowly reached out to seize Mammon.

Mammon snarled in fury and shoved him back.
The force was unexpectedly strong.
But not enough to overpower him.

[You dare try to destroy me from within? You were born into a human body less than a year ago, and you think you can challenge me?]
Mammon's body began to expand once more.
In an instant, he had grown to match Asmodeus in size, his monstrous roar shaking the very fabric of the realm.

[I fought at the forefront of the Heavenly War! Do you actually think you can win? There’s a limit to arrogance!]
He swung a fist.
Back in the Heavenly War, all Asmodeus had done was skulk in the shadows, waiting to backstab his opponents.

Mammon, on the other hand, had fought on the front lines, clashing against gods head-on.
In a direct battle, he had absolute confidence.
He intended to end this fight quickly.

But just as he prepared to crush Asmodeus—
A radiant burst of light erupted from the demon’s hand.
And in the very next moment—

Mammon lost all feeling in his right hand.
[GUAAAAAAGH!!!]
He staggered backward, clutching his wrist in agony.

His severed right arm lay on the ground.
And in Asmodeus’ hand—
A blade of pure divine energy shimmered brilliantly.
Holy power.

A blinding, refined holy power—as if it belonged in the hands of a god, not a Demon Lord.
[Yeah. You’re right. I haven’t even been alive for a year yet. Even after devouring all that faith for six months, I’m still far weaker than you, who has been cultivating power for three hundred years.]
Asmodeus chuckled, stooping down to pick up Mammon’s severed arm.

He absorbed it effortlessly, the powerful grudges and demonic essence within vanishing into his body.
[But do you remember exactly what kind of ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) power I absorbed over the past six months?]
Mammon's face twisted as he realized the true nature of that radiant blade.

[Faith.]
[For me, it’s nothing. But for you—it’s pure agony just from a single stab.]
[I might be weaker than you, but a child stabbing an adult with a knife can still kill them, don’t you think?]

[YOU…!! YOU PARASITE!!]
Mammon screamed.
And Asmodeus laughed.

[And to make things worse, this battlefield couldn’t be any worse for you.]
Lust, brandishing his radiant sword, lunged toward the Demon of Greed.
Mammon’s severed arm regenerated instantly, and with a furious roar, he charged to meet Asmodeus head-on.

[DON’T UNDERESTIMATE ME!! Do you have any idea how many battles I’ve fought against the Celestial Pantheon?! Do you think I’d fear some lowly—!!]
And then.
Asmodeus vanished.

The radiant sword.
The overwhelming presence.
Gone.

Completely undetectable.
Mammon froze.
[Where did you—?!]

A sharp pain burned through his body.
And then—his left leg hit the ground.
Severed clean.

Mammon screamed in agony.
Asmodeus reappeared, effortlessly snatching up the fallen limb and absorbing it as well.
[Did you forget?]

[I am the most perfect deceiver in existence.]
[And right now, we’re inside your divine essence. If I perfectly mimic your energy, how the hell do you think you’re going to find me?]
[YOU—!! YOU FUCKING—!!]

Mammon roared.
Asmodeus twirled his glowing sword playfully, mocking him.
Mammon forced himself to regenerate his lost limb and took a battle stance.

[And besides—]
[Why the hell would I fight fair?]
And once again—

Asmodeus disappeared.
Mammon’s eyes darted frantically in every direction.
Nothing.

No movement.
No presence.
Only his own divine essence filled the space.

There was no one else.
[W-Where—?! WHERE ARE YO—GAHHHH!!!]
This time, it was his left arm.

It never even touched the ground before Asmodeus snatched it up and devoured it.
[Such pure, potent grudges… Your divine essence is delicious, Mammon.]
[Thank you. Thanks to you, I’m growing even stronger, even faster.]

[N-NO!! NO!! IT’S MINE!! IT BELONGS TO ME!! I BUILT THIS POWER FOR THREE HUNDRED YEARS!! YOU CAN’T JUST—!!!]
Asmodeus vanished again.
Not a single trace of his presence remained.

And in that moment—
Mammon felt it.
Fear.

For the first time in centuries.
He couldn’t win.
He had no way to win.

But—
He still had one chance.
Mammon’s desperate eyes locked onto the tiny, unconscious soul lying on the ground.

The Saint.
A worthless, insignificant human soul—but one infused with Asmodeus’ power.
If he destroyed it, he could still win.

The moment that thought crossed his mind, Mammon ran.
He didn’t care if his limbs were severed in the process.
He wouldn’t stop.

If he could take the Saint hostage, then Asmodeus would have no choice but to retreat.
But the battle was not going to play out the way Mammon wanted.
[Heh. Took you long enough.]

A faint shhk.
And then—
Mammon’s body split into dozens of pieces.

He collapsed, falling apart before he even registered the pain.
It was too clean.
His body had been sliced apart before he could even scream.

Through his blurred vision, he saw them.
Threads.
Dozens of radiant threads crisscrossing the space, stretched tight all around him.

A trap.
He had run straight into it at full speed.
[It was obvious you’d go after my Saintpipi. So I set this up beforehand.]

[Y-You… BITCH…]
[You should have chosen your battlefield more carefully.]
[Your arrogance—thinking you could devour me so easily.]

[Your greed—lusting after my divine essence.]
[That’s why you lost.]
Piece by piece, Asmodeus absorbed the shattered remains of Mammon’s divine essence and grudges.

And as he did—
His form began to change.
The square-jawed, muscular figure slowly shifted.

His lean body returned.
His wings unfurled.
Four pairs.

On his left side—two grotesque, twisted wings.
On his right side—two radiant, angelic wings.
His long hair cascaded down his back.

His soft, elegant hands closed around the glowing sword.
And finally, he stood before Mammon.
A figure that Mammon recognized.

A perfectly familiar form.
The Fallen Angel of Lust.
Asmodeus gazed down at the trembling, shattered remnants of Mammon.

And then, with a mocking, twisted grin—
He laughed.
[You look great, Greed.]

[Crawling like a worm.]
[You’re fucking hilarious.]
[“Why are you doing this?! Why the hell?! With that level of power, you could’ve returned to Pandemonium easily! Is it because of ambition? Are you doing this because you want to surpass Lucifer too?”]

[“No. I already told you. It’s because you messed with Sainty-boy… I mean, Amayel.”]
Mammon let out a laugh of disbelief.
[“You’re going this far just for that one guy? Do you really think Pandemonium will let this slide?”]

[“Go ahead, threaten me all you want. Do you really think that’ll change the future where I devour you?”]
Asmodeus had already absorbed most of the divine essence that had fallen from Mammon.
Only a minuscule amount remained now.

[“You really shouldn’t have messed with him in the first place.”]
[“Negotiation!! Let’s negotiate! There’s no need to take it this far! Lust! Let’s execute my plan together! I’ll give you half of the grudge energy that will be released from it!”]
[“No. I already decided to eat you. Besides, Amayel doesn’t like seeing the world burn. I can’t help with that.”]

Asmodeus playfully waved a hand.
[“Goodbye, Mammon. I won’t miss you.”]
[“No!! This can’t be happening! No!!”]

Mammon desperately attempted to escape before the last remnants of his divine essence could be absorbed.
Gathering up the last scraps of his grudge and divinity, he hastily tore open a rift in the air and clawed his way toward it with frantic desperation.
[“Where do you think you’re going?”]

Of course, he didn’t get far before Asmodeus grabbed him.
She swiftly began absorbing the final fragments of his divine essence.
[“Fuck!! Damn it!”]

The Demon Lord of Greed was finally forced to make the choice he had been dreading.
As a last resort, Mammon abandoned all his remaining grudge energy and divine power, using it as a price to escape from the mental realm.
[“Guhhh!! Aaagh!!”]

The mortal realm welcomed Mammon back.
A basement where time had been frozen.
There, a mass of flesh—formed from the fused bodies of three of his followers—writhed and screamed.

[“M-My divinity!!! My grudge energy!! No!! No!! This can’t be happening! This can’t be real!!”]
It must have felt like losing a fortune hoarded for 300 years in a single fraudulent deal.
Mammon wept with a mix of anger, despair, and utter devastation as he screamed.

And in that moment—
The time-freeze that had covered the world unraveled.
And then.

[“No… No, you bitch!! Aaaaaaaah!!”]
A brilliant light erupted from Amayel’s body.
A massive pillar of radiance shot into the sky, its reach seeming infinite.

It pierced through the underground hideout of the labor theorists.
It pierced through the buildings above.
The beam of light grew so immense that every single person in the city could see it.

“Don’t give up! Don’t be afraid of the police!! We have the Saint with us!”
“It doesn’t matter whether we get beaten to death by the police or return home alive! We have to win this fight!!”
“Arrest all these reactionaries! They’re labor theorists!! I’m granting permission to open fire!”

“Shoot! Right this instant!……”
The police and the workers who had been fighting.
“Suppress them immediately! Do you have any idea why I made you the police chief?!”

“B-But, Congressman… The number of workers isn’t small. If blood is spilled here, the strike could turn into a full-scale riot.”
“I don’t care!! Can’t you see that our factories are shut down?! I don’t care what it takes—crush them, now!!……”
The congressman and the police chief who had been screaming.

“W-What is this……”
“Comrade Lenaro!!! Fall back!!”
Even the labor theorists who had gathered underground.

They all froze, staring in silence at the massive pillar of light.
The gentle, warm glow bathed every corner of Scrap Yard without discrimination.
No wall could stop the light from reaching the people.

The rich and the poor.
The sick and the healthy.
The sorrowful and the joyful.

All gazed at the same pillar of light.
And then, the light slowly etched a single symbol into the sky.
An image of a weeping eye.

The sigil of the Goddess of Grace, Lilia, was now engraved in the heavens above Scrap Yard.
And at the sight of it—
Mammon and his followers screamed.

[“Anathema!! Anathema!! M-My body is burning!! Aaaaaagh!!”]
Mammon’s physical form began to crumble.
As he fell apart, he let out one last, agonized wail.

[“You bitch!! You bitch!! I won’t forget this!! I’ll never forget this!!………”]
With that final scream, Mammon’s body collapsed into nothingness.
Kal Lenaro and the labor theorists crumpled under the sheer agony of the divine entity’s death throes.

For a long while, they writhed on the ground.
Only after nearly ten minutes had passed could they barely regain their senses and stand.
They looked at one another.

They looked at Mammon’s melted remains on the ground.
And they looked at Amayel, radiating divine light.
Their decision didn’t take long.

Even though the labor theorists despised the capitalists and loathed those in power, they understood what had to be done in this situation.
“Contact the capital! Call the White Order and the Black Fortress!!”
Kal Lenaro screamed.

“There are demon worshippers in the city!! Request immediate deployment of reinforcements!!”
And at nearly the same moment—
“Demon worshippers!!”

“Contact the White Order immediately!! There are demon worshippers and black magicians in the city!!”
The factory owners, sitting comfortably in their luxurious mansions, were screaming the exact same thing.
For the first time, perhaps—

The workers and the capitalists of Scrap Yard were in complete agreement.
 
****

[Large amounts of experience acquired!]
[Skill level-up complete!!]