The storm wracked sky burned with the remnants of Belial’s fire and casting an eerie crimson glow over the battlefield. Below, Celestials, Archangels, and Demon troops stood in uneasy silence, their gazes locked onto the sky. The battle had stretched far longer than expected and whispers of doubt had begun to spread.
Is the great Demon King struggling against a mere dragon?
Belial could feel their eyes on him. He knew what they were thinking. He could almost hear their hushed speculations and their veiled confusion. But he didn’t care.
They were fools n his mind.
This wasn’t about pride or proving his strength. He had already won. His power vastly surpassing this beast and if he wanted, he could have turned it to ash long ago. But that would be a waste.
No, this was not about killing. This was about knowledge.
Something had come from beyond the Black Wall and it had taken the form of this dragon. If he destroyed it outright, he would lose his only chance to uncover its secrets.
Belial’s burning gaze locked onto the beast as it hovered in the sky, its tattered black wings stretched wide. Though wounded, its abyssal eyes remained unchanged. That eyes looked calm and knowing. It was watching him.
Belial don’t want to waste anymore time so he surged forward.
In the blonk of an eyes he already arrived close to the dragon. His flaming greatsword cleaved downward, striking the dragon’s massive body and sending it hurtling toward the ground below.
The impact shattered the earth, killing dozens of the other black monsters down below and sending shockwaves rippling outward.
The Black Dragon roared, but even as its body writhed from the force of the blow, Belial still held back. He could have burned through its core and obliterating it in an instant but he didn’t.
Instead, he descended and landing before the massive crater where the dragon now lay. Steam rose from its scorched scales and now its breath ragged. It was weakened and ounded, but not dead.
Belial lifted his sword, flames dancing along the blade’s edge.
"The time of you spouting nonsense is done, abominations," Belial muttered.
His lips curled into a smirk. He had done exactly what he needed.
The beast was still alive but now it was vulnerable. Now, it was his time to capture then dissect and break it apart so that he can unravel the truth of what lay beyond the Black Wall.
Belial took a step forward—
And the dragon laughed.
A low, guttural, hollow sound, like the grinding of stone against metal. Now, everyone here can hear it.
Belial froze. The laughter slithered through his mind.
Then, the voice came again. This time its only curling into his thoughts.
"You think you can dissect me?"
The air around them suddenly darkened and that makes everyone here nervous and shocked.
The storm clouds churned, twisting unnaturally, as if the sky itself were warping under an unseen force.
Belial’s eyes narrowed. Then he sighed. What just happened make him more certain that he need to dissect it. This creature can read his mind.
Belial exhaled sharply, his patience wearing thin now. Enough of this bullshit.
The moment the last syllable of the creature’s taunt faded, Belial moved.
Faster than the eye could follow, his flaming greatsword whipped through the air like a blazing arc of destruction.
The dragon didn’t even have time to react anymore.
A single strike happened then another and another. His greatsword cutting through the beast’s massive limbs like carving through brittle stone.
Black ichor sprayed across the crater as the dragon’s severed limbs tumbled to the ground.
But Belial did not stop. Before the dragon could even process the agony or react, he seized the creature.
His grip latched onto its mangled body. With a single pull, Belial lifted the colossal creature off the ground.
The battlefield fell silent.
Celestials, and Archangels stared at him as the Black Dragon was now limbless, broken, and helpless within the hands of a single Demon King but it was still alive. They wondered what whould Belial do with it.
And then Belial flew.
His massive wings unfurled, dark fire rippling off them as he go to the sky with his prize. The air cracked under the force of his ascent, a shockwave rolling outward as he vanished into the storm clouds above.
The storm raged around him as he streaked through the sky, carrying the mutilated dragon toward his command tent.
A surge of power flared from his palms, forming chains of molten fire that wrapped around the dragon’s body, binding it tightly so it could not escape or move. Belial wasn’t talong a chance.
It struggled weakly, its abyssal eyes still locked onto him with that same unsettling knowing gaze.
He descended hard, landing just outside his tent with an impact that sent a ripple through the earth. The moment his feet touched the ground, black-armored Demon guards scrambled backward.
Belial strode forward, dragging the mutilated dragon behind him, its massive form leaving a deep trench in the ground as he pulled it into the tent.
The moment they crossed the threshold, the tent sealed itself shut with a pulse of dark energy.
No one would interrupt him now.
Inside, the chamber was illuminated by the glow of hellfire torches, casting flickering shadows across tables filled with dark instruments, arcane tools, and relics.
Belial threw the dragon down onto the stone floor, his flaming chains tightening around it.
The beast did not struggle. It simply lay there, gazing at him with those abyssal unblinking eyes.
Belial then reached for a wickedly curved blade resting on a nearby table.
"Let’s find out what you are."
Then he took his first cut.
Outside the Demon King’s tent, Uriel and Gabriel exchanged uneasy glances.
Uriel’s eyes narrowed as she turned toward Gabriel. "Why didn’t he kill it? Why bring it to his tent instead?"
Gabriel shook his head,. "I don’t know."
A tense silence stretched between them before Uriel exhaled sharply.
"We need to find out," he said, her voice firm. "Belial knows something."