The maid squad is too strong, what use is there for me, the Demon King?

Gray looked up at Ravend Black, who sat on the Bone Throne, his face full of displeasure.

The number of corpses I've seen in the last two days is almost equal to the number of cult members Gray has personally killed in his entire life.

Of course, this only counts the number of cult members of the Demon Cult. If we include thieves, monsters, slave hunters, and so on, the number would be too large to calculate.

Gray considered himself to have a lot of blood on his hands, but compared to the cultists in front of him, he was still far too harmless.

"Indeed, cultists should never exist in this world!"

Grey roared, and magic surged forth, transforming into a longsword, which he raised directly at Ravend Black.

Delta and Ipsilon beside them were also ready for battle, glaring angrily at the three cult leaders.

No verbal communication was needed; the division of labor was completed instantly.

Gray dealt with the ninth-ranked archbishop, and the remaining two grey-robed bishops were given to Delta and Ipsilon, one each.

But Gray was supposed to be traveling with Beta, Delta, Ipsilon, and Irisviel, right? Where are Beta and Irisviel now?

There's no way around it; with Alice's fourth-tier magic power, she's just cannon fodder in battles against eighth- or ninth-tier professionals, or to put it bluntly, a burden.

Upon discovering the three cultists, including Ravend Black, Gray immediately ordered Alice Villanelle to remain on the spot, with Beta also assigned to guard her.

If you get too close, you'll be affected by the aftershocks of the magical collision, which means "don't worry about Aliceville when you're in a party, she'll die on her own."

Then we might as well not bring Aliceville near the battlefield at all.

Gray originally intended to take down the three cultists by himself, but the three Shadow Servants insisted on helping him.

They chose Delta and Ipsilon, who were more skilled in combat, to accompany them.

The sudden change caught Ravend Black and the two grey-robed cultists off guard.

The sudden appearance of two eighth-tier professionals, along with the black-robed leader whose magical power level was impossible to determine and who was radiating terrifying magical energy fluctuations, meant that everyone was enjoying the slaughter and victory. The sudden and drastic change in the situation was completely unexpected.

The two grey-robed bishops were shocked and immediately prepared for battle.

Although they didn't know who had suddenly appeared, judging from the hostility and intimidation emanating from them, they knew they couldn't afford to be careless in this situation.

Ravend Black, who had attended the archbishops' council a few days earlier, was not entirely bewildered by the situation, but he was still sweating profusely.

He thought of the missing Lockston Kingsol and Itheran Hawke, and the confirmed dead Carleon Eisenhardt.

Ravend Black was sweating profusely.

Wasn't he supposed to be in Olmec? He was still complacent, thinking that after killing all the eighth-tier professionals in the Kingdom of Westphalia, he would contact the archbishop still in Olmec to see if he was alright, and then decide whether to go into hiding.

I didn't think I'd be the next target, probably because I've been too flamboyant lately...

No, he didn't expect that the god of death had already fled to Westphalia.

They possessed enough power to kill Lockston Kingsol, and the magical aura they exuded on the spot confirmed that their statements at the Council of Archbishops were not alarmist.

If you fight, you will definitely not be able to defeat him.

That's a killing god who could even kill Lockston Kingsol. He's only just reached the ninth rank. There's no way he could possibly be a match for him.

How to do?

In short, stall for time!

Ravend Black feigned composure and said in a deep voice, "So you've come after all, Demon King."

These words greatly surprised the grey-robed bishop, Delta, and Ipsyron.

Gray couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"There aren't many people besides heroes and demons who can identify me by my magical aura."

Judging from your statement, you knew from the beginning that the Demon King would come knocking?

Seeing that Gray seemed quite interested, Ravend Black breathed a sigh of relief; the delaying tactic had worked...

But Gray's next words plunged Ravend Black into an icy abyss.

“Interesting. I don’t know where you got this information from. I shouldn’t have exposed my identity that many times.”

But whatever.

From what you're saying, you knew a demon king was coming to kill you, yet you still acted so brazenly.

I can understand that you're not afraid of my threats at all, which means you look down on me, right?

As soon as he finished speaking, Ravende Black heard a sound like a howling wind, and the next moment, Gray appeared in front of Ravende Black.

Ravend Black's pupils contracted sharply, and he raised his hand to defend himself.

He then took a direct hit from Gray's sword, protecting his vital parts and preventing immediate death, but his hand and chest were pierced by the magic sword.

Blood gushed out, and before delivering the next blow, Gray tilted his head:

"I don't see why you're so confident."

He then delivered a heavy punch to Ravend Black.

Ravend Black inwardly cursed this guy for his lack of sportsmanship, resorting to violence at the slightest provocation.

They are focusing all their efforts on defense.

However, this defense did not play a significant role.

When he took the punch, Ravend Black felt as if a giant mountain was pressing down on his hand.

Each punch... in reality, it didn't catch anything at all; each punch broke through the defense.

The evidence is a body aching in every part, and its ever-growing power.

The War and Conflict faction's cultists possess a passive ability that increases damage the lower their health.

Being near death is the most powerful state, but if you get hit while near death, you can easily become the most powerful corpse in the entire other world.

They're hard to control, so Ravend Black... well, you could say that cultists from the War and Conflict factions rarely manage to keep themselves in a near-death state; their margin for error is just too low.

Furthermore, Revend Black had never encountered an opponent who could make him so wary. He was basically unharmed in his one-on-one fight with Edmund Celestio, without receiving any passive buffs.

But that's no longer possible.

Under normal circumstances, he would be no match for the demon king in front of him, and escaping would be difficult.

Rockston Kingsol, who can summon monsters, is no better at escaping than Isheran Hawke, who can become a shadow.

Even those two couldn't escape, so how could someone like me, who's only good at head-on confrontations, possibly succeed in "giving you oil"?

Furthermore, for some reason, the Demon King in front of him harbored such murderous intent towards him despite the Demon Cult having no enmity with the demon race. Therefore, dialogue and reconciliation were not feasible.

To survive, one can only gamble on their own abilities, on whether they can successfully turn the tide in their strongest, near-death state.

Therefore, you should focus all your energy on defense until you are in a near-death state before launching a counterattack!