The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

“Well, well, this is interesting… I sense Asley’s arcane energy — but if that’s all you have, it’s not enough to match Asley’s true strength. Hehehe… My minions, destroy them!”

As Lucifer commanded, the Eye-Dorrs emitted beams of immense arcane energy from their eyes.

“These things hit hard! Don’t let your guard down!”

With Tūs’ warning, everyone sprang into action.

The Eye-Dorr was a special kind of monster spawned from Devil King Lucifer’s body — he could create as many of them as he wanted without depleting his arcane energy.

Baladd and Lina provided support from the sky with magic, magecraft, and breath attacks.

“Konoha! Please take care of Sir Asley and Pochi!”

“Sure thing! “

Fuyu, Tifa, Natsu, and Lala formed a protective circle around Asley and Pochi, maximizing their healing efficiency and defense.

Barun guarded Warren and Hornel while the latter two attacked the Eye-Dorrs from a distance.

At the frontline, Lylia, Tūs, and Irene fought in unison — All were in the Ultimate Limit state, fueled by Asley’s arcane energy.

Despite the overwhelming pressure, the Eye-Dorrs’ onslaught continued.

Lucifer, using Giving Magic, sat on a pile of rubble, casting a sinister grin onto the Duodecad.

“Weak. Too weak.”

Sweat formed on Tūs’s forehead as he watched Lucifer.

[This secret move is too damn unfair…!]

With each passing second, more Eye-Dorrs spawned from Lucifer’s body.

Despite the strength of Lylia, Tūs, and Irene, navigating through this onslaught was challenging.

Countless beams and magic spells filled the battlefield, making the central frontline a hellish spectacle.

Unconcerned about everyone’s hostility, Lucifer turned his gaze southward, noticing an abnormal fluctuation of arcane energy in the distance.

[…Hmph, he’s doing it, isn’t he? His ambition knows no bounds…]

…And that fluctuation signified a significant change that was about to unfold.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

In the midst of the distant battlefield, where the fervor of intense combat and angry roars resonated, a Devil gasped for breath.

Standing atop a Circle of Giving Magic, Prince Zaths — now known as Cleath — the son of Holy Emperor Hudl and Empress Idïa, struggled to catch his breath, attempting to restore his own arcane energy.

“Damn you… damn you, damn you, damn you, damn you, damn you!!”

With a powerful punch to the earth, Cleath expressed his mounting anger toward Barun and the others who had driven him to this point.

“Once my arcane energy is restored, lowly creatures like them won’t stand a chance…!”

Cleath uttered through gritted teeth.

Before him, another Devilk appeared.

Cleath failed to notice the approach until the Devil was right in front of him.

“…! Wha– what do you want!?”

Startled, Cleath rose to his feet.

However, this Devil responded with nothing more than a resounding belch.

“Hmph! Are you here just to mock me, Billy!?”

Indeed, the Devil was none other than Billy.

After hiding his presence from Haiko, Viola, and Jeanne, Billy had vanished somewhere.

This disappearance was due to sensing the decrease in Idïa’s arcane energy.

“I should be the one to ask you — What are YOU doing here?”

Billy said as he looked down at Cleath.

“WHAT!?”

Then he looked at Cleath’s wound, measured his arcane energy, and continued,

“I see you’ve failed… AGAIN.”

「っ！ 貴様っ！！」

“…! Damn you little–!”

Cleath shouted, releasing the remaining arcane energy within him, revealing his frustration.

However, an overwhelming arcane energy that surged back at him caused Cleath to kneel on the ground.

“Ngh–!? What the…!?”

Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, Cleath struggled to comprehend the colossal force that was pushing him down.

The vast arcane energy emanated from Billy, who continued to gaze down at Cleath with an unchanged expression.

“Billy…! What the hell are you doing!?”

Billy remained silent.

But then, in the next moment, Billy inserted his index finger into his own mouth and made a fiddling motion.

Subsequently, a metallic object was expelled onto the ground.

Cleath was astonished at the sight of the metallic object, distorted and bent but resembling a ring.

“T-that’s…!?”

“Ahh, so that’s what got stuck between my teeth.”

“W-what the…! This is…!”

Cleath approached the object unsteadily, picking it up.

Despite its contorted form, the metallic object certainly looked like a ring.

It was one of the precious accessories that Ishtar of the Black, otherwise known as Empress Idïa, adorned herself with — A ring she had been wearing on the day of this decisive battle.

“Why…? Why did this ring come out of your mouth!?”

Billy remained silent, emitting dense arcane energy while observing Cleath.

The Devil’s eyes seemed to regard Cleath as if he were prey.

“Hmph, still not enough…”

Billy muttered as he sensed Lucifer’s arcane energy in the distance.

“ANSWER ME, BILLY!!”

Shortly after, Cleath noticed something peculiar about Billy, now transformed into a Devil.

His right shoulder protruded significantly, contorted into a grotesque shape resembling a face — almost like the visage of a woman.

Staring intently at Billy’s grotesque shoulder, Cleath finally grasped the truth.

“…M… Mother…?”

The woman’s face on Billy’s right shoulder — it was unmistakably the face of Empress Idïa.

And so Cleath comprehended why Idïa’s ring had been expelled from Billy’s mouth.

Trembling, tears welled up in Cleath’s eyes as he directed an absolute blast of emotion, far beyond anger — pure murderous intent — toward Billy.

In response, Billy widened his already gaping mouth, revealing a grin, and spoke.

“She was DELICIOUS, let me tell you…”

In the next moment, Cleath’s anger reached its zenith.

“BILLYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!”

Cleath unleashed a frenzied, ear-splitting scream, directing all his arcane energy and murderous intent toward Billy.

Indeed, the Devil-transformed Billy, sensing the decrease in Idïa’s arcane energy, had seized Idïa away from the confines of Irene and Warren’s Lightning Boundaries.

With Idïa weakened before him, Billy had opened his gaping mouth wide and swallowed her whole.

Within his elevated arcane energy, Idïa’s essence was undoubtedly present. Cleath sensed his mother’s arcane energy within Billy, flooding him with even more rage.

Consumed by murderous intent and instinct, Cleath launched an attack against Billy, who effortlessly evaded and parried every move, treating Cleath’s assaults like child’s play. Laughing uncontrollably, Billy, impervious to Cleath’s attacks, finally went on the offensive.

“GAH!?”

Billy sank his teeth into Cleath’s right arm, gnawing, and savored his bite.

Then, seemingly disappointed, he proceeded to say,

“Disgusting. Even the Hell Emperor’s meat tasted better than yours.”

“You bastard! You ARE King Lucifer’s Familiar!?”

“What are you talking about? That’s what I raised him for. Adjusting him to be defeated by Pochi was quite a task, you know? Hehehehehehe…!”

For Billy, who had researched the creation of Chimaeras, turning himself into one was nothing extraordinary.

However, it was not a simple Chimaera transformation — Having assimilated Idïa and the Hell Emperor into himself, Billy’s final target was Cleath.

Cleath, with tears in his eyes, continued to launch attacks at Billy, but every strike was effortlessly absorbed or evaded.

Having gotten his left arm consumed, Cleath, now kneeling, looked up to the sky.

“Mother…”

“Oh, you’ll get to see her again soon enough!!”

Cleath’s final words dissipated into the void. His head vanished into Billy’s stomach.

“Oh? Oh!? Oh-ho-ho!!”

Billy’s left shoulder bulged, displaying Cleath’s wailing visage.

Along with it, the magnitude of Billy’s arcane energy finally surpassed that of Tūs’.

Not only that, but it surged with the momentum to rival that of Asley, the Eternal Fool himself.

Reveling in the raging arcane energy, Billy, grinning slyly, gazed at the northern sky.

“Now, I must make an impression on the Devil King…!”

With a sinister smile, Billy aimed for the frontline where Devil King Lucifer and the Duodecad gathered.

At that moment, the sun was obscured, as if the world were descending into darkness.