Second World

Chapter 1954: Chapter 1954. Mysterious

”Which one?” Purple Mist asked.

”Satan and Mammon,” John answered.

”Mammon?” Purple Mist didnʼt expect Mammon to be among the devils they had yet to defeat. This devil was supposed to have the lowest level.

”I know. Iʼm also surprised. Turns out this so-called weakest devil might be the hardest one to kill, but I already have a plan. I will take some of the players here and head over there. The rest of you stay here and wipe out the remaining demons. Wilted said the debuff on the demon army after losing their leading devil would last only a few days. We need to defeat as many demons as possible within that time frame before marching into Liguritudum. I will leave you in charge of the players here. Work with Ragorth to secure our victory.”

”Very well,” Purple Mist said before asking, ”What about Satan? Jack is alone there, isnʼt he? Shouldnʼt some of us go there to help him?”

”No need to worry about him. He is the least of us who needs help. If it makes you feel any better, one of us from the other front is already heading his way. If he still hasnʼt finished Satan by the time we deal with Mammon, I will bring some of us to go help him. I will be disappointed, though.”

”You are truly his good friend,” Purple Mist said.

”I know,” John replied.

”I was being sarcastic,” Purple Mist said while rolling her eyes.

”I will pretend I didnʼt hear that. Good luck wiping out the underworld force here. Do not disappoint me.”

”We will wipe out the demons here, but we are not doing it for you, prick,” Purple Mist stated.

”I will also pretend I didnʼt hear that. Iʼm off now,” John said. He sent messages to several people to come to him.

At the Aurebor Northen Front, Jeanny and the others were still fighting Mammon. However, they were not fighting the devil in his original form. The one they were fighting at this moment was a Yeti warrior.

Every time they depleted Mammonʼs HP, the devil entered the black mist state. They tried to drain the black mistʼs HP as fast as possible. However, the black mist moved and possessed one of them before they could complete the process.

This black mist state was Mammonʼs Infernal Soul Rebirth, a special skill accessible only to him. This skill was triggered every time he died. Only by depleting his HP during this state could he truly die.

At least, that was the original programming. It turned out that when this game world became real, Mammonʼs understanding of mana manipulation grew. He learned Form Manipulation, like Satan did. Hence, he was able to manipulate his skill to function differently from the original programming.

After gaining an understanding of form manipulation, he focused his training on this Infernal Soul Rebirth. His training allowed him to move around while in the black mist state. Since he had no body, he could even enter another being and possess them, providing they were weaker than him, which was most of the combatants here.

This repeat of possessions and defeating the possessed beings had been going on for two and a half days. Jeanny and the others didnʼt know how to end this cycle. What was worse was the time in which the black mist remained inert was shortened every time they defeated Mammon. It was as if Mammon was getting used to his possession ability and could move in a shorter time after he entered the black mist state.

It was indeed the case. Before this, Mammon could only train mentally. Not many could deplete Mammonʼs HP, after all. Now that he put it into practice, he was getting more skillful. Jeanny and the others had been trying to increase their damage output, but Mammon beat their pace. The last time Mammon used Infernal Soul Rebirth, he only needed a bit above one minute before he moved and possessed another being. They couldnʼt deplete his HP within such a short time.

One small thing they were grateful for was that Mammon didnʼt have his full power while in the possession state. He couldnʼt even use his own skills. When he was possessing the Soul Swan, all he could use was the Soul Swanʼs skills and spells. The Soul Swan was stronger than its normal self under his influence, but not too much. So, they were able to defeat the Soul Swan more easily than when they were battling Mammon.

The bad thing was, that the Soul Swan died after they depleted its HP. Mammon returned to his black mist state. In this way, they lost an ally without winning the battle. After that, they lost several more allies due to the possession, including Leda, the leader of the Devotee of Passion, and Vodyan of the Frogman. Talia from the Council of Charites also died, but luckily, a healer with the resurrection spell was nearby, so she was saved.

One thing they learned after the multiple possessions was that Mammon could only possess natives. Every time he entered the black mist state, Jeanny and Spring Crown were always the closest. Yet, he never possessed them. Hence, they concluded Mammonʼs ability did not work on outworlders.

After learning that, Jeanny told their allied natives to move away once Mammon entered the black mist state. The rate at which they reduced Mammonʼs HP slowed, but it was better than letting the devil possess another native ally.

Unfortunately, the plan didnʼt go as expected. Mammon did not possess another of their ally. Instead, he possessed one of his demon subordinates. The defenders were forming a perimeter around Mammon, but it was impossible to block all the demons. Some slipped through. These were the ones Mammon possessed when he couldnʼt find an enemy native nearby. The demons gladly sacrificed themselves for their lord, even when getting possessed spelled their doom.

The cycle continued. During the last time Mammon was in the black mist state, one of the strongest Yeti warriors got reckless. He decided to barge in and use his strongest skill on the black mist to increase the rate at which the black mistʼs HP fell. Sadly, he overestimated his ability. He got possessed.

”Watch out!” Jeanny warned when the possessed Yeti swung its huge arm. That swing conjured a cold and violent wind.

The wind swept Freddie, who tried to approach. Within the wind was the element of ice and darkness. The ice was the Yetiʼs original element, while the darkness came from Mammon. The wind was boosted by Mammonʼs power. It was more powerful than when the Yeti warrior performed the skill.

”This is endless! Jeanny, we canʼt go on like this!” David exclaimed. He could see the allied soldiers around them were getting thinner. It was just a matter of time before they got swarmed by the demons. His five hundred celestial soldiers were currently helping those soldiers. He always used this skill whenever it was off cooldown. He doubted the army could last another cycle of his skillʼs cooldown.

”Thank you for pointing out the obvious,” Spring Crown said in response to David.

”F*ck you! Arenʼt you called the number one gamer? Do something!” David shot back.

”I am a gamer, not a hacker,” Spring Crown said. ”That devil is a hacker. No way the game gave him such an unfair skill?”

”It is indeed so. Wilted confirmed Mammon should not have such a possession ability,” Jeanny said. ”Donʼt worry. We have reinforcements coming.”

”What can more reinforcements do? At most, it will only prolong this situation. I am tired as

hell by now,” Spring Crown complained.

”Less complaining, more attacking!” David reprimanded.

”Bloody hell! You are the one who complained first!” Spring Crown talked back.

”Jeanny, who is this reinforcement that is coming?” Freddie asked. He was back again. He had

a healing spirit clinging to him. The damage from the yetiʼs blow had mostly recovered by

now.

”Itʼs John. He said he is bringing some of our friends,” Jeanny answered.

”Does he know about our situation?” Spring Crown asked.

”He does. Iʼve filled him in. He said he has a plan,” Jeanny answered.

”What plan?”

”He didnʼt tell.”

”F*ck that guy. I donʼt like it when he goes all mysterious like that,” Spring Crown cursed.

”Despite his unpleasant character, he has been reliable. We just have to trust him,” Jeanny

said.

”What unpleasant character? I canʼt believe you people talk like that about me behind my

back!”

They turned and saw John approaching. Chris teleported him right inside the defendersʼ perimeter, so he didnʼt need to fight through all the demons to get to where Jeanny and the

others were.

”She is already generous for calling you unpleasant,” Spring Crown said to John. ”If it is me, I would have called you unsavory, vile, degenerate, loathsome, and contemptible snake.” ”Now, you are just insulting me to my face. But I am a saintly man, as my name suggests, so I

forgive you,” John said.

Jeanny noticed some of Johnʼs summons fighting among the army. She asked, ”Since when did

you arrive?”

”Some time ago. I need to do some preparations,” John answered. ”Iʼm ready now. All you

need to do is take down that big lump of fur.”

”What will you do when he enters his black mist state?” Spring Crown asked.

”Thatʼs a secret,” John answered with a mischievous grin. ”Like you said, I love it when Iʼm

being mysterious.”