There were quite a few devils guarding Ophis's room, but Rod didn't recognize any of them.
"Who are you? Stop right there!"
"Didn't you hear us? We said stop!"
The moment they saw Rod approach, they all glared at him viciously without even bothering to check whether he was one of the Khaos Brigade or not.
They looked fully prepared to kill him on the spot if he take one more step forward.
"So rude? You're nowhere near as well-mannered as Katerea's people."
That would have been one thing if Rod had said nothing, but the moment he mentioned Katerea's name, the fury in those devils' eyes erupted like a volcano.
They were all followers of Shalba Beelzebub. During the last incident at the Three Factions' peace talks, they had already prepared to launch a counterattack on the capital, Lilith. But then the spy planted beside Katerea sent word that she had betrayed the Old Maou faction, and that Creuserey had died after being ambushed.
The moment that news reached Shalba, he immediately ordered a retreat.
Even so, after plotting for so long, Shalba naturally had no intention of giving up his chance to reclaim the throne.
So while in hiding, he continued gathering information from the Underworld, and learned that Katerea intended to found her own nation.
Because of that, Shalba decided to launch a terrorist attack on the very day Katerea announced her nation, while also sending people to capture Lucifer's younger sister in the human world, forcing Sirzechs into a position where he would have to hold back.
For that day, he had even gone to make a deal with a wielder of a high-ranking Longinus from the Hero Faction and acquired a sealing restraint that even Ultimate-Class Devils couldn't break.
After all, Lucifer's younger sister had inherited the Power of Destruction as well. Ordinary restraints would be very difficult to use against her.
Of course.
Those preparations alone still weren't enough.
So Shalba had personally come to Khaos Brigade headquarters to demand a large number of "snakes" from Ophis.
As long as he had enough of Infinity's power, his plan would succeed without fail.
And right now, Shalba was having Ophis create "snakes," while his men guarded the room outside and prevented anyone from entering.
But before those devils could even make a move, several black cylindrical objects suddenly dropped among them.
Boom!
A violent concussive blast and blinding flash erupted at once.
"Ahhh! My eyes!"
The devils were caught completely off guard, getting hit head-on by the flashbangs, and screams immediately rose one after another.
Devils might be mythical creatures, their strength and durability far beyond that of ordinary humans, but unless they had reached a certain level of power, they still had to obey natural laws.
A few flashbangs like that instantly blinded them and left their ears ringing. Some of them were so panicked that they even stabbed their own comrades with the weapons in their hands.
"Damn it! You hit an ally!"
"I can't see!"
"That damned human is so underhanded!"
Curses and screams rang out without end.
But Rod quickly pulled out the Desert Eagle and began firing in rapid succession.
The bullets, having been bathed in holy water, tore straight through the foreheads of some of the lower-class devils, blowing their skulls open before they collapsed unwillingly to the floor.
Once it came to Middle-Class Devils, however, their physiques had already undergone a qualitative change. Their skulls were ridiculously hard, to the point that even the heavy rounds of the Desert Eagle could only lodge themselves in their foreheads.
But that made no difference to the battle.
At this distance, Rod quickly shifted his aim to their eyes.
Eyes were the most fragile part of the human body, and devils were no exception.
After all, countless movies had already proven it, monsters might be completely unfazed by bullets and blades everywhere else, but once the protagonists got clever and started aiming for the eyes, the monster would go down in the end.
That kind of thing showed up all over tokusatsu works too.
Unless these devils had already trained their bodies to the extreme, like Superman, where even shooting them point-blank in the eye would only flatten the bullet, there was no way they could withstand it.
And not just Middle-Class Devils. Plenty of Upper-Class Devils couldn't do that either.
In only a few seconds, all but one of the devils had fallen.
"Where's Shalba?"
"Shal-what?"
"Shalba."
"What-ba?"
"..."
Bang!
Rod put down that demon idiot with a single shot, then kicked the door open and strode straight into Ophis's room.
In the middle of the enormous room, there were only two figures.
One was Ophis, dressed in a black gothic lolita outfit. Her features were exquisitely delicate, but because she showed no expression at all, she seemed to lack a certain vitality. The other was a long-haired man in the uniform of an Old Maou, his expression dark and sinister.
If there were no surprises, that should be Shalba Beelzebub.
"Welcome!"
Shalba's eyes flashed with killing intent the moment Rod arrived, but he hid it well enough and still showed him a smile.
"I've heard about you. Ever since you appeared in Katerea's territory, she changed. If I'm not mistaken, the reason Katerea came up with the idea of founding her own nation was because of you, wasn't it?"
"I'm very curious, what method did you use to make that woman change her mind?"
"She used to hate Sirzechs and the others just as much as we did."
"If I told you I slept her into it, would you believe me?"
Rod said flatly.
"Persuaded her? Heh. Just as I thought, even though you're only human, you really are quite an irregular one."
A smile appeared on Shalba's face.
"Allow me to formally introduce myself, human. My name is Shalba Beelzebub. The blood of the great True Maou runs through my veins. I am Beelzebub's rightful heir. Compared to Asmodeus and Leviathan, I, as Beelzebub, am greater than either of them."
Shalba's voice rang out powerfully, full of unwavering conviction and arrogance.
Rod said nothing.
He simply blinked at Ophis.
Ophis stopped making "snakes," blinked back at Rod, then pointed her pale little finger toward the game console. Her meaning couldn't have been more obvious.
Rod shook his head, telling her it wasn't the right time.
Ophis lowered her hand and turned to look at Shalba.
At that moment, Shalba suddenly felt a chill run down his back, but he didn't pay it much attention. He was still completely immersed in his own grand performance.
As he spoke, Shalba passionately extended an invitation to Rod.
"Human, join me! That foolish woman Katerea is not worth serving. The great Beelzebub is your true destination. Once I conquer this world, you will stand above all others, second only to me!"
Rod: "..."
Do i really look that evil?
Why do these type of bastards keep trying to recruit me into their camp
"Strictly speaking, I'm not serving Katerea. We just happen to be... very close."
Being a Western devil, Shalba naturally couldn't grasp the layered meaning in Rod's phrasing.
Still, he understood well enough that Rod had refused his invitation.
The moment he realized that, Shalba's smile vanished and fury surged onto his face.
"Very well! It seems you're just as shortsighted as Katerea! You clearly don't understand that only I am fit to lead this world!"
"Foolish servant of Katerea, I'll kill you with my own hands right here!"
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