“This is the King that you have problems killing? Wait, who do you think I am?! A Kingslayer?!” Gaeru questioned as he took a quick look at Jin’s body as well as the armour he was currently wearing.
With his arrival, it has changed into turquoise green armour plates with a Frog Half Mask as well as the broken cape he continued to wear despite the System’s insistence to change it to a new one.
With the compilation of the System’s data inscribed into the cards created by Moloch, Bam and Boo were hosting Masamune within its core, the two swords wrapped around Gaeru’s living weapon to make it easy for Jin’s body to hold.
As Masamune had powers unique to itself, all Bam and Boo did was to fuse with it in order to make it bigger. This was only possible with the aid of the Black Sludge Crystals that Jin incidentally created while cultivating.
“You failed to kill the Salamander King back then, so I thought you would appreciate the opportunity to try again with a real King.” Jin reasoned, making Gaeru roll Jin’s eyes. “Just be careful, he is not just any ordinary swordsman.”
“Well, this King Baal seems like a worthy opponent for Masamune to feast on. It should be happy.” Gaeru pointed his newly fused Masamune at King Baal who had already embraced all three forms yet appeared to look different once more.
A feat which neither the Royal Guards nor Moloch had seen before. If anything, he began to look similar to the Chimaeras that Kiva had created. Whether the already charcoal fried Ravenous Lord had any interference or contribution to Baal’s current form was something Jin would have to ask the bat after he defeated this iteration of King Baal.
“No one has made me take them this seriously for an eternity. You should be honoured, you will be the second to see this form.” King Baal announced as he adjusted his grip on his Frog-tongue whip sword and inserted mana into it. The sword started to twist and turned into a black two-handed bastard sword with gold edges.
” …Before Baal became the King, he held onto the elusive class of Hell Knight which is considered unique in the Dungeon World, only accessible to direct descendants of Hell.” Moloch shared the details of his past while Baal revealed the sword.
“If I am not wrong, he should be somewhat similar to the Death Knight Class, which Dread Reaver holds. He might not have a direct connection to Lady Death herself, but as we are descendants of the Hell plane, Baal might be able to pull something dangerous out from there.”
“Heh, it appears that you have yet to forget our roots from Hell. We might have been reborn into bodies not of our choosing, but we were still the selected few. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself to side with a lowly human?” King Baal berated the little cow puppet at the side.
“And human, you are not the only one to have a fanciful plate of armour.” King Baal addressed Jin this time as he slammed the bastard sword down and a circle of flames was summoned beneath him, with the flames enveloping his whole being.
He could have continued to use his the three fused forms to fight with System Rider Gaeru, yet King Baal had determined that it would be an endless cycle of power struggle and ultimately a waste of time.
Might as well eliminate the threat as soon as possible for he was informed that Paradiso was in danger with the enemies able to clear six floors in less than fifteen minutes. He realised that Moloch’s champion might not be his ultimate card.
In his mind, Jin must be the most durable one out of those available, just there to stall for time when they accepted the sacred duel between two Dungeon Core owners. Dragging it out any longer meant his Metropolis might potentially disappear from his grasp. He was already receiving pleas from his own dungeon core to return to fulfil his duties, and if he didn’t follow them, the consequences would turn dire.
“Master, we have to strike now when he has his weapon down. While it is dishonourable, this is probably the only opportunity we might have.” Gaeru advised and just like Meomi, Jin’s body was already moving to intercept whatever magic Baal was conjuring.
“Such impatience!” Baal saw that his opponent was attempting to disrupt his transformation just as he had tried to do earlier. Alas, the System Rider’s outcome wasn’t any different. Baal had defences in place to prevent any interruption of his secret transformation.
He quickly took out the crown from his magical void and held it with his left frog arm. Instantaneously, Baal managed to conjure out a wide spray of fire which engulfed System Rider Gaeru and subsequently blew him back to where he came from.
“I am not giving up!” Gaeru cried out his challenge as he performed a cover roll on the ground before recovering and running via the side.
“User, providing System Rider Gaeru with an additional Black Sludge Crystal could potentially increase his attack power for the Sludge itself contains traces of your blood.” The System suggested since dashing in without any defences would be plain foolish.
“Alright!” Gaeru happily grabbed the crystal, suddenly floating in front of him. Even the System had decided to act first despite the obligatory etiquette request to Jin.
“Why are you even asking me when all of you are acting on your own?!” Jin questioned in a foul mood. He could not stand Gaeru’s brainless dashing. “Urgh! Let me help out!”
When Baal spewed another flamethrower attack towards System Rider Gaeru, Jin’s consciousness made his body use a Panda Swipe infused with Green Panda Wind Energy, to cause the flames to temporarily move aside for Gaeru to rush forward.
“Hahahah! I cannot believe his minions made him participate in the fight as well. Here I was worried it would take at least a week of training to get Jin to learn that he could do that. It seems like pissing him off worked wonders. Good job Meomi, Gaeru.” Moloch analysed as he strengthened his shield to prevent the aftereffects of the flames despite having a distance away.
“Oof, the crown really did make the flames rather potent though.” Now, with Masamune having ingested the Black Sludge Crystal, it howled with terror moving towards the near completely transformed King Baal.
However, both Jin and Gaeru had underestimated the crown as Baal now placed it on his head where Hell’s living fire engulf his head, acting as the helmet for the Hell Knight. In a flash, a burst of dark flames caused System Rider Gaeru to get knocked back into a distant corner with a loud bang.
If not for the armour and System’s regulation of Maqi to strengthen Jin’s back, they would have lost the fight immediately with Jin suffering a severe, potentially fatal back injury. “Damn it!” Gaeru cursed as he saw King Baal fully transformed into a Hell Knight.
“No…a Hell Knight does not look like this. … I fear this is something far worse.” Moloch informed Jin with a good amount of panic in his voice. The aura emanating from King Baal was stifling to him even at such a distance.
“That is right. Thanks to the crown, I am now Hell Knight King.” Baal said an arbitrary name which was never heard even in the plane of Hell and that made Moloch growled.
“You can be a King in this Dungeon World, and I am willing to follow you as such. But our almighty King in Hell can never be replaced. Renounce yourself or face the wrath of Solomon himself!” Moloch shouted yet the self-proclaimed Hell Knight King laughed.
“You think you can defeat me by barking?! Sure, Solomon might have stripped us of our powers and subsequently sent us to various Worlds to learn and atone of our sins… But did he ever care for us?!” Baal questioned.
As he walked towards the trembling Moloch who was valiantly staring at Baal’s eyes, he snickered at the poor fate of System Rider Gaeru when he tried to withstand the dark flames that were enveloping him.
Despite the living armour’s protection, Jin could feel the flames burning him inside. And even if he tried to use White Panda Ice energy to lessen the effects, it did not help that Gaeru was a frog and with the System Rider now embodying him, it provided a poor resistance against the flames.
“Disengage!” Jin shouted as he forcefully separated the union with Gaeru, so he would not suffer with him.
“Do not open the deck of cards. The System Driver belt as a whole has an innate resistance against elements due to the materials used. Endure it.” The System cautioned, and Jin could only scream vulgarities to withstand the pain.
“See, your human is dying, and here you are reminiscing about the ancient past,” Baal said as he used his sword to poke the corner shield that protected Moloch and it simply disappeared.
“Despite your betrayal against me, siding with the human, in the end, you will still die a beggar’s death. I thought all the demons from Hell should stick up for one another, but no, you have killed your brethrens again and again in this particular invasion.”
“Do not give me such bullshit such as justice! You know very well that we lie, betray and kill each other purely for our own satisfaction. I promised I would aid you, but I did not say I would not betray you in doing so.” Moloch snapped back.
“Besides, talking about treachery, you continue to use that damned crown despite knowing the ill effects that it brought you. Why? Is it because you want to gain back powers of your former self again?! Do not give me that ‘I want to protect people from the Harbinger’ bullshit!”
“Yes! Yes! Yes! I solely missed the powers I had back in Hell! To be so powerless in this Dungeon World and even if I die, I get reincarnated back in this lowly body! Solomon does not want me back in Hell yet, and I have grown too powerful to leave for any other world!” Baal said as he raised his arm towards System Rider Panda and sent another wave of flames for him to suffer.
“Wiggle and squirm like how my beloved minions did,” Baal demanded with twisted glee as he watched Jin struggling against the flames in a vain attempt to resist them consuming him. “And there is no way your pal Moloch would be able to help you,” Baal added while he ignored the Minotaur Lord and forcefully created a portal.
“Note to the Dungeon Owner of Demon Metropolis. Escaping now will cause you to lose!” The Dungeon Core spoke out.
“My place is being invaded by them. Metropolis’ Dungeon Core should be able to inform you of at least that. Besides, your champion is incapacitated and unable to move. Give me ten minutes, and I will come back to finish the fight. Heal him or not, I do not care. If by the end of ten minutes, I am not back, I will relinquish half of my treasury to you and consider myself defeated.” King Baal asked for a compromise since his dungeon core kept howling him to return even though it was actually more beneficial for him to stay. But before the Pandapolis Dungeon Core could give an answer, the portal in front was cut off with a white card.
“The fight is not over!” Moloch interrupted even though he knew that the chances to win against a crowned Baal was close to nil. Sure, getting Kraft and his skulk of foxes to fight with Baal would definitely even the odds in their favour…Heck, no. He was sure they can obliterate him. But right now, it was a matter of pride if the Minotaur Lord did nothing and let others do the job even though he had a way to help out.
“I am sorry Jin, but you have to endure my selfishness a little more.” The supposedly blank card flew towards Jin’s System Driver, and a voice emerged from the device.
“Card Activated, Moloch Form!”
