Ch 127 – Lute Against Duke Sathanas
'Who?'
The Dukes were confused by the sudden appearance of the purple-eyed man who appeared beside Aldrich Stolas. His appearance definitely was that of a devil, nay, an Archdevil. They can obviously sense the thick aura of an Archdevil emanating from the young boy.
His eyes were dark purple and wide, he wore a teasing smirk that stretched out his luscious pink lips. His hair was long and raven black, complementing the unfurled dark-purple wings sprouting from his back that almost looked black in some parts or when under dark lighting. He wore a luxurious outfit, befitting that of a noble Archdevil, with a long-sleeved white shirt with frills, and black pants with golden accents here and there.
They were confused, intrigued, and a bit angry due to the fact that nobody else other than the 12 Dukes of the kingdom can enter this meeting room.
"Who are you?" Duke Lucifer asked, his brows furrowed.
"Didn't you just hear me?" the uninvited guest asked. A flash of purple light formed once more, before it then turned into the same extravagant chair they sat upon. He pushed it towards the table at the place beside Aldrich, creating a loud screeching sound that annoyed most of the Dukes, yet some were amused by his antics.
"Fufufu, you sure act quite confident when facing against the heads of the 12 Noble Families of this kingdom. Tell me, while I'm still amused by you, who are you?" Duke Sathanas smiled lightly, threatening the boy with his hideous smile.
"Ugh, fine. The name's Lute Stolas, a human turned Archdevil, magical genius that can only be seen once in a billion years, an IQ that is in the 10-digits, etc. It's nice to meet you all, fellow Archdevils, I've been wanting to see you all for so long now," Lute introduced himself with an arrogant smile, and he bowed his head to show his 'respect'.
But his name surprised them all, Lute Stolas.
'Where did I hear that name? Wait… Wasn't that the adopted son of Aldrich?'
Those were the general thoughts of the Dukes at that moment, they eyed Lute with surprised eyes before Duke Mammon decided to ask, "Weren't you the adopted son of Stolas?"
"That I am, Duke Mammon," Lute laughed lightly.
"But you're clearly an Archdevil, aren't you?" another Duke asked.
"That's also true," Lute responded with a smile.
The Dukes then looked at Aldrich, their eyes were squinted and suspicious. Not only that, Duke Asmodeus laughed lightly and patted Aldrich on the back, "I didn't know you cheated on your wife behind her back, Stolas."
"Right? I was surprised myself when I learned that Aldrich was actually my biological father-"
"Enough, Lute. He is indeed a human, just like you were all asking before," Aldrich intercepted to protect his name and reputation.
"A human? Isn't he clearly an Archdevil?" Duke Belphegor asked.
"Artificial Archdevil, actually," Aldrich responded.
"Artificial?" Duke Lucifer asked, his brows raised to indicate his question.
"Lute, go on and explain to them," Aldrich nudged at Lute.
"Okay, listen well everyone, because I'm only going to explain this once. I was a human a few weeks ago, then I learned that my adoptive father was an Archdevil. Then later, after weeks of hard work and research, I managed to create a magic circle and rune sequence that transformed me into an Archdevil of the Stolas Household. Shocking, right? Like, who would have known that a normal village bumpkin like me would suddenly become an-"
"Enough. Are you saying that you have a way to turn a human, into an Archdevil?" Duke Lucifer intercepted. He was clearly surprised at the fuck, and felt the pride of the Archdevil was being tainted by Lute who was a human.
"Well, yes, technically. But to turn a human into an Archdevil is a complicated process, so I can't just do it wily-nilly, Duke Lucifer. And don't worry, you should be thankful that such a genius like me has joined the Archdevil bloodline, I might as well say that I have alleviated the status of all Archdevils by a couple of levels with my presence alone," Lute grinned smugly, causing Duke Lucifer to be angry.
"We have quite the arrogant one here, are we? Are you sure you're not part of the Lucifer household instead of the Stolas household?" Duke Sathanas laughed lightly, amused and intrigued by this newcomer.
But, he can't let such an obvious dismissal of the dignity of the Dukes. So, Sathanas stood up slowly and pointed his finger at Lute, announcing loudly, "Boy, you are arrogant for a previous human. I bet you don't know the status we Dukes truly have in the kingdom. Do you wish to have a friendly spar with me so I can instill some manners into you?"
Lute laughed loudly, before stomping his foot to the ground. Instantly, the whole room flashed with purple light and they suddenly all found themselves standing in the staircase-type seats of a colosseum. Surprised by the sudden change, they all murmured about where they were.
"Of course, Duke Sathanas! I gladly accept your 'friendly spar'!" Lute's loud voice was heard from the distance, capturing their attention.
Looking downward, they were greeted by a large circular arena hundreds of meters in size, encompassing the entire area around them to no end in sight. The floor was light brown, made out of a hard material which Duke Sathanas found was quite durable by stepping on it with a light amount of force.
'Impressive, I guess Stolas' claims have some merit to them. But, that's not enough merit!' Duke Sathanas grinned, before looking back at Lute Stolas in the distance.
"Good, good! I'll teach you some manners, boy!" A dark pair of wings unfurled behind Duke Sathanas' back, many meters in size, and far bigger compared to Lute's wings. He hovered above the sky before he shot forward with a boom.
He aimed his fist towards Lute's smug face, intending to smash it to the ground. But his eyes soon widen slightly in shock, as he saw that the face he hit was only an afterimage. Not only that, an arm patted him on the back and Lute's voice was heard:
"Too slow, old man."
With a bam, he could feel his body being slammed down to the ground with a strong push from his shoulder. But, he grinned and instead accelerated his fast further down to the ground, causing a loud explosion to occur and forming a large crater on the ground.
Flapping his wings, the smoke that covered the area around him dispersed while he flew to the sky. Looking into the distance, he saw Lute Stolas taunting him while hovering above the ground.
"That was indeed surprising, boy. But, that's merely the start!" As mana filled his body, his muscles bulged wildly and he flew through the air, leaving behind a sonic boom. Like a dark arrow of red and black, his fist arrived right in front of Lute's face.
With a bam, he watches as Lute's body got flung far away into the distance. He laughed loudly, but he soon stopped when Lute's body halted in midair, showing that his entire body was unscathed. But, Duke Sathanas instantly noticed the light and translucent sheen of purple mana covering Lute's body.
'A barrier? Kukuku, even I didn't notice that until now. I supposed it's time to ramp this up!' Duke Sathanas smiled before he called out lightly:
"Wrath Armor."
As a flash of dark mana covered his entire body, Lute whistled lightly and exclaimed, surprised at the increase in power from Duke Sathanas, "Damn, old man, you really do have some anger management issues! You're almost going past the Z-Rank barrier in terms of physical prowess!"
A black armor covered Duke Sathanas' body. His horns turned longer, while his spiky tale became larger. His aura was seemingly endless, pressuring the other Dukes watching as spectators in the distance. A dark miasma seems to exude from Sathanas' body, scaring any weak-willed from nearing him.
"Be prepared, boy. With this armor, I've remained the strongest for so long!"
"Well, not to brag, but I have an armor that's far above yours in terms of practicality! Come out, the culmination of all my hard work, an armor crafted from the extremes of this world! Zenith!"
A flash of bright purple light covered the entire arena, and as many shielded their eyes, they slowly opened it and sensed the shocking aura emanating from Lute's body at this moment. An armor colored dark purple that almost neared the color of black, with an appearance similar to that of a supreme deity or a mighty devil, a simple word can only describe the appearance of that armor, 'Zenith', and that adorned Lute's small frame.
At this moment, their auras clashed in the air, causing sparks to form in midair. Their strength and aura were simply absurd, as if they were the strongest beings in the world. At this moment, the spectating Dukes can confidently claim that the two were the strongest beings to exist if they didn't take into account the existence of the Demon Lord.
With the sound of thunder clapping, the two's fists collided in the middle of the arena, causing a loud shockwave to explode, destroying the walls around the circular arena they were fighting in. The mere wind pressure of their blows made the other Dukes feel their life threatened, it was like watching the match between two demigods at this point. Their strength was reaching a level far above any mortal can hope to achieve.
"TAKE THIS!" Duke Sathanas shouted. At that moment, black miasma covered his fist as he punched it outwards toward Lute, in tandem, Lute's fist which glowed a resplendent dark purple light collided with the dark miasma fist.
With a boom, the two beings were flung back in opposite directions. Many Dukes hurriedly created a barrier to protect themselves and the colosseum from collapsing, and the brunt of the force they took made many of them cough out blood.
As the cloud of dust in the arena receded, Duke Sathanas grinned widely while he felt the blood leaking from his mouth. He could feel his body trembling from the physical stress he was going through, yet he felt endless happiness at that moment. "Lute Stolas! You truly are a worthy opponent! To last against me for so long, then it must mean it's time for my true form to be unleased once more in this world!"
"Duke Sathanas's true form! Is he truly going to use it?!" many exclaimed in shock at that moment.
But, before they can even think properly, a burst of dark red light erupted from Duke Sathanas' body. His appearance radically changed, as if his body has fused directly with his armor, giving it a more muscular look. His horns turned longer as if defying the heavens above him. His tail turned long and spiky, while his wings became larger than ever before. Not only that, dark red veins coursed through his entire body as if showing the boundless energy coursing through him at this moment.
With a boom, their eyes couldn't even track his movement before they heard the sound of Duke Sathanas' fist colliding with Lute's armor. As a dark purple blur flew to the middle of the arena, multiple dark red afterimages flashed all around the arena, constantly causing the dark purple figure to be pummeled in different directions. From the air, ground, left, right, down, up.
"Huff, puff," Duke Sathanas appeared in the distance once more, and he watches as Lute's body fall to the ground. He could already feel his entire body trembling in exhaustion, yet he felt exhilaration as well. To think he would find an opponent he could go all out against.
"Congratulations, Duke Sathanas, you're the first ever being in this world who will witness my true power. Bear witness…"
*Bang*
As dark purple light flashed, they only heard the sound of a bang and… They were greeted by the sight of Duke Sathanas lying limp on the ground, while Lute crouched beside him, his armor was already gone and he was in his normal appearance.
"Huh, you can't even last less than a second. Oh well, it has been fun meeting you guys! Be sure to spread the name of Lute Stolas, the strongest devil under the Demon Lord! Sayonara, I still have to tutor a certain someone."
With that, they watch as his body disappeared with a burst of dark purple flames, and the 12 Dukes found themselves in the meeting room once more in their respective seats.
'Monster.'
That was the only word to describe Lute Stolas at that moment, and the room turned silent.
AN: This chapter has 2134 words.
Writing hard; power stones.
(August 18, 2022 – 267th day of writing)