Lighting another cigarette, Sanji inhaled a deep breath of smoke, as he looked at the walls around him.
"The appearance of the place is a bit gloomy! However, I see many things of value here."
"Shut up." Endeavor ordered. "I have no desire to hear your opinion."
" Endeavor-san, we arrive in front of a huge room. " One of the heroes of his group told him.
"Huh?" Endeavor said, noting that the corridor stopped in the distance.
Indeed, the corridor ended with an entrance which gave access to a dark room.
" What is this place ? "
"This is my kingdom."
At this moment, many candles lit allowing the heroes to see the room. Surprised, the heroes saw a silhouette in front of them, while a mournful laughter was heard.
"Endeavor-san…I am honored to have a hero like you stand before me."
Recognizing this voice, Endeavor growled in annoyance, recognizing the masked demon in front of him.
"Jaldabaoth..."
"Huh?" Sanji said.
At this moment, the heroes positioned themselves in front of Endeavor.
"Endeavor...our main mission is to defeat Darkness."
"So, we're going to take care of this guy."
"Beat Darkness-sama?" Demiurge repeated.
Immediately, the heroes heard the demon begin to chuckle.
"What are you laughing about?" A hero asked him.
"What makes me laugh? That seems obvious to me! Worms like you really think they can defeat Darkness-sama? It's hilarious! What do you think, Endeavor?"
Staring at the number 2 hero, Jaldabaoth stated.
"You were never able to surpass the power of All Might! And even he was unable to defeat Darkness-sama, despite teaming up with several people! How can someone as weak as you can he hope to succeed in something he has been unable to do? "
"What are you saying?" Endeavor roared.
"You understood me perfectly." Demiurge affirmed. "Frankly, I wonder why the hero organization sent someone as weak as you to face Darkness-sama! It's an insult! Truth be told, I wouldn't feel any pride in defeating someone as weak as you! You don't even deserve me to consider you a threat."
Hearing this, Endeavor's eyes widened in rage, while the flames around him intensified.
" YOU ... "
"Don't be so sensitive about the truth! Truth be told, your only weakness is being human! And that's what makes you weak! But, if you want it, I'm sure Darkness-sama might decide to enlist you in her army and find you a job that you could be successful at."
"You must think you're very powerful to dare speak to me like that." Endeavor growled. "But if I were you, I wouldn't be so arrogant! I've beaten hundreds of idiots like you! They all thought they could defeat me but none of them succeeded! I don't see any difference between them and you ."
Sneering again, Jaldabaoth affirmed.
"If you still don't see this difference, it's because you're even stupider than I thought! Truly, I pity you for being born as a human being."
"Grrrrrr! Stop talking." Endeavor ordered, brandishing his fist in front of him. "And prepare to fight."
"I expected the situation to lead us to this." Jaldabaoth said. "Unfortunately for you, I'm going to have to kill you! Please accept my apologies in advance! It's nothing personal! It's just... you're just a pitiful human !I refuse to let an insect like you breathe the same air as Darkness-sama."
" How dare you ? "
Immediately the other heroes rushed towards Demiurge.
"You have no right to talk to Endeavor-san like that?"
"We'll give you a little warm-up."
"You won't be able to get up after this."
"A warm-up?" Demiurge repeated. "What a great idea."
Suddenly spreading his wings, the demon disappeared from the sight of the heroes.
"What?" The heroes shouted.
"How?" Endeavor wondered.
Seeming to be the only one to see him move, Sanji screamed.
" RUN AWAY ! "
Too late. Appearing behind the heroes, Jaldabaoth had his long claws covered in blood. Then, uttering cries of agony, the heroes felt deep wounds appear on their bodies.
However, that wasn't all. Appearing in their wounds, black flames covered them entirely, making them scream more as they were charred.
" GUYS ! " Shouted Endeavor.
"En...dea...vor..." One of the heroes whispered, extending his hand towards him.
Finally, he collapsed to the ground, just like the rest of the heroes, whose bodies turned into piles of ashes.
"Pathetic." Jaldaboath said. "This is even more disappointing than I expected."
Then, staring at Endeavor who was now alone with Sanji, Jaldabaoth questioned him.
"And now what do you plan to do?"
For only response, Endeavor created a circle of fire around himself and Jaldabaoth.
"Huh?" The demon said, seeing the flames surrounding them.
"I won't let you leave here." Endeavor said. "And I assure you that I will avenge my men! So prepare to suffer the worst defeat of your life."
"Hahahaha! You're really ridiculous."
Then, suddenly, the two adversaries rushed towards each other, while covering their fists with fire. And the next second, their fists collided, creating a powerful explosion.
Staying behind, Sanji saw Endeavor and Jaldabaoth retreat at the same time, while they seemed evenly matched.
"I will crush you." Endeavor assured, chasing the demon.
In an instant, he was in front of Demiurge and struck him again. Simply crossing his arms in front of him, the demon was forced to absorb the attack, which created a new explosion. Feeling nevertheless thrown backwards, he retreated, while his adversary rushed towards him again.
" I'm not finished. "
Again, his fist slammed into Jaldabaoth and created another explosion. And once again the power made the demon retreat.
"I'm not finished." Endeavor assured.
Once again he struck Demiurge.
" I'm not finished. "
New explosion.
Watching the fight, Sanji saw Endeavor completely overpowering Jaldaboath, who was forced into a defensive fighting pose. The explosions produced by Endeavor created gusts of wind that Sanji could feel, proving the hero's strength. And yet, the blond was not at all calm. Something was wrong.
Watching Jaldabaoth suffer each of Endeavor's attacks, Sanji noticed that the demon's clothing did not have the slightest hole. He didn't even see the slightest burn. It was as if Endeavor's attacks had no effect on him at all.
" What does that mean ? "
Not seeming to notice this, Endeavor let his flames cover him, before propelling himself towards the demon, like a comet of fire.
"I'm going to make you pay for what you did to my men."
Unable to move in time, Jaldaboath was hit by the man and thrown backwards. However, gathering his flames in his hands, Endeavor created a huge ball of fire, while he aimed at the demon, who had not even had time to touch the ground.
" It is the end. "
Opening his eyes, the demon could only scream as he saw the attack coming towards him before exploding upon hitting him. This time, the entire room shook because of the explosion.
"You should never have underestimated me." Endeavor stated.
Being able to see the fight, Albedo couldn't help but sigh.
"Demiurge shouldn't take such a beating! Even if he tries to assess the level of his opponent, I find it shameful to see a guardian of Nazarick being pushed back by a human."
"It doesn't matter." Galadriel assured, while she wrote down some information in a notebook. "You and I know perfectly well that Endeavor doesn't have the slightest chance against Demiurge! And then, we both know that Demiurge greatly appreciates giving false hope to his opponent, before being serious against him! Plus ..."
Suddenly starting a telepathic conversation, Galadriel wanted to speak to the demon.
"Demiurge, can you hear me?"
" GALADRIEL-SAMA ? "
Being surprised to hear her voice, while he was in the middle of combat, Demiurge questioned her.
" Are… are you mad at me for taking the initiative to assess Endeavor's strength? "
"Not at all, Demiurge! I just wanted you to do me a favor! If possible, I would like you to spare Endeavor."
" Huh...yeah! But wasn't that the plan? "
Simply thinking of Todoroki, Galadriel stated.
"Yes! But I would like you to do something for me! During your fight against Endeavor, I want you to make him live hell! I want Endeavor to come out of this tomb alive, but for him to be incapable to be able to fight again! Demiurge, I want you to break his spirit."
Seeing a lot of smoke facing him, Endeavor affirmed.
"I warned you! I've defeated hundreds of guys like you."
Still behind him, Sanji still stared at the smoke. Then he declared.
"Hey, Fire-guy! I advise you to stay vigilant."
" Huh ? "
"He's still standing." Assured the cook.
At that moment, a violent gust of wind hit the room. Having spread his wings to disperse the smoke that surrounded him, Jaldabaoth showed himself again, while he didn't have the slightest scratch on him.
"Impossible." Endeavor said.
"Tssss! Your last attack was really annoying." The demon growled, patting his clothes, which had darkened somewhat. "Look at the state of my clothes! Do you really think dry cleaning is free?"
Nevertheless, Endeavor's fist appeared in front of him and struck him in the face.
"From what I see, you're resilient! But don't worry! Even if I have to hit you all night to defeat you, I will! No, actually, I'm going to crush you now! PROMINENCE BURN ! "
Similar to a laser beam, golden flames appeared in front of Endeavor, before heading towards the demon.
"Level 55." Said Demiurge. "Not bad for a human… insufficient hand."
Then extending his hand towards Endeavor's attack, he created a black fireball that struck Endeavor's flames. And despite its small size, the sphere matched Endeavor's power, while another explosion took place.
"How...?" The hero was surprised.
"I apologize." Jaldabaoth said. "I forgot to tell you something very important! In fact, the flames have no effect on me! It's a shame, isn't it? So that means that even if you persist If you hit me with your flames, you won't achieve anything."
Groaning at this, Endeavor retorted.
"You don't know the power of my flames! They surpass everything you've ever known! I wouldn't be proud if I were in your place."
"However, until now, you haven't shown me anything very impressive." Jaldabaoth affirmed, with a bored tone. "To tell you the truth, I'm even disappointed."
"That was just a warm-up." Endeavor roared.
Again, he ignited his fist, before propelling himself towards Demiurge. Smiling behind his mask, the demon only ducked to avoid the attack. Then he lifted his leg and let his knee hit the hero's jaw.
" Gnnnnnnn! " Endeavor growled, easily getting pushed back.
The next, Demiurge had fun using only his feet to hit Endeavor. now being the one who had to take the attacks, Endeavor felt like he was facing real cannonballs, while Demiurge didn't seem to be serious at all.
"I wonder how long you can take this." The demon said.
" FLASHFIRE ! "
Creating numerous golden flames around himself, Endeavor created a bright glow, which caused Demiurge to step back.
"This kind of attack will never be enough to defeat me." Endeavor roared, pointing his fingers at him. " HELL SPIDER! "
Simply snapping his fingers, Demiurge created a column of flame that targeted Endeavor before striking him with force. Screaming in pain, the hero was thrown onto the ground, which cracked upon contact with his body.
"I thought I had already said it," the demon affirmed. "Your incendiary attacks will have no effect on me."
"Don't rejoice too quickly." Endeavor retorted, standing up.
At that moment, tiny balls of fire flew towards Demiurge, before sticking to him.
" HELL SPIDER ! " Shouted Endeavor.
Immediately, the small fireballs released a huge amount of flames, which covered Demiurge's entire body. Immediately, the demon began to cry out in pain.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!"
"You will never be able to defeat me." Endeavor assured. "And that is only a small part of my power."
" Really ? "
Widening his eyes in fear, Endeavor saw Demiurge stop screaming, as he stated mockingly.
"If you had told me that this was your full potential, I admit that I would have stopped this boring fight immediately! But if this is not your true level, then you might as well continue fighting, don't you think not ? "
"Grrrr! Stop underestimating me." Endeavor ordered, aiming his fist at him.
Suddenly, he created a ball of fire, having the appearance of his fist. Seeing the attack rushing towards him, Demiurge immediately flew away, letting the attack hit a wall and damage it. Following the demon with his gaze, Endeavor renewed his attack several times and tried to reach his enemy. However, flying with grace, Demiurge avoided his attacks without the slightest problem.
"Tssss! You're just running away." Endeavor stated.
"I can stay still if you want."
Immediately, Jaldabaoth surprised Endeavor, as he stopped moving. Arms crossed, he affirmed.
"Attack me! If you force me to move, I will admit defeat."
Seeing him remain motionless, Endeavor felt rage create veins in his forehead.
"How far? How far are you going to ridicule me?"
Directing both his fists at Demiurge, he created a double fireball that slammed into the demon, causing him to disappear behind a cloud of smoke. Unfortunately, like earlier, the silhouette of the demon could still be visible behind the smoke.
"Are you beginning to understand?"
Immediately, Endeavor couldn't help but take a step back, as he saw Jaldabaoth unharmed. The demon still had his arms crossed, showing that he hadn't even tried to defend himself. He had absorbed the attack without flinching.
"Now it's my turn! BLACK BLAZIAN! "
Letting the palms of his hands act as thrusters, Demiurge flew at full speed towards Endeavor. But instead of attacking him, he began to circle around him quickly. Unable to follow him with his gaze, the hero was frightened when he saw black flames appear around him, before gaining in size.
" What is ... ? "
Suddenly, the black flames transformed into a blazing inferno that burned the hero.
" AHHHHHHHHH! " Endeavor screamed, while feeling as if he had found himself in the middle of the flames of hell.
Stopping flying around him, Demiurge seemed to take pleasure in seeing him scream in agony. Finally, when the blaze stopped, the hero fell to his knees, with numerous burns covering his body. The hero seemed on the verge of collapse.
Seeing this, Jaldabaoth began to laugh again.
"Hahahaha! I shouldn't be laughing when the outcome of this fight was obvious! And yet, it still amuses me so much to see morons like you get beaten like vermin."
Silent, Endeavor felt his body fall forward, signaling his defeat. Beginning to lose consciousness, he had difficulty understanding what had just happened. "
" I lost ? "
However, to Demiurge's great surprise, the demon saw the hero's fists hit the ground, to stop his fall.
" Huh ? "
Then, hitting the ground with his head, Endeavor used the pain of his action to wake himself up.
"No, I can't lose."
Suddenly being able to see All Might's face, the fiery hero gritted his teeth, while repeating.
"I can't lose."
Then the demon saw him recovering.
"Oh? You're still fit to fight! I must admit, it's impressive."
" SHUT UP ! "
Suddenly, uttering a huge cry of rage, Endeavor created a gigantic torrent of flames around him. Using all his strength, the hero used it to surpass his limits.
"I wouldn't lose to you, or to All Might, or to anyone! I'm...I'm..."
Suddenly, he managed to gather the enormous torrent of fire in his hands and transformed it into a sphere the size of a soccer ball.
" I AM ENDEAVOR! " He roared as he threw the sphere towards Demiurge.
The next moment, the attack slammed into him before exploding. This time, the explosion shook the room so hard that cracks appeared in the walls, while pieces of the ceiling collapsed. Being knocked to the ground, Sanji felt the shockwave pass over him, while sweeping through his hair.
"This guy..." He mumbled, staring at Endeavor. "I admit to having underestimated him."
Finally, while the explosion lasted several seconds, calm finally returned to the room. Trying to catch his breath, Endeavor fell back to his knees, while he no longer had sufficient energy to create the slightest flame. This fight had completely exhausted him.
"Damn it!" He growled. "Is Darkness stronger than this guy?"
" Indeed. "
widening his eyes, Endeavor looked ahead. Disappearing again, the smoke dispersed to allow the hero to see Demiurge, who was protected behind a magical shield.
"Level 65!" The demon declared. "Congratulations! You are the first human from this world to have managed to reach such a high level."
Despite hearing this, Endeavor gritted his teeth, unable to hide his rage.
" It's impossible. "
Simply smiling, Jaldabaoth stated.
"I guess that attack corresponded to your full potential! I must admit that against a normal opponent, you would have won this fight a long time ago! Unfortunately for you, I am anything but a normal opponent! This kind of attack did not any effect on me! But I can still applaud forcing me to use a magic circle to protect myself! Otherwise, you might have managed to burn my clothes somewhat."
Extending his smile, he affirmed.
"Now it is time for you to become acquainted with my true power.
Suddenly disappearing, he appeared in front of Endeavor, before giving him a powerful kick in the abdomen. Immediately coughing up blood, Endeador felt himself flying through the air. Unfortunately, teleporting above him, Demiurge raised both of his fists in the air, before bringing them down with violence against the hero's back.
Feeling his vertebrae dislocate, Endeavor cried out in pain as his body was propelled towards the ground. Seeing him disappear in the center of a crater, Demiurge let himself fall on him, in order to crush him under his feet.
However, opening one eye, Endeavor rolled on the ground, to avoid being trampled. Unfortunately for him, pointing a finger in his direction, Demiurge created a small black flame which managed to touch the hero. And once again, Endeavor found himself at the center of an intense inferno that made him scream in agony.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Again, Demiurge's foot hit him in the head, throwing him against a wall. Still coughing up blood, Endeavor was unable to understand the situation. He was being completely dominated by a being who was in no way affected by the power of his attacks.
" Why ? Why ? "
Once again, Demiurge appeared before him.
"So how does it feel to come to terms with the fact that you're nothing but a little maggot?"
Unable to do anything but roar with rage, Endeavor pretended to get up to strike him. Nevertheless, crushing his leg under his foot, Demiurge took pleasure in hearing the frame break. Letting out another cry of pain, Endeavor grabbed his broken leg, while Demiurge affirmed.
"You can't do anything anymore! You can't even continue to strut like the emperor you claim to be! In any case, there's no point in fighting anymore, since I've noticed that you don't "I didn't have anything special! And now all I have to do is finish you off and see what little power you have left diminish little by little."
And again his foot struck Endeavor's abdomen. Unable to resist, the hero rolled several times on the ground. And unfortunately, already being behind him, Demiurge hit him again, cracking part of his sides.
Then making his enormous claws disappear, Demiurge covered his fists with black flames and began to strike his opponent's body repeatedly. Unable to do anything to defend himself, Endeavor now looked like a real punching bag that the demon took pleasure in hitting.
"Now I'm going to take away everything you have left... your pride... your confidence... your honor... everything that keeps you standing."
Hitting Endeavor again, Demiurge created an explosion that further ejected Endeavor's body, which now resembled a rag doll.
" Why ? "
Struck again, the hero felt one of his arms break.
" It's impossible. "
This time, Demiurge's fist hit him in the face.
"I can't lose."
Getting hit again and again, Endeavor couldn't even find the strength to stay standing. Only waiting for the moment when Demoiurge would strike him again, Endeavor began to develop a sense of fear, as he felt the fear of being defeated and humiliated in this way.
" Stop ! "
He got hit again.
" Please ... stop ! "
Again, Demiurge's fist hit him in the face, pulverizing one of his teeth.
"Beg me! Again and again." Said the demon. "That's all a worm can do anyway."
still being the target of his attacks, Endeavor asserted.
" I am...one of the most powerful heroes in the world! I am the only being who can hope to defeat All Might. "
"Again he got hit.
" I have succeeded in everything I have undertaken! I have reached the elite and I have found my place at the top of society! This is the place I have reached and this is where I gotta stay. "
Demiurge struck him again, and managed to begin to break his confidence.
" I'm Japan's number 2 hero! I can't lose! Not until I defeat All Might. "
Unfortunately for him, still getting beaten up by Demiurge, Endeavor felt chills of fear take over his body as he shook in fear before getting hit.
"Stop! Stop! Stop."
Seeing him look like a child in front of an adult, Demiurge noticed that the man's pride was leaving his body.
"Fear is always the best way to make weak people understand that they are nothing." The demon assured, trampling Endeavor's head under his foot. "And now I'm going to make sure you'll never be able to stand up again."
Letting his claws appear again, he targeted Endeavor's spine and wanted to damage it to leave him disabled for life.
"This is the end of Endeavor, the hero."
However, he was surprised when he felt a foot hit his wrist, managing to stop it without the slightest effort.
" Huh ? "
Raising his face, the demon stared at Sanji who had appeared in front of Endeavor. Still having his cigarette stuck between his lips, the cook exhaled smoke, while affirming.
"At least, thanks to you, I didn't need a lighter to relight my cigarette when it went out."
Having almost forgotten the cook's presence, Demiurge questioned him.
"May I know what you're doing? Are you willing to sacrifice your life to save this guy?"
"Huh? Don't talk nonsense."
" Staring at Endeavor in disgust, Sanji stated.
"Guys like him, I'd gladly let you kill them! However, when I see your happy face, I can't help but want to destroy you with kicks! Sorry to tell you this, but you're no better than this guy. "
" Really ? "
Suddenly, Demiurge's claws shot towards Sanji's abdomen to injure him. Knowing that he had obtained orders not to kill him, he was going to disembowel him enough to force him to stay on the ground.
However, his hand suddenly froze and before the demon could realize it, he had flown away from Sanji.
"Huh?" The blond was surprised, looking up.
Staring at him too, Demiurge couldn't understand what had just happened. Looking at his hand, with which he had tried to hurt Sanji, he noticed that his entire arm was shaking. Without him being able to understand the reason, the demon's instinct had forced him to step back, while he had felt danger emanating from Sanji.
"What… What does that mean?"
Looking at Sanji, he stated.
"This guy is only a level 30 human! Even Regina managed to defeat him."
However, remembering how the cook had managed to stop his wrist, the demon couldn't help but doubt.
"This guy…is he really as weak as he wants us to believe?"
And while asking himself this question, the demon suddenly created a sphere of fire in his hand.
"My lady, please excuse me," He whispered.
Then, targeting Sanji, he launched his attack towards him.
"But this guy is dangerous."
Seeing the attack coming towards him, Sanji quickly gave Endeavor a powerful kick, to throw him out of the room. Then, the attack slammed into him, causing the cook to disappear from Demiurge's sight.
"Tssss!" The demon growled, now seeing a cloud of smoke below him. "In the end, maybe I panicked for nothing."
" DIABLE ... "
At that moment, a red foot crossed the cloud of smoke, before ending up right in front of Demiurge's face.
" Huh ? "
" JAMBE ! "
Not even having time to react, the demon felt a powerful kick hit him in the face, pulverizing his mask and breaking one of his canines. Face crushed, the demon spat blood, before flying backwards.
Hitting a wall, Demiurge went completely through it before hitting another wall. Flying like this, the demon hit the equivalent of five walls before flying through a room where another fight was taking place.
Facing the two twins in front of him alone, Franky could only grunt in frustration as his body was already covered in several wounds.
" Damn it. "
"Hahahahaha! You're really fun to fight." Aura assured. "I'm not interested in robots, but you're really fun! Hey, won't you become my toy?"
"You can always dream, brat."
Suddenly, a noise startled the trio as they saw a figure flying above them.
"What?" The cyborg and the two twins were surprised.
Then, they saw the figure crash into the back wall and finally stop in its tracks.
"What... What was that?" Mare wondered.
"It looked like a missile or something." Franky remarked.
Narrowing her eyes, Aura could make out the figure that was now stuck in the wall. Then, suddenly, fear was seen in her eyes.
"De… De… De…"
Being able to see him too, Mare screamed at the same time as her.
" DEMIURGE ? "
As surprised as the twins, Galadriel couldn't help but get up from her seat, as she had just seen one of the guardians being beaten in a single blow for the one she considered to be the Luffy's weakest teammate.
"Impossible." Albedo whispered.
Being lying on the ground and unable to get up, Endeavor was also wide-eyed as he had just seen Sanji defeat in one attack, the demon he had not even managed to hurt.
"You know how to use fire? So?" Sanji asked, exhaling smoke again. "Faced with my Satan's cooking, you remain no less than a simple demon."