Abellion’s Original Magic, Gates Of Hell, allowed him to create spatial ruptures anywhere he desired, and then summon blades from within them.

The thing most people didn’t know about this ability was that the blades were a manifestation of Abellion’s will.

In essence, they were as strong as Abellion’s desire—and the quality of his Miasma.

As such, he could choose the kind of weapons he wanted to summon, as well as the effects he desired from them.

It was an ultimate power that employed ultimate violence.

As long as Abellion’s imagination was unhinged, he could make his blades into anything… possessing whatever quality he desired.

Of course, the only limiting factor was Miasma.

**********************

“How are you still alive?”

The recent bombardment contained enough power to level a city to the ground, and everything was focused on a single target.

Yet, why was it still standing?

“Who knows? Your attacks were strong, so I barely managed to deflect them.”

“You deflected… all of them?”

At this point, the Demon King was dazed. The Automaton also seemed to be a bit worked up, as it scratched its head a little.

“E-er, no, I didn’t deflect all of them. I’m not that strong. I was simply able to heal of the injuries that some of those blades gave me.”

“They all have anti-healing properties. Yet you healed from their damage?”

The Automaton appeared even more flustered.

“W-well… okay, you were right the first time. I deflected all of them. Whew, I am not good at this.”

Abellion had a feeling that he was being mocked, but it was hard to prove that with the opponent’s lack of a facial expression as well as its somewhat official outlook.

‘I don’t understand… what’s going on here?’

Even though it was very obvious that Abellion had the upper hand in the fight, he still felt like he was being played.

‘Or am I imagining things?’

The opponent was weaker than him. That was why Abellion hadn’t gone all-out and decimated the entire area they were in.

He still intended to conserve power so he could assist his comrades.

While a lot of time was flying by thanks to the opponent’s evasive measures and sudden burst in power, Abellion still couldn’t imagine resorting to his full power when fighting a much opponent.

‘I’ll kick things up a notch to get it this time…’ The Demon King smiled.

*****************

Upon observing the Demon Lord for a moment, the Automaton heaved a sigh of relief—or at least acted as though it did.

It was built with the whole warrior getup as its natural look, so it didn’t have any respiratory organs, to begin with.

The reason for Gawain’s relief was that the truth about it was yet to be found out.

‘Master told me to occupy the Demon King, but I’m not allowed to use excessive force…’

As such, Gawain had been restricting most of its functions so he could simply fulfill that role.

It made sure to prevent any damage that would be inflicted on him—since that was a core defensive property it possessed—but other than defense and light offense, the Automaton resorted to nothing else.

‘My goal is to stall for time and ensure the Demon King doesn’t overexert himself when fighting me…’

After all, Gawain wasn’t his opponent.

‘This is a bit difficult, though. I wasn’t designed to hold back to this extent, and my adversary is already figuring things out a little…’

If they continued like this, it wouldn’t be long before Abellion realized he had simply been leading him by the nose.

That didn’t mean it would stop trying its hardest to hold back.

With that in mind, Gawain prepared itself for the next barrage of blades that rained upon it.

They came from every direction—even beneath and above it.

‘I can think of a few dozen ways to handle this… but the only means I can utilize is to evade and cut down the blades one after the other.’

Gawain took flight and began moving faster than the homing blades could get to him, cutting them with the blade it had on hand.

The chase was swift—but only to onlookers. The Automaton felt as though time was slowed, but it had to endure this much.

It was its master’s orders, after all.

>WHOOOOSSHHHH<

As it kept dodging and dribbling the locked-on blades, Gawain had a single thought while scanning the area for miles.

‘He’s late!’

*********************

‘Unbelievable!’ Abellion was amazed at how the Automaton was able to fluidly evade his torrents of blades.

‘Could it be that it has a learning function? Had it been studying my patterns? If it evolves as time passes, then it would be best to simply overpower it with a decisive blow.’

As much as Abellion despised using too much power on an inferior target, he was pressed for time.

As someone whom everyone depended on, he couldn’t betray their trust.

“I’ll finish things with this.”

A single portal appeared above Abellion’s left shoulder. It seemed even more deadly than the others, and red lightning sparked from within it.

Emerging from the void-like portal was a weirdly shaped blade.

Its twisted edges warbled as it brimmed with immense Miasma.

‘The manifestation of my twisted desires. One of the most powerful in my reserves.’

More crimson lightning flashed, and the atmosphere undulated as the immense force seemed to rear whatever was around it—including space.

“Let’s see how you handle this.” The twisted blade was already preparing for take-off, having its whole body coated in red energy.

Abellion’s eyes widened in expectation, hoping to see how the Automaton would be ripped to shreds by the twisted nature of his weapon.

Suddenly, the Automaton raised its hand in a bid to make something known.

“Apologies, but can we end this fight? You see… my role has been fulfilled.”

“Uh?”

Abellion couldn’t understand what the Platinum Armored being was saying.

“I mean, my task is complete. I was meant to keep you occupied—as in, a warm-up—before your opponent arrived.”

What did the Automaton mean by that? What opponent was it referring to?

Demon King Abellion didn’t understand —at least… not yet.