A Demon's Journey

Sophie left Kloras Town on that very same day. Azaroth was relieved that this woman was gone.

He had gotten all of the benefits he could, and she was now overstaying her welcome. But still, she had helped him at a crucial moment so he didn't care much about her.

Now, he had to go and meet his retainers.

Sargan already knew that Azaroth had recovered since he was staying in the mansion so Azaroth ignored him and went to the location where Laura and others were staying.

Azaroth was happy that he could finally fly without using much Ardor.

Earlier, he would have to use Wind Ardor to fly which would consume quite a bit of his Ardor. But now, Azaroth could use the Ardor in his surroundings to fly.

In just a few minutes, he reached the training ground where Noah was training.

Currently, everyone was training in their respective training grounds. They were quite anxious about Azaroth's condition and the only way to take their mind off it was to train.

Azaroth saw  Noah who was slashing in an empty field and was practicing one attack after another.

"You should take a small break before switching your techniques," Azaroth spoke out to Noah.

Noah was startled to hear Azaroth's voice. He raised his head and showed a delighted expression as he saw Azaroth.

"Yes, Boss!" He spoke, somewhat emotionally.

He was glad that Azaroth was alright.

In these 3 days, Noah had no idea how Azaroth was doing. He couldn't even go and visit him and Sargan didn't send a message regarding Azaroth.

It frustrated Noah greatly. Amongst all his retainers, Noah could be considered the most anxious.

Azaroth patted his head as he looked at him, "Get stronger and I can allow you to remain by my side next time."

Noah nodded his head and replied, "I will work hard!"

Azaroth smiled but he shook his head, "You misunderstood my words. Just as hard work is important, rest is also crucial. Once your mind and body calm down, you can restart your training."

Noah soon lost consciousness. Azaroth picked up him and took him towards the small house Laura had constructed for him.

He placed him on the bed and left.

~~

The next retainer he met was Laura. Unlike Noah, she wasn't training as rashly so Azaroth didn't need to give her that advice.

The two saw each other. Laura greeted him and was pleased to see that he had recovered.

Moreover, she sensed that his aura was even stronger than before.

After her, Azaroth met up with Tiana, then Ralph, and lastly, Yrellea.

Among these three, Yrellea was the most anxious about his health.

He could guess that she held romantic feelings for him. But having such a relationship with her wasn't what Azaroth was planning.

Yrellea observed him and concluded that he was completely fine. She breathed out in relief as she concluded that.

Soon, she remembered that woman who picked him up and carried his body to the mansion.

She asked Azaroth with a curious and an envious look, "Master, who was that woman?"

Azaroth gazed at her quietly and replied, "…She is my friend from my school time. That's all you need to know."

Yrellea appeared unhappy at Azaroth's cold tone but this was more or less their normal interaction.

~~

Half a day later, Azaroth gathered all his retainers including Sargan and Noah. Noah's body had received quite a good rest and he was fresh right now.

They wondered why Azaroth had gathered them.

"All of you have completed your Elemental Training Regimen. Now, it's time for your final training regimen. After you complete it, I will begin assigning you your respective tasks." Azaroth spoke with a solemn look.

"That wasn't the last training?" Laura asked with a confused look.

"No. The Elemental Training Regimen was designed to familiarize you with your elements and teach you how to employ them even in environments that are fundamentally opposed to them."

"However, this final training regimen will be where you have to make use of your entire ability in the fight. Your decision-making ability will be tested to the limit and your reaction speed will improve by a notch. Are you ready for it?!"

"Yes, boss/ master!" Everyone was pretty excited.

"Good. Then you will go to your training grounds. And this time, you can attempt the array at any time and there will be no time limit to defeat your opponent." Azaroth informed them with a smile.

Noah asked curiously, "Who will be our opponent?"

Azaroth replied casually, "You will find out when you challenge the array."

Azaroth didn't tell them about their opponent because he wanted to maintain this sense of mystery about him.

If they don't know about their opponent then they will keep trying to think of who could be their possible opponent. Mentally, they will prepare themselves for the hardest opponent they could think of.

This would allow them to react quickly when they face an opponent that would fit any of those profiles.

However… Azaroth was sure that none of them would be able to correctly anticipate their opponents.

Soon, Azaroth walked away, leaving his retainers alone.

"I will definitely defeat my opponent on my first try!" Noah declared with a confident tone.

Sargan rolled his eyes at those words, "We don't even know who our opponent will be so you shouldn't speak empty words."

Laura disliked those words from Sargan.

Before she could say anything, Ralph added, "True. First, we need to know who our opponent is and then think of a plan against him."

Laura paused as she heard Ralph's words. She felt that Ralph was right.

If she analyzed her opponent and then formed a plan to take her down, it would be an easy victory!

Others also thought about it and mentally agreed. All but Noah that is.

Azaroth had no idea that his retainers were thinking along these lines. This was far from the mentality he wanted them to possess.

Even if he knew about it, he probably wouldn't have told them anything. Some things couldn't be shared. They would understand once they experienced it, just how wrong they were.

Azaroth was going towards his personal training ground.

He noticed that a gigantic crater had formed here because of that Heavenly Tribulation.

'There is still the residual Heavenly Law in the air here. I need to change my location.'

It was a pity since he had worked quite a lot on this training ground. There were multiple arrays on the ground. They weren't the barrier arrays but the other arrays he required.

One such array was the Blood-Forging Altar of Creation. It was a cloning array.

Azaroth had been agitated since he had a lot of work but not enough workers to carry out his objectives.

He knew that he had to personally carry out some of his primary objectives. No one else could assist him in them.

For that, Azaroth planned to clone himself. He was going to create another body by using his Blood Essence.

This body would possess a dense bloodline with the Celestial, Demonic, and Humane Bloodlines at the same time.

However, this new body's face would be completely different from his current face. It would be his face from his previous life as a Demon God Azaroth.

In fact, it could be said that this would be his true appearance.

The Blood Essence and the Ardor would be the same as that of this body. However, there was indeed a catch while using this cloning technique.

Azaroth's spirit would be split.

He was planning to inject most of his spirit within this new body, thereby turning it into his main body. Using it, Azaroth was going to carry out his primary objectives.

His current body was then going to become his secondary body that would carry out his other objectives.

Azaroth had multiple reasons for changing his main body. And the chief reason was that Inquisitor Fox knew about his current identity and was suspicious of him.

He knew that if that man continued to investigate him, he would sooner or later find the truth.

So, if the need arises, Azaroth wanted to be ready to relinquish this 'Edwin' identity and get that man off his back.

However, he was going to try his best so it wouldn't come to that. He had put a lot of effort into this identity.

The array had been destroyed and now, he had to construct it from the scratch.

Azaroth's 5 Star Ardor was strong enough to create arrays without the use of any elemental crystals now. However, if he wanted to create a perfect clone then he had to create an array that would sustain itself for a long time.

This wouldn't be possible if he created the array using his 5 Star Ardor.

Thus, Azaroth began to build up his Blood-Forging Altar of Creation in another location. He was also creating a barrier formation.

There was no telling when the Heavenly Tribulations would rain down on him.

If it occurred while he was creating another clone then all his effort would be futile.

While Azaroth was preparing the arrays, his retainers were already present in their respective training grounds.

They obeyed Azaroth's instructions and managed to activate the array.

Once the array activated, they noticed that their surroundings were the same. This made them let out a sigh of relief.

However, this relief was short-lived as they looked ahead and saw their opponent.

Laura was extremely shocked to see that her opponent looked exactly like her. The only difference between them was that her opponent had a completely emotionless look.

Azaroth's other retainers were experiencing a similar shock.

Only Noah remained calm as he looked at his opponent. He did not care about it at all.

The only thought in his head was to crush his opponent. Even if that opponent was his own copy.

~~~~

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