FWOOSH!!!
The strings came down like whips once more, trying to attach themselves onto Zazel's body, ejecting out the two gauntlets attached on his hands, rocketing straight for him in an effort to pin and strike at his vitals. The Demon would set up Asmodeus in response to repel back both, the strings caught ablaze, the gauntlets heating up, yet Brunono was quick on adapting the latter, with more strings generated and attaching itself onto them in order to fight at longer range. Each punch and grip he attempts only results in it getting hotter, slowly amplifying such potency and power as it converts the temperature to its palm, ejecting it out in a massive beam of fire, pushing the Devil back and crushing him against the ground with his own sigil.
Zazel would create Focalor in order to combat the new adaptation, a sea of mist and steam erupting away as he'd escape, dodging out of the beams and setting up a summon with the Goetia of the Oceans. Brunono, however, didn't stop his assault. Once his gauntlets cooled, he'd attach them back onto his hands and send his new strings to skewer into the newly formed Goetia, puppeteering its actions, quickly having it turn and bite down on the Devil's arm in an attempt to limit his usage of the Sigils. A parry with a limb of Sabnock and a utilization of Armor Magic to turn Focalor into his personal attire made quick work, blasting down water in order to halt the progress of the now freed strings, letting them dive into the abyss and pulling Brunono in, forcing him to sever his strings before actually going to the newly made hole of water. When the water splashed down, even if such was a mere puddle, Zazel's body quickly sunk down on it, taking in its endless depths to splash and spear through Leon like a turret, keeping as much space needed as he'd set up the Sigil of Beleth, letting it be spawned and take the form once more of his opponent, more specifically the newly gained armor and gauntlets, fusing it into Zazel's own armor with its wax. Leon would be surprised to see the Demon take the advantage as he'd mix the waters with the strings, hurling it straight ahead.
A steam being visible once more, an improvisation tool that the Devil didn't expect would occur, as it began to detonate.
KA-BOOOOOM!!!
A mass of wax scattering the area, scarring Leon's gauntlets and even small parts of his own skin, while Zazel remained unfazed. The Devil smiled as he'd see his mistake become rewarded, making note of it whenever he gets a chance to use it again. When Zazel looked up to see the damage, however, he could see the man remained unaffected. Not in terms of physical injury, but in reaction. His skin looked hollow from the distance he was in, a shell that was hiding something. That shell was made more prevalent when small parts of wax was around his neck, melting off the flesh, a usual sign of death, yet he remained. Zazel was confused by this, but Leon merely brushed it off and regrew new strings in the old one's place, letting himself be picked up once more. "Out of all the rats I had to exterminate, I never thought I'd see one that'd think so quickly and take advantage of pure fault. This isn't your first rodeo in experiencing a fight like this, huh? Jackal and Felks gave you hell, didn't they?"
No response. Not even a murmur, as Zazel was quick in unsheathing his destroyed armor and set up Furfur, lightning crackling from the insignia. Rather than push for an attack, Leon merely sets up a cigar, taking the small smolders as his light, smoking on it as he'd stare at the child. "Well? I need an answer here, Mr. Goetia. What's the deal? Most demons use cunning and deceit to get a proper solution. Strategies like yours were unheard of nowadays..." He wasn't budging an inch, and Zazel knows that he'd continue to pester if he didn't answer his question.
"Is this how you get people hired? You fight them, see their abilities, and put a debt on them to ensure they follow your order?" Zazel retorted, only met with a small laugh back at him.
"Relax, I'm not THAT monstrous. Sure, I do tend to have a habit of such things, but that's mainly as a personal motivator. You seriously think every human's sane in the head to do stuff for free?"
"I could think of 5 people right now that would definitely do exactly that."
"....Well shoot, You really are lost then." Brunono snapped his fingers as he'd set up his strings to come down in a cage-like manner, stabbing into the ground and dragging it along as he boxes the two in. "Listen. You're clearly unaware of what this is, confused even, trying to play 'hero' and all that. Life as a whole doesn't abide by such rules, at least not in the way one thinks. Sure, a sprinkle of magic in one's system and a direct goal usually leads to what they want, but that very magic can tempt people further. It's what makes us grow. It's what had us evolve. With that evolution comes discovery. With discover... comes price. At some point, we WILL try to profit off of what we have. That's just what usually happens whenever others want the same thing. Envy, Pride, Wrath, Gluttony. Those sins are born from one simple thing: Greed. Greed... is a human nature. It's what allowed us to make fire. It's what allowed us to create the Stone. It's what allowed us to survive for so long. Dawdling around does jack and sh-"
"Get to the point!"
Brunono groaned as he'd take a deep inhale of his cigar, before dropping it and crushing it underneath his foot. "That IS the point. Human nature, regardless of how much you've seen, has always been selfish to some level of degree."
"That's not changing the fact that-"
"I put debt on people? Of course. That's my consequence for being Selfish. That's my consequence for knowing when to step up to bat and let them know they're going to suffer. Gold as a whole is a sign of wealth. A sign of profit. A sign of greed. I just happen to get greedier by the day whenever they need to pay up. If I'm living 'til I'm 89 or something, I'm at least set for that remaining point of my life, and hey, maybe the next sap who sees that wealth becomes joyous that they don't need to work a day in their life. Debt kills. Debt strangles. I'm the one with the Garrot Wire here. It's their choice to see if they wish to be under my deal, or if they want to play stupid and get stupid prizes as a result." Zazel becomes a bit conflicted after hearing his words., especially with what he's seen. He pondered if such Humans really were that greedy, if they were willing to take such paths and risks for one's selfish gain. In a way, it reminded him of the Goetia's he's wielding. The texts he read whenever he studies, regarding them half the time as tyrants that were jealous of humanity. "Buuuut enough about philosophy. You're probably not gonna listen anyway, considering your little revenge story is a hinderance now. I'll let you at least sit on that thought whilst we continued." Brunono's contempt was as visible as the strings that began to take shape, wrapping around the gauntlets to act as personal weapons, as he'd charge ahead.
Humans can't be entirely selfish, right? Zazel has seen this before with the pirates and even the arranged marriage. It can't possibly be because of that, can it?